Poly vs. Beach Club late Aug 2017

[WeLoveLilo05]

Currently looking to book our annual vacation, dates are probably Aug 27-Sept 3rd.

We have stayed at BC 4xs now, the problem is, we love it (haha) and are nervous to try Poly. I have always wanted to stay at Poly, love the idea of the monorial especially with a 3 year old who really enjoyed magic kingdom last year, Capt Cooks sounds more appealing than the BC Marketplace (which really lacks choice). But I fear we won't like having to walk out doors in rain to Great Ceremonial house. I know you are never guaranteed requests but:
How hard is to get a standard room at roroatonga, niue, samoa, or aeotearoa upon request? And of those which do you recommend? I think our main want is to be close to GCH and of course have connecting rooms, do those longhouses have connecting rooms? also if by the monorial line do you find it noisy?
Also feeling like maybe we are missing out bc food and wine will be beginning towards the end of our trip and staying at BC it is nice to be able to just walk over. We have never done food and wine either.
My mom really loves BC and I will be sad if she doesn't enjoy the poly as much as BC, she feels the poly is very dark, whereas BC is light and bright. She also liked having the marketplace, lobby, sit down meals, all in the same building, whereas with poly we will have to walk outdoors to access that.
Also, are there buses to MK and Epcot from poly? or do you have to rely on boat and monorial?

Any other insight is appreciated.
THANKS!!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

How hard is to get a standard room at roroatonga, niue, samoa, or aeotearoa upon request?

My understanding is that Samoa and Niue are the most requested longhouses. Rarotonga and Aotearoa are easier, especially if you're willing to accept 2nd floor or monorail view.

I think our main want is to be close to GCH and of course have connecting rooms, do those longhouses have connecting rooms?

Every longhouse has connecting rooms. I think you need to pick what is more important -- connecting, or longhouse. It is nice to get both, but you need to prioritize in the event you can't get both. Room assignment is a massive game of Jenga to start with.

also if by the monorial line do you find it noisy?

Not really.

Also, are there buses to MK and Epcot from poly? or do you have to rely on boat and monorial?

No buses to Epcot or MK unless there is boat/monorail outage.

 

[pamkat1820]

We were in the same exact boat our last trip. I always wanted to say we stayed at the Poly, but we love the YC area. "Would we be happy?" Personally I hated the Poly, we had so many issues with house keeping in 2 rooms, the more we complained to the front desk the worse it became, each day. Finally we gave up complaining.
Any way this is what we did love... Seeing the fireworks from the beach, having the monorail to get around, being so close to MK and a quick ride to Epcot.
We requested Samoa but was given Ratotango. Ratotango is extremely close to to GCH if it's raining it literally secnds away. I like the indoor corridors but did not miss the fact everything is in one building. We did not hear any sound from the monorail in our room.
We are planning the first week of September too this year and we r giving the GF a try this time. I like the convienance of the monorail, MK we spend the most time at. My heart is with YC but with a 1 year old I think a smaller pool plus water play area is better 4 us. Poly has a lot to offer but just not for us. I am happy to have it on my list of were we have stayed but they have to give me a vaca to stay there again.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

We were in the same exact boat our last trip. I always wanted to say we stayed at the Poly, but we love the YC area. "Would we be happy?" Personally I hated the Poly, we had so many issues with house keeping in 2 rooms, the more we complained to the front desk the worse it became, each day. Finally we gave up complaining.
Any way this is what we did love... Seeing the fireworks from the beach, having the monorail to get around, being so close to MK and a quick ride to Epcot.
We requested Samoa but was given Ratotango. Ratotango is extremely close to to GCH if it's raining it literally secnds away. I like the indoor corridors but did not miss the fact everything is in one building. We did not hear any sound from the monorail in our room.
We are planning the first week of September too this year and we r giving the GF a try this time. I like the convienance of the monorail, MK we spend the most time at. My heart is with YC but with a 1 year old I think a smaller pool plus water play area is better 4 us. Poly has a lot to offer but just not for us. I am happy to have it on my list of were we have stayed but they have to give me a vaca to stay there again.

yikes! this scares me! LoL thanks for your input.
If you don't mind me asking what went on with house keeping? We are germaphobes lol so now you have me worried haha

 

[Nancyg56]

My understanding is that Samoa and Niue are the most requested longhouses. Rarotonga and Aotearoa are easier, especially if you're willing to accept 2nd floor or monorail view.

My DD and her family stayed in Aotearoa in July. Loved the location. She had a monorail view and was a little worried but no reason. She said it was whisper soft when the doors were open.

She said the location was excellent, but best of all was their "private" beach. The were so close to the little secluded beach and enjoyed Wishes there a few evenings.

OP-I love the BC< but I also look forward to our Poly stays. You cannot beat the location or the conveniences associated with the monorail resorts. The atmosphere is very different than the BC, though. I find the grounds luxuriously tropical, relaxing, and beautiful. The Grand Ceremonial House bustles, and seems to have a different energy than the lobby and common areas at the BC. I would see for myself!

