Poly Questions

[mamatobbg]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here.

Yesterday I switched my reservations from the BC to the Poly. I'm so excited at the chance to stay there, but I have a few questions.

Any thoughts on the best Long Houses to stay at? We're doing the garden view. I've heard the Fiji was nice for views (at the garden level), but I asked for the Somoa for location.

Also, can you take buses directly from the TTC to AK and HS and then back? So, no stopping to pick other people up, just directly there and back?

This will be out first time staying at the Poly. We stayed at the Yacht Club for our Honeymoon and AKL for a second honeymoon (My first son was a "Disney Souvenir" on that trip!)

We did DL at the Disneyland Hotel back in 09 with our two boys for our oldest's 5th birthday. So, this trip is for our second son's 5th birthday. It will be their first time in WDW. We now have a little girl, too. Their ages at travel will be 7 1/2, almost 5 and 2. I switched to the Poly 90% due to ease of getting places with kids this age.

Thanks for any info!

 

[dfarner]

I don't know the answer to your bus question, as we've never tried that from the TTC. If you want lots of great information on the Poly, outside of the DIS, you can google tikimans website. His website gives great info on the resort and goes into quite a bit of detail on each longhouse's pros and cons. Have fun!

 

[sunshineNJ]

The 2 times we have stayed at the Poly we wanted to be near the quick service/monorail/lobby area and we requested Rarotonga. It's about as close as you can get to that area. Also Nui is very close to that area also. Have a great trip.

 

[Aliceacc]

Both times we stayed at the Poly, I asked for and got Tokelau. I LOVED the convenience-- it was incredibly centrally located!

Your kids will love the monorail access and that volcano pool!!!

 

[LoriJune]

The Poly is fantastic for transportation with the monorail and TTC. We stayed in Touklea (sp?) and felt it wasn't too far from anything. When going to Epcot you are able to walk to the TTC to get on the Epcot monorail rather than getting on the resort monorail and transferring.

I'm not sure about your TTC bus question...I know we had a TERRIBLE experience trying to get "home" to OKW last year from MK via TTC. I thought you could get anywhere once you got to the TTC. I was very, very wrong. Hopefully someone will come along soon with your answer.

Since you're at the Poly now, with kids, perhaps you might think about breakfast at Ohana with Lilo and Stitch? Ohana has fun stuff for kids going on at dinner too, minus characters.

 

[mamatobbg]

Thanks so much everyone!

So do all of the longhouses have a garden view section? For some reason, I thought that just certain buildings are considered garden view? Maybe I'm wrong.

I'm hoping the TTC does have direct routes. As much as I enjoyed the other resorts we've stayed at, the buses were always a bit of a hassle. And I felt that way pre kids! But the buses hopping from resort to resort first made it seem extra long.

Oh and we're definitely doing the character breakfast there!! Can't wait!

 

[nrpofp]

Yes the ttc does have direct buses. Its afarther walk than the epcot monorail. I would request a longhouse close to the ttc. If your planing on using the ttc buses. We did it once because the buses coming from the contemporary were full going to ak. The bus to dhs picks up at poly first than gf. Its not a problem going to dhs.

 

[mamatobbg]

Yes the ttc does have direct buses. Its afarther walk than the epcot monorail. I would request a longhouse close to the ttc. If your planing on using the ttc buses. We did it once because the buses coming from the contemporary were full going to ak. The bus to dhs picks up at poly first than gf. Its not a problem going to dhs.

Thank you for this information! Good to know. It may be more convenient to just catch the bus at the resort if it only makes one other stop at the GF. We'll likely only go to DHS once and AK once. Then the rest of the days at MK and Epcot. (We'll be there 7 nights; 6 full days.) So, this won't be an all the time thing.

THANKS EVERYONE!

 

[taylor3297]

Depending on the day, buses from the Poly doesn't always share with other resorts and when they do share it isn't always the same resort. We have ridden on buses that stopped at CR and another that also went to the GF. We have also been on a bus that only picked up at the Poly.

