Aloha!
Good morning from home
Truth be told, it is always sad to come home, but it also feels good to sleep in your own bed and see our doggies!
I will give a mini review as I do plan on doing a trip report. I will try to keep this Poly related....
We arrived Sunday 10/23 at about 11 in the morning via ME. It was a bit of chaos in the arrival area. There were CM with folders waiting but no one bothered to approach us or greet us. There was a lot of people coming and going. I am not sure what the new "system" is supposed to accomplish but it does not seem well thought out. So we just walked ourselves through the GCH to Hawaii because we like to take in the Poly lobby upon arrival. I do know that two other CL guests were told they had to check in at the GCH because the CL CMs were busy
This seems counter productive to me?
For us the Hawaii check is was seamless. There was one CM checking in another guest which happened to be
Woodkins 
So we sat down with Tom the available CM. He was very nice and he chatted us up for a bit. I was anxious and just DYING to hear our room number because we really wanted a third floor room as were were book GVCL. We just wanted our balcony. Well, he proceeds to tell us that we were getting an upgrade but it could not be third floor. While DH was not really liking the fact that he was not getting his balcony, I was really happy
It was a nice surprise. I gave DH a "zip it" look
Although Tom could not give us our room number yet, he said that we would get a text when our room was ready. While DH balcony wishes were totally over ridden by his girls, he did learn to appreciate the view over the balcony.
Off to the MK we went. After a few hours we did not receive a text which I hear is not that unusual
So we headed back to the longhouse and the CM there gave us our room number. We ended up in 2508 which is a LV room. The view was fabulous
So the trip started off very well. I will go over certain aspects of the good and the sadly, bad, about our stay!
The room- Our room was fairly clean but did have some wear ad tear in some places. The bathroom was very clean. No mold to be seen at all. Of course the fan is my biggest gripe but we learned to bring DDs balloon in the bathroom with us when we shower and that helps keep the fan on. The new shower heads are nice. I was disappointed at the lack of cleanliness of the sliding door glass and mirrors in the room. There was a smear of cream cheese on the sliding glass door when we arrived and on the mirror over the day bed some tiny hand prints which were smaller than anyone in my family could make
Well, I had windex wipes so I just cleaned them myself. I have to say that I defend Mousekeeping in some respects because on two occasions I witnessed an arriving guest complaining about their room not being ready...well before the 3pm check in time
I am sure they are under pressure to turn those rooms around is as quick as possible. While this lack of attention to the glass is annoying, it is not a trip killer.
Mousekeeping- In a word...very good. They came in early during the day and we had wonderful turn down service at night. We had many special treats waiting for us and DDs stuffed animals were always doing something different. It was fun to come back to the room in the evening. Now I have to say that before we would leave the room I would always tidy up and put things in their place. There was just three of us so it is easier to keep the room organized. The only "issue" was on our first day I asked for hangers . While I was on the phone I asked if they could also take the two sets of extra pillow and linens that were in the closet so we would have more space to put out stuff and she said not a problem. But the women that delivered the hangers refused and said they HAVE to stay in the room and to just shove them on the side of the bed between the wall
. I am a tad anal and a neat freak so that would not work for me but I was in no mood to argue so I left them in the room with a note for Mousekeeping to please take them and guess what? They were gone....issue resolved
During my TR I will post pics of all of our fun treats we came back to the room to! It made the trip that much more special. So Mousekeeping gets a
despite the few little things.
