ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: October 2013

[LUVDisney1975]

8 months from today we'll be at the Poly!!!! Can't wait!!!!!

 

[wendow]

We've been at the Poly three times before -- far and away our favorite resort. But we're two days in, and we won't be back. The construction is omnipresent -- you can't get anywhere without having to shift your direction. The path to the TTC now goes along the street -- the ceremonial house just exists on the edges. Everything is dominated by construction screens.

We're staying in a lagoon view in Hawaii and paying club level prices to be woken at 7 by cranes beeping and our view is of neon-clad construction workers and huts under construction. You have to walk down the beach to see the boat parade or get unobstructed of the fireworks and everyone is crammed together on a compressed bit of beach.

We expected the pool to be closed and the waterfall shut down. But we didn't expect construction to take over every single spect of the stay. For two rooms at 800 a piece a night they should have been more honest about what to expect. When we politely complained, we were given the choice to move to GF with garden view on the furthest building halfway through our stay but nothing club level on the monorail resorts. In the end they took off 100 per room per night, which is better, but it's still 1400 a night.

Sorry to vent but its been pretty grumpy here so far.

Oh my, I'm so sorry. I cannot imagine spending that amount of money to look at and hear construction. I'd be pretty upset too. I agree with the pp about seeing if there is a room at the Poly you could move to that is away from the construction more.

 

[pixarmom]

Oh my, I'm so sorry. I cannot imagine spending that amount of money to look at and hear construction. I'd be pretty upset too. I agree with the pp about seeing if there is a room at the Poly you could move to that is away from the construction more.

We stayed in the Hawaii building in April when the huts were under serious construction, but booked GV CL at $400/night. We were happy with GV - the construction "view" from the lounge wasn't that bad and we had a quiet east pool view from the balcony. I remember thinking that lagoon or TPV would have been really disappointing. We booked GV CL again for marathon weekend in January at an average of $450/night (primarily because Poly's convenient location/transportation for that weekend outweighs our concern regarding construction . . . I think!) I understand construction is most everywhere, but I'm wondering if a switch to GV CL at a lower rate is possible?

 

[wendow]

We will be there very soon. I am getting really nervous that the Poly wasn't a good choice. In our case though, two of my kids are at the GF with my aunt and uncle and I'd rather be close by. The GF was just a lot higher so we chose the Poly. Plus, I have always wanted to stay there. Dreamed of it for so long

 

[Eastern]

Are you all booked through Disney? I got a good price for CL for marathon weekend and before through that magical site. I changed over from CR because I saved >2300. I'll put up with the construction for that.

 

[Alabama Minnie]

wendow:
We didn't do online check-in. I called about 5 days before and verbally had them add my request. Our rooms were not ready at 9am when we arrived but they sent a text by 1:00 that they were. I see you are going soon so maybe you can ask when you get there and if you are willing to wait they might be able to find you a room with a beach view. We just took the monorail to Epcot for the morning and then returned by monorail when they called.

Again, we really didn't mind the construction and I have been several times before. Have a great trip!

 

[whiporee]

We will be there very soon. I am getting really nervous that the Poly wasn't a good choice. In our case though, two of my kids are at the GF with my aunt and uncle and I'd rather be close by. The GF was just a lot higher so we chose the Poly. Plus, I have always wanted to stay there. Dreamed of it for so long

Id honestly say try for another resort and today is the reason; it drizzled all day and there ws no place to hide. There's nothing special about being here right now. It's hard to get around -- there's no direct path from one side of the resort to the other,so even taking the launch is a round about, and walking to the TTC is a chore. Even stuff that sounds okay -- like the free Blzzard Beach passes -- come at a price. The bus to HS yesterday was a 20minute wait -- the BB beach would be as long; its not like taking a quick stroll over to the pool or getting a drink at the bar because there is no poolside bar. So you're paying top dollar for a resort that offers nothing beyond a name and difficult-to-reachable MK access. Not to mention construction screens and tractors and beeping all morning.

So I'd call Guest Services and see if maybe something else might work and save the place you've dreamed about in your imagination. Because right now, this ain't it.

