Poly or GF and why?

[Carriesouthard]

Hi all, we are booked at the Poly right now but just got a fabulous offer from Magical Vacations for the GF...my gut says stick with the Poly, it is my whole families 1st choice but this offer may be too good to pass up. We are a family of 5 with 3 girls ages 9,8,7. Which resort do you like better and why???? TIA

 

[tinkgurl]

While both are great resorts, and I have stayed at both..the
Poly gets my vote. We love the laid back feel. Everything about the resort is so beautiful. The rooms are spacious. And the volcano pool is fun!

 

[jemmouse]

We have stayed at POLY for the past 2 years and really debated about it this year. But we decided this year to wait until next to return due to the room renovations. But enough about my dilemma.

For you, first off CHECK your DATES, the Volcano pool is going to be closed from like March 1-15, that is a deal BREAKER for this family. The quiet pool is way too small to hold all those guests and we don't want to hop on the monorail to use a pool..plus then you deal with the having 2 hotels using one hotel pool, crowds...Also GF pool is closed I believe I read March 7 and 8th...My dilemmas on that is 2 years ago we went and stayed at POLY, and the quiet pool was supposed to be up and running when we got there, NOT TRUE, it was down for at least a month after our visit...

Now if you don't hit the closure dates at POLY, I say stick with it. Its your first visit, so the rooms shouldn't bother you, unless you like bright crisp rooms, which they are not. But they are still nice. Honestly what I love most about the POLY is the monorail, and the scheming of the hotel.

I also want to stay once at GF, but I want to wait until the rehab and construction is all done. I don't want to hear hammers. But do know at POLY some longhouses, one at a time will be closed due to renovations so you will see construction also...

You will have a great time, POLY is beautiful, and soon the rooms will match up with the grounds...

 

[Carriesouthard]

Thanks...we are traveling august 15-24th...the two longhouses that are my top choices will be refurbished in Feb and march so hopefully we would have a new room! What to do....

 

[bethclayton]

this is a great dilemma to have!

i prefer a standard room at the poly over a standard room at the GF and overall like the theming of the poly more. now, when you get into CL, i prefer CL at the GF over anything. but i don't think you are looking at CL or you probably would have said so.

i am familiar with the awesome deal that magical vacations is offering and i really think it is not able to be beat. very tempting.

in my case, since we plan to go for my birthday in late august, i want the trip to be EXACTLY what i want, and for me, a standard room at the GF just doesn't do it for me. so i am holding out for a deal on the poly.

good luck with your decision. i feel very fortunate to have a similar dilemma!

 

[Carriesouthard]

Definitely a great dilemma to have!!! I am leaning towards holding out for a Poly discount!! I think we all have our hearts set on it so much that we would be disappointed with anything else. I am hoping to hear some good things about GF standard rooms! We shall see....

 

[mickeynut1]

While both are great resorts, and I have stayed at both..the
Poly gets my vote. We love the laid back feel. Everything about the resort is so beautiful. The rooms are spacious. And the volcano pool is fun!

These are our thoughts as well . The GF is a very nice resort, but if given the choice, my family would choose the Poly every time. I think the rooms are comparable in size, but our Poly room felt a little bigger than our GF room. We also like the volcano pool more than the GF beach pool and we didn't care for Gasparilla's but we love Captain Cooks .

 

[tbandemommy]

Just returned from our third stay at Poly. Love it! Cannot wait to go back. We love the atmosphere of the resort and the space in the rooms. There are 5 of us and the Poly comfortably accommodates all of us. We like the access to the monorail and the the kids love the volcano pool. We consider this our 'home' while in WDW. Highly recommend the Poly! Have a magical trip!

 

[tinkgurl]

Thanks...we are traveling august 15-24th...the two longhouses that are my top choices will be refurbished in Feb and march so hopefully we would have a new room! What to do....

What longhouses are you hoping for? We were in Tahiti in August and loved being so close to the TTC. It was perfect because we would just walk there to catch the express monorail to the MK or the monorail to
Epcot.

 

[samacita]

For you, first off CHECK your DATES, the Volcano pool is going to be closed from like March 1-15, that is a deal BREAKER for this family.

Do you know when room renovations will be done at Poly? You mentioned the pool closure, so I wondered if you dates for the other updates too. TIA!

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

We LOVE the Poly and have stayed there twice a year for the past few years, however, this past October we decided to try the GF so went ahead and booked it for our trip dates (because we booked our trip so late there weren't any "deals" available at the Poly for our dates). As we got to talking, we changed our minds numerous times - going back and forth between staying at the GF or taking what we could get at the Poly. About 2 weeks before our trip, I was able to get a rate at the Poly we could live with and didn't hesitate changing our reservation to the Poly.

As others have said, the atmosphere at the Poly is much more laid back and the theming is wonderful. But I'm sure whatever you choose will be the right decision for your family.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

We were in the same situation. Had decided on Poly, then got the rates for the GF. We are going for 10 days so we are doing a split stay with the BC and Poly...made it much easier to justify rack rate for only half the stay and say no to the GF. Just a thought if you are going for longer than 6 nights or so...*** can handle a split stay reservation for you.

 

[jemmouse]

Do you know when room renovations will be done at Poly? You mentioned the pool closure, so I wondered if you dates for the other updates too. TIA!

I checked Tikiman's website, he has the "tentative" dates. I also did email him and he said they are taking about 2 months to finish each longhouse. But again this is Disney and this is FLorida, so the pace can vary. But regardless some will be done for your stay..

I used to always prefer Samoa, Volcano pool view. UNTIL we went in Fiji and overlooked the marina and the lake and the back of the pool and could see Contemporary in the background

I checked WDWMagic.com for refurbishments and also talked to a TA who does work for Disney about closings...All I am saying is be careful if you are right on the cusp for when something says it should be open, projects can often be postponed due to weather, and many other unforeseen circumstances...

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Do you know when room renovations will be done at Poly? You mentioned the pool closure, so I wondered if you dates for the other updates too. TIA!

According to Tikiman's website, this is the tentative schedule:

Hawaii - January 6
Samoa - February 3
Niue/Rarotonga - March 3
Tokelau - March 31
Aotearoa - April 21
Tonga (lounge only but will be closed) - May 5
Fiji - May 19
Tuvalu - June 16
Tahiti - July 14
Rapa Nui - August 11

Keep in mind, these are only tentative dates and things could be completed sooner, or take longer.

 

[Carriesouthard]

My family is the laid back type so I'm really thinking I'm going to stick with the Poly. We stayed at the BC last summer and loved it but this trip we want a monorail resort. Fell in love with the Poly during our 2 meals there. Longhouses I like, Samoa and Tokelau. Should both be done by August according to tikiman!!!

 

[Carriesouthard]

Bumping this up...I'm still sooooooo torn, eeek!!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

POLY! It is just an incredible resort for pps reasons! I would go with what your family wants...