ALOHA! The Poly FAQ~ Spring 2010 Edition

[DADof2Princesses40]

Hi, Tom. Raratonga is the closest to the GCH....literally about 20 feet away. Niue is just a few feet farther. Another advantage of these two is that the entrance to the GCH closest to those longhouses is also steps away from the elevator for access to Kona, O'Hana and the monorail.


I agree to keep on trying for 'Ohana.

Happy planning!

BCV23, thanks for the tip on the elevator, I was there a couple years ago, and forgot all about it!

 

[TxMickeyLover]

It is on the disneyworld.com site now under special offers...thru oct 2 I think. I saw it yesterday when I was comparing our pricing using 40% PIN with the free dining that was also just released.

fyi- a poly gv room during value season comes to $219/nt using the 40% off

Yes, this is the one.

 

[caravarela]

So I was bouncing back and forth between Poly and GF for our next trip. I finally decided on and booked Poly for Nov 28-Dec 6. Yay!

We are staying there the same dates

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

We are staying there the same dates

I think we need another count of December first weekers!! I was kidding earlier in the thread, but it looks like we'll be taking over the Poly!!

 

[DebbyLof428]

It is on the disneyworld.com site now under special offers...thru oct 2 I think. I saw it yesterday when I was comparing our pricing using 40% PIN with the free dining that was also just released.

fyi- a poly gv room during value season comes to $219/nt using the 40% off

Thank you

 

[eeyorepixie]

Thanks Eeyorepixie! I already have been stalking the forums for cancellations, but the October thread hasn't even been created yet

And thanks for the tip about checking back about a month before...I will do that for sure!

It's not necessarily a month before, but if you have your ear to the ground...so to speak, you will hear of sudden ADR availability. KWIM? Good Luck, this is one time that being obsessive pays off. In addition, consistently post in the Dining trade forum what you are looking for, many times I have done this and people have PM'd me with an ADR. The DIS ROCKS

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

It's not necessarily a month before, but if you have your ear to the ground...so to speak, you will hear of sudden ADR availability. KWIM? Good Luck, this is one time that being obsessive pays off. In addition, consistently post in the Dining trade forum what you are looking for, many times I have done this and people have PM'd me with an ADR. The DIS ROCKS

I don't think that's allowed to happen anymore. They're just supposed to post cancellations and hope you can call at the time it's gone through the system. Bummer, too, 'cause I got rid of and gained some impossible ADRs that way.

45 days ahead is a good time to check again, too, because that's the point of no return, monetarily speaking. If people are going to cancel, that's a popular time to do it. Hopefully they'll remember to cancel their ADRs, too. If all else fails, I've heard of people having luck on the morning of (I've made those cancellations when we've decided to do something else) or trying to get a walk-up. Good luck!!

 

[Sunshine1987]

Does anyone know if Disney Gift Cards that can be used anywhere in WDW are available in the Poly gift shop? I had planned on ordering each of my kids a gift card online to use for souvenirs on our trip but I let time get away from me and now I don't have enough time!

Last year we just told them they could get one hat and one other item but this year I want to let them have a little more freedom to choose. And a gift card is more fun than cash!

 

[tiggspring]

Does anyone know if Disney Gift Cards that can be used anywhere in WDW are available in the Poly gift shop? I had planned on ordering each of my kids a gift card online to use for souvenirs on our trip but I let time get away from me and now I don't have enough time!

Last year we just told them they could get one hat and one other item but this year I want to let them have a little more freedom to choose. And a gift card is more fun than cash!

I'm not sure about the gift cards but I plan on trying Disney dollars. I think the kids will love them!

 

[Sunshine1987]

I'm not sure about the gift cards but I plan on trying Disney dollars. I think the kids will love them!

Great idea! I forgot about the Disney dollars. We got those on our 2004 trip! I still have a few. They will love those.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Great idea! I forgot about the Disney dollars. We got those on our 2004 trip! I still have a few. They will love those.

Where do you get them? Sounds like a great bday gift for DD10.

 

[Aristocath]

You can't buy Disney Dollars anymore. I heard you may still be able to get them at the parks in Guest Services but they are phasing them out. You can't get them at the Disney Store for sure. It is all gift cards now.

