Back from the Poly with mostly good reviews

[Daveylegs]

We flew back from Florida last night (...and boy are my arms tired).

The Poly is indeed beautiful. We stayed for 6 nights. I requested the Samoa building, 3rd floor when I made my reservations. Instead I got Aoreatoa 2nd floor. They were booked solid. I didn't really mind and it was a short walk to the pool, marina, luau and GCH.

Magic Kingdom access was outstanding. Monorail or boat got us there quickly without much wait. We especially appreciated the convenience after the fireworks. There was a huge line for the TTC line but a short wait for us.

Great reviews:
The volcano pool was phenomenal. Our kids (7, 5, 2) loved the pool. We were there every day. The slide is great. It's long and enclosed. The barefoot pool bar was good too. We liked the beach but there were some bugs in the sand that liked to bite. Also, we always found a pool chair no matter when we were there (however, tables were hard to come by).

Pirate Cruise at GF was a lot of fun for our little pirates. We could hear them singing from about 300 yards away.

We had a renovated room. They are nice and roomy. Housekeeping was prompt and thorough. They never left towel animals but they were attentive and we always had what we needed.

People throughout the resort (guests included) were friendly. People were always saying "aloha" to one another.

We LOVED watching the fireworks from the resort. We could hear the music from the marina or the pool.

Non-resort: Lunch at Cinderella's was the highlight of the trip. Fantastic! We also enjoyed our dinners at Teppanyaki, Hoop-Dee-Doo, and Tusker House (great counter service).

Good reviews:
Luau was good overall. Food was fair. Entertainment was fun but the show could have been better. The story about a girl coming back to Hawaii after living on the mainland was lost on me. I would have enjoyed the show more without that. It was still fun.

Dining Plan was good but not great for us. It was just too much food for our group. I think it is a great plan IF you really plan well. I'm sure you get more the your money's worth if you eat the RIGHT meals and usually order an appetizer and dessert for everyone. For us, in the end we came out about even (if not a bit fatter when we returned).

Ohana's was fun for breakfast and dinner.

Non-Resort: Sci-Fi Dine In: Bad food but very fun! Pal Mickey - we really didn't listen to him much.

Bad Reviews:
Captain Cooks - the food here was not very good at all. The pastries were okay but we tried to use our counter service credits here. Yikes! I was very disappointed. Luckily they were pretty friendly and there were hardly any lines.

Arcade - why is it that hotels can't keep their arcades in decent shape? This isn't just a Disney problem of course but about 6 games at the poly arcade were out of order.

We're happy to be home but we did have a great time. I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

[01Sweetpea]

Thanks for the info. We leave in 110 days ( but who's counting!) I can't wait!

 

[cdpa4d]

How was the Captain Cooks temporary location? Does it really look temporary, how big is it? Any details would be appreciated.

 

[noseybuddy]

So when you checked into the POLY you asked for your request to be honored and they said they were booked? I will be there in a few weeks. I was hoping to at least get a room with a balcony but i don't think it is going to happen.

 

[Daveylegs]

Captain Cooks - They've moved in pretty well. It doesn't look shabby. The seating inside is limited but there is a seperate dining room that we often had to ourselves. There is also patio seating (but in the Florida heat we only used it once). Again, I didn't like the food.

Room Request - I requested the Samoa building when I made my reservation. When I got there they gave me Aoteoroa and I didn't complain. Maybe if I had said something they would have gotten me the building I wanted. It was pretty swamped when we checked in and he told me the resort was booked solid so I didn't push the matter. I'm sure I would have had more luck if one of the buildings wasn't being renovated.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm glad to hear you liked Cindy's for lunch. We have it booked for October. What did you order? How was the character interaction?

 

[Daveylegs]

I had the Major Domo which was much better than I anticipated.

The kids got their picture with Cinderella when we entered (you get two picture packages included, as well as a wand for the little princessess and a sword for the princes).

The character interaction was great. Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Mary Poppins all stopped by for a picture. They were very sweet with all of the children.

It was a great experience!

 

[BCV23]

Glad you enjoyed your stay. What did you order at the Snack Isle (temporary Captain Cook's)?

noseybuddy, what about just requesting a balcony if that is what matters the most to you. Samoa is a realtively small building and I'm sure absolutely tons of people request 3rd floor there.

 

[Tam1067]

We were at Poly in mid July, too, and loved it. We found the temporary Captain Cook's to be quite decent, and twice we returned to the hotel and had lunch there on our MK days. I generally have low expectations of WDW CS places, though... I just want to point this out so upcoming Poly guests are not too nervous about it.

I had requested 3rd or 1st floor Samoa, but ended up with 2nd floor which meant no balcony, but that entire building appeared full, and a few other longhouses were obviously in the midst of major rehab work, which causes some of those problems.

Our experiences at the pool mirror yours: we could find chairs though tables were generally taken by the time we got there.

I'm glad you liked the resort. It's our new favorite!

 

[SparklePower]

Thanks for the info. We'll be there in 44 days. I also requested Samoa longhouse, 3rd floor. Let's see what I get! Hey, I'm going to the Poly.. I'll take any room, just bring on the

 

[DeterminedOne]

Thanks for sharing. We're checking in at Poly in 54 days ...

 

[minnieandtink]

thanks for the information.... we leave Sunday for 7 days at the poly.

 

[disneyfan67]

Thank you for review and I found it to be usefull, full of information, and just the right size. Some people will post a review and it has one quickie paragraph followed by words: "I'll post a pictures later" or "Any questions just ask", then the thread goes away.


It sounds like you had a great time and the Polynesian has always been full when I stayed there. It's hard to get the room or building you desire when the resort is packed. I think the secret of the Samoa building is out and everyone is finding out what a great longhouse it is. I would have checked back and tried to get a room with a balcony though, because there's nothing like drinking your morning coffee in peace while everyone is still asleep. Good review!

 

[Daveylegs]

Thank you. I'm glad you found the info helpful.

I wonder if pressing the issue might have gotten me the room I wanted. It might have. I also could have faxed the resort a few days in advance like I've heard others have done. I had decided before we left that the room location wasn't a big deal. I was thankful that the room was renovated.

Next time I will simply ask for a balcony though. I would like to read the morning paper out there.

 

[ThisMomLuvsDisney]

Thanks for the great information!

We'll be heading to the Poly in a couple weeks and can hardly wait!

Regarding your room request not even being mentioned at check-in, I was wondering at what time of day did you arrive at the resort???

 

[alicenwonder99]

Thanks for your review. Poly is next on my list of resorts to stay at.

Was the Luau part of the dining plan? Was it a 2 credit show?

I plan on taking the kids over to the Poly to show them around there on our upcoming trip.

Mary

 

[Daveylegs]

We checked in at about 3:30 p.m.. There were lots of folks checking in at the same time.

The Luau was a 2 credit table service. Cinderella's was 2 credits but we paid cash. The price of Cindy's was something like $33 or $37 each compared to Hoop Dee Doo and Luau at $50 each.

 

[ThisMomLuvsDisney]

Thanks for the reply Daveylegs

It doesn't seem like 3:30 is very late in the day to have the resort be so full, it makes me wonder what we'll run into when we show up at 2:30 in a couple of weeks . We're leaving home as early as possible, yet by the time we fly in to Orlando and take the ME to the resort it's already too late for the good room picks! Oh well, it's the best we can do, and from what I hear all the rooms at the POLY are wonderful, and we'll be just plain happy to be at WDW !!!

Thanks again