ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Fall 2010 Edition

[BreezysMom]

Sorry you had to cancel, but at least you still have a Poly stay coming up & lots to do in between. I'm hoping we love October as much as you do, we usually do Sept. so I'm thinking it will be similar but hopefully a bit less hot and rainy.

On a side not I had to share that on top of similar vacation taste in resorts and times we also have similar taste in doggies

I love your Cav!! We just got a second one last week. Now I have two sweet little girls.

We love October. This will be our third October trip. The weather is great, the crowds are decent and I like park decked out in Halloween decor!

That is 3 of us here on the Poly FAQ going to the Poly the same time AND staying CL! We may have to start our own planning thread!!

Just checked into Fiji first floor marina view, exactly what I wanted. Had originally been assigned Fiji first floor luau cove overlooking the GF but they very kind cast member, Zach, switched us.

(Sorry for the photo size... Working on my iPhone from Photobucket.)


Room is in good shape... No bad wallpaper or bedbugs. We called and asked for a DVD player at about 4:30 and got it about 8:30... No big deal since we were not in the room anyway.

Also not seeing any wristbands for the pool.

Had dinner at Kona: lapu lapu, sticky wings, the rib eye and the tuna Oscar. Service was excellent... We are not on the dining plan but didn't notice and difference in service.

Thanks for the live review! My favorite longhouse by far! I am glad the CM was able to get you the room location you requested

 

[pigletto]

What a great picture! I hope you enjoy your trip

 

[Tisha_PA]

I've been hearing rumors of wristbands being back at the pools. Has anyone stayed recently that can confirm this? I really hope thta is the case!

I asked about this at Steve "Tikiman's" website, and he said it was his understanding that it was being done only during the busier times of the year - Christmas, Spring Break, 4th of July....

 

[rcsilverspring]

Just checked into Fiji first floor marina view, exactly what I wanted. Had originally been assigned Fiji first floor luau cove overlooking the GF but they very kind cast member, Zach, switched us.

(Sorry for the photo size... Working on my iPhone from Photobucket.)


Room is in good shape... No bad wallpaper or bedbugs. We called and asked for a DVD player at about 4:30 and got it about 8:30... No big deal since we were not in the room anyway.

Also not seeing any wristbands for the pool.

Had dinner at Kona: lapu lapu, sticky wings, the rib eye and the tuna Oscar. Service was excellent... We are not on the dining plan but didn't notice and difference in service.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fiji is MY favorite longhouse, too, but we had/prefer a balcony. We has a first floor on the GF side years ago. It was nice, but I prefer the marina side which we had in 2008. I was debating requesting Fiji again this May, but DD#2 said she does not necessarily want the same view/experience/vaca as the last trip, even though it was WONDERFUL! We're probably just going to leave it up to the Tiki gods.
Enjoy your trip and tell them we'll be there in 109 days!!

 

[bluejasmine]

WOnderful pic gypsy! Makes me miss the Poly so much!!

We have the background of our laptop as the Poly here at home..Its just so peaceful.

I have the most amazing memory of napping last Sept on our anniversary in the hammock on the beach, listening to the hawaiin music and hearing the boat pulling up to the doc with the wind rustling the leaves of the palm trees.. It was so relaxing! DH and I always talk about it when we are having a stressful day..

That whole day was amazing.. Woke up to room service, then walked to GF just to look around, we found a baby pinapple growing on the way, lol. Rented a mouse boat and had lunch at Capt Cooks, drinks from CL lounge poolside and then we napped in the hammock until time to shower and get ready for dinner at Narcossee..My DH had flowers delivered from disney florist that were amazing, it was called Mickey through the years and the vase is covered in different mickeys, any time he gets me flowers here at home he uses that vase..

Every day we came back to different towel animals, one day there was two huge alligators that covered the floor in front of the sliding glass doors, very cool!

 

[SydandPaige'sMom]

WOnderful pic gypsy! Makes me miss the Poly so much!!

We have the background of our laptop as the Poly here at home..Its just so peaceful.