 

[pamkat1820]

yikes! this scares me! LoL thanks for your input.
If you don't mind me asking what went on with house keeping? We are germaphobes lol so now you have me worried haha

We had 5 ppl in our room each day I had to beg for 5 sets of towels. They would give us 2 sets or maybe 3 the next day. It's August we all needed to shower lol. They barely vacuumed, our beds weren't made but the left towels. It was insane. My mom had glasses in the room with lip stick on them, she leave the cup out with a note please change, they put it back dirty more than one day! After we complained so many times in 10 days I gave in. Disney contacted us after we were home and the comped us both a nights stay. My husband went up on the slide and he said were the water flows to the water fall up top there were dirty towels stuffed in there were the water filters into the pool. One day there was a family with young boys swimming in there underwears! Yup that trip we saw it all. Coming from YC we were not use to the easy access to the pool. We had a great trip but we decided not. To stay at the poly again. I am totally sure this is NOT the norm just what happened when we were there. It just made an impression by all means did not ruin a trip.

 

[caliope]

We are in the completely opposite situation. We love the Poly and have had awesome stays with no issues. We love the access to MK, the pool area, and the tropical feel of the grounds. We don't eat at Capt. Cooks because we don't generally like QS, but we enjoy 'Ohana and particularly enjoy Trader Sams. We also don't mind walking outside to get to the GCH because we don't like being cooped up inside (we get enough of that in New England during winter!).

Our next trip in March will be at BC and I'm worried we won't like it as much. MK is our favorite park but this upcoming trip will be Epcot and HS focused. While the pool at BC looks amazing, I've recently read of housekeeping issues there, which I know will frustrate me. The long corridors through the building also sound kind of oppressive. So, just like you don't want to be disappointed in Poly, we are hoping not to be disappointed in BC! Hopefully we will both be pleasantly surprised.

To answer some of your questions:
1. We've not stayed in a standard room at Poly but as others have said, they're in each non-DVC longhouse. If proximity to GCH is your priority, make your request based on that.
2. Monorail isn't noisy at all.
3. Boat or monorail to MK; walk to TTC to monorail to Epcot; buses to HS, AK, and DS.

 

[KSR0330]

We stayed at the Poly last August and loved it. We had no issues with housekeeping. I want to say that we walked by a housekeeping cart each morning when we left so if we needed anything we could have taken it. It's so convenient being right on the monorail! Trader Sams is awesome and we also enjoyed our dinner Ohana. Being able to watch the fireworks over the castle from right outside your longhouse was truly magical!

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

We were in the same exact boat our last trip. I always wanted to say we stayed at the Poly, but we love the YC area. "Would we be happy?" Personally I hated the Poly, we had so many issues with house keeping in 2 rooms, the more we complained to the front desk the worse it became, each day. Finally we gave up complaining.
Any way this is what we did love... Seeing the fireworks from the beach, having the monorail to get around, being so close to MK and a quick ride to Epcot.
We requested Samoa but was given Ratotango. Ratotango is extremely close to to GCH if it's raining it literally secnds away. I like the indoor corridors but did not miss the fact everything is in one building. We did not hear any sound from the monorail in our room.
We are planning the first week of September too this year and we r giving the GF a try this time. I like the convienance of the monorail, MK we spend the most time at. My heart is with YC but with a 1 year old I think a smaller pool plus water play area is better 4 us. Poly has a lot to offer but just not for us. I am happy to have it on my list of were we have stayed but they have to give me a vaca to stay there again.

I wonder if the deluxe variance in guest experience has to do with variance in the management teams? We used to do DLR and after a horrendous stay at the Grand Californian and a magical stay at Disneyland Hotel, a CM told us the separate management teams for the two hotels had different ideas about what was acceptable and what wasn't in terms of guest service. Even though at DLR, those are both essentially two Deluxes.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The Poly pools are now gated. You now need a MB to get in to either pool.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

thank you everyone for your input!

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

We are in the completely opposite situation. We love the Poly and have had awesome stays with no issues. We love the access to MK, the pool area, and the tropical feel of the grounds. We don't eat at Capt. Cooks because we don't generally like QS, but we enjoy 'Ohana and particularly enjoy Trader Sams. We also don't mind walking outside to get to the GCH because we don't like being cooped up inside (we get enough of that in New England during winter!).

Our next trip in March will be at BC and I'm worried we won't like it as much. MK is our favorite park but this upcoming trip will be Epcot and HS focused. While the pool at BC looks amazing, I've recently read of housekeeping issues there, which I know will frustrate me. The long corridors through the building also sound kind of oppressive. So, just like you don't want to be disappointed in Poly, we are hoping not to be disappointed in BC! Hopefully we will both be pleasantly surprised.

To answer some of your questions:
1. We've not stayed in a standard room at Poly but as others have said, they're in each non-DVC longhouse. If proximity to GCH is your priority, make your request based on that.
2. Monorail isn't noisy at all.
3. Boat or monorail to MK; walk to TTC to monorail to Epcot; buses to HS, AK, and DS.

