3. The Village Resort will be a part of DVC soon

In December, Disney held the annual Disney Vacation Club Condominium Association Meeting. During the final phase of discussion, Disney Vacation Club president Ken Potrock unveiled details about the upcoming Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows addition. While the actual sales debut of Polynesian is a matter of some conjecture, it could occur as early as January. Disney has indicated that sales will begin by summer, so there is a window of only a few months until the second most iconic hotel at Walt Disney World becomes a destination for DVC members.

Disney actually banned photography during their Polynesian unveiling, which speaks volumes about how important this phase of DVC sales is to them. All of the hotel’s renovations including the lobby, the pool, and the impending addition of Trader Sam’s Grog Gotto have been predicated upon Polynesian’s DVC addition. The rate hike at the other properties is probably tethered to this debut as well. Raising the prices elsewhere will make Polynesian look more appealing to first-time customers as well as those suffering from add-on-itis.

Disney confirmed that there will be 360 deluxe studio villas plus 20 beachfront bungalows. Notably, all of them will comfortably accommodate five guests, and these villas will be the largest at any DVC property at 465 square feet, exceeding the existing champion in this regard, Old Key West, by 75 square feet. The bungalows will be over-the-water, and many folks including myself have already admired them from afar for the architectural wonders that they are.

With DVC running out of options for new resorts, the Polynesian is their best hope to entice people into buying additional points. It is the basis for their new price point for the other properties in the area. While the price per point remains unannounced, it is expected to be the most expensive property, whether it ties or exceeds Bay Lake Tower and Grand Floridian. If the idea of paying this much more point does not appeal to you, however, resale purchase and/or point rental become much more viable alternatives after the rate increase.