Second guessing the Poly

[Linc82]

We have booked our first WDW trip for early May at the Poly. Two kids, 4 and 3. I have been keeping up with trip reports on a few forums and I'm really starting to second guess my choice. The most important things to us were convenience, on site restaurant choices, good kids pool, and a beach. Art of animation was $1000 less than what we're paying for Poly but we thought the deluxe hotels would have nicer rooms, and wanted more dining options (and a more relaxing environment). I know the rooms are undergoing a soft renovation (although my travel agent and 2 separate Disney reps claimed nothing was going on) but for $500 a night, I'm wondering whether we shouldn't just book the Contemporary or even Grand Floridian. Thoughts?

 

[jemmouse]

Well there is actually construction at all 3 right now. So I guess I would have to say of the 3 you named which one do you REALLY want? Having stayed at both Poly and Contemporary, I personally would tell you POLY for what you are telling us you want in a resort. Contemporary is nice and if you have a MAgic Kingdom View in the Tower it is an awesome sight, BUT the hotel to me is more businesslike. Now if that doesn't bother you then put it back in. I have never stayed at the GF, YET, but I plan to one day but am waiting until all the construction of the DVC is done there.

I think you will like POLY, they are redoing Longhouses so if you aren't in that Longhouse it shouldn't effect your stay. We were there when they redid their quiet pool and we would walk past the men but it didnt persuade us from not staying there..

Maybe you should look into the WIlderness, no construction...I am from the Midwest and it reminds me of here that is the only reason why we have never stayed there....Or maybe an Epcot resort...

Good luck!

 

[Linc82]

Ha! That is so funny, we are from IL and I ruled out WL for the same reason... We can stay at a place like that here!


Yep- I originally considered Contemporary as too sterile... But now thinking I would almost rather have a nicer room. GF has beautiful grounds but the rooms are less impressive looking by comparison.

 

[meajuly5]

I liked the poly resort itself but did not like te rooms. Gret view but dark and dreary inside. Personally preferred the GF.

 

[huhwhat]

I am at the Poly this week and had three different rooms due to "mold issues"....that being said....you cant beat the grounds here, it really is a lovely resort feel...the lobby however is always packed !

 

[polyfor4]

Don't change your reservation! The Poly is fabulous and it's a great mix of relaxation and fun for the kids too. Take the negative reviews for what they are but remember that people are more likely to express negative reviews than the positive- its just human nature and consumer behavior. You may get a brand spanking new room and your kids will fall in love with the volcano pool and activities! We'll be there late May and wouldn't trade the Poly for the world- there's nothing else like it.

 

[aprilbabes]

The poly is a wonderful resort with monorail access and in my opinion some of the best food options of any of the resorts. Ohana was the best dinner we ate our whole trip and I know the breakfast is supposed to be excellent as well. We'll be trying that on our next trip. kona also has an excellent reputation as does their CS restaurant-captain cooks. The food options are one of the things I'll miss the most when we stay at WL in April.

 

[MyOtherSS]

I say stick with your Poly reservation it is a beautiful resort I don't know why people complain about the rooms so much, If its dark open up the shades and let some Florida sun in! The theme of the resort has darker colors so I guess its natural for the rooms to follow suite, I've stayed there 3 times and never noticed it until I joined this forum

 

[momof3ds]

for 1,000 less, I would go with art of animation. You can always visit Poly, which is what we did. We checked out the beach but that alone wouldn't make us want to stay there.

AOA has 2 great pools. The food court has excellent options.

And with the 2 kids, you can put them to bed and still have privacy in the bedroom.

 

[mickeynut1]

I agree that I would stick with the Poly. The Poly is our favorite resort for many reasons. The tropical grounds are beautiful, the beach is great for watching the fireworks, the rooms are large & spacious, the volcano pool is awesome with a view of the castle in the distance, and Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals/snacks. With the said, the GF is also a nice resort (we haven't stayed at the CR), but if given the choice between the GF and Poly, my family would choose the Poly every time. Good luck.

 

[AliceIn]

Art of Animation is a great resort! Though we had a rental car and that made it much more convenient for us.

The Epcot resorts are wonderful, too. BC/YC has the best pool on property, and a gorgeous beach. You can walk to both Epcot and DHS and minigolf, plus there's loads of activities and such on the Boardwalk. Check out the BC/YC thread here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3025785

I will say that you really can't go wrong with any of the deluxe resorts. I was also considering the Poly this year but went with the BC.

