ALOHA! The Poly FAQ: Winter 2011 Edition

[seadd67]

Our stay was quite nice until last night. DS got very sick. Needed fresh linens twice. Not good, but housekeeping was really great about it.

As we were checking out this morning, Captain Cooks was overrun by tour groups. It appears that they are branching out from their usual stays at the Value Resorts. We also noticed that the parks were much crowded the last two days compared to earlier in the week.

The Poly, itself, was as lovely as ever. We dined at Ohana and Kona and had fabulous service at each, especially Kona. The volcano pool was crowded but we saw most everyone had wrist bands. The Quiet Pool wasn't nearly as busy but the water was so warm. You had to actually go inside and shower to get relief from the heat.

I hope your temps aren't nearly as hot next week.

Do they ever make the pool water cooler,if they can??. Last July when we stay at POP one of the resons i did not goin to the pool was because how warm the water was. If its In the 9o's i wdo not feel like going into +80' water.

 

[princssdisnygina]

frustrated.

our last trip, I was SOOOOO excited to be staying at the Poly, but was not impresesed

Please don't flame me. I love Disney and have stayed at every level of resort (POP, POR, FW, Poly ,CBR)

The monorail was out of commission, frequently-I know this wasn't a Poly issue but we saved up to stay there for this reason, it was a let down.

The folks at the front desk were not friendly, condescending even at times.

Was this a fluke? Dare we try again?

I am not going to lie... when we were there in May the monorail was out of commission two days of our week stay for a short period of time. It was frustrating as well. And yes I have encountered unfriendly CM's too. But... for the most part the CM's were friendly. It could've been the time of year or just your experience?

No flaming here, everyone is entitled to their opinion and bad things do happen, even at Disney.

However, I say give it another try! I always try things twice before I make my final decision just in case the first time was a fluke! There are many more good experiences than bad, at all the resorts.

 

[kaysmommie]

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We have done the SOA dinner show 3 of the 4 times we have stayed at the Poly, twice when the DDs were little and once as adults. We (they) loved it every time! The show IS corny, but the dancers fun, the fire twirlers amazing and the food delicious! I would do it again in a heartbeat. (DD#1's BF is a vegan, so we passed this time.) We've only done the 8PM show, but I would think it is better to see the fire twirling if it is darker, IMHO. We've never done CRT, so I can't say which would be better.

Thank you. I booked the 8 pm thinking we would have a longer break. We have been to CRT before but never tried the SOA. So unless it's terrible I guess we'll try try it

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Interesting. In all of my stays at the Poly, the buses would stop at the GF after picking up from the Poly. And sometimes those buses had folks on it from the Contemporary as well.

It may depend on the time of the morning.

Sometimes in the mornings only the Polynesian might share bus service with just the Contemporary, so after you get on the bus it will go to it's destination after the Polynesian if that is happening.

 

[EeyoreFanInTX]

hello. We're leaving soon. 1st time at the poly. does anybody know of any bed bug sightings at the Poly? I plan on doing the mattress check, leaving the suitcases outside the room, etc but I'm still pretty fearful of being exposed to them and somehow bringing them back home. Does anybody else not use their comforters? If so, does mousekeeping just put them back on? I think I read the rooms don't get cleaned except for every 4 days right?

 

[nrpofp]

Interesting. In all of my stays at the Poly, the buses would stop at the GF after picking up from the Poly. And sometimes those buses had folks on it from the Contemporary as well.

It may depend on the time of the morning.

We were there last month. We shared with CR to DDD,TL and AK. With the GF to DHS and BB. The buses that came from the CR were always full.

 

[shocky5]

frustrated.

our last trip, I was SOOOOO excited to be staying at the Poly, but was not impresesed

Please don't flame me. I love Disney and have stayed at every level of resort (POP, POR, FW, Poly ,CBR)

The monorail was out of commission, frequently-I know this wasn't a Poly issue but we saved up to stay there for this reason, it was a let down.

The folks at the front desk were not friendly, condescending even at times.

Was this a fluke? Dare we try again?

