Disney's POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT Information & Questions

[rainboots]

Thank you, @PAdislover ! I love the review! Sounds wonderful!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi all,
Just returned home 2 days ago from 8 nights at the Poly. I had never been there before this stay. We are a fam of 4, me, DH, DS9 and DD5 and were booked in a standard garden view from on the "magical deal" .

Overall, we loved the resort and highly recommend it! Let me know if you have any questions I could answer!

Thanks for the great review! Glad you had a nice time and enjoyed the Poly .

 

[AquaDame]

Hi all,
Just returned home 2 days ago from 8 nights at the Poly. I had never been there before this stay. We are a fam of 4, me, DH, DS9 and DD5 and were booked in a standard garden view from on the "magical deal" .

I think our dates were the same! We REALLY want to stay at the Poly again, but since it'll be a quickie for F&W were are going with the Beach Club... I think after that I will be a Poly person forever though, it was just lovely.

We didn't ask for any particular room (we had been booked for Studio Standard DVC by the TA) and at first I was disappointed to be in Tokelau kind of in the middle facing away from the construction on level 2 but honestly I ended up loving our location also. I'd even fax in a request for it next time if we don't splurge on TP view! It was very quiet and we felt like it was close to everything also. The room was in GREAT condition, and we didn't have any draining issues that I keep hearing about - I'm sorry you had to deal with that! I loved napping on the Stitch bed and have a pic of the hammock set as my background on my phone.

We drove a rental car mostly and only used the monorail for MK & Epcot except once on the way back we took the boat - there was a huge line and seemed to take much longer... I think my husband appreciates the AC more than I appreciated the water (I love being on a boat or ship!). Parking in the evening was a PITA unless we came back after 9ish. I had to circle Saturday and Sunday nights for quite awhile...!

We also didn't find the pool crowded at all, though the one time we tried to use the hot tub we were overcome with the most HORRIBLE chlorine gas smell after about 5 minutes! It filled our noses and lungs and we both were rather ill from it that night even though we got out of it right away when it happened and alerted a lifeguard who didn't seem to care. Never went back... too scary!

I went in with no clue you could get 'Ohana as room service but once I found that out I convinced my husband to do it one night! It was WAY too much food for us! We both were completely stuffed and wasted a ton of everything.... I kept about 3/4 of the bread and the honey mac butter for a snack later at least. We ended up cancelling several of our ADRs for breakfast in favor of getting room service. I had those mac pancakes three times this trip and both times they were room service we had a lot more of the butter and pineapple for it. I'm still drooling for more..!! 'Ohana breakfast only took us 45 minutes to see everyone which was amazing. We had a great view and I think just lucked out with the timing. Lilo and Pluto were right there when we were seated and Mickey came shortly thereafter. Only Stitch took awhile to come over. Captain Cooks was fine, but I thought it was a bit much price wise for the adult breakfasts considering how little you get. The kids meals are way better IMO...! I did actually purchase a mug so I didn't have to keep paying for coffee every day which I've never done before... again, our room was really so convenient and I loved the walk by the lake and the view..! Yes I took the long way, lol!

We spent SO MUCH at Trader Sams..! We went four times, the first on the patio since we didn't want to wait, once with an hour long wait with a pager and twice more at opening so there wasn't a wait. I actually really liked the Nautilus - we got two and kept the mugs so I can gift one. We ended up bringing seven pearls home if you can believe it... we really liked it (I'm a sucker for Horchata) and got two then a third since we kept hoping for a black pearl. Well no one mentioned they weren't REALLY randomizing.. luckily we went in on Halloween and walked away with a couple black ones too. ^^;; The other mugs we've already acquired from the TS closer to home in Cali. Well except the zombie head... I've never liked the mugs for those drinks. :x We also tried the Spikey Pineapple (good but forgettable and weak) and a dark and stormy which neither of us liked much.

 

[robinstrip]

Questions for those of you who have been recently:
1. If you rode a bus back from AK about how long did you have to wait? We are going to AK on our departure day and have to be back by 4:30 for the ME. I am trying to figure out what time we need to be gone by so we don't miss the ME. Is taking a taxi from AK back to Poly a possibility? If so where would I find one?
2. If you ordered room service for breakfast did you order it the morning of or the night before? How long did it take to get to your room?
Thanks!! Less than a month to go!

