ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Winter 2011 Edition

[crostorfer]

We've stayed at the Poly twice in a 6 month period, and although our room in Samoa wasn't as immaculate as our room in Aotearoa was, it still didn't merit complaints on our part. The Poly is old, it's going to have some quirks, and housekeeping is always going to vary by the person doing the job on a daily basis. It's still extra magical to us and will always be our #1 choice on property.

The monorail just goes down. A lot. And not just the resort monorail, the express from the TTC goes down often as well. When this does happen, the Poly is absolutely the place to be as you can always just take the water taxi to the MK or hop over to the TTC and get on the ferry. If you are heading to Epcot you can walk over to the TTC and catch the monorail from there. More options than any other resort for transportation, that is one of the best perks of staying there.

Now that said, I am growing sadder and sadder that there was no room at the "inn" for us in September and we have to make due at the CBR. I need to quit looking at this thread everyday, LOL, it's dampening my morale for our next trip. We have to wait until Sept. 2012 to come back to paradise.

 

[POOHDRMR]

Only the rooms in the newer longhouses have the extra armchair because the rooms are bigger. Tokelau, Rapa Nui, and Tahiti have the 2 armchairs. The other longhouses have rooms with one armchair. HTHs

Thanks! I think I will request tokelau again and hopefully I will get it again!We loved the location last time.

 

[WDWKOOK]

I hope its just a fluke.. I think it can happen at any resort unfortunately. I was aprehensive after reading some Poly reviews about room cleanliness and shabby rooms but thankfully it wasnt the case.

The monorail is one of the biggest reasons many ppl book the Poly and I know Id be upset as well. Wondering if its a constant problem during your trip if a talk with management couldnt help out in some way...

Hope your Poly stays get better.. BUT if they dont I wouldnt hesitate to talk to management, the front desk manager, I cant remember his name but I remember he was very nice and was from Ohio, will help you. We had an issue and he was amazing!!

Yep, it certainly can happen at any resort.

I agree with bluejasmine, I think unfortunately it can happen at any resort (if you look you will find bad reviews for all of the resorts). We have stayed at the Poly two years in a row (are booked for our third) and both times the room & longhouse were very clean. In fact while we were there the carpet in the hallway was shampooed. There hadn't been any spills or excessive dirt that we were aware of, it just seemed like regular maintenance. The only shabbiness I would say I noticed was the chairs in 'Ohana during our stay in 2009. The upholstery really looked like it could stand to be redone.

You've made me optimistic

We've stayed at the Poly twice in a 6 month period, and although our room in Samoa wasn't as immaculate as our room in Aotearoa was, it still didn't merit complaints on our part. The Poly is old, it's going to have some quirks, and housekeeping is always going to vary by the person doing the job on a daily basis. It's still extra magical to us and will always be our #1 choice on property.

The monorail just goes down. A lot. And not just the resort monorail, the express from the TTC goes down often as well. When this does happen, the Poly is absolutely the place to be as you can always just take the water taxi to the MK or hop over to the TTC and get on the ferry. If you are heading to Epcot you can walk over to the TTC and catch the monorail from there. More options than any other resort for transportation, that is one of the best perks of staying there.

Now that said, I am growing sadder and sadder that there was no room at the "inn" for us in September and we have to make due at the CBR. I need to quit looking at this thread everyday, LOL, it's dampening my morale for our next trip. We have to wait until Sept. 2012 to come back to paradise.

So true about housekeeping being inconsistent.

Don't give-up on calling for availability! People cancel all the time and the WDTC will revert some cancelled reservations back to the military discount pool when they need more bookings. I've booked previously unavailable rooms after guests had cancelled. Be persistent!

 

[sonjaandsue]

Does every longhouse have Tiki statues in it or is that just the Hawaii building? Planning our next trip and have to explain to our son (who fell in love with the statues) that we are not staying concierge this time.

Thank you!

 

[crostorfer]

1000 POSTS!!!

Sorry, I know this is a pointless post, but I wanted my one big milestone here to be on this thread with my fellow Lapu Lapu lovers.

 

[Missoutandabout]

Sitting here making up my kiddo's nametag, wondering what Halloween costumes the hubster and I should wear for the MNSSHP, getting giddy with excitement for a trip that's 3 months away. Send help. Please?

