A help me decide...Polynesian vs Contemporary Garden Wing?

[Eastern]

Big family vacations are hard. Lots of different abilities and expectations. You are not going to find a perfect solution so pick 2 or 3 of your most important wants and go from there. Something will have to give.

Personally, I would do POFQ. You would have to get 3 rooms but the price is a lot cheaper than a deluxe. Resort is small so walking is minimized. A bus takes you everywhere, there is 1 bus stop, and it is close to all of the buildings, although I would make a request for building 3 or 4 (closest to food court and bus stop). I have always gotten this request.

I think the small food court there is more convenient for everyone to meet than staying at a deluxe resort. The grandparents can also hang out there and have coffee if they want to get out of the room. Pool is right in the middle. Small but fine for younger kids.

 

[Meglen]

Big family vacations are hard. Lots of different abilities and expectations. You are not going to find a perfect solution so pick 2 or 3 of your most important wants and go from there. Something will have to give.

Personally, I would do POFQ. You would have to get 3 rooms but the price is a lot cheaper than a deluxe. Resort is small so walking is minimized. A bus takes you everywhere, there is 1 bus stop, and it is close to all of the buildings, although I would make a request for building 3 or 4 (closest to food court and bus stop). I have always gotten this request.

I think the small food court there is more convenient for everyone to meet than staying at a deluxe resort. The grandparents can also hang out there and have coffee if they want to get out of the room. Pool is right in the middle. Small but fine for younger kids.

Pofq is also the first stop back from the parks when they are lumped with por.

 

[ninafeliz]

I just read/skimmed through all of this. Holy hard to plan- good luck! What came to mind is how many people I have read about who thought they would be terrified of the skyliner and actually didn’t have an issue with it at all and rode no problem. Any chance of that in your case? My family thinks it is the best Disney transportation hands down! Pleasant, line moves consistently (not taking big chunks and waiting like bus/monorail), good views, no juggling for a spot or cramming in…. Just all good . Also; the Disney boat transportation is nothing like being out in a real boat- particularly the ones in the Epcot area IMO- it’s all a canal, No open water at all, and the boats don’t even really feel like boats to me for some reason with the way they are set up.

 

[my523]

I just read/skimmed through all of this. Holy hard to plan- good luck! What came to mind is how many people I have read about who thought they would be terrified of the skyliner and actually didn’t have an issue with it at all and rode no problem. Any chance of that in your case? My family thinks it is the best Disney transportation hands down! Pleasant, line moves consistently (not taking big chunks and waiting like bus/monorail), good views, no juggling for a spot or cramming in…. Just all good . Also; the Disney boat transportation is nothing like being out in a real boat- particularly the ones in the Epcot area IMO- it’s all a canal, No open water at all, and the boats don’t even really feel like boats to me for some reason with the way they are set up.

I commend you for reading/skimming all the craziness of my planning. lol. I appreciate hearing how great the Skyliner is. Thanks for the explanations!

 

[kylenne]

I commend you for reading/skimming all the craziness of my planning. lol. I appreciate hearing how great the Skyliner is. Thanks for the explanations!

I would just caution that depending on the time of year you go, you need to expect the Skyliner to be down for weather, especially if you plan on returning to the resort for a break during the day. Personally after having seen the chaos that ensues when it does go down (thankfully as a guest elsewhere), I would never stay at a resort where it was the primary mode of transport. At least when the monorail goes down you have alternatives, and there's also not nearly as many guests on the monorail vs. the Skyliner resorts.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I would just caution that depending on the time of year you go, you need to expect the Skyliner to be down for weather, especially if you plan on returning to the resort for a break during the day. Personally after having seen the chaos that ensues when it does go down (thankfully as a guest elsewhere), I would never stay at a resort where it was the primary mode of transport. At least when the monorail goes down you have alternatives, and there's also not nearly as many guests on the monorail vs. the Skyliner resorts.

You mean you don't enjoy when there's a lightning strike when you're transferring at the CBR station and you suddenly find yourself in a 1+ hour ordeal involving multiple lines, chaos, confusion, and a multi-stop bus trip around all of the Skyliner resorts?!?!

 

[Meglen]

You mean you don't enjoy when there's a lightning strike when you're transferring at the CBR station and you suddenly find yourself in a 1+ hour ordeal involving multiple lines, chaos, confusion, and a multi-stop bus trip around all of the Skyliner resorts?!?!

Dont they shut down the skyliner if there is lightning even close? and start running busses?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Dont they shut down the skyliner if there is lightning even close? and start running busses?

