ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: June 2013

[mickeynut1]

Well, checking out today . It's much harder leaving this trip than it has been before. We all have enjoyed Poly so much
. Can't wait to come back!!

I hope you had a magical trip being at the Poly and are able to get back soon .

6 DAYS and we are there!!!!

We are there in 8 days!!

5 days til check in!!

Two days until we get to experience the beautiful Poly resort CL. Truly feel blessed and oh so excited.

Checking in on the 4th! It's been 3yrs since our last visit. We try to mix it up but the Poly is our favorite.

Hope all of you going soon have amazing trips

I have been following this board for several months in preparation for my trip. (We leave in less than a week...Hooray!) I just wanted to say that this seems like the thread with the most helpful, nice people anywhere on the Disboards. It makes me even more excited for my first poly visit...everyone is just so stinking happy!!!! I love it!!! I am generally an upbeat, positive person, so I just love the vibe from everyone posting about the resort.

I agree.....the people on this thread are very helpful and nice . Have a great trip and enjoy the Poly .

2 days till first Poly stay !!!

You are going to love the Poly .

Just wanted to say hi to all from Samoa! I've been a lurker for a while now and this is my first post ever. We are absolutely loving our stay so far. The Poly is beautiful of course and after a stay at POFQ last year, my husband is saying we are never staying anywhere but here from now on! Thanks to all for this wonderful thread!

Hope you're having a great time and are enjoying the Poly.....it really is an amazing resort .

 

[Dreamer2012]

Any thoughts or guesses on if we should be concerned about our stay at the Poly in late Feb 2014? All this talk has me a bit on edge to spend so much money and not have the great Poly experience all of you talk about so much.... Hmmmmm....do I change resorts now or wait and see??? What would you do?

 

[karriealex]

I would wait for awhile and see. Disney is not going to want to upset it's guests at one of it's flagship resorts. I bet the construction will be handled with the least impact on guests staying there.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

I have been following this board for several months in preparation for my trip. (We leave in less than a week...Hooray!) I just wanted to say that this seems like the thread with the most helpful, nice people anywhere on the Disboards. It makes me even more excited for my first poly visit...everyone is just so stinking happy!!!! I love it!!! I am generally an upbeat, positive person, so I just love the vibe from everyone posting about the resort.

You're going to love the Poly!!!

Sent from my Galaxy SII

 

[jdd]

Safe travels to everyone leaving so soon -wishing you the best vacations ever

We're down to 16 days and I need to finish shopping and start packing

 

[ocalla]

Woke up this morning in our Plain Ole Boring house . No beautiful patio looking at tropical plants; no waterfall; no Tonga Toast......I keep hoping to wake up from this nightmare!!!!

Never thought I could love a resort more than the Beach Club..but it really is possible.

Did I miss the ease of strolling into World Showcase at night? Yes. BUT the monorail ride there was really easy! And being so close to MK allowed us to spend so much more time there!!!

Has anyone here stayed at other monorail resorts and enjoyed them as much? I would love to try them, but worry they won't be as wonderful. I would really live input from anyone on this!! B

 

[karriealex]

Woke up this morning in our Plain Ole Boring house . No beautiful patio looking at tropical plants; no waterfall; no Tonga Toast......I keep hoping to wake up from this nightmare!!!!

Never thought I could love a resort more than the Beach Club..but it really is possible.

Did I miss the ease of strolling into World Showcase at night? Yes. BUT the monorail ride there was really easy! And being so close to MK allowed us to spend so much more time there!!!

Has anyone here stayed at other monorail resorts and enjoyed them as much? I would love to try them, but worry they won't be as wonderful. I would really live input from anyone on this!! B

I have stayed at the Contemporary and to me it just felt a lot more sterile. I guess it's the lines and angles of the place and the amount of concrete believe it or not. It just didn't feel homey and inviting to me. I have visited the Grand Floridian and quite honestly I have always felt under dressed for that hotel. Dh doesn't feel this way but I do. He wanted to stay there for our 30th anniversary but I talked him out of it when I could get Club level at the Poly for almost the same price as a regular room at GF. I'm just not an Izod, Talbot's kinda girl and that is the feel I get there. I don't know but I pull into the Poly and the minute I get out of the car every care I have goes away and I get a peaceful you're home kind of feeling. I have never felt quite this way anywhere else on property. Yep at other places I am able to forget the outside world till we leave but the level of calm and peacefulness is not the same.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

Just have to say Can't wait to be at the Poly!!!

