Monorail resorts question

[TandLMommy28]

Background: I love POFQ and POR because they are removed from the parks and are very peaceful and relaxing but still have the DTD boat, which eliminates at least one bus ride!
On our 2010 trip we loved the buses. Loved. The. Buses. Had a car and never used it! But two weeks ago? Buses were a nightmare. And I know some of it was just luck. Sometimes you have good bus luck and sometimes you don't. But when ME came to pick us up, I wasn't even sad. All I could think was, "at least I know I get a seat on this one!"
Anyway, all of that has led me to think maybe I should give a monorail resort another shot. I stayed at CR in high school and it was just ok. I much prefer Port Orlenas. But now I'm looking at convenience and.... Well, I'm thinking about.

My question is, if I like how removed PO is from the action, will I hate being so close to MK? Is it still relaxing? I am one who just needs to get away from all the loudness and chaos and even fun of the parks. I need down time. Will I find that at monorail resorts or do you feel like you are always in the midst of the action?

 

[MyOtherSS]

I've stayed at Polynesian many times and it has always been relaxing. It's not a noisy resort seeing that there are so many buildings as opposed to one big resort. I would look into the CR garden wing too, I've never stayed there but from what I've read it is very quiet compared to the CR tower but you still have the convenience of the monorail.

 

[Magic3forme]

I would say the Poly. we are huge fans of the POR, but the Poly is our favorite.
Now it is the third stop on the way to the MK. ( Contemp, TTC , Poly then GF) and sometimes it was harder to find a seat, but the ride to the MK was shorter. ( and you can walk to the TTC)

 

[shopgirl78]

I have stayed at the Poly and POR. And I found the poly much more relaxing. I HATED the buses at POR and the long walk, of course, we had 2 & 4 year old and I was pregnant. The stroller/busses was a PITA! The long walk to the bus station was a PITA. Of course, back then, we didn't know to request rooms and all. We stayed close to the main house at the POLY and on the first floor (second at POR) and it was sooo much easier/relaxing for us because it was soo much easier to get around. The pool was amazing and there is something about a beach that is always relaxing. The decor at Poly is relaxing. I didn't feel that way when I visited the GF or the CR. We are trying a new resort this next trip for the Christmas feel despite after staying at the poly, we said we would never stay anywhere else ; )

Oh, and they only the way Poly didn't out rank POR in my mind was that they POR had an amazing QS. The POLY has Ohana's and Kona but I still like the QS at POR better. Also, I thought the rooms were comparable.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Background: I love POFQ and POR because they are removed from the parks and are very peaceful and relaxing but still have the DTD boat, which eliminates at least one bus ride!
On our 2010 trip we loved the buses. Loved. The. Buses. Had a car and never used it! But two weeks ago? Buses were a nightmare. And I know some of it was just luck. Sometimes you have good bus luck and sometimes you don't. But when ME came to pick us up, I wasn't even sad. All I could think was, "at least I know I get a seat on this one!"
Anyway, all of that has led me to think maybe I should give a monorail resort another shot. I stayed at CR in high school and it was just ok. I much prefer Port Orlenas. But now I'm looking at convenience and.... Well, I'm thinking about.

My question is, if I like how removed PO is from the action, will I hate being so close to MK? Is it still relaxing? I am one who just needs to get away from all the loudness and chaos and even fun of the parks. I need down time. Will I find that at monorail resorts or do you feel like you are always in the midst of the action?

I'll go out and suggest another option, the beautiful WL!!!! So close to the action, but feels so very removed. It's like you're in another world and its soooooo peaceful. Though not on the monorail, you have many transportation options. You have buses to all 4 parks (with MK bus being a direct under 5 minute shot). You have boat to MK. Plus you have boat to CR which gives you pretty quick access to the monorail.

Plus, it's at a much better price point than the monorail resorts.

We found the transportation options at WL to be wonderful!

 

[bledsoedoc]

We have stayed last the Poly and POR and POFQ. Love the poly. It is peaceful from the moment you walk in the front door. The grounds, the rooms and the pool are wonderful. And you have the beach with hammocks which are wonderful to watch the fireworks from. Great table restaurants. QS may be lacking compared to PO, but they have pineapple ice cream Ala dole whip from aloha island. That makes mommy very happy. Monorail is nice. Quick rides to mk and Epcot. Love the poly. 60 days until our next tip.

