just back from BCV and Poly

[disgirl]

Just spent 6 nights at BCV and 3 at Poly. We had a wonderful time, weather was good, but very hot. If anyone has questions feel free to ask me!

 

[maxiesmom]

Which resort did you do first? Which did you like better?

We did almost the same vacation last year! We did 2 nights Poly, 6 nights BCV. While we liked the BCVs, we really missed the monorail!

 

[Missus Toad]

Glad to hear it! This time next year we're doing 3 nights BCV and 7 at the Poly. Did you like the order in which you did them or would you have reversed it?

 

[DBFLUKE]

Please tell all about your stay @ the Poly. We will be there next Wednesday. I'm so excited!!!!!! Which longhouse did you stay at? I've requested Samoa or Tahiti, ground -patio or balcony. Good choices? This will be our first trip to the Poly. Was it booked to capacity? Do you know how I would want to get to the whispering canyon cafe from the Poly? It's @ the Wilderness lodge. Would I take the monorail to MK & then the boat to the Wilderness Lodge? How late was the pool open? Were they strict about pool closeure time? Chat with ya soon....

 

[disgirl]

Hi everyone. We actually did the BCV (studio) first and then went to the Poly. Originally I had the Poly booked for the beginning of the trip and then the BCV because DS and DH LOVE SAB at the BC, but DH's vacation changed so I just kept our reservation at the Poly and put the BCV 6 days before.

Missus Toad: If I had a choice to redo it yes, I would have done the Poly first and then BCV because DS thought the Poly slide was not as nice as the one at SAB. There also seemed to be more teenagers(he is 14) around SAB then at the Poly when we were there so DS said he enjoyed the first part of the vacation better. However, I see your children are young so I think you will truly enjoy the shorter stay at the BCV first and then the longer one at the Poly with the smaller main pool (easier to watch and take care of the little ones) and having the convenience of the monorail for the MK!

Maxiesmom: While I agree with my DS that the BCVs are beautiful, I personally enjoyed the Poly. I have not been there in over 10 years and the room renovations were very nice. I liked the volcano pool at the Poly and watching the fireworks from the pool at night was very special.

DBFLUKE: I think you will love the Poly. We stayed at Rarotonga, which was right next to the Ceremonial House which was very convenient. We were just a few doors down from the elevator on the 2nd floor. We did not have a balcony but it really was too hot to sit on the balcony. Personally, since it was 94-97 degrees while we were there, I was very happy to be close to the Ceremonial House. Your request for Samoa is good in that it also is close to the Ceremonial House and very close to the pools. I did not really notice Tahiti while there but I hear that one has great views of the MK so you can not go wrong either way. It really is a beautiful resort!! The Volcano pool(the main pool) was open until midnight and the slide open until 10pm. The latest we stayed at the other pool was 11:00ish but I have a feeling that you could go there even after 12am since there are never life guards at that pool. I am sorry we have never eaten at Whispering Canyon so I really do not know the best way to get there, but I would say your plan of going to the MK first and then a boat to WC sounds like a good plan to me. Just alow yourself about 1 hour to travel. We had a rental car so we actually never took any of the buses, just walked to Epcot from the BCV or took the monorail or boats to the Poly. The monorail was wonderful and very quick!!

I wish all of you wonderful trips!! Both resorts are beautiful in their own way IMHO. Have fun!! Any more questions, just ask.

 

[Poly Pal]

Please tell all about your stay @ the Poly. We will be there next Wednesday. I'm so excited!!!!!! Which longhouse did you stay at? I've requested Samoa or Tahiti, ground -patio or balcony. Good choices? This will be our first trip to the Poly. Was it booked to capacity? Do you know how I would want to get to the whispering canyon cafe from the Poly? It's @ the Wilderness lodge. Would I take the monorail to MK & then the boat to the Wilderness Lodge? How late was the pool open? Were they strict about pool closeure time? Chat with ya soon....

