Poly or Grand Frloridian in January 2013?

[Bettie]

We are going the last week in January 2013, and my daughters really want to stay at GF, but I don't want our first stay there to be disturbed by lots of construction, so I booked Poly instead. (We have stayed Poly before and love it.) But now it sounds like there might be construction starting at the Poly in December/January as well?

Does anyone have a more clear sense of what's going on in January at these 2 resorts? I don't want to be staying at the Poly and not be able to use the volcano pool, etc., but it's hard to get a handle on exactly what construction is going on when.

Thanks in advance!

 

[twoboysmom]

We are facing the same decision as you as we normally stay at Poly but considered splurging for GF. I am not sure of the status of closures at GF and I am hoping that Poly will be restricted to just Hawaii's CL rooms and not the pool for Jan. Still being tempted by BC Club level also. Love Poly and while we don't use the pool too often, closure of volcano pool would move us somewhere else.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

The GF recently released a timeline (which they rarely do!) of closures, but it doesn't extend into January. Here is the link to the info on allears: http://allears.net/acc/faq_gf.htm Keep in mind the DVC construction will continue through 2013, according to earlier announcements.

 

[Bettie]

Thanks! Now if only I could get a better handle on what's going on at the poly. I know about the CL rooms in Hawaii, but also have seen stuff about permits for work on the volcano pool and maybe even GCH in January as well. I don't know what to do if both Poly and GF have extensive construction going on for my dates.

 

[GabrielaM]

I have no idea what is going on in terms of construction at the Poly, but I just dropped in to say I'm totally jealous that you may be staying there

 

[glj104]

We also considered the GF this year, but decided to stick with the Poly for the 3rd time. GF just seemed a bit stuffy.

 

[sydneysmom]

We also considered the GF this year, but decided to stick with the Poly for the 3rd time. GF just seemed a bit stuffy.

We stayed at the GF in 2012 and our DD was 4 1/2 at the time....I worried about it being too stuffy, and found out that it was anything but. We found the CM's to be SO attentive and fun... they were great with kids, always said hello to people passing by, offering help. While the decor might be more formal, you really don't get that feeling at all when you're there. It's just quiet and lovely and peaceful. We never felt uncomfortable or out of place walking around in shorts and t-shirts. We absolutely LOVED it there!!!

 

[Masonmj84]

I frequently visit Tikiman's site as well as folllow his posts on other sites.

He seems to have a good idea about what eventually will happen at the Poly but doesn't know the exact timing (because Disney takes great pains to keep this a secret and/or frequently changes its plans).

Some things I have sort of gathered:

1. The first change to the Volcano Pool area will be an addition of a hot tub. This may happen as early as the Sep/Oct time frame but it also may not start until the very end of the year.

2. The Volcano Pool area may be completely closed down for at least a couple of months. No idea when this may occur or whether the hot tub addition will occur prior to or during this time (although it seems very unlikely they would close the Volcano Pool at the same time the Main Courtyard Pool at GF is closed - Disney has announced that the GF Main Courtyard Pool will be closed From August 24 until "December" but hasn't provided a hard completion date).

3. A Poly DVC addition as well as major refurbishment work on the GCH is going to happen but it's anyone's guess as to when (my guess is that major changes in this regard won't happen until the GF DVC is nearly complete, but that's just a guess).

We'd like to stay at the Poly in mid-December so my wishful thinking is that the Volcano Pool will be open then and the hot tub addition will have been completed before that time. However, the fact that they didn't announce the closures at the GF until just weeks before has me very concerend that they'll do the same thing at the Poly.

For example, I'm worried they'll finish the main GF pool in early December, then close the Volcano Pool the very next day (for the rest of December and into 2013) but not announce this until, say, some time in November (well past my 45 day mark).

On the other hand, I take some comfort in thinking they wouldn't start this right before peak Holiday season but would likely wait until 2013. And, if they're going to close the Volcano Pool, it would sort of make sense to do it the same time they're working on the Hawaii (CL) buliding (scheduled to start in early 2013). Of course, this doesn't provide the OP much comfort (which is a reason the OP may wish to lean toward GF, their main pool is supposed to be finished before the end of this year).