Which resort

[Daniela Rodriguez]

Help me decide: contemporary theme park view room, or polynesian (any room)?

 

[baldy6060]

I've always dreamed of a stay at the contemporary overlooking the Magic Kingdom but you can't really go wrong with either. That's a good dilemma to have.

 

[dawgfan]

Like the PP said...cant go wrong with either. But, I would go Poly over Contempo on this one almost any day.

 

[Daniela Rodriguez]

Like the PP said...cant go wrong with either. But, I would go Poly over Contempo on this one almost any day.

Why?

 

[Babsy]

Who is in your travel party? Do you have small children in a stroller? Which theme parks do you plan to visit the most? Do you plan to spend a lot of time at the resort or gone from rope drop to closing? Are you looking for a resort to spend time strolling around the grounds? Or is the room itself the most important part of the resort? How important is the balcony?

Answers to some of these questions will get you more useful replies.

With no information, I would say book the Poly.

 

[dawgfan]

Let's see the comparison. Both have excellent location. Both are visually impressive. Both have great transportation options. The Contemporary has a very city, busy feel to it. In some locations you can feel as if you are at a convention resort. The pool is just okay to me...kind of bland for a Disney pool. You are walking distance to the MK. The Poly has a great feel to it. Really tropical. The food court is not that great...Comtempo has a better food court. The view is excellent. MK is front and center on the beach. Standing on that beach reminds of the many pictures and short films from the Magical World of Disney I watched as a kid on Sunday evenings. The pool is over the top Disney and a real nice place to relax and people watch while you watch your kids. The bar outside Ohanas is great. Poly gets my vote for theme and that ¨I am on vacation and I am at Disney!!!¨ feel. The Contempo, while being great, just misses my top list on small things.

 

[Daniela Rodriguez]

Thank you. I'm traveling with my husband and our only daugther who will be 4 years old. Every year we take her to celebrate her birthday. For her second and third birthday we stayed at the little mermaid room at art of animation because ariel is her favorite princess and mine too jaja. It's a very special trip every year so we save a lot of money for making it very magical for example private party for watching fireworks, ballons in the room, lots of characther meals, etc. Every year is better. For our next trip I want to be closer to magic kingdom, as we go a lot. I already booked the theme park view at the contemporary. For me returning back from any park and see the fireworks in my pj could be very magical. But I read a lot of reviews on the web and see that everybody is so in love with the polynesian that I don't want to go wrong. I have visited and eaten on both resorts and believe me art of animation is very nice, altougth is a value it is beautiful, magical. I don't feel the contempo or poly are like art. They seem very old. But I really want to be closer and to experience a deluxe resort. We go very early to the parks and return sometines after fireworks or sometimes before they star. This trip I'm staying 10 days (lats trips where 8 days). We are not to much at the hotel, but what we really really enjoy doing is come back at nigth from the parks, take food from food court to our room and eat in bed wathing tv and just talk about all the fun things we did that day. So that's why contemporary seam special, but everybody loves the poly from what a I read. So I don't know what to do. I don't care about transportation beacuse anything is better than staying out of magic kingdom area for us, as we go a lot. I just want to enjou my room and the food at the hotel. I have eaten at poly and it's delicious. At contempo I have only eaten at chef mickey and it's nothing special, only for the chatacther ofcourse. Help me.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Ive stayed at both. I definitely like the Contemporary better than the Poly. The theme of the Poly is more appealing, but that is where is ends.

I like the Contemporary because:

1) better monorail stops
2) Even south wing has closer rooms to the main building/monorail than most of the buildings at the Poly
3) CR is a much quieter resort to relax. Poly has dining guests morning, noon and night. Most dont leave after the meal..go to the pool/beach/ even the parks and leave their car, so no parking for you!
4) Poly pool is very popular for pool hoppers
5) Rooms at CR look more updated and I love the bathroom layout.
6) Better vharacter meal at Contemporary, and their quick service is not nearly as crowded as Captain Cooks. They have now added an adult only bar/restaurant at the Poly. Cant imagine the drunks around while they send their kids to the pool.

 

[Daniela Rodriguez]

Ive stayed at both. I definitely like the Contemporary better than the Poly. The theme of the Poly is more appealing, but that is where is ends.

I like the Contemporary because:

1) better monorail stops
2) Even south wing has closer rooms to the main building/monorail than most of the buildings at the Poly
3) CR is a much quieter resort to relax. Poly has dining guests morning, noon and night. Most dont leave after the meal..go to the pool/beach/ even the parks and leave their car, so no parking for you!
4) Poly pool is very popular for pool hoppers
5) Rooms at CR look more updated and I love the bathroom layout.
6) Better vharacter meal at Contemporary, and their quick service is not nearly as crowded as Captain Cooks. They have now added an adult only bar/restaurant at the Poly. Cant imagine the drunks around while they send their kids to the pool.

