Torn...Poly or GF

T

tikitikitiki

New Member
Original Poster
I am going to book a standard room at the Polynesian Village for 11 nights in 2022. I really love the look of the new rooms and want to try out a new location. I've only stayed at one Disney World resort, the Contemporary.

The weird thing is, I walked into the Polynesian in 2018 and was NOT in love with it. We were staying at the Contemporary and for us it sort of reminded of us of the Brady Bunch Hawaii episode. lol But I read SOOO many good things about the Poly and how people are so in love with it, I WANT to love it. But I keep looking at the Grand Floridian...knowing that rooms will eventually go on sale for the GF and I could possibly get a Lagoon View at the GF.

I've read a few dozen times that people think the GF looks stuffy or too fancy...To me it looks themed, turn of the century. I love musicals and it kind of gives me a Hello Dolly vibe lol (and I like that) But I also like a new pretty room and I love the feel of the tropical. We like the Adventure Tower at the Disneyland hotel for the more tropical vibe. (we live on the west coast, so we mostly go to Disneyland)

Things that make me think twice...
No balcony at the Polynesian...probably.
No real view at the Polynesian standard, probably just greenery.
Carpet at the Grand Floridian (negative for the GF)
Worn rooms at the GF versus new room at the Polynesian.


So my plan is to book at the Poly and if I am still interested in the GF I am going to switch when their rooms go on sale. I am really torn though.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
If you didn't like the decor before, I'm not sure you'll like it any better when you're paying a lot of money to stay there. While it's lovely of you to want to give the Poly a chance, at the end of the day, "the heart wants what it wants," and if that's the Grand Floridian for you, there's no need to feel like you owe other resorts something. ;)

If I were you, I'd spend a little time looking at the room photos on the Disney website, and looking at some video walkthroughs to see if you think that being there will change your mind. Otherwise, I'd switch to the GF (or at least to a split stay).

 
aliceismad

aliceismad

Well-Known Member
If you've been to Poly and didn't LOVE it, personally I would try GF. It's too expensive to not love the place. I was surprised that I didn't feel GF was stuffy when I've visited after what I had read, and my family loved walking the grounds there. It's now on my list to stay.
 
T

tikitikitiki

New Member
Original Poster
Weather_Lady said:
If you didn't like the decor before, I'm not sure you'll like it any better when you're paying a lot of money to stay there. While it's lovely of you to want to give the Poly a chance, at the end of the day, "the heart wants what it wants," and if that's the Grand Floridian for you, there's no need to feel like you owe other resorts something. ;)

If I were you, I'd spend a little time looking at the room photos on the Disney website, and looking at some video walkthroughs to see if you think that being there will change your mind. Otherwise, I'd switch to the GF (or at least to a split stay).

Click to expand...

I have looked at a million walk through videos and I always like them. But when I was there in person, it just didn't grab me. lol BUT I was also really enjoying my vacation at the Contemporary.

I am kind of afraid to do a split stay of these two resorts because if my husband prefers one over the other, he will talk about it the entire time lol. If the second one is the worse, he will point it out and I don't want to ruin his trip. (or mine having to compare and contrast the entire time)
 
T

tikitikitiki

New Member
Original Poster
aliceismad said:
If you've been to Poly and didn't LOVE it, personally I would try GF. It's too expensive to not love the place. I was surprised that I didn't feel GF was stuffy when I've visited after what I had read, and my family loved walking the grounds there. It's now on my list to stay.
Click to expand...
I am glad it did not feel stuffy to you. For some reason we did not get out and look at the GF on our last trip. We really should have.
 
T

tikitikitiki

New Member
Original Poster
CaptainAmerica said:
Are you firmly set on those two as your only options?

I think you'd have a better experience (and a much lower price) at Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge.
Click to expand...
Yes, we thought about the Animal Kingdom, but we really want to be on the monorail. The Wilderness Lodge does not appeal to us at all. We live in the Pacific Northwest so we get enough of the Wilderness here at home lol
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
I would choose the Grand Floridian over the Polynesian 100% of the time unless the Polynesian rooms were significantly cheaper for some reason.

It's all about subjective tastes, though.
 
dmw

dmw

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I read a lot of positives about the Poly, too. Both my wife and I were disappointed with the resort as a whole. The only good points were being on the monorail and also being able to sit at the pool and watch the fireworks with the music piped in. Of course, you can get both of those at the GF, too.

It's very disappointing that the signature restaurant at the resort is not accessible to guests staying at the Poly, without the huge lead time for the ADR. Our trip was somewhat last minute (won the lottery for the SW:GE AP preview in 2019, and snagged a good AP discount at the Poly), so we were well past the ADR open date.
 
Kristopher Rannells

Kristopher Rannells

Active Member
tikitikitiki said:
I am going to book a standard room at the Polynesian Village for 11 nights in 2022. I really love the look of the new rooms and want to try out a new location. I've only stayed at one Disney World resort, the Contemporary.

The weird thing is, I walked into the Polynesian in 2018 and was NOT in love with it. We were staying at the Contemporary and for us it sort of reminded of us of the Brady Bunch Hawaii episode. lol But I read SOOO many good things about the Poly and how people are so in love with it, I WANT to love it. But I keep looking at the Grand Floridian...knowing that rooms will eventually go on sale for the GF and I could possibly get a Lagoon View at the GF.

