Is the Polynesian worth $1,000 MORE than POR for 5 days?

[mamattorney]

HELP!!! I don't know if I'm thrilled I found these boards or eternally frustrated.

We have been to Magic Kingdom with the kids twice, but are planning our first "all Disney" vacation including staying on Disney property.

We are a family of 5: two adults, and kids ages 10, 7, and 3 at the time of the trip (next summer). I thought it was a no-brainer to stay at Port Orleans Riverside since it's the most economical space for 5 and at a moderate resort to boot. We're picking dates now because we want to take advantage of free air and mileage tickets will go on sale in the next 6 weeks.

But then as I perused these boards I read harrowing tales of lousy transportation at moderate resorts and that the values are better for transport. And I read a recent thread for a family in a similar situation and most people recommended the Polynesian if they do not want to rent points or stay in a villa.

We will be taking advantage of a castmember's discount for the hotel while we stay, so that helps some with the cost, but the difference between POR and Poly is $1,000 for 5 days. Is it worth it for that kind of cost?

We love the MK fireworks and watching them from the beach on a day or two that we are not in MK sounds awesome, but I don't know if it's worth $1,000. I'm anticipating visiting each of the four parks once over the 5 days and also having an adult and the three year old head back to the resort in the true heat of each day for the 3 year old to nap/rest and on some days, the whole family will likely head back together and the big kids will rest/swim if they need a break from the park.

I know in my heart that you can't go wrong at any Disney resort, but since we have so much time to plan, I'd like to make an educated decision. thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[MaleficentRN]

If you can stay at a monorail resort for $200/night, jump on it!

 

[EpcotBill]

We will be taking advantage of a castmember's discount for the hotel while we stay, so that helps some with the cost, but the difference between POR and Poly is $1,000 for 5 days. Is it worth it for that kind of cost?

Well this is a little different than the title of your thread. $1000 for 5 nights at the Polynesian is a no brainer. But what you're really saying is it's an additional $200 per night to upgrade to the Poly. For me it's not worth it, YMMV.

 

[mamattorney]

Yes, my title was misleading - I should have said, is it worth $1,000 MORE. I tried to edit the thread title, but it wouldn't let me. Sorry - my mistake.

 

[bdklein]

HELP!!! I don't know if I'm thrilled I found these boards or eternally frustrated.

We have been to Magic Kingdom with the kids twice, but are planning our first "all Disney" vacation including staying on Disney property.

We are a family of 5: two adults, and kids ages 10, 7, and 3 at the time of the trip (next summer). I thought it was a no-brainer to stay at Port Orleans Riverside since it's the most economical space for 5 and at a moderate resort to boot. We're picking dates now because we want to take advantage of free air and mileage tickets will go on sale in the next 6 weeks.

But then as I perused these boards I read harrowing tales of lousy transportation at moderate resorts and that the values are better for transport. And I read a recent thread for a family in a similar situation and most people recommended the Polynesian if they do not want to rent points or stay in a villa.

We will be taking advantage of a castmember's discount for the hotel while we stay, so that helps some with the cost, but the difference between POR and Poly is $1,000 for 5 days. Is it worth it for that kind of cost?

We love the MK fireworks and watching them from the beach on a day or two that we are not in MK sounds awesome, but I don't know if it's worth $1,000. I'm anticipating visiting each of the four parks once over the 5 days and also having an adult and the three year old head back to the resort in the true heat of each day for the 3 year old to nap/rest and on some days, the whole family will likely head back together and the big kids will rest/swim if they need a break from the park.

I know in my heart that you can't go wrong at any Disney resort, but since we have so much time to plan, I'd like to make an educated decision. thanks for any help you can provide.

Is it worth it is relative, obviously.

Scenario 1. Is the 1K going to make you go in to debt? Make you not fix a leaky roof? Or a broken car? Not see a doctor? Or when you do go WDW will you have to watch every single penny and only eat the cheapest food you can find?

Scenario 2. Or is it something that you could use elsewhere-like invest or buy a fancier car or new TV.

