ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: October 2013

[Cluelyss]

Thanks! I think the Welcome Show might have to be the thing that gives for this trip. For our other MK day, DD has a 8:30 am BBB reservation. I just know staying at the Poly she'll see the Stitch stuff and be so excited to meet him. We have a fair amount of character meals, so I'm actually thinking of dropping one at the Tusker House making AK a shorter half-day or nixing my idea of the Akerhaus princess breakfast on our "rest" day. Decision, decisions!!! Might have to make some game-time decisions based on everyone's energy levels.

My kids LOVE Tusker House, so I would keep that one if you can, especially if you already have plans to be in AK that day. Akershus is fun, but if that's the only reason you are going to EP that morning, I'd cut that one out. There will be plenty of other opportunities for princess encounters!

And for what it's worth, I'm a firm believer in "you can never have too many character meals!" They keep the kids entertained during meals, are a great way to see several characters at once, and are a nice break away from the parks. We did 6 on our last trip (8 if you count BOG and the villains dessert party!) and my only regret was doing Akershus and CRT as we saw nearly identical princesses at both meals. But they were both great experiences!!

 

[mickeynut1]

I've also booked my magical deal for August 17-24th. I'm very excited. It's a family group of 23 with quite a few first timers so looking forward to being at the poly.

Sounds like an exciting trip . I'm sure everyone will have a great time.

I know I keep talking about possibly booking CL ...........but I wanted to ask if anyone had particular issues with guests "filling" their plates; treating the appitizers as meal replacements? I was reading another thread about CL in WDW and it was something that was seen by others staying atPoly CL. Apparently, sushi night is a big hit Everyone here seems positive about Poly CL, so I'd thought I'd ask! Is it common? Will last week of August be less crowded, so this won't be much of an issue? Anyone have any thoughts about this?! Thanks!

As a pp said, that happens at just about every CL. I booked my first Poly CL stay for next August and I can't wait to try it as I am always reading how great it is (especially the view from the lounge ).

Hi - new to this thread, and haven't read every page yet but will soon, we are considering changing our Yacht Club reservation for late August to the Poly but have questions about the balcony rooms for a standard room. We are a family of possibly 4 - 5 rooms and I am wondering if anyone knows what the possibility is that we will get rooms first all together and second either the ground level (first choice) or third floor as my family may kill me if I move them all to the Poly from the YC and they don't have a balcony or patio. Lastly, worst case scenerio, how far would the furthest standard room longhouse be from the quick service dining/monorail and main pool. I intend to read everything I can about the Poly and am excited about the possible switch from YC, but am worried I may let my family down in the switch. Thanks

It's hard to tell as it all depends on how busy it is at the time. There is no way to guarantee a patio or balcony, but if having a patio/balcony is a top priority, I think I'd make that my only request (or at least the first request, with rooms being close together as a 2nd request). Disney will do everything they can to accommodate you, but you have to decide if the Poly is worth it with the possibility of not getting a balcony or patio for some or all of the rooms. I would maybe check with the others to see what they think. Let them know there is a good possibility of no balcony/patio and go from there. Good luck .

Staying at the Poly 11/12-17 and really, really want to try 'Ohana for dinner, mainly because of the great things I hear on this list and elsewhere. So far, the earliest ADR I've managed to snag is for 9:15. My kids are 3 and 5 and are usually asleep by 8:30, so this would be really late for them. For the resident 'Ohana experts - if our reservation is 9:15, what time would we realistically be finishing up and heading back to our room? Hopefully an earlier reservation will magically appear, but want to have a plan just in case. Thanks!

If you get seated at/close to 9:15, you could possibly be heading out around 10 pm. But, as a pp posted, Ohana usually runs behind so if it's a busy night, you might not get seated until around 9:30. I would definitely keep checking every day multiple times a day as things do changed and it is possible something earlier will open up, especially around the 45 day mark .

We just got back from our first WDW trip with a stay at Poly and Port Orleans Riverside a couple days ago. We LOVED the access to the monorail, that was worth staying there, imo.

I will say that when we checked in on the 22nd, the construction in front, under the monorail and at check-in was VERY VERY loud almost every day we were there. The workers all had ear plugs in and it made it quite difficult to check-in, and when we wanted to check our bags with bell services to go to the park while waiting for our room to be ready, the front desk actually told us to trek back to our car since that would be "easier" than using bell services. (It really was THAT loud.)

They did say that they were booked full before we got there and during our stay - I know some mentioned that it was dead quiet during their stays - that was not our experience - it was a busy place!