 

[karriealex]

Just looked at the school schedule for my youngest and realized he goes back to school almost right after we get back. At least he will have had the time of his life right before he goes back. Our tax free weekend for school supplies is the weekend we leave but actually isn't real useful for us anyway as most schools don't give you a list of what they need till they actually start school. I really want this trip to be ultra special. My kids are getting older and I don't know how many more family vacations we will be able to to take together. One of my boys is in college and one in high school. This trip just means so much to me and to be doing it at the Poly just makes it that much more special.

 

[bluejasmine]

Stayed at CR & GF as well as Poly & I didn't care for the "airport" feeling at CR. I did very much enjoy GF & will stay there again one day but I adore the beautiful views, laid back atmosphere, relaxing music & tropical feel that is my beloved Poly!

Sept 2013 Poly, 2012 Disney Fantasy, BC CL, GF CL, POR, 2011 Poly CL, CR, Poly CL, AKL, 2010 Poly CL, ASMu 2009, SSR 2008, Pop 2006, POR , Asmo 2005, Asmo 2003, offsite 2000, 1999,1989, Poly 1980, offsite 1979

 

[PolyAddict]

Any thoughts or guesses on if we should be concerned about our stay at the Poly in late Feb 2014? All this talk has me a bit on edge to spend so much money and not have the great Poly experience all of you talk about so much.... Hmmmmm....do I change resorts now or wait and see??? What would you do?

We were planning March 2014. So i know how you feel i haven't stayed at the Poly since 2009 so i am really missing it. My brother wants to stay but thinks its a lot of money to spend if things are crazy over there! Im really torn, DD12 wants to try BC. We do love the Epcot area. I just dont know which one to book now and try to switch later.

 

[karriealex]

bluejasmine you hit the nail on the head when you said airport feeling at the Contemporary. That is it exactly. It was what I was going for but didn't exactly know how to explain it. There is just SO much concrete at the Contemporary and I think that's what gives it that feeling where the Poly is lush and green.

 

[Jules54]

We just returned from a perfect week at the Poly. I want to thank everyone for their help/advice planning our trip. It could not have gone better. We had ages ranging from 6 to 61 and everyone enjoyed the Poly. We will be going back for sure

 

[karriealex]

Need an opinion from my buddies. We have an ADR at Rose and Crown. I am begining to rethink that idea. The only real reason I made it was in the hopes we would get an outside table to watch Illuminations. The ressie is at 7:35 and Illuminations starts at 9:00. It is a celebration vacation and that is noted on our ressie but it doesn't exactly ensure us of getting an outside table. Would you all cancel the ressie and just find a spot or keep it and see what happens. It is an expensive dinner for an unsure thing. I know this should probably go on the dining board. It kinda does fall into the Poly as we would probably stay at the resort till about 7 that night and then make our way over and find a spot.

 

[karriealex]

We just returned from a perfect week at the Poly. I want to thank everyone for their help/advice planning our trip. It could not have gone better. We had ages ranging from 6 to 61 and everyone enjoyed the Poly. We will be going back for sure

I am so happy you had a wonderful time. You are right the Poly is wonderful for people of all ages. So happy to hear you are planning another trip "home".

 

[leannak]

Hi Poly People! I'm wondering if you can help a girl out. I have only been to DW once and never stayed on site. I am booking two poly rooms for 3 nights in mid-November. One room for a family of 5 and one room for the Grandparents. We're considering upgrading one of the rooms to a theme-park view, so the kids (ages 5, 6, 8) can sleep or at least be in their pajamas and we adults can see the fireworks and electrical water parade. (Is there enough room/chairs on the balcony for 4 adults??) Our first night, for sure, we will not be going into the park... just the monorail over to CR for Chef Mickey's at 6pm. Is upgrading our room worthwhile? I realize we could go sit on the beach after dinner, but our kids (and the grandparents) will probably be tired from travel. I'm thinking the beach is usually pretty cold in November, also. But it's so much $$ to upgrade, so I'm leaning toward "roughing it" (ha ha!) and bringing a blanket and cozying up on the beach. (Is there cocoa for the resort mugs? : )

Our other consideration is luau or Ohana. I understand Ohana gets the better reviews and has better food... but will our kids (and the grandparents, who adore shows) have a better time at the luau? Grandparents will never get to Hawaii or anyplace like that, so this will be the closest they've seen to a real luau. Boy, those reviews are bad, though!
(Currently we're booked for the luau at 5:15... I've been watching for Ohana, and realize this may be not even possible to get for 7 people.)

