ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: October 2013

[NicoleLarson]

We have been here since Sunday and eaten at Kona once and been to the GCH at least 10 times. Haven't heard any construction noise at all!

Great to hear! Thx.

 

[Cotillard]

Watched wishes from bed last night(door open to hear music piped in from outside)


Love our view! When sitting in lounge chair in room the gf is straight ahead

oh my goodness this sounds so wonderful

 

[Gitts2008]

I know asking "if it's worth it" is very subjective, but I would like to know what others think:

I am currently booked at CBR for 9/15-9/19. This is a trip that I am taking with my mom. Our last 3 trips with my mom, were probably her last. BUT this trip will probably her last. With all of the construction taking place at Poly, is it worth switching resorts?

The pool is closed, but I read that Poly guests can use GF. Also, we would get a free day at BB.

Also, is it difficult to navigate the grounds with a wheel chair?

TIA

 

[Tikiman]

I know asking "if it's worth it" is very subjective, but I would like to know what others think:

I am currently booked at CBR for 9/15-9/19. This is a trip that I am taking with my mom. Our last 3 trips with my mom, were probably her last. BUT this trip will probably her last. With all of the construction taking place at Poly, is it worth switching resorts?

The pool is closed, but I read that Poly guests can use GF. Also, we would get a free day at BB.

Also, is it difficult to navigate the grounds with a wheel chair?

TIA

Guests staying during the pool construction will get a one day pass to Blizzard Beach but they will not have access to the Grand Floridian pool.

Many of the paths will be blocked and rerouted during this time.

 

[trishadono]

I am wanting to eat at kona for lunch in 2 weeks. How's the construction in the GCH? Will we be hearing hammers and saws all lunch long?

Should be fine. The construction is on the other side.

So is the path to the TTC rerouted by the parking lot?

Path was fine but a smitch dark. It is just lined with walls but was through the center like usual(inbetween Tahiti and Rapa nui). We did it twice.

Also, my son is a runner and was planning on running the path to the GF- I told him the whole path by Sunset Point is out. Do you think he will have a lot of trouble running around the resort in the wee hours of the morning?

Thanks!

The path over to GF is nice and wide and I often see runners there. He can start by marina and follow route over to GF and back as many times as needed perhaps. (?)

oh my goodness this sounds so wonderful

Loved our view. We didn't mind the construction. It was fun watching the huts in progress and seeing and hearing the boats all day. The view of GF though was my favorite in the morning.

 

[BabyBelle1]

For those of you arriving soon:

Noise level is tolerable. Probably less so for repeat guests since we have seen it "whole" before.

It really doesn't look too bad now. The construction is contained so really you don't notice unless walking to/from TTC.

The pool is EMPTY!! There has only been about 20-25 people in there when we have been there. Mind you, it's June!! We have been beach/pool 11am-1pm.
I finally talked dd into going on pool slide today and only 2/3 people in front of us both times

For CL :

No yogurt
No paper products out , have to ask.
I stayed CL twice last year but this time very busy. 8am and 5pm tables are full.

We booked GV CL and given 1511. That is 1st floor lagoon side. Watched wishes from bed last night(door open to hear music piped in from outside)

I did see hair wrap station, fire at night with marshmallows, and pool party 1-6pm today.

We check out tomorrow am so any questions I will try to check back later.

Love our view! When sitting in lounge chair in room the gf is straight ahead

Yay!!! We check in GV CL tomorrow morning!!! (Flying in tonight!)

Thanks for the update!!! I've been stressing a bit about the construction, so you made me feel better

I'm so jittery and anxcited!! (That's "anxious" + "excited" )

 

[Gitts2008]

Guests staying during the pool construction will get a one day pass to Blizzard Beach but they will not have access to the Grand Floridian pool.

Many of the paths will be blocked and rerouted during this time.

Thanks for the clarification on the GF Pool.

 

[Kristina4109]

Checking in to the Poly TOMORROW! We had a Disney dinner party last night - we ate fruit salad out of old frosted Polynesian Village tiki glasses. Music was courtesy of Tikiman's site.

