Island Tower at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

[Einstein509]

We spent last week at VGF, and walked over to Ohana for dinner. Whereas VGF as actually kind of quiet, serene, and felt like a different world, an oasis from the crowds, Poly was packed with people. Ohana was jammed, the quick service was jammed, Trader Sam’s was jammed, every outdoor seating area was jammed, the lawn out back was jammed with a 100 pre tweens dancing to some video on an inflatable screen, and at 7 pm the pool was overflowing with people.
Now, granted, we don’t have kids, who might like the Poly, but the place just seemed monumentally crowded, and we walked away glad that we weren’t staying there. We love the tower, but it seems inevitable that all those people will migrate over to the tower to use its amenities as well. Thats why we wish it was a separate association.

Wait.....how did you walk from VGF to PVB? I thought the walkway was closed because of the tower construction, no?

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Wait.....how did you walk from VGF to PVB? I thought the walkway was closed because of the tower construction, no?

When we stayed at VGF last fall (peak construction activity) they told us we COULD walk to Poly but it wasn’t recommend because it was a longer unattractive detour.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

We spent last week at VGF, and walked over to Ohana for dinner. Whereas VGF as actually kind of quiet, serene, and felt like a different world, an oasis from the crowds, Poly was packed with people. Ohana was jammed, the quick service was jammed, Trader Sam’s was jammed, every outdoor seating area was jammed, the lawn out back was jammed with a 100 pre tweens dancing to some video on an inflatable screen, and at 7 pm the pool was overflowing with people.
Now, granted, we don’t have kids, who might like the Poly, but the place just seemed monumentally crowded, and we walked away glad that we weren’t staying there. We love the tower, but it seems inevitable that all those people will migrate over to the tower to use its amenities as well. Thats why we wish it was a separate association.

We had none of that earlier in May. Maybe schools in South were already on summer vacay when you were there?

 

[maui22]

We spent last week at VGF, and walked over to Ohana for dinner. Whereas VGF as actually kind of quiet, serene, and felt like a different world, an oasis from the crowds, Poly was packed with people. Ohana was jammed, the quick service was jammed, Trader Sam’s was jammed, every outdoor seating area was jammed, the lawn out back was jammed with a 100 pre tweens dancing to some video on an inflatable screen, and at 7 pm the pool was overflowing with people.
Now, granted, we don’t have kids, who might like the Poly, but the place just seemed monumentally crowded, and we walked away glad that we weren’t staying there. We love the tower, but it seems inevitable that all those people will migrate over to the tower to use its amenities as well. Thats why we wish it was a separate association.

A couple colleges near me had graduations the day before Mother’s Day. Not sure how many around the US had graduations.

Mother’s Day weekend through several days afterward also make Poly a very busy resort.

 

[Cfabar1]

Even though it is a beautiful resort. It should make for interesting finds in the resale market. Especially once those cabins hit it.

To me beauty is in the eye of the beholder... and what choices DVC/DVD chooses to make when upholding the beauty of the environment....

Let's see in 30 years if everyone still thinks it as beautiful as it is today.... I like OKW/VB/HHI, but my guess is they were perceived more beautiful to folks 30 years ago than today....

 

[AwfulWaffle]

To me beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Not really my cup of tea and my wife is from France. We have been to the Riviera few times and it feels like home to her but at the end of the day we still love our Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom a bit more so we hence bought here. But I can certainly see the appeal of it.

 

[Cfabar1]

Not really my cup of tea and my wife is from France. We have been to the Riviera few times and it feels like home to her but at the end of the day we still love our Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom a bit more so we hence bought here. But I can certainly see the appeal of it.

Yes, it isn't our aesthetic either.... We much preferred VGF (which as the other resort being sold at the time)....

 

[Jwaire]

Riviera definitely has that boutique European vibe especially with the rod iron accents, roof line and stark grayish exterior color.

It's a beautiful resort with a great location, but I prefer the grandiose theming of Grand Floridian, Poly, Grand Cal, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I will say people love it. We shared a Mears van last trip and as we were pulling up to RIV, half the people in our 12 person van commented on how beautiful it looked and how they all wanted to stay there.

 

[jppeek]

I see a lot of people mentioning not being interested because they don’t want to compete at the 11 month mark with all the current owners.

I’ve bought contracts for 3 resorts and each time I based how many points off of the room I wanted for the specific time I like to go and bought that many points plus a few extra for chart changes.

I own poly, but bought points assuming I would be booking a studio so I dont have NEARLY enough points for one and two bedrooms (assuming it’s similar chart to VGF). Best case I would have to bank and probably borrow some to book.