I've read a few dozen times that people think the GF looks stuffy or too fancy...To me it looks themed, turn of the century. I love musicals and it kind of gives me a Hello Dolly vibe lol (and I like that) But I also like a new pretty room and I love the feel of the tropical. We like the Adventure Tower at the Disneyland hotel for the more tropical vibe. (we live on the west coast, so we mostly go to Disneyland)

Things that make me think twice...
No balcony at the Polynesian...probably.
No real view at the Polynesian standard, probably just greenery.
Carpet at the Grand Floridian (negative for the GF)
Worn rooms at the GF versus new room at the Polynesian.


So my plan is to book at the Poly and if I am still interested in the GF I am going to switch when their rooms go on sale. I am really torn though.
Click to expand...
We have stayed at both. The Poly has been our long standing "home" resort and where we have stayed half of our trips there. We were always reluctant to stay at the GF because of that stuffy feeling. My wife and I stayed at the GF our last trip as we went without kids. We were pleasantly surprised and it is now my wife's absolute favorite. To me it is a wash, I like them the same. To me it would come down to this. If we were taking the kids/grand daughter we would likely stay at the Poly. I feel it is just more kid friendly and will be even more so once the re-model is completed. If its just my wife and I, we will likely go GF.
 
D

Dave B

Well-Known Member
We love the POLY , the atmosphere, the Cast Members, the ambiance, how close it is to the parks, it is our favorite for sure, and we have been to Hawaii and stayed at the GF, also at night at the pool if they bring fireworks back is a lot of fun, but watching the electrcal water parade from the pool is fun as well. I say go for it
 
Skibum1970

Skibum1970

Well-Known Member
My vote would be for the Grand Floridian. My first choice would have been WL or the Contemporary. I just am not a fan of the Polynesian's decor, even with the Moana-inspired rooms. GF isn't quite our style but is more so than Poly. Plus, GF is closer to the MK from a walking point of view and I wouldn't be right beside the big TTC ferries. I also like the dining options a little more at GF.
 
M

MissViv

Well-Known Member
Never stayed at GF but have stayed at Poly numerous times. Always had a balcony in our standard room. Was upgraded to Club Level once and that was great!

Love the theming and restaurants at Poly and the convenience with the monorail. It's just a happy place even just sitting in the lobby.

I am one of those who think the GF is "stuffy". When I am on a Disney Vacation, I don't need "Victorian" or orchestra's. But, if the price were ever right, I would consider staying there just to try it. But ... I would probably return to either Poly or Contemporary.
 
T

tikitikitiki

New Member
Original Poster
MissViv said:
Never stayed at GF but have stayed at Poly numerous times. Always had a balcony in our standard room. Was upgraded to Club Level once and that was great!

Love the theming and restaurants at Poly and the convenience with the monorail. It's just a happy place even just sitting in the lobby.

I am one of those who think the GF is "stuffy". When I am on a Disney Vacation, I don't need "Victorian" or orchestra's. But, if the price were ever right, I would consider staying there just to try it. But ... I would probably return to either Poly or Contemporary.
Click to expand...
I love the Contemporary too, I just want to switch it up.

One thing I really didn't realize is that it is a REALLY short walk to the TTC. Especially from the standard rooms. You can just walk to the TTC and hop on the monorail in a few minutes.
 
LovePop

LovePop

Well-Known Member
I vote for GF over Poly. The "stuffiness" of GF will be gone after the first day. I love the stuffiness! But it didn't last for me, by evening I no longer noticed it. When I go again the following year I notice it again for a few hours. It's awesome!
Thoughts:
1. GF now has a walkway to MK, which means the congestion of the Monorail and boat will be significantly reduced during park opening and closing, and you have the choice of traveling on boat or walk. That's better than Contemporary, where the Monorail only takes you one way (unless you don't mind the long route.) Poly has both Monorail and boat also, but no walking path (unless you don't mind walking to GF first). I like the idea of the walking path which gives you complete control when the Monorail goes down. Not to mention the path is extremely beautiful.
2. GF has a bigger food court, more restaurants, and better food at the club level. The Poly's food court is so small that in the morning, I can't find a place to sit inside. GF food court is also easier to get to than the Contemp one, where you have to fight the crowd for the elevator to get to it. The club level has better food that that of the Poly, and it doesn't cost that much more to get the cheap club level called Sugarloaf. GF is the only Disney hotel that has a cheap club, so I never stay at GF without staying at the club because you save a bundle on food (if you have 4 in your party. If you only have 2 then you may not eat enough to be worth it.) There's no club level right now, but hopefully there will be next year.
3. I live near the Pacific Northwest. I totally support not ever going to Wilderness Lodge, you can get the same thing in town for much less. My town, for example, has a two bedroom suite in a 4 star hotel with lake view, private beach, floor to ceiling windows on 3 walls, full kitchen, for $400 a night.
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4 The Poly does have a better pool and splashpad. (Although now they are remodeling it or something), but the pool area more crowded and crammed than GF. Both Poly and GF has awesome quiet pools.
5. GF room isn't as exciting as Poly's old room, it has a plainer look, so the opposite of stuffiness.

Conclusion: go to GF! You can always go to Poly next time.
 

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