WL of Poly for getting to the parks easily?

[Raivyn]

Hello,

I am trying to decide between WL or Poly. I read that the only way to get to the resorts from WL is via bus or boat, so it is recommended to have a car.

We would prefer not to have a car, so I'm wondering if the convenience of moving to Poly is worth it because of the monorail. It would be about a $600 price difference though (big price difference).

We'll be there towards the end of June, so a really busy (and HOT) time. We're spending 7 days at either Poly or WL, and then moving to the Swan.

Thanks!

 

[MickeyNicki]

We have stayed at both and the Poly is much easier because of the monorail to MK and Epcot

 

[Luvamouse]

Second that. Poly is also right next to the TTC, so you can catch any transport there also.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have also stayed at both Resorts and I would recommend the Polynesian.

 

[PlainJane]

I am not a fan of the transportation at WL. You have to share a bus with FW when you go anywhere besides MK, and that bus gets packed. It takes forever to get anywhere because packing everyone on at FW is such a challenge. Both of the resorts really need their own dedicated bus.

OTOH, when we stayed at the Poly, we never had an issue with a packed bus, and the wait to get anywhere wasn't very long. I think the transportation at the Poly is the best on property.

BTW, both of my experiences at these resorts were in January.

If the extra cost is going to really hurt you financially, I wouldn't do it, but if you can swing it I would go with the Poly.

Have you considered the CR, it's significantly cheaper than the Poly if you stay in the South Wing, and has a good transportation system.

 

[Raivyn]

CR is fully booked for the dates we need, and our dates aren't flexible. We're also considering changing to BWI to get a better rate. So many options - AGH!

 

[PlainJane]

CR is fully booked for the dates we need, and our dates aren't flexible. We're also considering changing to BWI to get a better rate. So many options - AGH!

Oh, that's too bad about the CR.

I love the BWI btw. The transportation to MK and AK leaves something to be desired, but I would pick it over the WL in a second. Th BW is my happy place .

 

[Raivyn]

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that each resort has its pros and cons, and I really just need to pick one and enjoy it. This is our first trip, and while we don't want to spend alot of money, we don't want to scrimp and miss out on something that would make the trip much more enjoyable. DH is very concerned about getting around the parks, and the monorail sounds like its a valuable convenience.

We have ressies everywhere right now. We wanted to make sure we had our dates since AKL CL is booked, CR is totally full, and I was told I booked the last standard room at WL for my dates. Geez!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We rode the boat from MK to WL and it was quick, relaxing and easy.

After our meal, we took the bus to Epcot - it was a direct bus that evening and we got there quickly. So I'd say stick with WL and think of the bus rides as an adventure.

 

[brergnat]

I love the WL, I really do. I spent my Honeymoon there and have been there two other times since. However, I really am over the transportation there. It is really bad. If I dare say it, it's almost as bad as the Pop Century (and that was BAD!).

I hated sharing a bus with Ft. Wilderness. It took at least 40-50 min to get TO anywhere, once you left the WL (I'm not talking about waiting for the bus, I'm talking about time SITTING on the bus once it left the WL until it arrived at its destination). This is just ridiculous when the park is like 5 miles away (Epcot, for example). The worst part was that when you get to Ft. Wilderness, we usually had to sit there and wait, and wait, and wait. It's like they have some rule that they have to WAIT for a certain amount of time before they can leave. They don't do that at any other resort. If no one is at the bus stop, the bus leaves. Not at Ft. W. It's like they give people a chance to arrive at the stop. Insane. And there are TWO bus stops at Ft. W., so you have to make the rounds there. I hated that. Then, on the way back to WL from anywhere, have to stop at the Fort again. That Ft. was like a thorn in my back on our last trip. We had a short trip (only 4 days) and we spent more time on buses than in the parks it seemed.

And don't get me started on the "leisurely" boat. More like slow, crawling "I-could-swim-faster-than-this-boat." Maybe I was just a bit irritated by the bus situation, but the boat was no better. And, we spent a LOT of time waiting at various docks for boats that never came (at the Contemporary for close to an hour for a boat to WL...at the MK for almost 40 min for a WL boat, etc)

In my opinion, $600 is a small price to pay for the CONVENIENCE of the Poly transport.

We are going in March and when it was time to pick a resort again, my sister piped up "I liked the Wilderness Lodge last time" until I reminded her about the buses and boats, and then she was like "oh yeah...right...I forgot about that" and we decided on the Polynesian mainly for the transportation but also because we've always wanted to stay there and we love the restaurants there. On our last trip, we were there so often, we thought "we should have just stayed here!"

