Animal Kingdom or Poly?

[TinkB278]

Hi all!

I’ve been set on buying a contract with AK as my home resort but there just hasn’t been a contract I’ve been interested in for weeks (120-150 points, any UY but Dec). Now I’m thinking maybe I should just buy at Polynesian since there are several contracts available. I’m not a big fan of how high their point charts are and the fact that the room options are only studios or bungalows. I’ve never stayed at the Poly but I know it’s a well loved resort, being on the monorail loop would also be nice. I would love to hear from those who have experience with both resorts on what they like/dislike, Ive also been contemplating BLT as well but I’ve heard the studios are small and some rooms are getting run down.

thanks for any input/advice!

 

[macman123]

Ive never stayed at any resort but have brought 555 BLT points!

 

[My3kids1989]

Hi all!

I’ve been set on buying a contract with AK as my home resort but there just hasn’t been a contract I’ve been interested in for weeks (120-150 points, any UY but Dec). Now I’m thinking maybe I should just buy at Polynesian since there are several contracts available. I’m not a big fan of how high their point charts are and the fact that the room options are only studios or bungalows. I’ve never stayed at the Poly but I know it’s a well loved resort, being on the monorail loop would also be nice. I would love to hear from those who have experience with both resorts on what they like/dislike, Ive also been contemplating BLT as well but I’ve heard the studios are small and some rooms are getting run down.

thanks for any input/advice!

Poly would be my favorite of monorail resorts. We often go to Poly on our date night. I don’t care for BLT, the pool was boring for the kids and the grand is nice but it doesn’t fit our personalities. The one thing is though, since I have also been contemplating a second resort purchase -are there really only two room types for DVC there?

 

[EM Lawrence]

Poly only has studios and the very points-expensive bungalows. It is a fantastic resort, but its hard to recommend that you buy there if you ever want a room type other than a studio. BLT has the huge pros of being walking distance to MK and having 2 full bathrooms in the 1 BR.

 

[Minniemoo15]

We had planned on buying AKV - while it wasn’t our favourite DVC Resort, we did like it when we stayed there in years past and would be happy if we ever got “stuck” there. We were going to buy enough AKV points that we could stay at the higher point chart resorts if we wanted to. But our first two tries got taken in ROFR and we got discouraged. We then switched gears to Poly -even with the higher buy-in cost, the additional years and lower dues made it a surprisingly economical choice. We got a fantastic deal and didn’t have to worry about a ROFR since they haven’t bought back a poly contract in years (ever?)

We had our first stay in Poly connecting rooms this March and it was fabulous - even better than we imagined. We loved the Monorail, the food options, the overall vibe. We loved the size of the studios, the connecting feature and large balconies. The split bathrooms are really nice too.

We figured we would trade out to another resort when we wanted to stay in a 1 or 2 bedroom since that seems to be fairly easy to do for the time of year we travel. But we were all honestly so happy at the Poly that I’m not sure if we will, at least not for a while.

 

[glamdring269]

We’re having a similar debate. I don’t mind the studio only thing directly. Indirectly I worry that the bungalows aren’t getting filled and DVC will decide to do some kind of reallocation (if that’s allowed across the unit types?).

One other thing we’re keeping in mind. I doubt you will have trouble getting a 1BR pretty much anywhere at 7 months at most times of year. Anecdotally, we had our choice of either 1BR BWV Boardwalk View or Beach Club at 7 months last year during F&W. Poly’s annual dues are much lower than AKL so might be a good risk/reward deal to consider. Plus length of contract favors Poly.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We love Poly and it’s one of our home resorts. As large family we have to get 2 studios there, which isn’t ideal, but to us the location, atmosphere and appeal of the resort are worth it. We’ve stayed at AK a few times and it’s a beautiful resort, but we feel like it’s too isolated and we’re not crazy about there only being one transportation option. And while I love the restaurants and food there, my kids, not so much. For us, the Poly beats AK.

 

[TinkB278]

Thanks for the input!

another couple quick questions... I’m trying to figure out how many points we’d need. Are the standard views at Poly easy to book or do they fill up quickly? Also, does the lake view add a significant amount of value to your stay?

 

[fixerupper]

I bought AK. I absolutely loved it when I stayed there years ago. I think my kids will have a blast seeing the animals. It was also one of the lower priced options. I will want to add more points and I'd really love GF, but the high point cost and high point charts are making me look more and more at BLT. Poly really hasn't been a consideration for me because of the studio only option, and I would really like 1BR at least.

I think with the parks being closed you have time to keep looking for contracts if that is what you want, and price may go down more.

 

[clayfolks]

Thanks for the input!

another couple quick questions... I’m trying to figure out how many points we’d need. Are the standard views at Poly easy to book or do they fill up quickly? Also, does the lake view add a significant amount of value to your stay?