I have the most amazing memory of napping last Sept on our anniversary in the hammock on the beach, listening to the hawaiin music and hearing the boat pulling up to the doc with the wind rustling the leaves of the palm trees.. It was so relaxing! DH and I always talk about it when we are having a stressful day..

That whole day was amazing.. Woke up to room service, then walked to GF just to look around, we found a baby pinapple growing on the way, lol. Rented a mouse boat and had lunch at Capt Cooks, drinks from CL lounge poolside and then we napped in the hammock until time to shower and get ready for dinner at Narcossee..My DH had flowers delivered from disney florist that were amazing, it was called Mickey through the years and the vase is covered in different mickeys, any time he gets me flowers here at home he uses that vase..

Every day we came back to different towel animals, one day there was two huge alligators that covered the floor in front of the sliding glass doors, very cool!

I get all warm and fuzzy just reading this. It sounds like an amazing day.

lol I don't think these next 8 months are going to pass quick enough!

 

[Alli76]

WOnderful pic gypsy! Makes me miss the Poly so much!!

We have the background of our laptop as the Poly here at home..Its just so peaceful.

I have the most amazing memory of napping last Sept on our anniversary in the hammock on the beach, listening to the hawaiin music and hearing the boat pulling up to the doc with the wind rustling the leaves of the palm trees.. It was so relaxing! DH and I always talk about it when we are having a stressful day..

That whole day was amazing.. Woke up to room service, then walked to GF just to look around, we found a baby pinapple growing on the way, lol. Rented a mouse boat and had lunch at Capt Cooks, drinks from CL lounge poolside and then we napped in the hammock until time to shower and get ready for dinner at Narcossee..My DH had flowers delivered from disney florist that were amazing, it was called Mickey through the years and the vase is covered in different mickeys, any time he gets me flowers here at home he uses that vase..

Every day we came back to different towel animals, one day there was two huge alligators that covered the floor in front of the sliding glass doors, very cool!

Wow - that sounds so amazing!!! I am closing my eyes and trying to picture that is where I am.... although I have a feeling it will be quite a few years until I am back to a relaxing vacationlike that!! My kids don't seem to have a slow down button on them

 

[Alli76]

Hi all - was just reading a post about another resort - and had a question..

We are flying down for our May vacation so packing space is at a premium.... Are there pool toys available at the pool for the kids at all??? From what I have read some of the other resorts have pails and shovels with a kids meal - is the same available at the Poly or maybe in the gift shop? They don't need much - but I would like to have something.

 

[BreezysMom]

Hi all - was just reading a post about another resort - and had a question..

We are flying down for our May vacation so packing space is at a premium.... Are there pool toys available at the pool for the kids at all??? From what I have read some of the other resorts have pails and shovels with a kids meal - is the same available at the Poly or maybe in the gift shop? They don't need much - but I would like to have something.

If you stay CL, they give each child a small pail and shovel. I do not think this has changed?

But they also sell some beach toys at the Boutiki and they were not too pricey.

 

[Bolebrothers]

Just checked into Fiji first floor marina view, exactly what I wanted. Had originally been assigned Fiji first floor luau cove overlooking the GF but they very kind cast member, Zach, switched us.

(Sorry for the photo size... Working on my iPhone from Photobucket.)


Room is in good shape... No bad wallpaper or bedbugs. We called and asked for a DVD player at about 4:30 and got it about 8:30... No big deal since we were not in the room anyway.

Also not seeing any wristbands for the pool.

Had dinner at Kona: lapu lapu, sticky wings, the rib eye and the tuna Oscar. Service was excellent... We are not on the dining plan but didn't notice and difference in service.

My, that picture is so beautiful it hurts !
If April 23rd could just hurry up and arrive.... like right now!
(we have -10 degrees' Celsius and snow now sooo getting sick of the weather).
Enjoy your stay !

 

[carlnix30]

Magic, Memories and You" show

has anyone actually seen this show in person? if anyone knows for sure if it is a pre-show to wishes or is it going to replace wishes? looks really cool on video but... I like my starlight starbright song! and of course wishes.

 

[BreezysMom]

Magic, Memories and You" show

has anyone actually seen this show in person? if anyone knows for sure if it is a pre-show to wishes or is it going to replace wishes? looks really cool on video but... I like my starlight starbright song! and of course wishes.

