ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: January 2012

[disneydreamin247]

The cabana is like $117 after tax.

This is correct. It's a great way to enjoy the pool.

 

[BreezysMom]

Nice. I think I might try to get that. Looks like you have stayed CL many times.... Can I book this through IPO and is it paid for ahead of time?

Yes, you can have the IPO book it. They will just use a credit card guarantee.

Happy planning!

The cabana is like $117 after tax.

This is correct. It's a great way to enjoy the pool.

Cool! I think the price must have gone down since last fall which is a good thing!

 

[disneydreamin247]

Yes, you can have the IPO book it. They will just use a credit card guarantee.

Happy planning!





Cool! I think the price must have gone down since last fall which is a good thing!

I believe on my receipt from last September it was the same. (yes I'm weird and kept my receipt as a memento ) We really love the cabanas. We rented one twice on our last trip, and ended up extending both to full day rentals. If you get Brandon as an attendant you will have an AWESOME time. He is wonderful. Jennifer was good, but we had a bad experience with her. When we extended our cabana rental she told us we only had until 5, and she was shady about the whole thing. I should have reported it.

 

[baggirl]

What do you mean, by "pod" coffee makers? isnt that the same as keurig? We're staying in the Hawaii bldg. Thanks!!

 

[disneydreamin247]

What do you mean, by "pod" coffee makers? isnt that the same as keurig? We're staying in the Hawaii bldg. Thanks!!

No. Keurig uses a K cup. These are little pods.

 

[ireneryan]

I agree. You could do the 10-2 time frame and chill out in the cabana. Then when you are done there is a strong possibility that the room will be ready.

I think it is $150?? Someone else may be able to confirm that. They give a beautiful tray of fruit and having the relaxing chairs and TV is nice. Pulse there is a Cabana attendant to fetch some cocktails or even food if you chose but the extra food and cocktails is extra.

I was fortunate to be a guest of Maiapapaya and family last year and it was fabulous. If my recent trip was not so short I probably would have considered it being it was a bit crowded some days but with just the three of us it did not seem worth the money and time.

I booked a cabana for our stay, actually on our arrival day, does anyone have any experience with using one in Nov. Do you think it's too risky, weather wise?

 

[ocalla]

I believe on my receipt from last September it was the same. (yes I'm weird and kept my receipt as a memento ) We really love the cabanas. We rented one twice on our last trip, and ended up extending both to full day rentals. If you get Brandon as an attendant you will have an AWESOME time. He is wonderful. Jennifer was good, but we had a bad experience with her. When we extended our cabana rental she told us we only had until 5, and she was shady about the whole thing. I should have reported it.

Not weird at ALL (Unless I'm weird too..............and to be honest I am )
We still have our receipts dating back to our 1990 honeymoon!!

 

[kinggoofy]

I booked a cabana for our stay, actually on our arrival day, does anyone have any experience with using one in Nov. Do you think it's too risky, weather wise?

We did the cabana on Friday aug 17th. 10am - 2pm. Our attendant was great. Not one issue with the service or anything like that.

It was $110.00 for the half day.

Our problem was the rain and storms which came in around 1pm or so and when they clear out the pool...they clear out the cabana's.

Fortunately for us...no one had reserved the late afternoon slot for the cabana we were in so..when they re-opened the pool around 3pm or so, we actually got to stay in the cabana until 530pm.

Again, if someone had reserved the afternoon slot, we were S.O.L.

All of that being said...for me, the cabana is a one time rental. Ok, we did it once and no need to do it again. I coulda found several better ways to spend our portion of the $55 we pitched in for the rental.

IMO...a complete waste of money.

Whipty freakin doo---

1. pop and water
2. a fruit tray
3. a tv
4. padded chairs

Didnt do anything for me.

1. I am in the pool...i have a reillable mug and can walk to get my pop that i already paid $14 for when i bougbt my mug..OR i bring beer from my room in my cooler OR i just buy a drink from Tim or Steve at the pool bar.

2. I am in the pool...if i want fruit or something to eat, i will walk to capt.cooks

3. I am in the pool...i dont need a TV

4. I am in the pool...I dont need padded chairs.

IMO, the cabana is your way of gauranteeing a spot at a covered table at the pool. when we got there at 950am...i could sat at 20 tables of my choice.


For the $110 that we paid as a foursome...we coulda had a great dinner at o'hanas...etc.

Again, we did it this time and now that we did it...it was the last time.

Just my 2 cents.
KG

 

[ireneryan]

...IMO, the cabana is your way of gauranteeing a spot at a covered table at the pool. when we got there at 950am...i could sat at 20 tables of my choice.


For the $110 that we paid as a foursome...we coulda had a great dinner at o'hanas...etc.

Again, we did it this time and now that we did it...it was the last time.

Just my 2 cents.
KG

Thank you for your review, I appreciate it. I guess I should have explained more about my group. It's me, my DD3.5 and my mom who is in her 70's and doesn't exactly like to spend much time in the water. I was thinking that if I had a cabana for her to relax in it might make for a more relaxing swim time for me & my daughter. I'm just worried that it may be too cool in Nov to enjoy the pool for that long of a time.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Just did online check in. I had to call in to make our room requests: 2nd or 3rd floor and Rapa Nui longhouse. The VERY nice lady I spoke with told me I sound like Reba McEntire (sp?).