 

[davedmaine]

I think the Poly is a dump and waaayy to spread out. Go Beach Club or Boardwalk or if you want to be near MK, Contemporary..

 

[StephMS]

Personally I wouldn't let construction/refurb issues shape my decision. We have stayed onsite over 25 times and each and every time there was some sort of maintenance/construction/refurb going on at our hotel. It has never negatively impacted our trip.

One of the reasons we love to stay at Disney is due to the fact that they are constantly upgrading and enhancing the resorts and parks. Things have to be maintained and it has to be done at some time.

Of course I wouldn't want to stay at a hotel if a certain amenity (pool, restaurant, etc.) that was very important to our stay was going to be closed, but other issues I can deal with.

 

[cjsm&d]

I would NOT switch to AoA. With a 3 and 4 year old, you will definitely want the freedom to hop back to the resort on the monorail.

 

[Linc82]

I think we ruled out AoA (despite the substantial cost savings) because while the kids love the Pixar stuff, we were worried it would overstimulate the kids. However I have heard rave reviews from just about everyone coming back from there. I'm thinking it's kind of like taking an adult to Vegas... my son has borderline sensory issues so being careful with that. Also, we figured that the parks were "for the kids" so the hotel could be for us...I travel a lot and I'm a little spoiled in terms of the amenities expected.

Mainly - I just don't want to spend all this money on something that we'll regret. Although I'm sure we'll have a great time anywhere!

 

[WDWDeb]

We have stayed at the GF, Contemporay and Poly many times each. They each have their own character and everyone has different tastes. However, we, and our kids, love the Poly the best. The grounds are very relaxing to us and that is a key difference to us. The lush tropical grounds are very pretty, the snack bar is nestled in trees and near water so you can hear the waterfall, the music is relaxing, the fire torches at night are a nice touch, etc. Yes, all 3 have pools and beaches, but we like the view from the Poly beach and pool the best...looking out over the bay to the castle and being able to see the fireworks is great. The lobby is nice with the tropical feel too. We also enjoy being able to walk to Ticket and Transportation to catch the monorail to EPCOT to save some time. These are all things that you just don't find at the GF or Contemporary. We have just rebooked for the Poly in a few months and can't wait. I personally don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3 (and no there is nothing like the view from the MK side of the Contemporary main tower), but we personally prefer the Poly.

 

[Marthasor]

I love the Poly, but if you want a variety of restaurant choices, I would not recommend it. At Poly, you have O'Hana, which is impossible to get in to, Kona and the quick service restaurant. Not a lot of variety. If you want to be on the monorail with a lot of restaurant choices, I would go GF where you will have 4 TS choices and 1 QS restaurants. GF is lovely and the construction on the hotel areas will be done in March. You will not be affected at all by the GF DVC construction.

If you want fantastic hotels with even more restaurant choices, head on over to BC, YC or BWI where you will have all of those resort restaurants PLUS all of the EP WS restaurants within walking distance.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Personally we love the Poly. Any of the three on th monorail are awesome in their own way.

 

[Racemom17]

Just back from our first stay at the Poly and I was concerned about renovations, etc....but it was really nice...the rooms were clean and we found the Poly to be very quiet.

I do think the Volcano pool is going down for refurb....I was sweating it because my boys really looked forward to it...so that might be a deal breaker for you.

Capt Cooks was ok, not the best...but we enjoyed Ohanas, Kona Cafe and sushi at Kona Island.

 

[bethclayton]

Mainly - I just don't want to spend all this money on something that we'll regret. Although I'm sure we'll have a great time anywhere!

you sound EXACTLY like i did when i had booked my poly trip!! i kept coming on here and reading that the rooms were gross and dirty and dark and i was so stressed out that i might regret choosing poly. and just like you, i kept thinking what an expensive mistake it would be. i was so tempted to switch. in the fall of 2010, leading up to my trip, there seemed to be numerous threads each day on how awful the poly was!

i am so glad we kept our reservation and guess what? the poly became our favorite resort!

i think in the end if you love the tropical theme you will probably love the poly. i love the theming and found myself totally feeling like i was in the tropics. it was just awesome. we feel very relaxed there and the view of the lagoon/ mk from the beach is just incredible. paradise.