ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Fall 2010 Edition

[Aristocath]

It's August... I officially go THIS month!!!!

I was coming to post this exact thing! After months of planning, I really can't believe we are in August!

 

[Bean Counter]

Yeah! August is finally here and I can already smell the raisin oatmeal cookies in the lounge. I am horribly addicted to those things. Maybe I should call up the Hawaii building to make sure they are properly stocked for my stay. It really would be a shame if there weren't enough for the other guests to have some.

 

[IslandAdventure4]

The Poly store has liquor for sale and it is definitely cheaper to buy a small bottle of rum (I don't believe the sizes are all that big) and a mixer than to buy the drinks at the bar BUT it is much cheaper to have your own. If you drive, you can stop at a liquor store. If you don't, I have heard of a couple of grocery delivery services and I am going to try that this time (wegoshop will get what YOU want and they do deliver liquor as long as someone 21 or older signs for it.)



Now that Captian Morgan came out with the Plastic Handle insted of Glass, I am soooooo packing a bottle in my suitcase. I was always scared to pack the glass bottle and have it break all over our clothes

 

[Missoutandabout]

I keep thinking of dumb questions to ask but I'll ask anyway!

What do you all do with your bag, room keys, shoes etc. when you're down at the pool? I don't want to take up a lounge chair especially since we'll actually be in the pool and not lounging. ("Lounging" is a foreign concept with a 3 year old anyway.)

 

[iloveeeyore]

Hi folks! Im here at the beautiful Poly right now! For those who don't know yet, i have a live report on the countdowns and live reports sub-board. You can follow my link to get there if you haven't already.

Aloha and mahalo!

 

[kdunkle904]

36 Days til I'm at the Poly!!

Is it September yet?

 

[luvthemouse71]

I'm paying off the remainder of my balance today. 45 days to go! I'm sitting here listening to the Poly music on my iPhone. Is it true they changed the music?!

 

[bluejasmine]

36 Days til I'm at the Poly!!

Is it September yet?

38 days for me! My bday is this month but I so would give it up to get to the Poly! LOL

 

[eeyorepixie]

So for you who have been listening to me blah, blah, blah about this being a surprise trip since February we finally did the big reveal...Back story one of my kids pre-maturely almost found out so I had to thing quick on my feet and said instead that we were going to NH...

Well that worked but a little too well because the were obsessed with NH...not sure where they get that...They were looking up Santa's Village and Stroryland on line...taking notes of where the water fountains are and the bathrooms are...I kid you not, this brought a tear to my eye, this OCD planner was so proud But then my proud feeling turned into a bit of panic, because seriously I started getting afraid that at the big reveal they would be dissapointed not to be going to NH

So I decided whe should do the reveal at our 14 day mark, if they were going to obsess it might as well be over Disney!

so this is a bit long, but thought I would share because I have been obsessing with you guys since February, now I am still keeping the POLY part of our trip a surprise, and it will be my oldest DD's birthday and her fave character is Stitch, and Lilo & Stitch was our very first Disney movie together and since we told them yesterday. I keep saying every once in awhile that this is our Lilo and Stitch birthday trip. I have bought Lilo and Stitch birthday presents...we have matching birthday shirts with Stitch...and wait till she get's to the POLY it will all make sense to her insert evil queen laugh...
I can't wait to see their face when we check into the POLY

So warning, this is long and I do tend to ramble...I hope no one minds that I posted this..

The Big Reveal
First – just in case anyone does not know what a “pickle” is: it means when things do not go according to plan in other words when you go to heck in a hand basket. KWIM?

Back story invited my parents they brought their brand new Teacup **** Zu puppy which helped me distract the girls but later on almost messed me up a bit, more on that later…

O.K. First pickle- I planted all the scavenger cards and then realized I had totally put them all in the wrong spot, so had to sneak them back and figure it out again. Thank gosh I figured this out or it would have been a big frustrating mess! So it was a save, but not a graceful save. KWIM?

During this whole process I was sweating like a pig because I was running around like a mad woman, but the kids never saw it…I just kept going out the back door or up and down the stairs when they were the opposite…My mother was getting a good laugh out of my madcap plan and my pathetic scrambling.

You know the best laid plans can go haywire fast when it comes to kids…( insert shaking my head in shame) I had pictured this so many times but gosh this was not what I pictured
Second Pickle-Got the cards set,but then my Mom told my Dad and the Girls to take the Dog out to the yard[sm=confused.gif]
But I had scavenger envelopes out there and Yikes they would see them so I ran out the back door and almost got busted sticking them down the back of my pants...Yes, you read right...A Mom has got to do, what a Mom has got to do...again not graceful!

when we went back in the house I ran outside and replaced the scavenger clues then ran back in....


