Contemporary or Polynesian?

[Genie+]

Club level for Poly in October 2023? Contemporary. The club level rooms are right beside all the construction. They're going to be well into construction on that tower by October of 2023.

That would concern me. Just because I’ve experienced something similar outside WDW and regretted it.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Club level for Poly in October 2023? Contemporary. The club level rooms are right beside all the construction. They're going to be well into construction on that tower by October of 2023.

Edit: They're in Hawaii. So, you might be OK.

Unless you're in the suites which are in a different building, club level is in Hawaii which should be far enough from construction, and separated by pool and other buildings.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

sounds like Poly should be your choice. but there's nothing like being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom and back, especially when the park closes. For me, location is king.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Here's a link to the map. The construction is where the Luau was (item L on the map). Hawaii is the club level building. See the arrow that says walkway to ticket and transportation center? It's right on the other side of where this map ends.

https://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/polymap.htm

 

[HIRyeDVC]

Also, the Poly is a sprawling resort spread out to the winds. Depending on where your room is, it could be a challenge just walking to the pool, dining, and transportation. Where as at the Contemporary, everything is very compact and within short walking distances. It all depends on what's most important to you. You're not going to get it all at one resort. The Poly has much bigger rooms if you're looking to stay in a studio. But the Contemporary and BLT have a wide range of 1-2-3 BR villas.

 

[Ronaldo17]

Has to be the Poly for the pool for a 5 yo.

 

[Marthasor]

I've stayed at both multiple times including both CL levels and my choice would be Poly. IMHO, it's, overall, a better resort. Better theming, nicer rooms and better access to the monorail (especially if you are using a scooter or stroller). Accessing the monorail deck with a stroller or scooter at CR is massively inconvenient. The pool is also better at Poly for younger children, IMHO. Poly has a zero entry pool whereas CR's pool is in desperate need of a refurb. You can also walk to the TTC from Poly and have direct access to the EP monorail instead of having to switch at TTC if you take it from CR. I would save the $300 and, perhaps, simply book a meal at Chef Mickey's to see the monorail go through the resort. You will save money and be in a better resort, IMHO.

 

[Wiltony]

Seems like most prefer the Poly and I acknowledge that I'm in the minority, but I prefer the CR. The poly drips with a little too much theming for my tastes and I tire of it quickly. I can only handle so much ukulele, haha!

Plus I dislike having to go outdoors to get to/from your room and the longhouses feel like motels to me.

 

[Dave006]

The pool is also better at Poly for younger children, IMHO. Poly has a zero entry pool whereas CR's pool is in desperate need of a refurb.

Contempary feature pool and whirlpools refurbishment schedule:

From January 9, 2023 through early April 2023, the feature pool and whirlpool spas will be closed for refurbishment. The water play area and Bay Lake Pool will remain open for your enjoyment. You may see and hear construction noise while this refurbishment is underway, but you should not hear noise from Guest rooms between dusk and 9:00 AM. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Source: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/contemporary-resort/

Dave

 

[jods]

I've stayed in both but only CL at the Poly. I stayed at the CR during covid when CL wasn't open yet. I prefer the Poly. Much more convenient to epcot. We were in epcot last trip and it took us over an hour to get to chef mickeys. I hated having to transfer. When I stayed at the CR we stayed theme park view but no monorail at the time or fireworks. The Hawaii building where CL is located is very convenient to the MK boat and the TTC for the epcot monorail. It's also close to the beach and the pools. That said, I don't think you could go wrong with either.

 

[barb969]

I would take CR. It has a lot less walking than the Poly which would be a help if your son gets tired. You get off the monorail, take the escalator down, the elevators up and you on your floor. At Poly you would still be walking by the pool. Request a room near the elevators. It is not noisy by the elevator on the club floor.
I’m sure your train lover would like the train going thru his building. If you have a Bay Lake view you can see it from your doorway.

 

[Disneylover99]

Poly club level
Take the savings.

 

[Marthasor]

Contempary feature pool and whirlpools refurbishment schedule:

From January 9, 2023 through early April 2023, the feature pool and whirlpool spas will be closed for refurbishment. The water play area and Bay Lake Pool will remain open for your enjoyment. You may see and hear construction noise while this refurbishment is underway, but you should not hear noise from Guest rooms between dusk and 9:00 AM. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Source: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/contemporary-resort/

Dave

Any clue how much of a refurb this will be? Hoping for zero-entry and a new slide!

 

[Minnie1222]

Is the child ok with heights? CR's club rooms are on the 12th floor (and above), that alone would be a hard pass for me.

 

[Anthony1971]

On a side note Wilderness lodge has a train room “Carolwood Pacific room” on the DVC side. They have some of the cars on Display of Walt Disneys ride on scale train. They also have a scale model of the engine caboose and a few of the cars. There is a lot of information about the train if you search it. Also the boulder ridge side of the resort is a train theme period with some tracks in the ground and a few other nice details by the Boat Dock. Disney has a lot of history with trains and there is a lot at WDW if you know where to look.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Any clue how much of a refurb this will be? Hoping for zero-entry and a new slide!

Take with a grain of CM chit chat salt, but I’m under the impression it’s just general maintenance and pool systems work, nothing material in terms of the setting.

I too hope for a wrecking ball to the overall pool/waterfront area someday, but I don’t think this will be it.

 

[RoseGold]

Surprised to see all these votes for Poly for a train obsessed kid. You can barely see the monorail from most of Poly.

Poly does have a nicer pool, better food. They both have recent renovations. You have to decide whether the monorail cool factor is worth it to you. I think getting off at that platform in the middle of the hotel would be so cool.

And don't count out the construction. I had a construction incident at GF that was the worst hotel experience I have ever had. Construction that size could cause issues and noise, and nobody should have been staying in my room with the level of construction going on. Disney didn't care at all.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/im-at-vgf2-now-ask-me.3888038/page-2#post-64117541

 

[RoseGold]

Another factor no one has mentioned is NOISE. I consider Poly to be a very noisy hotel if you are used to modern hotel standards. I mean you can hear anything louder than a normal conversation next door. Hair dryer, toilet, yelling. If you get unlucky with neighbors, this can be bad. The Poly buildings are very old, and it looks like the recent flips might have just been cosmetic. Add in a giant tower of construction on the grounds....

Contemporary is also apparently noisy, but not as noisy as Poly.

If noise is a factor for you, I'd pick anything but Poly. If noise is a dealbreaker for you, I'd go Swolphin.
https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/hotels/sound-ratings

 

[_19disnA]

The choice of where to stay is mostly a matter of budget, personal preference on the subjective topic of theming and which park(s) you want to visit most. If planning CL, then likely budget wouldn't matter as much. Some have commented on the atrium noise @ Contemporary but when we last stayed there it was never an issue and in our room we couldn't hear any of the noise from the open areas below.

 

[sdk1231]

Poly hands down for me. Especially with a 5 year old. I'd be terrified of the heights of the Contemporary tower with a little kid (but I'm afraid of heights). The pool at the Contemporary sucks. I've been to the Poly with little kids and they LOVE it. The whole thing. The food, the pool, rooms, the grounds, the fact that it's a straight/centered view of Cinderella Castle.