ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: January 2012

[TinkNH]

the ease of the monorail is the ONLY reason we booked the Poly again over the Art of Animation for this trip. It made the last one so easy with a4 yr old. We spend most of our time in MK so it was so nice to be able to zip back to the Poly for a mid day break when she needed one. the boats are nice but not when you have a hot tired fussy 4 yr old with you

 

[osugal]

How close is the Poly to the monorail? Is it literally at the hotel? Does that mean you can get to the MK and Epcot from the Poly?

 

[maiapapaya]

How close is the Poly to the monorail? Is it literally at the hotel? Does that mean you can get to the MK and Epcot from the Poly?

Yes, there is a monorail platform right at the Poly. That line goes to the MK via the GF and then carries on to the CR & TTC. You have to transfer at the TTC to get the monorail to Epcot. Since the TTC is right next door to the Poly many guests just make the short walk over and get directly on the Epcot monorail.

 

[cobbler]

How close is the Poly to the monorail? Is it literally at the hotel? Does that mean you can get to the MK and Epcot from the Poly?

Yes the monorail is literally at the hotel. There are 3 lines for the monorail, the MK express line, the resort line and the Epcot line.

On the express line it goes past the Poly but does not stop. The only stops are MK and TTC.

On the resort line the monorail has stops at the MK, Contemporary, TTC, Poly, and GF (in that order) and continues that same loop.

The epcot line also has 2 stops, Epcot and TTC. You can walk (very short walk) to the TTC from the Poly and get on the monorail to Epcot there. OR you could take the resort line monorail and stop at the TTC and transfer monorails to Epcot.

 

[cmcinc]

ADR's made this past Sunday. Half way there.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

People make way too much of a deal about the monorail being down. Even with that option taken away, you still have more options available for transportation available at the Polynesian Resort than anywhere else.

I'd be one of the fussy people I adore the Poly but the number one reason we like to stay here is for the monorail transportation. My DH would not let me spend so much money if he could not have this option. Last year when they announced the limited monorail hours (that is, they would only go 1 hour past normal park time) we were really bummed. We were very happy when we got there and saw that they were going to extend the monorail hours to a half hour past the closing time for MNSSHP!

Last May, we were looking for a room at Disney and with the discount they were offering, it would have been $20 more for 6 nights to stay in a garden view room at the Poly than to stay in a 1 bedroom villa at Wilderness Lodge. We opted for WL to try it out. The room was far better than a room at the Poly (of course it was - it was a villa!) and the bathtub was divine! If I could have plopped that room at the Poly, it would have been great. The number one reason is because of the monorail. There are absolutely other reasons I prefer the Poly (better quick service, ambience, better kids club, better pool areas) but the monorail is the #1 reason my DH allows me to spend that extra $$$.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Ok, my son's face looks totally weird in that last photo so just so you guys know that he doesn't look like that, here's another photo

I was going to post our family photo but now I think I see a trend - my son makes goofy faces!!!

(Carl - note that I kept my mouth shut on the offensive braces! I can't wait for this year's photo when I can smile wide with my braces off )

And because this is a Poly thread I don't want to get too so here's some Poly photos to wistfully wish we were there:

 

[LoveMickeyMouse]

At least they are allowing people to plan around the down time instead of closing it completely. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but I'm sure the guests would rather put up with a partial closure than constantly having it malfunction. Bummer that they can't accomplish it during regular maintanence hours.


Completely selfish moment here

Today is my ADR day!!! Just waiting to hear from IPO

Congrats on ADR day!!!! Non-Disney people in my life don't understand how I could be excited about reaching 180 days before my trip!

 

[iloveeeyore]

Is there even a bus that goes to the MK from the Poly?

Normally, no. But Disney adds buses when the monorail is down.

 

[TinkNH]

this thread makes me want to skip summer and get to September faster! 137 days and counting till we return... cannot wait

 

[hebbynan]

Hello everyone! I've been lurking here for a while now. We've been to WDW tons of times, but never stayed any where other than a value (except for the campground). We're debating a trip in October 2013 as that's the last school year we'll be able to pull oldest DS out of school (he'll start high school after that). We would LOVE to stay at the Poly - we all LOVE that resort and youngest DS is a monorail FREAK!

Thanks for sharing all your pictures! You're really making me NEED to stay here!

 

[tsme]

Thanks for posting pics, I so miss the Poly. We still haven't set a date yet. We were hoping for a pin, but none so far. IN the mean time, I'm making my list of things we haven't done or experienced & want to on our next trip. And of course I'm stalking the disboards!!

 

[Janny]

WoW!! Your family looks like the ones that come with the purchase of a picture frame!! Your son and daughter are beautiful!! All kids should have silly poses every now and then!!
Question......
Which regular priced cabana should we favor if we have the choice? Loved the pictures of the Mauna Loa that you captured!! Thanks for posting!! We cannot wait to arrive. Just yesterday and the day before, I had my monorail meltdown
on another thread. This is how I got my husband on board for a Poly stay also!! Hope its working during our stay!! Keep on posting those great pictures.
Never tire of them!! Hope you're planning a trip again soon!!

Janice

 

[alex9179]

Congrats on ADR day!!!! Non-Disney people in my life don't understand how I could be excited about reaching 180 days before my trip!

No they don't! DH was shaking his head at me when I told him how excited I was!

