Stick with what we know or switch it up?

[Dicentras]

Hey friends! Could use some advice- We stayed at the Polynesian for our first trip last year and it was absolutely magical and perfect. (We were upgraded to club, which was a very nice surprise and made the time even more special). We are planning a return trip for next year and trying to decide where to stay... We know we love the Poly, but wondering if we should switch it up so we aren’t trying to replicate the same trip. That said, we are a family of 5, so our options are limited a bit as far as what we can fit in, lol. I’d hate to be disappointed if we didn’t love it like We love the Polynesian, but also don’t want to get into a vacation rut and maybe miss other great spots... also- it’s a shorter trip this time, so we can’t switch resorts mid trip.
advice?

 

[Marionnette]

Hey friends! Could use some advice- We stayed at the Polynesian for our first trip last year and it was absolutely magical and perfect. (We were upgraded to club, which was a very nice surprise and made the time even more special). We are planning a return trip for next year and trying to decide where to stay... We know we love the Poly, but wondering if we should switch it up so we aren’t trying to replicate the same trip. That said, we are a family of 5, so our options are limited a bit as far as what we can fit in, lol. I’d hate to be disappointed if we didn’t love it like We love the Polynesian, but also don’t want to get into a vacation rut and maybe miss other great spots... also- it’s a shorter trip this time, so we can’t switch resorts mid trip.
advice?

Would you book club level at the Poly if you were to stay there again? If not, then I recommend staying at a different resort and making an ADR for one of the Poly restaurants. You would still get to enjoy the Poly but also get to try something new.

Or, as an alternative. do a split stay with the first part of your visit being at a new resort and then the final nights at the Poly.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

Yes, switch it up! Despite much lamenting from just about everyone in my family we stayed at a different resort last trip. All I hear now is “we loved it, when can we stay there again?”
It was fun to try a new place and each resort has its own special vibe.

 

[Dicentras]

Thanks! I think we actually would purposefully add club this trip.

We have considered GF which would make the trip to visit Poly easy, but the theming there doesn’t excite us. We might be too picky, lol.

Thanks for your reply

Would you book club level at the Poly if you were to stay there again? If not, then I recommend staying at a different resort and making an ADR for one of the Poly restaurants. You would still get to enjoy the Poly but also get to try something new.

Or, as an alternative. do a split stay with the first part of your visit being at a new resort and then the final nights at the Poly.

 

[Dicentras]

Appreciate that perspective. Thanks!

Yes, switch it up! Despite much lamenting from just about everyone in my family we stayed at a different resort last trip. All I hear now is “we loved it, when can we stay there again?”
It was fun to try a new place and each resort has its own special vibe.

 

[rwdavis2]

Animal Kingdom Lodge? It's pretty nice and quite unique.

 

[Dicentras]

That would definitely be in the running (it looks amazing), but we can only seem to fit in a suite, which bumps out of our budget.
Thanks!

Animal Kingdom Lodge? It's pretty nice and quite unique.

 

[bluejasmine]

That's hard we tend to always stay at the Poly ourselves, we have stayed at several resorts in the past and there are more resorts that I want to try like WL, TC, CS, BLT. Always wanted to stay at Dolphin (beautiful resort and area plus its the price of a Disney moderate for a deluxe) so this trip we are trying Dolphin first 2 days then moving to my second favorite GF and then moving 3 days later to Poly to stay for 4 days.

maybe that's what you should do is try a split stay so that you can still stay at the Poly where you know you love it. I say try AKL CL then move over to Poly CL

 

[FSU Girl]

The Epcot resorts are really nice and the location allows you to walk to two theme parks.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks! I think we actually would purposefully add club this trip.

We have considered GF which would make the trip to visit Poly easy, but the theming there doesn’t excite us. We might be too picky, lol.

Thanks for your reply

I felt the same way about the GF until I stayed there. It took quite a few years to take the plunge, but once I finally experienced the resort by actually staying there, it quickly became one of my favorites as it really is a beautiful resort. With that said, I just returned from a stay at BWI CL and had a great time as the food offerings/drinks were excellent and the CMs were top notch! All of them were very friendly/accommodating which made our stay so amazing that I can't wait to go back. If an Epcot resort is an option, I definitely recommend looking into BWI. Good luck!

 

[MommaBerd]

What ages are your kids? BC accommodates 5 and has the fabulous pool (though some with small children don’t like the fact that the pool is so spread out). As an added bonus, you have quick access to both DHS and Epcot.

If you wanted to stay at AKL, you could look into renting DVC points. The number of points to stay is on the lower end of the spectrum. We are leaving AKL today from our first stay. It has been such a wonderful stay! We only did the resort and a water park, and honestly, in retrospect I wish we had not done the water park. There is so much to see and do here!

