What's $2100 to you? Poly vs Pop

[LSUmiss]

I've stayed at Poly several times and I still don't understand why people love it so much. GF is nicer in my opinion. Also a monorail resort. Has a wonderful fitness center. Has laundry in each building. Most importantly, it always has a better room discount than Poly.

I like the atmosphere at Poly. But I didn’t like the chaos of GF in the lobby. So many ppl go there to eat too & it makes monorail & buses congested too. Poly can have the same issues but at least they pick up first. At GF many times bus & monorail were almost already full.

 

[LSUmiss]

I have tried and tried and tried to justify the cost of a deluxe, but there just isn’t any way! I honestly don’t know how so many people are able to stay in such over-priced hotels for weeks at a time. They are nice, but no way are they close to $500+ per night nice, especially when a good chunk of time is spent at the parks.

I don’t look at price per night. I have an overall budget for a trip & don’t care about how each line item works out as long as I don’t exceed the overall budget.

 

[cadawson]

We enjoy CSR (will have new CL soon) and Beach/Yacht Club. You could also consider Old Key West - the studio has 2 queens. I’d prefer a mod over value. It’s hard for us to budget for monorail.

 

[Elle23]

I don’t look at price per night. I have an overall budget for a trip & don’t care about how each line item works out as long as I don’t exceed the overall budget.

I understand. But if I did that it would severely cut down on our vacations days. We got to stay for 8 wonderful nights last time because we stayed value. If we stayed deluxe we would only be able to stay for a few days. I would much rather have more time!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Personal decision but there’d be no doubt in my mind, Poly without hesitation. Though we’d not return to value .. been there, done that and don’t want to look back.

 

[buzznina]

It was loud & our neighbors were terrible which could happen anywhere; but we could hear them b/c walls were so thin. The transportation was atrocious. We used to be commando & I have no tolerance for ridiculous bus lines after park closing. I also hate having to line up for the bus before you even go to the parks. It was our one & only value stay. FTR, we prefer deluxe now, but back then we had only stayed at Coronado once so it’s not like we were just used to “luxury”. This was in 2008 before the remodel.

We have stayed at all 3 levels and I can give you the same stories at Deluxes, Monorails breaking down or waiting for 3-4 monorails before getting on and then almost getting ran over by people trying to rush by you,because once they open the gates it's a free for all. We have also found the deluxe buses to be a bit worse then Mods or Values. ALL transportation is hit or miss at ALL resorts. BTW, the drywall they use is the same thickness for all the resorts.

 

[LSUmiss]

We have stayed at all 3 levels and I can give you the same stories at Deluxes, Monorails breaking down or waiting for 3-4 monorails before getting on and then almost getting ran over by people trying to rush by you,because once they open the gates it's a free for all. We have also found the deluxe buses to be a bit worse then Mods or Values. ALL transportation is hit or miss at ALL resorts. BTW, the drywall they use is the same thickness for all the resorts.

I have stayed deluxe now 2-3 times a yr for the past 5 years or so. Before that, we mostly stayed in moderates. While not every trip was perfect, I have never experienced anything like our stay at Pop that time. I get that it could have been an isolated incident, but it was such a miserable experience that we won’t take the chance again. DH has stated that he would rather not go at all than to stay there. And more recently, we were staying at CR & walked back to our room from MK & had relaxed, eaten a snack, & taken a shower & my relatives who left the same time as we did were still in line for the Pop bus. I can’t deal with stuff like that. That would be my biggest complaint. If you don’t leave at park close or if that doesn’t bother you then it’s probably fine.

 

[kylenne]

You have to do what makes financial sense for you, ultimately. I’ll say this though: I was booked at Pop for all of a day before I canceled it and switched to POFQ through my “agency exclusive rate” TA. This is a last minute solo trip in early August so a deluxe was out of the question, and I was trying to do it on the (relative) cheap, which is why I initially settled on Pop. But after watching a lot of YouTube and doing some hard thinking I had to be honest with myself. I always pay what I can comfortably afford for accommodation because I’m not a park commando and the resort experience is important enough to me that I’m willing to pay more. Being neurodiverse as well, I need a sanctuary from the noise and overstimulation of the parks. And Pop ain’t it. As much as some people find the Poly chaotic, we didn’t at all last fall when we stayed there. I’d stay there every time if I could (and we will be next May).

Only you can answer this question but it sounds to me if you’re having these kinds of second thoughts you may regret Pop, savings or not. I would suggest splitting the difference and booking a moderate if the Poly is too much of a financial strain.

 

[KenHutch]

I am presently planning our 2021 vacation now. I could save many thousands by staying at my favorite resort but we upgraded to deluxe on our last trip (AKL) and the girls don't think they can go back. We eat at Ohana about 3 times a trip and lets face it The Poly is just beautiful. Plus I am hoping to teach the girls what hard work buys.

 

[DisLiss]

It would depend on my budget and what else I wanted to do. Our upcoming trip is high on "extras", so we're choosing Pop to save something somewhere.

 

[goofyintoronto]

What do you love about Pop?

First of all, i love the view! This is looking directly at AoA. Mind you, with the gondolas im sure the view will be different now. But i love the lake. I love walking the path around the lake. Very pretty. I always request a lakeview room, which is a standard room btw (i like 60's, it puts you right at the bridge connecting to AoA). I dont always get it, but usually i do. I also love that i can cross the bridge over to AoA and look around, even try out their awesome food court. Love their menu, so different from Pop. I also love the theme at pop, and the main pool has some of the best entertainment staff i've ever seen!

