We just returned from another wonderful WDW trip last Sunday - and we think this one was the best! We spent three nights at Poly and five at BWI CL. I will say that we were disappointed that Hawaii was closed for renovations - would have been nice to stay CL at both Poly and BWI. And while Captain Cook's is my favorite CS for variety, it was still pretty busy in the mornings for breakfast. So for our next stay, CL will be fresh and new, and we'll welcome breakfasts in the CL lounge!
But our stay was great and we were thrilled with our room. We requested Samoa, third floor, volcano pool side and that's exactly what Disney assigned to us! It's such a convenient location - amazing! Our boys (ages 6, 12 and 13) still love the volcano pool, dole whips, the tiki torches outside and the quick monorail to MK in the morning. They love the volcano pool - and staying in Samoa makes pool access ridiculously easy.
We found the construction in Hawaii was a non-issue. We spent the mornings in the parks and the afternoons at the resort, so we were around during the construction. No noise issues at all. And the construction at GF didn't bother us either.
A few things of concern: After defending Poly for years, I now agree that the refurb is necessary. Our room was very clean and in good order, but I welcome the white duvet covers and a bit of a "lift!"
Kona was outstanding for lunch as usual. Entirely underrated lunch/dinner location and we'll be sure to fit it into our plans again next time. The BBQ pork tacos are still my favorite.
Can't beat the beach. So fun for the boys to run around.
Transportation to MK was great. Not so great on the way home. My husband and I love the boat, but not so wonderful after Wishes (even during value season.) The monorail line was a mile long and it took 1.5 hours from MK to Poly by boat. There is a reason we previously avoided staying at MK for Wishes, and we now have confirmation - we'll go back to watching it from the Poly beach!
A few photos: