Favorite Monorail Resort?

[Frozen2014]

We are most likely coming to Disney World August of next year. This is a special birthday gift for our DD who is turning 13. We gave her a choice of a trip and she picked Disney! Typically we would book a value resort, but we are thinking of splurging for the occasion and selecting one of the monorail resorts.

What monorail resort is your favorite and why? And what do you recommend for a family with two kids: DS17 and DD13? Also, are they all around the same price? I can't tell at the moment as they don't all have availability (are they even open now?). Also, from what I can tell, most of these support 5 people? We are only a family of 4 but ideally our kids would want their own bed.

 

[Dave006]

Yes all 3 Monorail resorts are open. The vast majority of the 2 queen rooms have a day bed for 3 sleeping surfaces. The Contemporary Garden wing is typically the lowest priced. Then the Bay lake side of the CR Tower is next. From there the Standard views come into the pricing options at the Polynesian and go up from there.

The Polynesian and the CR are currently undergoing a major room remodel so should still be very fresh next year. The Poly has a new Moana based theme and the CR is rumored to be using and Incredibles Family theme.

I would not limit your options to only the MK area depending on what parks your family may want to spend the most time at.

Dave

 

[olive]

I like all of the monorail resorts - a little unhelpful, perhaps. But we have stayed at the Polynesian most out of the three.

What I love about each:

Polynesian:
- atmosphere is amazing. I love the torches at night, love the smell, love the volcano pool and the lagoon, the GCH, smores on the beach, fireworks from the beach (when they exist, of course)
- love the food options. I am not a coffee drinker (except iced), but my husband is and they have especially good coffee here. I DO love the dole whips. Ohana is here, which is a lot of fun. We have never done the luau somehow, but it is so much fun that it is right on site. Kona Cafe or Captain Cooks for a quicker fix of tonga toast or bread pudding is lots of fun. Plus an easy walk to GF for our beloved V&A.
- honestly have never had a bad view here. We have mostly stayed in Samoa, once in Hawaii, and family have stayed in I believe Rarotonga and Aotearoa. All lovely and large rooms with nice views of gardens, pool or monorail.
- transportation. When it is running, the easy access to the epcot monorail letting you access two parks by monorail is such a bonus. This is one of the major reasons we chose Poly so many times, plus everything listed above.

Contemporary (and BLT)
- convenience. The added convenience of that quick walk to MK was so appreciated every time we walked there or back, especially leaving a crowded park at night or with a cranky child.
- food choices. The Wave is underrated, I think. Views from California Grill are of course wonderful. Note that the Wave is closing for a refurb.
- the rooms! I really like the rooms at CR, and I LOVE the 1 bedrooms at BLT. With 2 teens, you may want to look into those. Having 2 bathrooms and a washer/dryer was so nice, plus we made some use of the kitchen. We ordered a pizza one night, as I recall. Renting points may be a better choice in terms of saving money, but look into insurance if you do that in case you have to cancel the reservation.
- the monorail! Sorry. The monorail going through the hotel is just cool. I always thought this hotel was amazing when I was little, and I still really like it.

Grand Floridian
- AMAZING food. We LOVE Victoria & Albert's. We have eaten here on every trip. I know it is closed now, and your kids may not care at all for it, but my husband and I adore it. The food and staff are amazing. There are also some other wonderful food options here. We have really enjoyed Narcoossee's, as well, but haven't yet had a chance to try Citrico's.
- Walk to MK. It is a longer walk, but you can still do it, especially if the weather is not oppressive during the time of year of your visit. It can be a pleasant start or end to your day.
- Views. Really nice views from almost all rooms.

I don't think there is a bad choice with the monorail hotels. It is just a matter of which theme you like best and what you want to be closest to/have better access to. Each of these hotels is of course a quick monorail ride or walk from the other, so you can still enjoy so much of what the others have to offer. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[holden]

You can't go wrong with any of them. I love the atmosphere of Poly the best, but one room no longer works for my family there and they don't have 1BR units. We would need 2 rooms there.

