ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: June 2013

[karriealex]

Yeah, being on a large cruise ship will definitely be different, especially if it's a newer ship like the Dream or Fantasy . I am so excited about trying Poly CL. We've been to Disney twice in December (stayed at BC and GF), but I have seen pics of the Poly lounge all decorated and I can't wait to see it in person as it looks gorgeous .....and then to check out the view from the lounge.....I've heard there's nothing like it .

There is nothing like it especially when it is cold and you are sitting there watching the fireworks with a cordial. Pure heaven!!

 

[Ferrentinos]

Thanks so much for the information! Very relieved to hear that about multiple reservations. Would this also work if we wanted to book two different room categories at the same resort (i.e. Poly GV and Poly CL GV) with a discounted rate before making a final decision? All four of us are over 18, so would our maximum number of reservations be four or can one person make multiple reservations?

Can anyone else confirm the coffee type? Glad to hear that it tastes good regardless!

As of a couple weeks ago the coffee in the lounge was through a Nescafé machine - lots of different ones to pick from. I enjoyed the mocha latte personally!

 

[karriealex]

Thanks so much for the information! Very relieved to hear that about multiple reservations. Would this also work if we wanted to book two different room categories at the same resort (i.e. Poly GV and Poly CL GV) with a discounted rate before making a final decision? All four of us are over 18, so would our maximum number of reservations be four or can one person make multiple reservations?

Can anyone else confirm the coffee type? Glad to hear that it tastes good regardless!

One person can make multiple ressies and in different classifications within the resort. When doing it at an AP rate I think there is some limit but if there are multiple people going all over 18 and you all have AP's you can use the different names too. Also remember there is a 25.00 upcharge per night for more than 2 adults in a room. I think it would only be one charge of 25 for the two people from what I remember reading.

 

[mickeynut1]

There is nothing like it especially when it is cold and you are sitting there watching the fireworks with a cordial. Pure heaven!!

Thanks for this ....although it just got me even more excited and I have almost 5 months to wait .

 

[karriealex]

Thanks for this ....although it just got me even more excited and I have almost 5 months to wait .

I am so excited for you. You will be in heaven I might just see if there is some way we can afford to go down during that time and do CL also.

 

[karriealex]

Ok I just got very excited. Dh just informed me that he has put in for vacation fr the week of Christmas. Provided they have approved it that means we can take another trip to Disney as both boys will also be off of school!!

 

[mariamouse]

As of a couple weeks ago the coffee in the lounge was through a Nescafé machine - lots of different ones to pick from. I enjoyed the mocha latte personally!

Thanks so much for the info!

One person can make multiple ressies and in different classifications within the resort. When doing it at an AP rate I think there is some limit but if there are multiple people going all over 18 and you all have AP's you can use the different names too. Also remember there is a 25.00 upcharge per night for more than 2 adults in a room. I think it would only be one charge of 25 for the two people from what I remember reading.

Thanks for your help! We do not have APs-- usually just book the RO discount. My mom would just put the different reservations in her own name if that is possible, but if not, we would make the reservation in each of our names instead. Am I correct that my mom can make several reservations under her own name? I wish you were right about the $25 only being charged once, but I'm pretty sure I've read that it is $25 for each additional adult (aka $50/night in our case). Oh well! Would love it if you were right..

 

[mickeynut1]

I am so excited for you. You will be in heaven I might just see if there is some way we can afford to go down during that time and do CL also.

Thanks.....I am soooo excited and can't wait to get there . Not to wish my life away, but December can't get here too soon .

Ok I just got very excited. Dh just informed me that he has put in for vacation fr the week of Christmas. Provided they have approved it that means we can take another trip to Disney as both boys will also be off of school!!

That is awesome . Will you book Poly CL?

 

[mickeytothemouse]

I had seen that Hawaii's were replaced, wondering about the rest. Also, does anyone have an idea of when Tuvalu will be done? I had already done online check in before we switched. I wouldn't had we planned to stay here 1st. I'm not that pickey we just always request not to be way out in Tahiti and the other one way out there and we really don't want a room w/ no balcony or patio. Other than that we are good.

Was there a reason for the new fridges?
"picky" doesn't have an "e".

 

[karriealex]

Was there a reason for the new fridges?
"picky" doesn't have an "e".

Yes the fridges were recalled for a defect.

 

[dwdeb]

we were there from 12 July -23 July.
wonderful stay. great room- 1st floor lagoon view with view of castle.
Rooms are beautiful Cast members fantastic. lounge welcoming and food great.
We are DVC members, but Polynesian is our favorite resort, this being one of many visits there. If rumors are true, will not be there again until construction is done(quite a while).
No complaints whatsoever with anything except with other guests...
To the boy in the lounge who put 10 croissants on plate his at breakfast, then threw some away; Really? And to his parents: Are ya kidding me?
And to the parent of the 3 year old with digestive issues that closed the volcano pool while she wasn't looking; swim diapers, please? And yes I am a parent of a now grown up daughter, but one who wore swim diapers, waterproof pants, etc in the pool-
To the guy next to us who was litigating on his cell phone outside his room on a Monday morning: I am sure you are successful, and I am duly impressed but keep it to yourself, please.
I say this in part with humor, however, I don't understand why people are so clueless and think because they are in Disney, rules and manners don't apply to them.

Any questions, ask away. Flame away too, if you need to.!
Deb

 

[TJA]

Woke up this morning in our Plain Ole Boring house . No beautiful patio looking at tropical plants; no waterfall; no Tonga Toast......I keep hoping to wake up from this nightmare!!!!

Never thought I could love a resort more than the Beach Club..but it really is possible.

Did I miss the ease of strolling into World Showcase at night? Yes. BUT the monorail ride there was really easy! And being so close to MK allowed us to spend so much more time there!!!

Has anyone here stayed at other monorail resorts and enjoyed them as much? I would love to try them, but worry they won't be as wonderful. I would really live input from anyone on this!! B

I was at poly over July 4 week and came home saying the exact same statement you just did:
Never thought I could love a resort more than the Beach Club..but it really is possible!!
We had stayed at poly 3 previous times and I never thought it was even close to BC. However, this last trip we were in Hawaii TPV and it really changed how my whole family felt. Hard to even describe, but sounds like you experienced similar feelings.

We have stayed at CR in the wing, tower BLV, tower TPV, and most recent trip in Atrium Club TPV. We loved the Atrium Club MK view. The view is spectacular -- you can see entire castle, MK, GF, and Poly. As far as the overall "feel" at CR, it's indeed very different than Poly. We feel convention-like in the lobby, but 4th floor is buzzing with action as monorail runs thru, chef mickeys, arcade....you won't feel convention on that floor. But it's obviously not tropical like Poly. We do love Atrium Club at CR and would take either view - we go to Disney often so we need to switch up resorts to keep it exciting. But if we only went once in a while, then I might be inclined to rotate between BC and Poly with CR mixed in every so often.

 

[TinkDisneyGirl]

we were there from 12 July -23 July.
wonderful stay. great room- 1st floor lagoon view with view of castle.
Rooms are beautiful Cast members fantastic. lounge welcoming and food great.
We are DVC members, but Polynesian is our favorite resort, this being one of many visits there. If rumors are true, will not be there again until construction is done(quite a while).
No complaints whatsoever with anything except with other guests...
To the boy in the lounge who put 10 croissants on plate his at breakfast, then threw some away; Really? And to his parents: Are ya kidding me?
And to the parent of the 3 year old with digestive issues that closed the volcano pool while she wasn't looking; swim diapers, please? And yes I am a parent of a now grown up daughter, but one who wore swim diapers, waterproof pants, etc in the pool-
To the guy next to us who was litigating on his cell phone outside his room on a Monday morning: I am sure you are successful, and I am duly impressed but keep it to yourself, please.
I say this in part with humor, however, I don't understand why people are so clueless and think because they are in Disney, rules and manners don't apply to them.

