Polynesian vs WL

[Christian Lefebvre]

Is the Polynesian worth the extra money over Wilderness Lodge for travel with two small kids?

Thanks

 

[Mainemama]

I have stayed at both, and love both. You can see by my siggy we are returning to Poly, so I would say yes. There are factors, though, that influence us that may differ for you: if you use a stroller, the monorail is a godsend. We love Epcot, so like the easier transportation. (WL to MK feels equally accessible to POLY's access). We loved the WL theme, but there is just something about Palm trees and tropical decor! (Coming from a Mainer). The rooms are noticeably bigger. Pool is better. Movie set up is better, fireworks from beach are awesome (I can't say better, as we never watched from WL). Both resorts have good access to a variety of dining choices. Both resorts had fabulous staff. A big factor for us is we now can't fit in a standard WL room!

 

[MillauFr]

Is the Polynesian worth the extra money over Wilderness Lodge for travel with two small kids?

Thanks

Depends on how much more. Last August we stayed at both. I loved both of them. I liked the theme at Wilderness Lodge better, but the rooms were much bigger at the Poly and the monorail is a big plus at the Poly. Only resort with direct Magic Kingdom and Epcot monorail service. We paid $169 at the Wilderness Lodge and $189 at the Poly. I would pay $20 more to stay at the Poly.

 

[Christian Lefebvre]

Thanks Mainemama! I had not read about the fireworks on the beach, is this accessible to anyone or only Poly guests? Typically, what time would these start? My little ones are usually in bed by 8pm. Any comments on the construction, there are a lot of negative reviews. We would be going in November. The monorail sounds like it'll be important, my 3 year still naps...

 

[Christian Lefebvre]

The Poly in November is $110/night more expensive than the WL... we're planning 6 nights, making the price difference quite a bit.

 

[Christian Lefebvre]

How did you get such low rates? I can't even get the Moderate resorts for those prices in November?

 

[MillauFr]

How did you get such low rates? I can't even get the Moderate resorts for those prices in November?

Google labor day agency exclusive

 

[spiceycat]

with polyn you can get back using the monorail, resort's boat or the ferry - WL its boat or bus.

if you don't mind what are the ages of your kids - see WL has a nice playground. Polyn does not - but I think it has the better pool.

do you like south pacific or western mountain - both are pretty great. the rooms at the Polyn are bigger than Wl.

 

[mickeynut1]

Is the Polynesian worth the extra money over Wilderness Lodge for travel with two small kids?

Thanks

Worth is subjective as it's different for everyone, but we've stayed at both and while we do love the WL, the Poly is our favorite and is worth the extra cost to us. The rooms are large and spacious, the tropical atmosphere is relaxing, the pool is great as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle, and it's just 2 monorail stops to MK (3 coming back). It's also nice to be a monorail ride away from the GF and CR for a variety of great dining options. With that said, the WL is beautiful and is a great alternative to a monorail resort (IMO), but if the extra cost for the Poly is doable, that would be my choice. Good luck.

 

[Andrew015]

I love both resorts, but IMHO, the Polynesian is not worth the ~$700 price differential. I typically stay at the Lodge, but get my "fix" of the Poly by booking at least 1-2 meals there per trip and from time-to-time, the luau dinner show. You really can't go wrong with either choice, as these are two of the best-themed resorts on property, each offering great amenities. It's your money and you have to decide what's right for your family.

 

[TJA]

OP - it depends on how much convenience is worth to you. For our family, we would pay the extra to stay at Poly. Just roll the stroller right on the monorail without having to unload sleeping kids. Keep them right in the stroller and have a spectacular view of Wishes right from Poly beach (unless you have a TPV room - then put them to bed and watch the show from your balcony!). Also, as others have noted, the Poly rooms are noticeably larger than WL rooms, which was/is a big deal to us with young kids and therefore more "stuff."

 

[Andrew015]

OP - it depends on how much convenience is worth to you. For our family, we would pay the extra to stay at Poly. Just roll the stroller right on the monorail without having to unload sleeping kids.

Just one point of clarification; you can load/unload your stroller - sleeping child and all - onto the larger cruisers that service MK to WL. I wouldn't let that be a huge deciding factor for me personally.

 

[pamkat1820]

Each trip we plan a dinner at a resort we think we would like to stay next at. On our last trip we checked out the WL, I loved the Lobby but to me the pool was just so so. It was really pretty but no big wow factor for us. I am glad we checked it out. I think it really depends on the time of year. To me WL is a christmas resort, fire place , warm and fuzzy feeling to me. The POLY is a summer resort in my opinion along with BC/YC because of the feel, the pools. On a side note we are staying on that great summer deal too. that helped with our decision big time.

 

[TJA]

Just one point of clarification; you can load/unload your stroller - sleeping child and all - onto the larger cruisers that service MK to WL. I wouldn't let that be a huge deciding factor for me personally.

True...but there's also a smaller boat where you have to unload and fold the jogger/stroller. That's the boat we always seemed to have. We did wait once for a larger boat to come along. It was quite a wait, though. We do love the theme at WL and we enjoyed our stays there, but for our family personally we preferred the resorts which would make traveling as convenient as possible.

 

[vcb]

We're anxiously waiting for our first trip to the Poly in 33 days, so I can't speak for it yet, but we LOVE WL. We would be staying again, but we got a great rate at the Poly that I'm not sure we'll ever get again or be able to afford after all the construction is done...so we jumped on it. The price difference didn't end up being that much different. I do like to try new things! Being a monorail resort has never been a deal breaker for us, we liked taking the ferry from WL to MK (We did stay at the GF last year bc my aunt was with us and cut into our cost and we needed a room for 5 -- we'll never go back). Theming is a big thing for us and it looks like both resorts fit the bill for that one.

WL was our first time on-site resort with our kids when they were 3 and it was perfect for us. Everything was connected and easy to get to and the resort is beautiful. I really love it. I'm sure I'm going to love the Poly though too!

 

[macnodos]

Is the Polynesian worth the extra money over Wilderness Lodge for travel with two small kids?

Thanks

Yes for several reasons, stayed at both but you can not beat the convenience of a monorail resort.

 

[Babsy]

Worth is subjective as it's different for everyone, but we've stayed at both and while we do love the WL, the Poly is our favorite and is worth the extra cost to us. The rooms are large and spacious, the tropical atmosphere is relaxing, the pool is great as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle, and it's just 2 monorail stops to MK (3 coming back). It's also nice to be a monorail ride away from the GF and CR for a variety of great dining options. With that said, the WL is beautiful and is a great alternative to a monorail resort (IMO), but if the extra cost for the Poly is doable, that would be my choice. Good luck.

Exactly! I agree completely!