Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian

[kenziesnow]

We are a brother and sister who would like to stay at one of the Magic Kingdom Resorts. We have narrowed it down to either the WL or Polynesian. We are looking at late September - early October. We have never stayed at one of the MK resorts and we would like to stay at one of these resorts. We would appreciate any recommendations. Thanks in advanced.

 

[Babsy]

Both resorts are great. There is a significant price difference between them. If the cost is in your budget, I would go with the polynesian. It is on the monorail line, has larger rooms, has a view of the castle and fireworks from the beach and has direct monorail access to both the MK and Epcot.

The WL is also great. It is not on the monorail, but does have boat access to the MK, CR and FW. At the WL everything is under one roof so you do not have to go outside to get from your room to a restaurant, for example. For a luxury resort, the WL is a great value.

theming at both resorts is great. Both resorts are also slated to have some refurbishments ongoing during your visit, but it isn't expected to be something that should interfere with your enjoyment of your stay. At the WL book a courtyard view room to minimize the impact. At the Polynesian, book a lagoon view or Theme park view to reduce impact of construction issues. In both cases request rooms that are not near any construction.

Good luck!!

 

[justme0729]

I prefer the Poly for its monorail access, tropical theming, and seeing the castle/ feeling in the middle of the "magic" while still at the resort. For adults, it has Trader Sams and Tambu Lounge as well as all of the other dining/ lounges within monorail access. Plus, it has a direct monorail to Epcot with a 5 minute walk to the TTC. I like the WL but I love the Poly and think that being easy access to Epcot as well for adults would be nice

 

[mickeynut1]

Both resorts are great. There is a significant price difference between them. If the cost is in your budget, I would go with the polynesian. It is on the monorail line, has larger rooms, has a view of the castle and fireworks from the beach and has direct monorail access to both the MK and Epcot.

The WL is also great. It is not on the monorail, but does have boat access to the MK, CR and FW. At the WL everything is under one roof so you do not have to go outside to get from your room to a restaurant, for example. For a luxury resort, the WL is a great value.

theming at both resorts is great. Both resorts are also slated to have some refurbishments ongoing during your visit, but it isn't expected to be something that should interfere with your enjoyment of your stay. At the WL book a courtyard view room to minimize the impact. At the Polynesian, book a lagoon view or Theme park view to reduce impact of construction issues. In both cases request rooms that are not near any construction.

Good luck!!

I agree with everything here. We have stayed at both and while the Poly is our favorite resort overall, we do love the WL. I don't think you can go wrong with either one as they are both great.

 

[jerseygirlmk]

I love the Polynesian! I have visited both but as the others have listed the monorail, I loved the pool, the food, and just that tropical feel!

 

[Lucius Best]

WL going to be cheaper than Poly. WL has boat access to MK. We stayed there once and it was very nice, but very cool to be staying on monorail line. Note that WL is going to be going through DVC construction/expansion at some point in the future, there is a thread somewhere on here about it.

 

[JenQ]

I just went through the same debate and chose the Poly for monorail, location and space with 3 small kids.

 

[goofy4prez]

I actually prefer the WL over the Poly. The lobby of the WL is absolutely breathtaking each and every time you walk through the doors and never gets old. I love how nice and compact the resort is with everything under one roof. The resort has very good bus service and the boat ride over to the MK is not a long one; that and you can take a boat directly to the Contemporary giving you access to the monorail and all the restaurants on the monorail. I also love how the WL feels like it is so far away from everything but is actually right there in the middle of it all. Oh, and the price is perhaps the lowest of all the deluxe properties. I love, love love the WL.

 

[Bree]

We just stayed at the Poly last week and enjoyed it. We have stayed many times at WL.

