Opinions- Polynesian vs ??? & Other questions about sales

[Alison S]

I currently have a room only reservation for a standard studio villa at the Polynesian at the beginning of November. It's just for one adult and one child. I booked directly on the disney world website and am paying $580/night + taxes for 5 nights.

My questions:
1. Does it matter at all that I have a room only booking vs a room + park ticket booking? What exactly is the benefit of adding the ticket? Are there issues with that and changing my booking in the future (if I want a different resort or there is a sale)? I was waiting to book tickets because I'm not sure if I want a park hopper or not yet. I'm also not interested in the dining plan.
2. I'm also interested in the AKL and WL (both would be a standard room, either a villa or regular hotel room). If the room was significantly cheaper than the Polynesian ($100+ less a night) how wrong would I be to change my booking to the cheaper hotel? The things I like about the Polynesian are the "feel" of the resort, the pool, the location (monorail and boat transport) and also the assortment of restaurants on property.
3. I have seen reference to there possibly being room only sales in July for fall bookings- do these usually include only the regular hotel rooms, or also DVC rooms (the villas)?
4. Can I change my. booking as many times as I want online?

I should mention that I attempted to rent DVC points but was unsuccessful.

I'm new to all of this, so I hope my terminology is right! TIA.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There is unlikely to be a discount for that unit for those dates.

You can change your booking multiple times. This is actually easier as a room-only reservation. Changing to something less expensive, especially since you are likely to pay rack at Poly, is totally rational.

 

[Cloe Colton]

I show a discount for my stay July 19-27, you can check to see if there is a discount on your current reservation by going to MDE and clicking "modify" reservation. This will allow you to change to a discount (if its available) or to change your resort entirely. The benefit to doing so in your current reservation is that if you booked before 3/21 you are grandfathered in to no parking fees.

If you do change your resort to a cheaper resort your original deposit will stay and be put towards the new rez, they wont refund the difference of the deposits back.

 

[TyphoonLegume]

I currently have a room only reservation for a standard studio villa at the Polynesian at the beginning of November...

My questions: ...

1. Does it matter at all that I have a room only booking vs a room + park ticket booking? What exactly is the benefit of adding the ticket? Are there issues with that and changing my booking in the future (if I want a different resort or there is a sale)? I was waiting to book tickets because I'm not sure if I want a park hopper or not yet. I'm also not interested in the dining plan.

Once you add Tickets to your 'Room Only' reservation... the deposit/pay off aspect of your reservation changes as you are now considered a 'Package' reservation instead of 'Room Only'... Room Only reservations require a one night deposit and the remainder of balance paid off upon check-in... while a Package reservation requires a $200 deposit at booking with the remaining balance due 30 days before check-in.

I'll jump ahead in questions to say this...

I'd keep your 'Room Only' reservation as is (or if you decide to move to AKL or WL)... and play the waiting game with discounts before adding tickets. Be sure that the resort you've booked pre-discount... is the resort you feel 100% confident/comfortable paying for. Basically... don't book the Polynesian and keep your fingers crossed for a discount... because that's the only way you can swing it. Fall availability will dwindle as your dates get closer, even pre-discount, and nearly vanish once a discount is released.

Once/If a discount is released for your travel dates, consider your options (which may not include your resort/room category of choice... answered below) and go from there in terms of adding tickets/switching your reservation to a 'Package.' You can always adjust your tickets length/options online, similar to your resort choice. The most important thing... is to have tickets linked to your MyDisneyExperience Resort Reservation by the 60 day mark to take advantage of FastPass+ offerings.

I switched a Free Dinning Reservation to a Room Only Reservation (Gasp... I know) online with no issue. You'll be able to keep your existing reservation... while looking at options related to the discounted room/package offereings... and add/remove/edit tickets as well.

2. I'm also interested in the AKL and WL (both would be a standard room, either a villa or regular hotel room). If the room was significantly cheaper than the Polynesian ($100+ less a night) how wrong would I be to change my booking to the cheaper hotel? The things I like about the Polynesian are the "feel" of the resort, the pool, the location (monorail and boat transport) and also the assortment of restaurants on property.

There's a reason the AKL and WL are less expensive options, and several of those deciding factors are what you've listed as 'liking' about the Polynesian. If the cheaper price tag keeps calling out to you... I think you'd fare better at the WL (with it's MK resort area location and boat to MK) over AKL.

3. I have seen reference to there possibly being room only sales in July for fall bookings- do these usually include only the regular hotel rooms, or also DVC rooms (the villas)?

