Advice Needed - GF vs RIV vs Poly stay

[Kailunkat]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to DVC (just waiting for that magical email with my account info and the point load) and need some advice for a trip in Feb 2025.

Originally I planned on booking a split stay with 4 days at GF and 4 days at AKL Jambo. Jambo is all set, but the dilemma I have is with the first half of the trip. The way I see it, I have 3 options (see below). If anyone can offer opinions on what I should do I would appreciate it! This is a big group (Me, spouse and 2 kids, BIL, SIL and their 2 kids, plus one grandma and 1 other family friend) of 10 people and we wanted to stay together in a grand villa but one of the nights is now booked up at GH. So I see my options as...

1) Book the first 4 nights at Riviera in the 3db villa. It's open for my dates.
Pros: It's a sure thing/bookable atm. The room looks beautiful. We can all stay together. Skyliner.
Cons: Not walkable to any parks/a little out of the way. Pools seem meh. Not close to the dining options we want to utilize.

2) Book the 3 nights at GF and HOPE that the other night in the middle opens up with a waitlist ask (it's a sunday night btw - I wanted to book Sat-Wed there). I have no idea how likely that is or how any of that works since this will be my first time trying waitlist.
Pros: Exactly where we wanted to be in the first place. Close to restaurants, walkable to MK, 3bd villa has the Den/media room which is really like a 4th bedroom. We all stay together.
Cons: relying on waitlist seems pretty risky.

3) Book 2 dedicated 2 bedrooms at GF.
Pros: At GF. Enough bedroom space.
Cons: Not a big enough common space that we can all eat together and we aren't staying together.

4) 2 of the 2bd suites at new Poly Tower. When the cash bookings started I called and reserved 2 of the 2 bedroom suites just in case this happened. So that option is available/booked.
Pros: We love the OG Poly, great pool, monorail, close to everything/on the loop for restaurants. Fireworks/theme park views.
Cons: OMG the cost! Still 2 seperate rooms so we can't all hang out/eat as a 10 person unit in the room as easily.

5) Not sure this is really even an option but my crazy brain is considering it - Split stay - 2 nights RIV 3bd, 2 nights GF 3 bedroom. But then adding on the Jambo leg we are moving twice and staying in 3 resorts. It seems like a lot. This is probably the least likely thing but wanted to get input.

What do you all think? Is the waitlist idea folly for a 3bd? What should I do here?

 

[VGCgroupie]

You are mixing cash and points for all this because RIV is restricted so resale wont work there unless of course you bought RIV resale, if so Id do that to use up those points. Ive seen many good things about waitlists coming through rather quickly. You could try it for a week or 2 and if it doesn't come through change to another option. Im also a newbie Im sure others will chime in with more experienced opinions.

 

[ShaneDJ]

The RIV is a beautiful resort with great dining options (Topolino's is excellent and Primo Piatto is the best Quick Service restaurant in all of WDW).

Riding on the SkyLiner is serene and fun.

The 3-bedroom Grand Villas at the RIV are stunning. You wouldn't regret staying there.

 

[NVDISFamily]

I'm not a WDW/FL weather expert but if there isn't a lot of storm activity in Florida in February then Riviera will be magical and the Skyliner is a great ride. Super easy to hop over to the Beach Club/EPCOT/Boardwalk area and all that is there. We had a GV for 4 or 5 nights at Riviera for our family of 20+ people and it was plenty of room for everyone to hang out and have fun

 

[Kailunkat]

You are mixing cash and points for all this because RIV is restricted so resale wont work there unless of course you bought RIV resale, if so Id do that to use up those points. Ive seen many good things about waitlists coming through rather quickly. You could try it for a week or 2 and if it doesn't come through change to another option. Im also a newbie Im sure others will chime in with more experienced opinions.

That's true. I conveniently forgot about the RIV resale restrictions here for a hot minute. That certainly throws another wrench into my plans. Does anyone know if there is a discounted rate that applies for a DVC member (non-RIV) booking cash there?

Maybe Poly Tower will open up for points booking for my dates in the next couple of months :|

 

[NVDISFamily]

For fun I just looked at the rooms that are open at that time and I think I understand what Saturday you are talking about.

Crazy idea to consider. Move your stay from Jambo to Kidani and swap them so GF is open if that is your dream. I see the appeal of Jambo (and we are staying at that GV for our fist time in a few days). Kidani is very nice and we love how much storage that room has, it actually has more (larger) beds as there is a couch bed upstairs too, and my wife loved the storage in the room.

Wildcard idea, the best GV in all of WDW is open around that time too (but also blocked on that Saturday for some reason) CCV. Might be the best GV in the entire DVC system.....

 

[VGCgroupie]

That's true. I conveniently forgot about the RIV resale restrictions here for a hot minute. That certainly throws another wrench into my plans. Does anyone know if there is a discounted rate that applies for a DVC member (non-RIV) booking cash there?

Maybe Poly Tower will open up for points booking for my dates in the next couple of months :|

They had sent out a 40% offer but it expires in 2024. But I think there is lesser discounts that they usually have available.

 

[achinforsomebacon]

I'm a little confused. If you're still waiting on points to load, how is Jambo all set? Also, is this the only contract you have?