On that second night we'll probably try and catch the fireworks from the beach or our room again. Our first night MK has MVMCP and second night is a normal park night, so I'm thinking the fireworks may be slightly different... but we're so far away at the Poly you probably can't even tell, right? We are also considering heading back into the magic kingdom for the fireworks show after dinner... but that's a lot of kids and grandparents to drag around and it's predicted to be a very busy crowd day for MK. (And we'll be in the park for MVMCP & the Christmas fireworks on the third night of our stay!)

OK, last question... what kind of room requests? If we opt to upgrade, we obviously need a good building with a view. If we don't upgrade, we probably want something close to transportation or the lobby building. (We will be hitting parks every day, except the first evening when we'll be taking the monorail to Chef Mickey's.)

 

[Cobern]

Hi Poly People! I'm wondering if you can help a girl out. I have only been to DW once and never stayed on site. I am booking two poly rooms for 3 nights in mid-November. One room for a family of 5 and one room for the Grandparents. We're considering upgrading one of the rooms to a theme-park view, so the kids (ages 5, 6, 8) can sleep or at least be in their pajamas and we adults can see the fireworks and electrical water parade. (Is there enough room/chairs on the balcony for 4 adults??) Our first night, for sure, we will not be going into the park... just the monorail over to CR for Chef Mickey's at 6pm. Is upgrading our room worthwhile? I realize we could go sit on the beach after dinner, but our kids (and the grandparents) will probably be tired from travel. I'm thinking the beach is usually pretty cold in November, also. It's so much $$ to upgrade, so I'm leaning toward "roughing it" (ha ha!) and bringing a blanket and cozying up on the beach. (Is there cocoa for the resort mugs? : )

Our other consideration is luau or Ohana. I understand Ohana gets the better reviews and has better food... but will our kids (and the grandparents, who adore shows) have a better time at the luau? Grandparents will never get to Hawaii or anyplace like that, so this will be the closest they've seen to a real luau. Boy, those reviews are bad, though!
(Currently we're booked for the luau at 5:15... I've been watching for Ohana, and realize this may be not even possible to get for 7 people.)

On that second night we'll probably try and catch the fireworks from the beach or our room again. Our first night MK has MVMCP and second night is a normal park night, so I'm thinking the fireworks may be slightly different... but we're so far away at the Poly you probably can't even tell, right? We are also considering heading back into the magic kingdom for the fireworks show after dinner... but that's a lot of kids and grandparents to drag around and it's predicted to be a very busy crowd day for MK. (And we'll be in the park for MVMCP & the Christmas fireworks on the third night of our stay!)

OK, last question... what kind of room requests? If we opt to upgrade, we obviously need a good building with a view. If we don't upgrade, we probably want something close to transportation or the lobby building. (We will be hitting parks every day, except the first evening when we'll be taking the monorail to Chef Mickey's.)

The only thing I can comment on is the luau. My daughter loved it! Sure it has cheesy parts but it had some funny moments and the kids got to interact at parts. The food is good, we didn't eat dessert since I had a birthday cake ordered. We did the same time luau and went to MK for a few hours afterwards.

 

[karriealex]

Hi Poly People! I'm wondering if you can help a girl out. I have only been to DW once and never stayed on site. I am booking two rooms for 3 nights in mid-November. One room for a family of 5 and one room for the Grandparents. We're considering upgrading one of the rooms to a theme-park view, so the kids (ages 5, 6, 8) can sleep or at least be in their pajamas and we adults can see the fireworks and electrical water parade. (Is there enough room/chairs on the balcony for 4 adults??) Our first night, for sure, we will not be going into the park... just the monorail over to CR for Chef Mickey's at 6pm. Is upgrading our room worthwhile? I realize we could go sit on the beach after dinner, but our kids (and the grandparents) will probably be tired from travel. I'm thinking the beach is usually pretty cold in November, also. It's so much $$ to upgrade, so I'm leaning toward "roughing it" (ha ha!) and bringing a blanket and cozying up on the beach. (Is there cocoa for the resort mugs? : )

