Anyone regret buying before staying? Leaning Poly now...

[bananapepper]

We are planning to go to WDW Feb 2021 and am having a hard time justifying paying 6k for a week’s stay when that could be such a good chunk of money we could pay towards a DVC contract.

I have been to WDW before and love it. We all love Disney and now that I’m finally done with having babies and pregnancies and we are financially stable, we want to go at least every other year. My kids are young (1,4,7) so we have a lot of Disney trips in our future.

At first we were leaning towards AK and CC but after watching many videos of the resort, pool, and rooms we decided CC wasn’t what we’re looking for. Theme is very important to us, as is location and potential resale value. We loved the Poly but ruled it out initially because of only studios but then learned that getting connecting rooms is almost always granted and it went back in the running. Being so close to MK is a huge plus.

Problem is I’ve never been there or to AK.

Has anyone else bought based on gut and videos/pictures/reviews? Did you regret it? Do you think two connecting Poly rooms is sufficient for a family of 5?

The lower dues and monorail access are especially appealing to my husband.

I can’t see myself disappointed in either and know not to get too hung up on room decor since that can change. I love being able to see the fireworks from the beach, the tropical theme, and rum dole whip

I love the peacefulness of AK, the lower initial buy in, laundry in room, and animal theme.

Which would you buy in my position? AK seems easier to get at 7 months (esp 2 bedroom) so that makes me lean towards Poly. I worry demand over studios will make Poly increasingly hard to get at 7 months. We will most likely go Spring or Summer.

Sorry this is ramble-y! I’m on my phone so going back and editing is hard.

 

[Rick195275]

Maybe try renting points at both in February? Would give you a chance to experience both and save you a few thousand. With that said I bought without ever staying and I don’t regret it.

 

[limace]

Poly studios have a higher point cost than AKV, I believe, and if you have to get two it’ll be expensive. I would personally be bummed to pay 2xstudio cost and not get the perks of a 1 bedroom-full kitchen and a laundry. Especially with three kids (which we also have).

 

[bananapepper]

Maybe try renting points at both in February? Would give you a chance to experience both and save you a few thousand. With that said I bought without ever staying and I don’t regret it.

The issue is that will cost us 6k which I feel is such a waste since that could have gone towards the DVC purchase

Which resort did you buy if you don’t mind my asking?

 

[bananapepper]

Poly studios have a higher point cost than AKV, I believe, and if you have to get two it’ll be expensive. I would personally be bummed to pay 2xstudio cost and not get the perks of a 1 bedroom-full kitchen and a laundry. Especially with three kids (which we also have).

For the weeks I looked at, two studios was cheaper than a 2 bedroom at AK.

 

[limace]

Right, but you could do a one bedroom for Less, and the two bedroom is almost the same cost. Both are so much nicer than two studios in my opinions.
For instance, first two weeks of Feb next year:
Poly 2 studios: 300-360
AKV savanna view: 242 1 bdrm, 322 2 bdrm. (And it could be much cheaper without savanna view-value and standard are actually substantially less than Poly).

 

[bananapepper]

Right, but you could do a one bedroom for Less, and the two bedroom is almost the same cost. Both are so much nicer than two studios in my opinions.
For instance, first two weeks of Feb next year:
Poly 2 studios: 300-360
AKV savanna view: 242 1 bdrm, 322 2 bdrm. (And it could be much cheaper without savanna view-value and standard are actually substantially less than Poly).

Problem is I don’t think a 1 bedroom will be enough space for us especially as the kids get older. That’s why I’m budgeting for 2 bedroom or two studios which would give 6 sleeping surfaces, 2 bathrooms, and 4 showers.

 

[bananapepper]

And for us, there is very little point in staying at AK if we don’t have a view of the animals and savannah

 

[Heather07438]

The 1BR with 1 bathroom can be a pain so Poly really shines there.

One other point you might like to consider is the kitchen included with 1 & 2BR. We prefer not cooking on vacation so it was almost a waste but I can see it being a real benefit for other people.

 

[Heather07438]

And for us, there is very little point in staying at AK if we don’t have a view of the animals and savannah

Savannah view is sweet

 

[bcuinohio]

We are closing on a BLT resale. We have never stayed there but we wanted to be by the monorail.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I'd go for a 2 BR with a kitchen and WD at any resort over two studios. As the kids get older this will make a huge impact on the quality of your "down" time and eventually the kids will bring friends. There are lots of gorgeous resorts that meet that criteria.

