Advantage of the Poly

[DISNEY1975]

Ive been reading these boards for a couple of months and am starting to get a little T'd!

I have 2 rooms booked at the Poly for Thanksgiving week...paying approx $11K for vacation for 6.

Ive been reading that anyone and their mother can...

1) Eat at the restaurants and reserve before resort guests (if checking in earlier)
2) Park in the lot, use the monorail
3) See Wishes from the beaches
4) Use the kids club
5) Although frowned upon...use the pools (nobody checks IDs??)

Im starting to question if I should just stay in a value and hang out at the Poly all day??

Can someone tell me what the advantage of paying and staying there is??

 

[mommyto_3princesses]

You cannot swim in the pool and they do check id's at times. Not all the time that would get annoying to the resort guests if they had to show their ids non-stop. But they will ask someone to leave if they do find out your not staying at the hotel. As far as the restaurants everyone can make an adr for 180 days out(I think it may be 90 right now though). I know you can only park at the hotel if you are staying there or having dinner. Every Disney guest can use the monorail, not sure why that would bother you and there are only a few kids clubs on the property. If they limited to the guests that are staying at that resort they probably would not have many kids there. And as far as the beaches anyone is allowed to look at any property-that is one way to get you to fall in love with the different resorts. Nothing to get T'd about.

 

[mmmears]

Good point! I've wondered the same thing, actually!

The pool thing is very disturbing to us, since it's small and fills easily. That tipped the scales for us between the Poly vs. the GF (unless we change again) since it seems alot less people pool hop to the GF for some reason.

WDW really needs to fix this, especially since the prices for the deluxe resorts have climbed so much.

 

[Madonna3]

This thread and resort snobs make me El oh El in RL.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Can someone tell me what the advantage of paying and staying there is??

I would say the advantage is you are simply walking out of your room to do all of those things, and then walking back into your room, your larger room, your room with Queen beds not double beds, ordering room service if you feel like it and so on. The people who are "visiting" the Poly and staying somewhere else are treking themselves and their kids over to the Poly and then treking everyone back to where their heads will be in beds. Staying at the Poly and "visiting" the Poly are two different things entirely.

Your Thanksgiving with family at the Poly sounds amazing! Enjoy!

 

[minnie61650]

Ive been reading these boards for a couple of months and am starting to get a little T'd!



Ive been reading that anyone and their mother can...

1) Eat at the restaurants and reserve before resort guests (if checking in earlier)
2) Park in the lot, use the monorail
3) See Wishes from the beaches
4) Use the kids club
5) Although frowned upon...use the pools (nobody checks IDs??)

Im starting to question if I should just stay in a value and hang out at the Poly all day??

Can someone tell me what the advantage of paying and staying there is??

Yes, with the partial exception to #2 (anyone can park at Poly for up 3 hours with a permit from security) and # 5 use of the pool ......
anyone can use the resturants, beaches, kids club etc.

I think Disney's value and mod resorts are a total bargain. You get so many perks (Disney themeing, Disney transportation, and EMH)
Any of Disney's resort guests (even those staying at a value or mod) are allowed to shop, dine, use the transportation, rent the boats or bikes, pay for horsback riding or pony rides,use the kids clubs, beaches, or spa facilities at any of the Disney Resorts. (Of course pool hopping is not allowed.)


Disney does charge a premium price for their Deluxe resorts.
Deluxe guests are paying for location and on site admenities.

JMHO

 

[Mamapapa]

I don't think OP is being "snobish", I think she has a valid point. I never even thought about pool hopping until I heard someone else complaining about it. I stayed at the Poly for a week in May and I can assure you, not once, did anyone check our ID's so we could have been from any resort. I don't have a problem with people using the beach for wishes, or parking in Poly's lot and using the monorail. But other people using the pool really isn't fair since as a previous poster stated, it is small and fills up quickly. I really don't think many people would take the time and effort to "steal" the advantages of the Poly though which is why Disney doesn't seem to concerned about it...

 

[habg1]

Ive been reading these boards for a couple of months and am starting to get a little T'd!

I have 2 rooms booked at the Poly for Thanksgiving week...paying approx $11K for vacation for 6.

Ive been reading that anyone and their mother can...

1) Eat at the restaurants and reserve before resort guests (if checking in earlier)
2) Park in the lot, use the monorail
3) See Wishes from the beaches
4) Use the kids club
5) Although frowned upon...use the pools (nobody checks IDs??)

