Contemporary or Polynesian

[Carrie in AZ]

You definitely want to stay at CR! We did a split stay between CR and Poly.....after we left the CR and moved to the Poly, once we walked in I had soooo wished we had spent our entire time at CR!

You CANNOT put a price on being able to walk to the MK. It is absolutely wonderful! And, being able to hop on the monorail to EPCOT is great as is being able to hop on it to circle around to the Poly and/or GF if you happen to have ADRs there. Add to that being able to walk over to the buses at MK to take to other resorts if you happen to have ADRs at them.

The pools are fun, and I really think your kiddos would love the beach at CR and being able to play with the ducks that are there as well as see the EWP.

Finally, when you take the bus back from HS or from AK, the bus stops first at CR and then drops off at the Poly. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal on paper, but when you are on that bus, especially with young kids, you will be sooooo glad that you are being dropped off first!! When we moved to the Poly, I was bummed out that we were no longer the first stop.

The CR is fantastic!! I would book there again in a heartbeat!!

 

[dmband]

The ages of your kids I say cr
If they were a little older I would say toss up

 

[*Fantasia*]

POLYNESIAN PROS AND CONS:
PROS

• wonderful theming throughout resort

• large beach with a view of Magic Kingdom

• beach affords great viewing area for Wishes

• close to Transportation & Ticket Center, which means close to direct Epcot monorail

• from DHS and AK, can choose either Poly bus or TTC bus, whichever comes first (if you want)

• roughly a 2 out of 3 chance of getting a room with a patio or balcony

CONS

• resort is VERY spread out ... if you are in a building near the TTC, like I was in Tahiti, you can be a 5-minute walk to the Great Ceremonial House (I timed myself walking), but at least it's a pretty walk

• I can't think of any others

5 minute walk?! That would go under the PROS in my book. The only CON I can think of is that when it is raining and you need to go the the main building or you're coming from the main building and you need to head back to your room, you have to walk outside in the rain.

Actually CR has a covered walkway from the tower to the garden wing so you won't have to walk in the rain.

I was talking about the Polynesian..

 

[Keith]

If you want a hot tub, I don't think Poly has a hot tub.

It really comes down to whatever theme the adults prefer. Everyone will love either one.

 

[JRM815]

We've stayed at both resorts, I think both are great, but my favorite is CR.

We stayed at CR on our first visit to WDW. My twins (DS and DD) were 6 1/2. We booked a low level room in the tower, but at check-in we got upgraded to what had to be the one of the best non-suite rooms in the place (top floor before suites, corner closest to Space Mountain, balcony facing east). We'd walk out our door and through the glass windows the Magic Kingdom was right in front of us. A few steps away was a fire door leading outside to large area that was perfect for watching fireworks. And the kids loved watching the electric light parade on the lake every night from our balcony.

While you can walk to MK from CR, my advice is "Don't". We walked back from MK one night after fireworks. The lines for the monorail were long as the crowd started leaving so we decide to hike back, but after a long day in the park, the little ones (who usually never complain) got over tired and cranky. It became a less than stellar ending to what was otherwise a fantastic day. In the morning, CR is the first stop for the monorail. We had our pick of seats (the kids liked to go up front and be with the driver). The downside is that you have to go all the way around the lake before starting to enjoy MK.

We stayed at the Polynesian a year and one half later when the twins were 8. It too is very nice. As mentioned earlier in the thread, there is a ferry which goes directly across the lake to MK (and is a nice ride on its own). Alas, here we didn't get an upgrade, but the room was still great (with a balcony and an OK view of the parking lot). The kids absolutely adored the pool with the volcano slide. We couldn't get them out.

In any event, I don't think you can go wrong with either resort. Enjoy!!!

 

[alex9179]

I had this same dilemma, with no experience at either resort. We chose the Poly for the following reasons.

More options for traveling to the parks. The boat and monorail will seem like rides to my kids and we have two point of origin choices for all parks...the GCH and TTC. That convenience trumped the walk to MK for me.

Ambiance. We like the tropical plantings over the somewhat harsher look of the CR. The kids were much more interested in the pool area of the Poly over CR.

Our ADRs are centered around the Poly, GF, and EPCOT for most of our stay. So, easy transport to them.

I still want to stay at CR one time. I love the rooms! I'm sure either choice will seem like it was the right one. Both offer a lot for their guests.

 

[CleveRocks]

We booked a low level room in the tower, but at check-in we got upgraded to what had to be the one of the best non-suite rooms in the place (top floor before suites, corner closest to Space Mountain, balcony facing east). We'd walk out our door and through the glass windows the Magic Kingdom was right in front of us. A few steps away was a fire door leading outside to large area that was perfect for watching fireworks. And the kids loved watching the electric light parade on the lake every night from our balcony.

I'm not sure how long ago you were there, but in the past few years at very least, there is no such thing as booking a "low level room" in the tower. Except for the club level/suite floors, there are only two room categories in the tower, theme park view and Bay Lake view. When you book either of those, there is no way to assure yourself a better or worse floor or room location.

So, at least for the past several years, you wouldn't have been "upgraded" to a higher floor, it's just that you got lucky and were assigned a high floor and were close to the Magic Kingdom end of the tower (as opposed to the Chef Mickey's end of the tower).

I don't mean to quibble with you, but I don't want others to start looking at how to reserve a high floor or how to hope to get a so-called "upgrade" to a high (non-Club Level) floor or to a room on the Magic Kingdom end of the tower.

 

[JRM815]

I don't mean to quibble with you, but I don't want others to start looking at how to reserve a high floor or how to hope to get a so-called "upgrade" to a high (non-Club Level) floor or to a room on the Magic Kingdom end of the tower.

No quibbles here. Our stay at the CR was in March of 2005. The stay at the Polynesian was in August of 2006. I'm sure pricing/upgrade policies have changed.

Putting the upgrade aside, I think the Contemporary is better when you have younger kids because things are closer together.