Poly, AKL, or WL???

[rbolbach]

Help!!! Thought I had it all figured out! Here I go changing my mind again. We will be traveling with a 2 and 4 year old. Out of Poly, AKL, WL--which would you choose? (Money is not too much of a factor- as we will not be returning to WDW for at least 3 years). I just want this to be a perfect vacation for my family.

 

[grimley1968]

WL. Great theming, nice boats to MK that are bigger than the ones the Poly uses, less expensive (come on we all want to save!).

 

[lttlmc3]

I think the kids would love seeing the animals right outside their doors. So I say Animal Kingdom!

 

[LJD2143]

My vote is for the Poly! (Now you have one vote each!)

The Poly is my family's favorite - especially now that we have young children. (Three DS who are 9,6 & 6) The convenience and amenities at this reort, certainly outweighs the additional cost. One of the most important factors for us is all the different transportation options. For parents with young children, this feature is far more important than for people without. Not only do you have the monorail within minutes from your room, but you can also grab a boat, bus or even walk to the TTC to catch a monorail to EPCOT.

In addition, the Poly's Volcano pool is tons of fun for young children. Your oldest may enjoy the slide, while the zero-depth, walk-in feature is great for your youngest.

 

[disneyag]

We have stayed at all three numerous times and love each of them for different reasons. That being said, with kids who probably will be in a stroller--Poly was the best!. Monorail access made traveling with small kids lots easier.

 

[Tikitoi]

With children those ages, I would say the Poly, since it is closer to MK.

 

[Wendi2000]

Animal Kingdom Lodge!!!

 

[laura12581]

I am voting for Poly- easy access to MK with little ones on the monorail.
Laura

 

[micmacmissy]

Not to throw a wrench in the plan, but...have you considered Grand Floridian? If not, definitely choose the Poly...kids that young will LOVE LOVE LOVE the monorail. Much more fun that boarding buses to the theme park each day.

Also, it is SO much easier with the stroller...we stayed at the GF when our kids were 2 and 4 and we literally pushed them from our suite right onto the monorail and right into the parks. So easy.

Plus, I enjoy the theming of the Poly more than WL. Animal Kingdom would be really fun (I considered that for our upcoming trip but decided on SOG because it is SO SO cheap)...but at Animal Kingdom you're so far away from everything.

Let us know what you decide!

 

[Elmo888]

While I love WL, I would go with the Poly. The monorail and extra room (I'm thinking a Pack N Play for the 2 yo) will be nice.

 

[TJA]

Poly because of your kids' ages, strollers, naps = ease of monorail = relaxing vacation!

 

[yxe dad]

AKL for sure. My kids loved it in Dec, and talk about how cool it was to see the animals when they woke up and before bed! The biggest knock I've heard on these boards about the AKL is the distance to the other parks. IMHO it's really not that bad. They tend to have more buses running on it's routes to make up for the distance. So instead of waiting 15mins at a bus stop and a 10min ride, you might have a 10min wait and a 15min ride.

I've stayed at the WL and really enjoyed it but it took awhile to get to the parks. MK buses weren't going(refurb the bus stop at MK), and shared buses to the different parks. That being said I would stay again at the WL in a heartbeat. It is a great resort!

The Poly, I wish I had a chance to stay there, but as of yet I'm still dreaming. So I can't comment on the resort but the monorail to the MK would be great with little ones!

I really don't think you can go wrong with your choices, pick the resort based on your kids schedules and the parks they/you would like to visit.
Lots of naps and lots of time at MK = Poly
Lots of time at MK = Poly/WL
Even time between all parks = Any
Equal time between resort and parks = AKL

Just my .02

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would go with the Polynesian because of the Monorail access and because of you're kids age. I also happen to think the Polynesian has the best theme and even though the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge are two different Resorts, they still look the same on the inside and outside. The major differences between them would be how the Wilderness Lodge has that rustic feel to it and how the Animal Kingdom Lodge has the animals you can see. After that I don't see any more differences between them.

 

[rbolbach]

Wow! Thanks so much for your opinions. I think I am leaning a little more toward Poly. The convenience seems like it might be worth every extra penny. This will be our first trip to WDW (for all of us) and I would like everything to go as smooth as possible. Maybe when the kids are older and we are ready to brave something without the monorail, we'll try WL or AKL.