 

[AquaDame]

Questions for those of you who have been recently:
1. If you rode a bus back from AK about how long did you have to wait? We are going to AK on our departure day and have to be back by 4:30 for the ME. I am trying to figure out what time we need to be gone by so we don't miss the ME. Is taking a taxi from AK back to Poly a possibility? If so where would I find one?
2. If you ordered room service for breakfast did you order it the morning of or the night before? How long did it take to get to your room?
Thanks!! Less than a month to go!

I can't answer #1 since we drove, but we did breakfast room service both ways this last Wednesday and Sunday. When we called the night before we told them what time we wanted it delivered (7am) and it was there shortly after the hour. When we called a different morning around 7:30am they quoted 30-40 min but we were packing so I'm not sure exactly how long it took. I'd always call the night before now that I know! It took about 45 min for dinner the one night we called down to order the feast too.

 

[mom2randj]

Questions for those of you who have been recently:
1. If you rode a bus back from AK about how long did you have to wait? We are going to AK on our departure day and have to be back by 4:30 for the ME. I am trying to figure out what time we need to be gone by so we don't miss the ME. Is taking a taxi from AK back to Poly a possibility? If so where would I find one?
2. If you ordered room service for breakfast did you order it the morning of or the night before? How long did it take to get to your room?
Thanks!! Less than a month to go!

We were just there. We did a short 1/2 day trip to AK - left early afternoon. When we left the park, we just happened to time it when the Poly bus was about to depart. I am guessing it comes about every 20-30 minutes? Good thing is, it goes straight back to the Poly without any stops in between. On our way there, I believe we stopped at GF to pick up those riders, so the loop would be Poly,GF,AK and then the Poly. For us, I would leave no later than 3:00 pm from AK to pick up a 4:30 ME ride - and that's if I had already checked my baggage with them.

 

[PAdislover]

I think our dates were the same! We REALLY want to stay at the Poly again, but since it'll be a quickie for F&W were are going with the Beach Club... I think after that I will be a Poly person forever though, it was just lovely.

We didn't ask for any particular room (we had been booked for Studio Standard DVC by the TA) and at first I was disappointed to be in Tokelau kind of in the middle facing away from the construction on level 2 but honestly I ended up loving our location also. I'd even fax in a request for it next time if we don't splurge on TP view! It was very quiet and we felt like it was close to everything also. The room was in GREAT condition, and we didn't have any draining issues that I keep hearing about - I'm sorry you had to deal with that! I loved napping on the Stitch bed and have a pic of the hammock set as my background on my phone.

We drove a rental car mostly and only used the monorail for MK & Epcot except once on the way back we took the boat - there was a huge line and seemed to take much longer... I think my husband appreciates the AC more than I appreciated the water (I love being on a boat or ship!). Parking in the evening was a PITA unless we came back after 9ish. I had to circle Saturday and Sunday nights for quite awhile...!

We also didn't find the pool crowded at all, though the one time we tried to use the hot tub we were overcome with the most HORRIBLE chlorine gas smell after about 5 minutes! It filled our noses and lungs and we both were rather ill from it that night even though we got out of it right away when it happened and alerted a lifeguard who didn't seem to care. Never went back... too scary!

I went in with no clue you could get 'Ohana as room service but once I found that out I convinced my husband to do it one night! It was WAY too much food for us! We both were completely stuffed and wasted a ton of everything.... I kept about 3/4 of the bread and the honey mac butter for a snack later at least. We ended up cancelling several of our ADRs for breakfast in favor of getting room service. I had those mac pancakes three times this trip and both times they were room service we had a lot more of the butter and pineapple for it. I'm still drooling for more..!! 'Ohana breakfast only took us 45 minutes to see everyone which was amazing. We had a great view and I think just lucked out with the timing. Lilo and Pluto were right there when we were seated and Mickey came shortly thereafter. Only Stitch took awhile to come over. Captain Cooks was fine, but I thought it was a bit much price wise for the adult breakfasts considering how little you get. The kids meals are way better IMO...! I did actually purchase a mug so I didn't have to keep paying for coffee every day which I've never done before... again, our room was really so convenient and I loved the walk by the lake and the view..! Yes I took the long way, lol!