All the longhouses have a garden view classification. We have stayed on each side of the resort and we never found the walk to the TTC to be much of a walk. It may be due to the grounds of the Poly are so wonderful to walk through.

 

[cmac609]

We have stayed at he Samoa and loved the location. Both times we had a Garden View and the view was of trees and the quiet pool. I like the Samoa because it is close to everything.

And yes, you can take the bus from the Poly to AK, and HS. On the way back you can either take the Poly bus or the TTC bus but then you will have to walk from the TTC to Poly (which isn't far). Sometimes it is worth it if you are leaving the park at certain times and the Poly line is longer than the TTC line. Something you will have to decide at that moment.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The only direct buses at the TTC go to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, so if you wanted to you could walk over there and use the buses. Now when going back from those parks usually the Contemporary/Polynesian/Grand Floridian bus sections are right next to the TTC bus section, so you can get on which ever bus arrives first.

 

[All American]

We just got back from a super-fun stay at The Poly and were in Rarotonga--LOVED IT!!! Our room was on the first floor right next to the elevators. It was a 30-second walk, if that, to the Grand Ceremonial House. I liked that aspect because it made for a quick trip to Captain Cook's for a refill on my refillable mug. I also liked that it was next to the laundry facility as well as the Bus Stop.

Niue is connected by a patio on the second floors. Honestly, from our entrance to Rarotonga to Niue it was about 10 steps. 10 steps beyond that was Samoa. All three are great locations, so much so that I could sprint (quietly and on my tippy toes--former ballerina) from our room to the volcano pool in about a minute-and-a-half if I cut through Niue and Samoa. (I learned this one night waiting for the fireworks on the beach when I realized I had forgotten something in our room.)

As far as the walk to the Transportation and Ticket Center, that was the only thing we weren't "close" to, but even still, it was a quick 5-minute walk. As much as we used the pool, beach, laundry, and services in the Grand Ceremonial House, it was worth being close to those and walking to the TTC. No matter what room, you'll be glad to be in any one of them when you can lounge in a place like this:

ETA: We had a garden view room. It was nothing special, just a bunch of trees, bushes, and a bit of monorail track, but we kind of liked that feeling of seclusion after dealing with so many people in the parks during the day.

 

[mamatobbg]

Thanks again everyone! I'm so happy I made the switch to this resort! I really appreciate hearing about the travel options. It sounds perfect for us with three young kids!

All American: That picture looks heavenly! 5 ish minutes to the TTC sounds like no big deal at all. I know we'll be taking breaks mid day and heading to the pool, hence my wish to be semi close to it. So, it sounds like the GCH from the Somoa may only be a minute or two. And glad to hear they still offer those refillable mugs! I remember those from our last visit back in late 03 and hoped they still did that.

 

[kkozma]

I will be staying in Nov 2011 for 7 nights in a LV room. Any suggestions for a request? It will be only my husband and myself. Thanks for advice or your experience.

 

[crcurton]

We want to be close to the GCH and have a balcony so I have requested Samoa or Raratonga, 3rd floor. Only 6 more sleeps!!!

 

[DeepSouth]

Is Tahiti far enough away that it is inconvenient to get to GCH for drink refills and such?

 

[mickeynut1]

We stayed in Samoa and loved the location!!! We found it to be just steps from the GCH, the volcano pool, the beach, and Captain Cooks .

 

[Alabama Minnie]

We LOVED our stay in the Tahiti Bldg. All rooms have balconies or 1st floor patio. The rooms are a little larger too, I think, and the baths have double sinks. It is close to the walkway for the direct Epcot monorail too. It is also only a few steps to the beach to view the fireworks.
We ate at Kona and Ohana and the walk didn't seem that bad. Don't know how bad the walk would be if I was refilling drinks though.
Hoping to get a better discount for this Sept. so we can stay again. It's our favorite of all the resorts we have stayed in so far.

 

[mamatobbg]

Thanks for all the great information everyone!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Is Tahiti far enough away that it is inconvenient to get to GCH for drink refills and such?

Well in terms of distance it's the farthest Longhouse away from the GCH.