Need help deciding on resort for our family

[disneypolybride2008]

Hi. We would be going next fall and i would like help deciding between my top 3 choices. Which would you choose and why?
Here are my top 3:

Little Mermaid Room: DD3 just loved 'ariel's house' but it was a bit small and now we would have a one year old for next fall.. but it is cheapest

AoA Suites: not too much more if able to get free dining, a lot more room

Polynesian resort: monorail would make transportation quicker and easier, could watch fireworks from the beach if DD4 makes it up til 9pm, then head right off to bed rather than to the buses with crowds.. so we would not stay to see fireworks otherwise

Thanks for your advice

 

[bsiev1977]

Hi. We would be going next fall and i would like help deciding between my top 3 choices. Which would you choose and why?
Here are my top 3:

Little Mermaid Room: DD3 just loved 'ariel's house' but it was a bit small and now we would have a one year old for next fall.. but it is cheapest

AoA Suites: not too much more if able to get free dining, a lot more room

Polynesian resort: monorail would make transportation quicker and easier, could watch fireworks from the beach if DD4 makes it up til 9pm, then head right off to bed rather than to the buses with crowds.. so we would not stay to see fireworks otherwise

Thanks for your advice

Wow. Tough choices. I stayed in a Little Mermaid room last December on my solo trip, and I loved the whole resort.

Since you are considering the Poly and the cost that comes with staying at a Deluxe on the monorail track, why not forget about the LM room for your growing family? You didn't specify whether there were two adults, or just you and the two little ones. Either way, having been in a LM room myself, I'd say it's way too small for an adult and two little kids. Would be practically unbearable for two adults and two kids. The suites would be great for you either way.

If the cost of the Poly isn't a deal breaker for you, having quicker access to MK is a big plus.

If it was me, and money wasn't such an issue, i'd go for the Poly. But, I love AoA now, and it's a great choice for a Value resort.

 

[BecBennett]

Ease of access is really important to me for this upcoming trip (we'll have a 22 month old). So my vote is for the poly.

I think the idea of being able to just head straight to bed after the fireworks is great. (We've chosen Boardwalk for this, plus being walking distance to two parks was the clincher ).

 

[Happyjen27]

I am always about location, location, location.

So, I vote for the Poly. (but I liked the Contemporary much better than Poly!)

 

[LovesTimone]

Hi. We would be going next fall and i would like help deciding between my top 3 choices. Which would you choose and why?
Here are my top 3:

Little Mermaid Room: DD3 just loved 'ariel's house' but it was a bit small and now we would have a one year old for next fall.. but it is cheapest

AoA Suites: not too much more if able to get free dining, a lot more room

Polynesian resort: monorail would make transportation quicker and easier, could watch fireworks from the beach if DD4 makes it up til 9pm, then head right off to bed rather than to the buses with crowds.. so we would not stay to see fireworks otherwise

Thanks for your advice

We stayed at AOA in a Lion King Family suite... and it was sweet, Lots of room to move around and 2 bathrooms is a huge plus. With 2 little ones it would be.. for me... better to have the extra space, so that they could move around more, and have a table to sit everything on and fit strollers and such in the room without tripping over it. Also it will give you some privacy in the evenings to watch TV or get stuff together while the kids are sleeping. The larger frig is great for all kid stuff that needs to be refrigerated, along with some adult beverages too.

I love the poly and how close it is, But it is a regular hotel style room. So only one bathroom, and sharing with the kids at night.

I guess it will come down to more room -vs - location?

For me.... more room would win..