Any questions, ask away. Flame away too, if you need to.!
Deb

We were there CL same time as you. We saw some of the same issues.

 

[USCAnna]

All this time I have been brushing over the fridge situation, but all of a sudden DD9 has developed a sinus infection (just days before we leave of course) and now we have antibiotic that has to stay refrigerated. I'm not going to panic because we are taking a cooler for drinks anyway, but it would be nice to know if the fridge issue will be handled. It seems like everyone has reported that this is not an issue. If you hear otherwise, please let me know. I am fairly positive that the Poly will hook me up in the event that the room doesn't have one.

Also...I have been planning this trip for 13 months...ADRs made at the exact 180 day mark. This little sinus infection just proves you can't plan for everything, right? I am just thankful that we caught it before we leave.

 

[leannak]

Hi Poly People! I'm wondering if you can help a girl out. I have only been to DW once and never stayed on site. I am booking two poly rooms for 3 nights in mid-November. One room for a family of 5 and one room for the Grandparents. We're considering upgrading one of the rooms to a theme-park view, so the kids (ages 5, 6, 8) can sleep or at least be in their pajamas and we adults can see the fireworks and electrical water parade. (Is there enough room/chairs on the balcony for 4 adults??) Our first night, for sure, we will not be going into the park... just the monorail over to CR for Chef Mickey's at 6pm. Is upgrading our room worthwhile? I realize we could go sit on the beach after dinner, but our kids (and the grandparents) will probably be tired from travel. I'm thinking the beach is usually pretty cold in November, also. But it's so much $$ to upgrade, so I'm leaning toward "roughing it" (ha ha!) and bringing a blanket and cozying up on the beach. (Is there cocoa for the resort mugs? : )

Our other consideration is luau or Ohana. I understand Ohana gets the better reviews and has better food... but will our kids (and the grandparents, who adore shows) have a better time at the luau? Grandparents will never get to Hawaii or anyplace like that, so this will be the closest they've seen to a real luau. Boy, those reviews are bad, though!
(Currently we're booked for the luau at 5:15... I've been watching for Ohana, and realize this may be not even possible to get for 7 people.)

On that second night we'll probably try and catch the fireworks from the beach or our room again. Our first night MK has MVMCP and second night is a normal park night, so I'm thinking the fireworks may be slightly different... but we're so far away at the Poly you probably can't even tell, right? We are also considering heading back into the magic kingdom for the fireworks show after dinner... but that's a lot of kids and grandparents to drag around and it's predicted to be a very busy crowd day for MK. (And we'll be in the park for MVMCP & the Christmas fireworks on the third night of our stay!)

OK, last question... what kind of room requests? If we opt to upgrade, we obviously need a good building with a view. If we don't upgrade, we probably want something close to transportation or the lobby building. (We will be hitting parks every day, except the first evening when we'll be taking the monorail to Chef Mickey's.)

Thanks for the suggestions! Unfortunately, I don't think I can justify upgrading two rooms to club level - we are doing deluxe dining plan and have all kinds of ADRs - chef mickey's, castle breakfast, 1900 park fare, etc. I suppose I could drop some of those, if club level and the view are truly worth it... I really don't know what I'm doing! AUG!

Hmm... so if we just do two standard rooms and plan to watch fireworks from the beach... can/should I only request that we have the two rooms near each other? Or do I really need to research buildings, room numbers, etc.? Can I trust the poly to just give us the best rooms possible? And then maybe I can ask at check-in how our rooms are and ask if there are better rooms near each other, maybe with one as a lagoon or theme park view and I'll pay the difference? I just don't know enough about the resort to feel like I'm going to pick the right building... I'll probably do worse than just letting someone choose for me.

