Rate the DVC Resorts from First to Worst

[atthebeachclub]

I guess the overall decor / style of VGF is just not our vibe. Like you would never in a million years find any floral fabrics or lacey anything or a wing back kind of style chair in our house. It's just too much frufru / gingerbread. RIV on the other hand caught our style better. We love Paris and the old European style buildings. So for the similar point charts it's worth it to us to stay there on an occasional trip whereas GF just isn't. We also prefer the skyliner over the monorail. The monorail is overcrowded and slow. It takes too long to go around the loop.

I haven’t stayed at Grand Floridian or Riviera, but I sort of love Grand Floridian style, even if not my style. The interior decor reminds me of a mix of Victoria, BC and grandma vibes; looks cozy and wonderful! If they don’t already, they should definitely have an afternoon tea offering.

 

[TCRAIG]

I guess the overall decor / style of VGF is just not our vibe. Like you would never in a million years find any floral fabrics or lacey anything or a wing back kind of style chair in our house. It's just too much frufru / gingerbread. RIV on the other hand caught our style better. We love Paris and the old European style buildings. So for the similar point charts it's worth it to us to stay there on an occasional trip whereas GF just isn't. We also prefer the skyliner over the monorail. The monorail is overcrowded and slow. It takes too long to go around the loop.

I should add that I’m afraid of heights and travel solo with my ECV - I’m NOT a big fan of the Skyliner - much prefer to scoot over to MK via the pathway from VGF. I also normally do a split stay with BCV as my favorite Epcot area resort - so that gives me 3 parks I can ‘walk’ to.

 

[petrola]

for me it's this order;

1-VGF & CCR are my two favorites. love Grand Floridian for the location and also Citricos! the Enchanted Rose Lounge is super cute! CCR - well it's right inside the Wilderness Lodge and nothing beats that lobby as well as Geyser Pointe for lunch. Also love taking the boat to MK.

2- BWV - love the location and everything about Boardwalk. All positive!

3-AKV- it's my son's favorite resort ! I prefer Jambo over Kidani. We all love Sanaa as well as watching the amazing animals.

4-BCV- while the pool is great there, I'm not a huge fan of the villas or the views (or lack thereof). We will happily stay at Beach Club Resort in a club level room - as well as Yacht Club, but as far as using points for Villas, it's a no go for me.

5-Poly-same as 3 above. The pool is usually too crowded for me (we usually have to travel Easter week). We loved our stay in the Hawaii building however, and I firmly believe Poly club lounge hosts are some of the best on Disney property - but won't be using points to stay there.

6- Riv - just stayed there in July. Kids loved it. We enjoyed taking the skyliner to Epcot and HS. Topolinos is a favorite for dinner and also just grabbing a cocktail after a day in the parks!

7-OKW - is relaxing but too far for me and not a huge fan of taking buses to the parks.

Never stayed at SSR so cannot comment...

 

[Boopuff]

This is a good question. Of course it will be highly subjective, depending upon personal preference. I go against the grain, and do not love Poly. It's an adorable resort, but in my opinion, the studio rooms were awful and have a dumb layout. We stayed at SSR treehouse and really enjoyed it. Loved BC with proximity to Epcot, and once we bought and stayed at OKW, that's now our go-to. Can't beat the size of the grand villas and we don't mind the bus/boat.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I should add that I’m afraid of heights and travel solo with my ECV .

Just so that all of us afraid of heights don't automatically avoid the Skyliner, I'm also terrified of heights (as well as travel solo with an ECV), but generally don't mind the skyliner. Kind of enjoy it, except for the one time I rode it in borderline-to-closing-it-down winds. Once I felt it swaying a little, I got nervous.

 

[alhoss]

To me, OKW is the worst by far.

 

[Yankee626]

1 VGF Flagship for a reason
2 CCV Absolutely Beautiful Resort Best Views
3 BWV Great Location and Excitement
4 Poly Absolutely Beautiful and great Location May move up with new Tower.
5 BCV best location , best Pool , worst Views
6. Riv great Rooms , Beautiful Resort Nice Location(Skyliner)
7. AKL Most Beautiful Resort - It has a Frickin Savanah , Just too far to move up this list. Best Stand alone Resort !
8. BR Love the WL worst location within the Lodge Though
9. OKW Great history and Beautiful resort with awesome rooms. Location kinda Stinks.
10 BLT Can You say Hospital rooms ! UGLY with a great location and Worst Pool. Location keeps this from last place.
11 SSR Beautiful resort -- Too bad its so far away . resort of last resorts ! Do love those Tree houses Though.
12 . Campground Villas / To be determined.

