ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Fall 2010 Edition

[LittleStinkerbelle]

What's this I just read on Mousemisers about not being able to request specific buildings anymore due to the new system?

"MouseMisers Walt Disney World has made a change to their room and package reservation systems. All resort rooms are now assigned automatically by the system at the time of booking. Guests can make generic requests at the time of booking (close to lobby, close to bus stop, etc.), but not specific location requests. You can add a specific request to the reservation, but they will not be seen until check in"


I requested a balcony and adjoining rooms when I booked last month, but was waiting to decide if I should request our favorite longhouse or leave it up to the Tiki gods. Looks like I won't be able to. Not sure I like this AT ALL!
What have you all heard/seen?

I'm interested to know more about this too. I haven't put in any requests yet (other than linking our reservation with the other party traveling with us). We were still mulling over which longhouse to request. I wonder how they'd assign rooms at the time of booking? How would they know occupancy at that point?

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I don't get this either. If the system is going to automatically assign a room...to make requests, it would have to be a preset list of options that the reservation CM could choose. This would mean no more requests that aren't predesigned into the program. Totally sucks but I can see it eliminating the room assigner positions at each resort and saving money. It would mean major headaches for resort CMs when there is someone needing to change rooms. A CM could only choose from a pool of unsold/unassigned rooms or it will cause a chain reaction of chaos. I hope this is not true.........Would make more sense if the computer would show available rooms at checkin and allow the customer to pick a room in the category pool.

 

[MomtoAlexnWilliam]

We just got home from a wonderful stay at the Poly. We arrived around 11pm so our room was ready for us. It was nice to have the two queen beds and the couch that was a twin size bed -- my kids took turn sleeping in it!! The beds were comfy but I wish the pillows weren't so darn fluffy!!!

We were in Samoa, 3rd floor balcony, and right next to the pool --- not that it matter as it was TOO cold to swim!!! We enjoyed being so close to the beach as well -- it was a short few steps to get to the beach to watch the fireworks and the water parade each night.

We ate at Captain Cook's several times and found the food pretty good. It is a small dining room and had to wait a bit for a table during the peak times. They are a limited number of food choices at this location.

We had no monorail issues at all. It was quick and easy each time. We spent 4 days at Magic Kingdom and 1 at Epcot of our 8 days in the parks so the monorail was super convenient. The buses were quick to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

Our room was clean and didn't look worn out at all. This is now our favorite resort!! We enjoyed AS Sports (especially the food court choices!!!) but it is in a totally different class than the Poly - noisy, not as nice, smaller, etc. We also really enjoyed Animal Kingdom Lodge but the monorail makes the Poly a better choice for us!

If anyone has any specific questions, please ask!!!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

MomtoAlexnWilliam so glad to hear you had a magical stay. I see you now have the Poly fever...it is quite contagious...

Well, we are less than a month away from the quiet pool rehab/redesign to begin. I am hoping some pics are leaked here on the DIS to feed my curiousity. Oh the suspense......

 

[dizneechic]

Well, we are less than a month away from the quiet pool rehab/redesign to begin. I am hoping some pics are leaked here on the DIS to feed my curiousity. Oh the suspense......

We'll we check in Jan 13th ( - 18th), so if nothing has been posted I can certainly share what's going on at that point in time. Less than 30 days!

 

[jenjersnap]

Well, we are less than a month away from the quiet pool rehab/redesign to begin. I am hoping some pics are leaked here on the DIS to feed my curiousity. Oh the suspense......

The first I heard of this was a page or so back and I am intrigued too ... any rumors of a hot tub being added? That would be marvelous!

 

[bethclayton]

Just back a few hours ago from our first stay at the Poly and an amazing one at that! Got to get to work.... Got home in the middle of the night after a flight delay and then the parking shuttle breaking down on the side of the road with temps in the teens... What a mess! But when I have time this weekend I will post all about our stay. It was magical, with an amazing surprise of serious pixie dust. We LOVED the Poly and will definitely be back!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Just back a few hours ago from our first stay at the Poly and an amazing one at that! Got to get to work.... Got home in the middle of the night after a flight delay and then the parking shuttle breaking down on the side of the road with temps in the teens... What a mess! But when I have time this weekend I will post all about our stay. It was magical, with an amazing surprise of serious pixie dust. We LOVED the Poly and will definitely be back!

