ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: June 2013

[jdd]

I say we plan a Poly board trip!! Now wouldn't that be cool.

I'm there - just tell me when

 

[Jrabbit910]

Don't feel bad. We are going in September and are part of the test. I've had a number of problems getting MDE to work correctly and booking fast passes. To the point I was so stressed by it last night I almost had to bake a box of brownies to calm me down. (Settled for a couple chocolates instead.)

While it may be magical once released to general public, this test phase can be frustrating at times. I've had numerous long calls with tech support. While they have been great, it is still a bit of a headache. I'm most at the point of where I'm only going to FP+ a few things and just take the rest of the vacation as it comes. Also, I don't trust all to be fully linked to magic bands yet. So I'll be taking the park passes, KttW card, credit card and ID with me wherever I go, as back up.

I hope you feel better about you trip in a couple of days and once you get there you can just relax and have a great time!

The comment about baking the box of brownies made me laugh so loud!!!! Thanks for sharing...that can brighten anyone days

 

[karriealex]

Wel they just told me today that there is no director of the marina position but the manager of recreation said there were plans to resurface the pool in January. I don't know if that will turn into the big renovation that Imagnieering has planned but someone outside of the Polynesian makes those decisions and then informs the recreation manager of what will be happening. We have a long time until then so I am sure I will hear more about what and when by then.

I should have said head of the marina. I was doing two things at once and typed director by mistake.

 

[kelseyledare]

We're 9 days away from our first stay at the Poly and so excited!! We've always stayed at moderate resorts in the past. We're rope-drop people with an afternoon pool break and then back at the parks. We have two little girls (5&8) who are going to be thrilled to ride the monorail each day.

I was thinking of requesting Samoa longhouse but wanted opinions. Proximity to pool and monorail are our main concerns without being too loud or high traffic. Do you think this is a good request for us??

 

[Eliserose]

I heard they took down some of the hammocks on the beach down by the Hawaii LH? Is this true?

There did look like less hammocks. The one further down towards the end of Hawaii is still there.

 

[Eliserose]

We're 9 days away from our first stay at the Poly and so excited!! We've always stayed at moderate resorts in the past. We're rope-drop people with an afternoon pool break and then back at the parks. We have two little girls (5&8) who are going to be thrilled to ride the monorail each day.

I was thinking of requesting Samoa longhouse but wanted opinions. Proximity to pool and monorail are our main concerns without being too loud or high traffic. Do you think this is a good request for us??

We are in Tokelau for the second time. Great proximity to the TTC to go to Epcot. Close to everything too. Samoa would be too busy for me, I think. We do the same( rope drop, break, back to parks).

 

[Circusgirl]

I was hoping to get in one more visit to the "old" Poly before there was too much construction going on. I'm booked for mid-November and am sadly thinking of changing to the Beach Club or even the Grand. The construction site on Sunset Point impacts a significant part of the view from the beach and I am most concerned about construction noise. I have a bounceback rate so would need to take advantage of one of the fall offers for it to be even close to a comparable price, so feel like I need to decide soon. I would be so sad to not be able to enjoy the Poly, but the kind of noise usually involved in those types of projects are a deal breaker for me.

How is everybody else with an upcoming trip feeling?

 

[mindy20]

I feel the same way about the noise. I feel like I'm being a big baby, but last vacation at GF had construction and I was looking forward to our first Poly stay and not having to deal with construction. I booked a CL GV wish I just booked a regular room. I wish sunset point wasn't included in the beginning of construction, I feel like that part really bothers me. Ok rant over thank you to everyone for keeping us updated so we know what to expect when we arrive. Our trip is Sept. 16-22

 

[wyurm]

I received a letter in the mail today. We check in Oct 19th. It says "Sunset Point and a portion of the beach will be unavailable. Rest assured, much of our wonderful white-sand beach will be open and accessible, providing the South Seas ambience and views of the Magic Kingdom Park that makes Disney's Polynesian Resort such an enchanting destination. All of our world class amenities, including our shops, pools, marina, and wonderful dining experiences are also still available for you to enjoy." The letter is signed by the general manager, Norman Noble.

