Should I choose Poly, YC/BC, or POR?

[Rebecca Pocahontas]

I am currently just in a planning ahead for a future trip mode right now. I would prefer to go sometime between April-October but that part isn't really important at this moment. It would just be my mom and I on this trip and I would like to stay for at least 4 nights and go to at least 2 parks. I've never stayed at a deluxe resort before.

A: Poly- My mom has always wanted to stay here and it is right next to MK, which is our favorite park. The only reason this resort is on my list is because she has ALWAYS (always) wanted to stay here. But it is kind of far away from everything else. We love going to DS and even though Epcot is just two monorail rides away it is still kind of far. Also we enjoy taking walks around the resort at night and Poly doesn't have a loop walking path. Poly is probably my #3 choice.

B: Yacht/Beach Club- I don't really have a preference over YC or BC because they both get to use the same pools and the location doesn't matter that much to me. I think it would be amazing to stay anywhere in the Epcot area and be able to walk to Epcot/HS. We've taken the bus to the parks so many times and being able to walk right into both HS and Epcot in the morning sounds amazing to me. The pools also look great with the slide and lazy river. There is also a great mile walking path for us. The resort is kind of in a central WDW location so it is equal distance to everything(kinda). Only downside is I have been on the bus to and from this area before to get to DS and I remember it being super crowded. This place is probably my first choice right now.

C: Port Orleans Riverside or FQ- This is kind of our "home" resort. We haven't stayed here in quite a while and we both really love it. I think I would only choose this resort because it is a lot cheaper than the deluxe options. We really love this resort and it is close to DS. But my other 2 options (Poly & YC) both have super easy access to at least 1 park. POR/FQ does not. We have to take the bus to get to any park. This is probably my second choice.

Idk. What do you all think? I really don't see Poly as being a real contender for me at this point. If you have any suggestions or comments to help me pick that would be great.

 

[gopack]

I would take your mom to Poly if she has always wanted to go there.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Make Mom happy... I wish I still had that opportunity. On another visit do Yacht Club, my second favorite resort after Wilderness Lodge.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If your mom really wants to stay there, I would give Poly a try. Keep in mind, you can walk to TTC from Poly, which eliminates one of the monorail rides and you can walk over to GF and back which, perhaps, could take the place of your walking loop?

 

[Luvs Mickey]

I’d stay at Poly. You’ll never regret doing nice things for your mom.

 

[Disneylover99]

A: Poly- My mom has always wanted to stay here and it is right next to MK, which is our favorite park. The only reason this resort is on my list is because she has ALWAYS (always) wanted to stay here. But it is kind of far away from everything else. We love going to DS and even though Epcot is just two monorail rides away it is still kind of far. Also we enjoy taking walks around the resort at night and Poly doesn't have a loop walking path. Poly is probably my #3 choice.

I agree with others. Poly for mom.

You can walk to the TTC from the Poly and just take one monorail to Epcot.
It’s a nice walk to the GF from the Poly if you enjoy walking at night.

 

[Katy G.]

I don’t think you would regret Poly. It’s amazing! Every resort has some pluses and minuses when it comes to transportation. That being said, if Poly isn’t realllly a contender...I always encourage people to stay somewhere new at Disney. Every resort has a different feel and creates a different vacation experience. I hope you have a great trip with Mom!

 

[cutigerlady]

I would pick the YC/BC. We stayed here with my parents one year and they loved it! Lots of food choices nearby, great walking path and easy access to multiple resorts/parks. My parents liked going into a park then chilling by the pool in the afternoon and then going back to a park or DS at night. My Dad said it was a relaxing trip (and we were there the week leading up to Christmas) and he now understood why we like Disney so much.

The Poly was my kids bucket list place to stay and we were underwhelmed by it. The lobby was always so crowded and loud. There is a path to walk over to the GF or to the TTC. The monorail was always so crowded. My kids said they have no desire to go back here.

 

[mickeynut1]

Another vote to take mom to the Poly.

 

[justafigment27]

II’d vote Poly if that’s a bucket list item for your Mom. We stayed there a couple years ago during spring break - we rented DVC points and were pretty close to the Ticket & Transportation Center, so we just walked there to catch the ferry to MK and the monorail to Epcot. We took the resort bus to AK and totally skipped DHS that trip (pre-Toy Story & Galaxy Edge). The grounds are very lush and lit up at night with Tiki torches. There is not a loop to walk, but plenty of paths for an evening stroll. The main pool and lobby were always super crowded, but the rest of the resort was tranquil.

