ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: October 2013

[mickeynut1]

One year from today I'll be at the Poly!!!!! Yea!!! Nothing like a 365 day countdown

It seems far away now, but the time will go fast .

Just checked into Hawaii building. Got 1505 (our room request). Construction is done for the day so nothing to report. But so far, the only bummer is having to walk around the front of the GCH to get to the little ferry boat to MK. Especially if you're staying in Hawaii, that's a real drag. Overall, thrilled we made it. I've been up since 3:30 a.m.PDT.

Congrats on getting your room request. Hope you have a great time .

 

[TIME2DISNEY]

Hello Poly Lovers! I'm so excited, just booked the Polynesian for May 30, 2015 for 4 nights! Hopefully construction will be finished by that date

My problem is I've told my poly loving family we are going to do a split stay at one of the Epcot resorts for the remaining 3 nights of our vacation. I'm having trouble deciding between BWI, Yacht or Beach Club. We have never stayed near the boardwalk area, hopefully we will love it as much as our Polynesian, if not my family will never forgive me for "uprooting them". Lol

Happy to see that the 2015 rates did not go up like I thought they would after all the updates,construction.

 

[BlueSkies]

Just checked into Hawaii building. Got 1505 (our room request). Construction is done for the day so nothing to report. But so far, the only bummer is having to walk around the front of the GCH to get to the little ferry boat to MK. Especially if you're staying in Hawaii, that's a real drag. Overall, thrilled we made it. I've been up since 3:30 a.m.PDT.

Thanks for checking in! And congrats on getting your room request! Would love to hear more detail on navigating the resort...If I am understanding this right...currently when you leave the Hawaii building you have to walk up to the GCH to turn around and access the walk way to the boat dock?? Also what path do you have available to get from Hawaii too get to the GCH??

Hello Poly Lovers! I'm so excited, just booked the Polynesian for May 30, 2015 for 4 nights! Hopefully construction will be finished by that date

My problem is I've told my poly loving family we are going to do a split stay at one of the Epcot resorts for the remaining 3 nights of our vacation. I'm having trouble deciding between BWI, Yacht or Beach Club. We have never stayed near the boardwalk area, hopefully we will love it as much as our Polynesian, if not my family will never forgive me for "uprooting them". Lol

Happy to see that the 2015 rates did not go up like I thought they would after all the updates,construction.

Congrats!!! Sounds like a great split..best of both worlds...the only thing I would recommend is ending the trip at your fave resort..in stead of starting there... Might work out better for your Poly loving family!

 

[HappyMomma]

Page two rescue...Poly peeps where are you!!?? lol...

LOL! When I was planning our first Poly trip for 2013 this thread was happening. Came back to plan our trip for 2015 and it's like cobwebs had formed! Glad to see you and mickeynut and some of the others who were so helpful last go round. You guys really helped make our trip extra special with all the info.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hello Poly Lovers! I'm so excited, just booked the Polynesian for May 30, 2015 for 4 nights! Hopefully construction will be finished by that date

My problem is I've told my poly loving family we are going to do a split stay at one of the Epcot resorts for the remaining 3 nights of our vacation. I'm having trouble deciding between BWI, Yacht or Beach Club. We have never stayed near the boardwalk area, hopefully we will love it as much as our Polynesian, if not my family will never forgive me for "uprooting them". Lol

Happy to see that the 2015 rates did not go up like I thought they would after all the updates,construction.

Congrats on booking the Poly for next spring . We are heading back to the Poly in July next year and hopefully trying CL, but I will just be happy to be back, whether it's CL or standard as the Poly is amazing no matter what room type you have .

As BlueSkies said, doing a split between a MK resort and an Epcot resort is the best of both worlds. We've only stayed at the BC, but I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3. I would look at pics of all 3 resorts and choose the one that you like the most .

Sounds like a great split..best of both worlds...the only thing I would recommend is ending the trip at your fave resort..in stead of starting there... Might work out better for your Poly loving family!

