colleen costello
DVC Fan
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2002
- Messages
- 3,229
We returned last night from a wonderful trip I had long looked forward to. Hadn't stayed at the Polynesian since around 1980 and BOY was it worth the wait! I sort of figured that after all my planning it might be a let-down and I sure was wrong. We traveled with my Mom and therefore requested a room close to the lobby. We were assigned to adjoining rooms in Raratonga building and from the get-go, I was in Heaven!
Raratonga has just reopened after a complete renovation. The room was shiny-new and spotless. Even the hallways were lovely, decorated with old black-and-white photos from Polynesian locations. My favorite was one of two Fijiian princesses from around 1900. The whole resort is lush and green and just so "extra special." Our room was literally seconds from the lobby. I felt comfortable and very safe and the kids enjoyed a bit of freedom -- they would go for drink refills all by themsleves because we were so close! It was very hot so we just enjoyed the resort. Swam every afternoon, had great meals at the Kona Cafe, made leis in the lobby with Auntie. It was great. I had many pina coladas, and a few of them even had the booze in them!
The kids loved the beach and Volcano Pool. They were checking ID's to get towels, but no one seemed to be frisking poolside guests for ID's. We always got a table and the pool never seemed particularly overcrowded to me. One evening we walked the path from the Poly to the Grand Floridian. I have always wanted to do this and never made the time. This time was great. It was sunset and the whole walk was full of colorful, fragrant flowers. We passed the wedding pavilion, which is just blinding bright white against all the colors of Florida summer, and then hung out at the GF lobby while the pianist played old songs. We took the monorail back to the Polyneisian. A perfect night!
After 5 nights at the Poly, Mom left for home and my family relocated to Old Key West. Even after the Polynesian, OKW never disappoints me. We were in a 1-bedroom in building 43 at Turtle Pond. Close to the bus stop and right on top of the pool. Perfect! The one bedroom was so nice after a "hotel room," albeit a deluxe one! I did tons of laundry and we made a quick trip to the Winn Dixie for some basic supplies. We had a water view and the kids fed the ducks daily. It was fun to see the baby ducks from our Spring Break trip. They are now "teenagers" and not quite as tiny. There were also bunnies. These tame critters are a big part of the OKW experience for my kids. We had some lunches right at the Turtle Pond snack bar, very convenient. We had great luck with the buses, never waited more than a few minutes for the buses to and from the parks. One gentleman near Hospitality House complained to our driver about waiting over 20 minutes for a bus to Typhoon Lagoon. Our driver assured him that the bus was right behind ours; evidently they had crossed a few minutes earlier. Otherwise everyone around seemed happy. I did not see or hear the infamous towel train.
I was happy to get maid service at the Poly, yet just as happy to be without it in the 1-bedroom. As long as I have a washer, I couldn't care less if the maids come. I am a Mom and quite used to "maid duty!" It was nice to park right out front and to be at such a quiet place. It occured to me that I would die of delight if they ever built DVC units at the Polynesian. Even my hubby, who complained about the Poly as "tacky 1970's and overpriced" admitted it was nicer than he'd imagined. But for giant rooms and tranquility, you can't BEAT Old Key West!
We drove over to Saratoga and it was lovely. I will wait to decide what I think of it because it still seemed like a place to tour, not to stay. It looks great but it's sort of ghostly because it is so empty. I recognized some of the ladies working at the gift shop as OKW CM's from Conch Flats Store. We had fun chatting about the comparisons between OKW and Saratoga. The pool looked nice and the check-in area is just beautiful. It reminded me most of Boardwalk. Mom thought it was nice that you'd be able to park close to your villa like at OKW. That will appeal to grandparents!
The parks were hot and busy. Mickey made me mad a few times when things were closing early or not opening up at all. We went to Epcot one morning and the fastpasses for Test Track were for hours later. Tried to "waste time" with Ellen but U of E was "broken" then tried to do Wonders of Life and the WHOLE PAVILION was closed. This really bugged me. It was very busy while we were there and to be told "sorry it's not a peak time" really irked me. The tickets cost as much in the "non peak" times so I think closing a whole pavilion is crummy. Just my 2 cents -- please don't attack, this was just my impression!
Finally made it to "One Man's Dream" at MGM and really enjoyed it, but too much info here on the Boards ruined the film for me. They talk about Walt's dreams about quality and service, and then Michael Eisner appears repeatedly... As so much has been discussed here and he is the LAST person I wanted to hear discussing "quality," and thinking of the closed pavilions, I said to my hubby "Walt's probably rolling over in his grave..." All in all, we had a wonderful time, and the resorts are glorious. I LOVE Disney World too much to describe, but my family will probably pick and choose carefully in the coming year in terms of what parks we "spend" a ticket on. I thought a lot about how if I was staying at a Universal hotel, my kids could have seen ALL the "E tickets" instead of missing so many because the lines were too long or the park closed at 9pm. Again, just my opinion. One night at MGM, after receiving brochures that said the park would close at 10pm, we were told it was actually closing at 9pm. There was an after-hours event, associated with either gaydays or Star Wars, so we got the boot. This made me sad as we were not near ready to leave... My advice to everyone who visits is to just plan carefully and make sure to call and check what the REAL park hours are and check what attractions are not available, so as not to be disappointed as we were, repeatedly! We had a marvelous time regardless -- hey, I am going back before long -- but my heart went out to the families for whom this might be the "one and only" trip!
One last thing -- we tried to ride Space Mountain and it was down for repair, evidently had been hit by lightning. We got on the People Mover instead, and when we passed the windows where you view Space Mountain, the LIGHTS were on! It was the coolest thing, all gray twisty metal surrounded by scaffolding and a zillion stair steps. Workers were fiddling around and my kids were just thrilled. I told that in 30 years of coming to WDW, this was my first peek at Space Mountain with the lights on!
