ALOHA! The Polynesian Resort Information Thread: Summer 2011 Edition!

[Tinkerbellie16]

sorry to hear that.. Did you see the place where he posted the poly loop music for DL?

It's strange how the poly really is not set up for little ones like the moderate or budget resorts but even the little ones get hooked.

I didn't see that ... and I'm afraid to go and check it out for fear of the post-Poly blues

sad how we've got our kids all brainwashed! Sorry you're not going to be seeing the Poly soon, but I see from your ticker there's a DL trip in the near future. That's exciting!

Yes, we are going to DL in March. We were going to visit my 23 year old cousin who was a Disney FANATIC and she died unexpectedly right before Christmas. I almost canceled the trip but we will keep her with us in spirit. Don't get me started on not wasting a moment - especially those Disney moments I know y'all understand.

I also have an Orland conference in May so I'll be at Disneyworld for Mother's Day - alone I guess it will be my gift to have Disney to myself! The conference is at the Hilton Orlando (not Bonnet Creek but the one attached to the Orange county conference center) so I'll be staying offsite. But being alone and taking a taxi will be just fine with me. I've spent only ONE day at Disneyworld by myself and it was definitely much easier to do it that way (but not as fun when you have family there!!)

And we are planning a big family vacation this July at a moderate and then I'm doing a split stay with a Deluxe. But we are planning BWI right now. Of course, I go to other resorts and I miss my Poly so we'll see if we end up at BWI or Poly

We booked our vacation about 10 days ago, and it's taken me about that long to catch up on my favorite DisBoard thread!!

Yeah for another Poly vacation!

Hi Polys!
How do you go about requesting a certain longhouse? Clue me in on this one, I would love to try and request a top 2... girl can dream, right??

I call a couple weeks and request it with Disney reservations. Then I confirm a few days before to make sure they got it! I request Tokelau ground floor but that's just us! We have ALWAYS received our request even after they started online check in.

Hi, we have booked our first ever stay at the Poly for this August, and I was wondering how many sockets there are in the room for charging mobiles/cameras/laptops etc as we seem to have a huge number of things that will all need charging at once!

Thanks,
Sarah

Ugh, our last room had an outlet that didn't work so we could only plug in one phone by the bed but it was fine. There was enough outlets for everything.

Hi again!!
Looking to see if anyone who had made room/longhouse requests before and then did the online check-in if this interfered with the requests?? How does this all work? Does making requests even work anymore? Thoughts?

See above - but I always request and now I always check in online and I have always received my requests.

Just added an 8th night to our August trip.

Charity - Fun shirts!

I am getting so excited for our trip. DH and I were never sure if the Poly would be to our taste. We mostly stay at the Epcot resorts or Animal Kingdom. But the more I learn about the Poly, the more wonderful it seems! We will definitely check out the EWP and Wishes from the beach. I think we will try the Neverland Club also. DD has never been to any of the kids clubs before. Do they do an open house every day before operating hours? It would be great to have DD see it in person before just dropping her off.

They will let you check it out prior to checking them in! We did this once and got hooked. The kids love doing this and DH and I love our night alone at Epcot!

 

[204charity]

"hello everyone and welcome to Polynesian resort. Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas."

​

*shiver* those dancing guys just give me the heeby jeebys! lol

 

[disneydreamin247]

*shiver* those dancing guys just give me the heeby jeebys! lol

I have to agree!

 

[laura428]

Aloha everyone!!

Just got off the phone with Disney - we have officially changed our reservations from CR TPV to the Poly TPV! We're making it an extra long vacation this time (our 5th trip to the World), and so wanted to be sure we had a relaxing spot for resort days. 9 nights/10 days at the Poly, hopefully in Tahiti 3rd floor. Ahhhh.... Plus, Stitch is a huge favorite for both of my kiddos, and I know they'll be thrilled to be staying at his home resort, making for an easy walk to breakfast with both Stitch and Lilo.

Looking forward to making use of the Neverland Club, too. Think we'll try it one night and see how the kids do. If all goes well, we'll most likely take advantage of it another night so that DH and I can enjoy a little Disney magic on our own, something we've never had a chance to do.

We're spending a significant amount more, but got a great deal with the bounceback offer I grabbed during our stay at POR a few weeks ago. Plus, we just decided to take our house off of the market (after being ON the market for the better part of 2 years), so we'll have a little extra cash with not having to pay for the move and cough up a down payment for a new home.

