Help! Poly or GF???

[DisneyGirl4188]

My personal opinion is the Poly, but it is my absolute favorite resort. I think the GF is beautiful, but it is almost a bit stuffy to me.

I like that we can walk to the TTC and catch a monorail to Epcot. It saves a lot of time over the GF.

 

[toodycat]

GF all the way. The GF pools are both great for kids whereas we find the Poly volcano pool to be crowded and not terribly clean. Food options are far superior at the GF. Even the CS is excellent. 1900 Park Fare is one of the best buffets at WDW. We also live Narcoosee's and the GF cafe. CMs at the GF are consistently friendly and warm. As for it being stuffy, I assure you there are plenty of kids running around the GF acting silly and no one notices or cares. We love the lobby with the pianist playing Disney tunes. In contrast, the Poly lobby is much smaller, darker, more crowded and feels like a mall. When you eat at the Kona Cafe, you are still in the midst of the lobby. Also, although the grounds are pretty, we found the drumming from the Spirit of Aloha show starts to get on our nerves.

 

[TinkDisneyGirl]

We have stayed at both and love them both. You can't go wrong with with one! Have fun!

 

[Mazz519]

Have stayed at both, to me it seemed like the rooms at the Poly were bigger, atmosphere there is very nice also....GF is beautiful grounds and pools, plus they have better all around restaurants, but if you stay at the Poly u can jump on the monorail for the GF restaurants..

 

[kirby428]

Stayed at both. GF gets my vote. A few reasons:

-Poly is going through renovations right now with rooms, and that could cause some noise/mess. GF Villas should be done soon.

-GF feels like a resort worthy of the price tag (almost). The Poly, while nicely landscaped, I found very dirty in places.

-Rooms are a bit larger at the Poly, but nicer at the GF.

-Housekeeping is far better at the GF.

-The beach is awesome at the Poly, but you can always go over their even if staying at the GF. GF's pools are nicer and less crowded.

I will say, Poly is more convenient to Epcot since you can walk to the TTC, where as at the GF, you have to take monorail to TTC and transfer, or make a long walk to the TTC.

Might be faster to take the monorail from GF to MK and then transfer to the express monorail directly to the TTC to avoid the stop at the CR. Has anyone used this plan? From the north side of AOTEAROA to the TTC is 0.4 mile which is an 8 min walk at 3 mph or 12 min for 2 mph and an eternal 24 min at 1 mph. The MK track switch might beat those times.

 

[kirby428]

We have stayed at both and are not fans of the Poly. We didn't find the GF snooty at all. Last Dec. we stayed in CL at the GF and thought it was great. This was our 10th stay at GF and first in CL. One stay at Poly, a few years ago, let us know it wasn't what we are looking for.

If I remember correctly, the Poly's bathroom had the shower/tub, stool and sinks in one room. The GF had the sinks separated from the shower/tub and stool. Rooms at the GF have balconies or patios, except for a few rooms that I'll call mini-suites or turret rooms. The Poly has some floors that don't have balconies in certain buildings.

You might look at pictures of both resorts and see which appeals to you the most.

Great suggestion! Do this and you might find some photos of the GF bus depot. There are rows of park benches under the shelter and the walkways to the bus depot are all covered. Just an example of how the GF provides a bit more pampering. Other resorts might provide a shelter over the place the bus stops, but not many provide benches and covered sidewalks.

One other thing. Longest walk from any two points at the GF will not be greater than 900ft, the distance measured from Google map Sat view between the motor launch pier and the south door to the lobby. That is less than 0.2 miles. The width of an average Walmart Superstore is about 0.1 miles.

 

[fabulousfive]

I haven't read any other posts to this thread, but we LOVE the GF!!! So clean, beautiful, relaxing, and friendly. Truly a break from the busy parks. Enjoy whatever you choose! Just being on the monorail is the biggest joy of both!

 

[bluejasmine]

Very hard decision, we love both but I know DH would pick Poly for the view & the ambiance.. If I couldn't choose if do split stay.....lol!

GF is right next to MK so your literally in MK in like 5 min once boarding monorail! It's a gorgeous resort too, I adore it!

Poly you get views of the lagoon, GF, CR, MK & it's beautiful during the day, & gorgeous at night! The ambiance is so relaxing, your in walking distance of TTA to grab express monorail to Epcot ( about 7 min walk from middle of resort)

Both resort CMs are the best we have ever encountered!!

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & BWI Sept 8-15, 2013