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

[DznyCrzy11]

From reading your original post again, if you can afford the extra $1,000, do it! You will not be disappointed! If the monorail is down, like someone mentioned earlier, they also have a boat ride from Poly to MK which is really nice. It's also nice to take the boat from MK at night when the monorail is packed. If you spend most of your time at MK, the Poly will also be the most convenient. It is worth an additional $200/night. If I were you, I would take advantage of the discount now because you may not get that chance again. The past 2 years we have gotten 40% off at Poly and last year we could have if we booked when we checked out, but I didn't want to and now here we are going again but having to pay alot more for our stay.

 

[DarkwingDad]

Budget is the key to your answer. If you over extend yourself just to stay at a deluxe, your trip will lose some of its enjoyable memory. However, if it is well within your budget...go ahead and enjoy! Safe trip whatever you decide!

 

[autismgoesdisney]

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.

This is the BEST definition I've heard so far! I LOVE IT! For us it comes down to scenario two. And ya know what? Poly for one year won't kill us

 

[Hitchhiking Ghost]

I don't mind spending a little more if I believe I'm getting a perceived benefit from it, even an intangible one as simple as theming. And the Poly has been a dream choice of ours for quite some time.

That said, I just booked a fall package for 10 nights with free dining, so paying rack rates for the room. We are a family of 5. The cost for us (room only) to stay 10 nights at Port Orleans - AB section was just under $2,000. To stay at the Poly those same nights would cost us a little over $5,000. There was no argument that I could make to justify spending $3,000 more to stay at the Poly. If free dining weren't offered (saving us about $2,000) and a good room discount came out, maybe it would be a possibility. I wish we had a money tree in the backyard that I could go out and shake, but the reality is if we want future trips to the World, we can't blow the was on the Poly. Some day, but not now.

Plus, we love Port Orleans, so we are perfectly content.

 

[Mcert01]

It really depends on what you are looking for. We always stay on property, but generally look for the cheapest accommodations which fit our needs. This generally means we are staying at either POP or FW in our RV.

The rationale for us comes down to the amount of time spent at the resort. We go to Disney for the parks. Yes, we will come back to the hotel for a break - nap, pool - occasionally. Other than that, we are off in the parks or at Downtown Disney. The result is that we would not take advantage of all the Deluxe resorts have to offer, so the extra cost is wasted on us.

Also, you don't have to be registered at the Poly to watch the fireworks from the beach. If you have park hopper tickets it is much more fun to go to MK and stand on Main Street and watch them anyway.

If you are really concerned about transportation then I would suggest renting a car. For my money this is the best way to get anywhere on Disney property (other than Magic Kingdom). It is direct, faster, and it is wonderful at the end of a long day to get into the rental car rather than waiting in line to get on a crowded bus.

 

[mamattorney]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. It's so great to have the wealth of experience on these boards to help me make my decision. Renting a car has been mentioned as an option many times; I did not realize that if you stay on property, you don't have to pay to park at the Parks. A rental for 5 days is only $225 incl. tax. I think we'll stick with POR, but rent a car for our stay. Seems like a good compromise.

 

[kamgen]

Sounds like a great plan. We always have a car when we are on property. The convenience of it is soooo worth it. And I always feel like I have more control of my time that way.
I do not think you will be disappointed at PO. Have a great trip!

 

[lkrasnavage]

We had no waits whatsoever at POR. We always have a car and never use it unless we are running late. One of my favorite things about staying onsite is using the buses.

 

[princesspooh323]

We stayed POFQ in 2009. Last year we stayed at the Poly. If you can afford it, I would say definitely go for it. These were a few things that we really liked compared to the moderate:

Location - it is so cool to look at the castle from the pool
Transportation- some people don't mind the buses. I am not a fan. Although we rent a car, we loved the freedom of hopping right on the monorail. Yes, it had issues, but it was still a plus. Not to mention how quickly we could get to and from our room.
Beach- it is great for watching fireworks from
Room Size- we definitely had much more room
Theming- we really enjoyed the poly's theme. I know that is just a personal preference
Private porch- this was big to us, because we have little ones and enjoyed going out to sit in the porch when we out them to bed.


As others have said, if that $1000 is something you need for something else then go with POR, butif you have the extra cash go for the Poly. No matter what it is Disney World!

 

[Aliceacc]

I LOVE The Poly!!!! And friends of ours ADORE POR. (We can't stay there. My son, who would have to use the trundle, is a good 3 inches taller than I am-- there's no way he woudl fit.)

Some alternatives:
- weigh the extra $1000 against the money you would pay without the Castmember's discount... does it still seem as expensive?

- Consider other options. The cheapest of the Deluxes is a Garden Room at the Contemporary. You're on the monorail, and can WALK back from the Magic Kingdom after the fireworks, then the masses are lined up for other types of transportation.

- Slightly more expensive, but still less than the Poly: the Beach Club. My 12 year old has been SALIVATING over StormAlong Bay for the past year. We can walk to either Epcot or Hollywood Studios. And for my kids' monorail fix, we can still take the monorail to the TTC, and then to the MK, if that's what they want. (I know. The bus would be faster. But my kids love the monorail.)