I don't know if I'm much help - I have only had positives there. Both were 7 day vacations and I believe in 2009 we experienced one issue with the monorail which was resolved in less than 30 minutes. I do know 30 minutes can seem a lifetime when you are trying to get to a dining reservation or a park, though. I will say about the Poly, I like all of the transportation options they give - the boat to the MK, a quick walk to the TTC which will get you anywhere, and so forth, as a back-up to a non-working monorail.

I have not experienced unfriendly staff but I do know anyone can have a bad day at any given time and when one who is in the business of customer service experiences one of those bad days, unfortunately, it oozes on to those they are serving - which stinks!

But I would say give it one more try! If you don't have a favorite of all of the places you've stayed, then go for it. The poly is our favorite so that's where we stay. One of these days.... I tell myself we will stay somewhere different but we haven't yet.

 

[BreezysMom]

I'm off to Target tomorrow to nab one of these cute shirts for the kiddo.

I'm heading to Target today to see if I can nab one for my DD too.

I dragged the hubster back and forth all over our Target. They had plenty of the plain, non-Hawaiian Mickey and Minnie shirts. Just when I was about to give up, I spotted one Minnie Hawaiian shirt on the clearance rack, amazingly enough in my kiddo's size. None of those cute Mickey shirts anywhere! There has been a swarm of Poly Disers at my Target.

Geez, I am thinking Target better start throwing some cash my way for the referrals!

Missoutandabout...I can't remember where you live but I know the one in Hodgkins has two small as of today and the one in Willowbrook had some left too yesterday. I was searching for the Aloha ones for some friends in Canada who don't have the pleasure of Target

So bummed that we don't have Target here in Canada to get one of those tees for our girls. And it would have been funny to have four kids in the lounge in the same shirt! (besides, I think they would have just loved them - Mickey for DD8 & Minnie for DD6)

and for your DS too

Yes, I think it would be cute to have all those cuties running around in that shirt

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Doing laundry for our trip as we leave Friday morning.

Maybe will see you at the Poly next weekend! Will definitely walk over to TTC.

Hopefully we'll see you too! That would be cool. It's just me and DD walking about.

frustrated.

our last trip, I was SOOOOO excited to be staying at the Poly, but was not impresesed

Please don't flame me. I love Disney and have stayed at every level of resort (POP, POR, FW, Poly ,CBR)

The monorail was out of commission, frequently-I know this wasn't a Poly issue but we saved up to stay there for this reason, it was a let down.

The folks at the front desk were not friendly, condescending even at times.

Was this a fluke? Dare we try again?

Not going to flame you as even the best resort can give you sub-par service. There have been times at the Poly where the service definitely could have been better (I swear sometimes they staff the front desk with the slowest people) but it hasn't put me off of the resort. I'd say try again.

Do they ever make the pool water cooler,if they can??. Last July when we stay at POP one of the resons i did not goin to the pool was because how warm the water was. If its In the 9o's i wdo not feel like going into +80' water.

During the hot Florida weather, the answer is most likely *no*. This is why in the summer we swim in the evenings if at all possible. I don't know how this works but I swear the pool water was cooler at the Grand Floridian (probably because of the lesser amount of people) than it was at the CSR pool or the Poly pool during the day.

Thank you. I booked the 8 pm thinking we would have a longer break. We have been to CRT before but never tried the SOA. So unless it's terrible I guess we'll try try it

The luau is worth checking out at least once. DD and I did it on our first trip to the Poly. The first part was kinda korny but the second part was awesome. Food was pretty forgettable but the cocktails...yum!

hello. We're leaving soon. 1st time at the poly. does anybody know of any bed bug sightings at the Poly?

This is just me but out of all the stays I've done at the Poly I've never been bitten by nor seen bedbugs. And I am a germaphobe so I check everything. As for how often then wash the comforters--not sure as I keep those at the bottom of the bed. I'm sure if you request a freshly-laundered bedspread Mousekeeping can provide you with one.

