ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Fall 2010 Edition

[Tinkerbellie16]

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)

The morning we left, it was 5 am ish and my husband realized he never picked up the photos he had taken at Aerosmith at the gift shop. He told them at the front desk and they took our info and said they would ship the photos to us. Sure enough, a few days later we had the photos and they didn't even charge us to ship it. I was really pleased with how accommodating they were! I'm always surprised when I hear of bad service at Poly check in/out since they've always been so nice - but that's my experience!

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!

Merry Christmas Rob! Any plans to go back in 2011??? I'm currently trying to convince my husband to go. It's taking a lot of pleading and a motorcycle (A used one that he saved up for, but still!) Unfortunately, we will probably stay at one of the resorts that has a villa. Our kids are getting older and we all want our own space. Once again - Poly PLEASE build some villas!!

 

[maiapapaya]

Merry Christmas Rob! Any plans to go back in 2011??? I'm currently trying to convince my husband to go. It's taking a lot of pleading and a motorcycle (A used one that he saved up for, but still!) Unfortunately, we will probably stay at one of the resorts that has a villa. Our kids are getting older and we all want our own space. Once again - Poly PLEASE build some villas!!

DVC at the Poly ... we would be so there!! Unfortunately I'm not sure where they would put them ... but we can still dream!

 

[maiapapaya]

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.

Wonderful sentiments Missus Toad! Wishing the same to all of our Poly peeps!

 

[miskamouskamickey]

Hi everyone! I had a quick question for you Poly CL veterans. Do you know if they do anything special on New Year's Eve for those staying in the club level???

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

DVC at the Poly ... we would be so there!! Unfortunately I'm not sure where they would put them ... but we can still dream!

I can't remember where I read this, but there was an article on where they could put villas. I guess there is some space between the Poly and the TTC that could be used or at least the person that wrote the article suggested they could fit some - but it would not be a huge amount of villas. I tried looking it up on the internet but couldn't find the article. If I find it, I'll post the link!

 

[BreezysMom]

Merry Christmas to all my Poly loving friends!!!!! :
:

 

[Tess]

Hi everyone! I had a quick question for you Poly CL veterans. Do you know if they do anything special on New Year's Eve for those staying in the club level???

When Chef Dick was still there, he did some special things for New Year's Eve. With the change in personnel I have no clue if the service is any more than the normal evening items. I thought I'd give you a reply in hopes that someone else might see the post. Perhaps someone will be there this year and could report back to us.

 

[leshunlenese]

merry chirstmasi had my 1st stay at the poly dec 12 week when it was freezing and i loved it. we stayed in aotearoa and we were upgraded to a lagoon view and i could see the castle and since it was sooo cold we were able to watch the fireworks from our room! I loved it!! and i hope to stay there again someday, i saved a bit for that stay which was great cause it was just me and my son and i loved having the monerail there. i would have struggled having to fold that stroller up on the busses. just wanted to share how much i loved it!! happy holidays , merry chirstmas!!

 

[colbyky]

Can someone tell me what are the hours of operation of the poly pools? Are they 24/7 or do they close at a certain time? Let me know - i am excited to know this.

Thanks!

 

[miskamouskamickey]

When Chef Dick was still there, he did some special things for New Year's Eve. With the change in personnel I have no clue if the service is any more than the normal evening items. I thought I'd give you a reply in hopes that someone else might see the post. Perhaps someone will be there this year and could report back to us.

Thank you for your message Tess. My family and I will actually be staying over for New Years and wanted to know what more or less we were in store in reference to the hotel. We've always done Epcot for New Years, but we've opted to stay at the hotel this year.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Can someone tell me what are the hours of operation of the poly pools? Are they 24/7 or do they close at a certain time? Let me know - i am excited to know this.

Thanks!

I have never seen hours posted for either pool and we have used them as late as 1 am (quietly). The only thing I am aware of is that you can not use the volcano pool slide when there is not a lifeguard there but the pool itself stays 'open' (but the waterfall is turned off as well).