Comes down to needs vs wants.

if it is scenarios 2, don't hesitate-do it now.
if it is scenario 1, I'd say no.
Famly decision.

 

[Missytara]

If you can stay at a monorail resort for $200/night, jump on it!

Go back and read her post again; the difference is $200.00 a night; she is not paying $200.00 a night.

 

[Lynne M]

Whether it's worth it or not is kind of subjective, but I can say that that is a phenomenal rate for the Poly. Wow.

The monorail does make transportation to MK and Epcot a bit pleasanter, you'll also have the option of taking a boat to MK.

One not-often-mentioned advantage to the monorail resort is easy access to the other monorail resorts. You'll have three places to eat at Poly (Kona, Ohana, Captain Cook's), and you'll be a short, easy ride to all of the restaurants and recreation at GF and CR. It's also pretty easy to get to WL and FW from Poly, which expands your options even further.

For me, I'd jump on it at that rate. The larger rooms, the balcony, the beach, the volcano pool....yeah, I'd definitely take the Poly.

 

[Sweettears]

I would say its worth it particularly since you say that you would like to take a break back at the resort during the day. Staying on the monorail will make that easier and save you time. Also you can walk to the TTC from the Poly giving you quick access to the other parks.

 

[jennyjinx3]

If you can afford the extra $1000, I would say go for it!! If that extra $1000 is going to be difficult to save, or stress you out mentally, then don't do it.

The Poly is a wonderful place, and watching Wishes from the Beach is magical, the vibe is lovely with the lush vegetation and music. The rooms are large and lots of space for a family of five (ours is too).

Our next few trips however are going to be at POR, or AoA, just due to cost. This is probably the last time we will stay at the Poly. It is supposedly due for a refurb in 2013, and we want to stay there again before it changes. If you venture over to the Port Orleans thread, it seems there are lots of lovely things about it. The rooms are smaller, but it seems there is plenty to do there for kids.

Good luck with your decision!!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Yes, my title was misleading - I should have said, is it worth $1,000 MORE. I tried to edit the thread title, but it wouldn't let me. Sorry - my mistake.

OP, you can edit the title by clicking Edit, then clicking Advanced.

For a family of five, if it is not going to cause financial hardship, I would say it is worth it. We haven't stayed at POR, but we love Poly.

We usually stay at Coronado Springs if we don't stay deluxe, and I like the moderates and think they are a great value for the price paid. But with three kids under ten, I think you will enjoy the extra space in the Poly room, the ease of getting to MK and Epcot, and the option to watch the fireworks from the resort instead of inside MK (although I would watch them inside MK at least once - they are better). Poly also has great dining options.

POR does have the royal rooms, so if any of your kids are princess fans, that would be a fun place to stay before they outgrow that phase.

 

[greeneggs1082]

If you are basing your decision solely on transportation, realize that you are going to have transportation issues EVERYWHERE, even deluxes. You can't get to all the parks via monorail, so you'll still have to take buses.

That being said, while we've had transportation issues at both a moderate and value, the worse issue was by far at the value (Disney definitely made up for it, though). And at the moderate, there was someone from the transportation department at the stops, and when it was realized that a bus for one of the parks (can't remember which) hadn't come for more than 20 minutes, she called and requested one, and it was there within minutes.

If it were me, I wouldn't upgrade simply because of transportation horror stories.

 

[minnie mum]

I always think it's a mistake to base a resort selection on reviews of it's transportaton. The OP mentioned concerns over bus transpo at POR, and that this was one of her reasons for looking at the Poly. I'd advise her to go back and re-read the current thread about POR buses- she will see that the majority find the buses to be a non-issue. I also question the validity of the much raved about easy access to the MK via monorail from the Poly. This is only true when the monorail is working. Something that is becoming increasingly problematic. Anyone recall the uproar on the resorts board when they cut monorail services in the middle of the day due to the GF construction?

