Disney's POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT Information & Questions

[PolyRob]

Did you do ohana dinner or breakfast? That being said we have a breakfast and dinner planned at ohana as well. Maybe I'll cancel the dinner if the food is very similar.

Sorry, I should have clarified. I was thinking more 'Ohana dinner and the luau would be repetitive back-to-back. I happened to do 'Ohana dinner and breakfast in addition to the luau on the trip I was referencing since we were also staying at Poly. The dinners are similar with the bread, noodles, chicken, and overall flavors. Breakfast really only shared serving pineapple with the luau. I love pineapple so that did not really bother me much After doing this, I tend to alternate doing a luau one trip and then 'Ohana the next. I have to get my Poly fix in even if I am not staying there!

 

[PPFlight75]

I have 7/4 too, I can't wait!

Me too!

 

[ginny65]

Are the dedicated showers with the pebble floor in all the rooms?

 

[PolyRob]

Are the dedicated showers with the pebble floor in all the rooms?

Only the DVC studios. It is a separate booking category from the regular rooms with two beds and you would be in Pago Pago, Tokelau, or Moorea.

 

[ginny65]

Darn. Okay. Thanks.

 

[pickypiratepete]

Has anyone ever requested “quiet” as your room request? We have a standard garden view room booked so I’m trying to figure out if I should request a location or just ask for a quiet area. The only longhouse that comes up on Touring Plans for garden view if I search quiet is the backside of Rarotonga, 3rd floor. Most of those rooms look out on bushes(fine) but monorail and parking are behind those. That seems like it would be noisy to me. This is our first stay at Poly and I’m just not familiar at all with the layout. Any advice or experiences out there?

 

[omniscientmommy]

@PolyRob Thanks! I did cancel our ADR at O'hana for dinner since we're going to Spirit of Aloha.

 

[omniscientmommy]

Only the DVC studios. It is a separate booking category from the regular rooms with two beds and you would be in Pago Pago, Tokelau, or Moorea.

DH is going to love that! Me - meh...

 

[hereforthechurros]

Starters: Pineapple, watermelon (new), wedge salad (new), cold noodles (modified with corn and edamame), Hawaiian sweet rolls
Dinner: Ribs, chicken, pulled pork, coconut rice (modified), vegetables
Dessert: Pineapple-coconut guava cake

I get it, it really is convenient when staying at Poly. You can always let the kids rest as one of you checks-in and gets leis (7:15pm for 8:15pm show). You can relax in your longhouse and head on over closer to 8. It was super convenient when I was in Aotearoa. Are you dining at 'Ohana by chance? I did the luau and 'Ohana back-to-back one trip and the food got repetitive. Not bad, just not as exciting.

We are really trying to not do both Ohana and Luau. We have Ohana booked for our arrival night and would much rather do that. Your insight has helped greatly!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

People like to post their 'bad' Poly resort room stories, so just wanted to post a good one. We were there for a few days around New Years....our room was very clean and perhaps the most dent/ding free room we've ever had at Poly. Yes, I was in the CL building - but I've had plenty of rooms in that building in the past that show their age. This room was just about perfect in terms of cleanliness and wear/tear.




In good DISer fashion I tried my best to find the flaws. The only one I could find was this crooked lamp. I tried to push it back myself, but it was loose. No biggie.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Jumping in on this thread...just booked 7/5 - 7/13 (split stay with 7/3 - 7/4 at Coronado Springs. First stay at this wonderful resort.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Some miscellaneous sights and sounds from our trip....


I've heard of the cats at Disneyland... first time I've seen a cat at Poly!



Oasis Pool hours, which seem like they are the same all year long. Lava Pool hours are currently 9am-9pm.



Always a good sight (pool bar at the Lava Pool)


There is a TV here if you want to catch a game. The TV at the Oasis Pool Bar is bigger and is arguably a better sports viewing spot.



Some decent peeling of the slide paint/coating (or whatever it's called) at the bottom of the Lava Pool slide. I've been at Poly before when they have the slide closed for re-coating, might be about that time again.



Nightly viewing of the Electrical Water Pageant from the beach never gets old.


Newer pop-up bar on the first floor just inside the doors heading out to the Pineapple Lanai (where they serve Dole Whip). Current hours at 3-9pm. Good overflow option for Tambu.