 

[ocalla]

Another question from a Poly Newbie.......I keep reading about the rooms at Poly being bigger than say the YC/BC. Is it really noticeable? My oldest DD may be joining us for this next trip, and the extra room may be nice.

After reading about several of the longhouses, I am surprised that they don't all have balconies? How often are you regular visitors given a non-balcony room, and does it make a difference? I had one at BC this past May and missed it in the mornings. But as pretty as Poly seems, it may not bother me to hang out around the lobby instead of the balcony when I want to relax.

Thanks in advance...............I have been stalking this thread ever since my family said YES to Poly.

 

[kinggoofy]

Thank you for your review, I appreciate it. I guess I should have explained more about my group. It's me, my DD3.5 and my mom who is in her 70's and doesn't exactly like to spend much time in the water. I was thinking that if I had a cabana for her to relax in it might make for a more relaxing swim time for me & my daughter. I'm just worried that it may be too cool in Nov to enjoy the pool for that long of a time.

Just my opinion...BUT, if you are worried about your mom being in the sun if you happen to be lucky to have a great "pool day"...get there early enough and grab one of the tables that are covered by the trees to the right of the 2 cabana's directly across from the Valcano pool / in front of Samoa OR even the tables that are by the pool entrance when coming from the GCH...(not the ones just outside of Capt Cooks).

 

[kinggoofy]

Another question from a Poly Newbie.......I keep reading about the rooms at Poly being bigger than say the YC/BC. Is it really noticeable? My oldest DD may be joining us for this next trip, and the extra room may be nice.

After reading about several of the longhouses, I am surprised that they don't all have balconies? How often are you regular visitors given a non-balcony room, and does it make a difference? I had one at BC this past May and missed it in the mornings. But as pretty as Poly seems, it may not bother me to hang out around the lobby instead of the balcony when I want to relax.

Thanks in advance...............I have been stalking this thread ever since my family said YES to Poly.

The balcony WAS a MUST for us. We have always requested balconies and lucky, we have always got one.

However, this past trip....I told DW, im kinda getting done with the balcony thing. Its just a P.I.T.A to wait for the elevator everytime you want to go somewhere.

I think we gonna try a 1st floor room with a walk out patio next time.

BUT..i dont think I could ever stay in a 2nd floor room with no balcony, especially for the amount of money that we are paying for the room / vacation.

As far as the room sizes, we have stayed at both...the Poly is slightly bigger but its also darker. But the room sizes / darkness is not an issue for us one way or another.

 

[ocalla]

The balcony WAS a MUST for us. We have always requested balconies and lucky, we have always got one.

However, this past trip....I told DW, im kinda getting done with the balcony thing. Its just a P.I.T.A to wait for the elevator everytime you want to go somewhere.

I think we gonna try a 1st floor room with a walk out patio next time.

BUT..i dont think I could ever stay in a 2nd floor room with no balcony, especially for the amount of money that we are paying for the room / vacation.

As far as the room sizes, we have stayed at both...the Poly is slightly bigger but its also darker. But the room sizes / darkness is not an issue for us one way or another.

Thanks , I kind of like the idea of a patio! that would be just as nice to me as a balcony. the elevator is a hassle (we had 2nd floor this past trip and the stairs were right next to the room.....that was so much faster!).

How about the monorail choices. Is it easier to use the TTC? or the GCH?

 

[disneylovr1]

I just booked our first stay at the Poly for Halloween week this year in a standard room, and I have a few questions. I'm sorry if they are pretty basic to those of you who know the resort inside out, and I imagine they might be answered somewhere in this thread, but I haven't even come close to having time to read all 230 some pages! I hope to get through it slowly before our trip. We usually stay at the WL or POR, but decided to go for the monorail resort this time. After WDW Hawaii is our favorite vacation destination, so I am so excited (if might be close to a tie!)

the first posts in this thread mention only garden view, lagoon view, and theme park view. Is standard a new, lower rate, or is it the same as garden?

I really don't want to just look at a parking lot, but to go to the next view (lagoon) was over $600, so we opted for standard. How are the standard view rooms? What should I request? Just not parking lot, or should I be more specific? Is there an actual room map somehwere showing which rooms are standards in each longhouse? This may sound silly, and I hope we would be happy with any room, but I always stress over view in the deluxes. Moderates not so much.

Do some standard rooms have balconies? I would love to have one, it's maybe even more important than the actual view. Second best would be a patio.

Would a reasonable request be #1 non parking lot view with a balcony #2 non parking lot view with a patio? I know the less specific the better, but also should I maybe be a little more specific after some research into eactly which view, as opposed to non parking lot. How are the monorail views? Are the cool, or kind of like having train track view from an apartment. Also, it seems like they would have less privacy and be darker.

Well, sorry this got so long. I need your expertise on the Poly. It's fun learning a new resort, we've always visited but never stayed. Any general advice also welcome - it's me, my husband, and 2 1/2 yr old son.