 

[AJA]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. It's so great to have the wealth of experience on these boards to help me make my decision. Renting a car has been mentioned as an option many times; I did not realize that if you stay on property, you don't have to pay to park at the Parks. A rental for 5 days is only $225 incl. tax. I think we'll stick with POR, but rent a car for our stay. Seems like a good compromise.

You will love POR. Remember the boat to DTD and to the French Quarter, you can pool hop there since it's Riversides sister resort. If the kiddo's are having an "off" day and everyone needs a little rest from the parks an afternoon spent visiting both pools (take the boat to FQ) and early dinner at DTD can be as much fun as the parks, IMO .

 

[Karlzmom]

I say NO, its not worth it!

1. $1,000 more for a bed...at the end of the day does it make that much difference? Think of all the things $1,000 could add to the quality of your trip. Even when considering the transportation issue, you could easily rent a car for far less than $1,000 or call taxis and still have a nice chunk of change left over for other things. A rental car is very easy to use at WDW, and frankly I won't go any other way....

2. I am not a huge Poly fan. We've stayed there twice, one stay was ok, the other was a mess with the worst room we've ever had. I would be really ticked off to spend that much more for a "deluxe" room only have ended up with a cracked sink, mildew on the shower curtain, carpet that turns your feet black and the previous guest's leftovers in the fridge. Does my experience mean that you will have the same problems? No. Is it worth considering that you may not have an "all that" trip for your trouble and money..yes. For my nickel, I'd pick anothe deluxe if I was intent on staying at a deluxe.

 

[Sunnywho]

consider budgetting $100 for cabs if you stay at POR and are concerned about bussing

then you can go to the bus stop and if you get right on great and if the bus just left or the bus pulls up standing-room-only you can go catch a cab for $15

much cheaper than staying at the Poly. Or rent a car - also much cheaper than staying at the Poly. There are great reasons to stay at the Poly but the bussing issue can be solved these other ways.

 

[tzolkin]

How many days does it take you earn that $1,000?

Once you decide how much of your life it's worth, go from there.

Sounds like a strange way to look at it but you only have so many days in this world, figure out how much of your life that room, or car or whatever it is, your life is worth.

This is similar to how DH and I think about things.

We probably could "afford" to stay deluxe (we are able to pay for annual two week trips with cash), but since our income has been $60-70K it's difficult to justify spending that big of a percentage in just a few days when there are less expensive options that still provide us with a wonderful family experience.

We would love to stay at the Poly and I'm sure we will, but I think even if we have more money it will likely be for a shorter trip or a split stay.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. It's so great to have the wealth of experience on these boards to help me make my decision. Renting a car has been mentioned as an option many times; I did not realize that if you stay on property, you don't have to pay to park at the Parks. A rental for 5 days is only $225 incl. tax. I think we'll stick with POR, but rent a car for our stay. Seems like a good compromise.

We have not yet stayed at POR (trip booked for August), but we have never had any issues with the bus service at the other moderates or Pop. We always drive to FL so we have our own vehicle available to us, but we have never once felt the need to drive anywhere on property.

What exactly are the transportation issues that you're worried about to make you feel that you need to rent a car?

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.

Just wanted to note that the royal rooms have a max. occupancy of 4. Families of 5 are limited to the Alligator Bayou section of POR, so that's not an option for the OP.

 

[goofy4tink]

Really just skipped to the last page, so I'm not sure what everyone else has posted. BUT, here is our experience.
Back in 2003, we decided to return to WDW for our third trip. We had stayed at Dixie Landings (now POR) in '99, and again a second time at POR, in '01.
We decided to go back to POR. Well....I found a great rate at WL, so booked that for about $120 more than our POR stay. Terrific. Well, Disney then came out with their FairyTale pkg...buy 4 nights, get 3 free!!! Seriously??? My then almost 10 y/o dd had been begging to stay at the Polynesian. So, when I compared costs, we could book the Polynesian for just about the same cost as WL. It was less than $100 more!!! So, off we went.
When we got to the Polynesian, and were walking around, taking it all in, I asked my dd what she thought of the Polynesian. She heaved a huge sigh and said, and I quote, 'Well Mom, it's nice and very pretty. But it just doesn't have that same Disneyfied feel that POR has. I kinda wish we had stayed there instead.' I thought I was going to strangle her!!!

Well, we had a nice enough time. I actually met another DISer that was staying there, but it wasn't until we got to MCO that we connected. She is now a very good friend that I travel to WDW with every year!!! BUT...no one in my family wants to stay there again. It was at the end of this trip that my dh gave our number to the DVC people, and told me that he would like to buy at BWV only. Which we did.

But I have to say that if I had to choose between the two again, it would be POR hands down. We love that resort. The pool is a ton of fun, the playground is cool. And the transportation was just fine. I actually had more transportation issues while at the Polynesian than I had in any of my 3 POR stays!!!!

 

[DougEMG]

To me it comes down to what else can you do with that $1000 either at Disney or at home on something else. Are any of those options worth more than upgrading from the POR to the Poly?

Personally I'd rather have the $1000 to spend on something else, like more table service meals.

If transportation is a concern why not look at staying at the Contemporary so you can walk to MK or the BWI/YC and walk to Epcot and DHS.

Another option with that $1000 is to look at staying at a DVC resort (BLT, BWV, BCV) with perhaps a larger room like a 1 or 2 bedroom.