P.S. I've decided to be lazy and re-use my DIS nametag from last year. But I've also whipped up a spiffy new one with our favorite support group if anyone wants to partake, feel free to download it. So, if you're Poly-bound in mid-end of September, you should be able to easily spot me by this on my bag:

Or the empty Lapu pineapples at our table.

 

[Kona65]

Only the rooms in the newer longhouses have the extra armchair because the rooms are bigger. Tokelau, Rapa Nui, and Tahiti have the 2 armchairs. The other longhouses have rooms with one armchair. HTHs

I've heard that these rooms will also have the new Kingsize beds installed in them.

 

[Missoutandabout]

Sorry, I know this is a pointless post, but I wanted my one big milestone here to be on this thread with my fellow Lapu Lapu lovers.

Yay! We're in good company.

 

[MartyM]

I've heard that these rooms will also have the new Kingsize beds installed in them.

What is this you say? Kings at the Poly??!! We would be soooo happy. Please elaborate on time frame and where you found this juicy tidbit!!

 

[sandym718]

What is this you say? Kings at the Poly??!! We would be soooo happy. Please elaborate on time frame and where you found this juicy tidbit!!

Yes, I'd love to hear more!!

 

[phillymusicchick]

I usually just read here, but I feel the need to comment on peoples' concerns about the condition of the Polynesian! It had always been my family's resort of choice growing up, so when my parents and I decided to take a trip down from June 16th to the 21st after I finished my degree in Hospitality Management, we knew we had to stay at the Polynesian. I started reading reviews here and on Trip Advisor and was concerned that it wouldn't bring back the memories I hoped it would.

When we arrived around 11AM on the 16th, we were greeted outside and escorted into the front desk, where there was no line. We had not opted to do online check-in (because my dad was not yet on our reservation and did not want to be on our package), but were directed to that cast member anyway, who was so sweet even after a pen exploded on her! She also decided not to charge us the extra $25/night for the 3rd adult. She assigned us to a room (which was ready!) in Rarotonga facing the monorail about 2 doors down from the entrance near the Tangaroa Terrace, which was a fabulous location (I believe the room number was 1816?). Our patio was private and we were a very short distance from the bus stop and the quiet pool, which was great! Everything in the room was in excellent condition and our room was cleaned well each day. The mousekeeper broke the lamp near the daybed one day but it was fixed quickly (without us even calling - we didn't even notice until someone from maintenance knocked on our door) and it never even bothered us as it all happened during daylight. Speaking of - I did not find the room to be "dark" as many people claim. There was plenty of natural light during the day and honestly it was nice to come back to a comfy room after a full day outside.

Overall, it definitely lived up to my expectations based on my past experience and dashed my concerns based on internet reviews. Bottom line: don't get too caught up in internet reviews. Every hotel in the world has negative reviews and unfortunately people are more inclined to post a review online after having a negative experience as opposed to a positive experience. Just relax and enjoy your vacation!

 

[rcsilverspring]

P.S. I've decided to be lazy and re-use my DIS nametag from last year. But I've also whipped up a spiffy new one with our favorite support group if anyone wants to partake, feel free to download it. So, if you're Poly-bound in mid-end of September, you should be able to easily spot me by this on my bag:

Or the empty Lapu pineapples at our table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks. I LOVE the new LGMH!!!!!! Wish I would have had it in May! I had MINE displayed prominently, but didn't see ANY other LGMHs while I was there.

 

[dfarner]

I usually just read here, but I feel the need to comment on peoples' concerns about the condition of the Polynesian! It had always been my family's resort of choice growing up, so when my parents and I decided to take a trip down from June 16th to the 21st after I finished my degree in Hospitality Management, we knew we had to stay at the Polynesian. I started reading reviews here and on Trip Advisor and was concerned that it wouldn't bring back the memories I hoped it would.