I had ordered an Amazon Pantry box sent to the resort - it arrived the day before us, but nothing prompted them to tell me about it... they did have it when I asked about it, though.

I read so much on here about the special care the workers provide at Poly. I didn't know what to expect, but I'll admit I didn't see anything special, though at PORR the housekeeping always did fun things with the kids stuffed animals, towel animals etc - nothing like that at Poly.

We had a standard view room in Aotearoa. We requested a balcony, and had a lovely 3rd floor room with a view of the monorail, which was a hit with dh and the kids. DH and I enjoyed reading on the balcony while the kids fell asleep.

The beds were very comfortable and my kids appreciated the fold down couch bed so they didn't have to share. I really appreciated the large size room.

We watched WISHES from the GCH second floor one night - mainly b/c I couldn't figure out where an open beach was in time. There are A LOT of walls around the resort. A LOT. This didn't bother us much as we were in the parks from 9-9/10 each day. But some might be put off.

We never used the Blizzard Beach access - the hours of 10-5 are prime park hours! We probably would have used the pool in the evenings if it had been open, though.

My dh and kids all thought the PORR was the "deluxe" of the two hotels (though the beds were not as comfortable and the room smaller) but with the monorail access at Poly, it still won in my book.

Overall a good stay, but nothing special other than the monorail (which is a BIG deal, imo).

Thanks to all here who helped provide info to make our trip successful!

Thanks for your review . We also found the beds to be very comfortable (actually one of the most comfortable of all the resorts we've stayed at).

I am totally torn on whether or not to make this show part of our plan for our Labor Day trip.

I really like to take advantage of everything that a resort has to offer and I would think that my girls (6 & 2) would enjoy the show.

However, it is expensive and gets mixed reviews. For $185, I could do lots of other things. We are already doing CRT and HDDR.

I plan on doing it as something special on our water park day. But we could do Ohana this night instead and then head to the Boardwalk and just eat CS on our MK day.

Thoughts?

For all of the Poly-lovers out there? Should we do it?

We loved the luau. We thought the food was very good and while the show was a little cheesy in parts, we thought the fire dancers at the end were amazing. It's not something we would do every trip, but I can see us going back again .

We just booked our first onsite stay for Sept 4-7 at the Poly! I can't believe its booked! We have two small kids and the monorail access will be so handy for naps or tantrums etc.

Congrats on booking your first Poly stay . The Poly is amazing, you're going to love it!!

Just changed our late May reservation from the Yacht Club to the Poly. This will be our first time staying there. I'm so excited I just had to share!!

Carla

We've never stayed at the YC but have stayed at the BC and while the resort was nice, our favorite is the Poly. The resort is amazing and it's so relaxing walking around the resort as the tropical atmosphere is so relaxing .

Hello all! I need some help from all of you Poly experts!!

I'm taking advantage of the late winter AP discounts and visiting the World from January 11th - 17th. I'm currently booked Woods View at WL, but would *love* to stay at the Poly, especially since I haven't stayed there in nearly 30 years!!

Since it's been such a long time, do you think the construction would disappoint me? I love WL and I'm certain there will be more AP discounts in my future, so please be honest! Thank you in advance.

As others have said, it's hard to say as some people aren't bothered by construction, while others stay far away from resorts undergoing refurbs. The Poly is our favorite resort and the construction wouldn't bother us. The main pool being closed would be a deal breaker for us in the summer, but for a January trip, I would book the Poly without hesitation (even with construction and pool closure). Good luck with your decision .

Tomorrow we hit our double digits 99 days! still checking the cancellation threads and checking MDE site for a Chef Mickey’s breakfast to open up. I’m guessing spots might open up as we get closer to our check-in date and people tweak their plans?

Definitely keep checking for a Chef Mickeys opening as people cancel all the time and you never know if/when you might find something .

If we are in one of the longhouses closest to the GCH, how long does it typically take to get to MK via monorail?

We recently switched to the Poly and our daughter is falling in love with Stitch as we just started watching the movies. Based on our schedule, I think our best bet to do the character breakfast at 'Ohana is before our first park day at MK.

My kids get up early, so we could do a 7:30 or 7:45 ADR. But, I'm wondering how late that will get us to MK. We are spending two full days at MK and probably will spend one or two half afternoon days there when we spend time at other parks in the morning (AK).

I don't think the Poly is as spread out as it seems and while some longhouses are closer to the main areas than others, none of them are that far, IMO. With that said, if you get one very close to the GCH, it doesn't take more than a few minutes to walk to the monorail .

And for what it's worth, I'm a firm believer in "you can never have too many character meals!" They keep the kids entertained during meals, are a great way to see several characters at once, and are a nice break away from the parks.

