CR booked, but now considering Poly, Help!

[DJmommy]

I thought I was all set. We have 7 nights at CR for the week after Thanksgiving with DS 6 and DD 2, but now having read all the wonderful posts about the Poly, I am rethinking myself. For those who have stayed at both with small children if you could tell me what are the best things about each and why you like one over the other.

Our main interests are quick and easy transportation to the MK especially but also the other parks, character meals ( chose CR because of Chef M ), and having a large enough room so that we wouldn't feel like we were too cramped. I am concerned about some of the posts saying the CR is outdated and old ( BTW, our ressies are for the GW can't afford the Tower rooms ). So could you compare the quality of the rooms, the onsite restaurants and which resort has the overall better transportation.

Thanks a million.

Jackie

 

[casndan]

I know that when I was younger I absolutely thought that the Contemporary was the coolest thing ever because of the monorail traveling right through the middle, but I think as far as the theming goes it doesn't have as much as a lot of the other resorts do, but it's super fast transportation to the parks,(epcot and MK anyways) and the monorail is so NEATO!

 

[BCV23]

I would try the CR and find out for yourself if I were you.

We've never stayed at the CR but have stayed at the Polynesian many times. They are the two original WDW resorts...opened on the same day and I always think that they both have Walt Disney's magic in them.

Both have very large rooms. From the CR it is easy to walk to the MK. I do think the Polynesian has a little edge over the CR for overall transprtation since you can walk to it for the EPCOT monorail but both have good options.

As for meals, I think all three monorail resorts are wonderful because you can hop onboard and have so many options at the next stop...or the one after that! Taking the monorail to a breakfast, lunch or dinner is just plain fun!

Don't doubt yourself. You can always try the Polynesian on another trip.

 

[4greatboys]

We've stayed at both and I would stay again at the Poly but I wouldnt stay CR garden wing again. Not sure if I would stay in a tower room or not.
Our room at the Poly--while not new did seem nicer than the CR. I thought our room needed rehad and good cleaning--you could see dirt on the floor between the bed and night stand and all behind the dresser was yucky. Though I did like that you could go use the restroom and someone else could still use the rest of the bathroom to get ready. At the Poly the toilet was right behind the sink area, no door to close.
I liked the theme better at the Poly, liked the pool better. We just liked it more all the way around.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Both are very nice resorts. I'm sure your kids will like either. If it's a toss up I'd go with the better price now and perhaps, like another poster said, save whichever you don't choose for a future trip. I really like the CR simply because it's so unique and very cool to a young child.

 

[LorieDisneyLover]

Hi Jackie,

The Polynesian and the Contemporary are my favorite two resorts.

We have stayed at both and enjoyed both of them very much.

Everything everybody else has said is all very good info.

I would like to add, I see you have a 2 year old ... the contemporary does NOT have a kiddie pool. There are two main pools but the shallowest ends are 2 1/2 - 3 feet deep. Whereas, the Polynesian has a nice 'zero entry' pool. It's like walking into the ocean from the beach. This is very convenient for little ones who (with supervision) can sit in the water near the end and have a great time.

Another consideration however .... the Contempoary has a playground ... whereas the Polynesian does not. However, that playground can get very hot in the summer sun (it's made of dark green metal).

Hope this helps ... I'm sure you will enjoy either resort ... we have stayed in both the tower and wings and enjoy both. We like the first floor of the wings because it's easier with strollers and simply walking out to the pool. You can also request a first floor room at the Polynesian.

Lorie

 

[DJmommy]

Thanks for all of your input. I've been looking at pictures and reading guest reviews of the Poly. Have to talk it over with DH & see what he thinks. Either way it will be a great trip. Can't wait to get my planning DVD too.

You gals are so helpful.