 

[sydneysmom]

I've stayed at POR 4 times and LOVED it. It was truly my favorite resort. I loved the pool, the peacefulness, the boat to DTD and the food court. I didn't like the buses at all. I felt "land locked". We waited a good while for the buses, and they always seemed packed.

Then in 2010 we stayed at the GF. Staying on the monorail was amazing. So much so, that after much debate, we just booked our 2013 trip to go back to the GF. We absolutely LOVED the convenience to jump on the monorail, or if it was busy, we would take the boat back to the GF. The resort was so quiet and so peaceful. (unless you were near 1900 PF! ) Even though it was right next to the MK, I never once felt like it wasn't quiet... quite the opposite. We were very surprised how quiet it was. We loved how you could take the monorail to MK and to Epcot... so only 2 buses.

You just have to do what feels right for you. Whatever you choose, you know it's going to be amazing....it's Disney!!

 

[Eliserose]

We stayed at poly and CR and loved both, but liked the Poly a lot better. The option to walk to the TTC and take a direct monorail to Epcot is great. I love the resort feeling. You feel like you are transported once you step into the lobby. We liked Kona. Captain Cooks was ok, but we also went to the Contempo Cafe, which we like better and is a few stops on the monorail. I haven't tried QS at the GF, but that's even closer.

 

[Kimberle]

You might like WL. It's close to the MK, but not as hectic as some resorts. It's the smallest deluxe and pretty quiet. Book a woods room. You can take a boat to the MK. There are buses to Epcot, but if you want the "cool" factor and aren't in a rush, take the boat over to CR and monorail to Epcot. We've never had issues getting seats on WL buses.

 

[mickeynut1]

Another vote for the Poly . We found it very relaxing laying by the pool, walking around the resort, or lying in a hammock on the beach listening to the horns from the boats as they were going back and forth to MK . We have loved every resort we've stayed at, but we found the Poly to be the most relaxing. Good luck.

 

[twinboysmom]

Having recently returned from a stay at BLT, I would recommend the garden wing of the CR or if you are just a party if 2 then a studio at BLT. The garden wing rooms are quiet and a very short walk from the main building (shorter than any walk at a moderate). BLT is a 3-5 minute walk from the tower of the CR and is very quiet. The reason I recommend these resorts for you is because of the transportation. You can walk to the MK (much quicker than taking the monorail, 5 minutes if you're quick, 10 if you are slow) and take the monorail to Epcot. As for the buses, the CR routinely shares with the Poly with the Poly being the second stop. For our rides to DHS, AK, and DtD, the bus was always standing room only by the time we got to the Poly. I found a lot of ECV users like the convenience of the monorail resorts (and who can blame them) as well as families with young children using strollers and the buses fill quickly with both.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Another vote for the WL. We stayed at VWL last year and it wasn't hectic at all. Loved it.

 

[dburg30]

If you are going to spend a LOT of time in the MK, then I would say monorail / WL would be great options. If other parks get a good amount of time, gonna be kind of a pain getting to them.. you'll have buses again, except the option of monorail from resort to TTC swap to epcot monorail.. People say that they think AKL is far from everything, I tend to feel MK resorts are far from everything.. but that's just my opinion..

 

[Sue M]

We love POR and usually have good bus service, there is always the odd morning that it seems 6 MK busses go by while you're waiting for the Epcot bus.
We use the north or east depot, they are less crowded then main depot.

Also loved our Poly stay. To get to MK it's only 2 stops. GF, then MK. You also have a boat option. So we like taking monorail to MK then the boat back!
And as mentioned, it's a short walk to TTC to get Epcot monorail. This in my mind makes Poly the best transportation option. But you pay a price for it.
We stayed once with a great AP discount and enjoyed it. But it's really overpriced without a good discount.

I also love WL. You have a fun boat ride to MK, and bus to all the other parks.

I did an experiment one trip and took boat to CR, then monorail to Epcot, having to transfer at TTC and the direct bus from WL was quicker.