Welcome back to reality..huh?? Glad you made it home safely. Looking forward to your trippie. I have always been curious about a split stay with GF/Poly. I love Poly so much. Worried that I will be disappointed I am not at Poly if I am right next door at GF. Last spring, we stayed at YC which was lovely but we so missed the Poly's atmosphere, MK location, and food. Can't wait to hear of your experience

 

[Mom of a *Princess*]

I'm interested to know more about this too. I haven't put in any requests yet (other than linking our reservation with the other party traveling with us). We were still mulling over which longhouse to request. I wonder how they'd assign rooms at the time of booking? How would they know occupancy at that point?

I just did my online check in and although there's an area for requets, the check in only gives you 4 to choose from and no space to put in any others. I'm going to still send in a fax to the Poly to confirm the requests (specific location, bed rails etc) I made back in February when we booked our trip. We'll see what happens!

 

[pumpkinfish]

Ok...2 more sleeps and I am getting to that nervous/excited stage!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

I'm interested to know more about this too. I haven't put in any requests yet (other than linking our reservation with the other party traveling with us). We were still mulling over which longhouse to request. I wonder how they'd assign rooms at the time of booking? How would they know occupancy at that point?

Hello all you Poly Experts! My family and I will be staying at the Poly for our Youngest DD's 8th birthday at the end of August! I have been lurking and reading for quite some time now. You all are a fount of knowledge! I am learning soo much I never knew about this beautiful resort!

I found this thread about the new room request stuff and thought y'all might want to know about it!

Room Request Info Thread

Now that I have come out of lurkdom, I have a million questions to ask all of you. I shall return with my list later!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Hello all you Poly Experts! My family and I will be staying at the Poly for our Youngest DD's 8th birthday at the end of August! I have been lurking and reading for quite some time now. You all are a fount of knowledge! I am learning soo much I never knew about this beautiful resort!

I found this thread about the new room request stuff and thought y'all might want to know about it!

Room Request Info Thread

Now that I have come out of lurkdom, I have a million questions to ask all of you. I shall return with my list later!

Thanks for the link and welcome to the Poly thread


You know....I don't think the computer room assignment is a bad thing *if* they expand the bookable room categories. For example...I would pay extra at the Poly for a room with a full balcony. For others, a ground floor room. I am sure BC patrons would feel the same regarding full vs standing balconies. Swan and Dolphin have expanded categories as such.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Hello all you Poly Experts! My family and I will be staying at the Poly for our Youngest DD's 8th birthday at the end of August! I have been lurking and reading for quite some time now. You all are a fount of knowledge! I am learning soo much I never knew about this beautiful resort!

I found this thread about the new room request stuff and thought y'all might want to know about it!

Room Request Info Thread

Now that I have come out of lurkdom, I have a million questions to ask all of you. I shall return with my list later!

Thanks for the info - I just read that thread and posted a question over there. I'm trying to figure out if there's a benefit to noting a request on the reservation vs. mentioning it at check-in (since CMs won't see requests until check-in).

P.S. Welcome to the thread and have fun with the planning!!

 

[MrsDef]

We're back!

We had a wonderful stay! I documented our sickness story a few pages back- we were all healthy in 24 hours and continued on with our trip. The amazing service from the Poly staff continued. My husband, who is not sold on Disney and travels weekly for work, was even impressed. We will for sure be back.

We stayed in Rarotonga room 1815. We were soo happy with it. It was a garden view.. you could only see a peek of the monorail, which was the highlight of the trip for our 3 year old. I have heard complaints of monorail noise, but we never heard it. We also had a tiki torch right outside the door, which made more cool room lighting at night. The room was clean, but the furniture was a little worn and I found the soft goods to be dissapointing.

Our view:

Holiday Decor:

 

[Tess]

We're back!

We had a wonderful stay! I documented our sickness story a few pages back- we were all healthy in 24 hours and continued on with our trip. The amazing service from the Poly staff continued. My husband, who is not sold on Disney and travels weekly for work, was even impressed. We will for sure be back.

