DVC - Bay Lake Tower vs. Polynesian

[Knh711]

My husband and I are looking to buy in to DVC in the near future and have been wracking out brains to narrow down which resort we want - as in, I have created a 10 page spreadsheet comparing almost every possible factor you can imagine to try and choose. LOL
At this point, we have narrowed down to 2- BLT or Poly. We have one kiddo and our second (and probably last) on the way, so for us we would do at least a 1BR at BLT, OR 2 Studios at Poly to give us the space we would like. Each has it's own pluses in some areas and negatives in others and we are just so torn.
Any weird, random, off the wall tidbits that you thought about either resort? At this point, it might boil down to the most minute detail to help us make our final decision!!

 

[UberClaire]

BLT seems like a no-brainer to me for your situation. Two Poly studios will be more points than a 1 bedroom at BLT, and you won't have the amenities of the 1 bedroom. To the best of my knowledge, they also can't guarantee connecting studios at Poly. (And I say this as someone who loves Poly and is trying to make a similar decision)

 

[CarolynFH]

@UberClaire is correct, connecting rooms at Poly are not guaranteed, but because all but two or four of the Poly DVC studios do connect, that request is almost certain to be granted.

OTOH, I’d recommend BLT as well, since you say you’d like the space of a one-bedroom, and I think that with a child (and possibly an infant later) you might find in-room laundry, a full kitchen (with full size fridge/freezer) and a short walk to MK handy. The BLT one-bedroom also has two full bathrooms (as opposed to one full bath and one with sink & shower only at Poly). And privacy for parents when the kids get older!

 

[Brett Wyman]

With young kids its all about the washer and dryer!

 

[Knh711]

I'm not as concerned with point cost, since we have found 200 pt contracts at both for essentially the same price (buying resale). But I am concerned about having the kids in their own room if it is not connecting :/

BLT seems like a no-brainer to me for your situation. Two Poly studios will be more points than a 1 bedroom at BLT, and you won't have the amenities of the 1 bedroom. To the best of my knowledge, they also can't guarantee connecting studios at Poly. (And I say this as someone who loves Poly and is trying to make a similar decision)

 

[Knh711]

@UberClaire is correct, connecting rooms at Poly are not guaranteed, but because all but two or four of the Poly DVC studios do connect, that request is almost certain to be granted.

OTOH, I’d recommend BLT as well, since you say you’d like the space of a one-bedroom, and I think that with a child (and possibly an infant later) you might find in-room laundry, a full kitchen (with full size fridge/freezer) and a short walk to MK handy. The BLT one-bedroom also has two full bathrooms (as opposed to one full bath and one with sink & shower only at Poly). And privacy for parents when the kids get older!

The good thing with the Poly studios is that they have almost 2 bathrooms per studio - one with a toilet and tub/shower, and then one with a walk in shower. So with 2 studios, we would have access to 2 toilets and 4 showers! I do like the kitchen, and that has definitely been a concern. I'm not as worried about the laundry though... I agree it would be so much easier BUT last time we stayed in a villa, the dryer was AWFUL. I dried a small load for 2+ hours and it still wasn't dry not trying to spend a whole day doing 4 loads of laundry while on vacation lol

 

[buzzrelly]

Another vote for BLT, coming from someone who owns at both BLT and Poly. We tend to use the Poly when it’s just DH and I traveling. With a family, the full kitchen, two FULL bathrooms and the washer and dryer are perfect. Poly has two bathrooms with just one toilet which makes me crazy

 

[CarolynFH]

But I am concerned about having the kids in their own room if it is not connecting :/

If the rooms are not connecting, then at least one person registered to each room must be age 18 or over. And while you could register DH in one room and you in another and then have the kids sleep in one while you sleep in the other, with small kids that's not really reasonable, as you say.

BUT last time we stayed in a villa, the dryer was AWFUL. I dried a small load for 2+ hours and it still wasn't dry

Did you report that dryer to maintenance? 2+ hours is indeed too long for a small load!

But isn't it better having the dryer in your own villa and not having to keep tabs on what's happening in the communal laundry room? We usually stick a load in the washer in the morning and dry it in the evening when we get back to the room. Even though it's just the two of us, we really love not having to pack so many clothes, not to mention being able to go home with almost all our clothes already clean!

However, reading over this thread now, I get the feeling that BLT might be more practical, but Poly is where your heart is! Many families make Poly work for them, and I'm in the group of DVC owners who say you should buy where you want to stay (or at least don't mind staying), so maybe Poly is the place for you!