 

[Endeavour105]

I love the WL, I really do. I spent my Honeymoon there and have been there two other times since. However, I really am over the transportation there. It is really bad. If I dare say it, it's almost as bad as the Pop Century (and that was BAD!).

I hated sharing a bus with Ft. Wilderness. It took at least 40-50 min to get TO anywhere, once you left the WL (I'm not talking about waiting for the bus, I'm talking about time SITTING on the bus once it left the WL until it arrived at its destination). This is just ridiculous when the park is like 5 miles away (Epcot, for example). The worst part was that when you get to Ft. Wilderness, we usually had to sit there and wait, and wait, and wait. It's like they have some rule that they have to WAIT for a certain amount of time before they can leave. They don't do that at any other resort. If no one is at the bus stop, the bus leaves. Not at Ft. W. It's like they give people a chance to arrive at the stop. Insane. And there are TWO bus stops at Ft. W., so you have to make the rounds there. I hated that. Then, on the way back to WL from anywhere, have to stop at the Fort again. That Ft. was like a thorn in my back on our last trip. We had a short trip (only 4 days) and we spent more time on buses than in the parks it seemed.

And don't get me started on the "leisurely" boat. More like slow, crawling "I-could-swim-faster-than-this-boat." Maybe I was just a bit irritated by the bus situation, but the boat was no better. And, we spent a LOT of time waiting at various docks for boats that never came (at the Contemporary for close to an hour for a boat to WL...at the MK for almost 40 min for a WL boat, etc)

In my opinion, $600 is a small price to pay for the CONVENIENCE of the Poly transport.

We are going in March and when it was time to pick a resort again, my sister piped up "I liked the Wilderness Lodge last time" until I reminded her about the buses and boats, and then she was like "oh yeah...right...I forgot about that" and we decided on the Polynesian mainly for the transportation but also because we've always wanted to stay there and we love the restaurants there. On our last trip, we were there so often, we thought "we should have just stayed here!"

Be advised the above poster has grossly exaggerated the wait times for boats.

Blue flag launches serving the WL, CR and FWC run every 15/20 minutes from these resorts as do the Red flag boats running between the MK and WL.

If indeed they wait longer it was likely due to the boats filling up so they had to wait for another or they arrived at the dock just as the boat they needed left.

"Never came" - Don't think so.

Perhaps this poster should take their own advice next time and "...swim-faster-than-this-boat" if they bring their 'Rat-Race" lifestyle to The Mouse.

 

[brergnat]

Be advised the above poster has grossly exaggerated the wait times for boats.

Blue flag launches serving the WL, CR and FWC run every 15/20 minutes from these resorts as do the Red flag boats running between the MK and WL.

If indeed they wait longer it was likely due to the boats filling up so they had to wait for another or they arrived at the dock just as the boat they needed left.

"Never came" - Don't think so.

Perhaps this poster should take their own advice next time and "...swim-faster-than-this-boat" if they bring their 'Rat-Race" lifestyle to The Mouse.

Um...actually, yes, a boat "never came". We ate dinner one night at the California Grill. We left the restaurant at 9:30pm. The boats were supposed to run until 10:30pm that night (we had asked the boat captain who had DROPPED US OFF there on the boat from WL to Contemporary on our way to the hotel for dinner). We stood at that dock, in the FREEZING temps that night (it was in the 40's...this was in February), for an HOUR (until 10:30). No boat showed up. We could see the little lights of the boats way off in the distance going back and forth from the MK to the WL, but none ever came to the Contemporary dock. We contemplated going back in, taking the monorail over to MK, and then getting a bus or boat back to WL, but we were all in nice dresses and heels, and like I said, we were FREEZING, and the idea of walking all that way, when we assumed a boat would be coming "any minute" was not tempting, so we waited. Luckily for us, a training boat came by and we BEGGED for a ride to WL, and they obliged us, and even gave us some hand warmers because they felt so bad. They couldn't explain the "missing boat" either, as they said a couple of boats "should have stopped by" in the past hour. All they could say was "there must have been no one at the Lodge or Ft. Wilderness who wanted to go to the Contemporary", but that is hardly an excuse to not check at the Contemporary for people needing to go back to WL!

You can think I grossly overexaggerated all I want. Like I said, I've stayed at WL three times. If I had had that transportation experience the FIRST time, I wouldn't have gone back the next two times. The first two stays were fine, that last one (in Feb 2007, just for reference) was so awful, I vowed to either never stay there again, or RENT A CAR if I ever did stay there again.

