Poly or Wilderness

[jfeasel]

We're planning our trip for 2003 and can't decide if we should do the Poly or Wilderness. Besides having the monorail, what are the benefits of the Poly? Are the rooms bigger? How's the pool? Do either of them have quiet pools? Also, how is transportation to Epcot and MGM from the Poly and Wilderness?

We've stayed at AKL, BC, CB, CSR and PO so we wanted to try an area where we had not been.

 

[Eeyore1954]

I can only speak for WL -- never stayed at Poly.

The rooms at WL are standard for Disney rooms, unless you reserve a room at the Villas at WL. Those can be somewhat larger, depending on the type (studio, 1 or 2-bedroom).

The main pool (JMO) is good -- fairly large. There is a quiet pool which also has a jacuzzi.

Transportation from WL is by bus to everything 'cept MK (that's by boat -- which is great). The bus service is very good -- my experience has been very short waits. However, the bus service is shared with FW, so you make a stop there before going to the park.

The AK bus makes 2 stops-- 1 at FW, then at BB, then on to AK.

The shared bus setup can be annoying to some people who want to get to the parks fast. If you want to be 1st in line at the parks, you'd do best to catch one of the early buses.

 

[BrianD]

Well, I can only speak for Poly -- never stayed at WL.

I do know that the rooms at the Poly (409 sqft.) are larger than the standard rooms at WL (340 sqft.).

The volcano pool at the Poly is really neat. It has zero depth entry on one side and a very cool waterslide that goes through the volcano. There is also one quiet pool.

To me the transportation is a huge benefit of the Poly. The monorail takes you to the MK or Epcot. For MGM & AK you take a bus (or drive) just like at WL.

Just my two cents!!

 

[Chance's Mom]

This is what convinced me that the WL was better for my family than the Poly.

The bathrooms at the Poly only have one sink, and it is inside the bathroom!

I know that sounds like a small thing, but it is just way to hard to get everyone ready with that type of bathroom.

I was shocked when I was investigating resorts and found this info. I would definitely have expected 2 sinks with the rates Disney charges for the Poly.

 

[caverill]

You won't lose with either resort, but I would recommend the Poly due to it's location on the monorail. Getting to MK or EPCOT (even if you walk to TTC) is very nice.

As far as the sinks go...The Poly was one of the first resorts built. I believe is was still standard at the time (and still is in most hotels) to have the sinks in the bathroom. I also agree it is much better with them outside the bathroom.

 

[TWOOD]

I've stayed at both and prefer WL, simply because it has a more "relaxed" feel to me. I like to return to the resort after hectic park touring and just "veg out". I love the rustic, wilderness theme over the Poly's tropical theme. However, I must admit that the pool slide at the Poly is way better and so are the transportation choices. The Poly rooms are much larger too. I'm fortunate that when I do WDW, it's only my DD (11) and me, so room size isn't that big of a deal. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[hoosll]

We love WL over the Poly. The WL has hot tubs for one thing!