 

[esmerelda51]

I have really enjoyed the Holiday Fireworks shown live by someone's webcam.
Does anyone know if these are being shown this year? By the way I had a great stay in Nov, having endured my chemo and radiation treatment. I am free of cancer at this point and am going back to work after the 1st of the year.It was so good to see all the Holiday Decorations and shows. Had one of those great rms in T..... (that is the best kept secret)third fl Theme Park view. Watched the fireworks and boat parade almost every night. Keep in mind that even when fireworks are listed only some nights at this time, there are fireworks every night due to MVMCP. These are different from the regular ones and seemed a bit longer I usually go alone, but was so grateful that my brother went with me since I was not up to full strength yet. He stayed a week and then a friend came down from Atlanta to stay with me for a few days. If anyone remembers some of my questions in Oct, I took things slow and the monorail ramps at Epcot did not cause too much trouble did not have to use a taxi to come back and Disney is great at placing benches. Treated my brother to the dessert party on the night of the MVMCP Both were fun but the late night was a bit tireing. Please feel free to ask any questions about doing WDW when not at 100 %.

 

[coopersmom]

... I wouldn't let a couple of bad reviews (which seem heavily based on the miserable weather, which would affect your stay at any resort) scare you off. We had a great experience.

I'm (truly) glad your stay was great but the fact is my initial review mentioned the unusually cold weather only in passing (it's one line of quite a long review). And the other two reviews posted soon after also had plenty of non-weather related issues, many of them the same as I experienced.

I'm not trying to browbeat anyone with my opinion, and to each their own, but it's simply not accurate to say that the Polynesian issues detailed recently were "heavily based" on weather--a factor clearly outside of any resort's control.

EDITED TO NOTE: I reread what I'd written and didn't want it to come off as an attack on the quoted poster--which I didn't intend at all--simply an observation. I, too, read negative reviews of the Polynesian here prior to my stay and was led to believe by follow-up posts from Polynesian fans that the issues listed were over-exaggerated, incredibly rare or simply a matter of personal preference. Service questions aside (since those can vary greatly depending on the person and the day), having stayed there myself, I truly believe the Polynesian has quite widespread physical problems that make it nowhere near a "deluxe" resort, even by Disney's less-than-rigorous standards. (Perhaps that is true of all Disney deluxe resorts, I don't know. I've only ever stayed at this one.)

Some love the resort so much they can (apparently) happily ignore those shortcomings and muddle through maintenance issues, and I'm not knocking that, but I was very disappointed, even though I don't think I had overly high expectations, and was prepared for less-than-perfect. Somewhat serious problems with our room I brought to the staff's attention (broken bed, non-working DVD player, bathroom door that wouldn't close) were never remedied, even when brought up repeatedly during our week-long stay. And, frankly, they didn't seem that concerned, or surprised, by any of the issues I mentioned. To me, that's baffling for even a highway Hampton Inn, let alone the prices charged at the Polynesian.

 

[maiapapaya]

I'm (truly) glad your stay was great--and I'm not trying to scare anybody--but the fact is my initial review mentioned the unusually cold weather only in passing (it's one line of quite a long review). And the other two reviews posted soon after also had plenty of non-weather related issues, many of them the same as I experienced.

I'm not trying to browbeat anyone with my opinion, and to each their own, but it's just not accurate to say that the Polynesian issues detailed recently were "heavily based" on weather--a factor clearly outside of any resort's control.

The comments I was referring to on the page where I replied did seem to be affected by the weather -it seemed to be the biggest issue in the comments I saw on that page. The point I was trying to make to the ppl that were worried that they had booked a bad resort was that just a week or so earlier we had had a very positive stay at the Poly and that sometimes something negative, like unexpectedly miserable weather, can really affect the tone of a trip and how people react to or feel about other aspects of their stay. It seemed from the posts I read (eg. another woman referred to their trip as the trip from h*** and a disaster, you mentioned how crappy it was being stuck indoors so much and how you were angry that you weren't refunded for the party ...) that this might have been the case with some of the comments. I had not seen your initial post which was a page or so back. Having gone and read it you definitely had things to complain about - although you even said there that you might have felt differently about the Poly had you not been so cooped up and able to enjoy some of the outdoor activities. Everyone's experiences are different. Everyone's opinions are affected by different factors. That was my point.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I'm (truly) glad your stay was great but the fact is my initial review mentioned the unusually cold weather only in passing (it's one line of quite a long review). And the other two reviews posted soon after also had plenty of non-weather related issues, many of them the same as I experienced.

