CaipiraBob
"Perfectly content to be an absolute caveman"
- Joined
- May 5, 2002
Back from Polynesian Concierge 9/22-9/28
Just back yesterday from a great vacation with the wife and kids.
We stayed at the Polynesian Concierge in room 1504. We really enjoyed the experience. Great view, great staff and overall everything was excellent.
We went to all the parks and just about everything was a walk-on. Very low crowds.
On the day we hit MK, we walked on to Peter Pan, Snow White, Whinny the Pooh, The Carousel and IASW within 1.5 hours.
The Haunted Mansion opened up Sunday mid-day apparently and the line was long for a short time for the rush. All the rest of the week it was a walk-on. We got our own boat for POTC each time. Only Fantasyland was really crowded, but were talking a 10 minute wait at the longest.
AKL was empty, too. We had a 10 minute wait for the Safari but we were in line with some really nice people so it went fast. Dinosaur was a walk-on and there was a slight wait for the twirley dinosaur roller coaster thing, but the kids were done by then and we left after minha esposinha won a dinosaur doll for our youngest.
MGM had a wait for the Playhouse Disney Live attraction but it was short. The kids were in shock when they saw bear on stage. Too funny.
Back to the room, we had some great service. The Concierge staff came through again and again with overall courtesy and working around all our reservations and last minute changes to itinerary.
We ate at a bunch of different places and heres a quick list with comments:
1900 Park Fare Our first day we stopped here for the Whinny the Pooh meal. Great time! The character interaction was awesome and the food was outstanding for a buffet type meal. My wife loved and it and the kids were out of their minds over the characters. We ate here twice it was so good.
Fultons My wife and I are Lobster Bisque nuts. We ordered two bowls and a fresh seafood plate on the side. Their bisque is almost as good as the one I prepare for the holidays. We used Kids Night Out for the sitting service and hit Pleasure Island afterwards, then a late movie. Overall, everything was just excellent and I highly recommend the restaurant.
Bomas We tried the AKL buffet and really enjoyed it. The lodge is beautiful to visit and we loved the feel of the design. Its pretty far out there so I understand the hesitation of some to be so far away from everything, but its worth it if you enjoy the environment. The buffet was very good quality and our children practically adopted the hostess (Precious Gift was her name. Seriously. The kids couldnt pronounce it but they loved her anyway.) Try the Zebra Domes (you eat them, dont worry.) You heard it from me first, everyone else will tell you when you get there.
Cinderellas Royal Table Breakfast Melissa at the planning desk aced this one for us (Thanks Melissa!) The overall experience was excellent. The food was great, the service was outstanding and the character interaction was wonderful. They served a good cup of cappuccino and that raised them a level in my eyes. The kids really enjoyed it.
I enjoyed this experience for a couple of reasons. I had a laugh over the way all of the little girls interacted with each other. When these little girls of 3-6 years old showed up, all decked out in their little dresses, some would approach each other, but not necessarily talk. I filmed it as they walked up, circled each other, checking each other out and then walked over to their parents. Some would cry when they saw another girl wearing the same dress. It was a good thing all the parents were there LOL! It was a behavior I would not have expected from such young girls. FYI If you want your princess to be unique, avoid a blue dress, its obviously going to be the most popular. Our youngest was dressed as Snow White. We were fortunate in that it didnt appear that anyone else was wearing the same dress for that meal, but we saw some on the way out.
Also, on the way out the park is still deserted. We practically knocked over Mickey and Minnie, who were out in front of the Castle greeting people. There was only one other child in site on the street at the time. We had some great character interaction for the kids and had some amazing photos of the family in the nearly empty park.
Mexico in EPCOT On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best, it was a 3.5. The food was only OK, the service was great, the Margarita was excellent. EPCOT lines were nearly non-existent.
Kona Café This was only OK. We would have opted for Chef Mickeys but we were tired after MGM and decided to give it a go. We had lots of photos of Mickey and Minnie with the kids from the day before so we didnt feel it was a big deal. Kona food was only OK, we had the Tenderloin and the Flounder.
