Please Help Choose a Resort!

[bigeyedfish]

We are planning our first (and very likely ONLY) trip to WDW March 1-7, 2018.

We are a family of 5 and having two Queens and a pulldown/daybed is important to us (hence no Studios). We are planning 6 nights/7 days. One entire day in the middle of our trip will be a resort/pool day. Having a nice pool and good TS restaurants nearby is important to us. Having said all of that which would you choose?

1. Poly Standard Room $$$ (my favorite option, but the most expensive and I'm not sure it is worth the big splurge at $575/night)

2. Beach Club Standard Room ($499/night)

3. Contemporary Garden Wing Standard Room ($467/night)

4. Port Orleans Riverside Preferred Room ($290-ish/night)


I am hoping for a decent room discount at some point this fall. Does anyone have an educated guess as to what a Deluxe Room discount would be? TY!

 

[Staren]

Most Disney resort discounts are typically between 15% and 30% off. Deluxe resort discounts are usually on the higher end, and values on the lower end of that scale. All subject to change of course.

If you are planning a possible one and only trip, I would really consider the Poly. I know it's expensive, but there are great restaurants, and it's a great location. My second choice would be the Contemporary. The moderate resorts are awesome, but not usually recommended for first time visitors because of their size and location from the parks.

 

[klacey1]

I second the Poly. For a one and done trip, I'm not sure you can beat the magic of being two stops away from the MK on the monorail. It's super easy to walk to the TTC for the Epcot monorail, too. IMHO, I think it has the best variety of dining options, plus the restaurants at the Grand and Contemporary are a short monorail ride away.
Both the Oasis Pool and Lava Pool are great for spending a pool day.

 

[FSU Girl]

How old are your kids? Which park will you be spending the most time at? I loved staying at the Contemporary. It is so convenient to be able to walk to Magic Kingdom and the monorail will connect you with Epcot. The tower will have more of a wow factor with the monorail running through it. When discounts come out you should see if one of those rooms is more affordable. Beach Club also is really convenient to two parks you can walk to and they have one of the best pools on property.

 

[mtemm]

BC. Great location, fabulous pool. I have stayed at YC (sister to BC) and the poly and in no way (imho) is the poly worth nearly $500 more for your length of stay. I have also stayed at POR but just dh and I, before our 3 kids. We loved POR but prefer more room/better location, especially with kids.

 

[VAfamily1998]

You are a family of 5-is that two parents and three kids? One parent, two grandparents and two kids? If there are kids, how old are they? Those answers might change my response

But in general, I would say if the kids are between ages 4-9 or so, go with Polynesian. If they are older kids, go with Beach club. If they are very young and you will be going back to the room mid day to nap and dealing with strollers, go with Contemporary.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are planning our first (and very likely ONLY) trip to WDW March 1-7, 2018.

We are a family of 5 and having two Queens and a pulldown/daybed is important to us (hence no Studios). We are planning 6 nights/7 days. One entire day in the middle of our trip will be a resort/pool day. Having a nice pool and good TS restaurants nearby is important to us. Having said all of that which would you choose?

1. Poly Standard Room $$$ (my favorite option, but the most expensive and I'm not sure it is worth the big splurge at $575/night)

2. Beach Club Standard Room ($499/night)

3. Contemporary Garden Wing Standard Room ($467/night)

4. Port Orleans Riverside Preferred Room ($290-ish/night)


I am hoping for a decent room discount at some point this fall. Does anyone have an educated guess as to what a Deluxe Room discount would be? TY!

My choice would be the Poly or CR. The rooms are large and spacious (and quite a bit larger than the BC or POR) and all rooms come with a daybed (which is not a guarantee at the BC). At the BC/YC, not all rooms come with a daybed and while parties of 5 are given preference for those rooms, it is not guaranteed you will get one (they will, however, provide a roll away if needed). The BC is nice as it is convenient to be within walking distance to Epcot, but we prefer staying on the monorail as we find a greater variety of dining options at the Poly/CR/GF & WL than we do around the Epcot resorts. Good luck deciding and have a great trip .

 

[Shanti]

We are planning our first (and very likely ONLY) trip to WDW March 1-7, 2018.

We are a family of 5 and having two Queens and a pulldown/daybed is important to us (hence no Studios). We are planning 6 nights/7 days. One entire day in the middle of our trip will be a resort/pool day. Having a nice pool and good TS restaurants nearby is important to us. Having said all of that which would you choose?

1. Poly Standard Room $$$ (my favorite option, but the most expensive and I'm not sure it is worth the big splurge at $575/night)

2. Beach Club Standard Room ($499/night)

3. Contemporary Garden Wing Standard Room ($467/night)

4. Port Orleans Riverside Preferred Room ($290-ish/night)


I am hoping for a decent room discount at some point this fall. Does anyone have an educated guess as to what a Deluxe Room discount would be? TY!

Beach Club has the best pool complex hands down. It is also surrounded by great restaurants. If you have a resort day scheduled, that is the place to stay.

 

[bigeyedfish]

Next Spring my kids will be 11, 10, 7, and 5 years old! My husband is not a fan of crowds or Disney and will be staying home or taking his own guys trip

Thank you for all of the input. Since this will likely be our only trip I am having such a hard time deciding! Our very rough plan is:

Day 1 - Arrive, swim at resort, nice TS meal nearby

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

Day 3 - Epcot

Day 4 - Pool/Resort Day!

Day 5 - Animal Kingdom

Day 6 - Magic Kingdom

Day 7 - Check out at 11:00 am and hoping to get a late flight out of MCO

We will likely skip Hollywood Studios. We aren't Star Wars fans. TY!

 

[jlnten17]

DISNEY'S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT!!!!! - No Contest.