I think a very nice vaca at the Poly is a good way to reallocate the funds.

So excited... how will I wait for another eight months? And how to keep it a secret from the kids?????

 

[jennyjinx3]

Aloha everyone!!

Just got off the phone with Disney - we have officially changed our reservations from CR TPV to the Poly TPV! We're making it an extra long vacation this time (our 5th trip to the World), and so wanted to be sure we had a relaxing spot for resort days. 9 nights/10 days at the Poly, hopefully in Tahiti 3rd floor. Ahhhh.... Plus, Stitch is a huge favorite for both of my kiddos, and I know they'll be thrilled to be staying at his home resort, making for an easy walk to breakfast with both Stitch and Lilo.

Looking forward to making use of the Neverland Club, too. Think we'll try it one night and see how the kids do. If all goes well, we'll most likely take advantage of it another night so that DH and I can enjoy a little Disney magic on our own, something we've never had a chance to do.

We're spending a significant amount more, but got a great deal with the bounceback offer I grabbed during our stay at POR a few weeks ago. Plus, we just decided to take our house off of the market (after being ON the market for the better part of 2 years), so we'll have a little extra cash with not having to pay for the move and cough up a down payment for a new home.

I think a very nice vaca at the Poly is a good way to reallocate the funds.

So excited... how will I wait for another eight months? And how to keep it a secret from the kids?????

I think we will be there at the same time!!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Aloha everyone!!

Just got off the phone with Disney - we have officially changed our reservations from CR TPV to the Poly TPV! We're making it an extra long vacation this time (our 5th trip to the World), and so wanted to be sure we had a relaxing spot for resort days. 9 nights/10 days at the Poly, hopefully in Tahiti 3rd floor. Ahhhh.... Plus, Stitch is a huge favorite for both of my kiddos, and I know they'll be thrilled to be staying at his home resort, making for an easy walk to breakfast with both Stitch and Lilo.

Looking forward to making use of the Neverland Club, too. Think we'll try it one night and see how the kids do. If all goes well, we'll most likely take advantage of it another night so that DH and I can enjoy a little Disney magic on our own, something we've never had a chance to do.

We're spending a significant amount more, but got a great deal with the bounceback offer I grabbed during our stay at POR a few weeks ago. Plus, we just decided to take our house off of the market (after being ON the market for the better part of 2 years), so we'll have a little extra cash with not having to pay for the move and cough up a down payment for a new home.

I think a very nice vaca at the Poly is a good way to reallocate the funds.

So excited... how will I wait for another eight months? And how to keep it a secret from the kids?????

Congrats! I did a secret trip for the kids last October and it was so worth it to keep the secret. But so hard for me too! Good luck!

 

[jennyjinx3]

Congrats! I did a secret trip for the kids last October and it was so worth it to keep the secret. But so hard for me too! Good luck!

We are keeping our September trip a secret too...how did you tell them? We are going to try to wait until the day before but not sure if can hold out that long!!

 

[maiapapaya]

Yes, we are going to DL in March. We were going to visit my 23 year old cousin who was a Disney FANATIC and she died unexpectedly right before Christmas. I almost canceled the trip but we will keep her with us in spirit. Don't get me started on not wasting a moment - especially those Disney moments I know y'all understand.

I also have an Orland conference in May so I'll be at Disneyworld for Mother's Day - alone I guess it will be my gift to have Disney to myself! The conference is at the Hilton Orlando (not Bonnet Creek but the one attached to the Orange county conference center) so I'll be staying offsite. But being alone and taking a taxi will be just fine with me. I've spent only ONE day at Disneyworld by myself and it was definitely much easier to do it that way (but not as fun when you have family there!!)

And we are planning a big family vacation this July at a moderate and then I'm doing a split stay with a Deluxe. But we are planning BWI right now. Of course, I go to other resorts and I miss my Poly so we'll see if we end up at BWI or Poly

Tinkerbellie, I am so sorry to hear about your cousin. Carrying on with your trip is a fitting tribute. It sounds like she would have wanted it that way.

I actually think one day alone at WDW would be great - just to explore and do and eat whatever I wanted! It's unfortunate that it's on Mother's Day though ...

