Is Poly worth visiting right now?

[JonMcIntosh]

We're prepping for our family's first WDW trip (T'giving week... coming up soon!) and I've been dreaming about spending a part of one of our days at the Poly. Lunch at Kona or maybe grab something quick from Captain Cook's... get a Dole Whip for the kids (and a Lapu Lapu for me!), walk around and soak in the polynesian vibes... I can feel it even now.

Question: with all the current construction, is Poly worth the visit right now?

If we had a morning or afternoon not at one of the parks and wanted to check out one of the hotels near MK, should we visit somewhere else and postpone our first trip to Poly until all of the work is done?

Thanks for any thoughts you have!

 

[Tinkerbell397]

We are leaving for Disney in the morning and we decided to wait until the construction is done. I love breakfast at the Poly's Kona Cafe but with all the construction I think that it would not be the same. I am sure that the food would be great as always but the entire experience would not be. So we will wait until our next trip and see the Poly all put together again.

 

[wdwmagic]

I would have to say no. The main lobby is full of construction walls, which also include parts of Kona.

The outside is a maze of walls and the sound of heavy construction as crews rip up concrete and the volcano from the pool area.

The whole place has a rather negative vibe at the moment.

May advice would be to wait until it is all done.

 

[belledream]

I would say no as well. I found all the construction both inside and outside to be very detracting from the usual lush, peacefulness of the resort. It's hard to find a view that doesn't include an orange cone or a yellow barrier outside. And inside is just a bunch on concept art on the walls. I'd wait for your moment!

 

[JonMcIntosh]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Follow up question: what resort area would you recommend touring (with kids) and grabbing a late breakfast/early lunch at (without an ADR) on the way to an afternoon at MK?

Thanks for helping our fam have a great first trip.

 

[JonMcIntosh]

And I hate to hear this, 'cause in my dreams I've been sipping on a Lapu Lapu.

 

[belledream]

Hmm, well if your goal is to really entertain the kids, I would actually suggest visiting Art of Animation/Pop Century for their 'larger than life' themes and then grabbing a bite at the food court. Pop's Food Court is pretty good, and I haven't stayed at AoA yet, but hear it's even better.

If you're really looking to explore/enjoy resorts though, I think you're in the right area along the monorail resorts for the location. You probably couldn't get into Chef Mickey's without a reservation, but you could always try. Grand Floridian Café is usually not in high ADR demand, and there's 1900 Park Fare which seems to be a little less popular that Chef Mickey's for a character buffet. After a nice lunch, the adults can relax in the garden areas and the kids can run around.

Also the EPCOT Resorts along Crescent Lake are a lot of fun and the dining options are plentiful on Boardwalk. The kids might like Beaches N Cream at Beach Club, though you need a reservation. Then you could bus from any of the resorts to MK, or if you're set on riding the monorail, you'll have to bus to EPCOT and take the monorail from there.

My advice would be to decide on the resort area you want to visit now, and then just make an ADR if required! Then you don't have to worry about finding sustenance and just enjoy exploring.

 

[JonMcIntosh]

Hmm, well if your goal is to really entertain the kids, I would actually suggest visiting Art of Animation/Pop Century for their 'larger than life' themes and then grabbing a bite at the food court. Pop's Food Court is pretty good, and I haven't stayed at AoA yet, but hear it's even better.

If you're really looking to explore/enjoy resorts though, I think you're in the right area along the monorail resorts for the location. You probably couldn't get into Chef Mickey's without a reservation, but you could always try. Grand Floridian Café is usually not in high ADR demand, and there's 1900 Park Fare which seems to be a little less popular that Chef Mickey's for a character buffet. After a nice lunch, the adults can relax in the garden areas and the kids can run around.

Also the EPCOT Resorts along Crescent Lake are a lot of fun and the dining options are plentiful on Boardwalk. The kids might like Beaches N Cream at Beach Club, though you need a reservation. Then you could bus from any of the resorts to MK, or if you're set on riding the monorail, you'll have to bus to EPCOT and take the monorail from there.

My advice would be to decide on the resort area you want to visit now, and then just make an ADR if required! Then you don't have to worry about finding sustenance and just enjoy exploring.

@belledream thanks for the detailed response.

We're already staying at AoA and will have access to our own car.
We have Chef Mickey's ADR's for one evening.

This day I was planning would be our late entry day to MK. My goal was to park at TTC, take the trail over to Poly and enjoy a counter service meal + Dole Whip with views of the Lagoon then boat or monorail over to MK.

This might be a better time to explore the lobby and grounds of either the GF or the WL instead of Poly.

 

[belledream]

@belledream thanks for the detailed response.

We're already staying at AoA and will have access to our own car.
We have Chef Mickey's ADR's for one evening.

This day I was planning would be our late entry day to MK. My goal was to park at TTC, take the trail over to Poly and enjoy a counter service meal + Dole Whip with views of the Lagoon then boat or monorail over to MK.

This might be a better time to explore the lobby and grounds of either the GF or the WL instead of Poly.

Oh perfect! We're thinking alike then.