We spent SO MUCH at Trader Sams..! We went four times, the first on the patio since we didn't want to wait, once with an hour long wait with a pager and twice more at opening so there wasn't a wait. I actually really liked the Nautilus - we got two and kept the mugs so I can gift one. We ended up bringing seven pearls home if you can believe it... we really liked it (I'm a sucker for Horchata) and got two then a third since we kept hoping for a black pearl. Well no one mentioned they weren't REALLY randomizing.. luckily we went in on Halloween and walked away with a couple black ones too. ^^;; The other mugs we've already acquired from the TS closer to home in Cali. Well except the zombie head... I've never liked the mugs for those drinks. :x We also tried the Spikey Pineapple (good but forgettable and weak) and a dark and stormy which neither of us liked much.

Wish we could have stayed in trader Sam's for a drink, just didn't work timing wise. I wanted to order the macadamia nut pancakes so bad but was never very hungry in the morning! Next time!!

 

[MouseMum]

Hi all,
Just returned home 2 days ago from 8 nights at the Poly. I had never been there before this stay. We are a fam of 4, me, DH, DS9 and DD5 and were booked in a standard garden view from on the "magical deal" . This is my take on things:
Room/Longhouse: We did online check in and our 2 requests were Samoa and ground floor. I also had TP fax in a room request and requested room 1606 which is smack in the middle of the ground floor rooms in Samoa. I made a message on my fax requests saying we would be happy with any ground floor room on property facing away from east pool construction but our first preference was Samoa. We landed at 11am and I didn't get any room text but when we got to the GCH at 12:45, our room was ready and we got 1602, just 4 doors down from the exact room I requested so I was very happy! We loved being so close to everything. You are just steps away from the GCH, the pool and the boat dock. It's loud mid day but we really only slept from 10 or 11pm-8am or 9am every day and it was perfectly quiet enough at those times. Our room was a bit worn looking but overall fine and what I expected. I had to turn the fridge up b/c it wasn't very cold. When I pulled it out, yikes, like 5 years of dust was back there, but I just shoved it back in and tried to pretend I didn't see that. Our tub also didn't train well. Every time I took a shower I was standing in 6 inches of water. I should have called right away about it b/c when I finally did call after like 4 nights of our trip, they came and fixed it right away. Also, my kids can not sleep together, both are too restless, so I am super glad that my DD loved the little couch bed. Housekeeping came and put a bed rail on it for us and that was her special little spot for the whole week.
Transportation: We always used the boat to go back and forth to MK. it was so peaceful and they seemed to operate 2 at a time so you never had to wait long. the route for those of you who don't know is: GF, Poly, MK. so on the way to MK it's direct from poly to MK and on the way back it stops at GF then poly. We used the monorail to get to GF for dinner and to do a monorail shopping crawl once. We walked to the TTC twice to get to EP monorail and that was a quick and peaceful walk. We used uber twice. It picks up in front of the GCH, once to go to AK and the other TL. The driver who took us to TL was terrible, didn't speak much English, didn't know where to pick us up, so that was weird. We used buses to come home from AK, and TL. Busses were pretty prompt and never very full for us. Poly is the first drop off and pick up and then it goes to GF. We used the bus to get to and from HS. they have video monitors at the bus stop with the times that the bus is coming. Again, we only used this to get to HS but I found it helpful to know when the bus was coming. Transportation overall was great!
Pool: pool gates were always locked. my band worked about 75% of the time to open them. I don't know why it didn't work sometimes. it was kind of glitchy. But there was always someone going in or out that let me in......which shows were the limit of the locked gates lies. even though the gates are locked, no one monitors them. You can open the gate with your band and let in who ever you want. the pool was never really crowded so it didn't matter to us. I did see obvious visitors who were reading the signs and discussing how the pool is for resort guests only so maybe the sign keeps some people out. My kids LOVED the splash area. Like others have said, they only enforce the 48" rule to the very small baby slide on the structure so my DS9 could play on it as