But nothing beats Tambu Lounge - which looked GREAT by the way. We walked up a few times even busy dinner service at Ohana and had no trouble finding a spot. Much better bartender flow with the new setup.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Probably some revisionist history in my head, but umbrellas seemed more abundant than prior trips.



Poly getting all fancy putting rolled up towels out first thing.


This section did have reorganized furniture compared to our last visit - seems like they added more lounges.



This was around 9:30am on 12/30. Weather was plenty warm for swimming. The serenity of the resorts when the parks are so crazy during the holidays always amazes me.



Loving my decision to 'rope drop' an umbrella spot at this particular moment in time.



When the Oasis Pool Bar & Grill first opened, they had the best salad - the Oasis Salad with Chicken. In July they had changed the ingredients and it was not very good at all. This time it was back to closer to what I remember from earlier trips - light, crunchy, fresh, and big. Pic doesn't look all that attractive, but I could eat this every day. This was delivered via poolside service to the Lava Pool where we were sitting.


The Lava Pool hot tub has a hit or miss history. This trip, it was miss. Water seen pouring over the side out on the ground. It was closed each day of our 4 night trip. I personally don't really care all that much - the Oasis Pool hot tub is much bigger and nicer in my opinion - but I think the Lava Pool hot tub definitely has a tiki curse.


Watched HEA from the Lava Pool deck our last night. DS opted to stay in the pool to watch. Show audio was reasonably loud from the pool deck.



This made me stop and take a pic - very creative. Moorea longhouse, FWIW (you can tell it's a DVC/Villa longhouse given the second floor balconies). Kudos to the creativity.


All-in-all, a great visit to Poly. Happy to answer any questions!

 

[sandym718]

Has anyone ever requested “quiet” as your room request? We have a standard garden view room booked so I’m trying to figure out if I should request a location or just ask for a quiet area. The only longhouse that comes up on Touring Plans for garden view if I search quiet is the backside of Rarotonga, 3rd floor. Most of those rooms look out on bushes(fine) but monorail and parking are behind those. That seems like it would be noisy to me. This is our first stay at Poly and I’m just not familiar at all with the layout. Any advice or experiences out there?

We just stayed on the 3rd floor of Rarotonga, backside, in November and it was very quiet. I was a little worried about the monorail- could not hear it at ALL with the doors closed. We really enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching it glide by. I don’t recall ever hearing any parking lot noise, even out on the balcony. We could definitely hear the music - Christmas soundtrack when we were out there. Found it to be a relaxing location.

We did stay on the non-marina side of Fiji for one night years ago (before moving to our requested Tokelau before it was DVC). I remember being able to hear the Spirit of Aloha show through the slider doors.

We much prefer the TTC side of the resort - we prefer the Oasis pool and like walking to the TTC. We had requested 1st floor this time, but got 3rd. I asked about a 1st floor but they could only give us Fiji so we declined.

3rd floor turned out fine and we liked the Rarotonga location. After 5 previous stays in Tokelau, I was a little worried about finding another good location. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Rarotonga now. I just wish they had more queen rooms on the 1st floor. I think a lot are a King bed only so that didn’t help our chances in getting one. Maybe one day when it’s just DH and I!

 

[pickypiratepete]

We just stayed on the 3rd floor of Rarotonga, backside, in November and it was very quiet. I was a little worried about the monorail- could not hear it at ALL with the doors closed. We really enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching it glide by. I don’t recall ever hearing any parking lot noise, even out on the balcony. We could definitely hear the music - Christmas soundtrack when we were out there. Found it to be a relaxing location.

We did stay on the non-marina side of Fiji for one night years ago (before moving to our requested Tokelau before it was DVC). I remember being able to hear the Spirit of Aloha show through the slider doors.

We much prefer the TTC side of the resort - we prefer the Oasis pool and like walking to the TTC. We had requested 1st floor this time, but got 3rd. I asked about a 1st floor but they could only give us Fiji so we declined.

3rd floor turned out fine and we liked the Rarotonga location. After 5 previous stays in Tokelau, I was a little worried about finding another good location. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Rarotonga now. I just wish they had more queen rooms on the 1st floor. I think a lot are a King bed only so that didn’t help our chances in getting one. Maybe one day when it’s just DH and I!