Have not stayed at YC/BC, but have stayed at the Boardwalk. If you plan on devoting most of your park time to Epcot or DHS, then the location is awesome and the ability to walk to two parks cannot be beat, but I thought transportation to the MK was poor during our stay.

POR is great though too and has a very nice ambiance ... if you like it there and it fits your budget better, then go for it. But, then again, a shorter trip might be the time to try a deluxe since you will only have to pay deluxe prices for 4 nights.

Moderate and value resorts, in my experience, tend to have pretty equal bus service to every park. But, in general, it seems like the deluxe resorts are super convenient to one or two parks, but almost inconvenient to the other parks. So, if you are going deluxe, you might really want to pick the resort based on where you plan to spend the most park time. The biggest issue is that they sometimes share busses with other deluxe resorts and that takes a lot of time to make those extra stops.

 

[kylenne]

Having stayed at Poly, BC, and POFQ, I’m adding another Poly vote. Setting aside making Mom happy, every resort has pros and cons and you need to decide if the cons are a dealbreaker for you.

POFQ’s Disney Springs access is imo too reliant on the time of year you go. Forget about it in the summer daily t-storm season. In August, several times I had to take Lyft there to get to an ADR, or buses home from there, because the boat wasn’t running due to lightning. It got old very fast, as did constantly sharing buses with Riverside. Pretty as it was, it was a one and done and taught me that mods are not for me.

YC/BC is nice for parks access for sure, and I loved being able to walk to WS during a busy F&W weekend and to the Studios. But those fantastic food options in the area are almost entirely confined to TS. Good luck if you’re exhausted and want a quick bite to eat without going into Epcot, which happened more often than I thought it would. I loved BC, but there’s too many little things about it to make me want to stay a whole week or more there. I would definitely stay there again, don’t get me wrong, but it would be on a split, and probably in the YC side.

We found Poly’s noise issues are a bit overblown imo. “Chaotic” is hyperbole. The only time we found it too busy is during the AM rush when you’ve got families checking in for ‘Ohana. Our room (3rd floor Rarotonga) was very quiet and we had plenty of quality relaxation time at the resort. Poly also has extremely good transportation, multiple ways to get to MK quickly and direct monorail service to Epcot via TTC walkway. Don’t let distances fool you, it’s a quick ride anywhere but to AK. Bus sharing was also a lot less annoying there because GF just doesn’t have a lot of guests. It was 1 bus stop as opposed to making a circuit across a sprawling resort.

Even if the Poly was unbearably loud, a bustling lobby just doesn’t impact my vacation. Lack of decent QS options, and poor transportation do. If it does for you, a monorail resort may not be the best choice for you. Like I said, you’ve got to weigh the pros and cons and decide what’s important. For us, the cons of the Poly are overwhelmingly outweighed by the pros. But it’s good to branch out and try new resorts because you start to learn what really matters most to you.

 

[CynBeth]

I agree do Poly for your mom.

 

[Dis Dragon]

Poly is amazing, except the pool is not big enough for the resort. If you don't care about the pool all that much you're golden. You can walk to the TTC so you only have the Epcot monorail to catch instead of riding the loop, it makes it way better.

YC/BC/BW are basically our go to resorts just because of location. Storm Along Bay of course needs special mention - it's far and away the best pool of the resorts. It's really great to just stroll back to your resort at the end of an Epcot night though, that's basically the only place where you have no worries about transportation from a park. It's rather liberating.

We enjoyed our POR stay but I can't handle the transportation there, I get anxiety worrying about the buses.

 

[Ksquared]

I've always wanted to stay at the Poly and this past August we added a night to our reservation and stayed there. I wish we had more days because I loved it that much. We lucked out with our room and had an awesome view of the fireworks from our balcony and was able to hear the piped in music. The resort was so beautiful at night with the tiki torches lit and we enjoyed having the convenience of the monorail. We got a dole whip, went in the pool, we really took advantage of our 1 night there. Having said that, we moved to Boardwalk after and I really enjoyed our stay there as well. The ability to walk to DHS and Epcot was key and we spent more time in Epcot than I anticipated because we were at Boardwalk. I also liked the food options at Boardwalk which you don't have at BC/YC. I have stayed at Beach Club and while we enjoyed our time there, for some reason I liked Boardwalk a little better. I stayed at POR years ago when it was still Dixie Landings so it would be hard to comment on location etc. I do find I like Deluxe resorts but the one mod I love is Coronado. I'd skip the moderate this trip and go with one of the Deluxe resorts. I don't think you can go wrong with either the Poly or BC/YC.