OK, I've got the ticker....Poly in August!!!

[Chicago Mo]

Alrighty TM... I don't get it...

I thought AoA had 4 sections... The Little Mirmaid, Cars, The Lion King and... Awww crap - they do have Finding Nemo...

OK clearly I know less about this resort than I thought I did...

Tornado Mo wins... LOL

D~

you had me confused!!! Thought my thyroid completely took over my brain!!!

 

[solana131]

LOL...seriously, you guys need to stop! My co-workers think I'm nuts in here cracking up! Enough with the Tater Chapping...enough with the Tornado Mo

Oh I didn't know you didn't know there was a Nemo section....ummm what did you think the huge Nemo pool was from?? Silly goober

Yeah, still not impressed....Dory is HUGE. Where is the representation?! A couple tiny pics in the whole resort?? I know there are quite a few sketches in the main building of her, but I can see those if I am staying in the Lion King. I just like the LK decor better. The bathrooms are GORGEOUS!

 

[Chicago Mo]

LOL...seriously, you guys need to stop! My co-workers think I'm nuts in here cracking up! Enough with the Tater Chapping...enough with the Tornado Mo

Oh I didn't know you didn't know there was a Nemo section....ummm what did you think the huge Nemo pool was from?? Silly goober

Yeah, still not impressed....Dory is HUGE. Where is the representation?! A couple tiny pics in the whole resort?? I know there are quite a few sketches in the main building of her, but I can see those if I am staying in the Lion King. I just like the LK decor better. The bathrooms are GORGEOUS!

That's Tornado Ninja Mo to you.

 

[KatMark]

I'm back. Someone just did a review of that bread on their TR when they stayed at AOA and they loved it.

 

[solana131]

I'm back. Someone just did a review of that bread on their TR when they stayed at AOA and they loved it.

The Naan?? Yeah, it's delish. I can get it here in my regular grocery store. I think I first tried it at Boma last July though.


I am just so torn....just don't know which resort to pick. I would love to try AoA. The extra space in the room, the awesome pool, the larger than life characters, the yummy food court...but I have heard some bad things about it since I have been scoping out TRs from AoA. Lots of people say the cell service is very bad there. With everything being tied to the new MyDisneyExperience app, I am worried that this may affect us more than usual this August. Also, a lot of people have been complaining about the AC not working or not going down low enough...in the August heat, that might be a big issue. And the food court, even though they have some great choices, hasn't been getting very good reviews. It seems they are really slow and unless you all want to eat from the same station, you will be waiting in line for a long time at each station.

Now for about $500 more than AoA, we can be at my beloved Poly. I am now thinking that this is my first choice...if they come out with the same discount as now (30%). I plan to hop over to either MK or Epcot almost every night. So having the monorail or boat option is going to be great. I know I love the QS location there, as well as Kona. To be able to watch Wishes from the beach was a huge benefit on our Feb trip. They are currently refinishing the rooms at the Poly, and I really love the new decor. The only bad part of the Poly that I can see...well two things...1) We have already been there and I wanted to try something new and 2) There is talk of them starting work on a new DVC at the Poly in the upcoming months. I don't want to be there during construction. I will be watching Tikiman closely to see if they really are moving forward with this. I find it hard to believe they would start that while they are still working on the GF DVC right next door.

So...if you had help with $$, would you go for POR, Poly or AoA??

 

[KatMark]

I am so not a value fan...hence my move from Pop to Dolphin last week.

I'd go with POR!

 

[DMGeurts]

I would honestly stick with POR... It's a gorgeous resort and when the girls and I go in 2014, we are definitely staying there, in the Royal Rooms - since it will be a shorter trip and we could afford it that way. Some day, I will stay at the Poly - but probably not until much later in life.

D~

 

[solana131]

I had pretty much decided against POR because of the small bed and the bus situation. I can't do standing room only with a 6 year old!

 

[Chicago Mo]

you know my vote....

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Sigh... you're on boards with a crazy bunch of Dis enablers... so I'd say to go for the Poly but only if you can swing the $ and aren't going to feel stressed or bad about it...

other wise...

I stayed at the POR...


(what about the WL... Do you have any desire... I really love it... but people seem to either really like the theming or not... great loca, pool, etc... and it's a little easier on the wallet... especially if they're offering the 30%

Don't stress about this too much... I don't think you can really go wrong -whatever you choose... you want this to be fun...

 

[solana131]

I am so not a value fan...hence my move from Pop to Dolphin last week.

I'd go with POR!

But AoA suite isn't really a value resort...only because there is no sit down restaurant or slide for the pool, but the room is huge! But I agree...I think we are going back to the POR plan.

I would honestly stick with POR... It's a gorgeous resort and when the girls and I go in 2014, we are definitely staying there, in the Royal Rooms - since it will be a shorter trip and we could afford it that way. Some day, I will stay at the Poly - but probably not until much later in life.

