airjay75
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2025
- Messages
- 395
Just got back from a 1-week 4/3 night AKL/RIV Studio stay with my wife and our two boys, ages 4 and 6. While there, my wife and I did a formal DVC tour of the Poly Island Tower as well as VGF grand villa, spent some time walking around all 3 monorail resorts really in an effort to see which ones we liked the most and to be sure about where our next points purchase was going to be.
AKL: Stayed in a Savnnah view in Kidani Village - requested Sunset Savannah and near the Rafiki elevator (to be near the pool). Definitely really liked AKL - room was not as worn and tired as one might have thought for being just about to go under a hard goods refurb. That said, pull out sofa bed is rough - got a mattress topper and that made it perfectly fine to sleep in, but getting the bed set up and put away every night and morning is not very fun, and the mattress topper takes up extra room. Visited both Kidani and Jambo pool and really loved both. Preferred Kidani pool - was pretty busy as one might expect during mid-day on a hot July afternoon, but still manageable (and was completely glorious in the evening when it reopened after a t-storm closure).
RIV: The aroma that greets you when you walk in the door, the music that plays throughout the resort, the ability to easily find a couple of chairs at the pool at almost every time of day, the super easy and convenient QS Primo Piatto and Bar Riva, the easy walk to the Skyliner, the larger studio with the 5th sleeper and real utensils in the studio - RIV is just excellent in almost every way. We had a preferred view room - requested high floor, close to Skyliner and had a nice view of the Skyliner and Epcot.
Poly and Island Tower: Everything I previously thought about Poly and PIT was reinforced this trip. The tower itself and its rooms are lovely - theme park view if you have the points for it would be amazing. But once you step outside the tower, there are enough cons to me that are evident that I am not interested in owning at Poly. The new pool next to PIT is nice, but the splash pad isn't going to interest many children over the age of 3. There is no waterslide, it isn't exclusively for PIT guests, and since there is a splash pad, I don't think you could really call it a quiet pool. Main lava pool looks great, and everyone knows it, and so, everyone is there! Busy and crowded, but who can blame anyone for wanting to be there because it is a great pool.
VGF: We got a tour of the grand villa here because our guide's office was in it. I quite liked VGF - seemed like a step down in busyness from Poly, and pools seemed a bit less crazy. The grand villa was beautiful. I really like the theming of VGF, but didn't actually do much for my wife (which surprised me), and I don't think our two young boys would be super impressed either. I'm more interested in staying here at some point than PIT, but I think my wife was sort of like, just meh - that said, she was getting quite hungry too.
CR/BLT: After VGF, we took the monorail over to CR for dinner at California Grill - dinner was AMAZING! It was a prix fixe menu and we added the wine pairing - highly recommend. And, of course, the view is just awesome. The inside of the CR resort itself is less than amazing - honestly feels a little more dated than contemporary (reminds me a bit of late 80s, early 90s mall). But it is still neat, and I'm sure our young boys would love it. After dinner, took a stroll around the CR pool and then wandered over to the BLT pool and took a walk around before heading to the MK. Now, granted we were into mid-evening at this point, so one would expect the pools and grounds to be less crowded/busy, but I have to say BLT gave off a very relaxed, low key vibe. From the CR pool to the BLT grounds, everything seemed very peaceful and quiet. Nothing really blows you away with the theming or the grounds, but I can really see this being a great place to stay, especially with a MK focused stay - BLT has easily jumped to the top our our list of monorail resorts we want to stay at (and, maybe, at some point, pick up some resale points - not in any rush since I think we would want preferred view anyways to be able to get a high floor, and those aren't as difficult to get at 7-month mark).
Few other random thoughts:
1. Studios and Laundry - I don't see the family staying in a studio again for this single reason. Used the laundry room at AKL and RIV, and neither was a very enjoyable experience. 2 of the 3 washing machines at AKL were out of order. Everything was working at RIV, but when my wash load was done, all 6 dryers were occupied and had to wait for one to free up. And someone was there pushing me to get my laundry out of the washing machine the second it was done. Just not a really enjoyable experience while on vacation, and I'm not interested in that again.
2. AKL vs. RIV studio - granted, it is more points, but you do really feel the difference in size going from AKL to RIV studio. Full bath and shower plus a huge walk-in shower, real utensils, not just paper plates, huge closet with a vacuum, under bed storage, 5th sleeper bed. We all got much better rest in the RIV studio. I'm sure AKL will be better after the refurb, but you obviously can't make rooms any bigger.
3. Skyliner - had pretty great experiences with the Skyliner. Most we ever waited was about 10 minutes after fireworks. No weather closures. Wondered how hot it would be in mid-July - it really is remarkable how much the tinting and the breeze do to keep the inside fairly comfortable.
4. Split Stay - I've been thinking we really like split stays, but now that we're settling in to the new DVC mindset of repeat stays year after year, I think I'm changing my mind. Between switching hotels and park days, our week just felt a bit rushed. I want more time to enjoy the hotels and the activities at each one, and less time thinking about what we need to do next. Had been planning a split stay for our next planned trip in February and have already switched it to a 1-week stay (in a CCV 1-BR).
5. Moonlight Magic - I really lucked out and successfully registered for this under general registration (we were renting points for this trip). And, it was pretty fun! That said, we didn't take full advantage because young kiddos can only last so long. Still, after the 9 pm fireworks in, got in Frozen, Remy, and some free snacks before heading back to RIV (with no wait to get on Skyliner).