I'm not trying to browbeat anyone with my opinion, and to each their own, but it's simply not accurate to say that the Polynesian issues detailed recently were "heavily based" on weather--a factor clearly outside of any resort's control.

EDITED TO NOTE: I reread what I'd written and didn't want it to come off as an attack on the quoted poster--which I didn't intend at all--simply an observation. I, too, read negative reviews of the Polynesian here prior to my stay and was led to believe by follow-up posts from Polynesian fans that the issues listed were over-exaggerated, incredibly rare or simply a matter of personal preference. Service questions aside (since those can vary greatly depending on the person and the day), having stayed there myself, I truly believe the Polynesian has quite widespread physical problems that make it nowhere near a "deluxe" resort, even by Disney's less-than-rigorous standards. (Perhaps that is true of all Disney deluxe resorts, I don't know. I've only ever stayed at this one.)

Some love the resort so much they can (apparently) happily ignore those shortcomings and muddle through maintenance issues, and I'm not knocking that, but I was very disappointed, even though I don't think I had overly high expectations, and was prepared for less-than-perfect. Somewhat serious problems with our room I brought to the staff's attention (broken bed, non-working DVD player, bathroom door that wouldn't close) were never remedied, even when brought up repeatedly during our week-long stay. And, frankly, they didn't seem that concerned, or surprised, by any of the issues I mentioned. To me, that's baffling for even a highway Hampton Inn, let alone the prices charged at the Polynesian.

I am kinda at a loss of words. I think everyone reading this thread understands you had a very disappointing stay at the Poly. There were many factors including maintenance issues, less-than-helpful CMs, bad weather, etc. You are validated in feeling somewhat cheated of the magical experience others have experienced at the Poly. I do not think it is fair, however, to dwell on the negative. There are others on this thread who are excited about their upcoming trips and want to focus on the positive. I am sure you can appreciate the brighter side of your experience as well as the darker side and chalk it up to a lesson learned and move on to something more positive for yourself as well/ No hostility here...just a wish to move on.

 

[BreezysMom]

I have really enjoyed the Holiday Fireworks shown live by someone's webcam.
Does anyone know if these are being shown this year? By the way I had a great stay in Nov, having endured my chemo and radiation treatment. I am free of cancer at this point and am going back to work after the 1st of the year.It was so good to see all the Holiday Decorations and shows. Had one of those great rms in T..... (that is the best kept secret)third fl Theme Park view. Watched the fireworks and boat parade almost every night. Keep in mind that even when fireworks are listed only some nights at this time, there are fireworks every night due to MVMCP. .

I am glad to hear that you had a nice trip I hope your health continues to improve and you stay cancer free

The person that usually posts the live NYE fireworks tecDavidt, does not seem to be going to the Poly this year. From my research, it seems like he is doing a cruise in March but I will check the streaming site on NYE and see if anyone is streaming live and post the link if someone is

I found it last year and posted the link here so keep a look out for it on NYE...I will do my best. Hopefully someone will be streaming live. I just checked it and no one is streaming live right now from the Poly.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday? Santa was good to me! I got lots of gifts cards that I am storing away for a few months to buy myself some new clothing for our May trip! I got a few things for Christmas, like some travel bags and other various things on my wish list that of course I had Disney in mind when asking for it and am already starting to put some things in my "disney box". It is totally pathetic! DD also got a few Disney gift cards to start stock piling that spendng money

Now that Christmas is over, all you slackers that just went in December can start uploading some pics and sharing your TRs and share some photo therapy with us PLEASE

Happy Boxing Day to our Canadian Poly lovers! Never really understood the holiday but just wanted to extend the greeting

Aloha friends

 

[maiapapaya]

Now that Christmas is over, all you slackers that just went in December can start uploading some pics and sharing your TRs and share some photo therapy with us PLEASE

Happy Boxing Day to our Canadian Poly lovers! Never really understood the holiday but just wanted to extend the greeting

Aloha friends

Guilty slacker here. I actually had planned on doing pictures tonight, but I've been working on figuring out the new laptop my awesome DH surprised me with for Christmas! I promise I will get to it in the next couple of days.