We stayed in Rarotonga room 1815. We were soo happy with it. It was a garden view.. you could only see a peek of the monorail, which was the highlight of the trip for our 3 year old. I have heard complaints of monorail noise, but we never heard it. We also had a tiki torch right outside the door, which made more cool room lighting at night. The room was clean, but the furniture was a little worn and I found the soft goods to be dissapointing.

Happy to hear that your illness passed quickly and the trip was successful! The photos are lovely. Welcome back to the real world. . .

 

[bethclayton]

Welcome back to reality..huh?? Glad you made it home safely. Looking forward to your trippie. I have always been curious about a split stay with GF/Poly. I love Poly so much. Worried that I will be disappointed I am not at Poly if I am right next door at GF. Last spring, we stayed at YC which was lovely but we so missed the Poly's atmosphere, MK location, and food. Can't wait to hear of your experience

I will tell you that personally, for garden view, I would choose the Poly over the GF. I am a HUGE GF fan and I cannot say a bad thing about that place. But I felt a little like a stepchild in an outer building at the GF. I'm sure this was just me, because we stayed in the main building there on our last trip and we LOVED it. After that, i guess staying in an outer building was underwhelming. All four of us loved the theming at the Poly and felt that it had a more relaxing vibe overall. Again- not knocking the GF at all, but garden view there (actually, technically my room there was a free upgrade to lagoon view) just didn't really do it for me.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I will tell you that personally, for garden view, I would choose the Poly over the GF. I am a HUGE GF fan and I cannot say a bad thing about that place. But I felt a little like a stepchild in an outer building at the GF. I'm sure this was just me, because we stayed in the main building there on our last trip and we LOVED it. After that, i guess staying in an outer building was underwhelming. All four of us loved the theming at the Poly and felt that it had a more relaxing vibe overall. Again- not knocking the GF at all, but garden view there (actually, technically my room there was a free upgrade to lagoon view) just didn't really do it for me.

See...this is exactly what worries me about GF. Honestly, GF and YC remind me of each other...one the feminine the other masculine. Lovely resorts, like to visit, but they just aren't as relaxing as the Poly. The Poly atmosphere is so laid back and we actually prefer staying in outer buildings rather than a room in the main building. It is more private, quiet, and less crowded. The Poly feels like a tropical vacation within a Disney vacation. If we stay at the GF, I think it will have to be a split stay so that we can have our beloved Poly. Problem is...we are not really split stay folks. I like to unpack and stay put until I am kicked out

If we were able to travel to WDW more often, it wouldn't be a big issue but we only take one vacay a year. 2011 is a beach vacation to Navarre Beach FL. Unless we win the lottery--haha--WDW will be in 2012.

 

[rcsilverspring]

Just made another ADR yesterday--Via Napoli! Any thoughts, Poly peeps? Already had Ohana, Le Cellier, Chefs de France & Sci-Fi. It's looking like this is shaping up to be a great trip. Hate to wish the time away, but this IS WDW & the Poly we're talking about..........

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

See...this is exactly what worries me about GF. Honestly, GF and YC remind me of each other...one the feminine the other masculine. Lovely resorts, like to visit, but they just aren't as relaxing as the Poly.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. When we stayed at the GF last June, we really felt pampered and taken care of (better service than at the Poly) but it wasn't as 'relaxing' like I feel while at the Poly. I'm soo glad we took the plunge and stayed at the GF (it was DD's wish) and we did love it but it's back to the Poly for us next year.

On the 'service' front, just to clarify, we've never had *bad* service at the Poly. The GF just had so many CMs around to help us and make us feel at 'home' it was just in stark contrast to the Poly, IMO.

 

[MomtoAlexnWilliam]

MomtoAlexnWilliam so glad to hear you had a magical stay. I see you now have the Poly fever...it is quite contagious...

Well, we are less than a month away from the quiet pool rehab/redesign to begin. I am hoping some pics are leaked here on the DIS to feed my curiousity. Oh the suspense......

YES! We did get the Poly fever. I am already on the look out for deals for next December.

Have fun on your trip next month!