jkstewart1800
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2008
- Messages
- 1,247
We got back at 5am Monday morning after leaving the Poly for a 7 night stay at Club Level. This was our second go around at the Poly but the first for Club Level.
We arrived on Sunday the first around 9:30am. We had our own car and like others had mentioned, upon arrival we were given a yellow CL piece of paper by the security gate. I also had the printed out letter that was sent to me from IPO. We were greeted promptly and bell services took our luggage and my husband went to park the car. We were offered a ride on the 'club car' but I said that I preferred to walk ( I guess I was so excited to be there!!!)
When I arrived at the Hawaii building I realized that I didn't have a key to get in... I had to wait for someone to see me so that I could check in. A garden view room was ready for us and we jumped at the chance of getting settled. I told the CM that we had more family meeting us and that I was going to wait for them at the GCH. The CM said he would call Bell Services and have our luggage delivered while we were out. The problem is that Bell Services will not deliver luggage to an empty room. And the room is considered empty if the GUEST is not there... CM don't count. Oh well, when my family arrived and we all headed back to our room I called Bell Services and they brought the luggage within 10 minutes.
My Aunt and Uncle joined us on this trip. And they were in Somoa Building. When they checked in the CM keyed their cell phone number in wrong, so they never got a voicemail or text message that their room was ready.... we eventually had to call. On the upside, they had keys already and once we were told the room number we were good to go. On the upside (twice) the CM really worked hard to get my family in Somoa so that they were close to the Hawaii building.
The gift shop was next on the to do list. I was pleased to see that there was a lot of Poly related merch this year that I hadn't remembered from previous years. They also have Tommy Bahamas merch there too, which I didn't remember seeing before either... on the down side, no Poly t-shirts for little boys.
This trip was also the first time we went to Ohana's for dinner. And like pretty much any other restaurant at WDW your experience relies heavily on how good your server is at playing their "role". Our 'cousin' must have been having a off day... she was prompt and the food was good - there was nothing really special about the meal.... My husband had the vegan meal.... the chef came out to talk with him before hand... which was nice... but our server kept offering him the meat every time she came around to our table... and then she would go "Oh right... sorry"
I will say that if you were thinking about going, go.... it was fun to do once. We didn't witness anyone dancing in the aisles and the kids games came VERY late in the meal and were pretty short... but they were a nice touch.
If/when you go, don't be scared at the check in line.... it is LONG but moves fast. So does the bartender at the Tambu Lounge...We got our Lapu Lapus right away despite there being a HUGE crowd! (note there are no umbrellas no cherries or fancy napkins though)
The GCH was just as beautiful as ever, it has wonderful smell to it... that can never be duplicated. And although the lobby is smaller than most other Deluxe Resorts it never feels crowded.
This was our first time at CL. And we were on a 40% discount code.... and at that rate I really thought CL was nice. Not essential. Yes, you could grab a beer whenever you wanted, and yes it was nice to have the sodas handy 24/7. But like some others have mentioned I was disappointed with the breakfast offerings. They needed some other warm choices... and maybe some different cold cereal choices too...
The afternoon cookies were good, but they also give out free cookies at the GCH at 3:00 everyday anyway. The evening offerings were tasty, but besides tiding you over until your dinner reservation... I am not sure what else they are good for.
Captain Cooks was as amazing as ever... I had the grown up grilled cheese twice... I also had the poly salad and Hawaiian flatbread (minus the ham - you can request that sort of change/omission when you pay). Everything always looked fresh. I can understand that there is a learning curve when you first step into the ordering area... it is a bit backwards and it does make you back track in a triangle from ordering to market choices to paying to picking up. It helps once you learn the system, the problem arrises when others haven't learned the system and they clog up the check out ladies...
On to Mousekeeping. We had a bit of a rough start with this. The first day we didn't get turn down service and then the next we didn't get regular housekeeping service. At each instance I spoke with the Concierge... and some CM were more apologetic than others (the heat really was taking its toll on everyone) and eventually it was resolved. And for the rest of our stay we had PERFECT service ! Lots of cool animals and stuff animal arrangements.... I only have a few pictures because my 3 year old sometimes got to them before we could snap shot! This was such a fun thing for the boys... and me too!
Day two of our trip we received a specail 20% off Photopass Card and a large chocolate bar with a picture of the Poly on it with a welcome letter for our family. I think the photopass card (with paper frame and picture of Mickey) was because we were celebrating our Anniversary and maybe the chocolate bar with picture was just a CL thing. Either way they were nice touches ... pixie dust!
At one point I did borrow a broom to sweep the woodchips off the patio (we were on the first floor). The sunday we arrived there was a HUGE rain storm and I think it kind of floods the grass and it pushed the chips all around. I know I could have called Mouekeeping and have them do it, but it would have been later in the day and we were having breakfast outside that morning. I have learned from other stays on property that Mousekeeping (in general) doesn't do the patio/balconey unless requested.
The location of the Hawaii building couldn't be beat. We were close to everything... the monorail, both pools, CC, and the Neverland club (which we used twice - a separate review is coming) We watched the fireworks and the EWP several time from the beach and only encountered bugs once... they were odd bugs too, like noseeums or something, they didn't really bite, but you could feel them.
The heat was very intense this year. It was hotter than the past two Augusts we have come to WDW. And we live in Southwest Texas for 5 years... so that is saying something! It was so hot that some of the buildings around the world had their AC go down... it was so hot that it was getting to the guests and the CM... no one was overtly rude or anything it was just that it seemed to wear on everyone...
My only real complaint and one that nothing really can be done about is the LOUD beach party pool games that are held at the volcano pool EVERY DAY from 12-6. I know that some people, especially kids really like the games... but what I objected to was the horribly LOUD pop music that was played during the whole thing.... it was SO loud.... and the speaker is right by the zero entry area so when I was trying to sit there with my family we couldn't hear ourselves talk... let alone a child calling out to a parent. When I asked about the level of volume the CM said that the music has to be loud enough so that the other end of the pool can hear it... problem is that the other end of the pool has a big water slide with gushing water pouring out of it.... so they have to turn the music up.... I was told that EVERY hotel on Disney property was having these 'beach party' music activities.... it was a new thing Disney was doing.... they had to double their recreational budget and staff. After coming back from a long hot day at the parks, the LAST thing I wanted to hear was LOUD music blaring around the beautiful volcano pool and beach.... but this was a WDW wide thing... not just a Poly thing... so there was nothing really to be said or done about it... I am just letting others know!
We finished off our stay at the Poly with a bike rental and we tooled around the hotel taking everything in... it was fabulous and the Poly is fabulous, I can’t imagine staying anywhere else. We check out a couple other hotels on this trip... thinking maybe we should shake things up the next time we come.... but in our eyes... nothing is better than .... well... you know!!!
Continued health to you!
