What is your favorite MK Area Studio?

[starryagain]

Planning out my points. And yes I realize that it is hard to predict availability so this is just a wish list. The trip will be in late April or early May 2022. Two parents and two kids ages 6 and 9. We own at BWV and have stayed there, BCV, and AKL a few times each. Never stayed at a MK resort and would like to do for this trip.

Don't take into consideration which rooms are more points. Which studio in MK area is your favorite? My initial thought was to try for / waitlist GF, and make a booking for Poly which seems to normally have availability at 7 months. (Obviously we will book at BWV at 11 months just in case). But I've heard some good things about Wilderness Lodge... just seems like it wouldn't be enough to make up for no monorail access. I think BLT seems really small.

Our main priorities are:

- We rope drop every day / ease of getting to rope drop
- Pool
- Disney / fun feel
- Reliable quick service like at AKL is a plus but not a requirement

Many thanks!

 

[Sandisw]

BLT is one of the smaller ones and I own there, buy VGF is my favorite place to stay in the MK area when I can.

I love the pool area, splash pad for littler ones, and the food options, not to mention the ease to walk to Poly too.

Now with the walkway open, it’s a great choice and the rooms are larger than BLT.

 

[CarolynFH]

My preference would be VGF then Poly. We stayed in a BLT studio one night, and in my opinion it’s way too small for a family of four with kids as old as yours.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

PVB has the largest studios and a great location and I'd say the best pools too. VGF is very close.

 

[JETSDAD]

I'd go with either VGF or Poly. I tend to prefer VGF myself but I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[Rob Huff]

Background facts:

1. I love this question!
2. We've never stayed at VGF, but we've spent plenty of time on the grounds on recent trips.
3. Although we own there, we've only stayed at the Poly once.
4. We stayed in a BLT studio in January 2020 with our kids who are 9 and 6.
5. We've stayed at AKV at both Jambo (twice) and Kidani (once).

Ease of Transit. Walking to MK is super cool. Obviously the VGF pathway is open now, so that's compelling. Ditto the walk from BLT, though I suspect that the pathway itself from VGF will be much more peaceful and pleasant than strolling through a parking lot to the bus dropoff area. The Poly doesn't have a walk outside of the huge loop past VGF, but it does have superb monorail transit to both MK and EP and the boat to MK goes on an MK-->VGF-->Poly loop, so when you get picked up in the morning you get right to MK. I'd probably vote VGF as the winner but we adored alternating the boat and monorail from Poly.

Pool. The BLT pool is underwhelming, but we actually enjoyed the CR pools, both the main pool and the Bay Pool (bullseye). The sandy beach is also a plus. The slide at the CR pool was great. The VGF pools looked nice enough, but I can't speak to the experience of swimming in them. The Poly pools, however, were lovely. There's big contrast between them: the Oasis Pool is very relaxing and calm with a great hot tub (it officially closes at midnight but unofficially you can stay as long as you want). The Lava Pool is solid with a good slide, a great splash area, and an incredible location. We've spent plenty of nights in that pool, popping out to watch the EWP before hopping back in. Easy choice for us: Poly wins on pools.

Disney Feel. BLT is a distant last. It either hits the spot for you or you don't much like it. I didn't like it and won't be back. VGF has a much better feel than I expected. We love the Mary Poppins theming in the lobby but the room photos look uninspired to me. The Poly, on the other hand, is an immersive experience, both in the rooms and on the grounds. Walking around the Poly at night is my favorite experience. The tiki torches light the way, the castle glows in the distance, and the ferry boat horns and Hawaiian music provide the soundtrack. This one isn't close at all: Poly all the way.

Quick Service. The Mara is our favorite quick service on property. We haven't had anything from any other hotel QS spot as good as the Potjie. Given that, none of BLT/VGF/Poly will be as good as what you're used to at AKL. Everybody has a pool bar, so that's a wash. We like Capt. Cook's -- especially the pulled pork nachos -- but it likely won't otherwise knock your socks off. I understand that QS at VGF has been hit or miss over the years. I'm not an expert on this issue outside of my confidence that the Mara is awesome.

Bonus Note. The rooms at BLT aren't just smaller; they also feel very small. The rooms at Poly aren't just bigger; they also feel big.

My bias is clear. I think that the Poly is the best spot. We're very interested in staying at VGF and think that it has a lot to offer. We're not big fans of BLT and I suspect that we won't stay there again. The boat to WL was nice and TOTWL is awesome, but you don't need to stay at BLT for either.

 

[RaymOOOnd]

Poly studio is best, by far in my mind.

Love BLT but not for it's studios. We like a larger unit with an MK view with extended family/friends.

We've stayed twice in VGF studios and for some reason just come away a bit less than impressed each time. The resort is beautiful but the studio somehow is just kind of boring to us (?). No stand-out decor or theming for us in the studio and on both occasions we've found considerable wear and tear (broken drawer on one occasion, rug stains on another). The larger villas look like they have more character but we've never been in one.

The Poly villas however seem magical to us. They feel like something midway between a studio and a 1bdr, given the long hallway space and the two beautiful bathrooms, and the rooms themselves are themed so heavily as to really transport us

 

[Mzpalmtree]

My husband and I travel with our teen daughter and sometimes our college aged son and love the MK resorts so I’ll tell you about our experience as a family of 4. My kids will not share a bed due to their ages/genders, so while we really enjoy BLT we will not stay there due to not having 3 sleeping surfaces. Plus as others have commented, the studios there are really, really small. I prefer BLT when I’m traveling with just my daughter or husband. We have been wanting to try CCV but just haven’t gotten around to it as the additional sleeping surface (and now walking ability) in the studios at Poly and VGF always win out for us and we’ve switched when we had it booked, lol. We have stayed in the Poly studios a number of times—we own there and they are my favorite. We have stayed at VGF once but have a couple trips upcoming there. I’ll compare them for you based on your criteria.

- We rope drop every day / ease of getting to rope drop If we are talking about rope drop to MK only, GF has the edge due to the new walking path. You can also walk from the Poly to MK by way of the walkway to GF, but it will obviously be longer. At this time it seems walking is easiest for rope drop, but if you want to take the monorail I have found it easier to get on at the Poly as it often was full/fullish by the time it got to GF in pre covid times. When the Epcot monorail returns, Poly has an edge for rope drop to Epcot since you can walk to the TTC and catch it there.
- Pool Clear personal preference here. Both have great pools but GF pools seem bigger to me. I do like to rent the small patios at the Poly though at the Oasis pool—they are a Disney bargain IMO.
- Disney / fun feel I would give the edge to Poly here. Poly is a “fun” resort. I love GF but don’t feel it has a fun vibe.
- Reliable quick service like at AKL is a plus but not a requirement Both have great quick services with mobile order so I would pick which ever has food that appeals to you more as their menus are quite different.