Age old debate - Contemporary vs Polynesian. Asking for insights and opinions

[DarthVader]

I'm about to book my April 2016 vacation and I'm on the horns of a dilemma.

I've always loved the look of the Contemporary, and the fact the monorail goes through it, add in the fact that its a 10 minute walk from MK is a huge advantage. Downsides seem to be that it could possibly be noisy (chef mickey or the monorail) and the whole theming debate.

From those who stayed at CR, can you tell me how the rooms are, i.e., well made, clean etc. Noise left and for park side, can you really see the park and/or fireworks?

The Poly is more immersive in its theme, the pool appears to be better, and the overall experience appears to be top notch. This resort is also on the monorail and fairly close to MK (is it walking distance?)

I can possibly save around 900 for a garden view Poly room, vs a park view Contemporary room (the garden had no availability when I called ).

I know I ask an impossible question on what to choose, so I'm not going to go there, but any positives and negatives of both resort will help shape my decision.

Another odd ball thought occurred as well. Anyone split there time between both, half the week at the Contemporary and the other half at the Poly?

Thanks in advance.

 

[englanddg]

I'm about to book my April 2016 vacation and I'm on the horns of a dilemma.

I've always loved the look of the Contemporary, and the fact the monorail goes through it, add in the fact that its a 10 minute walk from MK is a huge advantage. Downsides seem to be that it could possibly be noisy (chef mickey or the monorail) and the whole theming debate.

From those who stayed at CR, can you tell me how the rooms are, i.e., well made, clean etc. Noise left and for park side, can you really see the park and/or fireworks?

The Poly is more immersive in its theme, the pool appears to be better, and the overall experience appears to be top notch. This resort is also on the monorail and fairly close to MK (is it walking distance?)

I can possibly save around 900 for a garden view Poly room, vs a park view Contemporary room (the garden had no availability when I called ).

I know I ask an impossible question on what to choose, so I'm not going to go there, but any positives and negatives of both resort will help shape my decision.

Another odd ball thought occurred as well. Anyone split there time between both, half the week at the Contemporary and the other half at the Poly?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, park view rooms can see the park and even hear things from it (like MSEP). And yes, you can see the fireworks as well as a stunning view of the water pageant.

I have pictures from the balcony I took on my stay if you are curious. They are in my trip report. Id link them here, but Im replying from my phone and that is more compicated...but you can find my trip report linked in my signature.

The main pool at Poly is better themed, imho, but the amenities are comparable

The rooms are quiet and the Grand Canyon Concourse is notable quiet. Youd think it would be loud like a subway station, but it isnt.

You cannot walk from Poly to MK in any way. You could either take the resort ferry, walk to TTC and then take a larger ferry, or just ride the monorail the two stops to MK.

 

[zurgandfriend]

Over the years we have stayed at both resorts. Our last stay at the Polynesian was disappointing as our hotel room as well as the GCH were not yet refurbished and had an “old” feeling about it. We also found the volcano pool small and the quiet pool very dated. The trip before we stayed at the refurbished Contemporary and loved our resort and our room so the comparison wasn’t really on a level field. That said, With the Polynesian fully refurbished I would stay there if possible, I like the layout of the resort and love the restaurants. My DW however remembers our last stay at the Polynesian and picked the Grand Floridian for our upcoming trip, go figure.

 

[jwakja]

Might consider a split stay. Both are super in their own way. Personally I prefer the Poly with it's relaxing atmosphere and restaurants. If we had young kids then maybe the CR but we get enough kids in the parks and enjoy the peace of the Poly.

 

[DarthVader]

Might consider a split stay.

I mentioned that in my OP, that's on the table to be sure. My kids will be 10 years old, so I don't the word peace is in our vocabulary yet

 

[aw14]

I actually started a thread about this a few weeks ago. We stayed at CR 7/14 with a theme park room on the 10th floor. The view of the MK was amazing and having my DD be able to watch wishes from her bed if she wanted to was amazing.

Nothing against Poly, but we absolutely LOVED CR. Great experience and I do believe we will be staying there again 3/16 for my 40th.

 

[LowesChevy]

We have stayed at both....split stays are pretty fun, but note that now ADRs will not recognize 180 +10 with splits any longer. You will have to make ADRs for each 180 day point from each reservation number.

As for the resorts...

