Resort Thread Disney's POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

[JM_97]

How much time do you have to kill as it will take you about an hour round trip via the Resort Monorail but if you have time it is well worth a stop for a Dole Whip at any time.

You could go with just your classic Dole Whip (Pineapple, Vanilla or Swirl) or make it a Dole Whip with Rum Floater (Parrot Bay Coconut Rum) at the Pineapple Lanai window.

Dave

I'm staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (on property prices were outrageous for 2 nights).

Lunch is 1:15 pm. Check in is 4 pm.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

This is strange. I did a search for the night I wanted and no Tower 1 Bedroom. However, I did a search for the night I wanted + the next night (2 nights total) and a Tower 1 Bedroom came up. Can I make that reservation and modify it to remove the second day? I wonder why it didn't come up as available when I just searched on one of those nights.

Just making sure, you’re talking about a cash reservation here, not DVC points, correct?

 

[mefordis]

Just making sure, you’re talking about a cash reservation here, not DVC points, correct?

Yes, a cash reservation.

 

[Shacka1]

Hi everyone!

We are REALLY wanting to stay here for the theme, food and vibes! I know a lot of people say it is a very crowded resort, how is end of august typically

 

[bakerr6]

Hi everyone!

We are REALLY wanting to stay here for the theme, food and vibes! I know a lot of people say it is a very crowded resort, how is end of august typically

You're staying at the tail end of crowds. The kids are going back to school. I think you'll be in good shape.

Poly is our home resort and we travel during the busiest weeks and never feel like the resort is overcrowded.

For reference, we will be there again the last week of March this year. We typically stay over sp8ng and fall breaks with rarely an issue with crowds at Poly.

The parks are a whole different story though.

 

[Shacka1]

You're staying at the tail end of crowds. The kids are going back to school. I think you'll be in good shape.

Poly is our home resort and we travel during the busiest weeks and never feel like the resort is overcrowded.

For reference, we will be there again the last week of March this year. We typically stay over sp8ng and fall breaks with rarely an issue with crowds at Poly.

The parks are a whole different story though.

Thank you so much for this input! Very happy to hear!

 

[Minniemoo15]

Hi everyone!

We are REALLY wanting to stay here for the theme, food and vibes! I know a lot of people say it is a uvery crowded resort, how is end of august typically

We stay at Poly (our beloved home resort!) every year the first week of March and also don’t find it overcrowded. We have no trouble getting a spot at the pool, relaxing in the lobby, etc. I’m guessing certain holidays are busier than others, but every time we’ve gone, it feels manageable.

 

[Shacka1]

We stay at Poly (our beloved home resort!) every year the first week of March and also don’t find it overcrowded. We have no trouble getting a spot at the pool, relaxing in the lobby, etc. I’m guessing certain holidays are busier than others, but every time we’ve gone, it feels manageable.

Thank you!!! I appreciate the input

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi everyone!

We are REALLY wanting to stay here for the theme, food and vibes! I know a lot of people say it is a very crowded resort, how is end of august typically

I find the topic so subjective you can't really make any sense of it other than what YOU experience. My crowded is someone else's not crowded. And everyone's tolerances are different. Poly offers a very stark contrast in moments in time throughout the day - the GCH can be crawling with people waiting for Ohana and you can walk 3 minutes to your room overlooking a peaceful, quiet, grounds.

End of August in general is among the lower crowd seasons at WDW (that doesn't mean it's low crowds, just lower on the margins). Schools in parts of the country (Southeast) are back in session while others are not (Northeast) and August is still a popular travel time.

It's peak heat which some avoid. But also makes for usually fantastic Poly pool days.

If you're looking for vibes - Poly in the summer is my favorite.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Yes, a cash reservation.

Ok, thanks. A prior poster noted 'there should be more declarations between now and then' which could help - just for the sake of clarity that applies to DVC, not a cash reservation. Cash availability is limited to points DVD still owns and their projected pace of declarations/sales, and other DVC mechanisms.

On the cash side, as a PP noted Disney's booking algorithm tends to want to minimize one night bookings. I find that often loosens up over time/closer to the date of travel, but YMMV.

I'd keep checking every one in awhile, there's still enough Poly cash inventory that I'd say chances are decent something opens up.

 

[heathpack]

We are DVC members with an upcoming split stay: Beach Club Villas Sun-Thurs, Poly Thurs-Sun.

Thursday we change resorts and we will check out of Beach Club, eat lunch at Cake Bake restaurant at 11:45, and then arrive Poly around 1:30ish. Since this will be a big lunch, it seems like a good day to have a light bite for dinner at Trader Sam's. Is there any way to predict what is a good time to join the online waitlist if we wanted to try to eat around 6:30 or 7pm? This is the first week of March- so not a super busy week.

At the risk of sounding like a lush, on Friday we have a lunch reservation at Wailulu so will probably be looking for a light bite for dinner again and were wondering about the logistics of Tambu Lounge. We recently dined at Ohana and the Tambu Lounge seemed to be packed around 7pm. If we wanted to eat in the 7pm range, what would that take? Do you just head over there, is there an online waitlist, how long would one wait for a table in prime meal time of 6-7:30pm? Trying to decide if that's worth it.

Third question: Ohana. We have a 7:45pm reservation for Sat night for 2 people. Of course we are hoping for a fireworks view table. We ate there a few weeks ago and I didn't notice any construction obstructing the views but we were a couple of tables in from the windows overlooking Seven Seas Lagoon. We enjoyed our meal at Ohana and are looking forward to returning while we're actually staying at Poly. But if the views are seriously obstructed maybe we will save Ohana for a future trip.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[Minniemoo15]

We are DVC members with an upcoming split stay: Beach Club Villas Sun-Thurs, Poly Thurs-Sun.

