CR olr Poly in Jan?

[ppan77]

Alright all you CR and Poly Fans...try to convince me where we should stay. We have decided on a monorail resort. We stayed at CR last year with ds2 and liked it a lot. Thought we try Poly but it is more $$. Havent gotten new rates for 09 yet but I am panicked and want to reserve our room for our Jan dates. We have a new addition this year so the kids will be ds3 and dd9 months on our trip. So one will be on the daybed and the other in the pack n play. We love Poly's restaurants but love CR walkway to MK. Which one is for our 09 trip??

 

[mickeynut1]

We've never stayed at the CR but we LOVE the Poly . We like the overall theming/ambiance of the Poly more than the CR.....but that's just us. I see how the ability to walk to/from the MK would be a draw to the CR, but since you've already stayed there, why not give the Poly a try for something different . With that said, no matter which resort you choose I'm sure you'll have a great time . Good luck deciding and have a magical trip .

 

[MickeyNicki]

We did both and did not like CR at all, granted we stayed in the north garden wing but still the themeing didnt do it for us and lack of good breakfast choices was a real negative.

We are taking our 2 nieces in January and booked the Poly because it is easier to get to the character meals that we want to do and the older one is fascinated with Hawaii

 

[KatMark]

We've done both several times. Poly wins hands down. It quieter, more lush in it's landscaping/flowers and much prefer the rooms over the old/new rooms at the Cont.

 

[joenan88]

I stayed at the Poly in November and we liked it..BUT my kids were enamored with the CR! They loved everything about it..the monorail is very cool and the fact that it travels through a resort fascinates kids..at least mine... My kids don't care about a themed water slide by the pool as long as they both do the same job. The CR has the best view of the magic kingdom..in my opinion. My boys will love looking at space, splash and big thunder mountain..and my daughter will love the castle! For my family and I the CR is the way to go! After a long day my hubby and I can enjoy the view with a glass of wine while listening to the dogs howling from the HM and the ferry horns...a perfect way to end the day! Have a wonderful trip no matter what you decide!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have stayed at both Resorts and I would go with the Contemporary. How can you beat staying that close to the Magic Kingdom, which is great if you have young kids. Plus their Tower Magic Kingdom View is the best view in all of WDW so it's another reason that makes it worth it to stay there.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I would vote for the Poly. Nothing against the CR, but in the dead of winter, what could be nicer than staying in a resort with all that lush, tropical theming? Laying in a hammock under a palm tree in January with a Lapu Lapu is about near perfect as far as I am concerned!

And the view from the beach at the Poly is the best place to watch Wishes outside of the MK. I just love it that on nights when you are too tired to stay in the park, you can sit there on the beach and have a wonderful view. I have seen Wishes from the top of the CR and that beach, and much prefer the beach at the Poly.

All that said, the CR isn't a shabby second by any measure. I just think the extensive grounds and tropical theming of the Poly are better for a winter getaway.

And being able to walk the TTC is very nice for monorailing to Epcot. Much more convenient. And its always nice to try new resorts and since you have stayed at the CR doing something new and different is always fun.

 

[grimley1968]

Well, I much prefer the Poly to CR. I'm not a fan of CR whatsoever, except that it's next door to MK. We're huge Poly fans.

However, considering the time of year you're going (January), the better pool at the Poly may not be worth the extra you'd pay for that. I've found that getting to 70 degrees for a high in Orlando in January is not exactly guaranteed. More likely the highs will be low 60's, and sometimes it doesn't get above low 50's or so depending on whether a cold front is moving through. I'm not much of a swimmer in temps like that, regardless of whether the pool is heated properly. So this is one reason CR might be a better value then. Having said that about the temps, as bad as it might be for swimming, that's just about ideal for park-hopping. You could stay at the parks all day and not sweat one drop.

One thing that is not affected by the time of year, though, is that the Poly has next-door access to the TTC and its express monorail to EPCOT. This really makes the Poly tops among all Disney resorts for transportation: having monorail transport to two parks, not to mention the boat to MK as well.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Since no one mentioned it let's not forget when you take the Resort Monorail from the Contemporary the next stop is the TTC, so it's about 1 -2 minute ride getting there and it's very easy getting to the Epcot Monorail.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Poly gets my vote! The mono makes it so easy that I did not feel the need for the walkway at that time of year. Lush, romantic, and lots of great food choices.

 

[grimley1968]

Since no one mentioned it let's not forget when you take the Resort Monorail from the Contemporary the next stop is the TTC, so it's about 1 -2 minute ride getting there and it's very easy getting to the Epcot Monorail.

True, unless there are delays on the resort monorail loop, and I've never once ridden this loop (in the last 20 years or so) where at least one of CR or the TTC wasn't delayed at least 5 minutes. Usually both. Also consider that on the way back from EPCOT, they have to go down one ramp, then back up another ramp for the resort loop, then ride the entire loop all the way around to CR. That's a lot longer trip than just walking over to the Poly from the TTC (5 minutes at the most).

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

True, unless there are delays on the resort monorail loop, and I've never once ridden this loop (in the last 20 years or so) where at least one of CR or the TTC wasn't delayed at least 5 minutes. Usually both. Also consider that on the way back from EPCOT, they have to go down one ramp, then back up another ramp for the resort loop, then ride the entire loop all the way around to CR. That's a lot longer trip than just walking over to the Poly from the TTC (5 minutes at the most).

In our experience we never had any major delays going from the Contemporary to the TTC. I also agree with you that when returning from Epcot the Polynesian is better since you can walk there, however if your going back to the Contemporary at least it's another excuse to ride the Monorail which is still better then the buses.

 

[Jajone]

Not to hijack this thread, but I was looking for the exact same answer. We are a group of 6 (DS will only be 2). We are only staying for 2 nights after a cruise in the Caribbean. For that reason and the fact that we too are going in January, I don't plan on using the pool at all. I've always wanted to stay in a deluxe resort and think this might the the best time to try since it's just a short stay. We booked the CR wing today. Am I making a mistake? We only plan to go to MK. How far is the walk to MK from the wing? We are hoping for a P&PP then too!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We booked the CR wing today. Am I making a mistake? We only plan to go to MK. How far is the walk to MK from the wing? We are hoping for a P&PP then too!

No your not making a mistake and from the South Garden Wing I would say it's about a 5 minute walk getting to where the Magic Kingdom walkway starts at and another 5-7 minutes walking to the Magic Kingdom.

 

[zoie101]

I am hoping Poly has won my heart
the ttc to all parks plus the monarail....
keeping my fingers crossed

 

[ppan77]

Well Poly won...only bc CR is booked for our Jan dates! We're very excited to try something new!! Cant wait for tonga toast!