Jajaja you're rigth about the drunks

 

[Nancyg56]

With a little girl? I would choose the Grand Floridian. There is something so special about that resort, and i never thought that I would say that!

We had Theme Park view in October and the view from our balcony was stunning, but to be honest, even garden view would seal the deal for me. (It did. We are back in one week!) I was there on an adult trip in October but found myself missing the girls so much. There were little girls dancing in the Grand Ballroom. Okay the lobby, but those little princeses were dancing to the music the Grand Pianist would play every afternoon, and they were so enchanting to watch.

There are two fabulous pools, and for the little ones a Splash Pad. I thought that thing was the best! My girls are looking foward to plaing under those pots!

There are two pool bar/restaurants, which had plenty of seating. One of them has a lovely view of the Poly, and we spent time just relaxing watching the water.

I did not go to the evening movies on the beach, but I plan to take the girls for this treat.

THere is a salon inside the Grand, and they have Princess Packages available for little gils. My girls have their package booked for the aftenoon that we scheduled CRT. My husband cannot join us this trip so he wanted a special treat just from him. The package that I booked comes with a tiara and pixie dust. We don't put makeup on the kids, so we did not choose those options, but the pictures we saw were pretty cute.

To me, the GF looks like a little girl's personal castle. I hope the two little ones agree.

Everyone is welcomed to view Wishes from Narcoossees veranda. The view is splendid!

 

[joannjoe]

I'm going with the Contemporary. Do both different years

 

[DisneyWishes14]

With a little girl? I would choose the Grand Floridian. There is something so special about that resort, and i never thought that I would say that!

We had Theme Park view in October and the view from our balcony was stunning, but to be honest, even garden view would seal the deal for me. (It did. We are back in one week!) I was there on an adult trip in October but found myself missing the girls so much. There were little girls dancing in the Grand Ballroom. Okay the lobby, but those little princeses were dancing to the music the Grand Pianist would play every afternoon, and they were so enchanting to watch.

There are two fabulous pools, and for the little ones a Splash Pad. I thought that thing was the best! My girls are looking foward to plaing under those pots!

There are two pool bar/restaurants, which had plenty of seating. One of them has a lovely view of the Poly, and we spent time just relaxing watching the water.

I did not go to the evening movies on the beach, but I plan to take the girls for this treat.

THere is a salon inside the Grand, and they have Princess Packages available for little gils. My girls have their package booked for the aftenoon that we scheduled CRT. My husband cannot join us this trip so he wanted a special treat just from him. The package that I booked comes with a tiara and pixie dust. We don't put makeup on the kids, so we did not choose those options, but the pictures we saw were pretty cute.

To me, the GF looks like a little girl's personal castle. I hope the two little ones agree.

Everyone is welcomed to view Wishes from Narcoossees veranda. The view is splendid!

I agree with this. The GF is dreamy!! So many things for a little princess to do! Tons of character meals, the salon package, My little Princess' tea party, etc. They even have an Alice in Wonderland splash pad. Don't get me wrong, I love the Poly, but for a little girl's birthday trip, nothing could beat GF. If GF doesn't interest you, I would do Poly. The theming is amazing. Contemporary feels like an airport hangar to me and has a big convention crowd. While I love the Contemporary for its historical significance to WDW, it's not a very inviting resort.

 

[Nancyg56]

I agree with this. The GF is dreamy!! So many things for a little princess to do! Tons of character meals, the salon package, My little Princess' tea party, etc. They even have an Alice in Wonderland splash pad. Don't get me wrong, I love the Poly, but for a little girl's birthday trip, nothing could beat GF. If GF doesn't interest you, I would do Poly. The theming is amazing. Contemporary feels like an airport hangar to me and has a big convention crowd. While I love the Contemporary for its historical significance to WDW, it's not a very inviting resort.

I agree. The CR is special to my DH, he took us there twice and loved it back "in the day". He cannot understand why we prefer the Poly over it. We actually prefer any resort ove the CR! LOL! I think that the Grand gets a bad rap. WE stayed there by default last October. We were moved there due to a constuction conflict with the room we were to be in, and I was kind of disappointed. All my friends were at teh BWI, and I was "stuck" at the Grand. WHo wanted that stuffy resort? ME!!!!!! That's who! The Grand is the most welcoming resorts I have ever stayed at. The level of attention was beyond anything i would have imagined, and the care that little ones recieved impressed me enough that this was the resort I wanted to share with the girls. We have a lot of resort specific activities planned, and intend to let the girls enjoy their week of royal treatment. I did have to draw the line at theme park view, because with two rooms booked the cost could not be justified to me.

My family loves the Poly, but all agreed that for Nola and Rylee's birthday trip they needed the GF and Royal treatment. LOL!

 

[Aliceacc]

Is/will the Poly still be under construction when you go? Will that factor into your decision??

