Is staying in Polynesian worth it?

[Master Yoda]

I could be wrong, but when I ran the marathon, we came in from one side of the Magic Kingdom, past the Contemporary, and when
we left the Magic Kingdom, we ran down another road, right by the entrance to the Grand Floridian. I thought you could walk this
way, but like I said, I admit, I could be wrong.

You can get almost all the way around, but there is a canal about midway between the GF and the MK monorail station.

 

[spock8113]

You really need to try each resort to find your favorite. The Polynesian was recently and partly renovated.
The Port Orleans about 10 years back was dark and musty but the revamp a few years back now make it one of my favorite.
Wilderness Lodge is my favorite.

 

[OG Runner]

On the subject of the Polynesian, I have stayed there twice. I definitely felt it was worth it,
especially if you have children. Being so close to the Magic Kingdom and transportation to
Epcot is great. Also, the convenience, if you need a rest, of just jumping on the monorail to
get back to your resort is great. This along with some other benefits, to me make it worth it.
I am just not sure I can afford it anymore.

 

[OG Runner]

You can get almost all the way around, but there is a canal about midway between the GF and the MK monorail station.

View attachment 270234

Hi, I looked at a larger map, it appears we came over a small bridge, near Frontierland, out onto Florida Way.
You could not go that way, as a guest. You could still do a long walk up World Drive. (definitely, not a short
jaunt, but possible)

 

[OG Runner]

Sorry but you can't walk from MK to GF. They never built the bridge over the canal. When you run the marathon, you run out of MK where the parade routes start on to Caribbean Way and then onto Floridian Way which takes you by the GF. That is not the way into MK though. So, you are correct that you ran from MK to GF but just not the way the public is allowed to go.

Sorry, I had not read your reply, when I replied and you are 100% correct.

 

[JoeT63]

As has likely been stated many times (I didn't read the entire thread) "worth" and value are in the eyes of the beholder. I love the Poly for the theming and the transportation options. It's a very relaxing place (especially at night), and getting around is so easy that we don't have to rent a car there. We normally do so when we stay at any other resort. So there is a real savings right there for us...car rental costs and now parking fees. So maybe don't forget that in your calculations.

 

[Luvbugvany]

We usually never stay on property but if we decided to, we might stay at Polynesian. We would stay 6 nights, so it would be over 3,000. That is a lot compared to our usual stay, and our last stay on property at all-star music.

I am a disabled vet, so I know how expensive it gets trying to figure out a wonderful vacation for my family. I joined DVC in late 2015, and I’m thankful I did, because we had always stayed at Shades of Green- which is on Disney property, but sometimes my kids don’t see it that way. They long for the monorail right outside the entrance of the lobby. The Poly is one of our home properties, and I recently stayed there for the first time, and I would do it again- even if I had to pay cash. I’m sure anyone whose ever had to take the buses and is in a wheelchair has had to wait for several busses to come and go due to limited space and kids don’t understand that. The Magic Kingdom can be accessed by simply waking a few extras feet -should the monorails be down or just too crowded, and it’s lovely. I have stayed in plenty of different Disney resorts, and so far the Poly ranks one of the highest. We were treated like royalty and the staff tried to ensure that all my kids dreams and wishes came true, and without any extra charges. The food was fabulous, and they always have the kitchen open at Capt. Cooks, and the kids can always find something to eat. The rooms were well kept and we felt like we were in the tropics, and not in Florida! I think if you aren’t spending a lot of time inside your room, however, and you just plan on staying inside your room to sleep and shower, than it really doesn’t matter where you choose to stay. But, if you and your family want to hang out inside the resort and feel like you’re somewhere else, than it’s worth the splurge. It all depends on your personal desires and expectations. I know the almighty $$ doesn’t go very far anymore, but if your kids are like mine, they want that up close and personal experience and they want to feel like they are sleeping inside the park. Hope it helps a little.

 

[Elfinko]

I could never quantify the price difference between Deluxe and Value at Disney resorts. You're literally quadrupling the cost of your vacation going Deluxe ($150 /night vs. $600 minimum) and, while nicer, I can't envision 4x the cost in the added amenities. AKL could be worth it with the vista views being an exceptional added feature, but everything else looks pretty overpriced imo.

 

[Hcalvert]

I'm going in June, which will be our first time at Poly. I have also rented DVC points privately and paid $2100 for a weekly stay with 4 adults and 1 child. I am looking forward to the extra bathroom.

