Disney's POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT Information & Questions

[OnThisMagicNight]

We are thinking of trying out a studio at the Poly next year, but would be booking directly through Disney. Are the Lake View studios reserved for those booking with DVC points only? I ask because I've tried a variety of dates through the year and I never see the Lake View studios available - only Standard View (and in some cases the Bungalows even show up as available, but never the Lake View studios.) Does anyone know?

 

[disneyAndi14]

We booked our late summer stay at the Poly, so excited to stay here again, we stayed in November of 2014 and loved it! It was a big construction zone then and still loved it so this time I am sure it will be awesome. We will be there from 8/27/17 to 9/4/17 standard view.

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

Good morning! I am 49 days from first stay at Poly and at that point where I am trying to fine tune the little details. I have a question for the Poly experts.

One morning we are having breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge. Can I take a boat from Poly to WL? How much time should I allow for this travel? Thanks in advance.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks!! I told my dad I decided to change from AKL and as soon as I said "Where have I always wanted..." he said "Are you staying at the Polynesian??" He knows me so well!!

You're welcome! AKL is a great resort and we love it, but the Poly is just amazing .

Boyfriend casually asked me yesterday "How many days until our trip?"
He caught me off guard, so I had to look at the countdown on my phone and even I was surprised!!!
39 DAYS
We've dreamed about staying at the Poly since we planned our first trip together and I cant believe its finally so close to actually happening

The time will go fast and you will be arriving at the Poly before you know it .

24 hours left.

Have a great trip!

So excited to have the Poly booked for 10/4 to 10/8, it is my dream resort

Hope you have a great time!

We are thinking of trying out a studio at the Poly next year, but would be booking directly through Disney. Are the Lake View studios reserved for those booking with DVC points only? I ask because I've tried a variety of dates through the year and I never see the Lake View studios available - only Standard View (and in some cases the Bungalows even show up as available, but never the Lake View studios.) Does anyone know?

I can't answer your question, but wanted to bump up your post so hopefully others will be able to help .

We booked our late summer stay at the Poly, so excited to stay here again, we stayed in November of 2014 and loved it! It was a big construction zone then and still loved it so this time I am sure it will be awesome. We will be there from 8/27/17 to 9/4/17 standard view.

Congrats on booking another Poly stay! Hope you have another great trip .

Good morning! I am 49 days from first stay at Poly and at that point where I am trying to fine tune the little details. I have a question for the Poly experts.

One morning we are having breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge. Can I take a boat from Poly to WL? How much time should I allow for this travel? Thanks in advance.

There's no boat from Poly to WL, but there is boat service from the CR to WL. You could monorail to the CR and then catch the boat over to the WL. If it were me, I'd allow at least an hour .

 

[Dug720]

You're welcome! AKL is a great resort and we love it, but the Poly is just amazing .

I'm so excited!! There is nothing like making a dream come true - even if it's your dream and you're the one making it happen.

 

[DemonLlama]

Just back last night from our stay at the Poly Dec. 5 - 9.

It was our first stay at the Poly aside from a single (free) night a couple of years ago and it was a big splurge for us. We were on our first "just us" trip for our 25th anniversary and my two requests were a balcony and/or a view of the marina, so we'd had it noted on our requests when we made our reservation and called the week prior to make sure that these were showing up in the system.

We got to the resort via Magical Express around 8 and visited the front desk immediately as the text that appeared once we got out of airplane mode, said we were in Aotearoa 1216.

That's about as far from a balcony (it's the first floor) and from any view of the water you can possibly get. We were literally the LAST room on the far front left corner of the Poly, facing the monorail and the road.

They told us they had nothing available until halfway through our trip that would meet any of our requests.

The drums from the Luau were quite loud every night. You couldn't hear the music from inside, just the percussion. And I was really surprised at how loud the Wishes fireworks were. Again, no music, just explosion sounds every night 10:00 to 10:15. And on that end, the monorail is pretty noisy as it speeds by regularly. Perhaps upper floors aren't as bad, but it was really noticeable from our room.

So, not a fan of our room by any stretch. We made the best of it but I can't lie. I was really disappointed.

The monorail was down quite a lot during the week. We got back from Epcot to find the resort monorail not running Tuesday night so we walked from the TTC, just about the Grand Floridian in order to get back to our room. We got done at MK's EMH Wed. night only to be told the resort monorail was again down so the line for the boat was huge.

The resort grounds were lovely and we enjoyed the boat ride over the Magic Kingdom multiple times.

I was really surprised that there is just a single bus stop, no electronic times board available, and backed up buses waiting their turn to drop off and pick up at the one spot. I understand the monorail and boats are available for two of the parks, but it felt really cramped and weird to be at a Deluxe Resort and wish for the All Star bus stop experience!

Trader Sam's was fun and not too crowded when we visited, but it was a Thursday night and pretty early for the bar crowd. Had multiple Dole Whips from the Pineapple Lanai! Did Tonga Toast for breakfast one morning and dinner in between Trader Sam's and the Tambu Lounge visit. DH had the Big Kahuuna Sandwich, which he said was pretty dry. I had the Pan Asian Noodles & Veggies with Shrimp, which was really yummy and had LOTS of shrimp.

All told, we enjoyed our trip because we love WDW, but the far-flung, super noisy, first-floor, road-facing room for our special trip was a pretty big low point. As much as we love the location of the resort, for the $$$ I think we'll just be visiting the islands for an evening after this.

