Help me convince - Poly or contemporary

[Regan117]

@Regan117 You're bringing a gun to a knife fight bringing Tower Club into this discussion!

LMAO guilty.

That being said, I think the preference here all comes down to your family dynamic, what your needs are, and how long you will be staying. People love the Poly - we just aren't those people lol. But I am sure you will be happy at either.

 

[Ladybugx87]

@Regan117 You're bringing a gun to a knife fight bringing Tower Club into this discussion!

OP - You've been given some good opinions and solid pros/cons above. @Babsy's rundown is excellent.

I've stayed at Poly quite a bit and CR several times as well - I love both, but in different ways and for different reasons. My kids have been 2-6 in my travels so in the same general zone as your crew.

Do you mind if I ask the length of your trip? For longer stays I prefer Poly, for shorter stays I prefer CR.

One main reason at my point in life is the pool. My kids get a TON of enjoyment out of the Poly splash pad area and the zero entry pools. We are heavy resort people, so this is a big factor in the way we tour and our resort decission making. We spend hours and hours at the Pool/Splash Pad area.

CR's pool has a nice, large pool deck, is rarely very crowded, and has a beautiful setting on the shores of Bay Lake. But a very dinky kids splash area and no zero entry pool. We enjoy it, but just not as much as Poly.

Admittedly you're going during a time where weather could be hit/miss for full pool enjoyment, but we've been 2-3 times that week and tend to have more pool-weather days than not.

My other favorite feature of Poly is walkability to TTC to go to Epcot. We tend to hit Epcot quite a bit when we stay at Poly because it's so easy - even impromptu outings. It's still easy from CR, but just an added step/time coming/going having to transfer monorails.

Lots of pros/cons here, in my opinion!

Thanks. It's going to be a short trip - fly in Friday, fly out Tuesday.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks. It's going to be a short trip - fly in Friday, fly out Tuesday.

Hmm....sort of a tweener length for me!

I do still tend to lean towards Poly given the ages of the kids in your crew. But I don't think you can really make a wrong choice here - just personal preference.

FWIW, my wife ran the Princess Half this year and just booked her spot for next year too. This time she's doing the 10k and 1/2 challenge. She stayed at BWI this year. I'll probably go with her next year so I need to be doing what you're doing - trip planning!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

LMAO guilty.

I'll still like your posts, even with that blasphemous Poly talk.

(I kid, I kid)

 

[karm12]

I prefer the Poly to CR. I love the tropical theming.

 

[NYCANC]

This one is hard- I prefer the Poly but when my kids were a little younger- we enjoyed CR. The convenience of walking right to and from MK just cannot be beat. And we usually spend the most time at MK.

But, I just love the Poly. We just stayed there in January (DH's choice) and now for all future trips- I see us right back there.

 

[HeidiGW]

Poly is a bucket-list stay for me.
And, we have only stayed CR in the now-deceased garden rooms. I would like a MK-view tower room some day, too....
But, I have three words: 'Ohana Room Service.
I would get two or three portions for dinner, the kids could eat in their swimsuits, pajamas, graze for an evening whatever....best dinner ever after any kind of day!
(I, might, tell the kids they forgot the bread pudding... )

 

[mickeynut1]

So I posted before On a similar topic and need more help- my friend and I are running princess half next year. We're bringing our hubbies and kids (me - 2 girls, 7&3, her - 2 boys, 5&1). We've decided we want to stay at poly or contemporary for ease of monorail. I have slight preference to Poly. My family loved Aulani.

Now I need help- beyond monorail what are the other benefits and perks that drive cost up? What might not be obvious to us newbies?

I really like idea of Ohana onsite for morning we leave. I like the various pools. Everything says this is the best option. We can all afford it. It's just a 'what makes it worth it'



Thanks.

We've never stayed at the CR, but we LOVE everything about the Poly! The tropical atmosphere is beautiful & relaxing, the feature pool is nice, Captain Cooks and Ohana are great, and you can't beat looking across the lagoon and seeing the castle. The CR is convenient to MK as it's a quick 5-10 min walk, but the theme/decor/ambiance of the Poly wins out for us over that convenience. Good luck!

 

[blessedby3]

We have stayed at both. Love them both, but CR wins out for me because of being able to walk to the Maicg Kingdom Checking in at the CR on Saturday!!!

 

[alliecat523]

I love the Poly because it holds such great childhood memories for me. Last time we stayed my DD was young and got sick. We were the farthest possible building from the lobby which sucked as I constantly was hiking back and forth to get to the gift shop for supplies. Beyond that, the rooms are big and the location is great. Multiple transportation options which really wins out for me. In March we got stuck on a broken monorail and it took us nearly 2 hours to get from TTC, thru resorts to MK. So I don't put much stock in that mode of transport any longer. Having been through that and ultimately getting off at GF, you realize the value of both the Poly and the CR for transportation.

We stay at CR for the first time later this month.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We have not stayed at the Poly yet (we finally will this August), but we have stayed at the CR. There is really nothing pulling us back there. I mean, it was fine, and the walk to MK is superb. But other than that, meh. I can't imagine that we would stay there again. Glad we did, but we're over it.

 

[NJBILL]

We stayed regular and CL at Poly. It was great. CR was my bucket list stay. Hoping CL CR this July is fantastic.

 

[Farro]

I would only stay at CR if I could afford a tower, theme park view. The pool has no appeal to me whatsoever. I agree the bars are quiet - which can be nice sometimes, but I like the feel of excited people and a good time while on vacation. One of the reasons we are switching from Beach Club to Polynesian this next trip is because by 9:00 the Beach Club was DEAD. A tomb. We hated that.

And the nostalgia factor, I was young, my parents were young, the early 80's....I miss it.

 

[Ladybugx87]

Thanks everyone. Your posts are making me excited for both choices!

 

[Ladybugx87]

Hmm....sort of a tweener length for me!

I do still tend to lean towards Poly given the ages of the kids in your crew. But I don't think you can really make a wrong choice here - just personal preference.

FWIW, my wife ran the Princess Half this year and just booked her spot for next year too. This time she's doing the 10k and 1/2 challenge. She stayed at BWI this year. I'll probably go with her next year so I need to be doing what you're doing - trip planning!

Will your little ones be with you? I could connect you with my hubby for race morning meet up.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Will your little ones be with you? I could connect you with my hubby for race morning meet up.

Not quite sure yet. We're the opposite of many folks and tend to plan late in the planning cycle when general public or AP discounts come out and when we have a better handle on the school calender, so might not know our exact plans for awhile.

Heck, it's more me trying to tag along with my wife. She might not even want me/us around! LOL!

 

[Tk0021]

We loved staying at CR last year. I have two girls (5 and 3) and the walk to MK is a game changer IMO. Being able to leave when ever we wanted from MK was great. We found the monorail to be to slow because of the lines. We of course like the monorail to EPCOT and other resorts for our dinners though.
We really liked being able to leave the girls in the stroll to sleep and we could walk around knowing we did not have to wait in lines or take them out to get on a bus.

 

[Ladybugx87]

Thanks everyone. We booked CR and will watch if any discounts come for either Poly to switch or CR to stay put. Now, to do my dining research.......at least I have until august to figure that out.