I have reservations through the AAA website for the Poly July 20-26. The room rate a night is 289.00 on web site with disney it is 340.00. Is this hotel really worth the money? The reason we are staying ther is due to our autistic son doesn't seem to tolerate the bus line very well. So I guess it is worth it for the monorail but what about the hotel itself?

Are you sure the AAA site includes room tax? The difference is suspiciously close to 15%, though I don't recall what the tax rate is off the top of my head.

If I were to stay on the monorail line, that'd be my first choice.

The reason we are staying ther is due to our autistic son doesn't seem to tolerate the bus line very well.

The Poly is amazing. However if you just want to stay on the monorail line and money is a concern, you might want to consider the Contemporary. It's noticeably less expensive.

But, if it's in your budget, go for the Poly.

The Poly is amazing. However if you just want to stay on the monorail line and money is a concern, you might want to consider the Contemporary. It's noticeably less expensive.

Ah, but only if there are Garden Wing rooms available. And with one Garden wing removed for the DVC resort, the ones remaining fill up quite rapidly.

Contemporary was my first choice. All the standard rooms are booked up. Only thing left magic kingdom view from the 400.00's. I said the poly room did not include tax with aaa. 340 from disney did not include tax either.

Poly is deffinately worth it. The views, room sizes, theming, pool, monorail...ect. Have stayed at CR and have never honestly been too impressed. It is a wonderful resort, but very busy and not very relaxing for us.

I think I am sold on the poly. Although I still think its too pricy. Thanks!

I will be there the exact same dates as you! Golly. And I'm also staying in the Poly but the rate I have is closer to $240/night including tax.

So that AAA rate is pretty good.

How are you all getting these rates! I just called to day to reserve at the going rate rooms for 2009- could not do packages that far out but was quoted 465.00 per night in April for the poly! Wow- no way!

I stayed for 3 nights after the marathon and it was very nice. The beds were awesome! So comfortable... It was also nice to watch the MK fireworks from the beach one night.

Depending on when you are going you might want to check on the AP rates. When I went many years ago... I think 4 - I save more than 100 a night on my room with the AP. So when you are staying 7 or more nights at 100 a night savings an AP is a good investment.

would he cope with a boat? we just came back from WDW and stayed 10 nights at the wilderness lodge. it was AMAZING. From a transport point of view, the MK was a total breeze; the boat was fantastic in the morning (we could hear the horn as the boat came into range and that gave us enough time to get down to the dock to catch it) and in the afternoon and evening we invariably ended up being the only people to catch the bus back; the WL bus stop is the closest one to the MK (actually less walking than to the boat!) and because everyone does head to the boats, only once in 10 days was there *anyone* else waiting (one family with a wheelchair bound grandfather). so, that is another option - much much cheaper than the monorail resorts (we got the AP rate of $175 plus taxes) and absolutely fabulous.

I'll echo the sentiments about the Poly. We've stayed there twice and are going for a third time this summer. You are getting the convenience of the monorail stop but there is also a boat that goes across the lagoon to MK.

You can walk to the ticket and transportation center for the monorail to Epcot.

The pool at the Poly is fantastic. Wonderfully themed with a zero entry. The grounds are lovely and they have a torch lighting ceremony at night. Also at night they have a water pageant (think electric light parade in the water - though not nearly as eleborate). You can watch the MK fireworks from the dock or pool and they even pipe in the Wishes music over the speakers there.

Is it worth the money? Maybe not for everyone. For us, staying at the Poly is half of the trip. It is so relaxing and fun, we like being there almost more than being at the parks. For us it is definitely worth it.

By the way, if there isn't another family in the front of the monorail, ask if you can be up there. It's a great perspective and usually the drivers are very friendly. Plus it's private and might be interesting for your little guy.

OK, I'm gonna get flamed, but...

My wife took me to the poly this past October. She'd always stayed there as a child and wanted me to check it out. To be honest, I wanted to see what a $300+ a night room was like.

My first impression upon walking into the poly was the scent. Or smell. Or whatever. Smelled old--like mothballs old. The second impression I got was cheese. As in "cheesy". It looked to me like a second rate themed hotel that you'd find on a Polynesian Island--not a first rate hotel.

I suppose you're paying for the easy access to the MK and the "neat" pool.

I just can't see spending that kinda coin.

. It looked to me like a second rate themed hotel that you'd find on a Polynesian Island--not a first rate hotel.

The irony is, having travelled all over polynesia (well, fiji, tonga, tahiti, raratonga, samoa) I have never seen anything even remotely similar to the ghastly brown and orange 1970s decoration, anywhere... and the architecture may be similar to meeting houses, but it certainly doesn't look like any hotel i have ever seen or stayed at... I couldn't believe it, in January, when we had a wander around the Poly - at a guess we thought it was built in the early 1970s and has never been updated for some reason, and by an architect who had never been or not spent much time, in polynesia. we were a bit horrified to think that generations of americans think that they are having an authentic experience! : )

I love the Poly. I've been going there since 1972. Its a nice resort with direct monorail access to the MK and Epcot (via the TTC). The grounds are beautiful and its been recently refurbed. I've been to Fiji, the Cooks, Tahiti and Hawaii. Also PNP (both sides) and many of the islands of Indonesia where longhouse cultures exist. The Poly tends toward Hawaii and was partially inspired by a resort on Maui. I find the atmosphere more relaxing than many of the one building resort hotels and the design fails to offend me even if its not "authentic". I don't think Disney aims at authentic, only for evoking an imaginative impression of a place. That's kind of like saying a trip to WDW is an "authentic American experience". No, its a trip to a resort.