Tell me true, I want the unvarnished truth...

[LilBuckaroo]

Dilemma of gargantuan porportions in my mind: If you had the choice, would you want to stay for 6 nights on-site at the Polynesian, or off-site at the Ritz-Carlton or JW Marriott? Should this be an easy choice because I see no clear reason either way.

I have not stayed on-site before (last visit was 16 years ago off-site - can't even remember where - and not planning on coming back anytime soon after this trip) and everyone says you've got to stay on site. No matter what? Can you actually have a great time without staying on-site and still feel the magic? Geez, I don't know what to do!

I have been reading posts with less than attractive hotel reviews about the Polynesian, such as thin walls, screaming rugrats that will go on for literally hours without intervention (either by parents or hotel staff), noisy neighbors in general, noise transferring easily through connecting doors, noise in hallways and near elevators, pool closures due to "oopses" from little ones, etc. My first inclination was to stay on-site at the Polynesian mainly because of the fabulous monorail factor to Epcot and MK, but now I don't know what to do. Should I give that up? I certainly can't get a guaranteed noise-free room anywhere, but I'd like to minimize my chances.

Trip Plans:
- 6 nights either on-site or off-site in regular hotel room, followed by...
- 6 nights off-site at Marriott Grande Vista (2 bdrm unit - figured the extra space would be welcome after awhile--now I read about cockroaches there from someone reporting on TripAdvisor, oh man!), followed by...
- 3 nights at a Universal Hotel

What exactly do you think? This is very important, as we're shelling out the price of a decent used SUV! Ha.

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Well I have to say that Polynesian is positively one of the best hotels around, and I've been in all sorts of resorts and hotels in the Caribbean, the US, and at Disney. And when people say you have to stay on site it's mainly because Disney really goes the extra mile. The theming is better and you truly FEEL like you are in a magical place. Sure, you can have fun still if you stay off site, but it's not the same as going back to your resort where you really still FEEL like you are at Disney. It's hard to do justice in words for the magic that Disney does.

As for the bad reviews, everyone has their personal preferences. For instance, I've yet to hear someone say they do not like the Grand Floridian, yet I truly hated it there. ANd not just because of the bad experiences there, but the theming did not appeal to me. However the Polynesian is fabulous. One, you are on the monorail. Two, you have the Beach and Parade at night (its on the water and simply phenomenal with fireworks in the background), and the whole resort is amazing. I can't wait to stay there again, and honestly after 12 WDW trips the only 4 places that I would stay would be the Poly, All Stars, Caribbean, and POSSIBLy the AKL. It looks right up our alley but we haven't been there yet. I'm actually surprised you heard bad things about the Poly because I've yet to hear a bad review about that as well, though I am new to these boards.

But I honestly would say that I would not go ot Disney without staying on site. It makes all the difference, even after 12 visits.

 

[scoutsmom99]

LilBuckaroo Welcome to the Dis ,
I have never stayed at the Poly (Would love to though), but I think you should go for it especially if you won't be back for a long time...It seems like you have some nights planned at off-site resorts so you should really give the Poly a try. When are you thinking of going or going? As far as reading posts about bad Poly visits don't worry about it! I work in retail and the one thing that we always talk about is that a guest who has a bad experience will be sure to mention it to everyone because they are so mad about what happened or that things didn't go thier way, whereas a guest that has a good experience will not tell as many people (Did that make sense?). On these boards you will find bad experiences similar to the ones you listed from just about every Disney Resort and other hotels too!

I think staying at the Poly would be great for the monorail access, Extra Magic Hours, themeing of the hotel, fabulous views, it is convient, if you rent a car at all and drive to any of the parks parking is free, the neat swimming pool, Ohana's, water recreation, watching Wishes from the beach, etc. Whatever you decide to do on-site/off-site you will have a magical trip

P.S. have you checked out tikiman's website? Here is a link if you haven't it is a great site on the Poly
http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/

 

[jordanyosh]

Welcome.

The Ritz is the Ritz. Service, amenities, cleanliness will be superb. All for the same price or possibly slightly less expensive as a deluxe WDW resort. You may find there will be fewer families at the Ritz if that's a concern for you.