 

[pickypiratepete]

Thank you so much!

 

[mickeynut1]

People like to post their 'bad' Poly resort room stories, so just wanted to post a good one. We were there for a few days around New Years....our room was very clean and perhaps the most dent/ding free room we've ever had at Poly. Yes, I was in the CL building - but I've had plenty of rooms in that building in the past that show their age. This room was just about perfect in terms of cleanliness and wear/tear.

Our room was in the same condition in Oct. Everything was nice, clean and crisp with no signs of wear & tear .

Jumping in on this thread...just booked 7/5 - 7/13 (split stay with 7/3 - 7/4 at Coronado Springs. First stay at this wonderful resort.

Congrats on booking your first Poly stay! The resort is beautiful and relaxing, you will love it!

 

[ginny65]

A little torn about which resort and need some encouragement and input here. My DH and I are celebrating our 35th anniversary this year, and have booked Poly (standard view). We usually stay at YC and love it. We love SAB pool and the quiet pools there. We also love the fact that we can walk to Epcot and BW easily. However, we wanted to try something different, plus we've always wanted to go to Hawaii but that isn't in the card$ this year. We thought of all the deluxe resorts, Poly would give us the most relaxing feel. That being said, 1) Will we be disappointed in Poly's pool after experiencing SAB? It seems quite a bit smaller than SAB so we weren't sure how crowded it would get. If so, does their quiet pool get overcrowded too? 2) Which long house do we request for standard view? We DEFINITELY want a third floor balcony; preferably NOT facing the parking lot. Without appearing greedy, do we just request "third floor balcony with a nice view?" and finally, 3) will we be wishing we booked GF since that will be starring us in the face? LOL The reason we didn't book GF was that we thought Poly would give us more of a relaxed vibe, but are we wrong? GF is gorgeous.

 

[trishadono]

People like to post their 'bad' Poly resort room stories, so just wanted to post a good one. We were there for a few days around New Years....our room was very clean and perhaps the most dent/ding free room we've ever had at Poly. Yes, I was in the CL building - but I've had plenty of rooms in that building in the past that show their age. This room was just about perfect in terms of cleanliness and wear/tear.

View attachment 374150


In good DISer fashion I tried my best to find the flaws. The only one I could find was this crooked lamp. I tried to push it back myself, but it was loose. No biggie.
View attachment 374151

Rub it in will ya! LOL

Our studio looked great too!

 

[trishadono]

A little torn about which resort and need some encouragement and input here. My DH and I are celebrating our 35th anniversary this year, and have booked Poly (standard view). We usually stay at YC and love it. We love SAB pool and the quiet pools there. We also love the fact that we can walk to Epcot and BW easily. However, we wanted to try something different, plus we've always wanted to go to Hawaii but that isn't in the card$ this year. We thought of all the deluxe resorts, Poly would give us the most relaxing feel. That being said, 1) Will we be disappointed in Poly's pool after experiencing SAB? It seems quite a bit smaller than SAB so we weren't sure how crowded it would get. If so, does their quiet pool get overcrowded too? 2) Which long house do we request for standard view? We DEFINITELY want a third floor balcony; preferably NOT facing the parking lot. Without appearing greedy, do we just request "third floor balcony with a nice view?" and finally, 3) will we be wishing we booked GF since that will be starring us in the face? LOL The reason we didn't book GF was that we thought Poly would give us more of a relaxed vibe, but are we wrong? GF is gorgeous.

I go to both resorts often. The best part is they are so close I kinda just use both .

You can eat and enjoy everything EXCEPT the pools. However both have public access to the pool bars. So you can grab a drink at POLY by the Volcano pool (for gf and other guests) and at the beach pool of gf. The Beach pool bar is very nice spot to grab a drink and sit on the beach.

I actually use the quiet pool the most at Poly. The area is so relaxing with Hawaiian music piped in. Also the pool is the infinity type where the water is up to the edge and looks so pretty that way.

We also bar hop both resorts. Mizners at GF is so nice and poly has Tambu and Traders inside and out! Oh also Citricos and Narcoosees have their own bars.

We walk to gf and boat back most times. Its so fun going back and forth!

Hope that helps!