What makes the Poly and the GF so much better?

[TxTiggergal]

We have stayed at both the Poly and the GF. One of the main things we like about these resorts is having an alternative to bus transportion, namely the monorail! The boats to MK are nice too. And since the MK is our favorite park, we like being close to it. Even if we don't have a room with a MK view, there's nothing like taking an early morning walk on the grounds and seeing Cinderella's castle off in the distance!

 

[tinabheart]

I can't speak for the GF, never have stayed there. IMHO it seems a little stuffy, it kinda reminds me of visiting that Aunt that never had kids and you can't touch anything in her museum like house It's just not my cup of tea.

I was there in March, and your description sums it up for me. It truly is a beautiful resort, and I understand why a lot of people really enjoy it, but I'm more of a WL gal, I guess.

 

[Here'sTigger2U]

We've been fortunate enough to stay at all three monorail resorts, and I'd have to say the Poly is far and away my favorite...having said that, the view of the MK alone made staying high up in the tower at the CR worth the trip, but my wife just can't get over how the decorated those rooms! At the GF, it's all about luxury, and having stayed there w/o the kids, to me it is the perfect couple's resort.

All three resorts have the benefit of great location, great family-oriented restaurants and quiet mommy/daddy ones as well. They offer onsight children's programs, larger (than most) rooms, concierge service (if you have a money tree out back), and the biggest thing that has our family of five staying at the Poly this December, CONVENIENCE!!

Gotta love the monorail

Bob.

 

[stepdisney]

For us, monorail is good for dinner and MK but we Love love love Epcot and MGM so...the only resort that we would benefit from would be Poly because of the walk to TTC. I look at it like I do concierge, (and like CarolA and Linda), I'm not exactly convinced of what the cost is for. JMHO. Hear the reasons and I still say so....what is the extra money for again? It's like when people say they love to make there own ADR's and conceirge is not about the food or snacks, and the rooms don't have the best views and are not larger than the other rooms but they think it's worth it. What can I say, we all have something we are looking for and it's different for each of us. CR has the BEST view of MK and is the closest. It also has a beach and some of Disney's largest rooms. The price tag is almost $100 less than Poly & GF.

 

[princessesrule4]

I can't speak for the GF, never have stayed there. IMHO it seems a little stuffy, it kinda reminds me of visiting that Aunt that never had kids and you can't touch anything in her museum like house It's just not my cup of tea.

It always makes me laugh when someone says the GF is stuffy! We stay in the Main Building a lot and I always think of our family trudging through the lobby after an afternoon at the pool, in our cover ups, slightly wet, wet hair and looking like something that the cat drug in and I definitely couldn't call that stuffy! You should try GF - it is our favorite and it is definitely elegant, but IMHO, not stuffy.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Even though my family and I have never stayed at the Grand Floridian we always visit it everytime we are in WDW which is easy when you stay at the Contemporary with the Monorail and we think it's a very nice Resort. One day we might stay there, however the one negative I see is how their self parking lot is across the street from the entrance to the lobby of the Royal Palm building. I will say the stores they have are great and we always enjoy going there for a meal at Gasparilla Grill & Games.

As for the Polynesian we have not stayed there yet, however that will change this December when we have our 1st stay there. Just like the Grand Floridian we always visit it everytime in WDW, so again with the Monorail from the Contemporary it makes it a lot easier to do. From what we seen from the Polynesian it's a beautiful place to stay, the Boutiki store is amaizing, so we are looking forward to staying there.

The Contemporary is another great Resort. Just like the Polynesian and Grand Floridian they have the Monorail and they also have a walkway to the Magic Kingdom, which is something that is not at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. Their renovated rooms are amaizing and having a computer in the room which currently has free internet access was a smart decision. Finally once they are completed with this next set of non room renovations, (not including the building of the future DVC building) the Contemporary will be even better then it was before.

 

[JoBaby]

I love, love, love the GF! My daughter and I stayed there for her 15th birthday and absolutely fell in love with it. We had a dormer room overlooking the marina and thought it was great! The service was excellent. We had a blast at 1900 Park Fare for breakfast. I cried meeting Tigger and she knocked her chair over jumping up for Winnie-the-Pooh. You would have thought we were two six year olds!

