Choosing a MK area Home Resort

[DisMomKY]

We have a SSR contract and are looking to add a MK area since we are selling AKL. I’m having a hard time choosing. This is where I am at

GF-LOVE the rooms here and theming but it’s so pricey(both cost per point and points needed for a 1 bedroom)
BLT- not crazy about the theming, but location is great and dues/price per point aren’t terrible. One bedrooms are a little less pricey point wise Than GF
Poly- Beautiful, Studio size is good but no option for 1 bedroom when our kids are bigger (6 and 3 now)
CCV-we love the theme, rooms are beautiful and we like the remote feel of the resort. We really enjoy going there to visit and eat/walk around every trip. We like boating to MK. Cons there are the price PP compared to BLT and Poly (but less points for a 1 bedroom), the rooms seem small, and no monorail access or option for a view of the park I think.

So, please help me find more pros/cons to decide. My heart says GF or CC but my pocketbook says BLT or Poly

 

[CraigInPA]

My wife and I loved the Poly, so much so that we stayed there on cash for 10 straight years. We eagerly awaited DVC coming, and then were very disappointed that, instead of tearing down and building new, they chose to renovate the original cash rooms. And, they did it on the side of the resort that we weren't so fond of. The renovation means no 1 bedrooms and the bungalows, as the only 2 bedroom offering, are extremely pricey. As part of this extensive renovation, they changed the lobby and pool areas in "not a good way" in our opinion.

My wife and I live in a mountain resort area, so while BRV/CCV is impressive, it's like taking a vacation in our own home town. Plus, having buses and the boats as the only choices for travel wasn't that appealing to us.

As you noted, GF is lovely, but pricey. We also didn't like the fact that, like the Poly, a dash in the rain is required to get from your building to the main building. Like many of the Poly rooms, there are a lot of views of the monorail, of which we are not a fan. We may have given greater consideration to GF if the soon-to-be-opening walkway to the MK was there at that time.

We stayed at BLT on rented points, just to try it out. We also stayed at BCV on rented points, to compare an Epcot location as well. The Disney theme at BLT is subtle, but impressive if you consider it an extension of the original Contemporary. We enjoy the under 10 minute walk to the MK. We like the skyway bridge that keeps us mostly out of the rain on a late night excursion to get something at Contempo Cafe.

 

[DisMomKY]

My wife and I loved the Poly, so much so that we stayed there on cash for 10 straight years. We eagerly awaited DVC coming, and then were very disappointed that, instead of tearing down and building new, they chose to renovate the original cash rooms. And, they did it on the side of the resort that we weren't so fond of. The renovation means no 1 bedrooms and the bungalows, as the only 2 bedroom offering, are extremely pricey. As part of this extensive renovation, they changed the lobby and pool areas in "not a good way" in our opinion.

My wife and I live in a mountain resort area, so while BRV/CCV is impressive, it's like taking a vacation in our own home town. Plus, having buses and the boats as the only choices for travel wasn't that appealing to us.

As you noted, GF is lovely, but pricey. We also didn't like the fact that, like the Poly, a dash in the rain is required to get from your building to the main building. Like many of the Poly rooms, there are a lot of views of the monorail, of which we are not a fan. We may have given greater consideration to GF if the soon-to-be-opening walkway to the MK was there at that time.

We stayed at BLT on rented points, just to try it out. We also stayed at BCV on rented points, to compare an Epcot location as well. The Disney theme at BLT is subtle, but impressive if you consider it an extension of the original Contemporary. We enjoy the under 10 minute walk to the MK. We like the skyway bridge that keeps us mostly out of the rain on a late night excursion to get something at Contempo Cafe.