much as he wanted. The big pool was never super crowded either and my kids must have went down the big slide 50 times that week. We always found a chair. there are chairs by the splash pad with shade and we almost always got one of those. we got a true table once over the course of the week. The hot tub was working. my husband and I had it completely to ourselves for about 5 glorious minutes one day and then it remained kid free for about another 10 min. the hot tub was almost always overcrowded to the point of not wanting to go in or it had tons of kids in it. my kids like to warm up their feet too but I think overall they should make it adults only. I personally see no reason for little kids to be in a hot tub but whatevs, no biggie and didn't impact my trip at all.
Dining: Order the Ohana feast as room service! just do it! we originally had plans to go to 1900 PF for our arrival night dinner but I canceled and figured it would be more relaxing to stay in the room. so glad I did! My DH and I split the service for 1 ($40). This worked for us b/c I was happy to eat the salad, bread, noodles, veggies chicken wings and some of the regular chicken. He ate most of the meat. They gave us like 4 shrimp, 2 steak pieces, and about 5 pieces of chicken. so if you have 2 big meat eaters, it probably wouldn't be enough to share 1 meal. it also came with white sticky rice and POG juice. overall, delicious! my kids wanted mac n chz which isn't on the room service menu but I asked and they could make it for room service. took about an hour to get our food.
We also did breakfast and dinner at Ohana. Breakfast was an 8:35am res and we were seated within 5 min. food came out quick, server was a little rushed, characters took awhile to come over but once they started coming, they all came one after the other. In total we were in and out in about 60 min from the time we checked in. Dinner was amazing. 6:30 res and seated within 15min. service and food excellent. I asked the waitress about other food for my kids and she brought out mac n chz, chicken tenders and fries. chef came out to discuss DD's peanut allergy and we just kept the peanut sauce off the table. we had a table overlooking the pool for both meals. overall excellent.
We had captain cooks twice for lunch and once for breakfast. it was always busy and chaotic. I just wouldn't plan on eating there much b/c of this atmosphere.The food was good though. I had the pulled pork nachos, aloha pork sandwich, both excellent and DH had the reuben once (ok) and the bacon cheeseburger once (good). The kids egg white scramble is a great choice for an adult breakfast. It's basically a ham, egg white and cheese omelette, comes with fruit and a little cup of plain yogurt.
Bars: we spent so much money on drinks! they are all so yummy! we spent a lot of time at the pool bar. The pago pago painkiller was my favorite. We visited Tambu once so I could get my LapuLapu which was delish. We went in Trader Sams once but there was nowhere to sit so we left. It's cute and very small. We sat out on the trader sam's terrace once. they had a singer out there which was nice and we could see the electrical water pageant from our table. I had the shrunken zombie head and my DH had the nautilus (no, we didn't keep the glass on that one). both were just ok. mine was super sour. probably wouldn't order either again.
Recreation: we rented 2 searaycers one day. this was so fun! we had them out for about 40 min and it was $68 total. super fun! my DH, a friend and DS also did a 4 hr fishing trip one morning which was amazing. they caught like 40 fish in 4 hours. We did the campfire one night which the kids liked too.
Kids club/Lilo's playhouse: my kids went once for about 4 hours in the evening. There were 7 total kids in the club that night. They LOVED it! wanted to go back but at $30per hour for 2 kids, it wasn't going to happen. The staff was great. They had a lot of toys and activities to keep them busy.

Your review within 2 days! Bravo! I've been back for 2 months+ and still haven't posted mine. Overall, sound like a good time. We had problems with the shower drains in the studio but I thought it was because they were newly done. When was Samoa renovated? I am thinking about a request for next August.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We also didn't find the pool crowded at all, though the one time we tried to use the hot tub we were overcome with the most HORRIBLE chlorine gas smell after about 5 minutes! It filled our noses and lungs and we both were rather ill from it that night even though we got out of it right away when it happened and alerted a lifeguard who didn't seem to care. Never went back... too scary!