Yes, they shut it down/empty the lines and put buses into rotation. Although of course all of that takes some time to implement so if you happen to be caught at the wrong place/wrong time, it's not all that fun - although just one of those WDW transportation things that can occasionally happen.

 

[kylenne]

You mean you don't enjoy when there's a lightning strike when you're transferring at the CBR station and you suddenly find yourself in a 1+ hour ordeal involving multiple lines, chaos, confusion, and a multi-stop bus trip around all of the Skyliner resorts?!?!

Luckily it never happened to me in the times I've just used it to park hop during the day! But I'll never forget the night I was at Epcot during a F&W holiday weekend and the Skyliner was still down after fireworks, that crush of angry tired & stressed out guests flooding out the IG being directed to get buses at BWI...I was staying at BC and walked a family over to BWI because I felt so bad for them, and they had no idea where they were supposed to go being unfamiliar with the area. After that I swore never to stay at a Skyliner resort if I could help it. It's fantastic when it's up but when it's not (and weather will absolutely guarantee that at some point)...oof. Those poor folks were probably still waiting for a bus home to Pop when I was back in my bed having snacks. I saw something similar go down last July only it was in the afternoon. YMMV! But that kind of thing should be taken into account. Three of the most massive resorts on property on that mode of transport means plan B takes a long time to implement, especially if it's unfortunate enough to happen during "rush hour" like that.

 

[maxiesmom]

Was having dinner at Cape May last year and happened to catch a night when the Skyliner was down. Floods of people walking thru the back of the Beach Club, and out the front. Didn't appear to be very fun.

 

[TeachTink]

I found this thread while searching here because I am also between a Contemporary Garden Wing room and a Polynesian Deluxe Studio.

I just wanted to add bc I didn’t see it mentioned… you may already be aware but the Poly Studios do have 2 bathrooms but only 1 toilet. The one bathroom is a toilet and tub/shower. The other bathroom is just a shower. Vanities in both.

I am leaning Poly for my family of 4, 2 of whom will be children under 6.

 

[meggiebeth]

I’d go for the Polynesian over the Contemporary, especially the Garden Wing - partly due to personal preference. The Poly just feels more immersive and themed to me. The price difference is pretty big though - I always guessed that rooms at the Contemporary weren’t far off the cost of the rooms at the Poly.

Have you looked at the Crescent Lake resorts (Yacht and Beach, Boardwalk)?

 

[raddisneyfan]

If it were me and I haven't been for a long time and wouldn't be going back for a long time, then, of those 2 options, Poly, but I would stay in a regular room and not the DVC room....just my preference....I like more floor space over the extra bathroom. However, if it were me and I could stay anywhere, it would be WL or CC...love the boat ride to MK. and, if you have kids, kids love the place.

 

[_19disnA]

Assuming we are still discussing the OP's $3,000 question, I don't think any Disney resort is that much better at theming, location, transportation or restaurants to be worth the extra money.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Contemporary Garden Wing or Polynesian studio...but for $3,000 more? Is the Poly really worth it and are the Garden Wing rooms that bad?

I know that's a ton of money, and maybe even seems obvious, but I'm reading such mixed reviews on the Garden Wing rooms. And the Poly sounds magical. I just can't decide and need help! I almost feel like are the Garden Wing rooms really even worth that much, anyway? Is it true the Garden Wing are being refurbished?

ETA: This is our first visit for our family (any maybe only one for many years).

If I'm picking between Poly or a garden wing room at CR, I would pick Poly, hands down, however for $3K more, that's a no brainer and it's a hard pass. Poly is nice but not $3K more nice. I prefer the dining options, the pool and the theming at Poly over the CR and I also like being next to the TTC and the GF for additional dining options.

Even if it's a one and done and you never ever come back to WDW, a $3K price difference is insane and no disney resort is worth that much more money IMO. I like both resorts but my decision on where I stay depends on what time of year we're visiting, which dictates our park touring plans, which parks I'll be going to and how often and our budget.

If this is your first visit and possibly your only visit, staying at any of the monorail resorts is great if you have little kids and will be visiting the MK often however, they're usually not the most budget friendly. Other good alternatives are the epcot area resorts for walkability/boat to DHS/Epcot and the Boardwalk area food and entertainment and the values; Art of Animation and Pop Century are great alternatives for the super fun theming and the skyliner to DHS/Epcot.

As others have mentioned renting points could be a viable option but it does require a planned trip further out than we usual plan so we don't rent points but have stayed in DVC rooms booked direct with Disney. They're great if you need a little more space or just want something other than a standard hotel room.