Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows Deluxe Studio Photo Tour

On January 24, we toured the Disney Vacation Club Preview Center model room for the new Disney’s Polynesian Villas Deluxe Studio Room. We LOVED what we saw, and we want to share some of the details with you since tours are not yet open to the public.

We arrived at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa around 9:30am and made our way over to the Disney Vacation Club Preview Center.

Not having had a visit there since we became DVC members in 2011, we had forgotten how beautiful the rotunda and waiting area was! The real stone fireplace felt exceptionally nice on the chilly, rainy morning. We spent some time examining the colorful and intricate murals painted 360 degrees around the rotunda.

While there, we were invited to enjoy some refreshments and light snacks while we waited for our group tour to depart for the model rooms. Many DVC members are stopping by the Preview Center requesting tours of the new Disney’s Polynesian Villas rooms, so tours depart approximately every 30 minutes. They take about 10-15 people on each tour.

We’d like to point out that when you take a tour of DVC rooms, you don’t actually visit the various DVC resort properties. Instead, you are shown exact replica rooms that have been built inside a giant building on Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort Property. It looks like a warehouse on the outside, but once you step inside you are magically transported to locations like Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas, Disney’s Polynesian Villas and more!

Room Tour – Island Leisure, Modern Luxury

The designers say they created rooms that evoke the spirit of the Islands and the legacy of Walt Disney himself. The rooms are described as “Mid-century modern design meets traditional Polynesian style style in a blissful union of Disney heritage and the South Pacific spirit of aloha” in the DVC marketing materials.

In December 2014, I attended the DVC Members Annual Board Meeting where Disney Imagineer Kyle Barnes talked about the design inspiration and creative process for this developing this new resort. He described taking direct inspiration from Walt Disney’s own love of Hawaii. Disney Legend John Hench appeared in a video describing the original Imagineers’ use of Walt’s passion for Hawaii as a guide in the creation of the original Polynesian Village Resort.

Kyle also shared that sketches from legendary Disney Imagineers like Rolly Crump, Mary Blair and others were referenced and revived to create some of the details we see in the Villas today.

Let’s take a closer look and see if the property lives up to this description, shall we?

After a short walk from the Preview Center, we are here In what looks exactly like ta Villa in one of Disney’s Polynesian Villas longhouses at the Polynesian Village Resort. (DVC Deluxe Studio rooms are found only in the Tokelau, Moorea and Pago Pago longhouses.)

We entered the Villa into a hallway with dark wood flooring as shown above. What was not re-created in the preview center was the vibrant, cheerful carpet that will be found in the longhouse corridors. I saw a photo of it during the DVC presentation and fell in love with the bright colors and whimsical design. I think I let out a little squeal when Kyle said it was based of original Mary Blair artwork! I can’t wait to see it in person!

As you move into a Disney’s Polynesian Villas Deluxe Studio Room, you can quickly notice these are the largest Deluxe Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. Also attention-grabbing are the the striking natural finishes, which are complemented with bright pops of color and whimsical Disney art.

The view of Seven Seas Lagoon beyond the private balcony draws you into the room and leads you to pass through the considerably long hallway (for a hotel room) at first.

But let’s back up a minute because there are some terrific things to talk about with regard to what’s in that hallway. First and foremost, the Deluxe Studio room has two separate bathroom areas. That’s right, TWO BATHROOMS! Having multiple bathroom areas allows more people to get ready at one time and saves precious vacation time! The first is a full bathroom with a tub/shower as well as sink and vanity area.

The other one has a large, walk in shower and sink area too.

Despite the glare in the photo below, you can see few of the wonderful details we would like to point out in the second bath. For starters, this shower is as spacious as it is gorgeous. Next, there’s also an enormous, modern rainfall shower head on the ceiling (in additional to a handheld sprayer). Andy pointed out that when the rain shower head is on, the water will line up with the colorful blue tiles that seem to resemble flowing water or rain. And, if you are the type that likes to sit and enjoy the rain, there’s good news — there’s also a bench seat there on the left.

In the sleek bathrooms, the counters were inspired by the look of volcanic rock, while the bright colors and shapes of the accent tiles are based on the art of Disney Legend Mary Blair, whose patterns and designs reflect mid-century modern shapes and colors. Each bathroom also offers nice counter space and multiple compartments for storing personal items below. The shower bath also has a wall-mounted vanity mirror.

