WL or Poly

[JayCT]

My DW and I are trying to decide where to stay for our trip April 30th to May 8th. It will be me, DW, DS8 and DS 6. We have narrowed it down to the Poly or WL. We stayed at the Poly in 02 and loved it. It was so convenient having the monorail to MK and Epcot and we loved the pool. Everything about it was wonderful, but we are considering trying something different and thought WL looked great. It would also save a little bit of money. We do not want to split our stay because of the hassle of moving. What do others think?

 

[Kimberle]

Haven't stayed at the Poly.

Stayed at WL last Sept, me, dh, & 4.5 yo dd. We LOVED it!! It's a beautiful resort. The pool areas are so relaxing. The beach is beautiful w/ a playground. You can rent bikes (regular, dbl & surray) to bike over to FW (path, abt 1 mile). We spent much more time at the resort than we usually do.

The transportation was terrific! Our usual wait was 5-10 minutes for a bus/boat. It's nice taking the boat over to MK. Plus, there is a boat that circles WL/CR/FW all day, making it very easy to eat at Chef Mickeys, or Trails End or the other resturants at CR or FW. There also is a direct bus to TTC, so it would be very easy to visit the Poly & eat at your fav resturant.

The rooms are nice. A little on the small side, but well set up. Every room has a balacony. The beds are very comfortable, but watch your shins! The are high off the ground!

I have pic's below if you'd care to look.

 

[JayCT]

Thanks Kimberle. The pictures look great. You say that the boat goes to CR and FW. Is this a separate boat from the one that goes to MK? Do you know why is there a bus to TTC? Also, how were the buses to Epcot, MGM and Downtown Disney? Where did they stop? Sorry to be asking so many questions, but we really are agonizing over this. You can tell we have nothing better to worry about in our lives. Thanks again. Jay, a fellow Nutmeger.

 

[PamNC]

and that's all it is - a humble opinion.

We stayed at WL last year (first time). We thought the transportation was very slow, the rooms small and dark and the CM's left a little to be desired. On the good side - the theming is gorgeous and we liked the access to Fort Wilderness. We usually stay in the Epcot Resort area and found WL to be "far removed" although there is a boat launch.

Never stayed at the Poly - but I'm going to be there in 19 days!

I think you'll be happy wherever you stay - because you are at Disney after all. I just had to share my experience because it seems convenience and easy access are important to you.

If you like the MK area - why not try the CR? We've stayed there - and loved it.

PamNC

 

[JayCT]

PamNC - Thanks for your opinion. Convenience is important to us, but we did not like the pool at the CR. Thought it looked dated and a bit boring. Also, while I would love to stay in the tower someday, it is more than we want to spend at this time. Did you stay in the tower or wings. What did you think of the wings? Never saw them inside. Are they nice? Sorry to ask all these questions, but we tend to agonize over decisions like this. Thanks for your help. Jay

 

[Kimberle]

Originally posted by JayCT
Thanks Kimberle. The pictures look great. You say that the boat goes to CR and FW. Is this a separate boat from the one that goes to MK? Do you know why is there a bus to TTC? Also, how were the buses to Epcot, MGM and Downtown Disney? Where did they stop? Sorry to be asking so many questions, but we really are agonizing over this. You can tell we have nothing better to worry about in our lives. Thanks again. Jay, a fellow Nutmeger.

I'm not sure why the bus goes to TTC. It is the only resort that has a bus to TTC. I guess just to give more transportation options. There are direct buses to Epcot/MGM/DTD/Water Parks, etc from WL. There is generally 1 stop (WL is always first, so you should have no problem getting a seat). We shared with GF in the AM and FW in the PM. (All resorts share or have multiple stops except for AKL.)

The longest bus ride we had was to Typhoon Lagoon. I'd say it was maybe 30 minutes including wait time. TL is right next to DTD. WL & TL are at opposit sides of WDW. We never went to DTD.

I've stayed at CR & actually preferred the transporation at WL.

There are 2 boats. The larger one (can just roll strollers on) goes between WL/FW/MK. The smaller one (must fold up strollers) goes between CR/WL/FW.

Glad to help!

 

[Bstanley]

If you will be spending most of your time at the MK you won't even notice the transportation difference between the two. The boat to the MK from the WL is as good as any Monorail (well almost

Traveling from the WL to the other parks is by bus - but traveling to AK or The Studios from the Polynesian is by bus also. The only real difference is being able to walk to the TTC from the Polynesian and take a Monorail to Epcot - which I'll admit is pretty kewl.

The WL is a very impressive place though. We really enjoyed our stay there - especially being able to sit on the balcony sipping hot chocolate and catch much of the MK fireworks over the trees - and - as well as much of the activity on/around Seven Seas Lagoon really(woods view room on the North side of the resort as high up as possible).