Our other consideration is luau or Ohana. I understand Ohana gets the better reviews and has better food... but will our kids (and the grandparents, who adore shows) have a better time at the luau? Grandparents will never get to Hawaii or anyplace like that, so this will be the closest they've seen to a real luau. Boy, those reviews are bad, though!
(Currently we're booked for the luau at 5:15... I've been watching for Ohana, and realize this may be not even possible to get for 7 people.)

On that second night we'll probably try and catch the fireworks from the beach or our room again. Our first night MK has MVMCP and second night is a normal park night, so I'm thinking the fireworks may be slightly different... but we're so far away at the Poly you probably can't even tell, right? We are also considering heading back into the magic kingdom for the fireworks show after dinner... but it's predicted to be a very busy crowd day for MK.

OK, last question... what kind of room requests? If we opt to upgrade, we obviously need a good building with a view. If we don't upgrade, we probably want something close to transportation or the lobby building. (We will be hitting parks every day, except the first evening when we'll be taking the monorail to Chef Mickey's.)

There are usually only two chairs on each balcony. Also if you are upgrading only one of the rooms you will not be close to your other party. What about checking on Club Level garden view? Very often you can get CL for almost the same price or cheaper than a theme Park regular room. With CL you get breakfast, snacks, appetizers, and desserts and cordials also. Plus you have the Lounge that you can go into to watch the fireworks with the music piped in and you don't have to sit on the cold beach and the kids can be in their PJ's. Also on down time at the resort the lounge has a kids play area.

We are doing both the Luau and Ohana's. It is a special celebration trip for us and the kids have never done the Luau, dh and I have. It is a lot of fun especially if you are celebrating something. My kids have already informed us that they are ratting us out about our anniversary and birthdays so that they will pull us up on stage. This will probably be the last time we will do the luau though as it is very expensive. Ohana is our absolute favorite restaurant. Even when we have not stayed at the Poly we have gone there for dinner every trip. The food is wonderful and so is the atmosphere. There is also a lot to do for the kids. They have games going on all through dinner like coconut races etc.. My kids loved to do that and it kept them from getting figgity at the table and allowed the adults to talk.

I hope this helps your decision.

 

[karriealex]

Wooo Hooo I just scored a GREAT camera from Amazon for our trip for a great price. We have a digital camera but you take two pictures with it and you have to replace the batteries. I was just going to use our Iphones but I really wanted the ability to do closeups. I got the camera, a card, and the case for 136.00 dollars and it is a good camera. This just made this trip just that much better.

 

[mickeynut1]

Any thoughts or guesses on if we should be concerned about our stay at the Poly in late Feb 2014? All this talk has me a bit on edge to spend so much money and not have the great Poly experience all of you talk about so much.... Hmmmmm....do I change resorts now or wait and see??? What would you do?

I agree with the pp that I would wait and see what happens. So many things change with Disney (especially with construction), so I would wait it out a little more to see if anything definite is decided and go from there .

We're down to 16 days and I need to finish shopping and start packing

Have a great trip .

Has anyone here stayed at other monorail resorts and enjoyed them as much? I would love to try them, but worry they won't be as wonderful. I would really live input from anyone on this!! B

We have stayed at the GF and are trying the CR for the first time in December. While I do love the GF, the Poly is where my heart is . With that said, the GF really is a beautiful resort and IMO, is worth trying if it appeals to you. If you get there and don't really care for it, you can always ask to be moved to the Poly. Moving to the Poly would not be guaranteed as it would depend on how busy the resort is, but Disney will do everything they can to accommodate you .

I have visited the Grand Floridian and quite honestly I have always felt under dressed for that hotel. Dh doesn't feel this way but I do. He wanted to stay there for our 30th anniversary but I talked him out of it when I could get Club level at the Poly for almost the same price as a regular room at GF. I'm just not an Izod, Talbot's kinda girl and that is the feel I get there.

