Hello all, just back from a frigid week at WDW ... didn't pick that one well!
This was our first time staying onsite, as we do like to have separate rooms for the girls, and like a quiet stay. We usually stay in non-Disney condos. We were sucked into the 4/3 promotion and decided to try staying Disney Deluxe. My preference would have been the Beach club for their water resort as my girls love lazy rivers and beaches ... but it was going through a rehab so we decided to book Poly because I've always wanted to try staying on the monorail.
Magical Express
We had no problems with this service. I thought my non-Disney hubbie would not appreciate the constant commercial being run, but he took it all in stride. The driver was definitely full of energy, and we had the same driver back to the airport. My only complaint was being ready 4 hours before the flight for pick-up on the way back. We're used to better time management. All in all, I appreciated the service and the girls thought it great fun. By the way, we had the golf clubs and luggage delivered. They showed up around 1 pm (our flight came in at 10). We were good with that.
Disney Transportation
We really had some great luck with catching buses at the Poly, even to Downtown Disney. The MK monorail was busy and took a long time. People were avoiding the water shuttles because it was too cold. I really liked the monorail to Epcot. Poly was great for accessing both lines.
Disney Dining
If you are stuck at Disney, and HAVE to eat at Disney, then I thought this was a great deal. It was way too much food. We cheated slightly since the Counter Service credits are not yet divided between adults and children. We would sometimes order one adult meal and split it between my 2 DDs. Then we would have extra credits and use them at breakfast. We could split an adult breakfast platter between my DDs and myself (we're not big breakfast eaters), use an OJ for brekkie and take a bottle of water to go. I think had it been hot, we would probably have used a lot of credits on water and ice cream, but as it was we had a tonne of snack credits. The only thing I didn't like about the plan is being forced to eat a sit-down meal each day. For one, Disney table restaurants are not the best - quality or service. Also, I got a migraine the night we had our Ohanas dinner. ; :-[ I sent my kids and hubbie anyways because I didn't want to lose the credits. Normally, we would have just all stayed in. Thankfully, the rest of the family had a great time, and Disney let me use my extra TS credit on the last day for a CS breakfast.
Polynesian
Without being able to enjoy the amenities ... no swimming, no slides, no beach relaxation, hammock swinging, fireworks at night while lounging by the lake, etc. ... the Poly loses a bit of lustre. This was not the trip to be staying at a hotel with no hot tub! ; We were given a very prime location - Samoa, overlooking the quiet pool.
My girls instantly questioned Walt's decision of making separate buildings instead of a "hotel" as they put it. We were really close to the main building, yet we still felt ourselves cocooning in our heated hotel rooms. I have to say it felt rundown ... 70s kitsch. The room was nice and big. I loved having the "princess bed" (Day bed for my youngest DD) as she tosses around in her sleeps .. an shouts out too but that's another story! ;
I loved the closets and the dresser, and we got the balcony we requested. The best thing was it was available at check-in. Bad things: the shower didn't work on the second day, there was mold throughout the shower tiling, and there were lots of screaming babies and terrorizing toddlers in the hallways and adjoining rooms. Clearly, this is a place for the stroller crowd .... ie, not us.
Staying onsite
My hubbie went golfing 4 of the days. He loved the service of taxiing to your golf greens. Most of those days, he ended up joining up with us later at the parks. Some days he started with us, and than left mid-afternoon as he was parked-out. There was no forcing him to stay with us all day, and no whining to leave. He was much more relaxed this trip. For that alone, I truly appreciated staying onsite with Disney Transportation ... that we could do separate things, and still meet up, and part at will. I'm still not convinced that the hotels themselves are more magical than staying offsite. Or that transportation is faster. I'm still processing that one.
In general, Disney to me is like an old friend or a security blanket ... a trip makes me feel comfy, warm and fuzzy. I'm not the yah-yah celebrate type (and some of my reviews may sound whiney) ... I just miss it when I'm not there.