Re Boxing Day: It apparently has it's origins in England. The day after Christmas people would present their household staff with boxes of gifts & food or "hand-me-down" items. Now it mainly involves lazing around, playing with your new toys and eating turkey left overs. Here in ON it is actually a government legislated holiday for most people, unless you work in retail - then you have to endure the hordes of Boxing Day shoppers who stampede to the stores looking for bargains (although if you work it your employer has to pay you overtime).

 

[BreezysMom]

Thanks for the Boxing Day explanation. Sounds about the same here is the US, except it is not an official holiday and you certainly don't get paid holiday pay

So I see our NYE streamer has checked into the Poly as of yesterday but they did not get the room thet wanted. There is a thread, that has now been locked, otherwise I would have posted on it! I hope that have a decent view but they state that there is foilage and so forth. There were some not so nice responses but those DISers obviously don't understand how we all LOVE his live feeds!

I hope they get everything squared away!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Guilty slacker here. I actually had planned on doing pictures tonight, but I've been working on figuring out the new laptop my awesome DH surprised me with for Christmas! I promise I will get to it in the next couple of days.

Re Boxing Day: It apparently has it's origins in England. The day after Christmas people would present their household staff with boxes of gifts & food or "hand-me-down" items. Now it mainly involves lazing around, playing with your new toys and eating turkey left overs. Here in ON it is actually a government legislated holiday for most people, unless you work in retail - then you have to endure the hordes of Boxing Day shoppers who stampede to the stores looking for bargains (although if you work it your employer has to pay you overtime).

Too funny My kids asked me about boxing day several weeks ago when I flipped the calendar to Dec....I had no idea what it was about. Sounds like a very cool holiday. Thanks for the info.

That streaming video sounds awesome. I hope they can get the details worked out. Do they then upload the video to youtube or ??? We are going to bed early this NYE. Totally lame, I know, but it is the first year in some time we have decided to skip the whole NYE get-togethers.

I am SO CURIOUS about this quiet pool redesign. If they are going to make it zero entry, I hope they increase the footprint a little and add more umbrella tables.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

Alright, I'm finally getting around to a little mini-review...

We had a WONDERFUL time at the Poly. We arrived around 12:30 and were whisked away to Hawaii to check in with Barbie (absolute darling!!). Our rooms weren't ready yet, but we received a text within half an hour that they were. There were a few minor imperfections that I wouldn't have even noticed had I not gone in with a DIS mind. And now that I'm thinking back, I can't even remember what they were...I think one had to do with the shower. Anyway, that tells you how major they were. The only issue I had was a giant muddy patch right outside our room's (1517) patio. Perfect for little feet to stomp through. The kids were pretty good about trying (at least pretending) to avoid it.

The CL CMs were wonderful, and they were always ready to bend over backwards, forwards and sideways to help us with whatever we needed. I have to say, I also really enjoyed having our purchases delivered directly to our rooms. Being that we had TPV rooms and the lounge (and the chilly nighttime temps), we never watched the fireworks or EWP from the beach, but it was pretty empty every night. There were usually a few people in front of the lounge window, but when we watched from our room, no one was ever that far down.

One night they canceled the Spirit of Aloha, and a lot of the dancers were in the lobby outside 'Ohana. I was getting a Lapu Lapu for myself and a Lapu Sprite () for the kids to enjoy in the lounge, so I was hanging by the bar by myself (kids were in the lounge with the rest of the fam) and enjoyed that while waiting for the pineapples. I will mention that the bartender left a little to be desired, but the occurence of a CM falling short was so rare that I decided to write it off. We never did make it to the torch lighting (after four trips of trying). One day, one day...

We ate at Captain Cook's a couple times, and it was always a pleasant experience. Easy, quick ordering, fast service, yummy food. What more can you ask for, really?

I was a little sad about trying a new resort next time and not being able to be back home at the Poly, but I've been given the green light to book a split stay between WL and the Poly, CL and best view possible (yea for TPV at the Poly!!!) at both!! I'm going to relax for a bit and start planning in the new year for our October 2011 trip!!

And now...PICTURES!!!

And this one's just for me...we take a pic each year right here to see how much the kids have changed. We lost last year's when we lost a camera at the Poly (literally minutes after taking this picture ), but just throwing this one in there because I can't believe how big my babies are getting!!

All in all, a great vacation at a great resort, and we can't wait to return to the Poly!!