So, a pretty good trip AND we're buying more RIV points - just left a VM with my guide!
AKL: Stayed in a Savnnah view in Kidani Village - requested Sunset Savannah and near the Rafiki elevator (to be near the pool). Definitely really liked AKL - room was not as worn and tired as one might have thought for being just about to go under a hard goods refurb. That said, pull out sofa bed is rough - got a mattress topper and that made it perfectly fine to sleep in, but getting the bed set up and put away every night and morning is not very fun, and the mattress topper takes up extra room. Visited both Kidani and Jambo pool and really loved both. Preferred Kidani pool - was pretty busy as one might expect during mid-day on a hot July afternoon, but still manageable (and was completely glorious in the evening when it reopened after a t-storm closure).
RIV: The aroma that greets you when you walk in the door, the music that plays throughout the resort, the ability to easily find a couple of chairs at the pool at almost every time of day, the super easy and convenient QS Primo Piatto and Bar Riva, the easy walk to the Skyliner, the larger studio with the 5th sleeper and real utensils in the studio - RIV is just excellent in almost every way. We had a preferred view room - requested high floor, close to Skyliner and had a nice view of the Skyliner and Epcot.
Poly and Island Tower: Everything I previously thought about Poly and PIT was reinforced this trip. The tower itself and its rooms are lovely - theme park view if you have the points for it would be amazing. But once you step outside the tower, there are enough cons to me that are evident that I am not interested in owning at Poly. The new pool next to PIT is nice, but the splash pad isn't going to interest many children over the age of 3. There is no waterslide, it isn't exclusively for PIT guests, and since there is a splash pad, I don't think you could really call it a quiet pool. Main lava pool looks great, and everyone knows it, and so, everyone is there! Busy and crowded, but who can blame anyone for wanting to be there because it is a great pool.
VGF: We got a tour of the grand villa here because our guide's office was in it. I quite liked VGF - seemed like a step down in busyness from Poly, and pools seemed a bit less crazy. The grand villa was beautiful. I really like the theming of VGF, but didn't actually do much for my wife (which surprised me), and I don't think our two young boys would be super impressed either. I'm more interested in staying here at some point than PIT, but I think my wife was sort of like, just meh - that said, she was getting quite hungry too.
CR/BLT: After VGF, we took the monorail over to CR for dinner at California Grill - dinner was AMAZING! It was a prix fixe menu and we added the wine pairing - highly recommend. And, of course, the view is just awesome. The inside of the CR resort itself is less than amazing - honestly feels a little more dated than contemporary (reminds me a bit of late 80s, early 90s mall). But it is still neat, and I'm sure our young boys would love it. After dinner, took a stroll around the CR pool and then wandered over to the BLT pool and took a walk around before heading to the MK. Now, granted we were into mid-evening at this point, so one would expect the pools and grounds to be less crowded/busy, but I have to say BLT gave off a very relaxed, low key vibe. From the CR pool to the BLT grounds, everything seemed very peaceful and quiet. Nothing really blows you away with the theming or the grounds, but I can really see this being a great place to stay, especially with a MK focused stay - BLT has easily jumped to the top our our list of monorail resorts we want to stay at (and, maybe, at some point, pick up some resale points - not in any rush since I think we would want preferred view anyways to be able to get a high floor, and those aren't as difficult to get at 7-month mark).
Few other random thoughts:
1. Studios and Laundry - I don't see the family staying in a studio again for this single reason. Used the laundry room at AKL and RIV, and neither was a very enjoyable experience. 2 of the 3 washing machines at AKL were out of order. Everything was working at RIV, but when my wash load was done, all 6 dryers were occupied and had to wait for one to free up. And someone was there pushing me to get my laundry out of the washing machine the second it was done. Just not a really enjoyable experience while on vacation, and I'm not interested in that again.
2. AKL vs. RIV studio - granted, it is more points, but you do really feel the difference in size going from AKL to RIV studio. Full bath and shower plus a huge walk-in shower, real utensils, not just paper plates, huge closet with a vacuum, under bed storage, 5th sleeper bed. We all got much better rest in the RIV studio. I'm sure AKL will be better after the refurb, but you obviously can't make rooms any bigger.
3. Skyliner - had pretty great experiences with the Skyliner. Most we ever waited was about 10 minutes after fireworks. No weather closures. Wondered how hot it would be in mid-July - it really is remarkable how much the tinting and the breeze do to keep the inside fairly comfortable.
4. Split Stay - I've been thinking we really like split stays, but now that we're settling in to the new DVC mindset of repeat stays year after year, I think I'm changing my mind. Between switching hotels and park days, our week just felt a bit rushed. I want more time to enjoy the hotels and the activities at each one, and less time thinking about what we need to do next. Had been planning a split stay for our next planned trip in February and have already switched it to a 1-week stay (in a CCV 1-BR).
5. Moonlight Magic - I really lucked out and successfully registered for this under general registration (we were renting points for this trip). And, it was pretty fun! That said, we didn't take full advantage because young kiddos can only last so long. Still, after the 9 pm fireworks in, got in Frozen, Remy, and some free snacks before heading back to RIV (with no wait to get on Skyliner).
So, a pretty good trip AND we're buying more RIV points - just left a VM with my guide!
). I think they could have done that at PIT, but they did not. Instead, it's late, the kids are hungry and tired, you just need a drink, and you find yourself with the only option being to trek back to the GCH and find what you need.
