Back from AKL and Polynesian GV and LVC

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Thanks for your report.

 

[freediverdude]

Oh, darn it, those island trees still block the castle view from some of the rooms? That's too bad, because that means there are probably 4 or 5 rooms on that side of the building that don't have a real castle view just because of that. (possibly 2 or 3 times that many depending on what the view is on the 2nd and 3rd floors) Well, like somebody else said, I guess you really do have to book the LVC to guarantee the castle view. Oh well, I guess sometime I'll come up with the money to at least do a couple nights there to finally get that. How did you swing that upgrade?? That wasn't free was it??

 

[Tikiman]

Freediverdude,

I would say you were right when you said 4 or 5 rooms but not any more than that. Also the LV rooms in Aotearoa and most of them in Tahiti have views of the castle. You also should remember than many people want the lagoon view to see the fireworks and electrical pageant and you can see that from the 4 or 5 rooms.

Thanks for having me check that though. It was good information.

Aloha

Steve

 

[alohaguy]

Tikiman,

I wonder if you noticed anything happening with the HVAC systems in the new rooms ... are they making any upgrades to the bathroom ventilation etc.?? I have noticed that in buildings such as Tokelau, the A/C vent is placed in line with the beds and therefore air blows directly on you when you're sleeping. In Hawaii, however, these vents are placed above the small walkway that contains the closet and the door to the bathroom, so air is not directly blown on the beds.

I say this because my son used to get frequent sinus infections when we stayed in the rooms with the vents over the beds. I just wondered if they had reconfigured these vents, or changed anything with the bathroom ventilation.

Strange question, but I think about these things.

 

[Tikiman]

You know now that I look at the photos the new room looks very much like the test room photos. I guess the lighting made it look more orange and the carpet is not any different than the test room. Sorry but it was dark when I was in there. Now I am looking at the photos I took for the first time and so far everything I see there was in the test room photo but they asked that I take it down because the rooms would be different and they were worried people would get upset when they checked in and saw something different. I did not agree but I wanted to do what they asked. At some point they may ask for me to remove the new photos so I will let you know when they are up.

Alohaguy,

It did not apear that they changed any of the pipe locations of the HVAC. In the new room the vent was directly above the hall to the door facing the room.

 

[Sammie]

Thanks for sharing Steve, and glad you had a safe and fun trip.

As to the room sizes listed on the official site, several rooms at Disney resorts are different sizes from the norm due to placement in the building such as corners, near an elevator, etc. so the sizes listed are an average for the resort. No room size in sq. feet and dimensions will fit each and every room.

As to the chair you mentioned, what is an "Autumn", by any chance was it an ottoman (foot stool)?

The only changes to the bathrooms will be decorative not structural as you noticed. The beds are the same as the new ones put in the Grand Floridian and they are wonderful.

As to the review of AKL I think it is very hard to appreciate the finer points of any resort, when it is not your favorite. And what makes one a favorite varies to each person, as it should. I love the Grand Floridian and Yacht Club and tend to compare other resorts to them and find them lacking, simply because they are different. Plus I know if I am staying somewhere and wishing to be somewhere else I tend to notice the negative and not the positive aspects of the location.

 

[Tikiman]

That may be true for other resorts but the rooms at the Polynesian were all constructed the same size depending on the year of construction (1971, 1978 or 1985) and it did not make a difference if it was a corner or near an elevator. The only differences were the bathroom layout but even there the size is the same with things in a different spot.

Yes I meant ottoman (my spell check messed me up on that one but I am not surprised you caught my mistake. Yes the beds are the same and they have been placed in the concierge rooms already. I got the info on them today.

As far as my review of the AKL and not being able to appreciate the resort because it is not my favorite can be your opinion but not accurate. In fact the AKL was my second favorite before this trip and I use to think it would be a tie if it were on the monorail but my opinion changed. Thank you for sharing how you compare resorts but I look at it more objectively than that and this is what I found to be my feelings about the resort regardless of how I feel about the Polynesian. I was actually wanting to be at the AKL when I was there at first but after I found there was not much else to do I would have been happy to be at many other resorts besides that one at that point.