Moving back out of the bathrooms, you can see the contrast again of the dark, natural wood finishes against the bright paint color. Take note of the adorable Mermaid painting in the bath! It can be better seen at the end of the video linked below. Also, it’s worth noting that both baths have sliding doors, which are convenient space savers.

Across from the second bathrooms is a small kitchenette, much like those in all the DVC Deluxe Studio rooms. The kitchenette includes a wet bar, small refrigerator, toaster, microwave, coffeemaker, and is stocked with paper plates and bowls, and plastic utensils. We were unable to get a photo of this area, but our friend Beatrice shared this one with us. You can also see the kitchenette in the video linked below.

Sleeping Area Details

There are 360 of these Deluxe Studios, and each will sleep up to five Guests. There are no 1-bedroom configurations available at Disney’s Polynesian Villas, which is unusual for DVC, but the Deluxe Studio will have the ability to connect to another Deluxe Studio to accommodate larger parties in the longhouses

Each Studio room comes with one queen bed and one queen sleeper sofa. The bed is raised to allow for storage of luggage underneath. You’ll also find some storage space in the surfboard-inspired coffee tables

The bed frame also has storage space consisting of roll-out drawers under the bed, which is convenient since there is no dresser in the room. The drawers are visible in the photo below.

The 5th person sleeping area is via a pull-down, bunk size armoire bed (30” wide x 73” long), which showcases Polynesian floral-inspired carvings on the outside and painted artwork from the popular Disney film, Lilo & Stitch on the inside (shown in the second photo below).

The colorful artwork and designs were inspired by the flora and fauna of Polynesia and the carpeting features Polynesian-inspired patterns with a subtle hidden Mickey incorporated into the design!

In the DVC presentation mentioned previously, Kyle Barnes also noted that all of the artwork was created by Pixar or Disney artists. It’s the first time they have ever done this, so it’s noteworthy that Disney and DVC is now celebrating and utilizing the great artistic talents within the The Walt Disney Company. Some artwork and patterns can be seen immediately below and all the art pieces are shown in the video linked below.

The colorful sitting space has unique accents, including a Tiki lamp and rustic, ocean blue mirror. (I am in LOVE with that pink chair!)

Here’s a look at the room layout to give you a glimpse of it all in one view.

Video Tour

Here’s a quick video tour of the Deluxe Studio Room

Bungalow Rooms

There is currently no model for the over water, 2-bedroom Bungalows, so we do not have photos to share with you besides the ones below that Disney released a few weeks ago (below).

Here’s the description from DVC:

When opened, the 20 Bora Bora Bungalows on the Seven Seas Lagoon will sleep up to eight guests each in a two-bedroom, home-like setting reminiscent of the South Pacific. The Bungalows have two full bathrooms, a kitchen, washer and dryer, and large dining and living room spaces for gatherings.

Private decks will feature a plunge pool where Members and guests can view fireworks over the Magic Kingdom, complete with the soundtrack that can be heard through an individual sound system. They will also have front-row seats to the Electrical Water Pageant, a playful nighttime water parade in the Seven Seas Lagoon.

Sounds incredible to us!

How to Stay at Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows

Current DVC Members have the ability to add an ownership interest (buy more points) in this property now through February 8th. Members can add on Vacation Points at the price of $160 each at this time.

You can become a DVC member by buying an ownership interest (points) at this property. General sales to to the public (non-members) will begin on Feb. 9 at the price of $165 per point.

The chart below will give you an idea on the DVC points required to stay at Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows.

Beginning Feb. 11, 2015, anyone can book Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows for as rentals when they are not in use by Disney Vacation Club Members. There will be limited availability to non-DVC guests, especially in the Bungalows.

The following chart shows the regular booking prices (at the time of this writing) if you were to rent a stay in one of the Deluxe Studios or Bungalows.

You can do the math, but it’s a pretty penny to stay in Walt Disney’s World Resort’s newest and largest (Studio) DVC accommodations. But it always has been very expensive to stay in villa rooms across property and especially so those on the monorail resort loop. Lagoon and fireworks views, direct monorail access and luxury accommodations do not come cheap, nor we would expect them to.

Staying at Disney’s Polynesian Village is a dream to many! When the first phase opens, scheduled for April 1, 2015, the resort will welcome its first guests! Will you be there?