Why choose Poly over POR?

[luvmylatte]

I am in a situation where I could stay at Poly this Sept instead of POr with my 9 yr old. We Re already booked T POR with free dining and not aure if that would follow me to Poly if i switch now. I am betwixed and between if I should spend the extra money. Of course we will get to jump right on the monorail for most travel. It is pretty and we have never been there. For the extra bucks why should I choose it? I will also need to fly to Florida and that will cost me an additional $800.00 ish on top of costs plus spending cash around $1000.

Any and all input is appreciated.

 

[soarin_over_nj]

There is just something so special about the Poly. I have stayed at both resorts and enjoyed both but I find myself going back to visit the Poly...I don't do that at POR. The pool at the Poly is great, located right off of Seven Seas Lagoon, the Great Ceremonial House is fantastic with places to eat and shop. It is a short walk away from the Grand Floridian, another great place to explore and it is on the Monorail loop. There is nothing more special than staying on the monorail loop. Just seeing it go by is exciting. If given the option I would stay at the Poly.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I love the look of the Poly. All the palm trees and green wallkways are so pretty. My kids and I love the volcano pool. I like that it is not a huge spread out resort. When I see pictures of the GCH lobby, I can feel the cool air and smell that Poly smell. No other resort does that for me. Of course the monorail and boat to the MK are a plus. I say the Poly is a special experience and if you can switch- go for it!

 

[ktlm]

I've stayed at both, and really enjoyed both. It really depends on whether you can afford it and want to spend the extra money. The rooms are much bigger at the Poly. The pool area is nicer if you plan to spend time there. It has bigger gift shops if you plan on doing some shopping at the resort. I don't think we have ever eaten there other than CS, but it has more restaurant options. The main thing for us is how much it shortens your transportation time to MK and Epcot, and how easy it is to get to those places from the Polcy. The Poly is right next to the TTC and we have always had a room near the TTC. We can walk to the TTC and grab the express monorail to either MK or Epcot. It is about a 5 minute or less ride to MK or about a 10 minute ride to Epcot no stops. We have made it from our room to Epcot in 20 minutes. We also love jumping on the monorail from Epcot and getting off really close to our room itself. The Poly is our favorite resort because of its access to the TTC. Bus service from the Poly has always been pretty good too. I would happily stay at either POR or the Poly again. We have stayed at POR, Poly, GF, WL, and AKL, and the Poly is our favorite.

 

[mickeynut1]

I am in a situation where I could stay at Poly this Sept instead of POr with my 9 yr old. We Re already booked T POR with free dining and not aure if that would follow me to Poly if i switch now. I am betwixed and between if I should spend the extra money. Of course we will get to jump right on the monorail for most travel. It is pretty and we have never been there. For the extra bucks why should I choose it? I will also need to fly to Florida and that will cost me an additional $800.00 ish on top of costs plus spending cash around $1000.

Any and all input is appreciated.

We've never stay at POR, but we love the Poly. The tropical surroundings are beautiful, the pool is great as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle while swimming, and it's relaxing lying in a hammock on the beach watching the fireworks. The Poly is also convenient to the CR and GF for a variety of dining and shopping options. If the extra cost is doable, I'd definitely go with the Poly. Good luck.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

We've stayed at both and love both for different reasons. When we want to splurge, the Poly is it for us. When we're feeling more budget conscious, POR is our moderate of choice (well actually, POFQ has now become our fave mod since last year's trip.) Both are beautiful and both have their definite positives. We love the convenience of the monorail and the Volcano pool at the Poly. However, when wanting to travel to AK or DHS, the bus service isn't the best and we think the mods in general have better bus service to the parks than the monorail resorts. If money were no object, we'd probably choose the Poly over POR every time, but you truly can't go wrong with either resort.

 

[SlightlyocdDisneyfan]

Have you stayed at POR before? We love both resorts. We're staying at Poly for our next vacation primarily because we've stayed at POR the last two trips and want to mix it up. You can't go wrong with either place.

With the Poly, you have more restaurants at (and near) the resort, a view of the castle from the beach, ability to watch the electrical water parade from the resort, more space in your room, on-site childcare (for a fee), campfire in the evenings (presuming this is still going on), Dole whips and Tonga toast, and several travel options (boats, monorail, bus).

With POR, you would have a great family entertainer in the bar on select evenings and beignets at POFQ -both of which are exclusive to this resort. POR has many of the same extras as Poly (evening movies, well themed pool, good jogging paths, etc.) While you don't have as many transportation options at POR, there is a boat available to ride to Downtown Disney (and, of course, buses.)

Both resorts have a lot to offer. If you've never been to POR, it's a great moderate resort. If you do splurge on Poly, you might plan for POR for your next trip.

 

[PA Princess]

We have stayed at and enjoyed both (actually POFQ) and overall as a family we prefer POFQ.

Yes, the Poly has some absolute pluses, but several factors always sway towards POFQ. We find POFQ more relaxing, because seeing MK from the Poly just made us (and our kids who were young) want to be at MK. The theming of POFQ just absorbs us and we relax.

As well, overall we have had better experience with POFQ transportation than Poly. Bus service to HS and AK were weak for us when we stayed at monorail resorts, and in the more recent years we have had several break down events and long delays that made the monorail less than ideal for efficient transportation.

Also, we like the counter service at POFQ (and POR). It is nice to have fast counter service with numerous choices. Our experiences is that the counter service is very limited at the Poly in both selection and hours.

Finally, we really enjoyed the Poly volcano pool, but truthfully we have had an equal amount of enjoyment from the 2 pool facilities at PO (POR and POFQ). We are hot tub people (especially after a day of running around the parks) and we missed this feature at the Poly.

If you have never done the Poly and will regret not giving it a try, by all means try the Poly. However, for our family we have learned that our funds are not well spent at the Poly since we are just as happy at POFQ.

 

[clapton]

If you can afford the Poly and would like to try it by all means do it, but that being said I would rather spend the money on either the CR or the GF . We have only stayed at the Poly once years ago and I really wasn't that impressed, but that's my personal opinion. as far as POR goes we have stayed there many times and always enjoyed it. Whatever you choose have a great time!