Hypothetical question: What if the Hawaii building is not done on time?

[SeaSpray]

We are checking into the Hawaii building at the Polynesian resort on October 28th. If the remodeling work is not completed by then, will CRO relocate us to another concierge? Will we have a choice as to which one? I am really hoping that Hawaii will be done, but if not, I'd like to still be on the monorail.

I know some of you have been through this, where Disney has had to move you to a different resort. How was it handled??

Thanks!

 

[Traveliz]

When they decided to close the building they relocated people to other concierge...I believe the only one you couldn't choose is Grand Floridian...so based on availability should the need arise you would be offered the option to relocate to another concierge (at no extra expense to you) or to downgrade to a regular room at the Poly with a refund of the difference.

Liz

 

[ducklite]

It's also quite possible that they will simply take over another building for CL.

Anne

 

[Tikiman]

It's also quite possible that they will simply take over another building for CL.

Anne

The manager and the Concierge staff said that there is no chance that they will move conciege services to another building.

 

[ducklite]

The manager and the Concierge staff said that there is no chance that they will move conciege services to another building.

Interesting. I wonder why? It would seem to me to be less obtrusive to CL guests to do this rather than force them into a resort they perhaps weren't interested in.

Anne

 

[Tikiman]

First problem is that unless they had already planned for it months ago they would not be able to do it. It took 4-6 months to plan and do the move over to Tahiti, but the main reason is they said they would not do it because of the problems they had when they moved to Tahiti. They considered it (when they were initially going to do Hawaii in June) but decided a while back that they would not move concierge during the rehab.

 

[betterlatethannever]

What is the latest info on when it will reopen?

 

[Tikiman]

October 11 but don't count on that being exact. That is just the plan. They should be shutting down this week.

 

[MLAinVA]

Several years ago we had a ressie for YC CL. When we made the ressie CRO said nothing about the renovation project and that our checkin day was when the project was to be completed. Long story short, I knew that there would be a problem, called CRO and got a huge runaround. They finally decided to ship us off to the BC CL and our room was right next to the service elevator that ran all night carrying the mousekeeping carts, etc. It wasn't our best WDW vacation. And we haven't booked CL since. However, this last July we reserved a standard room at the Poly on a Shades of Green overflow rate and got a comp upgrade to CL in the Hawaii building! What a treat; we loved every minute of the stay.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks for the replies, everyone

I am hoping that Hawaii will be finished by the time we arrive. It's about 2 weeks after the targeted completion date.

If it's not finished by then, I'm not sure if we'd choose to stay in a regular room at the Polynesian, or choose a different concierge. We want to be on the monorail, so maybe we'd choose the Contemporary "light" concierge which is supposedly all done with the new rooms now, or we'd pay the different to stay at the Grand Floridian concierge. Not sure what DH would want to do, though. He liked the GF when we stayed there but has no desire to stay there again. And he's not too interested in the Contemporary either.

Oh well. I'm not going to worry about this; I was just wondering what the procedure was in cases like this

 

[Sammie]

Interesting. I wonder why? It would seem to me to be less obtrusive to CL guests to do this rather than force them into a resort they perhaps weren't interested in.

Anne

Guest complaints that they were receiving a second rate experience, at full price.

 

[ducklite]

Guest complaints that they were receiving a second rate experience, at full price.

OK, I can see that. But in my opinion, the only CL experience which rivals the Polynesian is AKL, however the guest rooms are mych smaller and it would be tight for a family of five. The BC, YC, GF SL, WL, they don't even come close. In fact we found the YC, GF SL, and WL very disappointing, and aren't likely to return to them.

Not trying to start an arguement, BTW, just kind of sussing this one out in my brain.

Anne

 

[SeaSpray]

OK, I can see that. But in my opinion, the only CL experience which rivals the Polynesian is AKL, however the guest rooms are mych smaller and it would be tight for a family of five. The BC, YC, GF SL, WL, they don't even come close. In fact we found the YC, GF SL, and WL very disappointing, and aren't likely to return to them.

Not trying to start an arguement, BTW, just kind of sussing this one out in my brain.

Anne

Just thinking out loud too....

If it comes down to having to decide where to move to if the Hawaii building isn't ready by the time of our trip, I really don't know at this point where we'd decide to change to.

