Need help choosing between Poly and CR

[onceuponadream]

Hi

We will have 5 in 1 room (and one of our kids in another room with my in laws). Here's what is important to us:

Which has the most comfortable room to sleep 5 (are daybeds in both hotels identical?).

Which has the better fast food option Captain Hooks or Food and Fun Center?

What is the "view" from the pool area in either hotel?

Which slide is the most "doable" for 4 and 7 year olds (the 8 and 11 year olds are great swimmers but not the younger 2).

Which has the MOST convenient transportation?

I prefer the Poly theming DH thinks the price at CR wing room negates any theming difference . My DS11 thinks the CR looks more "fun". Anybody stay at both or either and have an opinion on the above questions? Thanks for any help

 

[Mrs.A]

We currently have reasrevations at POR for Aug, then to AKL for the last of our stay. I have been checking into the Poly and CR instead of POR, Am really more interested in the Poly. We like the tropical theme. The pool is suppose to be real fun for kids and adults too. It has a volcano slide, a nice sandy beach to watch the fireworks . Check out Tikimans site http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/index.html It has everything you want to know about the Poly. If you want a balcony some of the longhouses don't have them on the second floor. I hope that is the right address for Tikimans site, its what I have saved on my favorites. Have fun deciding planning is half the fun.


God Bless Our Troops
and Our POWS.

 

[KellyJ]

Hi!

We've stayed at both and I can give you a few answers, or at least my opinions!

Which has the most comfortable room to sleep 5 (are daybeds in both hotels identical?).

Both rooms are about the same in size and both have the same size daybeds (about the size of a twin bed). Since the Contemporary's latest remodeling though, the new furniture made it seem smaller to me. I can't remember the particular bathroom setups.

Which has the better fast food option Captain Hooks or Food and Fun Center?

I prefer the Food and Fun Center at the Contemporary. It has a nice roomy seating area and a very large gameroom too.

What is the "view" from the pool area in either hotel?

There are 2 pools at the Poly. If you have a view of the quiet pool, you would have a view of the inner garden area in the resort, which is quite nice and a normal round (oval I think) swimming pool. We haven't been since they redid the main pool but I hear it is beautiful with the volcano water slide.

The Contemporary also has 2 pools although one is not always open. Both pools are next to each other and beside the lake, which offers some beautiful views, especially sunrise. You can also see the water pageant at night from this area.

Which slide is the most "doable" for 4 and 7 year olds (the 8 and 11 year olds are great swimmers but not the younger 2).

I haven't tried the one at the Poly but the one at the Contemporary was great for my young ones. My son was 3.5 at the time and wore his water wings. My husband was allowed to wait at the bottom to catch him. There is also a fountain type play area with jets of water shooting up for the kids.

Which has the MOST convenient transportation?

In my opinion, the convenience of the Contemporary is unbeatable. You can walk to the MK in addition to taking the monorail. The trip to Epcot is very easy, take the monorail to the TTC (one stop away) then transfer to the Epcot monorail. It's a bit longer coming back since you would make 3 stops before getting back to the Contemporary but still very easy. The buses from each are about the same.

The theming at the Poly is exceptional but the Contemporary is lots of fun. My hubby and I liked the atmosphere at the Poly but my kids vote for the Contemporary hands down.

Hope this helps some!

Kelly

 

[PA Princess]

We have stayed at both the Poly (Feb 03) and the Contemp (Aug 01) and we have greatly enjoyed both. I think both comfortably fit and sleep 5 in a room, and the daybeds were nice at each. We did prefer the Contemp bathroom set up with separate rooms for the shower and sink and then the toilet and sink....it just semed to have more room to get ready in the morning. We enjoyed the Food and Fun Center at the Contemp (we stayed concierge at the Poly so we did not use Captain Cooks). I think the slide at the contemporary is better for smaller kids...our boys at 6 and 7 loved it. They also loved the Poly slide our last trip (they are 7 and 8), but they are strong swimmers and it is a pretty intense slide for many young kids. We did miss a hot tub at the Poly, and the Contemp has one of those. Transportation was great at both hotels. We greatly enjoyed the theming at the Poly, but the Contemp is so much fun and has great amenities and we would go back in a heartbeat for another stay. I am sure you will have a great trip at either of these, but from what your described it seems like the Contemp may fit your needs the best.