My sister and her three daughters stayed at the Poly the month before and loved it!

So...to each their own but the GF gets my vote!

 

[sunee]

They're on the monorail and not as ugly as the Contemporary.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've stayed at the Polynesian and the Contemporary. I have no urge to stay at the GF. Dh does though. But, I think that's just because it is the most expensive resort in WDW...he just wants to say he has stayed there. Of the three monorail resorts, I like the CR the best. I just can't justify the addtl cost to stay at the Polynesian or GR. The BWI, YC/BC are all deluxes and they are just a very little less to stay in...I don't think it makes that much difference really. Room size? The addtl room really isn't all that much. Not enough to make it roomy in there! Yes, you are going to pay a bit extra for a view of the Castle. But, how much time are you really spending in your room? I would take the difference between a MK view and a standard view, and then divide it by the number of times you look at that Castle...see how much per view you are paying ! It's just not important to me.
The monorail is a wonderful thing to be able to hop on to get to MK. But....I found the bus service to the other parks to be lacking at the Polynesian and CR. It just seemed to take much longer to get the bus to MGM or AK. We always took the monorail to Epcot.

Nope, it would seem to me that there is a ton of 'snob appeal' in the GF. We actually have friends that stay only at the GF....any other resort is just not 'good enough' according to them, about the same as a Holiday Inn! To each his own I say! Give me BW any day...easy access to two parks and wonderful atmosphere, as well as wonderful food choices.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

I can't answer for the GF, not a fan of it. Too snobby for me.
For the Polynesian, I like the atmosphere, size of the rooms, concierge, view of thr castle and it being on the monorail.

 

[latinqt]

Love the GF Not at all stuffy. It may look that way however. We will stay there in Dec. Since the park closes at 7PM, we'll enjoy our room for sure.

 

[Tiffany]

It seems like the Poly and the GF are the highest of the high as far as the resorts go.. am I right? Aren't they the most expensive? And I notice that they aren't included in the Disney Vacation Club resorts.... so what makes them so special?

So much better than what? In my opinion they are not better. We would choose the YC/BC over the GF or the POLY everytime. You are going to get many different opinions on this as it is a matter of personal taste. The GF is just one monorail stop from the MK, but in my opinion it trys to pass itself off as a real world five star resort and it is not. The POLY theming just does not do much for us. We think of the Brady Bunch Hawaii episodes when we visit there. If money was no object give me a water view concierge room at the YC any day over anything at the GF or POLY.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

As someone who has stayed at ASMo, POFQ, POP and the Poly, the Polynesian is my absolute favorite when I've got the cash. My first trip to the Poly I whined and complained about how much it cost before I arrived but it was my dream to stay there so I did it.

And I absolutely LOVED it!

It is absolutely indispensable having the Monorail to shuttle you to the GF to see the Christmas decorations and to the Contemporary to eat at Chef Mickey's. When the general 'mob' of folks are beating an exit from the MK, the calm and peaceful Resort Monorail is waiting for you. I love the theming, the pool (yes, crowded at times but it never was when we went), coffee at Kona Cafe, the 5 meats at 'Ohana, shopping at BouTiki, playing games at Moana Mickey's arcade, watching the torch lighting ceremony, taking pictures of my daughter participating in the Keki Hula led by Aunti Kaui...I absolutely love the place and it's worth every penny. Can't wait to stay there again in August!

The Contemporary is my second-favorite. I've always wanted to stay there since I was a kid too so I'm planning to stay there Christmas '08. With the planned upgrades to the dining facilities, I'm really looking forward to it.

The Grand Floridian for me is like visiting my Aunt's house. You know, the one with all the expensive stuff that you just have to look at? I love the GF at Christmas but the place just doesn't appeal to me to want to stay there. And call me a techno-geek if you want, but the Poly and the Contemporary have 32" flat screen LG TV's. The GF still has the 'tube' ones. Just not as fun hooking up my XBox 360 at the GF as it would at the Poly or the Contemporary.

 

[ModestMouse]

But....I found the bus service to the other parks to be lacking at the Polynesian and CR. It just seemed to take much longer to get the bus to MGM or AK. We always took the monorail to Epcot.

