Check-in question for Polynesian

[ehlander]

Hi, our family is going to WDW for the first time this August. We are staying at the Poly in a std view room, and I am hoping we can get into Samoa lodge. My question is, if at check-in they give us a room on the second floor at Samoa, can I ask to be switched to either the first or third floors? Would folks go to a different lodge or take the second floor at Samoa even though it doesn't have a balcony? Will a resort switch you during your stay or is that it? Thanks!

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi, our family is going to WDW for the first time this August. We are staying at the Poly in a std view room, and I am hoping we can get into Samoa lodge. My question is, if at check-in they give us a room on the second floor at Samoa, can I ask to be switched to either the first or third floors? Would folks go to a different lodge or take the second floor at Samoa even though it doesn't have a balcony? Will a resort switch you during your stay or is that it? Thanks!

Yes, you can definitely ask for a different room. It's not guaranteed your room/location can be changed, but it never hurts to ask. As far as moving to a different longhouse, I think any location at the Poly is great, but we did love Samoa! If it were me, I'd probably take the 2nd floor without a balcony if that's all that was available in that longhouse (but that's just me). Hope you have a great trip!

 

[WEDWDW]

Have you had your requests added to your reservation?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Yes, you can ask to be switched to a first or third floor room. If they have nothing in Samoa, I would personally ask for another longhouse. There are other, wonderful long houses at Poly and having a patio or balcony to sit outside and really enjoy the atmosphere truly adds to the stay.

We have stayed 3rd floor, Rarotonga, quiet pool side, 3rd floor Fiji, Marina side and 1st floor Fiji, luau cove side and they were all fantastic!

If you don't get Samoa, I wouldn't fret, but definitely go for 1st or 3rd floor.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Decide what is most important: A 1st/3rd floor room, or a specific lodge.

Everyone asks for Samoa, and everyone asks for 3rd floor. Obviously, everyone cannot GET both of these things.

You'll need to have an idea of what really matters to you, because if you don't get Samoa in the first place, it's unlikely they can swap you there.

 

[lala5176]

I personally love a balcony but the rest of my family never uses it. I would request 1st or third and see what happens. If you check in and you are on the second floor, ask to be moved and if it is not available ask if they can move you the next day or two. Or decide if you would rather find another long house with a balcony. I think anywhere at Poly is a great location but that all depends on how close you want to be to the pool, GCH, transportation etc.... Have a wonderful trip whatever you decide.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Not to get some what off topic here but what does the Poly's online check in look like? We will be staying at the Poly in March 2017 and I don't want a room that doesn't have a balcony either, lol...Anyways we have stayed Contemporary and also Grand Floridian and if I remember correctly they each had their own personalized online check in with guest requests. Like at the contemporary I requested an odd numbered room on a higher level floor bc I heard those were the good rooms to see the fireworks at. And the Grand I believe they took requests on what building you preferred to be in. So without jumping ahead of myself shouldn't the Poly have a request that says wants a room with a balcony? Since some rooms have them and some rooms don't? Anyways just curious as to what the poly online check in looks like.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

So without jumping ahead of myself shouldn't the Poly have a request that says wants a room with a balcony?

They do. But that's also why I say know what's most important to you. With multiple checkboxes, you cannot rely on all of them being met.

Standard View rooms are largely in Fiji, Samoa, Rarotonga and Niue. Your options on the checkboxes include these buildings, several others that you won't get if you booked Standard View, Balcony, Patio, Ground Floor, Second Floor. I think you get two checkboxes.

 

[ehlander]

Thanks everyone for your advice!!!! One last question for those that have stayed at the Poly recently with younger kids (our daughters are 8 and 7), do you like being closer to the pools or is a quieter location better for unwinding? Did you feel the Samoa was too loud if you want to hang out in your room during the mid-afternoon heat? I don't particularly want a std room overlooking the monorail if I can avoid it, but I noticed that a few rooms in the Aotearoa face the water and seem off the beaten path. Also is Fiji has rooms that face the beach vs the lagoon area. Or is Rarotonga the better second choice after Samoa? I have never stayed at a Disney resort ever (or have been back in 25 years), so the number of things to think about is a bit overwhelming!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I like Fiji and Niue.

Niue gets you easy proximity to the GCH and pools but is a lot quieter than Samoa.

 

[Shellyb84]

I would definitely ask. We were put in Niue, and I asked and they switched us to Aotearoa, north facing, ground floor (which is exactly what I had noted on my reservation for room requests).