Thursday we change resorts and we will check out of Beach Club, eat lunch at Cake Bake restaurant at 11:45, and then arrive Poly around 1:30ish. Since this will be a big lunch, it seems like a good day to have a light bite for dinner at Trader Sam's. Is there any way to predict what is a good time to join the online waitlist if we wanted to try to eat around 6:30 or 7pm? This is the first week of March- so not a super busy week.

At the risk of sounding like a lush, on Friday we have a lunch reservation at Wailulu so will probably be looking for a light bite for dinner again and were wondering about the logistics of Tambu Lounge. We recently dined at Ohana and the Tambu Lounge seemed to be packed around 7pm. If we wanted to eat in the 7pm range, what would that take? Do you just head over there, is there an online waitlist, how long would one wait for a table in prime meal time of 6-7:30pm? Trying to decide if that's worth it.

Third question: Ohana. We have a 7:45pm reservation for Sat night for 2 people. Of course we are hoping for a fireworks view table. We ate there a few weeks ago and I didn't notice any construction obstructing the views but we were a couple of tables in from the windows overlooking Seven Seas Lagoon. We enjoyed our meal at Ohana and are looking forward to returning while we're actually staying at Poly. But if the views are seriously obstructed maybe we will save Ohana for a future trip.

Thanks for any insight.

We always go the first week of March too (countdown is on!) and often do Tambu on our arrival day. We walk up usually between 7-8 and never have trouble getting a table (and we’re a large group!). It’s basically all our Ohana favourites at a fraction of the cost - so we’ve skipped Ohana ever since we discovered this hack !

 

[Shacka1]

I find the topic so subjective you can't really make any sense of it other than what YOU experience. My crowded is someone else's not crowded. And everyone's tolerances are different. Poly offers a very stark contrast in moments in time throughout the day - the GCH can be crawling with people waiting for Ohana and you can walk 3 minutes to your room overlooking a peaceful, quiet, grounds.

End of August in general is among the lower crowd seasons at WDW (that doesn't mean it's low crowds, just lower on the margins). Schools in parts of the country (Southeast) are back in session while others are not (Northeast) and August is still a popular travel time.

It's peak heat which some avoid. But also makes for usually fantastic Poly pool days.

If you're looking for vibes - Poly in the summer is my favorite.

Exactly and even when the parks are crowded, we love it so much that not even that bothers us so much. It would have to be significantly crowded to bother me, just want to be able to get food easily and use the pool! I am going to book! Thank you so much

 

[yaksack]

We just switched from port orleans to the Poly. We haven't been there in a few years. Any recommendations for us?

There are five of us. We booked a resort view. What buildings could we be in?

 

[trishadono]

We just switched from port orleans to the Poly. We haven't been there in a few years. Any recommendations for us?

There are five of us. We booked a resort view. What are buildings could we be in?

Any room not facing the lagoon or pools. So parts of Rarotonga , Aotearoa, Niue?, Tuvalu.

Hawaii is all CL, Samoa is all water. I did get assigned Fiji as resort with view facing the tower but it wasnt opened yet.

I oddly did not like the parking lot view of Aotearoa, it wasn’t in the action. Rarontga is convenient but the whole bus stop thing I’m not sure of. (Sorry). I did like back side of Tuvalu for views but it felt long to get around the marina to anywhere.

I’d be more concerned myself not to get a 2nd floor room that does not have e a balcony or patio. The walk from any building really isnt that long.

Now with the tower open it changes things a bit. You feel center of things now with a resort view. The dvc buildings and tower are on the ends,

 

[mrsap]

Scaffolding Outside Pineapple Lanai, New Bus Turnaround Visible at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Several construction updates were visible at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. At the main building, scaffolding has gone up near Pineapple Lanai, while an overhead view of the new bus stop gives us a better look at the new roof and the bus turnaround area.


Bus Turnaround at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort


The foreground shows the roof of the new bus stop, which is now covered in red paneling. Further up, a turnaround likely meant to be used by Disney buses can be seen taking shape.


We found a new permit which states that Colwill Engineering Electrical Co. will do electrical work at the resort. It’s unspecified where in the resort that will be, but the area around the front entrance is a possibility, as is the new scaffolding around Pineapple Lanai. This turnaround will likely need some lampposts.


Meanwhile, the area around the old guard shack has been dug up, possibly for further development. The Walt Disney World website has stated construction will be ongoing through May 2026. For a ground-level look, take a look at our post here.


Pineapple Lanai Scaffolding


At the great ceremonial house, scaffolding has appeared for a refurbishment. Tables were removed from this area last month, as were a number of plants. Disney has put on the web page that ‘Ohana views may be hindered from inside the restaurant. To compensate, tables have been put up a little further of the area.



Pineapple Lanai and Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto remain open during this refurbishment.

Construction at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort


Construction work has been ongoing at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, starting with a new roadway entrance that opened late last year, replacing the former entrance off Seven Seas Drive.



Crews also fixed the roof of the Aotearoa Building and then moved to the exterior stairs at one end of the building. The staircase was completely torn down and rebuilt with steps, railings, and a fresh coat of dark wood paint.

 

[Road_Dog]

First Poly stay coming up next month. We're very excited. We are trying to do 100% character dining during our trip, so we are holding off on Ohana until our resort day for breakfast.

That being said, on check-in day we have a reservation at 1900 Park Fare at GF. We're staying in the Preferred DVC Studios (Moorea building). I'm curious, whats our best way to get to 1900 Park Fare? Looks like our options are:

1. Walk entirely
2. Monorail from Grand Ceremonial House
3. Monorail from TTC

Curious which route involves the least amount of walking, and/or which route is "fastest" (perhaps there's a decent walk from the GF monorail station to the actual restaurant).