VGF v. Poly STUDIOS

The bathroom with the tub has a barn door slider at Poly.

I will say that if in the event that you want 2 studios, there is a high likelihood that you will get adjoining rooms as most studios are connected. We love each for different reasons and would recommend either as both resorts have many amenities.
 
We have a 6 year old and an 18month old and they love the poly, we have stayed in all three buildings. We didn't mind the Pago Pago parking lot view because the kids love the monorail. Close to TTC and we like to park close.
 
We also usually only use one shower the tub is used for wet towels and swim wear. We keep some of our luggage in the bathroom with the toilet since it is good size.
 
We stayed at Poly for the first time this past spring and really enjoyed it. Loved having the two separate showers. There's only two of us, but it was nice that we could both be getting ready at the same time and then be ready to go at the same time. The room itself was pretty spacious. I didn't feel like we were stumbling over each other the whole time.

We were in the Moorea building, at the far end, and I LOVED being so close to the TTC. We could just hop over and either get on the boat to MK, or the monorail to EP. I also loved watching the fireworks from the beach. Others have had issues with the boat horns, but we didn't hardly notice them.

I would also recommend exploring the option of doing a split stay (VGF last). That way, if you are not crazy about the Poly, you would have the VGF to look forward to! :)

Have a great trip!
Great idea about split stays. We do them often as we like to experience different resorts.::yes::
 


We stayed at Poly for the first time this past spring and really enjoyed it. Loved having the two separate showers. There's only two of us, but it was nice that we could both be getting ready at the same time and then be ready to go at the same time. The room itself was pretty spacious. I didn't feel like we were stumbling over each other the whole time.

We were in the Moorea building, at the far end, and I LOVED being so close to the TTC. We could just hop over and either get on the boat to MK, or the monorail to EP. I also loved watching the fireworks from the beach. Others have had issues with the boat horns, but we didn't hardly notice them.

I would also recommend exploring the option of doing a split stay (VGF last). That way, if you are not crazy about the Poly, you would have the VGF to look forward to! :)

Have a great trip!
This is a great idea - and since VGF is our home resort, if we can't get availability at 7mo, we are just "stuck" at VGF. Boo hoo. :charac2:
 
We also usually only use one shower the tub is used for wet towels and swim wear. We keep some of our luggage in the bathroom with the toilet since it is good size.
I didn't think about putting luggage in the bathroom. But it's a good idea because that bathroom with the tub really is quite large.
 
We also usually only use one shower the tub is used for wet towels and swim wear. We keep some of our luggage in the bathroom with the toilet since it is good size.

We keep our owners locker in there. Generally the space under the bed has been enough for the luggage so far.
 


Well, that would add to the debate between the 2 for me. I was confused with people saying about the split bathroom at VGF so looked a bit more and figured out that we had a HA studio without the split bathroom. It was only for one night and I had wondered about a couple of things but this explains it.
We stayed 1 night at VGF in September, and not surprisingly stayed in a HA studio. I was dumbfounded to think that 5 people could “legally” stay in there. So little closet or storage space. We had come from 4 nights in a 2 BR savannah view at Kidani so probably not a fair accessment, but we were Meh on VGF. We will probably do a 1BR stay at some point in the future. No doubt we’ll feel different. Poly we enjoyed but a little dark and a lot honky. As in honk, honk, honk,honk........from the boats. We had a lake view studio.
 
We also put luggage by the entry door there is usually some extra room for at least one suit case. It all depends who you travel with. My daughter thinks she needs 3 outfits per day but never uses them. Then of course all the makeup and 10 pairs of shoes. I am glad she pays for her own plane ticket. lol
 
Was just looking at points charts and for Easter week (planning way, way ahead), it looks like the same # of points for a week in a standard studio at each resort, and about the same (+/- 2 points altogether) for lakeview studios. (I had heard lots of discussion about how VGF was the costliest in points among all the DVC resorts, but it seems like Poly is at least tied.)

We have stayed in a VGF studio, but not Poly. What are people's thoughts on which studio you'd prefer, and why?

I have not stayed at Poly, but we own at VGF, and LOVE it! I think it might depend upon when you are staying. If you were staying any time during the Christmas season, I would definitely go with VGF. Every time you enter the buildings, you just can't help but be in a good mood. But since you are going during the Easter season, and you have never been there, go with the Poly. I personally would love to stay at the Poly. I've never been, and doing something new is always fun. It adds that extra piece of magic, and keeps things from being the same old, same old. It's like the opening of a new ride, exciting, fresh, and new. Either way, you can't go wrong. There isn't a wrong decision. Enjoy!
 
