Since there is no way I am going to catch up on 9 or 10 days of posts, I just read that wonderful discussion thread on reddit and am starting here. Ha!
So wanted to share info from our trip. We had a great time. No flight delays...yay! Even with 9 people some of the days, we did all FP+ and never waited in a standby line. The first 2 days were great....not crowded in walkways and resort pool very pleasant. Then on Saturday the flood gates opened. Saturday thru Thurs when we left were packed.
We stayed at Poly. I used DDs CM discount and covered the cost with discounted gift cards. I am going to cash out all my URs to cover the gift cards. I paid for food with a Disney rewards card I had with referral money on it. The rest went on my Arrival+ towards MSR but that wasn't much. I upgraded the boys to APs and that went on the arrival+ as well. Most cash out of pocket will be covered by URs and flights were on SW points.
Poly-well, I won't be rushing back there anytime soon. The grounds are really lovely, of course, and I love the theming. The rooms, though spacious, are subpar. The bathroom was 100% better than my last stay there (pre Reno) but the sink being in the shower/toilet room is annoying with a family. We were in Aotearoa on the 3rd floor and got our requested balcony, and the view I wanted (but didn't request) of the monorail. It was convenient to the main building and pools. The halls and the elevator was just completely embarrassing for the prices at this resort. What are they thinking? The rooms aren't much better. I'm not sure what it was, but it just didn't feel fresh and clean at all. It was dark, spots on the carpet, and just felt like an older Hampton Inn that was in need of renovation. I will admit I have high standards for hotel rooms. I always look for new hotels or newly renovated when traveling outside WDW. I'm also spoiled by several years in a row of cruising
DCL and the ships are impeccable. Unfortunately it doesn't end at aesthetics. I thought I was paying for convenience. Well, the ONLY thing that was convenient about transport at the poly is going TO the MK. Everything else took forever. Epcot you get double security. Leaving MK, the resort monorail loop REALLY needs to require band scanning so it can actually be a perk of those paying for the "luxury" b/c right now it takes forever to get back with so many people riding it to the TTC at park close. My parents got back to CSR faster than I got back to poly from the parks...that sums it up. I ended up taking Minnnie Vans quite a few times.
The food setup...awful. If you want to buy a water or another quick grab item, you wait in line behind all the families who can't decide what they want to order for lunch just so you can pay. I've not seen that at any other resort...ordering and paying are usually separate...and it NEEDS TO BE!!
I did have issues with the laundry machines and a very nice CM came to my rescue and allowed me to use the DVC laundry room. Those buildings are SO. MUCH. NICER. Just changing up the coloring in the hallways makes it feel so new, fresh, and modern. He said they are in the beginning stages of planning renovations and he was a higher up, so he probably knows what he was talking about. If I were to stay at poly again, I'd do a DVC room instead of a village room, hands down, but I'd only do it for a MK heavy trip due to transportation frustrations.
Another compliment I have is that they let me stay in the room til 1pm on checkout day. We had a 9pm flight, so that was nice. Also, mousekeeping was on point! The nice lady came when we were out each time, no matter what time of day. We were never disturbed and we never came back (even from breakfast) to an unmade room. That was great since I often miss mousekeeping due to afternoon naps at other resorts.
Dining- we didn't do many sit down meals, b/c I find most are a rip off, esp now that DD11 is an "adult" and eats nothing. We did 'Ohana breakfast since it was convenient and DD gets a discount. It was fine if you are paying to see characters, but the food was lousy. We did Chef Mickey's our last morning b/c we hadn't met any other characters all week, except Ohana. We did Homecomin' brunch and it was delicious! DD chose Tutto Italia for her bday meal and it was tasty. Tutto we booked a week ahead for a party of 9 at prime dinner hours. We also did beaches n cream one night when we had just had a resort day and wanted to get out for a bit. The rest was counter service. I wanted to mention that I booked all except Tutto on the fly. I saw every single restaurant with availability during our trip by checking in the day prior and day of for reservations...and this was a holiday weekend. I just don't like to be tied to any certain plans ahead of time, and waiting til I know when and where I want to go seems to work fine since everything opens up as people cancel. My point is...don't worry about booking 6 months out. My dad (hasn't been to wdw for 15 years) kept saying how good of quality all the meals were...even counter service. I admit, we did have good meals.
Well thats my review. I'm def still a Yacht/Beach girl...more Yacht now that the rooms are so new. I also will likely try Swolphin at some point since the location is the same and it is easy to find in the $120 range.
ETA: DD did the audition for entertainment and was an inch too tall. She found when she got there it was only for mouse, not the face characters in that height range, unfortunately. Oh well, will try again!
Oh! And DS9 made the top tier hockey team for his age bracket in Nashville. So proud of him!
so the sooner I figure this out the quicker I CAN make that trip! But first... Japan!
your stomach.
........you got the
right
