We stayed at the Villas at the Grand Floridian last year and walked to the Poly several times. It is a 5-10 minute walk along a paved trail. It is really beautiful as it borders the lake. It passes by the wedding chapel and there are bricks along the path honoring the weddings performed there. At night when you get close to the Poly there are tiki torches that light the path. It felt pretty safe to me and I didn't notice any wildlife. I'm not sure if construction at the Poly on the new DVC villas has impacted access to the path though.