Help me out: Poly vs WL/BRV

[saraheliz]

Planning a trip for late April 2021 with a family of 5, kids will be 14, 12, and 5 at the time. 14 and 12 year olds have been before, staying at POR and AoA, it will be 5 year old's first trip. We are a family that needs our quiet space/time.
Thinking we will rent points for a studio at either Poly or BRV. I know it will be tight with 5 of us but with the balcony I think we'll manage ok.
Trying to decide if it's worth what looks to be about an $800 difference between the two (based on 2020 costs anyway) for the additional space and partial extra bathroom at the Poly. Looks like both are scheduled for refurbs soon- is one noticeably more run down that the other?
Do they both have nice common spaces to gather/hang out outside of the room?
Pool comparison?

Thoughts on each:

Poly:
-Extra bathroom space
-Additional transportation options to MK and Epcot
-Can watch MK fireworks at night
-More expensive
-Busier
-Have to walk from building to building (which doesn't bother us generally, but we did get caught in some serious downpours at POR trying to get back to our room and that stunk)

WL/BRV:
-Smaller room/only one bathroom
-Less expensive
-Quieter
-Buses except to MK
-Always wanted to try/stay at this resort, it just looks beautiful!

WWYD? Suck up the smaller space and less transportation and put that $$ into something else on the trip? Or splurge and go for Poly with a few extra conveniences??

Thanks for your input!! I keep going back and forth!

 

[Moms]

I would go with WL/BRV but probably only because I am not a fan of Poly. For the cost to stay there you shouldn't have to walk through a Florida downpour to get to your room ... and we all know that Florida downpours are almost a daily occurance during some times of the year! WL is a beautiful resort!

 

[stranger706]

Poly definitely has some nice extras. Just stayed there a week in July.

- Access to 2 Monorail stations with kids and a stroller was divine. (our room was actually closer to the TTC than Poly's station)
- Pools were very crowded, not very enjoyable for us. This was a big negative for us.
- capt cooks is tiny and always crowded (quick service restaurant)
- watching MK fireworks at night was nice
- common areas were loud and crowded but our room and building were always quiet (we had a garden view studio in Moorea? longhouse)

I'd say the biggest plus for us was the location and transportation options. No matter what park we did during the day, every night we would jump on the monorail and go to MK. I think one night from our room to MK main street was like 15 minutes total. We also spent time at CR and GF that we otherwise would not have without being on the monorail loop.

It was fun and eye opening to stay at Poly but I don't think we will be returning any time soon. We definitely want to try CR and GF to see how they compare. From what I hear they are not as crowded so should be more enjoyable to use the pools and common areas.

 

[Babsy]

I would stay at the Poly. Much more comfortable -= the single most important factor when deciding where to stay for me. Also, better transportation options.

I would take a boat ride from the MK to the WL for dinner one night while enjoying my stray at the Poly!

 

[heidijanesmith]

We have stayed at the Poly a couple times and found he size of the rooms to be a big plus. The extra space is worth it to us. Especially with kids of those ages.

The Poly is a great location, you can walk to the TTC and catch the monorail to EPCOT. It's a quick walk and gorgeous at night.

Watching the fireworks at night from the Poly Pool is one of my favorite memories> You can also watch from the beach. We do not like the MK crowds, so being able to watch the fireworks from an outside location is a great perk.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I love both Wilderness Lodge and Poly, so it’s a hard choice! But with 5 people in a room, I would choose the Poly studio for the extra bathroom and bigger room. The bonus will be walking to two monorail stations, giving you easy access to MK, Epcot, and the other monorail resorts to explore. It’s also nice to be able to walk to Grand Floridian (and there are some quieter spots when you walk in that direction, which is nice since Poly is generally fairly busy).

Either way you’ll have an amazing trip!

 

[Deb & Bill]

The balconies at Boulder Ridge are pretty small. And there is at least one studio with no balcony. Polynesian are a bit bigger since they run the full width of the room.

 

[Disney Bobby]

Poly, hands down. We are there the entire week of Thanksgiving. Can't wait. I've stayed at every deluxe resort at Disney World, and it is by far my favorite. Nothing else comes even close.

 

[Beachmom0317]

My husband needs his quiet/downtime on vacation. I’d totally go with brv. Gorgeous resort and the BRV lobby is SO peaceful! DH once got a massage there in their gym are and I just read a book by the fire in their lobby and it was so quiet

 

[merry_nbright]

I’ve stayed at both and, to be honest, it’s still a large room at Wilderness Lodge. I mean, it’s not nearly as huge as Polynesian, but it’s still a good size and the theme and location are amazing!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Both studios are good sized, but the Polynesian is about 100 sq ft larger. But then the bathrooms together are larger than the BRV bathroom. All of the bathroom is contained into two rooms at the Polynesian. The bathroom is divided into a tub/toilet space with a door and the sink outside the bathroom at BRV. So the living space is similar in the two studios. It may feel crowded with five people, especially with a teen and pre-teen.

BRV Studio: This doesn't show the connecting door to the one bedroom to make a two bedroom lockoff. That will be right next to the murphy bed towards the corner. Just imagine the murphy bed shifted to the right to allow for the connecting door.

Polynesian Studio:

 

[saraheliz]

Thanks for all the input! Decisions, decisions....

 

[Mom2Anna&Elsa]

Stayed at both our last trip (two weeks ago). Stayed one night in a studio at BRV and then transferred to a Poly studio for 4 nights.

We had four, two girls aged 5 & 3, and definitely notice the space difference between the two. The studio at BRV looked quite a bit older and definitely more dated (and I'm sure it IS older). While we enjoyed Wilderness Lodge, we just loved the Poly. Better dining options at the Poly, in my opinion, with a quick monorail ride or walk to Grand Floridian for more dining. My girls loved playing in the sand on the beach area, and one night we enjoyed the fireworks from the beach. It's great seeing Cinderella's castle from the pool area.

I also love being able to walk to the TTC from the Poly DVC area to take the monorail to get to Epcot (especially since they JUST opened up where you don't have to go through security again at Epcot if you are arriving by Monorail). We had an 8 a.m. PPO ADR at Garden Grill and that was a huge plus.

I think it comes down to how much money you will be saving, how much resort time you will have, how much you will be in the room. We find it 'worth it' to stay at the Polynesian but others definitely would not.

 

[JCornell]

4 of us stayed at both in August (rented points at Poly and had a normal room at WL). Second time at Poly, first at WL. We love Poly's resort and the GCH and visit it just about every trip. However, we have become less of a fan of how spread out the whole resort is. We all loved WL though. It's a little less convenient with transportation but we did love the quiet boat rides to and from MK and CR and buses were fine. The main lobby is hopping most of the day and fairly noisy but we were on 5th floor and we'd only notice it once we opened our door and exited the room. In short, WL is now a favorite and Poly has been knocked down a rung.

 

[Sue M]

I love both resorts but with 5 that extra bathroom will be nice. And more options with transportation to 2 parks, and walking distance to GF for more dining and shopping options.