 

[southjerseymom]

Steve
We stayed at the Poly in November 2004 and we loved it. Thanks so much for maintaing your site - it gave us valuable information. We got our request of Tokelau, beach end. What a view! What Magic! We loved room service and Kona - our only complaint was Captain Cooks. Going on a Wonder cruise Feb 2006 with 3 days before at the Cabins in FW. DH doesn't know it yet...but we will probably go back May 2006. Do you think we may see some Captain Cook changes by then??

 

[disneyw/kids]

thanks for the info tikiman and I appreciate all the helpful info you have.

 

[eeyoresmountainpals]

Hi Steve! Thanks for the reports. Can't wait to see the pics!!! Did you hear any more info about the Hawaii building rehab?? Is it still planned for the time frame of about mid-Sept to mid-Oct??


Thanks again!!!

 

[LorieDisneyLover]

tikiman,

we were at the polynesian in july -- lvc -- 1502 --- and you are right the beds were definitely far more comfortable than they had been in years prior -- so they must be new. it made us realize we really need to get new mattresses at home.

lorie

 

[alohaguy]

As to the room sizes listed on the official site, several rooms at Disney resorts are different sizes from the norm due to placement in the building such as corners, near an elevator, etc. so the sizes listed are an average for the resort. No room size in sq. feet and dimensions will fit each and every room.

This is possibly true of several disney resorts, but is not accurate for the Polynesian. I am an architect and real estate developer that specializes in hotel design/construction, and the overal schematic design of the Polynesian longhouses is that of a 'bar', or elongated rectangle ... that is to say that a typical or 'generic' room design is reproduced along a co-linear alignment, seperated by an interior hallway. In this design there are no 'corner rooms', and any hotel designer worth his/her salt would never allow elevator shafts to infringe upon the established room design. Elevator shafts are a circulation element that receives design attention in an entirely different manner than guest rooms. Circulation elements (fire stair, elevator, hallways, etc.) are designed in such a way to specifically not interfere with guest rooms and guest room size.

As far as corner rooms, other hotels will be different. For instance, the GF is an 'atrium' design in which a central open space is placed amidst a rectangular configuration of guest rooms. This 'atrium' style design differs fundamentally from that of the Polynesian, and would allow for corner rooms to vary from others. I do not know from experience, but I would venture a guess that some of these corner rooms are turret rooms, and have some added square footage.

My point is that Tikiman was discussing the square footage of the Polynesian rooms, which will not vary within specific buildings. The newer buildings (Rapa Nui, Tokelau, and Tahiti) have larger guest rooms, and the original buildings have smaller guest rooms. However, these rooms - and their square footage - are not affected by elevators and 'corners'. So to claim that square footages are 'averaged' by Disney - in the case of the Polynesian - in my eyes, would not be accurate.

There should be a very easily definable square footage figure on Polynesian rooms, and I beleive that Steve, by pulling out a tape-measure, has found the answers.

 

[Stitches]

AKL is my favorite resort and Polynesian is my second favorite. I think they both have great things to offer, including fantastic restaurants and wonderful pools.
I just LOVE the decor at AKL. One trip I did a split stay first at AKL and then at a BCV 1 bedroom suite. It surprised me, but I actually preferred the AKL room! My advice is to check out pictures and fact sheets of each resort at the All Ears site as everybody has their own tastes.
For those who want to give the AKL a try but are concerned about the room size, consider getting a deluxe room. As LewisC mentioned, the price of the deluxe room at AKL is about the same as staying at the Polynesian. I know Steve mentioned the Polynesian is priced higher because of the location and resort offerings. The good thing is that not everyone has the same priorities. At AKL, you don't have the greatest location, but perhaps you place a higher value on looking out over a savannah. I like both, so I like to stay at both places!!!

 

[Tikiman]

AKL is my favorite resort and Polynesian is my second favorite. I think they both have great things to offer, including fantastic restaurants and wonderful pools.
I just LOVE the decor at AKL. One trip I did a split stay first at AKL and then at a BCV 1 bedroom suite. It surprised me, but I actually preferred the AKL room! My advice is to check out pictures and fact sheets of each resort at the All Ears site as everybody has their own tastes.
For those who want to give the AKL a try but are concerned about the room size, consider getting a deluxe room. As LewisC mentioned, the price of the deluxe room at AKL is about the same as staying at the Polynesian. I know Steve mentioned the Polynesian is priced higher because of the location and resort offerings. The good thing is that not everyone has the same priorities. At AKL, you don't have the greatest location, but perhaps you place a higher value on looking out over a savannah. I like both, so I like to stay at both places!!!

