Boardwalk or Poly???? About This Page:

[chezp]

I would definitely go for the BoardWalk, especially as you plan spending a lot of your time at Epcot.

[modisney]

I've not stayed at the B.W. and for some reason it just doesn't appeal to me. We're booked at the Poly for June and are looking forward to it as it gets great reviews from lots of posters. There is an advantage to staying in the Epcot area if you planning on spending more time at those parks. As one poster mentioned though, it's a fairly easy monorail ride to Epcot from the Poly. It seems that the Poly has a real tropical decor and is designed to give you the experience of being somewhere other than WDW. There's the beach area and it just seems to be a little more "open". Also, the rooms have just undergone a renovation which is a plus. At either resort you have access to several great restaurants etc. If you really are leaning more towards the Epcot resort area, then I'd look into Y.C./B.C. Stormalong Bay is awesome and you still have great access to Epcot and the Studios. Between those two we've stayed at Y.C. twice and while most posters agree that B.C. has a little more laid back feel, they don't have as many full balconies to the rooms and if having a nice balconey to sit out on is a consideration, then I'd look to the Y.C. Some people seem to make a deal over it being "farther" from Epcot than B.C. It's not that big of a deal, maybe 5 minutes if you're walking. It's right there for the boat launch to both Epcot and the Studios.

[julieb]

For sure the Boardwalk! We were just there last month, and the refurbished rooms are fabulous! We stayed at the Poly in 2007 and loved that as well, but the Boardwalk definitely gets my vote for location and decor. Enjoy!

[hockeyguysmom]

We love the BW!!! There is a shared bus but we have never found it too bad. We really like that it is so close to Epcot & DHS, it makes it easy to park hop. We usually have dinner in DHS at least 1 time & Epcot 2 or 3 times.

Good luck making your decision.

[Teresa]

Ah - you're trying to decide between my two favorite resorts.

Wanting to spend more time in EPCOT = Boardwalk, hands down

But - kids 5 and 7 = more time in MK = Poly, no question. Any way you can split the stay?

[dworldluver]

My children loved all the parks from early on. I would opt for Poly because of the monorail and the beach that you can see the castle. I have not stayed at BW but have taken the bus to there and then walked to Epcot. It is close to Epcot, the walk isn't bad to IG but a bit of a walk to FW.

Have a great time wherever you decide to stay.

Keep us posted.

[absdmoore]

You guys are fantastic! I am leaning more towards Poly, because of it's proximity to MK and Epcot. I also think at the age my DDs will be when we go they will still be EXTREMELY appreciative of the view of the castle. My husband on the other hand (who's idea it was to plan another trip already. . . . .WHAT!!!!) really likes Boardwalk. I'm sort of torn. I told him that I want to go to WDW for our 10 yr ann., just the 2 of us (2012) and that staying at the Boardwalk then would be a great idea. I am just trying to figure out what resort my kids will get the most from at this age, plus as I said before, I want to stay at the Poly.

Can anyone tell me what the resort's areas are like? How are the restaurants and other surroundings. Keep in mind that I will have 2 young kids with me.

Thank you all for your advice and for your help. You all are great!!!!!!!

[nursemom]

I have never stayed at the Boardwalk, just visited. But I have stayed at the Poly 3 times. We just love the monorail and feeling so close to the MK. Hard choice, but my kids love the Poly atmosphere and I love the convenience of walking to the TTC for the monorail ride to Epcot.

[nursemom]

Oh, now I see you want to know about the surroundings. Well, at the Poly it is very lush and green. There are two pools, one "quiet pool" near Tokelau and the regular pool that is right near the beach. This one has a nice view of the castle, zero entry, nice slide.

The restaurants are great. Captain Cooks is the QS place and has great breakfasts (Tonga Toast included). You order entrees via a touch screen that is pretty easy to figure out. Kona Cafe and 'Ohana are the TS restaurants. We ate dinner at Kona (loved it)and had the character breakfast (Lilo,Stich, Mickey, etc.) at 'Ohana (tons of fun). They do serve a wonderful family style dinner there also.

You can rent the boats in the marina right at the Poly. You can walk over to the Grand Floridian. There is an arcade for kids, lots of shops and the Neverland Club for child care in the evening (we never needed to use it though).

You can jump on the monorail right outside the Great Ceremonial Hall or take a 5 min. walk to the TTC to grab the monorail to Epcot. You can also get the monorail at the GCH for Epcot but need to transfer at the TTC, so we chose to hoof it.

We stayed in Tokelau with a garden view room that actually looked right out over the water to the GF. We hope to return in 2010 and will definately return to the Poly., My kids love it and so do we.

I canpost some pictures of the grounds this afternoon as I need to run. Good luck with the choice!

[absdmoore]

THank you SO much!!! Can anyone tell me about Boardwalk??? I have never been there. It looks incredible, I just think it would be more fun for my husband and I to stay there without the fam than with. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[spiceypj]

Originally Posted by absdmoore

THank you SO much!!! Can anyone tell me about Boardwalk??? I have never been there. It looks incredible, I just think it would be more fun for my husband and I to stay there without the fam than with. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

especially if you can manage to stay there during the food/wine festavial over at Epcot...

late sept/Oct/early nov

the BW has some gardens - basically it is along the bw.

love the polyn - nice tropical feel to it, like the beach area, it really makes you feel like you are in the hawaii islands.

poly pictures
DIS Community Photo Gallery - Polynesian Resort

bwi
DIS Community Photo Gallery - Boardwalk Inn

bwv
DIS Community Photo Gallery - Boardwalk Villas

steve website on the polyn
Tikiman's Polynesian Resort Pages

[spiceypj]

this lady does walking paths around all of Disney.

here is the BW
MouseSteps - Walking the Disney's Boardwalk (with plenty of photos!)

here is Polyn
MouseSteps - Polynesian/GF Sunset Walk plus Night Photos

[absdmoore]

The pictures are great thank you! The fireworks are incredible from the beach. I was wondering how close they would seem, it looks amazing!

[nursemom]

Fireworks from the Poly Beach


Really great garden view room Tokelau

Poly Beach (no swimming allowed)




Pathway back to Poly from TTC
poly pool in the morning

The sites mentioned in the OP's post have lots more pictures, these arejust a few I thought would be nice to share. We did go over to the Boardwalk one evening and had portraits done of the boys. It was a hopping area! Each has it's own great points.

[spiceypj]

Originally Posted by absdmoore

The pictures are great thank you! The fireworks are incredible from the beach. I was wondering how close they would seem, it looks amazing!

they definitely look good.

the only better is CR for wishes and BC for illiuinatins - both are closer - so the fireworks are more in your face - but it is harder to get the entire picture.

you can be too close.

Poly's beach is far enough way - that you can get the entire picture.