I am actually on the opposite spectrum, where as I planned on being done with getting more points unless it was same association cause now I don’t have enough points to book what I want lol

Curious if most people buy points with a similiar strategy and won’t have enough points for the bigger rooms

 

[davidhr]

Riviera is definitely very popular.

I personally love it and find the design very good for me.

As previously mentioned, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me, VGF style is over the top and it’s close to the bottom on my list of resorts. But just because I don’t like it I’m not going out of my way to write how much I dislike it. It’s also a very popular reason and I can understand why.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Riviera definitely has that boutique European vibe especially with the rod iron accents, roof line and stark grayish exterior color.

It's a beautiful resort with a great location, but I prefer the grandiose theming of Grand Floridian, Poly, Grand Cal, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I will say people love it. We shared a Mears van last trip and as we were pulling up to RIV, half the people in our 12 person van commented on how beautiful it looked and how they all wanted to stay there.

I agree with it nailing the European vibes - it does it well. Even the lobby - which gets sooooo much hate - reminds me of boutique hotels in Italy and France. Definitely doesn’t have the same wow factor (I say this as a GFV and CCV owner) but it’s perfect for what it’s trying to be IMHO.

What sold me on Riviera was taking the skyliner to International Gateway during Food & Wine - from grabbing my cold brew at Le Petit Cafe, stopping to admire the artwork, boarding the skyliner and meandering around the World Showcase - it all came together in one thematic experience. In that respect, it reminded me a bit of AKL.

Crescent Lake properties will always be my favorites but Riv is quickly becoming a close second, which is good since I finally broke down and bought direct restrictions be damned.

Apologies if veering too far off topic - I’ve learned so much about DVC overall from following these POLY convos so thanks for letting me listen in!

 

[AstroBlasters]

Riviera is definitely very popular.

I personally love it and find the design very good for me.

As previously mentioned, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me, VGF style is over the top and it’s close to the bottom on my list of resorts. But just because I don’t like it I’m not going out of my way to write how much I dislike it. It’s also a very popular reason and I can understand why.

But if the topic is Poly Tower and the two main active resorts for sale will be Poly and RIV then it is on topic to discuss why they prefer one over the other.

So if someone comes on and says that they can’t think of a single reason why Poly Tower would be better than RIV except for restricted points then it is also on topic to bring up examples of areas where many people consider that the new Poly Tower could be superior.

 

[mkatsy]

A couple colleges near me had graduations the day before Mother’s Day. Not sure how many around the US had graduations.

Mother’s Day weekend through several days afterward also make Poly a very busy resort.

the tweens last week were probably cheerleaders. the D2 Summit Championship was the 10th -12th at ESPN

 

[Electron_si]

I will say that as a Poly resale owner I feel that renting points for guaranteed bookings once the tower opens is probably as attractive or more attractive than RIV bookings which also seem to do well.

I didn’t purchase planning to rent, but I am considering it in the future to offset a cruise trip or another all inclusive vacation with one of our contracts for that year.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

I think we should probably be a bit more fair in our comparisons. Riviera is a DVC resort in totality and doesn’t have a Disney Hotel component associated with it to give it more grandeur. The only other resorts like that are OKW and SSR, which are simpler in theming and style. But DVC in general keeps it simpler, likely to do with budget.

And if we’re being totally fair, the actual VGF building, though lovely, is no better than Riviera, but it’s elevated by the work Disney did for the hotel, I can’t deny that. Same thing with BRV (though that lobby is still pretty nice, I’ll give it that lol) and PVB. And the new tower will be the same. We talk about how boring and small the lobby is for Riviera but it just feels that way compared to Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel, not Disney Vacation Club Villas at Grand Floridian. The size of the lobby fits the size of the DVC resort and unfortunately for RIV, it doesn’t have a bigger Disney hotel for it to assume its vibes and grandiosity. The only exception to all this is Kidani which is incredible on its own, and again, even that is not as grand as Jambo House.

Not liking the theming is fair enough, it’s all subjective really. BLT is not my cup of tea, so I don’t stay there, but I get it’s utility and location are great. I think it’s silly to deny that Riviera is a beautiful building built with great function, size and some of the best food on Disney property because it’s not as special as the Grand Floridian Hotel or the Great Ceremonial House. The rooms are fresh and airy and classic, like the French Riviera. The artwork around property is so cool and understated but still so well thought out. The grounds and lake/skyliner view are stunning. And although I would have loved if they added more pop and color, maybe slightly taller ceilings in the lobby to add a bigger Christmas tree (maybe they can put a giant tree in the courtyard next year like they do in front of the Contemporary!) But I’m sure if they did do that many would complain about how kiddish and unrealistic it is.