Im starting to question if I should just stay in a value and hang out at the Poly all day??

Can someone tell me what the advantage of paying and staying there is??

I'm glad this question was asked. We are staying there as well for the 1st time, also on Thanksgiving week, also 2 rooms, 6 people.

While I think people other than the "Poly's" using the pool is not right. it does not bother me so much about other things.

Last year we went to AKL and ate and walked around and used the arcade while we waited for our reservation. But I would never jump in their pool, when I have a great one at our resort (POR in 2007). I really don't see anything too wrong with walking around different resorts.

Just keep in mind, while they have to leave, we can walk back to our rooms after Wishes or the Electrical parade.


Have a great time at the Poly in Nov. We are going Nov. 20 - 27th. 2 Rooms , deluxe dining, 6 people. Ressies at all the Poly rest. Oh My! Can't wait!

 

[chorlick]

It is called the monorail!!! The convenience of jumping right on and being able to get to MK fast is the whole thing....yes the GF and C do it too, but I love the tropical feel. It's like being in Hawaii and DW at the same time.

 

[Marty Joe]

Our first visit to the Poly (we were staying at CBR at the time) was to have dinner at Kona. Our waitress asked if we were staying to see the fireworks (pre-Wishes). We did not know what she was talking about. We soon discovered "the beach"! Along the way, we discovered the pools, tiki torch paths, O'hana, Electrical Light Paegent, longhouses, and the lagoon views of the Grand Floridian and CR, and the fireworks... We fell in love with the Poly at that point and have never looked back. This is why you can visit "all" of the resorts. You can get a taste of what's going on all over WDW. We love the California Grill but we don't stay at the CR. We like to visit Wilderness Lodge. We spent three days at Pop Century and had a great time... Disney wants you to explore and have fun doing it. You do have to make "reservations" in advance no matter where you stay or where you dine.

Last month during the "Poly leg" of our adventure, We had the quiet pool to ourselves and the volcano pool to ourselves in the morning. There was plenty of room in the afternoon and evening. I have the pictures to prove it! As soon as I get my head out of my b***, I will post them... There is also plenty of room on the beach. There may not be enough chairs, but get there early and secure a spot (with a Mai Tai in each hand)!

Parking and monorails should never be an issue - there is always room - most of the time . The busses "will" be an issue (don't get me started!).

I'm not suggesting you overlook the values, but don't poo poo the Poly because of some negative posts. Nothing is ever as bad as you hear or as good as you hear...

 

[disneymyway]

Sounds like it would be a pain to me, carting my stuff over from a value all the time.

It's an advantage to me to check in and be "at home" there, and have my room right there next to all the stuff I do.

If I were staying at a value I'd want to hang out there, where my stuff was. When we used to stay at PO all the time I just loved hanging out on that property.

 

[mickaholic4077]

I especially love watching Wishes from a hammock on the beach.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

we have always stayed at a value resort since it was so cheap and we didnt spend any extra time there anyway. However, we always go to the other resorts for breakfast or dinner, Ohana being my favorite. We did rent a "mouse" from Poly last time after breakfast, other than that we didnt go anything beside eat. Even though i was eating at the Poly, oh yeah i did expolore their gift shop and bought a Bambi purse, so cute... it was not the feeling of staying at the resort. We always had a LONG ride in a cramped bus back to our resort every night and a LONG wait in the morning. This trip will be sooo much better since we splurged for the Poly, holiday pricing is crazy, 650$a night but it's so unlike the value resorts and i cant imagine how nice it will be using the monorail or taking the ferry boat! Or getting up for breakfast and being right by our favorite spots w/o the 45 min transportation time.
I do agree it's wrong to use other resort pools! Less room for the people who are paying 650$ a night to be there.

 

[vicki_c]

I would say that if all these things bother you, because those who didn't pay for them are able to do them (everything but the pool), maybe you shouldn't pay to stay at the Poly. That's the way it is all over the World, with the exception of the pool hopping thing, which we all know is not allowed.

So why not stay somewhere less expensive and then you won't have to feel like you're wasting your money? Just my thoughts.

