Poly v contemporary

[dorospin]

hi all... large family trip this summer. We keep going back and forth between these two resorts. We are spending some time every day at the Magic Kingdom. We love the pools at the Polynesian and plan to spend considerable amount of time at the pool. However we love being able to walk to and from The Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary. This will be helpful with our large group if some people want to go back earlier. We also like the restaurants in the Contemporary better. Any thoughts?

 

[dorospin]

Also meant to add the children range in age from 15 to 2. The older kids like to stay out at the Magic Kingdom late and come back by themselves.

 

[madchatter]

I think I prefer CR. I agree with you on the restaurants which may be an unpopular opinion as Ohana and Kona are beloved. I’ve just had better meals at CR.

There is nothing like walking to MK.

 

[dreamit]

I think of the Poly as being easily accessible to MK with the resort monorail and boat and the TTC monorail and boat. When we stayed there, there were a number of times we made quick, unplanned trips to MK because of how easy and fast we could get there and back. I've never stayed at the Contemporary, but I LOVE the Polynesian.

 

[PPFlight75]

The Poly is great but it sounds like the Contemporary would be perfect for your trip! What do you think about the pools there?

 

[dorospin]

Thanks all for the thoughts. We keep going back and forth. We loved the poly pools - the contemporary pool seems very basic in comparison but it is a pool - trying to figure out if other pluses of contemporary outweighs the pools. My DH is not a fan of heights.. we had booked tower but Hes worried about the balconies so I'm thinking moving to garden wing or going to poly. First world problems I know.

 

[DarkwingDad]

Sounds like the CR is really your preference. If your spending alot of time at the pool, but your worried about the whole group going back and forth; you have the monorail at your resort either way. If you’re thinking garden wing and like being able to walk to MK....money not withstanding CR is the logical choice for your trip... all thats left to do is enjoy.

 

[PPFlight75]

If you really think you would be using the pools a lot and really want the Poly, you could let the older kids use the monorail back by themselves. The transportation options there are pretty good, not as good as walking from CR, but still pretty great!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

It really does come down to pool vs. convenience. I think once you decide which is more important, you will have your answer.

 

[AllieBoo]

I've stayed at both, and personally prefer the Contemporary. For me, you just can't beat walking to the MK. The monorail went down a few times while we were there, which is why I'm glad we didn't have to depend on it. The pool at CR is pretty basic though, so if that's a huge deal, you may be better off with the Poly. We stayed in the garden wing at CR and loved it. We had a ground floor room with a patio, that was very close to the pool and the beach.

 

[bluejasmine]

Stay at all 3 monorail resorts and GF and Poly are my faves. I liked the rooms at CR but the rest of the resort felt like an airport to me and I liked the theming better at Poly and GF just seemed more relaxing too

 

[Tk0021]

We stayed at the contemporary in 2016 with two small girls 5 and 3. We went to MK four times on our trip and be able to walk back and forth was awesome. We were underwhelmed by the pool though and the spray area was not well maintained and a lot of sprayers were not working.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Have stayed at both several times. My kids are 3 and 7, so my thoughts are framed with that as the backdrop. My kids love a good splash pad and could spend HOURS all over the Poly kid's area. Both pools having a zero entry area is a big plus too.

CR's "splash pad" is a sorry excuse for one by modern Disney standards, and no zero entry pool is a negative for our younger one.

Granted, CR's pools are much more peaceful, not nearly as crowded, easier to find chairs and shade, etc. BUT - they just don't have the same "fun factor" as Poly, for us at least.

For us, with any sort of longer trip with more resort time, we do Poly. If it's a shorter trip with more of a park focus, we do CR.

I do like The Wave at CR and think it's one of the best dining spots around the MK resorts. Sometimes I'll head over there to eat even when staying at Poly. The monorail makes that an easy option.

 

[Shanti]

hi all... large family trip this summer. We keep going back and forth between these two resorts. We are spending some time every day at the Magic Kingdom. We love the pools at the Polynesian and plan to spend considerable amount of time at the pool. However we love being able to walk to and from The Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary. This will be helpful with our large group if some people want to go back earlier. We also like the restaurants in the Contemporary better. Any thoughts?

For a summer trip, I recommend the Poly because it has a much better feature pool. The resort as a whole also has a more summery vibe than CR.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We love the Poly! The theme is one of my favorites at WDW, I feel transported to Hawaii.

I think the Poly has the best location of the three Monorail resorts, since you can walk to the TTC.