Need help deciding on Deluxe Resort

[ireneryan]

Hello, new to the boards so forgive me if I don't do this right.

I am having such a hard time deciding on which Disney resort to stay at. I have reservations for the Poly. This is our first WDW trip, we will be there in early Nov 2012. 3 days at MK, 2 days at EP and one day each for HS & AK. Have all my ADR's made.
Travelling with my mother (72) and my nearly 4 yr old daughter. We have a theme park view and I requested 3rd floor Tahiti.
We're looking for the most comfortable resort, castle view, and easiest way to get back & forth to the MK. Would GF or Contemporary be a better pick?

 

[juliebug1997]

We had theme park view at the Poly this past November and I can honestly say that I was disappointed. I was disappointed because I was comparing it to the theme park view at the Contemporary. At the Poly, I could barely see the top of the castle; at the Contemporary, we were able to watch the fireworks from our balcony and hear the music. I would honestly not spend money on theme park view at the Poly. However, I love staying at the Poly and think you have made a great choice. You guys will be able to walk to the TTC to get the monorail to Epcot or take the boats over, either right at the Poly or over at the TTC. You can also walk to the Grand Floridian.

We had a theme park view at the Contemporary last March and enjoyed it! You can walk to MK and they have the Mickey shaped pool. DH would pick the Contemporary over the Poly, and for me it's a tie. If theme park view is a must, I would move to the Contemporary.

 

[mickeynut1]

Welcome to the Dis .

The Poly is our favorite resort as we love the tropical atmosphere, the pool, the beach for watching the fireworks, and Captain Cooks for quick meals and snacks . The Poly is just 2 stops from the MK and is a 5 minute walk to the TTC where you can hop on the Epcot monorail. But with that said, any of the monorail resorts are convenient for getting to MK as the CR is within walking distance and the GF is just 1 monorail stop away . My choice would be the Poly for the reasons mentioned above, but the GF would be a great choice as well depending on what theme/decor you like better. We are booked for our first CR stay in December so I can't comment on that resort as far as having stayed there, but none of them are bad choices as far as location/convenience .

 

[MartyM]

While I have a special place in my heart for the Poly since it was the first resort i stayed in at WDW...

Our room was falling apart in October 2011. Nothing in the room wasn't broken, marred or stained, and the mousekeeping left a lot to be desired.

I visited the wilderness lodge in Jan 2012, and it was beautiful and clean. Rooms are being updated right now, btw.

 

[thelionqueen]

The Poly has many positive aspects of it, and many, many Dis'ers comment that it is their favorite resort. We stayed there and it was lovely, no complaints. But since you're traveling with an older and younger person, the convenience and compact environment at the Contemporary would be my choice. To me personally, I much prefer the Contemporary over Poly for several reasons, but to me there is simply no better park view than at CR or BLT. Whatever you decide..enjoy!!

 

[trishadono]

I agree with the other posters! I would love either Poly or CR. CR has an awesome view of castle and the Seven Seas Lagoon. The grounds at Poly are gorgeous. If I was taking my Mom I would choose CR because of the elevators! It just seems more convenient at CR, food, shops and monorail all indoors which may be an issue if it rains or gets cold. We do use path between MK and CR. After a parade it is just not worth waiting in the masses for transportation. It is an easy flat walk to make. Honestly you can't go wrong with any monorail resort. Which ever one I stay at is my favorite, that is until the next stay!

 

[Disneyhenry]

I am gonna have to agree with Juliebug1997, the Poly grounds are just beautiful! But Poly is a little more spread out, that not a bad thing, but for your mom I think CR would be a better choice like Trishadono said. The the views will be great too! Have fun!

 

[heidijanesmith]

Hello, new to the boards so forgive me if I don't do this right.

I am having such a hard time deciding on which Disney resort to stay at. I have reservations for the Poly. This is our first WDW trip, we will be there in early Nov 2012. 3 days at MK, 2 days at EP and one day each for HS & AK. Have all my ADR's made.
Travelling with my mother (72) and my nearly 4 yr old daughter. We have a theme park view and I requested 3rd floor Tahiti.
We're looking for the most comfortable resort, castle view, and easiest way to get back & forth to the MK. Would GF or Contemporary be a better pick?

Welcome! Ohhh, we love the Poly! It is such a magical place to stay and would be a great 1st resort. The theming is wonderful! We had a garden view room, so I can't comment on the theme park views availble from the Poly.

I have not stayed at CR or GF as the theme does not appeal to us, but we have visited both resorts. The Poly has wonderful transportation options, as you can take a boat to MK or hop on the monorail. If walking is an option, then you can walk to the TTC and catch a monorail to EPCOT. From Tahiti, probably 3-5 minute walk.

Buses will take you to AK and DS, sometimes our bus shared with CR and GF and sometimes only one resort. I was pleasantly surprised on how efficient the buses were, even sharing with other resorts.

 

[ireneryan]

Thank you to all the great answers! I saw one comment about the Poly room being all run down. I've seen that on some of the reviews on various sites, but the Poly seems to have the highest customer satisfaction ratings, so I can't put them together.