Update:

kailunkat---$168-$21000-125-VGF-Jun-0/23, 97/24, 125/25, 125/26-sell pay dues+close- sent 5/21, passed 6/18

If it is, 222 points (97 2024 and 125 2025 borrowed) won't go very far for a grand villa where the minimum for a night at VGF in Feb 2025 is 131. Or are you talking cash for everything?

 

[mamaofsix]

If you haven't already booked them, chances are about zero that you'll get two 2-bedroom villas at VGF.

I like the idea of flipping things around at AKV to somehow get the Grand Villa at VGF. Can't be beat.

 

[Kailunkat]

Jambo is booked with another families points (gave them cash for the reservation). So it’s possible to switch it around I guess, but it would be a hassle. I also liked the idea of doing AKL second since it’s more chill/out of the way and we will be more tired at the end of the trip. We will also do a hogsmede excursion during that time and I’d rather that be at the end too.

For the contract - no, I also have a 200pt VGF that is loading any day now into the system that has around 580 I could for the Feb trip. And I have two smaller point PVB in the process somewhere too.

The other open options are BLT 3BD and BWV 3DB for my points but the rooms just seem kind of blah to me. I like Poly because of the theming and RIV and GFV because of the luxury style. BLT and BWV just don’t hit that for me, but I can be convinced.

 

[Kailunkat]

Also it isn’t the Saturday it’s booked - it’s the Sunday. Saturday is open, Sunday booked, Monday open, Tuesday open. So

 

[Kailunkat]

Thank you everyone for the input. Some day I will get to stay in the CCV 3bd but for the moment it's out because my little one is deathly afraid of boats. Jungle Cruise IS the scariest ride at Disney according to her.

Anyone who has tried split stays before - does 3days Riv, 3 days GF and 3 days AKL seem like too much movement to take on with a 9, 8, 7 and 6 yo? I wouldn't hesitate if it was just us adults but I don't know.

 

[CarolynFH]

Anyone who has tried split stays before - does 3days Riv, 3 days GF and 3 days AKL seem like too much movement to take on with a 9, 8, 7 and 6 yo? I wouldn't hesitate if it was just us adults but I don't know.

DH and I don’t even like split stays of 3+4, at least in part because of feeling like we’re homeless on the transition day. We also don’t have enough time to settle to a villa in the way we prefer. I wouldn’t even try it with kids. Given your 9 night stay, I might consider a 4+5 split, but 3+3+3 is way too much packing and moving for me.

 

[achinforsomebacon]

If you really want VGF, here's a thought...if you have enough points (seems like you might with some borrowing), book 2 2 bedrooms for the first 2 nights. Then the GV for the 3 available nights and waitlist/stalk the other night.

While not ideal to be moving twice, at least it's the same resort (where you want to be) and you be going from a 2 br to the GV so upgrading instead of downgrading. You also mentioned a 3+3+3 stay a few posts above vs the 4+4 in the original post. If you're open to adding a day, maybe also try to get another night in the VGF GV and shift AKV by a day so it would be 2+3+4. This would give you more time to appreciate the VGF GV. Of course the extra night isn't available, which would make moving AKV tricky. And if you were able to snag Sunday night, would you want to be 5+4?

The biggest downside to this besides moving twice is that it might require borrowing more points than you ultimately need. If you're already planning a trip in the 2025 use year, you can just use the borrowed points for the Feb trip and bank the unused 2024 points into 2025.

 

[accm]

I personally would not want to move twice, but I'm also the type of person that likes to completely unpack and setup our room so it works for us. I find whenever we do a split stay, the second half feels like a mess because I don't have the time to set everything up properly.

I would not risk having a missing night in the middle of the trip, unless you could book it using cash as a backup.
Since RIV is no longer an option, I'd go with the 2 2bed at VGF, or look for another Grand Villa elsewhere. I think if they maintain the current schedule, the grand villas at BLT should be done their refurb by then.

 

[WxKristin]

If I'm understanding correctly RIV is out b/c of the resale points restriction (otherwise this would be my recommendation).

AND You already have the poly tower reserved with cash (as your backup).

Since your trip isn't until Feb, I would book the open dates at grand villa at VGF using points and add a waitlist for the missing night. if it hasn't filled by New Years (or >30 days out) cancel your VGF and stay at the Poly with your cash rooms. Otherwise if it fills, cancel your Poly stay and have member services merge your VGF reservation.

One more option, if the POLY tower opens to points booking try and get in there then by canceling your VGF nights and using the points for it instead.

Our family generally will put-up with one resort / room change in a trip. My husband would refuse to come if we tried to move twice.

 

[Kailunkat]

If I'm understanding correctly RIV is out b/c of the resale points restriction (otherwise this would be my recommendation).

AND You already have the poly tower reserved with cash (as your backup).

Since your trip isn't until Feb, I would book the open dates at grand villa at VGF using points and add a waitlist for the missing night. if it hasn't filled by New Years (or >30 days out) cancel your VGF and stay at the Poly with your cash rooms. Otherwise if it fills, cancel your Poly stay and have member services merge your VGF reservation.

One more option, if the POLY tower opens to points booking try and get in there then by canceling your VGF nights and using the points for it instead.

Our family generally will put-up with one resort / room change in a trip. My husband would refuse to come if we tried to move twice.

Yeah you’re right on about the husband.

Thanks again to everyone with the great advice. I’m hoping VGF works out! The night that was blocked just opened up again so now I just need my darn points to be accessible and I can book it after all. Fingers crossed that it happens before it books up again.