ALOHA! The Poly FAQ~ Spring 2010 Edition

[tiggspring]

I've been planning to post a few pix for awhile but forgot how to do it They transfered a little more blury than I would have liked.

Here is the view from Tahiti room 3017

 

[tiggspring]

We are heading to the Poly in May for the first time. I've splurged for a TPV and an having second thoughts on my room request. I've requested the Tahiti longhouse, it looked so tranquil. A lot of posters say it'sawfullyfar from the mainhouse. With two small children, daily breaks to swim and Adrs for Kona and Ohana, should I request a different longhouse ? I realize I may not get it anyway, but ?? Thanks, I am so excited to be going !

You can see a Tahiti TPV room on my last post. IMHO you picked the best place to be with kids. Mine were 4,7,10 last year and I have Fibromyalgia which can make walking difficult. Tahiti was great because with kids getting out the door is often hard. at 7 or 8am when you need to get out the door fast you are very close to the TTC. For us this ment 4 mornings out of 7 were low stress. The times we were at the GCH we had more time to get there. At night DH and I had mini vacations becacuse we could put the kids to bed and shut off the lights while we sat on the balcony with a drink and watch the castle change color, the ferries crusie by and enjoy the night air. Very Romanitic since most nights we were the only ones on our Balcony and the beach was empty. It also enabled us to watch wishes in a Hammock while the kids played in the sand, again alone. That was one of our favorite memories. With all the hussle and bussle each day it was nice to have a really quite place to retreat to. I think we might have had some meltdowns if we hadnt had that downtime.

Oh one non poly tip. We used ridmax in hopes of saving some time and it did. However its biggest benifit was the kids not fighting. Each kid picked there top ride choices for the day and it was explained that this would stop us from waiting in boring lines. For one whole week the kids did not fight about who's trun it was or that Mom and Dad weren't being fair. We followed the list to avoid yucky lines. Even a four year old gets that! If you kids are old enough to understand that lines are bad use a touring plan as you way to deal with Disney overload. You may be surpised how much this helps even with little kids. We sure were!

 

[donnajean17]

good morning, poly friends! Just getting us back to page one and checking my ticker.

aloha!

 

[wdw&sonny]

I'm coming out of a year long lurkdom on this thread (I've followed you guys all around ) to ask a couple of questions to the experts.

I'll be at there for the first time in 40 days but I'm not counting it down or anything yet....

First off thanks to all the Poly lovers for filling my days with pics and reports so that I had no choice but to book this resort of our dreams when it came time for a trip with my DH with no kids.

Now- on to the questions--

We are staying our first night at POFQ since we are getting in very late. What time would you suggest getting to the Poly to check in? We booked a GV and don't have anything necessarily planned for that day so we are open to anything.

Also- we just found out that some friends of ours who live in FL are going to try to come for the weekend to see us. I've had an ADR at 'Ohana since my 180 days out for the two of us. What is the possibility of us being able to add two people to our reservation and do you think I'd have more luck asking the hostess on the day of the ADR? I know that it is a popular restaurant, so if we have to change, I need to do it asap.

Last one--- for now...
If we are going to the WL for dinner- how long should I give myself to get there? Is an hour too long? I thought we'd take the boat to MK then boat to WL.


Thanks!

I am no expert, but saw no one had replied, yet, so for what it's worth, here's my opinion.

Don't rush to check-in. Too many people try to check in early and waste valuable time waiting on the room. Plan something fun, and check in after 4pm. Or if you are in the area anyway, stop in to see if a room is ready, (leave your bags w/ bell services) but if not, go on with your fun.

Call dining reservation and see if you can add the extra two people. It's the polite thing to do. If not, show up with the extra two people and the hostess will likely accomodate you.

Time from Poly to WL is all luck of catching the boat. You'll likely make it in 40 minutes or less, but still allow the hour. If you arrive early, wander the WL and enjoy.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

I am no expert, but saw no one had replied, yet, so for what it's worth, here's my opinion.

Don't rush to check-in. Too many people try to check in early and waste valuable time waiting on the room. Plan something fun, and check in after 4pm. Or if you are in the area anyway, stop in to see if a room is ready, (leave your bags w/ bell services) but if not, go on with your fun.

Call dining reservation and see if you can add the extra two people. It's the polite thing to do. If not, show up with the extra two people and the hostess will likely accomodate you.

Time from Poly to WL is all luck of catching the boat. You'll likely make it in 40 minutes or less, but still allow the hour. If you arrive early, wander the WL and enjoy.

Disney will transport your bags if you're going from one Disney hotel to another, but it can take a bit. When split-staying, we usually check out, take our bags immediately over to the new hotel and check in. If the room isn't ready, they text or call us when it is, and our bags have always been waiting for us in our room. Not sure if that's the norm, or if we've just been lucky. I would definitely check in. Once you check in, you are able to ("legally") use the pool and other resort facilities since you will be able to produce your hotel ID/room key which could be a great way to spend the day if you don't have anything planned.

Wish I was doing that today instead of working...

 

[jkstewart1800]

For all of those newbies who have never been, please don't be too worried about how far the longhouses are away from the main building... nothing is more than a 5 minute walk... I know it looks big on the map and it sounds big...but nothing is really THAT far away.


BTW - OT - what the heck is up with everyone's ticker going bust?

 

[Figment1990]

We will be at the Poly during one of the Grad Nights weekends. I know there is no Wishes on Fri/Sat but I think I saw somewhere that there are 'special' fireworks. Does anyone know if this is true and if you can see the fireworks from the Poly beach?