Do you have a Walgreens or grocery store that sells gift cards? My Walgreens and Tom Thumb sell Disney gift cards.

 

[taylor3297]

You have to buy the Disney Dollars at Guest Services. My sister just bought some for my kids about 2 weeks ago at MK guest services.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks. I will check Walgreens for gift cards.

 

[carlnix30]

Thanks. I will check Walgreens for gift cards.

You can get Disney gift cards at the gift shop at the Polynesian. you used to able to buy disney dollars at the Magic Kingdom customer relations, but i cannot find anything online about it anymore.

 

[weheartdisney]

I'm so excited that we are doing a split stay this time. August 8-11 we'll be at POFQ and Aug 11-14 we will be staying at the Poly for the first time!! I've always wanted to stay at the Poly and am really looking forward to it. We're not telling our boys and will surprise them during the trip. It will thrill my oldest b/c he's always wanted to stay there too.

Now to decide which longhouse to request. I know we want a balcony, but beyond that I have no clue which one would work better for us.

I'm enjoying reading this thread and can't wait to get there!!

 

[Sunshine1987]

You can get Disney gift cards at the gift shop at the Polynesian. you used to able to buy disney dollars at the Magic Kingdom customer relations, but i cannot find anything online about it anymore.

Thanks! If we can't find the dollars, at least I can get the gift cards!

 

[nonnasally]

Hoping your trip to the Poly is wonderful. We have stayed there five times over the last twenty years. Our favorite longhouse is the one which faces the main house along the marina. They have balconies on the third floor and patios on the first. Careful because many on the longhouses do not have balconies on the second floor. You can still open patio doors but there is nowhere to stand. Make requests up front when making reservations and then when you get to check in, ask to see where they are placing you on a map and have them show you the room. If it is not agreeable they usually will change it for you ( depending on how busy they are) We have never had a problem.
Have a great time!

 

[toddd]

Does anyone know if Disney Gift Cards that can be used anywhere in WDW are available in the Poly gift shop? I had planned on ordering each of my kids a gift card online to use for souvenirs on our trip but I let time get away from me and now I don't have enough time!

Last year we just told them they could get one hat and one other item but this year I want to let them have a little more freedom to choose. And a gift card is more fun than cash!

Yes you can use Disney Gift Cards at the Poly gift shop (and just about anywhere in WDW as far as I could tell). Our daughter (10) had a couple this time - she loved it and I liked the fact that I didn't have to be involved in every purchase decision. If she wanted something I would just say - it's your money - you decide if this is what you really want or if you want to wait and see what else you find. I think she made some great choices.

BTW - I need to fix our ticker - our vacation is over We got back last night - back to reality now.

 

[toddd]

As mentioned in my previous post we arrived home last night. Our stay at the Poly was wonderful and we had a great time but the weather was a bit too hot for us northerners - about 90 most of our days - we found we just couldn't enjoy walking around the parks in the afternoons. But that did mean we got in lot's of pool time. Once I get the pictures downloaded I will post some with more details of our stay.

We were in Tokelau, second floor. At first we were a bit disappointed that our room faced the garden, not the quiet pool, but it turned out to be good for two reasons - it was very quiet when sitting on the balcony and you did not have the afternoon sun beating on you (as I mentioned it was HOT). And as one in our group said 'we paid for GV and guess what - we got GV!'

The rooms are very large - last time we stayed in Niue and we definately noticed the difference. We actually liked Niue better tho' for the location but Tokelau is very convenient to the GCH, TTC, quiet pool and beach. Our room was clean with no maintenance issues. We kept the cabinet doors shut on our refrigerator and did not have any problems.

On-line check in was smooth but the CM did not ask if we wanted to add our credit card number to our keys and we didn't think about it. So at dinner that night when we tried to pay for our bottle of wine we were told that we could charge to our cards. Luckily we were dining with other people so they picked up the tab for us. Don't know what would have happened if we were on our own as we didn't have our credit cards with us and had minimal cash.

(Ticker is wrong - bad Ticker )