Official Poly construction update thread **updated video page 103(2/17/15)**

[karriealex]

I am terribly disappointed about the Poly construction going on. No wonder it was so easy for me to get a standard room under the SPD deal. All of the standard rooms at CR were sold out. We are going to stick it out and try to make the best of it.

I am still not clear whether the main pool will be completely closed in February. We are staying the week of Feb 9th. I guess it isn't a deal breaker though. I really want to stay close to MK. Contemporary standard rooms are sold out. GF is not an option (looks stuffy and I have a rowdy 3 year-old boy) and WL doesn't appeal to me. Guess I will suck it up!

I am not trying to be mean at all believe me but if you go into it with that kind of attitude you are not going to enjoy yourself, All resorts at times need work, Disney at least sent out letters. Any other resort would not have and you would have gotten quite a surprise when you got there. Believe me it happened to is at Portofino Bay

 

[samnbilly]

I am terribly disappointed about the Poly construction going on. No wonder it was so easy for me to get a standard room under the SPD deal. All of the standard rooms at CR were sold out. We are going to stick it out and try to make the best of it. I am still not clear whether the main pool will be completely closed in February. We are staying the week of Feb 9th. I guess it isn't a deal breaker though. I really want to stay close to MK. Contemporary standard rooms are sold out. GF is not an option (looks stuffy and I have a rowdy 3 year-old boy) and WL doesn't appeal to me. Guess I will suck it up!

Even though this is a Poly thread, I just wanted to add something.
GF is not stuffy. Some ppl have the perception that it's stuffy because of the ornate way it looks, but I can assure you..I have stayed there with 2 toddlers, who flushed a brand new sock down the toilet when we were staying in the RPC CL & the toilet clogged & overflowed..I was mortified, but the GF was awesome about it.

This is WDW. Kids are kids & it's expected. The rooms are much larger in any of the resorts around the monorail. Don't rule anything out. Change can be good

 

[LovinPooh]

The gf reminds me of the hotel in the movie the shining lol!!!!
But if need be i would put my fears away and stay happily.
So if we were effected by anything we would have gotten a letter?
Gch is my concern...thats my deal breaker. I have 3 adrs there at ohana. I would imagine shutting down that while still having adrs would be a pain...

 

[karriealex]

The gf reminds me of the hotel in the movie the shining lol!!!!
But if need be i would put my fears away and stay happily.
So if we were effected by anything we would have gotten a letter?
Gch is my concern...thats my deal breaker. I have 3 adrs there at ohana. I would imagine shutting down that while still having adrs would be a pain...

If your ADR's were going to be effected I am sure they would contact you so that you could make alternate plans. I am sure Disney doesn't want you to get there and then attempt to make other dining arrangements as it would be really hard to get them at that short notice.

 

[mickeynut1]

Even though this is a Poly thread, I just wanted to add something.
GF is not stuffy. Some ppl have the perception that it's stuffy because of the ornate way it looks, but I can assure you..I have stayed there with 2 toddlers, who flushed a brand new sock down the toilet when we were staying in the RPC CL & the toilet clogged & overflowed..I was mortified, but the GF was awesome about it.

This is WDW. Kids are kids & it's expected. The rooms are much larger in any of the resorts around the monorail. Don't rule anything out. Change can be good

I agree . We had the visited the GF many times before staying there and I will be the first to admit that I had no desire to ever stay there because I always thought it felt "stuffy" and just visiting didn't give me a good feeling. My views quickly changed the first time I stayed there. Our favorite resort is the Poly, but the GF runs a close second. It's a beautiful resort and the CMs (especially the CL CMs) are amazing .

 

[bama belle]

I agree . We had the visited the GF many times before staying there and I will be the first to admit that I had no desire to ever stay there because I always thought it felt "stuffy" and just visiting didn't give me a good feeling. My views quickly changed the first time I stayed there. Our favorite resort is the Poly, but the GF runs a close second. It's a beautiful resort and the CMs (especially the CL CMs) are amazing .

Thanks for all the positive thoughts on the GF! I think we are leaning towards staying there since the Poly pool will be closed. We have only briefly visited, but I'm sure staying there is a completely different experience. My kids are warming up to the idea- we can just save our first Poly stay for after all the great improvements are made

 

[bama belle]

Sorry- double post

 

[jaz0308]

I appreciate seeing all the good reviews of GF too! We are Poly loyalists but trying a different resort for our next trip and I just can't decide between GF, CR, and BC!
Was just very unsure of atmosphere at GF!