I told the girls there was an envelope addressed to them on the front steps and then batteries died immediately on the video camera

I had to yell at them to get them back to order and back in the living room....ugggghhh[&:]

My Dad gave me new batteries and we started over, the girls were not quite getting the concept. They kept getting hung up on the hints not the clues. Uggggggggggh

The first clue was up in oldest DD’s bedroom with her lovey WARNING THIRD PICKLE COMING!!!!- Oldest DD read clue, but littlest DD got the bright idea that maybe there was a clue with her lovey and she was right. However this was the last clue that led to the box!

Thank God my Mommy Bionic hearing took over and I yelled from downstairs and I screamed up the stairs with the best motherly authoritative stern voice that I could muster to freeze them on the spot so they would to not open that clue. It worked , but again not a graceful save at all…Whew, pickle averted…

Side bar…my oldest DD was being a stick in the mud and kept saying how this was “annoying” and “why are we doing this” finally near the end she got with the program. I swear I wanted to yell at her and say “just shut up- be a kid and have fun”

So I had several clues that had them running all over the house so my parents could see the excitement, but then had a few outside clues to get them out of the house so I can sneak up the huge box from the cellar.

Finally they got the last clue upstairs and ran like a herd of elephants down the stairs to the living room where the box was for the big reveal.

However, the end of the reveal went according to plan[sm=058.gif], the lid was ripped off the box the Disney balloons came out of the box perfectly and they saw my sign immediately.

I will try to post at least this clip of video- The screaming and jumping up and down went on for quite a bit. My worries of them being disappointed to NH were for not-NO CONTEST! They were beyond happy to be going to Disney in fact several times there were tears of happiness and spontaneous dancing accompanied by the Disney song/chant “We are going to Disney, We are going to Disney, Oh yes we are, Oh yes we arrrrre arrrrre”

So I did tape this but I did a terrible job,and tried to figure out how to post but I am truly tech challenged but I will keep trying but the tape is reallly bad

Ugggh not many dignified moments in motherhood, it can be an ugly bit of business and some of us are more graceful then others…KWIM?


So they know but, they DON'T...14 Days till POR...26 Days till PART II of Operation Blindside at the POLY!!!!

 

[kdunkle904]

Eeyorepixie--- I LOVE that you posted this! I have to tell you that I was laughing so hard tears came to my eyes picturing you running around like a mad woman trying to keep the surprise going. It does seem like when one thing goes wrong, it all snowballs from there! But Im glad that it all worked out in the end. I bet it was all worth it when you saw your kids reactions.
Hope that you have a great time at WDW. I have to say that I am a tad bit jealous because you get to go before me! But i will try and survive.

 

[disneymumma]

Thank you!

He actually said my blood pressure was to high and he did an EKG and it was extremely fast so until he gets my lab completed, he didn't want me to leave town without anything to control it, so for time being he has me on a beta blocker to slow down my heart rate, He's suppose to call me asap to tell me what else to do, He also said to map out the local healthcare facilities around WDW just in case...LOVELY.. But guess what, I'm still going to Disney and the POLY in less than 8 hours.. My flight is 6am, I really need to rest now!!!

No better place to be happy and rested. Blessings on you and your family: "May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun (at the Poly) shine warm upon your face...(we'll just skip the rain part ). And until we meet (on the Poly board) again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand."

 

[disneymumma]

Ok, I know I still have a long way to go but I was thrilled to see that as of today, we only have 125 more days until our trip!

Hey, no way! Celebrate!! We started at 219 and just hit 36. 125 days??!! Woohoo!!! Thrilled for you!

 

[disneymumma]

I'm paying off the remainder of my balance today. 45 days to go! I'm sitting here listening to the Poly music on my iPhone. Is it true they changed the music?!

Congratulations, luvthemouse71! It's so freeing going and knowing that its already paid for!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

It's been good (and difficult) for me to hear about your experience. My 17 year old "baby" is experiencing renal failure and I know he doesn't have very long left. It has been hard to see him lose weight but in general he seems peppy and enjoying life. The vet said we will know when it is time. I've been dwelling on it for months. I never thought he'd make it this long so I didn't think I'd be worried about leaving him at home during our trip in 2 weeks. But he's holding on and I'm really scared.

So thanks for sharing. It's good just to hear about someone else making it through and that he looked peaceful.

Hugs!

