ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Fall 2010 Edition

[turtlechick6]

Even though it is 4 years away or so I think our family has already decided on the Poly for our next big trip! We stayed at Kidani Village two weeks ago for 5 days and loved it as far as the pool area and the room (We stayed in the two bedroom villa! Huge and nicely decorated and set up and clean!).

However my father wants a monorail hotel next time. I already started researching a bit and thought about Boardwalk since you can walk to HS and Epcot or Contemporary since you can walk to MK, but my DH likes Poly and I always wanted to stay there too and I talked to my father and his partner was liking Poly too so it will probably be POLY!!!!

We will have 2 boys either about 6, 7, or 8 with us. We said going back 2nd or 3rd grade but I might push for 1st grade.

I do like the volcano pool from the pics I saw and liked what I saw on the resort pics. Do they have any villas or suites with kitchens, kitchenettes or WD? I don't think they do. We might not need them at that point since the kids are so much older. Maybe two adjoining rooms? My Dad likes being able to visit the kids in the hotel room thus why he got the villa last time.
Will be keeping watch on this thread periodically to keep up with all POLY news since we most likely will be there in 2013-2015.

 

[pixie08]

We loved the Poly, you are going to have a blast. I recommend taking some downtime at this resort. I know people go to WDW for all the parks etc, but when staying at this resort you want to take some resort time. Use the pool, grab a drink and a hammock at sunset, watch wishes from the beach. You will be transported!

 

[taylor3297]

Even though it is 4 years away or so I think our family has already decided on the Poly for our next big trip! We stayed at Kidani Village two weeks ago for 5 days and loved it as far as the pool area and the room (We stayed in the two bedroom villa! Huge and nicely decorated and set up and clean!).

However my father wants a monorail hotel next time. I already started researching a bit and thought about Boardwalk since you can walk to HS and Epcot or Contemporary since you can walk to MK, but my DH likes Poly and I always wanted to stay there too and I talked to my father and his partner was liking Poly too so it will probably be POLY!!!!

We will have 2 boys either about 6, 7, or 8 with us. We said going back 2nd or 3rd grade but I might push for 1st grade.

I do like the volcano pool from the pics I saw and liked what I saw on the resort pics. Do they have any villas or suites with kitchens, kitchenettes or WD? I don't think they do. We might not need them at that point since the kids are so much older. Maybe two adjoining rooms? My Dad likes being able to visit the kids in the hotel room thus why he got the villa last time.
Will be keeping watch on this thread periodically to keep up with all POLY news since we most likely will be there in 2013-2015.

The only room that has a mini kitchen I do believe is the Ambassador Suite costs over $1500 per night during value season. The King Kamehameha Suite does have a kitchen (this suite has 1863 sq ft) and it will cost over $2000 a night during value season.

Now are you wanting adjoining or connecting rooms? Adjoining means rooms that are next and/or near each other; while connecting has a door inside the rooms that connect to the other room.

 

[turtlechick6]

Oh okay I want connecting rooms then. I think as long as we have a working minifridge then we would be okay. We really didn't use our kitchen this time except for the fridge, the sink, the dishwasher and I used the burners once but could have done without that. I have a son with food allergies so I would be making a lunch for him to take into the parks everyday but I can easily bring plastic knives, forks, paper plates, etc to do that and would not need the kitchen. We also do breakfast most days in our rooms with pop tarts or toast or something like that. I could bring a toaster with me from home which DH and I did on our honeymoon in DW.

I liked the sound of the Princess suite with two bedrooms. My dad might want to splurge on that but it would need 2 bathrooms. Probably just two rooms would be the way to go.

I think we would want a balcony room so need to request balcony room and what views would I want to ask for? I would love a view of MK so you can see fireworks or Electrical Water Pageant from our room but if not that is fine. We can go down to the beach to watch it just fine and that might be more fun anyway. What are good buildings? We are used to walking far since at Kidani village we were a MILE from the entrance!



Thanks for the suggestions about downtime. Definitely! We abandoned HS on our 4th day and spent it at the hotel till 5. It was too hot and crowded and we just decided to watch tv and play at the pool! The nice pool at Poly is what interests me for sure! We will be using it and would probably book a character meal at Ohana and the Luau dinner show too.