Oh - also decided to probably do luau, especially since we'll have all those dining credits and I doubt I'll be able to get an ohana reservation for 7 anyway.

 

[Princess Katherine]

All this time I have been brushing over the fridge situation, but all of a sudden DD9 has developed a sinus infection (just days before we leave of course) and now we have antibiotic that has to stay refrigerated. I'm not going to panic because we are taking a cooler for drinks anyway, but it would be nice to know if the fridge issue will be handled. It seems like everyone has reported that this is not an issue. If you hear otherwise, please let me know. I am fairly positive that the Poly will hook me up in the event that the room doesn't have one.

Also...I have been planning this trip for 13 months...ADRs made at the exact 180 day mark. This little sinus infection just proves you can't plan for everything, right? I am just thankful that we caught it before we leave.

I'm pretty sure that they have all been replaced.

Katie

 

[Poewill]

Hello:

We have booked the Poly for the first week of March 2014 and are super excited. We will be travelling with a 4 year old and a 7 year old. As this is our first stay at the poly, what would anyone suggest for which house to stay at? Does it make a difference as to which floors you are staying at? Will the renovations still be going on at the point? And FINALLY, how far in advance do we need to rent a cabana? thanks so much!

 

[USCAnna]

I'm pretty sure that they have all been replaced.

Katie

Thanks Katie!!! I thought so...but that definitely makes me feel better. We'd make it work regardless, but using the fridge is certainly much easier.

 

[karriealex]

Thanks for the suggestions! Unfortunately, I don't think I can justify upgrading two rooms to club level - we are doing deluxe dining plan and have all kinds of ADRs - chef mickey's, castle breakfast, 1900 park fare, etc. I suppose I could drop some of those, if club level and the view are truly worth it... I really don't know what I'm doing! AUG!

Hmm... so if we just do two standard rooms and plan to watch fireworks from the beach... can/should I only request that we have the two rooms near each other? Or do I really need to research buildings, room numbers, etc.? Can I trust the poly to just give us the best rooms possible? And then maybe I can ask at check-in how our rooms are and ask if there are better rooms near each other, maybe with one as a lagoon or theme park view and I'll pay the difference? I just don't know enough about the resort to feel like I'm going to pick the right building... I'll probably do worse than just letting someone choose for me.

Oh - also decided to probably do luau, especially since we'll have all those dining credits and I doubt I'll be able to get an ohana reservation for 7 anyway.

It's not only the views that make Club level special but the whole feel of Club Level. Not sure how to describe it but you are , you are made by the CM's to feel special, the lounge, kinda just everything. It is a much different experience than a standard room.

That said if you want to be close to your parents then I would ask for adjoining or connecting rooms. Otherwise you might well end up in different buildings especially if the ressies are in two different names.

Even if you have the deluxe dining plan you could downgrade it to where you have one sit down and one counter service. Downgrading it could help with the difference between a regular room and club level. Unless you really really want to do all the breakfasts out that might be an idea, We never cared for having to be up and out at an exact time so we have rarely ever done breakfasts.

Buildings depend on what you want to be close to. The pool, the GCH, the TTC. I have heard that Tahiti is a nice building but I have heard others are too. Best thing is decide where about you want to be then we can better direct you on a building.

 

[karriealex]

Hello:

We have booked the Poly for the first week of March 2014 and are super excited. We will be travelling with a 4 year old and a 7 year old. As this is our first stay at the poly, what would anyone suggest for which house to stay at? Does it make a difference as to which floors you are staying at? Will the renovations still be going on at the point? And FINALLY, how far in advance do we need to rent a cabana? thanks so much!

The renovations will be done but there is liable to be construction going on for DVC at that time. With kids you would probably want to book the building closest to the pool which is not Hawaii as Hawaii is club level, For the life of me I cant remember the name of the building. In most longhouses the first floor has a patio, the second floor has nothing, and the third floor has a balcony. On the cabana I would book that now as there are only 3 and they are very popular.