I don't usually have trouble making decisions, but I keep going back & forth between the Poly and CR. I think my biggest concern right now is the nicest rooms. Although I do like the idea of the being able to walk from CR to MK.

 

[iloveeeyore]

For us what gives the Poly the edge over the CR is the fact that the Poly is an easy walk to the TTC, making the trip to Epcot extremely efficient. In fact, it is so easy that we consider the Poly an MK/Epcot resort! From the CR, it is necessary to switch monorails at the TTC, which is annoying in our experience. On the other hand, you can walk to the MK from the CR, which you can't do from the Poly, and you have direct access to the MK bus depot, which gets you quickly to any other resort on-property for dining and exploring. Overall, we think the Poly has the best location on-property. Of course, this is subjective.

We also love the tropical theme and the gorgeous grounds at the Poly. The CR is more concrete and buildings to us, while the Poly is pools, palm trees and flowers.

The views from each are very different. CR is close-up castle, Space Mountain and many other attractions. There is also a parking lot in your view. If you're high enough, it's easy to overlook it, but if you are in a relatively low room, it feels like a big portion of your view is parking lot. The Poly is much further away from the park and you can really only see the top of the castle due to many trees in the way (it's much better from the 3rd floor than the 1st). But the foreground is the gorgeous beach, palm trees and lagoon rather than a parking lot.

The Poly rooms were all completely rehabbed in 2005? and the CR was done right after that, I believe. There are rumors that another rehab at the Poly is scheduled to start in the fall, since one is due. The rooms in general at Disney are pretty well-kept, though they do see lots of traffic with families that can cause quite a beating. Disney rooms in general are completely refurbed every 7 years or so, much more frequently than at many other resorts outside WDW. I doubt more than a few rooms are in bad condition, though the one we stayed in in 2010 definitely had a few minor problems. We loved the location and view too much to ask to be moved, but if we had everything broken in our room, we would have asked for a different room.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of the monorail resorts. They are all wonderful. Spend time on the FAQ threads for each and go with what speaks to you. There must be a reason why you booked the Poly in the first place?

 

[ireneryan]

Everyone helped but iloveeyore threw me over the edge. We'll stick with the Poly as planned. When I booked I loved all the reviews about the theming at the Poly. If we get a room where everything is broken, which I doubt we will, I will just ask for another room. I talked it over with my mom and she is more afraid of being on a high floor in CR than she is of walking more Thank you everyone!! So excited about our first trip!!

 

[olive]

If it is helpful - not sure about your mother's situation - but my parents were staying at the Polynesian (as we were we) on a trip last spring. My father has some mobility problems, although he walks without assistance. He probably could benefit from an ECV or wheelchair. In any event, he found the Polynesian to be very convenient, and was able to easily handle the walk to the Epcot monorail or the GCH for the resort/MK monorail with no problems. He spent a lot of time hanging out by the quiet pool, too. They loved the location and the grounds. We have gone with a toddler, then with a preschooler. It has been very convenient for us, as well. (We love the CR, too, and had a nice stay at GF, but wanted to provide further reassurance that Polynesian is a great choice.)

 

[ireneryan]

Thanks olive! My mother is pretty active, I'm guessing from her age mobility may have sounded like an issue, but it is reassuring knowing that everything was an easy walk for them. I've read so many comments about how spread out it is and I was getting worried about myself getting around! ;-)

I think I just had a moment of panic yesterday b/c this will most likely be my mom's first & only visit (she's not super excited about air travel anymore) and our first visit as well and I'm just trying to make things as magical as possible.

 

[Alabama Minnie]

We have stayed at both and IMO you made the perfect choice.
We have always stayed garden-view at Tahiti and love that it is right on the beach for the fireworks viewing and right beside the walkway to the direct Epcot monorail and for MK too. We do not find the rooms at POLY worn, they are very nice, comfortable and relaxing.
We found the rooms at CR too sterile and we didn't care for the modern decor. I think your Mother will be more impressed with the POLY. I am sure she will love it. My bet is you all will!
Hope you have a reservation for the Ohana dinner. We love it and Kona has great breakfast options.

 

[olive]

My parents had such a good time at the Polynesian that they said it would be hard to stay anywhere else. This was challenging for me as the planner who had created little calendars for everyone with dining information, etc., but they barely wanted to leave the resort! Some days, they didn't.

 

[smiths02]

My in-laws are close to your mother's age (my MIL is actually 71). We went with them a few years ago and stayed at AKL but we visited Poly and CR.

I have to say they were not impressed by CR. It just wasn't our taste and especially not their taste.

 

[godoftheWorld]

You have simple question, I have simple answer. Do you like light or dark woods. If you like light color wood. GF is the hotel for you. If you like dark color wood, Poly is the hotel for you. Remember too. Poly and the Contemporary are the two oldest hotels on property. If you want a bigger standard room, those are the hotels to go with. They were built before Disney realized you could make a smaller room and fit more guests into the hotel. Hope this helped.

 

[ireneryan]

Everyone's answers have been so helpful and now to get in the full swing of planning I have joined a Poly forum! I am so excited!!!

 

[Alabama Minnie]

After your stay there you will find it hard to stay anywhere else. The only thing that stops me is the $$.