Poly pros:
Awesome theme right down to the smell and atmosphere
Buildings only have a few floors-don't have the mega hotel feeling
Quick walk to the TTC to get to Epcot or to the Grand Floridian for dining (This can save you time if the monorails are slow!)
Rooms have been total refurbished in the last 5 years

Cons:
Buildings separate from GCH-if it is raining it is a bummer to get to and fro
The construction should be done by the time you arrive-maybe the east pool will be down still

Contemporary pros:
Just about everything you need is in one building
Walk to the MK, boat to the WL or FW easily
Request a high floor to minimize GCC noise

Cons:
pool side rooms have to listen to pop music blaring at the pool all day
Must monorail to TTC

Both have more than one dining option
Both have transportation conveniences

Just comes down to personal interest or which parks do you need faster access to.

Polynesian is my all time favorite, but we are owners at BLT so it's a tough one for us

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I've said this in other threads but I just feel like the Contemporary is so boring. Yes, it's very nice. But it's a hotel themed as a... hotel. I'd be thrilled to stay there as a convention guest or for business, but it's not where I'd take a family with children.

Question about the Poly: @LowesChevy mentioned that you could have an outside journey from your room to the main building for restaurants and such, but is that walk uncovered? DAK Lodge requires you to go outside to get from the lobby to The Mara and the arcade, but it's covered the whole way.

 

[Tuvalu]

Question about the Poly:@LowesChevy mentioned that you could have an outside journey from your room to the main building for restaurants and such, but is that walk uncovered? DAK Lodge requires you to go outside to get from the lobby to The Mara and the arcade, but it's covered the whole way.

If it is raining, you WILL get wet on your way to/from any longhouse to the Great Ceremonial House. There are no covered walkways. We have minimized getting soaked by walking through other longhouses on our way to the main building, but there are stretches between buildings where you are exposed to the elements.

That said, I would still pick the Poly over the Contemporary!

 

[DarthVader]

Thanks for the input, In discussing the pros/cons with the wife, we went with the Contemporary. We could only reserve the room at this point, I'll have to wait until mid/late summer to book the entire package but I wanted to at least get the resort.

 

[Master Yoda]

Regarding the noise from the monorail....The last time we were in the tower, we were at the lowest level right over the monorail. The sound and a slight vibration was noticeable, but just barely.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

The Contemporary is the only resort I've most wanted to stay at that I haven't been able to yet. I've stayed at the Polynesian 3x now and absolutely love it. True, the walk from longhouse to the GCH is uncovered, but that's only any kind of issue when it's raining. I think having the monorail there, as the Contemporary does too, is a huge plus......particularly because you can catch the monorail going TO the MK as opposed to catching it after it's already passed and then having to ride it all around again from the Contemporary (assuming you don't walk to MK).

 

[thomas998]

I'm about to book my April 2016 vacation and I'm on the horns of a dilemma.

I've always loved the look of the Contemporary, and the fact the monorail goes through it, add in the fact that its a 10 minute walk from MK is a huge advantage. Downsides seem to be that it could possibly be noisy (chef mickey or the monorail) and the whole theming debate.

From those who stayed at CR, can you tell me how the rooms are, i.e., well made, clean etc. Noise left and for park side, can you really see the park and/or fireworks?

The Poly is more immersive in its theme, the pool appears to be better, and the overall experience appears to be top notch. This resort is also on the monorail and fairly close to MK (is it walking distance?)

I can possibly save around 900 for a garden view Poly room, vs a park view Contemporary room (the garden had no availability when I called ).

I know I ask an impossible question on what to choose, so I'm not going to go there, but any positives and negatives of both resort will help shape my decision.

Another odd ball thought occurred as well. Anyone split there time between both, half the week at the Contemporary and the other half at the Poly?

Thanks in advance.

Contemporary room are the largest of the three. We have stayed there several times and were even very close to the monorail station on one trip, never would have known it from inside the room it was quiet and we heard nothing so it wasn't like those movies where you have someone close to a train and they get rattled out of bed when it passes by.

I would say that the walk seemed longer than we thought it would be... maybe because we were pushing a stroller. But the upside you didn't mention was that it is the first stop on the monorail when you are leaving the park and also the first one to pick up guests to go to the park... which means you don't have to wait long when you are going back to your room and when you are going to the park in the morning it is not going to be full so that you can't get a seat... The folks at the Grand Floridian have the worst experience when trying to get to the park in the mornings and at the evening when you are tired it seem to take forever to get back because of all the stops on the return.