However, you said yourself that you probably wouldn't be returning for many years. Take this opportunity to stay at a WDW resort. If the monorail is an important factor then by all means choose the Poly. The Epcot resorts are my personal favorite because you can actually walk to Epcot and either walk or take a short boat ride to MGM. May I suggest the Garden Suites at the Boardwalk Inn or even a preferred view room at the BWI. You will have some great dining choices within walking distance. Flying Fish, Spoodles, Yachtsman Steakhouse, bluezoo, Shula's..and then all the World Showcase Restaurants 5-15 minutes away.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Muffy]

You really should stay onsite at the Poly. Your trip will be 10 times better than staying off site. You will be in the middle of the magic! The monorail will make it very easy to get to Epcot and MK. If you have any reservation about the Poly you could try the Contemporary Resort or an Epcot deluxe resort. Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[golfgal]

If it is a once in a couple decade trip, I would stay on-site. If you are worried about the Poly, what about looking into another resort onsite? From what it sounds like, the deluxe resorts at Disney are fairly comparable to a JW. The Grand Floridian might come close to a Ritz-not sure, haven't stayed at the GF.

I haven't stayed at the Orlando JW Mariott, but we were at the one in Phoenix last year and I have to say, it was the best all around hotel we have ever stayed at. The service was unbelievable. The rooms were nice. We have stayed in places with nicer rooms, but nothing touched the level of service, quality of food and just general overall pleasantness of the hotel. The prices at the JW in Phoenix, rack rate, were more expensive then the rack rate at the AKL where we are staying in May/June. It will be interesting to compare the JW to a Disney Deluxe. If you can wait until June, I can let you know then.

 

[markm0926]

I can just ad...
I used to stay offsite
Never again after staying onsite

 

[minniesota]

I have stayed at the Poly, YC, BC, BWI, GF and the Ritz (though not in Orlando) and I have stayed off-site. That being said, if you really want to experience Disney, there's nothing like staying on-site. The convenience of getting to the parks, charging privileges and the overall "magic" is hard to dulpicate off-site. Since you are staying at other non-Disney properties during your stay, I'd encourage you to try on-site. But I would recommend GF if you like the idea of monorail access and YC if you want to be closest to Epcot/MGM. To me, the Poly felt crowded and closed in - and much busier with kids. The GF has a quieter, more sophisticated feel to it. (Closer to our experiences at the Ritz). And you can watch the electrical water parade and fireworks from there as well. Plus I think they have better restaurant choices! I know there are people who LOVE the Poly and it is a perennial favorite for many. My experience, however, will always lead me back to the GF. Good luck with your decision.

 

[MELSMICE]

On-site, no doubt.

You won't experience all of the "magic" unless your on-site & the Poly is a great place to be!

 

[MiaSRN62]

I'll echo what everyone else said about staying onsite. Not sure what rates you're finding between the different hotels, but being onsite does have it's perks (Extra Magic Hour, package delivery,free parking if you choose to drive to the other parks). We split our stays between staying offsite at our timeshare, Vistana and staying onsite. We love the space of a 2 bedroom villa at Vistana and still have fun while being in WDW but it's just not quite the same "feel" as when we stay on Disney property.
I've never actually stayed at the Poly but I've always wanted to. We have pool-hopped over to their pool (we're DVC Members) and the new volcano pool is alot of fun. My kids loved it and so did I. Not sure if you have children or not, but when we were there July '02, the pool was pretty crowded with alot of kids. Having such convenient access to the MK is a plus too. I think I did read somewhere though that some of the second floor rooms don't have balconies ? If this is so, make sure you request a balcony if you plan to stay there.
There's two good restaurants in the hotel (Ohanas and Kona Cafe along with a snack bar).
Particularily since you're not planning on returning soon, I think staying at the Poly will enhance your Disney experience. If you're not too much of a Disney nut, you may find staying offsite is just as good.

 

[Twigs]

We have stayed onsite and off and we will only stay onsite now. The Polynesian is our absolute favorite disney hotel. It is very hard to explain, but there is something about the place that makes us feel totally relaxed and happy! The other disney hotels we have stayed at have all been great, but we always say next time we go back to the Polynesian.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I would stay on site.

Others have reported it taking 20-30 minutes to drive from The Ritz depending on traffic.

Lori

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I think your plan of 6 nights at the Poly, 6 at the offsite timeshare and 3 at Universal is a great plan! You would have some of everything.

Take advantage of the positives of each place and you have it made. Do the extra magic hours when staying onsite, make sure you go to the monorail parks, especially MK, as much as possible. When you're offsite make sure that you avoid the extra hours park of the day.

When you're offsite save some money by having breakfast in the room, maybe take-out dinner at your condo or you could have sandwich fixings for dinner.

When at Universal enjoy the great front-of-the-line benefits.

Sounds good to me.