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Thanks everyone for your advice!!!! One last question for those that have stayed at the Poly recently with younger kids (our daughters are 8 and 7), do you like being closer to the pools or is a quieter location better for unwinding? Did you feel the Samoa was too loud if you want to hang out in your room during the mid-afternoon heat? I don't particularly want a std room overlooking the monorail if I can avoid it, but I noticed that a few rooms in the Aotearoa face the water and seem off the beaten path. Also is Fiji has rooms that face the beach vs the lagoon area. Or is Rarotonga the better second choice after Samoa? I have never stayed at a Disney resort ever (or have been back in 25 years), so the number of things to think about is a bit overwhelming!

Personally, I'm not a Samoa fan. I would really rather be off the beaten path a little bit. I definitely don't want to be overlooking a crowded pool. We really love Fiji, either side. It's quiet, yet still close to everything. In fact, there really isn't a longhouse that is far from any of the main areas. We also really liked Rarotonga. It's really close to GCH and the quiet pool. Honestly, you really can't go wrong with any of the longhouses. They only way I would be unhappy is if they gave us a second floor room without a patio or balcony.

 

[Sue M]

Thanks everyone for your advice!!!! One last question for those that have stayed at the Poly recently with younger kids (our daughters are 8 and 7), do you like being closer to the pools or is a quieter location better for unwinding? Did you feel the Samoa was too loud if you want to hang out in your room during the mid-afternoon heat? I don't particularly want a std room overlooking the monorail if I can avoid it, but I noticed that a few rooms in the Aotearoa face the water and seem off the beaten path. Also is Fiji has rooms that face the beach vs the lagoon area. Or is Rarotonga the better second choice after Samoa? I have never stayed at a Disney resort ever (or have been back in 25 years), so the number of things to think about is a bit overwhelming!

We were in 3rd floor Samoa overlooking volcano pool, at the end closest to GCH. We loved it. With balcony door closed there was no noise. We could also see GF in the distance and some lagoon. Having a balcony is really important to me. My requests last stay was Fiji 3rd floor. But I got 2nd floor. I asked to me moved to a balcony, and had to wait until the next day to get it. We lucked out with Samoa. It was a terrific view, and still quiet with door closed.

 

[Amanda999]

I love Rarotonga - you can walk from the monorail to your room without getting rained on (well, only a tiny bit), and short walk to the Epcot monorail at TTC, and seems quiet to me, and close to the quiet pool.

 

[AngiTN]

I love Rarotonga - you can walk from the monorail to your room without getting rained on (well, only a tiny bit), and short walk to the Epcot monorail at TTC, and seems quiet to me, and close to the quiet pool.

Same here. And I loved watching the monorail. We requested, and got, a 1st floor room.
Personally, that's my 1st priority. I don't care which building I get but we do prefer 1st floor.

 

[acworthdisney]

When and where do you do the requests? Our trip isn't till the end of the year but I just checked on "MyExperience" and there there wasn't a place to request a building or floor. Will those requests be seen when we do the ONLINE CHECK-IN or do we request that through our travel agent? Does it need to be a part of the original reservation? Thanks so much in advance.

 

[AngiTN]

When and where do you do the requests? Our trip isn't till the end of the year but I just checked on "MyExperience" and there there wasn't a place to request a building or floor. Will those requests be seen when we do the ONLINE CHECK-IN or do we request that through our travel agent? Does it need to be a part of the original reservation? Thanks so much in advance.

Yes, the options do not appear until you do online check-in, which is 60 days out from check in

 

[Hopefully]

When and where do you do the requests? Our trip isn't till the end of the year but I just checked on "MyExperience" and there there wasn't a place to request a building or floor. Will those requests be seen when we do the ONLINE CHECK-IN or do we request that through our travel agent? Does it need to be a part of the original reservation? Thanks so much in advance.

Requests can be made at the time of booking. I woul call & add my requests now. The online choices are limited

 

[acworthdisney]

Thanks.... I will ask our travel agent to add our requests. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[disny_luvr]

As others have stated, if you don't get 1st or 3rd floor ask and see if anything else is available. We did that last summer. When we checked in we were assigned a 2nd floor room in Samoa but we really wanted 3rd floor. I asked and they had a 3rd floor room that was going to be available later. We decided to wait and take the 3rd floor room because we like having a balcony.

As far as Samoa, we love that building. Every time we've stayed in Samoa we faced the quiet pool. I think facing the main pool might be noisier but I'd still be okay with it. Samoa is at the perfect location and we prefer to be in the middle of the action.