Poly, GF or Contempo May or September 2017

Wellington2011

Wellington2011

Member
Original Poster
Our family (including 3 kids under 5) just stayed at the Grand Floridian in May and we loved it. So much in fact, we're looking at going back in May or September 2017. Our 5 year old LOVES Halloween - Is all of Disney decorated in late September, or just for MNNSHP? We're leaning towards September so that we can attend MNNSHP - and our youngest will be 2 still - so we save on a ticket. Also, we loved the GF, but we think we'd like to try the Ploy this time. For some reason the Contemporary doesn't excite us, even though it would save a few hundred. We want to be close to the MK because we like to be able to take breaks during the day. I should also add that we plan to do the MK 3 days and Epcot 1 day. We went to HS last time and we're not sure we want to give up a day at the MK to try AK. Leaning towards the Polynesian in late September... but thought I'd check with the experts :)
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Main Street in the MK will be the only place you'll see fall/Halloween decorations. These include jack o'lanterns, scarecrows with pumpkin heads and wreaths and garland made of fall-colored leaves. These decorations appear at the end of August in plenty of time for the first MNSSHP in September.

I am a huge fan of the Poly but like the GF and Contemporary too. Guests at the Contemporary can walk to the MK and rooms in the tower have great views ~ you can watch the fireworks from your room if you are on the MK side and can watch the Electrical Water Pageant from your room if you are on Bay Lake side. Also, you never have to go "outside" for shopping and dining since everything is in one building (the tower.)

Poly has great theming and the convenience of walking to the TTC for the Epcot monorail (or express MK monorail and ferry.) The lava pool has a great kids splash and play area and there are two hot tubs on property.

You already experienced GF and know its good points. You really can't go wrong with any of the monorail resorts. :)
 
belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
If Contemporary saves you money AND you plan to spend lots of time traveling to and from MK...I'd go with that. I feel you on the appeal-issue, especially compared to the beautiful Poly and GF. But the walk is really helpful, it's something new to try, and that extra money can be spent on a variety of other things for your vacation!
 
Wellington2011

Wellington2011

Member
Original Poster
belledream said:
If Contemporary saves you money AND you plan to spend lots of time traveling to and from MK...I'd go with that. I feel you on the appeal-issue, especially compared to the beautiful Poly and GF. But the walk is really helpful, it's something new to try, and that extra money can be spent on a variety of other things for your vacation!
Click to expand...
That's what I keep debating - the cost saved on the Contemporary pays of the MNSSHP tickets. I'm a sucker for savings, haha.
 
belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
Wellington2011 said:
That's what I keep debating - the cost saved on the Contemporary pays of the MNSSHP tickets. I'm a sucker for savings, haha.
Click to expand...
I'm always thinking about things like that too. MNSSHP tickets are not cheap! And in my opinion, you're gaining more than you're giving up for the purposes of your trip in this case. But have fun with whatever you choose!
 
21stamps

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Full Disclosure- I'm staying at the Contemporary this year.lol For a few of the reasons that @Tuvalu mentioned. I'm going in winter, we won't be using the pool, and I want to have everything under the same roof. Also because- if we were staying at Poly my son would be begging to go in the pool the entire time, and I'm not swimming in December!
You may have done the same at GF, but one other thing about Poly- we only used the monorail to MK once, the boat was a gorgeous ride and closer to our room.

You have 3 great decisions, so you can't go wrong. I've second guessed myself a million times with our trip, I just have to keep reminding myself of the reasons. Deciding on a resort is the hardest part about trip planning!!!
 