We were there 10/23-10/29 and I totally agree with the above regarding the hot tub. We swam / used the hot tub at least once every day. On two (non sequential) days, when in the hot tub you could smell some sort of odor that you could tell just didn't seem right. It smelled like funky chlroine to me, if that makes sense. The other days seemed totally fine. The two times we smelled the odor, we got right out.

We were totally pleased with the crowd levels at the pool during all points of the day, never too crowded at all!

 

[Shellyb84]

I was there this year for the 4th! We ended up heading out to Epcot to watch their fireworks, because the resort was PACKED (and also we had already seen the MK July 4 fireworks on July 3). We were shocked at how many people that weren't paying to stay at Poly or didn't even have dinner reservations were there. If you're planning on being there to watch the fireworks on the 4th, I highly recommend getting a club level room for the night of the 4th so you have access to their roped off area on the beach. If not that, then getting a theme park view room so you can hopefully have a balcony to go out on to watch. The entire resort was swamped enough that even at 11am they were trying to scan everyone's magic bands to hand out wrist bands that you had to wear to be able to freely walk around the pool area. By 4pm, people were pouring in for dinner at 'Ohana and the luau and when we finished with our reservation at Kona we realized the beach was insanely busy, even the quieter/smaller beach by our room in the Fiji building. So we abandoned ship and headed to Epcot instead. They didn't really do a lot at the resort for the 4th beyond hand out red, white, and blue leis and had some patriotic games with prizes around the pools for kids. I think the bar had some special drinks, but I'm not old enough to drink so I can't tell you how they were! I think the cast members were a little overwhelmed with how many people were there, and they dropped the ball on making sure the guests at the Poly had proper access to the beach and amenities they were paying for.

All that being said? We loved things at Epcot on the 4th, and have a reservation to be back at the Poly for the fourth of July next year! This time we're booked in a bungalow the night of the 4th, and staying in a standard room from June 27 - July 3. It's a really fun time to visit, and we're excited to have a near unobstructed view of the fireworks on the 4th.

We were staying at the BC this past 4th week and also spent the 4th at Epcot. Illuminations was amazing! Next year we are going to stay July 2nd - 5th at the Poly so we are there over the 4th, then heading to the BC for 7 nights Now I am considering a CL room for the 4th! We currently have a room request for Fiji. Can you see the fireworks on the beach by Fiji? This will be our 1st time staying at the Poly and we are super excited to give it a try!

 

[Cluelyss]

For those of you that are just getting back, was the monorail still running on a modified schedule? Thanks! Love reading all your reports - 26 days to go!!

 

[PAdislover]

For those of you that are just getting back, was the monorail still running on a modified schedule? Thanks! Love reading all your reports - 26 days to go!!

honestly, I'm not sure. it was always operating when we wanted to use it but we always used it mid day, never real early or late so I'm not sure if the schedule was different than normal. sorry to not be any help on that one!

 

[PAdislover]

Your review within 2 days! Bravo! I've been back for 2 months+ and still haven't posted mine. Overall, sound like a good time. We had problems with the shower drains in the studio but I thought it was because they were newly done. When was Samoa renovated? I am thinking about a request for next August.

I wanted to write it while it was all still fresh in my head!

 

[Jon84]

I wanted to write it while it was all still fresh in my head!

Good idea!

Loved reading that, it's not officially less than 6 months till we arrive at the Poly for the first time!

 

[mousestruck]

Hello Poly fans! We are DVC members and have been loyal guests of AKV for many years. We just fell in love with the resort during our first trip to Jambo... which set us up for a DVC purchase when Kidani opened. That being said, we'd like to experience all of the beautiful DVC resorts at least once, so this summer we are hoping to spend a few nights at the Poly. We're travelling during a very busy week - 6/26 through 7/5 - because my daughter is dancing as part of a special event that week. We know that the parks and resorts will be super crowded... but hoping to tour wisely and find some magic anyway! I'm going to try for a Lake View studio if there is one available at the 7-month mark. Should I be concerned about the East Pool construction? Any indication as to whether or not it will be completed by then? We do plan to spend some time at the resort, so I'm concerned about the pool crowds - and it would be nice to have the quiet pool option if it opens in time. We are excited about our first trip to the Poly!