When we arrived around 11AM on the 16th, we were greeted outside and escorted into the front desk, where there was no line. We had not opted to do online check-in (because my dad was not yet on our reservation and did not want to be on our package), but were directed to that cast member anyway, who was so sweet even after a pen exploded on her! She also decided not to charge us the extra $25/night for the 3rd adult. She assigned us to a room (which was ready!) in Rarotonga facing the monorail about 2 doors down from the entrance near the Tangaroa Terrace, which was a fabulous location (I believe the room number was 1816?). Our patio was private and we were a very short distance from the bus stop and the quiet pool, which was great! Everything in the room was in excellent condition and our room was cleaned well each day. The mousekeeper broke the lamp near the daybed one day but it was fixed quickly (without us even calling - we didn't even notice until someone from maintenance knocked on our door) and it never even bothered us as it all happened during daylight. Speaking of - I did not find the room to be "dark" as many people claim. There was plenty of natural light during the day and honestly it was nice to come back to a comfy room after a full day outside.

Overall, it definitely lived up to my expectations based on my past experience and dashed my concerns based on internet reviews. Bottom line: don't get too caught up in internet reviews. Every hotel in the world has negative reviews and unfortunately people are more inclined to post a review online after having a negative experience as opposed to a positive experience. Just relax and enjoy your vacation!

Thank you for posting your thoughts. We will be checking into the Poly next week. While the negative online reviews have caused me to worry on occasion, I am still so excited to experience this wonderful resort. The IPO castmembers have been friendly and efficient, and I am hoping that our trip will be as great as we are hoping. We are not generally complainers, nor do we dwell on minor things while traveling, so I'm sure the Polynesian will be fine for us.

Thanks again, and congratulations on your degree .

 

[WDWKOOK]

I usually just read here, but I feel the need to comment on peoples' concerns about the condition of the Polynesian! It had always been my family's resort of choice growing up, so when my parents and I decided to take a trip down from June 16th to the 21st after I finished my degree in Hospitality Management, we knew we had to stay at the Polynesian. I started reading reviews here and on Trip Advisor and was concerned that it wouldn't bring back the memories I hoped it would.

When we arrived around 11AM on the 16th, we were greeted outside and escorted into the front desk, where there was no line. We had not opted to do online check-in (because my dad was not yet on our reservation and did not want to be on our package), but were directed to that cast member anyway, who was so sweet even after a pen exploded on her! She also decided not to charge us the extra $25/night for the 3rd adult. She assigned us to a room (which was ready!) in Rarotonga facing the monorail about 2 doors down from the entrance near the Tangaroa Terrace, which was a fabulous location (I believe the room number was 1816?). Our patio was private and we were a very short distance from the bus stop and the quiet pool, which was great! Everything in the room was in excellent condition and our room was cleaned well each day. The mousekeeper broke the lamp near the daybed one day but it was fixed quickly (without us even calling - we didn't even notice until someone from maintenance knocked on our door) and it never even bothered us as it all happened during daylight. Speaking of - I did not find the room to be "dark" as many people claim. There was plenty of natural light during the day and honestly it was nice to come back to a comfy room after a full day outside.

Overall, it definitely lived up to my expectations based on my past experience and dashed my concerns based on internet reviews. Bottom line: don't get too caught up in internet reviews. Every hotel in the world has negative reviews and unfortunately people are more inclined to post a review online after having a negative experience as opposed to a positive experience. Just relax and enjoy your vacation!

So glad you came out of lurkdom and decided to post. to the DIS!

I'm glad you had a great vacation and stay at the Poly. What a memorable graduation gift! I have to ask if you're considering working/interning with Disney Resorts now that you have your hospitality mgt. degree? You must have been looking at the Poly with a very critical eye, so your review means a lot

Thanks for posting and don't be a stranger

 

[DznyCrzy11]

Excellent post! My husband and I have stayed at the All Star Movies, Caribbean and many years ago I have also stayed at the Ft Wilderness Campground. We stayed at Polynesian for the 1st time last year and now it's our favorite! Staying there again this September! That is an absolutely wonderful resort!

 

[phillymusicchick]

Thank you for posting your thoughts. We will be checking into the Poly next week. While the negative online reviews have caused me to worry on occasion, I am still so excited to experience this wonderful resort. The IPO castmembers have been friendly and efficient, and I am hoping that our trip will be as great as we are hoping. We are not generally complainers, nor do we dwell on minor things while traveling, so I'm sure the Polynesian will be fine for us.

Thanks again, and congratulations on your degree .