 

[wasabi girl]

I have stayed at both resorts and think the Poly is MUCH more convenient than the WL as far as transportation goes (I never rent a car so depend on Disney transportation).

The WL is gorgeous, Artist Point is one of my very favorite restaurants at Disney. Whispering Canyon is alot of fun too. But...we stayed at the Poly on our very first trip and I completely loved it. The whole kitschy Hawaiian theme, the "aloha" greetings from everyone, the lei upon check in, and of course the monorail...tonga toast at Kona...O'hana (not my fave but really really fun and popular)...if paying for the Poly doesn't stress your budget, I would definitely stay there, if the WL fits better, then stay there, no matter where you stay you will have a great time! Heck, you'll be at Disney!

 

[PlainJane]

Perhaps this poster should take their own advice next time and "...swim-faster-than-this-boat" if they bring their 'Rat-Race" lifestyle to The Mouse.

How dare she want to spend her time in the parks, and not on transportation

 

[Endeavour105]

Um...actually, yes, a boat "never came". We ate dinner one night at the California Grill. We left the restaurant at 9:30pm. The boats were supposed to run until 10:30pm that night (we had asked the boat captain who had DROPPED US OFF there on the boat from WL to Contemporary on our way to the hotel for dinner). We stood at that dock, in the FREEZING temps that night (it was in the 40's...this was in February), for an HOUR (until 10:30). No boat showed up. We could see the little lights of the boats way off in the distance going back and forth from the MK to the WL, but none ever came to the Contemporary dock. We contemplated going back in, taking the monorail over to MK, and then getting a bus or boat back to WL, but we were all in nice dresses and heels, and like I said, we were FREEZING, and the idea of walking all that way, when we assumed a boat would be coming "any minute" was not tempting, so we waited. Luckily for us, a training boat came by and we BEGGED for a ride to WL, and they obliged us, and even gave us some hand warmers because they felt so bad. They couldn't explain the "missing boat" either, as they said a couple of boats "should have stopped by" in the past hour. All they could say was "there must have been no one at the Lodge or Ft. Wilderness who wanted to go to the Contemporary", but that is hardly an excuse to not check at the Contemporary for people needing to go back to WL!

You can think I grossly overexaggerated all I want. Like I said, I've stayed at WL three times. If I had had that transportation experience the FIRST time, I wouldn't have gone back the next two times. The first two stays were fine, that last one (in Feb 2007, just for reference) was so awful, I vowed to either never stay there again, or RENT A CAR if I ever did stay there again.

1. In all likelihood, the boat that dropped you off at the CR was a Blue flag motor launch - the pilots know the operating hours of the Blue flag boat route on Bay Lake and would not have told you they operate until 10:30. Besides, here is a prominent sign on the CR dock clearly stating the 6:45 am -11:30 pm operating hours of these WDW watercraft.

2. Two MFV boats for the WISHES fireworks cruise can impact the Blue flag boat cycles as MFVs take about 30 minutes to load or unload and the launches serving the CR cannot dock during these times when both sides of the dock are occuppied. Depending on the time of that night's WISHES show, this may have been a factor in any delay you perceive. You were at the dock about the time this can happen depending on the actual WISHES show time that night.

3. The Electrical Water Pageant is in Bay Lake at the time period you were at the CR dock for showings at the WL, FWC and CR and this show has priority. "SOP" dictates that WDW Watercraft at the dock where the EWP is showing need to wait at the dock until the EWP show is concluded before departing. Blue flag launches also must avoid the EWP while it is transiting from one resort area to another. This can add further delays. You were at the CR dock about during the time period of the EWP on Bay Lake.

4. Unfortunately, it seems that the Training crew offered you a rather lame excuse for what you perceived was happening that you seem now to be "hanging your hat on" when the crew actually had no idea of what was actually the case. But, any answer to a question is better than saying, "I don't know." according to Disney. MFVs and/or the EWP could have been involved as described above.

Your perception of watercraft operations due to this isolated experience is unfortunate as is your lack of forethought for bringing appropriate additional clothing for being outside during cold weather.

 

[mmmears]

To the OP:

The Poly is considered by many on this board to be the best resort if judging by transportation. Not only can you take the monorail or boat launch to the MK, but you can walk to the TTC and take the monorail to Epcot without having to run the MK monorail circuit.

You can also walk to the TTC and take the big boat to the MK from there. SO that's 3 different ways to get to the MK!

Hope this helps!