1900 Park Fare Back again. This overall was the best value in our opinion. My wife loved the food and the kids love the characters. They had some sort of a large chocolate mousse filled chocolate cake covered with cream. I took a slice and poured vanilla cream all over it. Oink. I mean, darn that was tasty. If calories were sin wed be burning right now, friends.
Concierge Lounge Loved it. For breakfast we would sometimes pick up a few orders of eggs and sausage from Captain Cooks, then pick up the rest from the lounge. We always had cookies for the kids. We never saw the 5:00PM appetizers because we ate early for the kids sake. By the time we got back they were gone, but how much can we eat anyway? Lots. We always made room when they served desert and the selection was typically a chocoholics dream come true. The cordials were a nice touch. too.
A personal note: The coffee at Disney World was mostly undrinkable. I hit the Kona Café Coffee Bar mostly because it was fairly palatable. Disney now uses the Nestle Powdered crud pretty much everywhere, and despite the fact my father was big with Nestle for years, it was lousy. Youre hearing this from a guy who would go to Brasil for a cup of Dona Marias home brew in Praia Grande (never mind the fact thats its typically Carnaval at the time.) If youre a fanatic, bring your own mix and percolator, youll be glad you did. Thats the only thing Ill do differently next time.
Overall the concierge staff was outstanding. They came through for all our reservations and last minute changes with grace and a smile (Im guessing here for the phone calls.) The cleaning staff did back flips for us and the room view was great. On Thursday night they phoned in a message telling us there would be a fireworks presentation at 10:00PM over the lagoon. We spent hours on the beach with the kids letting them run up and down. After the light parade, we washed them up and later sat on the patio for a perfect view of the fireworks. A really nice bonus on top of an excellent week.
Would I go back again? Sure thing, but probably when the kids are older and are ready for rides like Splash Mt. and Haunted Mansion. We had a perfect vacation and will definitely go back again though.
Hope this review helps someone. Thanks to all of you previous posters who gave so many details on your experiences. It's because of you that I learned enough to plan for everything and make our trip perfect!
Just back yesterday from a great vacation with the wife and kids.
We stayed at the Polynesian Concierge in room 1504. We really enjoyed the experience. Great view, great staff and overall everything was excellent.
We went to all the parks and just about everything was a walk-on. Very low crowds.
On the day we hit MK, we walked on to Peter Pan, Snow White, Whinny the Pooh, The Carousel and IASW within 1.5 hours.
The Haunted Mansion opened up Sunday mid-day apparently and the line was long for a short time for the rush. All the rest of the week it was a walk-on. We got our own boat for POTC each time. Only Fantasyland was really crowded, but were talking a 10 minute wait at the longest.
AKL was empty, too. We had a 10 minute wait for the Safari but we were in line with some really nice people so it went fast. Dinosaur was a walk-on and there was a slight wait for the twirley dinosaur roller coaster thing, but the kids were done by then and we left after minha esposinha won a dinosaur doll for our youngest.
MGM had a wait for the Playhouse Disney Live attraction but it was short. The kids were in shock when they saw bear on stage. Too funny.
Back to the room, we had some great service. The Concierge staff came through again and again with overall courtesy and working around all our reservations and last minute changes to itinerary.
We ate at a bunch of different places and heres a quick list with comments:
1900 Park Fare Our first day we stopped here for the Whinny the Pooh meal. Great time! The character interaction was awesome and the food was outstanding for a buffet type meal. My wife loved and it and the kids were out of their minds over the characters. We ate here twice it was so good.
Fultons My wife and I are Lobster Bisque nuts. We ordered two bowls and a fresh seafood plate on the side. Their bisque is almost as good as the one I prepare for the holidays. We used Kids Night Out for the sitting service and hit Pleasure Island afterwards, then a late movie. Overall, everything was just excellent and I highly recommend the restaurant.