So very sorry to hear about your sweet, furry, friend. IMO, you're an awesome mom for letting them be a gentle part of the process all the while setting healthy limits, too.

Tinkerbellie16, I'm so sorry to hear about your furbaby

I am so sorry you had to say goodbye to your kitty. How sad!

Hugs to you and your family during this tough time. I know that you are probably remembering little things that he did and it makes it even harder. I'm glad you let the kids say their goodbyes. It's a hard decision as a mom and I'm sure they will look back on it and thank you for letting them be there.

Awwww, Tinkerbellie16 - I'm so sorry!!! It's been a tough week - which is why I haven't been posting much! I took Smokey to the vet on Wednesday and he has cancer, so we're also facing that same decision. He's lost so much weight and he's not eating well. The vet laid out all of the options and DH said there is no way we're doing the surgery and chemo when there's less than 50% cure rate. The vet gave him a vitamin B12 shot which seems to have pepped him up a bit, but it's short term, of course. ARGH, I wish I didn't get so attached to the darn fur babies!! Anyway, I really have to start planning another trip to Disney for next year, give us something else to focus on!

Tinkerbellie16, so, so sorry about your precious baby! Those darn animals just grab hold of our hearts and don't let go!

Sending warm thoughts your way!

Tinkerbellie16 I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. It's heart breaking to lose one of your fur babies.
And Zuzu03, sorry to hear that yours is so sick.
Hugs to you both.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts! I too was 'avoiding' the boards for a few days because I was so upset. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you all are so kind and supportive. It was an incredibly hard decision (shouldn't I spend more money on him??? maybe he's really ok???) and this weekend we realized it was very much the right decision. He too seemed to be 'normal' and I was having a hard time with the decision but I realized that there were lots of behavioral changes that had happened in the past year and I was being a bit blind to it since he's my baby. And 16+ is an OLD age for a cat! So I empathize with those that are going through the decision too.

You know, it only means we are caring beings that we don't rush out and put our animals down at the first sign of distress. But it also means that we are caring beings because we do make that decision for them and not let them suffer or just have a low quality of life because we can't let them go.

Not to make light of the situation but I am glad I don't have to worry about him when we go to the Poly next month. And I can say that now that it is August - Poly next month!

 

[jetskigrl]

Ugggh not many dignified moments in motherhood, it can be an ugly bit of business and some of us are more graceful then others…KWIM?


So they know but, they DON'T...14 Days till POR...26 Days till PART II of Operation Blindside at the POLY!!!!

What an awesome story!!!!! LOL - I would love to see the video. Even better, I would love to see their faces when they get to the Poly!!!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

hello all my fellow Poly lovers!!

to everyone leaving soon for the Poly...our trip is still 51 days out (52 until the Poly) but got some great news from DFi today...we had booked the Poly GV CL room with a 40% off pin and the total was still a little too high for us but thanks to our Disney Honeymoon Registry looks like we can totally afford it!!

No downgrading for us and looks like we will PIF sooner than we thought!It's my first time at the Poly and DFi's first Disney trip..ever...so i'm hoping he'll love the Poly so much that we can make it a regular resort for us..fingers crossed!!

Hopefully we'll see some of you Disers there at the same time

Yeah!!! And we'll see you there - we'll be there around the same time!

I'm so sorry about your baby, I know how difficult it is for your family, but now you can start to heal....
I actually don't drink energy drinks at all, I really just drink water, crystal light, maybe a coke zero, two cups of coffee. I just haven't been myself, my heart is beating out of my chest with little exertion. I do need to stop being so high strung and chill and the poly hopefully will help with that.. Thankyou..

You mentioned in a post that people mistake your husband for Brett Favre, People think my husband looks like John Cena, and me all sorts of people...

Well, the Poly is the place to go for some relaxation - just don't get in any 'this-is-my-chair' fights at the pool

Just wanted to say Hi to everyone! My DH and I are taking our first trip to WDW and to the Poly in September, and I have learned SO much on here from you guys! We are staying GV and I requested either Tahiti or Tuvalu. I'm excited to see which of those, if either, we end up getting. It seems like such a beautiful resort though so I will be happy with anything!

Welcome to the DIS and Welcome to the Poly thread!

