Poly...should we or shouldn't we...that is the question

[izzylovesmickey]

We just returned from our first Poly stay. I can say we now "get" the love for the Poly. It is a wonderful resort for a relaxing stay. Fireworks from the beach are very nice, food options are good (didn't use the pool since it was so rainy). I will second/third the suggestion and book and watch for discounts. Also, do check the TA's that offer exclusive discounts-they can make a huge difference. If we stay there again, I would consider renting points if possible and get travel insurance.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Yes - do it. I agree this year with Toy Story land opening the discounts are minimal. The Poly is a vacation within a vacation. When coming back from a hectic park - the grounds are so relaxing. We love the lit tiki torches at night and sitting on the beach watching the fireworks. It is a wonderful resort. Do it and enjoy!

 

[geekbri]

My wife and Instayed at the poly 2 years ago and plan on staying this year. We love it! If you can afford the cost I really highly recommend it.

Some things we loved about it:
1. Centrally located so easy to get to lots of places! You can walk to the TTC for the Epcot monorail or take a boat / monorail to MK
2. Kona cafes Tonga Toast ( make a reservation!)
3. The quick serve at captain cooks is one of the best on property for us
4. The extra shower if you get a suite is awesome! Last time we went the suite room was cheaper than a standard garden view! This varies so check back
5. The themeing is just wonderful
6. Night time show with fire sticks 1

The only downside we found was that it felt a little more crowded and slightly noisier than the grand Floridian. We didn’t really mind, just an observation.

Also we noticed that BJs club sells the 100 dollar disney gift cards for $4 off. If you have a good rewards card this is how we pay off our vacation. We over time bank money then buy them. We also take advantage of the disney website that lets you combine them. This is useful for the initial deposit which only lets you use 1ngift card but is a $200 minimum.

Anyway, no matter wheee you stay or what you do you’ll have a great time! We loved the Polynesian and think you will too.

 

[KenHutch]

I would say go for it. You only live once. At this point I don't even look for discounts if its where we want to stay I sigh, suck it up and just book it. My only complaint on discounts is 4 previous trips never got a pin code or anything like it but my daughters maternal relatives (whose room and tickets I pay for have gotten pin offers 3 times).

 

[Mome Rath]

Yes! This! On a previous visit we ate at Kona 3 times. I had an addiction to the Samoan for breakfast. So sad to see it gone. And my husband really wants to swim in the pool.

Samoan hath made a comeback, at least for now!

 

[gillep]

Do it. I have yet to regret any of the times we have splurged on a 'bucket list' resort, we don't do it every time, but have never once regretted when we have.

 

[Anthony1971]

There is or was an agency that buys blocks of rooms i guess at a group rate and sells them reasonable from what i was told. We are DVC but i was talking to other guests last year (we go in August) some got a great rate as above some paid rack and did not care one was staying Concierge as that was all they could get but booked a few weeks earlier. As far as renting DVC yes you can not cancel but most DVC people (not sure about the agencies) will work with you to reschedule so long as it is in their use year and some other issues is you were to cancel less than 30 days out. This may only buy you weeks to use the points maybe a few months... Understand DVC is timeshare and it is use or lose (there are some rules to this) that is why there are no refunds as the owner of the points is out of the use of the points as well... I do not rent points BTW but have once in the past as I could not use all of them.

 

[Micca]

Dream resort, special occasion. If not now, when?

 

[bluejasmine]

Definitely a must DO! We gave in back in 2010 and now hubby doesnt want to stay anywhere else, we have stayed at other deluxes but the Poly is the one we keep coming back to, this Sept will make it our 4th Poly stay. Its just so romantic and relaxing, the best views hands down even if you arent paying for a view the view from the pool or beach is amazing..The monorail makes it super convenient and getting to epcot is a quick walk to TTC then a monorail hop over,,

 

[nkereina]

When we booked Poly for last September (but didn't go because of Irma) we rented DVC points and it was HALF of what the rack rate showed on the Disney website. So I would definitely look into that!! We purchased the Point Protection Plan and it covered cancellation.

Doing the same route for our next 2 trips, along with the trip protection plan because we have had crazy things come up around vacation time in the past and have learned our lesson.

This. To my knowledge, only one of the point brokers offer insurance that covers cancellation. The savings are huge, so its worth looking into.

We usually like to find an owner ourselves to rent from, and many owners will require half down and half shortly before you travel. Many will also try to work with you if you need to change dates or resorts, though it's based on availability. Booking with an owner is typically cheaper than going through a broker, but I wouldn't recommend it for the first time or if there's a good chance you'll need to cancel.

 

[Haygar2]

Samoan hath made a comeback, at least for now!

Oh my goodness!! that just made me so happy! Guess it's another reason to stay at the Poly. I will be having breakfast there at least 3 times.