To get from the Polynesian to Wilderness Lodge (for Whispering Canyon), I would take the resort monorail all the way to the Contemporary. Then take the motor launch (boat) from the Contemporary to Wilderness Lodge. Double check with Guest Services aka Lobby Concierge in the GCH and do allow 45 minute to an hour to make the trip.

 

[BCV23]

Glad to hear it! This time next year we're doing 3 nights BCV and 7 at the Poly. Did you like the order in which you did them or would you have reversed it?

Besides disgirl's point about the pools, I think it depends on the type of villa you will have. Studios are smaller than Polynesian rooms so in that case, I would pick BCV first. But if you will have a 1 or 2 BR villa, it is nicer to do the Polynesian and then spread out in the villas. That's our preferred combo. It is also nice to run a load in the washer in the villa and then have all clean clothes from that point forward. I do a load per night...so easy.

disgirl, loved your report. We're doing a split Polynesian/BCV again in a couple of months and I can not wait!!!!!

 

[disgirl]

BCV23: Good for you!! Here's wishing you a great split stay. I miss both resorts already!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Tell me more about your stay at BCV. Where was your studio? View? Did you eat at BC Marketplace, and if so, what did you think of it? What were your impressions of the condition of the common areas?

 

[disgirl]

Simba's mom: I thought overall the resort was in very good shape. Our room was on the 2nd floor facing the canal and the quiet pool. It was a bit of a walk from the main elevators that lead to the front entrance by the marketplace, but I felt it was good exercise since we were on the DDP and ate a lot of food! We always try to ask for a pool view. We had a large balcony but it really was too hot to sit out for more than a couple of minutes. Sorry, we did not eat at the Marketplace, however, we did get some snacks there on the DDP like donuts, fritos, and DS had a gelato which he enjoyed.

Since we were in a studio, I used the washers and dryers on the 4th floor twice and even commented to DH that it was very clean in there and everything was in good working order. The common areas seemed to be neat and in good condition. I was really very pleased with everything and everyone we encountered on this trip!!

 

[Fish2girls]

I was wondering how your split stay was. I am planning a DV for 2008 in Nov. for my family and we want to split our stay between Poly and CR. How easy was the tranfer of luggage and is it a pain to switch everything over to another resort? What is the easiest way to plan a split stay?
Thanks for sharing your experience. I love to read about great DV from the boards!!

 

[disgirl]

This was the first time we did a split stay at Disney and I would def. do one again. I feel it gives some variety to your Disney vacation. We are DVC members since 2003 and have been staying at the BCV every vacation so far so going to the Poly for 3 nights was a nice change, for DH and me atleast. DS, however, liked the Poly but would have been content staying at the BCV for all 9 nights. The only negative side for me was I did do laundry three times. One time was after a few days because the weather was so hot and humid we had to change our clothes atleast twice a day. The 2nd time was before we moved to the Poly so I could pack clean clothes in our suitcases and then again before coming home. Of course, I know I did not have to do this, but I just felt better packing mostly clean clothes. Other then that, it went very smoothly. We did have a rental car so we transfered our own luggage and just checked into the Poly and the bellhop brought our luggage to our room shortly after we arrived. I do believe many on these boards have done split stays and Disney transfers their luggage to the new resort without a problem. We were also very lucky that we got into our Poly room right at check in which for us was around 11:00 am.. I realize this does not always happen. Even if we did not get into our room right away, I planned it as a pool day anyway so we just packed our suits in our backpack and would have just changed in the bathrooms and stayed at the pool until our room was ready.

I think a split stay between the Poly and CR will be great since both are nice hotels on the monorail (very convenient) yet both are quite different in atmosphere. I wish you a wonderful vacation. Any other questions, I will be happy to try to answer.

 

[melanieh1]

How does the sofa bed sleep in the studio? Most sofa beds are very uncomfortable.

 

[disgirl]

DS (14) slept on the sofa bed and although it was the new style sofa that others have reported about here, he said it was not that comfortable. He felt the mattress was hard. It did appear a little thicker than the old ones, I thought. However, he had no problem falling asleep by the 2nd night there. We were so tired at night that we all slept very well.