searlproudbottom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2000
A Report on the Polynesian
We have been planning our trip to the World for the past two years. In that time I have read just about every topic on the resorts discussion page related to the Polynesian and have practically memorized the Tiki Mans Web Site. I feel I have an obligation to give an in depth report on my experience and personal feelings on this resort to help others make there stay as enjoyable as ours.
Our Trip Started Out with a Surprise
My first plan was to Surprise my Wife by staying at the Polynesian with concierge and a Lagoon view room, as this was her favorite resort. She had made our original reservations at the Contemporary to cut costs, which I later canceled. I Emailed Tiffany Town car and asked if they would help me with the surprise and they agreed. I had asked the driver to say that they were dropping us off at the Poly for security reasons and Disney would be giving us a ride to the Contemporary .We arrived at the Poly at 9:00 am. While our driver was unloading our luggage I hurried to the Bell Captain and let him in on the plan, He was happy to play along. He checked out our reservation and whispered that we would be staying in room 3508 and that our room was ready. Our luggage was loaded on a little Golf Cart and the Bellman gave us a tour of the grounds. I commented that this reminded me of Fantasy Island. When we reached the Hawaii Building the Whole Staff came outside to greet us. We were given flower Leighs as well as shell Leighs, We were asked to come down and enjoy the lounge after we settled in to our room. My Wife was truly surprised and we were off to Our Magical Vacation.
The Room
We arrived in our room #3508 on Thursday Oct. 17, the view was spectacular to say the least Cindy,s Castle was Directly across the lake with no obstructions. I could smell a very faint smell of smoke when I entered the room only because I was aware that these were smoking optional rooms and I was looking for it. I asked my wife if she could smell anything funny in the room, she said she couldnt and she hates the smell of cigarette smoke. There was absolutely no smell of mold or mildew. The room was very clean, however it was in need of a rehab. There were a couple of small tears or burns in the carpet this made no difference to us. The room had a large dresser with lots of room in its drawers. Next to the television was a small refrigerator with a key lock. The closet was large with a small safe. The bathroom had a solid granite countertop with one sink and granite tiled tubback. It also had a built in hairdryer. Every morning except for Sunday the paper, USA Today, was at our door. I would give this room Five out of Five Stars.
The Concierge Lounge
I cant say enough about this wonderful place. The lounge was a major part of our vacation. It opens at 7
o am we stopped there no less than three times a day and sometimes five. As an early riser I would head down sometimes as early as 6o am. The Staff would always have the coffee ready first. If you needed something they would always do there best to try to accommodate you. The food was excellent and the desserts were even better. As we are not huge eaters there was more than enough to fill us up. Having the bottled water was very convenient to take to the parks. The Lounge also had four newspapers to choose from, the Orlando Sentinel, The New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. For those of you who have asked, is concierge worth the extra money, I would say yes without a doubt. I think most of us who have stayed there would find it very difficult not to go back.
The Pool
The pool was nice, the only other pool we have to compare it to is the contemporarys and to me they are pretty equal. The biggest downside was no hot tub. My eight year old thought it was the greatest. The water was warm, my guess is close to 84*. The pool was open up to midnight but the water slide closed at 10
m. It was generally pretty crowded during the day but thinned out around 8o pm. Another Five out of Five Stars.
Transportation
The Transportation was awesome! We used the boats to and from the Magic Kingdom, we walked to the TTC and took the Monorail to Epcot and rode the buses in front of the ceremonial house to MGM, Animal Kingdom, and Blizzard Beach. We never waited longer than 20 minutes.
Summarize
Overall we have absolutely no complaints, the resort did not look at all worn and I think for being 31 years old it looked great. The Cms were friendly and they seemed to me as if they loved there jobs. We met a lot of really genuine people working at the Poly and became friends with a couple of them even exchanging addresses. We will definitely be staying there next year. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Searl Proudbottom
GrassValley, Ca.
We have been planning our trip to the World for the past two years. In that time I have read just about every topic on the resorts discussion page related to the Polynesian and have practically memorized the Tiki Mans Web Site. I feel I have an obligation to give an in depth report on my experience and personal feelings on this resort to help others make there stay as enjoyable as ours.
Our Trip Started Out with a Surprise
My first plan was to Surprise my Wife by staying at the Polynesian with concierge and a Lagoon view room, as this was her favorite resort. She had made our original reservations at the Contemporary to cut costs, which I later canceled. I Emailed Tiffany Town car and asked if they would help me with the surprise and they agreed. I had asked the driver to say that they were dropping us off at the Poly for security reasons and Disney would be giving us a ride to the Contemporary .We arrived at the Poly at 9:00 am. While our driver was unloading our luggage I hurried to the Bell Captain and let him in on the plan, He was happy to play along. He checked out our reservation and whispered that we would be staying in room 3508 and that our room was ready. Our luggage was loaded on a little Golf Cart and the Bellman gave us a tour of the grounds. I commented that this reminded me of Fantasy Island. When we reached the Hawaii Building the Whole Staff came outside to greet us. We were given flower Leighs as well as shell Leighs, We were asked to come down and enjoy the lounge after we settled in to our room. My Wife was truly surprised and we were off to Our Magical Vacation.
The Room
We arrived in our room #3508 on Thursday Oct. 17, the view was spectacular to say the least Cindy,s Castle was Directly across the lake with no obstructions. I could smell a very faint smell of smoke when I entered the room only because I was aware that these were smoking optional rooms and I was looking for it. I asked my wife if she could smell anything funny in the room, she said she couldnt and she hates the smell of cigarette smoke. There was absolutely no smell of mold or mildew. The room was very clean, however it was in need of a rehab. There were a couple of small tears or burns in the carpet this made no difference to us. The room had a large dresser with lots of room in its drawers. Next to the television was a small refrigerator with a key lock. The closet was large with a small safe. The bathroom had a solid granite countertop with one sink and granite tiled tubback. It also had a built in hairdryer. Every morning except for Sunday the paper, USA Today, was at our door. I would give this room Five out of Five Stars.
The Concierge Lounge
I cant say enough about this wonderful place. The lounge was a major part of our vacation. It opens at 7
o am we stopped there no less than three times a day and sometimes five. As an early riser I would head down sometimes as early as 6o am. The Staff would always have the coffee ready first. If you needed something they would always do there best to try to accommodate you. The food was excellent and the desserts were even better. As we are not huge eaters there was more than enough to fill us up. Having the bottled water was very convenient to take to the parks. The Lounge also had four newspapers to choose from, the Orlando Sentinel, The New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. For those of you who have asked, is concierge worth the extra money, I would say yes without a doubt. I think most of us who have stayed there would find it very difficult not to go back.The Pool
The pool was nice, the only other pool we have to compare it to is the contemporarys and to me they are pretty equal. The biggest downside was no hot tub. My eight year old thought it was the greatest. The water was warm, my guess is close to 84*. The pool was open up to midnight but the water slide closed at 10
m. It was generally pretty crowded during the day but thinned out around 8o pm. Another Five out of Five Stars.Transportation
The Transportation was awesome! We used the boats to and from the Magic Kingdom, we walked to the TTC and took the Monorail to Epcot and rode the buses in front of the ceremonial house to MGM, Animal Kingdom, and Blizzard Beach. We never waited longer than 20 minutes.
Summarize
Overall we have absolutely no complaints, the resort did not look at all worn and I think for being 31 years old it looked great. The Cms were friendly and they seemed to me as if they loved there jobs. We met a lot of really genuine people working at the Poly and became friends with a couple of them even exchanging addresses. We will definitely be staying there next year. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Searl Proudbottom
GrassValley, Ca.
