Grand Floridian vs Polynesian

[Jennx36]

I'm debating whether to stay at the Polynesian versus the Grand Floridian. Which has the better pool? We will be traveling with kids in the summer, spending mornings in the parks, and coming back to the room for the afternoon and evening.

 

[mrsap]

I'm debating whether to stay at the Polynesian versus the Grand Floridian. Which has the better pool? We will be traveling with kids in the summer, spending mornings in the parks, and coming back to the room for the afternoon and evening.

I prefer the Grand pools. Typically less crowded during the day and easier to get a pool chair. They also have servers, as well as the option to rent a cabana. Good luck deciding!

 

[chasgeese]

Personally, if you are planning to go after the Poly renovation finishes this summer, I would highly recommend Poly over the GF (and I’m not a Poly evangelist like many on here are). The current GF rooms were dated as soon as they opened and now they are also starting to show signs of wear and tear. The Poly, on the other hand, will have just been refurbished and the mock-ups of the rooms that have been made public look really nice.

Pool wise they are about equal. The Poly has more features and a better slide, but the GF pools are bigger and tend to feel less crowded. Food wise it’s kind of a wash since it’s easy enough to hop over from one to the other (although GF definitely has better and more food options).

Essentially, given the exorbitant rates Disney charges for both (and if anything, the GF tends to be a bit more expensive), it’s really hard to recommend the GF right now with it’s dated rooms for the price that Disney is charging when you can pay the same or less for a much nicer room at the Poly. I’ve always personally found the Poly to be a bit tacky, but the new rooms look great and at the end of the day the GF is still a resort at a theme park. Unless you really hate the kitschy tiki theme or Moana (elements of which have been incorporated into the new room design), Poly is the way to go here until the GF gets the TLC it needs.

 

[MMSM]

Here right now and stayed at poly and now at GF. No doubt I would do poly!

 

[Marthasor]

I would stay at GF just for the easier access to MK. You still get beautiful pools and a splash area for the younger children. The monorail isn't stopping at Poly right now and, even when they re-open that station, the monorail is quite unreliable. With three transportation options from GF to MK (path, boat, monorail), it will make traveling back and forth more convenient. I also find the QS at GF to be much more navigable.

 

[Nabas]

I'm debating whether to stay at the Polynesian versus the Grand Floridian. Which has the better pool? We will be traveling with kids in the summer, spending mornings in the parks, and coming back to the room for the afternoon and evening.

We've stayed at the Grand Floridan and Polynesian a few times. IMO, the Poly is more kid friendly.

IMO, the pool at the Poly is more kid friendly too.

If you stay at the Grand Floridian, you have the option to walk back from the Magic Kingdom. But in the heat of the day, it feels like a looong walk!

Construction will be going on at the Polynesian until July. Best to avoid that.

However, if you go immediately after that, you'll get to stay in one of the new Moana themed rooms!

 

[olive]

Agree with many others that timing matters in light of the construction at the Polynesian. I admit that I have stayed there many more times than GF with my kids, but that is because I prefer it for kids. I wasn't in love with the room style at GF, but that isn't a huge issue. We have always gone to V&A at GF for a kids-free dinner, and there is a lot that I love about the GF, but I really think the pool area at Poly is magical for kids. I have found it to be horribly crowded at times, but we manage. The quiet pool has never been crowded when we are there, but the kids love the lava pool and splash area. Sometimes we have a hard time finding chairs, but we don't really need them. We also like getting a room near the lava pool, and that request has been able to be fulfilled somehow on every trip. Plus, nightly dole whips are wonderful and smore's on the beach with a view of the castle is pretty nice. When the Epcot monorail is running, being a quick walk to the TTC from the Polynesian makes it so convenient to MK and Epcot. That convenience was always a major factor for us.

I really think you will be happy at either, but Poly gets my vote. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Dug720]

My biggest thing? (Well, besides the Grand room decor looking like my super strict grandmother's design taste - BLECH! NOT what I want on vacation.) The Grand doesn't have handheld shower heads! The Poly in February totally turned me into a hotel shower snob (the shower in my NYC apartment is too tiny to be snobbish about). My preference is the rainfall head with the handheld, but I'll take just the handheld.

If I watch a room tour video and it's a fixed shower head (at least at Disney)? It's a nope for me.

 

[chasgeese]

Personally, if you are planning to go after the Poly renovation finishes this summer, I would highly recommend Poly over the GF (and I’m not a Poly evangelist like many on here are). The current GF rooms were dated as soon as they opened and now they are also starting to show signs of wear and tear. The Poly, on the other hand, will have just been refurbished and the mock-ups of the rooms that have been made public look really nice.

Pool wise they are about equal. The Poly has more features and a better slide, but the GF pools are bigger and tend to feel less crowded. Food wise it’s kind of a wash since it’s easy enough to hop over from one to the other (although GF definitely has better and more food options).

Essentially, given the exorbitant rates Disney charges for both (and if anything, the GF tends to be a bit more expensive), it’s really hard to recommend the GF right now with it’s dated rooms for the price that Disney is charging when you can pay the same or less for a much nicer room at the Poly. I’ve always personally found the Poly to be a bit tacky, but the new rooms look great and at the end of the day the GF is still a resort at a theme park. Unless you really hate the kitschy tiki theme or Moana (elements of which have been incorporated into the new room design), Poly is the way to go here until the GF gets the TLC it needs.

I should add that all of my advice goes out the window if you are there before the refurbs are done at the Poly, which are supposed to end sometime in July but I would assume until August to be safe.

If you are going before then I would reconsider both the GF and the Poly and maybe go with CR or YC on the hotel side. On the other hand, if you are going before the renovations are done at the Poly and are willing to risk renting points (I’m assuming based on your post you don’t own at DVC), the pricing at the Poly still might make that worth it (I see points rentals around your time in the $400-500 range). I just can’t recommend the GF in its current state at the prices Disney charges for it. I know Disney can and does charge a premium that I’m willing to pay in most cases, but with the GF charging $750+ rack rate or even $550+ with the best available discounts I can see for an LV room in the summer, it’s just not worth it.

 

[Blondie58]

GF is my favorite property BUT Poly is going to be like new with all the updates if you are going after mid-July. We travel as a couple so we still like GF the best between the two but so much is opinion.