Huh, half of my ADRs aren't on the itinerary IPO sent me. She got 'Ohana for 7pm, though, and 8am Akershus. Those were my time sensitive ones. Just sent her a reminder, so hopefully V&A's works out along with my others.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

WoW!! Your family looks like the ones that come with the purchase of a picture frame!! Your son and daughter are beautiful!! All kids should have silly poses every now and then!!
Question......
Which regular priced cabana should we favor if we have the choice? Loved the pictures of the Mauna Loa that you captured!! Thanks for posting!! We cannot wait to arrive. Just yesterday and the day before, I had my monorail meltdown
on another thread. This is how I got my husband on board for a Poly stay also!! Hope its working during our stay!! Keep on posting those great pictures.
Never tire of them!! Hope you're planning a trip again soon!!

Janice

Thanks for the compliment! I personally think my family are a bunch of cuties but I'm biased

The cabana picture is actually Mauna Kea and that is the preferred location of the two regular cabanas by most of us Poly go-ers - but not by much! It is set a little bit further from the steps that lead to the cabanas and is more near the pool. So I could adjust my chair and see through the trees to the pool to keep an eye on my kids. But they are older and good swimmers - I wouldn't do that with tiny tots. Here are the pictures of the Mauna Kea cabana so you can see it from different angles (and it was worth every penny to rent the cabana!!!!):

DD is showing off the fridge, phone, radio, tv section. The fridge is stocked with waters and soda. At the end of our stay, the attendant told us to take whatever was left in the fridge

DD is showing off the table with the 'button'. You press it and the attendant will come. Although they will check on you periodically anyway. They also unobtrusively replace your towels throughout the day. And whenever you are ready, they bring a HUGE fruit plate. Sorry no picture but someone else posted the fruit plate somewhere on this thread. It had cut fruit, whole fruit, and berries. We ate the cut fruit and took the whole fruit back to the room for another day.

Those lounge chairs are UBER comfy!!! If you look to the left of the photo, that is where I could sit and see the pool through the trees. And this was taken at 10 am in October. As the day moves on, the sun does too. So we would move our chairs if we wanted to be in the sun or shade. You can also pull down the drape walls or pull them back as you want.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I just realized that the photo I posted from the top of the volcano slide shows the Mauna Loa cabana. If it's hard to see, look at your computer from the right side a bit, you can see the cabana at the top of the steps. Mauna Kea is to the left of Mauna Loa but is hidden by the foliage. So it is just a tad bit more 'excluded' feeling. But both cabanas offer the same amenties, are the same size, and behind the rope. I was not able to request a location when I booked our cabana. I did arrive early though (9:40 maybe) and since I was first, the attendant let us pick our location (our name was sitting at Mauna Loa though). And good thing I got there early because the other folks were not 5 minutes behind us!

 

[Janny]

Those pictures look like PARADISE !!!!!
I hate to annoy you with questions, BUT....one more please !!! Is the fan up top of the cabana operational?? Our youngest is in a wheelchair and heats up pretty easily. She is in an open-eyed coma so she looks just like a toddler sitting upright in the wheelchair, but tends to need the fan if the humidity is extremely high. This is why we booked 2 full day cabana rentals and 2 half days. When my husband stays back to watch her, I'll be off to MK or Epcot with our other 2 children and vice versa. I'll rest more easily if I know she has shaded comfort when I'm not the one back watching her. Thanks again for ALL the info!!
I see on your ticker....a solo trip....is that you or your husband going?? Glad you have a family one on the horizon also!

 

[TinkNH]

no idea if this is the right place to ask....and is probably somewhere in the thread...but we have a garden view room reserved...which longhouse should I try to request. We have 4 yo twins, so dont want the walks to anywhere to be really long if possible. We were in Tuvalu last trip, but only had one kiddo with us then. any recommendations??

 

[maiapapaya]

Those pictures look like PARADISE !!!!!
I hate to annoy you with questions, BUT....one more please !!! Is the fan up top of the cabana operational?? Our youngest is in a wheelchair and heats up pretty easily. She is in an open-eyed coma so she looks just like a toddler sitting upright in the wheelchair, but tends to need the fan if the humidity is extremely high. This is why we booked 2 full day cabana rentals and 2 half days. When my husband stays back to watch her, I'll be off to MK or Epcot with our other 2 children and vice versa. I'll rest more easily if I know she has shaded comfort when I'm not the one back watching her. Thanks again for ALL the info!!
I see on your ticker....a solo trip....is that you or your husband going?? Glad you have a family one on the horizon also!

I'm not Tinkerbellie, but yes, the ceiling fans in the cabanas work!
The fridges also come stocked with water and soda, so there are cool drinks on hand. The attendant we had was also very attentive, so if there is anything else you need they are more than happy to help out (and there is a pager so you can contact them if you have an urgent need and they aren't around)

no idea if this is the right place to ask....and is probably somewhere in the thread...but we have a garden view room reserved...which longhouse should I try to request. We have 4 yo twins, so dont want the walks to anywhere to be really long if possible. We were in Tuvalu last trip, but only had one kiddo with us then. any recommendations??

Although we've never stayed there lots of people recommend Samoa for GV if you want a central location. It's very close to the GCH and either faces the volcano pool (you can request this side) or the quiet pool.

 

[cobbler]

Shameless post!! Check into the Poly tomorrow afternoon!! VERY EXCITED!!!

I can't wait until noon so I can do my online check in for the flight!