Bomas We tried the AKL buffet and really enjoyed it. The lodge is beautiful to visit and we loved the feel of the design. Its pretty far out there so I understand the hesitation of some to be so far away from everything, but its worth it if you enjoy the environment. The buffet was very good quality and our children practically adopted the hostess (Precious Gift was her name. Seriously. The kids couldnt pronounce it but they loved her anyway.) Try the Zebra Domes (you eat them, dont worry.) You heard it from me first, everyone else will tell you when you get there.
Cinderellas Royal Table Breakfast Melissa at the planning desk aced this one for us (Thanks Melissa!) The overall experience was excellent. The food was great, the service was outstanding and the character interaction was wonderful. They served a good cup of cappuccino and that raised them a level in my eyes. The kids really enjoyed it.
I enjoyed this experience for a couple of reasons. I had a laugh over the way all of the little girls interacted with each other. When these little girls of 3-6 years old showed up, all decked out in their little dresses, some would approach each other, but not necessarily talk. I filmed it as they walked up, circled each other, checking each other out and then walked over to their parents. Some would cry when they saw another girl wearing the same dress. It was a good thing all the parents were there LOL! It was a behavior I would not have expected from such young girls. FYI If you want your princess to be unique, avoid a blue dress, its obviously going to be the most popular. Our youngest was dressed as Snow White. We were fortunate in that it didnt appear that anyone else was wearing the same dress for that meal, but we saw some on the way out.
Also, on the way out the park is still deserted. We practically knocked over Mickey and Minnie, who were out in front of the Castle greeting people. There was only one other child in site on the street at the time. We had some great character interaction for the kids and had some amazing photos of the family in the nearly empty park.
Mexico in EPCOT On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best, it was a 3.5. The food was only OK, the service was great, the Margarita was excellent. EPCOT lines were nearly non-existent.
Kona Café This was only OK. We would have opted for Chef Mickeys but we were tired after MGM and decided to give it a go. We had lots of photos of Mickey and Minnie with the kids from the day before so we didnt feel it was a big deal. Kona food was only OK, we had the Tenderloin and the Flounder.
1900 Park Fare Back again. This overall was the best value in our opinion. My wife loved the food and the kids love the characters. They had some sort of a large chocolate mousse filled chocolate cake covered with cream. I took a slice and poured vanilla cream all over it. Oink. I mean, darn that was tasty. If calories were sin wed be burning right now, friends.
Concierge Lounge Loved it. For breakfast we would sometimes pick up a few orders of eggs and sausage from Captain Cooks, then pick up the rest from the lounge. We always had cookies for the kids. We never saw the 5:00PM appetizers because we ate early for the kids sake. By the time we got back they were gone, but how much can we eat anyway? Lots. We always made room when they served desert and the selection was typically a chocoholics dream come true. The cordials were a nice touch. too.
A personal note: The coffee at Disney World was mostly undrinkable. I hit the Kona Café Coffee Bar mostly because it was fairly palatable. Disney now uses the Nestle Powdered crud pretty much everywhere, and despite the fact my father was big with Nestle for years, it was lousy. Youre hearing this from a guy who would go to Brasil for a cup of Dona Marias home brew in Praia Grande (never mind the fact thats its typically Carnaval at the time.) If youre a fanatic, bring your own mix and percolator, youll be glad you did. Thats the only thing Ill do differently next time.
Overall the concierge staff was outstanding. They came through for all our reservations and last minute changes with grace and a smile (Im guessing here for the phone calls.) The cleaning staff did back flips for us and the room view was great. On Thursday night they phoned in a message telling us there would be a fireworks presentation at 10:00PM over the lagoon. We spent hours on the beach with the kids letting them run up and down. After the light parade, we washed them up and later sat on the patio for a perfect view of the fireworks. A really nice bonus on top of an excellent week.
Would I go back again? Sure thing, but probably when the kids are older and are ready for rides like Splash Mt. and Haunted Mansion. We had a perfect vacation and will definitely go back again though.
Hope this review helps someone. Thanks to all of you previous posters who gave so many details on your experiences. It's because of you that I learned enough to plan for everything and make our trip perfect!