Just returned form the Poly last Monday from a 7 night stay. I was so excited to stay there. Mistake number one forgot to request a Longhouse. Got put in Rapi Nui at least a 10 minute walk to the Great Ceremonial House. Dresser drawer was broken and they never came to fix it. I notices some paint peeling between the beds. All in all the room was in good shape and a bit of a smell in the hallways. I read a lot of negative reviews on the Poly before I left and said people were just exaggerating. I now see some truth to their complaints. Would I stay there again? Yes, as long as I don't get put back in the boondocks. I think when people pay a premium price they expect more. I am also a travel agent so I am aware of the high price to stay on the monorail but will return to my favorite Contemporary at Christmas time. Not to discourgage anyone form staying there just request a Long House and don't expect a new resort.

Thanks, Zuzu03. It is a bit strange that there doesn't seem to be rules about it at the Disney resorts. Just glad someone didn't that that sounded pompous!



Yay! Here too! Will be our first family trip to WDW in September (hubby and girlie's first time ever and my first to Poly). This board and this thread in particular (old and new) have been an invaluable source of information. Of course, I have no clue how our trip will go in September but this group of Poly-addicts are certainly enough to make you biased before you even check in! They're like the Poly-Enablers.

These kind of reports, which are not isolated, is what scares the beejus out of me about staying at the Polynesian. I've been lucky enough to stay at a lot of nice hotels in my life, for work and play, but the Poly is just about the most expensive I've ever paid out of pocket for and, at those prices, I'm certainly expecting more than Motel 6-level upkeep.

Not to be a drag, it's just (as I said in another thread and therefore won't rehash at length here) our first-ever "family" vacation, our first-ever stay at Disney and a great deal of money. Something we won't be able to repeat for three or four years, at least. As it's my idea, and I have a reluctant hubby on this deal (he wanted to wait a few years to take our son, who will be almost 4 when we go), I feel a lot of (self-imposed) pressure to get it "right."

Some thoughts about paying for the Poly and certain expectations....

No resort is perfect and you don't want to have any expectations that the resort can't live up to because they don't do those things. For instance, if you pay for garden view and expect to be upgraded, or given free food in the lounge, that is an unrealistic expectation.

As for Disney, I have learned that the price you pay to stay onsite is all about LOCATION. And with the Poly, you pay a price especially for the monorail location. In addition, you pay for the theming. You can pay less to stay at an offsite Hilton, but you won't get a volcano pool that looks out to Cinderella's castle. I think this is the biggest thing to keep in mind because you do have an option to stay at a very nice hotel for less but you won't get the Disney theming or location.

As for the rooms, I agree that I have found hotel rooms to have broken items or 'worn-down'. But I travel a lot and this is not isolated to Disney. The best advice that I can give as a frequent traveler is to inspect your room before you unpack. Check the beds for bugs, flush the toilet to make sure it works, do a visual inspection of the room, check the lights & TV, make sure you have enough coffee, towels, etc. Once that is complete, call the front desk and let them know if the room is so unacceptable you need another one or for your requests so they can fix the situation. Even at the uber-nice Tahitian hotel I stayed at in an over-the-water bungalow needed an inspection (and a call to the front desk) and I assure you that this room was much more expensive than the rooms at the Poly.

As members of the DIS, you also know to look for information and ask questions about the resorts. You are much more informed as to what to expect! So you won't be shocked if Captain Cooks is crowded or people are confused as to how to order. You won't be shocked that you can't get a reservation at Ohanas even though you are staying at the resort.

So think about what you are expecting to get out of the amount of money you are spending. If your expectations are not what the Poly is about, then by all means stay somewhere else so you won't feel you have 'wasted' your money! I totally understand because I am a miser! But alas, I am also a Poly addict (or enabler ) and I do know what else is out there and I choose the Poly! (And a discount always helps!)

Now that Captian Morgan came out with the Plastic Handle insted of Glass, I am soooooo packing a bottle in my suitcase. I was always scared to pack the glass bottle and have it break all over our clothes

Oh, good idea!!!

I keep thinking of dumb questions to ask but I'll ask anyway!

What do you all do with your bag, room keys, shoes etc. when you're down at the pool? I don't want to take up a lounge chair especially since we'll actually be in the pool and not lounging. ("Lounging" is a foreign concept with a 3 year old anyway.)

I have a 'beach' bag that I use for the pool. I only have flip flops, cover-up, towels, maybe some snacks and drinks, and then my id and room key (to buy adult drinks). We typically snag a table and have one person there at all times but if we are all in the pool at once, we just tuck the id/room key in a spot and cover it with all of our stuff usually on a chair.

If you don't want to use a chair (and how sweet of you to realize that other people do want to lounge!), there are spots near the beach area that you can put your items but it will be on a sandy beach so make sure you put your items in a bag first.

Oh, and there is a locker room in the "volcano" you can put your items too!

 

[bluejasmine]

How much are the lockers?