 

[starousse]

We wanted Poly for August 2014. DVC construction would have been tolerable. But the GCH and pool being out of commission is a deal-breaker.

Word is that people who are booked for Poly from April - August are getting notices that the pool will be out of commission, so they will be "shuttled" to GF.

Deal breaker. For July 2014, you might want to stick with GF. Just my $.02.

I can't imagine anyone in the right state of mind being okay with spending five or six hundred a night at the Poly to get shipped by a shuttle to use the pool at another hotel. That's insane. For that matter, I'd rather just stay at another hotel.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I can't imagine anyone in the right state of mind being okay with spending five or six hundred a night at the Poly to get shipped by a shuttle to use the pool at another hotel. That's insane. For that matter, I'd rather just stay at another hotel.

I sure wouldn't be happy about it.

 

[DaisyD]

We just checked into the Poly today at around noon and the monorail was up and working. The front desk clerk said it was down all last week but would be up off and on during day this week.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks for all the positive thoughts on the GF! I think we are leaning towards staying there since the Poly pool will be closed. We have only briefly visited, but I'm sure staying there is a completely different experience. My kids are warming up to the idea- we can just save our first Poly stay for after all the great improvements are made

You're welcome . The GF really is a great resort and I think you will have a great time staying there. It's weird how actually staying there gives you a different perspective vs just visiting (at least that's how it was for me ). The Poly is amazing and the volcano pool is actually our favorite pool on property, so I think waiting until the improvements are made is a good choice for a first stay .

I appreciate seeing all the good reviews of GF too! We are Poly loyalists but trying a different resort for our next trip and I just can't decide between GF, CR, and BC!
Was just very unsure of atmosphere at GF!

The GF is a beautiful resort and is worth a try, IMO. We haven't stayed at the CR, but between the GF and BC, my choice would be the GF without hesitation. The BC is a great resort and it's very convenient being within walking distance to Epcot, but the GF atmosphere and being close to MK is more appealing to me .

 

[karriealex]

I can't imagine anyone in the right state of mind being okay with spending five or six hundred a night at the Poly to get shipped by a shuttle to use the pool at another hotel. That's insane. For that matter, I'd rather just stay at another hotel.

You can get Poly reservations for a lot less than that with the discounts, Personally I don't have a problem taking a launch to another resort to use the pool the pool is only a tiny part of our vacation. I stayed at CR twice an would not recommend it. Too sterile, too much concrete and reminds me of an airport.

 

[wendybeth75]

Just returned from the Poly yesterday. We stayed in Tokelau and hardly noticed the construction except when we walked to the TTC, (which we had to do quite often with the monorail down). I never heard any typical construction noises from our room. It was our first time there and I Loved the resort and the feel of it, especially at night with the torches burning. We were very upset over the monorail being down during the day and had to be creative with our transportation but in the end made the best of it. With that being said when I booked our bounceback I chose to do POR for the free dining next fall. With all of the construction at the Poly I didn't want to take the chance. Also since our next trip is 12 days it was going to make it a little easier to afford at POR. I would absolutely stay at the Poly again but I am going to wait for the construction to end before I do so!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Here now in Tokelau. Green fences are up along the beach toward Tahiti and near the path to the TTC - that's it for construction that we notice which is barely anything!

 

[jennifaerie]

Your pictures look great congrats on your 5 years! - what number did you call and what number did you fax too for the poly? Thanks for your help!

Thank you!

I called the normal Disney reservations number (407) 939-5277, and then I called the Polynesian's number, which is supposed to be connected to the main call center (it's funny, because when I called, it really sounded like the Polynesian, so they must be doing some interesting things to make it "real") (407) 824-2000.

Their fax number is (407) 824-3174. I was told to fax at ten days out. The word has been (at least for a couple years now) that they throw their faxes out and don't even look at them. So I opted to make mine a little creative on the off chance that if they really do throw them out, maybe they'd give mine a second glance.

But considering the upgrade that we got, who knows?

 

[karriealex]

Thank you!

I called the normal Disney reservations number (407) 939-5277, and then I called the Polynesian's number, which is supposed to be connected to the main call center (it's funny, because when I called, it really sounded like the Polynesian, so they must be doing some interesting things to make it "real") (407) 824-2000.

