Help us decide POLY or CR?

[Lynn Walters]

My family and I will be going to Disney and staying at either the Polynesian or Contemporary Resort. Our kids ages are 2, 8 and 17. Would love to hear from previous guest, the good, bad and ugly of these resorts to help us decide which to choose. Thanks so much!

 

[DisneyDotty]

We've stayed at the CR twice--once Garden room, other Tower with MK view. We stayed for a long weekend at the Poly in January--Tahiti room with MK view.
We love the CR (Tower room especially!) for these reasons:
1. So close to MK you can taste the pixie dust! Watching Wishes from your balcony, hearing the sounds of the park--heavenly.
2. Just a short elevator/escalator ride from the monorail to your room. Much appreciated after a long day at the park.
3. A lovely 10 minute (or less) walk to MK, should you forgo the monorail.
4. The energy of the Concourse level is palpable. Chef Mickey's. CM's leading kids around on a pirate hunt. The shops.
5. We prefer CR's bathroom--separate room for toilet. Allows more use of the bathroom facilities.

The Poly is a very lovely resort, too, but we found the walk to the Ceremonial house (dining and shopping, plus monorail stop) was longer than what we wanted to do. In fact, we ended up using the TTC more than the monorail stop at the Poly. And the MK was too far away to really get much out of the view. However, our kids loved playing in the hammocks, and you can really get lost in the theming.

Both resorts have great-sized rooms, and the day bed works great for kids.

My suggestion? Try one now and hit the other on your next trip. Or do a split stay. Personally, my goal is to hit all the moderate and deluxes WDW resorts someday. But we'll always go back to the CR--somehow it just tugs on our hearts. We it.

Have a great trip!

 

[DisneyBugs]

I stayed at CR once before. Once was enough. It's not that the place was bad by any means...what it came down to was this:

I didn't fly from New England to Florida in November to look at cement everywhere I went at the hotel. I wanted color!! I wanted palm trees!! I wanted lush landscapes!! But everywhere we went: gray, depressing, cement.​

Polynesian -- all the way.....

 

[MareSINY]

My vote is for the CR. I've stayed there twice, MK view. I stayed at the Poly once, Tahiti MK view.

CR is so convenient, close to MK, such a magical feeling. The ease of the monorail right in the hotel and the close proximity to the shops, restaurants and game room make it a great resort.

Poly is beautiful, but the rooms are so far apart and so far from the GCH. We actually used the monorail line at the transportation center instead of the Poly. We didn't get refillable mugs because it was too much of a hike to Capt. Cooks. After a day of walking the parks it was just too much to hike it to and from our room.

Although I think the Poly is beautiful and I'm glad we did it once, I don't think I'll ever do it again. My niece has already requested the CR for our September trip.

 

[traci]

Since you have a 2 year old I *personally* would pick the one with a zero entry pool. It makes life so much easier when the water is shallow enough for them to play and you don't have to hold them the entire time

If you are going when it's cooler and you don't think you will be enjoying the resorts grounds I would pick CR. I look forward to staying there - I just want to wait until our kids are a bit bigger - the MK view would be amazing!! I just love zero entry pools at this age though

Either way I bet you will be happy with your choice! Good~Luck deciding!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Personally you can't go wrong with either location. The Contemporary will always be my favorite WDW Resort and where it gets the edge over the Polynesian is how you can walk to the Magic Kingdom in 10 minutes and it's the 1st stop on the Monorail when leaving the Magic Kingdom so with your kids especially your 2 and 8 year old, it's great knowing you can get back there a lot faster if they are feeling tried.