We've stayed in a 2BR at GF (DVC). That was amazing!!

We frequently stay in a 1BR at BLT (we own DVC there). I like that room because they kids get the living room, we get a bedroom and there is an extra bathroom so we don't share our bathroom with the kids. A 2BR unit there will get you three bathrooms!

With two teens, I think you'll like having the extra space of a 1BR or larger. Have you considered renting DVC points? It's non-refundable, but you'll pay less than the rack rate.

 

[MDIME]

Poly is my favorite. I also feel it is the best monorail resort for your situation — kids‘ ages and wanting separate beds.. It checks all of the boxes for you!

 

[loves to dive]

GF is my favorite, I just love the vibe there and I could sit in that lobby for hours just relaxing. My son is grown now and GF seems more adult themed.

For a family with kids, I would recommend Poly. That was our go to when my son was younger, he loved it and it does seem more kid friendly and less adult.

My least favorite is CR, it has always felt too, well, contemporary for me. It just feels like a convention center.

We have stayed in all three and you really can't go wrong with any of them if a MK resort is what you want. I agree with Dave006 in that unless you plan on spending a lot of time at MK you might not want to limit your decision to just the monorail resorts. We stopped staying at them as soon as the Epcot resorts opened. We don't spend a lot of time at MK, I don't like the fact that pre-Covid the only way to get to Epcot was to take the monorail since I'm not a fan and had to go over to MK to take a bus. At the Epcot resorts (I'm including Swan/Dolphin in there) you can walk to two parks, if you really wanted to you could walk through Epcot and take the monorail to MK (pre-Covid when it was running) or take a bus. I like options.

 

[kylenne]

The Poly all day every day. If I could stay there every time I would...it's one of the rare resorts that really has something for everyone (families with kids, adults without them). The theming is fun for kids and relaxing for adults and the resort has a lot of practical benefits. It has the best overall transportation of the monorail resorts imo, since you can get the Epcot monorail direct with a less than 5 minute walk, and multiple options to get to and from the most annoying park to get into & leave, now with the walking path as well, which is a rope drop game changer. And the food there is fantastic, picky eaters will not lack options but only AKL has more interesting menus imo. Lack of on site signature dining really is not a deal breaker to me since the GF options are right next door and Cali Grill is a monorail ride away.

I would not write off GF for kids, because they seem to really enjoy the splash pad area, but unless the GF rooms also get refurbed, brand new rooms at the other two will be hard to beat. Especially those gorgeous new rooms at the Poly, which are still some of the biggest standard rooms on property. You may even get a sniff of a discount by the time you go. And as much as I also enjoy staying on Crescent Lake for the convenience (esp. during Epcot festivals), there is just something so magical about those sunrises on Seven Seas Lagoon with the castle across the lake. And that lobby smell!!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Our favorite is the GF although all 3 resorts are a solid choice. They will all have 2 queens and a daybed.

Poly--Great ambiance and the new room designs are beautiful. The volcano pool gets very crowded and the water bungalows kinda obstruct the views from what it used to be....sigh. The food at CC's is very tasty but our family has a lot of food allergies and their options are a bit limited. It is nice being able to access the TTC by foot to take a direct monorail to Epcot (once it's running again). The rooms are large but be aware that second floor rooms do not have an outdoor space. First floors have patio and 3rd floors have a balcony. DVC studios all have patios or balconies.

CR-- Can't speak to the feel of the rooms yet since nothing tangible has leaked. It is a nice compact resort if you need to limit walking. The quick service here seems to be busy all the time but the food is great. Lots of variety. Agree with others that the Wave is underrated. Great food! Great service too. I hope the refurb does not destroy it..... The pool area here is somewhat boring. The slide is fun but it really needs more theming/shade/tables/etc. and the pool bar and food offerings need an overhaul.

