I need opinions

[Lynn-e-pooh]

So I have Polynesian booked for Jan. Money is tight but my family has always wanted to stay there and we got a deal. However, if we change to All Star Music, where we stayed before and enjoyed it, we would save about $700. So what would you do? Splurge and go to Poly or be sensible and go to All Stars? I need advice from someone other than family. Thanks.

 

[ireland_nicole]

If money were tight for me, I really wouldn't enjoy my trip as much. Personally, I'd save the money for now and go with what you can comfortably afford. The Poly will still be there, and WDW will still do promos to fill rooms. Maybe not all the time, but they will definitely still happen.

 

[elmodog]

What about staying in one of the moderates, or one of the less expensive deluxes? Animal Kingdom Lodge is only $200 most nights in January.

 

[POOHsie]

Stay at less than deluxe. Go visit the Polynesian and maybe eat there. That extra money you are considering throwing away might be needed for a car breakdown, or some other family crisis. You would be a real hero if you had the money in the bank for an emergency, not because you slept at the Poly. It is a real splurge to just go to WDW when your finances are down. Now is not the time to throw irreplaceable money away.

Our family doesn't dream about the Poly or GF or the Contemporary. Why should we dream of something that is unrealistic at our financial level? The dream we have is visiting Disneyworld for as many days as we can. Frankly, when we are at the parks, people do not ask -- and cannot tell -- where we sleep.

 

[Upatnoon]

So I have Polynesian booked for Jan. Money is tight but my family has always wanted to stay there and we got a deal. However, if we change to All Star Music, where we stayed before and enjoyed it, we would save about $700. So what would you do? Splurge and go to Poly or be sensible and go to All Stars? I need advice from someone other than family. Thanks.

If money is an issue, pick the lowest-cost practical option available. The best vacation experiences are when you are relaxed, not when you are stressed about money or "having enough fun" to justify what you spent.

 

[Ro Z]

Stay at ASM. Tell the fam that with the $ you save you will be able to go to WDW again sooner! BTW we stayed at the Poly and while it was great it didn't blow us away for the $$.
You will have a much better time if you are not thinking about the $$ you are spending.
Whatever you decide, Have a great time!

 

[Alabama Minnie]

Could you split the trip? Stay value part of the time and go to DHS and AK (buses anyway) and move to the POLY for your Epcot and MK time. We have done this to save some $$. We only do "room only" discounts though. There is ALOT of difference in the 2 resorts.

 

[Clare Voince]

In my job, I deal with people who have to deal with unforseen circumstances every day. Having emergency funds available is way more important than which resort you stay at. If you do not have 6 months of earnings tucked away for a rainy day, go for the cheaper option and save what you would have spent on the Poly. Most people are one accident or illness away from a real crisis.

However, if you do have a sufficient emergency fund, I say splurge on the Poly. The memories you make on vacation with your family are more valuable in the long run than any 'things' you can buy.

 

[racingwench]

I agree with most. I understand the want to stay at the Poly. We have been wishing to go there for the last 10 years but the money has never worked out. We decided to book a king room at POFQ this year and with the discounts we are saving over $700 for the 8 days we are going to be there. Do I still wish I could afford the Poly? Absolutely but I know that we won't be paying for this trip for the next couple months like we would if we stayed at the Poly.

It is all about trade off and you are the only one that knows your family true money situation. If there is any question about money I would look into the moderates or values. If you can comfortably stay with no regrets than the Poly it is.

Good Luck with your decision.

 

[mrsz06]

I would go with All Star Music, if money is truly tight for you and your family. The last thing you need to do is go on a vacation you can not afford and possibly get yourself into further debt. Yes deluxes are nice. I will be staying at my first in Jan. But I agree with everyone else. Go for the vaule resort, you will enjoy your vacation more b/c you won't be thinking about "How in the world am I going to pay this off!" The Poly will always be there. Take the $700 and put it into a vacation fund for your next WDW vacation and maybe you will be able to afford the Poly next time.

