Monorail resort question

[MUNUMom]

Just wondering how difficult it is to get to the monorail if your room is away from main building at Poly/GF/CR??? We have a 2 and 3 yr old, so I don't want to have to walk to far to get there. We are going in Dec. and want to try Poly, but my thinking is WL might be easier with my kids. Any thoughts?

 

[disneyag]

Most walks take 5-10 minutes. We did it with young kids--no problem. You can also walk that far at the WL, too.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

If you're going with kids who are 2 and 3 years old, you will appreciate how easy it is with the Monorail and once you arrive at the CR, Poly or GF depending on which one you choose, the walk to you're room won't be that bad.

 

[Mickiethepooh]

Thing about the Poly is that you have two choices you can take the monorail on the second floor of the poly OR you can go the other direction and go to the transportation and ticket center and take the monorail, ferry or monorail to EPCOT or busses of course. I assume with children that age they will both be in a stroller.

 

[DisneyLover75]

This is a question I was wondering about too. What if you have the cheapest room (which is still exorbitant, but if the convenience is worth it, sign me up), where are you located?

Let's take Contemporary for example, first.. let's say you have the garden wing, a regular room, no suite or anything. I was talking to a CM once and asking about it, and she said I could be so far away from the tower that I may as well WALK to MK. She said it would be just as long of a walk to the tower building for the monorail as it would be if we just hoofed it over to the park itself. Um.. yeah, great, but why would I stay there if I couldn't be on the monorail?

I guess I was wondering the same thing about Poly and GF.. are the "garden view" buildings far from the main? I know those grounds are sprawling (and beautiful) but when you have little kids, it's good to know you're getting convenience when you spring for it.

 

[sotoalf]

Let's take Contemporary for example, first.. let's say you have the garden wing, a regular room, no suite or anything. I was talking to a CM once and asking about it, and she said I could be so far away from the tower that I may as well WALK to MK. She said it would be just as long of a walk to the tower building for the monorail as it would be if we just hoofed it over to the park itself.

This is untrue.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Let's take Contemporary for example, first.. let's say you have the garden wing, a regular room, no suite or anything. I was talking to a CM once and asking about it, and she said I could be so far away from the tower that I may as well WALK to MK. She said it would be just as long of a walk to the tower building for the monorail as it would be if we just hoofed it over to the park itself. Um.. yeah, great, but why would I stay there if I couldn't be on the monorail?

Even though my parents and I have always stayed in the Tower, I have walked to where the Garden Wing is and it's nothing like the Cast Member described.

 

[iloveeeyore]

We had a garden view room at the Poly in the Rarotonga building, and it was steps to the monorail in the GCH and steps to the bus stop. Very close to both pools and the boat dock, also. It took about 5 minutes to walk to the TTC, which we did when we went to Epcot. You can request a building close to the GCH, I suggest Rarotonga or Samoa; of course, this is only a request.

People's views about what constitutes a "long walk" are very subjective. We honestly never found anything to be very far. Even in Tahiti or Rapa Nui, the buildings furthest from the GCH, you are right next to TTC, with its monorail and boat launch.

One problem in ANY resort with separate buildings is if it rains, you will get wet whenever you leave your room. We always bring ponchos to WDW anyway...have to enjoy the vacation rain or shine!

 

[Doc Goofy]

When we stayed at the Poly, we felt like we were walking FOREVER to get to the monorail. I have forgotten which building we were in.

For this reason, I would not stay there again without strongly requesting a closer buidling - especially with a little one. Our building felt like it was a long way from everything, and we spent most of our time navigating those trails between the buildings trying to get to the main building, the pool, anywhere...

 

[DisneyLover75]

Even though my parents and I have always stayed in the Tower, I have walked to where the Garden Wing is and it's nothing like the Cast Member described.

I'm so glad to hear that, thank you.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I'm so glad to hear that, thank you.

You're welcome.

 

[TammiMcMan]

I guess I was wondering the same thing about Poly and GF.. are the "garden view" buildings far from the main? I know those grounds are sprawling (and beautiful) but when you have little kids, it's good to know you're getting convenience when you spring for it.

