Is it worth the difference? Poly vs off site- Windsor Hills

[kerry331]

Hi, I am so torn between the 2 places. Windsor Hills Orlando is a gated condo/townhouse commnutity- trip advisor rates it #2 for off site specialty lodging.

For 4 nights I would be paying 548.00 with tax at Windsor...for a 3 bedroom townhome w/private pool..the grounds are gorgeous w/beautiful pools and 1 mile from Disney. (gates).

We are traveling to disney for the first time with our three children, ages 6, 4 and 2.

We have been quoted our trip w/the Poly.. airfare....with meal plans, with park tix...the whole 9 for 4 nights. It's expensive. Over 4k for all of us.

If we stay at Windsor hills with a rental car, we will be saving 1651.00. Of course, we'd STILL have to buy our own food still if we stayed at windsor hills. Although we wouldn't have to eat inside disney, as i hear it's really expensive??

Is this difference in price worth the convenience? I told my husband we'll still be shelling out good cash for meals at disney even though we have the 'meal plan'...the travel agent even told us that. Also we'd all be in one big room at the Poly, with the little ones.

Is the Polynesian that wonderful? The travel agent raved about it. Being that this is our first trip to disney as a family, i'd like to do it right. I am just so confused!!! My husband would like to stay inside Disney, not mess with the rental car...he thinks it would be better for our first time experience to be right in the mix of things.

What do you think?

Oh, and i have to ask, is the Luau dinner at the Poly really good? I am bummed b/c the travel agent told us she couldn't get us to the show during our stay! I really wanted to see this.. Does it make sense to rebook the week we are going to see this show???

Thank you in advance for your responses,
Kerry in NJ

 

[mickey2minnie1]

We did the Poly for our first family visit. My DH worked a lot of overtime so we could stay there and I watched for discounts.

It was truly magical!! For the 4 nights you are staying, you want to experience what you can and still stay relaxed. DH loved the convenience of the monorail and tells everyone that that alone is priceless. The Poly offers quick access to the MK and you can leave early (crowds) and come back to your resort and watch Wishes from there.

The grounds are breathtaking and the room was great for the 5 of us. We stayed in Tokelaou which is in the center. The Volcano Pool was so nice. I could watch all three and the zero entry was awesome. The dining plan was a lot of food. We paid for a couple of breakfasts because we used the credits for sooo many character breakfasts. We actually had snack credits left over.

The Poly was a joy and we considered it a true vacation within a vacation. If you have any other questions, I will be glad to answer.

Check out the Poly 2008 thread. You will be easily won over. The Poly is wonderful.

There is something magical about seeing the castle change colors from your resort before you close your eyes and go to sleep. The children loved it and cannot wait to go back.

 

[kerry331]

Thank you for your insight.

Where is the Poly 2008 thread???

 

[DVCJEN]

There is no comparing onsite vs. offsite. Onsite even in the cheapest of rooms is more magical and so much more convienient. Hands down! I hated getting in the car driving to the parking lot. Taking a tram to the ferry, the ferry to the park. It was so much hassle.

Why rent a house? Especially for a short trip. Will you spend all that much time there?

 

[CoolPool]

You have 3 kids I see. Ah, the dilemma.

Well I think staying onsite is wonderful. There are perks like Extra Magic Hours, being able to charge to your room, package delivery...and just not having to drive/think about a car for an entire vacation. It just feels good to leave everything to the Mouse. I guess you'd say I agree with your husband.

You know your travel agent might be trying a bit to "upsell" you. There are other resorts that aren't as expensive as the Poly that accommodate 5 people. I personally love the Poly but I know its not for everyone and it is expensive. Ask to hear about other properties. You might also consider a Old Key West or Saratoga Springs as there are sometimes discounts there. They are Disney's condo alternative. None of the deluxe hotels will be as cheap as staying offsite though.

I agree that offsite might be terrific for your family if you really want the extra space and the money savings is clear. I think the vacation will be more "Disney" if you stay onsite but that might not be important to you. And not everybody "gets it" in the same way. That's okay too.

