I Am Back from a Pop/Poly Split Stay...

[mickey2minnie1]

I am soooo happy to hear you had such a wonderful trip!! I have planned for the 5 of us plus my parents to stay at the Poly for 9 nights in Oct/Nov. First time on site for all of us and first time to the World for my kids. I am a liitle nervous because I planned everything for all of us, including dining and I want my parents to enjoy their trip. They never go anywhere. The kids begged them to come and have been bugging them for a year until it was a sure thing and they are excited to go.

Seaspray always makes me feel better with her reports and constant trips. It has always been my first choice and I feel so lucky to go. We upgraded from POFQ with DH working so much overtime.

I do have question, is there a "bad" longhouse to stay in? What is you oppinion. It seems that some may be unhappy at first, but then realize it works out well.

I am sure after my first stay at a deluxe, I will become part of the Disney
resort snob club.

 

[Nursejilly]

I am so glad to hear you loved the Poly! We booked ASSP last november but after reading some bad reviews, we switched to Coronado Springs. It was a beautiful resort and the rooms were nice. I did not enjoy having to catch a bus to get to any park especially with a stroller and DD age 2. We have a trip booked for the Poly this november. I loved the Poly back in 2001 and i am excited to stay on the monorail again!! Would love to try the WL when we don't need a stroller! The theming looks great there.

 

[scanne]

mickey2minnie1,

I honestly do not think there is a bad longhouse at this point. Initially I did NOT want Rapa Nui as I was dreading a "parking lot" view. But, my parents had that view and it wasn't bad at all. There is so much tropical greenery that the views are beautiful all around. My parents were in room 2104 and they had a view of the entrance to Rapa Nui as well as the monorail. My kids would go into their room just to watch the monorail go by. We were across the hall in room 2122. I have to say after having stayed in Tahiti and Tokelau, that I really LOVED the convenience of Rapa Nui. It was secluded and quiet, the rooms are large and we always got off the monorail at the TTC and walked about 3 minutes to our room.

As far as the AC went, we did not have to override it at all. It's a digitial thermostat and when it got too cold, we'd raise the temp a bit and if we got too warm, we'd lower it.

My DH loves the Polynesian - it is his #1 choice for our WDW trips.

DS wants the CR next and I want the Beach Club. I have got to get my family to at least TRY an Epcot resort.

Anyway, I have to update my photobucket account then I will get to posting some pictures.

 

[grumpyharn]

Gald you had a great trip. I have a qyestion about that long house. How long of a walk to the GCH?

 

[dgaston]

This is for antmaril:

I am a bit of a resort snob (love my hot tubs) but I think I have stayed at Pop 4x now! We use it on weekends during DVC stays, have also used it when required to pay rack rate on a room for free dining, and really enjoy our time there.

As others have posted, I think you need to keep in mind it's a value, and also that it's allowing you to enjoy two rooms during free dining. For a quieter room, request lakeside views. I have found MK transportation to be excellent -- we usually drive to other destinations.

HTH and Best Wishes for an enjoyable trip!

 

[scanne]

Gald you had a great trip. I have a qyestion about that long house. How long of a walk to the GCH?

Our walk from Rapa Nui to the GCH was 5 minutes - at a leisurely pace.

 

[grumpyharn]

Sounds like a great location!

 

[MickeyDee]

Glad you had a good time! But sorry you didn't enjoy Pop!

 

[antmaril]

This is for antmaril:

I am a bit of a resort snob (love my hot tubs) but I think I have stayed at Pop 4x now! We use it on weekends during DVC stays, have also used it when required to pay rack rate on a room for free dining, and really enjoy our time there.

As others have posted, I think you need to keep in mind it's a value, and also that it's allowing you to enjoy two rooms during free dining. For a quieter room, request lakeside views. I have found MK transportation to be excellent -- we usually drive to other destinations.

HTH and Best Wishes for an enjoyable trip!

Thank you. I'm going with an open mind. I remind myself that the only reason we booked this trip was because of the Free Dining. We weren't really planning another trip this year. However, my son asked if we could do something before he goes back to college and could his girlfriend join us. I said "How about Disney with Free Dining"? His response was "awesome", and so another Disney trip was born. Then, I realized I would need two rooms and decided to go with Pop to keep it reasonable. I think it's going to be fine. It's only four days.

Thanks for your thoughts

 

[I Love Pluto]

We LOVE Pop! We'll be there on the 25th - one week from today!

PLEASE don't belittle Pop. It's our Disney vacation. If it weren't for the values, there would be NO Disney time for us.

Thank you. It "feels bad" when someone on DIS makes cutting remarks. Let me enjoy who I am, please. Thanks again.

 

[deide71]

We did Pop with connecting rooms for the 5 of us in December of 2005. We had a great time, and the kids loved the resort.

