ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: October 2013

[maiapapaya]

Gasparilla Grill is great - love the pasta counter! (although I'm happy that CC's should open again by the time we hit the Poly in October)

 

[Circusgirl]

Just thought I would rescue this thread before it hit page 4

We currently have GF booked for our late July trip but I think we are going to switch to the Poly if we can get a good discount when(if) they are released at the end of March/beginning of April (crossing fingers). We had decided on GF because of the construction but since the photos of the GF refurb emerged.....we are so put off that we would rather have the inconvenience of construction than pay extra for a resort room that is not as comfortable as our beloved Poly. Even though CC may be closed and the alternative CS will have a limited menu, we will work around it by eating a few CS at Gaspie's back at the GF and ordering a few extra items from GG for DD13 with her food allergy issues.

The rooms at the Poly are now so much better fitted out than at the Grand! I missed the little drum table like crazy when I stayed at the Grand, and now the Grand will also be missing the comfy chair. If you could be in a balcony room on the lagoon side of Fiji that would be a lovely spot, and a not bad walk to Gaspie's.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

The rooms at the Poly are now so much better fitted out than at the Grand! I missed the little drum table like crazy when I stayed at the Grand, and now the Grand will also be missing the comfy chair. If you could be in a balcony room on the lagoon side of Fiji that would be a lovely spot, and a not bad walk to Gaspie's.

Exactly! I hate to sound so picky but.....with the GF removing the armchair, the padded bench, and possibly the nesting table, it is just not functional for our family given the pricetag. I LOVE the drum table next to the armchair w/ottoman at the Poly. Not only does it fit the theme but it is so functional for placing beverages, reading materials, cell phones, etc. The new rooms at GF remind me now of the set up at YC which we did not care for. What were they thinking? The desk on the wall next to the bed is not the proper scale and it replaces the ever-so-functional armchair that I EXPECT to be in a room at that pricepoint. The rooms at GF are larger than BC/YC but now with no more functionality for a much bigger price....IMO. Not worth it.

On the brighter side, my older DD will turn 16 the week before our trip so this is part of her "sweet 16/golden birthday" and she is over the moon to stay back at the Poly! She just started eating sushi this past summer so she is excited to try the sushi at Kona island.

As far as room requests, we stayed in Tokelau one trip and loved it. Stayed in Aotearoa the next trip and loved that as well....especially listening to the luau music and people watching on the balcony. I will be happy as long as I have a balcony that does not face a parking lot or the construction. I am going to simply ask for "balcony, water view" . It could be of either pool, the marina, or the lagoon, which would all be great!

Loved all your pics on the GF thread BTW

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Gasparilla Grill is great - love the pasta counter! (although I'm happy that CC's should open again by the time we hit the Poly in October)

Although we have never eaten at GG, the menu looks great. I know it will be a little out of the way for CS but it is a quick monorail ride or a short-ish walk....probably the same walk as some of the moderate rooms to CS in fact. Because our stay is the last week of July, it is possible that CCs will be back open but we are at peace with using GG as a back-up if needed

At the risk of sounding just awful....I am leaving our ressie at GF until discounts are released to increase the chance of a discount at the Poly as one less room is booked there.....like that makes a difference Now, if for some reason Poly is shut out of discounts.....it is back to the drawing board as I refuse to pay rack rate. Also hoping Cheaptickets will keep that 20-25% discount code going so that we could take advantage of that and make it an even sweeter deal

 

[TaraPA]

We have a friend from FL visiting us at Poly for a day. She will have a car, but we won't. He do we go about having her park at Poly - or can't she? If I add her to the ressie it's $25 extra adult fee -and she's not staying overnight, so I'd rather avoid doing that if possible. Can she just pay to park on her own, or do we need to let the front desk know ahead of time that we have a guest?

 

[dansdad]

We have a friend from FL visiting us at Poly for a day. She will have a car, but we won't. He do we go about having her park at Poly - or can't she? If I add her to the ressie it's $25 extra adult fee -and she's not staying overnight, so I'd rather avoid doing that if possible. Can she just pay to park on her own, or do we need to let the front desk know ahead of time that we have a guest?