I got this same letter and am staying CL garden view Nov 29 -Dec 5. I found it interesting how they tried to make it sound like a good thing: "It's an exciting time here at Disney's Polynesian Resort! Upon your arrival you will notice that we are currently working on refurbishing some of our resort. While we are creating this new magic, Sunset Point and a portion of the beach will be unavailable. Please pardon any work you may see or hear in progress."

I'll admit I'm worried but my wife's dream is to stay at the Poly and I insist on a monorail resort. The GF and CR are not really appealing to us so my only other option is to wait for the vacation and I've been planning too much to be willing to do that. I'm just going to cross my fingers and go with it. At least Disney finally told me the exact location of where they were planning to have construction during my stay.

 

[smallsy]

I'm definitely anxious about it since it would be our first visit to the Poly and we'll be traveling with 2 infants who will need a quiet spot for afternoon naps. We really want to splurge for a monorail resort with the babies and aren't impressed with the CR enough to spend money on a room there. So it's basically Poly with construction or mod (probably POR) with strollers on buses. Neither option is exciting enough for me to commit to though. Of course, if I keep dragging my feet the rooms may be all booked up at both places. Need to make a decision. I thought a few days ago I was all set to book at the Poly, but then found out about pool construction in January and got cold feet.

 

[apocalyps3]

I don't care too much about the beach, to be honest. My biggest problems would be:

- No Pool. (I'm not carting around a 4 year out to a different hotel to go to the pool)
- Noise. Most of our time will be spent at the parks, but non-park time at the hotel will be for relaxing/sleeping. Both of which would be impeded if the noise is really bad.
- Construction ugliness. I feel like a tard to complain about it, but with the amount of money being spent there, I kinda feel like I shouldn't have to put up with machinery, construction congestion, etc. That's sort of the perk of a deluxe hotel, right? Its beautiful, convenient... luxurious?

We're visiting in mid-January, so with the weather the pool may be a non-issue anyway. The noise I can probably live with. I can't imagine it'll be all that terrible. The construction unsightliness is what bothers me the most, I think (even though it probably would directly effect us the least).

As good as Disney might be at hiding things, the rumored plans for the beach are going to involve considerable construction. I can't imagine how it won't impact the views. The same would be true if they plan on doing major work to the GCH (waterfall, etc).

Maybe I'm over-analyzing it too much, but its hard to get over that I would be paying deluxe rates for a deluxe hotel, when the product may be less than deluxe.

It wouldn't be so bad if this weren't something that needed to be planned so far in advance. Yeah, I could switch to a different hotel the month before if things start to look sketchy at the Poly, but would any discounts transfer? Would there be availability at my 2nd choice?

Rant completed.

 

[TaraZ]

I don't care too much about the beach, to be honest. My biggest problems would be:

- No Pool. (I'm not carting around a 4 year out to a different hotel to go to the pool)
- Noise. Most of our time will be spent at the parks, but non-park time at the hotel will be for relaxing/sleeping. Both of which would be impeded if the noise is really bad.
- Construction ugliness. I feel like a tard to complain about it, but with the amount of money being spent there, I kinda feel like I shouldn't have to put up with machinery, construction congestion, etc. That's sort of the perk of a deluxe hotel, right? Its beautiful, convenient... luxurious?

We're visiting in mid-January, so with the weather the pool may be a non-issue anyway. The noise I can probably live with. I can't imagine it'll be all that terrible. The construction unsightliness is what bothers me the most, I think (even though it probably would directly effect us the least).

As good as Disney might be at hiding things, the rumored plans for the beach are going to involve considerable construction. I can't imagine how it won't impact the views. The same would be true if they plan on doing major work to the GCH (waterfall, etc).