 

[ashef]

There are many excellent but much less expensive options at WDW than Poly. Since one of your kids is under 3, for WDW purposes your family counts as 4 people and you can stay in one room at any resort. (The youngest can sleep in a pack & play.) Since you're only going to be at WDW for four days and will be in the parks most of the time, why not get a room at one of the moderate resorts? You can use Magical Express, the WDW buses -- which are wonderful. Also, by staying onsite you can use the extra magic hours, which let you enter one park a day at 8:00 a.m., instead of 9:00 a.m. and was a godsend when my kids were the ages of yours. Then for your next trip, you'll have a better idea of the relative merits of staying onsite vs. having a larger place offsite. Personally, we have always stayed onsite at moderate resorts.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Thank you for your insight.

Where is the Poly 2008 thread???

Go to the Disney Resorts Forum and scroll down to the New Polynesian 2008 thread. It is usually right there on the front page. Ocaasionally you will need to go to page two. It is most popular. LMK if you find it and what you think.

 

[copper68]

In the old days, we used to stay offsite at the Vistana resort, which is about a mile from DTD...While the huge 2 bedroom with full kitchen resort was nice, it still didn't compare to staying onsite...

With the young kids, the benefit of the monorail can't be beat....

Another option may be to consider getting a villa at the Wilderness Lodge...This way you get the kitchen and w/d and can save on the meals...and while it's not on the monorail line, you can just hop on a boat from the MK and your back at the hotel in 15 minutes for naps in the afternoon...

For the 4 days you're staying, I would recommend staying onsite...

Good Luck!!!

 

[jultomzach]

I have done both and just stayed at Windsor Hills in January. There are benefits to both. Staying in a townhouse/house gives you lots of room and the pool and club house are very nice there. It is a hassle driving in and out every day and you have to consider the cost of parking and renting a car. BUT, with 3 little ones I would stay offsite. It can also give you a BREAK from Disney. While some people love the magic of staying onsite, some people like to get a break from the magic. I have rented Disney Vacation Club villas also and 2 bedroom DVC villas are much more expensive than staying offsite (even if you rent from an owner). You asked this question on the resorts board, you may want to post the same question on the Orlando Hotel area board (to get different opinions).

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi, I am so torn between the 2 places. Windsor Hills Orlando is a gated condo/townhouse commnutity- trip advisor rates it #2 for off site specialty lodging.

For 4 nights I would be paying 548.00 with tax at Windsor...for a 3 bedroom townhome w/private pool..the grounds are gorgeous w/beautiful pools and 1 mile from Disney. (gates).

We are traveling to disney for the first time with our three children, ages 6, 4 and 2.

We have been quoted our trip w/the Poly.. airfare....with meal plans, with park tix...the whole 9 for 4 nights. It's expensive. Over 4k for all of us.

If we stay at Windsor hills with a rental car, we will be saving 1651.00. Of course, we'd STILL have to buy our own food still if we stayed at windsor hills. Although we wouldn't have to eat inside disney, as i hear it's really expensive??

Is this difference in price worth the convenience? I told my husband we'll still be shelling out good cash for meals at disney even though we have the 'meal plan'...the travel agent even told us that. Also we'd all be in one big room at the Poly, with the little ones.

Is the Polynesian that wonderful? The travel agent raved about it. Being that this is our first trip to disney as a family, i'd like to do it right. I am just so confused!!! My husband would like to stay inside Disney, not mess with the rental car...he thinks it would be better for our first time experience to be right in the mix of things.

What do you think?

Oh, and i have to ask, is the Luau dinner at the Poly really good? I am bummed b/c the travel agent told us she couldn't get us to the show during our stay! I really wanted to see this.. Does it make sense to rebook the week we are going to see this show???

