Here are my final choices, tell me in your opinion which you like "BEST"

[disneykindofgal]

I've narrowed it down to Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, Caribbean or Port Orleans French Quarter. This is our 1st vacation to Disney with our 2 children, ages 6 and 8 so this is a "special" time. Which resort is THE best in everything. Any help you can provide would be appreciated. This board is wonderful. Also, should I use that phone number for the July room rates since we are going in July to get a discount possibly for an upgraded room? Thank you!

 

[SAWYERMAW1]

I love POFQ!! That would be my choice. With kids, the conveneince of the food court comes in handy. You'll love the boat ride to DTD and the kids will love the dragon pool.

 

[ReneeDisney]

Poly is the best choice. Biggest rooms, access to monorail to MK, Epcot, Grand Floridian and Contemporary. The luau takes place there, 24 hours snack bar, restraunts, character breakfast and great pool and beach area.!!! ENJOY!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Decisions...Decisions....Decisions....


You could have a great time at any of your choices. If I had to choose only one........I would go with the POLY!

The Monorail, theme, atmosphere, location, etc...etc...etc..

Good Luck & let us know of your choice!

 

[Frances999]

Originally posted by ReneeDisney
Poly is the best choice. Biggest rooms, access to monorail to MK, Epcot, Grand Floridian and Contemporary. The luau takes place there, 24 hours snack bar, restraunts, character breakfast and great pool and beach area.!!! ENJOY!

Just a slight correction - The Poly snack bar isn't open 24 hours, I think it closes at something like 11pm

I agree though - definitely the 'best' out of those options in my opinion in The Polynesian Resort. Book a standard Lagoon View room and request Tahiti - biggest rooms, double sinks, a more private beach - I love this longhouse!

 

[k_hase]

You really aren't telling us much are you! You have selected resorts with a wide difference in pricing so I assume money is no object. If that is true I would stay at Poly or WL. If you are on a budget then Carribean or POFQ is the way to go. The Poly has monorail access to MK and Epcot and has pretty cool pool for kids. WL is rustic, has a great theme pool, and boat transportation to MK, buses elsewhere. CBR and POFQ are also very nice, have a motel-like set up where the doors to the rooms lead directly outside (unlike WL and Poly) and use buses to get everywhere. Both have nice pools, CBR is a large resort that can mean lots of walking.

The question for you to answer so you can help us help you (for the third time) is do you have a budget? If so what it is? Are your kids particularly interested in anything or afraid of anything (like if they can't swim maybe the WL and boat transportation is a bad plan for you)?

Absolutely call for the discount code and make your reservations ASAP. Remember they are room only. You will not get tickets for the parks with this reservation, only the room itself.

After this you can look forward to planning your meals!

 

[MAC3]

Originally posted by WDW LifeLong Fan
Decisions...Decisions....Decisions....


You could have a great time at any of your choices. If I had to choose only one........I would go with the POLY!

The Monorail, theme, atmosphere, location, etc...etc...etc..

Good Luck & let us know of your choice!

I agree 100%

 

[catherines_mama]

From reading your other posts I definetly agree that you need to set down
- What is my price range?
- What is important in a hotel?
- What kind of experience do I want my family to have?

Each resort is VERY different. Since you will only be spending 1 or 2 days at MK, a monorail resort (more $) might not be a priority. It seems as if you will be doing a lot of driving, so you may want to consider WL or POFQ or CBR. CBR is very convinent to Osceola Pkwy and has good pools. or is $$ isnt an issue the YC/BC are great non-monorail deluxes.

So you need to lay out what you want out of your stay on Disney property. That will allow us DISers to assist you best.

As to your post re: cleanliness at WDW.. I've never stayed anywhere else where I've had such a magical experience. Do note however... food on Disney Property even at the hotels is slightly more than off. Just a note since you are spending much of your time at other Orlando attractions.

Have you considered Staying Poly the days you'll be doing MK and maybe even SeaWorld, and staying at an Universal resort for the days you are there. People do it a lot and enjoy it. There was recently a trip report from someone who began their vacation at Universal and finished at Poly. They enjoyed it.. enjoyed the walk to the US parks Front of the line benes etc.

Good luck w/ your planning.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Hey there,

I have stayed at all those resorts and they were all great for us. So I would look at your budget and decide if you want to spend the money for a moderate or deluxe. The moderates price wise will be the same. Generally - the Poly will be more expensive than WL. Poly's rooms are bigger and it's a monorail resort. You would most likely have a daybed in the room at the Poly. I actually prefer the themeing at the WL. It's all personal preference - so check out all the pics you can. You can check them out at www.wdwinfo.com, www.allearsnet.com, and Tikiman's amazing site has great info/pics about the Poly http://www.tikiman2001.homestead.com/index.html .