 

[wendow]

wendow:
We didn't do online check-in. I called about 5 days before and verbally had them add my request. Our rooms were not ready at 9am when we arrived but they sent a text by 1:00 that they were. I see you are going soon so maybe you can ask when you get there and if you are willing to wait they might be able to find you a room with a beach view. We just took the monorail to Epcot for the morning and then returned by monorail when they called.

Again, we really didn't mind the construction and I have been several times before. Have a great trip!

Thank you! I actually ended up calling today and she said they would see my online request and the phone one so we'll see. I looked at pics from touringplans and the views from that side of Fiji look nice. I'd be thrilled with a view like that!

 

[sotoalf]

Although we're staying at WL, a visit to the Polynesian mid-afternoon confirmed some of the fears shared on this thread. The place is a mess. What was already a cramped, unmanageable, outdated waiting area for 'Ohana and Tambu Lounge was worse; the bartender looked overwhelmed. No way on earth I'd pay a few hundred dollars to stay there with this much construction.

 

[kenly777]

When is the construction scheduled to be completed? Booked for end of August and I'm hoping that it should be done.

 

[pixarmom]

Are you all booked through Disney? I got a good price for CL for marathon weekend and before through that magical site. I changed over from CR because I saved >2300. I'll put up with the construction for that.

Exactly. When Disney released the discounts, Poly was the least expensive CL room on property for our family of five during marathon weekend. For example, the BWI CL room we originally booked was never included in the discounts, so we saved well over $1000 by switching to Poly. For that weekend, easy transportation to the races and club level food/space/amenities are our priorities - more than resort atmosphere. And I like saving $1000, so I think about that every time I second-guess our decision!

Before Marathon Weekend starts, I'm at WDW with just the kids, so we're staying at AOA, AKL CL and GF CL. The price is right for those dates and we know we'll spend more time focused on resort atmosphere. And last year, we switched from Poly to BWI for Princess Half Marathon weekend to avoid the minimal construction going on at the time, and because the rate at BWI was lower for those dates. All depends on the circumstances.

 

[Eastern]

Exactly. When Disney released the discounts, Poly was the least expensive CL room on property for our family of five during marathon weekend. For example, the BWI CL room we originally booked was never included in the discounts, so we saved well over $1000 by switching to Poly. For that weekend, easy transportation to the races and club level food/space/amenities are our priorities - more than resort atmosphere. And I like saving $1000, so I think about that every time I second-guess our decision!

I can see the construction being a problem if you have small children, want a big pool onsite, or have difficulties getting around. I have 3 older sons who will mostly be out at the parks or in the lounge so it should work for me.

 

[PrincessBCF]

Just booked a quick trip for DD and myself last week of Feb. It'll be too cold to use the pool so I don't care about that and hopefully construction will be almost completed by then. I LOVE the Poly and really as long as the monorail is working I'll be happy!

 

[whiporee]

I can see the construction being a problem if you have small children, want a big pool onsite, or have difficulties getting around. I have 3 older sons who will mostly be out at the parks or in the lounge so it should work for me.

There is no lounge.

I was woken at 730 ths morning by a chainsaw-like engine and then heavy machinery driving by. The beach is divided into thirds and yesterday the path to the launch was flooded, which led to a rather nasty conversation with a CM.

There is a lot of Pollyanna on this thread, and I'm not trying to say my horrible vacation is the norm. But if you're thinking "it's a small price to pay" or "I won't notice it" you're wrong. It's everywhere and is the only topic of conversation when you run into someone. The lobby is a walkway with a giant beige curtain taking up 80 percent of the space. The front gardens are non-existent, but from the monorail walkway you can look down and see them dying and torn up. While the Lua side is okay, this side IS NOT. You may think you prefer the east pool, but consider it with five time the normal amount of people. Not to mention it's deep, so no zero edge for small kids.

The place is beyond torn up. It's a construction zone with a resort shoved in. If you're coming, you ought to know that.

 

[whiporee]

Just booked a quick trip for DD and myself last week of Feb. It'll be too cold to use the pool so I don't care about that and hopefully construction will be almost completed by then. I LOVE the Poly and really as long as the monorail is working I'll be happy!

It won't be. It won't even be close to close to being done.

The resort monorail works fine but ugly. TTC is an ugly hike.

Think about another resort. Maybe time to give GF a try, at least for a while.

 

[Eastern]

There is no lounge.

There is no CL lounge?