I'll break down my day-by-days in the next post. ;
This was our first time staying onsite, as we do like to have separate rooms for the girls, and like a quiet stay. We usually stay in non-Disney condos. We were sucked into the 4/3 promotion and decided to try staying Disney Deluxe. My preference would have been the Beach club for their water resort as my girls love lazy rivers and beaches ... but it was going through a rehab so we decided to book Poly because I've always wanted to try staying on the monorail.
Magical Express
We had no problems with this service. I thought my non-Disney hubbie would not appreciate the constant commercial being run, but he took it all in stride. The driver was definitely full of energy, and we had the same driver back to the airport. My only complaint was being ready 4 hours before the flight for pick-up on the way back. We're used to better time management. All in all, I appreciated the service and the girls thought it great fun. By the way, we had the golf clubs and luggage delivered. They showed up around 1 pm (our flight came in at 10). We were good with that.
Disney Transportation
We really had some great luck with catching buses at the Poly, even to Downtown Disney. The MK monorail was busy and took a long time. People were avoiding the water shuttles because it was too cold. I really liked the monorail to Epcot. Poly was great for accessing both lines.
Disney Dining
If you are stuck at Disney, and HAVE to eat at Disney, then I thought this was a great deal. It was way too much food. We cheated slightly since the Counter Service credits are not yet divided between adults and children. We would sometimes order one adult meal and split it between my 2 DDs. Then we would have extra credits and use them at breakfast. We could split an adult breakfast platter between my DDs and myself (we're not big breakfast eaters), use an OJ for brekkie and take a bottle of water to go. I think had it been hot, we would probably have used a lot of credits on water and ice cream, but as it was we had a tonne of snack credits. The only thing I didn't like about the plan is being forced to eat a sit-down meal each day. For one, Disney table restaurants are not the best - quality or service. Also, I got a migraine the night we had our Ohanas dinner. ; :-[ I sent my kids and hubbie anyways because I didn't want to lose the credits. Normally, we would have just all stayed in. Thankfully, the rest of the family had a great time, and Disney let me use my extra TS credit on the last day for a CS breakfast.
Polynesian
Without being able to enjoy the amenities ... no swimming, no slides, no beach relaxation, hammock swinging, fireworks at night while lounging by the lake, etc. ... the Poly loses a bit of lustre. This was not the trip to be staying at a hotel with no hot tub! ; We were given a very prime location - Samoa, overlooking the quiet pool.
My girls instantly questioned Walt's decision of making separate buildings instead of a "hotel" as they put it. We were really close to the main building, yet we still felt ourselves cocooning in our heated hotel rooms. I have to say it felt rundown ... 70s kitsch. The room was nice and big. I loved having the "princess bed" (Day bed for my youngest DD) as she tosses around in her sleeps .. an shouts out too but that's another story! ;
I loved the closets and the dresser, and we got the balcony we requested. The best thing was it was available at check-in. Bad things: the shower didn't work on the second day, there was mold throughout the shower tiling, and there were lots of screaming babies and terrorizing toddlers in the hallways and adjoining rooms. Clearly, this is a place for the stroller crowd .... ie, not us.Staying onsite
My hubbie went golfing 4 of the days. He loved the service of taxiing to your golf greens. Most of those days, he ended up joining up with us later at the parks. Some days he started with us, and than left mid-afternoon as he was parked-out. There was no forcing him to stay with us all day, and no whining to leave. He was much more relaxed this trip. For that alone, I truly appreciated staying onsite with Disney Transportation ... that we could do separate things, and still meet up, and part at will. I'm still not convinced that the hotels themselves are more magical than staying offsite. Or that transportation is faster. I'm still processing that one.
In general, Disney to me is like an old friend or a security blanket ... a trip makes me feel comfy, warm and fuzzy. I'm not the yah-yah celebrate type (and some of my reviews may sound whiney) ... I just miss it when I'm not there.
I'll break down my day-by-days in the next post. ;
My plan was to hit the Fantasyland must-dos first and than head to Toontown for 10 a.m. to get those peskie Fairies autographs. Dumbo was surprisingly easy to get a seat this morning. Little brisk in the air.
(I'm being sarcastic for all who don't know me well!)