Very good points and also I would not say that the AKL is a bad location to everyone. In fact I read often than many love the AKL because it is more isolated. Things that I did not like might be reasons others love the place. I did not mean this to be a debate about the AKL I was just trying to voice my opinion and that I will be happy if I never stay at another resort other than the Polyensian when visiting WDW. I am sure at some point I will change my mind and try something else again.

 

[Sammie]

I doubt that when Disney lists the square footage for the rooms at the Polynesian they are going to list them by building. So yes each room in a particular building are going to be the same, but each room is not going to be the same for the entire resort which was my point.

So I still stand by my belief that the rooms listed on Disney.com are an average of what is available. If one wants the exact measurement of the rooms by building they will have your site for the correct info.

As to the AKL, do you feel that one can compare concierge service and non concierge service and get the same impression of the resort. Myself I would find that hard to do. As to being objective about reviewing resorts, I am sure many would find your Polynesian reviews far more passionate and less objective than their own stays there. But then again that is opinion.

 

[InsanelyMickey]

Wow, thanks for all the info, Tikiman! I was surprised when you mentioned Fiji's top floors being closed off already - they must have closed them as soon as we left a week and a half ago because we were on the second floor at that time I can't wait to see which building we end up in Saturday. DH and I think half the fun of staying at the Polynesian is waiting to find out which building we're in.

Thank you also for the report on AKL - I was a little worried when I saw your post stating you'd probably never stay there again, but now I realize that DH and I should probably still try it at least once. That is, assuming we can bring ourselves to stay somewhere other than our Polynesian

Thank you again! And just a note about whether the Polynesian loses any special feel to it when you live closer... we are 45 minutes away and have stayed a night or two about four times since April plus have been there for dinner at Ohana many more times in addition to that, and I still get excited walking into that lobby and walking the grounds at night and seeing those torches!

 

[*Fantasia*]

I was staying at the Polynesian and took the monorail to MK and took the bust to AKL. I was WOWed about the lobby...but when we went outside to see some animals..it was just okay. At that time, there were not much animals to be found. It looked like the storm was about to come, so we went to the bus stop to get back to MK. We waited for about 20 minutes and there were lots of folks waiting for the MK bus. Ahhhh... finally the bus has arrived. We got on... and the wait to get to MK was loooong! That was the longest ride I have ever encountered going to MK! I don't think AKL is for me. We do a lot of MK and Epcot... I think I will stick with the Polynesian. Anyways.. the tropical south pacific is more my cup of tea.

 

[Tikiman]

I doubt that when Disney lists the square footage for the rooms at the Polynesian they are going to list them by building. So yes each room in a particular building are going to be the same, but each room is not going to be the same for the entire resort which was my point.

So I still stand by my belief that the rooms listed on Disney.com are an average of what is available. If one wants the exact measurement of the rooms by building they will have your site for the correct info.

As to the AKL, do you feel that one can compare concierge service and non concierge service and get the same impression of the resort. Myself I would find that hard to do. As to being objective about reviewing resorts, I am sure many would find your Polynesian reviews far more passionate and less objective than their own stays there. But then again that is opinion.

Not sure what concierge has to do with my impressions of the grounds, activities and rooms and I have stayed there before non-concierge so I must be missing the point or one of us is missing the point.

 

[Tikiman]

OK the new room photos are up and some new info. More to come later but that is all for tonight.


http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/poly2_55.html


http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/newroom.html

 

[eclectics]

tikiman,

we were at the polynesian in july -- lvc -- 1502 --- and you are right the beds were definitely far more comfortable than they had been in years prior -- so they must be new. it made us realize we really need to get new mattresses at home.

lorie

Do only the Concierge rooms have the "new" beds at the moment? Staying Poly Standard GV in three weeks and requesting Tahiti. I'm assuming even the old beds must be better than say, POFQ (before the rehab)? They were hard as a rock! Anybody have any comparisons with other resorts? Thanks