Yes. Discounts, if offered for your travel dates, can be applied to both standard hotel rooms and DVC Villas.

BUT...

Certain resorts/room types can be EXCLUDED from any offered discount... with the current Summer promotion, Disney shares this information:

• Offer excludes the following room types: campsites, 3-bedroom villas, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, The Little Mermaid Standard Rooms at Disney's Art of Animation Resort and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

In terms of what will actually be available... everything will come down to supply/demand for your dates of travel. Even though studio villas at the Polynesian may be 'included' in the released discount, if they're already close to being 'sold out'... there may only be a handful of rooms offered at discount, if any. Disney will only offer discounts on Resorts/Room Categories with lower than desired occupancy.

Stay up to date on these boards or consider a travel agent to help take advantage of a discount as soon as it's released!

4. Can I change my booking as many times as I want online?

Yes. Just be careful... take screen shots... and make sure you don't 'check out/modify' to hastily. MyDisneyExperience doesn't always have the best track record in the IT Department.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I currently have a room only reservation for a standard studio villa at the Polynesian at the beginning of November. It's just for one adult and one child. I booked directly on the disney world website and am paying $580/night + taxes for 5 nights.

My questions:
1. Does it matter at all that I have a room only booking vs a room + park ticket booking? What exactly is the benefit of adding the ticket? Are there issues with that and changing my booking in the future (if I want a different resort or there is a sale)? I was waiting to book tickets because I'm not sure if I want a park hopper or not yet. I'm also not interested in the dining plan.
2. I'm also interested in the AKL and WL (both would be a standard room, either a villa or regular hotel room). If the room was significantly cheaper than the Polynesian ($100+ less a night) how wrong would I be to change my booking to the cheaper hotel? The things I like about the Polynesian are the "feel" of the resort, the pool, the location (monorail and boat transport) and also the assortment of restaurants on property.
3. I have seen reference to there possibly being room only sales in July for fall bookings- do these usually include only the regular hotel rooms, or also DVC rooms (the villas)?
4. Can I change my. booking as many times as I want online?

I should mention that I attempted to rent DVC points but was unsuccessful.

I'm new to all of this, so I hope my terminology is right! TIA.

I, personally, would switch to WL or AKL if it's cheaper (and it should be). How old is your child? I've stayed at all three resorts while traveling alone with DS and all three resorts fit the bill in terms of "feel" (all incredibly themed, with WL and AKL being better themed than Poly, IMHO). The pools are nice at all (though WL and AKL's are a bit smaller) and the restaurants at WL and AKL are better than Poly's IMHO (WL has more QS options, AKL has more TS). With AKL and WL, your room will be smaller, but with two people, it shouldn't have that much of an impact. How old is your child? When my DS was younger, I liked the convenience of the monorail, but with the advent of the Minnie Van, I'm willing to save some money and take some Minnie Vans every now and then to make transportation easier. My DS and I stayed in a WL CL room last August for far less than a standard room at Poly. I would definitely consider switching and keep an eye out for discounts.

 

[Alison S]

I, personally, would switch to WL or AKL if it's cheaper (and it should be). How old is your child? I've stayed at all three resorts while traveling alone with DS and all three resorts fit the bill in terms of "feel" (all incredibly themed, with WL and AKL being better themed than Poly, IMHO). The pools are nice at all (though WL and AKL's are a bit smaller) and the restaurants at WL and AKL are better than Poly's IMHO (WL has more QS options, AKL has more TS). With AKL and WL, your room will be smaller, but with two people, it shouldn't have that much of an impact. How old is your child? When my DS was younger, I liked the convenience of the monorail, but with the advent of the Minnie Van, I'm willing to save some money and take some Minnie Vans every now and then to make transportation easier. My DS and I stayed in a WL CL room last August for far less than a standard room at Poly. I would definitely consider switching and keep an eye out for discounts.

My son will be 6. Do you think the rooms are as nice at WL? I'm surprised you say the restaurants are better (we are more interested in QS anyway) so I will go take another look at them, thank you!

I show a discount for my stay July 19-27, you can check to see if there is a discount on your current reservation by going to MDE and clicking "modify" reservation. This will allow you to change to a discount (if its available) or to change your resort entirely. The benefit to doing so in your current reservation is that if you booked before 3/21 you are grandfathered in to no parking fees.

If you do change your resort to a cheaper resort your original deposit will stay and be put towards the new rez, they wont refund the difference of the deposits back.

I was wondering about that too! Oh well, less to pay later.

Thanks everyone. I'm still happy with the Poly at this price so I will keep it for now. I like how easy it is to make changes!