It just started last week I think. It is going to play in the 15 minutes before Wishes starts. Basically a pre-show for Wishes. Here is a blog with some video here. It actually looks cool.

DH and I joke that it will actually give people something else to gripe about....

"how come my photopass pic wasn't on the castle?" to go along with "I did not get picked for year of a million dreams" and the "I have never gotten a towel animal"

I think what it will do is attract more people to the hub for Wishes. To be honest, we have watched Wishes in the park once. The rest of the time we usually watch from the Poly or are in the MK riding rides. I think we may have to check this out in October

 

[carlnix30]

It just started last week I think. It is going to play in the 15 minutes before Wishes starts. Basically a pre-show for Wishes. Here is a blog with some video here. It actually looks cool.

DH and I joke that it will actually give people something else to gripe about....

"how come my photopass pic wasn't on the castle?" to go along with "I did not get picked for year of a million dreams" and the "I have never gotten a towel animal"

have to check this out in October

The video looks really great! I had a few "how did they do that" moments..I want to be there now!!

I was wondering the same thing!! Why wasn't I picked for a year of a million dreams!! I was there a whole 8 nights!!I didn't expect much... "just one night in Walt's castle suite.." but nooooo they gave it to some other family.. I think they just didn't like me. It not like there was 250,000 other people there...

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

We "watched" it from Luau cove last night. Started about 15 minutes before Wihes. There was about a 5 minute break between the shows.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Thanks for the great review of the Neverland club! I was thinking of using it as DH and I never....and I mean literally never get any alone time. Our girls are 7 and 4, will be 8 and 5 on the trip and I might plan a dinner at Narcoosee's (wanted to do that last time we were there, but it didn't work out) for just DH and I.

Can you tell me a little about it? What do the kids do? Hours of operation? Price? Thanks in advance

ugh ok...just looked at hours of operation and what the kids can do there sorry..I usually check these things before I ask. Can you let me know what pricing is like please?

So here are some more details-
The pricing was about $11.50 per hour per child. You can put them in for as many or little hours as you want while they are open. We had the kids there for 5 hours while we went to Epcot. They give you a pager or just take down your cell phone number (they never called us). It does include a meal (they get a kids meal from Captain Cooks). You drop them off and speak to the folks working there (all SUPER nice!). The kids go through Wendy's bedroom window and they are off! If someone tried to come in to even look at the kids, they wouldn't be able to see them (made me feel better).

My kids are standing here and giving me the low down They said they never left the club (even to eat) but there was an additional room where they ate the dinner that was brought in. My son loved the electronics - video games and big screen movie. My daughter also liked the coloring stuff. There is also dress up and there were big jumbo cup stacks (sorry, I'm writing this verbatim as they tell me) and they built towers out of the cups so high that they would surround someone and they would knock it over (they are jumping up and down with excitement right now so it must have been fun). They also hung out with other kids.

They immediately wanted to go back the next night and they are giving me the 'please,please,please' can we go back right now We are heading to WL in May and will try out the Den's club.

I highly recommend doing this. Yes, it was pricey but it ended up being worth it for the adult evening out and the kids LOVED it.

Hi all - was just reading a post about another resort - and had a question..

We are flying down for our May vacation so packing space is at a premium.... Are there pool toys available at the pool for the kids at all??? From what I have read some of the other resorts have pails and shovels with a kids meal - is the same available at the Poly or maybe in the gift shop? They don't need much - but I would like to have something.

There are not pool toys available just to use. There are some available to buy at the gift shop such as a small pail and shovel and some pool throw balls. I did buy some pool toys at the dollar store before we went and took it with us and this was great. We had these frisbees and balls that could get wet and they squished down in your suitcase. For the $3 we spent, we just ended up leaving those toys there. We also brought the kids goggles which is great due to all the chlorine in the pools and water parks. They get pretty red rimmed eyes - but we also spend hours in the pool everyday. One word of caution, the kids brought their snorkel items and the lifeguard said it was not allowed. I'm also not sure if you can have large pool toys like raft rings or noodles. I'm also not sure if they have any of the same rules for the non-main pools that don't have lifeguards. Oh, we also brought a small motorized boat and dive sticks as well and they were allowed to play with those in the main pool.

