Back from Poly, anyone with questions?

[bellarella]

Just got back from a wonderful trip to the Poly with DD4, DD2, DH and myself. The Poly turned out to be the perfect resort for us. I had pretty low expectations going in, but things turned out wonderfully.

I can't say enough good things about staying at a monorail resort with two preschool age children, and of the 3 monorail resorts I do think the Poly was perfect. The Contemporary just felt too "normal" when we visited and didn't have as nice of a pool and while we loved the GF and didn't get a stuffy feeling from it, it did invoke a more "adult" sense of relaxation that DH and I would have wanted to enjoy but couldn't with the kids. The Poly was perfect in being relaxing, laid back, and very family friendly. The multitude of transportation options was a real key for us too. We had two days at the MK and getting there was so easy -- monorail (express or resort) and boat launch (from the hotel or TTC). The days we went to the other parks (AK and MGM) and had to use busses cynched that we had made the right call. The busses really took a lot more out of us mentally. Departures weren't as frequent and there were often more than one stop.

We were in Tahiti, which I will say felt like a hike from the GCH (take into account that I'm 5 mos pregnant and half the time was carrying a 30lb toddler on my hip). It was nice to have the option of going to the TTC for transportation though. If I had it to do over again, I would have opted for Tokelau. The rooms were a great size and we had a double sink. The daybed was great for our youngest. We chose to do room service two mornings and everything arrived on time and totally fresh. We loved the beach in front of Tahiti. It was perfect for letting the kids play in the sand when we didn't want to take them swimming (and therefore didn't want to be in sight of the pool) and also for watching Wishes. It wasn't so good for the electric water parade since the boats park for optimal viewing from the main beach. The pool was great. The only complaint there was that the kiosk for getting the life presevers closed at 5pm, which meant our DD was without her Key to the Kingdom for a night because we didn't realize the time. It wasn't a big deal, but could have been had we been planning on going back to the park.

All in all, I'm thrilled with our choice of resorts!

 

[Frances999]

Welcome Home

I'm glad you had a great trip. I absolutley LOVE Tahiti --- the beach is so private and quiet. I was very disappointed to hear of it being closed for renovation during our next trip.

I agree that the Polynesian is great for preschool age children, my three love it (though not quite as much as me though!)

How was the Great Ceremonial House looking? I hear it is being re-arranged and undergoing major renovations...

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

Aloha and welcome home! Glad you had a nice time and thanks for the report!

 

[Violetx3]

We just got back too. Wasn't the weather great? I thought I'd let you know that the lifeguards at the pool itself had the room keys after 5 pm, even thought the kiosk was closed. (You could get lifevests after 5 pm from the lifeguard too.)

 

[JayCT]

We stayed at the Poly three years ago and loved, but DW wanted to try other resorts to see if any were better. Since we have stayed at CR, YC and the Dolphin and I must say that the Poly was our favorite, BY FAR. It has such a relaxing atmoshere that the other resorts lack. I hate having to get on an elevator and treking through a busy lobby to get to the pool. Plus being on the monorail is the best. I HATE the buses. If I want to ride a bus I can do that right down the street from my house. The monorail is a large part of the fun and is like a ride inside the parks. I told DW that next time it is the Poly or we might as well just book an All-star. JMHO Jay

 

[imatoad]

Do the rooms have refrigerators already installed, or do you have to request one? I've heard conflicting reports on this.

 

[MPLsDad]

Do the rooms have refrigerators already installed, or do you have to request one? I've heard conflicting reports on this.

If a fridge isn't in your room when you arrive, call the front desk and they'll send one up no charge. It doesn't seem that they are in each room yet.

 

[AlexTina]

I'm glad you had such a good time. Tahiti is my favorite building and I know what you mean about the walk I was pregnant when we went last May and also wound up carrying my 36lb toddler most of the time. I'm sure the walk won't seem so bad this time around and I'm actually really hoping that we get Tahiti again, I gues we'll find out soon, only 4 days to go

Tina

 

[scanne]

Did you see or hear anything as to when the Tahiti building is going to close for refurbishment? This, too, is our favorite building but it's slated to be closed when we're there in July/August.

Thanks!

 

[bellarella]

There was no fridge in the room when we checked in but it was no problem (or charge) to get one brought up right away. I brought some cereal with us and we got some milk at Captain Cooks for breakfast a couple of mornings (when we had early lunches planned). It was also good for chilling our water bottles.

I don't know when Tahiti will be closed. I believe they are behind schedule though. When I had called they had said not until the suites were redone.

The GCH looked fine. There is a large section that isn't open yet, but it is not under construction.

Good to know about the key cards. If we had needed it we would have investigated further I'm sure.

 

[weluv M&M]

Have improvements been made to Captain Cooks? Last June when we were there it was small and dirty. This was the ONLY thing that I did not LOVE about the POLY.

 

[bellarella]

No, unfortunately it does not look like they have done anything to Captain Cooks. I agree that it is the one "depressing" part of the whole resort.

 

[rifamtrav]

We're staying at Poly for the first time in Sep. (Me, DH, DD12 and twinDD's 10)
I'm very excited to be at a monorail resort for the first time. Any advice on which buildings/rooms would be best to request? We probably won't spend as much time at things in the GCH, so does it make more sense to get on the side closest to TTC?
Also, my DDs are very responsible, and independent (the oldest has been babysitting for 1.5 yrs and will have a cell phone for added assurance) do you think its acceptable to let them explore a bit on their own? within the resort? from MK to Poly?
We've done quite a bit of traveling (not just WDW) so they have pretty good "street sense" about them.

 

[bellarella]

I think Tokelau has the perfect location. It's half way between GCH and TTC. One side of it faces the quiet pool. It has the larger room configuration and the second floor has balconies. Tahiti would be the building to go for if you want to be closest to TTC, which I don't see as a huge plus (you can grab buses and monorail from the GHC). If you want to be closer to the "action" Samoa is great because one side faces the quiet pool and one side the volcano pool (which can add to noise). Really I don't think there are any "bad" long houses. I do think you will be surprised at how much you will want to go through the GCH since all of your food choices are there.

As for letting yoru DDs explore, that's hard for me to answer because mine are so young I can't imagine ever letting them out of my site But I'm guessing that they would be fine going around the resort. The MK is a bit of a hike and so crowded that it's unlikely they would hear the cell if you were trying to contact them, so that would be out of my zone of comfort. The neverland club is supposed to be nice for kids their age.

 

[rifamtrav]

Thanks for the building info. I know the other questions is definitely tough. I'm sure I'll need to get there and get the feel of it for myself before I know for sure. I'm mostly thinking in terms of dinner, if we're all having dinner at GF or CR and they're ready to crash, I wondered about having them take go back to the room by themselves. They've done this inside single hotels before (i.e. go up to the room from the lobby) but since they'd be walking along outdoor pathways I'm not sure about this... Oh well, I'll just have to go with my gut when we get there. Thanks again.

 

[bucky1023]

Thanks for the report and welcome home. I am going down in July and staying at the Poly (very, very excited ) and gave some good pointers. I am actually hoping to stay in Tokelau so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks again!!!!