I'll be offline until I get back, but THANKS so much for helping me plan this trip and giving me updates as to what is going on at the resort.

 

[trishadono]

Some pics from the CL lounge:

 

[trishadono]

The view of rooms 1501-1518 lagoon side CL building.

 

[trishadono]

Views from our GV CL room 1511.

Right


Straight ahead




Lefti

 

[trishadono]

View of poly from gf beach:

 

[trishadono]

View from room with sun

 

[Aristocath]

Thanks, trishadono! Looks beautiful. And thanks for the info on the paths. Can't wait for these next three weeks to be done so I'll be at the Poly.

 

[Liberator]

actually I am not a Poly-lover. Absolutely not. The construction going on at the moment makes it even worse for what I feel about the resort.

Visited the resort last summer and I was not very excited being there, I guess I was in a bad mood.
I know I am putting my head into a lion's mouth here, but: Have just read the Poly history on the Tikiman-Page. I took a closer look at the longhouses, dining options, room size etc.

Whoever Tikiman is, his Poly-page totally convinced me to give the resort a try when I go to Disney next time, hopefully within the next 2 years. Thank you, Mr. Tikiman.

Prices for rooms without discounts are still ridiculous, I would never pay rack rate when going to Disney. With discounts it is still a lot of $$$, but reasonable.

Is TPV worth it? I mean you can only see the the top of the castle and fireworks, right? Are there bad Garden views? I don't mind walking within the resort, being far away from the GCH is ok. Where are the CL rooms located?


Can you walk from TTC to the Poly? That would be great to have the direct monorail to EP, it would be like staying in a MK/EP-Resort. Would love to try BC/YC/BWI because of being close to EPCOT, but hopping on the monorail at TTC makes it even better.

 

[Sue M]

actually I am not a Poly-lover. Absolutely not. The construction going on at the moment makes it even worse for what I feel about the resort.

Visited the resort last summer and I was not very excited being there, I guess I was in a bad mood.
I know I am putting my head into a lion's mouth here, but: Have just read the Poly history on the Tikiman-Page. I took a closer look at the longhouses, dining options, room size etc.

Whoever Tikiman is, his Poly-page totally convinced me to give the resort a try when I go to Disney next time, hopefully within the next 2 years. Thank you, Mr. Tikiman.

Prices for rooms without discounts are still ridiculous, I would never pay rack rate when going to Disney. With discounts it is still a lot of $$$, but reasonable.

Is TPV worth it? I mean you can only see the the top of the castle and fireworks, right? Are there bad Garden views? I don't mind walking within the resort, being far away from the GCH is ok. Where are the CL rooms located?


Can you walk from TTC to the Poly? That would be great to have the direct monorail to EP, it would be like staying in a MK/EP-Resort. Would love to try BC/YC/BWI because of being close to EPCOT, but hopping on the monorail at TTC makes it even better.

you can find much of the info you want on Tikimans web site. The map will show you where Hawaii is located. The longhouse with the worse ( IMO) GVs is closed for DVC construction. But you can see views, click on longhouse you're interested and you can see view pics. Tikimans web site is very comprehensive.
CL rooms are in Hawaii. The benefit of TPV Is that you gave a great view of Wishes at night. But you could walk out to the beach to watch too.

 

[Sue M]

trishodono great pics! Sounds like you had a great vacay. Also sounds like Hawaii was at full capacity?
I'm sad to not be staying at Poly, but the lack of volcano pool in August did me in. Looking forward to GF though!!

 

[trishadono]

actually I am not a Poly-lover. Absolutely not. The construction going on at the moment makes it even worse for what I feel about the resort.

Visited the resort last summer and I was not very excited being there, I guess I was in a bad mood.
I know I am putting my head into a lion's mouth here, but: Have just read the Poly history on the Tikiman-Page. I took a closer look at the longhouses, dining options, room size etc.