 

[tndisney5]

I would do POR, but we are big fans of that place (we have stayed there as a family of 5 - 2 adults 3 kids). I would LOVE to stay at POLY but never have. It is a very nice resort.

If you do POR maybe you could splurge on a nicer dining plan or extra souvenirs

 

[Staren]

If your kids were a few years older and the older two were interested in doing their own exploring, then I'd say BC. For your crew, Poly or CR would be my suggestion.

 

[tndisney5]

Oh, also wanted to mention the water taxi to Disney Springs at POR. We love this! On your resort day you could take the water taxi to DS and have dinner there, window shop, etc.

 

[mtemm]

Since u are planning on doing 2 MK days and no HS days, it might be worth it to splurge on the poly or stay at CR. While I love the Epcot resort area, the convenience to MK would win out on a trip with your itinerary. Have fun planning!!!

 

[jms25]

I would say Beach Club. We stayed at Yacht club and loved it. We walked to EPCOT and enjoyed the boat to DHS. My kids were 11, 7, and 3 at the time, they had no issues enjoying the pool. It can be hard to keep an eye on everyone since the pool area is on the large side so if that is a concern for you, you might want to consider another option We have also stayed in POR prior to having kids and it is a very nice resort.

 

[MumziMom]

I love the Poly especially because you have so many transportation options available. With just one adult, you will want to make that as easy on yourself as possible. You can hop on the monorail, walk over easily to the TTC (to get the monorail to Epcot), take one of the small boats to MK, etc. You may want to consider renting points - there are reputable brokers out there, and they feature on-line calculators to help you figure out what it would cost. There is no tax added on, versus the 12.5% tax to say at other Disney resorts. We found it was less expensive, or within a few dollars, of renting a moderate resort. One scary thing; if you rent the points, there is no cancellation. We are doing this for the first time for this August, and are saving a bundle on a two bedroom at Kidani Village (AKL).

You could rent points for a Poly Studio for your dates for $2,482. Your cost of $575 for a Poly room through Disney would end up also costing you $71.88 per night in tax, or $3,881. Renting points would save you almost $1,400.

If you are renting a car, you might also want to consider renting points for Animal Kingdom Lodge. You would be able to rent a one bedroom Villa, which would include a mini-fridge and microwave, for $3,332. The two resorts share pools (Kidani and Jambo house), the food options are amazing, and your children would love the common areas, the animals, and the water play area at Kidani. It is further from the parks, though, which is why I recommend a car. (Be aware that no studios at AKL are for 5 occupancy - you would need to rent points for a 1 bedroom there.)

WHAT I REALLY RECOMMEND: if you don't think that it would be too crazy to pack everyone up on the third night, consider a split stay. I know that it is only 6 nights, but if you stay at the Poly for the first 3 nights, check your bags with bell service on the morning (that you leave for the next resort,) they will deliver them to your next resort. If you will be hopping to AKL, you head out from the Poly to Epcot, have a great day, then take the short bus ride back to the AKL, where your bags will be waiting, check in, and you could have a great pool/resort day exploring the animals, amazing food, the great pool, all the activities at both Kidani and Jambo house, go to Animal Kingdom Park the next day, then there will be just one day with a longer bus ride to MK.

Your "one" trip would feel like two - both resorts are amazing.

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

While I am a fan of POR, with that many little people I would choose a deluxe...two important features with a deluxe room that haven't been mentioned a larger bathroom area with two sinks and more counter space...also, you will get a balcony which gives you more room to spread out. All the deluxe hotels are great - obviously being on the monorail has the advantage of resort hopping and a having access to several good QS restaurants and exploring other hotels for a break from the parks..not to mention the wonderful pools (esp. at the Poly). That said, the BC has a terrific pool and you can walk around the boardwalk at night along with easy access to Epcot plus the Flower and Garden show will be open during your visit.
Good luck with your decision making - let us know what you decide!

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I would definitely pick the Poly of the CR. With only 1 parent I don't think I would do the BC. The pool is great but huge and wouldn't want to keep track of 4 kids alone. We have 4 kids and when we stayed at the BC we had my husband and I and I couldn't have done it alone. Also we stayed at the POR RR and didn't love the size of the resort and the CS food options.

We absolutely love the Poly and they have excellent TS restaurants. We eat at Ohana and Kona each time we are at DW whether we stay at the Poly or not. We also love the CR and the ability to walk to MK. The Wave is wonderful at the CR and so is the CS food. The pool is much better at the Poly and love the resort theme. It is truly a person decision which is more important - the ability to walk to MK or the pool and theme of the Poly - as I feel the food is comparable. We love the relaxation of the Poly.

As we do split stays all the time - I would not advice it with 4 kids alone.

Let us know what you choose.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If this is the only trip you"ll take to WDW, I would strongly suggest Poly particularly with the itinerary you've planned. The theming is amazing. You'll have one of the bigger standard rooms on property plus monorail access to MK, EP and lots of great restaurants. Plus the pool is great.

Other than offering walking distance to MK, monorail and some Disney historical nostalgia, CR isn't a great resort and the pool is in desperate need of a refurb.

BC is great, but if you are only going to EP once and not going to DHS at all, it negates the perk of walking to those parks. I wouldn't want to pay deluxe prices and not be able to take advantage of one of the resort"s biggest perks. Plus I wouldn't want to watch 4 kids in BC's sprawling pool.

I think you'll feel cramped at POR.

My vote is for Poly!

 

[Ambehnke]

I would definitely choose the Poly if it were a one and done trip. Awesome pool, awesome restaurants, awesome views and location. But be careful with saying that because we thought our first trip would be once in a lifetime and have gone three times in the two years since... haha! You can google Poly discounted rates and find some good deals for packages or you can also rent DVC. That's the route I would.