If you could stay at ANY DVC resort....

[Goldilocks07]

If you could stay at ANY DVC resort, with the current situation, dealing with the monorail (running or not), food service (pool, CS, sit-down), and just general convenience (transportation, shops, decor), which would you stay at and why?

I go to Disney 1-2 times a year, and have stayed at BLT, WL/BR, Poly, AKS, Saratoga... and have a trip planned for October for BRVillas, but sadly will have to cancel because we will have to quarantine upon our return to nyc and keep my daughter out of school for 2 weeks. I stayed off the threads because changes happen so often and I didn't want to get overwhelmed, but it's time to rethink my trip so now I'm reading about all the restaurant closures, the poly refurb, monorails not running to Epcot, no pool food service..... But I'm bound and determined to get to Disney somehow someway!

I'm overwhelmed, and would really appreciate your opinion on which resort, and why.

It would just be me and my 9 year old daughter, we stay in either a studio or one-bedroom. I do not want to be forced to cook (like if we stayed in AKL, clearly there are no food options besides Sanaa). We tend to pick up a pastry for breakfast or try and hold out until we get to a park, to eat. I would like the option of having a store/quick service restaurant IN the resorts, for a quick grab-and-go meal/snack. Additionally, we don't have to be on the monorail, we are fine taking the bus, boat or Uber. We don't rent a car.

Thank you in advance. Please cheer me up. It's been a rough week.

 

[loves to dive]

That's a good question. Normally we stay at the Epcot resorts because you can walk to two parks, we don't spend much time in MK and like being able to walk into the International Gate at Epcot. Now that there are no park hoppers (which we have always had for the past 36 years) there is no hopping around parks. Being able to hop into Epcot for a meal was always a deciding factor for us. I'm guessing there still might be more food choices in the Boardwalk /YC/BC area then any of the other resorts. I had actually planned on a trip this month but just can't seem to reconcile myself with having to book a specific park for a specific day so won't be going this year.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Riviera Resort is the answer. Brand new super clean super safe very relaxing ease of transport with covered walkway & Overhead fans to bus Stop from lobby... and covered to SkyLiner . Children’s water play area is Fun , outdoor movie And early S’mores fire pit before movie starts . Lots of interesting artwork with scavenger hunt game to play for family fun ... 2 family swinging benches and giant chess set sporting games...
Really nice bakery and quick service plus good small grocery selection in the lobby gift shop. Incredible views and inviting seating areas offering both privacy and relaxation in many areas to discover...and very attentive castmembers with desire to assist if needed!

 

[Marthasor]

I've stayed at AKV, BWV, RIV, BCV, VGF, CCV, BRV plus Poly and CR. At this moment in time, my answer for convenience is BCV. It's the closest you can get to EP and the Skyliner entrance, a great main pool and quiet pool, super close to the BC bus stop plus getting grab-and-go from Marketplace or Solarium is quick and easy as it's steps from the DVC area and you can get there via a covered walkway. If BCV isn't available, I would consider BWV for location (though getting QS there is a bit of a pain especially if it's raining) or VGF as you'd have Gasparilla's and the monorail. After those, I would probably consider RIV, CCV and BRV (not necessarily in that order). The rooms at RIV are gorgeous, but i found the theming to be a bit lacking and I felt a little isolated there even with the Skyliner. CCV and BRV have two QS open and you would have the boat to MK.

 

[CarolynFH]

AKL-Kidani has a gift shop with food items, the basics that all the DVC resort gift stores have. So you'd be able to pick up breakfast items for sure.

That said, I love Riviera, and that would be my choice for DH and me!

 

[Geomom]

BWV. We stayed at VGF, BWV, and AKV during our July/August trip. BWV had the most options of those 3, as well as the benefit of being able to walk to 2 parks. For food at Boardwalk--TS: Tratttoria Al Forno, QS: Boardwalk bakery, pizza window, and pool bar (got a yummy salad from there!). Bar: Abracadbar. Store: Screen Door. Community hall is open in some capacity and there are 2 pools open...with SAB open now for BCV, there should only be BWV people at the clown pool now. Movies under the stars shown a few times a week, other days are at BCV. Now that Swan, Dolphin, and Yacht club are open there is access to the restaurants there that you can walk to--so no worries about transportation.


It's definitely not the same as precovid--fewer restaurants open, no entertainment, etc, but it has the most options right now.

 

[Pens Fan]

CCV and BRV have the advantage of three restaurants being open (Geyser Point, Whispering Canyon and Roaring Fork) as well as both feature pools. With the hotel side being closed - with no reopening date announced, there should be plenty of access for DVC guests. Transportation is a knock, though. According my son the boats to MK are sloooow and you will need to bus everywhere else. Though with the exception of busses to DS around dinner time, he said busses were plentiful and they had no issues with them.

BCV will always top the list for me due to the easy access to Epcot and DHS. Up until recently I would have been put off by the lack of restaurants that opened in July, but with the opening of YC (along with Ale and Compass) that situation has improved. Plus - Storm Along Bay .

 

[LilyJC]

Another vote for BCV! Walking is king for our family - especially now!

 

[Wedgeout]

Picking one, it would be Boardwalk. Has food options. Two out of the four parks within short walking distance. Especially with the current travel options with less seats used on busses, may get masses of people trying to travel, as crowd levels are increased. Sky Liner is susceptible to weather, turning those nearby resorts into bus resorts with one flash of lightning. Timing into Hollywood Studios to get a boarding pass, won’t have to rely on transportation or worry about arriving late.

 

[Spork24]

I guess my answer is BCV. We have never stayed there and we booked a trip for early October about 2 weeks ago and most every resort was available. Since we actually picked BCV in our real life scenario I guess that has to be my answer.

We showed our kids (4 and 5) some videos of BCV and SAB and now they call it the “pool hotel”. Our family is super excited to visit the “pool hotel”! It’s been a really long year and I can’t wait.

 

[Goldilocks07]

This is all really useful information. Thank you.

So much is booked up because well, everyone is doing the same thing trying to postpone their trips because of the virus.

Riviera sounds great, it's new and that's always exciting, though it is the priciest in terms of Dvc points. I really truly love the Boardwalk area (I"m aware a lot of the entertainment is closed, that's ok) and I've never had the luxury of staying at BCV, it's always booked! Maybe I'll try waitlisting it in 2021 for a luck of the draw trip.

 

[RoseGold]

I booked for Feb. I hope that works. I just don't see Halloween or Christmas happening.

If you stalk or waitlist, you might be shocked what you get. People are moving around trips for sure, all the time. I've added a day here and there on my Feb and now have a whole week!

 

[MonorailPrincess]

Poly. It's unique, screams WDW, monorail loop, restaurants, pool. Idk....its the Poly!

 

[yaksack]

Poly at the bunaglows.

 

[sethschroeder]

The only ones I would pick would be BWV, BCV, BLT, RIV. I could possibly see CCV or BRV as the resort is fully open.

We had the option for March to stay anywhere and ended up just at BWV. Was booked with resale points otherwise would have went RIV as feel the Skyliner is better than taking the boat to HS currently.