Poly owner, Help me spend $20k-ish

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

We have 200 poly direct and 50 poly resale. East coast family of 3 with tween. What are we buying at WDW before Tuesday price increase?

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Riviera, unless you hate it. 250 Poly seems like plenty for a family of three.

AK resale or SS resale after that.

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

Riviera, unless you hate it. 250 Poly seems like plenty for a family of three.

AK resale or SS resale after that.

Why would anyone hate Riviera

 

[JackosinDIS]

More Poly!

 

[DonkeyHoTay]

^ Agree with more Poly. Double down so you can upgrade your room type or go more often or both. I’m stalking some resale poly points for those reasons.

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Why would anyone hate Riviera

We’re a Poly-Riv family and it’s great

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

We own Riviera and Poly direct, so no shade on either, but $20k gets you about 100 Riviera points, which is a nice amount for a tower studio for Epcot couples weekend or a regular studio with a little borrowing, and those studios at Riviera are awesome. You need to own there to get standard views most of the time, and PIT point chart is brutal. You’d only be buying another 75-ish points at inflated prices. I would buy more Poly resale if you were to really double down on.

 

[McCrae]

We have 200 poly direct and 50 poly resale. East coast family of 3 with tween. What are we buying at WDW before Tuesday price increase?

I would buy at your home resort, keeps things simple and gives you more flexibility if you want to book larger rooms or have a longer stay.

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

So it seems an underlying question is (1) is better to have all points at one resort for ease of management and flexibility on room categories, or (2) points at two amazing resorts for home resort advantage at each.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

So it seems an underlying question is (1) is better to have all points at one resort for ease of management and flexibility on room categories, or (2) points at two amazing resorts for home resort advantage at each.

Depends if you like split stays or not and how long you like to travel.

Though I agree that the new PIT points chart really sucks. If you think you may eventually want 2BDs it’s worth considering buying somewhere else as well.

 

[RuntheMouse]

So it seems an underlying question is (1) is better to have all points at one resort for ease of management and flexibility on room categories, or (2) points at two amazing resorts for home resort advantage at each.

I would own at 2 for home advantage. You can do the banking/borrowing to get the points doubled up so they act as larger contracts!

 

[bookbabe626]

Why would anyone hate Riviera

Not our vibe at all. We don’t really like any of the DVC towers, but Riv in particular just feels like a Marriott to us. If someone gave me Riv points for free, I don’t know if I’d take them, unless they were direct I could use as SAP. It’s the one resort I always uncheck when searching availability. We’d never stay there.

 

[Judique]

So it seems an underlying question is (1) is better to have all points at one resort for ease of management and flexibility on room categories, or (2) points at two amazing resorts for home resort advantage at each.

I have 4 resorts and I've found that over time my priorities have changed.

I think 2 home resorts is a good balance with most of your points at the one you are most likely to want to stay at. I've been able to manage my points with small contract at a second resort to get a few nights and then expand at 7 months using my other contracts.

But for any week I must have I use my (largest) Boardwalk contract so that I can book it all at once (with the exception of the first 2 weeks in December when I get a studio and have to sometimes go day by day.

Poly was my resort of choice before DVC (bought in 2000). By the time they had DVc I had learned enough to know I could almost always get Poly studios (original) with 7 month points. This may not stay true now that they have the Tower. I've changed so staying at Poly is not a priority anymore, but something I will do if I have points available and there is a room available.

You have a MK resort with Poly. Maybe a small contract at Riviera would work for the Epcot/HS resorts. How many years do you see yourself owning? For me it was life and I've owned 25 years. My focus has changed and I love the Epcot resort area better than MK. Not everyone is the same. I'm a lifer, you may also be or maybe not.

 

[Judique]

Not our vibe at all. We don’t really like any of the DVC towers, but Riv in particular just feels like a Marriott to us. If someone gave me Riv points for free, I don’t know if I’d take them, unless they were direct I could use as SAP. It’s the one resort I always uncheck when searching availability. We’d never stay there.

I don't love it nor do I hate it. I've stayed a few times and it worked just fine. The rooms are lovely. I mostly enjoyed the food but I wasn't wowed by Topolinos for dinner. I have no need for points there, but would certainly get a room there if I had the points and there was availability at 7 months and not at anywhere else I'd prefer to stay.

edit: I use Marriott a lot. I have to say that if I could stay at Swan Reserve for the same cost as Riviera, I'd pick Swan Reserve. My Marriott perks kicked in there very nicely.

 

[intamin]

I don't love it nor do I hate it. I've stayed a few times and it worked just fine. The rooms are lovely. I mostly enjoyed the food but I wasn't wowed by Topolinos for dinner. I have no need for points there, but would certainly get a room there if I had the points and there was availability at 7 months and not at anywhere else I'd prefer to stay.

edit: I use Marriott a lot. I have to say that if I could stay at Swan Reserve for the same cost as Riviera, I'd pick Swan Reserve. My Marriott perks kicked in there very nicely.

It makes me sad to say but Topolinos quality has gone down quite a bit from where it was in the beginning. How they don't have any noodles on the menu besides the rigatoni is beyond me. The lobster noodles were amazing. We still love it though and I still do recommend OP purchase RIV just because I love having a diversified DVC portfolio. The standard view point charts at RIV are a lot more friendly than preferred view and we love the skyliner. I'd consider Poly if OP wanted to stay in a 1BR regularly there just because the inventory of 1/2BRs is more limited at Poly.

 

[DVCsloth]

Two resorts works out great for us! We usually alternate each year between Riviera and CCV. Love having both of these as home resorts.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

We have 200 poly direct and 50 poly resale. East coast family of 3 with tween. What are we buying at WDW before Tuesday price increase?

FWIW, I’m in the opposite situation. I have 300 RIV direct (and a few resale contracts at other resorts) but realizing I need another small direct contract to bump me up to a 2BR for a week. I know the numbers work in favor of more Riviera but I like the idea of a diverse portfolio and leaning towards adding on a FW at POLY.

 

[marmentrout85]

Diversify that portfolio! We're currently looking to add a 4th home resort at Poly and also add more at RIV.

 

[Tatebeck]

Yeah I like having multiple home resorts. If you are looking specifically for direct I would go RIV. If you are wanting more Poly I would probably just go resale since you already have a good amount of direct points.

 

[disneylandtour]

Riviera, unless you hate it. 250 Poly seems like plenty for a family of three.

AK resale or SS resale after that.

BLT resale.