 

[Jon84]

Hello Poly fans! We are DVC members and have been loyal guests of AKV for many years. We just fell in love with the resort during our first trip to Jambo... which set us up for a DVC purchase when Kidani opened. That being said, we'd like to experience all of the beautiful DVC resorts at least once, so this summer we are hoping to spend a few nights at the Poly. We're travelling during a very busy week - 6/26 through 7/5 - because my daughter is dancing as part of a special event that week. We know that the parks and resorts will be super crowded... but hoping to tour wisely and find some magic anyway! I'm going to try for a Lake View studio if there is one available at the 7-month mark. Should I be concerned about the East Pool construction? Any indication as to whether or not it will be completed by then? We do plan to spend some time at the resort, so I'm concerned about the pool crowds - and it would be nice to have the quiet pool option if it opens in time. We are excited about our first trip to the Poly!

I believe the Oasis Pool is to be finished by End of March. At least thats what our TA told us

 

[Nikki0401]

We will be there for the first time in Aug too!! So excited

 

[GADisneyDad14]

For those of you that are just getting back, was the monorail still running on a modified schedule? Thanks! Love reading all your reports - 26 days to go!!

It did not appear to be on any modified schedule to me, it was always open and available during our stay (10/23-10/29). That's not saying it wasn't, but we didn't get a schedule handout like we had over the summer when it was on a modified schedule and didn't notice anything in our daily travels. My son insists on riding the monorail at least once a day whether we're going to a park or not, so we're on it alot.

 

[mom2randj]

For those of you that are just getting back, was the monorail still running on a modified schedule? Thanks! Love reading all your reports - 26 days to go!!

Was up and running the entire time we were ther (10/24 - 10/31).

Hello Poly fans! We are DVC members and have been loyal guests of AKV for many years. We just fell in love with the resort during our first trip to Jambo... which set us up for a DVC purchase when Kidani opened. That being said, we'd like to experience all of the beautiful DVC resorts at least once, so this summer we are hoping to spend a few nights at the Poly. We're travelling during a very busy week - 6/26 through 7/5 - because my daughter is dancing as part of a special event that week. We know that the parks and resorts will be super crowded... but hoping to tour wisely and find some magic anyway! I'm going to try for a Lake View studio if there is one available at the 7-month mark. Should I be concerned about the East Pool construction? Any indication as to whether or not it will be completed by then? We do plan to spend some time at the resort, so I'm concerned about the pool crowds - and it would be nice to have the quiet pool option if it opens in time. We are excited about our first trip to the Poly!

We just returned from our trip and stayed in Hawaii club level garden view. The construction was a non-issue for us. They worked during the day and it was loud if you opened your patio door, but when it was closed, we couldn't hear a thing! I was shocked it was so quiet as we took daily breaks in the afternoon and were able to take some naps with all of that going on. Also, our view of the quiet pool was pretty much obstructed with palm trees and such, so unless we were walking to the TTC we really didn't notice it.

 

[Oswin]

We were staying at the BC this past 4th week and also spent the 4th at Epcot. Illuminations was amazing! Next year we are going to stay July 2nd - 5th at the Poly so we are there over the 4th, then heading to the BC for 7 nights Now I am considering a CL room for the 4th! We currently have a room request for Fiji. Can you see the fireworks on the beach by Fiji? This will be our 1st time staying at the Poly and we are super excited to give it a try!

You can see them, yes! There's no music piped in on that beach, but I don't think there is on the main beach anymore either. The view isn't straight on, but we liked watching Wishes from the Fiji beach. If you are planning on being at the Poly to watch July 4 fireworks, I really would spring for a CL room for the 4th. I can't stress enough how surprisingly packed Poly was and having that roped off section on the beach would be nice. Or having a theme park view would be nice so you could just go out on your patio/balcony with no one else to crowd you in. But if you get out to the Fiji beach early enough you could stake out some spots.