Jackie

 

[disneyfan67]

When I took my twin boys (age 5) to the Poly in 10/2002 they just loved it. The volcano pool is great for kids and my two boys who were afraid of pools at the time just loved the volcano pool. The zero entry is fantastic and they can play right at the edge of it and you won't have to worry. Plus they have a ton of life vests in different sizes for your kids. My boys loved the Poly and still talk about it. It really is made for families. We stayed at the CR last February and it just wasn't for us. We had a north garden room and it was big, but far away from everything, plus I thought the pool was kind of lame compared to the Poly! Check out Tikiman's website and see what the Poly has to offer. Good luck.

 

[JESW]

We have stayed at both. I would choose the Polynesian for young children. You may not be at the resort Chef Mickey's is at, but you can just take the monorail over.

I like the Contemporary, but I LOVE the overall feel of the Polynesian. The zero entry for the pool helps with the kids and the volcano slide is a lot of fun. It is also great to sit on the beach and watch the water parade and you can see the MK fireworks. And rent some of the water mice - LOTS of fun to ride around! Kona Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants.

Jill

 

[fam4jc]

Jackie, Why don't you split your stay between the two resorts? Both have something special to offer but I do think you will like the Poly's pool much better (although the slide is a little rough for little ones). If it were me, I would stay first 3 nights at CR and next 4 nights at the Poly. Both are monorail resorts so getting around will be easy. You will need to do more walking around the Poly (the grounds are huge but lovely) and the garden wings at CR are a fair walk to the tower, but also nice walk. You won't need to transfer your luggage yourself, disney will do that for you. Think about it. We love splitting our stays. In fact that's the only way we do it now.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

When I took my twin boys (age 5) to the Poly in 10/2002 they just loved it. The volcano pool is great for kids and my two boys who were afraid of pools at the time just loved the volcano pool.

disneyfan67, this caught my eye because we were there in Sept 02 celebrating our B/G twins 5th birthday also. I will never forget being in the volcano pool with them either because it was the first time they really "swam" without life vests or swimmies or experienced a big pool slide, and we were all so excited. I was practically under water myself out there trying to hold them both up when they swam over to me, LOL!

That trip was extra special, too, because we originally booked at the CR but it was full so they moved us over to the Poly and upgraded us to LV Concierge!

 

[Northern Lights]

We love CR and wanted to stay there in September but could not get a room (assuming b/c of the rumored refurb). We are instead going to stay at the Poly. That being said, much of the magic of staying at CR for us was having the Tower room with the MK view. Given a choice b/w CR GW or the Poly, we would choose the Poly. Just to clarify, we are getting a Poly GV - I'm sure the LV rooms are great, but I don't see the extra cost justified (could be wrong about that) like we did for the Tower room.

Both resorts have nice large rooms, but the CR does have the advantage of having a separate sink/toilet area.

As others have said, you can walk (5-10 min max) to MK from CR. The Poly, however, lets you walk directly to the Epcot monorail.

On the pools - yes, Poly has better theming and zero entry. That said, the theming was basically lost on my DD5, and she loved the slide at CR. The beach is right there as well as a nice view of Bay Lake. We actually prefer the CR pool b/c we basically had it to ourselves last trip (May 04). I don't know if we just got lucky, or it was due to the large number of conventioneers at the CR, or CR guests were pool hopping over to the Poly, or the sign I put up that said private party, but the pool was basically empty.

Both are awesome resorts and until at least our kids get older we will always stay at either CR or the Poly. My friendly advice, go with the Poly GV this trip and splurge on a CR Tower next time. At this point, though, we are really splitting hairs, b/c you have already made the correct decision to stay on-site, and then IMO you correctly chose a monorail resort, so like you said, either way your trip will be AWESOME! Have a great one!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Just to clarify, we are getting a Poly GV - I'm sure the LV rooms are great, but I don't see the extra cost justified (could be wrong about that) like we did for the Tower room.

JMO and our LV was a free upgrade, but the LV was indeed pretty magical. We could lie in our bed and watch the Castle turn colors. From our patio we could see practically the entire loop of the monorail. All the activity and the glow of the GF and the CR was espcially beautiful at night where we sat sipping wine and taking it all in. From our balcony we also watched the EWP and fireworks which were right in front of us. The view was truly incredible and comparable to (if not better than) a tower room at the CR. We counted 8 couples getting married on the bluff overlooking the lagoon while we were there. My absolute favorite thing was strolling the beach at night when the torches are lit and kicking back on the hammocks right outside our room (that you can't do from the tower). Oh, to be there again!

