Heading to POLY in 2 Weeks, let me hear your recommendations

[creeldisney]

Alright, we are heading to WDW in 2 Weeks! Departure day is literally 14 days from now. My wife and I are picking our girls up from school and surprising them, they don't have a clue.

Anyway, we are staying in a GV room at the POLY while we are down there and have requested Tokelau (Guess we will see, but any longhouse would be great).

All that being said, last time we went down we stayed at WL. This is our first POLY visit and having read so much my wife and I are eager and glad we made this decision. So for all of you who have stayed at the POLY before what are some recommendations, suggestions, don't miss items or hidden secrets that we need to make sure to do while down there?

Or, tell me your most favorite POLY memory.

 

[KitKat96]

Wow! That is so cool, surprising the kids like that! I have a tear in my eye just imagining it!

Well, I am an absolute FAN of the Polynesian. I hate staying anywhere else. The resort for me is so much more than a place to sleep. The atmosphere, the beautiful, tropical feel of the grounds, the restaurants (don't miss Ohana!), the pool, the proximity to MK (try the boat launch - fastest way to MK, hands down!)... too many good things about it to list.

Just off the top of my head...
You can watch Wishes every night from the beach area.
Every night the water light parade on the lagoon.
The tiki torches lit up at night are soooooo gorgeous!
Try the Dole Whip at Captain Cooks - FAB!!!!!
Walking distance to the Grand Floridian. (if you like a long stroll at night for example)
One of my favorite things about the Polynesian is the SMELL. As soon as you approach the lobby entrance (before you actually even get there) the smell wafts through the air and fills your nose with a mixture of sweetness, like Kona Kafe's banana french toast (Tonga Toast) and the tropical rain forest (represented in the lobby). I wish I could bottle that smell and take it home with me. I miss it so.

 

[figmentgirl]

You are going to have so much fun! The Polynesian is our FAVORITE resort. We will be there in 9 days and I can't wait

Our must dos are:

attend a torchlighting ceremony. You can get the time it happens by calling the front desk from your room
stakeout a hammock early and watch the water show and Wishes from the beach
The Poly is famous for their Tonga Toast and Dole Whips, so go to Captain Cooks for both (you can also get Tonga Toast for breakfast at Kona Cafe)
Walk the grounds at night, and during the day. It's a beautiful resort.
If the weather is good (and it's looking like it will be) rent a Searacer for an hour and cruise the lagoon
The volcano pool has music playing that you can only hear when your underwater. Send your kids in to investigate!
enjoy having the Ticket center and monorail so close, but take the boat over to MK once.

 

[pinkivy]

You are going to LOVE the Poly! The rooms are huge and the grounds are lovely. My favorite things are breakfast at Kona. The Tonga Toast really is delicious. And the bread pudding at Ohana, OMG! I was there in June and I am still thinking about that bread pudding. Having the TTC and the monorail so close is super convenient. And there actually is a wonderful aroma to the Poly.

 

[elleherself]

Do not miss the Lapu Lapu from the bar, breakfast at the Kona Cafe, Wishes from the pool, the volcano slide, hanging out under the waterfall, riding the resort monorail late at night with no one on it, photopass pictures in the lobby, hidden Mickeys in the lobby, the tribal Mickey family in the upstairs gift shop, LOTS of pictures of the waterfalls, say "aloha"... and of course... the smell!

 

[creeldisney]

Thanks for the great responses, we are so excited can hardly contain ourselves. We want to go NOW!!!! 13 more days til departure

 

[shyjade]

Poly is our absolute favorite resort, I can't imagine staying anywhere else at Disney. I agree with everything the previous posters have said, and would like to add one more thing: the teryakki steak at Kona. YUM!!

 

[hstrickland]

My wife and I are picking our girls up from school and surprising them, they don't have a clue.

OMG!!! How in the world did you keep the surprise from them??? That is sooooo cool! I can't imagine how excited they are going to be. I would love to surprise my kids like this, but don't think I could keep the secret myself.

 

[Gavin2250]

hi Creel,

11 days for us.

GV also, first time Poly also --

have stayed at WL several times.

Hope it gets warmer, see you at the pool

 

[stormer]

I don't know how old your girls are, but my boys loved sitting on the beach watching the little water parade that goes by at night. It was cute. We would hang out back there and watch Wishes also.

The torch lighting ceremony is nice also. You should try to catch it one day.