 

[mdrob214]

What did you order? I have ADRs for Narcoossee and this is the one ADR I have been debating whether to keep.

I ordered the lobster--it was good but not great. DH had the surf n turf--again, good but not great. DS had a shrimp dish--he loved it. DS and I shared the crab cake appetizer and it was fabulous. DD had the steak--it was not good. Poor cut of meat, but cooked as she ordered. The potatoes she had were amazing, though. I am not a picky person, but I feel that when I go out for dinner I should get good food. I was disappointed. It was far from the worst meal out I've ever had. The view was great, as was the service.

Are there lots of seats available to watch the Water Parade and fireworks from the beach? Would we be smart to bring a beach blanket?

The beach seems to get worse every year in terms of how many people show up to watch. If I had to go by the times in the past 4 years that I have been there, I would say to either get there early, or bring a blanket.

We were returning from the TTC last year and Wishes was just ending. The amount of people on the path to the TTC heading towards it was almost shocking. Especially considering the time of year (mid September).

I don't mean to sound like the Poly is overrun, but the "secret" is definitely out, hehe.

Yes, the weekend of the 16th of July it was quite crowded. People were already there snagging chairs at 8:00.

Funny, I was going to say that we had no troubles finding chairs the week after July 4. The resort was packed, too. (We didn't go out there the 3rd or 4th, although they had roped the beach off and it said for WDW guests only. They also handed out wristbands at the pool on the 4th and took in 1st floors guests' patio furniture on the 4th so people looking to watch from the beach didn't abscond with it!) We went out 2x --about 45 min before the fireworks--and got chairs. We did have to drag them so they were all together, but that was no problem.

These kind of reports, which are not isolated, is what scares the beejus out of me about staying at the Polynesian. I've been lucky enough to stay at a lot of nice hotels in my life, for work and play, but the Poly is just about the most expensive I've ever paid out of pocket for and, at those prices, I'm certainly expecting more than Motel 6-level upkeep.

Not to be a drag, it's just (as I said in another thread and therefore won't rehash at length here) our first-ever "family" vacation, our first-ever stay at Disney and a great deal of money. Something we won't be able to repeat for three or four years, at least. As it's my idea, and I have a reluctant hubby on this deal (he wanted to wait a few years to take our son, who will be almost 4 when we go), I feel a lot of (self-imposed) pressure to get it "right."

I will admit I felt the same as you. It really wasn't an issue for me, much to my relief.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts! I too was 'avoiding' the boards for a few days because I was so upset. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you all are so kind and supportive. It was an incredibly hard decision (shouldn't I spend more money on him??? maybe he's really ok???) and this weekend we realized it was very much the right decision. He too seemed to be 'normal' and I was having a hard time with the decision but I realized that there were lots of behavioral changes that had happened in the past year and I was being a bit blind to it since he's my baby. And 16+ is an OLD age for a cat! So I empathize with those that are going through the decision too.

You know, it only means we are caring beings that we don't rush out and put our animals down at the first sign of distress. But it also means that we are caring beings because we do make that decision for them and not let them suffer or just have a low quality of life because we can't let them go.

Not to make light of the situation but I am glad I don't have to worry about him when we go to the Poly next month. And I can say that now that it is August - Poly next month!

I am sorry for the loss of your furbaby.

How much are the lockers?

free! Just go to the boat rental counter (back side of volcano pool) and show them your id. We got a key for 2 lockers--1 men's and 1 women's--on checkout day and it was convenient.

 

[Missoutandabout]

I have a 'beach' bag that I use for the pool. I only have flip flops, cover-up, towels, maybe some snacks and drinks, and then my id and room key (to buy adult drinks). We typically snag a table and have one person there at all times but if we are all in the pool at once, we just tuck the id/room key in a spot and cover it with all of our stuff usually on a chair.

If you don't want to use a chair (and how sweet of you to realize that other people do want to lounge!), there are spots near the beach area that you can put your items but it will be on a sandy beach so make sure you put your items in a bag first.

Oh, and there is a locker room in the "volcano" you can put your items too!

Sweet info, thanks very much. Haven't been to a real resort in *ages* -- actually I can't remember the last time so I'm clueless about these things! The lockers sound great ... and thanks for the tip about the ID. Lapu lapu, here we come. Although the thought of having our very own bottle of coconut rum to share is appealing as well.

 

[bluejasmine]

LOL while we plan on enjoying some drinks from Tambu and the pool bar and CL we are also bringing a bottle of rum as well! NOt that Im a lush or anything! LOL!