skiingwife
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2005
After reading the wonderful reviews that the DIS members gave to these two resorts, I decided to stay at the Polynesian and the Yacht Club. You guys were right. We had a great time and loved each of the resorts.
Polynesian: We spent the first 3 nights here (12/16-12/19). Just walking up to the front of the Great Ceremonial House brought tears to my eyes. The grounds were so beautiful with the waterfalls and the lush tropical plants. We had to stand outside a while and take it all in. It was more than I had expected it to be. Check in went smoothly. I wanted a newly remodeled room and I wanted to be close to the pool and monorail, so I had requested Fiji. We were in room 1310. It was not the greatest view, but it was fine. We looked out toward Luau Cove and Grand Floridian. It was nice having a patio to step outside to the beach. All the staff were very nice. My sons (13, 11, and 7) loved the volcano pool. It was cold the days we were there but they had the water temp at 90 degrees which was nice. We loved the decor of the new rooms and the plasma tv. We tried to watch Wishes from the beach one night but it was so cloudy and overcast that we couldn't see anything. We really liked the Polynesian especially the monorail rides to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. So convenient.
Yacht Club: We spent the last 6 nights at the Yacht Club (12/19-12/25). Disney moved our bags to the YC for us with no problems. The Yacht Club is beautiful also. It was a big contrast to the Polynesian. The rooms at Polynesian are dark and brown, while the YC rooms are light and airy and white and light blue. I requested a room close to the lobby and stormalong bay. We got room 1551 which was on the main courtyard leading to the lobby and boat launch. We had a partial view of the lake and could see fireworks from our patio. I was surprised how short the walk to Epcot was (about 5 minutes) and the boat service to Epcot and MGM was very convenient and quick also. It was about a 12-15 minute boat ride or a 20 minute walk to MGM.
We used stormalong every day. My boys loved it - the lazy river, the slide, the 2 hot tubs. It was so big. We spent a lot of time lounging here. Crowds were never a problem. The weather was partly sunny and low-mid 70's most of the days we were at the YC, maybe even high 60's. I wasn't sure we'd get much swimming in being the end of December, but being from the north, it was warm to us and we had no problem using the pools.
All the CM's we encountered at both hotels were very nice and friendly. The Christmas decorations at the YC were beautiful. My husband and boys lifted weights at the health club on two days. They liked the equipment and said the CM working there was helpful.
I asked my husband and sons which resort they would choose if we come back again. It was a unanimous vote for the Yacht Club. We prefer the lighter decor; we spent most of our days at Epcot and MGM so the location was more convenient; and we love stormalong bay.
Polynesian: We spent the first 3 nights here (12/16-12/19). Just walking up to the front of the Great Ceremonial House brought tears to my eyes. The grounds were so beautiful with the waterfalls and the lush tropical plants. We had to stand outside a while and take it all in. It was more than I had expected it to be. Check in went smoothly. I wanted a newly remodeled room and I wanted to be close to the pool and monorail, so I had requested Fiji. We were in room 1310. It was not the greatest view, but it was fine. We looked out toward Luau Cove and Grand Floridian. It was nice having a patio to step outside to the beach. All the staff were very nice. My sons (13, 11, and 7) loved the volcano pool. It was cold the days we were there but they had the water temp at 90 degrees which was nice. We loved the decor of the new rooms and the plasma tv. We tried to watch Wishes from the beach one night but it was so cloudy and overcast that we couldn't see anything. We really liked the Polynesian especially the monorail rides to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. So convenient.
Yacht Club: We spent the last 6 nights at the Yacht Club (12/19-12/25). Disney moved our bags to the YC for us with no problems. The Yacht Club is beautiful also. It was a big contrast to the Polynesian. The rooms at Polynesian are dark and brown, while the YC rooms are light and airy and white and light blue. I requested a room close to the lobby and stormalong bay. We got room 1551 which was on the main courtyard leading to the lobby and boat launch. We had a partial view of the lake and could see fireworks from our patio. I was surprised how short the walk to Epcot was (about 5 minutes) and the boat service to Epcot and MGM was very convenient and quick also. It was about a 12-15 minute boat ride or a 20 minute walk to MGM.
We used stormalong every day. My boys loved it - the lazy river, the slide, the 2 hot tubs. It was so big. We spent a lot of time lounging here. Crowds were never a problem. The weather was partly sunny and low-mid 70's most of the days we were at the YC, maybe even high 60's. I wasn't sure we'd get much swimming in being the end of December, but being from the north, it was warm to us and we had no problem using the pools.
All the CM's we encountered at both hotels were very nice and friendly. The Christmas decorations at the YC were beautiful. My husband and boys lifted weights at the health club on two days. They liked the equipment and said the CM working there was helpful.
I asked my husband and sons which resort they would choose if we come back again. It was a unanimous vote for the Yacht Club. We prefer the lighter decor; we spent most of our days at Epcot and MGM so the location was more convenient; and we love stormalong bay.