 

[carlnix30]

We "watched" it from Luau cove last night. Started about 15 minutes before Wihes. There was about a 5 minute break between the shows.

So you can see the show from the poly!! Let me know when you actually get to see it in MK!! I am soo excited!

Thank you soo much gypsydoodlebug it really nice to have an insider (like our own personal spy)

 

[SydandPaige'sMom]

So here are some more details-
The pricing was about $11.50 per hour per child. You can put them in for as many or little hours as you want while they are open. We had the kids there for 5 hours while we went to Epcot. They give you a pager or just take down your cell phone number (they never called us). It does include a meal (they get a kids meal from Captain Cooks). You drop them off and speak to the folks working there (all SUPER nice!). The kids go through Wendy's bedroom window and they are off! If someone tried to come in to even look at the kids, they wouldn't be able to see them (made me feel better).

My kids are standing here and giving me the low down They said they never left the club (even to eat) but there was an additional room where they ate the dinner that was brought in. My son loved the electronics - video games and big screen movie. My daughter also liked the coloring stuff. There is also dress up and there were big jumbo cup stacks (sorry, I'm writing this verbatim as they tell me) and they built towers out of the cups so high that they would surround someone and they would knock it over (they are jumping up and down with excitement right now so it must have been fun). They also hung out with other kids.

They immediately wanted to go back the next night and they are giving me the 'please,please,please' can we go back right now We are heading to WL in May and will try out the Den's club.

I highly recommend doing this. Yes, it was pricey but it ended up being worth it for the adult evening out and the kids LOVED it.

Thank you SOOOO much. Pricey, yes, but when you're spending thousands on a trip, what's $60 for a dinner out It sounds like your kids had a great time. I am really looking forward to a night out!

 

[Carrie772]

Thank you SOOOO much. Pricey, yes, but when you're spending thousands on a trip, what's $60 for a dinner out It sounds like your kids had a great time. I am really looking forward to a night out!

Shoot. For the best babysitter on our list, I pay $10 per hour! We have three kids and I want them to be treasured, entertained, and fed, and clean when I come home. Neverland Club sounds like a super bargain!

 

[Tess]

speaking of neverland club.. think i can pass my teens off as 12?? I could maybe stop feeding them until we get there.. I wish they were younger only when we get to Disney. they are old enough to run to the park alone but they always seem to follow us around.. uuugh.. whats a guy gotta to do to get his Mickey on? last year they met a couple teens and they hung out without the parents.. not in the room.. but around the resort and MK. hopefully they find some this year.
I like to drink my uhhhm "lemonade" without hearing "DAAAAAD I need..."

has anyone used them lately? havent heard much about neverland club in a while. reviews? opinions?

I really hate to break this to you Carl, but ours are 20 and 22 and we have a very tough time ditching them to get some Mom and Dad time to sip in peace and quiet. We finally had to be blunt and simply tell them that we were going this way and they were going the other. We would meet them in a few hours! EPCOT is OUR park and they can find their own things to do while we slowly meander and enjoy our adult only company.

Of course now our problem is solved since Ron a/k/a Mean Daddy has decided he is done paying for their vacationing.

 

[carlnix30]

I really hate to break this to you Carl, but ours are 20 and 22 and we have a very tough time ditching them to get some Mom and Dad time to sip in peace and quiet. We finally had to be blunt and simply tell them that we were going this way and they were going the other. We would meet them in a few hours! EPCOT is OUR park and they can find their own things to do while we slowly meander and enjoy our adult only company.

Of course now our problem is solved since Ron a/k/a Mean Daddy has decided he is done paying for their vacationing.

hmmmm I always told them I was gonna sell em to the gypsies... Any takers?? They are well trained at eating and "saying daddy I want"

Tell Ron I said... let them pay their own way.. Hey maybe they can pay for you guys to go.. They will be done with college soon! Heck they can pay for your friends too.. We are available anytime this summer..