First WDW DVC Trip Report! BWV, BCV, PIT VS RIV AND VERO! PIT Edition! 🌸🌋🌊

[Girlstar30]

Polynesian Island Tower was next on the list! Although I had already made up my mind that my direct purchase was going to be Riv, the kids we were traveling with were asking to go to Poly and my cousin said she wanted to stay there since she was a child.

I saw it as an opportunity to compare it to Riv in hopes that id like it better due to it being non restricted and retaining more value if the need to sell arose. I always wished that I liked Poly better to resolve that whisper that the resale restrictions were not worth the cost and buying supplemental points at Riv only was not for me, but I knew my heart was set on Riv. I would never buy a direct resort I didn't like, so I was really staying there just for the family.

My wife wasn't thrilled either complaining that the lobby was extremely crowded when we toured, she didnt like the cologney smell, the elevators would probably be jam packed. I agreed with her. No adult dining and the thought of it being over run by kids, I was looking forward to it the least. Oh how wrong I was again!!

When we walked into the Island tower, we were greeted by smiling cast members with Leis. Our room was already ready thru the app, so no need to utilize the front desk. Opening that door for the first time was one of those magical moments you never forget. To my left was a full bathroom (ive never stayed in a 2 bedroom or three bathroom hotel room!)

Walking throughout, I would be met with luxury and cute Disney touches sprinkled everywhere. The stingray from Moana above our dining table, the Murphy bed with the heart of Tefiti, the soaking tub with the Hawaiian flower and details from the movie etched into it. I am a huge Disney fan and they captured the movie so elegantly and beautifully. Who knew I would love a bench in the shower after a long theme park day I thought, this is necessary as we get older

Seeing my families reaction brought me great joy, the kids ran to the living room and claimed their beds. That little single bed would be fought over by them throughout the entire trip The usb plug ins for their devices right by the Murphy bed made for some really happy kids. The room still had that "new" smell.

Have you ever been somewhere or were given something so wonderful that you thought, "I don't deserve this, this must be a dream." And almost felt a fear that it was too good to be true and would be taken from you? That's how I felt in that moment. Seeing both my cousin and wife praying and giving thanks to God for us being able to stay there, I was just in total awe. I felt like i had made it in life, in what I felt was my rich Polynesian penthouse, I felt really cool that night

Snapping out of the fairytale We discovered there was some mechanical issues and the third shower couldnt be used. It was getting later and apparently engineering was at Magic Kingdom and would come tomorrow. Here we go again, I thought. We slept well and told them to come during our stitch breakfast.

Stitch breakfast was so much fun for the family. Stitch being a rarer character at breakfast and like many families, a favorite of ours, was great. The bread rolls special to this resort were loved by all. The characters spent a good amount of time with us and when we were done and went back to the room, all mechanical issues were fixed. Thank God.

Daily housekeeping was given to us as if we were hotel guests. I have no idea why. Maybe they do this at all DVC resorts currently on sale?? I called housekeeping just to make sure I wasnt being charged and they told me I wasn't at all. Wow, what a nice touch.

The trip went without a hitch and was wonderful the entire stay. We were able to snag some rocking chairs on the terrace and had an amazing view of the MNSSHP fireworks. We mobile ordered the famous pork nachos and guava Danish for dessert and I was in Heaven.

The next day dinner at Wailulu was another great fireworks experience. This time, Happily Ever After. There was definitely something extremely magical about watching the fireworks from the hotel over the Seven Seas Lagoon. It really is, in my opinion, the most beautiful resort view for fireworks viewing and even beats my beloved BLT in that regard.

Wailulu to me was good, I have to disagree that they have the best burger on property as we were told, but they def have one of the best views and I loved the hummus appetizer! My wife is a huge chicken wings fan and they were hard to come by at the hotels, but Poly had them and she said they were amazing so she was pleased.

I was delighted that the smell she was complaining about last time didnt bother her at all, the Polynesian Island Tower smelt fresh and natural Perhaps it was the time of year, but it was not over run by kids and we never even had to wait to use the elevator. I suppose I didnt think that all the rooms were outside, obviously lol!!