Go to WL over GF then. They have an awesome lobby with a bridge and a river inside, expansive grounds, a geyser that goes off, and you could eat quick service at Roaring Fork or try to get a reservation or walk in to Whispering Canyon for breakfast/lunch. (The pool might be under a little refurbishment, but I wouldn't let that stop you).

You could always go spend time at GF if you exhaust WL and spend some time there afterwards.

 

[JonMcIntosh]

Oh perfect! We're thinking alike then.

Go to WL over GF then. They have an awesome lobby with a bridge and a river inside, expansive grounds, a geyser that goes off, and you could eat quick service at Roaring Fork or try to get a reservation or walk in to Whispering Canyon for breakfast/lunch. (The pool might be under a little refurbishment, but I wouldn't let that stop you).

You could always go spend time at GF if you exhaust WL and spend some time there afterwards.

Awesome.

Ok, one more question:
If we wanted to spend the morning at WL and then boat over to MK, what would be the best way to get to WL?
-Could we drive to WL and park there for the day (without an ADR on the books)?
-Could we park at TTC and then walk over to WL somehow? I haven't heard of that as an option but on a map it doesn't look too far.
-Another option?

 

[tikiman]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Follow up question: what resort area would you recommend touring (with kids) and grabbing a late breakfast/early lunch at (without an ADR) on the way to an afternoon at MK?

Thanks for helping our fam have a great first trip.

Boma breakfast is awesome.

 

[JonMcIntosh]

Boma breakfast is awesome.

@tikiman, what's the recent Poly update? Any idea how it will look Thanksgiving week?

 

[belledream]

I've never had a car on my trips so don't take my words as 100% true without doing a little more digging, but...
you can park at WL but it's limited to two hours or so - therefore leaving your car there is not really an option. You could park at TTC, but there is no real walkway to WL from there, so you'd have to bus/boat to Magic Kingdom, then bus/boat to WL. Kind of complicated. Is there a reason you are using your car and not AoA transportation? That would at least eliminate one step.

Other options:
WL has valet parking - no experience whatsoever with this. I suppose if you pay enough you could leave your car there as long as you want..lol.

Park at Downtown Disney and take the bus from there to WL?

Honestly, unless you need the car for some other reason, I'd just bus from AoA and boat over to WL. It is a lovely boat ride!

 

[Disnee4Me]

Will the construction be done at the Poly by next December???

 

[belledream]

Will the construction be done at the Poly by next December???

Supposed to be completed 'early 2015'.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

We stayed at Poly last month, and no, it's not a good time to go there if it's to soak up the atmosphere. It really is walls and more walls. Even part of the dock has a wall down it. There's also walls outside the windows at Capt. Cooks. AoA, in a suite, is my favorite place to stay. The food court is terrific. The food court at POP is really good also.
I would like to stay at Poly in the future if there's a good discount, but otherwise, I am just as happy at AoA. I don't really care to stay at Beach Club again. It's pretty and the launch to DHS and Epcot are really convenient, but there are just too many cons that outweigh the pros for us.

 

[JonMcIntosh]

Is there a reason you are using your car and not AoA transportation?

Thanks for the feedback.
What I was initially thinking was a light day and then a Rope Drop day at MK.
Light day we drive to TTC, visit Poly and then get the experience of the Monorail into MK the first time.
Day 2, we would bus to MK and be there by RD.

Original plan that may change now if we decide to hang at WL instead of Poly.

Thanks for all your help @belledream. Grateful for this board.

 

[JonMcIntosh]

We stayed at Poly last month, and no, it's not a good time to go there if it's to soak up the atmosphere. It really is walls and more walls. Even part of the dock has a wall down it. There's also walls outside the windows at Capt. Cooks. AoA, in a suite, is my favorite place to stay. The food court is terrific. The food court at POP is really good also.
I would like to stay at Poly in the future if there's a good discount, but otherwise, I am just as happy at AoA. I don't really care to stay at Beach Club again. It's pretty and the launch to DHS and Epcot are really convenient, but there are just too many cons that outweigh the pros for us.

We're doing a Nemo Suite at AoA, so you just made me even more excited!

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

We've stayed in Mermaid once, Cars four times and Nemo once. We plan to stay in Lion King next time. As far as the interior, Nemo is our favorite. As far as the exterior, Cars area is our favorite. However, the pool area by the Nemo suites and the lobby is very special also. Make sure and ask for a room close to transportation because some of the Nemo suites are further away than some of the Cars suites. I recommend that you walk out the back over the bridge and walk around POP. It's not far at all, and it's really pretty walking over the bridge.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

Thanks for the feedback.
What I was initially thinking was a light day and then a Rope Drop day at MK.
Light day we drive to TTC, visit Poly and then get the experience of the Monorail into MK the first time.
Day 2, we would bus to MK and be there by RD.

Original plan that may change now if we decide to hang at WL instead of Poly.

Thanks for all your help @belledream. Grateful for this board.

Please be aware this will be an extremely crowded week, but if you make sure and do the extra morning hours, you will be able to do tons more rides. Early hours are a whole lot less crowded than late extra hours.