Why do I get the feeling that your split stay will see you back at the Poly? Spend enough time in here and we'll have you convinced. Besides, who can swim in that BWI pool with that hideous clown slide?!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

We are keeping our September trip a secret too...how did you tell them? We are going to try to wait until the day before but not sure if can hold out that long!!

On the day we were leaving (we had an evening flight), they went to school (they are 7 & 9). I picked them up early. The teachers knew what we were doing and so did the school but they didn't give up the secret to the kids. The kids asked me why I was getting them so early and I said that Dad told me to get them. My son said that he knew it was good news which freaked me out that maybe his teacher told him (she didn't) so I said I didn't think it was good at all and Dad wasn't happy. Oh the poor kids were all worried for the few minutes it took us to get home. I told them to go directly inside and sit on the couch. Dad came in and paced around the room and said he didn't know how to say it so he would just tell them outright, we are going to Disneyworld today. The kids were really happy they weren't in trouble but my daughter thought it was a joke. My son started screaming and ran to pack After a few minutes, it sunk in and they were so excited. We also managed to get them to clean their rooms, the bathroom, and much of the house in 20 minutes flat We were off to the airport and during the drive, I think they had the surprise 'crash' and they practically fell asleep! But we did keep the Poly a secret until the next day (we spent one night at Hilton Bonnet Creek before heading to the Poly). They were so happy about it! I also kept the parasailing and the cabana day a secret - lots of fun!!!

 

[laura428]

I think we will be there at the same time!!

Yay, how fun!

Btw, I saw your earlier post about The Neverland Club. So your kids had a great time? This is a big selling point for DH and me, especially since we've changed our dates and are now going during F&W. How far did you guys go once you dropped the kids off? I'm thinking we'll stay close during the first trial, but if things go well and we decide for a second night, that we may try to swing over to F&W. Just wondering how much time we'll really have there, though, with monorail transport and getting around the World Showcase.

I love the idea of the kids having a fun and safe place to go, but must admit that I'm a bit of an overprotective mommy. The only person who watches the kids here at home is my mom, or maybe our neighbor (and fellow mommy) across the street whom I know incredibly well. Leaving them with people I've never met and not being within 10-20 minutes makes me a little nervous.

 

[laura428]

Congrats! I did a secret trip for the kids last October and it was so worth it to keep the secret. But so hard for me too! Good luck!

Thanks!

I'm debating on when I'll tell them. I've done a surprise trip before - told them the day before we were going. While it was fun to see their reaction, it was great this last trip having their input on certain things (favorite rides, must-eat restaurants, etc). I think I'll hold out until maybe August or so, then let them know right before they go back to school. Something to look forward to!

 

[laura428]

Yes, we are going to DL in March. We were going to visit my 23 year old cousin who was a Disney FANATIC and she died unexpectedly right before Christmas. I almost canceled the trip but we will keep her with us in spirit. Don't get me started on not wasting a moment - especially those Disney moments I know y'all understand.

I also have an Orland conference in May so I'll be at Disneyworld for Mother's Day - alone I guess it will be my gift to have Disney to myself! The conference is at the Hilton Orlando (not Bonnet Creek but the one attached to the Orange county conference center) so I'll be staying offsite. But being alone and taking a taxi will be just fine with me. I've spent only ONE day at Disneyworld by myself and it was definitely much easier to do it that way (but not as fun when you have family there!!)

Just read this - so sorry about your cousin. I'm sure this trip will be more meaningful for you in ways you hadn't imagined. I'm with you on not wasting a moment.

You'll have to let everyone know how your solo day goes. I've always been curious how that would work out. Like you, I'd miss my family, but it'd be cool to see everything you want to see at your own pace. Have fun!

 

[carlnix30]

*shiver* those dancing guys just give me the heeby jeebys! lol

I have to agree!

Sorry.. I like the dancing guys they are soo energetic.


This better?

On the day we were leaving (we had an evening flight), they went to school (they are 7 & 9). I picked them up early. The teachers knew what we were doing and so did the school but they didn't give up the secret to the kids. The kids asked me why I was getting them so early and I said that Dad told me to get them. My son said that he knew it was good news which freaked me out that maybe his teacher told him (she didn't) so I said I didn't think it was good at all and Dad wasn't happy. Oh the poor kids were all worried for the few minutes it took us to get home. I told them to go directly inside and sit on the couch. Dad came in and paced around the room and said he didn't know how to say it so he would just tell them outright, we are going to Disneyworld today. The kids were really happy they weren't in trouble but my daughter thought it was a joke. My son started screaming and ran to pack After a few minutes, it sunk in and they were so excited. We also managed to get them to clean their rooms, the bathroom, and much of the house in 20 minutes flat We were off to the airport and during the drive, I think they had the surprise 'crash' and they practically fell asleep! But we did keep the Poly a secret until the next day (we spent one night at Hilton Bonnet Creek before heading to the Poly). They were so happy about it! I also kept the parasailing and the cabana day a secret - lots of fun!!!

That is hilarious!! Sounds like something I would do! The only problem is I am such a little kid I cannot keep it a secret! Absolutely 0 self control. I am the one that wakes the whole family at 4am the day of our departure. (even if we are leaving at 5p.) it's like waiting for Santa. Noooo sleep for me!!

I predict you will be at the poly for at least 1 night your next trip!

 

[jennyjinx3]

Yay, how fun!

Btw, I saw your earlier post about The Neverland Club. So your kids had a great time? This is a big selling point for DH and me, especially since we've changed our dates and are now going during F&W. How far did you guys go once you dropped the kids off? I'm thinking we'll stay close during the first trial, but if things go well and we decide for a second night, that we may try to swing over to F&W. Just wondering how much time we'll really have there, though, with monorail transport and getting around the World Showcase.

I love the idea of the kids having a fun and safe place to go, but must admit that I'm a bit of an overprotective mommy. The only person who watches the kids here at home is my mom, or maybe our neighbor (and fellow mommy) across the street whom I know incredibly well. Leaving them with people I've never met and not being within 10-20 minutes makes me a little nervous.

We were the exact same way, but after having a mini-meltdown morning at DD that day, DH and I both agreed it was a great time to try out the club! (picking out princess dresses morphed into nuttiness )

Anyway, yes they had a great time. It was the little one that I was most nervous of leaving but they all did great. We literally dropped them off at 4 pm and then hopped on the monorail at the TTC and were eating dinner at Via Napoli at 4:30

In hindsight I wish I could've relaxed more, but this trip I won't be as nervous about it. So you will be there for food and wine? We are there 12 - 21. Cannot wait

 

[jennyjinx3]

On the day we were leaving (we had an evening flight), they went to school (they are 7 & 9). I picked them up early. The teachers knew what we were doing and so did the school but they didn't give up the secret to the kids. The kids asked me why I was getting them so early and I said that Dad told me to get them. My son said that he knew it was good news which freaked me out that maybe his teacher told him (she didn't) so I said I didn't think it was good at all and Dad wasn't happy. Oh the poor kids were all worried for the few minutes it took us to get home. I told them to go directly inside and sit on the couch. Dad came in and paced around the room and said he didn't know how to say it so he would just tell them outright, we are going to Disneyworld today. The kids were really happy they weren't in trouble but my daughter thought it was a joke. My son started screaming and ran to pack After a few minutes, it sunk in and they were so excited. We also managed to get them to clean their rooms, the bathroom, and much of the house in 20 minutes flat We were off to the airport and during the drive, I think they had the surprise 'crash' and they practically fell asleep! But we did keep the Poly a secret until the next day (we spent one night at Hilton Bonnet Creek before heading to the Poly). They were so happy about it! I also kept the parasailing and the cabana day a secret - lots of fun!!!

Wow good for you guys!! If we can pull off this as a secret it will be great! The only problem is DH and I try and talk about the trip so much in code there is a good chance one of them will figure it out!!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Yay, how fun!

Btw, I saw your earlier post about The Neverland Club. So your kids had a great time? This is a big selling point for DH and me, especially since we've changed our dates and are now going during F&W. How far did you guys go once you dropped the kids off? I'm thinking we'll stay close during the first trial, but if things go well and we decide for a second night, that we may try to swing over to F&W. Just wondering how much time we'll really have there, though, with monorail transport and getting around the World Showcase.

I love the idea of the kids having a fun and safe place to go, but must admit that I'm a bit of an overprotective mommy. The only person who watches the kids here at home is my mom, or maybe our neighbor (and fellow mommy) across the street whom I know incredibly well. Leaving them with people I've never met and not being within 10-20 minutes makes me a little nervous.

I know you were asking another poster, but we've done the Neverland club a few times and have also tried out the Den's club. First time the kids went, they were 5 & 7 and now they are 7 & 9. I was all concerned about this because I thought I had paid all this money for a vacation, wouldn't I want to spend every moment with them? And I was so concerned about leaving them. Well, it turns out they BEGGED us to go for a break So DH and I thought we'd try it since we were staying at the Poly anyway. They took down our cell numbers at the Neverland club and we went to Epcot. We never got a call and the kids had the BEST time. If anyone does a kids night out right (and safe) it is Disney!!! They wanted to go back again. Well, we didn't do that the first time but the most recent trip, we did have them go twice. It is one of the few experiences I give a solid 10! It was so worth it to have alone time with my husband and the kids really had a good time. They also weren't completely worn out the next morning because they hadn't walked around a park the previous night. Two

Thanks!

I'm debating on when I'll tell them. I've done a surprise trip before - told them the day before we were going. While it was fun to see their reaction, it was great this last trip having their input on certain things (favorite rides, must-eat restaurants, etc). I think I'll hold out until maybe August or so, then let them know right before they go back to school. Something to look forward to!

It's so hard - surprise trips are fun but I do love planning it out with them! Especially since my DH is NOT a planner. He requests beer and a pool

Just read this - so sorry about your cousin. I'm sure this trip will be more meaningful for you in ways you hadn't imagined. I'm with you on not wasting a moment.

You'll have to let everyone know how your solo day goes. I've always been curious how that would work out. Like you, I'd miss my family, but it'd be cool to see everything you want to see at your own pace. Have fun!

Thanks. I have gone to Disney alone before on another conference but I was staying at the Dolphin so it was more like 'onsite'. I enjoyed my time doing whatever I wanted but did miss the interaction with my family. In fact, I would start talking to other kids in line because I wanted to enjoy it with people. Yes, I got some weird looks but I'm a mom and am told I have a kind face (ha ha, little do they know!)

Sorry.. I like the dancing guys they are soo energetic.


This better?


That is hilarious!! Sounds like something I would do! The only problem is I am such a little kid I cannot keep it a secret! Absolutely 0 self control. I am the one that wakes the whole family at 4am the day of our departure. (even if we are leaving at 5p.) it's like waiting for Santa. Noooo sleep for me!!

I predict you will be at the poly for at least 1 night your next trip!

My DH does get final say on the Deluxe portion of our stay (when he's coming to stay) but everytime he gets final say, we stay at the Poly. No complaints here We will see!

Wow good for you guys!! If we can pull off this as a secret it will be great! The only problem is DH and I try and talk about the trip so much in code there is a good chance one of them will figure it out!!

I would ask my kids if we 'ever' went to Disney again, what rides, restaurants, etc.... I can't believe they didn't get the whole surprise but I've never been able to keep a thing from them so they probably didn't think I was capable!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Can you guess our favorite longhouse???

And this is from Oct 2011 on our surprise trip. Guess where we just came from???

And DH and I were laughing because this is the pic we had from Sept 2010 (a year before but also from MNSSHP and a stay at the Poly).

I told DH it was obvious we spent our money on vacations and not clothes because it's the same clothes in all the photos (and I mean every trip!)

 

[haleofafamily]

Has anyone found out for sure about the volcano pool slide closure? My trip is at the end of Feb and I was wondering if it would be affected. I saw on another thread that the GF slide would be closed during my dates so I assumed the Poly one wouldn't be because that is where we would go if slide is closed, correct?

 

[iloveeeyore]

Tinkerbellie, your family is just beautiful!

Funny about the clothes. My family is exactly the same!

I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin! I will be hugging my loved ones a little extra tight tonight, while saying a prayer for peace for your family.

We had a great WDW vacation last summer. We did one week at a mod (CSR) with free dining. It was so inexpensive compared to our Poly trips, and we loved every moment of it! Every WDW vacation is so special! And now we can't wait to get back to our favorite, Poly!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Can you guess our favorite longhouse???

And this is from Oct 2011 on our surprise trip. Guess where we just came from???

And DH and I were laughing because this is the pic we had from Sept 2010 (a year before but also from MNSSHP and a stay at the Poly).

I told DH it was obvious we spent our money on vacations and not clothes because it's the same clothes in all the photos (and I mean every trip!)

Beautiful fam!!!! And, the clothes situation for DH and I is the same here!!!! DH is always complaining about having nothing to wear because I give all of our money to the mouse!!! LOL!!!