What Are the Booking Options at the Island Tower?

You’re facing a choice now at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. It’s the good kind of choice, though. There are no wrong answers when you decide where to stay at the Poly. 

You can pick the classic Studios or Bungalows. Alternatively, you can select the new hotness, the Studios and Villas at the next expansion tower. We previously discussed the original DVC membership options. 

Today, we’ll talk about the recently opened rooms. Here are the booking options at the Island Tower at the Polynesian.

Let’s Talk about the Room Types

The first thing you should know about the Island Tower is that DVC introduced new Room View options. Frankly, it’s a bit of a mess and needs some explanation.

The Island Tower alone offers four different Room Views. Your options include Resort View, Preferred View, Premium View, and Theme Park View. 

DVC altered the verbiage to make standard room views sound a bit better. So, “Resort View” is what we’ve always known as the standard room. You won’t pick these rooms if you want to see something other than parking lots and obstructed views. 

However, they’re cheaper. When you don’t look out your window much, it’s the best option. You’re saving precious DVC Points this way.

Then, we have Preferred View, which is the equivalent of Lake View on the old DVC Points Chart. At the Island Tower, Preferred View indicates higher floors and/or rooms closer to the center. You’ll have more to see when you stare out your window.

Then, we have Premium View, which costs a few points more but may be worth the splurge to many. You’ll get a partial view of Seven Seas Lagoon and possibly even Magic Kingdom. So, you can feasibly watch the evening fireworks. It’s far from guaranteed, though. 

Conversely, Theme Park View costs the most and is exactly what you’d expect. You CAN see Magic Kingdom from your room. The caveat here is that some early hotel feedback suggests that some of the Theme Park View rooms actually provide worse views than those in the Premium class. As usual, it depends on which room you’re assigned at check-in. 

Let’s Talk about the Duo Studio

When Disney revealed details about this new expansion tower, it mentioned the Duo Studio. Disney’s Riviera Resort introduced this Room Type, which has become quite the sensation among many DVC members. 

For those of you trying to maximize your points, a Duo Studio proves ideal, especially when you plan to spend little time in your hotel room. These are cute little rooms with a hidden benefit. Because they’re so small, everything you need is almost within reach. 

You’ll enter and be right beside the bathroom. Then, you’ll take six steps and beside an efficient kitchenette space. Another six steps bring you to the combo living room/bedroom space. A pulldown Queen bed hides in the wall. That’s the only bedding in this room, and it’s not visible until you’re ready to sleep/nap. 

So, Disney has crammed plenty of functionality into tight quarters. You’ll be comfortable enough thanks to the kitchenette and a sectional sofa under the pulldown bed. Here’s a video walkthrough of the Duo Studio.

I won’t lie to you. This room option isn’t for everyone, but it definitely has its fans. The Duo Studio sleeps two guests, which makes it quite cozy. 

Let’s Talk about the Deluxe Studio 

The conventional Deluxe Studio option has proven quite popular during the early days of the Island Tower. Here are our friends at DVC Fan taking you inside this Room Type:

The first thing I want to emphasize here is that you cannot go wrong with any of these choices. I sincerely believe this because the Island Tower itself is a masterpiece. During its first week, I watched countless influencers stare in wonder at the beauty of the place.

In the above videos, you should have noticed the décor and art on display. These are breathtaking yet tranquil rooms where you’ll happily spend your DVC vacation. 

With the Deluxe Studio, you’ll gain substantially more space than the Duo Studio. I would describe it this way. Imagine the Stretching Room on Haunted Mansion. Deluxe Studios represent the stretched versions of the Duo Studio.

So, you’ll add more room elements like a second sitting area and a conventional Queen bed in addition to the Queen-sized pulldown, allowing the room to sleep up to five guests. In many ways, they’re the same room design, but the Deluxe Studio has more of everything. If you think more is better, your choice is clear. 

Let’s Talk about the Villas

Then again, fans of more should consider the One- and Two-Bedroom Villas, the breathing definition of MOAR!!! Also, remember that the longhouse rooms at the Polynesian don’t include One-Bedroom Villas. This is an exclusive Room Type at the Island Tower. 

Even better, these rooms feature the wall mural Disney has shown in Island Tower promotional videos. So, you know it must be gorgeous. Here’s a video as proof:

You’ll notice that the main section here has a similar shape to the Deluxe Studio. The difference is that it’s entirely a hangout area with a kitchen and living room. In terms of bedding, you’ll find one King bed, one Queen-size pull-down bed, and a small pulldown.

Then, we have the additional space in the other room, including the master bedroom and master bath. Combined with the full-sized kitchen and washer-dryer unit, this is everything you’d ever need during a DVC visit. 

You may still want more, though. And here’s where the Island Tower really shines through. The two-bedroom villas host up to nine guests, whereas the one-bedrooms only accommodate a maximum of five guests. So, you know that it’s much bigger. Here’s a quick tour of the space:

I realize this suite screams opulence, yet it’s somehow not the class of the Island Tower. That honor belongs to the Two-Bedroom Penthouse Villa. Here are our very excited DVC Fan hosts showing off its splendor:

My favorite touch is that it features the rainfall showers from the Deluxe Studios at the longhouses. Still, when you have a bathtub that nice, you should probably use it. And then there’s the view. You’re literally looking down on everything happening on the Polynesian campus, plus parts of the Grand Floridian and Magic Kingdom as well. 

I don’t need to sell you on its majesty. However, I should alert you to one point. These rooms only sleep eight as opposed to nine in the standard Two-Bedrooms. Please be aware of this if you intend to book a Penthouse Villa at the Island Tower. And if you have the DVC Points to do it, you really should!

You can tell by my tone that I view the Island Tower as one of DVC’s greatest accomplishments. Every new room at this hotel is a winner.