 

[kinggoofy]

I just booked our first stay at the Poly for Halloween week this year in a standard room, and I have a few questions. I'm sorry if they are pretty basic to those of you who know the resort inside out, and I imagine they might be answered somewhere in this thread, but I haven't even come close to having time to read all 230 some pages! I hope to get through it slowly before our trip. We usually stay at the WL or POR, but decided to go for the monorail resort this time. After WDW Hawaii is our favorite vacation destination, so I am so excited (if might be close to a tie!)

the first posts in this thread mention only garden view, lagoon view, and theme park view. Is standard a new, lower rate, or is it the same as garden?

I really don't want to just look at a parking lot, but to go to the next view (lagoon) was over $600, so we opted for standard. How are the standard view rooms? What should I request? Just not parking lot, or should I be more specific? Is there an actual room map somehwere showing which rooms are standards in each longhouse? This may sound silly, and I hope we would be happy with any room, but I always stress over view in the deluxes. Moderates not so much.

Do some standard rooms have balconies? I would love to have one, it's maybe even more important than the actual view. Second best would be a patio.

Would a reasonable request be #1 non parking lot view with a balcony #2 non parking lot view with a patio? I know the less specific the better, but also should I maybe be a little more specific after some research into eactly which view, as opposed to non parking lot. How are the monorail views? Are the cool, or kind of like having train track view from an apartment. Also, it seems like they would have less privacy and be darker.

Well, sorry this got so long. I need your expertise on the Poly. It's fun learning a new resort, we've always visited but never stayed. Any general advice also welcome - it's me, my husband, and 2 1/2 yr old son.

We have stayed at the Poly 4 times now since 07. To my knowledge, all rooms on the 3rd floors have balconies....its the rooms that are on the 2nd floor that have the "juliette" balconies, no sit down balcony.

A great room request for a standard view room would be Fiji or Samoa. That was our 2 choices before we got upgraded to a MK View in Tuvalu.

After a few days...I kinda was wishing we had a Fiji or Samoa room location. I like to people watch. But in Tuvalu...the MK view was awesome. But we would have been ok with Fiji or Samoa.

 

[kinggoofy]

Thanks , I kind of like the idea of a patio! that would be just as nice to me as a balcony. the elevator is a hassle (we had 2nd floor this past trip and the stairs were right next to the room.....that was so much faster!).

How about the monorail choices. Is it easier to use the TTC? or the GCH?

Its gonna depend on your room /building location. We were in Tuvalu so we used the GCH all the time to get to the monorail

We also took the boat a few times.

 

[maiapapaya]

Thank you for your review, I appreciate it. I guess I should have explained more about my group. It's me, my DD3.5 and my mom who is in her 70's and doesn't exactly like to spend much time in the water. I was thinking that if I had a cabana for her to relax in it might make for a more relaxing swim time for me & my daughter. I'm just worried that it may be too cool in Nov to enjoy the pool for that long of a time.

We rented a cabana last fall (and played host to BreezysMom ). We actually really enjoyed it and have booked one again this fall. We could have cared less about the soda & fruit tray. For us it was just nice to have the comfortable, private family space to spread out and relax while enjoying the Poly. This is our one family trip we take each year, so we don't mind the splurge on something like the cabana.

WRT the weather, they will allow you to cancel if it is really bad (storming etc). There is a cancellation window as well, so you could keep an eye on the forecast and if you think it will be iffy or too cold you can always cancel within that window (I can't remember if it is 24 or 48 hrs ahead).

 

[ireneryan]

We rented a cabana last fall (and played host to BreezysMom ). We actually really enjoyed it and have booked one again this fall. We could have cared less about the soda & fruit tray. For us it was just nice to have the comfortable, private family space to spread out and relax while enjoying the Poly. This is our one family trip we take each year, so we don't mind the splurge on something like the cabana.

WRT the weather, they will allow you to cancel if it is really bad (storming etc). There is a cancellation window as well, so you could keep an eye on the forecast and if you think it will be iffy or too cold you can always cancel within that window (I can't remember if it is 24 or 48 hrs ahead).

Oh excellent!! That's what I was thinking that she (my mom) could watch TV and just be more comfortable and relaxed while we come & go. She's funny about traveling, she wouldn't be comfortable waiting in the room doing the same thing, she wants to be with us just not necessarily doing the same thing. Does that make sense?

 

[maiapapaya]

Oh excellent!! That's what I was thinking that she (my mom) could watch TV and just be more comfortable and relaxed while we come & go. She's funny about traveling, she wouldn't be comfortable waiting in the room doing the same thing, she wants to be with us just not necessarily doing the same thing. Does that make sense?

It was nice for us last year because our youngest daughter actually ended up with an ear infection while we were there (had to go to the hospital) and we wanted to keep her out of the pool. She was still able to enjoy being around the pool, paddling a bit in the zero entry part, but had the comfort of the cabana to go back to - she didn't feel as much like she was missing out as she would have being back in the room while her sister got to go swimming (like how you describe your mom might feel)