More than one gift shop, one being pretty big. I bought some soaps and bath bombs for that soaking tub (I wished it had been a jacuzzi one!), a cute photo book for our travels, and a few other items.

Iced Lattes at Kona to start our day was a must as well as a dole whip while laying out at the impressive Volcano pool. Its the only Disney pool ive seen with a waterfall and the slide was so fun! It was dark inside, which added to the thrill and reminded me of a water slide I loved as a teenager, The Dark Hole. It went down as my favorite hotel waterslide! Between Boardwalk and this hotel, Disney was def working the nostalgia for me this trip!

Dole whips poolside were refreshing and delicious and even the jacuzzi was part of the Volcano theme and very large. This is a resort I sure wouldnt mind staying at for over a week and was really sad when our time was over after 5 nights. I would actually miss the walk and seeing the plants and Moana splash pad greeting me every morning. I loved exploring the Island Tower and finding a new detail every day etched into the poles and/or the surroundings.

The nature theme really spoke to us. My wife is passionate about saving the environment and she appreciated all of the recycled elements used in the building of this hotel. As I said in my other post, Poly is just a vibe, a chill, relaxing Island Vibe that just radiates, "I'm on vacation!" Its another one where the spirit of the theme really shines and a winner in our book! Dare I say, I was even questioning my BLT purchase during this trip because I was certain I'd feel the same for Riv Perhaps I should have gone Poly resale! But the thought was very fleeting as I would be proud to own direct here

Riviera had some really big shoes to fill and I couldnt be more delighted about this unexpected love for the Polynesian hotel!

 

[tx911]

Polynesian Island Tower was next on the list! Although I had already made up my mind that my direct purchase was going to be Riv, the kids we were traveling with were asking to go to Poly and my cousin said she wanted to stay there since she was a child.

I saw it as an opportunity to compare it to Riv in hopes that id like it better due to it being non restricted and retaining more value if the need to sell arose. I always wished that I liked Poly better to resolve that whisper that the resale restrictions were not worth the cost and buying supplemental points at Riv only was not for me, but I knew my heart was set on Riv. I would never buy a direct resort I didn't like, so I was really staying there just for the family.

My wife wasn't thrilled either complaining that the lobby was extremely crowded when we toured, she didnt like the cologney smell, the elevators would probably be jam packed. I agreed with her. No adult dining and the thought of it being over run by kids, I was looking forward to it the least. Oh how wrong I was again!!

When we walked into the Island tower, we were greeted by smiling cast members with Leis. Our room was already ready thru the app, so no need to utilize the front desk. Opening that door for the first time was one of those magical moments you never forget. To my left was a full bathroom (ive never stayed in a 2 bedroom or three bathroom hotel room!)

Walking throughout, I would be met with luxury and cute Disney touches sprinkled everywhere. The stingray from Moana above our dining table, the Murphy bed with the heart of Tefiti, the soaking tub with the Hawaiian flower and details from the movie etched into it. I am a huge Disney fan and they captured the movie so elegantly and beautifully. Who knew I would love a bench in the shower after a long theme park day I thought, this is necessary as we get older

Seeing my families reaction brought me great joy, the kids ran to the living room and claimed their beds. That little single bed would be fought over by them throughout the entire trip The usb plug ins for their devices right by the Murphy bed made for some really happy kids. The room still had that "new" smell.

Have you ever been somewhere or were given something so wonderful that you thought, "I don't deserve this, this must be a dream." And almost felt a fear that it was too good to be true and would be taken from you? That's how I felt in that moment. Seeing both my cousin and wife praying and giving thanks to God for us being able to stay there, I was just in total awe. I felt like i had made it in life, in what I felt was my rich Polynesian penthouse, I felt really cool that night

Snapping out of the fairytale We discovered there was some mechanical issues and the third shower couldnt be used. It was getting later and apparently engineering was at Magic Kingdom and would come tomorrow. Here we go again, I thought. We slept well and told them to come during our stitch breakfast.

