With Disney now accepting cash reservations for Island Tower at Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, we now know how many different room categories or views will be offered. Close examination of construction photos and public documents allows us to make some educated guesses regarding the number of rooms of each type.
One, Two Bedroom living room
On Tuesday, June 4, guests could begin booking rooms at Island Tower on a cash basis. During those inquiries, it became clear that the new Polynesian tower will have 3 separate room categories or views:
- Theme Park View: Most rooms on the north / northeast face of the resort which are pointed toward the Magic Kingdom
- Preferred View: These rooms were commonly described as having either a pool view or golf course view. The pool view would be the 6-story wing overlooking the new pool being added to the resort. There may be some view of the Magic Kingdom from certain angles, but it will be a lesser view than the designated Theme Park View which should have a clear angle of the park from both the balcony and villa interior. The golf course view is likely to be rooms on the opposite side of the building, located on higher floors.
- Standard View: These rooms are likely to be located on lower floors of the monorail side of the building. They will be the cheapest accommodations and guests will be able to view the monorail gliding by, but the rooms will overlook the building's parking lot and have no view of a Disney theme park.
One, Two Bedroom kitchen
Point charts have yet to be revealed. The original Polynesian Deluxe Studio rooms are currently classified as either Standard or Lake view. Disney Vacation Club may price these Standard and Preferred view rooms similarly, but it is safe to assume the Theme Park View will cost more points per night than any current Polynesian studio.
Venturing further into the speculative world, Chris from the website dvc.market spent considerable time poring over construction photos, resort plans filed with Florida agencies and other sources, and has estimated the number of each room type that will be present in the tower. It is important to note that these figures are purely speculative. Disney has yet to release such details.
One, Two Bedroom master bedroom
Chris's educated guessing suggests the following room makeup for Island Tower:
Island Tower Room Mix (ESTIMATED) |
|
VILLA TYPE | ROOM COUNT |
Two Person Duo Studio | 39 |
Deluxe Studio | 88 |
Dedicated One Bedroom | 32 |
Dedicated Two Bedroom | 13 |
Lockoff Two Bedroom | 46 |
Two Bedroom Penthouse | 4 |
* Room counts updated September 2024 to reflect new information; all details still not confirmed
This represents a total of 222 units, which agrees with the amendment to the resort's timeshare license which Disney filed in late May. Additionally, counting each of the lockoff rooms separately gives us a figure of 268 rooms which agrees with a figure cited by Forbes last month. Chris also took a careful look at the depth of each unit in the building when identifying the smaller Duo Studios, the total number of bays in the building and other factors.
Deluxe Studio kitchenette with dishwasher
The four Two Bedroom Penthouse units are rather easy to identify atop the resort. But they are apparently flanked by two Deluxe Studios on the lagoon side and two Duo Studios on the monorail side, rooms which are sure to be in high demand.
Again, we want to reiterate that these numbers are unofficial. We will share additional details when they become available.
As for how these rooms will be spread over the three views, that is difficult to discern without knowing exactly how Disney will differentiate between the Standard and Preferred Views. This would entail even greater guesswork and speculation that we do not wish to undertake without further confirmation of the room counts.
Deluxe Studio banquette
If you're in the market for a DVC resale contract--or simply enjoy tracking the "value" of your ownership--be sure to check out Chris's website at dvc.market.
Island Tower is scheduled to open on December 17, 2024. DVC owners and Annual Passholders can currently book cash reservations. Reservations using DVC points will be made available at a later date.