CL Lounge- Chef Eugene is wonderful! He made the most wonderful dishes for Ahiahi (evening service). I am not a huge foodie so I did not take pictures of the offerings but there was beef wellington, dumplings, chicken satay, baked brie with raspberry sauce...oh so yummy!!! Kakahiaka (morning service) basically the same stuff day after day. I was a bit disappointed that the only yogurt they served was Danimals which is a kid yogurt filled with sugar. They used to serve Yoplait
But the pastries were plentiful as was the fruit and yogurt. But you can't beat the lounge for a nice quick breakfast, I just wish there was more protein options with breakfast. There were small lines for food at times but there really wasn't a free for all food dash. For Auinala (afternoon service), there were plenty of snacks out throughout the day like yogurt covered pretzels and raisins, trail mix, popcorn, fish crackers and cookies. I ate way too many cookies. They did not have uncrustables out every day during Auinala like they did two years ago. I think I saw them out during the mid day once or twice but they did have them out some nights during Ahiahi as well as little mini corn dogs. Now here comes my one and only major gripe. THREE nights in a row the Ku'ulei's punch was gone by Aumoe, dessert and cordial offerings! This ticked me off as I was not interested in just wine or beer. I love the punch and felt that with Hawaii being full as I was told by many CMs, then they should have enough. The good news is that the generic cordials are gone and the brand names are back
One night I was chatting with Chef Eugene and happened to mention my disappointment at the lack of punch and he was visibly annoyed
by this and after that night there was plenty of punch available up until 10pm. The lounge CMs and Chef Eugene were wonderful. Yes, there are some more chatty than others but I chatted with everyone and found them all to be lovely people. Especially Sandrine and Irv
Now, lets move on to some GUESTS....I am prepared for flames and I will put a disclaimer out there that this is MY opinion and different strokes for different folks BUT, I feel that wearing your robe to the lounge is rude and just really unnecessary. We all get robes in Hawaii, so you are not showing us something we don't have?? And put some shoes on your feet people! I am eating in here
I do not want to see you shirtless in your wet bathing suit drinking a beer barefoot. It is a public lounge, not your living room
What would you think if you walked in to Captain Cooks, or Kona and saw people sitting in robes or shirtless or shoeless?? OK, vent over
Yes, I probably sound like a snob, but again, it is my opinion and I felt it was inappropriate!
The Poly in General- Beautiful as always. The GCH is definitely showing signs of wear. The last few days we had rain and there was water dripping into buckets throughout. I have a feeling that something is/has to be done soon. I heard no rumors or had any discussions with any CMs about any plans of renovations and/or DVC but I did not really ask either. The pool was beautiful and somewhat crowded. We were arm banded a few days and it seemed to help. Movies on the beach is very nice but I am not a fan of the blasting music by the pool all afternoon but my child is older and did not really take part in too much of the pool side activities. But I can see how it may help a family with younger kiddos. I just sort of miss the tranquil Poly music.
Captain Cooks- Seemed fine. We ate there a few times. Most delays were from guests not understanding how it works which is understandable as it is confusing there. The cashiers are always so lovely there
I swear the same ladies have been working there forever. While they are not beaming with sunshine, they do a good job of explaining the dining plan and food pick up procedure in a fairly monotone but nice way. While I find the food prices really high, they do have some decent selections that are tasty.
Finally, Transportation from the Poly- Poor
Who would think that bus service to DHS studios was less complicated and was more efficient than the monorail and the boats to MK? I went into this trip with the understanding that we may encounter issues but never in my wildest imaginations would I think that it would take an hour to get back to the Poly from the MK on a basic low crowd park day
I put the transportation issues all on Disney corporate and not the Poly of course. It is clear that the monorail has issues. They need to cut their losses. Shut the monorail completely for a while and fix it. In the meantime put more (and bigger) boats in the water and run more buses. We were stuck in between the CR and TTC for over an hour
Not only was I annoyed with being stuck in a loaded car standing, I had to listen to a women make numerous phone calls chewing out anyone who would listen about how she was missing her ADR for lunch at EPCOT. One of our main reasons, besides the fabulous views of the MK, we stay at the Poly for transportation ease and that went out the window this trip. I could go day by day about the issues we encountered but there is no point. They have a problem and I hope it gets fixed because this Poly loving family may stray from our beloved resort. Especially since EPCOT and DHS studios have become more appealing to us as DD gets older.
So I don't finish my review on negative note, I will finish up by saying that at the Poly we encountered wonderful CMs and fabulous service the entire time. You cannot beat the view and the resort itself is as beautiful as ever. We made new friends and had some wonderful experiences with friends made right here on the DIS.
I promise to post lots of pics once I get them uploaded. Feel free to ask questions as I am sure I missed something. It was a fabulous vacation and while we do not have any plans to start planning our next trip it is not for lack of wanting to.
......Glad to hear the cat is still in the bag 
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at least it's only DH and I....
while you were gone. Sounds like a wonderful vacay...
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