Sell me on the Poly please

[Scarlett81]

I've been going back and forth on this for ages now and I can't decide! I'm driving myself nuts!
Never been to the Poly, haven't even walked in the lobby. Our trip is booked for Feb and we're SO excited. This is a girl's only trip for all my sisters and neices.
I'm planning the whole thing, along with their input, but this is a first time trip for ALL of them so they're sort of letting me handle all of it. They just keep saying-its Disney, we don't care where we stay!
I know that of course, but I want the most magical experience possible.
I booked the Poly bc of proximity to MK, the monorail, and the spectacular Wishes viewing from the beach/and or rooms. (we stayed at GF this year and watching wishes from our room was THE highlight of our trip)
I have reasonable expectations from the hotel I think...I expect it to be old school tropical, dark, I expect some rooms to be not terribly 'perfect', but fine. I just don't want to be disapointed. Will it feel dated?-I don't mean retro-I expect retro. But will it feel like a Holiday Inn with a tropical theme?
What will it really be like?

I keep getting tugged back to the idea of the Boardwalk Inn. For less than the price of Poly I can stay there AND have parkhoppers. But we won't get our fireworks/castle view.

I know each person has their own idea of 'worth it' and each trip is different. For this trip, I want to give the girls that magic touch. I'm happy to spend the $-if its worth it.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

There is a serious misnomer about the Poly being 'outdated'. The rooms were refurbished a couple of years ago and they are among the largest of all the Disney 'regular' rooms. The decor is darker than say, the Beach club (which is really, really white) but the only way it is 'dark' is if the lights are off. But if darker decor is not your taste, don't stay there. Check out the room pics on the Poly thread for a better idea. But we LOVE it and have stayed there 4 times. In order of why we stay there:
1. Monorail - easy walk to Epcot monorail, and monorail in the lobby to MK as well as access to GF and Contemporary
2. Volcano pool - Awesome looking pool, great slide, fabulous bar and drinks, and a view of Cindy's castle. And the East pool is great because of its close proximity to the main pool and it rarely has more than a few people using it.
3. Room size - the large room has not only 2 queen beds, but also a daybed and other furniture
4. Restaurants - I love Ohanas and it is so nice to be able to stay at your own hotel for dinner. The quick service is great and they have dole whips too! Not only do they have great restaurants, you are a short monorail ride away from GF and Contemporary restaurants too (love Contempo Cafe's fish sandwich!)
5. Atmosphere - The tropical setting, tiki torches, and Polynesian music make me feel like I'm on vacation! It's very beautiful and calming.
6. Shops - Yes, I like a good shop (or several) at my resort. I like to browse all the shops and enjoy some time when I just want to walk around. And again, I can take the monorail over to the other resorts easily and enjoy their shops too.

So that's my two cents. I would recommend getting a cabana for a half or full day too - a great girls' time!

 

[Sue M]

We stayed at The Poly Jan 2010 and loved it. the rooms are among the largest, and we loved watching Wishes from the beach. I also think it has great transportation options with boat or monorail to MK, and a walking trail to TTC for Epcot monorail. The grounds are beautiful, and love the restaurant options.
Tikiman has a great web site on Poly. We stayed in a GV room in Tokelau and loved it. The "newer" longhouses IMO have a better floor plan, esp bathroom, and all floors have balconies (except 1st floor patio). http://www.tikimanpages.com/tiki/

Last Aug we stayed at BC & loved that too! We enjoyed SAB, being walking distance to Epcot, and DHS- but in Aug we took the boat to DHS- too hot to walk
Great dining options here too with Epcot in your backyard! Also can walk to The Boardwalk area.

Both locations have their advantages. Just a matter of pref. No bad choices.
Have fun planning!

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

I've stayed at both resorts. DH and I love the Poly. We had both expected to love the BWI too, but neither of us fell in love with it. I can't really put my finger on why we feel like this. There was nothing wrong with our trip, but out of all the places we've stayed it's our least favorite. I like the pool area at the Poly better. The clown pool at BWI felt more crowded to me. Maybe because the volcano pool at the Poly is near the beach and seven seas lagoon. We also found the transportation to be much better at the Poly. At BWI, we would share busses with the Swan, Dolphin, and sometimes the BC and YC too. For comparisons sake, we've stayed at CBR and I had no problem with those buses.

 

[mickeynut1]

We love everything about the Poly and didn't think it was dated at all. In fact, it's our favorite resort out of all the ones we've stayed at, which includes 1 mod and all of the deluxes except 3 (BWI, YC, & CR). We loved the Poly the minute we stepped into the lobby. The rooms are big and very spacious, the volcano pool is alot of fun with a great view of the castle off in the distance, Captain Cooks is great for quick snacks and meals, and it's wonderful relaxing in a hammock on the beach . Plus you can't beat having the convenience of the monorail for getting to MK as well as to the CR and GF to shop, dine, or just visit. It's also great being able to walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail. So for us the Poly is fabulous and was everything we thought it would be and then some .

 

[goofybabe]

POLYNESIAN HANDS DOWN!

 

[jandkmom]

We loved the Poly too and are returning in Jan. it has a real vacation vibe to me...the decor, the grounds, the GCH...all of it feels like you are in Hawaii. The rooms are much bigger than most and quite updated. If you stay in a longhouse like Tokelau, you can easily get to the GCH to hop on the monorail or walk to the TTC to get any transportation you need. The beach for fireworks is magical and the food can't be beat. Tonga Toast is my favorite food in WDW and a must-try.

 

[jandkmom]

Oh and join us on the Poly thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2762154

The first page has awesome information and photos. Enjoy and feel free to ask any questions!