I did not share that I looked into booking a moderate (mainly POR and CS) through Disney with a room discount and it was not cheaper due to the extra adult charge. The Cabins were more expensive than what I paid for Poly. CBR was cheaper by about $350, but we didn't want the inconvenience of the construction and main food court/shops being closed. We would have to get family suites at the Value resorts and they were not much cheaper or more than what I paid. All the standard studios at GF were booked for part of my stay, but it would have been the same price. BRV would have been cheaper by $400 if available (I didn't check) due to the fact that I paid $14 per point. BCV and BWV would have been cheaper too if they had availability for my dates. With all the other villas, we would not have gotten the extra bathroom.

 

[DarthVader]

I could never quantify the price difference between Deluxe and Value at Disney resorts. You're literally quadrupling the cost of your vacation going Deluxe ($150 /night vs. $600 minimum) and, while nicer, I can't envision 4x the cost in the added amenities. AKL could be worth it with the vista views being an exceptional added feature, but everything else looks pretty overpriced imo.

And yet the Polynesian is one of the most popular resorts to stay at. They're doing someting right to be consistantly sold out. I'm not disagreeing with your opinion, I think the Poly is very expensive and yet, I'll be there next week.

My kids and wife are so excited that we're staying at this resort, its one of those must do type of things that my wife always wanted,so why not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Our opinion is the accommodations and dining do not justify the cost. We stayed there on two occasions and while we enjoyed the view, the proximity to the TTC, and the walkways, we could not justify spending so much for a clearly substandard generic motel room. Some may sing the praises of the dole whips, tonga toast, and dining, but we were very underwhelmed. Bucket list item crossed off.

We felt the same way, MaryJane: The room was tired, worn, and smelled musty. The housekeeping service was poor; had trays in the room for 2 days and not touched. Put them in the hallway, and they sadly joined many more in the hallways. They were never picked up for 8 days! No, we didn't call about it, as it is not our job to monitor this, and it was pretty obvious that the trays needed to be picked up.
The monorail was iffy when it would run or not, so....
A dream resort crossed off our list too.

 

[EdnaMode]

We've stayed there many times, but we will not be keeping it in the rotation. On the hotel side...all the lamp shades in our last room were damaged/cracked; wood furniture pieces were damaged - huge dings; walls and floor boards were scuffed; the carpet and soft furnishings were terribly worn; the elevator was so banged up, there's no fresh fun decor in the room, etc. (And this is just a personal pet peeve but there isn't a full length mirror in the hotel rooms.) It's been getting bad for at least the last couple of years, but after paying 843/night last time, the value just isn't there for us. (The DVC side is much fresher for those who are renting there.)

The grounds are beautiful, the resort is lovely. I love the main pool and the beach, we love the location with the easy walk to the TTS, it's fun to get the Twilight O'hana meal in the room and enjoy it for 2 or 3 meals, the staff is warm and great....and there really *is* a sense of beauty and magic from the moment you arrive. The resort is always full, and I can see why. But there's just no getting around the poor condition of the rooms right now.

 

[ProfSlim]

“worth” is very subjective and means different things to different people…why is the Poly (and other deluxe resorts) more $$$ than other resorts…well, everyone has called out those reasons in this thread (convenience to parks, amenities, finer dining, resources, etc. ). If you are staying there and those things are not taken advantage of, AND if spending $600+/night is a lot of money to a person (it is to me !!) then the value probably isn’t there…therefore it’s not worth it… I have stayed at the Poly a bunch of times, usually for a week at a time, so, yes a lot of money for me….but the value/worth is there…my family takes full advantage of everything the Poly has to offer…it’s not just a place where we sleep…

 

[DarthVader]

I just got back from the a week at the Poly, and I have to say unequivocally, its worth it. We had such a great time, and being on the monorail loop was fantastic.

There used to be an advantage to walking to the TTC to pick up the Epcot monorail but given Disney's security changes that advantage as been nullified, now that you have to deal with long lines at the TTC to go through security. Its much better to go through the security checkpoint at the monorail station at the poly.

Overall, the entire stay was extremely enjoyable, my kids absolutely loved staying there and we spent many nights at the pool watching the fireworks.

 

[BASS]

Worth is subjective, but IMO, no. IMO, the Poly should be priced in the $300-400 range. Unfortunately, it's usually much more. If I'm going to drop $500,$600/night at a hotel, I want a tranquil view overlooking a mountain, vineyard or ocean!

 

[dieboy]

If its a bucket list item, go for it.

If not .. well .. let me tell you about hotels accommodations that are 500+ a night outside of disney (rest of world), for 550 a night, you'd get access to a private concierge, and bell hop, normally some sort of high level suite room, fully furnished with top of the line items. Along with allot of other perks.