 

[Babsy]

Thank you. I'm traveling with my husband and our only daugther who will be 4 years old. Every year we take her to celebrate her birthday. For her second and third birthday we stayed at the little mermaid room at art of animation because ariel is her favorite princess and mine too jaja. It's a very special trip every year so we save a lot of money for making it very magical for example private party for watching fireworks, ballons in the room, lots of characther meals, etc. Every year is better. For our next trip I want to be closer to magic kingdom, as we go a lot. I already booked the theme park view at the contemporary. For me returning back from any park and see the fireworks in my pj could be very magical. But I read a lot of reviews on the web and see that everybody is so in love with the polynesian that I don't want to go wrong. I have visited and eaten on both resorts and believe me art of animation is very nice, altougth is a value it is beautiful, magical. I don't feel the contempo or poly are like art. They seem very old. But I really want to be closer and to experience a deluxe resort. We go very early to the parks and return sometines after fireworks or sometimes before they star. This trip I'm staying 10 days (lats trips where 8 days). We are not to much at the hotel, but what we really really enjoy doing is come back at nigth from the parks, take food from food court to our room and eat in bed wathing tv and just talk about all the fun things we did that day. So that's why contemporary seam special, but everybody loves the poly from what a I read. So I don't know what to do. I don't care about transportation beacuse anything is better than staying out of magic kingdom area for us, as we go a lot. I just want to enjou my room and the food at the hotel. I have eaten at poly and it's delicious. At contempo I have only eaten at chef mickey and it's nothing special, only for the chatacther ofcourse. Help me.

Ok, so with a little girl at 4 The CR is the resort I would recommend this time around. At her age she will be going to bed early so watching Wishes from your TPV balcony will be perfect!! The CR is very quick to go to and from the MK, whether walking or the monorail so the convenience will be very nice for you. The rooms at the CR are really a large part of the experience. the huge patio door looking out over the entire MK area is breathtaking - especially when you first enter and during fireworks! My absolute favourite memory in WDW is sitting on the balcony of our TPV CR room with my two grand daughters watching Wishes. It was a wonderful experience that I will cherish forever.

The meals at the CR are good and varied, IMO, but it is so EASY to go anywhere from the CR that you can plan meals wherever you want. The poly and GF are a short monorail ride away, the WL and Fort Wilderness (Hoop Dee Doo) are a short boat ride away and all the other resorts are accessible from the MK bus depot (just a 5 minute walk away). Of course, Chef Mickey's is just downstairs as are the Contempt Cafe and the Wave..flavours. Then there is the California Grille upstairs for fine dining.

Although it is always nice to enjoy the convenience and comfort of the CR, it is the best with small children. Your daughter will love the monorail going through the resort! Also, once you get off the monorail or enter the door, it is not far to your room. Many resorts have a lengthy walk either outside or along long convoluted corridors to get to your room. Not so at the CR. The elevator are centrally located so that no room is a long walk away.

At the CR, the resort is the comfortable base for watching WDW. It is simple in design (like an extension of the original Tomorrow land), but still manages to be an exciting place to stay. Request a high floor for the best views. Some people complain about noise, but we never heard a thing inside our room with the door closed.

The Polynesian is a great place to stay, but you go often to WDW so I would save it for a future trip (Perhaps your next one). there is still some construction going on at the east pool, so I would go when that is completed. This way you will experience both and at the best time for each resort.

Of course, if you don't wan to wait, the poly is a greta choice too. request rooms away from the construction and request a balcony if that is important to you. You can watch Wishes from the beach at the Poly, despite the bungalows. However, the music isn't piped in anymore, I believe.

Enjoy your stay wherever you choose!

 

[Babsy]

I agree that the GF is magical and very princess like for any girl. I would wait for a year or two to stay here when she might enjoy a beauty salon and afternoon tea a little bit more than as a four year old. At four, we found the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique in the MK to be a fun experience. I plan to take my two girls to the GF in a few months and MAYBE try the salon for a quick updo. I will be waiting for a future visit to try for afternoon tea.

The water play area and the two pools are very nice at the Grand, however!

Would you consider a split stay? 5 days CR, then 5 days at the GF?

 

[sbeets]

I hated the Contemporary. Convenient yes, but no magic. It's like your disney vacation ends when you come to the hotel. We had a great CL suite, and even that didn't make up for the lack of magic.

 

[Daniela Rodriguez]

Is/will the Poly still be under construction when you go? Will that factor into your decision??

I think not. Will go on April 2016

 

[dsal2002]

We want to stay at the Contemporary with the view of the Magic Kingdom. Both are nice tho. I think the Contemporary would be awesome

 

[raddisneyfan]

For me, the only plus for the CR is the fact that you can walk to the MK entrance. Other than that, my vote goes to the Polynesian all the way--love, love, love the theming--just wish I could afford to stay there more often--but I always go to hang out there on every trip.