Debating Contemporary vs. Poly

[nan1217]

I'm kind of just thinking out loud here since I know the pros/cons of each hotel but having other people weigh in never hurts.

The people going on this trip:
Family 1: family of 5, kids ages 2, 8 and 13
Family 2: family of 5, kids ages 9, 5 and 5
Family 3 (mine!): family of 4, kids ages 9 and 16

I'm planning for our group of 14 and I always feel more anxious when it's other people's money I'm dealing with.

I'm debating Contemporary Tower Bay Lake View, Bay Lake Towers Studio (renting DVC points) or Polynesian Garden View.

I know all the pros/cons but just trying to weight them right now.

My biggest hangups about each right now:

Poly - price
Contemporary Tower - view of lots of concrete, lack of walking access to EPCOT monorail line
Bay Lake Towers - all of the Contemporary ones plus the slight walk from BLT to Contemporary to get on monorail

They all have lots of pros obviously but these are the hangups I'm trying to consider.

Your thoughts?

 

[Desnik]

BLT studio is pretty small and will have only one queen bed and a pull out sofa. The Poly and Cont. Will have 2 queen beds. Not sure if that info helps but thought I would throw that out there. We have stayed at the Poly and the CR tower MK view and we loved the Poly. I never thought I would like it as much as I did. The view at the CR was fantastic but the overall resort experience was better at the Poly for us. I like the restaurants, pool and ambiance at the Poly better and think it is a great resort.

When do you plan to go? Disney is offering a bunch of different discounts for different dates like free dining, or a $500 gift card or 20-40% off some rooms. A cheaper price or extra offer may sway you to the Poly!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would go with the Contemporary because of the walkway to the Magic Kingdom, all their Tower rooms come with a balcony, their rooms are among the biggest of the Deluxe Resorts, you will be an elevator ride away from their stores and restaurants, the walkway to the Magic Kingdom, they have a hot tub and a GYM to work out at.

At the Polynesian you won't be guaranteed a room with a balcony so it's something you need to request, their pool area does not have a hot tub and since they don't have their own GYM you would need to walk over to the Grand Floridian and use their GYM.

 

[nan1217]

We're looking at June 3-12 so no deals just yet. If they extend the 40% off deal then that makes it a little less painful. Then again, 40% off a Contemporary room is even less.

The size of the studio room at BLT is something I know about from staying in a studio at BWV. You're right that the size of the Poly and Contemporary ones would be bigger AND they also include a daybed which is great for the families of 5. I wasn't really weighing the size into this equation but I do think the bigger sized rooms would work better overall. So I guess I'll add "size of the studio" to my BLT issues.

 

[nan1217]

I would go with the Contemporary because of the walkway to the Magic Kingdom, all their Tower rooms come with a balcony, their rooms are among the biggest of the Deluxe Resorts, you will be an elevator ride away from their stores and restaurants, the walkway to the Magic Kingdom, they have a hot tub and a GYM to work out at.

At the Polynesian you won't be guaranteed a room with a balcony so it's something you need to request, their pool area does not have a hot tub and since they don't have their own GYM you would need to walk over to the Grand Floridian and use their GYM.

Not surprisingly, you make a good case.

I've stayed at the Poly and did love the location but it does get difficult for little ones to have to walk so much to get to everything. Since the other families have little ones, the easy of using the monorail w/strollers plus the ease of elevators would be really awesome.

 

[Desnik]

Just as an added FYI, the BLT studios are smaller than the BWV studios. Also they will only allow 4 plus one under age 3. So, that wouldn't work for one family in your group.

I know how hard it is to plan a trip for a group and want to pick something that will work for everyone. I would also suggest taking into account the theming of each resort. Some people really don't like the Cont. Because of it's decor, especially all the concrete. Personally I liked it, but would your group appreciate it? I have to say it is great staying in a tower room and just taking the elevator to get to shopping, food and monorail. With that said we have stayed at the Poly in June and had requested a room with a balcony and got it without a problem. Our room was close to the main building and we didn't find it difficult to walk to the main building. The grounds of the Poly are beautiful.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

Wow. I would love someday to be able to bring my entire family to Disney! That's great! If it were me, my first choice would be the Poly but the Contemporary is a very closed second. I guess it would would be easier to have everyone under the same roof. Plus you have easy access to Chef Mickeys and the kids may prefer the arcade there better. But I would still prefer the Poly for the ambiance and tropical Hawaiian theme, it really does feel like two vacations in one (to me). Both resorts are wonderful in their own way. Have a great trip.