Poly/Vero Combo Pres. Week Trip

[Lisa]

Hi everyone just returned from our Poly/VB combo trip. I had barely had a chance to breath during Dec & Jan so getting to some fun in the sun was a great thing. Although getting ready to go was a feat in itself; getting both dogs to their respective babysitters, cat sitter arranged, swimsuit and shorts bought, summer clothes hauled out and tried on DD4 & 9. I was packing right up to the last minute.

First stop the poly! (2/14-2/18) DH and I stayed here one night last May and I really wanted to try it with the family. For those that might be wondering, yes you do get the very worst room in the resort when you check in at 11pm! We were given (were also told it was the very last GV room) a second floor Rapa Nui room that faced the parking lot BUT you couldn’t see the parking lot due to the roof of the entrance. No view what so ever. I was a bit disappointed at first but got over it and saw the positive that although we couldn’t see out, no one could see in either! I think taking the late flight (that got later) was not the greatest move. It just started us out a little out of sync because of the late night. We were only at the Poly for 4 nights having 3 park days. Some of the things we did…

CP- We love this as our first breakfast before MK opens. Good food, great atmosphere.

CRT – DD4 really was looking forward to this but ended up not liking the new photo shout with Cindy. She was hungry and a little too much spotlight. I got a nice 8x10 of a pout with Cinderella. I like the old low pressure setup better – including the price! LOL! Don’t think we will do this again. DD9 had enough of everyone calling her princess (she is not a princess anymore!)

Specto/Wishes – We love this parade and fireworks. I watched wishes alone from the quietness of the beach too. I was surprised how high the fireworks were.

Electric Water Pageant – First time. We didn’t expect much and were surprised it was that long. It was fun ending the night on the beach.

Volcano & Quiet Pool – Girls could decide which they like better; the cool volcano slide and zeo entry or the deeper pool.

Ohana Breakfast – both girls enjoyed seeing Stitch and nice ending of our trip. Food was good.

Dinners – Kona, R&C, Boma We were happy with the food at all three. All were favorites we were returning to. Boma was annoying at check-in. There was a long wait at checkin and an attitude.

Everest – DH only went on it and enjoyed the ride.
Barnstormer – the only coaster the rest of us would go on. (it was even too much for chicken hearted me!)
Parks – MK, AK & MGM

3 days is not enough time! Although we enjoyed our time at WDW it felt a bit pushed espically with the late flight and we didn't have much flexibility with ony 3 days. We definitely need our longer vacations at WDW! We also realized how much of a benefit having two rooms is on vacation. We had enough space at the Poly but DD4 was always getting short changed on her sleep and DH and I didn’t have any time to organize, etc because it was time for lights out. Back to DVC next time!

Last Stop Vero Beach (2/18-2/23) After doing WDW non-stop for 3 days we headed to VB on Sat. We had two OVIR reserved and had requested that they be connected. I was a bid nervous about getting this since the poly request went so well (input sarcasm). But it was my turn for some pixie dust and we ended up getting not only connecting rooms but one of the best rooms. Top floor dead center of the inn with a large slatted balcony. It was great sitting on the beds and watch the ocean. The girls loved VB. DD9, turning 10, played mini golf over and over with DH. She also took a liking to croquet. We had great weather, swam in the pool, played in the surf and sand and enjoyed the games and activities for 4 days. We only left the hotel for provisions and to eat at Capt. Hirams Sand Bar. DD9/10 chose the sand bar for her birthday dinner and we all had a good time. They make a mean rum punch. We ate at Shutters 3 nights which was too much but we were too lazy to cut our beach/pool time short and leave the hotel. The menu was varied enough so 3 nights was doable. I had fish 2 nights which was very good but the steak was not. I felt like the service could be better. Oh, but the desserts were great. We also ordered pizza from Orchid Pizza next door and ate on the beach.

After 3 days at VB I asked each DD which part of the vacation they liked better. DD10 said VB and DD4 said WDW. I know DH liked VB.

Hummm… I’d love an addon at VB for one of those beach cottages!
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[withdisneyspirit]

Thank, Lisa, for a wonderful trip report! Was the view the only 'not so good' thing about your Poly room? The Inn rooms sound great:cool2:

How would you compare the food at CP versus O'Hana's?