I didn't like the bathroom area at Poly. The tub, shower and sink area are all in the same room. At the WL the sinks are separate from the shower and toilet area. It was just my DD and me, so not too big of a deal, but I have no desire to stay there with my entire family. There was also no full length mirror at the Poly and no hooks anywhere to hang wet bathing suits, cover ups and towels. There was one hook over the toilet and then two small towel bars in front of the sink. Not every room at the Poly has a balcony. The second floor has a sliding glass door, but there is a railing that sits right up against it. The food court was blah. Not many choices on the menu. I prefer the food court at WL. I like the pool areas the same. The Poly lobby gets extremely crowded at night with people coming to ADR's for 'Ohana, Kona Cafe and the Spirit of Aloha show. My only big complaint is the location of the smoking areas. One is right near the patio seating area for Pineapple Lani and Captain Cooks. The smoke would drift over to those areas while we were eating. There was also another smoking location on the second floor landing of our longhouse. I loved the beach area at the Poly and watching Wishes from the pool lounger. The monorail is awesome and the boat ride to MK was nice too. We were in Samoa, which is very close to the main building, but some rooms are pretty far away and we had two big storms which caused some flooding. It was a quick run in the rain to/from our room, but I can't imagine being out in Pago Pago and needing to go anywhere. I like that WL is all under one roof. I like the decor of the rooms at Poly better. WL is great with it's rustic theme, but I grew up in rural New England. My inlaws all live in Maine. My MIL actually lives in a small cabin in the middle of nowhere LOL!

 

[clapton]

I like the WL over the Poly, although I'm in the minority in my family! Just love the theme and the lobby is amazing. Love Roaring Forks for QS and love the boat ride over to the CR as well. You really can't go wrong with either, but like a PP said the WL will definitely be cheaper than the Poly , something to consider. Whatever you decide have a great trip!

 

[Dano13]

I am in the minority, I know, but I think the poly is highly overrated and frequently too crowded. I would take either the wilderness lodge or contemporary garden wing over it any day.

 

[callmecal]

There is no comparison. Polynesian is the greatest resort in the World. The Wilderness Lodge is merely an exceptional resort.

 

[Dano13]

We are a brother and sister who would like to stay at one of the Magic Kingdom Resorts. We have narrowed it down to either the WL or Polynesian. We are looking at late September - early October. We have never stayed at one of the MK resorts and we would like to stay at one of these resorts. We would appreciate any recommendations. Thanks in advanced.

Not sure of your ages but if you are both adults I would greatly prefer staying at Crescent Lake over the MK resorts. Walking to Epcot is awesome. Short boat ride to DHS. Best location around and I think the Beach Club and particularly the Boardwalk Inn blow the monorail hotels away.

 

[goofy4prez]

There is no comparison. Polynesian is the greatest resort in the World. The Wilderness Lodge is merely an exceptional resort.

Your right, no comparison. But I think it's the other way around.

 

[MillauFr]

How much is the price difference. When were there last August we stayed at both. The Wilderness Lodge was $169 and the Poly was $189. Given $20 I would pick the Poly.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I've stayed at both and while not a huge fan of either...they each have their pros. WL's biggest pro is the cost, but your room will also be noticeably smaller and it's just not as convenient to stay at WL...still, I think WL's theme is much better executed than the Poly's (even pre-refurb, IMO). Poly has much bigger and more comfortable rooms, their boat and monorail service trumps WL's transportation, and we found their bus service to be so much better than WL's (of course, I know this can vary). If it's in the budget, I'd go with the Poly as I am all about paying for convenience if it's in the budget.

 

[B-Ride]

I've stayed at both and while not a huge fan of either...they each have their pros. WL's biggest pro is the cost, but your room will also be noticeably smaller and it's just not as convenient to stay at WL...still, I think WL's theme is much better executed than the Poly's (even pre-refurb, IMO). Poly has much bigger and more comfortable rooms, their boat and monorail service trumps WL's transportation, and we found their bus service to be so much better than WL's (of course, I know this can vary). If it's in the budget, I'd go with the Poly as I am all about paying for convenience if it's in the budget.

$189, are you sure it wasn't an offsite resort with a Polynesian theme. Or was that the parking cost?

 

[hpfan100]

We honeymooned at the Poly and had a great time. The location is very good. It's easy to get to the contemporary or grand Floridian as well as magic kingdom and TTC. We found the rooms to be spacious, nicely decorated, and very comfortable. The restaurants are good and the grounds are lovely.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

$189, are you sure it wasn't an offsite resort with a Polynesian theme. Or was that the parking cost?

I wasn't the one who quoted $189 for the Poly. I know even with a 30% discount, I certainly paid more than $189 a night this past fall. I think that was @MillauFr that used that figure.

 

[Lisann]

They are both great resorts. The only con for me at WL is the size of the room; it's just too tiny. The Polynesian is a little more upbeat and young feeling, and the rooms are more spacious.

You can't go wrong with either resort. Are you leaning more towards tahitian styling? or lodge decor? All the previous posters have brought up good points for each. I like both.