 

[BelleRocks]

We are value folks who stayed at the Poly our last trip as a "splurge".

Problem is, it spoiled us! Hubby doesn't want to go back to value now because he loved the monorail so much. We can't afford Poly every time, and now at the value we will always be comparing to the Poly.

We had a great time, but I almost wish we had just sticked with value, which we enjoyed just fine before.

Go lower!

 

[Nadjalu]

This was our situation last visit. (different hotels...POP vs AKL)

In the end I couldn't justify spending the extra $$ to just "stay" at a different resort, when I booked POP and saved all that $$ I was so relieved. It made me enjoy my trip 100 fold.
It was a weight off my mind and the wallet.

Personally I don't think you should stretch yourself to enjoy a vacation....the whole point of a vacation is to relax and enjoy life....how much are you really enjoying this??? Probably not that much because you are stressed about that money.

Save yourself some stress and $$ and go with the Value resort. You will still have fun, you will still be at WDW....and in the end that is all that matters.

 

[3pletprincesses]

If it was me, I would go for a moderate or value hotel. If you are anything like me, you will worry about $$ the entire time. I prefer going moderate or value and have extra money then go deluxe and have no money for extras KWIM. i would love to stay there but $$ is not an option. I would prefer stay 10 days moderate then 6 day deluxe and have a tight budget

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

I'd stay at the value resort & go to the Poly. for a meal or two.

We have the $ but in my mind I just can't justify the extra expense of a deluxe resort. We do stay at POR now as we like having a king bed.

However, if I ever stayed at a deluxe it would be the Poly. Like our upcoming trip we have reservations at: Kona, Ohana breakfast & supper, & the Spirit of Aloha dinner show. With making that many trips there..it'd sure be handy to stay there!

And if y'all are like us we are on the go so much we really don't spend much time at the resort anyway.

 

[ready4mouse]

I definitely agree with the suggestion to try a moderate instead of jumping up to a deluxe! I think that if you tried a moderate (POR and CSR would be my two recommendations!!!) you will be very pleased They both have great areas to walk around and have a wonderful "resorty" feel without the huge pricetag! Then you can feel like you stepped up from the values without stretching your wallet too thin...

 

[Marty Joe]

As much as I love the Polynesian (I'm a Polysnob), I have not been able to do the Poly every year. Year before last we did Pop and I had a great time (suprisingly). If $$$ were tight, I would opt out of a deluxe. We have been to CBR (a moderate) twice and it has a tropical feel. We have been to Pop twice and it has a retro vibe that hit home with me. I love the background music (Beatles, The Who, etc), the pool, and the food court/shopping (Everything Pop). Pop has a dedicated bus service - hardly any wait. If it were me and I was financially thin, it would be Pop!

 

[dawnmommy]

like everyone else on the thread - if money is tight, I would do the value resort. We love deluxe, but financial peace of mind is much more important.

 

[JZCubed]

If the vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime - SPLURGE.

If you'd like to be sensible and make another journey in the recent future, then save the money for that next time.

 

[GovieMom]

Fortunately we're financially comfortable, yet only stayed at the Poly for the first time earlier this year, due to it being value season and the Stay 4/get 3 free deal. Because that was the only way I could justify staying at a hugely overpriced resort. In your situation I would stick with ASM; it's a great resort and obviously much less money. In fact I'm surprised you won't be saving even more than what you are by staying there.

 

[Elmo888]

So I have Polynesian booked for Jan. Money is tight but my family has always wanted to stay there and we got a deal. However, if we change to All Star Music, where we stayed before and enjoyed it, we would save about $700. So what would you do? Splurge and go to Poly or be sensible and go to All Stars? I need advice from someone other than family. Thanks.

If money is tight, I would save and go to a value. You could still try something new by staying a Pop instead of ASMusic, which is still a value.