I’m really torn because we actually love everything about SSR especially with the refurb. And we could add on like 160-175 points for the same price as 100 points at GF. And if *looks* like 1 bedrooms at BLT can be gotten at the 7 month mark. Dh thinks we should just buy extra at SSR and try to stay at MK area when we can

 

[The Jackal]

I’m really torn because we actually love everything about SSR especially with the refurb. And we could add on like 160-175 points for the same price as 100 points at GF. And if *looks* like 1 bedrooms at BLT can be gotten at the 7 month mark. Dh thinks we should just buy extra at SSR and try to stay at MK area when we can

If your looking at 1 bedrooms your DH has a good idea, but if you wanted studios then you would need to buy a MK resort. We also own at SSR and OKW as well. The refurbishment at SSR is night and day from what it was. If I were to buy a MK resort it would probably be BLT, we love VGF and PVB, but BLT is a the best bang for your buck monorail resort. The short walk to MK, the views, reasonable points for rooms, 2 baths in 1 bedrooms. Negatives, we think the pool is a bit small and the theming is not that great, you have to walk to the Contemporary for food.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

We own at VGF and AKL. We've considered purchasing a BLT contract as we find ourselves staying there more and more instead of VGF. This is because we like the theming and layout of the rooms a bit more at BLT and the fact you can walk to MK and get your own security line. Now that VGF is building the walkway to MK we are thinking it might make us more interested to stay at our home resort again! BLT also has a great community hall, not something we will use a ton in 10 years but for now we use it a lot when we stay there.

We dislike the Poly for the fact that it only has studios and there's no covered walkway to get anywhere, it rained a lot during our last stay and I don't think I can convince my husband to stay there again. My kids also hated walking everywhere at the resort in the rain, we do that enough in the parks!

We will not purchase CCV or stay there often because of the boat only access to MK.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Deb & Bill]

BRV only has 22 years left, but we thought it was nicer than CCV because the rooms were larger.

 

[Lorana]

BRV only has 22 years left, but we thought it was nicer than CCV because the rooms were larger.

i was just going to suggest this, if the shorter expiration doesn’t matter (and you can often get BRV on resale in the mid to upper 90s). Rooms are larger, studios and 1BR sleep 5, and has 2BRs (but no 3BRs or Cabins like CCV).

I need to stay at BLT to get a feel for it. WL and AKL are our favorites by far, but I keep suspecting as my DH and I get older that the BLT walk to MK is something we’d really appreciate.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

IMO, the quick walk to MK can’t be beat.
I don’t think you can go wrong, though. We have stayed at VGF, Poly & BLT. Haven’t stayed at CCV or BRV, but stayed at Wilderness Lodge years ago before we were DVC.

SSR is our home too. If we added an MK resort, we would add BLT. The location can’t be beat. The walk back at night without having to wait for transportation is SO nice. Same with the walk in the morning. I prefer the resort-wide theming of the other MK resorts, but the BLT villas themselves feel very Disney to me. I love the view walking the breezeway over to Contemporary. We don’t spend a lot of time at the pool, so that’s not super important to us.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Poly & VGF, but the walk to MK is hugely valuable to us. We spend a lot of time there on our trips.

 

[Lorana]

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Poly & VGF, but the walk to MK is hugely valuable to us. We spend a lot of time there on our trips.

Yeah. We love, love the boat ride from MK to WL, and we’re very nature-y folks, so the WL hits that sweet spot. But one thing we’ve always loved about GCV is that easy walk into DL (same thing with BCV and BWV to Epcot, and if BCV resale drops I may be tempted). But theming of the resort matters to us, too, and while I’ve watched walk-thru videos, they’re not the same as being there.

 

[€lairebear]

We own at copper creek. We may be the minority here but we don’t care for the monorail resorts and cannot be any happier than staying at copper creek. One thing to consider is buy where you want to stay. Everyone have different mk resort favorites and there is no right or wrong answer. It just comes down to personal preference. We love the boat ride to mk. Love the coziness feel. Don’t mind being there during none park days but know mk is just a short boat ride or bus ride away. Our kids are one and 5 year olds. We did not consider the points per night but I know for some it is important. So one of the things to note is that a one or two bedroom for copper creek having on of the longest contract life is cheaper than the other mk resorts if that is something that’s important to you. Maybe try staying at each mk resorts to get a better feel?
My husband and I really don’t care for grand Floridian and doesn’t feel like home. If we had to pick a monorail resort we liked Polynesian because of the atmosphere and theming plus Ohana’s is right there. But it’s not a must stay for us if we had to stay in the mk area. We also own at riviera and grand Californian. Just my two cents.

