Thoughts on my first stay at The Poly...

[buzzrelly]

I just wrote this in my trip report but wanted to share here, as well, for people who might be considering booking.

Staying here has ALWAYS been on my bucket list. I've only been a DVC member for a couple of years and our only other DVC stay was last year, and we stayed at BLT which is my home resort and we absolutely love. The studio room at The Poly didn't disappoint, it was quite large and even with 4 adult sized people, we were just fine. DS slept on the pull down Murphy bed, DM slept in the sleeper sofa and DD and I shared the Queen, and nobody complained to me that they were uncomfortable so I'll assume they weren't. I really like the hidden Murphy beds as it gives everyone their own sleeping space without having to bring an air mattress. On a side note, we are looking to go back to Universal next year and stay at The Hard Rock and I SOOOOO wish they had a Murphy Bed like this in their rooms. It would make life much easier and there's definitely the space for it.

Anyway. another nice feature of the Poly was the split bathroom, however, I think they kind of missed the mark with this one and I REALLY wish there were two toilets, even if it meant sacrificing the second shower. Having just one bathroom with a toilet was a real problem and a constant struggle…I won't say anymore, but I think you get it

We had a Lake View and requested third floor. Our request was granted, and our view was AMAZING!! The grounds are so beautifully landscaped and you really do feel like you've been transported to a Pacific Island when you're walking around.


The Ferry horns could definitely be a problem for some people, especially at the end of the building we were in (closest to the TTC). We are early risers and tend to go to bed early because of that, and for us, the horns were more likely to keep us up at night than wake us in the morning. There were a couple nights they kept blowing them and I couldn't fall asleep because of that which was aggravating. They also start fairly early in the morning, but like said, this wasn't a problem for us since we were up early anyway. But if you like to sleep past, say 7am, I wouldn't stay here.

The CMs were all VERY friendly…I didn't have a bad experience with any of them. The girl at check-in was super sweet, the luggage guys were awesome, just everyone was outstanding.

The QS food…well…we didn't love Captain Cooks. We went for dinner one night and none of us were really pleased with our food. In their defense, it really isn't our favorite type of food anyway, so that's what we get for trying to be adventurous. However, being on the monorail, we were a short ride away from The GF and we loved their CS Gasparilla Grill, when we went there for dinner one night. And we did love having the Pineapple Lanai as we LOVE our Dole Whips

The pool was beautiful the couple of times we went. I loved it and wished we had spent more time there.

The monorail was super sketchy and there were more than a couple times that it wasn't running for some reason or another. One night it wasn't running as we were trying to leave MK and we didn't know it wasn't going to be running so we were waiting and waiting and the monorail CMs weren't even sure what was going on. After waiting a ridiculous amount of time, we gave up and decided to go to the ferry. Well, EVERYONE else had the same idea and the ferry line was CRAZY long by the time we got in it. At this point, we were all wishing we were back at BLT because you NEVER have this problem while staying there. You just take a nice short walk and you're HOME.


Overall, it's a great resort and I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. I guess it will depend on how many points I have when I book our next trip. Nothing beats having the space of a 1-bedroom at BLT where you can totally spread out.

 

[Tiki Sean]

I am glad that you had a great trip. I love the rooms at the Poly. There is so much space and with 4 people in the room you don't feel like you are on top of each other like some of the other resorts. Since my kids are so young not having a second toilet doesn't really effect us but just having the second shower does help out getting the kids ready. I never had a problem with the boat horns at night but just in the mornings, they woke me up on our last trip.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I agree 100% on the odd bathroom layout in the studios. It would have been better to have 2 toilets, like a house has 1 1/2 bathrooms, that means 2 toilets. I mean, which facility do you use more often in a day, the toilet or the shower?? I did love the shower stall on the non-toilet side, with the rain shower. We had a similar view, but more towards the center. Loved the location and atmosphere. Sad they have no 1 BR and 2 BR options (let's leave the bungalows out of it, the points required are insane). I am not sure Poly is a great option for families with kids, as they get older, a 1 or 2 BR is so much better than these studios. We have 4 kids (now grown), so Poly would have been impossible for us; 2 connecting studios is not the same experience.

We did Trader Sams one evening, and it was a trip highlight for me, laughed so much. Ship horns did not bother us. Liked being able to monorail easily to Epcot or MK, and also to the other monorail resorts for food. Overall, loved it, with some small questions on the room design.

 

[TexasErin]

We were there May 27- June 1. We actually loved the bathroom layout. With 2 showers, DD-19 and DS-13 could each take a shower at the same time. DS, of course, takes quicker showers, so after he was done, DH and I could get ready for bed. When we stay somewhere with only one shower, it takes FOREVER to get ready for bed!

We loved the layout!

 

[bigtony777]

We stayed in a studio last week and also loved the rooms. It looks like we were just a ways down the hall from your room. We too were lucky to get our request of top floor and had an awesome view of the fireworks. I would stay here again for a shorter stay that was geared toward MK. We own at Boardwalk so for only a few points more per night we can get a standard view 1 bedroom. The 1 bedroom seems to be a much better value, but it is nice to stay at different places.

