ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Fall 2010 Edition

[DISNEY1975]

My kids, 6 and 4, have no idea! We're planning on picking my first grader up from the school bus on 10/15 with all the luggage in the back of the SUV

Oh wow..we are surprising our DD6 the same way! We will be there 10/14 - 10/24..CANT WAIT! If you see a girl at the pool with LONG brown hair and a front tooth-less smile, that will be her!!

 

[guitarob]

guitarob
Your night pictures are stunning. Did you have to use a tripod? I'm starting on your trip report too.

Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like my pics.

For any night/morning shots I do use a tripod (I actually had to order one from Amazon this year and overnight it to the room, because I forgot to pack one). I usually use a mini pocket sized one, and find something to rest it on. They're really cheap, and really handy to have.

 

[guitarob]

Thank you to everyone for all the compliments!!

 

[jenjersnap]

Oh wow..we are surprising our DD6 the same way! We will be there 10/14 - 10/24..CANT WAIT! If you see a girl at the pool with LONG brown hair and a front tooth-less smile, that will be her!!

We are doing the same! The boys know we are going to Disney "sometime" because I made them try on some Disney shirts and we've been watching some youtube videos of rides to buck up my middle DS, but our plan is to keep the actual leaving a surprise ... just show up at school with our luggage in the back.

 

[LaniesMom]

I would just take the bus and here is another tip about them. Besides taking the bus from the Polynesian you can also walk to the TTC and get on a bus from there to Hollywood Studios which might be faster, because the bus from the Polynesian also shares with the Contemporary and Grand Floridian.

Thank you! I didn't know there were buses directly to the other parks from the TTC. I think we will do that. Much appreciated.

 

[vinotinto]

We also just got back on Sunday night from the Poly. It seems we were there at the same time as other DISers. We were in Tahiti - sooo close to the TTC and the parking lot. That really saved us a lot of time getting to/from parks. Pool was great and less crowded than what I expected. I actually liked it better than Stormalong Bay because it was smaller - I could supervise my DS without having to go up to the slide with him. I did notice loud music on a couple of afternoons, but not daily.

We were on the deluxe dining plan and ate and ate and ate some more. Did I mentioned we ate? Ohana and Kona Cafe were good. Captain Cooks was convenient and much better than the Marketplace on BC. We had 2 Kappuccinos from the Kona Bar every morning. They were a snack credit each and were real coffee. Coffee included at buffet breakfasts was undrinkable. We took the monorail to Narcoosee's and walked back. It was a pleasant walk and not far.

Only thing is that I expected the parks to be less crowded. But that may be just erroneous expectations on my part.

 

[Chelley00]

Oh wow..we are surprising our DD6 the same way! We will be there 10/14 - 10/24..CANT WAIT! If you see a girl at the pool with LONG brown hair and a front tooth-less smile, that will be her!!

We are sorta doing the same thing, only we have to wait until my mom gets here, which shouldn't be long after the bus arrives We are there the same time as you as well!!!! But neither of the kids have any idea they are going!

 

[guitarob]

Just thought I’d drop in with my two cents before I start on my full TR...

I'll add my "2, somewhat-brief cents" here instead of making a trip report. Everyone's recent trip reports are so great, figured I'd add mine as well albeit sans gorgeous pics!...

We also just got back on Sunday night from the Poly...

Thanks for the great reviews!!!

We should've organized a meet up while we were all there, I didn't realize so many of us were at the Poly at the same time.

 

[disneymumma]

I've posted the first part of our Trip Report, which will include plenty of photos, from our stay at the Poly CL last week here.

I hope you enjoy it!

Perfect timing, guys! I was soooooo just missing the Poly.

Thanks for all your hard work!

 

[Alabama Minnie]

DH and I just returned last night from our first stay at the POLY. It was such a great stay! We were in a TAHITI garden-view/room 3001 (close to elevator, ice machine, beach and TTC). I am now spoiled for life. Enjoyed it so much more than the Contemporary.

We ate breakfast twice at Kona and it was really good both times. I had the pineapple/mac.nut pancakes and DH had the eggs with smoked pork hash browns one morning and they were both great. The walk to the lobby from Tahiti was not that bad to us but we only ate there twice and went for a Dole whip one night.