GF--Our favorite!! We love the calmness of the rooms and all rooms have an outdoor space (except for a few select rooms). The grounds have amazing landscaping including oodles of flowers. We like that you can take the monorail and MK is the first stop and we can take a boat back from MK after an exhausting day and be the first stop. We really enjoy eating outside at Gaspie's looking over the marina at MK. It's also a great spot to watch the fireworks at night (once that resumes) and then just walk back to your room with no crowds! Some people sit at the tables with a bottle of wine and share some food from Gaspie's while waiting for fireworks in the evening. The pools are really nice and we never feel its too crowded. The slide is fun and we enjoy the food at the Beach pool. They have attendants who take your order and bring you the food or you can order at the bar. They even have really great allergy safe food options at the pool--and all of the GF restaurants. We like sitting in the lobby and listening to music. The smell in the lobby is just intoxicating. At night, my DD22 and I like to walk over to the Poly and get a Dole whip while soaking in the atmosphere of the tiki torches and then chat on our slow walk back to the GF.

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the delay in responding as I had a crazy day at work. Great feedback!

Good to know that most have options for our kids to have their own bed. When we came in 2014 we stayed at Art of Animation where it had a sofa bed and table bed. What was amazing too was it had 2 washrooms, which made it more efficient getting ready and with showers!

Guess I should summarize too what is important to us:

1. convenience to parks
2. quick service at hotel for a quick breakfast
3. we'd probably go in the pool once or so, but not spend a huge amount of time at the resort
4. a bed each kid in our second choice hotel would win over them sharing a bed in our first choice hotel
5. two bathrooms isn't a must but is a great bonus

From the comments, I just looked up the monorail. I assumed all 4 parks were attached but it seems like only MK and Epcot are on it (and epcot via ttc). For HS and AK, I think we would take a bus? That sounds like a pain...esp if trying for the boarding pass thing at HS. For our cancelled Aug trip, we were going ot be staying at Pop with the Skyliner. That seemed convenient for those 2 parks.

As above, a QS is great for grab and go or fast breakfast before hitting the parks. Table service not as important as we will be spending most of our time at the parks. But we did enjoy Chef Mickey's breakfast on our last day last trip. We also did Ohana for dinner our first night, but not sure we would return as I had a major migraine next day and was very sick (additives in the food?). The one "must do" Table service place we will probably do is Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge...DH's one request.

I agree with Dave006 in that unless you plan on spending a lot of time at MK you might not want to limit your decision to just the monorail resorts. We stopped staying at them as soon as the Epcot resorts opened. We don't spend a lot of time at MK, I don't like the fact

Haven't thought about it too much, but guessing we would do something like 2 days at MK, and then 1 day at each of the other parks for say a 5 day trip. What resort do you recommend? Are they hard to get to MK and Epcot?

Each resort sounds like it has pros and cons..have read each comment and very helpful.

 

[maltdizzy]

From the comments, I just looked up the monorail. I assumed all 4 parks were attached but it seems like only MK and Epcot are on it (and epcot via ttc). For HS and AK, I think we would take a bus? That sounds like a pain...esp if trying for the boarding pass thing at HS.

No matter where you stay, you will bus to a minimum of 2 parks.

Guests are no longer are inside DHS for the first boarding pass distribution. Currently, the boarding passes are distributed at 7am to anyone with the MDE and a Park Pass for DHS. People all try from wherever they are...hotel room or home, Orlandoa, Tampa or wherever. There is a second distribution at 1pm that requires you have to be inside the park.

 

[olive]

Since no Disney resort gets you non-bus transportation to all 4 parks, being able to walk or monorail to 2 out of 4 with CR, Poly and GF is the best you can do (and this depends on whether the Epcot monorail is running when you go). You can equal that if you switch to an Epcot area resort, which will let you walk to Epcot and DHS, but since you are thinking of two days at MK, the monorail resorts are probably fit your convenience criteria better.

All of the monorail resorts have quick service options.

They all of course have pools, all with slides. GF and Poly also have splash areas. I think the Poly pool is the best of the 3 theme-wise and it has the best splash area, but it also gets the most crowded. The quiet pool is always fine, there, though.

