Polynesian standard room or All Star Music Suite?

So I'm going in Sept. with my wife and 3 kids (8,7,5). We can get either an All Star Music Family Suite with a dining plan for 3 days, or a standard room at the Polynesian. The cost for both are very similar. We will probably spend a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom, but will visit the other parks too. I'm having a hard time deciding. I've stayed at Shades of Green in the past, and I enjoy being close to the MK, but the suite at ASM looks nice because there will be more room for everyone. Also I've never had the dining plan, it sounds nice to have, and not worry about paying for everything while we are there. Are the dining plans worth the convenience, or are they overpriced and too much food??

I personally would choose the Poly with the kids ages and the close proximity to the MK. I like the dining plan but we eat all TS or character buffets. I think your best bet would be to look at the restaurants you would like to eat at and examine the menus & prices on allears and decide if the DDP is good for your family. I really live the convenience of being so close to the MK. Ypu will have plenty of room for your family at the POLY. And the day bed fits me (a tall pooh sized adult comfortably). Bed rails are avilable by request and the CS at the POLY has both great all day choices & large breakfast choices & large portions.

I think I would personally choose the Poly because it is a beautiful resort and I prefer the deluxe resorts over the values. The Poly rooms are quite large so I think you would fit fine. It has the added benefit of having a Dole Whip stand at the hotel. :)

I have never stayed at an All Star suite but we have stayed at the Art of Animation suites. My kids do love having their own bathroom so it is a plus in the suites and they enjoy the bright cartoonish themeing.

Dining plan really depend on how you eat. I have a friend who liked the plan and it fits her dining needs. For my family it doesn't work very well. I have one very picky eater and one erratic eater so we very seldom would eat all the food you get with it especially the desserts. I would check and see where you plan on eating, if you are doing a lot of buffets or character meals, the dining plan may work well for you.

I think I would personally choose the Poly because it is a beautiful resort and I prefer the deluxe resorts over the values. The Poly rooms are quite large so I think you would fit fine. It has the added benefit of having a Dole Whip stand at the hotel. :)

I have never stayed at an All Star suite but we have stayed at the Art of Animation suites. My kids do love having their own bathroom so it is a plus in the suites and they enjoy the bright cartoonish themeing.

Dining plan really depend on how you eat. I have a friend who liked the plan and it fits her dining needs. For my family it doesn't work very well. I have one very picky eater and one erratic eater so we very seldom would eat all the food you get with it especially the desserts. I would check and see where you plan on eating, if you are doing a lot of buffets or character meals, the dining plan may work well for you.

I would also take the Poly given its close proximity to MK and the fact that you can get to 2/4 parks by boat/monorail. The bus lines for the value resorts tend to be the longest at the end of the day in my experience and I would prefer as little need for the bus as possible. Also, I think the Poly is just beautiful and a great experience.

As for the dining plan, my family has always used it and it is great for the convenience of not having to think about prices when eating. That being said, I agree with the others that you should decide where you want to eat and approximate how much you think you would spend for food overall and compare it with the dining plan. We are considering just paying out of pocket our next trip to see which is better.

You can rent dvc points at the Poly for much less than you will pay for a regular room. With the savings, you could figure in how much more it would be to add the dining plan. I've contacted David's Vacation Club Rentals dvcrequest.com for info but had to forego the Poly because we have 6 people this year and are staying for the first time at the cabins.

I still have to do the cost comparison from our last trip; we went without the dining plan. It seems like the dining plan gives you more food than you may want, which is why we went without the dining plan on our last trip.

Will you want some alone time with your wife? If so, the suites maybe the way to go. The standard poly room won't really give you any privacy. If that isn't an issue for you, I probably liked the Polynesian more than the All Stars when I tried them. Another option to consider could be the cabins. It has the murphy bed in the living room, and room for the three kids in the bedroom. Plus, it has a kitchen, so you could save some money on food if you wanted to.

The dining plan is a lot of food. I liked it for the convenience, because we did a lot of table service restaurants. We wasted a lot though.

Your kids are young enough to love the All-Star atmosphere, and a suite does have its appeal, but the monorail access to Magic Kingdom and Epcot from the Poly can't be beat. Plus the Poly is just a lovely resort -- it can't really be compared to the All-Stars for quality. And the kids would adore the pool area. If you think most of your time will be at the Magic Kingdom, it's not even a contest.

I, too, would choose the Poly for all the reasons the posters ahead of me have stated. It's one of my family's favorites. Beautiful and magical. It truly can't be compared to the All-Stars or any value resort. As the poster before me said, "it's not even a contest".

Tough choice. Things to consider:

1. How much time does your family expect to spend in the room? If it's a lot, you may want the extra room. For 5 at the Poly, you'd get a room with 2 doubles and a couch that converts.

2. How much do you like/dislike waiting for buses and long bus rides? Poly is on monorail for MK and walking distance to transportation hub for EPCOT. Still need buses from Poly to AK and HS. AS requires buses to everywhere. This is a big thing for me as I am not fond of waiting for buses after a long day. Also, there are a lot more people with strollers (getting on buses) at the AS resorts, which causes buses to fill up quickly.

3. Do you take breaks during the day and go back to the room? If so, Poly is very convenient to MK. AS is not.

4. Do you plan on watching MK fireworks in the park? Poly gives you an option to watch from the resort.

5. Do you plan on eating "sit down", waitress service meals or walk-up dining with snacking? If it's the latter, the meal plan might not be the best option as you may feel compelled to eat on a consistent schedule in order to get your money's worth. For the waitress service meals, it requires that reservations be made (far in advance). Going it on your own may not work-out everyday to be the most economical, but you'll be able to eat what you want, when you want.

We stayed in the AS resorts when the kids were very little. As they got older, we found that staying at the Poly and being on the monorail and close to the transportation hub worked much better for our family.

I hope this is helpful.

Just thought I'd share this tidbit since I am all about saving at Disney, two double rooms at All Star Music are cheaper than 1 suite. I don't know if your kids are too young to have their own room, but if you're comfortable, you could ask for two connecting rooms and keep the door (connecting the rooms) open at all times.