I do appreciate your perspective, btw.

My expectations are a functional CL lounge, pleasant CMs, monorail access, and some amount of available CS such as Captain Cooks. We don't plan on hanging out on the beach or swimming in the pool.

 

[whiporee]

30 minutes of a leaff blower at 730. Again.

I used to love this place. Now I hate it with fire of a thousand suns.

The club is open and okay, except for being told "five minutes until last call" last night, so all the refreshments were gone before the fireworks started. Not a huge deal, but just sort of rude, you know? The C Ms have been frustrated but fine -- except for my incident at the boat dock Monday where he dock had water rushing over it and the C M wouldn't let us go on the floating dock to get around it.

I'm not trying to sound mean. But this has been awful all the way around and if I can help someone not have their vacation ruined, I feel like I ought to. If I could figure out how to post pics from my phone I'd show you and will once I get home. So I'm sorry if I sound whiny, but I don't want anyone to assume he work here it's not a big deal because it is.

 

[sotoalf]

Like I said a few days ago, my visit on Monday shocked me. The Great Ceremonial House is more like The Great Construction Mess. The dividers exacerbate everything I've disliked about the resort: its small bar (without many top shelf liquor options – this is a deluxe resort?), even smaller waiting area, and lack of adequate dining. On a weekday afternoon at 2 p.m. there were people seated on the carpet because Tambu had no seats anywhere. The beach looks as bad as whiporee suggests.

The only way I can imagine staying at the Polynesian for the next eight months is if you either plan to use your room to sleep or if you use a blindfold. I saw this because there are guests who won't know and will play top rates to stay in a resort running at a quarter speed.

 

[wendow]

We checked in yesterday. We are on the opposite side of the resort from the construction so it's not been an issue thus far other than a little changing direction when walking around. Our room faces the GF and that beach. It's just beautiful and quiet.

One of the GCH elevators was not working last night so that was a hassle last night coming in from after Wishes with sleeping children in strollers and needing to get downstairs after getting off the monorail. But that was not a construction issue. Just an elevator that had bad timing in its breaking down. They were actively working on it at 11pm.

I can certainly understand whiporee's posts. If I were on that side of the resort, I'd be rather upset. When we first checked in, we were given a room in Fiji facing the marina and the volcano pool area. I almost cried cause they had told us we'd be on the beach side. I immediately called and they gave us a new room.

Too cold to swim at this point so we've not missed the pool!

Also, maybe my perspective is a little different cause we spent our first night at ASMo. Oh my, it was crowded, loud (all night. Could hear people outside, walls are like paper) and the beds and pillows were terrible. I'm lucky if I got 45 mins sleep that night. Here at the poly, it's quiet in our room, co an hear sounds if I open the sliding door but not if it's closed and the bed is comfy. Slept like a baby last night.

 

[tim123]

We checked in yesterday. We are on the opposite side of the resort from the construction so it's not been an issue thus far other than a little changing direction when walking around. Our room faces the GF and that beach. It's just beautiful and quiet.

One of the GCH elevators was not working last night so that was a hassle last night coming in from after Wishes with sleeping children in strollers and needing to get downstairs after getting off the monorail. But that was not a construction issue. Just an elevator that had bad timing in its breaking down. They were actively working on it at 11pm.

I can certainly understand whiporee's posts. If I were on that side of the resort, I'd be rather upset. When we first checked in, we were given a room in Fiji facing the marina and the volcano pool area. I almost cried cause they had told us we'd be on the beach side. I immediately called and they gave us a new room.

Too cold to swim at this point so we've not missed the pool!

Also, maybe my perspective is a little different cause we spent our first night at ASMo. Oh my, it was crowded, loud (all night. Could hear people outside, walls are like paper) and the beds and pillows were terrible. I'm lucky if I got 45 mins sleep that night. Here at the poly, it's quiet in our room, co an hear sounds if I open the sliding door but not if it's closed and the bed is comfy. Slept like a baby last night.

I am soooo jealous…
I can understand the above poster being negative about the Polys condition but I was there where you are now for 10 days in september and it NEVER bothered me! Loved every minute of the whole resort…construction and all…of course I was only paying $189 a night soooooo that took the sting out…
glad they gave you your Fiji room facing west..my favorite! you on the third floor with a balcony?