D~

I think I am going with this.

you know my vote....

I know....I love it too, and with Sara's extra $$ it is doable, but it is stretching things and we could use that $$ for food instead. Otherwise I would have to put the food on a CC when my giftcards run out.

Sigh... you're on boards with a crazy bunch of Dis enablers... so I'd say to go for the Poly but only if you can swing the $ and aren't going to feel stressed or bad about it...

other wise...

I stayed at the POR...


(what about the WL... Do you have any desire... I really love it... but people seem to either really like the theming or not... great loca, pool, etc... and it's a little easier on the wallet... especially if they're offering the 30%

Don't stress about this too much... I don't think you can really go wrong -whatever you choose... you want this to be fun...

The Poly would only be about $500 more than AoA, but over $1000 more than POR. It is doable, but it is a stretch. I think I would rather spend that extra money doing fun stuff like the Wishes Dessert Party, or more food.

And, I do love WL. I love the resort and the pool etc, but I do not like the room decor at all. And we would need a bunk bed room, which is more expensive and puts it almost in the same bracket as the Poly. If I'm spending that money, I will be at the Poly! Plus, hubby wants to stay at WL next time he comes with us, so I don't want to stay there twice. Have also thought about AKL, but again...we would need the bunk rooms which are more $$.


So in my office we have a whole bunch of different insurance companies that we deal with. They periodically send around underwriters and managers to mingle with us. Well this guy that came today was a Disney fanatic and we spent a lot of time talking about WDW! I think the other girls in the office were kinda annoyed that I monopolized him for non work related things....oops.

Anyway...he said he has stayed at POR the past 3 times and absolutely loves it. I told him my biggest concern was the buses. He said that as long as you get one of the first couple buses out, there was no problem. It was later in the mornings, like around 9-10 that they start getting really crowded. And since our plan is to hit the parks at opening each day....I think we will be fine. So we are staying put at POR for now. Both the Poly and AoA are still contenders, but we are already booked at POR, and it will save us $500-$1000 vs AoA or Poly. I still don't know for sure, but he made me really excited about POR. He talked about how much his DS6 loved the Riverside Mill food court. He said they would just sit and stare at the water wheel working. I think Bradey would be the same way.

So for now, I am changing my signature back to POR...stay tuned because it could change again in a moment's notice.

Suzi <------- Commitment issues, remember...

 

[KatMark]

Hi Commitment Issue, Susi.

I LOVE POR's food court. So many choices and yummy food.

As much as I love the Poly, I just can't see spending so much more for it. I looked at it for our one night last week and even with the discount it was over $400 for the night.

 

[solana131]

AAAAHHHHHHH! I just need to stop thinking about it. I am going to try to leave the issue alone until either a discount comes out or July 3rd comes and I have to pay it off. Now I have been looking at a TR that stayed at the Poly and I really want that again! Just the ease of the monorail. We still like to hop over to MK almost every night and staying there would just make that so much easier.

But this is driving me INSANE! So I am not going to say another thing about it until I have to decide. It will be a surprise for you all!

 

[DMGeurts]

You know me... All budget conscious and all... I want my cake and I want to eat it too... All with in my budget.

I realize that we have totally different budgets... But I am all about getting the best I can get for the best deal I can get. As hard as it is, I agree with your most recent decision (unless it's changed again... LOL) - and that is to wait for discount codes to be offered.

I must admit - I've obviously been stalking the POR thread... I've stalked it so much - I feel like I've stayed there already... And it looks like a GORGOUS resort. We only speant a little time there last year, so not enough to really get a feel if we liked it or not... but everyone raves over how wonderful FQ and POR are, that I just can't imagine it's as bad as we fear.

No matter where you stay - you will have a wonderful time - I know it! I know how hard it is when you are mulling over a resort, it almost consumes your mind when you have nothing else to think about... But it will turn out in the end, I know it.

D~

 

[solana131]

I know D....I know we will have a good time where ever we stay, but I also know that we will have a better time if we can get out of the heat faster when we want to. Having 10 mins from park exit to hotel room is INVALUABLE in that heat!

I couldn't sleep last night just thinking about all the options....so I got up and went online to mull it over some more. Sara was on, so we started chatting and she had been talking to Dani about our trip last year. Dani told her how beautiful FQ was, but what a pain it was waiting for buses. We had fairly bad luck with them last year, so this trip could be entirely different and I told Sara that...that it just depends on your timing and luck.

So my goal for today is to do a "mental walk through" of each day and see if it will really make that much difference. I know that with Bradey and the heat, we will be lucky to spend more than 3 hours at each park to start out. He will want to head back to the resort at about noon each day to take a break. He will probably be good about going back out around 4/5pm each night, but we will need to get the headliners done in the first 3 hours. So I need to sit and make a "schedule" of things and how they would work at each of our resort choices. Then we will go from there.

