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

[TwoIfBySea]

Since so many people have reservations at the Polynesian for the next 6-12 months: is there a history of them canceling reservations en masse to do renovations? (Yes, I heard about moving the weddings over at the GF, but that didn't have quite the impact on reservations as would closing the entire Polynesian.)

Or are they likely to stop accepting reservations for the period they plan to do wholesale renovations, assuming this is in fact their plan?

To be precise: is there any real, non-infinitesmal possibility that they're going to make us move to another resort for our already-reserved February visit?

 

[padawans]

I think if they do anything it will be after the construction at the Gf is complete. I really don't think they would have 2 monorail resorts under construction at the same time. I think our plans are safe for 2012.

 

[mickeynut1]

I think if they do anything it will be after the construction at the Gf is complete. I really don't think they would have 2 monorail resorts under construction at the same time. I think our plans are safe for 2012.

I was thinking the same thing. If construction was going on at both resorts, that would be ALOT of rooms out of commission. Anything is possible, but I can't see Disney doing that to two very popular resorts at the same time .

 

[Carrie772]

Why don't we all make reservations in 2 week increments all duing the year 2012 and see if we can track when they are doing the renovations/changes?
Just kidding, but it's all I could come up with!

 

[padawans]

I was thinking the same thing. If construction was going on at both resorts, that would be ALOT of rooms out of commission. Anything is possible, but I can't see Disney doing that to two very popular resorts at the same time .

I don't think any rooms are going out of commission at GF. I just think it would be a real eye sore to have cranes and construction walls up at both resorts at the same time. I really don't think disney would do something like that. As far as I know the DVC at the GF won't be completed until the beginning of 2013.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

We're checking into the Poly tomorrow!!! We've loved the Wilderness Lodge (and the deluxe room and club level were FANTASTIC!!), but I am really looking forward to the Poly. Can't wait to watch Wishes (and HalloWishes!!!) from the beach and fall asleep watching the castle from our window.

 

[princssdisnygina]

I was told by a CM (higher up) that Disney isn't going to start any new projects until some of the ones they have going on are complete. Hence one of the reasons the Avatar land at AK won't be started for a while. Even if there are changes coming to the Poly I have a feeling it will be a while. The Fantasy (ship) is being completed, the new Shanghai Disney, the new area at DL, the new Fantasyland, the construction at the GF and the new Art of Animation are just some of the things being worked on. There are MANY projects that Disney has in the works so I think we will be able to enjoy the Poly for a while.

However... I can't imagine they would change it too much. I am thinking more along the lines of how they changed the CR several years ago. More of an "updated" Poly would make sense to me. But who knows.

 

[mickeynut1]

I don't think any rooms are going out of commission at GF. I just think it would be a real eye sore to have cranes and construction walls up at both resorts at the same time. I really don't think disney would do something like that. As far as I know the DVC at the GF won't be completed until the beginning of 2013.

You're right about the GF rooms not being out of commission......I don't know what I was thinking . I agree about the cranes and construction walls.....wouldn't be a pretty sight having that at 2 resorts so close together .

We're checking into the Poly tomorrow!!! We've loved the Wilderness Lodge (and the deluxe room and club level were FANTASTIC!!), but I am really looking forward to the Poly. Can't wait to watch Wishes (and HalloWishes!!!) from the beach and fall asleep watching the castle from our window.

I'm sure you'll have a great time . We love the WL, but the Poly has a different effect on us .

I was told by a CM (higher up) that Disney isn't going to start any new projects until some of the ones they have going on are complete.

This makes sense....thanks for the info .

 

[sto6917]

I'm getting conflicting reports on Wishes music piped from resort to Poly beach. Do they still do this?

 

[momtobrynncess]

I was told by a CM (higher up) that Disney isn't going to start any new projects until some of the ones they have going on are complete. Hence one of the reasons the Avatar land at AK won't be started for a while. Even if there are changes coming to the Poly I have a feeling it will be a while. The Fantasy (ship) is being completed, the new Shanghai Disney, the new area at DL, the new Fantasyland, the construction at the GF and the new Art of Animation are just some of the things being worked on. There are MANY projects that Disney has in the works so I think we will be able to enjoy the Poly for a while.

However... I can't imagine they would change it too much. I am thinking more along the lines of how they changed the CR several years ago. More of an "updated" Poly would make sense to me. But who knows.

That's what I am hoping...While I love Poly, I certainly wouldn't mind if they spruced it up a bit, maybe brought in a little "brightness" and a little more color. Again, if they did nothing at all, I'd still be there next year, but a little updating might be nice. Nothing to drastic though.......

 

[Missus Toad]

Well, I'm one month out-- yay!!! As excited as I am, I find myself stressing about the future of the resort. I'm worried they're going to flatten stuff and put up Aulani type buildings. Probably an irrational fear, but being a regular there since '78, I'm so attached to the Poly, I can't help but fear major change.

I'm also planning a trip next August, and feel like I'm in limbo not knowing what's up. If big change is coming, I want to soak up as much old school Poly as possible, but also don't want to plan to be on a construction site.

I know, I need to focus on enjoying the coming visit. Still...

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I'm getting conflicting reports on Wishes music piped from resort to Poly beach. Do they still do this?

[COLOR="Teal"In August it depended on where you were. You could hear it well right in front of the Hawaii building close to walkway. We couldn't hear very well where we were sitting one night after the movie on the beach which was strange b/c we were closer to the pool. But I now think the reason is you need to be close to the walkway not necessarily on the beach.
So sit on the beach but close to the walkway
It is louder in certain areas.[/COLOR]

 

[Princess_Jo]

I posted this on the main resort thread but wanted to here as well. My husband and I are heading to Disney next month for our anniversary. When we originally discussed this trip my husband really wanted a TPV Club Level room at the Poly - he thought that would be the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary. But when AP discounts came out that room was not available so we booked our 4 night/5 day trip at the YC instead (water view - no club level).

I checked today and a TPV Club Level room at the Poly is available 3 of our 4 nights (not available the first). I was thinking about keeping our reservation at the YC for the first night and then transferring to the Poly (as a surprise to my husband) for the rest of our trip.

I'm wondering it this change is worth the hassle (especially considering our short stay). Typically I'm against split stays (I prefer to unpack once) but the view/club level service has me considering it.

 

[LilyU]

We are just back from staying at the Poly from 9/23 - 9/30. We were in Rarotonga, Room 3810. Overall it was nice, but I disliked that I kept smelling a natural gas smell. DH said it was due to the torches outside. I don't know.

All the CMs were very nice and helpful, didn't run into any rudeness at all.
Didn't see any lovebugs at the Poly either.

DH felt that the room was looking dingy and dated, and we did have some stained towels that grossed me out. Otherwise, housekeeping was fine (well except for a microwave sitting in the hallway for four days). We did tell the desk that our room safe said "low battery" but no one ever came up to replace it. Luckily we were still able to use it.

Captain Cooks was REALLY dirty in my opinion. I know that it is a 24 hour place, but two mornings in a row I had to ask for a rag to wipe a table off. The windows in the eating area on the right side didn't look like they had been washed in months either.

We were unable to get into Kona Cafe or Ohana, even though we had tried for reservations since May, and we asked the concierge to check and he just said it was full. He said that Ohana now seats 100 people at a time at like 4pm, 6:30pm, etc. so it is hard to fit people in.

We did watch Wishes from the beach but could barely hear the music piped in. Can't see Wishes at all from the Tambu Lounge due to the trees growing so tall. They also had the electric water pageant floats lit up sitting in the water, which detracted a little from the Wishes fireworks.

Overall it was a nice trip, but not as nice as when we stayed there in Sept. 2008.

 

[traylorc]

About 3 weeks ago, our group of 12 returned from a ten day stay at the Poly. We spent one night in Fiji and then moved to my requested longhouse Tokelau. We didn't notice any natural gas smell, and had no problems with our rooms. We also didn't notice any issues with Captain Cooks...maybe we were just fortunate.

We were fortunate enough to snag two ADRs for 'Ohana (for our arrival and departure dinners) as well as an ADR for Kona. But to be honest, I essentially had to make ADRs on our first available opportunity 180 days out.

I wholeheartedly agree the comment regarding not being able to hear Wishes on the beach. When we were there in 2009, the volume was perfect. You almost felt as if you were in Magic Kingdom. But this time around, I strained to hear the music. It was as if some of the speakers along the beach were not being utilized or had shorted out. That is a shame, because the lack of adequate volume takes away from the overall experience of watching the show from the beach.

 

[LilyU]

I tend to smell everything, so it was probably just me!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I posted this on the main resort thread but wanted to here as well. My husband and I are heading to Disney next month for our anniversary. When we originally discussed this trip my husband really wanted a TPV Club Level room at the Poly - he thought that would be the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary. But when AP discounts came out that room was not available so we booked our 4 night/5 day trip at the YC instead (water view - no club level).

I checked today and a TPV Club Level room at the Poly is available 3 of our 4 nights (not available the first). I was thinking about keeping our reservation at the YC for the first night and then transferring to the Poly (as a surprise to my husband) for the rest of our trip.

I'm wondering it this change is worth the hassle (especially considering our short stay). Typically I'm against split stays (I prefer to unpack once) but the view/club level service has me considering it.

Not a hassle at all! When we went down for our 10th anniversary we stayed at OKW, AKL, and Poly! Without the kids the moving was a breeze. We loved spending time at different resorts and each resort gave us awesome anniversary surprises! Like free upgrades!! They told me at check-in when you are only spending a night or two its much easier for them to upgrade you. We were upgraded from a regular room at AKL to a one bedroom villa, and at the Poly we were upgraded to CL. I say GO FOR IT!!!!

 

[Pookasaurus]

I did notice a gas smell once - it was in front of a torch that had gone out (or wasn't lit), that was the only time I smelled it but you're not alone! I always smell gas under the train bridge by splash mountain, too (my kids love playing there so we spend a lot of time there while baby swapping Splash and BTMRR - someone said it was the trains? Anyway....)

We watched wishes in front of Hawaii toward the end of the beach and were able to hear the music really well - louder than I was expecting. We never tried watching from anywhere else though.

 

[1971DBday]

We're checking into the Poly tomorrow!!! We've loved the Wilderness Lodge (and the deluxe room and club level were FANTASTIC!!), but I am really looking forward to the Poly. Can't wait to watch Wishes (and HalloWishes!!!) from the beach and fall asleep watching the castle from our window.

I will see you soon!!! Leaving in 36 hours, but who's counting!!!!

For those of you listening to my whining - I have been sick for the past 3 weeks. Allergies that turned into a nasty sinus infection. Two weeks of antibiotics and the cough is still lingering. This weekend starting Thursday night I felt like I was hit by a truck and run over multiple times...but no fever. Friday still sick, Saturday getting better, but still weak and better on Sunday. Back at work today and then I get a call from school that DD15 has thrown up and has a slight fever. I am now pumping vitamins into the two remaining kids and spraying with Lysol.

I am hoping the Florida sun will knock it out of all of us.

DD5 and I partied a little bit tonight. We played the Lilo & Stich cd and put on Hawaiian Rollercoaster and pretended to do our pathetic version of a hula. If I did that every day....WOW...she will keep me young.

Anyway, hopefully I will post a Poly picture of the day since I am an early riser and may not have anything else to do at 4 a.m..

Aloha Poly Peeps!!!!!

 

[BurkeTribe]

Approximately 46.5 hours until we will be checking in.
Excited-relaxed feeling growing.
Housesitter prepped.
Kids getting hyped,
dogs oblivious as usual,
cats don't care.

Preparing for immersion.