Stitch breakfast was so much fun for the family. Stitch being a rarer character at breakfast and like many families, a favorite of ours, was great. The bread rolls special to this resort were loved by all. The characters spent a good amount of time with us and when we were done and went back to the room, all mechanical issues were fixed. Thank God.

Daily housekeeping was given to us as if we were hotel guests. I have no idea why. Maybe they do this at all DVC resorts currently on sale?? I called housekeeping just to make sure I wasnt being charged and they told me I wasn't at all. Wow, what a nice touch.

The trip went without a hitch and was wonderful the entire stay. We were able to snag some rocking chairs on the terrace and had an amazing view of the MNSSHP fireworks. We mobile ordered the famous pork nachos and guava Danish for dessert and I was in Heaven.

The next day dinner at Wailulu was another great fireworks experience. This time, Happily Ever After. There was definitely something extremely magical about watching the fireworks from the hotel over the Seven Seas Lagoon. It really is, in my opinion, the most beautiful resort view for fireworks viewing and even beats my beloved BLT in that regard.

Wailulu to me was good, I have to disagree that they have the best burger on property as we were told, but they def have one of the best views and I loved the hummus appetizer! My wife is a huge chicken wings fan and they were hard to come by at the hotels, but Poly had them and she said they were amazing so she was pleased.

I was delighted that the smell she was complaining about last time didnt bother her at all, the Polynesian Island Tower smelt fresh and natural Perhaps it was the time of year, but it was not over run by kids and we never even had to wait to use the elevator. I suppose I didnt think that all the rooms were outside, obviously lol!!

More than one gift shop, one being pretty big. I bought some soaps and bath bombs for that soaking tub (I wished it had been a jacuzzi one!), a cute photo book for our travels, and a few other items.

Iced Lattes at Kona to start our day was a must as well as a dole whip while laying out at the impressive Volcano pool. Its the only Disney pool ive seen with a waterfall and the slide was so fun! It was dark inside, which added to the thrill and reminded me of a water slide I loved as a teenager, The Dark Hole. It went down as my favorite hotel waterslide! Between Boardwalk and this hotel, Disney was def working the nostalgia for me this trip!

Dole whips poolside were refreshing and delicious and even the jacuzzi was part of the Volcano theme and very large. This is a resort I sure wouldnt mind staying at for over a week and was really sad when our time was over after 5 nights. I would actually miss the walk and seeing the plants and Moana splash pad greeting me every morning. I loved exploring the Island Tower and finding a new detail every day etched into the poles and/or the surroundings.

The nature theme really spoke to us. My wife is passionate about saving the environment and she appreciated all of the recycled elements used in the building of this hotel. As I said in my other post, Poly is just a vibe, a chill, relaxing Island Vibe that just radiates, "I'm on vacation!" Its another one where the spirit of the theme really shines and a winner in our book! Dare I say, I was even questioning my BLT purchase during this trip because I was certain I'd feel the same for Riv Perhaps I should have gone Poly resale! But the thought was very fleeting as I would be proud to own direct here

Riviera had some really big shoes to fill and I couldnt be more delighted about this unexpected love for the Polynesian hotel!

The pressure is off now that you prefer Poly to Riv. No more worries about Riv selling out.

 

[Girlstar30]

The pressure is off now that you prefer Poly to Riv. No more worries about Riv selling out.

I know! I did feel a huge pressure to buy even if it wasnt the best time for us because of the impending sell out. Seeing the good incentives this past cycle freaked me out lol and now I have time to breathe and save at least the 20% for the favorable interest rate before taking the plunge.

One forgets that on top of paying for these contracts, we still have to have money to go With the amount of money we spent on this past trip, I would have easily had enough to throw down my 20%

 

[VGCgroupie]

Your comments on Poly really makes me want to stay to try it out. When we toured I can say the tower was calm and relaxing hardly any people. It was (GCH?) that was packed full of people and the pool was packed in May. I think having a 2 bedroom really ups the specialness and may have played a tiny part. But I can totally see what you mean about theming. For me Boardwalk theming in the rooms just made me so so happy. I do love newer so thats why I thought I would love Poly, but again we only toured we did not stay. I am in awe that the fireworks view would be better than BLT, we thought BLT view was the best.