 

[nugov2]

I would vote more room if it was apples to apples, but you are comparing a value(motel feel) to a deluxe (much nicer accommodations). The amenities that come with the Poly are much better IMO so I'd go with that hands down. Maybe you could rent points and do a deluxe 1 or 2 bdrm so you aren't compromising on space or amenities.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Polynesian resort: monorail would make transportation quicker and easier

Only to Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

 

[DopeyDame]

For me it wouldn't even be a contest. Location, location, location. If you can afford it, Poly hands-down.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

thanks so much for the responses. it would be 2 adults and 2 kids, a 1 year old and a 4 year old. if we stay at 'ariel's house' dd4 would love it again as she did last year, i WISH they could guarantee connecting rooms then we could get 2 rooms. I would like to know more about how the Lion Kings rooms were as far as noise levels. With the interior corridor it worries me that it will be loud...also when walking to our LM room we walked past the LK rooms and i would not have wanted a room along the walkway, and the whole pool music was so loud i dont think we would want Nemo. I do like the idea of having more room in the suites, but then again i'd be on a table bed, dd4 on the couch bed, and DH who snores and jolts in his sleep in the other room, and the baby next to me in a crib. It would be nice to escape DH's noise but then i don't get an actual bed. At the LM room, dd4 would have to bring a toddler blow up bed and we'd hope she could sleep well in it. The Poly has nice big rooms and we stayed there on our wedding trip. The only reason spending 6K on a Poly vacation for the week is an option is b/c we didn't travel while pregnant, and we're waiting for our new baby to be atleast one, so that is 3 vacations we did not take, so that helps justify the cost to me. I did love the AoA resort. I hope Poly's new kid splash area is comparable. Still undecided, keep up the advice please

so i just did a lot of searching about the polynesian and come to find out the 3 western most buildings, which are where we would want to be so we can walk to the TTC are now all DVC rooms! Now i'm thinking more about AoA again instead.

 

[Aliceacc]

As much as I love the Poly, it certainly isn't cheap.

Would you consider the Wilderness Lodge?? You would still be close to the Magic Kingdom, and in an Deluxe, but at a lower price tag.

I've got to admit I've never been there-- their standard rooms won't accomodate 5 like many of the other Deluxes. But my Assistant Principal stayed there and raved about it!!

 

[Mainst]

Have you considered dare i say- off site at a private rental house?

I know it just doesn't seem disney enough. We've stayed on site from the time I was 15 years old until the last time, age 36. With a baby and toddler last year we stayed offsite. 4br, 3bath, own laundry, own pool for less than the cost per night of a moderate. The drive (which we timed every time) was mostly 15 min from any parks parking space to driveway.

Pros-
-space space space
-kids didn't wake each other up
- we could go back for afternoon swim while kids asleep
-made breakfast and had plenty of snack options. My kids snacks usually are perishable.
-cheaper
-quiet

Cons :
- sometimes going back for nap was a bigger hassle than staying due to gathering up the kids to get out of the house
-one of us always was 100% responsible with drinking
- everything wasn't mickey
-no housekeeper to take out trash

 

[daisygirl902]

Sorry to throw yet another option out there, but you could look at renting DVC points and staying in a 1 (or 2) bedroom at a DVC resort! As a member I could never go back to the "regular rooms". We love the space offered as well as the amazing amenities.

I've never stayed at AoA, but have stayed at Poly. I know I'm in the minority here but I liked our room at Pop as much as Poly, the only plus for us was the proximity to MK and EPCOT. I found Poly very dark and the main pool, although beautiful, was ridiculously crowded. Just another POV.

 

[lvillotta1]

If you can afford the Poly I would say gor for it. We have been to Disney 3 times and are returning in Jan. Our situation is a little different as we have 1 adult and 2 kids so the LM rooms are awesome for us. I got a rate of $109/night. We loved Ariel's rooms and the pool was right outside our door. It was a little jaunt to the food and buses,but my kids are a little older now. I have only stayed at the Value resorts and they are affordable to us so we can visit more frequently.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

how do you rent DVC points? I was super disappointed to learn the 3 western buildings at Poly are now all DVC... that would mean a long walk to the TTC from the other buildings. I'm starting to lean towards Lion King Suites and hopefully getting a first floor parking lot view so we can easily get to the buses. How did you get such a cheap price for Little Mermaid room $109? It seems to be excluded from the disney discount package deals.