I just wanted to say that I felt the same exact way as you prior to my first GF stay. We have visited the GF many, many times over the years and every time I felt it was "stuffy". I actually made a comment once to my DH that as pretty as the resort is, I'd never stay there because it seemed too "uppity". With that said, I went on a girls trip in January 2010 (the GF was the majority vote) and I have to say that I did not have the same feeling staying there as I perceived when visiting. The resort is truly beautiful and I did not feel out of place while staying there. After that first trip, I ended up booking 4 nights of our family trip there so my DH and DSs could experience it. Everyone enjoyed their stay and although it's not our favorite (our favorite is the Poly ), they would stay there again. So my point of this is, experiencing a resort by actually staying there might give you a different feel for it vs just visiting .

Just have to say Can't wait to be at the Poly!!!

Have a great time .

I really want this trip to be ultra special. My kids are getting older and I don't know how many more family vacations we will be able to to take together. One of my boys is in college and one in high school. This trip just means so much to me and to be doing it at the Poly just makes it that much more special.

I can totally relate. My two boys are 18 & 20 and I fear our last family trip might not be that far off .

We just returned from a perfect week at the Poly. I want to thank everyone for their help/advice planning our trip. It could not have gone better. We had ages ranging from 6 to 61 and everyone enjoyed the Poly. We will be going back for sure

Glad you had a great trip and enjoyed the Poly .

Hi Poly People! I'm wondering if you can help a girl out. I have only been to DW once and never stayed on site. I am booking two poly rooms for 3 nights in mid-November. One room for a family of 5 and one room for the Grandparents. We're considering upgrading one of the rooms to a theme-park view, so the kids (ages 5, 6, 8) can sleep or at least be in their pajamas and we adults can see the fireworks and electrical water parade. (Is there enough room/chairs on the balcony for 4 adults??) Our first night, for sure, we will not be going into the park... just the monorail over to CR for Chef Mickey's at 6pm. Is upgrading our room worthwhile? I realize we could go sit on the beach after dinner, but our kids (and the grandparents) will probably be tired from travel. I'm thinking the beach is usually pretty cold in November, also. But it's so much $$ to upgrade, so I'm leaning toward "roughing it" (ha ha!) and bringing a blanket and cozying up on the beach. (Is there cocoa for the resort mugs? : )

Our other consideration is luau or Ohana. I understand Ohana gets the better reviews and has better food... but will our kids (and the grandparents, who adore shows) have a better time at the luau? Grandparents will never get to Hawaii or anyplace like that, so this will be the closest they've seen to a real luau. Boy, those reviews are bad, though!
(Currently we're booked for the luau at 5:15... I've been watching for Ohana, and realize this may be not even possible to get for 7 people.)

On that second night we'll probably try and catch the fireworks from the beach or our room again. Our first night MK has MVMCP and second night is a normal park night, so I'm thinking the fireworks may be slightly different... but we're so far away at the Poly you probably can't even tell, right? We are also considering heading back into the magic kingdom for the fireworks show after dinner... but that's a lot of kids and grandparents to drag around and it's predicted to be a very busy crowd day for MK. (And we'll be in the park for MVMCP & the Christmas fireworks on the third night of our stay!)

OK, last question... what kind of room requests? If we opt to upgrade, we obviously need a good building with a view. If we don't upgrade, we probably want something close to transportation or the lobby building. (We will be hitting parks every day, except the first evening when we'll be taking the monorail to Chef Mickey's.)

Everyone is different, but we don't usually pay extra for views. But, if it's something you think the kids would enjoy and it would make it easier on everyone else, then I think upgrading is something to consider. With that said, we loved watching the fireworks from the beach. The weather is unpredictable in November as it can be chilly to down right cold, or it can be 80 degrees, but the beach is an awesome place to watch the fireworks whether it's cold or not. I do agree that it is quite a jump in price from a standard view to TPV. Our Poly stay was in a GV room and we loved it. Samoa would my suggestion if you go with a standard view room. We were very convenient to everything as Samoa was just steps from the GCH, volcano pool, the beach, and Captain Cooks .

As far as Ohana vs SoA, we've done Ohana many times and love it; but we've also done SoA and while the luau does get some negative reviews, we loved it. We thought the food was good and the show (while a little cheesy in parts) was cute. The fire dancers at the end were amazing .

Good luck deciding on room types, but IMO, there's no bad location at the Poly .