I am off to see if Poly is available for our split stay in April. I will likely say no when I see the point cost though. For someone with as many points as me I sure love to try and save points

 

[cruisehopeful]

The tower does sound lovely. I'm still probably a couple years out from staying there since new carpet/furniture smells give me a headache. I had such a bad headache from my first VDH stay when it first opened.

 

[tx911]

Your comments on Poly really makes me want to stay to try it out. When we toured I can say the tower was calm and relaxing hardly any people. It was (GCH?) that was packed full of people and the pool was packed in May. I think having a 2 bedroom really ups the specialness and may have played a tiny part. But I can totally see what you mean about theming. For me Boardwalk theming in the rooms just made me so so happy. I do love newer so thats why I thought I would love Poly, but again we only toured we did not stay. I am in awe that the fireworks view would be better than BLT, we thought BLT view was the best.

I am off to see if Poly is available for our split stay in April. I will likely say no when I see the point cost though. For someone with as many points as me I sure love to try and save points

I stayed at the PIT in a 1BR when it first opened with a cash booking.

The extra full bath was awesome, as was the overall room decor and layout.

The part I did not like was the lack of any kind of grab-n-go or gift shop in the tower. I found the GCH a bit of a hike to the point of feeling inconvenient.

Wailulu is really great, but we found the Kona Cafe and Capt. Cooks very mid. Never did get a Dole Whip due to long lines consistently at the Pineapple Lanai.

Proximity to the TTC is great, but this really only applies to the longhouses on that end of the resort, not so much the PIT.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I stayed at the PIT in a 1BR when it first opened with a cash booking.

The extra full bath was awesome, as was the overall room decor and layout.

The part I did not like was the lack of any kind of grab-n-go or gift shop in the tower. I found the GCH a bit of a hike to the point of feeling inconvenient.

Wailulu is really great, but we found the Kona Cafe and Capt. Cooks very mid. Never did get a Dole Whip due to long lines consistently at the Pineapple Lanai.

Proximity to the TTC is great, but this really only applies to the longhouses on that end of the resort, not so much the PIT.

Yep, another reason my husband didnt like PIT. The walk from the Tower was alot. Granted it was the end of May and hot as the sun so that didnt help. Poly reminds me very much of VDH in many ways and one being how disconnected VDH is from DLH. But VDH to DLH it will rarely ever be raining or as hot. I am not into princesses so if VDH had went a different themeing direction I may like it more.

Also, @Girlstar30 just making sure you knew that Poly room layouts are virtually identical to VDH. So your 2 bed would be the same layout at VDH. Although the views at Poly are better and the theming too.

 

[Girlstar30]

Your comments on Poly really makes me want to stay to try it out. When we toured I can say the tower was calm and relaxing hardly any people. It was (GCH?) that was packed full of people and the pool was packed in May. I think having a 2 bedroom really ups the specialness and may have played a tiny part. But I can totally see what you mean about theming. For me Boardwalk theming in the rooms just made me so so happy. I do love newer so thats why I thought I would love Poly, but again we only toured we did not stay. I am in awe that the fireworks view would be better than BLT, we thought BLT view was the best.

I am off to see if Poly is available for our split stay in April. I will likely say no when I see the point cost though. For someone with as many points as me I sure love to try and save points

It's so funny when we toured I could care less as well. And I think youre right that the two bedroom really helped me see the whole picture of how beautiful this resort was. And staying there, I got to notice all the small details of the room come together.

I am all about newer as well. BLT def felt closer, but there's something about watching them over a sparkling lagoon or on a beach setting that feels much more magical ️ we had a resort view two bedroom and that didnt bother me at all, there's so many places to view on property, I could justify the tpv unless I had a major surplus of points! Although I bet its gorgeous!

