Need advice from AoA vets. on Split Stay with Poly

[Running Babeck]

Planning a 9 night stay in August as my family of 4's first WDW trip. Kids are DS 9 & DD 11. Was planning to do Poly for 5 nights followed by AoA Nemo suite for 4. Has anyone been to AoA (possibly in a suite) AND Poly to compare? Trying to figure out how disappointed we'll be doing our resort stays in this order. Initially was thinking it wouldn't be that big of a deal as our suite @ AoA would almost be an improvement (?) over the regular room at the Poly, but everyone has advised me not to do it this way. All thoughts and advice are welcome. Thanks in advance!!

[chekhovgirl]

I've never been to AoA, but I wouldn't think about comparing rooms as much as the grounds and amenities of the two resorts. As long as you go into it thinking that you'll enjoy each resort for what it is, I don't see the big deal. Maybe plan your busier park days for the days you're at AoA.

[maxiesmom]

I've always heard it is best to move up resort levels as the trip goes on. Start at the value, which has fewer amenities, and then move up to the deluxe resort. I think after being able to take the boat or monorail to MK and Epcot having to go back to buses for all parks would be a let down.

[Running Babeck]

Thanks for the advice. Definitely planning now to do AoA 1st then move to Poly. I think the kids might be a bit sad when we leave AoA, but will get over it quickly-especially once they experience the volcano pool & riding the monorail right from the resort. Thanks again for sharing!!!

[Hooked On The Mouse]

We have stayed at both. I don't think the standard rule of move up to better resorts later necessarily applies. I think it depends on what your family values most. Poly has great transportation options and beautiful grounds, but AOA has 2 bathrooms, lots of space and a very kid-friendly theme. Our kids really loved having their own bathroom and separate sleeping spaces at AOA. We had initially planned to do exactly that split this upcoming trip, then had to lose AOA because extended family wanted to stay all together in one lodging. But when we were planning an AOA/Poly split, we didn't see either one as moving up or moving down, just that the 2 resorts offer different amenities.

[Running Babeck]

Originally Posted by Hooked On The Mouse

We have stayed at both. I don't think the standard rule of move up to better resorts later necessarily applies. I think it depends on what your family values most. Poly has great transportation options and beautiful grounds, but AOA has 2 bathrooms, lots of space and a very kid-friendly theme. Our kids really loved having their own bathroom and separate sleeping spaces at AOA. We had initially planned to do exactly that split this upcoming trip, then had to lose AOA because extended family wanted to stay all together in one lodging. But when we were planning an AOA/Poly split, we didn't see either one as moving up or moving down, just that the 2 resorts offer different amenities.

Thanks for the feedback. I think my kids will likely feel the same way. My 11 y.o. reminded me that one of the reasons we were originally thinking Poly, then AoA is that the rates drop dramatically at values for the last 4 nights of our stay. So, we'll do 5 nts Poly followed by 4 in the AoA suite. It's all set-no more rethinking or changing now.

Glad to hear your experience was good there. 45 days out & couldn't be more excited!!

[michygoomy]

We just got back from a split stay CR/AoA suite. For us the move was a move up in many ways -- we have 5, including two teens, and the CR room was just way too small for us. No storage space and the one bathroom slowed us down in the morning considerably.

We did miss the bathroom amenities -- the conditioner and bath gel! So I'd suggest bringing the extras from one room to the next. We also missed the easy access to towels at the pool (at AoA they hide them in the Nemo buildings, for reasons I can't understand).

Transportation to MK is superior, of course, on the monorail resorts, but to DTD/AK/HS it's terrible, so that's a trade off anyway. Maybe plan your Epcot/MK days with your Poly stay and the rest with your AoA stay. We also did the Pirate cruise, but couldn't get a night when were at CR which was frustrating when it was over because we could have just walked a few steps to our room but instead took a monorail then a bus.