I currently have several options on hold but I need to make a deposit by today. We’re going for a two night stay for MVMCP and a resort day before Thanksgiving with my family and parents.
Two rooms at Wilderness Lodge, courtyard view
Two Garden Wing standard view rooms at Contemporary
Two Standard view at Poly ($500 more than other two options)
Stalking DVC rentals for a two bedroom
My first inclination was Wilderness Lodge, especially for Christmas time but I’ve always wanted to stay at Poly, but not sure I can justify the extra cost when I was already splurging a little to begin with. I guess Contemporary felt like an upgrade too for the monorail but I’m not sure it excites me as much as the other two, especially garden wing.
Agree with everything @ninjasherrie said. Prefer Poly normally, but for an $250 a night, it is definitely WL. WL is great at Xmas too with the tree in the lobby. Definitely go WL. You can always boat to MK (or directly to the Contemporary if that boat comes back by then) and then hop the resort monorail to tour the monorail resorts on your resort day…
All of these are great options and you likely won’t be disappointed. I gravitate toward Poly since I love the theming and the transportation options there are among the best in WDW (monorail, ferry, TTC, etc.). If you’ve never stayed there, I would give it a try.
I would put WL above Contemporary Garden Wing.
The DVC rental could really save you some money, or give you better accommodations (e.g., 2BR) for the same price. 2BRs are fantastic. Full kitchen, laundry, more space, etc. You’ll be totally spoiled.
When it comes to Christmas Decor, of your options, the WL wins out, for sure. We went to a significant number of resorts to see the Christmas decor, and I can barely remember anything special about Poly for Christmas. Contemporary has a great tree outside, but WL was just so beautiful inside. (I’d love to stay there myself someday.)
Having said that, you probably can’t go wrong in any case because you can always do a resort crawl as we did to see the Christmas decor.
First off, I think Contemporary is the bottom of the list… I’ve never found their holiday decorations to be all that great, at least not compared to other resorts. Being able to walk to and from MK is the main draw there for me, and you’re not RDing so that’s kind of a moot point for this trip. The theme park view rooms can’t be beat, but you’re right about Garden Wing being underwhelming (though the rooms are quite large).
Now, between WL and Poly is a tougher choice, but I personally don’t see any benefit to paying more for this particular trip. If you’d mentioned really loving something about Poly then it might be different, but it seems the only reasons you’d have for staying there are novelty and monorail. The monorail isn’t really a big selling point when you’re just going to be going to MK for the party, and WL has boats that do the same thing. For me novelty would never be worth paying a lot more either.
I’m going against the grain here, but I would go with CR. Many years ago DW and I did a 1 night stay for early dinner at CG followed by MVMCP. We picked CR (tower room) over the WL and Poly because of location (CG and then being able to walk to MK). We particularly like being able to walk to and from MK.
Edit to add: All are great options so I don’t think you can go wrong.
I love the Poly, I mean love it, but, gotta go with WL at the holidays, especially given the price difference. Keep stalking DVC rentals though, as the Poly has that dual bathroom setup at the villas that might work for you. Good luck!
Thanks everyone, my husband just keeps saying “whatever you want” so it’s helpful to actually get some opinions and thoughts to help me solidify my own!
Deposits made on WL (though I think I’ll likely keep an eye out for last minute confirmed reservations for rent just in case)!