Their fax number is (407) 824-3174. I was told to fax at ten days out. The word has been (at least for a couple years now) that they throw their faxes out and don't even look at them. So I opted to make mine a little creative on the off chance that if they really do throw them out, maybe they'd give mine a second glance.

But considering the upgrade that we got, who knows?

I have called the Poly direct number and if they were switching me to CRO I will eat my hat. It was strange when the person I originally talked to put the phone down to go and look and see if she could see the sign. When she came back on she said yes she could see it but couldn't leave her post long enough to go see what it said and she switched me to the marina. Why would a CRO person go through all of that?? Steve keeps saying you will only get CRO if you call that number but I seriously do not think that is true

Don't get me wrong I love Steve and what he does for us but on this I think he is incorrect.

 

[gailinroch]

This is my first post! We stayed at the Poly the first time for our honeymoon in 1974. We've loved it ever since but over the 26 or so times we've been back to Disney, we've stayed at the Yacht or Beach Club more often, especially lately - can't beat that walk to Epcot. But, next May is our 40th anniversary , so without question, we have to be at the Poly for that. I couldn't believe that I got an email pin for 35% off a week or so ago, so I don't have to sweat it out waiting for a discount. We are booked for 9 nights at garden view, Club level.

So, like I said, I really want to celebrate our 40th at the Poly but my husband is a little bummed about all the talk of construction. I think Steve and others have said that they wouldn't be doing everything all at once, right? We aren't big pool people so if the volcano pool is under construction, I figure we can just go sit by the beach on the other side of the resort or by our quiet pool. For once I'm glad I can't justify the money for LV, so anything going on to the right shouldn't bother us. (we always get 3rd floor).

My biggest concern is GCH. But we've been to the poly before when it's been going through renovation - you just don't hang out there as much. It really doesn't seem like they'd be closing Kona Cafe in May and that's the thing I care about most there. It's one of my favorite restaurants on the whole property. Also, we haven't been to Disney in a couple of year and I want to spend a lot of time at MK with all the new Fantasy Land to explore.

Almost 6 months away and I'm so excited already! I'm very glad for this thread so I can keep checking on the latest developments!

 

[mommy2mrb]

Are you eating there? They do periodically id check the beach and because it is a busy holiday they may but I would think if you had dinner there they probably wouldn't say anything. If you cant get into Ohana, Kona is a really good restaurant also.

no not that night (Monday before Thanksgiving) are eating at Kona for breakfast our last morning! ....thought anyone could go out to the beach we are all staying on property at different resorts.

 

[Masonmj84]

So, like I said, I really want to celebrate our 40th at the Poly but my husband is a little bummed about all the talk of construction. I think Steve and others have said that they wouldn't be doing everything all at once, right? We aren't big pool people so if the volcano pool is under construction, I figure we can just go sit by the beach on the other side of the resort or by our quiet pool. For once I'm glad I can't justify the money for LV, so anything going on to the right shouldn't bother us. (we always get 3rd floor).

My biggest concern is GCH. But we've been to the poly before when it's been going through renovation - you just don't hang out there as much. It really doesn't seem like they'd be closing Kona Cafe in May and that's the thing I care about most there. It's one of my favorite restaurants on the whole property. Also, we haven't been to Disney in a couple of year and I want to spend a lot of time at MK with all the new Fantasy Land to explore.

I'm also planning a trip for May 2014 and am also concerned about the GCH restaurants. Given that it's looking very likely that the Volcano pool will be under construction at that time, I'd be shocked if they closed either of the GCH restaurants (Kona or 'Ohana) while the main pool is down. That would basically cut the entire soul out of the resort and, in that scenario, even with Tahiti and Rapa Nui down, I'd think they'd have to offer incredible discounts (e.g. at least 50%) to book the rest of the resort at even moderate capacity.

Along those lines, I'd note that you can still book 'Ohana and Kona up unitl 180 days from now and, in view of that, I'm assuming they plan to keep these restaurants open through at least Easter. But closing them right after Easter doesn't make sense either because, the refurbs would presumably take many months, meaning the main pool AND the GCH restaruants would be closed during the busy summer seasons. Doesn't make much business sense to do this IMO.

So I'm guessing that if they close the GCH restaurants, it won't be until fall 2014 at the earliest.