We have no quarrels spending 300-500 a night at a hotel, if the service is up to par. AKA, I forget a toothbrush, they go get one for me. Especially if the hotel has nice amenities associated with it (more time on property is spent then).

IMO, no Disney hotel short of a few wildly over priced posh suites are worth it, but i wouldn't stay in those either, simply because your paying 1500 a night for service you can get elsewhere for 500 to 600..

But if you want to do it, and experience it, go for it. Ya may never get the chance again (mantra).

 

[Amos1784]

We stayed at the Poly once. While I LOVE the resort and it is a must visit every time and sometimes multiple times on our trips it is not worth the cost for us to stay there. Main reason we do not spend that much time in the Magic Kingdom. It is just my husband and I and we pop into Magic Kingdom from time to time but are not there for full days or even multiple days most trips. I would take Crescent Lake resorts over the Poly any day. I think it just preference but next Super Deluxe (I know that is not a technical term but I consider Poly/GF/Contemp "super" deluxe because of price) we stay at I think we will give Bay Lake Tower a try. I also would take Wilderness Lodge over Poly.

 

[OneofThree]

If its a bucket list item, go for it.

If not .. well .. let me tell you about hotels accommodations that are 500+ a night outside of disney (rest of world), for 550 a night, you'd get access to a private concierge, and bell hop, normally some sort of high level suite room, fully furnished with top of the line items. Along with allot of other perks.

We have no quarrels spending 300-500 a night at a hotel, if the service is up to par. AKA, I forget a toothbrush, they go get one for me. Especially if the hotel has nice amenities associated with it (more time on property is spent then).

IMO, no Disney hotel short of a few wildly over priced posh suites are worth it, but i wouldn't stay in those either, simply because your paying 1500 a night for service you can get elsewhere for 500 to 600..

But if you want to do it, and experience it, go for it. Ya may never get the chance again (mantra).

Agree with everything you've said regarding the fact that as a rule, all Disney accommodations are overpriced. When I personally voted "yes", it's worth it, it was definitely relative to other Disney resorts.

 

[Amos1784]

If its a bucket list item, go for it.

If not .. well .. let me tell you about hotels accommodations that are 500+ a night outside of disney (rest of world), for 550 a night, you'd get access to a private concierge, and bell hop, normally some sort of high level suite room, fully furnished with top of the line items. Along with allot of other perks.

We have no quarrels spending 300-500 a night at a hotel, if the service is up to par. AKA, I forget a toothbrush, they go get one for me. Especially if the hotel has nice amenities associated with it (more time on property is spent then).

IMO, no Disney hotel short of a few wildly over priced posh suites are worth it, but i wouldn't stay in those either, simply because your paying 1500 a night for service you can get elsewhere for 500 to 600..

But if you want to do it, and experience it, go for it. Ya may never get the chance again (mantra).

THIS... This is the reason we 75% of the time stay Value at Disney. I really don't feel I am getting THAT much better service at a Deluxe than I do at Pop Century. We have stayed at them all Value, Mod, Deluxe, DVC you name it and besides 1 or 2 bedroom DVC I don't feel any of the other "hotel" rooms are worth it. We as well have no quarrels spending the money but every time I have spent over 300$ outside Disney we are greeted with a completely different experience then say if I were to have a room at the Beach Club. No happy hour, no turn down, no robes, very standard bedding I could go on and on. We stay Value spend our time in the parks and resort hop a lot. Especially with the new Pop refurb and gondolas coming I have a hard time justifying Deluxe. While it is nice to walk to HS and EP from Crescent Lake and monorail to MK from Monorail resorts the difference of 400-500 a night does not make it that more appealing then the 10 minute Uber or Bus from other resorts. Not to mention even if we were staying at Poly I still would want to visit Crescent Lake hotels, Wilderness Lodge ect, I wouldn't want to spend all my time just at Poly.

 

[JoeT63]

I just got back from the a week at the Poly, and I have to say unequivocally, its worth it. We had such a great time, and being on the monorail loop was fantastic.

There used to be an advantage to walking to the TTC to pick up the Epcot monorail but given Disney's security changes that advantage as been nullified, now that you have to deal with long lines at the TTC to go through security. Its much better to go through the security checkpoint at the monorail station at the poly.

Overall, the entire stay was extremely enjoyable, my kids absolutely loved staying there and we spent many nights at the pool watching the fireworks.

Wow! So you're saying that it's now faster to take the MK local loop all the way around to the TTC and change monorails to go to Epcot? That seems crazy, doesn't it! But I haven't been since the security procedures changed. One of the big benefits of the Poly was always the short walk to the TTC.