 

[KimMcGowan]

It is fun to see why everyone rates the resorts the way they do. Sometimes I am saying “exactly” and other times I am screaming “no freaking way!” Here are ours:
1a. Copper Creek - when we are at the Lodge there is no question that CC is the best
Disney Resort.
1b. Polynesian - but then we go to the Poly and I think THIS is the very best. There is
Reason we own these two resorts
2. Boulder Ridge - just a tiny bit less awesome than being in the main building.
3. Beach Club - the proximity to EPCOT cannot be beaten.
4. Bay Lake - I would rate this lower but my DH and DS both love it.
5. Riviera - we love the Caribbean Beach (we had our honeymoon there) and hate that
Part of it was torn down - but the resort that took its place is awesome.
6. OKW - I don’t understand the hate, it is a relaxing resort.
7. Jambo - rates a tiny bit higher than Kidani because we stayed there first.
8. Kidani - Saana is almost as good as being on the savanna.
9. Boardwalk - the whole vibe of this resort just doesn’t work for us.
10. Grand Floridian - talk about not being our vibe, I feel out of place when I am in
this resort.

 

[DonMacGregor]

It is fun to see why everyone rates the resorts the way they do. Sometimes I am saying “exactly” and other times I am screaming “no freaking way!” Here are ours:
1a. Copper Creek - when we are at the Lodge there is no question that CC is the best
Disney Resort.
2. Boulder Ridge - just a tiny bit less awesome than being in the main building.

You’re absolutely right.

For me it’s the exact opposite though. I feel like Copper Creek always feels like it’s not a separate and unique resort and will always be converted hotel rooms. For me, BRV off in its own building (off being 150’ away) makes it feel like its own “private” resort, it’s own space just for DVC. The sign over the walkway “A Disney Vacation Club Resort” makes you feel special and privileged too. Probably the reason I’m not a huge fan of VGC either.

 

[E2ME2]

1 BWV
2 BCV
3 AKV
4 POLY
5 BLT
6 SSR
7 VGF
8 CCV
9 RIV
10 BRV
11 OKW
12 FWC

 

[Stargazer65]

1. Bay Lake Tower - own
2. Saratoga Springs - own
3. Boulder Ridge - own
4. Animal Kingdom
5. Polynesian
6. Riviera

Also own at VGF, but have never stayed there yet.

BLT just doesn’t vibe with us. But we loved the location and pool bar food (especially the Cuban). I guess I love the Disney resort themes more than their locations.

Why would I pick BLT as #1? Honestly, I agree there's not much of a theme. But it's the first DVC resort we bought and stayed at. With the whole family when they were all kids. So, there's some magic thinking about it.

Same with SSR as #2. The only place so far we have all gotten together since the kids have mostly grown. So, that was a magical trip. (Plus, we did Christmas there one time)

So, these are all personal impressions that have no bearing on the actual quality of the resort.

 

[PBandJFamwich]

1. Aulani
2. RIV (home)
3. VDH (home)
4. Poly
5. AKV
6. HHR
7. VGF

Only downside of Aulani is the cost/time to fly there. It is so fantastic you don’t even miss the parks.

We were shocked how much we loved RIV on our Welcome Home Stay. The vibes are immaculate and the skyliner is my favorite transportation.

We love the midcentury style of VDH but were concerned the ambiance wouldn’t live up to Riviera and the Poly but walking in the “courtyard” there past the Monorail pool and Trader Sam’s is really amazing. We also fell in love with DL and being in the bubble there despite people claiming it not being as important. It felt like such a nice tight knit community and we saw the same kids/families everyday.

We had been to Poly for a day visit a couple times before staying and we weren’t super impressed but fell in love the first time we stayed and arrived after dark. The tiki torches are amazing, the pool was great, and access to the TTC monorail was perfect.

Hilton Head was nice for a non parks trip but definitely not Aulani. We only stayed a night as a couple but would come back with our daughter and older parents for a lazy trip.

We didn’t like much of anything at VGF. We stayed in the VGF1 deluxe studio. We may stay one more time with our daughter in a resort studio because she would probably love that design and the splash pad but beyond that we are probably fine not returning.

 

[JLS]

Great thread. We have been members since 2003 and have stayed at quite a few properties. My ranking:

1. Grand Californian. Wish I owned here. Got upgraded from a hotel stay to a studio theme park view room. It was awesome. What's not to love about this place. Perfect vibe, great food, SO easy to enter CA Adventure park right there or walk to shopping or Disneyland. Great pool, great bars. All good.