Thank you in advance for your responses,
Kerry in NJ

I'll give you my opinion

Since this is your first family trip I strongly recommend that you stay onsite. The convenience and time-saving factor will be priceless, especially since you're only there for 4 nights. Also, due to the ages of your younger children, you'll like being able to go back to your resort during the day for a swim or nap.

$4000 for 4 nights IS expensive, but I think if it's affordable for you, you'll find it to be worth it. If it's not affordable for you and it'll cause a strain to your finances, then you might want to either consider a moderate resort onsite at WDW or stick with the condo. I never like to suggest to people that they spend more than they're comfortable with, no matter how much I love the Polynesian. lol Although, considering that it includes air, dining plan, and tickets, that's not too bad!

As for whether the food at WDW is expensive or not, is a relative thing. Where do you live? I grew up in New Jersey and now live in Massachusetts; we personally find the prices of the WDW restaurants (and I mean the sit-down restaurants) to be very reasonable, as compared to dining out here at home. But if you live in a different part of the country you might find the prices to be higher. (EDITED TO ADD: Nevermind, you SAID you're in NJ! You won't think the prices at WDW are high! LOL).

Not sure what you mean when you say you'll be "shelling out good cash for meals even with the meal plan". I think you mean that you realize that the regular Dining Plan (as opposed to the more expensive Deluxe Dining Plan) does not cover 3 meals a day, although there are ways to accomplish that (for example, by using a snack credit to buy a bakery item and then save it for breakfast the next day - I read that tip on the Restaurants Board. lol).

The size of the rooms at the Polynesian are a decent size. Even though you are a family of 5 your kids are still small, so I don't think you'd find it too cramped, although there's no getting around the fact that you all WILL be in 1 room. Hopefully you'd get a room with a balcony or even better for you, a room with a patio, which would give you a little bit more "room".

YES THE POLYNESIAN IS WONDERFUL Sorry, wish I could tell you otherwise. LOL Also, I can relate to what your DH said about not wanting to bother with a rental car; we love not having to deal with driving all over the place while on vacation at WDW And especially with the Polynesian, you have the boat OR monorail to the Magic Kingdom, AND a short walk to the Epcot monorail.

To answer your last question: I do not think the luau is "good". I have never experienced it myself, but I've been reading reviews of it for years and I just can't bring myself to do it. I would suggest that you dine at 'Ohana for dinner. I know your kids would love the activities that the ukelele player leads for the kids, during the evening.

One last thing, here's the link to the newest Polynesian Resort FAQ thread, and I hope I've been a little helpful in commenting on some of your concerns

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1708173

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

Hi, I am so torn between the 2 places. Windsor Hills Orlando is a gated condo/townhouse commnutity- trip advisor rates it #2 for off site specialty lodging.

For 4 nights I would be paying 548.00 with tax at Windsor...for a 3 bedroom townhome w/private pool..the grounds are gorgeous w/beautiful pools and 1 mile from Disney. (gates).

... If we stay at Windsor hills with a rental car, we will be saving 1651.00.

Wasn't sure when you were going (value season? peak season?), but for our upcoming Poly. trip we are paying $308/night or ~ $345/night with tax.

You'd be paying $548/4 = $137/night @ Windsor
So the price difference for 4 nights = ($345-$137)*4 = $832.
Are you comparing apples with apples? Airline tickets and WDW park tickets will be the same regardless of where you stay, so they shouldn't be in the comparison. But if you stay on-site, no need for a rental car & gas and you do not need to get a meal plan or even eat any expensive sit-down meals if you don't wish to (we never do and find the full meal plan just isn't the way we eat). We stayed off-site last year and were surprised how expensive groceries were in that area and weren't impressed by the off-site "affordable" dining places nearby, and the driving and parking detracted from DH's vacation. The magic just isn't the same, even though we could see WDW from our off-site balcony. We're back to staying on-site in 2008, and Polyherewecome!

