Help-Polynesian or Riverside

[Aileen1979]

I need help. We are struggling with where to stay during our WDW trip. We have 5 people in our family. 17, 16 and 12 year old.
We are trying to decide between Port Orleans Riverside and Polynesian Deluxe studio. I love the size of the Polynesian room but the living space actually seems smaller then the Port Orleans room, due to the size of the bathrooms. I also don't care for the second bed being a pull out couch.
We have stayed at Riverside and love it but would love to stay on the monorail for once.
Any suggestions....

 

[KnittingMom]

We've stayed in both resorts, and enjoyed both, but if you can afford the Polynesian, it is quite fun to be on both the MK and the Epcot monorails. We did not, however, stay in a studio. We stayed in Samoa in a room with 2 queens + the sofa bed -- all the bedding was quite comfortable. Is that an option? We also stayed on the third floor with a full balcony -- another very nice option. And with only 1 bathroom, the bedroom part of the suite is quite roomy for everyone and her/his possessions.

 

[Aileen1979]

We've stayed in both resorts, and enjoyed both, but if you can afford the Polynesian, it is quite fun to be on both the MK and the Epcot monorails. We did not, however, stay in a studio. We stayed in Samoa in a room with 2 queens + the sofa bed -- all the bedding was quite comfortable. Is that an option? We also stayed on the third floor with a full balcony -- another very nice option.

They are sold out of the standard rooms with 2 queen beds. They tried to tell me that the deluxe studio is a lot bigger but looking at the pics, it seems like the living space is actually smaller due to the larger bathrooms.

 

[KnittingMom]

They are sold out of the standard rooms with 2 queen beds. They tried to tell me that the deluxe studio is a lot bigger but looking at the pics, it seems like the living space is actually smaller due to the larger bathrooms.

They are technically correct -- the studios at the Poly are larger than the standard bedrooms, but they are configured differently, with a fair amount of space taken out for the second shower and the mini-fridge + microwave spot. Are two of your children going to be happy in a double sized sleep sofa (mine would not be happy as they are no longer small children). At POR, you will have two queens + a smallish pull down. You could book the Poly and keep calling back to see what opens up -- if your trip is more than a month away, chances are good that rooms will open up, once folks need to pay for them (it is much easier to put down a $200 deposit than to pay for the vacation).

POR is a nice savings you could then apply to meals and tours.

 

[Aliceacc]

I LOVE the Poly!!!

The pull out couch is a normal twin bed. My son, who is the biggest member of our family (and the only boy) has gotten that bed on every single trip to WDW, and has had no complaints.

We've always requested Tokelau, so we're about evenly spaced between the Poly monorail and the TTC; it's an easy 5 minute walk to the Epcot monorail.

 

[cantoine]

I have stayed at both resorts with 5 people in our room. We love both resorts. But hands down poly would be my choice. I love the rooms at POR but the one bathroom, with teenagers is not my favorite thing to do. I love the proxmity of poly to MK and my teens love that they could go and find there way back easily. The pool at poly imo is awesome and we loved it. It was nice to stand on the beach and watch the fire works.

The rooms are bigger at Poly than POR in regards to square footage and the pullout couch is comfy, as is the pull down bed. The 2 bathrooms were life savers and I loved that one of my boys could be in the shower and we still could use the toliet and get ready in the other one.

Either resort is beautiful and you will have a blast at either one. It just depends on what works for your family. Another thing to consider is if you stay at poly you get to use the laundry facility for free.

 

[HopperFan]

How tall is 12 year old? The little bunk is not a twin size, it's small. Narrow and short. Made for younger kids.

 

[Bete]

I would rather save the money; so, POR. I think teenagers would much rather be in the park then a room. The savings could go towards some extras like a special tour. It would be a good start on taking a future trip back to Disney.

I understand the convenience of the monorail, but it's not enough of a perk for the money difference.

You will have another chance for a deluxe monorail resort in the future. Look for a deal and then book one.