[AmyBeth68]

lisa...you guys did the exact reverse of what we did last April. We did 4 days WDW and 3 days Vero. We felt short-changed at both places :D. We LOVE Vero Beach....and I would also like an add-on there....matter of fact every now and then I check to see what is available! My kids liked it as much as their Disney time, but we felt too rushed at Disney the past few trips because we were there for shorter periods of time 4-5 days...and this past trip was only 3 days. So in August we're doing a long trip. But I am really wanting to get back to Vero! Did you find the staff there to be super friendly? We thought they were the nicest group of people! :D

[Rozzie]

great report Lisa! I miss the poly in a lot of ways. We would always watch wishes from the beach....sigh...

Sounds like VB is a place to check out. Thanks for the report! :thumbsup:

[Lisa]

Thank, Lisa, for a wonderful trip report! Was the view the only 'not so good' thing about your Poly room? The Inn rooms sound great:cool2:

How would you compare the food at CP versus O'Hana's?

The view was the only thing that was not so good. I'll have to post a pic. It was an older style room which was OK with us and it was in very good condition. (probably because no one wants to stay there!) The daybed was nice so that DD4 could have her own bed and not kick anyone! If I could choose I would have wanted a room that over looked the quiet pool (Rarotonga, Tokelau, or Somoa) with a balcony. The location of Rapa Nui was OK but it's was rather removed from the pools/GCH.

The Vero OVIR's were great. The connecting rooms really worked well for us.

CP was much better than Ohana's IMHO mainly due to the varity and choice at CP. Ohana's was a fairly good served family style breakfast. It contained fresh cut mixed fruit, breads, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and mickey waffles (1 each). Every thing was good but it was a standard breakfast. I thought the waffles were better then expected, of course I expected cold hard waffles. They were warm and soft with a good flavor. With our family we had extra eggs and sausage and asked for more waffles and bacon. CP has a great variety of foods all done very well. There are just so many choices from the fruit and baked goods to the warm potatoes, eggs, meats. There is also a cook to order pancake and omlet station. The one dish I always get more of at CP is the kids breakfast pizza! For some reason it really hits the spot.

[Lisa]

lisa...you guys did the exact reverse of what we did last April. We did 4 days WDW and 3 days Vero. We felt short-changed at both places :D. We LOVE Vero Beach....and I would also like an add-on there....matter of fact every now and then I check to see what is available! My kids liked it as much as their Disney time, but we felt too rushed at Disney the past few trips because we were there for shorter periods of time 4-5 days...and this past trip was only 3 days. So in August we're doing a long trip. But I am really wanting to get back to Vero! Did you find the staff there to be super friendly? We thought they were the nicest group of people! :D

I think I have the same conclusion. We need a longer time at Disney then 3 days to be able to go to all the parks and have some breathing room. I think 4 at the minimum. We arrived at Vero 1pm so really had all afternoon and 4 full days. We were happy with that amount of time. If we were there longer we may have needed to do something outside the resort as well. But then again the pool and beach would have worked for another day! The staff was great. They seemed to rotate them around quite a bit which I'm sure is as nice for them as it is for us. DD9/10 got to go to the un-birthday party for her birthday! Which was really cool. She was a little concerned that it might be the one day she woun't be allowed to go.

I wish I was there right now :brrrrrr:

[withdisneyspirit]

CP was much better than Ohana's IMHO mainly due to the varity and choice at CP. Ohana's was a fairly good served family style breakfast. It contained fresh cut mixed fruit, breads, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and mickey waffles (1 each). Every thing was good but it was a standard breakfast. I thought the waffles were better then expected, of course I expected cold hard waffles. They were warm and soft with a good flavor. With our family we had extra eggs and sausage and asked for more waffles and bacon. CP has a great variety of foods all done very well. There are just so many choices from the fruit and baked goods to the warm potatoes, eggs, meats. There is also a cook to order pancake and omlet station. The one dish I always get more of at CP is the kids breakfast pizza! For some reason it really hits the spot.