One thing are the mousekeeping as bad as all the reviews say??? I read tons of reviews and they all say the same thing. Not as clean as you would expect in main areas and in the rooms. I hope that is not the case. I loved how clean AKL was.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

Do any of the regular Poly rooms have king beds? DH & I are staying there for the first time in 2 weeks & I've only seen room descriptions with 2 queen beds. A queen bed will be totally fine, but a king bed would be especially heavenly! Thanks!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I have a son with food allergies so I would be making a lunch for him to take into the parks everyday but I can easily bring plastic knives, forks, paper plates, etc to do that and would not need the kitchen. We also do breakfast most days in our rooms with pop tarts or toast or something like that. I could bring a toaster with me from home which DH and I did on our honeymoon in DW.

Have you done any reading about how amazing WDW is for food allergies? My kids both have long lists of allergies yet we don't cook at all at WDW. We keep returning because of how great WDW is for food allergies. You don't need to bring food for him every day.

I will say that Poly's CL handling of food allergies is AMAZING!!! We decided to try it for 3 nights at the end of our last trip to see what it would be like and we were so happy that we're staying for our entire upcoming trip. IPO had me worried because they told me that they couldn't guarantee the safety of the food and included a link to Garden Grocer and told me I should order food for my kids. When we arrived, the CL chefs were ready for us and took such great care of our kids that I was near tears, especially after having zero expectations based on IPO. The suites are CL if you do end up staying in a suite.

Take a look around on the disABILITIES! board. You'll see what I mean about vacationing at WDW with food allergies.

 

[taylor3297]

Do any of the regular Poly rooms have king beds? DH & I are staying there for the first time in 2 weeks & I've only seen room descriptions with 2 queen beds. A queen bed will be totally fine, but a king bed would be especially heavenly! Thanks!

There is one room in Tonga that is like a regular room in the Hawaii building that has a king bed and jacuzzie tub. This room is called the Honeymoon Suite, though in my opinion it is just a single room in the suite building.

 

[turtlechick6]

Have you done any reading about how amazing WDW is for food allergies? My kids both have long lists of allergies yet we don't cook at all at WDW. We keep returning because of how great WDW is for food allergies. You don't need to bring food for him every day.

I will say that Poly's CL handling of food allergies is AMAZING!!! We decided to try it for 3 nights at the end of our last trip to see what it would be like and we were so happy that we're staying for our entire upcoming trip. IPO had me worried because they told me that they couldn't guarantee the safety of the food and included a link to Garden Grocer and told me I should order food for my kids. When we arrived, the CL chefs were ready for us and took such great care of our kids that I was near tears, especially after having zero expectations based on IPO. The suites are CL if you do end up staying in a suite.

Take a look around on the disABILITIES! board. You'll see what I mean about vacationing at WDW with food allergies.

Thanks for the tip about CL and food allergies. We did not have the best experience with DS's food allergies on our recent trip. We booked some table service character meals ADRs months in advance and when we got there they told us what he could not eat but besides Tusker House no one else had substitutions ready for him or even wanted to make something else for him. It was not as fab as I had hoped. I usually do breakfast in the room and then pack one meal and then ADR one table service a day at the parks. It is not a big deal to just pack some soy butter crackers and fruit for him and cuts down on our costs.

I will look into the Cl though especially since we might do a two bedroom suite.

 

[princssdisnygina]

WOO HOO! I am single digit dancing! 9 days and I will be at the Poly!

 

[MMrules]

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!

I know we do....I try to be conscious of the letta R though....

Thanks for the fantastic trip report!!! I am there in 6 more days!!! Glad you had a great time!

 

[cinmell]

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.

Do they always check room cards/hand out wristbands now at the Volcano Pool or do they do that just during busy times?

 

[jkstewart1800]

Thanks for the tip about CL and food allergies. We did not have the best experience with DS's food allergies on our recent trip. We booked some table service character meals ADRs months in advance and when we got there they told us what he could not eat but besides Tusker House no one else had substitutions ready for him or even wanted to make something else for him. It was not as fab as I had hoped. I usually do breakfast in the room and then pack one meal and then ADR one table service a day at the parks. It is not a big deal to just pack some soy butter crackers and fruit for him and cuts down on our costs.