I'm actually a little bit worried about our days at the Poly in September because all 5 of us will be in the same room. We plan on thoroughly exhausting the kids so they sleep easily while we enjoy the patio or balcony (oh please Disney gods give us a patio or balcony)!

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Just make that your only request

 

[SeaSpray]

We LOVE Pop! We'll be there on the 25th - one week from today!

PLEASE don't belittle Pop. It's our Disney vacation. If it weren't for the values, there would be NO Disney time for us.

Thank you. It "feels bad" when someone on DIS makes cutting remarks. Let me enjoy who I am, please. Thanks again.

I know it's not easy, but try not to take the negative comments about Pop Century personally. As for me, the Polynesian resort is "who I am" and I feel bad when people don't enjoy it the same way I do, or has a negative experience there. But I try not to take it personally because we're all different, we all notice different things at the resorts (the good, the bad, and the ugly), and we can experience the same resort on the same day in a totally different manner.

Just go and enjoy your vacations knowing that YOU like the resort you're staying at, no matter where that is, and no matter who else likes it or not. Don't let other peoples' negative comments take away from your enjoyment. Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[winterman]

Scanne, It's wonderful that you enjoyed Poly so much but I don't understand why you had to be so very negative regarding a resort that you spent 12 hours in. (I would assume that you were asleep for some of those hours.) I do not believe that you can judge POP in such a short time. I hope that the disers who read this and are planning to stay at POP see this review for what it is. A review from a deluxe snob.

As several other posters have said, I have stayed at POP - twice. We had no complaints at all and we stayed a total of 10 days. I'm sure I would love a stay at Poly but I can not justify paying those rates, nor can I afford it.

I wish the deluxe snobs out there would just tell us how wonderful their resorts are, without degrading the lesser resorts.

 

[dclfun]

We are DVC members and also love Pop and the All Stars ( as well as all the other resorts!). It's a different "feel" but that's what we enjoy sometimes, plus the food court is a big plus when we travel with larger groups that are wanting to spend more time in the theme parks vs. down time at the resort. That's what I love about WDW- there's no "one size fits all" or cookie cutter resort. Based on what our plans are for each trip and our budget ( and how many points we have left with DVC) that's what makes our decision. It's fun to plan and fun to experience new things. There's positive and negative things we've found at each and every resort but all in all, we've never had a negative feel when we've left - just wish we were on our way vs. going back home. Some people do prefer a deluxe resort either for the atmosphere, amenities, transportation options or level of services. I don't consider them snobs- it's just what they might need at the time to be able to enjoy their vacation. To each his own. Hakuna Matata.---Kathy

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay at the Poly! I'll be there in August and have requested the Samoa building.

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Pop. I was there in April and had a great stay in a room overlooking the lake in the 70's section. However, I didn't eat there so I can't speak to that. It was a short stay and we *still* crashed the Polynesian to eat and relax.

 

[scanne]

I hope that the disers who read this and are planning to stay at POP see this review for what it is. A review from a deluxe snob.

Bingo! That is exactly what I am! Thanks for noticing.

 

[Jrabbit910]

welcome back! sad isnt it?!??!

Cant wait for your trip report. I will keep an eye out now for it... looking forward to pics and stuff....

Just a quick question, whyd ya stay at pop for one night? was nothing else available or did u just want to try it out?

 

[scanne]

Pop, did NOT care for at all.

We only stayed at Pop for one night - 12 hours to be exact - and I was SO glad to get out of there.

The rooms are TINY! The food court was mobbed, even at 11 o'clock at night.

It was noisy! Even in our crappy location in the 1950's section facing the parking lot, it was noisy. Running kids, slamming doors...definitely NOT my family's style.

But hey, if you like it, then GREAT! I wish I loved a resort that wasn't $300+ a night! LOL!

This is my own quote from the first post in this thread.

I don't think I was being negative - just honest. And I do so wish I enjoyed the value resorts like I enjoy the deluxe resorts. It would save my family a lot of $$$!!! But alas, I do not enjoy the small rooms, large crowds of people (at the hotel, but the parks I expect it), the lines for the buses, and just the overall feel of a value. It isn't my taste, plain and simple. My DH and I work hard to pay for our vacations and I do enjoy the little luxuries at the deluxes. Does that make me a deluxe resort snob? Maybe it does, but now who is doing the judging here???

I didn't mean to start a controversial thread - just was sharing my opinion as so many DISers do.

 

[scanne]

Just a quick question, whyd ya stay at pop for one night? was nothing else available or did u just want to try it out?

We chose to stay at POP for one night for two reasons.

1. Our flight got in late and I didn't want to pay $350+ for a room to sleep in for the night at the Polynesian.

2. We really wanted to try it out. We had stayed at ASMu twice and I was curious how Pop compared. I am also putting together another Magic Music Days trip for 2009 and if I can get Pop, I will. But I also wanted to check it out before I planned anything. I like Pop better than the All Stars, but I'm going to look into Coronado Springs for my Magic Music Days trip as well.