Alright! That's it! I have had enough, and I'm staying ONSITE next year!

[jekajekalynn]

Hi all,

I need some help picking out the resort to stay at next year around the last of April/early May, and after the experience I just had at our vacation home this past week, we are DEFINATLY NOT going to do that again. What poor customer service.......

This shall be our 1st ever onsite vacation. So I have narrowed it down to the Poly, WL or POP. How are the beds? Are they comfortable (I say this because the vacation homes beds were like sleeping on box springs!! ) ? Can you get pretty good AAA discounts for these places? Also, will they still have the program where they pick you up from the airport and take you to your hotel when we go?
So many questions, but luckly I have a whole year to ask.

TIA!!!!!

 

[oogieboogie]

I've stayed at WL and POP and I love them both. WL is our family favorite. The beds are a bit on the firm side but quite comfortable. They're sit pretty high up too, so if you're a short person like I am, it's a bit of a climb to get into bed.

Pros for WL:
small resort, less rooms = less crowds, near MK but still secluded area, bunkbed rooms, whispering canyon cafe, great pool and a little beach for the kids, inside corridors
Cons for WL:
if you get a lobby room it may be noisy due to WCC, not right on monorail line (if that's important)

Pros for POP:
value priced, great food court, frozen coke, nice theming, mickey soaps are included instead of dispensers like AS, no shared bus system
Cons for POP:
Big large resort, crowded buses, no slide at pools, no towels at poolside, outside corridors

Disney is starting their Magical Express shuttle service this year - it will take you from airport to resort and back for free. We'll hear how good they are soon enough.

If you're looking for great beds, you should check out the Swan/Dolphin since they have what's called "Heavenly Beds"

 

[Greg K.]

How old are your kidds? Poly is very popular with families who have young kids, because it's especially convenient. A short monorail ride to the MK, and a short walk to the TTC, which will take you to Epcot. It's also very pretty, and a little exotic. Great pool, too. And you can see the fireworks from the marina!

 

[spiceycat]

Pop has 2 double beds, Polyn has 2 queen beds plus a day bed, WL has either 2 queen beds or queen bed and bunk beds.

the Pop and Polyn have separate building - WL is all in one building.

Poly rooms are definitely bigger - much bigger than either WL or Pop. Wl is a bit bigger than Pop.

Pop has one sink - WL has two - Polyn varies (or did).

WL and Polyn both have 2 pools - one main pool and one quiet pool.

Pop has 3 pools - one main pool - 2 quiet pools.

Pop has a food court - both WL and Polyn have snack bars - I like the food court much better. WL and Polyn have restuarants - Pop does not.

of course you are trying to compare a deluxe Polyn - perhaps the best deluxe at WDW - to a lesser deluxe WL - to a value resort - Pop.

this is not fair to the Pop.

room service, valet parking, bell hop are at WL and Polyn. bell services are at POP - they take your luggage when they can.

they are all pretty nice - but you have decide for yourself what you want - superior service Polyn
or a better price Pop

 

[northwds]

We have stayed at AKL, WL, Poly, YC,BC and BW and they are great for deluxe resorts. But let's give the moderates a chance here. Just stayed at POFQ in Dec and am going back there next week. We loved it. The POR has a bigger food court/sit down rest, so you might like it better. The moderates have some of the deluxe features...pool slides, towels at pools, it is small, first on bus/first off bus stop, etc,....but not the price. We have planned a trip in Oct and booked the POP because we need two rooms for the group. We are making a trip to POP during our visit next week, just to see if it is as BIG as they say....that will determine if we will stay there. Again, I offer for your consideration a moderate resort.

 

[BrianD]

The Polynesian is on the monorail and is very convenient to both the Magic Kingdom & Epcot.

 

[TJA]

Poly ~ one of the most expensive deluxe resorts
WL ~ least expensive deluxe resort
Pop ~ value resort (will be the cheapest in price)

Besides your budget, your decision hinders on your family situation. Do you have small children and a stroller to haul around? Will you be spending a lot of time at your resort? If yes, then I'd recommend either Poly or WL. Now that we have little ones, we personally prefer Poly because of the convenience in getting around. Plus, Poly has great restaurants and you can watch Wishes from the beach area.

Disney does offer AAA discounts at the resorts. I think the percentage depends on the level of the resort (value, moderate, deluxe). It may also depend on the season.

We have stayed at both WL and Poly and I don't remember the beds being uncomfortable at either resort.

Happy planning!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

It all depends on what you're looking for. You can't beat the location and theming of the Poly, you can't beat the price of POP. WL is a nice middle ground, but then POR and CBR are great also. You will love staying onsite. AAA discounts are pretty good. Deluxes are 10% off reg season 15% off value season (deluxe value season starts July 5 earlier than value or mods). Values and mods AAA discount is 15% reg season 20% off value season. If you go every year you should look into an AP (hopefully and AP discount too). We time our vacation so we get two vacations into one AP. Last year we activated our AP July 18, this year we're going back July 1.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

I agree with Northwds: you have chosen two deluxe resorts and one value, maybe a moderate will fit the bill better? Having said that, CSR is the best of the mods - well, what I mean is; CSR is the most deluxe of the moderates. Ok, I', biased too, but it's a great resort!

Back to your original question - I don't think you can go wrong with any onsite resort. It's all about what you want: distance to certain resorts, special amenities, restaurant choices...

I hope you find the perfect one!

D4D

 

[franw]

Regardless of which resort you end up choosing, you will have a better time than staying off site. We went to WDW several times over the years prior to staying off-site and, quite frankly, I used to say I preferred going to Disneyland. Once we stayed on Disney property though, we fell in love with WDW and have had no desire to ever stay off-site again or go to Disneyland again.
We have stayed at deluxe resorts and many, many times at the CBR. We still love the CBR and would stay there in a minute. I've never stayed at a value but know people who love the POP. I would stay in a deluxe on a shorter trip for the location advantages and at CBR for a longer trip as it is more cost effective and you're not in as big a hurry to get places if you have more time.

 

[patrenoe]

No matter what resort you pick you will have a great time. We have stayed in all of the monorail resorts. It is so much easier just from a transportation point of view.