 

[Disney grandma]

With 3 children I would definitely stay at the Poly if you can afford to. The ease of the monorail and not having to get in and out of a car when going and leaving the parks is wonderful. Your children will be happier and that makes for a much better vacation, especially if this is your first trip to DW. As stated you don't have to be on the dining plan to enjoy good food. Ohanas at the Poly is very good and your children would enjoy the atmosphere. The counter service restaurant is good and I think you will find that the food at the parks isn't that bad or that expensive. 4 nights will go quickly and you will not regret staying on site. The rooms are huge and you won't feel crowded. We had friends who stayed off site with 2 children and they didn't enjoy their trip at all. Fighting the crowds and going from one bus to get to another bus to get back to their condo was not worth it.

 

[kileybeth]

with only 4 nights you'd be better off on site. The POLY is awesome and worth every dime in my book. Windsor Hills is just a townhouse as nice as it may be. there are kitchens and laundry there (eewww, this is your vacation too) and no maid service! Since DH is willing to spring for onsite and POLY how about Club level. You will love it with 3 little ones and then you will not pay one dime extra for food or drink the entire time you are there even with regular dining plan. I promise you that. And you will be full. My DH loved not having to fool with car whole time we were there. Monorail alone was worth the extra money to me. Go embrace the magic!

 

[Aliceacc]

We haven't been there yet, so I won't comment on the Poly (but I've got to say, I'm REALLY looking forward to it!!!) But here's the 2008 thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1708173

I did start a thread for other newbies; there may be something there that can help you: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

But just out of curiosity, why are your only 2 choices Poly or off site? Since your youngest is 2, you could stay at any of the on site accomodations that accomodate 4-- kids under 3 don't count towards the room occupancy numbers.

So hit www.allears.net and take a look at the fact sheets for the various resorts. Try some of the Deluxes-- the AP at my school RAVED about the Wilderness Lodge last year with his kids. But also look at some of the mods-- Carribean Beach, Port Orleans and the others. Each of them will save you money over the Poly, but give you all the amenities of staying on site. You could most certainly make up the price of the rental car.

Should you decide to stay on site, take a look at the meal plan. Here are the basics: Each day, adults pay $40 and kids over 3 pay $10. So your family would be $100 per day for each night of your stay. It buys 1 counter service meal, 1 snack and 1 table service meal per day. The big draw is that some of those table service restaurants are character meals-- your girls could have breakfast with the princesses at Norway in Epcot, with Lilo and Stitch at 'Ohana at the Poly (whether or not you stay there), dinner wtih Cinderella and her stepsisters at the Grand Floridian, dinner with Mickey and crew at Chef Mickeys in the Contemporary, or a host of other character meals. (By the way, 'Ohana for dinner might be a great alternative to the luau you wanted.) You could also do some non-character meals, like the Coral Reef at Epcot-- one entire wall is a huge aquarium, and the kids just love it. The dining plan (DDP) is only available to those staying on site, regardless of which resort they choose.

And, for what it's worth, I would think about changing travel agents. There are SO many wonderful options out there-- there is NO reason you should have received only one quote (and that at one of the most expensive resorts on the property.)

One more thing: are you AAA members? AAA offers a discount ranging from 10-20% off your accomodations, depending on the resort and the time of year. I bet your travel agent forgot to mention that as well, didn't she?

 

[MagicalEars]

As for whether the food at WDW is expensive or not, is a relative thing. Where do you live? I grew up in New Jersey and now live in Massachusetts; we personally find the prices of the WDW restaurants (and I mean the sit-down restaurants) to be very reasonable, as compared to dining out here at home. But if you live in a different part of the country you might find the prices to be higher. (EDITED TO ADD: Nevermind, you SAID you're in NJ! You won't think the prices at WDW are high! LOL).

So true my friend....so true. Sadly, I've lived in NJ most of my life and can tell you that you won't find the prices at WDW high. Heck, I think it's worth a couple grand just to get away from NJ for a couple days. We're just lucky they don't charge us extra because we're from NJ.

Us: "Hi! We're here for our vacation."
CM: "That's wonderful! Where are you all from?"
Us: "Ummm......New Jersey."
CM: "Oh. That will be a $100 surcharge."