I agree, I'd end with the Poly since you know you love it .

LOL! When I was planning our first Poly trip for 2013 this thread was happening. Came back to plan our trip for 2015 and it's like cobwebs had formed! Glad to see you and mickeynut and some of the others who were so helpful last go round. You guys really helped make our trip extra special with all the info.

LOL about the cobwebs . Glad to hear everyone here helped in your planning last time. I'll be here right along with you as we start planning for our Poly trip for next summer .

 

[cocoabean1]

How's it looking from Kona Café? Is it surrounded by construction walls?

 

[Skywise]

You can go through the CGH to get to the ferry can't you? (Although at that point you might as well take the monorail...)

How far is the beach open behind Hawaii then? Just left of the firepit?

 

[delaneyfam]

We are heading to the Polynesian Resort after our Disney Cruise in July 2015. We booked a Theme Park View room because we don't know if our young daughters will be too tired to stay after being there all day. Anybody have any idea what the best room to request is? This is our fist Disney Cruise and Walt Disney stay. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We need all the help we can get for activities and restaurants. We were thinking of getting a meal plan but we are not sure how that really works.

Again, any advice for both cruise and resort would be greatly appreciated.

We are so excited to finally go on a real vacation

 

[soniam]

We are heading to the Polynesian Resort after our Disney Cruise in July 2015. We booked a Theme Park View room because we don't know if our young daughters will be too tired to stay after being there all day. Anybody have any idea what the best room to request is? This is our fist Disney Cruise and Walt Disney stay. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We need all the help we can get for activities and restaurants. We were thinking of getting a meal plan but we are not sure how that really works. Again, any advice for both cruise and resort would be greatly appreciated. We are so excited to finally go on a real vacation

What kind of advice are you seeking for the cruise? We just got off our DCL cruise after staying a few days at Poly.

 

[TIME2DISNEY]

Congrats on booking the Poly for next spring . We are heading back to the Poly in July next year and hopefully trying CL, but I will just be happy to be back, whether it's CL or standard as the Poly is amazing no matter what room type you have .

As BlueSkies said, doing a split between a MK resort and an Epcot resort is the best of both worlds. We've only stayed at the BC, but I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3. I would look at pics of all 3 resorts and choose the one that you like the most .



I agree, I'd end with the Poly since you know you love it .



LOL about the cobwebs . Glad to hear everyone here helped in your planning last time. I'll be here right along with you as we start planning for our Poly trip for next summer .

Thanks for the warm welcome and great advice! I've pondered your idea about booking the poly at the end of the trip, so we would have something to look forward to. But there is just something about when you first arrive at the world and you are just so excited because YOU ARE CHECKING INTO THE POLYNESIAN!! Lol!
With the Poly stay I went ahead and added 8 day park tickets, and deluxe dining for 4 days. I then plan to book room only for the last 3 days and pay out
of pocket for meals. Is this the most economical way to do this?

Mickeynut, you are very brave going to the world in hot, hot July! Actually, my favorite memories are from a trip we took in July several years ago, nothing better than staying at MK til 2am and riding splash mountain over and over again!

 

[disprincess2213]

Im sorry if this was already answered but are they offering any discounts for the rooms during the construction? We are going in September and the cheapest we could find the standard room was $375!

 

[TJA]

Im sorry if this was already answered but are they offering any discounts for the rooms during the construction? We are going in September and the cheapest we could find the standard room was $375!

I haven't read of any construction discounts. But there should've been normal discounts for September as that's considered a value time, I believe. I'll bet September deals through Disney are the ones that just expired a couple days ago. In your shoes, I'd call Disney and ask what deals they have in place for your dates. If they have nothing, then I'd look at sites like Orbitz/Cheaptickets for a deal. If nothing else, maybe a AAA room discount?