When you check in, ask for a parking pass. We have done that multiple times in the past as we normally never have a car.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Is Tokelau still a good choice for a room request?

 

[Masonmj84]

Is Tokelau still a good choice for a room request?

My opinion is that it isn't as good of a choice as it was before the construction because if you're in an east-facing room, you'll likely be staring straight into it (in any event, you're going to be relatively close to the noise).

A west (quiet pool) facing room would be a lot better but I personally wouldn't request Tokelau right now for fear of being put in a east-facing room.

 

[Elinor Dashwood]

Hello Poly folks!

We were just at the Poly the last week of January and I'm here to say it wasn't disappointing. Yes, there was construction but we didn't hear a thing. We stayed in Samoa, facing the pool and it was lovely. There wasn't any construction going on in the lobby nor the pool. The beach still looked beautiful even though you could see the yellow buoy markers. They have a green screen fence that lines most of the walkway to the TTC but again, it wasn't obtrusive. The overall Poly feel was still there and we found it very relaxing.

 

[Kristina4109]

Has anyone heard of a date when CC's will reopen? I know it's "June" but we're going to be there June 6th - 14th. I'm hoping it will be re-opened when we get there. Momma needs her Dole Whip.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Has anyone heard of a date when CC's will reopen? I know it's "June" but we're going to be there June 6th - 14th. I'm hoping it will be re-opened when we get there. Momma needs her Dole Whip.

There is no reopen date as with any construction project--esp at WDW--there are too many factors that can stall the project. The Poly will have a temporary CS location in another building although it will likely have a reduced menu. We will be in Disney the last week of July and I am just assuming that CCs will still be closed. If it has already reopened...GREAT! If not, I will not be disappointed as I have made food plans that assume it will be closed. KWIM? I have added a few extra TS that we would normally not plan and will probably eat a few times at other CS on the monorail. The menus at Gaspie's and Contemp both look very interesting and the monorail really keeps the trip to another resort quick and painless. Breakfast is the biggest issue but we are going to plan on getting some extra items from GardenGrocer to accommodate my youngest DD's food allergies which would be a challenge at a temporary CS location as the space and menu is limited.

HTH

 

[karapp75]

Although we have never eaten at GG, the menu looks great. I know it will be a little out of the way for CS but it is a quick monorail ride or a short-ish walk....probably the same walk as some of the moderate rooms to CS in fact. Because our stay is the last week of July, it is possible that CCs will be back open but we are at peace with using GG as a back-up if needed

At the risk of sounding just awful....I am leaving our ressie at GF until discounts are released to increase the chance of a discount at the Poly as one less room is booked there.....like that makes a difference Now, if for some reason Poly is shut out of discounts.....it is back to the drawing board as I refuse to pay rack rate. Also hoping Cheaptickets will keep that 20-25% discount code going so that we could take advantage of that and make it an even sweeter deal

Hey GraceandCarolinesMom, I have twin girls named Grace and Caroline and we are also having the Poly/Grand dilemma for this fall 2014. Would totally put up with the Poly construction if the pool was still up and running but hate to resort hop just to use the pool. Our plans are still up in the air!

 

[sullys gram]

I don't know why everyone raves about the Polynesian. I stayed there in Jan. and it was the worst experience I have had at a Disney resort. The bathroom was dirty. When we first got into the room we noticed the toilet was filthy. We called to ask to have it cleaned again but nobody came. The room was dusty.The lampshades were covered with dust. It was impossible to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. There was just nothing pleasant about it. The food is terrible. Very limited selections at all restaurants. Pool closed too early. We were really looking forward to staying there and we were very disappointed. Needless to say.... I will NEVER go back!

 

[seahaze]

I posted this in the construction thread, but I wanted to share it here as well:

I've recently returned from staying in room 3515 of the Hawaii building at the Polynesian. It is classified as a theme park view.

I took some photos of what the construction looked like from our balcony: Photos Here.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Hey GraceandCarolinesMom, I have twin girls named Grace and Caroline and we are also having the Poly/Grand dilemma for this fall 2014. Would totally put up with the Poly construction if the pool was still up and running but hate to resort hop just to use the pool. Our plans are still up in the air!