 

[mom2girlsx3]

OK... so I'm popping in... (wife of creeldisney, the OP)! On surprising the kids.. it has been TORTURE! It has been fun up until now, but we are SO CLOSE that it is killing me not to tell. We have been shopping for "spring clothes" and I've been buying up stuff and hiding it in my closet. It is a good thing that we are less than two weeks away or I think I would absolutely bust! We are picking the girls up from school (3 princesses!) and bringing them home to watch a slide show we've put together breaking the news... then it is off to the van and straight to Disney! I want to cry just thinking of it!

Does it get any better than this? I think not.

 

[hstrickland]

Does it get any better than this? I think not.

That makes me want to cry!!! That is the most awesome surprise. I was telling DH about this last night....I think we might try this on our trip next year. Love the idea of the slide show. Your girls will remember this trip for years to come. Good luck keeping it to yourself....I can only imagine how hard this is. Y'all will have a blast.

 

[toodycat]

I don't know how old your girls are, but check the hotel activities schedule for hula lessons in the lobby. Last time we visited the Poly, we saw young and old alike learning to shake it Polynesian style. It was too cute!

 

[MissionMouse]

...
Just off the top of my head...
You can watch Wishes every night from the beach area.
Every night the water light parade on the lagoon.
The tiki torches lit up at night are soooooo gorgeous!
Try the Dole Whip at Captain Cooks - FAB!!!!!
Walking distance (walkway) to the Grand Floridian.
(Kona Kafe's banana french toast (Tonga Toast)...

No secrets at the PR...just so many things to do..but often overlooked due to people normally focusing their attention to park activities.

to add to the list
- Kids craft may still be painting wooden Tiki mask (check current craft offerings)
- rent sea racers and tour Seven Seas Lagoon or Bay Lake (you can rent from anyone of the MK resorts)
- you can rent surrey bikes from the marina area too
- note tiki torch ceremony is easy to miss due to time of day it is held and its length
- do something at the resort with a polynesian influence (drink/food) and take a break from the parks
- the water launch to the MK is normally faster if you arrive at the dock as it is arriving (just remember strollers must be folded up to board)
- main building is normally packed with people around the Kona, Tambu and Ohana area. Waits for the monorail or elevators are common. Watch out for the surge of foot traffic when the luau is over each night at the resort monorail and main building.
- best viewing of Wishes is within MK, but Poly beach provides a straight on distant view, which is the prime angle to view Wishes.
- Electric Water Pageant is nice to see at least once and if you are returning to the monorail resort area you are bound to see it in one way or the other since it runs at all four resorts. PR 9pm GF 915pm WL 935 CR 1005pm (MK 1020 extend magic hours)
- if trying to get back to the PR from the MK and everything (transportation) is jammed, don't forget the Ferry is high capacity and you can get back quicker taking the Ferry to the TTC and walking over to the adjacent PR.

 

[mom2girlsx3]

I don't know how old your girls are, but check the hotel activities schedule for hula lessons in the lobby. Last time we visited the Poly, we saw young and old alike learning to shake it Polynesian style. It was too cute!

This is GREAT! Seeing photo op here!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

I'm getting so excited reading this, our first Poly trip is Oct. 2010 (we are passing through to PO Riverside the end of the month for 2 days) Thanks for sharing all of your tips!!! Have fun in 2 weeks on your trip, we surprised our kids once and it was AWESOME!

 

[Ricklg3]

We just went to Disney for the first time and stayed at the Poly 2/24-3/3 and it was awesome. Mousekeeping was great and left towel animals, turndown, and did a great job cleaning, we stayed as per our request Tokelua it was great close to everything TTC, pools, and beach.

The resort makes you feel away from everything. I loved how unlike everywhere else you get the special ahola from all the CMs. We did first floor could walk out our room to beach watch wishes and the EP.

Loved it

 

[KitKat96]

Great tips MissionMouse!

 

[vinotinto]

We're going to Poly in Sept.

The water parade that you can see from shore - is that 9 pm, every day, all-year around?

And the Tiki lighting ceremony - at approximately what time is it in September? We have little kids, so we usually eat dinner around 6 pm. I'm wondering if we will be able to catch it.

 

[luvdisney00]

The Poly is our favorite resort, we love, love love it!!! Don't miss wishes from the pool at night, they pipe in the music and it's like a party on the beach every night. Everyone is so nice there, the rooms are huge and the "feel" of the resort is really special. It's so great being on the monorail and getting "home" from MK and Epcot so fast.

This thread is making me so sad that we can't stay there this year. We are doing a more budget minded trip this year and staying at POR. I'm sure POR will be great, but we will all miss the Poly. ENJOY IT!!!