Lots of magical moments... a great time.
Raratonga has just reopened after a complete renovation. The room was shiny-new and spotless. Even the hallways were lovely, decorated with old black-and-white photos from Polynesian locations. My favorite was one of two Fijiian princesses from around 1900. The whole resort is lush and green and just so "extra special." Our room was literally seconds from the lobby. I felt comfortable and very safe and the kids enjoyed a bit of freedom -- they would go for drink refills all by themsleves because we were so close! It was very hot so we just enjoyed the resort. Swam every afternoon, had great meals at the Kona Cafe, made leis in the lobby with Auntie. It was great. I had many pina coladas, and a few of them even had the booze in them!
The kids loved the beach and Volcano Pool. They were checking ID's to get towels, but no one seemed to be frisking poolside guests for ID's. We always got a table and the pool never seemed particularly overcrowded to me. One evening we walked the path from the Poly to the Grand Floridian. I have always wanted to do this and never made the time. This time was great. It was sunset and the whole walk was full of colorful, fragrant flowers. We passed the wedding pavilion, which is just blinding bright white against all the colors of Florida summer, and then hung out at the GF lobby while the pianist played old songs. We took the monorail back to the Polyneisian. A perfect night!After 5 nights at the Poly, Mom left for home and my family relocated to Old Key West. Even after the Polynesian, OKW never disappoints me. We were in a 1-bedroom in building 43 at Turtle Pond. Close to the bus stop and right on top of the pool. Perfect! The one bedroom was so nice after a "hotel room," albeit a deluxe one! I did tons of laundry and we made a quick trip to the Winn Dixie for some basic supplies. We had a water view and the kids fed the ducks daily. It was fun to see the baby ducks from our Spring Break trip. They are now "teenagers" and not quite as tiny. There were also bunnies. These tame critters are a big part of the OKW experience for my kids. We had some lunches right at the Turtle Pond snack bar, very convenient. We had great luck with the buses, never waited more than a few minutes for the buses to and from the parks. One gentleman near Hospitality House complained to our driver about waiting over 20 minutes for a bus to Typhoon Lagoon. Our driver assured him that the bus was right behind ours; evidently they had crossed a few minutes earlier. Otherwise everyone around seemed happy. I did not see or hear the infamous towel train.
I was happy to get maid service at the Poly, yet just as happy to be without it in the 1-bedroom. As long as I have a washer, I couldn't care less if the maids come. I am a Mom and quite used to "maid duty!" It was nice to park right out front and to be at such a quiet place. It occured to me that I would die of delight if they ever built DVC units at the Polynesian. Even my hubby, who complained about the Poly as "tacky 1970's and overpriced" admitted it was nicer than he'd imagined. But for giant rooms and tranquility, you can't BEAT Old Key West!
We drove over to Saratoga and it was lovely. I will wait to decide what I think of it because it still seemed like a place to tour, not to stay. It looks great but it's sort of ghostly because it is so empty. I recognized some of the ladies working at the gift shop as OKW CM's from Conch Flats Store. We had fun chatting about the comparisons between OKW and Saratoga. The pool looked nice and the check-in area is just beautiful. It reminded me most of Boardwalk. Mom thought it was nice that you'd be able to park close to your villa like at OKW. That will appeal to grandparents!
The parks were hot and busy. Mickey made me mad a few times when things were closing early or not opening up at all. We went to Epcot one morning and the fastpasses for Test Track were for hours later. Tried to "waste time" with Ellen but U of E was "broken" then tried to do Wonders of Life and the WHOLE PAVILION was closed. This really bugged me. It was very busy while we were there and to be told "sorry it's not a peak time" really irked me. The tickets cost as much in the "non peak" times so I think closing a whole pavilion is crummy. Just my 2 cents -- please don't attack, this was just my impression!
Finally made it to "One Man's Dream" at MGM and really enjoyed it, but too much info here on the Boards ruined the film for me. They talk about Walt's dreams about quality and service, and then Michael Eisner appears repeatedly... As so much has been discussed here and he is the LAST person I wanted to hear discussing "quality," and thinking of the closed pavilions, I said to my hubby "Walt's probably rolling over in his grave..." All in all, we had a wonderful time, and the resorts are glorious. I LOVE Disney World too much to describe, but my family will probably pick and choose carefully in the coming year in terms of what parks we "spend" a ticket on. I thought a lot about how if I was staying at a Universal hotel, my kids could have seen ALL the "E tickets" instead of missing so many because the lines were too long or the park closed at 9pm. Again, just my opinion. One night at MGM, after receiving brochures that said the park would close at 10pm, we were told it was actually closing at 9pm. There was an after-hours event, associated with either gaydays or Star Wars, so we got the boot. This made me sad as we were not near ready to leave... My advice to everyone who visits is to just plan carefully and make sure to call and check what the REAL park hours are and check what attractions are not available, so as not to be disappointed as we were, repeatedly! We had a marvelous time regardless -- hey, I am going back before long -- but my heart went out to the families for whom this might be the "one and only" trip!
One last thing -- we tried to ride Space Mountain and it was down for repair, evidently had been hit by lightning. We got on the People Mover instead, and when we passed the windows where you view Space Mountain, the LIGHTS were on! It was the coolest thing, all gray twisty metal surrounded by scaffolding and a zillion stair steps. Workers were fiddling around and my kids were just thrilled. I told that in 30 years of coming to WDW, this was my first peek at Space Mountain with the lights on!
Lots of magical moments... a great time.
Thanks again for sharing.
