Here we go again! Help me choose...GF, Poly or Dolphin

[w8ting4pooh]

We are torn. We can get a nice rate on the Dolphin club suite - a nice room with 2 full baths plus the free breakfast, drinks, etc. for only $340 a night with a govt. discount. We liked the Dolphin and loved the efficiency of the boats and buses when we stayed there earlier this month.

I love the look of the Grand Floridian. Hubby said that we can stay there if I want. He liked the look of the Poly when we ate and visited the resort.

I have some questions....is the GF worth the money that I would have to spend for 2 rooms? Lagoon view for May would be $920 a night. No way will we spend that much. With an AP discount, what could I expect to pay? $500? $600?

Are the interior of the rooms at the Poly as dark as the exterior and the lobby? It seems so 70s with the dark wood. Two rooms here w/out a discount would be $860!

I'm just having second thoughts about spending that kind of money. I wish we would have stayed there with our FTP then I wouldn't have such a desire to try it now that I have to pay full price.

 

[XStAnt]

First, to answer your question about the Poly, neither the rooms, the lobby, nor the exterior are dark at all. The rooms are very bright, airy, and spacious. The grounds are very sunny and green. The lobby has a huge skylight that lets in a lot of natural light. The Poly is a great resort.

As to where to stay I think you have to prioritize your concerns. You have a great rate on a Dolphin Club Suite. It's a great resort. Are the other resorts worth 3x that rate? I doubt it. Will there be some kind of discount that lowers the price? Probably. I'd venture a guess that LV at Poly would run about $250-275/night per room. Others here might have better info on this. But, do you need to rooms. The Poly has two queen beds plus a day bed. The rooms are the largest at Disney. You can easily fit 5, assuming you're not spending 15 hours/day in the room.

If price is no object, or you can get a more comparable rate at GF or Poly, the next question is which resort do you like the most? Consider theming, location, amenities, restaurants, children's activities(?), etc. There are a lot of considerations. Which park will you spend most time in? Do you have kids? Who is going on this trip? How long? Will you be eating at the resort often? Do you want to try a different resort?

If you let us know what is most important to you, we could probably help more. If your concern is the current rack rates of GF and Poly compared to the gov't rate at Dolphin, then book the Dolphin. Keep an eye on mousesavers.com and if a discount code comes out for the other resorts you can always cancel the Dolphin and book the other resort.

good luck.

 

[yecats]

I have not stayed at either Poly, GF or Dolphin but I have visited them all and have sampled various rest. I think that you got a great rate for the Dolphin and get breakfast to boot. I think that you have an excellent deal. Go for it.

 

[w8ting4pooh]

We have four children so a party of six requires two rooms. We could comfortably sleep all of us in one room but that's a debate I don't want to reignite on these boards.

The MK is our favorite park so we would be spending most of our time there. We won't be visiting Animal Kingdom or any water parks.

Does that help?

And yecats - I agree that it's a great deal. The Dolphin does make sense with such a low price. I'm just mad at myself for not taking advantage of the FTP and staying at GF.

 

[Demosthenes]

Originally posted by w8ting4pooh
We have four children so a party of six requires two rooms. We could comfortably sleep all of us in one room but that's a debate I don't want to reignite on these boards.

The MK is our favorite park so we would be spending most of our time there. We won't be visiting Animal Kingdom or any water parks.

Does that help?

Is one of your children under 3 by chance? If so, you can get 1 room at the GF or Poly.

 

[w8ting4pooh]

Our 'baby' is a very tall 4 year old. He is still able to sleep in a crib but he wouldn't be by next spring.

 

[XStAnt]

With 4 children you definitely need two rooms .

If you're spending most of the time at MK then it may be worth it to pay a little more to stay at Poly of GF. The questions is how much are you willing to spend, especially considering the great rate at Dolphin. My guess is that with a discount a GV room at the Poly would be about $200/night. LV would be more. I don't know about GF rates, but I assume they are higher.

Between GF and Poly, I'd choose Poly if you have 4 kids. I think it tends to be more kid friendly with the Volcano pool (with zero entry), Captain Cooks open 24 hours, character breakfast at 'Ohana's, and the Neverland Club. But in all honesty, I've never stayed at GF, so I'm a little biased.

I would book the Dolphin now since you've got a great rate. If codes come out for your travel dates see what it would cost and if that cost is worth it. At the current rates I would definitely stay at the Dolphin.

Have fun.

 

[XStAnt]

With 4 children you definitely need two rooms .

If you're spending most of the time at MK then it may be worth it to pay a little more to stay at Poly of GF. The questions is how much are you willing to spend, especially considering the great rate at Dolphin. My guess is that with a discount a GV room at the Poly would be about $200/night. LV would be more. I don't know about GF rates, but I assume they are higher.

Between GF and Poly, I'd choose Poly if you have 4 kids. I think it tends to be more kid friendly with the Volcano pool (with zero entry), Captain Cooks open 24 hours, character breakfast at 'Ohana's, and the Neverland Club. But in all honesty, I've never stayed at GF, so I'm a little biased.

I would book the Dolphin now since you've got a great rate. If codes come out for your travel dates see what it would cost and if that cost is worth it. At the current rates I would definitely stay at the Dolphin.

Have fun.

 

[chinamom3]

I have stayed at all three of these resorts, and if it were me, I think I'd see how great of an increase it would be to stay on the monorail, which with four children would be a greatly appreciated convenience. If the monies you would have to pay were extremely high, and you'll be out of the room quite a bit, I would stay at the Dolphin, which is much more conveniently located that others on the bus route, and, as you say, is also on the boat route. Just my two cents worth!