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks for the warm welcome and great advice! I've pondered your idea about booking the poly at the end of the trip, so we would have something to look forward to. But there is just something about when you first arrive at the world and you are just so excited because YOU ARE CHECKING INTO THE POLYNESIAN!! Lol!
With the Poly stay I went ahead and added 8 day park tickets, and deluxe dining for 4 days. I then plan to book room only for the last 3 days and pay out
of pocket for meals. Is this the most economical way to do this?

Mickeynut, you are very brave going to the world in hot, hot July! Actually, my favorite memories are from a trip we took in July several years ago, nothing better than staying at MK til 2am and riding splash mountain over and over again!

You're welcome .

I totally get the excitement about checking into the Poly as your first resort .

Yes, for a split stay, doing a package with the first resort and RO for the second is probably the most economical. Getting the DDP for both resorts adds cost as the DDP requires a minimum purchase of a 1 day base ticket for everyone in the room (2 day base for FD), so it does make sense to get park tickets for the whole trip on the Poly reservation and book RO and pay OOP for your meals for your Epcot resort reservation .

LOL about being brave going in July . This will be our second time for a July trip. On our first July trip (2002), it was hot, but we spent a lot of time at the resort swimming and went to BB a couple of times, so it wasn't bad. Next year my brother and SIL are going with us (taking my niece for the first time) and since my SIL is a teacher, summer works better for them. When my brother mentioned he wanted to stay at the Poly I was ecstatic as the Poly is our favorite resort....plus the pool should be open by July and the GCH and Captain Cooks should be done. I'm sure there will still be DVC construction going on, but that won't bother us...as long as we have the main pool and everything else is done, we're good with it .

Im sorry if this was already answered but are they offering any discounts for the rooms during the construction? We are going in September and the cheapest we could find the standard room was $375!

Unfortunately, Disney doesn't usually offer deep discounts for a resort that is undergoing construction. As the pp mentioned, a room discount was being offered, but that has expired.

 

[BlueSkies]

Page two rescue again!!! Poly peeps....c'mon....lol...

Im sorry if this was already answered but are they offering any discounts for the rooms during the construction? We are going in September and the cheapest we could find the standard room was $375!

I haven't read of any construction discounts. But there should've been normal discounts for September as that's considered a value time, I believe. I'll bet September deals through Disney are the ones that just expired a couple days ago. In your shoes, I'd call Disney and ask what deals they have in place for your dates. If they have nothing, then I'd look at sites like Orbitz/Cheaptickets for a deal. If nothing else, maybe a AAA room discount?

What they said!

MickeyNut Happy summertime planning

Hi HappyMomma Glad that the info here helped to make your trip even more magical!

delaneyfam I am not a Poly regular..so hoping that someone else can provide you with helpful info...

cocoabean1 Although there are construction walls in the lobby Kona Cafe has not been impacted IMO...still the same nice tropical atmosphere....

 

[maiapapaya]

We are heading to the Polynesian Resort after our Disney Cruise in July 2015. We booked a Theme Park View room because we don't know if our young daughters will be too tired to stay after being there all day. Anybody have any idea what the best room to request is? This is our fist Disney Cruise and Walt Disney stay. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We need all the help we can get for activities and restaurants. We were thinking of getting a meal plan but we are not sure how that really works.

Again, any advice for both cruise and resort would be greatly appreciated.

We are so excited to finally go on a real vacation

If you have booked a standard TPV room, since Tahiti has been taken for DVC the only non-club level longhouses with TPV are Tuvalu and Aotearoa. I've never stayed in the later, but we've had two Tuvalu TPV stays. I would request Tuvalu, 1st or 3rd floor if you want outdoor space - the second floor rooms have sliders, but no balconies. The way Tuvalu is situated it feels like it's right over the water. It has a lovely view of the GF off to the left and if you are at the GF end of the building you can often hear the music from the luau (but not if your patio doors are shut, so it shouldn't disturb you!) Aotearoa also sits back farther on the property, so the view of the lagoon from there may not be as nice.