 

[robinb]

When do you know your school schedule for sure? Will you know 9-11 months ahead? If so, I would look into renting DVC points. In August Lake View studios are 27 points per night for weekdays and 32 points per night for weekends. PVB is $17 per point (over at DVC By Request) so that comes out to $459 and $544 per night, tax inclusive. Compare that to $748/$752 rack rate PLUS tax for a Poly Lagoon View room, that's a good savings.

Standard Views at PVB are 23 points per night weekdays and 27 points per night weekends. $17 per point brings you to $391 & $459 compared to $561 (plus tax) rack rate for a Standard View room at the Poly.

I would go through David's DVC By Request (a DIS Sponsor) to rent. It is non-refundable so you need to know your schedule 100%. You will want to make the reservations as close to the 11 month window as you can (October 2018) for the best availability. Early August is more popular than late August because kids are still out of school in Florida.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Okay.. so I thought i'd reply seeing as you seem very similar to us.

Poly was always our bucket list resort. Growing up, we'd marvel at it. We loved the theming and would stop by the lobby every trip. It's not that we couldn't afford it - I mean, we went to Disney every 3-4 years growing up, we just always stayed Value, off-site, or moderate. Forget Contemporary and GF, we'd pass through Poly and think "one day".

As my sister and I got older, going to Disney became easier. We started going for Christmas in 2009 and after I graduated and found a big-boy job in 2011, we paid for ourselves, so we were able to spring for a nicer resort or room (we'd each pay $2k for a trip, rather than my parents footing the bill). Each paying for our own portion allowed us to stay Beach Club (Poly was like $150-$200 more per night during Xmas). Still, we'd look for every excuse to stay Poly.

In 2017, that excuse would come. We were AP holders, so we had some room-only discounts. My cousin wanted to bring her two little ones and insisted on Poly. Who are we to argue? We stayed in a Standard View in the Aoteara building and were completely underwhelmed.

Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous resort. It's vintage Disney and had it been the first Deluxe we ever stayed at, we may have felt different. I think, too, that we had built it up so much in our own heads. It was that "bucket list" resort that would be the best place we ever stayed...and it fell short.

We didn't like that the buildings were separated, unlike other Deluxe Resorts that are all connected. I felt that for the price, it should have had its own fitness center (and an updated one, at that). The rooms were updated and spacious, but we didn't like that the sinks were in the bathroom, rather than separate from the shower. This made getting ready each morning difficult. So-and-so couldn't brush their teeth while the other person was in the shower. It also didn't feel like there was a lot of space to walk around. I love walking the Boardwalk area, but Poly felt constricted. Last, our room wasn't clean one day. At Beach Club, the service was so good. Poly made us feel as though it was our fault and that we "must have left the sign on the door". That was a big turn off.

Aside from that - It's Poly. It really is gorgeous and I'd never tell someone NOT to stay there. The point of this reply is to suggest that you temper your expectations. We built it up so much as our dreams resort and it suffered from that. Hiccups will happen and it won't be perfect. With that said, as PPs mentioned, don't spend rack rate. It's not an $800/night hotel.

 

[Buddy Fisher]

A split stay!! We are doing Pop and Contemporary. But maybe next time we will do Pop and Poly.

 

[MomOTwins]

We paid rack rate at the Poly (had to reschedule due to Hurricane Matthew and that was all they had available). I DEEPLY regretted it. It was hands down the worst deluxe resort we ever stayed at, at over twice the price of a discounted deluxe elsewhere. The resort monorail was never running in the morning due to mechanical issues, which defeated a big part of why we wanted to stay there. Service was beyond terrible (lost our luggage until late at night on the first day so we couldn't use the pool, refused to move us for over 24 hours when our room flooded due to a burst pipe and no compensation or even apology, then lost our luggage AGAIN during the room move). Plus the rooms and corridors were pretty dark and dingy, and the lobby is always packed and noisy with people waiting for O'Hana.

If nothing goes wrong on your stay, I'm sure it's lovely. But heaven help you if you have to deal with a manager at any point in time. At least we enjoyed the Dole Whips.

This will probably get dismissed as us being picky/never happy, but I have been floored with how amazing every other Deluxe hotel is. We stayed at GF, WL, and AKL in addition to the Poly and have been blown away every time, even when things go wrong (and they were handled excellently at those resorts).

 

[robinb]

We paid rack rate at the Poly (had to reschedule due to Hurricane Matthew and that was all they had available). I DEEPLY regretted it. It was hands down the worst deluxe resort we ever stayed at, at over twice the price of a discounted deluxe elsewhere. The resort monorail was never running in the morning due to mechanical issues, which defeated a big part of why we wanted to stay there. Service was beyond terrible (lost our luggage until late at night on the first day so we couldn't use the pool, refused to move us for over 24 hours when our room flooded due to a burst pipe and no compensation or even apology, then lost our luggage AGAIN during the room move). Plus the rooms and corridors were pretty dark and dingy, and the lobby is always packed and noisy with people waiting for O'Hana.