 

[Girlstar30]

I stayed at the PIT in a 1BR when it first opened with a cash booking.

The extra full bath was awesome, as was the overall room decor and layout.

The part I did not like was the lack of any kind of grab-n-go or gift shop in the tower. I found the GCH a bit of a hike to the point of feeling inconvenient.

Wailulu is really great, but we found the Kona Cafe and Capt. Cooks very mid. Never did get a Dole Whip due to long lines consistently at the Pineapple Lanai.

Proximity to the TTC is great, but this really only applies to the longhouses on that end of the resort, not so much the PIT.

I think the time of year we went probably really did play into the whole relaxation of the resort as it wasnt crowded I think ill stick to this one in the low season and my animals in high season

 

[VGCgroupie]

It's so funny when we toured I could care less as well. And I think youre right that the two bedroom really helped me see the whole picture of how beautiful this resort was. And staying there, I got to notice all the small details of the room come together.

I am all about newer as well. BLT def felt closer, but there's something about watching them over a sparkling lagoon or on a beach setting that feels much more magical ️ we had a resort view two bedroom and that didnt bother me at all, there's so many places to view on property, I could justify the tpv unless I had a major surplus of points! Although I bet its gorgeous!

I just looked for our stay. Currently I am booked BW resort view 93 points. Poly is only available theme park 195 points. Resort view would be 144 and preferred 165. If I had gotten BW view it would be 117 pts.

 

[Girlstar30]

Yep, another reason my husband didnt like PIT. The walk from the Tower was alot. Granted it was the end of May and hot as the sun so that didnt help. Poly reminds me very much of VDH in many ways and one being how disconnected VDH is from DLH. But VDH to DLH it will rarely ever be raining or as hot. I am not into princesses so if VDH had went a different themeing direction I may like it more.

Also, @Girlstar30 just making sure you knew that Poly room layouts are virtually identical to VDH. So your 2 bed would be the same layout at VDH. Although the views at Poly are better and the theming too.

I toured the vdh rooms and fell in love. That room layout for me i think is my top favorite, I wouldnt change a thing about it! I cant wait to stay at VDH next year!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Speaking of points.. if I can be so nosey. How many points did you spend for this trip? RIV was your rental from way back right?

 

[Girlstar30]

I just looked for our stay. Currently I am booked BW resort view 93 points. Poly is only available theme park 195 points. Resort view would be 144 and preferred 165. If I had gotten BW view it would be 117 pts.

This is for april right, I am afraid it will be crazy haha. I have this terrible knack of booking trips around rundisney weeks but I want you to experience it and hear your opinion

 

[VGCgroupie]

This is for april right, I am afraid it will be crazy haha. I have this terrible knack of booking trips around rundisney weeks but I want you to experience it and hear your opinion

Yeah April. I was originally doing our last half RIV, then I chickened out. So Im at BW but possibly switching to CCV. I dont think I can justify the points for Poly. In the future maybe but we just dropped 648 points for one trip so my bank of points needs to recover.

 

[Girlstar30]

Speaking of points.. if I can be so nosey. How many points did you spend for this trip? RIV was your rental from way back right?

Not as many as one would think because it was in september low point season!

And yes riv I had the rental credit and family splitting it and Portofino we paid out of pocket, no swap.

We did resort view for pit so it wouldnt be too crazy. Bcv/bwv are very reasonable, we only did 1 bedrooms there cuz our family came later. I dont keep track of points the way i should, all I know is I have none left after booking for next April and I HAD access to around 1800 points with banking and borrowing and now I got none

I think that has to do with april being so expensive tho and us booking grand cal during major holidays and grand flo 1 brm during peak season too

 

[Girlstar30]

Yeah April. I was originally doing our last half RIV, then I chickened out. So Im at BW but possibly switching to CCV. I dont think I can justify the points for Poly. In the future maybe but we just dropped 648 points for one trip so my bank of points needs to recover.

I def need dvc rehab