Which Resort to pick? CR or Poly....or rent for BLT?

[wintotty]

We came back from staying at AKL last week, we enjoyed the hotel very much but not so much on transportation... We have 3yr old and 8 months old....and bus ride (mostly MK and Epcot) after 5p.m.

So I'm planning to go back in fall....and thinking about either Contemporary Garden Wing or Poly..............or renting DVC points to stay in BLT (1BR). I did the calculation....with a hope of getting 20%off for Room, still renting the BLT is cheaper on top of getting 1bed room.

I think I'm worried that something may go wrong with renting points....is it better to just book through Disney so there won't be worry free?

What would you do??

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

Rent the points to stay at BLT 1 Bedroom! Trust me, the difference in the rooms between a standard hotel room and the 1 bedroom is SIGNIFICANT.

If you are truly worried about renting, pay a bit more to rent from Davids Vacation Rentals.

 

[hgeisler]

Rent the points to stay at BLT 1 Bedroom! Trust me, the difference in the rooms between a standard hotel room and the 1 bedroom is SIGNIFICANT.

If you are truly worried about renting, pay a bit more to rent from Davids Vacation Rentals.

This!!!

 

[wintotty]

Yes, that's the site I'm looking at for renting points......so if I go through them and they secure the room, there's nothing I need to worry about? (like not having a reservation etc. when we are checking-in?) I'm just worried that if some error happens, I may not have a room available and just get a refund or something.......

 

[RapunzelsGoodMom]

I went with a 2 1/2 year old and a seven month old recently to BLT. Best.Decision.Ever. The location is PRICELESS at that age and having the kitchen was so nice with one still on baby food and bottles. Easy back and forth for naps and fireworks. Plenty of space for the double stroller just inside the door and delivery from grocer for daily breakfast and a few dinners/snacks. So perfect.

I did it through Disney last time (and still have the mortgage on the house to prove it) but I'm renting points this time. A huge time and money saver to be so close. I'd do BLT for sure!

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

Yes, that's the site I'm looking at for renting points......so if I go through them and they secure the room, there's nothing I need to worry about? (like not having a reservation etc. when we are checking-in?) I'm just worried that if some error happens, I may not have a room available and just get a refund or something.......

David probably handles thousands of rentals each year. I have never read of a bad experience. We are DVC members and in the event that we ever need to rent points again, we will utilize his service.

 

[wintotty]

OK that's promising............thanks!!


I'm not sure what kind of room discount historically Poly or CR get for Fall, but if there is going to be 35% room discount, then that's going to be about $350 cheaper than renting points.....but I guess that's a small amount of money compare to getting 1 bed room?

 

[tinkermommyof3]

I recently booked BLT as a cash customer. Have stayed at Poly many times and CR once before. Ready for the space of a 1-BR villa. Fear of renting points is my personal problem. If you don't mind renting points, BLT is a great deal. If you can get a discount from Disney directly on BLT, it would help too. I have been over to the DVC boards and there is some good information.

 

[Minnies Dad]

We stayed in a Theme Park view BLT studio last December. View and convenience were great. Not as nicely themed as Poly but we are definately glad we tried it. We were first time renters and found everything on disboard. Worked fine.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We came back from staying at AKL last week, we enjoyed the hotel very much but not so much on transportation... We have 3yr old and 8 months old....and bus ride (mostly MK and Epcot) after 5p.m.

So I'm planning to go back in fall....and thinking about either Contemporary Garden Wing or Poly..............or renting DVC points to stay in BLT (1BR). I did the calculation....with a hope of getting 20%off for Room, still renting the BLT is cheaper on top of getting 1bed room.

I think I'm worried that something may go wrong with renting points....is it better to just book through Disney so there won't be worry free?

What would you do??

October is very popular with members. So if you want BLT, you really need to plan on booking that before you are seven months out if possible. If you wait until seven months out, you might not be able to get a full week in a one bedroom. Even though the one bedroom villas usually are available later than the studio and two bedroom villas - they go faster.

You are nearing seven months out for early October right now. If you want to do this, book it very soon or you may be too late.

There are some sticky threads at the top of the DVC Rent/Trade Board about "renting points" from a member. Even if you go through David, you are just purchasing a reservation that a member booked with their DVC points. So there are lots of limitations on the points. Like little or no chance of a refund if you have to cancel or change your reservation. David is just a broker who matches up members who want to sell one time points to others who want a one time DVC stay.