If nothing goes wrong on your stay, I'm sure it's lovely. But heaven help you if you have to deal with a manager at any point in time. At least we enjoyed the Dole Whips.

This will probably get dismissed as us being picky/never happy, but I have been floored with how amazing every other Deluxe hotel is. We stayed at GF, WL, and AKL in addition to the Poly and have been blown away every time, even when things go wrong (and they were handled excellently at those resorts).

Ugh. I don't think you're picky/never happy. That is unacceptable. Did you ever talk to a manager about it? I would have insisted on speaking to a manager when I checked out.

 

[sponica]

I'd book it. But it's also one of my bucket list hotels.

 

[MomOTwins]

Ugh. I don't think you're picky/never happy. That is unacceptable. Did you ever talk to a manager about it? I would have insisted on speaking to a manager when I checked out.

I spoke to two managers—the night manager said we’d be moved to a new room in the day, and the day manager said there was no record of that in his notes from the night manager, so we had to wait for him to verify our room really was flooded (never understood that - why did he think I would make that up?) then he said they’d move our suitcases to a new room when we were in the parks, but they didn’t. Basically everyone just kept passing the buck and saying it was everyone else’s fault. I was pretty shocked.

 

[Haygar2]

Okay.. so I thought i'd reply seeing as you seem very similar to us.

Poly was always our bucket list resort. Growing up, we'd marvel at it. We loved the theming and would stop by the lobby every trip. It's not that we couldn't afford it - I mean, we went to Disney every 3-4 years growing up, we just always stayed Value, off-site, or moderate. Forget Contemporary and GF, we'd pass through Poly and think "one day".

As my sister and I got older, going to Disney became easier. We started going for Christmas in 2009 and after I graduated and found a big-boy job in 2011, we paid for ourselves, so we were able to spring for a nicer resort or room (we'd each pay $2k for a trip, rather than my parents footing the bill). Each paying for our own portion allowed us to stay Beach Club (Poly was like $150-$200 more per night during Xmas). Still, we'd look for every excuse to stay Poly.

In 2017, that excuse would come. We were AP holders, so we had some room-only discounts. My cousin wanted to bring her two little ones and insisted on Poly. Who are we to argue? We stayed in a Standard View in the Aoteara building and were completely underwhelmed.

Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous resort. It's vintage Disney and had it been the first Deluxe we ever stayed at, we may have felt different. I think, too, that we had built it up so much in our own heads. It was that "bucket list" resort that would be the best place we ever stayed...and it fell short.

We didn't like that the buildings were separated, unlike other Deluxe Resorts that are all connected. I felt that for the price, it should have had its own fitness center (and an updated one, at that). The rooms were updated and spacious, but we didn't like that the sinks were in the bathroom, rather than separate from the shower. This made getting ready each morning difficult. So-and-so couldn't brush their teeth while the other person was in the shower. It also didn't feel like there was a lot of space to walk around. I love walking the Boardwalk area, but Poly felt constricted. Last, our room wasn't clean one day. At Beach Club, the service was so good. Poly made us feel as though it was our fault and that we "must have left the sign on the door". That was a big turn off.

Aside from that - It's Poly. It really is gorgeous and I'd never tell someone NOT to stay there. The point of this reply is to suggest that you temper your expectations. We built it up so much as our dreams resort and it suffered from that. Hiccups will happen and it won't be perfect. With that said, as PPs mentioned, don't spend rack rate. It's not an $800/night hotel.

You have given me a lot to think about. My husband's biggest reason is that he loves the pool. LOL. He thought it looked cool. And the fact that we like the restaurants there. Well, and the monorail loop. Thankfully I still have plenty of time.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

You have given me a lot to think about. My husband's biggest reason is that he loves the pool. LOL. He thought it looked cool. And the fact that we like the restaurants there. Well, and the monorail loop. Thankfully I still have plenty of time.

No doubt. The whole reason we started staying at Beach Club was b/c we loved the pool and we enjoyed the close proximity to Epcot and DHS. It really came in handy during the holidays, when the parks are the most crowded.

I mean, don't not go because we had a poor experience. For every bad review, there's probably 10 great ones. The monorail was a HUGE perk and probably the best part of staying there. It was prompt and on-time. The buses (to go to DHS or AK) stink, but that's the downfall of the MK-area resorts—you'll wait for a bus at GF, too! Idk... the theming just didn't do it for us. We like the old kitschy Polynesian flair, but like I said, it didn't feel like we had much room to walk around, like we do at Beach Club/Epcot area.

It's worth checking out, but just tailor your expectations and maybe do a split stay...