Which Disneymoon Hotel?

[heycitygirl]

Hey guys! My fiance and I recently decided to go to Disney World for our Honeymoon. I've been to Disney 8 times over the years, and he's been twice. We just took our first trip together this past February, in order to celebrate our engagement. I'm a huge fan of Disney and love the idea of Disney World becoming a family tradition for us, so what's better than kicking off our lives together with a Disneymoon?!

Although I've been to Disney many times, I've only ever stayed at two resorts - the Caribbean Beach Resort (way back in 1993) and Pop Century (this past February). My family always rented condos when we were in Orlando, although we've spent many days exploring the different Disney hotels and enjoying the restaurants. Now that it's time to choose a resort for our honeymoon though - I'm torn!

We originally planned on staying at either Port Orleans Riverside or the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but since discovering the ability to rent DVC points ( and getting some help from my fiance's grandma) we've decided to go all out. Hey, we only get one honeymoon! So now we're trying to decide between the Grand Floridian and the Poly. We'll be down there for a week (Sunday to Sunday, in May of 2016), and love the idea of being on the monorail so we'll be able to easily get back to the room for afternoon breaks. I've always been head-over-heels in love the Polynesian, but with the construction, smaller beach and lobby "upgrades" (I hate them), it just didn't feel as magical to me when we visited earlier this year. The Grand Floridian always felt a little stuffy to me, but we really loved it in February, with the orchestra playing and the palm trees swaying in the breeze.

I would hate to pass up the chance to stay at a resort I've always dreamed of (the Poly), but the Grand Floridian just felt more romantic the last time we were there. They're both the same price (and both more than we'll probably be willing to spend on any non-Honeymoon trip), so I was just wondering what you would suggest? Any helpful hints or words of advice? I'd love to hear your opinions. Thank you!

 

[Belle612]

I would suggest a stay at both!! My DH and I did a split stay for the WDW portion of our honeymoon after DCL, and stayed 5 nights at AKL Club Level and 2 nights at the Contemporary. It was awesome and with such a long trip it was nice breaking up the scenery with some different resorts. Switching between them was super easy too - we left our bags with bell services the morning we checked out of AKL, and later that afternoon they were ready to be brought to our room at the Contemporary. We just spent the time in between at the parks!

I also just stayed at the Poly a few weeks ago and most of the construction is finished and the resort was absolutely beautiful. It really felt like a true getaway and vacation, and you really can't beat watching Wishes from the Poly beach.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[elphie101]

We were just at the Poly for our trip at the beginning of the month, and we looooooooved the changes (and Trader Sam's!). That being said, we never had an attachment to the way it was before, so we don't care much about the fact it looks different. My other argument was going to be price, but if they're the same that doesn't help much.

If I were in your shoes, I would pick the Poly, because:
- Walkability to TTC, making it easy to get to MK and Epcot
- The Poly studios are the largest studios on property in square footage
- Trader Sams! (we really fell in love with the place)
- The pool at the Poly is far superior IMO, and I am a pool junkie

Maybe think about food options - if you're quick service people, look at the menus and compare Captain Cook's to Gasparilla Grill.

 

[mmfinn72]

Following, as I have this same question in my mind for our honeymoon next year. We are checking out Poly in a couple of months. I really would like to stay on the monorail line for our Honeymoon and have never stayed at Grand Floridian!

 

[heycitygirl]

Thanks so much! I always loved the Poly the best, but getting rid of the garden and waterfall in the lobby was disappointing. All of the construction definitely could have had something to do with it though. I don't think we'll go for a split stay just because we're renting points and don't want to have to make reservations through two different people, but we are definitely leaning towards the Poly.

Marla - you're getting married right after us; we're May 21. Congratulations!

 

[mmfinn72]

Thanks so much! I always loved the Poly the best, but getting rid of the garden and waterfall in the lobby was disappointing. All of the construction definitely could have had something to do with it though. I don't think we'll go for a split stay just because we're renting points and don't want to have to make reservations through two different people, but we are definitely leaning towards the Poly.

