Would you rather...

[BlueStarryHat]

Stay longer! I used to stay at the Polynesian. Many times. It's gorgeous. But now that I'm on a fixed income I stay at the All-Stars. They're not for everyone, but we love them, especially All-Star Movies. Not staying at the Poly gave me much more spending money. Also, like other PP have posted, we don't really utilize the amenities, just sleep and shower. I can't see paying all that money for stuff that we're just rushing by to get to the parks, but if you're inclined to take advantage of the resort and all it has to offer stay there. You'll be happier.

 

[Tk0021]

I would stay longer, but I guess you have to take your travel into consideration. Will it cost more or less to travel those other days. We fly so that always has to be considered.

 

[amy1981]

On our last 2 trips we did split stays so that we could stay longer AND stay at our choice resorts. We did POR and AKV on one trip and on our most recent we did OKW and BWV ... I like trying the different resorts and switching up locations/themes too. The only thing I would recommend is ending with your favorite choice...it's nice to upgrade half way through, but it would be disappointing to leave a really amazing resort that you love. Since AKV and OKW have low points, I'd stay there for the first half then switch to Poly.

 

[Simba's Girl]

I was wondering if anyone else had to make this choice, and if they were happy with what they picked and why.

Would you rather stay at your dream Disney resort and sacrifice a few days of vacation, or
stay somewhere else on property that doesn't appeal to you as much, and be able to stay at the World for an additional 1-3 days?

In my situation specifically (but feel free to answer generally as well so I get a few different opinions ), Poly is the resort that just appeals to myself and everyone so much more. I've stayed there for a night when I was too young to remember most of Disney World, and I remembered that night resort stay of all things! We'd absolutely love to stay there. Our other options are Old Key West and Animal Kingdom Lodge... which look nice, but we aren't totally in love with the idea of. But I feel like I would appreciate having more days on vacation in the long run.
If we stayed at the Poly we'd only stay for 8-9 nights compared to 10-12 nights at AKL or OKW. We are renting DVC points btw and are hoping to get a reservation for January 2018. TYIA!

When I was younger I'd rather stay longer, now that I'm middle age I'd rather have what I want because we've been to WDW many many times and it isn't going anywhere. This may help your decision or not...WDW isn't going anywhere

 

[CynBeth]

I would go 8-9 nights at Poly because 8 nights is the max we stay anyway due to missing our pets!

Now, as for your question in general, if it was a matter of staying 4 nights vs 8, I would choose the longer stay at a less expensive resort. But 8-9 days sounds like a great vacation length to me and perfect for staying where you really want to stay.

I agree.

 

[mmmears]

When I was younger I'd rather stay longer, now that I'm middle age I'd rather have what I want because we've been to WDW many many times and it isn't going anywhere. This may help your decision or not...WDW isn't going anywhere

Same with me. I'll take the comfort/location/theming of the resort I prefer over a few extra days. We really enjoy the time we spend at the resort, though. Way back when, when I could spend the whole day in the parks, I went for the number of days.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

In many situations I would say stay at Poly (it is my dream resort), but if AKL is your alternative, then go for that. I fell in love with AKL the first time I stayed there, and I just keep going back. If you are talking about the difference in a standard room at the Poly vs. a standard room at AKL, you could be talking about a $200 a night difference, depending on season and discounts. Over the course of 8 nights, that is $1600. As special as the Poly is, I don't think it is worth $1600 (or even $800) more than AKL, regardless of your length of stay.

A split stay could be a good idea, possibly allowing you to stay in the Poly for a few nights and maintain the length of your vacation. I have mixed feelings about split stays. They allow you to have variety in your vacation and to afford to stay in your dream resort for a few nights, but they have been more of a hassle than I would like. Getting packed and transferring luggage and getting checked into a new room and waiting for luggage to arrive again in the new room has not been an easy process for us, in the two times we did it. Nonetheless, it might still allow you to have your cake and eat it, too.

 

[mmmears]

^^ This is great advice. If you don't mind a split, that is. We have done a few AKL/Poly split stays and loved them. Both resorts are wonderful in their own ways.

 

[GM24]

For me it all depends on the alternate resort. We really like AKL so I'd do that and more days no question. What is it about AKL that you don't like? My only two negatives about the resort are that it has no hot tub and it's slightly (and I do mean slightly) less convenient for travel to the parks. But that latter wasn't really an issue for us last year. We never really had to wait too long for a bus either to or from, it's just that there's fewer options. We spent time in the pool, the lounges, on the animal watch balconies, watching from our balcony, sitting in the lobby and, of course, dinner at Jiko's and breakfast at Boma's. Can't speak to OKW. Never stayed there and I do consider it be more out of the way for the things we want as well as the theming doesn't appeal to me. To be honest, though, the Polynesian has never appealed to me so I'm biased.

FYI - AKL has two hot tubs!

 

[Raeven]

I would say the additional 1-3 days, but we pick the time/length of the vacation before the hotel so we already know say we're staying for this many days, and want a hotel that's this much. Plus we split the time before Disney and USO so we could do a dream hotel at one and a value at another if we had to.