I was thinking you might say this. I just love CP for breakfast:beatinghe My second favorite is Kona so far...and I wondered how O'Hana's might compare. Thanks for the yummy descriptions! Those puffed french toast at CP really get me, yummy!

[Lisa]

I was thinking you might say this. I just love CP for breakfast:beatinghe My second favorite is Kona so far...and I wondered how O'Hana's might compare. Thanks for the yummy descriptions! Those puffed french toast at CP really get me, yummy!

CP was our very first experience at WDW as a family. I had made early reservations for CP, we dragged ourselves out of bed after a very late check in (I didn't learn) and drove to MK. We had a very magical first ride on the monorail and walk down an empty Main St. to the CP. My then DD2 was intranced by Piglet and wouldn't leave him. Everyone enjoyed the food and characters so much it just set the tone for a magial trip. It's now a must do for us.

Is it the Tonga Toast that you liked at the Kona? I haven't been to Kona for breakfast yet but we did get the Tonga Toast via room service last May. It was very good but I think a bit too sweet for me. DH and I split the Tonga Toast and another breakfast. That seemed just right ...especially since I get all the bacon!!! :laughing:

[Lisa]

great report Lisa! I miss the poly in a lot of ways. We would always watch wishes from the beach....sigh...

Sounds like VB is a place to check out. Thanks for the report! :thumbsup:


I watched wishes from the point where they do the weddings. It was very nice to sit very quietly in the darkness alone and watch.

If you like the beach and/or the pool you will like VB. You have that as the main thing then can fill in with the activities.

[Lisa]

Here is a pic of our view from the best angle possible. The picture really doesn't do it justice. The flat part of the roof is right at your balcony to view the debris and the pointed part appears much closer. It's too bad they can't make the rooms that a little sub par nicer in another way to make up for it.

http://i1.tinypic.com/ojdq2t.jpg

[withdisneyspirit]

Is it the Tonga Toast that you liked at the Kona? I haven't been to Kona for breakfast yet but we did get the Tonga Toast via room service last May. It was very good but I think a bit too sweet for me. DH and I split the Tonga Toast and another breakfast. That seemed just right ...especially since I get all the bacon!!! :laughing:

Yes, I love the Tonga Toast, but I preferred it when I ate there the first time and DH and I did exactly the same thing y'all did. Having savory to go with the sweet makes it better. One time I got Tonga Toast and bacon all by myself and it was a bit too much sweet:blueflowe

[PoohsPal]

Sounds like you had a great trip! I can't imagine only 3 days at WDW with kids along. That would be kind of rushed! AT lleast you got to relax at VB after that!

[lllovell]

3 days at WDW with or without kids is enough to make you need more!!!

What a great trip. At some point, we are all going to get the "bad view" rooms I am sure, but it is great to hear that it didn't ruin your trip! I can't wait to try Vero. I was truly impressed with HHI last month and I bet Vero will be as much fun!

Thanks for sharing Lisa!

[dvcconvert]

By chance do you have any photos of your view at the VB OVIR that you could post??

Great report! :)

[conciergekelly]

Thanks for the report! I really enjoyed it. I really want to try the Poly. HMMM...Maybe next time!

[Lisa]

By chance do you have any photos of your view at the VB OVIR that you could post??


I have a couple pics, but there on my DH's laptop and he keeps disappearing to work. They aren't the greatest. For some reason he took shots to each side :idontgeti I'll post them soon.

We loved hearing the sound of the waves while we were there. We would leave our door open a crack just for the sound. Don't worry I believe there is no heating system and if there were it would not operate with the door open. (I have a hard time believing there is no heat!!)

[Pumpkinboy]

Hey Lisa! We were in the connecting rooms right below you, on the third floor. My folks were there 2/14-2/21 and we arrived a couple of days later for our 2/17-2/21 stay in the connecting room. We were right above the Green Cabin Room so we had musical entertainment every night (we liked falling asleep to it and my parents simply took out their hearing aids). Didn't we have great weather?! My 80 yr old DF and 75 yr old DM did the kayaking activity before we arrived and it was the highlight of their trip.