 

[Northern Lights]

Oh man, don't tell me those things now when we can still change our plans! What building were you in? I guess we figured that given how the longhouses were spread out, it would be hit or miss on the LV - whereas Tower is all pretty much the same - except for height. We also figured that it was much further away than CR (relatively speaking). Finally, you mentioned the magic of strolling along the beach - totally agree with that and we figured we would be doing that or playing in the pool at fireworks time anyway. Hmmmmmm, perhaps we may need to do a modified split stay for comparison. Anyone ever done both and now absolutely must stay LV and believe the extra cost is justified?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Oh man, don't tell me those things now when we can still change our plans! What building were you in? I guess we figured that given how the longhouses were spread out, it would be hit or miss on the LV - whereas Tower is all pretty much the same - except for height. We also figured that it was much further away than CR (relatively speaking). Finally, you mentioned the magic of strolling along the beach - totally agree with that and we figured we would be doing that or playing in the pool at fireworks time anyway. Hmmmmmm, perhaps we may need to do a modified split stay for comparison. Anyone ever done both and now absolutely must stay LV and believe the extra cost is justified?

OK, true - we were in the Hawaii building which is the Concierge building. Many people go that route to be assured of those great views (uh oh, you better start counting your change, LOL)! Would I pay for it? Maybe, if it was a very special trip. It is something a true Disney fan would really enjoy doing, even if only once.

There are lots of threads here on the Dis on whether it's worth it to go the Concierge route, you can do a search or start a new thread posing the question. Let us know what you decide!

 

[DJmommy]

Thanks so much for all of your shared experiences. I am definately either considering spitting our stay to sample both resorts and save a litte $, or go all the way with the Poly. The restaurants sound like a lot of fun and the menus nearly had me drooling, I just hope they have some plainer fare for the little ones.

I was never completely thrilled with the CR it always seemed to me to be very plain or even sterile ( concrete as one other poster responded in another thread ) but I booked it merely for the walk to the MK.

After looking at all the Poly pictures and reading the great trip stories I think it will be worth the extra money to go big and have a vacation that none of us will ever forget. The only problem with that is once you do deluxe can you ever go back to the mods or values. (This will be our first deluxe and our first trip with our kids ). Can't believe it has been since 1997 since we have been to Disney.

Can someone tell me about the kid's selections at the Poly restaurants, and how the bus transport is to AK and MGM and Downtown Disney.

What are the chances of us being able to swim the last week of Nov into Dec? Hopefully we will be able to enjoy those gorgeous pools.

And last but not least building suggestions. We would probably like a quiet area so my DD can nap during the day and would like to be in one of the new buildings that have balconies on all floors and are closer to TTC. Non-smoking room is essential due to DD's asthma.

I am ecstatic and cannot wait to experience all that WDW has to offer. Thank you to all for the wonderful advice.

Jackie

 

[Pea-n-Me]

once you do deluxe can you ever go back to the mods or values.

Yes, you can! We just had a great stay at Pop Century after stays at three deluxes and two Disney cruises. Any trip is what you make of it!!

 

[Northern Lights]

Never say never, but it is very doubtful that we ever leave the deluxes. Tokelau may be the best longhouse for you, but go to Tikiman's site - he is the authority and you will probably be able to find answers to all of your questions.

 

[mirlow]

I personally don't want to have to hold my kids in the pool the whole time. That is one of the main reasons our family first stayed at the Polynesian and have over the years. You can't beat the zero-entry pool next to the beach. My youngest plays in the water, then she'll go to the fountain and then to the beach and back. I can keep an eye on her the whole time.
My oldest really wants to stay at the CR. There's no way I will stay there until all three of them are swimming comfortably on their own