 

[HM]

I don't know the bathroom set-up at the Contemp, but at the Poly, the sinks, toilet, and shower are all in the same room. There is no vanity separate from the bathrooms. This might be of consideration too. -HM

 

[tripplanner]

I've stayed at both. Last week at the Poly - 6 months ago at the Contemporary. I love both. You will be happy with either choice. My impression is that the CR has slightly larger rooms than the Poly. The daybeds seemed the same size. The snack area is fine at both - I like the Poly's theming better in the snack area, but the food is fine in both. The pool view at the CR faces the lagoon - a great choice. We had a view of the quiet pool at the Poly and the surrounding area was breathtakingly beautiful. I'm betting the kids could handle either water slide. My 10 year old was scared at first of the Volcano slide - took her a couple of days to attempt it, then we couldn't get her off it. It is dark part of the way. The CR slide is lots of fun and not as scary as the Volcano. As far as transportation goes the CR wins for me. The Poly bus stop is a small strip with steps that everybody stands in line on - in the hot sun. The only whining that occurred from my kids was waiting 20 minutes for a bus to MGM. The CR bus stop is shaded and has plenty of seating. As far as the atmosphere, the Poly is soo relaxing - the beach, the hammocks, the swings, the torches lit at night, I could go on and on about how lovely this resort is. At the CR, I loved the character voices in the elevators, the pool area, the lagoon. You can't go wrong, these are two excellant choices.

 

[Demosthenes]

Originally posted by onceuponadream
Which has the most comfortable room to sleep 5 (are daybeds in both hotels identical?).

The CR bathroom set up is great for 5 people. There is a separate WC from the shower/bath.

Which has the better fast food option Captain Hooks or Food and Fun Center?

The food is the same, but the game room at the food and fun center is the best game room of any resort. The Poly's game room is nowhere near Captain Cook's, so adults may get bored waiting on kids with no seating area or snack bar around.

What is the "view" from the pool area in either hotel?

The view from the Poly pool is of Cinderella's Castle, the view from the CR pools is of bay lake. Both pools are open late, and from both pools you can watch the EWP.

Which slide is the most "doable" for 4 and 7 year olds (the 8 and 11 year olds are great swimmers but not the younger 2).

Both are great for kids. The more important question is which pool is better for the adults! The CR features two hot tubs, while the Poly has none. Also, the CR's marina is the most extensive on property.

Which has the MOST convenient transportation?

This is really a tie, depending on how much you're willing to walk. The CR is very convenient to the MK and Epcot. It is a 10 minute walk from the CR to the MK gates. This is very handy at night after park closing or a parade. The Poly is a 10 minute boat ride to MK and a 20 minute boat ride back. Again, not many people use this option, so after the MK closes, you can usually be back to your room in short order, though not as fast as the CR. The Poly, however, is a ten minute walk to the TTC. So if the boats and monorails are backed up, you can always take a ferry back to the TTC and walk over to the Poly. Also, you can walk from the Poly to the TTC to catch a monorail to Epcot to avoid three stops on the resort loop.

I prefer the Poly theming DH thinks the price at CR wing room negates any theming difference . My DS11 thinks the CR looks more "fun".

My dad one time surprised my family when I was about 10 by taking us the CR. It is the hotel for a young boy. There is nothing cooler to a 10 year old than watching the monorail glide right into your lobby. Now that I'm grown, I admit that the Poly has a certain attraction to me and my romantic sensibilities. But, even now, I am tempted to book the CR on every trip. After staying in every Disney Resort, the Poly and the CR are far and away my favorites; but, asking me to pick one is like asking a mother to pick a favorite child. You love them both so much you would never even try!

 

[onceuponadream]

Thanks for so many replies and great opinions. A few follow up questions re the CR.

Can you see the monorail from the pool? If we are in a garden wing room the kids are going to want to watch the monorail... where can they "see" it?

Can you eat in the Food and Fun Center or do you take it back to the room? Can you eat by the pool?