Thanks

I've heard on grad nights there are special fireworks, but that they aren't until around midnight.

There is a grad night on one of the nights during our upcoming trip. I will most likely be back at the Poly during the fireworks so I will try to find out if you can see them from the beach and around what time they will be and let you know!

 

[Tess]

You all have been very busy on this thread. My computer bit the dust on Sunday night and I've been catching up!

Glad to hear the nice reports and hoping those heading out soon have a wonderful trip!

 

[disney pro]

Hello to Everyone,

This is my very first post ever although I have been reading for a while now. I want to thank all of you wonderful Poly lovers for teaching me all I now know.
Thanks to a wonderful PIN code, our family plans to return to the Poly this year staying 11/28 - 12/5 in CL TPV. This is our 3rd visit to WDW and our 2nd to the Poly.
We are all very excited and I check this thread nearly every day. I am completely hooked!

You will love the Poly, And I would also like to say welcome aboard the Poly train for the first week of Dec. The rest of us going that week have decided that the Poly should buy us all Lapu Lapu's

 

[MarieTheCat24]

For all of those newbies who have never been, please don't be too worried about how far the longhouses are away from the main building... nothing is more than a 5 minute walk... I know it looks big on the map and it sounds big...but nothing is really THAT far away.

Agreed. When planning for our first stay at the Polynesian, my parents and I were convinced we would have to walk 80 miles from our room to the GCH. Obviously, upon arrival, we learned that was not the case. None of the longhouses are a ridiculous distance from all of the action. The resort isn't all that big.

 

[candkmac1021]

Just back yesterday from our 8 day disneymoon stay at the Poly. We loved it! We stayed in Rapa Nui and we thought it was a great spot for convenience. Previous stay was at Coronado Springs - and compared to that resort, Poly was much smaller and compact.

I don't think you are inconvenient no matter what longhouse you stay in - everything is a very close walk.

We loved that we can use the monorail, bus and boat transportaiton - so many options! LOVED Ohana.

If anyone has any questions - feel free to shoot!

 

[sandym718]

If I remember correctly (from 2007, when we went in 2009, Grad nights were at DHS), the Grad Night fireworks are around midnight.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

If I remember correctly (from 2007, when we went in 2009, Grad nights were at DHS), the Grad Night fireworks are around midnight.

I may be completely making this up, but I thought I'd read they were returning to MK.

 

[mdrob214]

For all of those newbies who have never been, please don't be too worried about how far the longhouses are away from the main building... nothing is more than a 5 minute walk... I know it looks big on the map and it sounds big...but nothing is really THAT far away.


BTW - OT - what the heck is up with everyone's ticker going bust?

Thanks for that! Sometimes I look at the map and wish I had chosen a resort that was all in one building.

BTW--The tickers from a certain website were said to have a virus, so the DIS has blocked them.

 

[Aristocath]

For all of those newbies who have never been, please don't be too worried about how far the longhouses are away from the main building... nothing is more than a 5 minute walk... I know it looks big on the map and it sounds big...but nothing is really THAT far away.


BTW - OT - what the heck is up with everyone's ticker going bust?

I agree. The Poly doesn't seem that big after you've stayed in the Herbie section of All Star Movies or some buildings at Port Orleans Riverside!

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

Thanks for that! Sometimes I look at the map and wish I had chosen a resort that was all in one building.

BTW--The tickers from a certain website were said to have a virus, so the DIS has blocked them.

Our other fave is BC. It's almost better to have different buildings. At least that way you can cut across here or there. We stayed LV at BC last time, and we were in the next to last room right before you hit the little hill to the IG at Epcot. We either had to walk around the outside of the building and use the stairs (carrying up the stroller) or take the elevator and turn in hallway after hallway after hallway. We stayed LV at YC, and it was the same story. One building definitely does NOT equal less walking.

 

[vinotinto]

We didn't have room service for lunch - just breakfast but it was very good and quite nicely presented.

Most folks get lunch to go from CC's and take it to one of the tables by the the pool. I don't know for sure if you could order it room service style.

Thanks! Only 5+ months to go

 

[Clochette nordique]

tiggspring

I see on your ticker: 1y 1w and 1d. Are arriving at Poly on May 1st, 2011?

We will be there too!

In reading my post again, I realize that I'm missing a month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess that I really want to be there earlier than planned...

 

[bethclayton]

while we're on the subject of the size of the resort, can anyone compare the poly's size to that of the GF for me? i found the GF to be much smaller than i had imagined it and no buildings are a "far" walk from anything. can anyone tell me if the poly is much bigger?

 

[carlnix30]

The poly is hugely small!! I think that if it was twice the walk from the fartherest corners of the resort I could walk the grounds with a smile on my face! It's got to be at least 3/4 of a mile from the front gate at magic kingdom to ride splash mountain!! I walk it without noticing! But at the poly the flora the people and the general atmosphere makes walking around there a joy! Wr stayed at the CBR and that was a walk to get to the main house! Never again will I stay there! But if the poly was that big I would stay in a heart beat! It's just the atmosphere that makes any walk there bliss!

I think maybe because I live in center city Philly, a tree and grass is a new experience for us!

In my opinion, no matter what longhouse you stay in you will be happy! Close to the GCH? Yay! Close to the TTC? Yay! close to the LUAU? Yay! The walk is never a chore at the Poly!