 

[cvjw]

The hard rock has a room with an extra sleeping area. It is their deluxe queen room. It has two queen beds and a sleeper sofa. It is about the size of 1 and 1/2 normal hard rock rooms. It is more expensive, but after staying in larger dvc villas, it is the only room my family of 4 will consider at universal

 

[chirogrrl]

I also agree with the point about the toilets. It is also something that bugs me about most of the DVC 1BR villas, too! With all of that space and 2 baths, they should have 2 toilets in all 1BRs. I love the Kidani 1BRs for the space and the 2 FULL bathrooms.

I really wish they had found a way to squeeze in a washer/dryer unit. I miss that a lot when we stay in a studio.

 

[buzzrelly]

I also agree with the point about the toilets. It is also something that bugs me about most of the DVC 1BR villas, too! With all of that space and 2 baths, they should have 2 toilets in all 1BRs. I love the Kidani 1BRs for the space and the 2 FULL bathrooms.

I really wish they had found a way to squeeze in a washer/dryer unit. I miss that a lot when we stay in a studio.

I used the washers and dryers one day in the laundry room and it wasn't bad at all. I thought I would have to fight for one but there was literally nobody in there the day I went. The app worked well too, so it really wasn't bad. Definitely easier to have it right in your room, but not as bad as I thought.

 

[Lisa F]

thanks for the report. I have 3 nights planned there for December and like you, have never stayed at the Poly before (but have stayed at every other deluxe). Bucket list for sure. I also have a lake view and requested 3rd floor for fireworks viewing. Your view is amazing

 

[rwcmath]

Two adults and we loved the Poly studio. We had lake view, second floor, friend had first floor. None of us were bothered by horn noise.

 

[Anal Annie]

We just returned from our first stay there too (the 1st week in June) but only had a standard view. We were in Tokelau on the 3rd floor not far from the elevators. For most of our stay there was an extra power generator thing outside running which was pretty close to our room. We weren't directly above it but only a couple of rooms down. It really ruined any ambiance for the balcony. They had a "planned power outage" mid-way through our stay where they fixed whatever the problem was that they needed it for then they removed it the next day. What a difference in the outside noise to have that thing gone!!

We loved the studio size (as we are typically "studio people") and I loved that there were TWO nightstands!! That should be anywhere!! Our DS is just about 6' tall though so he went ahead & used the pullout sofa rather than the Murphy bed. I was kinda hoping he'd try the pull-down bed but he didn't feel it fit him so good - and he WAS end for end on it. Shame it's not just a smidge longer. I think with the space in this studio a sleeper chair would have been a better option maybe. Loved the new HUGE tv too.

While the 2 bathrooms were nice I think there's a TON of wasted space. They could have easily had room to add a stackable w/d unit in the one (or just rearranged where the toilet was placed and put the w/d in the entryway). Big miss on that one IMO. I also felt that the kitchenette could have used a few more inches of countertop area. Everything was just so cramped there - as if nobody really uses that space?! Well, WE DO. Most studio kitchenettes at least have a shelf where you can put a few things but this one didn't even have THAT. I put a few things in that bitty little overhead cabinet but had to leave the bulk of my groceries in the grocery bag on the floor. I am always astounded at how the kitchenette areas seem to get smaller and smaller with each new resort. Another miss in my book.

We really enjoyed the Oasis pool / grill / bar area. SOOO convenient. We went over to the main Poly pool one day - I hated how all of the lounge chairs were crammed in one on top of each other. The Oasis pool was nice & roomy & you didn't have to sit on top of your neighbor. Very nice. No need to go to the other pool IMO.

The transportation be it the buses, monorail or the quick walk over to the TTC was a real spoiler - everything was spot on all week. Loved the new ETA signs at the bus stop (those are new since our last trip). We also had one night where the monorail was down and we were trying to get home from the MK. I guess they stop running it before the park actually closes? We had to do the boat - it was packed. I left the park before DH & DS and didn't have a huge wait but they stayed thru to the end of EMH's and they had to wait for boat after boat after boat to get one. That shouldn't be. Once the monorail shuts down they should run more boats until that park is emptied out.

But overall we loved our stay there and thought the resort was fabulous. Sadly we are too points challenged to stay there very often (unless we cut back on how many trips a year we take). I know we'll want to stay there again before too long tho - will have to start wheeling & dealing on the old points / future trips planning in order to do it.

 

[buzzrelly]

I agree on the kitchen counter space! We kept piling things up on top of each other and kept having to shift everything around. And we didn't even have all of our groceries up there. We had a box from Amazon Prime and ended up leaving half the stuff in there.

 

[lisaviolet]

We had to do the boat - it was packed.

Annie, are you referring to the Polynesian/Grand Floridian boat?

If yes, in the future the TTC/MK boat is great to use and pretty well as convenient and close to the three DVC longhouses. And it loads quickly. No need to wait for the other boat.

 

[lisaviolet]

Absolutely gorgeous shot. Thank you for your review. I can't get over how much I loved the place. I sat right in front of where you were staying, on that small beach area with a Lapu Lapu.

 

[Anal Annie]

Annie, are you referring to the Polynesian/Grand Floridian boat?

If yes, in the future the TTC/MK boat is great to use and pretty well as convenient and close to the three DVC longhouses. And it loads quickly. No need to wait for the other boat.

Yes, I was referring to the resort boat. Thanks for the tip - I will remember that for next time (if and when)!!!