ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Fall 2010 Edition

[Mrs. Charming]

So you expected Disney to compensate you for the weather? Your mad because you did not get a lei or button?

Oh gosh, no. It's just like, c'mon, really? It's your (the front desk person's) job to hand these (free) things out and be a representative of the company who not coincidentally is promoting "making memories happen." I get friendlier service at the Mc Donalds up the road! I don't expect compensation for a darn thing, I just expect what I paid for-- a "Deluxe" resort.

 

[clanmcculloch]

For the remote, we were told that you have to actually request one because when they leave them in the rooms, they tend to grow legs and disappear. I can understand this. We were given a remote when we asked though we did have to go exchange the first one they gave us because not all the buttons seemed to work. It would be nice if there was some kind of sign in the room saying that you need to ask for the remote, or maybe even just have the club CMs who check out the DVDs ask guests if they already have a DVD player remote when picking up a DVD. It would be helpful.

 

[coopersmom]

For the remote, we were told that you have to actually request one because when they leave them in the rooms, they tend to grow legs and disappear. I can understand this. We were given a remote when we asked though we did have to go exchange the first one they gave us because not all the buttons seemed to work. It would be nice if there was some kind of sign in the room saying that you need to ask for the remote, or maybe even just have the club CMs who check out the DVDs ask guests if they already have a DVD player remote when picking up a DVD. It would be helpful.

We asked. And asked. And asked again. Because we were really trying to use it. (Had brought DVDs specifically and my son was asking to watch them.) We asked twice a day for three days before being told they don't exist. (They replaced our remote daily ... With another remote that doesn't work the DVD player.)

We kept asking, and even asked again after the first person told us they didn't exist, because we just couldn't believe it. I mean a DVD player (with remote) costs about $20 at Wal-Mart these days (and these were basic players), so it just didn't add up for us. The idea they really didn't have remotes just made no sense, so we thought (hoped?) the person just must be confused/mis-informed, but we received the same answer from everyone else too. I think we eventually spoke with every single one of the 4-6 people that worked the club front desk during our stay.

Even if the DVD player just had a full complement of buttons we could access on the front (menu, fast-forward) that would have been a lot better.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Has there been any update (or rumor) on how they are going to update the east pool? I just love the deep end and really hope they don't get rid of it!

Thanks poly peeps!

 

[clanmcculloch]

The tikiman site still says the east/quiet pool is going to be refurbed. http://www.tikimanpages.com/tiki/news/179-end-of-the-year-report (under Updates around the Resort) The site doesn't say if the deep end will be affected but I bet it will be since they're adding a zero entry area. That'll stink since my kids love the deep end of the quiet pool.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

The tikiman site still says the east/quiet pool is going to be refurbed. http://www.tikimanpages.com/tiki/news/179-end-of-the-year-report (under Updates around the Resort) The site doesn't say if the deep end will be affected but I bet it will be since they're adding a zero entry area. That'll stink since my kids love the deep end of the quiet pool.

I'm with you - my family loves having the deep end there! In fact, I now look at the depth of the pools for resorts or hotels we are visiting and pick hotels with deeper pools! I haven't found a lot on Disney property. Hmmm, I should go ask that question on the boards...

 

[bethclayton]

WOW We have an upcoming first stay at the poly and Im a little concerned about all the negative comments lately. Weather I can deal with but all the other problems are not helping with what I kinda expect the poly to be like, We have stayed at the yacht club and the caribbean beach on previuos tripsand can say our stays at those 2 resorts have always been great along with all the cms we encountered. Really starting to wonder if we should have just booked the cbr was debating on going cl but booked lagoon view and Im glad that I didnt upgrade to cl from what I have read, since we are only there for 2 nights it probably isnt worth it to us anyway.I have always wanted to try out the poly and I just hope we aren t dissapointed and do indeed have a magical time there. Guess the only possitive thing would be if we didnt like it future stays on resort would be alot cheaper as we would be booking at the cbr LOL

We just returned from our first trip there and I loved this resort and would even prefer a garden view room at poly over one at the GF! There were some things, but to me they were small and I would be thrilled to stay there again. I love the atmosphere and location. Both our rooms were clean. Believe me, I can find anything to complain about wherever I am, I am no Susie Sunshine, but really, we found the Poly to be delightful.

