Picking a resort - HELP!

[JessNewt]

Ok, over the last couple months I feel I have done a fair amount of research regarding resorts. I read the reviews, bought the books, researched maps and made Excel spreadsheets galore. After all this, I decided that our family would stay at the Polynesian. I even called in the reservation (for early February 2017).

And then I came here, to this message board, and NOW MY WHOLE PLAN IS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN!

I have read so many great threads on other resorts, great things on the Polynesian, bad things about the Polynesian, and I'm just lost. So maybe you folks can help!

It will be two adults (husband and myself) and 2 kids (ages 3 and 5). We will have 2 umbrella strollers to bring to the parks with us, as well as necessities in a backpack and/or shoulder bag.

I decided on the Polynesian based on access to the Monorail. I figured that would make travel to a couple of the parks easier than a bus, considering everything we will lug around.

How big of a headache will taking buses be for us, considering our baggage? I am eyeing the Port Orleans Riverside rooms. My kids have also expressed a desire to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Since they are younger, we will spending a good amount of time at the resort. So the priorities are convenience to parks, resort activities, resort dining, and affordability.

Any suggestions or stories would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Dreamin192]

We stayed poly last year with three little ones, ages 3, 1, and 1. The room was snug with all our stuff. We had two rented cribs, a single stroller and a double stroller, plus some food, luggage, and infant car seats from the plane trip. The first thing I did when booking again this year was find strollers that would fold up smaller. The third party rentals are great, but huge. We went with MacLarens for our uvoming trip. We are also renting CARES harnesses for our twins this time instead of lugging seats since we won't need them on Disney transport.

I think the Poly was/is great. We never had to wait for another monorail because it was full and the ability to push on a stroller is priceless. The new kids pool area is a lot of fun. The bus ride to AK is long. We actually liked it so much I just changed our upcoming trip to a split stay so we can stay there again. My oldest loved the theming and the leis. And with kids you can't go wrong with a bigger room in my opinion.

*editing to say you should request Samoa. That's where we stayed and the location was great! Close to the GCH and the pool

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would stay on the monorail. Taking a bus with 2 kids, 2 strollers and a bag full of stuff is not fun.

 

[magicaldisney]

CR would put you on the monorail but also give you the ability to walk to MK.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

With two strollers, two adults, and walking kids, buses aren't terrible so long as both kids are awake to get on (and off). At the monorail resorts, you'll still be looking at buses for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, if either park is on your touring plan; often, multiple resorts share those buses.

Some kids see the buses as a ride of themselves.

 

[kcpinwdw]

My toddlers loved Animal Kingdom Lodge but the buses are brutal, we love the Poly and I am sure you will too! I think you made a good choice!

 

[buzz1fan]

I say the Poly! Zero entry pool is great with kids.

 

[JessNewt]

Thank you everyone! I'm feeling better about my Poly choice

 

[Sue M]

With 2 young ones, strollers & paraphernalia the monorail for 2 parks is your best potion. Also at Poly I'd request a room with a balcony or patio to give you more living area, and a place to escape to once the kids are asleep.

We love POR, but we are only 2 adults. For a family with young ones, bussing to all the parks isn't easy. You'd have to have the kids out of the strollers, have them folded up before bus arrives, and juggle all the bags too. Especially hard with exhausted, sleepy kids at the end of a long day.

 

[Eastern]

I also think Poly is your best option. CR is convenient too, but I like the theming at Poly much more. GF is nice but too $$.

POR is a good budget option but the walks to the bus stop and in general can be tiresome with small children. I would do POFQ over POR, because it is smaller.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Poly is a great choice. Not only the monorail and awesome pool area but the larger rooms are great when you have a ton of "baby gear".

 

[TJA]

Thank you everyone! I'm feeling better about my Poly choice

We were in your shoes for MANY trips with twins, starting at 7 months old for 2 or 3 trips per year straight through today when they're 12 yrs old!

It's definitely doable unloading and folding strollers and carrying bags and kids on and off buses, but to us that was not overly fun (and relaxing) when we compare that to just rolling our stroller on and off the monorail. The bottom line is....while at WDW, anything goes. Our kids fell asleep in the stroller whenever they were tired, and it was so much easier to deal with a monorail versus a bus.

As far as your choice of Poly, a lot of work has been done there over the last few years and it almost feels like a "new" resort! The grounds are gorgeous, the views are gorgeous, love the overall tropical and relaxing vibe felt there. In your shoes, I'd choose Poly over and over again (and switching things up some trips and staying at Beach Club). Besides the ease of getting around, you can watch Wishes and the water parade right from many different spots at the Poly -- even from the pool!

The only drawback I can see is that it will spoil you for future trips .

 

[mickeynut1]

Ok, over the last couple months I feel I have done a fair amount of research regarding resorts. I read the reviews, bought the books, researched maps and made Excel spreadsheets galore. After all this, I decided that our family would stay at the Polynesian. I even called in the reservation (for early February 2017).

And then I came here, to this message board, and NOW MY WHOLE PLAN IS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN!

I have read so many great threads on other resorts, great things on the Polynesian, bad things about the Polynesian, and I'm just lost. So maybe you folks can help!