When I went to WDW last month with my 5yo we stayed for 13 days. The first 4 were at POR and we took advantage of the onsite perks. Then I stayed at a timeshare that my mother arranged. Then we stayed at Pop for 2 nights. The offsite place was good for the most part and the space was nice (it was me, my son, my 81yo mother and my sister). For the most part I'm an on-site kind of person, but I couldn't beat the price of free offsite lodging for a week, either.

T&B

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

If you feel that all 3 resorts are equal, monorail access and extra magic hours have to be the deciding factor. Having the monorail pull up to your hotel is an incredible time saving benefit (and cool) and with the extra magic hours, you will have an additional 24 hours in total to enjoy the parks during your 6 night stay with only WDW resort guests.
As far as noise, this is Orlando, a very popular destination for business conventions and kids. No matter where you go, there's a good chance you're going to hear noise in your room.

 

[eeyore0062]

Well, having stayed both onsite and offsite (don't even list those down on my signiture), and a HUGE Polynesian fan, you will not be getting an unbiased answer, but of course, I would HAVE to stay onsite at the Polynesian (one step closer to paradise!)

 

[phyllisnnj]

To me it's a personal choice. Only you know what is more important to you - convenience or comfort.

It is definitely more convenient to stay onsite at one of the monorail resorts especially if you're going during high season (which is anytime school is out). My vote would be for the Grand Floridian instead of Poly which would be less risker in terms of the problems you read about concerning Poly.

However if any of the problems you stated in your post would ruin the trip for you and/or if quality & service is more important to you than convenience and Disney theming then I would go with the Ritz or JW Marriott.

Here's another website with some great reviews:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g34515-Orlando_Florida-Hotels.html
At the above website Ritz ranks #1, JW ranks #2, Grand Floridian ranks #6 and the Polynesian ranks #20.

Have a great time at Disney !!

 

[Docsknotinn]

We have done both in the past. I feel both have their benefits but DW votes on site. I think the Ritz is overkill for FL. We have stayed at the Ritz several other places and they have all been outstanding properties. I would rate the value of the Ritz considering meal service, room quality etc. a better value than the Disney deluxes. Prices at Disney are as expensive as the best resorts worldwide without meeting the same level of service, although that could be splitting a fine hair with the GF. I would still split my stay but with different hotel choices. I would choose the GF over the Poly. When we go to the GF it's like were the only ones there. The Victorian era theme won't appeal to everyone but it's certainly a good pairing with the Ritz. The other off site properties I would consider is the Hyatt Grand Cypress. Less $$$ than the Ritz, awesome property, and literally right around the corner from DTD. The final one I'd throw in the mix is the Universal Portobello. It's rated about the same as the GF and looks like a incredible place but the drive to Disney from there could be unpleasant if there is any construction etc. I think when I looked at Leows on line if you stay more than 5 nights there was a 25% discount. If you prefer the beach theme they have a similar resort as the Poly that looks to be a better value excepting of course that you will be a drive from Disney.

 

[PamNC]

Definitely - definitely absolutely stay on-site. We stayed off only once...that should tell you something. We did miss the magic and the convenience as well. When I go to Disney, I want to be immersed in Disney. Since you won't be going back anytime soon I say do it right.

About the Poly - it's our favorite resort. Not ONCE have we experienced any of the things you mentioned. Screaming rugrats are everywhere!!!!! We find the Poly to be very relaxing, love the atmosphere and the tropical landscaping. The CMs are wonderful, the food and drink offerings are fantastic, the beach area (you can view the fireworks), the volcano pool....I can't say enough good things about our experiences at the Poly. If you read these boards, you'll eventually see a negative post about every single resort. Heck, I've written a negative post about WL and it's a fave on these boards.

I say stay at the Poly. You'll love the convenience and the atmosphere.

PamNC

 

[LilBuckaroo]

Thanks for your help and please keep the responses coming in! I see there is a leaning towards onsite at the Poly and also the GF. I guess I'll just have to bring a supply of earplugs no matter where I stay. I'll also look more seriously at the GF as well. The real problem is there are a lot of good choices out there. More than anything, these posts are starting to convince me in the other direction that the Poly may actually be okay.

Yes, I've been to Tikiman's great web site many times--very helpful.

 

[Sleuth]

We stayed off site last May and had a great time. But of course that was before we found DIS and I didn't know what I was missing, LOL!

I do remember riding the monorails and going by the resorts and wishing I was staying on property. Plus the rental car driving to and from the resort was a real pain (we stayed in Kissimmee).

If you're not going again anytime soon, why not stay at Disney?