To me, just being at the Poly is worth the extra money and I don't feel like I'm getting ripped off by others using the resort, but obviously not everyone feels that the extra money is worth it to them.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

The only thing that bothers me when I'm staying at a deluxe is other people using the pools, or when we stay at the Poly, those who take the hammocks and chairs to watch the fireworks. I don't care if they watch Wishes or EWP from the beach, just bothers me if I can't find a chair or hammock to sit on (while I'm paying the deluxe prices) and those who have just come over to dine at the Poly are using the hammocks, at the expense of paying guests.

Of course anyone is welcome to eat at any of the restaurants at Disney - and use the transportation! How boring would it be if we all had to eat only at the resort we were staying!

 

[kupperman]

Not trying to start trouble but I'm just curious. How do you know that the people using the pools and hammocks and eating at the restaurants are from other resorts?

 

[DiznEeyore]

Not trying to start trouble but I'm just curious. How do you know that the people using the pools and hammocks and eating at the restaurants are from other resorts?

Well, for example, there are several "meets" being planned on another board for people to gather on particular nights on the Poly beach to watch the fireworks. They're staying at resorts all over WDW property, not just the Poly. With such an organized activity, you can bet the beach will be crowded and chairs will be scarce.

There have also been many posts over the years from people who (for example) go to the luau for dinner, bringing their swimsuits with them for an after-dinner swim, and stay to watch the fireworks.

 

[DISNEY1975]

It is called the monorail!!! The convenience of jumping right on and being able to get to MK fast is the whole thing....yes the GF and C do it too, but I love the tropical feel. It's like being in Hawaii and DW at the same time.

This is somewhat my point. I have seen many people (not staying at the Poly) stating they are going to breakfast at Kona's and plan to valet their car for $10. Apparently getting valet allows them to keep their car there as long as they want. After breakfast, they will hop on the monorail and enjoy the parks.

As for the beaches, I have a lagoon view. I expected a nice peaceful stay for my elderly mother. She doesnt go to the parks much and loves to sit out on the balcony and read books. Reading many posts here makes me think hundreds of people will be out on the beach every night to watch Wishes...very loud/crowded.

As for eating in the restaurants, I know anyone can and expect anyone to be able to, but its a shame I couldnt get my mother into Konas at a decent hour for breakfast because 8 - 9:30am was booked some mornings. I am going with my hubby and daughter to character meals in the mornings. Like I said, my mother doesnt really leave the resorts, so I wanted to reserve breakfast for her and my older teens at Konas. 3 of 7 mornings, I couldnt get earlier than 9:30am.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I would say that if all these things bother you, because those who didn't pay for them are able to do them (everything but the pool), maybe you shouldn't pay to stay at the Poly. That's the way it is all over the World, with the exception of the pool hopping thing, which we all know is not allowed.

So why not stay somewhere less expensive and then you won't have to feel like you're wasting your money? Just my thoughts.

To me, just being at the Poly is worth the extra money and I don't feel like I'm getting ripped off by others using the resort, but obviously not everyone feels that the extra money is worth it to them.

I have stayed at the Poly before and at other Deluxe resorts. I had never given it a second thought that the people in line for the monorail, on the beaches, in the pools were not guests of the Poly. Reading this website now makes me wonder if the Deluxe is worth it, if I still can do everything without paying for it.

 

[minnie61650]

I have stayed at the Poly before and at other Deluxe resorts. I had never given it a second thought that the people in line for the monorail, on the beaches, in the pools were not guests of the Poly. Reading this website now makes me wonder if the Deluxe is worth it, if I still can do everything without paying for it.

It is your money and your decision.
Since you are taking your mother and she will be staying at the resort most of the time I think staying at Deluxe with a balcony might be something she would really enjoy.

I have stayed at all levels of resorts.
We stayed at CR with a MK view back in 1990 and I really thought the view was breath taking.
Howerever, we hardly ever spent any time on the balcony and I really felt we overspent for admenties at the resort that we hardly used.
I was having so much fun going to the parks, dining,shopping and just expoloring;we spent very little time at the resort.
Now we usally choo se to stay at a value resort and I feel we are getting way more than what we are paying for.

I do have have limited mobility and use an electric scooter to get around.
The values and mods have an angled enterence which makes it easy for me to back my scooter and I am able to leave the room without help.
The long narrow hall inside the deluxe room is more difficult and I need someone there to hold the door for me.

As my disability worsens and I need to spend more time in my resort room that is when I will choose a deluxe resort once again so I can spend some time on the balcony seeing the MK, or resort grounds and watching families enjoy their stay at WDW.

Have fun at WDW wherever you choose to stay!