The fireworks from the beach were just magical! No piped-in music though.

I am already trying to talk DH into going back in Feb. for our anniversary.
Maybe next time we can try Ohana.


My only complaint is that I wish they had the names on the sides of the buildings. It is a little hard to tell which is which at night.

 

[mom2travel]

OMG we just got back from 9 nights there and we were 1523!!!

That is so funny! Hi neighbor

 

[j9psu]

Can't speak to CL, but we love 1st floor regular GV. Our kids are the same age as yours! It just seems to give us more "space" for the week, as the kids can play out in the grass. Our previous trips, at least one of the kids napped, so DH and I (and 2nd trip DS), could sit outside, take turns going for a walk, going to get a snack, etc, without disturbing the sleeper. Works great for us and we'll request it again!

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I think you just confirmed my gut feeling. While it would be fun to have a view of the grounds and fireworks from the 3rd floor, I think we're much more likely to get use out of the patio--going to the pool, watching the fireworks or coming from and going to the beach. We'll be staying in a regular GV room, too. Thanks again for the info.!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thank you! I didn't know there were buses directly to the other parks from the TTC. I think we will do that. Much appreciated.

You're welcome and just so you know the TTC only has WDW buses that just go to only Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I just found this thread and it's taken me the better part of a week to read through the whole thing.

DH, DD (3) and I, along with my IL's are staying at Poly Dec 6th -10th. It's my 1st time staying on property as an adult and I couldn't be more excited that it's at The Polynesian.

DD is Disney obsessed already and it already brings tears to my eyes thinking about her reaction to not only MK and the parks, but to the resort itself.

All of your TR's and pictures are making it hard to concentrate on much else. Once we booked in June, I backed off the research, planning and plotting, but again with this thread it's started over.

Everyone is so kind here and I'll be coming back tomorrow to ask a few questions.

 

[Mollie Mooster]

We returned Sunday night from our first stay at Poly. We were in Tahiti room 3037. Great view of the Castle and Space Mountain. We are hooked! It was great! We are already planning a trip for December 2011 and can't imagine staying anywhere else.

 

[poeticeclipse]

I crawled out of bed today at 6:30 a.m. and the first thing I did before anything else was check our family into the Polynesian! I didn't do a room request... I have a gut feeling to just let the cards fall where they may. I'm not sure why I believe that. With a lagoon view though, I can't see anything "bad" happening.

Does anyone have an opinion on which busses are more efficient to use? TTC or Polynesians?

We are only 10 days out. Feels like a good round number. Tomorrow we will be in single digits!!

 

[vinotinto]

Does anyone have an opinion on which busses are more efficient to use? TTC or Polynesians?

We are only 10 days out. Feels like a good round number. Tomorrow we will be in single digits!!

We took the TTC bus to AK. It went there without stopping. The bus from Poly stops at one other resort (I can't remember if it's the Cr or the GF). However, the buses at the TTC depart from the far end of the TTC (you will pass the boat launch, the resort monorail, the MK monorail and the Epcot monorail, and then you will see the buses). So, if you are in a building near the Poly bus, you may be more comfortable just taking the Poly bus. Otherwise, I would recommend the TTC bus because it only goes to/from AK and DHS (please note bus service is ONLY to AK and DHS). The bus won't be full and it won't stop anywhere else.

 

[PixiePoppins]

The fireworks from the beach were just magical! No piped-in music though.

Really, no piped-in music?? Someone say it isn't so! Did any other recent visitors hear the fireworks music at the beach?? Guitarob, do you know??

 

[*~PrincessBelle~*]

Really, no piped-in music?? Someone say it isn't so! Did any other recent visitors hear the fireworks music at the beach?? Guitarob, do you know??

I watched regular wishes three nights and hallowishes twice from the beach at Poly...all nights except for one night of wishes the music was piped in...I think it was Sunday night that we didnt have music piped in...all other nights it was..

 

[TheNewMrsB]

I watched regular wishes three nights and hallowishes twice from the beach at Poly...all nights except for one night of wishes the music was piped in...I think it was Sunday night that we didnt have music piped in...all other nights it was..

This! Actually we didn't watch on Sunday from the beach, but we did see Hallowishes twice from the Poly and the music was there both times.