2. BCV. Love the whole vibe. Used to own here and I regret selling this contract because it is hard to book at 7 months. The pool feels like its own vacation and love how close it is to Epcot. Great food options. The can't beat the location, both to Epcot and a wide variety of dining options (with Beaches and Cream near the top).

3. AKV-Jambo. Currently own at AKL (Kidani) and I think we are able to book both Jambo and Kidani at 11 months. Adore this property, it is our family go-to. LOVE the lobby, the food, the pool (both pools fun, enjoy the big open Jambo house pool more), Victoria Falls bar overlooking Boma, Boma and Sanaa, the Mara is the best resort quick service at Disney IMO, the savannah view balconies are the most unique experience in a resort at Disney (and almost anywhere outside of a safari lodge). Only thing I don't like is distance to everything but AK or BB, but buses on my recent trip were very reliable and Jambo had its own buses going to the parks (shared going back).

4. AKV Kidani - see above. I would stay at Kidani if you wanted a 2 bedroom dedicated with the 3rd bathroom. Otherwise we prefer Jambo for the lobby and overall feel of more going on and proximity to Mara and Victoria Falls and my preferred pool.

5. Bay Lake Tower - loved this place, personally thought the modern/60s vibe is cool and clean. Very comfortable and so nice to walk to MK and take monorail around. Took boat to Ft. Wilderness for Hoop dee Doo. Love the Lake View and some Lake Views can still see fireworks. Overall great place to stay but would not opt for it if we were not planning to do MK.

6. Boulder Ridge Villas - great place and fun location if you are wanting to do a couple of days at MK, otherwise it's a bit out of the way. Love the WL overall. I would not seek this place out above the others on my list, but nothing bad to say.

7. BWV - stayed here only once. Had a Tower of Terror view which was nice. LONG walks down halls but resort has a great location. No real negatives for me.

8. Vero Beach - have gone here 3 times. Love it, great place to stay for a few days to enjoy the beach and pool. Inn rooms are great with ocean view, and 1 bedroom cottages really nice too. Great activities there for kids. Would not do a whole week here but liked it for a few days as an add on to our vacation.

9. Aulani - Like Aulani but we much prefer the Marriott Vacation Club in Ko Olina (2 lagoons down). Way less crowded and hectic, pool is just as nice, you don't have to reserve pool chairs at 7 a.m., more open space, just better feel. All of my kids agreed. So we love vacationing on Oahu but I will not use points at Aulani anymore when we can get a better stay for less money renting on Redweek at the Marriott.

Have not stayed at the other properties so no comments.

 

[justme0729]

1. Polynesian- Best studio layout especially with littles in pack n play (their own room in the 2nd bathroom is awesome!), direct monorail access to MK and Epcot at TTC, favorite pools on property, large splash pad, castle views, Hawaiian music piped everywhere, dole whip, fireworks from the beach, lots of night time entertainment for kids with glow parties etc, walk to/ from MK if needed when construction is over.... Definitely all around our favorite.

2. Grand Floridian- Beautiful rooms, best splash pad for our kids ages- contained with a fence from deeper pools and not too big that they need constant supervision, room service is an option, fireworks views, resort activities are lively at night for kids, split bathroom design, feels luxurious.

3. Riviera- Skyline to 2 parks, pretty rooms, nice splash pad, great quick service option, can walk to CBR for playground, compact and easy to get around, split bathroom design, pretty resort

4. Animal Kingdom Lodge- Beautiful and relaxing resort, can stay club level or value options, has a playground and community hall, fun splash pad/ playground area at Kidani, pretty lobby

5. Vero Beach- Quaint beach resort. Nice if not doing parks

6. Copper Creek/ Boulder Ridge- Love the boat transportation to MK, decent splash pad, all one building, really nice atmosphere for Christmas

7. Bay lake tower- I used to like Bay Lake Tower a lot more but now that we have kids, we really value a good splash pad for them to play and BLT is lacking a decent one with slide. I actually like the theming, close proximity to MK, castle views, etc. though.

8. Beach Club/ Boardwalk- I just don't find being in this area as magical and they don't have splash pads I don't think.

9. OKW/ SSR- I don't feel as much like I'm staying at a hotel here.

Aulani would probably be number 1-2... Have been once and absolutely loved the resort and beach.

 

[RickNJane]

So my list based on where we have stayed over the years.

1) BWV. Walk to 2 parks and the Boardwalk itself. Not as good as the old days when you could go to BCV Stormalong Bay.
2) OKW. Nice big rooms, quiet. Bus can be a drag, however.
3) BLT. Ok I like this resort. Walk to MK! 2 bedroom villas have 3 bath rooms. That is a life saver with a big group. Lobby and theming is lacking.
4) Grand Californian. Walk in to DCA!