Maybe I'm over-analyzing it too much, but its hard to get over that I would be paying deluxe rates for a deluxe hotel, when the product may be less than deluxe.

It wouldn't be so bad if this weren't something that needed to be planned so far in advance. Yeah, I could switch to a different hotel the month before if things start to look sketchy at the Poly, but would any discounts transfer? Would there be availability at my 2nd choice?

Rant completed.

We head back to the Poly in January as well... I feel your pain. I'm hoping within the next month we can learn something!

 

[Tikiman]

I should have said head of the marina. I was doing two things at once and typed director by mistake.

Like cooking and doing the hula?

 

[karriealex]

Like cooking and doing the hula?

That would actually be frightening at my size. ROFL Seriously I was posting here and on Facebook and on chat at the same time. I guess director was the first word that came to mind. She did say though that it was the head of the marina. I don't know if that is recreation or not. I just wish they would put out the definitive word on what will happen when so that everyone could plan accordingly. I don't see the construction etc.. bothering me but it will bother some. I would just hate for someone to get there and be really unhappy because they didn't know what to expect.

 

[CJK]

LOVE this thread and Tikiman's site. We're booked for a quick 2 night stay in December. We wanted to stay at the Poly one last time before all the serious changes/construction takes place. We will not leave the hotel property for those 2 days, so noise is definitely a concern. One of my favourite past times is lounging by the quiet pool listening to Hawaiian Christmas music! Hmmm, I'd really hate to cancel, but I am debating. Anyone else going in December and NOT worried about how the construction will impact their trip? I need a dose of optimism!

 

[Tikiman]

That would actually be frightening at my size. ROFL Seriously I was posting here and on Facebook and on chat at the same time. I guess director was the first word that came to mind. She did say though that it was the head of the marina. I don't know if that is recreation or not. I just wish they would put out the definitive word on what will happen when so that everyone could plan accordingly. I don't see the construction etc.. bothering me but it will bother some. I would just hate for someone to get there and be really unhappy because they didn't know what to expect.

I honestly don’t think they know or have been told. I don’t believe they have any control over what happens when. It would be like the Club Level Manager being able to control when Hawaii longhouse gets renovated. They are told by another division of Disney what is going to happen and when. There might be some things they can’t tell you but for the most part I believe they do their best to keep the guests informed about what is going on. If anyone calls the resort number then we know the stories are all over the place because they are told even less being an offsite call center. Remember when just a short time ago they were saying there was no construction and that people were being asked to move resorts because they were overbooked?

 

[karriealex]

I don't care too much about the beach, to be honest. My biggest problems would be:

- No Pool. (I'm not carting around a 4 year out to a different hotel to go to the pool)
- Noise. Most of our time will be spent at the parks, but non-park time at the hotel will be for relaxing/sleeping. Both of which would be impeded if the noise is really bad.
- Construction ugliness. I feel like a tard to complain about it, but with the amount of money being spent there, I kinda feel like I shouldn't have to put up with machinery, construction congestion, etc. That's sort of the perk of a deluxe hotel, right? Its beautiful, convenient... luxurious?

We're visiting in mid-January, so with the weather the pool may be a non-issue anyway. The noise I can probably live with. I can't imagine it'll be all that terrible. The construction unsightliness is what bothers me the most, I think (even though it probably would directly effect us the least).

As good as Disney might be at hiding things, the rumored plans for the beach are going to involve considerable construction. I can't imagine how it won't impact the views. The same would be true if they plan on doing major work to the GCH (waterfall, etc).

Maybe I'm over-analyzing it too much, but its hard to get over that I would be paying deluxe rates for a deluxe hotel, when the product may be less than deluxe.

It wouldn't be so bad if this weren't something that needed to be planned so far in advance. Yeah, I could switch to a different hotel the month before if things start to look sketchy at the Poly, but would any discounts transfer? Would there be availability at my 2nd choice?

Rant completed.