It will be two adults (husband and myself) and 2 kids (ages 3 and 5). We will have 2 umbrella strollers to bring to the parks with us, as well as necessities in a backpack and/or shoulder bag.

I decided on the Polynesian based on access to the Monorail. I figured that would make travel to a couple of the parks easier than a bus, considering everything we will lug around.

How big of a headache will taking buses be for us, considering our baggage? I am eyeing the Port Orleans Riverside rooms. My kids have also expressed a desire to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Since they are younger, we will spending a good amount of time at the resort. So the priorities are convenience to parks, resort activities, resort dining, and affordability.

Any suggestions or stories would be greatly appreciated!

I agree that the Poly is a great choice. Being just 2 monorail stops from MK and a 5-7 minute walk from the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail is hard to beat! Plus the rooms are large and spacious with plenty of room to spread out. We love AKL and don't think the buses are bad at all, but with 2 little ones and strollers, rolling onto the monorail for access to 2 parks is more convenient. It's also easy to hop on the monorail to visit the GF and CR for dining, shopping, etc. Hope you have a great trip!

*editing to say you should request Samoa. That's where we stayed and the location was great! Close to the GCH and the pool

I agree! We loved Samoa as it's very convenient to everything .

 

[buzznina]

We have been going for 10+ years with 1 and then 2 DDs and always have at least 1 stroller and a few years 2. Our very first trip with DD #1 was at POLY for the monorail, found out that buses were not even close to being as bad as a lot of posters said. Since you decided on the POLY, I would advise you to walk to the TTC to catch the monorail to EPCOT. It will be soooo much faster then having to take both monorails.

 

[Juliet25]

I've never stayed at the Poly, but I'd love to! I don't think you can go wrong with it.

Here's the thing...you're going with kids, and kids stuff. Nothing is going to be convenient. The ride from the Poly to MK will be about the easiest you'll get. EP should be easy, in theory, but you have to switch to a new monorail at the TTC, so that takes it down a notch. What I'm trying to say is, don't choose a resort based on ease of transport. IMO, the best resorts for that category would be the BC, YC, BW since you can walk to two parks.

I'm sure you'll love the Poly. All the resorts have their pluses and minuses. Personally, I love the AKL and would be staying there all the time if they accommodated a family of 5 within our budget.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

What I'm trying to say is, don't choose a resort based on ease of transport.

The monorail is also 40 years old and subject to plenty of downtime and maintenance. If your choice is strongly dependent on the monorail, be aware that things do happen and schedules change. If that will make the Poly not feel "worth" it, keep an eye on maintenance schedules this year. February is prime time for refurbishments and closures all over WDW.

 

[lhall7]

Have you considered the Boardwalk area? Beach Club is our favorite. Very kid friendly and great pool! You can walk to both Epcot and HS or take a boat. We have stayed at the Poly and I enjoyed it very much. The monorail to MK is GREAT! Not as convenient to Epcot. No one really says that you have to walk to the TTC (which isn't too far, but is if it's raining) or take monorail to TTC from Poly if raining. Then you have to transfer to Epcot monorail which requires walking down a ramp and back up another while packed with people. Then you wait for Epcot monorail and once you arrive there you walk down another long ramp. Just something to think about. I just want you to be aware that it's not direct access to Epcot from the Poly. If you are going to be spending most of your time at MK, I would strongly suggest sticking with the Poly. Honestly, umbrella stroller are easy. It's the huge ones that are packed full of stuff that can be troublesome.

 

[auroralark]

You will not regret the Poly, especially if you'll be spending most of your time at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Buses are kind of a pain with strollers (although umbrella strollers aren't too bad!) If you can afford to stay deluxe and avoid some bus travel with small kids, it's worth it in my opinion. AKL is great but really far from the parks (especially Magic Kingdom). We loved our stay there, but I wouldn't stay there again without renting a car. (And we didn't have any kids at the time.)

 

[caliope]

We've just returned from the Poly with our 3 year old DS, our clunky BOB stroller (our kiddo doesn't do well in the smaller umbrellas), and other assorted paraphernalia. Somehow it all fit and we had room to spare. We really appreciated the convenience of the resort, including the monorail and boats and being able to walk to TTC. Though you have to fold strollers on the boat, you are not rushed when embarking so it wasn't an issue. We took advantage of every transportation option at some point during our trip, including bus to HS, and found it very efficient. We were able to work around monorail closures without much impact also. We felt the Poly was a great choice for our family (our son LOVED the pool!) so we booked a bounceback for December. We can't wait to return!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I agree with many of the other posts. The Poly is great for convenience. One benefit that people haven't mentioned much is the ability to walk from the Poly to the TTC for Epcot monorail access. This saves you a trip on the MK monorail loop and a transfer at the TTC. For us, this is one of the best benefits of the Poly because with a short walk you can get way quicker access to the Epcot monorail.

If you want to save some money POR is a great resort too, and one of our favorites, but the convenience isn't there. CR is great for walking to MK, but it will cost as much or more than Poly and will require two monorails for Epcot.