We are soon going to DLH and so this list maybe revised.

I do not like Riviera. Lobby is lacking. Very loud. Sorry it just did not do it for me.

I am also looking forward to the new Poly tower. Any bets on when that will go on sale?

 

[Den8uml]

1. Polynesian (Been a family staple since I was 3)
2. Old Key West (Biggest rooms, relaxing vibe)
3. Grand Californian (Beautiful, entrance to park)
4. Boardwalk (Best view, walk to 2 parks)
5. Copper Creek (Only done cabins and )
6. Beach Club (Proximity to Epcot, mid/bad views)
7. AK-Jambo (Love view, room was ugly and dark)

The top 2 have environments that really make you feel like you’re on vacation (if not a local)!

 

[Wayland10]

AKV- Jambo. Love everything about it, although I’ll be glad when the refurb is done. One of my favorite memories is sitting on the balcony at night hearing African music in the distance watching giraffes snooze below me…
Copper Creek- I love a grand lobby, what can I say? And Geyser point!
Poly- childhood fantasy fulfilled. But too many things were missing when I was there in 2022 and I’m not sure they’ll ever come back. I wanted the luau, fire jugglers, leis…
AKV- Kidani. Same animals, and okapi too!
Hilton Head- the cast members really are the best, and the beach there is real.
BCV- the pool was too crowded all the time, the ice cream was Edy’s and the vibe just wasn’t for me. Good location.

 

[davper]

For the resorts I have stayed at:
1A) SSR This is my home resort and bought in back when DS was being built. I love the rooms and the walking to DS for whatever food option. I have no regrets buying at this resort. I have been thinking about another contract here.
1B) BCV When I come for the Food & Wine Festival, this is my 1st choice every time. I love walking over to Epcot to have dinner from a couple of different kiosks each night. And the pool is decent.
2) BRV Also a home resort. Can't beat the xmas theming at this resort. It is peaceful and a quick boat ride to MK.
3) BLT This is last on my list because it was just too sterile for me. When I was a kid, it was a thrill to stay at this resort with the monorail coming through, the huge arcade, and onsite movie theatre. But all that is gone except for the monorail. And not enough theming.

My ranking for resorts I haven't stayed at, yet:
1) AKL "It's got a freak'n savannah" This will be a one and done just for the savannah. It is too far from everything.
2) BWV An alternative if BCV fully booked.
3) Poly Bungalow Another one and done just for the experience of sitting in my pool on the deck inches from the lake and watching the fireworks. I can't imagine it is too peaceful because of all the noise from the boats, and people at the TTC.
4) OKW If, for some reason SSR is fully booked, I would stay here.
5) CCV The only reason to stay here are the bungalows if you want that much more privacy & serenity. But I already have BCV.
6) Cabins at FW I love camping, but not at DW. It takes forever to get anywhere on this property.
5) VGF it looks nice, but a little too uppity for my taste
6) RIV may never see me on this property. The point cost is just so high and the rooms are smaller, based on what I have seen.

 

[Terry Sheehan]

OKW, Home resort, love the space, setting, parking and did I say space!

BCV, Stayed at the BC on our honeymoon 33 years ago. When BCV opened we were ready to buy a second contract. Instead of BCV direct we bought a resale at OKW and have no regrets. Hare to get in at 7 months but we have been lucky a number of times with the wait list. Love everything about it but if the only place we can ever again stay is OKW we can die happy.

RIV, Iove the Skyliner and just the overall feel of the place. Many say it is not Disney enough. Open your eyes and really look around!

BWV, Location!

CCV, Just returned from a stay there. We just love the Wilderness Lodge. That is where we stayed for an inexpensive weekend trip when we purchased our first contract. Inexpensive weekend ended up costing $20,000! Worth every penny.
SSV, Always find an available room.
AKV, Nice resort but we don’t live the location.

BLT, I always wanted to stay there. We did 3 years ago. Nice to be able to walk to the MK. Not much more to say. Been there , done that, not again unless it is our only choice.

 

[mathgeek]

1. VGC - my new home - love the location and am loving DL more than WDW these days
2. HHI - also home - beach
3. BWV - also home - location, location, location
4. BLT - location, location, location
5. Poly - 1st onsite stay was at Poly as a kid
6. AKV Jambo - animals
7. BCV - location and theme
8. Aulani - nice
9. VB - prefer the 2009 version to current
10. Riv - nice, Skyliner
11. SSR - too big
12. OKW - also too big, small counter service
13. VGF - prefer all the others over this. Only one I've only stayed at once other than Riv.