I’ll start at the bottom and work up. Only one long house (Morea) has lake view. If you get stuck on the first floor, the only view you have is of bungalows. Ask me how I know. LOL. I have never been stuck booking lake view, it has always been by choice. Standard is fairly easy to come by, provided you book between 11- 7 months. The closer to 7, the harder it is.

We own at both AKV and Poly. I much prefer the booking variety I have at AKV and the much lower points cost for studios. Our adult children and grandchildren prefer AKV. They would rather be in a two bedroom with three full baths, a full kitchen, and washer and dryer for the same number of points as two Poly connected studios. AKV is much more chill than the Poly.

 

[TinkB278]

I’ll start at the bottom and work up. Only one long house (Morea) has lake view. If you get stuck on the first floor, the only view you have is of bungalows. Ask me how I know. LOL. I have never been stuck booking lake view, it has always been by choice. Standard is fairly easy to come by, provided you book between 11- 7 months. The closer to 7, the harder it is.

We own at both AKV and Poly. I much prefer the booking variety I have at AKV and the much lower points cost for studios. Our adult children and grandchildren prefer AKV. They would rather be in a two bedroom with three full baths, a full kitchen, and washer and dryer for the same number of points as two Poly connected studios. AKV is much more chill than the Poly.

This helps so much and makes me feel like I should stick with my original decision to go with AKV!

 

[SG131]

This helps so much and makes me feel like I should stick with my original decision to go with AKV!

If your heart is set on AKL, I say stick to that. A good contract will come up and there are some pretty good deals that you might be able to negotiate right now. It doesn’t seem like Disney is buying back anything lately.

I have not stayed at AKL yet, but we just stayed at the poly for the first time since I was a kid and it wasn’t for us. I know a lot of people rave about it, but I would recommend staying there to see what camp you fall in of loving or hating it before you’d buy there. The split bathroom was nice, however there was way too much dead space in the one portion of the bathroom that I wish would’ve been utilized for another closet or something.

There was very limited storage space so we had our suitcases out most of the time and with the second bed out it got even tighter. We also were in a room right next to the external staircase so we heard people running on the stairs at all hours. I did enjoy the walk to the TTC though to get to Epcot. Like I said, I know a lot of people love it, but I wouldn’t pay the higher price premium without knowing for sure that it’s the resort for you.

 

[Minniemoo15]

Thanks for the input!

another couple quick questions... I’m trying to figure out how many points we’d need. Are the standard views at Poly easy to book or do they fill up quickly? Also, does the lake view add a significant amount of value to your stay?

Standard is easy to book much of the year. We travel first week of March - and I watch availability closely for fun - at this time of year it is pretty wide open even at the 7 month mark.

For me, lake view isn’t worth the extra points - though I suppose if you could get a 3rd floor room the views of the fireworks would be spectacular. All of the lake view studios are in the Moorea building. We enjoyed the Tokelau building (standard studios) - close to the main building, and still with decent views.

 

[Arguetafamily]

Have stayed at both resorts, we also own at Poly.

Poly for us is kind of small and crowded, there is no gym, but the monorail is nice.

Animal Kingdom is one of our favorites for food, ambiance, and pretty good availability, but it is far from most things.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Have stayed at both resorts, we also own at Poly.

Poly for us is kind of small and crowded, there is no gym, but the monorail is nice.

Animal Kingdom is one of our favorites for food, ambiance, and pretty good availability, but it is far from most things.

It's far from the MK and Disney Springs, but not AK, DHS and Epcot (just 13 minutes from Epcot). It just seems like it is far from everything. The MK resorts are far from DHS, AK and DS.

 

[TinkB278]

Now I’m starting to wonder if BLT would be better to consider than poly, AKV contracts are just nonexistent for some reason

 

[RoseGold]

Poly/VGF and to a lesser degree BLT are better values than AK because they have so much more time left on the contract.

 

[ldo]

no regrets with AKV, exp 2054 vs. BLT 2060 (not much difference). Just wait if you want AKV, they'll be plenty of contracts soon IMHO.

 

[striker1064]

Now I’m starting to wonder if BLT would be better to consider than poly, AKV contracts are just nonexistent for some reason

Have you stayed at any of these resorts? You may be surprised at just how little value means and how much more important it is to wait for the right contract if it turns out you hate your home resort.

We stayed at AKV and loved it. Bought PVB because of the great value and AKV is not difficult to book at 7 months most of the year. Stayed once at PVB and didn't like it. So we sold PVB and bought AKV, and we've been very happy with that.

 

[TinkB278]

Have you stayed at any of these resorts? You may be surprised at just how little value means and how much more important it is to wait for the right contract if it turns out you hate your home resort.

We stayed at AKV and loved it. Bought PVB because of the great value and AKV is not difficult to book at 7 months most of the year. Stayed once at PVB and didn't like it. So we sold PVB and bought AKV, and we've been very happy with that.

We have only ever stayed at AKV because we like it so much. Hearing your experience makes me feel better about just waiting it out for more AKV contracts to come available.