I agree .

 

[ashnjam]

yippee!!! Check around the 45 day mark, as that us when final payments are due. Also, I saw tons of openings in the 2 weeks leading up to my trip. Good luck!!!

Great thanks for the tip!!

So funny you mention this! Our youngest just decided he would rather celebrate his birthday at Chef Mickey's instead of Garden Grill in January. (The rest of our family would not recommend this, but it's the birthday boy's choice, so we'll postpone Garden Grill until spring break!) We usually make ADRs around 7pm, but the only time available for us that night is 8:40pm - I'll be checking too!

Very cool that the birthday boy gets to choose good luck!

 

[trishadono]

So funny you mention this! Our youngest just decided he would rather celebrate his birthday at Chef Mickey's instead of Garden Grill in January. (The rest of our family would not recommend this, but it's the birthday boy's choice, so we'll postpone Garden Grill until spring break!) We usually make ADRs around 7pm, but the only time available for us that night is 8:40pm - I'll be checking too!

In my world the birthday boy rules!

Enjoy! My Ds is 17 and the fun is not quite the same.

Ds had a great trip his bday 14. Cr upgraded us to atrium CL We called him " King john" the whole trip.

 

[pixarmom]

Very cool that the birthday boy gets to choose good luck!

In my world the birthday boy rules!

Enjoy! My Ds is 17 and the fun is not quite the same.

Ds had a great trip his bday 14. Cr upgraded us to atrium CL We called him " King john" the whole trip.

Thanks for the good luck and the good wishes! Just got a 6:50pm ADR at Chef Mickey's on his bday, which is absolutely perfect for us! Our older boys - ages 15 and 14 - are not thrilled with the Chef Mickey's ADR, but they are troopers and always into the festivities at Disney - especially for their little brother's birthday.

And great upgrade, Trish! Love atrium club - an upgrade to club level is perfect for a teen boy bday!

 

[faithtrustpixie]

Hi!

We arrive at the Poly on Wednesday! So excited!!

We have breakfast at Akershus at 8:05. Any idea how we can get to Epcot at that time of day?

Thanks!!!!

 

[BlueSkies]

Hey there Poly peeps!

Stopping in to do the trip is almost here dance!!!!

Now if I could just figure out what to pack...the weather reports are confusing me!!!

 

[trishadono]

Hey there Poly peeps!

Stopping in to do the trip is almost here dance!!!!

Now if I could just figure out what to pack...the weather reports are confusing me!!!

10 days !!!! Just got an email with poly info!

IPO contacted IT for us so we could get our MB's in the mail. Mom was looking forward to her first one and ours would not ship.

I am bringing shorts, capris, jeans, sleeveless and short sleeve tops and sweaters! Oh and an umbrella , ponchos , sneakers, sandals , swimsuits . Basically for 3 days I have clothes for 30

Have a great weekend poly peeps! Had our first snow yesterday so it must be time for my disney escape

 

[weesignlanguage]

Check the forecast! It's looking a bit chilly for Orlando when we arrive in 11 days! Glad you are packing jeans and stuff! You may need them surprisingly! We will be in Hawaii building too! Have a great trip!

 

[trishadono]

Check the forecast! It's looking a bit chilly for Orlando when we arrive in 11 days! Glad you are lacking jeans and stuff! You may need them surprisingly! We will be in Hawaii building too! Have a great trip!

You too!!

Packing my toiletries and jewelry today

 

[Kristina4109]

I had a thought. (Ouch! Just kidding.) With this new Disney Polynesian animated adventure called "Moana" coming out, do you think there will be some sort of tie in with the Poly? I mean, they put Lilo and Stitch in the character breakfast. Maybe we'll see something similar.

 

[trishadono]

I had a thought. (Ouch! Just kidding.) With this new Disney Polynesian animated adventure called "Moana" coming out, do you think there will be some sort of tie in with the Poly? I mean, they put Lilo and Stitch in the character breakfast. Maybe we'll see something similar.

The store Trader Jacks has aready been renamed Moana Mercantile

 

[carlypaigesmom]

When is construction at the poly going to be done?

 

[BlueSkies]

Page two rescue....!!

I am bringing shorts, capris, jeans, sleeveless and short sleeve tops and sweaters! Oh and an umbrella , ponchos , sneakers, sandals , swimsuits . Basically for 3 days I have clothes for 30 Had our first snow yesterday so it must be time for my disney escape

Trish I am trying not to over pack...lol..really not possible at this time of year...but I am giving it my all... Hope that you got your MBs..we got ours a few weeks ago....