I think we may have done things in the wrong order tho: we started with the relaxing part in VB, then went on to BWV for 5 more days. DW remarked that she was exhausted after the parks and that we needed to do the reverse next year (oh yeah, I got her to agree that we are going again next February!):hyper:

[jaysue]

Glad to hear you had a great trip - I must admit it is rooms like the one you had at the Poly that makes us shy away from there :crowded:

The combo with VB is always nice - we have done it many times even though lately DW is more than happy to spend all the time at WDW (which is the exact opposite of what we predicted going into buying DVC :whistlebl )

We spent one night in a Beach Cottage - they are really nice

cheers
jaysue

[Lisa]

Pumpkinboy where is your orange font? I almost didn't recognize you!

We did have great weather! You know I have had good luck with our feb. trips since we started 10 years ago (not all excactly on Pres. Wk). I sure sometime my luck will end.
I think WDW then VB was a good choice. Although we could have used a relaxing day before WDW too! Good move getting DW to agree to another trip. I'm still working on that one. DH has had enough of WDW but it is such the perfect age for DD4. Maybe another combo trip. I think my try Vero out to see how great it is, so we can by a VB contract backfired. We had such a good time, DH is saying "why can't we just say in the OVIR's? You were able to book them with BCV point with no problem" Hummm. I did get the 2 rooms without a waitlist but I called day-by-day at 7 months at 9am. And I would like to try a BC.

One thing that I found very strange (and slightly annoying) was the table/chair saving at the pool. I had read about it but it was very interesting to actually expierence it. We were at the pool fairly early. One would think by all the chairs and tables taken that the pool was crowded. Nope, only one family in the pool and a couple in the area! On the table next to us there was one jacket and a stack of towels. The family didn't arrive for 1.5 hours. A row of chairs would have a towel each and one flip flop (not a pair) on each chair. ....and this repeated every day. I only say slightly annoying because we were able to find a table or chairs when we needed but found it rather rude behavior.

There were a lot of red headed kids and adults around that weekend! I think I spotted you and your family by the pool one day (maybe Monday?) I should have comeover and said 'hi' but at that moment in time was unsure. :tonguetie :bagovermy Perhaps we'll see you there next year...

[Pumpkinboy]

OK then Lisa, back to Orange. ;) You might have seen us by the pool there on Monday, over by Eb and Flo's. The dead giveaway is the supercute wheelchair-bound redheaded 8 yr old boy (the actual pumpkinboy - with birthday in October and everything). 6yr old DD was in and out and all around, so it might have seemed like more redheaded children. ;) I do recall a few others tho, some almost as cute as mine.

I don;t think the Inn rooms are going to cut it for us anymore. I think we're gonna try for a 2BR at 7 months and see if we get anywhere. Since my folks had such a nice time, I am hoping to convince them that they need to buy a VB contract, put in joint name with us, and plan to come for a week or more every year. I think as they get older, tho, they may not be as mobile as in their relative 80 and 75 yr old youth.

Now I'm hoping that someone will weigh in on how easy/ difficult it is to get 2BR or 1BR units at VB during Prez week at the 7 month mark. I started a thread on the resorts board, with no takers yet.:fingerscr

[Lisa]

Ahhh! that's better. Pumpkinboy's orange again.

Oh that was definately you at the pool. Your pumpkinboy's hair was blazing in the sun (along with yours I might add). I think your daughter was at the unbirthday party earlier with my 2 daughters! Your whole family looked very sweet. It must be great to spend time with your parents on vacation. Enjoy it while they can.

The 2 bedroom does sound tempting but for us, we crave the ocean view. If you do go with a 2 bedroom try to get a lockoff. The dedicated ones are located at the ends of the buildings closer to the parking lots.

[Lisa]

Glad to hear you had a great trip - I must admit it is rooms like the one you had at the Poly that makes us shy away from there :crowded:


The room really wasn't horrible (well for 2 minutes it was!) just not what you expect when you book, and pay for, the Poly. The room itself was actually in great shape. I'm sure there must be a couple other clunkers there as well. I think the 11pm checkin clinched the deal.

It would be really cool if the Poly recognized these rooms were not up to there standard and do something to make them slightly nicer in some other way. Something like a nice jetted tub, a bottle of wine or chocolates, some plant or flowers, stuffed Mickey's, a stereo system or larger TV.... just a thought.