We were there last month. We shared with CR to DDD,TL and AK. With the GF to DHS and BB. The buses that came from the CR were always full.

I remember when I'd see buses full of folks from the CR I'd yell oh-crap more than once.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I remember when I'd see buses full of folks from the CR I'd yell oh-crap more than once.

I would bet that not all of those guests might be staying at the Contemporary or Bay Lake Tower. Don't forget when going from the Magic Kingdom to Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom or Downtown Disney some posters like to suggest walking over to the Contemporary and taking the buses from there. Well when that happens it only adds to the total number of guests and it would actually be easier for them to take the Express Monorail to the TTC and getting the buses from there, since they don't stop at the resorts. Now that would only work for Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom since the TTC doesn't have buses to Downtown Disney.

 

[seadd67]

So Is there a 2011 Poly info pamplet?, like the one on page 1? or are those times for the evnt in and around poly the same.

 

[seadd67]

So is it just easyer to go to the Tcc and take the bus there?, going to AK and HS?. So from experices past,does disney send bus drictley to Poly if those buses are full?

 

[carlnix30]

Since we are staying at Polynesian again I booked the Spirit of Aloha dinner show for our July 31st trip. My daughter (age 11) was thinking she would like to eat at CRT again though. I don't want to do both since they are 2 TS each. The family vote was for the Luau. I would love all opinions on this dinner show. Also is it better to go to the 5:15 or 8 PM? Thanks in advance.

Spirit of aloha in our opinion a fun show! But it is a bit overpriced! The food is okay. My wife and DD's do this every year as one of our many yearly traditions.

Luckily, my TPV CL rooms are intact and I requested third floor! I assume these have the best view of the castle?

Many choose different floors for different reasons. Here are a few photos from our balcony in room 3517. It is on the third floor second to the last room on the left. It's a long walk down a long hallway but it was quiet!

Fireworks from our balcony

Arriving at room

This is an explanation of what was on the bed with the chocolates

View from balcony!

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[WDWKOOK]

So Is there a 2011 Poly info pamplet?, like the one on page 1? or are those times for the evnt in and around poly the same.

That sheet is revised weekly and you'll get one when you check-in. Times/events can change somewhat.

 

[carlnix30]

Daytime view off room 3517 balcony

The only time I think the contemporary resort is pretty! Morning on the poly beach!

GF from the poly beach. (fuzzy, but you try to take low light shots with a point and shoot camera)

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[Dalpal]

Nice pictures Thanks!
We will be in Tokalou(sp?)..
I am hoping to get on the GF side of the building(as requested)but have been there three times with the same request...and havent been lucky enough to get it yet....BUT I will keep trying!

 

[crostorfer]

So is it just easyer to go to the Tcc and take the bus there?, going to AK and HS?. So from experices past,does disney send bus drictley to Poly if those buses are full?

We find that 9 out of 10 times it was faster to walk to the TTC for the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. The way the busses are running currently, the Poly is sharing with the Contemporary and it stops there first, then the bus goes to Blizzard Beach, then the Animal Kingdom. On the way back it can take a while as you go BB, Contemporary, then the Poly. We don't mind the walk over to the TTC.

 

[crostorfer]

So Is there a 2011 Poly info pamplet?, like the one on page 1? or are those times for the evnt in and around poly the same.

The September times schedule for the resort will be very similar, if not the same, to the May times guide. We have been in both of those months and everything was at the same time.

P.S. Hello Seattle!!!

 

[logpey]

Many choose different floors for different reasons. Here are a few photos from our balcony in room 3517. It is on the third floor second to the last room on the left. It's a long walk down a long hallway but it was quiet!

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Thx, so much for the pictures! Excited about new chocolates.

 

[logpey]

I have some on my photobucket of POLY CL from last July if anyone wants to look at them, most with descriptions! Just hit the underlined photobucket in my signature and it will take you there, even a video of the lighting ceremony at 6pm every evening.

Some pictures are things, I personally haven't seen posted: like inside elevator, doors leading to CL lounge from hallway, lighting fixtures above your head, info on POLY in elevator and grounds.