Deluxe or Moderate

[Christinaxo]

We are booked at the Poly this September and with rumblings of FD I am thinking of maybe downgrading to a moderate. I really don't want to, but even with the TA deal we are booked with, we would pay the same cost to stay at Poly as we would to stay at CSR with FD. We did CSR a few years ago and really liked it but Poly is my dream! The issue is we would by no means spend as much money on food as what the DDP costs, but DH thinks if it costs the same, we might as well spend the money & have the food taken care of upfront. If we stay at Poly we would still pay less for food but more in total, if that makes sense. Any advice to help me feel better? lol
TIA!

 

[Disneylover99]

Do a split stay. We're doing Poly/Riverside in August.

 

[Kimberly9701]

We are booked at the Poly this September and with rumblings of FD I am thinking of maybe downgrading to a moderate. I really don't want to, but even with the TA deal we are booked with, we would pay the same cost to stay at Poly as we would to stay at CSR with FD. We did CSR a few years ago and really liked it but Poly is my dream! The issue is we would by no means spend as much money on food as what the DDP costs, but DH thinks if it costs the same, we might as well spend the money & have the food taken care of upfront. If we stay at Poly we would still pay less for food but more in total, if that makes sense. Any advice to help me feel better? lol
TIA!

How many people are traveling?

If the Poly does a 30% off deal, as they did at the same time when I went this past September.. I crunched the numbers and taking the room only, and paying for the DDP for myself and my son.. Saved us $1100! The room discount was over $200 per night...we were there 8 nights.
I don't know anything about CSR..so I can't help with that. I do know that if 2 people or 2 and a child are traveling.. The room discount is way better than Free Dining.

 

[Babsy]

Does your DH know that the Poly is your dream resort? If you do stay at CSR this time, will the Poly be a possibility later on? How would he feel about you saving Disney Gift cards to cover OOP meal costs so that you can still stay at the Poly and have the meals 'covered' by gift cards?

The Poly is a dreamy place to stay, but the truth is that CSR is also an amazing resort (as you know). It isn't a great hardship to stay here. In fact I have chosen to stay at this resort many times and loved every stay.

It sounds like you and DH need to have a discussion about what is most important to you both for this trip. You personally need to decide how important staying at the Poly is to you and how hard you want to lobby to stay there. Sometimes you need to make certain that others know about what YOU need as well. OTOH, sometimes you need to choose your battles and know when it is more important for everyone to get along than which the resort that you may sleep in.

As a PP said, splitting the stay might work if you are going for a week or longer. there are complications with split stays if you are doing a package, though. I am not sure how it all works as we have always done RO and paid OOP for meals. (It has always worked out to be the better value for us.) Others on here can explain the best way to handle this if you decide to go for a split stay.

Good luck!!! The good news is that both resorts are wonderful, so wherever you stay you will have a fabulous vacation!!

 

[Sue M]

I'd stay at Poly.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I'm with @Babsy on that does DH know Poly is your dream resort question. Personally if you can afford it right now & it's your dream resort I would stay there. Carpe diem and all

 

[Christinaxo]

Thanks for all the input you guys! DH is definitely ok with me choosing Poly, he was a little peeved there was no gym & he would need to walk to GF, but ultimately he lets me choose. We go yearly so we could do CSR anytime, but it will be our last September stay which is when the deluxes seem to have this magical deal. We are traveling with our 2 children, 1 of which is a "disney adult" but he & I eat kids meals anyways so it should be fine. I guess I was feeling a little irresponsible for not saving money if I could, but we won't always have this opportunity so I want to make it count.

 

[aprincessatlast]

stick with the Polynesian! I know many say the dining plan is so freeing because you don't have to worry because it is all paid upfront however I have not found that to be true. I spent so much time trying to maximize the value of the dining plan like ordering the pricey food I really did not want that it took away from the dining experience. Eating at places I did really not want to and eating a specific schedule (one QS and 1 TS). Once you add in a hefty tip it does not have that inclusive feel it is going for imho. Stay at the Poly and don't stress about the price so much as the value. Value in staying where you want and eating what/where and when you want.

 

[loves to dive]

Since free dining hasn't officially been announced yet, I'd stay with Poly. You can always change later. As others have mentioned, often there are room discounts at the same time there is free dining and if you crunch the numbers, you end up better with the room only discount and pay out of pocket for the food. I know we always do but I tend to go through Orbitz so when Disney is running a discount you get that discount and whatever discount Orbitz is offering at the time.

 

[AllieBoo]

I would stay with Poly!

 

[Christinaxo]

stick with the Polynesian! I know many say the dining plan is so freeing because you don't have to worry because it is all paid upfront however I have not found that to be true. I spent so much time trying to maximize the value of the dining plan like ordering the pricey food I really did not want that it took away from the dining experience. Eating at places I did really not want to and eating a specific schedule (one QS and 1 TS). Once you add in a hefty tip it does not have that inclusive feel it is going for imho. Stay at the Poly and don't stress about the price so much as the value. Value in staying where you want and eating what/where and when you want.

This was exactly the case when we had the DDP a few years ago. We did mostly character meals (since they are pricier) and the food was definitely not the best. We also noticed that tips kept adding up since we were ordering the most expensive food, and we like the freedom to just kind of eat when we want to. I am definitely sticking with the Poly and now feel I can exhale and just enjoy (I use that term loosely these days) planning our trip!!

 

[Kimberly9701]

This was exactly the case when we had the DDP a few years ago. We did mostly character meals (since they are pricier) and the food was definitely not the best. We also noticed that tips kept adding up since we were ordering the most expensive food, and we like the freedom to just kind of eat when we want to. I am definitely sticking with the Poly and now feel I can exhale and just enjoy (I use that term loosely these days) planning our trip!!

You will love it!!!! Have fun

 

[Christinaxo]

I just realized I fell in love with your pictures in another thread! lol Thank you!

 

[Kimberly9701]

I just realized I fell in love with your pictures in another thread! lol Thank you!

No problem!!!! Like I said in that other thread, I think seeing someone else's photos can help with decision making more than the photos on Disney's site. I know it has helped me in the past! We absolutely loved the resort...I mean LOVED. We only took the monorail once or twice bc the boat ride to/from mk was so beautiful.

Your kids will adore the pool..and make sure you do the marshmallows! They have hula lessons as well, we didn't partake, but if you have girls they might like it! We also rented a little boat one day for an hour and I highly recommend that as well.

Every time I have a similar convo, or look at my pics, I wonder if I made the right decision to stay at the Contemporary in December!lol My son does love seeing the monorail, so hopefully he will enjoy it..it is a shorter stay and during a cold time, so I didn't want to deal with walking past the Volcano slide and him begging to go in. We won't be swimming on this trip. We will be going to Ohana, and probably Pineapple Lanai, I'm sure he may complain about not being able to go to the pool then lol. If we were going during the warmer months there is no way I would have chosen any place besides Poly.