It seems that CR is the best choice for us although I truly thought everyone would lean towards the Poly. My DH will be thrilled as the price is so much less and my DS11 will be excited as it was his choice (now DD8 thought hula girls were pretty cool however). I was a little worried about the enclosed dark part of the Poly slide. I think the fun, upbeat atmosphere will be a great start to our vacation before we move to the AKL!! Thanks again for al you detailed awesome responses

 

[LKS]

The only way to see the monorail from the pool is if you look up to either side of the main building where you can see them briefly as they enter and exit.

You can eat at the Food and Fun center, you can take it to the pool, you can buy food at the snack bar by the pool, you can take food to your room, or our favorite, you can bring food in a cooler and make sandwiches in your room saving many bucks. You can also have pizza delivered room service - more than at home, but not too outrageous.

By the way, we have stayed CR wing once, tower twice and AKL deluxe Savannah once. We toured hotels extensively on our last visit and decided we didn't care for the poly (we LOVE the hot tubs at CR and AKL and would miss them too much, among other reasons.) I would try the Wilderness Lodge or the Grand Floridian, though. Still, talking about our next trip, everyone wants the Contemporary. The tower rooms are especially cool if you have MK view, but the wing rooms are just fine to save money. The rooms are pretty much the same and you still enjoy all the benefits of the CR. Frankly, they are more convenient to the pools.

On our last trip, we stayed 6 nights CR and then 3 nights AKL. I found AKL a little bit remote for a long stay when you are doing a lot of Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but it was perfect to unwind for the last 3 nights.

My kids were 10, 8 and almost 5 when we did this last summer and they absolutely love the CR. The 10 year old could have lived in the arcade. He won us these cool little water guns and we had so much fun in the pools with them. He and his Dad also rented a water mouse once for great fun. And, the kids did one night at the Kid's club while parents had a romantic dinner and they enjoyed that too.

 

[CRCrazy]

One quick aside that no one has written in - you can see the Electrical Water Pageant from the CR's pool - but it doesn't come by till almost 10 pm. As you can tell by my screen name - our family of 5 loves the CR! The day bed is the size of a regular twin bed - fits my 14 year old just fine. The Poly has nice theming, but I like the way the CR is more compact - you don't have to go through so many buildings here! It is Mickey's resort!! I haven't stayed at the Poly - but I love the CR - Tower/North Wing/South Wing in that order.

Also, you can take a boat from the CR directly to WL and Fort Wilderness, if you have seating at Whispering Canyon or the Hoop De Doo, or if you plan to see Chip and Dale's movie at Ft. Wilderness - that is free, by the way, for all resort guests - something fun to do, and no charge!!

 

[JOC]

You can also see the Electrical Water Pageant from the beach at the Polynesian. I believe it starts at the Polynesian, because when we stayed there in December we watched it from the concierge lounge at either 8 or 9 p.m.

 

[lvs_eeyore]

We have stayed at both the Poly and CR. I found the hallways and carpets of the wing area at CR to be VERY run down. There are scratches all down the walls from the housekeeping dollies and lots of stains on the carpets. I did not find it worth what we paid for our room.

We found the Poly to be much better kempt than CR.

We also found the noise level to be much worse at CR than at the Poly. The hall noise was bad when we were there.

With that said I would go back to CR again but I would stay in the tower. That area is much better kept up than the wings are.

 

[Hayley]

Originally posted by lvs_eeyore


We also found the noise level to be much worse at CR than at the Poly. The hall noise was bad when we were there.

With that said I would go back to CR again but I would stay in the tower. That area is much better kept up than the wings are.

These are excellent points - worth reiterating.

The Contemporary is more like "Grand Central". Not always a bad thing. It could probably seem exciting for kids. (I felt like it was a dream come true staying there after having drooled over it for years as a kid). We loved our tower room, but when we were in the room during the day (which wasn't alot) we could hear that Chef Mickey song over and over (and over and over!). The rooms are a very nice size and we liked it - it has a little less of a themed feeling (unless you want to count the "businessmen theme" - there seemed to be alot of them all over the place for conferences and stuff). But I really don't think the garden wings are worth the money unless you get a really good rate.

The Poly is more resort-like. More relaxing. It has become our favorite. The rooms are just as big and the theming is cool. But I'm still glad I got the chance to stay at the Contemporary!