Seriously, I'll just echo what the others have already said. Staying on site, Polly or otherwise, is worth the extra money. Being the DH of the family myself I can tell you that not having to drive while there at WDW is priceless. The Disney transportation is wonderful, especially if you stay on the monorail.

Not to mention that the resorts are wonderfully themed and staffed with very helpful and friendly CMs. Staying on site truly is the complete Disney experience.

 

[kerry331]

Thank you guys!!
We are booking mothers day weekend....what do you think?? Too hot ???

We are staying at the Polynesian!!

 

[SeaSpray]

Thank you guys!!
We are booking mothers day weekend....what do you think?? Too hot ???

We are staying at the Polynesian!!

Congrats! I think you will LOVE the Polynesian!

Mid-May is PERFECT weather for WDW; crowd levels are not too bad, the average temps are great, warm enough to want to swim but not usually too hot! May is my favorite time of year to go to Disney World. I truly hope you have a wonderful time. Please come back afterwards and tell us all about it.

 

[Troy08]

You did not mention the dates of your trip. I say, Location, Location, Location. If you are going in the heat of the summer months or a very crowded week like Easter, spring break, the the POLY is definately your best bet.

Three little kids, a long hot day in the parks, etc. You will be thrilled to hop on the monorail and hop right off at the Poly. No hassles of the parking lot, waiting for the tram, packing up the kids in a rental, fighting the traffic., etc.

Plus it's your first trip, go with hubby's advice, stay in the middle of the magic, you will never regret shelling out the extra cash for the sheer convenience of an on-site stay.
If you can afford it, spend it.

 

[Aliceacc]

You did not mention the dates of your trip. I say, Location, Location, Location. If you are going in the heat of the summer months or a very crowded week like Easter, spring break, the the POLY is definately your best bet.

Three little kids, a long hot day in the parks, etc. You will be thrilled to hop on the monorail and hop right off at the Poly. No hassles of the parking lot, waiting for the tram, packing up the kids in a rental, fighting the traffic., etc.

Plus it's your first trip, go with hubby's advice, stay in the middle of the magic, you will never regret shelling out the extra cash for the sheer convenience of an on-site stay.
If you can afford it, spend it.

You forgot my favorite: buckling each child into a carseat with which they're not familiar.

(And you would have to rent the car seats too, wouldn't you??? Or would they come with the car rental? )

 

[luvdisney00]

So true my friend....so true. Sadly, I've lived in NJ most of my life and can tell you that you won't find the prices at WDW high. Heck, I think it's worth a couple grand just to get away from NJ for a couple days. We're just lucky they don't charge us extra because we're from NJ.

Us: "Hi! We're here for our vacation."
CM: "That's wonderful! Where are you all from?"
Us: "Ummm......New Jersey."
CM: "Oh. That will be a $100 surcharge."


Seriously, I'll just echo what the others have already said. Staying on site, Polly or otherwise, is worth the extra money. Being the DH of the family myself I can tell you that not having to drive while there at WDW is priceless. The Disney transportation is wonderful, especially if you stay on the monorail.

Not to mention that the resorts are wonderfully themed and staffed with very helpful and friendly CMs. Staying on site truly is the complete Disney experience.

I'm from NJ too and I agree!!!

OP:
We stayed at the Poly last summer (we are also a family of 5) and it is SO worth every penny! We loved the convience of the monorail, loved the resort and the pool and the GCH and everything there. We were in Tahiti on the ground floor and you could just open the door and step out onto the beach.

The dining plan is A LOT of food. We ate tons and had snack credits left at the end to use for cookies and candy to take home with us. You probably won't have to buy anything beyond the plan if you don't want to and I doubt you'll find it expensive. Do you go to Great Adventure or the Boardwalk (the NJ boardwalks, not the Disney one)? The food in WDW is cheaper and much better quality than those places. Just some friendly advice from 1 Jersey girl to another, stay at the Poly. HTH!