I personally think the new Poly renderings look amazing and can’t wait to see what the rooms look like but there are clearly a lot of people who hate it and want more. And the more I think about it, the more nervous I get about how small the new pool is and that 1 restaurant is not enough. Three medium-sized pools for more than 1000 rooms seems incredibly disproportionate. I really hope I’m wrong but I have a feeling they’ve skimped on dining. I think DVD is assuming that most patrons will treat the tower as an extension of the Polynesian Village (and Grand Floridian, given it’s proximity) instead of making it a fully functioning building on its own, adding more strain to an already busy resort. The Island Tower and Riviera are basically the same size and Riviera has a signature restaurant and 3 other QS/dining locations and 2 pools. As a DVC resort, I think Riviera is an amazing addition to the gamut, but there’s never pleasing everyone, we like what we like…or don’t like

 

[PolyRob]

I think we should probably be a bit more fair in our comparisons. Riviera is a DVC resort in totality and doesn’t have a Disney Hotel component associated with it to give it more grandeur. The only other resorts like that are OKW and SSR, which are simpler in theming and style. But DVC in general keeps it simpler, likely to do with budget.

And if we’re being totally fair, the actual VGF building, though lovely, is no better than Riviera, but it’s elevated by the work Disney did for the hotel, I can’t deny that. Same thing with BRV (though that lobby is still pretty nice, I’ll give it that lol) and PVB. And the new tower will be the same. We talk about how boring and small the lobby is for Riviera but it just feels that way compared to Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel, not Disney Vacation Club Villas at Grand Floridian. The size of the lobby fits the size of the DVC resort and unfortunately for RIV, it doesn’t have a bigger Disney hotel for it to assume its vibes and grandiosity. The only exception to all this is Kidani which is incredible on its own, and again, even that is not as grand as Jambo House.

Not liking the theming is fair enough, it’s all subjective really. BLT is not my cup of tea, so I don’t stay there, but I get it’s utility and location are great. I think it’s silly to deny that Riviera is a beautiful building built with great function, size and some of the best food on Disney property because it’s not as special as the Grand Floridian Hotel or the Great Ceremonial House. The rooms are fresh and airy and classic, like the French Riviera. The artwork around property is so cool and understated but still so well thought out. The grounds and lake/skyliner view are stunning. And although I would have loved if they added more pop and color, maybe slightly taller ceilings in the lobby to add a bigger Christmas tree (maybe they can put a giant tree in the courtyard next year like they do in front of the Contemporary!) But I’m sure if they did do that many would complain about how kiddish and unrealistic it is.

I personally think the new Poly renderings look amazing and can’t wait to see what the rooms look like but there are clearly a lot of people who hate it and want more. And the more I think about it, the more nervous I get about how small the new pool is and that 1 restaurant is not enough. Three medium-sized pools for more than 1000 rooms seems incredibly disproportionate. I really hope I’m wrong but I have a feeling they’ve skimped on dining. I think DVD is assuming that most patrons will treat the tower as an extension of the Polynesian Village (and Grand Floridian, given it’s proximity) instead of making it a fully functioning building on its own, adding more strain to an already busy resort. The Island Tower and Riviera are basically the same size and Riviera has a signature restaurant and 3 other QS/dining locations and 2 pools. As a DVC resort, I think Riviera is an amazing addition to the gamut, but there’s never pleasing everyone, we like what we like…or don’t like

Technically Riviera has Caribbean Beach Resort attached, but that's not a deluxe.

I personally feel that the VGF lobby seems more impressive than the RIV lobby because it's multiple stories with a fountain and large chandeliers. VGF can't compete with the main building at GF, but RIV's lobby is the only lobby. I also feel that YC and BC lobbies both look less impressive compared to GF, WL, AKL, etc, and they are two stories. YC can fit a pretty nice tree in there for the holidays and RIV gets one small one off to the side. Even BC gets two trees of this same size in addition to it's gingerbread carousel. Not trying to knock the resort, just saying it doesn't have that wow factor when you walk in compared to other places. I think DVC addressed this with the Polynesian Island Tower also being multiple stories.

 

[Jwaire]

Technically Riviera has Caribbean Beach Resort attached, but that's not a deluxe.

That's like saying Art of Animation is attached to Pop Century. They're separate resorts at different price points. Carribean Beach is the oldest moderate resort. They'll raise and replace it someday and it will magically all match.

