Help!? AKL or Poly??

[flinkerfrosch]

It isn't teeny tiny but it can get pretty crowded. It is a little too small for the resort's size, IMO. We spend more time at the quiet pool, to be honest, though my kids enjoy the volcano slide.

ETA: if you go down the page to "recreation and fun", there are many pics of the volcano pool for you to gauge the relative size. http://allears.net/acc/g_poly.htm

Thank-you! I will check it out!

Is the slide long??

 

[dfarner]

Do you mean if I stay at the Poly?
And, no, no car..

I'm sorry...yes, if you stay at the Poly, as it's on the monorail and close to the TTC. That would be a perk with your ADRs.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

We were there two summers ago and I don't have any complaints about the size of the pool. I would say it was semi-crowded, but not cramped, if that makes sense. They did a great job of checking resort IDs (and they DID asks unregistered guests to leave), and the activity group that did the games by the pool was great. They played wonderful music and had some fantastic games for the kids. All in all, I had planned on a very cramped, tiny pool with lots of pool hoppers, and found none of that. We found it to be very pleasant.

We are going in Oct..do you know how crowd levels are then? Maybe it will be a lot less crowded cause of the time of year?

Also, at AKL we got a "pool view room" at the Poly we could only do a "standard" room..would be be looking at a parking lot?

 

[flinkerfrosch]

I'm sorry...yes, if you stay at the Poly, as it's on the monorail and close to the TTC. That would be a perk with your ADRs.

No need to be sorry I really appreciate your help! And you make very valid points!!
Thank-you!

 

[flinkerfrosch]

I'm sorry...yes, if you stay at the Poly, as it's on the monorail and close to the TTC. That would be a perk with your ADRs.

Another question..what is the TTC and why is it important to be close to it?

 

[jenjersnap]

Thank-you!

If free dining became available, could you do the 1st reservation with free dining and the 2nd reservation with room discount?
Does AKL and the Poly normally have a discount in Oct? I know free dining is possible...

Typically there is some discount, yes. Honestly, I am not holding my breath for free dining in October. All signs seem to point to no. It is a much busier time of year than the usual free dining period of late August-late September. But, yes, if free dining was offered, we would do a package for the first part and room only for the second because my boys insist on both BC/YC (the best pool on property) and the Poly.

Another thing about the pool, AKL's main pool is bigger but in shape and scope seems very similar to the Poly to me. They both opened in 2001 so their similarity makes sense. I haven't visited the Kidani pool though, maybe that is the tipping point.

 

[Cappy81]

We are going in Oct..do you know how crowd levels are then? Maybe it will be a lot less crowded cause of the time of year?

Also, at AKL we got a "pool view room" at the Poly we could only do a "standard" room..would be be looking at a parking lot?

Our standard view room at the Poly was of the smaller toddler pool! We also had a pool view at AKL. We have stayed at both resorts and LOVE both!!!! You will be happy either way! I would give a slight edge to the Poly but my DH liked AKL better.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

Typically there is some discount, yes. Honestly, I am not holding my breath for free dining in October. All signs seem to point to no. It is a much busier time of year than the usual free dining period of late August-late September. But, yes, if free dining was offered, we would do a package for the first part and room only for the second because my boys insist on both BC/YC (the best pool on property) and the Poly.

Another thing about the pool, AKL's main pool is bigger but in shape and scope seems very similar to the Poly to me. They both opened in 2001 so their similarity makes sense. I haven't visited the Kidani pool though, maybe that is the tipping point.

LOVE BC, but that's too much $$$$ My husband would have my head..lol

So, if you did the 1st portion (reservation) for say Poly, you would do a package with dining (and if its free even better) and then the 2nd reservation with room only? Would u get a discount on the room for the 2nd reservation, and if I wanted, add the DP and pay OOP?
I'm not sure how many days/nights and tickets I'm supposed to have to take advantage of the free dining if it came available?

 

[flinkerfrosch]

Our standard view room at the Poly was of the smaller toddler pool! We also had a pool view at AKL. We have stayed at both resorts and LOVE both!!!! You will be happy either way! I would give a slight edge to the Poly but my DH liked AKL better.

Thank-you!! I'm so torn!!

 

[dfarner]

We are going in Oct..do you know how crowd levels are then? Maybe it will be a lot less crowded cause of the time of year?

Also, at AKL we got a "pool view room" at the Poly we could only do a "standard" room..would be be looking at a parking lot?

We haven't stayed at AKL, but my understanding (I just asked about pool view rooms the other day) is that these rooms are relatively close to the lobby. For a standard view at the Poly you very well could be looking at lush foliage and greenery. I would just request a non-parking lot view and maybe a specific building and you should be fine.
In our experience, October wasn't too terribly crowded. I'm sure you will have lots of swimming weather, but the Poly pool wouldn't be nearly as crowded as mid-summer I wouldn't think.