 

[Dave006]

@UberClaire is correct, connecting rooms at Poly are not guaranteed, but because all but two or four of the Poly DVC studios do connect, that request is almost certain to be granted.

While it seems logical it really comes down to which units are available when the units are assigned to the owner's reservation. And are always subject to change. So you might get a connecting room (very likely) but it might not be to your second unit.

I'm not as concerned with point cost, since we have found 200 pt contracts at both for essentially the same price (buying resale). But I am concerned about having the kids in their own room if it is not connecting :/

Not possible as they can't stay alone overnight unless one of them is 16.

Any weird, random, off the wall tidbits that you thought about either resort? At this point, it might boil down to the most minute detail to help us make our final decision!!

BLT is within easy walking distance to MK but the Poly has a better pool for kids in our family view.

Dave

 

[Knh711]

If the rooms are not connecting, then at least one person registered to each room must be age 18 or over. And while you could register DH in one room and you in another and then have the kids sleep in one while you sleep in the other, with small kids that's not really reasonable, as you say.

Did you report that dryer to maintenance? 2+ hours is indeed too long for a small load!

But isn't it better having the dryer in your own villa and not having to keep tabs on what's happening in the communal laundry room? We usually stick a load in the washer in the morning and dry it in the evening when we get back to the room. Even though it's just the two of us, we really love not having to pack so many clothes, not to mention being able to go home with almost all our clothes already clean!

However, reading over this thread now, I get the feeling that BLT might be more practical, but Poly is where your heart is! Many families make Poly work for them, and I'm in the group of DVC owners who say you should buy where you want to stay (or at least don't mind staying), so maybe Poly is the place for you!

I'm not gonna lie, BLT does nothing for me in terms of theme and desire to really WANT to be there. Lol It honestly isn't my husband's favorite either... which is why I think I'm trying to see if Poly will work. BUT after looking at my spreadsheet and comparing everything from cost, dues, size, availability, proximity to parks, transportation options, etc. It is the most practical and what makes the most sense. It's just such a big commitment for both time and money that I want to make sure we make the right choice! Just trying to decide if the "right" one is the one that makes the most sense for our family, or the one that you feel compelled toward, but isn't as practical...

 

[cmrdgrs]

I think a lot of your decision is also based on how you vacation -- is having a kitchen important? Do you want to own at a resort the gives you more room options over a studio? How about the layout of the resort? PVB is very spread out and BLT is a condensed high rise? Here is my two cents:

1) BLT 1 bdrms give you the full kitchen, washer/dryer in your room and offers the extra bathroom
2) Pull out sofa and sleeping chair -- two sleeping surfaces if kids won't sleep together
3) Walking to the Magic Kingdom from BLT and being on the Monorail line is convenient with small kids
4) Less walking on the resort grounds to get to your room in rainy weather
5) Easier to get from the parking lot up to your room with groceries
6) Pool is lackluster IMO
7) Room choices at this resort if you want to change up your trips/invite guests

1) Easy access to the Transportation and Ticket center PVB
2) Even more bathroom space at PVB because you have two split bathrooms
3) Very good odds you will have a connecting room (only a few don't connect)
4) Resort is more spread out, so if it is raining you will have to walk further in the rain to transportation
5) No full kitchen & no washer/dryer in the room (but it is at the resort)
6) Much nicer pool area (especially for kids IMO)
7) Nice walking path along the Seven Seas Lagoon between PVB & VGF
8) Basically a studio only resort

I don't own at BLT, but it is one of my family's favorite resorts. I know a lot of people complain about the "theming" but we like the clean modern lines of BLT and the extra bath in the 1 and 2 bdrms makes it a winner for us over PVB.

Good luck with your decision. You seem more interested in PVB over BLT. Have you stayed at both? That might help you decide. You may like BLT more than you think you will.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We enjoyed our one bedroom at BLT last January when we had a Lake view villa and had a view of the MK fireworks. It was the larger one bedroom since it was on the outside of the building instead of on the inside.

But think about this, you'll never get to enjoy the joy of the king sized bed at the Polynesian unless you book a Bungalow. Plus when the grandparents decide they'd like to join up on the trip, you could book a two bedroom at BLT. But not at Polynesian, just the point hungry bungalow. At BLT you'll be able to book the standard view for fewer points if you own there. If you don't own there, standard villas will be gone by the time you can book at seven months out.

Is there a reason you are only considering these two locations? There is so much to choose from with DVC villas at WDW. You might ask the moderator to move this over to DVC resorts from Resorts so you get more DVC responses.

