Third and final post on our CL tour, the Polynesian Resort. We had great hopes for this one and actually that's the reason we kept it last. We started our club level addiction with the Grand Californian, a very long time ago. Remember the beautiful Sugar Loaf Key? We loved that it was close to boat transportation, close to the pool, and that the building was very walkable by itself. We found the Poly very much of the same vibe!
We did end up in room 2526. We didn't really disliked the room but we didn't really liked it, neither. Location was so-so, it's in the middle of the corridor so it could have been worse. We wished we could have had once again and for the third time in the row the closest to the lounge. That's a story for another time, but when we used to stay for two weeks, we've scored the closest room to the lounge at the YC (which was fantastic), and we've been spoiled by having the nearest room at the Coronado — for that, they did upgrade us to a suite for the entire length of our stay (spoiled, we were).
On our first breakfast they had the goyave croissant and I cannot stress enough how much I liked them. I also liked they had granola bars, too. And those Nutri Grain from Kellog's — which I found very fancy but that's because I come from Europe and I don't think they have that in France.
The lounge is very impressive with its two stories and large floor to ceiling window. Too bad the furniture is uncomfortable as hell, we only liked the chairs at the front, which meant that basically we stayed there from when the appetizers started, to secure the place (and the only table) up to the desserts and the fireworks. Not that we wanted to be in the front, we just wanted to be comfortable.
Like in the CR, here, they did not clear the tables, only one or twice during the four hours we stayed, and as the lounge was busy, I had to move our plates on the floor to make space. While it was no issue at the Tower (because of the low traffic), here it was inconvenient.
I started with a beer, and loved that they have the Jai IPA, though not draft obviously. I tried the wine but was mostly underwhelmed, except for the Selbach which I loved. (Fun fact they have it on the Disney Fantasy also, just drank a glass of it the other day.)
One think which I really disliked at this club level, and the hotel in general, is the staff. Very not-Disney during our stay. First issue was with Bell Services, in the morning I wanted to check in a bag that I did not want to carry around the resort while our room was ready. The bell captain was on the phone, speaking to someone internal about a guest who was embarking on a
Disney Cruise, and they have an issue as the guest decided not to deliver them their bags. That conversation took a long time and not even once the bell captain look at me even though I was just in front of her. Not demanding much, I wish she said to me “I'm with you shortly”.
Another issue with Bell Services later when we got our room, I tried to call them, but after being on hold for like, five to ten minutes, I figured out I would be better served if I do it myself. Passing by the concierge desk on my way to the lobby, I mentioned being on hold and they did not seem surprised at all, in fact they were not apologetic, and told me very abruptly that, yes, this is expected that Bell Services do not answer at this resort, because “they have other things to do”. They requested I give them the receipt so they put me on a list and God knows how long it will take for my bags to come because “we can't deliver a timeframe for guest services to be ready to process our request.” Huh? I am flying Southwest?
Yet another issue with the staff, at the lounge, after my glass of Riesling, I wanted to try their reds. They were out of glasses so I asked a cast, who answered very bluntly that had none in the back, and smiling jokingly that I can help myself a glass for the sparkling on the shelve and use that to drink the red wine. Again, huh? I insisted, and he said it again, shrugging, as if any glasses would work. (For reference, I tried a glass of The Prisoner, not sure if I can comment on it due to the circonstances. I liked the Riesling better.) Needless to say, I was never that impatient to receive the survey, and for the first time in like, forever, ticked the poorest rating concerning the staff. Hope this does not reflect the usual quality at the resort — and curious about what you think. I do not remember reading negative reviews of the Poly mentioning that so it might very well be a one-off unfortunate turn of events.
Next, and that has been mentioned already, the other issue with the lounge is the layout. It's very cramped at the buffet area, which gets even more a problem in the morning as guests usually don't understand they can use both sides of the (dreaded) Nespresso machine. Also, bear in mind it's very loudly in here. If you're sensitive, or if you're looking for a place to relax or just chill out, this is not the place.
Last — but definitely not least — we got to experience the fireworks from the lounge. One great thing about the Poly is that the lounge is straight across the Magic Kingdom, so you get zero distortion. They pipe in the music, which is lovely, and lower the lights, which is good, yet still the huge glass window still reflects the tiniest amounts of lights. Overall, I think I liked the CR Tower more for viewing Happily Ever After.
Pros:
- I don't know about you, but I really don't like seing the new Tower. For that, the Polynesian is a really lovely place: you can't see the Tower from the pool, and you can't see it from the lounge. Plus you can still go there and dine at Wailulu Bar & Grill and still not see the tower from there. If you think about it, that's the only monorail resort when you don't see it!
- The resort is so lovely themed, and the Club level building is close to everything: the boat, the pools, the lobby… The club level building even has a fridge on the ground floor so you can easily grab a drink to the pool without having to go upstairs.
- You don't need to take elevators to move around, if you're physically able to.
- Did I mention the goyava croissants? they are incredible.
- The lounge still has Monin syrups which mean sugar-free vanilla. As a T1D, I missed it so much on the other lounges! and I hate those new generic syrups bottles.
- Resort location is golden, boat to Magic Kingdom, short walk and direct monorail to Epcot.
- Did I mention the Dole Whip on property?
Cons:
- Multiple issue with cast members on property.
- The lounge layout is absurd. The lounge is noisy. The lounge seating is uncomfortable.
- Not really a con by itself but to keep it mind, king bed here is its own bookable category.
Overall, it was very fun to enjoy different lounges in such a short amount of time. As we did not really know what to expect, we watched some videos on
YouTube. Mostly, the vloggers were saying that all lounges are the same and they did not see differences in the offerings. We did not trust them too much, but needless to say, we were pleasantly surprised to find out this is utterly ********. Lounges still have key differences in their offerings, or at least those three club levels we were in — which is good! If you're interested, I took pictures of the various food offerings of each of the lounges. (Did not post as it makes for a huge amount of pictures and my posts were already long.)
As a conclusion, if we were to resume each of our stay in just one sentance, we would say the CR is perfect for a one-night, pre-WDW trip arrival day. You just enjoy the vibe, you see everything, end up your day with a nice fireworks.
The Poly? stay here for a week. Go to the parks, the pools, dine at Wailulu Bar & Grill, hop around the monorail. And skip the lounge, just grab food and drinks on your way.
Exhausted for your stay and in need of some rest? The WL comes to the rescue. You won't even have to leave the resort — but of course it's close to everything if you have to.
! I’ll be in there for desserts later if you’re around. You may have seen me since it’s hard to miss a person wearing fluffy socks and house shoes
! Sorry but my feet hurt!