One negative about the WL. The beds are not true Queen sized (they are not nearly as big as the beds at the Polynesian for example). They are some mutant between a double and a queen.

On the other hand my two boys think the bunk beds at the WL are the best! They hate having to sleep in the same bed.

Our first choice will always be the Polynesian, but we enjoyed our stay at WL and this coming December we will probably be back at WL.

 

[Lexxiefern]

I would choose the WL. We stayed at both this past year and they were both lovely. The monorail is wonderful, but having the boat transportation at WL is great too.

I guess I prefered the hotel feel of WL (all one building not seperate buildings like Poly). Honestly I guess I like them both the same, but the lower price of WL would make me choose that.

Have fun deciding!

 

[Terk-1]

Have stayed at and enjoyed both the Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian. I did enjoy the Polynesian and like having the monorail right there. Just stayed at the Lodge again and loved it. Had a "woods" view room and had the view below. It was close to the elevator, but I found it pretty quiet. It is also a quick walk to the boat dock, pool, and lobby and just a little longer of a walk to the buses. I found the boat and bus service to be good. The pool is great and there are 2 hot tubs. There is also a smaller pool and another hot tub at the Villas. When I went a few years ago with my nephews, they loved it here and still talk about wanting to go back there. They loved everything about it.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Originally posted by JayCT
You say that the boat goes to CR and FW. Is this a separate boat from the one that goes to MK? Do you know why is there a bus to TTC? Also, how were the buses to Epcot, MGM and Downtown Disney? Where did they stop? Sorry to be asking so many questions.

JayCT
The WL has two boat systems...large launch goes from Ft. Wilderness, WL, then MK in the afternoon schedule reverses and launch goes from MK, WL then Ft.Wilderness, this handles the MK traffic. There is also a smaller resort boat, that goes to CR, Ft. Wilderness and WL.

There is a bus route between Ft. Wilderness & WL to the TTC because there may be times when the water level may be to low or to high for the launch to accommodate wheelchairs. Once at the TTC the guest can then ride the Monorail to the MK. The bus route also accommodates The Hoop Dee Do Show for the monorail resorts.

We also take the TTC bus then transfer to EPCOT Monorail, because we enjoy riding it.

All the buses at WL share the route with Ft. Wilderness at lest during the off seasons.

Oh and I also say try WL you will love it...and save some money. Hope this information helps.

 

[tiggersmom2]

I prefer the Poly. I love the convienence, the restaurants, the atmosphere, and gosh, just the whole resort. I have stayed in every on site resort, and I love many of them, but still, none quite live up to the Poly. If I could afford it, I'd stay there EVERY time!!

 

[hannahryan]

Travel & Leisure World's Best Awards named Disney's Wilderness Lodge #2 best family resort in the U.S. (view it on travelandleisure.com). Polynesian is #5.

 

[goofy4tink]

We stayed at the Polynesian last summer. It was myself, dh, and dd, 10. It was fine. The monorail to MK was pretty wonderful. Easy walk to TTC to catch the monorail to Epcot. But, that's about all I really liked there. Don't get me wrong....it's a great resort. Just wasn't what we preferred. My dd and I went again in Dec and stayed at AllStarMu and loved it. Go figure. She said there was much more magic there. We would love to stay at WL at some point. Love the resort. I would think that the theming would appeal to the kids. The transportation was fine. We made several trips to WL during our Polynesian stay and during our AllStars stay. Never had a problem getting where we wanted. We are now DVC owners and are hoping to stay at VWL in the future. You probably won't go wrong in either spot, but for the difference in money I would go with WL....good price, great theming, nice rooms.

 

[skiwee1]

I've been to both and Poly is our favorite. The pool is much nicer, slide better, and zero entry which is a huge plus. The beach is wonderful and RIGHT there with the Poly pool. That makes it perfect for the kids to play in the pool or on the beach which you can see both at the same time. The views off the beach are wonderful too. There is also a kiddie water splash area that my DD 4 y/o, loves. The rooms at the Poly are much bigger and to me brighter. The monorail is worth every extra penny spent at this resort if you plan on hanging out at MK a lot. With kids you probably go to that park more then the others. The WL is beautiful and the lobby is just amazing. I really didn't think I'd like that themeing but I ended up loving it. Nothing better then coming out of our room at the WL and sitting on a rocking chair overlooking that lobby. The pool is smaller and not zero entry. The kiddie pool is tiny and was always overcrowded with kids and parents when we went there, even in off season. You also cannot view the pool and the small beach at the same time. Another thing I didn't like about the WL is the transportation. As someone else said, during off season the WL shares ALL transportation with Ft. Wilderness, We went in May of 2002 and that was the case. We hated it. It took longer to get to our destination because we always had to go to Ft. Wilderness first. The buses were also the slowest ones I've encountered at a Disney resort. While the Poly shares buses with the GF and the CR on most routes, at least the hotels are on the way. The Ft.W is out of the way for every trip and it drove us crazy to go there only to find no one needing a bus or no one going to Ft W. So many wasted trips to Ft W! If money is an issue then I would chose WL if that was the only one I could afford. If money isn't an issue then it is definitely the Poly.