 

[mommylovespoly]

We asked. And asked. And asked again. Because we were really trying to use it. (Had brought DVDs specifically and my son was asking to watch them.) We asked twice a day for three days before being told they don't exist. (They replaced our remote daily ... With another remote that doesn't work the DVD player.)

We kept asking, and even asked again after the first person told us they didn't exist, because we just couldn't believe it. I mean a DVD player (with remote) costs about $20 at Wal-Mart these days (and these were basic players), so it just didn't add up for us. The idea they really didn't have remotes just made no sense, so we thought (hoped?) the person just must be confused/mis-informed, but we received the same answer from everyone else too. I think we eventually spoke with every single one of the 4-6 people that worked the club front desk during our stay.

Even if the DVD player just had a full complement of buttons we could access on the front (menu, fast-forward) that would have been a lot better.

This is one of those times I'd be pushing back BIG TIME. But then, maybe not at Disney-- my husband HATES it when I do push back and at Disney I might just keep my mouth shut to keep the peace. But I wonder how many times people bite their tongue because its Disney and so they get away with this kind of deplorable service.

I am not trying to blame the victim here, btw-- just throwing out the idea that bad service is a self perpetuating cycle because the nicer more reasonable guests tend to bite their tongue because "its Disney" and their kids are there, etc.

 

[Tess]

I'm with you - my family loves having the deep end there! In fact, I now look at the depth of the pools for resorts or hotels we are visiting and pick hotels with deeper pools! I haven't found a lot on Disney property. Hmmm, I should go ask that question on the boards...

It is my understanding (from the recreation staff when we visited) that the deep end will be gone when the pool is completely renovated. No solid information was available about a hot tub. The lack of a hot tub is of no concern to me, we don't use them, but it really is a drag that they were "leveling" out the pool and doing away with the deep end. Frankly, it was the only way to get away from the wee ones on the steps.

 

[boundfordisney]

thanks everyone for the input, I agree that each resort can have a few problems now and again, I am putting my concerns aside and plan on having a great stay!I expect it to be on the cold side but will pack warm clothing so that shouldnt be that big of a problem.Hey Im even looking forward to the disney magic express bus from the airport to the resort, its disney and I love every miniute of it including the getting there!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

It is my understanding (from the recreation staff when we visited) that the deep end will be gone when the pool is completely renovated. No solid information was available about a hot tub. The lack of a hot tub is of no concern to me, we don't use them, but it really is a drag that they were "leveling" out the pool and doing away with the deep end. Frankly, it was the only way to get away from the wee ones on the steps.

We actually like the east pool more than the volcano pool and it has to do with the deep end and the availability of chairs and swimming space. I am biting my nails wondering what they are going to do to it!

 

[BreezysMom]

I have to say regarding the quiet pool, that in my few trips there, I do not recall seeing many people using it. Especially our CL garden view we had a direct view of the pool and there were maybe a few families using it here and there. Mostly I would see an adult sitting on a chair reading a book or so forth.

My thinking is that the Poly is trying to possibly lure more people, especially families with younger kiddos that may not use the slide, to the quiet pool so the volcano pool is not so crowded all the time

I would not hold my breath for a hot tub though. With the pool hopping and the crowding on the beach for fireworks, I would imagine that a hot tub at the Poly would attract more of that behavior ten fold. "Hey, let's go to Ohana for dinner, chill in the Poly hot tub for a while and then watch the fireworks"

I too am eager to see what they are planning since I do stay GV Club. One of the reasons we moved our trip from late Feb to May is that I did not want to be there while the contruction was going on.


On a different note...I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season?

 

[3SmilingFaces]

We stayed at the Poly 11/28-12/4. Garden view Tokelau. We thought the CM's were quite helpful and friendly. More than once during our trip they went above and beyond to help us in any way we needed.