I feel out of place at VGF. Lol but maybe that's just me :duck:

We are a family of 5, with 3 little girls who love Mary Poppins, so we fit right in. The DVC lobby has the penguin fountain that my girls love, and they didn't seem to mind when our girls were strolling through the lobby with wet bathing suits. We made ourselves right at home.

The main lobby at the Hotel can be a little formal, but it also has the awesome character meals at 1900 Park Fare (one of the best in my opinion) and many kids play in the lobby in their costumes.
 
We are a family of 5, with 3 little girls who love Mary Poppins, so we fit right in. The DVC lobby has the penguin fountain that my girls love, and they didn't seem to mind when our girls were strolling through the lobby with wet bathing suits. We made ourselves right at home.

The main lobby at the Hotel can be a little formal, but it also has the awesome character meals at 1900 Park Fare (one of the best in my opinion) and many kids play in the lobby in their costumes.
That’s the spirit, enjoy the VGF!
 
We prefer the VGF over the Poly for many reasons but one to us stands out, how quiet the rooms are.
 
They wanted to add toilets but there was a code issue. Only so many toilets per unit or building, or something along those lines.

I expect that the size of the current sewer pipes wouldn't allow the extra toilets and DVC didn't want to spend the $$$$ to replace the pipe.

As to which resort is best, it really depends on what you like. I think there is more living space in the living room of the Poly, but VGF is so well laid out that you don't really miss it. And the real difference is that at VGF the sink is not with the toilet, but in the other half of the bathroom. So if you leave the sliding door between the two open it doesn't matter, but otherwise you have open a door to get to a sink to wash after using the bathroom, a bit gross IMO.
 
PVB has sliding doors to both bathroom spaces. VGF also has sliding doors to both spaces...as well as a sliding door between both spaces.


Both rooms have the fold out murphy bed and the living areas felt to me about the same size.

So basically -- it comes down to theming, location, and resort amenities, as I would say the room layouts are more or less identical (see pics below).

Location --

I'm a VGF guy thru and thru - but I must say that PVB has the better location. You get picked up on the park buses prior to VGF, as well as the monorail -- so there is a lower likelihood of having to wait for another monorail or bus to go to the parks. The DVC locations are also VERY close to the TTC (less than 5 min walk from moorea building), and the security there is very quick. From there, you can get to epcot via monorail -- MK via resort monorail, express monorail, or giant ferry. It literally took about 10 minutes to go from Epcot to my room at PVB this past week (once I was on the monorail).

With VGF, you have to take the resort monorail or ferry. To get to epcot, you either walk to TTC or ride resort monorail and do the interchange at TTC.

Theming --

Obviously, this is a personal preference decision. I LOVE the GF lobby. Could just sit there for hours in the evenings (and I have). I actually liked the decor of the poly rooms more than I thought I would -- but I'm NOT a huge fan of the theming of the lobby as much as GF. The grounds of both are beautiful. The PVB buildings do seem further away from the main lobby -- but I might be wrong about that.

Amenities
VGF has more upscale restaurants and princess themed happenings. The pool at POLY is better themed IMHO, but not so much so that I'd switch. The kid's splash area at POLY looks awesome, but I didn't go over there since my DD(4) decided she was too old to play in the kiddy area this trip. Ironically enough -- I chose poly over VGF for this past trip b/c (1) we hadn't stayed there before and (2) the kid's play area looked awesome.

Personally -- I would probably still lean towards VGF for future trips (rooms are brighter)...but I wouldn't be sad if PVB was my backup choice.

https://www.google.com/search?q=VGF...=989&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=ViZwnAZ5M6ASYM:

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I didn't think about putting luggage in the bathroom. But it's a good idea because that bathroom with the tub really is quite large.
I wish I would have thought of this before last week. That would have saved a lot of space in the living area. hahaha
 
I love both resorts, and own at both resorts. I think the 1-bedroom and larger units are truly excellent at VGF, but for some reason I'm just not thrilled with the studio there. By contrast, I think the Poly studio is the best studio I've stayed in yet.

That said, the one thing I prefer about the VGF studio is the bed, as I find it way more comfortable than the Poly bed. I like a softer bed, and the Poly bed is too hard for my taste. That's a pretty big deal, and might eventually flip my studio preference. It seems comfort becomes a higher priority as each year passes.
 
We have stayed at both and I prefer VGF. That being said, we have a studio at Poly in May because all 10 nights became available so that is where we landed. My biggest dislike would be I feel the rooms are very dark and the hallways feel dingy. The ease of Ticket and Transportation was awesome at Poly!
 
I think both resorts are excellent, so it really depends on what type of theme you prefer. I personally like Poly more, but I love both resorts. I feel like Poly has a slight advantage on transportation (super close to TTC for Epcot monorail) and has better food options (unless you're looking for more high end options), but our lake view room at VGF made it painful to check out.
 

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