ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Fall 2010 Edition

[mom2travel]

Back from our wonderful SURPRISE trip!!!

Managed to pull off the surprise, which was so much fun. First two days were HOT, but the rest were wonderful.

As for the Poly, for us, the location alone makes it the resort we want to stay at, but here's our review:

The Bad:

We had a TPV room reserved and asked for Tahiti, which we got. Unfortunately we got a room that was set up to face Space Mountain, rather than the Castle (connecting door I'm guessing) AND had the view of the castle partially obstructed by palm trees. I was pretty irked about that -- the room to our left was classified as a LV room and I really think our room should have been as well. I would have had no complaints with the room (the view was amazing) if Disney hadn't put the upcharge on it.

Captain Cook's: Selection was limited and the way the place works is confusing, which adds to lines. I would definitely check it out off-peak to get a sense of the flow.

The Great:

Everything else. We love Tahiti. We loved being on the first floor. We loved the view (I'm just annoyed that rooms with the same view were LV rates). The volcano pool was crowded, but not unbearably so. They were checking room keys some of the time and giving out bracelets. The music was fun for the kids, and if you were at the deeper end it wasn't very loud. Kona was great about moving up our reservation. Mousekeeping was wonderful about coming late in the afternoon after we realized we'd left the Do Not Disturb tag up. Transportation was awesome. We love Tahiti because of this -- close to the TTC and the water launch. The "private" beach in front is so relaxing.

Wish we could have stayed longer!!!

Glad you had a great time!
We really like Tahiti also for its location, among other reasons

 

[disneymagicgirl]

The Bad:


Captain Cook's: Selection was limited and the way the place works is confusing, which adds to lines. I would definitely check it out off-peak to get a sense of the flow.

The Great:

Mousekeeping was wonderful about coming late in the afternoon after we realized we'd left the Do Not Disturb tag up. Transportation was awesome.

We just got back yesterday too. I agree w/ you on Capt Cooks. We didn't think there was nearly enough to choose from! It is small and congested. We did find that the CR food court area has a good bit of options. We went over there to eat. It was good.

That is funny about leaving up your "do not disturb" sign on accident...we did the same thing one day.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Has anyone skipped a room request? This is my first time at the Poly, and I was thinking of taking the luck of the draw.

However, I will have a toddler and an infant, so I am thinking I want to be close to GCH?

We didn't request a building b/c I wanted to be suprised. All we asked for was a full balcony. We were assigned Tokelau 3925. Loved the location. I walked around the resort looking at the buildings, and I do not think there are any that I would not like.
We also traveled w/ an infant and toddler....prepare to be exhausted!!
There was not a need to go to the GCH often. We really just went there for the monorail and drink refills once or twice a day.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Waiting for a DVC at the Poly........waiting.........waiting

I decided during our trip to the Poly this past week, during one of the many nap times for my kids, that I will def be getting a 1 bedroom next time. However, we walked around CR a bit and did not like the feel of the grounds at all, so BLT is out. I wish they would put another DVC resort w/ some better theming on the monorail line!

 

[lindsroc]

Im glad to hear they check room keys at the pool, I have read just how crowded it can get and it was making me a little nervous.

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

I'm happy to hear they are now checking room keys at the pool. I hope it continues. We were there a couple of weeks ago, and they weren't checking. It was very hard to find a chair.

 

[BarbP]

2 More Nights!!!!! Checking in Friday Morning!!!!!!!!!

 

[bellarella]

Oh, and based upon my annoying TPV room in Tahiti, I would *totally* recommend requesting a lagoon view room in that building. The only difference between a TPV and LG room in Tahiti will be whether or not you have to play peek-a-boo with palm trees.

 

[MMrules]

I did mine yesterday! Only 9 days left for me too. I live in MA too and today I was lucky, so lucky (not!) to be scraping the ice off the windshield!!!

Looking forward to some sunshine!

Have a great trip!!! BOO to the ice ... I will be listening for your Boston accent ...I will be the pasty white girl the sun is beaming off of

 

[BarbP]

Leaving in 15 mins for Disney...Woohoo

 

[Tess]

Leaving in 15 mins for Disney...Woohoo

Have a spectacular time!

 

[Jaaron2]

Leaving in 15 mins for Disney...Woohoo

WOW, thats is awesome.....your on your way as I type this! Our two weeks seems soooo far away now.....

Have a GREAT trip

 

[DebbyLof428]

Good morning Poly Peeps - so much to do before leaving work is busy, having a tag sale over the weekend, have to finish packing, mani/pedi, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. I can't wait to get on that ME bus.