In short, I would recommend trying another resort!

 

[loves to dive]

I would try another resort, keeping in mind that you were on club level at Poly and not to expect the same experience somewhere else unless you do club level. I've stayed at all the resorts at WDW with the exception of WL, SSS, ASMu, ASMov and AoA and I can find something good about all of them. I tend to do split stays with a moderate or value for a day or two at the beginning then moving over to a deluxe.

 

[gillep]

I personally love to try new resorts so that is what I would do but we are pretty easy going and even if we don't like a particular resort it doesn't really impact our trip. However, if you really think that you will all be disappointed and unhappy if it doesn't exactly live up to the Poly then you may just want to stay there so that you know that you will enjoy your time. Since it is a shorter trip this may be a good time to try something new!!!

 

[Fall1]

We love split stays and really like trying new places, but we are all definitely happiest at our favorite, BC. If given the choice, we'd stay there every time.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

Hey friends! Could use some advice- We stayed at the Polynesian for our first trip last year and it was absolutely magical and perfect. (We were upgraded to club, which was a very nice surprise and made the time even more special). We are planning a return trip for next year and trying to decide where to stay... We know we love the Poly, but wondering if we should switch it up so we aren’t trying to replicate the same trip. That said, we are a family of 5, so our options are limited a bit as far as what we can fit in, lol. I’d hate to be disappointed if we didn’t love it like We love the Polynesian, but also don’t want to get into a vacation rut and maybe miss other great spots... also- it’s a shorter trip this time, so we can’t switch resorts mid trip.
advice?

Switch it up. You never know what else you might love.

 

[Dicentras]

Thanks, everyone! We are going to switch it up! Now on to obsessing about where to go, lol

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hey friends! Could use some advice- We stayed at the Polynesian for our first trip last year and it was absolutely magical and perfect. (We were upgraded to club, which was a very nice surprise and made the time even more special). We are planning a return trip for next year and trying to decide where to stay... We know we love the Poly, but wondering if we should switch it up so we aren’t trying to replicate the same trip. That said, we are a family of 5, so our options are limited a bit as far as what we can fit in, lol. I’d hate to be disappointed if we didn’t love it like We love the Polynesian, but also don’t want to get into a vacation rut and maybe miss other great spots... also- it’s a shorter trip this time, so we can’t switch resorts mid trip.
advice?

I am going to go against popular opinion and suggest that you might want to stay at the Poly again. You had a great trip the first time and it set the bar pretty high for what you want in a trip. You might just need a Poly trip that isn't quite as wonderful as a free upgrade to club level was.

We will stay at the same resort over and over again until we get tired of it and are truly ready to try something different.

 

[Aliceacc]

Take a serious look at the Beach Club.

We also LOVED the Poly.

But we started looking at the Beach Club about 7 years ago when a friend of my daughter's.. about 9 years old at the time... told us it's "down the block from Epcot." When the literature tells you that, you take it with a grain of salt. But when a 9 year old says it, you start to believe.

It is, seriously, a few minutes walk from International Gateway at Epcot... so you can stroll into Epcot for dinner or for World Showcase after dinner. It's also a do-able walk from Hollywood Studios. (OK, full disclosure: it's about a mile. We take the boat every single time. But we do see people walking.)

And the pool is simply amazing. It's not a pool, it's a complex called Stormalong Bay. It's so big, it has its own map!

And, yes, as a family of 5 we know that the options are a bit more limited. My 20 year old, fireman son will be joining us for part of the trip, and as the only boy of 3 kids he will be very comfortable on the day bed.

And we simply LOVE the resort. Take a look at the Beach Club threads.

 

[Nancyg56]

I love the Grand. The service is outstanding, and the grounds are awesome for walks. The pools are perfect for youngsters adn oldies as well.

I also like BC for much the same reasons. Teh theme is different and the easy access is to EPcot and DHS instead of MK. It is a wonderful spot for families.

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

We also stayed at the Polynesian for our first trip, and it holds a special place in our hearts for that reason. Be that as it may, we've always tried to stay at different places. The only one we regretted was CSR. And that was more because they put us in really undesirable room location. We ended up falling in love with the Epcot crescent lake resorts area the year we stayed at BWI. Last trip we stayed CR/monorail again, and that reaffirmed that we really like the ability to walk/boat to two Parks instead of always waiting for the monorail. Therefore, we decided that we'll probably be sticking with *one/the cheapest deal of the three* of the crescent lake hotels each trip for a while including our upcoming trip. If you'll stay at the Epcot resorts once, (BWI, YC or BC), it will allow you to see which area of WDW you like better for future trips. Like others said, definitely visit the Poly for a meal or two. And, I can personally vouch that the BWI's CL is a really nice experience with really nice cast members. Have a great trip!