I wouldn't exactly call the GF grounds sprawling. It's really rather compact. It takes all of 7 minutes to walk the distance between the two furthest points. A garden view room, located in the Sago Cay building, can be as close as a 2-3 minute walk to the bus stop and depending on how long you have to wait for the elevator, not more than 2-3 minutes to the monorail.

You might find this link useful, http://local.live.com/default.aspx?cp=28.411444|-81.586792&style=h&lvl=15&v=1 . It's an aerial view of the GF, but you can move it around to see the Poly and CR as well and then zoom in for more details.

 

[kileybeth]

perspective is what is needed on staying at a monorail resort.

we just returned from the POLY, 1st stay. and altho we spent 3 days at the MK, we also did all 3 other parks and DTD, definitely used every type of station and transportation available in our 8 days.

I should tell you I am not so much a walker in the heat, in cool temps I don't mind it at all. It was 90 degrees 98 percent humidity and raining at least 50% of the time we were there, umm, yeah, (and yes, free dining and a deluxe resort were still worth it!)

I think a lot of folks forget that if you are not on the monorial, you are still walking a good bit to the bus stops or in from the parking lot and back to car, etc. When you figure all that in, it more than saves you all those extra steps!. (we just returned from POR prior to our POLY trip and now that IS a lot of walking!)

A few POLY tips, you can usually find a pretty direct path thru other longhouses so you can avoid the outside heat/rain on the way to the GCH or TTC. Also, there are many different doors into the GCH, find the one closest to where you are going (pool, room, buses). Don't always follow what the signs say along the paths!! We found they often were not as direct as another way.

Final thought, do not try to cut across the grass out your sliding door with strollers, very thick grass and usually wet made the strollers impossible to push. This is the one time it was worth it to walk around.

A quick note on Contemporary. While we did not stay here, we visited the shops, arcade, walked around resort and ate here several times (I like this place more every time I visit!) and the garden rooms are really not that far away from anything. Don't know why CM would say such a thing?!

just m2cents edited to add, we were pushing 2 toddlers (28 and 39 pounds) around the whole time in Maclaren strollers, no problems at all, but still very very glad for monorail convenience of not folding them up and yes, even with crowds we always found a way to fit on and no one was bothered by them at all, usually just chatted happily with kids. as for loading them on/off buses, again no problem just fold ahead of time and they fit on no problem. One thing I did notice this trip were the sheer numbers of ECV's and wheelchairs on the buses/monorails. Caused quite a wait time each ride but I did not begrudge them their vehicles as I know what a blessing they are to have.

 

[MUNUMom]

Thanks for all the great info everyone!!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks for all the great info everyone!!!

You're welcome.

 

[grimley1968]

Keep in mind that Poly and GF also have boats going to MK, so if you're really far away from the monorail, you might be closer to the boat dock.

Also, the boat is faster, usually, than the monorail on the way back from MK.

We're not big monorail fans. It's fun to do once or twice on a trip, but it simply isn't as convenient or quick for us as the boats, especially on return trips from MK. To us, it seems there is always some kind of delay in the resort monorail loop going through the CR and/or the TTC. This is why we save money and stay at WL (which at least has boats and a direct MK bus), which we prefer for the theming anyway.

 

[Brad Bishop]

Just to chime in:

If you're staying at the Contemporary, you may as well walk to the Magic Kingdom. It's a 1/2 mile away. It's basically across the street and down the sidewalk.

You'd take more time to get to the monorail and ride it around than just walking over from the hotel. Of course, part of the fun is riding the monorail - I understand that.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Just to chime in:

If you're staying at the Contemporary, you may as well walk to the Magic Kingdom. It's a 1/2 mile away. It's basically across the street and down the sidewalk.

You'd take more time to get to the monorail and ride it around than just walking over from the hotel. Of course, part of the fun is riding the monorail - I understand that.

I agree 100% with that.

 

[mymadelynn]

Just wondering if you can still take a ride on the monorail if you are not staying at one of those hotels.

 

[grimley1968]

Just wondering if you can still take a ride on the monorail if you are not staying at one of those hotels.

Yes. They are open to all WDW visitors, whether staying on or off site.