Poly help!!

[tinksmom02]

Please help! I've *almost* got DH convinced we need another WDW trip, and I've *almost* convinced him that we're ready to try Poly. YAY! Got quotes from Terrisue...at first I was determined to get a theme park view, because this is probably the only time I'll get to stay there so I want to make the most of it.

My mom, who's contemplating joining us, pointed out that it's slightly cheaper (not much) to stay club level, garden view. Poking around here and other sites, I can see myself enjoying it, but do I want to give up the theme park view? It's really about $30 more to have the view; for the extra $30 we could have snacks, drinks, pre-planning help, etc. Speaking of, has anyone used pre-planning?

How are the garden view club level rooms?

Also, in the event free dining is announced, are club level rooms eligible? That's a BIG factor.

Would appreciate any and all feedback!

[mouseketeer mom]

Hi Christi!
We've stayed all the views you mentioned..lagoon view club level, garden view club level, and theme park view, no club.
1)Lagoon view club level-of course this is just perfect, you get it all this way, but it is a fortune..very hard to justify the cost anymore.
2)Garden view Club level- The benefit of the lounge. The lounge is wonderful, its great to have breakfast, snacks and drinks available. The view from the lounge is terrific. Just beautiful. The view from your garden view room is of perhaps the quiet pool, the other longhouses and pathways which are pretty, some of the garden view floor level rooms are blocked by foliage, so you see that, and you can't just "walk out" from those rooms. Once we had a ground level garden view club room and we faced the housekeeping house.
You can't see the electrical parade from your room, nor the lagoon, fireworks, boat launch, MK, GF or CR. Just the things I mentioned. So once you are in your room, you need to go up to the lounge to see those things.
3)Theme park view. You see it all. The castle in all its glory, the comings and goings of the lagoon, the GF, CR, the beach perhaps., it is just lovely. My husband insists on this view, more than anything he loves to sit on that balcony or patio and soak it in. It is actually hard for us to pull ourselves away from THAT VIEW. Its ours alone while we sit on that balcony. At night in our room, the kids can be asleep, and we have that view. Fireworks are seen in PJ's, and so is the water parade. Captain Cooks tastes so much better while sitting on our balcony looking at that view. It is priceless in our opinion.
We are the kind of people that feel that resort matters as much if not more than the parks. Some people don't care about the views, we do. It really is magical to have that theme park view at the Poly.
Yep., we've used the preplanners before, but...not as much as maybe others do. I like to plan myself, I like to call myself. They have performed special magic in our room for special occaisions, but honestly, I think Disney can do that anyway, no club level needed.
Let us know what you decide!
Lisa

[tinksmom02]

Thanks, Lisa, for all the info...still not sure what to do. That idea of watching the fireworks in your PJ's is really tempting...

[mouseketeer mom]

Thanks, Lisa, for all the info...still not sure what to do. That idea of watching the fireworks in your PJ's is really tempting...

Its really like you never leave the parks. It changes the quality of your vacation. I know it sounds corny, perhaps others will laugh, but it is magical. :cloud9:

[mickeefan]

We have stayed in both views at the Hawaii building. Our lagoon view was about 10 doors down from the lounge and was on the third floor. What a wonderful view of everything. Our garden view was also fine and we enjoyed it very much. We love knowing what building we will be in before we check in. Our garden view was on the lounge floor and we would either hop down to the beach or go down to the lounge to watch the fireworks and electric parade.
Our next upcoming trip we are staying garden view. We decided we did not want to pay over $100 a day more for the lagoon view.This is our very favorite resort and we love having breakfast there every morning and having the drinks and snacks available when we want them.
If you would like to just click on my name and look at my homepage. You will see over 100 pictures of the Poly including our lagoon view.
You will love it there.

[tinksmom02]

If you would like to just click on my name and look at my homepage. You will see over 100 pictures of the Poly including our lagoon view.
You will love it there.

Thanks Jim, the pictures are gorgeous!

You bring up some good points--esp. knowing what building you're going to be in.

What a terrible decision to have to make LOL

Thanks for the advice, keep it coming!

[threeh]

Hi Tink's mom, another poly lover here!!! Now I'm going to play devil's advocate and tell you I once would have NEVER stayed anywhere but LVC. As my kids have gotten older and don't require constant snacks and we were able to stay much longer in the parks, I stayed garden view last year (thanks to tikiman's site and my wonderful agent at Magical Journeys) I had a great garden view room. I stayed in Tokelau, I had a sideways castle view. I did love the $ I saved. Any specific ?? feel free to ask. I would never turn down a LVC stay but I've had to tighten the belt a bit theses last few stays....
Happy planning, such tough choices:mickey:

[ravsluvdisney]

Multiple POLY stays here and I guess it all comes down to how much quality/quantity time you will spend at the resort enjoying the upgraded room w/ view etc. We have done both. We were upgraded to Tuvalu(?) with a great view of MK. For us though - the 2 DS' included of course - we spend large chunks of the day and night away from the resort so paying the extra dinero for us doesn't make sense. The grounds of the POLY are beautiful with the tiki torches, the beach....and you're never really more than a (free!) stones throw away from a great view.

But Lisa makes a good point with a night view of the Castle, your own little balcony, drink in hand....

Decisions,decisions.... :papple::tikki:

[tinksmom02]

OK so terrisue gave me a price on LV club level--and there's no way we can swing that. DH and I were discussing it (well, I was discussing and he was throwing out "uh-huh," "yeah," etc. when he felt it was appropriate) last night, and I *think* we're going to book GV club level. Once I thought about it, I realized that we're not really in the room during the times I'd like to have the view for--fireworks, etc. And for a slightly lesser price we can enjoy the club level amenities. Plus, I kind of like knowing in advance where we're going to be staying, and Hawaii really does look nice.

I really, really appreciate everyone's comments though, I've considered everything you've said, trust me!

Now I just have to convince Mom and Dad that they can rustle up the cash so they can come with!

Thanks again, and I'm sure I'll have more questions before long!

[threeh]

The good think about GVC is you can go into the lounge or beach in front for fireworks and stuff. The lounge itself has an amazing view. You are close to the pool and the boat to MK. Have a great trip and have fun planning!!!:mickey:

[sisterslovindisney]

We love GVC! We stayed on the first floor very close to the lobby area. We really didn't have a view because of the foliage but we spent a lot of time in the lounge and on the beach. We loved the lounge! Everything was great and the concierge staff were wonderful. You will love it!!

[thejens]

I think you made a good choice. Not that any choice would be bad, considering your options! We stayed in a garden view last year. We loved it. From our ground floor patio we had a view of a pretty green lawn and often saw ducks and bunnies. In the afternoons/evenings we always had cocktails by the pool or at least strolled along the walkway by the lagoon and took in the view of the castle. We never felt away from the magic. I am sure it is especially wonderful to have the view from the patio, but we spent very little time in our room and patio but greatly enjoyed the beach pool area. Have a wonderful time!