Snow... Hope that it was just a flurry!

Check the forecast! It's looking a bit chilly for Orlando when we arrive in 11 days! Glad you are lacking jeans and stuff! You may need them surprisingly! We will be in Hawaii building too! Have a great trip!

I keep checking!!! Not really so worried about the day time...shorts are usually fine in November..its the amount of layers for the evenings... lol...I am packing some capris..and a down vest..and gloves..just in case...Maybe this will ward of any cold weather...lol...

We will be in Hawaii too...

When is construction at the poly going to be done?

I think that the general consensus is by July of 2015...but I would keep an eye on Tikiman's FB page for the most up to date info on that...

 

[jalaine]

Hi all! We just got home last night from a 9 day stay at the Poly. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them but here's a general run down of my thoughts:

We were in Fiji 3rd floor with a full balcony. It was our first time staying on this side of the resort. Typically we like staying closer to the TTC, but that wasn't so much of an option now and I figured I'd just see what we ended up with. We paid for a standard view and we got what I assume in other times might be considered a lagoon/ marina view? We certainly had a fantastic view of the marina, lagoon, and Contemporary (and if we leaned a bit off our balcony, we could see Space Mountain), but dead ahead of our balcony was the Volcano Pool construction. Which by the way starts promptly at 7 am every morning. Honestly, the construction view really didn't bother me. Was it pretty to look at? No, absolutely not. But we just tried to zone out over the water and appreciate that nice view with the contemp. in the background watching the monorail go around. I was really surprised how early the work started. I assumed it would be 8 at least, but nope. 7 am sharp every day. We were early risers anyway and TRULY, with the glass doors closed, we didn't hear anything really even though we were facing it. The only thing that was a bummer is that we couldn't enjoy sitting out on the balcony in the am with the birds chirping outside b/c really, the construction noise was grating if you were out there. Get your morning balcony love in before 7 is what I'm saying if you're on that side of the resort…

Walls up everywhere of course as everyone's been reporting. Would it be nicer without them? Of course…but I still wouldn't want to stay anywhere else. We've visited several other resorts, and still love the Poly the best even under construction. We ran into Auntie our last day who mentioned that the current estimate for "everything" to be done was April 2015? She said they were planning a big grand reopening ceremony. But she also said that's just "the plan" and that deadlines of course might change.

Oh, also, we didn't hear any luau noise on our side of the resort either…but the electric water pageant was pretty loud and of course the fireworks. But if fireworks noise bothers you, you probably wouldn't be staying at a MK resort anyway New path to the TTC isn't as scenic of course, but only extended the length of the walk by 5 minutes tops. One thing we missed about being on the other side of the resort was all of the landscaping and foliage. There doesn't seem to be as much on the marina side. There were some nice benches right on the dock there that looked directly at the castle and a nice section of beach with a swing on it around the corner between Fiji and luau cove.

We did take advantage of the Blizzard Beach ticket one day. Sneaky Disney…now our kids want to make that a must-do every trip! They loved it! I thought I had read that Poly guests would have a dedicated bus just for them to take to Blizzard Beach during construction, but obviously I may have been mistaken. Regardless, that wasn't the case. It was just the typical Animal Kingdom/ Blizzard Beach bus that already was kind of full from having stopped at the Contemporary before the Poly… There is a dedicated check in table area for Poly guests where you get your tickets and towels. They also had complimentary sunscreen available. Nice touch if you forgot yours.

I'm sure there's lots more, but I feel like this is getting a bit long…but to sum it up, we had an awesome time this trip! Can't wait to go back once it's all finished! And as frame of reference for our expectations…this was our 6th trip to WDW with 5 of those stays at the Poly. (Once at Yacht Club for a short business trip). So we have definitely seen Poly as it was compared to what's going on there now.

If you have any questions about the resort or the parks, I'll do my best!

 

[MinnieF]

We ran into Auntie our last day who mentioned that the current estimate for "everything" to be done was April 2015? She said they were planning a big grand reopening ceremony. But she also said that's just "the plan" and that deadlines of course might change.

Sounds like y'all had an awesome trip! Did she or anyone else anything as to when the grand ceremonial house might be done?