An we have split our trips between resorts before... If you have a car it isn't a big deal, you can just load your luggage the last day at the first hotel and then drive with it to your room when you swap that evening... But it does suck some time out of your trip because the check-ins can eat up time and god forbid you have Disney take your bags from one place to another... then you are left having to wait for them to deliver them to your room because they wont just drop them with no one there you have to have someone in the room to take them and that can eat up more than an hour just waiting... In short, I would say don't do it... We have only done it because the preferred resort was only available for part of our trip and we really wanted as much time there as possible... we've done it a few times but honestly unless the wife is adamant about doing it I wouldn't if it were just my decision.

 

[DarthVader]

I know this is an old-sh thread but I wanted to update it.

Thanks to everyone's input, I've booked my 2016 April vacation for the contemporary park view. I'm still on the fence a bit regarding the Poly.

I do think the Poly provides a better atmosphere in some ways, but I've always wanted to stay at the contemporary since I was a kid. Now that I'm a grizzled old man, I have the opportunity to do it

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

If it is raining, you WILL get wet on your way to/from any longhouse to the Great Ceremonial House. There are no covered walkways. We have minimized getting soaked by walking through other longhouses on our way to the main building, but there are stretches between buildings where you are exposed to the elements.

That said, I would still pick the Poly over the Contemporary!

This ^^^ Now, as it's well known, I am a Polyanna Poly lover LOL, but I do love the vibe at the Poly much more than at the Contemporary. As nice as the Contemporary is, it just feels like a convention hotel (which it is LOL) to me. We too, have walked through other longhouses to get to GCH during a few rainstorms in the past. Contemporary does offer a short walk to MK, but then again, the Poly offers the Monorail as well as the boat launch to MK

 

[DarthVader]

As nice as the Contemporary is, it just feels like a convention hotel (which it is LOL) to me.

I won't deny that it has a different feel, I've been at the contemporary for dinnner/breakfasts and agree it has a different vibe. I don't think its a bad vibe. The question is for my family, do we opt for walking distance to MK, a wonderful view of the parks from our room (hopefully), or the Poly and its more immersive feel. I think the pool for my kids may be a nicer feel as well.

The other option I may think about it splitting our time between both - not sure if I want to do that but it is an option.

 

[Master Yoda]

I won't deny that it has a different feel, I've been at the contemporary for dinnner/breakfasts and agree it has a different vibe. I don't think its a bad vibe. The question is for my family, do we opt for walking distance to MK, a wonderful view of the parks from our room (hopefully), or the Poly and its more immersive feel. I think the pool for my kids may be a nicer feel as well.

The other option I may think about it splitting our time between both - not sure if I want to do that but it is an option.

The only time that option becomes a problem is if you are getting the dining plan.

If you are going sans dining plan or don't mind forgoing it for the latter half of your trip then a split stay is quite easy. Disney will even move your luggage for you. The only con is you will not have your luggage readily available to you until around 3-4 PM. This is of course no big deal if you are in the parks during your switch day. Not so much if you want to hit the pool around noon.

 

[DarthVader]

I was wondering if the dinner plan (which we have) would be the fly in the ointment. I'm one for simplicity, and while the idea of the split resort is appealing, I am concerned about things going wrong.

 

[Master Yoda]

I was wondering if the dinner plan (which we have) would be the fly in the ointment. I'm one for simplicity, and while the idea of the split resort is appealing, I am concerned about things going wrong.

It can be with a split say as each reservation is a separate reservation and a ticket purchase is required for each reservation to get the dining plan.

 

[DarthVader]

I sat my kids down and we looked at the Poly and contemporary, its pool, rooms, amenities etc. They concluded that the contemporary is what they want. The wife also agreed thanks to the proximity of MK, and the monorail, the contemporary is our best option. I know the Poly has the monorail too, but I think at this point she likes what the contemporary has to offer.

While I made the reservation for the contemporary, I was seriously re-thinking moving it to the Polynesian but as we vetted out our wants/needs, the Contemporary came out on top. We'll see if we can do the Poly for a subsequent Disney trip, though the wife really wants to do a Disney cruise.

At this stage, its nice to have the initial plans verified and set, now I wait until the Fall so I can begin making reservations.