 

[mmmears]

The pool is a big factor. That's why I decided on AKL over WL was because AKL has 2 great pools and 2 waterside.
Is the pool that small at the Poly??

The Poly pool is too small for the number of people staying at the Poly. Personally, I have felt that at times it was too crowded to get into. However, my DD loves that pool and the volcano slide. A plus is that you can see Cinderella's castle at the MK from the Poly pool. The main pool at AKL is very large and never feels crowded. The Kidani pool is smaller, but still an ok size and the splash area at Kidani is great!

We had considered a split stay, but its very confusing with tickets/dining plan. I am hoping for a good discount on the room rate and paying OOP for the dining plan, but if I did the discount (if one becomes available) can I do a split stay and apply the discount to each reservation?
I love the idea of a split stay, and getting to experience both resorts.
This is all new to me, so any info is greatly appreciated, thank-you!!

We do splits all the time, mostly on room-only reservations. You can get a package with the DDP for one resort, but doing it for both would require that you buy a ticket (even just a one-day one) at the 2nd resort. Some people do a package for part of the trip and then pay OOP for dining on the other half. When we do a split, we generally like to end up at the resort with the larger room so we don't feel like we downgraded somehow (so we did AKL first, Poly 2nd).

We have a lot of ADR's..is it difficult to get to them? For example we have;
*Chef Mickey's
*Ohana dinner and breakfast
*Cape May Chef
*Boma (if we stay at AKL)
*T-rex
And others that we will do while in the parks.

What we did was do all MK/Epcot days while at the Poly (including most monorail dining), and do all AKL/DHS/AK days when staying at AKL. So Chef M and 'Ohana at the Poly. Boma when at AKL. And T-Rex and Cape May really wouldn't make a difference -- you would have to use the bus system to get to either of them from AKL or the Poly. (Cape May is easy to get to from Epcot or DHS though).

 

[jenjersnap]

LOVE BC, but that's too much $$$$ My husband would have my head..lol

So, if you did the 1st portion (reservation) for say Poly, you would do a package with dining (and if its free even better) and then the 2nd reservation with room only? Would u get a discount on the room for the 2nd reservation, and if I wanted, add the DP and pay OOP?
I'm not sure how many days/nights and tickets I'm supposed to have to take advantage of the free dining if it came available?

BC is less expensive than the Poly for us. Comparing garden view to garden view, we are paying $50 per night less for YC than Poly in October 2013.

You wouldn't be able to add the DDP to the second part of your split stay unless you got another package with tickets. Doesn't make sense financially. We do our more expensive meals during the first stay with DDP and pay for meals OOP for second part.

 

[dfarner]

Another question..what is the TTC and why is it important to be close to it?

The TTC is the Transportation and Ticket Center. It is the transportation hub where you can pick up the monorail to Epcot. It is a short walk over from the Poly.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

BC is less expensive than the Poly for us. Comparing garden view to garden view, we are paying $50 per night less for YC than Poly in October 2013.

You wouldn't be able to add the DDP to the second part of your split stay unless you got another package with tickets. Doesn't make sense financially. We do our more expensive meals during the first stay with DDP and pay for meals OOP for second part.

Really? When I ran #'s for the BC it was more expensive!

 

[flinkerfrosch]

The TTC is the Transportation and Ticket Center. It is the transportation hub where you can pick up the monorail to Epcot. It is a short walk over from the Poly.

Great! Thank-you

 

[dfarner]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2985839

 

[flinkerfrosch]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2985839

Awesome, thank-you!

 

[MyOtherSS]

I would choose the Poly over AKL every time, I love the theme and location. Also access to both monorails is within walking distance. I hear people complain about how to room are dark and old but I don't see it. My last trip we stayed at AK villa Jambo and it was indeed awesome waking up to animals in a newer hotel but I'd still take the Poly. I would just go with your gut and stick with AKL if you switch the Poly and hate it (very unlikely) you'll regret it your whole trip.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

I would choose the Poly over AKL every time, I love the theme and location. Also access to both monorails is within walking distance. I hear people complain about how to room are dark and old but I don't see it. My last trip we stayed at AK villa Jambo and it was indeed awesome waking up to animals in a newer hotel but I'd still take the Poly. I would just go with your gut and stick with AKL if you switch the Poly and hate it (very unlikely) you'll regret it your whole trip.

Thanks for the info

I'm considering a split stay. 4 nights AKL and 5 nights Poly. I'm still running numbers, and figuring out what to do, but a split stay would allow us to experience both resorts! Its a bit of a hassle with the dining plan, tickets etc..but I could make it work!

 

[clareita]

For all of those who don't like how the rooms at the Poly are dark, that is being addressed. Tikiman's website has pictures of the renovated rooms, and they are much lighter than the old rooms.