Reminder, you won't get daily housekeeping. You'll have services every four days. And if you stay seven nights or less, you will only get trash removed and towels replaced on day four (day one is check in) for the entire seven night stay. Unless you pay for the extra service.

If Disney offers free dining, you won't be able to get that. You can usually purchase the dining plan, but you will pay for it.

 

[wintotty]

Yeah........location is so SO important with little kids....I'm willing to pay for it!

I'm aiming for the late Sept to early Oct, so I can at least try some Food & Wine at Epcot, but hoping for the low crowd of Sept...

CR or BLT is the only resort that we can walk to MK, right? If I can't rent points for BLT, I have to decide either CR or Poly, but option of walking back to resort may slightly edge us to the CR.....even though I don't mind eating Tonga Toast every morning by staying at Poly

 

[Lynn57]

I agree with the PP that you need to get your BLT reservation in ASAP! If you want until after 7 months of your dates, the chances of being able to get a room as slim... Renting points is extremely easy and not too scary if you are going through David's Vacation Rental or another well known DVC point agency. You won't regret the larger space and convenience of BLT compared to a regular hotel room.

If you can't get points or don't get in by the 7 month window, I'd go for the contemporary if only for the easy walk.

 

[mmmears]

Yeah........location is so SO important with little kids....I'm willing to pay for it!

I'm aiming for the late Sept to early Oct, so I can at least try some Food & Wine at Epcot, but hoping for the low crowd of Sept...

CR or BLT is the only resort that we can walk to MK, right? If I can't rent points for BLT, I have to decide either CR or Poly, but option of walking back to resort may slightly edge us to the CR.....even though I don't mind eating Tonga Toast every morning by staying at Poly

IMO the CR and the Poly both have plusses when it comes to convenience. Like you said you can walk to the CR from the MK. But you can either take the monorail or the boat to the Poly -- a little less convenient, but the boat ride is really nice and we enjoy it. As for Epcot and the F&W -- the Poly has the edge over the CR since you can walk to the TTC and get on the monorail to EP. Quicker and easier than taking the 2 monorails from the CR.

Since the transportation options are so similar, I would pick mostly based on the rooms, pools, and theming -- whichever appeals to you more.

 

[Missyrose]

Let me join the chorus of people who say if you want to rent points at BLT, you need to book yesterday. You're already eight months out (give or take a few weeks), so from now until you get to seven months out, people who own at BLT can book there. Once that seven month window opens, ANY DVC owners can book there. And with BLT's location on the monorail and within walking distance to MK, it makes it a very popular destination for people who want to go to MNSSHP or the Food and Wine Festival.

The other hiccup you may run into (assuming there's any availability left for your dates) is David's has been running short on available points. Since David acts as a broker, he would pair you with a DVC owner and that owner would make your reservation. So he needs to have a BLT owner with enough points for your trip in order for your trip to be booked. Good luck!

 

[twodogs]

One of the few discounts of BLT ROOM-only reservations that I found was a AAA discount. I booked directly through Disney since I did not need a package. It was 20%off rack rate. This saved me $1550 on a 2 bedroom for 7nights, at only the cost of a AAA membership (~$50). I called disney first to make sure the room type I wanted was available with this discount, then joined AAA online in five minutes, then called back and booked my room. The %off varies by time of year, so ask them what the discount is for your dates. The advantage is that you can cancel up to 5days before departure and lose no money.

 

[LJRJR]

We stayed at BLT in August. I booked my room directly through Disney. My family really enjoyed all the room we had. We had a one bedroom. My 3 children used the pull out couch and chair in the living area. The two bathrooms and the washer dryer were great. I am not sure what the price difference would have been if I rented points, but not being owners we did have daily housekeeping and we were able to get "free dining" which helped offset the cost of the room.

 

[wintotty]

It seems like David doesn't have the points available at this point..........they said usually points will be available if I wait list. But after some conversation with my husband, his parents may join us, so I decided to just go with either CR or Poly to be a little more flexible on dates(no cancellation or change for renting points).......... Strange that no Garden wing rooms are available in late Sept through beginning of Oct..... I grabbed the CR Garden Wing Standard with 9/25 check-in for now.....so at least I have the room I'm interested in. If I decide to change to Poly, that shouldn't be a problem...

I'm slightly more interested in CR because we have a option to walk back the the resort (in case monorail is jam packed after Wish), but anyone like Poly better? I know Poly's theme is better and I enjoy Kona Cafe and Ohana, but it is super easy to hop on to monorail from CR to Poly for those restaurants anyway.... Is Poly's standard room bigger than CR?