POR vs Poly - Help!

[Omma]

I appreciate any input you have on our little "issue"...

We are currently planning our very 1st trip to WDW in April. We are booked to spend 6 nights at the Polynesian. When I called yesterday I found out there was a code attached to our reservation for free ticket upgrades (meaning free park hopper/water park options added on). BUT we can only use it if we switch to a different resort. And since we have a family of five the choice they gave us was POR.

Since we have never been there I have no frame of reference. Switching from Poly to POR with our code will save us $1700! That sounds HUGE. But our kids are going to be 5, 6 & 7 and staying on the monorail sounded like a really good idea -thus our original reason for booking the Poly.

Would you switch to save the $? Or is the Poly/monorail worth it?

 

[Aliceacc]

Is there any way they can switch you to the Contemporary, or even the Grand Floridian??

I don't know what I would do; we're staying at the Poly (changed from the Contemporary when we got the code) for the same reason you want it.

 

[billnang]

I am so glad you asked this question...
We are in the same boat..
i am booked in sept, with free dining at the Poly... but could switch to POR and save $1300.
My children ar 11, 10, 4, 2.. I will bring my own strollers, I just can't decide to save the $$ or have the convience and the fireworks from the beach!!!!

Thoughts?

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Well, I'd switch. The Poly is great, but I also love POR, and for the extra money it would definitely seem worth it to me.

Teresa

 

[MickeyNicki]

I would go to POR

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

Okay I just plugged those dates in on disney.com and here is what I came up with for a room only:
6 nights at Poly= $3143
6 nights at POR=$1323
difference of $1820

By switching from a deluxe to a moderate you automatically save that amount.

Maybe I'm missing something but that's what I came up with. Park hoppers are not always necessary. We typically don't hop.

If you had your heart set on Poly and your budget already allowed it then go with your first choice. If you were already second guessing your choice then switch to POR and save Poly for another time or do 4 days/2days split stay.

 

[teacup317]

I have to say $1700 is a significant amount of $$ to save. The saving would allow you to do more. We have never stayed at the Poly and I bet it's beautiful and yes the monorail access would be great but $1700 WOW. I think I'd go with POR. We love POR and think the theming, pool, restaurants and everything is just great! Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. Enjoy!

 

[episode]

The monorail isn't worth $1700.

Plus, you can't take the monorail to two parks, and a third you have to switch trains at the TTC.

So basically you are paying $1700 to get quick access to a single park.

Not worth it.

POR is a beautiful resort. You won't be disappointed. Look at it this way as well. With that $1700, you can basically book another entire trip.

 

[Aliceacc]

Okay I just plugged those dates in on disney.com and here is what I came up with for a room only:
6 nights at Poly= $3143
6 nights at POR=$1323
difference of $1820

By switching from a deluxe to a moderate you automatically save that amount.

Maybe I'm missing something but that's what I came up with. Park hoppers are not always necessary. We typically don't hop.

If you had your heart set on Poly and your budget already allowed it then go with your first choice. If you were already second guessing your choice then switch to POR and save Poly for another time or do 4 days/2days split stay.

But look at the math!!!! This code isn't a bargain at all!!! Call them back and have them re-work the numbers!!!

 

[Mike N Kathy]

If money wasnt an issue to begin with id stick with the poly ... I dont care what anyone says there is a big difference in transportation... transportation from POR sucks big time. And the poly is fab Did you ask if you can get the upgrade if you stay in a different deluxe hotel? ...

 

[Jaymie]

When money isn't the deciding factor, I love the Poly. It is by far my favorite resort. The rooms are quite a bit bigger, then you can also spill out onto your balcony/patio (if you get one) for a little more space with a family of 5. You don't really have to switch monorails to go to Epcot, just want to the TTC. Depending on the location of your room, it may be even quicker than walking to the GCH.

If you're looking to save big money, POR is a great resort too. When we couldn't get the Poly for a last minute trip, we got POR as were not disappointed.

Since you already planned on spending the extra cash on the Poly I say do it!!

Good luck!

 

[raider97]

Okay I just plugged those dates in on disney.com and here is what I came up with for a room only:
6 nights at Poly= $3143
6 nights at POR=$1323
difference of $1820

By switching from a deluxe to a moderate you automatically save that amount.

Maybe I'm missing something but that's what I came up with. Park hoppers are not always necessary. We typically don't hop.

If you had your heart set on Poly and your budget already allowed it then go with your first choice. If you were already second guessing your choice then switch to POR and save Poly for another time or do 4 days/2days split stay.

The code will allow her to upgrade her tickets for free. So she would save that amount on the hotel regardless, but she has to switch if she wants the upgraded tickets for free.

I would switch, but I like the moderates and I feel for me that the monorail resorts are just too expensive for our needs. Good luck deciding.

 

[Chellymouse]

For the extra money, I'd say head over to POR. The resort is beautifully themed and has the same water activities as the Poly. Transportation has been lacking resort wide our last several trips and we've actually gotten stuck on the monorail due to high traffic. Poly is nice, but for the savings, it's worth it to move.

 

[raider97]

And were you planning to get the park hopper option on your current tickets because if you were that is another $45 per person you will be saving. HTH!!

 

[Omma]

Wow - a lot of varying opinions but I love getting input from others who have actually been there. I'm still so torn and my dh is doing the old, "You decide and let me know" thing, so he's no help. Keep any opinions coming if you have them -I'm reading them all and taking them to heart. Thank you so much for your help!!!

 

[tigger536]

As others have said - most of the "savings" is not from the code but from the resort downgrade. The savings from the free hopper feature and waterpark feature is not that large. Were you planning on doing much park hopping? What about visits to the waterparks? If these features are not that important to you anyway, then you could save the same amount by just changing your tickets to reflect that and remaining at the Poly. Most of the difference in your quotes isn't from the tickets but from the fact that POR is a moderate and much cheaper (as others have covered).

I have stayed at both. The Poly is my favorite resort. POR was okay, but nothing special (please don't flame me!) and IMO a little run down. For a first stay I would say keep the Poly ressie, you will love it!

Also, there are other codes coming out which could give you a discount anyway. March codes are out for the general public, April codes (if any) should not be far away. The ticket upgrade is just not that big of a deal to justify a move, IMO.

 

[wideeyes]

I stayed at POR and loved the resort however I have booked the poly for our next trip and don't think I would down grade to POR just for hoppers. If I wanted to save money I would of booked POR to begin with and free Hoppers would not really effect that. If you were happy with staying at Poly before you knew about the code I would stay put with your choice.

 

[maciemouse]

I hope this helps, we just stayed at the POLY for the first time this year and we loved it!!! We have stayed at POR and it is nice and has a southern feel to it, but with that being said, I do not feel that it compares to the POLY. My husband is not a disney lover (TOO bad for me) but when we stayed at the POLY he said he would come back every year if we stayed there. I would wait and see if a code comes out in the future if you are looking to save money. You need to think also if you would use the waterparks on your upcoming trip. On our recent trip, we spent 2 whole days by the POLY pool. It was great and it truly had a "vacation" feel to it. You will enjoy.

 

[Omma]

You are all right! We weren't worried about saving the money before - we wanted to stay at the Poly and park hopper/water park tickets aren't worth changing that for. Whew, glad that's over. LOL! I think we will just stick with the Poly. My gut instinct is that we are going to want that monorail and giving up fireworks on the beach just makes me sad. Thank you!!!!

And thanks for the tips on codes - I wouldn't have thought to keep checking back for different ones. I will do that.