We had stayed CL back in the late 90s and really enjoyed our experience there. I'm sure they've made changes since then, but if my experience in the lowest room class was fantastic, I'm sure yours will be fantastic as well. Have fun!

So glad you came out of lurkdom and decided to post. to the DIS!

I'm glad you had a great vacation and stay at the Poly. What a memorable graduation gift! I have to ask if you're considering working/interning with Disney Resorts now that you have your hospitality mgt. degree? You must have been looking at the Poly with a very critical eye, so your review means a lot

Thanks for posting and don't be a stranger

My parents used to joke that I would end up working at Disney World because I loved it so much as a little girl and I still respect it as a leader in hospitality as an adult. To be honest though, as someone who has an understanding of the industry through both work experience and education, I think I'm probably more empathetic than critical to small mishaps!

My mom and I did the Backstage Magic tour and it definitely left me with an interest in moving down there to work for them! I've started to research it and am trying decide if it would really be something I'm seriously interested in doing. I'm pretty sure once you go to Disney, there's no turning back!

 

[WDWKOOK]

We had stayed CL back in the late 90s and really enjoyed our experience there. I'm sure they've made changes since then, but if my experience in the lowest room class was fantastic, I'm sure yours will be fantastic as well. Have fun!



My parents used to joke that I would end up working at Disney World because I loved it so much as a little girl and I still respect it as a leader in hospitality as an adult. To be honest though, as someone who has an understanding of the industry through both work experience and education, I think I'm probably more empathetic than critical to small mishaps!

My mom and I did the Backstage Magic tour and it definitely left me with an interest in moving down there to work for them! I've started to research it and am trying decide if it would really be something I'm seriously interested in doing. I'm pretty sure once you go to Disney, there's no turning back!

You'll have to let us know if you become a CM, then we can all live vicariously through you

You're right that as someone who has an insider's view of the whole hospitality process, you would not only have a critical eye, but an empathetic one. It's really hard for guests who have so much financially and emotionally invested in a trip to just step back from a bad situation and see it from another perspective, but, you know what that's like, too.

Good luck in your future endeavors

 

[jdd]

Strange question - should probably post this as a general resort question, but thought I'd check here first

I was just checking online for our Sept-Oct trip. We're going from 9/28-10/3. I accidentally put in 10/4 as our departure date (so 9/28-10/4) and had several room options (GV, TPV, LV-CL, TPV-CL). The $$ looked high, and that's when I realized my mistaken date. However, when I changed it back to 10/3, the CL options disappeared! How can rooms be available for a longer length of time, but not a shorter?? I mean, if they're available from 09/28-10/4 they have to be available for 09/28-10/3 right??

Is it possible that they'll only book CL rooms for a minimum length of stay? (BTW, this was looking at rack rate, not any special deal).

 

[maiapapaya]

Strange question - should probably post this as a general resort question, but thought I'd check here first

I was just checking online for our Sept-Oct trip. We're going from 9/28-10/3. I accidentally put in 10/4 as our departure date (so 9/28-10/4) and had several room options (GV, TPV, LV-CL, TPV-CL). The $$ looked high, and that's when I realized my mistaken date. However, when I changed it back to 10/3, the CL options disappeared! How can rooms be available for a longer length of time, but not a shorter?? I mean, if they're available from 09/28-10/4 they have to be available for 09/28-10/3 right??

Is it possible that they'll only book CL rooms for a minimum length of stay? (BTW, this was looking at rack rate, not any special deal).

Good question. I've had that happen too. I'm curious about the answer.

 

[disneydreamin247]

Strange question - should probably post this as a general resort question, but thought I'd check here first

I was just checking online for our Sept-Oct trip. We're going from 9/28-10/3. I accidentally put in 10/4 as our departure date (so 9/28-10/4) and had several room options (GV, TPV, LV-CL, TPV-CL). The $$ looked high, and that's when I realized my mistaken date. However, when I changed it back to 10/3, the CL options disappeared! How can rooms be available for a longer length of time, but not a shorter?? I mean, if they're available from 09/28-10/4 they have to be available for 09/28-10/3 right??

Is it possible that they'll only book CL rooms for a minimum length of stay? (BTW, this was looking at rack rate, not any special deal).

That's happened to me as well. I just booked the longer stay and then called CRO to change the dates.