We got numerous celebration pins and leis at check in. We lost our pictures from Breakfast at Ohana's. They got another set printed out. Our welcome folder got water spilled on it, they made me a new one. Anything I requested for our room arrived in a timely manner (Kleenex, grocery delivery, pack-n-play, bell services). Our room was always clean by 3:00 p.m. We missed our dinner reservation at Citricos, they got us in 10 minutes later.

The last day, I basically threw some Mickey hats and my son's glow sword on the front desk and told them I needed them shipped back home and only had 5 minutes til the ME bus picked us up! They laughed and said preparing this to be shipped will take longer than 5 minutes. But they took my info and let me be on my way. 1 week later they arrived on my doorstep! ( I honestly thought that since I was a tad rude and very rushed, they would just write me off as the crazy lady, tell me they will be shipped, then not actually do it)

Now not everything was picture perfect, but we didn't expect it to be. We went to have wonderful, relaxing vacation and the Poly did not dissapoint

 

[rcsilverspring]

My family will definitely be disappointed if they take away the deep end of the quiet pool. Aside from the fact that there will be more kids there, they love to swim. Pretty hard to do with no deep end. And as a family of 6 adults, one of the best things about the quiet pool is that it IS quieter with less families with kids and the water probably "less polluted" if you get my drift.

 

[MomtoAlexnWilliam]

For those of you worried about your upcoming stay at Poly...we had a wonderful time from December 6th to the 13th. We got our room request --- Samoa 3rd floor, got leis at check in, had a clean room and GREAT CMs. We did have an issue with our HVAC but Jessie came and fixed it quickly and was super GREAT!!! We had towel animals left with plenty of soaps left each day.

It is now our favorite resort (over DTD hotels, over AKL and over All Star Sports).

The CMs in the parks couldn't have been nicer and the trip couldn't have been more magical.

 

[guitarob]

I just wanted to pop in and wish all of my Polynesian friends a Merry Christmas , Happy Holiday season, or an enjoyable last week of December (if you don't agree with the other choices ), and a Happy New Year.

I haven't disappeared, things have just been crazy around here, causing me to abandon my trip report and not post much. Maybe I'll finish up in 2011.

I hope the holiday season is wonderful to each and every one of you!

 

[Tess]

I just wanted to pop in and wish all of my Polynesian friends a Merry Christmas , Happy Holiday season, or an enjoyable last week of December (if you don't agree with the other choices ), and a Happy New Year.

I haven't disappeared, things have just been crazy around here, causing me to abandon my trip report and not post much. Maybe I'll finish up in 2011.

I hope the holiday season is wonderful to each and every one of you!

Right back at you Rob--glad to see you are still around!

 

[DrMomof3]

We're arriving at the Poly in 2 weeks!!! I can't wait. We're staying CL for the 1st time and I'm eager to see if we like that. I didn't make any room requests except adjoining rooms, if possible. We're bringing my parents along to help with the kids while I run my 1st 1/2 marathon. If we can get adjoining rooms, my parents won't have to wake up at 3:30am when I leave for the race! I know we'll be fine either way and my step-dad is particularly good early in the morning (my mom not so much ). DH hasn't decided if he's running or not. He hasn't really trained very much so I'd rather he didn't (I'm worried that he'll get hurt which would be difficult for all of us since we have 3 little kids and my mom is 72 and not as sprite as she used to be). I'm sure it'll be a wonderful trip regardless!

Merry Christmas!!!

Amanda

 

[Missus Toad]

Mele Kalikimaka to all on my favorite thread! May 2011 bring you another trip home.

With visions of tikis and Lapu Lapus dancing in my head,
M.T.

 

[BreezysMom]

I just wanted to pop in and wish all of my Polynesian friends a Merry Christmas , Happy Holiday season, or an enjoyable last week of December (if you don't agree with the other choices ), and a Happy New Year.

I haven't disappeared, things have just been crazy around here, causing me to abandon my trip report and not post much. Maybe I'll finish up in 2011.

I hope the holiday season is wonderful to each and every one of you!

Glad to see you I hope all is well with your world. Don't be such a stranger. Happy Holidays

Mele Kalikimaka to all on my favorite thread! May 2011 bring you another trip home.

With visions of tikis and Lapu Lapus dancing in my head,
M.T.

Back at you!!!