What don't you like about the Polynesian.

[DarthVader]

I've been 20+ times and sometimes you see it and sometimes you don't. It's like roulette lol!

I won't deny that it may happen based on your statements, its just that I've never seen it

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Well, I guess I'm the only one with a negative for the Poly. Let me start by saying I have always dreamed of staying at the Poly, since it was first built. It has been my dream! Never could justify the cost though. But my daughter and family stayed there last November and my husband and I stayed at our favorite, POR. I couldn't wait to visit the Poly, finally!!! But the room was dark, musty smelling, and pretty run down. Housekeeping was abysmal. The construction didn't bother us as we knew it was going to be there. The small beach area was a turn off. The monorail was nice if you are only going to go to the MK, especially with kids. All in all, it felt shabby, and I was really sad because of my dream of a poly vacation at WDW! It was so bad that my grandsons wanted to come stay with us at POR, which they liked much better, from the theming to the rooms, etc. Even my daughter and soninlaw wished they had booked at POR too. It is their favorite as well, now that they've experienced the poly. So, for several reasons, I am over my dream of the Poly. I also think the new bungalows are taking away from much of the view, and that is sad too. Anyway, I know most of you love the Poly, but for our families, we are going to our happy place, POR, still the best at WDW IMO!

 

[jlsHouston]

Well... I kind of like the shabbiness..it's like retro 70's shabby to me. And I love the food available there...and I love the island feel to the lobby and walkways....I love the shops. I overlook the lack of hospitality that I've always received from the front desk since they've always given me 3rd floor Samoa which is my room request even though I pay for a standard room...I appreciate being on the monorail loop because I entertain myself sometimes riding the loop and stopping off at the CONT or GF. I'm glad most of the construction is completed, because I don't love anything enough to stay in a construction zone, so I just booked 4 nights there for July..and we are really excited about the return.

 

[DarthVader]

Well, I guess I'm the only one with a negative for the Poly. Let me start by saying I have always dreamed of staying at the Poly, since it was first built. It has been my dream! Never could justify the cost though. But my daughter and family stayed there last November and my husband and I stayed at our favorite, POR.

Did they stay in a room that was updated or an older room? I visited the Poly (character meals) and never thought it smelled.

Housekeeping was abysmal.

Not making any excuses for that, but I've seen others complain about house keeping at other WDW resorts. Did you/your family complain about it. I've been to WDW numerous times at various resorts and I've been fortunate enough to enjoy great house keeping.

Anyway, I know most of you love the Poly, but for our families, we are going to our happy place, POR, still the best at WDW IMO!

POR is one of my favorite resorts, I don't think you can go wrong with that. Last year I tried to convince my family to go back, but they wanted to experience a new resort so we stayed at the CBR - a much larger resort but I recommend that as well.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Did they stay in a room that was updated or an older room? I visited the Poly (character meals) and never thought it smelled.


Not making any excuses for that, but I've seen others complain about house keeping at other WDW resorts. Did you/your family complain about it. I've been to WDW numerous times at various resorts and I've been fortunate enough to enjoy great house keeping.


POR is one of my favorite resorts, I don't think you can go wrong with that. Last year I tried to convince my family to go back, but they wanted to experience a new resort so we stayed at the CBR - a much larger resort but I recommend that as well.

Hi, thanks for responding in a cordial manner! I think we can all disagree at times; it's nothing personal. After all, if everyone loved POR like we do, then we would never get a reservation I don't know if the room was older or not, having never stayed there before. It could have been one that was older as it did need updating and maintenance. The other question? did anyone complain about housekeeping? I don't know. I think she did say something, but nothing was resolved,so she let it drop.
We have never tried CBR but almost booked there last year. I hear it's great now that it's been updated. Have fun!

 

[surfsupdon]

The Poly pool is too small and too shallow.

The monorail is not as reliable as you would think it is - the delays make the time similar to a bus ride from another Resort.

 

[KeithVH]

What are the pros and cons with the GF? Transportation to other parks? Trying to decide on a monorail resort.

Well, if you are careful with a deal and/or can deal with the expense, GF has several things to offer:

• Very quick mono ride to MK, although at busy times, can be the most crowded too.
• You're a little more detached from the rest of the World. We like this.
• At the end of an MK day, you are only minutes from Main Gate to the GF docks using the launch (gold flag)
• With the monitors at the bus stop (and CMs at times), we don't seem to have as much a problem with buses as some other people do at other properties
  
• Overall, I think GF has a more laid back and relaxed atmosphere (have stayed at all 3 mono resorts)
• It depends on what kind of person you are - one who enjoys sitting in a lobby listening to the orchestra/piano player or one who sits in a lobby pounding down drink after drink at a bar?

 

[Electricsoup]

Well, if you are careful with a deal and/or can deal with the expense, GF has several things to offer:

• Very quick mono ride to MK, although at busy times, can be the most crowded too.
• You're a little more detached from the rest of the World. We like this.
• At the end of an MK day, you are only minutes from Main Gate to the GF docks using the launch (gold flag)
• With the monitors at the bus stop (and CMs at times), we don't seem to have as much a problem with buses as some other people do at other properties
  
• Overall, I think GF has a more laid back and relaxed atmosphere (have stayed at all 3 mono resorts)
• It depends on what kind of person you are - one who enjoys sitting in a lobby listening to the orchestra/piano player or one who sits in a lobby pounding down drink after drink at a bar?

