That may not have been from checking in online. Last fall we did not check in online, but were snagged by a CM when getting off the ME bus and were told we had to check in in the GCH because there were too busy over in Hawaii. Disappointing for our first CL stay!
guitarob said:
I did online check in and for CL it was basically to have our CC# on file. Nothing much changed from there. We still went to Hawaii and all I has to do was show ID and we went from there.
For CL it does not hurt to online check in and no you do not have to check in at the GCH (unless you have a situation like Maiapapaya)
When doing online check in for CL the options they have to heck off is Hawaii and then patio or balcony so I would just chose one of those because obviously Hawaii is a given, unless you are lucky enough for an upgrade to Tonga
10 DAYS! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!
Yeah...that's all I have to contribute at the moment.
Hi Everyone
We are booked at the Poly in October. It will be our third time staying here. The first two times I requested and received Raratonga. I loved its proximity to the main house and quiet pool.
This trip Im wanting to try something different. I would still like to be close to main house, but I've seen some pictures of main floor room patios that look really cool. They seem to have there own almost "backyard space"....you know open space where our 4 year old son can run and play while we sip coffee! hee hee
Can anyone suggest a building, specific room or location that would suit us. Im looking forward to your responses as Im doing my countdown and would like to put our request in.
. 
). This was a quick "budget" (yeah, say that with a straight face... 
) trip to say good-bye to the current Polynesian before they start digging around and changing things (as rumored).
If was going to be in the parks from open to close then I would stay at a value. I definitely don't feel like time not spent in the parks is wasted. Some of our most cherished memories have been at the resorts. Our best vacation ever was our Poly trip and the time spent there!! 
We just don't need to be in them all day everyday. I could totally go both ways. But, I do tend to lean toward the hyper side of things
We usually tour in the AM. I start around 5 (see above) and MrsB joins for breakfast time. We head back from the park to the Poly after lunchtime, have a drink at the pool and swim for a bit, shower, head to dinner, then tour the parks a little more before/after the PM show of choice for the evening.
It's not hyper touring, but it's pretty fast paced. We've slowed our roll considerably on the last couple of trips.
We don't go yearly, but it's not once in a lifetime either. We've definitely seen most things. We may not be back for a few years after this (or, we might, who knows?
Samoa has a great little area around the ground floor patios on the pool side. It is separated from the pool area by a path and some garden space as well. Samoa is also convenient to everything. I have a picture of that side of the building here somewhere; I'll edit it in when I find it, gimme a few...
...ahh, here we go:
The volcano pool is to the left in that shot.
The noise isn't bad at all. I stayed in Samoa in July and had no problems at all!
On the other side of the building is the quiet pool area and yes... same type of patios.
Thanks Amanda--- all very good points! And I know we would LOVE WL.
The problem is I'm not sure I can sell DH on them... he has his heart set on Poly as the main stop.He went there as a kid with his parents and it's his "dream" to take his kids back.
I'm leery about us all in one room too for any major time frame- looking at doing CL so there's the option of the lounge for more space and entertainment options.
We don't usually stick around MK (or Epcot) for fireworks unless there's EMH afterwards, and then we stick that out until the end, so the traffic isn't as bad. But the last time we did all this it was without the baby---- sooooo, that has to be factored in.
She's pretty go with the flow for the most part, but August and the heat and being 2... well, I'm not counting on her being the best late night traveler! But that's also why I wanted Poly- to be closest (and easiest with monorail- not interested in CR) to get her home if we need to get out earlier than the other kids.
It's going to be a pain, no matter how we work it out I suppose.
I may have to lay this out with DH and give him the WL option. It's not a hardship at all to stay there- we love it. But he's just kinda set on Poly. We have stayed long term in a one room situation before and it's not horrible --- but it's not ideal for sure.