Two queens and a daybed in each, so one child could take a queen and the other a daybed. They could switch off. We have done this.

Since you mentioned migraines - I get terrible ones almost every Disney trip. If you ever get stuck without meds, Turner Drugs delivers to the resorts. I have had refills called in there.

 

[Frozen2014]

No matter where you stay, you will bus to a minimum of 2 parks.

Guests are no longer are inside DHS for the first boarding pass distribution. Currently, the boarding passes are distributed at 7am to anyone with the MDE and a Park Pass for DHS. People all try from wherever they are...hotel room or home, Orlandoa, Tampa or wherever. There is a second distribution at 1pm that requires you have to be inside the park.

Thanks that's good to know. Wonder if they'll go back to having to arrive early at HS, but lessens the stress of how to get there and how early to come.

 

[Frozen2014]

Since no Disney resort gets you non-bus transportation to all 4 parks, being able to walk or monorail to 2 out of 4 with CR, Poly and GF is the best you can do (and this depends on whether the Epcot monorail is running when you go). You can equal that if you switch to an Epcot area resort, which will let you walk to Epcot and DHS, but since you are thinking of two days at MK, the monorail resorts are probably fit your convenience criteria better.

All of the monorail resorts have quick service options.

They all of course have pools, all with slides. GF and Poly also have splash areas. I think the Poly pool is the best of the 3 theme-wise and it has the best splash area, but it also gets the most crowded. The quiet pool is always fine, there, though.

Two queens and a daybed in each, so one child could take a queen and the other a daybed. They could switch off. We have done this.

Since you mentioned migraines - I get terrible ones almost every Disney trip. If you ever get stuck without meds, Turner Drugs delivers to the resorts. I have had refills called in there.

Thanks...so probably monorail resort is still worthwhile to us. Seems like they are all equal in terms of our priorities. Our kids are too old for a splash area and any pool that is big enough is fine with them.

Thanks for the tip...when I had that migraine we stopped at the health unit on main street at MK but not until end of the night. Such a shame too as it was the day we had 7DMT FP, Frozen FP, BOG dinner and Electrical parade. Thank goodness I have migraine meds that help.

 

[Rick195275]

Have you considered one of the Epcot resorts? You can walk to both Hollywood studios and Epcot from boardwalk, beach club and swan and dolphin. They also have boat service to both and easy skyliner access if you don’t feel like walking. In my opinion the bus times can be an issue at any of the resort so walking plus multiple other transportation options to 2 parks is a big plus. The bus times can be rough from the MK resorts to some of the other park, had terrible experiences with buses at the poly on a recent trip. Hopefully the easing of social distancing will help there but the issue wasn’t too many people waiting in my experience, it was lack of buses.

 

[Frozen2014]

Have you considered one of the Epcot resorts? You can walk to both Hollywood studios and Epcot from boardwalk, beach club and swan and dolphin. They also have boat service to both and easy skyliner access if you don’t feel like walking. In my opinion the bus times can be an issue at any of the resort so walking plus multiple other transportation options to 2 parks is a big plus. The bus times can be rough from the MK resorts to some of the other park, had terrible experiences with buses at the poly on a recent trip. Hopefully the easing of social distancing will help there but the issue wasn’t too many people waiting in my experience, it was lack of buses.

Thanks. I will definitely look into these as options too.
This trip isn't until Aug 2022 so hopefully all hotels are open and things back to normal.

So for these hotels....

• walk or use skyliiner to Epcot and Hollywood Studios (google maps shows 20min for HS)
• monorail to Magic Kingdom ? Or do you need park ticket to get to monorail entrance? Or is a bus the best option (even though a you say bus can be bad)
• bus to animal kingdom?

The transportation is quite confusing.

This trip is late August so it will be very hot and pop up thunderstorms...if that impacts any suggestion

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Thanks. I will definitely look into these as options too.
This trip isn't until Aug 2022 so hopefully all hotels are open and things back to normal.

So for these hotels....

