We just returned from a 4-day trip to Disney World and I wanted to give you a short (if possible) report. Like most of you who have never been before, I spent countless hours trying to decide on the perfect place to stay, the perfect rides for my 7 and 5 year-olds to enjoy, etc. etc. Well, we definitely had the perfect place to stay. The Polynesian Resort was absolutely out of this world. We were in the Tokelau building which I requested because it's smoke-free and because it's centrally located. We were on the first floor and could go out the sliding glass door onto the patio, take about 5 steps, and have an unobstructed view of Cinderella's Castle! It was wonderful! We were right on the water so we went out each night at 7 pm and watched the fireworks from the beach. It could NOT have been a better place. Of course, all the food is a little pricey and it seemed to cost $50 for the 4 of us every time we ate (even cheeseburgers and chicken fingers plus drinks can add up).
We did take advantage of buying the souvenir mug for $12 with unlimited refills. Drinks in the machine were $2.50 so the mug was a pretty good deal. Don't plan on buying snacks to stock your room from the nearby store.......there isn't one. We spent a couple of hours one day searching for Wal-Mart and discovered that it must be in a hidden place because we couldn't find it. We asked a few people but nobody knew. We had at least one meal in each of the 3 restuarants and it was fine. Everything is overpriced but you sorta expect that. Being from the "south", we were glad to get back to Atlanta and eat at Cracker Barrel. There's no "home cooking" food to be found at Disney World (at least not that we found).
One major thing that happened to us might be of some help to you...........keep in mind that kids enjoy the simple things. We paid $289/night (including tax) for the Poly and my kids couldn't have cared less what that room looked like. I was totally impressed but all they wanted to do was play in the pool. It was between 80-85 degrees every day and they'd want to leave the parks to go play in the pool.
We spent most of our time standing in line to get autographs. They didn't want to ride ANYTHING at MGM or Animal Kingdom (except the Safari ride). We saw tons of shows that were awesome. The Magic Kingdom was by far the best for my kids. Lots of things that they DID want to ride and got plenty of autographs. We stopped at Cinderella's castle to ask about reservations for dinner only to find out that Cinderella only appears at breakfast. I asked about breakfast for the next day and was told that it had to be booked 60 days in advance. Then the attendant said "I might be able to fit you in for THIS MORNING" - it was 9:15 am and they took us straight in!! Unbelievable!!! We didn't wait longer than 15 minutes to do ANYTHING all week. Most of the buses we were on were less than half full and the monorail was about the same. The first week of March was the time to go this year. After 6 weeks of being packed to overflowing, less than half of the Poly's rooms were filled!
Just remember to pace yourself and let the kids come back to the room and rest if they need to. We spent half the first day at MGM and half at Animal Kingdom and they were so tired that they argued constantly. We had never been and I wanted to fit everything in that we possibly could. I learned very quickly that the kids were not going to cooperate with that theory. We took our day at Magic Kingdom slow and easy........came back to the room around 1 pm and let them (and us) take a nap and then headed back around 3:30 pm. It made all the difference in their attitude.
If you're planning to go soon, especially for the first time, don't try to do too much and remember to have fun. It wasn't always easy to stand in line for an autograph when we could have been doing something else, but that autograph book is what they're most proud of. It was worth it! Have a blessed trip!!
We did take advantage of buying the souvenir mug for $12 with unlimited refills. Drinks in the machine were $2.50 so the mug was a pretty good deal. Don't plan on buying snacks to stock your room from the nearby store.......there isn't one. We spent a couple of hours one day searching for Wal-Mart and discovered that it must be in a hidden place because we couldn't find it. We asked a few people but nobody knew. We had at least one meal in each of the 3 restuarants and it was fine. Everything is overpriced but you sorta expect that. Being from the "south", we were glad to get back to Atlanta and eat at Cracker Barrel. There's no "home cooking" food to be found at Disney World (at least not that we found).
One major thing that happened to us might be of some help to you...........keep in mind that kids enjoy the simple things. We paid $289/night (including tax) for the Poly and my kids couldn't have cared less what that room looked like. I was totally impressed but all they wanted to do was play in the pool. It was between 80-85 degrees every day and they'd want to leave the parks to go play in the pool.
We spent most of our time standing in line to get autographs. They didn't want to ride ANYTHING at MGM or Animal Kingdom (except the Safari ride). We saw tons of shows that were awesome. The Magic Kingdom was by far the best for my kids. Lots of things that they DID want to ride and got plenty of autographs. We stopped at Cinderella's castle to ask about reservations for dinner only to find out that Cinderella only appears at breakfast. I asked about breakfast for the next day and was told that it had to be booked 60 days in advance. Then the attendant said "I might be able to fit you in for THIS MORNING" - it was 9:15 am and they took us straight in!! Unbelievable!!! We didn't wait longer than 15 minutes to do ANYTHING all week. Most of the buses we were on were less than half full and the monorail was about the same. The first week of March was the time to go this year. After 6 weeks of being packed to overflowing, less than half of the Poly's rooms were filled!
Just remember to pace yourself and let the kids come back to the room and rest if they need to. We spent half the first day at MGM and half at Animal Kingdom and they were so tired that they argued constantly. We had never been and I wanted to fit everything in that we possibly could. I learned very quickly that the kids were not going to cooperate with that theory. We took our day at Magic Kingdom slow and easy........came back to the room around 1 pm and let them (and us) take a nap and then headed back around 3:30 pm. It made all the difference in their attitude.
If you're planning to go soon, especially for the first time, don't try to do too much and remember to have fun. It wasn't always easy to stand in line for an autograph when we could have been doing something else, but that autograph book is what they're most proud of. It was worth it! Have a blessed trip!!