 

[cvjw]

Just spent a week at the poly in a studio. It was so hot that we needed to do some laundry midweek. Since we didn’t have a washer/dryer in our studio, we had to use the communal laundry room. 4 washers for 3 long houses. Unless I missed another dvc laundry room in another longhouse. The 4 washers were always in use. Made me miss my 1 and 2 bedroom villas that we normally stay at.

 

[SB in KY]

We have been DVC’ers since 1994. OKW is our home resort but we have stayed at them all through the years. We have our favorites but find that our preferred resorts change depending on who is going and how long we are staying. We started with 2 preschoolers and now the girls are early 30’s and grands are in the picture. So our ideal locations and resorts have changed many times over.
all of this said to say... it is a LONG term investment and I would pay more attention to the dues than the exact resort. If one has substantially lower dues then I’d go with that resort. We still stay at OKW sometimes but not near all the time and booking what we want Right at the 7 month window has not been an issue (however we do not visit at peak holiday times like Easter, Xmas, etc). 20-40 years of higher dues would be an issue for me.
we have gone from vacations with the 4 of us (2 small children), through 3 generation family trips with multiple ages of children to the teen years when there were ours plus their friends along and now we have the 2 of us (old people) sometimes and sometimes we are back to 3 generatio trips with babies again (only somehow I have moved up a generation .... how did that happen?).
Anyway, don’t get too hung up on buying based on what you want right now cause that will change faster than you ever thought possible.

 

[mfortis]

BLT seems like a no-brainer to me for your situation. Two Poly studios will be more points than a 1 bedroom at BLT, and you won't have the amenities of the 1 bedroom. To the best of my knowledge, they also can't guarantee connecting studios at Poly. (And I say this as someone who loves Poly and is trying to make a similar decision)

I had the same dilemma but chose Polly for its theming. Plus BLT seems like an addition. The building is not part of the main hotel. I like the immersive experience- although not much immersion going on nowadays.

 

[Mazz519]

Considering your situation BLT is probably the best choice....We aren't big fans of BLT and loved the Poly

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

BLT. Love having kitchen and washer and dryer.

 

[oceanmarina]

Have stayed in both and BLT gets my vote. Here are the main reasons ;

Walking to the MK is so convenient (after the fireworks, we really appreciated that).

The washer drier is the best, you don’t have to pack as much and you can come home with clean clothes (even though I always wash them again anyway when we get home)

The 2nd bathroom

The full kitchen- and we would order from garden grocer to have milk, cereal, snacks delivered.

The poly pool always seems more crowded. While I like the theming more of the poly pool, the bay lake pool always seemed less crowded to me.

 

[Dug720]

The 2nd bathroom

The Poly studios have 2 bathrooms. Only 1 toilet, but 2 showers, sinks, and counters.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

We have been DVC’ers since 1994. OKW is our home resort but we have stayed at them all through the years. We have our favorites but find that our preferred resorts change depending on who is going and how long we are staying. We started with 2 preschoolers and now the girls are early 30’s and grands are in the picture. So our ideal locations and resorts have changed many times over.
all of this said to say... it is a LONG term investment and I would pay more attention to the dues than the exact resort. If one has substantially lower dues then I’d go with that resort. We still stay at OKW sometimes but not near all the time and booking what we want Right at the 7 month window has not been an issue (however we do not visit at peak holiday times like Easter, Xmas, etc). 20-40 years of higher dues would be an issue for me.
we have gone from vacations with the 4 of us (2 small children), through 3 generation family trips with multiple ages of children to the teen years when there were ours plus their friends along and now we have the 2 of us (old people) sometimes and sometimes we are back to 3 generatio trips with babies again (only somehow I have moved up a generation .... how did that happen?).
Anyway, don’t get too hung up on buying based on what you want right now cause that will change faster than you ever thought possible.

I completely agree with this. When we purchased our kids were 7 and 9 and loved MK. Now both in college they love SSR for its convenience to DS. SSR was a resort we would never visit when they were younger now it's one of their top choices along with BCV. Point is if making a long term purchase look at fees and figure resort choice will change over the years and figure as your kids get older resort choices will change. Also as your kids get older a studio for them is also less desirable. We did a lst minute trip over Christmas one year and stayed in a studio. My kids in their late teens at the time said they will never stay in a studio again...too cramped. For me part of what makes dvc so desirable is its ability to grow with my family. MK is now my kids least favorite park and Epcot is their first pick with AK second. As I am thinking and writing I would probably purchase either resale at : BLT and consider SSR or AK if resale price is better. I did hear of an SSR contract and AK contract passing in the 80s.