My feeling is that I would not pay an EXTRA $1,000 to be on a monorail line that I might be able to use to take that mid-day break. And if you want to go to AK or DHS, then you will be still be on a bus. Except this one you'll be sharing with other resorts. Of course it is all completely subjective. What works for one family won't work for another. Only you know which factors are the most important to yours.

 

[mickeynut1]

As others have said, worth is different for everyone. With that said, we love the Poly and the extra cost is definitely worth it to us. The rooms are quite large and come with a daybed, the grounds are beautiful, the volcano pool is fun with a great view of the castle off in the distance, and Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals. Plus being on the monorail, the Poly is convenient to many great dining options at the GF and CR. Good luck with your decision.

 

[alex9179]

We're planning on staying at POR for 2 nights then move to Poly for 6 nights. I think POR is lovely, the transportation is no better or worse than any other mod/value. It's impossible for me, as a traveler, to anticipate when there will be issues with maintenance and such.

I DO like that Poly has more transport options available, which helped me choose it over the other monorail resorts. We're spending a certain amount of money on our vacation, it's just a matter of how it's allocated. I think using a big chunk on the resort will enhance our vacation because we plan on being at the resort about half the time.

Worth it? That's debatable. Do you want it and can you afford it? Will you resent spending that money if everything isn't perfect? Those questions will help you decide.

 

[mamattorney]

It's definitely true that different things matter to different people. Room size is not an issue for us. We're cruisers usually - my 9 year old has been on 6 cruises and we spent this past Spring Break with 5 people in a cabin for 4 - so tight living quarters roll right off us. And the money is what it is. We CAN afford it, and if it cost that $1,000 more to stay at POR I'd be fine with it. I'm one of those people who would rather invest $50 for a Land's End backpack for my kids that my oldest will now be using for her 5th school year than pay $19.99 every year for a new one that's trashed by the end of the year. But if something is just more expensive because of the name, I'll stick with the less expensive option.

My dilemma is that sometimes, with a three year old - it's like a flip of a switch. One minute they are fine, then next they are overtired and cranky. Even when we stayed off property for our last visits, we left the park in the middle of the day. Problem over 2012 Spring Break (our cruise left out of Port Canaveral, so we spent one day at MK pre-cruise) was that the baby crashed as soon as we got to the car, slept on the ride back to the hotel and then was done with napping by the time we got back to the room. Sitting in the room for a couple of hours still helped with his evening disposition, but it is impt to me to at least try minimize the transportation time to avoid issues like this if possible.

We will be going to AK and Hollywood Studios, too, so it's not a perfect world, I know. Decisions, decisions. . .

 

[*Fantasia*]

Well this is a little different than the title of your thread. $1000 for 5 nights at the Polynesian is a no brainer. But what you're really saying is it's an additional $200 per night to upgrade to the Poly. For me it's not worth it, YMMV.

Agree... Your title is certainly different from what you have explained. I WAS going to say yes for $1000 for 5 days at Poly! But it's actually $200 more per night from the moderate. If it's in your budget, by all means have fun at the Polynesian, but if it's not in the budget or you're worrying about the cost, then stay with the moderate. Go to edit--->advance---> and then you can edit your title..

I agree with everyone here about the transportation issues can happen anywhere. If you are solely going to base your resort on transportation, then you might want to rent a car and for sure, you won't have any problem.

 

[vettegirl]

That is a lot of money to me it would not be worth it.

 

[Stasieki]

I've stayed at both and for us, yes, it is worth it. We like the monorail access with small children/strollers, more onsite restaurants, larger rooms, balconies, beach (for our reasonings).

 

[notaclue]

OK I'm going to be the odd woman out in this discussion. IMHO it's NOT worth it to stay at the Poly. We've stayed there twice and think the Great Ceremonial House is too noisy and crowded plus there were monorail issues every time we stayed there; you really can't count on it to get to an ADR at one of the parks or to be on time if you get caught out in a thunderstorm. I think POR has a much better food court and table service restaurant.

 

[Herbie]

We have stayed at both resorts, and both are great places. If the $1000 has no effect on your budget, then sure go fo it. otherwise, id use the money for food! POR is a great resort.