JasonDeyoung

JasonDeyoung

Well-Known Member
Me personally, I'd do poly or contemporary I just love both and never has issues at either during stays with them. GF is obv nice and has a very nice stay there it's just, it's not my fav resort to stay at. Visiting it's amazing though lol don't ask I can't put my finger on it either
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
We've stayed in all 3. For spending time in the MK, the contemporary wins hands down simply from a transportation perspective. As others have said, it's a 5 minute walk to and from the park. No waiting in crazy lines for the monorail, ferry or launch at park closing. I prefer the Quick Serves at the GF and Polynesian over the Contempo Café, but that's just me. I have no idea why the Captain Cooks's is 24 hours, but the Comtempo Café closes at midnight.
 
jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
The Polynesian is my all-time favorite resort and the one I have stayed at the most, but during my last trip we stayed at the Contemporary. Having everything under one roof is AWESOME, and makes a lot of stuff super easy. For traveling between the MK and the resort, you can't beat the Contemporary. Even more so if the monorails are down for whatever reason! Nothing more reliable than your own two feet!! :)
 
bethymouse

bethymouse

Well-Known Member
My husband loves the atmosphere at the Polynesian! I prefer the Grand. The restaurants there are fabulous, and the lobby is just lovely. I do love 'Ohana though ( must get an early reservation though). I want to stay at the Contemporary, but husband doesn't like the feel of a "convention" resort. IMHO, you can't go wrong with any of those choices. I think now though the POLY is the most expensive of the three, but that could've been with the discounts. If you like to be close to the Transportation and Ticket Center, then Mo'orea or Pago Pago longhouses at POLY would be good. I personally didn't like how far it was from the main lobby ( Great Ceremonial House) plus, they had some electrical trouble, and they were using generators ( the electricity went out twice- they let guests know). Good luck planning. Aloha!:)
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
bethymouse said:
My husband loves the atmosphere at the Polynesian! I prefer the Grand. The restaurants there are fabulous, and the lobby is just lovely. I do love 'Ohana though ( must get an early reservation though). I want to stay at the Contemporary, but husband doesn't like the feel of a "convention" resort. IMHO, you can't go wrong with any of those choices. I think now though the POLY is the most expensive of the three, but that could've been with the discounts. If you like to be close to the Transportation and Ticket Center, then Mo'orea or Pago Pago longhouses at POLY would be good. I personally didn't like how far it was from the main lobby ( Great Ceremonial House) plus, they had some electrical trouble, and they were using generators ( the electricity went out twice- they let guests know). Good luck planning. Aloha!:)
Click to expand...
@bethymouse, did you stay on DVC points? Moorea and Pago Pago (and Tokelau) are DVC. The cash price for those studio rooms is higher than a regular standard room at the Poly.
 
DisneyDaver

DisneyDaver

Well-Known Member
I love all three of your options, but my first choice would be GF and second choice would be Contemporary. Poly is great, but it doesn't have the restaurant variety of the GF or the convenience to the MK of the Contemporary. That said, all 3 are great options!

Also, you didn't ask, but I would trade 1 of your 3 MK days (or at least 2/3 of a day) for some time at AK.
 
Wellington2011

Wellington2011

Member
Original Poster
Does anyone know when I can expect the park hours for later in 2017 to be posted? I'd like to try to figure out which days the MNSSHPs will be on - assuming they'll be the nights that MK closes at 7?
 
belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
Wellington2011 said:
Does anyone know when I can expect the park hours for later in 2017 to be posted? I'd like to try to figure out which days the MNSSHPs will be on - assuming they'll be the nights that MK closes at 7?
Click to expand...
Park hours for 2017 won't all be posted at once, rather they are slowly-but-surely revealed mostly on a day-by-day basis around 180 days before your arrival date. You can definitely check calendars on this site for close approximations though, but it's not really certain until Disney comes out with it themselves.

For the MNSSHP dates, you can try to look up the past dates from the past years to get a sense of what days they are usually held from the beginning of September into October. And yes, when the preliminary calendar/hours come out, if MK is closing at 7PM on any of those days, it's very likely that it's a MNSSHP night.
 
HurricaneHanna

HurricaneHanna

Well-Known Member
I would pick the Contemporary simply because of it's walk-ability to MK. We like to walk to as many destinations as possible on vacation. I just booked a split stay for February with the first part at the Contemporary so we can walk to Magic Kingdom, and the second part at Beach Club so we can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The only time we'll need to get on a bus is for Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs. We'll use the monorail during the first part of the trip to get in lots of dining at the Grand Floridian and breakfast at Kona at the Polynesian..
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom