Arriving at the Poly

[jmkst58]

OK....after a 15 hour drive....I really want a 'no hassle' arrival at the Poly for my trip, so any help would be appreciated.

I will be arriving on the morning of 2/1/03, and I have a few questions about arrival. I have never stayed on-site before, and I'm sure that this will sound quite stupid to a lot of you.

From what I read...you take the MK exit and go through the right-most booth at the TTC and tell the attendant that you have ressies at the Poly, correct? Then you pull up to the GCH. I know they have valet (How much was it again $$?) Do they have self parking too? Valet would be a better choice for arrival day? Then can it be moved to self-parking to save any money? {We may not have to move the car otherwise...for the rest of our stay}.

We will be able to unload the luggage while parked in front of the GCH? At what point can we enlist Bell services for help (I'll be 5 mo. pregnant with a 2 yr. old )? Only after check-in or after the car is parked? They take you on a cart to your longhouse, correct?

Also....We're then moving to the Swan. Has anyone had luggage moved to the swan from a disney resort? Experience good/bad?

Thanks in advance for any info whatsoever!

 

[BCV23]

At the parking booth, they'll direct you toward the road you'll need to follow. Take that road until you come to a traffic light. Take a left there. You'll pass the TTC on your right (MK parking on the left). Then you'll pull into the Polynesian on your right...well marked. The guard will check for your name and ask for picture identification. Then do whatever you like....self park or valet($6/day). You can also drop your bags and then self park. My DH does not like to valet so we always self park. If you're having the bellman take you to your room, they will swing by your car in self parking if you've left your bags there. If your room is not ready, bell services will hold your bags or you can leave them in your car if you choose that route. Do whatever you're comfortable with...they're very accomodating in our experience. And we've been staying there since 1983! Have a great time!

 

[jmkst58]

Wow BCV23...that was very, very helpful. Thank you so much!!

So that $6/day fee will be charged everyday even if we don't touch the car again until checkout, correct?

 

[Tess]

Be sure to have your reservation confirmation handy when you arrive at the booths. When entering the initial booths, you will be asked for it--we have always had to produce a res confirmation when travelling by town car service.

 

[jmkst58]

Thanks Tess....so much. I was suprised to hear about having the ID handy, so thanks so much for mentioning the confirmation too!!

 

[BCV23]

Yep, $6/day even if you don't move it. Actually, I only know that from reading these boards since we don't use it. Didn't even use it when it was free!

We used to always hand the guard our confirmation slip, too, but have found they'll check your id against their list so I don't worry about having it handy anymore. Perhaps, they're stricter if you're coming by Towncar??

 

[jmkst58]

Thanks again....to both of you

 

[Tess]

We have had to present our res confirmation at the MK parking booths prior to arriving at the guarded booth at Polynesian. The guard at Polynesian has never stopped us. You may well be right--perhaps it's something that's watched more carefully when arriving by town car?? I figured they required it for all those arriving via automobile. Guess having it handy won't hurt though.

 

[BCV23]

Sorry, Tess...I misunderstood you. Yep, we use to show it there, too. And these days we often come in along the north road by Fort Wilderness after hitting the grocery store. I do think we've also just told them at the parking booths that we're checking in. I do know for years I was very careful about having our confirmation slip handy and I don't worry about it anymore...maybe I should !

 

[Poly Pal]

We've never had to stop at the MK "toll booth". They've always just waved us on through (maybe because the see our "yellow envelope"?) Your are correct, stay to the right, and follow the red (or is it green) stripe on the road to the traffic light. Take a left, go by the TTC and over a speed bump or two and the Polynesian entrance will be on your right. Sometimes they've stopped us at the guard house and other times they have not. Pull up under the porte cochere in front of the GCH and your car will be swarmed with guys opening your doors, pulling luggage out of the trunk, asking if its your first stay, etc. Definitely valet park the first day then move to self-parking if you won't be using the car. The valets will give you a receipt for your luggage and send you inside the GCH to check-in. Once your room is ready, just go back outside to the bell stand and give the bellman your luggage receipt and room number. They'll take you on a golf cart type thing to your room. Be sure to have tip money available and be ready to respond with a big ALO-HA in reply to the many Alohas you will receive by the time you get to your room.

Have a great time!

ALOHA!

 

[jmkst58]

Thanks Poly Pal. Great info!!! Miuch appreciated

 

[Lisa3]

On our Dec. trip we had to show our reservation and a photo I.D.

We also drove and I was a little nervous about where to park, how to get all our stuff from the car to our room, etc. The self parking lot is directly across from the GCH. DH did not want to valet park and unload 2 days worth of driving "mess" in the car with the bellman waiting. We went directly to self parking, got organized and walked inside to check in. Our room was not ready so they gave us a number to call later from any park phone and we headed over to Epcot for a few hours. When we returned to the Polynesian we checked in at the desk outside and a bellman with a cart drove us out to our car. We loaded everything in the cart and we were off to our room.

Check out was just as easy. Just call the front desk from your room and tell them you need a cart sent for your luggage. They will load everything up and drive you back to your car.

DH was not used to not handling all the baggage by himself and I think he felt a little awkward watching someone else doing all the work (he just had to help a little). We did make sure that we had a tip ready for the bellman.

 

[jmkst58]

Lisa3....thanks!!! My DH sounds a lot like yours, and this info is very helpful. Thanks so much for the advice!!