Looking for all the Poly lovers

[pinkxray]

I am looking for a small monorail resort contract to add on to our SSR contract.(currently closing on it which is our first contract)
I would like to have around 50pts to use every other year for a Rundisney weekend or 3 day weekend which usually falls over Columbus or Veterans Day.
I love VGF but my DH does not like to step food there to even eat.
Looking between BLT and Poly.
I just like the grounds, pools and dining a bit better than BLT. The closeness to TTC and GF is a plus.
Cons are studios only which aren’t a big deal bc we will use our SSR points for 1 bedrooms on longer trips. It would be nice to do a BLT 1 bedroom for like 2 days as a split stay though.
I just don’t really love the grounds or pools at BLT.
However when I see threads of people mentioning Poly many people seem to try to turn them away from it?
Who owns there and loves it?
Would you buy there again?
What do you like and dislike?

 

[The Jackal]

While we don’t own PVB, we like it there. The only downfall is there are no 1 and 2 bedroom units. If the right contracts pops up on resale I might be tempted. At VGF we like Gasparilla Grill and the Grand Floridian Cafe. My wife and I are a Captain Cooks in December and her meal was awful, while my meal was pretty good.

 

[pinkxray]

While we don’t own PVB, we like it there. The only downfall is there are no 1 and 2 bedroom units. If the right contracts pops up on resale I might be tempted. At VGF we like Gasparilla Grill and the Grand Floridian Cafe. My wife and I are a Captain Cooks in December and her meal was awful, while my meal was pretty good.

Yes, we were a bit underwhelmed at Cpt. Cooks too. It seems to get such good review but I never really had anything good.
I really enjoyed Gasparilla Grill. It seemed to have more options we liked and they made all our food fresh(besides an early breakfast)

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

We own at the Poly and love how easy it is to walk over to the GF to eat at one of their restaurants but we also love the restaurants at the Poly too. Nothing beats rolling out of bed and not having to worry about transportation to get to your meal. The atmosphere of the Poly is nice and laid back...just like we are. When we bought, we were just a couple without any kids and now we a family of three so for times that we want bigger rooms, we are looking to add on to BLT. The pools are so much nicer at the Poly but nothing beats the walk to MK from BLT especially when you're tired and just want to go back to your room. If there were bigger rooms at the Poly, we would totally add on there though because we like it that much.

 

[Castillo Mom]

I am looking for a small monorail resort contract to add on to our SSR contract.(currently closing on it which is our first contract)
I would like to have around 50pts to use every other year for a Rundisney weekend or 3 day weekend which usually falls over Columbus or Veterans Day.
I love VGF but my DH does not like to step food there to even eat.
Looking between BLT and Poly.
I just like the grounds, pools and dining a bit better than BLT. The closeness to TTC and GF is a plus.
Cons are studios only which aren’t a big deal bc we will use our SSR points for 1 bedrooms on longer trips. It would be nice to do a BLT 1 bedroom for like 2 days as a split stay though.
I just don’t really love the grounds or pools at BLT.
However when I see threads of people mentioning Poly many people seem to try to turn them away from it?
Who owns there and loves it?
Would you buy there again?
What do you like and dislike?

Poly lover here! We stayed there for the first time on a cash basis in a regular hotel room in ‘07 and fell in love with the theming. Fast forward to ‘17 when I booked two studios. During that trip was when I took the plunge and added PVB as my 2nd DVC contract and have zero regrets. My thoughts:

Pros

• Immersive/relaxed theming makes resort-only days very enjoyable
• Love arriving back “home” in the evening to a fireworks view
• Spacious studios with split bathroom is a huge plus when getting ready to go out
• Love the main pool
• Great bars
• On the monorail line which makes for easy resort hopping along the loop
• Amazing cast members
• Easy access to ‘Ohana

Cons

• The traditional theming of longhouses means no covered walkways between them so you may get caught in the rain (not a huge deal to us)
• No one bedroom villas and I refuse to spend my points on a bungalow out of principle

As you can see, my list of pros is much longer than cons. I say go for it!

 

[KSR0330]

I love the Poly! The only reason I'm not looking to buy our first contract there is that there are no 1 or 2 bedroom villas. That's really my only issue with it. We really enjoy Captain Cooks, getting Dole Whips, Kona Coffee, Trader Sams... I can go on and on! My goal is to get a Boardwalk contract for the family (grown boys, daughter in law and new grand baby!) and a Poly contract for me and DH.

 

[peaceluv&mickeymouse]

I love the poly. Will be there for 9 nights next month!

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

I love the Poly and @Castillo Mom gave many of my top reasons too!!

I own at both & love them both, but I think the major difference comes down to feeling... staying at Bay Lake makes me feel like I’m staying at a wonderful resort near MK, and staying at the Poly makes me feel like I’m on a vacation within a vacation

One additional pro (which was shockingly not mentioned yet) is that you can buy dole whip right at the resort!!