 

[trishadono]

Hi all! We just got home last night from a 9 day stay at the Poly. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them but here's a general run down of my thoughts:

We were in Fiji 3rd floor with a full balcony. It was our first time staying on this side of the resort. Typically we like staying closer to the TTC, but that wasn't so much of an option now and I figured I'd just see what we ended up with. We paid for a standard view and we got what I assume in other times might be considered a lagoon/ marina view? We certainly had a fantastic view of the marina, lagoon, and Contemporary (and if we leaned a bit off our balcony, we could see Space Mountain), but dead ahead of our balcony was the Volcano Pool construction. Which by the way starts promptly at 7 am every morning. Honestly, the construction view really didn't bother me. Was it pretty to look at? No, absolutely not. But we just tried to zone out over the water and appreciate that nice view with the contemp. in the background watching the monorail go around. I was really surprised how early the work started. I assumed it would be 8 at least, but nope. 7 am sharp every day. We were early risers anyway and TRULY, with the glass doors closed, we didn't hear anything really even though we were facing it. The only thing that was a bummer is that we couldn't enjoy sitting out on the balcony in the am with the birds chirping outside b/c really, the construction noise was grating if you were out there. Get your morning balcony love in before 7 is what I'm saying if you're on that side of the resort…

Walls up everywhere of course as everyone's been reporting. Would it be nicer without them? Of course…but I still wouldn't want to stay anywhere else. We've visited several other resorts, and still love the Poly the best even under construction. We ran into Auntie our last day who mentioned that the current estimate for "everything" to be done was April 2015? She said they were planning a big grand reopening ceremony. But she also said that's just "the plan" and that deadlines of course might change.

Oh, also, we didn't hear any luau noise on our side of the resort either…but the electric water pageant was pretty loud and of course the fireworks. But if fireworks noise bothers you, you probably wouldn't be staying at a MK resort anyway New path to the TTC isn't as scenic of course, but only extended the length of the walk by 5 minutes tops. One thing we missed about being on the other side of the resort was all of the landscaping and foliage. There doesn't seem to be as much on the marina side. There were some nice benches right on the dock there that looked directly at the castle and a nice section of beach with a swing on it around the corner between Fiji and luau cove.

We did take advantage of the Blizzard Beach ticket one day. Sneaky Disney…now our kids want to make that a must-do every trip! They loved it! I thought I had read that Poly guests would have a dedicated bus just for them to take to Blizzard Beach during construction, but obviously I may have been mistaken. Regardless, that wasn't the case. It was just the typical Animal Kingdom/ Blizzard Beach bus that already was kind of full from having stopped at the Contemporary before the Poly… There is a dedicated check in table area for Poly guests where you get your tickets and towels. They also had complimentary sunscreen available. Nice touch if you forgot yours.

I'm sure there's lots more, but I feel like this is getting a bit long…but to sum it up, we had an awesome time this trip! Can't wait to go back once it's all finished! And as frame of reference for our expectations…this was our 6th trip to WDW with 5 of those stays at the Poly. (Once at Yacht Club for a short business trip). So we have definitely seen Poly as it was compared to what's going on there now.

If you have any questions about the resort or the parks, I'll do my best!

Nice job! You covered almost everything

One question, was the tiki lights around the resort lit at night? Some earlier trips had reported them off at times.

My guess is with summer over they didn't need a dedicated bus for a water park. Good to know about table and stuff still available. Thanks!

 

[jalaine]

Sounds like y'all had an awesome trip! Did she or anyone else anything as to when the grand ceremonial house might be done?

She mentioned that it was *supposed* to be done by Thanksgiving but that it might be a bit longer. I'd defer to Tikiman for all things related to up-to-date completions, but just wanted to pass on what she said Honestly, I peeked in a few times when construction workers were going in or out of the GCH interior wall doors and it didn't look like it would be done in a couple weeks but who knows! There was one day, maybe Thursday night, where we got a message saying the GCH was going to be closed from midnight-5:30 am due to construction. Must have been doing something big that night...

 

[jalaine]

Nice job! You covered almost everything

One question, was the tiki lights around the resort lit at night? Some earlier trips had reported them off at times.

My guess is with summer over they didn't need a dedicated bus for a water park. Good to know about table and stuff still available. Thanks!

I didn't notice them around the marina side. There was actually one night where even the electric lights around the marina docks weren't lit. It made for a very dark walk around the dock area that night. I'll ask my husband about the other side of the resort when he gets home. He was walking around there much more than I was and took my son swimming at the quiet pool several times at night.

 

[Aerinha]

Just switched my end of October Poly stay early December. Halloween just didn't extend to enough of the parks (could they really not put some pumpkins out at Epcot, they grow them at the Land ride) and the F&W Fest lacked places to eat at. Every time I saw one of the way out of season Xmas displays going up I kept thinking "I really wish the Xmas stuff was up." So I made the swap.

My question now is, what does the Poly do in the way of decorations?