• walk or use skyliiner to Epcot and Hollywood Studios (google maps shows 20min for HS)
• monorail to Magic Kingdom ? Or do you need park ticket to get to monorail entrance? Or is a bus the best option (even though a you say bus can be bad)
• bus to animal kingdom?

The transportation is quite confusing.

This trip is late August so it will be very hot and pop up thunderstorms...if that impacts any suggestion

You bring up a good point about thunderstorms popping up during hot, humid weather in August. Because of this, personally, I would not choose those hotels. I have read many a story of people getting drenched trying to get to their hotel from Epcot and DHS. Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I do not believe the boats and skyliner run when there are thunderstorms. Also, I find the World Showcase to be crazy hot in the summer.

Another item to remember is that for morning rides at Epcot, you would be entering Epcot through the World Showcase entrance which means you have a LONG WALK to get to the front of Epcot for rides. It's great if you are popping in to eat in the WS but not so great in the morning.

Also--the Beach Club and Swan/Dolphin regular rooms will not guarantee a 3rd sleeping surface. You would need to book the YC or BW. Some BC rooms have a daybed but many do not, unless that has changed recently??

It would also not make sense to monorail to MK from these resorts because you would have to enter Epcot through the WS, and yes, you would need a park ticket, then walk all the way to the front of Epcot, out the front entrance and up the ramp to the monorail station. Most people take the bus from Epcot area resorts to MK.

Because you mentioned you will spend 2 days of your trip at MK, it makes more sense to stay on the monorail loop. IMO. And because we are talking hot, humid, pop-up storms in August, being on the monorail loop is great. If you want to eat at another monorail resort for QS or TS, it is an easy monorail ride away and you won't get too wet or hot doing so if the weather is iffy.

Another huge plus, again, is that you can view MK fireworks(assuming they will resume way before your trip) and the EWP from all 3 monorail resorts in the evening. It really is a magical feeling to watch them from your resort and just stroll back to your room to rest up for the next day of fun

 

[Frozen2014]

You bring up a good point about thunderstorms popping up during hot, humid weather in August. Because of this, personally, I would not choose those hotels. I have read many a story of people getting drenched trying to get to their hotel from Epcot and DHS. Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I do not believe the boats and skyliner run when there are thunderstorms. Also, I find the World Showcase to be crazy hot in the summer.

Another item to remember is that for morning rides at Epcot, you would be entering Epcot through the World Showcase entrance which means you have a LONG WALK to get to the front of Epcot for rides. It's great if you are popping in to eat in the WS but not so great in the morning.

Also--the Beach Club and Swan/Dolphin regular rooms will not guarantee a 3rd sleeping surface. You would need to book the YC or BW. Some BC rooms have a daybed but many do not, unless that has changed recently??

It would also not make sense to monorail to MK from these resorts because you would have to enter Epcot through the WS, and yes, you would need a park ticket, then walk all the way to the front of Epcot, out the front entrance and up the ramp to the monorail station. Most people take the bus from Epcot area resorts to MK.

Because you mentioned you will spend 2 days of your trip at MK, it makes more sense to stay on the monorail loop. IMO. And because we are talking hot, humid, pop-up storms in August, being on the monorail loop is great. If you want to eat at another monorail resort for QS or TS, it is an easy monorail ride away and you won't get too wet or hot doing so if the weather is iffy.

Another huge plus, again, is that you can view MK fireworks(assuming they will resume way before your trip) and the EWP from all 3 monorail resorts in the evening. It really is a magical feeling to watch them from your resort and just stroll back to your room to rest up for the next day of fun

Thank you so much for the feedback (and I appreciate every suggestion...it's so exciting starting to plan and research and ask questions about all this stuff!!). Am starting a spreadsheet with all this great info. Sounds like monorail resort probably is our best choice and we'll just take the hit with a bus or even do uber (or I think I've heard mini vans mentioned) if we are worried about timing to HS and AK. I supposed as well, we could use skyliner from EP to get to HS if we wanted an adventure, or even just to try it.