 

[dor1]

Have just got back from a great 2 week stay at disney world which included 4 nights at the poly.
I have to say i loved the resort,having read some of the reviews i was slightly nervous but everything was great.
We were in tahiti which is the nearest for the TTC and for a quick walk to the magic kingdom,the kids could'nt believe just how close we were.
The room was clean and comfortable and i remembered the tip about leaving the fridge cabinet open to keep the beer cool!
We ate at cptn cooks and kona cafe and i have to say the teryaki steak at the kona was the best food i had at disney and the desserts were great too.
I tried the tonga toast for brekkie one morning,nice but very filling.
The best part for me was seeing my kids playing on the sand whilst the fireworks rose over MK,i think that was my highlight of the holiday.
To anyone going soon im so jealous and to anyone thinking about going id say go for it and enjoy.
Dave

 

[Eponine1]

Have a great trip!!! BOO to the ice ... I will be listening for your Boston accent ...I will be the pasty white girl the sun is beaming off of

No Boston accent here Does Springfield have an accent??

Hey, I'll be the other pasty white girl too!!!

 

[Tess]

Good morning Poly Peeps - so much to do before leaving work is busy, having a tag sale over the weekend, have to finish packing, mani/pedi, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. I can't wait to get on that ME bus.

No Boston accent here Does Springfield have an accent??

Hey, I'll be the other pasty white girl too!!!

Stay warm ladies--it looks a mite chilly this weekend--68º is the high for the weekend--at least according to our paper. Still better than the 40s here!

 

[MMrules]

No Boston accent here Does Springfield have an accent??

Hey, I'll be the other pasty white girl too!!!

I don't know if Springfield has an accent...I will say that one time when I was in line at WDW a man asked me what part of NE I was from...didn't think it was noticable either as I am in central MA. Have a fantastic time

 

[taylor3297]

I don't know if Springfield has an accent...I will say that one time when I was in line at WDW a man asked me what part of NE I was from...didn't think it was noticable either as I am in central MA. Have a fantastic time

All of y'all in MA have an accent it might be different in each part of the state and diffent states in the NE. Everyone can tell when folks have a southern accent (guilty here) but not everyone can tell if it is a NC, GA, or AL, accent until you have lived in those areas or visit frequently. Everyone has an accent.

 

[jfoofj]

First off... to MMrules.... while I can't say for sure that Springfield has an accent, I can attest to the fact that Worcester (or Woostah) certainly does!

Ok... we have been back from out trip to the Poly for almost two weeks, and real life has been busy, so I haven't had time to sit down and post about our trip till now. We traveled October 20-25th.

I went with my mom, my good friend, my son who turned 10 during the trip, and my stepson who turned 9 shortly after the trip. SO, there were 3 adults and 2 very active boys. We didn't put in a room request, and we were given a second floor room in Rapa Nui, room 2125. The room was HUGE! We have stayed in moderates and deluxe resorts, and this room was, by far, the biggest room we have ever stayed in on Disney property. My stepson and I took one bed, my mom and son took the other, and my friend slept on the daybed. We all found the beds to be very comfortable.

The room was clean, no issues at all. Mousekeeping was good, we had towel animals once during a 5 night stay. The only thing I didn't like about the room was that the vanity/sink area was in the bathroom with the toilet and shower, which made getting ready a little congested. I like the setup in other hotels where the vanity/sink area is seperate. The room does deem dark and the lighting is dim, but we had no issues with it.

Rapa Nui is very close to the TTC, which was great for heading out and coming home, but it was kinda far from the GCH and pool. We didn't have any problem with it at all, but I can see where some people might like to be closer to the GCH and pool.

The volcano pool was awesome, we all had a blast. We spent time there Sat and Sun of our trip and didn't find it to be too crowed at all, as I have read on here. We were lucky to find a table with chairs right near the pool both days. They were checking room cards and handing out wristbands to identify resort guests, so maybe that is why.

We ate dinner and breakfast at 'Ohana- both were absolutely wonderful. I had never eaten dinner there before, and it was truely a great meal, I would recommend it to anyone. We had done the breakfast before, and the kids requested we do it again, and they had a blast. They were given birthday cards and the interaction with the characters was great. Stitch is still up to his usual level of mischief. We didn't eat at Kona, but it sure smelled great walking by. We ate at Captain Cooks for breakfast a few times, and while the food was good, there isn't much of a selection. I was fine with that, though, because all I wanted was Tonga Toast (and I'm struggling to fit back into my jeans because of it). The kids wanted Mickey waffles, which is an adult item, which I didn't really understand... so we had to pay extra for those since we had the dining plan.

All and all, the resort is beautiful, we had great service, no troubles at all with our room, and would stay here again in a heartbeat. I typically like a resort where everything is under one roof and you don't have to walk outside from the lobby to get to your room, but this resort is really nice and I didn't mind it as much as I thought it would. Of course, we had great weather... I am thinking of a trip where it rained and we, thankfully, were staying in Wilderness Lodge and spent the day in the arcade, restaurants, lobby, exporing, etc.

SO, I was worried due to some of the reviews I had been reading recently, but we had a fantastic time and we give this resort two thumbs up!

 

[jeanylaser]

Thanks for the info! I really wanted to stay in the Polynesian!