The only other con I’d add to the list... and one that is big enough to keep me from booking at the Poly currently... is the amazing theming that goes all the way to the pavement (like it does all throughout WDW). As a result, the grounds are very bumpy, and can make me feel sick rolling along in my chair.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I own at the Poly - my original contract is for the Poly and I've got 2 add ons for the Poly. I love the Poly way more than BLT.

It has more personality. Love the pool (and I'm not much of a pool person), love being able to go to the beach to see the fireworks (not so much right now since they are doing them but normally) - or just sitting in a chair on the beach looking across the lagoon.
Love the Studio room there - there's enough room for both my husband and I to be in the room. My husband says the Poly rooms are too dark for him but I love them. The theming is great and there's enough light for me. Those Studios at BLT felt sooooo tight when he joined me. I felt sorta claustrophobic the 2 nights he was there with me.

I love the 2 showers/2 sinks in separate rooms so we could both get ready at the same time. I wish the bed was a king but we can make do with a queen when necessary. And I wish there was a 2nd toilet but there's not so we deal.

I love the bars at the Poly and enjoy Captain Cooks and Kona Cafe. Plus I've gotten croissants at the little coffee area.

I really, really like the big gift shop - the little one with the food upstairs can be annoying when somebody gets a bunch of snacks to use up their dining plan and you just want some tylenol for a headache but that would be a problem anyplace (not right now since there is no Dining Plan but wanted to point that out in case you need to know).

I love riding the boats just for a break when they are running (they aren't currently but I'm sure they will again someday) It's so easy walking to the TTC to catch the monorail to Epcot (not sure if you can do that right now) and love riding the monorail.

I just found out you can walk to the Grand Floridian so I'm all over that! Yet another thing to love about the Poly.

The lobby area of the Poly can be crowded and loud with the O'Hana crowd and then again when the Luau is going which it isn't at the moment so no worries there.

So for my BLT stays - I've stayed in a studio and a 1 bedroom. Room size - the 1 bedroom is definitely better but for just 1 person the studio works. But for 2 or more I definitely would want a 1 bedroom. The rooms felt bland - I could have been in a room anyplace.

The pool was bleh - again I'm not a pool person but when I do go to one I want theming. Walking across the breezeway to get to the main building was easy - no different than walking from a Poly building to the main building I thought - except in the rain and wind then both are bad. LOL
The Top of the World Lounge was wonderful. Loved that lounge. I went when it first opened for the day so it wasn't crowded and didn't get back to see the fireworks view because they were at the limit so I couldn't go up the night I tried.

Walking to the Magic Kingdom was great. I don't remember any shopping in the BLT building but the Contemporary has very nice stores that I like. The Quick Service place was confusing to me when I went - not sure why at this point but I do know something about it bothered me.

So that is my 2 cents why I love the Poly (and the few things I don't) and what I like and don't like about BLT.

 

[Apiary]

We have no kids, which means we don't need bigger than a studio. But beyond that, the poly is way easier to get to and from epcot. At least when the epcot monorail is running.
When we stayed at the contemporary they weren't running buses to epcot, and it took a full hour to get back to the resort after taking both monorail lines. At the poly you can just walk over to the TTC.

 

[bakerworld]

The piano hinged doors on the hall closet so it can completely fold open to not block the hallways and to access the closet. Two showers so neither of us has to shower in the leftover steam of the others shower. The room being very large to hold a trundle bed as well as a separate table so that if you use the trundle you are not giving up the table. Two themed pool areas with beverage and drink onsite. Walking distance to the Transportation Center. The short walk to Trans Center gives good access to Epcot as well as boat access to MK and direct bus access to HS and AK without multi venue stops before leaving the area.

 

[Spark65]

Another Poly owner here. Poly is great easy access to several modes of transportation and bars that don't close at 9. I have stayed in the bungalow too before you die you need to do this put your feet on the railing and watch the fireworks from Magic Kingdom with piped in music while drinking a beer.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

.
However when I see threads of people mentioning Poly many people seem to try to turn them away from it?

I think a lot of that tends to be because of the studios only. It's often young families with small children and the recommendation is that they will want larger villa options down the road.

PVB really has a great location. I'd not be concerned buying there when you're experienced owners and know the studios will be fine for the trips you plan to stay there.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

I just have to say it - a thread called "Looking for all the poly lovers" makes me giggle. I keep expecting discussion of the TV show Big Love to break out.

 

[daisyx3]

We have stayed at PVB three times now, once for the first 2 days it was open. SSR is our home but PVB is my husband's favorite. We were just there last weekend. The atmosphere, the music, the smell of the GCH (I know some people hate it)--we love it all. It's just the two of us now so not having a 1 or 2 BR isn't a big deal. There are more dining options than the BW if you consider you can hop on the monorail and go to GF or the Contemporary (or MK). Even if you are at BW at present you can't hop into Epcot unless you have booked that park for the day. We did 1 night at VGF before a cruise and it was great, and I love BLT too, but of the three we favor the Poly.

 

[jar]

We own BVW but love staying at Poly. So convenient to get to MK and EP and we really like Ohana.