Marla - you're getting married right after us; we're May 21. Congratulations!

How cool!!! Congrats to you two as well!!

We were sad when they took out the waterfalls and garden, so it will be interesting to stay there in a couple months without them. We had a tradition of making wishes there every single trip and it was something my fiance's family had done many generations back. So if you see pennies on the floor in the lobby, they're from us LOL

 

[Disney_Alli]

My perspective as a DVC Owner: both are really popular right now for exactly the reasons you mentioned (location, location, location!) and you're just about exactly 11 months out so I would put in a request for whichever you choose ASAP! Owners at each resort can book them 11 months out (owners at other resorts can book at 7 months out) and those are likely to fill almost immediately. However I also think both are absolutely gorgeous and think you can't go wrong with either... but I'd try for both or save a couple of bucks and do GF for the lower points.

 

[disneyberry]

My vote is for VGF because I think for a honeymoon you should really have a 1bdrm villa with jacuzzi tub! PVB has no 1bdrms.

 

[MrsDuck]

Poly! Super romantic and less stuffy than the VGF!

 

[ANforever1030]

My DF and I wanted to do Poly and GF (she wanted Poly and I wanted GF); unfortunately since we decided to get married this year instead of waiting another year GF was completely booked for our dates and we could only get some of the days at Poly. So, we wound up doing Poly for 3 nights, POFQ (we both love the New Orleans theming) for 2 nights, and AKV for the remaining six nights. I'm sure that whatever you decide to do it will be fantastic and romantic since it is your Disneymoon!

 

[heycitygirl]

Thanks so much for the advice! What if the Beach Club was thrown into the mix? We've always liked visiting but never got to stay. I love the idea of being able to walk into the World Showcase and to the boardwalk. Do you think it's romantic for a honeymoon?

 

[ANforever1030]

I think it would be. I haven't stayed at BC, but have stayed at BWV and the proximity to Epcot and DHS is awesome. From my previous experiences, I have found that, at least up to now, BCV is the most difficult DVC property from which to rent points, primarily because it is so popular. If that is where you want to stay though I hope you have luck getting into it.

 

[elphie101]

We stayed at BC for our honeymoon so we certainly loved it. We loved strolling into Epcot whenever we were at the resort just lounging around and walking around World Showcase. I agree with the PP that if you're renting points, I would absolutely get on finding a BCV owner now to rent to you at 11 months out (I personally believe it's the combination of being the closest DVC to Epcot with that fantastic pool). I would not wait until 7 months out frankly for any of the properties you're considering.

 

[heycitygirl]

Thanks so much, I really appreciate it. We're just waiting to get my fiance's schedule for next year, which is supposed to be out sometime today (fingers crossed) to see how much time we'll actually have. If for some reason we can't get into the Beach Club, at least we have a few back ups. I think we're going to go through Dave's. Thanks again!

 

[elphie101]

Thanks so much, I really appreciate it. We're just waiting to get my fiance's schedule for next year, which is supposed to be out sometime today (fingers crossed) to see how much time we'll actually have. If for some reason we can't get into the Beach Club, at least we have a few back ups. I think we're going to go through Dave's. Thanks again!

Just to share my personal experience - I wasn't able to use David's because I was told they didn't own enough Beach Club points to book at 11 months out. Since my wedding/honeymoon was during the Food & Wine Festival, I didn't want to chance waiting for an Epcot resort, so I ended up renting directly from an owner at Mouse Owners .com (the forums here are also fantastic for DVC renting but again, I couldn't find any BCV owners), which also saved me about $300. Just keep that in mind if they tell you a place is unavailable - renting directly from an owner isn't for everyone, but it's usually the cheapest way!

 

[heycitygirl]

I will definitely look into that. We've never rented points before and are still trying to figure out how it all works. Thank you!