 

[bookwormde]

I think a it depends on what time of year you anticipate using your points, especially since you are talking a 1br

If you are thinking the during the school year breaks then it really needs to buy where you want to stay. If it will be summer break then BLT is the easy answer since it provides the cheapest total cost per year points of all the MK resorts since availability of 1BR at 7 month is very doable at the other MK resorts and you can book a BLT standard view at a placeholder.

 

[DisMomKY]

I think a it depends on what time of year you anticipate using your points, especially since you are talking a 1br

If you are thinking the during the school year breaks then it really needs to buy where you want to stay. If it will be summer break then BLT is the easy answer since it provides the cheapest total cost per year points of all the MK resorts since availability of 1BR at 7 month is very doable at the other MK resorts and you can book a BLT standard view at a placeholder.

Summer break, Sept or October usually

 

[bookwormde]

Summer break, Sept or October usually

7 month is tougher in late sept or oct though we were never able to figure out how do that once the kids were in 3rd grade or higher.

 

[DisMomKY]

7 month is tougher in late sept or oct though we were never able to figure out how do that once the kids were in 3rd grade or higher.

Realistically Mid May is our favorite time and most likely when we will go

 

[bookwormde]

Realistically Mid May is our favorite time and most likely when we will go

Mid may would be good at 7 months though has the same issues as sept and oct if/when you have to follow school schedules

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

We love BLT, but we really dislike the pool there. I know you can use the Contemporary's pool, but we don't really like it either. One is too small and the other is too large/busy.

If you will definitely need a one bedroom in the future, I would vote for GF or one of BRV/CCV, with leaning toward GF. I would just wait until the prices come down this fall. Also, I know they are working on a bridge there so you can walk to MK. I haven't heard where it is in the construction process/or whether it has been delayed though.

 

[BeachNut]

I’m really torn because we actually love everything about SSR especially with the refurb. And we could add on like 160-175 points for the same price as 100 points at GF. And if *looks* like 1 bedrooms at BLT can be gotten at the 7 month mark. Dh thinks we should just buy extra at SSR and try to stay at MK area when we can

Just because something seems reliably available at the 7 month window now doesn’t mean it will always be so - so I’d be careful of that if you really want to stay at an MK resort.

 

[Figment's Girl]

We bought at CCV because we loved the theming and the feel of it. I am used to riding the boat to MK since I grew up camping at Ft Wilderness.

If the length of contract is not an issue, you might consider buying at Boulder Ridge. They are supposed to be having a refurb, and the cost pp is cheaper.

 

[Networth]

VGF has the nicest rooms and grounds IMO. I also enjoy that the villas building us not large, I believe 100 rooms or so. I like being able to walk to the Poly and at some point MK but can still access the monorail/boats. I also enjoy the hotel restaurant, and the resort is something else around Christmas. I proposed to my wife at the GF so it will always hold a place in our heart. We hold two contracts at VGF.

 

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

We went through this in January and decided on BLT. Originally we were convinced we wanted VGF but after realizing how the DVC building is completely different and farthest away the upcoming walkway, you get a really long walk to the magic kingdom. And lake view rooms don’t have a good view of the magic kingdom at all and are also more expensive than BLT theme park view.

Poly was out due to lack of 1 bedroom. CCV does not allow a 5th guest even in a 1 bedroom and sometimes we bring the mother in law. So that is out as well.
None of them are perfect choices but BLT was closest. It also has a full 2nd bathroom in 1 bedrooms.