These are all excellent points. For me, it's this and more. The resort just… I can't explain it. It feels like everything a WDW should be. Super polite and friendly staff. Well kept up. Lots of magic. Part of it for me too is that I remember boating by it when I was little (my dad never wanted to 'wait' for the Monorail the 2 or 3 days I went as a youth, over two trips). It was magical and I remember thinking that I'd never ever be able to stay there. When I did? It met every preconception for me.

 

[Missymoe4]

In my experience, I found the Contemporary to be cleaner than the Polynesian. An earlier post stated that mouse keeping was abysmal, and I agree with that.

Here's an example: we stayed at the Poly for 15 days, and on day #2 my friend dropped a muffin she was eating. She picked it up and attempted to get up as many crumbs as she could. We figured that the next day the hall would be vacuumed. Nope. Every day we walked past the same crumbs. It was disgusting. We even pointed it out to a cast member, and still the crumbs remained.

There is a lot of action going on at the Poly. The walk from the Contemporary to the MK is nice, but I do think the boat is a whole lot nicer. I liked the Poly, but I found that I could not sit on my balcony in peace (there were a lot of people walking through the resort, talking and pointing -- it was not quiet and intimate). With all of the night life at the Poly (ie: Trader Sams), that may be really neat. At the Contemporary, you can watch the fireworks from the end of the floor (if you stay in the Tower), and if you stay in the Tower facing the Lake, that's a whole new/different vacation. I don't know about the view of the MK from the Poly due to the new bungalows. The "theme park" view from the Tower is more so a parking lot view. And the garden wing rooms are really nice, but the walk can be long, possibly even 5 -7 mins to the main building. It is enclosed, which is nice. But it can get long.

You really cannot go wrong with either. If I did stay at the Poly again it would have to cost a whole lot less than the Contemporary (in fact, I would opt for the Wilderness over the Poly), or maybe even the GF.

But, it's all up to you and your opinion. Lately, I've been staying at the moderate hotels (after spending a good 25 years in the deluxe hotels) because the deluxe hotels are #1: Becoming way too overpriced #2: overcrowded.

The deluxe resorts used to be quiet, intimate and glorious. In the past few years, I feel that they have really changed.

 

[Missymoe4]

Well, I guess I'm the only one with a negative for the Poly. Let me start by saying I have always dreamed of staying at the Poly, since it was first built. It has been my dream! Never could justify the cost though. But my daughter and family stayed there last November and my husband and I stayed at our favorite, POR. I couldn't wait to visit the Poly, finally!!! But the room was dark, musty smelling, and pretty run down. Housekeeping was abysmal. The construction didn't bother us as we knew it was going to be there. The small beach area was a turn off. The monorail was nice if you are only going to go to the MK, especially with kids. All in all, it felt shabby, and I was really sad because of my dream of a poly vacation at WDW! It was so bad that my grandsons wanted to come stay with us at POR, which they liked much better, from the theming to the rooms, etc. Even my daughter and soninlaw wished they had booked at POR too. It is their favorite as well, now that they've experienced the poly. So, for several reasons, I am over my dream of the Poly. I also think the new bungalows are taking away from much of the view, and that is sad too. Anyway, I know most of you love the Poly, but for our families, we are going to our happy place, POR, still the best at WDW IMO!

I second this post. I was really hyped to stay in the Poly and it was not what I thought. Mind you, I stayed there in 2011, so maybe with the rehab things have changed. I was not too impressed.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I think so much of this is personal preference. I don't think there's anything wrong with the Poly in general...but it's just not the best fit for everyone for more subjective reasons. I am just not a Poly person. While I'm all about nostalgia, the retro shabby islands feel I get there just isn't my thing...kind of a downer to me. When I think Polynesian...I'd much prefer something like Aulani or the stereotypical resort style you see in Hawaii. While I didn't love it, I think I also actually liked the old room decor a bit better. I'm also not a fan of being in a longhouse...even if it is one right next to the GCH. There's just something more peaceful/settling to me in having everything under one roof.

Again, these are personal preferences of why the Poly doesn't do it for me...but clearly, tons of people love the Poly and embrace everything that just doesn't sit well with me. No right or wrong here.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Well, if you are careful with a deal and/or can deal with the expense, GF has several things to offer:

• Very quick mono ride to MK, although at busy times, can be the most crowded too.
• You're a little more detached from the rest of the World. We like this.
• At the end of an MK day, you are only minutes from Main Gate to the GF docks using the launch (gold flag)
• With the monitors at the bus stop (and CMs at times), we don't seem to have as much a problem with buses as some other people do at other properties
  
• Overall, I think GF has a more laid back and relaxed atmosphere (have stayed at all 3 mono resorts)
• It depends on what kind of person you are - one who enjoys sitting in a lobby listening to the orchestra/piano player or one who sits in a lobby pounding down drink after drink at a bar?

We are very laid back, non drinking, music loving couple. It's nice to escape the parks ( we have always stayed at AKL ). I didn't realize there are monitors at the bus stops. Transportation to the other parks would be a concern but I don't stress over things like that.

Well, if you are careful with a deal and/or can deal with the expense, GF has several things to offer:

• Very quick mono ride to MK, although at busy times, can be the most crowded too.
• You're a little more detached from the rest of the World. We like this.
• At the end of an MK day, you are only minutes from Main Gate to the GF docks using the launch (gold flag)
• With the monitors at the bus stop (and CMs at times), we don't seem to have as much a problem with buses as some other people do at other properties
  
• Overall, I think GF has a more laid back and relaxed atmosphere (have stayed at all 3 mono resorts)
• It depends on what kind of person you are - one who enjoys sitting in a lobby listening to the orchestra/piano player or one who sits in a lobby pounding down drink after drink at a bar?