Goofy4Tink, sorry you didn't have a good experience with the bus service at the Poly. We were at the Poly last week and the buses were great (I think better than last year when we stayed there, so perhaps they've upped the number? Or maybe we were just lucky.). We did not have to wait long at all for a bus going to any of the parks or Downtown Disney.

 

[TheyCallMeTiggs]

Room size? The addtl room really isn't all that much. Not enough to make it roomy in there!

You didn't think your room at the Poly was "roomy?"

 

[goofy4tink]

Goofy4Tink, sorry you didn't have a good experience with the bus service at the Poly. We were at the Poly last week and the buses were great (I think better than last year when we stayed there, so perhaps they've upped the number? Or maybe we were just lucky.). We did not have to wait long at all for a bus going to any of the parks or Downtown Disney.

I'm really glad they are putting more buses out there. We had long waits at the Polynesian...perhaps we had just missed the buses to MGM and DTD, but man, the wait was close to 30 mins for MGM and more than that for DTD.

You didn't think your room at the Poly was "roomy?"

I've stayed at AllStar Music, POP, POR, Polynesian, BCV, CR, BWV, S/D....and I have to tell you...I don't think the difference between room sizes is enough for me to pay the prices for the Polynesian and the GF. Sure, there are other things I would pay for though...I like the access to the monorail, I especially like being able to walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorial. But, if I'm making a quick, last minute trip to WDW, I'm just not going to pay for the Polynesian or the GF...I'll stay at a value resort. Heck, I love POR but I'm not paying the rate there either, not if I'm just going to be in a room sleeping. Besides, it is never more than 3 of us in a room, so 'roominess' is a relative term. What's roomy to me sure as heck isn't going to be roomy for a family of 5. In that case, I can understand paying for a deluxe resort.

 

[Lewisc]

LOCATION--MK--monorail--room size.

The standard rooms at AKL and WL cost less but they're smaller and only sleep 4. The deluxe rooms at AKL and WL are similar in size and price.

The rooms at the BC/YC and BWI are similar in size and aren't priced that much less.

 

[LoveThatDarnMouse]

Never stayed at a Value but haven't heard great things. Stayed at several moderates pre-kids and really enjoyed them. Had to move on once the 3rd kid came so we stepped up to the monorail resorts for convenience and size.

I've stayed at the Poly at least 5 times and LOVE it. The theming is very relaxing and the location can't be beat for the reasons the others have mentioned.

Making my first visit to GF in July and I'll tell you why. Firstly, we stayed at the Poly 5 times. Second, although we still love it and will return to the Poly, we had a few not-so-magical experiences there last year.

Every time we pass the GF on the monorail we all say "ahhhhhhh". It just looks so glamorous! No matter what you say, you must admit it's an absolutely gorgeous building and the grounds are just breathtaking. I'll let you know how we feel about the rumors of "stuffiness" but the impression I get just from walking through the resort is that they have done a very good job with the theming of this resort, it's themed to be upscale and some people may take that as stuffy, but I see it as "pampering" and that's what I'm looking forward to on this vacation. Hey, who can't use a little pampering?! And afterall, it's Disney~the CMs always go above and beyond to cater toward the kids. I can't imagine that this resort, being their Flagship resort, would be anything different.

 

[sotoalf]

The GF is just one monorail stop from the MK, but in my opinion it trys to pass itself off as a real world five star resort and it is not.

Exactly, and that's why AAA docked it a notch in it annual ratings a few years ago. Its service and amenities USED to compare favorably to any four-star resort in any city you care to name. It's still a terrific resort, but you're not getting much value.

 

[luna99]

Making my first visit to GF in July.

Every time we pass the GF on the monorail we all say "ahhhhhhh". It just looks so glamorous! No matter what you say, you must admit it's an absolutely gorgeous building and the grounds are just breathtaking.

congrats on your first stay at the GF and have a great time! I can't wait to hear what you think of it! ... and you're right.. when I have passed it on the monorail, especially when the sun is setting, it really is breath taking. I don't know if I'll ever be able to stay there, but it's nice dreaming about it.