 

[Kimberle]

Originally posted by skiwee1
The kiddie pool is tiny and was always overcrowded with kids and parents when we went there, even in off season.

During our Sept stay, the kiddie pool was never crowded. In fact, most of the time, we were the only ones there.

Originally posted by skiwee1
As someone else said, during off season the WL shares ALL transportation with Ft. Wilderness, [/B]

This isn't true. WL shares with Grand Floridian in the morning. I was there, I can vouch for that.

For some reason, WL seems to be held to a higher "transportation" standard than the other resorts. Every single Disney resort (except for AKL) either shares, or has multiple stops. Don't forget, all the Epcot Area resorts share the same bus.....

Good luck with your decision. Where ever you stay, you'll have a wonderful time!!

 

[JayCT]

Thanks everyone. Last night, while I was at a night meeting, DW booked WL CV at a AAA rate. We had tried several times to get the Poly GV with a AAA rate but there were none available for our travel time. We even tried getting it for just part of our visit, but no luck. We decided that it might be worth it to just try a different resort this time. When I got home she said she just decided to book it. I hope we made a good decision. Thats not to say that if good codes or AP rates came out we would not switch. May is a long way off. One more thing, I love these Boards and the people that reply to them are great. Thanks again. Jay

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by Kimberle
During our Sept stay, the kiddie pool was never crowded. In fact, most of the time, we were the only ones there.



This isn't true. WL shares with Grand Floridian in the morning. I was there, I can vouch for that.

For some reason, WL seems to be held to a higher "transportation" standard than the other resorts. Every single Disney resort (except for AKL) either shares, or has multiple stops. Don't forget, all the Epcot Area resorts share the same bus.....

Good luck with your decision. Where ever you stay, you'll have a wonderful time!!

It may not be true that WL shares transportation when you were there but it did in May 2002. Every mode of transportation was shared with FT W. Not just certain times of the day either. I know because I experienced it for a long 12 days! I do not hold it to a higher level. I expect it to be as good as the rest of the resorts. Heck, the CBR has better transportation then the WL when it comes to buses. The time it took to go to 7 bus stops at the CBR was shorter then one trip to Ft. Wilderness. Of course that is even when buses showed up at the WL. Many times buses never showed and we gave up waiting after one hour. The kiddie pool was always packed during our stay. We like to hang at the resort pool every day during our trips and the WL was no different. The kiddie pool was termed kiddie soup because it was so crammed with parents and kids and the water was hot. I'm glad that it wasn't during your stay but that doesn't make it so during our stay. The OP asked for opinions and I gave mine. I did not say other posters were not being truthful and I appreciate the same respect. I know what I had to deal with during our stay and it wasn't pleasant to say the least. The Poly has better transportation as far as I'm concerned.

 

[TJA]

Hi JayCT, I think you made a great decision. We stayed at WL last year (woods view) and fell in love with it. There are so many great points to this resort -- here are a few:

~ just a minute away from MK! The boat transportation is wonderful.

~ you can rent bikes and boats!

~ we enjoyed the "closeness" of the restaurants, lobby, buses, boats, etc.

~ fireplace, rocking chairs, landscaping in general was beautiful.

We did not have any problems with the buses. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus. The only time we found it to be over-crowded was late at night (returning from EPCOT or DTD). We went during September (value season).

OH, one thing we especially loved about WL was how brrrr cold it was in the lobby! Sounds weird, but it made it so cozy to have that big fireplace burning and to be sipping some hot chocolate. Kind of made me feel like I was at a ski lodge!

Have fun and enjoy WL.
Debbie

 

[sillysully]

JayCT - you'll love WL! Regarding your question in an earlier post about movie and campfire night at FW. This was posted by FloridaCat who described it perfectly. "We like to go to Ft. Wilderness Campground. They have a Campfire behind Meadows Trading Post. You can buy a bag of Smore fixings, including two sticks, just a few bucks. You can also get Hot Dogs, Popcorn and the usual fare from the Chuck Wagon. There is a 30 minute sing a long of Disney songs, Chip N Dale make the rounds and then a full featured Disney movie. Free for all WDW guests. Starts at 7:00 PM during the winter and8:00 PM during the summer."
Have fun!

 

[JayCT]

SillySully - Thanks for the info on the campfire. I never heard of that before. It sounds wonderful. We will definitely check it out. Anything with Smores and DW will be there. Thanks everyone.