Whoever Tikiman is, his Poly-page totally convinced me to give the resort a try when I go to Disney next time, hopefully within the next 2 years. Thank you, Mr. Tikiman.

Prices for rooms without discounts are still ridiculous, I would never pay rack rate when going to Disney. With discounts it is still a lot of $$$, but reasonable.

Is TPV worth it? I mean you can only see the the top of the castle and fireworks, right? Are there bad Garden views? I don't mind walking within the resort, being far away from the GCH is ok. Where are the CL rooms located?


Can you walk from TTC to the Poly? That would be great to have the direct monorail to EP, it would be like staying in a MK/EP-Resort. Would love to try BC/YC/BWI because of being close to EPCOT, but hopping on the monorail at TTC makes it even better.

I would not recommend it for most after 7/26/14 with the feature pool closed and GCH under construction as well.

You currently can still walk to TTC and should be able to after the construction is done.

I layed in bed and listened to the piped music on the beach (door open )and watched the fireworks. Usually we are not back in time for this (kids teens now) but we were glad to back early that night for such a great day ending

Also I booked GV CL and got disneys 30%off on Orbitz with a coupon added for an additional 20% off too this was much lower than the passholder rate that I usually try to get.

I stay at the monorail resorts the most. I will pay for TPV at cr but don't feel necessary at gf and poly. They have such beautiful garden views Also feel TPV not needed because there are lots of places to see castle at that resort. At poly I prefer to upgrade to CL for same price. Great views from the lounge and food!

I have been reading Steve's site and facebook page for a long time.

Also Polys CM's are truly the friendliest I have ever encountered

 

[polyfor4]

Just pulled into the driveway from another great stay at the Poly! We stayed CL and were "upgraded" to lagoon side (had booked garden)! We were in room 1516 and honestly our view straight across was just the green fence but you could see the top of the castle and a side view of the lagoon and GF- will post pictures soon! The construction didn't take away much of the magic for us. CL really helped though because we hung out in the lounge instead of the lobby. My only complaint is that the resort seemed to have MB glitches the day we checked in. The bands wouldn't work to enter the building and basically everything glitched at some point. CL said it had to do with construction- who knows. I was fine with MDE until this happened- it's a bad feeling when the band with your ticket, credit card, room key, and fast passes is not working. Luckily we had a down day because the issue took about two hours to resolve. Basically pack your patience and lower MDE expectations. Lounge was wonderful as usual and we were shocked how full we were after evening apps. If you're thinking about staying at the Poly before August I would in a heartbeat. Paying $1,300 a night and not having a pool... I wouldn't. Best news of all the lobby smell is still alive and well. Please ask questions- we had a great stay!

Also we had an awesome two night stay at BWI. I would recommend BWI to any Poly "transplants" and would be happy to give a Poly take on BWI!

 

[trishadono]

Just pulled into the driveway from another great stay at the Poly! We stayed CL and were "upgraded" to lagoon side (had booked garden)! We were in room 1516 and honestly our view straight across was just the green fence but you could see the top of the castle and a side view of the lagoon and GF- will post pictures soon! The construction didn't take away much of the magic for us. CL really helped though because we hung out in the lounge instead of the lobby. My only complaint is that the resort seemed to have MB glitches the day we checked in. The bands wouldn't work to enter the building and basically everything glitched at some point. CL said it had to do with construction- who knows. I was fine with MDE until this happened- it's a bad feeling when the band with your ticket, credit card, room key, and fast passes is not working. Luckily we had a down day because the issue took about two hours to resolve. Basically pack your patience and lower MDE expectations. Lounge was wonderful as usual and we were shocked how full we were after evening apps. If you're thinking about staying at the Poly before August I would in a heartbeat. Paying $1,300 a night and not having a pool... I wouldn't. Best news of all the lobby smell is still alive and well. Please ask questions- we had a great stay!

Also we had an awesome two night stay at BWI. I would recommend BWI to any Poly "transplants" and would be happy to give a Poly take on BWI!

Glad you had a great trip! We liked our garden view room on lagoon side as well.