I will look into the Cl though especially since we might do a two bedroom suite.

Not only are you supposed to note it on your reservation, but I was told that you have to tell the person at the check in podium (at TS) and remind them that you are going to be asking for something special made... they then stamp it on a piece of paper that you hand to your waiter or waitress who then knows to tell the cook. If this doesn't happen then you always have the right to ask to speak with the chef and talk with them about your specific needs ... I have had to do that on several occaisions when all the other plans put in place (note on the ressie, tell the podium guy, ask the waitstaff) has failed... good news though.... I have never met a chef yet that wasn't willing to help! It is a process.... but it works out in the end.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Thanks for the tip about CL and food allergies. We did not have the best experience with DS's food allergies on our recent trip. We booked some table service character meals ADRs months in advance and when we got there they told us what he could not eat but besides Tusker House no one else had substitutions ready for him or even wanted to make something else for him. It was not as fab as I had hoped. I usually do breakfast in the room and then pack one meal and then ADR one table service a day at the parks. It is not a big deal to just pack some soy butter crackers and fruit for him and cuts down on our costs.

I will look into the Cl though especially since we might do a two bedroom suite.

Right, I'm remembering your review on the disABILITIES! board now. I hope you take everybody's advice regarding how to prepare for your next trip. Make sure you do actually fill out the form sent by Special Diets and look over menus at restaurants when booking ADRs and go through the attachments sent by Special Diets. With advanced preparation and research on your part, you should be able to have a very different experience. The CL folks will do right by you but you do need to fill out that form for them to be ready for you. That form is the method of communication used by all WDW dining.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

There is one room in Tonga that is like a regular room in the Hawaii building that has a king bed and jacuzzie tub. This room is called the Honeymoon Suite, though in my opinion it is just a single room in the suite building.

Thank you for the helpful info! I appreciate it!

 

[turtlechick6]

I am kinda clueless about CL. So what does that entail? Is there a FAQ about it?

 

[clanmcculloch]

Here's the current CL thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2582311

Based on your posts on the disABILITIES! board, I would urge you to NOT deal with IPO regarding the allergies. Go through Special Diets. I like to think I'm fairly easy going when it comes to my expectations and even I was frustrated by IPO at Poly as far as food allergies go. Special Diets did a great job taking care of communicating with the CL chefs. When we arrived, the CL CM checking us in called a CL chef to talk to us before even going to our room and they had all of our information and went through what they could/would do for us because my kids can't eat the CL lounge food. They were wonderful. Again, don't go through IPO for this.

 

[Poppinsme]

I need this vacation!

 

[cmcinc]

Got back this past Wed from a 5 night stay. It was amazing, as usual! I requested Samoa and ended up in Tokelau. We had first floor close to the middle entrance. Room was clean and mousekeeping did a great job. The grounds were incredible. We only used the pool 2 times in the evening and it was not crowded at all. We did room service one night and had Capt. Cooks a few times...all meals were great. Weather was great and we had minimal waits for most everything. More times than not we walked right on to rides (Space Mtn, Splash Mountain, Test Track, RNR, TOT...the only real wait was Soarin and TSMM, but we always had Fast Passes). The only and only complaint for us was that the faucet on the tub leaked pretty good, but no issues at all. It was a great trip and we will be back next October.

 

[turtlechick6]

Got back this past Wed from a 5 night stay. It was amazing, as usual! I requested Samoa and ended up in Tokelau. We had first floor close to the middle entrance. Room was clean and mousekeeping did a great job. The grounds were incredible. We only used the pool 2 times in the evening and it was not crowded at all. We did room service one night and had Capt. Cooks a few times...all meals were great. Weather was great and we had minimal waits for most everything. More times than not we walked right on to rides (Space Mtn, Splash Mountain, Test Track, RNR, TOT...the only real wait was Soarin and TSMM, but we always had Fast Passes). The only and only complaint for us was that the faucet on the tub leaked pretty good, but no issues at all. It was a great trip and we will be back next October.

That sounds like a nice trip! Glad you had a good time!

 

[DebbyLof428]

Just printed our boarding passes
I can't wait to get out of work and do all those last minute things.