The only beach that will be involved is the beach in front of Tahiti. If you are at any other part of the resort such as Hawaii those views will not be effected. The side of Tokelau that faces the TTC probably wont have a great view either. That said though there are a lot of other rooms where the view wont be effected. Disney also puts up walls around where they are working so you aren't looking directly at construction equipment. As for congestion I don't really see where there will be any as the construction is pretty much limited to one side of the resort and it is the far right side. TTC access might be an issue at the back of the resort but I think you can also get to it from the front. Don't quote me on that but I think we did it on our last trip. Sound may be somewhat of an issue during the day but the walls may buffer that some. The main thing I think people will hear the most is the back up beepers on the machines. I can't see them downing the whole GCH at once but there may be areas that are blocked off. This unfortunately has to happen as there is Asbestos in the building.

Unfortunately every resort at one time or another has to have work done on it deluxe or not. You have to decide for yourself if it is worth it to you to stay there. I believe there will be enough of the resort that wont be effected that my stay there will still be nice. We are going in December and I have no plans on changing where we will stay.

 

[Tikiman]

LOVE this thread and Tikiman's site. We're booked for a quick 2 night stay in December. We wanted to stay at the Poly one last time before all the serious changes/construction takes place. We will not leave the hotel property for those 2 days, so noise is definitely a concern. One of my favourite past times is lounging by the quiet pool listening to Hawaiian Christmas music! Hmmm, I'd really hate to cancel, but I am debating. Anyone else going in December and NOT worried about how the construction will impact their trip? I need a dose of optimism!

CJK,

Here is some optimism. I don’t see anything more than the work on the east side going on and I am sure they will do their best to keep the noise to a minimum. I would not expect them to tear up the GCH or pool area around the holidays and for me it would be cool to peek at what is going on. You could say that you saw the DVC when it was being built. Who knows, maybe enough people will shy away from the Polynesian because of what happens over the next couple of months that there will be some upgrades available. Ooops now I let out the secret.

 

[Tikiman]

The only beach that will be involved is the beach in front of Tahiti. If you are at any other part of the resort such as Hawaii those views will not be effected. The side of Tokelau that faces the TTC probably wont have a great view either. That said though there are a lot of other rooms where the view wont be effected. Disney also puts up walls around where they are working so you aren't looking directly at construction equipment. As for congestion I don't really see where there will be any as the construction is pretty much limited to one side of the resort and it is the far right side. TTC access might be an issue at the back of the resort but I think you can also get to it from the front. Don't quote me on that but I think we did it on our last trip. Sound may be somewhat of an issue during the day but the walls may buffer that some. The main thing I think people will hear the most is the back up beepers on the machines. I can't see them downing the whole GCH at once but there may be areas that are blocked off. This unfortunately has to happen as there is Asbestos in the building.

Unfortunately every resort at one time or another has to have work done on it deluxe or not. You have to decide for yourself if it is worth it to you to stay there. I believe there will be enough of the resort that wont be effected that my stay there will still be nice. We are going in December and I have no plans on changing where we will stay.

I don’t believe that is true. If you look at my latest article you can see that the proposed bungalows extend to about half the Hawaii beach so at some point they will have to close off that part of the beach that is next to sunset pointe. Also who knows what type of equipment they will need to put supports under water off the beach. I guess we will know soon enough.

The good thing is the resort will not be without a pool. It has two pools and I have not seen anything that says that the East pool will be affected.

 

[CJK]

CJK,

Here is some optimism. I don’t see anything more than the work on the east side going on and I am sure they will do their best to keep the noise to a minimum. I would not expect them to tear up the GCH or pool area around the holidays and for me it would be cool to peek at what is going on. You could say that you saw the DVC when it was being built. Who knows, maybe enough people will shy away from the Polynesian because of what happens over the next couple of months that there will be some upgrades available. Ooops now I let out the secret.

Fabulous!!!!!! I'm hooked - I'm totally hooked!