1st time Polynesian?

[margaritabnl]

Okay folks! I am totally overwhelmed with all the information on this board and we keep changing our minds over which resort to stay in!

We will coming from Boston to WDW May3-10/2003. We are 2 families: my family of 4 includes an 8 and 11 year old. My sister's family includes a 3 year old.

We have gone from renting DVC points in BWV to CSR to POFQ and now over to the Polynesian. I guess you could say we are "resort hopping" without getting on a plane and spending a dime!

These are my questions:

Do you HAVE to go Concierge to maximize your stay here? I see so many posts about Concierge and wonder about the pros and cons.

Is Gardenview okay? We likely won't be in the room much and wonder if it is worth paying extra for Lagoon.

There are people in both families who smoke but will only smoke on the balcony or patio, not in the room. Is a smoking building request guaranteed? I know it's much harder to have a non-smoking request guaranteed. Any experience with this?

Is there a particular building to ask for that is not too far (the 3yr. old) from the pool, dining, and bus stops?

When do you suggest we book for May 2003? We have already decided to join the DC and book with DU simply for the discounts and, if I understood correctly, DU automatically updates your reservation with the latest codes/promotions, etc?

My sister has a friend who is a DC member and was lucky to be upgraded from a moderate to deluxe. Does this happen frequently/certain times of year, does DU automatically call you if/when this happens? Should we just book a moderate and hope this happens?

Sorry this is long. We are determined to decide which resort to stay in by the end of this month. Then we are on to obsessing about airfare and where to eat! Thanks for the help!

 

[zulaya]

Hi there! Can understand that you are overwhelmed. I have my first Polynesian stay coming up in December. I am staying Garden View. I think concierge would be a really fun way to stay, but unless prices come way down, it's not in the cards for us.

I think you can enjoy the Polynesian and any resort without concierge benefits. As far as the Garden View, I think 85-90% of this resort is Garden View and I understand the Polynesian has the highest rate of return guests of all the resorts. If you are worried about enjoying the MK views, there's nothing keeping you from walking to the beach and taking in the view.

Smoking...I believe there is only 1 smoking building, and there is one building that is smoking optional on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The rest of the buildings are all non smoking, not even on the patios/balconies.

Book whenever you are comfortable. You are right that DU will automatically apply available discounts to your ressie when they are released. I booked 14 months out from my vacation just because I wanted to. I'd book sooner than later just so you have the room that you want.

I think upgrades are few and far between. Disney had a promo earlier this year that if you booked a moderate you were automatically upgraded to a deluxe. But that was just a certain promo.

Well, I hope I have addressed all your concerns. Regarding airfare, you have to wait till 11 months out from your return date before the airlines will even publish fares. So do'nt stress about that too much yet.

 

[macpost82]

We stayed at the Poly Jan 2001. It was nice, the neverland club for the kids is wonderful. I do not remember the names of the building. But we were in the farthest one from the main house. Somewhat disappointing until we found out that we could take a short walk and be to the TTC. And get to where we were going rather quickly. The main pool was being refurbished, or should I say rebuilt. I have heard great things about it.

IMHO the Poly is old and you can sense that. The monorail in GREAT, probably the best feature to stay at the resort. The decor was nice the hotel was clean everyone was nice. But as I said you could sense the age of the hotel.

Will we ever stay again, questionable, we love the Wilderness Lodge and we are anticipating our stay at AKL in jan 2003.

 

[Laura]

margaritabnl - Gardenview is very nice, and I'm sure you won't mind leaving the room and going to the beach if you want to watch the water pageant or MK fireworks. I'm looking at a map of the resort and it looks like Rarotonga is the closest to the Great Ceremonial house, monorail, bus stop and pool. Go to http://www.wdwig.com/polymap.jpg to see what I mean. I stayed in Rapa Nui (then Pago Pago) when I was there, so I don't know if Rarotonga is all that convenient.

Also, I don't know if concierge is worth the extra $80 per night. My sister stayed there on her honeymoon and said it was worth it jsut for the free food (I guess she would have eaten $40 per day per person, I dunno) but obviously you have to go back to the hotel to take advantage of that. You mentioned that you wouldn't be at the hotel that much, so I wouldn't go for concierge if I were you.

macpost82 - Why do you feel that the Polynesian seems so "old"? It opened in 1971, so it's only 30 years old. Many of the world's finest and most famous hotels are several times older than that. The Polynesian's newer buildings were finished in 1985, and all the rooms were refurbished 3-4 years ago. So you see, I'm a bit puzzled. I've heard other people say that the Polynesian is "old"; although I haven't stayed there recently, I always like to visit the hotel for one reason or another, and it has never seemed run-down or anything. I think it's lovely.

 

[macpost82]

By no means is it "run down", it is a Disney property it would never get to run down condition. The stuctures are older feeling, the lobby isn't even close to the newer lobby's. The architecture is just dated at 30+ years.
In keeping with Disney themes, most everything is new, feels new and looks new. If it is not new Disney makes an atempt to rehab it if possible. And with the Poly they have done that but, the hotel has a "feeling" to it, no matter how much they rehab a hotel it is still going to feel like it has been there for many years.
The poly is a nice hotel but I will always go for the latest and greatest.

 

[Tikiman]

macpost82,

I won’t get into the age thing but if you stayed in the farthest building from the lobby, you were in either Tahiti or Rapa Nui and they are only a few years older than the GF and I don’t see anyone saying the GF is old.



To answer some of margaritabnl questions. There is only one longhouse that is smoking and that is Samoa. The only other non-concierge rooms that are smoking are the 3rd floor of Tuvalu. The 3rd floor of Hawaii is the concierge smoking rooms. The walk from all the longhouses is not very long. The Polynesian grounds are not as spread out as many of the other resorts.

Concierge is great but not necessary to enjoy your stay. I also love Lagoon Views but the Garden Views are also some of the best views at the resort. Garden view includes the marina view, pool view, monorail view and in some cases partial lagoon views. The only building with a bad view is the parking lot side of Rapa Nui.

Please visit my web pages for more pictures and info.

http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/index.html

Aloha

Steve

 

[CamColt]

I have my 4th stay at the Poly booked for July and have never stayed concierge. I still absolutely love it there! Im sure it would be wonderful as would a lagoon view(did have that when I was 14 yrs old), but just being there in that atmosphere is good enough for me. Its a magical resort that really takes you to a whole different place.