I wanted to just leave it alone and not think too much about it, but if we do end up going with the Poly, I have to re-arrange some ADRs...so I need to figure it out sooner rather than later.

It sounds like I am totally overthinking this, and probably I am. But I just love the planning and re-planning. It is part of the fun of a Disney trip for me. I like to drive myself (and my readers...if I have any now) absolutely CRAZY!

Good thing my boss isn't going to be in today.....I will need to play online and make spreasheets galore all day

 

[DMGeurts]

I know D....I know we will have a good time where ever we stay, but I also know that we will have a better time if we can get out of the heat faster when we want to. Having 10 mins from park exit to hotel room is INVALUABLE in that heat!

I agree... This is something that concerns me a lot too... but the big difference to us is that we won't have park hoppers... So, I think the Poly is a great resort and awesome that it's on the monorail, however - because we are only doing 2 days at MK - and 1 at Epcot... We'd be riding a bus the majority of the time anyways. And with out park hoppers, we are stuck going to and from the same park every day. I can see where it would be useful to you though, with park hoppers, you could go to your main park in the morning, then head out to MK in the evening.

I couldn't sleep last night just thinking about all the options....so I got up and went online to mull it over some more. Sara was on, so we started chatting and she had been talking to Dani about our trip last year. Dani told her how beautiful FQ was, but what a pain it was waiting for buses. We had fairly bad luck with them last year, so this trip could be entirely different and I told Sara that...that it just depends on your timing and luck.

I agree -and each day/trip to a park is different... so you could have a great experience in the morning and a horrible experience in the afternoon. In all honestly - the overall of our trip last year was not very bad. I am sure our experience was the average experience. We had a few times where we had to wait, and most of the time, our wait wasn't that long.

So my goal for today is to do a "mental walk through" of each day and see if it will really make that much difference. I know that with Bradey and the heat, we will be lucky to spend more than 3 hours at each park to start out. He will want to head back to the resort at about noon each day to take a break. He will probably be good about going back out around 4/5pm each night, but we will need to get the headliners done in the first 3 hours. So I need to sit and make a "schedule" of things and how they would work at each of our resort choices. Then we will go from there.

I think this is a good idea.

I wanted to just leave it alone and not think too much about it, but if we do end up going with the Poly, I have to re-arrange some ADRs...so I need to figure it out sooner rather than later.

Can you make some contingency ADRs? That is what I did. A few months ago - when I had the inkling that we may have to cut our trip back by a couple of days, I created an alternate schedule that I could fall back into, and I booked all of the ADRs that I would need for that schedule. Now that I know I am using the alternate schedule, I am in the process of giving back my unused ADRs. I dont' feel like I am hoarding them, since there is still several months before our trip, and people will have pleanty of opportunity to use them.

It sounds like I am totally overthinking this, and probably I am. But I just love the planning and re-planning. It is part of the fun of a Disney trip for me. I like to drive myself (and my readers...if I have any now) absolutely CRAZY!

Maybe you are, but I agree - the planning is absolutely a big part of the trip... It's like a year long trip working up to the finale.

Good thing my boss isn't going to be in today.....I will need to play online and make spreasheets galore all day

YAY!!!!!!

I will be working on our stuff on my breaks all day... Still trying to get that one elusive ADR (which isn't usually too hard of an ADR to get), so that we can switch our AK and MK days at the beginning of our trip.

D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

YAY! crazy planning!!! I AM ALL OVER the crazy TORNADO planning!!!
you know your OWN style of running parks you need to keep that in place.
I don't know if this is a factor or not. We never had an issue with the buses at POR. NEVER. i honestly didn't understand all the hub bub about it. We did request building 14. which is a hop skip and jump to the buses, close to the food court, and the general store i loved the store and spent a lot of time in there...
I do believe that have refurbished all the rooms by now???
the resort was BEAUTIFUL the rooms were My family also consists of 5 people.... Coming from the poly to a smaller room was a bit of a shock to the system you get over it. plus how much time do you really spent in the room??? Meg slept on that bed thing that rolls out from under the bed. the Boys shared the other normal bed. the pool was AWESOME we had more fun with these pools then the one at the poly Yes i said that...
when waking up before anyone and going for my morning cigarette the grounds are so beautiful. peaceful. my smoker buddies and i had great conversations so lovely!!! again this was better then the Poly...
BUT then there were the people who had to walk a little farther to their room and BOY OH BOY they were not happy. do the research. if i were to do a Mod again i would pick POR.
I believe the room was 1401.. I had to go look at that trip report. I didn't post it. It was RIGHT next to the food court/buses/quiet pool/general store/main walking street?
perfect. well now that i had to find my old trip report i am going back to read that today....

 

[DMGeurts]

Me thinks there should be an update here soon...

D~

 

[solana131]

Yeah yeah yeah....workin on it...

 

[DMGeurts]

whoot!!