Too funny! Life is always full of fun coincidences that warm the heart When I named my girls, these were uncommon names in my area. Now it seems we can't turn around without meeting another Grace and Caroline...lol

We have already changed resorts "in our minds" but will not make any official ressie changes until discounts are released. I have a budget in mind but I refuse to pay rack rate and I love a good bargain. My biggest issues are dealing with the "is it worth it" questions and comparing rooms/amenities/etc. We love the Poly and it holds many special memories. We also spent our first trip to WDW at the CR in a garden wing room so CR is also somewhat in the running...especially since GF has been "downgraded" on our list due to the refurb. For our family, the room functionality is not worth the current pricetag. As with anything resort related, the almighty discount roulette will play a huge factor on where the spinner lands. We are just REALLY hoping it lands on the Poly

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I posted this in the construction thread, but I wanted to share it here as well:

Thanks for the pics link. I would not be happy to pay CL TPV and see all of that construction. Now if I was paying for GV and got "upgraded" to the castle/construction view, I would be perfectly happy!

 

[Mainemama]

Construction can't bring me down! Lucky to have a flight scheduled today, as flights were cancelled the last three days due to 2 big storms. I love leaving 2 feet of snow for the Poly! Airport should be crazy! traveling with 3 kids, so I may not have much downtime, but if anyone has a specific question about what is going on, feel free to ask.

 

[PolyAddict]

What are your best guesses for what we could encounter?

Construction noise? My DH loves an afternoon nap.

GCH construction? We don't use CC much while staying club level. What about gift shops? Other restaurants?

Pool? I heard it was open through Oct?

Monorail?

Path to TTC?

I'm sure my family will ask a lot of questions so I want to be prepared as best I can.

Thanks!

 

[TaraPA]

Good morning! Does Poly have a fax line for room requests like a few other resorts do, or do I just call & have it noted on the ressie at the regular reservations line?

I think the Northeast is starting to dig out - but I hear another storm is coming tomorrow night? 2 weeks til Poly, 2 weeks til Poly.....

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Construction can't bring me down! Lucky to have a flight scheduled today, as flights were cancelled the last three days due to 2 big storms. I love leaving 2 feet of snow for the Poly! Airport should be crazy! traveling with 3 kids, so I may not have much downtime, but if anyone has a specific question about what is going on, feel free to ask.

YAY! Have a great vacation and soak up some sun and a few Pina Colavas for the rest of us still buried in snow and cold, blowing winds.....Enjoy

What are your best guesses for what we could encounter?

Construction noise? My DH loves an afternoon nap.

GCH construction? We don't use CC much while staying club level. What about gift shops? Other restaurants?

Pool? I heard it was open through Oct?

Monorail?

Path to TTC?

I'm sure my family will ask a lot of questions so I want to be prepared as best I can.

Thanks!

I think in GV you should be fine. You will be facing the opposite way of the daytime noise on the lagoon and with the door closed I am sure your DH will nap OK....as long as Mousekeeping does not interrupt CCs will be closed but the temporary CS should be OK for quick trips or you can visit the GF or CR for more CS selection. The path to the TTC is said to be open with green screens blocking the construction sites along the path. Monorail should be fine but if it is down you always have the boats to MK! Pools should be open for you as well. I have not heard of any other GCH issues except for check-in being temporarily moved and possibly the demolition of the waterfall. I would just keep an eye on tikiman's site as your trip gets closer to see how the lower level of the GCH is being affected.

Good morning! Does Poly have a fax line for room requests like a few other resorts do, or do I just call & have it noted on the ressie at the regular reservations line?

I think the Northeast is starting to dig out - but I hear another storm is coming tomorrow night? 2 weeks til Poly, 2 weeks til Poly.....

No faxes. Just a simple call to CRO to add the requests to your ressie and then you may have extra room request choices with your online check-in however I don't remember seeing a screen shot of those choices. If anyone can post a screen shot of that when they are doing the advance online check-in....that would be fabulous!