Riviera is just what they said it was. Those boutique hotels in Europe don't have massive lobbies either.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Technically Riviera has Caribbean Beach Resort attached, but that's not a deluxe.

I personally feel that the VGF lobby seems more impressive than the RIV lobby because it's multiple stories with a fountain and large chandeliers. VGF can't compete with the main building at GF, but RIV's lobby is the only lobby. I also feel that YC and BC lobbies both look less impressive compared to GF, WL, AKL, etc, and they are two stories. YC can fit a pretty nice tree in there for the holidays and RIV gets one small one off to the side. Even BC gets two trees of this same size in addition to it's gingerbread carousel. Not trying to knock the resort, just saying it doesn't have that wow factor when you walk in compared to other places. I think DVC addressed this with the Polynesian Island Tower also being multiple stories.

I don’t think Riviera has a wow lobby either but it does fit the size of the resort. And I hear what you’re saying but I think the 2 story windows looking out onto the beautifully manicured lawn and lake in the distance is at least as impressive as a small lobby with a cute fountain and a section with a tall ceiling. And the porte cochère is a gorgeous extension of the lobby, in way. I’m not saying they couldn’t have done more, I’m just saying we’re a bit harsh on Riviera in a way that we’re not with other resorts. The lobby isn’t the only thing that makes a resort great.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I think we should probably be a bit more fair in our comparisons. Riviera is a DVC resort in totality and doesn’t have a Disney Hotel component associated with it to give it more grandeur. The only other resorts like that are OKW and SSR, which are simpler in theming and style. But DVC in general keeps it simpler, likely to do with budget.

And if we’re being totally fair, the actual VGF building, though lovely, is no better than Riviera, but it’s elevated by the work Disney did for the hotel, I can’t deny that. Same thing with BRV (though that lobby is still pretty nice, I’ll give it that lol) and PVB. And the new tower will be the same. We talk about how boring and small the lobby is for Riviera but it just feels that way compared to Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel, not Disney Vacation Club Villas at Grand Floridian. The size of the lobby fits the size of the DVC resort and unfortunately for RIV, it doesn’t have a bigger Disney hotel for it to assume its vibes and grandiosity. The only exception to all this is Kidani which is incredible on its own, and again, even that is not as grand as Jambo House.

Not liking the theming is fair enough, it’s all subjective really. BLT is not my cup of tea, so I don’t stay there, but I get it’s utility and location are great. I think it’s silly to deny that Riviera is a beautiful building built with great function, size and some of the best food on Disney property because it’s not as special as the Grand Floridian Hotel or the Great Ceremonial House. The rooms are fresh and airy and classic, like the French Riviera. The artwork around property is so cool and understated but still so well thought out. The grounds and lake/skyliner view are stunning. And although I would have loved if they added more pop and color, maybe slightly taller ceilings in the lobby to add a bigger Christmas tree (maybe they can put a giant tree in the courtyard next year like they do in front of the Contemporary!) But I’m sure if they did do that many would complain about how kiddish and unrealistic it is.

I personally think the new Poly renderings look amazing and can’t wait to see what the rooms look like but there are clearly a lot of people who hate it and want more. And the more I think about it, the more nervous I get about how small the new pool is and that 1 restaurant is not enough. Three medium-sized pools for more than 1000 rooms seems incredibly disproportionate. I really hope I’m wrong but I have a feeling they’ve skimped on dining. I think DVD is assuming that most patrons will treat the tower as an extension of the Polynesian Village (and Grand Floridian, given it’s proximity) instead of making it a fully functioning building on its own, adding more strain to an already busy resort. The Island Tower and Riviera are basically the same size and Riviera has a signature restaurant and 3 other QS/dining locations and 2 pools. As a DVC resort, I think Riviera is an amazing addition to the gamut, but there’s never pleasing everyone, we like what we like…or don’t like

They did the same with the tower at Disneyland Hotel. They just assumed people would use downtown Disney food dinner and didn’t really add any food options outside of the Palm Breeze Bar (which I do like).

Now, how they will transport another 1000 people and properly staff the hotel…. that to me is the million dollar question. It can look like the 4 Seasons…. but will the level of service be the same?

 

[PolyRob]

That's like saying Art of Animation is attached to Pop Century. They're separate resorts at different price points. Carribean Beach is the oldest moderate resort. They'll raise and replace it someday and it will magically all match.

Riviera is just what they said it was. Those boutique hotels in Europe don't have massive lobbies either.

I feel they're attached because RIV replaced part of CBR. CBR is visible from preferred views and parts of CBR are closer to the RIV Skyliner station that the CBR Skyliner station.