The great thing about BC is all the food that surrounds it at Epcot lol, and even the boardwalk. That was one of the things we LOVED about it, just a nice little stroll over to WS and we could all pick something different. And Yachtsman steakhouse is fantastic, and the Captain's Grille at YC has great Lemon Ricotta Pancakes for breakfast!! Love them!
We didn't have any issues with housekeeping (thank goodness!) and I hope you don't have any issues as well. But I do agree with you, we asked to have our room switched bc the walk was too much to the lobby/marketplace area to get drinks and snacks, they ended up moving us right above the Cape May Café and walked right down to the pool which worked out well for us. Hope you enjoy your stay!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We did a split stay between both with 5 nights at each. They were both lovely resorts. Never had issues with housekeeping at either resort. The Poly has larger rooms which is a great plus. We had a lovely view in Fiji facing the marina. The sinks are in the bathroom versus the sinks being outside of the toilet/shower at the BC. The only transportation issue we had was leaving Epcot one night and going to the Poly. The monorail shut down early that night which sucked. We had to take a bus that took forever.

We did prefer the BC. The walk to Epcot can't be beat. My kids found the Poly pool to be a bit boring and I found it to be way too cold and I love the cold!! My kids LOVED SAB and stayed in for hours.

You truly can't go wrong with either resort.

 

[Chrelaine]

DH and I stayed at Poly last August in Rarotonga. It was quiet and the room was quite large. While I don't have any big complaints, we wouldn't stay there again. Even that close to CH you get drenched on the way when it's raining. The buildings feel like a motel with the outside stairs, to us. While Capt. Cooks food was fine, it always felt chaotic and unorganized, probably because it was.
We loved having 'Ohana and Kona at our resort. We loved the boat to MK, it was a nice relaxing trip to/from.
Like I said, nothing was that bad, just not the place for us. The next time we stay deluxe, we plan on trying the Beach Club. I liked the light airy feel of the open spaces when we wandered through. We also really like the close proximity to 2 parks and the pool area.

 

[mickeynut1]

We've stayed at both and while we thought the BC was nice, we just love the Poly! The tropical atmosphere is relaxing, the rooms are large & spacious, Captain Cooks is great for quick meals/snacks, and the beach is great for watching the fireworks (you can also see the fireworks while swimming in the pool). The Poly is also convenient to Epcot as it's a quick 5-7 minute walk to the TTC to catch the monorail. If you want to try something new, I think the Poly is a great choice. Good luck and happy planning .

 

[AquaDame]

The poly IS darker but we love it... we are the opposite - love the poly and have stayed there twice but will be staying at BC at the end of Aug/early Sept this year. We want to be close to F&W so I will suck it up and hope we love it!

 

[Disneylover99]

We've stayed at both the Poly and the BC in August.

I really wanted to love the BC, but I just didn't. We had an awesome room and I loved walking to Epcot every morning, but we just didn't love it. We may try it again one day, but there is no pull for us.

I can't believe how much I loved the Poly though. We found it so relaxing. I never wanted to leave.

Op, it sounds like you may be better off at the BC for your dates since it's the beginning of food and wine. I might even be swayed to stay at the BC if that were the draw.

Enjoy which ever you decide on.

 

[CynBeth]

We usually alternate resorts every trip and loved the Poly when we stayed there for the first time a few years ago. Even though it is not the BC just wanted to add that we stayed at the YC in Dec. It was our first Epcot resort and loved it. We ate a breakfast at Cape May and a breakfast at Trattoria which are now added to the list of favorites we have to eat every trip no matter where we stay.

I would give Poly a chance as you never know unless you try if you will like it or not.

 

[Farro]

Hi OP!

We are in your same shoes, we've stayed at Beach Club last 3 trips, this next trip is Polynesian. But I'm super excited, we both got tired of the Beach Club/Epcot resort area. We will miss being able to walk to Epcot, but that became a crutch as we just ended up going to Epcot whenever we needed something to do and got tired of it!

Anyways, I have very fond memories of the Polynesian as a child in the early 80's and although it's remodeled, when we would visit it on trips, I wished I was staying there. So now we are! I'm not worried about getting wet walking around the grounds, the option of taking a boat to Magic Kingdom is wonderful to me...walking to the TTC to catch a monorail to Epcot is awesome. And all the great restaurants in the 3 MK area resorts - done deal!

 

[Aurora0427]

I wonder if the deluxe variance in guest experience has to do with variance in the management teams? We used to do DLR and after a horrendous stay at the Grand Californian and a magical stay at Disneyland Hotel, a CM told us the separate management teams for the two hotels had different ideas about what was acceptable and what wasn't in terms of guest service. Even though at DLR, those are both essentially two Deluxes.

Yes- it does. We found the service at the GF to be above and beyond what we've experienced at the Poly and Beach Club. We also had multiple instances of excellent service at Art of Animation. It all starts with the general manager, and trickles down.