How long are you planning on staying at WDW after your cruise and what ages are your girls? That might help with advice

These were our views: straight on ...



To the left, looking at the GF ...



Electric Water Pageant with the CR in the background (zoomed)



Hallowishes fireworks ...

 

[mickeynut1]

MickeyNut Happy summertime planning

Thanks, Blue

These were our views: straight on ...



To the left, looking at the GF ...

Great pics, thanks for sharing .

 

[faithtrustpixie]

Hi Everyone!

We are getting so excited for our trip! I just realized we're doing the double digit dance! (OK - I'm the only one dancing. DH does not like to dance and DD would prefer the double digit cartwheel.)

OK, here goes. We're flying in the night before our trip (arriving around 8pm) and we plan to stay at the MCO Hyatt and jump on Magical Express bright and early. Our room will likely not be ready so we're hoping to leave our luggage with Bell Services and head to Magic Kingdom as soon as we can.

Can you think of a better/more efficient plan?

Have a great day everyone!!

 

[maiapapaya]

Hi Everyone!

We are getting so excited for our trip! I just realized we're doing the double digit dance! (OK - I'm the only one dancing. DH does not like to dance and DD would prefer the double digit cartwheel.)

OK, here goes. We're flying in the night before our trip (arriving around 8pm) and we plan to stay at the MCO Hyatt and jump on Magical Express bright and early. Our room will likely not be ready so we're hoping to leave our luggage with Bell Services and head to Magic Kingdom as soon as we can.

Can you think of a better/more efficient plan?

Have a great day everyone!!

One year we had an evening flight arriving around that time. Not wanting to spend Poly rates for that night we booked Pop Century. We rode DME to Pop that night (brought our own bags from the airport since we didn't want to wait too late for them to be delivered). In the morning we took our bags to bell services to have them transferred to the Poly. We then hopped the bus to Epcot and got on the monorail, rode to the TTC, then switched to the resort loop and arrived at the Poly via monorail. The kids loved it! Maybe not as efficient as just riding to WDW on DME in the morning, but it was fun!

 

[Goofy442]

One year we had an evening flight arriving around that time. Not wanting to spend Poly rates for that night we booked Pop Century. We rode DME to Pop that night (brought our own bags from the airport since we didn't want to wait too late for them to be delivered). In the morning we took our bags to bell services to have them transferred to the Poly. We then hopped the bus to Epcot and got on the monorail, rode to the TTC, then switched to the resort loop and arrived at the Poly via monorail. The kids loved it! Maybe not as efficient as just riding to WDW on DME in the morning, but it was fun!

We are doing the same thing, we are getting in late and don't want to waste a night at the Polynesian. So we are staying at Pop Century, but we had to change our flights and now we get in at 11:30 am instead of 8:30 pm.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi Everyone!

We are getting so excited for our trip! I just realized we're doing the double digit dance! (OK - I'm the only one dancing. DH does not like to dance and DD would prefer the double digit cartwheel.)

OK, here goes. We're flying in the night before our trip (arriving around 8pm) and we plan to stay at the MCO Hyatt and jump on Magical Express bright and early. Our room will likely not be ready so we're hoping to leave our luggage with Bell Services and head to Magic Kingdom as soon as we can.

Can you think of a better/more efficient plan?

Have a great day everyone!!

I'm probably in the minority, but I would book another night at the Poly if it's available. It would cost more than staying at the MCO Hyatt or a cheaper Disney resort, but there's nothing like checking in late, unpacking, and waking up the next morning ready to go instead of checking out of one resort and checking into another. We do it every trip as we add an extra night and take an evening flight and although our arrivals are more like 11 pm-midnight and our room that night is just for sleeping, it's great to know once we check in, we're there to stay until it's time to go home. Another plus is you know your room will be ready, so there's no being "home less" for part of the day.