I also love that the buses at pop dont share with other resorts. Lastly, when they are up and running, the gondolas will be a huge bonus.


I love the refurbished rooms! Here's a room at pop, with the murphy bed pulled down. (2 queen beds).

 

[Lovetherodent]

I tried doing the Pop to save money, just one night (kept me from having to add a day of dining, etc.) While I liked the savings, I hated how big it was, how you may not get on the the first bus because the line was so long, how chaotic the food court was. No matter how short the trip, we go back to the hotel every afternoon. I want to be able to get there quickly (at least by Disney standards) and have the opportunity to soak my achin' feet in a hot tub. You really can't beat the over the top exterior theme at the values, but the rooms themselves feel like Super 8s with Mickey art. For me, the answer is yes, spend the $2100 for the better resort. I don't go as often as others on Dis and I don't stay for a week+.

 

[nkereina]

Sorry if I'm repeating, but have you considered booking two rooms at Pop instead? You'd still save some money, and it would give everyone their own bed with more space rather than four of you being together in one room.

 

[Disneylvr1971]

Have you discussed all the options offered to the kids? Seems they are older and may be ok with staying value if they can do something extra, or going middle of the road to a moderate. At that age, my DD was given the option of staying value for a longer stay with extra's added or upgrading to less time or less extra's for staying mod/deluxe. We gave her the choice, which was always value. There are so many good pictures, videos online to compare. Good luck with you decision.

 

[Mskay1216]

We are in the same boat. Kinda torn between deluxe and value.
We always wanted to try deluxe and we are able to this time
But then I see how much we can save if we switch to POP or one of the All Stars.

We previously stayed at AOA on the cars section and had no issues with noise or hearing our neighbors.

A lot of the reviews I read about POP and All Stars is that most people have a great time but the reoccurring theme is being able to hear your neighbors so much so that many have suggested asking for a box fan at guest services or just downloading a white noise app.
I don't want to have to do all that just to get a good nights sleep.
We are light sleepers so I would be miserable.

Some say the wall thickness is the same no matter which resort - that I have no idea
But you have to do what you and your family will be happy with and what works for some won't woek

 

[avincent]

We have never stayed at POP because my kids prefer the All Star theming specifically All Star Sports with 3 boys. We stayed at POFQ and I have stayed at CBR in 2000 they were nothing special imo. I truly feel the value resorts are fine and give you a “Disney” feel 24/7. My kids hated the walk at POFQ and don’t think it is a “fun” as the All Stars. We could never justify paying for a deluxe because we spend all of our time in the parks. This year we want to do our vacation different so we are doing 7 nights instead of our usual 5 and we are doing a split stay 2 nights at All Stars and 5 nights at the Polynesian. We want to spend more time at the resort and less time in the parks. My opinion is that if you are going to stay at the parks sun up to sun down I would stay at the cheapest place and spend the extra money in the parks if you are going to spend more time in the resort I would upgrade the resort as the values tend to only have the basic pools etc. As far as being able to sleep I have never had trouble with noise except maybe in the morning with people walking by if we wanted to sleep in and from what I can tell from our dining at deluxe resorts and then taking a bus to the parks I think the buses are better at the values to parks such as AK and HS as we have never had to share buses.

 

[toodycat]

I don’t really care for the Poly, so I wouldn’t spend $2100 more to stay there. On the other hand, I think the Pop room is going to be too small for the number of people. I would book the WL. It will be less money than the Poly and more roomy than the Pop. It’s got a great pool and a boat to MK, which kids seem to enjoy. My absolute favorite is the GF, but if you are thinking about cutting costs, a room at the WL will save you some money without decreasing your luxury.

 

[avincent]

I don’t really care for the Poly, so I wouldn’t spend $2100 more to stay there. On the other hand, I think the Pop room is going to be too small for the number of people. I would book the WL. It will be less money than the Poly and more roomy than the Pop. It’s got a great pool and a boat to MK, which kids seem to enjoy. My absolute favorite is the GF, but if you are thinking about cutting costs, a room at the WL will save you some money without decreasing your luxury.

Out of curiosity why do you not like Poly? Staying there fit the first time over New Years.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We are in the same boat. Kinda torn between deluxe and value.
We always wanted to try deluxe and we are able to this time
But then I see how much we can save if we switch to POP or one of the All Stars.

We previously stayed at AOA on the cars section and had no issues with noise or hearing our neighbors.

A lot of the reviews I read about POP and All Stars is that most people have a great time but the reoccurring theme is being able to hear your neighbors so much so that many have suggested asking for a box fan at guest services or just downloading a white noise app.
I don't want to have to do all that just to get a good nights sleep.
We are light sleepers so I would be miserable.

Some say the wall thickness is the same no matter which resort - that I have no idea
But you have to do what you and your family will be happy with and what works for some won't woek

I've stayed at Pop 4 times and never heard our neighbors. When we stayed at Beach Club and Contemporary we could hear every conversation in the hallway and the stomping of feet over our heads.

We use a sleep machine at home, so we always travel with one. Noise has never been a problem for me at Disney. Even when I could hear people it didn't create an issue for us.

 

[Elle23]

I have stayed at Pop, POR, and ASMu and don’t think we have ever heard or seen our neighbors at any of them! We were convinced we were the only ones staying in our section at POR. It felt abandoned (which was a bummer because I went all out with Christmas decorations that year!)

The only trouble with noise we have had was at the pool at ASMu, and that was our fault because we requested pool side.