Poly is gorgeous, but I'm not sure it will work for your family as there is just no room to hang out together in studios. AKV is Disney at it's best for theming and the lobby is stunning and the animals amazing...we love this resort but the distance to parks and DS is considerable and can be a deal breaker for some people (not us). If it is AKV vs Poly I'd go with AKV.

 

[GoofyCoaster]

*almost* always is what would make me hesitate about poly and a family of 5.
Would you be okay if you arrived and the request for connecting studios could not be accommodated and the adults had to split up?

While I have yet to read any firsthand experiences of requests for connecting studios at the poly not being granted, there has been splitting at other Disney properties.

As others have mentioned, you’d be trading a full kitchen, W/D, and living room for more sleep surfaces and another shower. BLT and AK- Kidani both have two baths in a 1BR and three baths in a 2BR.

 

[Matty B13]

We bought AKV sight unseen, back in 2016, and after our first Kidani stay my wife wasn't happy with it. That being said our AKV points are now are sleep around points.

We also bough VGF sight unseen...... and love it. So you never know what you might like. We are trying AKV Jambo in 2021, just to try it again.

 

[quandrea]

The 1BR with 1 bathroom can be a pain so Poly really shines there.

One other point you might like to consider is the kitchen included with 1 & 2BR. We prefer not cooking on vacation so it was almost a waste but I can see it being a real benefit for other people.

Two bathrooms at AK kidani. I’d go for AK. Better point chart, great dining, option of kitchen and laundry when you want it. The one bedroom sleeps five if you want that. Two bedrooms are reasonable. I like the standard view. Lots of places to see the animals and at Kidani you can request a room that used to be savannah—we actually prefer these savannah views—so quiet and the okapi is my favourite.

Poly is actually my least favourite Dvc. The bathrooms had a mildew smell. Rooms were dark. Low ceilings. Garbage in the hallways. Poor housekeeping. I won’t return given the high point chart. Would rather stay at any other dvc.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We’ve done 2 Poly DVC studios (connected) for the past 3 years, but we’ve got 4 people in one and 5 in another. It’s crowded but doable for us because we spend so little time in the room. Never had a problem getting them connected. Id choose Poly for theming and location over AK.

 

[limace]

Remember the Kidani 1 bedrooms have two bathrooms and the two bedrooms have three.

not trying to argue with you here-go with what you want most . For us, having a living room we can be in to hang out, especially when kids are sleeping, plus kitchen and laundry facilities would beat two hotel rooms every day. Add that to the fact that your AKV points will be substantially cheaper and that max 22 point difference would be a no brained for my family .

 

[bananapepper]

We’ve done 2 Poly DVC studios (connected) for the past 3 years, but we’ve got 4 people in one and 5 in another. It’s crowded but doable for us because we spend so little time in the room. Never had a problem getting them connected. Id choose Poly for theming and location over AK.

Yeah we'd have the two of us and the baby in one room and the other two in the other. Once the baby was old enough, we'd have the three in one room and the other to ourselves

 

[TexasChick123]

I don’t think anyone can answer this for you. You know what you’re looking for in a resort and when your family travels versus what we’re all looking for when we travel.

However, you asked, so here is my take on it. We are a family of 4, but my kids are 8 and 6 (close in ages to yours). We own at BLT, VGF, and RIV. I will admit that theming isn’t important to us at all. Location and/or feeling upscale (for Disney) are important to us. The extra bathroom at BLT and AKV is hard to beat. If you want to stretch points but love theming, I’d say to buy at AKV. If you want to be close to MK, I’d honestly look at BLT for the 1BRs over Poly, but that’s a personal preference. BLT isn’t great for theming, but the location is hard to beat. We’re staying in a 1BR at BLT this summer with the kids. The nice thing about BLT 1BRs is that there is a sofa bed and a fold out single bed in the 1BRs and 2BRs in addition to the extra full bathroom. We’re staying in a 1BR for 36 points/night at BLT this summer. It is 23 points/night per studio at Poly which would be 46 points for 2 studios. That’s and extra 10 points per night for Poly. Not worth it IMO, but it’s just my opinion.

 

[bumbershoot]

I bought at bay lake without ever being at Disneyworld.

Haven’t regretted it at all. I’m pretty flexible, and while I have my extra-likes, the only one off my list of places to choose to stay is AKV. And that’s because of their service and the fact that if I want to see animals I can just visit the public areas.