Our patio view:

 

[Farro]

I agree, a bad room can put a sour spin to a trip. Glad you enjoyed most of it though!
I'm learning that I'm not going to use the monorail if I NEED to be somewhere at a certain time, but more for just hopping around as we feel. Just doesn't seem very reliable. I'm more looking forward to the boats anyways! Love those....

 

[mickeynut1]

I'm so excited!! There is nothing like making a dream come true - even if it's your dream and you're the one making it happen.

I agree!

Just back last night from our stay at the Poly Dec. 5 - 9.

Thanks for your review. I'm sorry your requests weren't met and there were issues with the monorail, but glad you had nice trip overall .

 

[maryb828]

The monorail was down quite a lot during the week. We got back from Epcot to find the resort monorail not running Tuesday night so we walked from the TTC, just about the Grand Floridian in order to get back to our room. We got done at MK's EMH Wed. night only to be told the resort monorail was again down so the line for the boat was huge.

This is the transportation stuff I was worried about yesterday :.(

 

[kleph]

I stayed at the Polynesian in 1976 when my family visited the park for the first time. I'm planning a trip next year and would like to know which building is most similar to the original ones in terms of decor and arrangement.

 

[NicoleA]

We're staying at the Polynesian in January 2017. Do y'all recommend breakfast there or getting to the park first and then eating?

 

[DemonLlama]

I stayed at the Polynesian in 1976 when my family visited the park for the first time. I'm planning a trip next year and would like to know which building is most similar to the original ones in terms of decor and arrangement.

There won't be anything similar in the rooms in terms of decor and not a whole lot on the exterior except the longhouses themselves. Check out the Tikiman pages of the 1970s for the list of which buildings were in place since opening as well as some interior room photos. You can scroll down to find 1976.

 

[mystery222184]

Our trip has officially (and unfortunately) ended as I'm posted from the plane. The Poly was fantastic. The CL lounge is really great and it's hard to beat those views. We love that it's always open unlike other lounges that lock their doors in between meals. I'll try to list the food items below.

Breakfast: 3 item rotation of ham, Portuguese sausage, and smoked salmon. Hard boiled eggs, cheese, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, bread items, and cereal.

Lunch: Either shrimp or chicken lettuce wraps, Veggies/dips, chips, cookies, nuts/candied fruit mixes.

Dinner: Vegetable sushi rolls, seared tuna, sesame meatballs, chicken skewers, mahi mahi, pork dumplings. Cheese, veggies, and uncrustables on the side.

The beer and wine selection was larger than before as well. They have really upped their offerings and the Chef said they are moving to more of an upscale food experience.

As always, the Poly staff is excellent and many of them have been there for a very long time. It was a great trip!

 

[mickeynut1]

We're staying at the Polynesian in January 2017. Do y'all recommend breakfast there or getting to the park first and then eating?

We like eating breakfast prior to going into a park, so my preference would be to eat at the Poly beforehand. We find Captain Cooks to be great for a quick breakfast, but Ohana and Kona are also great if you want TS .

Our trip has officially (and unfortunately) ended as I'm posted from the plane. The Poly was fantastic. The CL lounge is really great and it's hard to beat those views. We love that it's always open unlike other lounges that lock their doors in between meals. I'll try to list the food items below.

Breakfast: 3 item rotation of ham, Portuguese sausage, and smoked salmon. Hard boiled eggs, cheese, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, bread items, and cereal.

Lunch: Either shrimp or chicken lettuce wraps, Veggies/dips, chips, cookies, nuts/candied fruit mixes.

Dinner: Vegetable sushi rolls, seared tuna, sesame meatballs, chicken skewers, mahi mahi, pork dumplings. Cheese, veggies, and uncrustables on the side.

The beer and wine selection was larger than before as well. They have really upped their offerings and the Chef said they are moving to more of an upscale food experience.

As always, the Poly staff is excellent and many of them have been there for a very long time. It was a great trip!

Thanks for your mini review. Glad you had a great time .

 

[DisneyHardin]

Just back last night from our stay at the Poly Dec. 5 - 9.


I was really surprised that there is just a single bus stop, no electronic times board available, and backed up buses waiting their turn to drop off and pick up at the one spot. I understand the monorail and boats are available for two of the parks, but it felt really cramped and weird to be at a Deluxe Resort and wish for the All Star bus stop experience!

That is weird that there was not a times board. We were at the Poly Niv 8-13 and there was a times board at the bus stop.

 

[mystery222184]

That is weird that there was not a times board. We were at the Poly Niv 8-13 and there was a times board at the bus stop.

I'm a bit confused by this comment as well. We were at the Poly last week and they have several bus stops (Disney Springs and Epcot have diff numbers for example). They also have the times board .

 

[dbavis]

The Poly only has one bus stop area to the east of the GCH but has capacity for a couple of buses to be loading/unloading at the same time, if i remember correctly. I can't remember if there was an electronic time board when we were there this past July.

 

[Cluelyss]

The Poly only has one bus stop area to the east of the GCH but has capacity for a couple of buses to be loading/unloading at the same time, if i remember correctly. I can't remember if there was an electronic time board when we were there this past July.

There was a board there when we stayed in July.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There was a board in October. My kid took fierce delight in reading it.

 

[dbavis]

ok. i thought so but couldn't remember. we did a split stay between Wilderness and Poly. I clearly remember the board @ Wilderness but wasn't certain about Poly.