Yes, book as soon as you can for best availability and use that room code. It's been posted on this board and it's on www.disneyworld.com. Never pay rack rate if you can avoid it!

Search for pros and cons on all those resorts. Here's mine:

Poly
Pro: Large rooms, really nice bathrooms with separate room for toilet, large safe in room, daybed one child could sleep on, monorail resort, kid's club for childcare.
Con: Price

WL
Pro: Absolutely wonderful themeing. Nice relaxing boat ride to MK and FW, can request (they will not be quaranteed) bunk beds for the kids, kid's club for childcare. More relaxing, away from the parks, feeling to me.
Con: Room is smaller than Poly, I believe it's about the same sq footage as CBR. Poly's rooms are about 80-100 sq ft bigger.

CBR: Tropical theme, largest rooms of the moderates (I believe about 340 sq feet). Nice food court area. My kids liked getting the shovel and buckets the kid's meal came in and playing in the sand with them. I like the caribbean music around the food court. Rooms were refurbished about 3 years ago I think?
Con: It's huge - very spread out. If you don't end up close to the food court it can be a bit of a walk - however they do have an internal bus system.

POFQ:
Pro:
The pool and slide for kids. It's the smallest moderate I believe so it's NOT a hike from any of the rooms to the pool or food areas. Boat to Downtown Disney (I think that's still available?) Rooms have recently been refurbished.

Con: Rooms are slightly smaller, about 315 sq ft.

Yikes, that enough info for you!

Go for what meets your budget and then the theme you like the best Have a great time!

 

[Uncle Albert]

The Poly is the best and the highest priced resort. Why don't you work your way up to it over the years. You will be spoiled and never will do the moderates if you do the Poly now. Do a moderate this time since it's you first time. You'll Love any one of them.

Uncle Albert

 

[BCV23]

Captain Cook's, the snack bar at the Polynesian is indeed open 24 hours. The grill, however, does shut at 11:00.

Decisons, decisions...if it were mine, I'd pick the Polynesian. However, as others have stated, there will be no going back after that.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

Poly or WL

depends on if you like hawaiian theme or wilderness theme
both are wonderful Poly probably has the edge but more expensive

 

[ellenmiele]

Just had to put in my 2 cents on this thread too --
I would definitely say Poly. We've stayed at Poly and WL (with similar age kids) and -- especially for a first trip -- Poly wins! Everybody raves about WL's theme (and they're right) but Poly has a terrrific theme too! And with all the recent renovations there you really don't have to worry about the quality or conditions of the rooms at all and it's ON THE MONORAIL - enough said!! And one more thing to consider is the pool: the Poly has zero-entry pool which WL does not and both have great slides (although the one at the Poly has a longer darker tunnel than the one at WL) -- while my kids totallly loved both pools , I think that if you have kids who like "thrill"--type rides the Poly slide is better(ie -scarier) and if you have kids who aren't real secure with their swimming, the zero-entry is perfect because there is a lot of room for wading. So either way, Poly wins!

 

[iloveeeyore]

I second, third, fourth, OK sixty-fifth the POLY! You will pay significantly more $$ to stay there, but there are sooo many reasons it's worth it!

 

[KELLIE JONES]

at those ages, your kids would be thrilled if they were staying at a motel 6 as long as it had a pool!!

i agree with everyone else, go with what you can afford. there are ALOT of REALLY COOL THINGS at disney that you could spend your $$ rather than getting an expensive room.

please let us know what you desided and why!!

 

[2plus2more]

We've only been once so I don't get to vote but if resort restaurants factor in .... well, whichever you choose - make sure you eat at O'Hanas at the Poly. It was our food highlight. Yummmmmmyyy!!! and great fun!!!

We also ate at Whispering Canyon at WL but I liked O'Hanas food, atmosphere, and kids games better. DH might pick the Canyon's but he's strictly a meat & potatoes guy.

 

[swilphil]

I also vote for Poly if you can afford it. My next choice would be Wilderness Lodge.

Since this is your first trip to Disney, you might benefit from using a travel agent. I found out about Dreams Unlimited from this board. You can go to the www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com website and put in a request for a quote. Make sure you mention the XOA July code, but they would probably give you that anyway. The agent will e-mail you back and book everything for you. Our agent also gave us his phone number. He helps with dinner reservations and itineraries, as well as getting good rooms and a nice price on a suite.

 

[Planogirl]

I like the Polynesian the best out of your choices too. The tropical atmosphere and view of the castle just can't be beat IMO. The only part I don't agree with is that you won't like a moderate after staying there. I personally love Port Orleans Riverside only slightly less than the Polynesian and the Polynesian was not only our first resort but the one we spent the most time at!