I know this is totally subjective, but I would love some thoughts. It is 2 adults, a 2 year old and 6 year old. We typically stay at BLT and love it. My pros are separate sleeping space for the kids (especially when the little one naps), laundry in case of potty accidents and the ability to walk to MK which is our favorite park. My husband likes change and we haven’t stayed at the Poly yet. I like ease of transport to 2 parks as well as the pool and dining options as well as the perks of club level. I’m struggling whether these perks are worth the loss of additional space. If it matters, both options would be theme park view.
TLDR, sorry.
Our first Poly CL stay was when my oldest was 3 or 4. I now have 2 (11 and 7) and we've been to Poly CL at least a couple of times each year since that first trip (as well as a few Poly non-CL trips recently since CL has been unavailable). Poly CL TPV is the resort / room type / view category that really made us fall in love with WDW as a vacation destination for our family. We like other places as well, but Poly CL has always been a home base of sorts. CL makes things so incredibly convenient for parents with young ones, in my humble opinion. And now with newly renovated rooms and a gorgeous new lounge, it's hard to beat.
First and foremost (as we generally choose resort/room/location first, CL second), we just really like Poly as a resort - so that influences our thinking. The Lava Pool zero entry area and kids splash area (arguably the best on Disney property) have provided countless hours of leisure/fun for us. The BLT and CR pools are "OK" - but to me they don't match fun vibe or setup as Poly's pools, especially in the kids splash department. 2 may be a bit young for Poly's splash pad (although every kid is different), but the 6 year old will likely love it. At that age my little one would mainly mess around the small splash pad slide or the pool zero entry area, my older one would play all over the place.
We also prefer Poly's access to Epcot (walk to TTC to the Epcot monorail) over BLT (requires monorail transfer coming/going, which frankly gets old after awhile). We spend a lot of time at Epcot on any given trip, so this is borderline material for us.
In terms of resort dining, I give the slight edge to Poly, but that's very subjective of course. Captain Cooks > Contempo Cafe. Steakhouse 71 > Kona Cafe. California Grill > Ohana. But on the whole nothing about dining at either place is material enough to sway our resort choice, generally speaking, as each has pros/cons. I do
much prefer the pool dining options at the Oasis Pool Bar & Grill (which can be ordered at the Lava Pool too) (and I would argue is among the best pool bar food on property) over food available at the BLT/CR pool bars (arguably my least favorite of any resort on property). Sounds silly but I would pick Poly over anywhere else just for the Oasis Salad.
As for CL - ultimately when I'm on vacation I'm the type of traveler that doesn't really want to have think or mess with food - I do that 51 other weeks of the year, on vacation I want a break. While this sounds spoiled and whiny, simple stuff like a morning cup of coffee or a glass of water (or adult beverage) just steps away is very convenient and worth it for us. CL breakfasts have been a godsend for us over time - no messing w/ the other dining options, waiting for mobile order, etc - it's all right there and I value not having to think/order ahead/make any of it. The other food services aren't really going to be meal substitutes, although our kids have probably had way too many Uncrustable or chicken finger meals in the lounge than I should admit, and frankly a lot of times if we've had a big lunch out somewhere the evening light bite apps are just fine for us. (I'm speaking from pre-Covid times of course, since Poly CL hasn't reopened yet so we'll need to see what types of offerings they have in mind when they reopen).
One Poly CL downside I should note is the balcony situation. With a TPV room you can be on the second or third floors. If you don't know, third floor rooms have balconies, second floor rooms only have a sliding door w/ Juliet rail - no outdoor space. With our kids, we MUCH prefer a balcony and consider it a borderline necessity. There are more TPV rooms on the third floor than the second floor so your chances of getting a third floor room are reasonable, but not guaranteed. We always request a third floor room and usually (key word) have been assigned one - but it's always an uncomfortable risk.
All of that being said, we had two BLT 2BR TPV stays over the last couple of years (thanks to Disney covid closures) so can absolutely understand how the material extra space, laundry, etc can be very enticing. I love BLT and love the layout/setup of those 2 BRs. We joked we did "make your own CL trips" as we did a big order from Garden Grocer and were set. Ultimately I prefer CL over a villa for the reasons I mentioned above, but I can definitely see the appeal. We do not own DVC for various reasons, but that BLT 2BR had me peaking at
point charts!
We adore the BLT community room and found ourselves spending a ton of time in there, especially in bad weather. They have great crafts and offerings. A huge plus w/ BLT, in my opinion.
Hard to compare the space differences since they are in different worlds. We go back and forth as a family - sometimes we like room options with multiple rooms so we can spread out/have more space, other times all being crammed in one room is fun and we enjoy it.
I remember back in the napping days at Poly CL we'd often split up - one parent would stay w/ baby/toddler in the room, the other would take the other child and hang in the lounge, go to the pool, play in the sand on the beach, etc - the Hawaii longhouse location makes everything all so convenient. The lounge as the "second room" has always been one of the appeals of CL for us.
Anyway - sorry for the ramble... just one family's perspective! Good luck deciding!