We chose the Polynesian concierge for a few different reasons; We are arriving after midnight and IPO has already told me that they'll have some Uncrustables, fruit, and water waiting in our room for us so DH can have a snack to take his bedtime medication with. Another reason is location of the Hawaii building. I think it's the best spot on Disney property. A third reason, and one of the biggest reasons, is because we plan on spending the majority of this trip at the Magic Kingdom, and transportation is a consideration for us. We plan on having several meals at the Polynesian. We like the fact that we can spend time in the lounge on the last day, even after check-out, while waiting to leave for the airport. We liked having a quick breakfast each morning in the concierge lounge this past summer. I thought I'd get tired of lounge-food in the morning but we found it was more than adequate for us and we liked being able to walk into the lounge and grab what we wanted before heading out to the parks. All of our other meals are at sit-down restaurants so it was really nice to not be on a "schedule" for breakfast, too.

We really want to be on the monorail for this trip, so as much as I'd love to check out the AKL, it's just not an option this time. Same thing with the Epcot resorts; we will stay there eventually, but not for this trip.

The question for us will be, Do we just change over to a regular room at the Polynesian, or stay concierge at the Contemporary or GF.

And even adding another option back in, Do we switch to the WL concierge? I know some don't really care for it, but we really loved the resort itself and did not mind the lack of an actual "lounge" because we enjoyed sitting and overlooking the lobby. And we enjoyed the boat to the MK.

I'm counting on the Hawaii building being completed by then, but like a lot of you have said, these remodels usually go way over their original completion dates. I just want to have an alternate plan decided upon in advance, in case it comes down to changing, at the last minute. Then again, I'd have to hope there will be availability at our second-choice resort. lol

 

[kirbsam]

We are checking into poly concierge on october 26. I never thought that it wouldnt be done. That is over two weeks after it is scheduled to be done, and the makeover is scheduled to be less than one month, so they would have to seriously go over to be over two weeks behind schedule on a one month project. It will be done.

 

[BCV23]

We're checking in 10/12. Now you guys have me worried!

I don't know what we will do either if Hawaii isn't finished. I'm pretty sure the vote will be to just stay in a regular room at the Polynesian although Sugar Loaf would be fine with me too. Has that been an option in the past?

I prefer to just plan on Hawaii being finished on time.

 

[Tikiman]

We are checking into poly concierge on october 26. I never thought that it wouldnt be done. That is over two weeks after it is scheduled to be done, and the makeover is scheduled to be less than one month, so they would have to seriously go over to be over two weeks behind schedule on a one month project. It will be done.

I am not saying it is impossible but lets look at the history here. Very few if any projects at the Polynesian even finished on time. So far the only longhouse almost done is Rapa Nui and it has been over 2 months and it has 30 rooms less than Hawaii. Hawaii is also going to have the lounge and lobby area redone. This gives them 8 days per floor to gut and finish Hawaii if they start tearing up carpet on the 17th and finish putting the last piece of furniture on the 11th. If this was Disney doing this than I would say no problem but with the issues they have had with outside contractors on this project already I would not bet that they are going to open back up on the 11th but I know they are doing their best to do this. Talking to them when I flew out just to see the new rooms I got the impression they were having some issues getting things done. I also got the impression they are going to do their best to stick to the schedule when it comes to Hawaii.

If you think 2 weeks over a project is improbable that consider that parts of Rapa Nui (not even the whole building) were to be open the beginning of August.

I am not trying to worry anyone. I just don’t want expectations to be to high because than you end up with people very upset at check in and that is no good for the guests or the staff.

 

[BCV23]

Well, if it isn't finished we certainly won't be upset. I'm just hoping that it will be finished.

We were just able to get a discount for our first two nights. This just happened yesterday so I think that is a good sign that DRC is still booking rooms for Hawaii.

 

[SeaSpray]

Steve: That is exactly why I am trying to have a "Plan B", or should I say "Resort B" in my head in case the Hawaii building is not done on time.

In all the years of reading the DIS boards, about remodels and refurbs at the various resorts, I don't think I've ever read about any of them being done by the scheduled date. However, I do hold out some hope for the Hawaii building because they have not created an alternate concierge location at the Polynesian, therefore losing out on their concierge-paying guests (the money we pay, not literally us. lol), and so they'd want to get concierge back open as soon as possible.

So here's to hoping they don't run into any problems!

P.S. Here's a part of the email I received from IPO when inquiring about the remodel of the Hawaii building a week or so ago:

"The Hawaii building is going under a renovation of the rooms and lounge areas. If all goes well and we are on schedule the building should be open by October 16th."

I notice it says October 16th, not the 11th, as I've read other places. I'm hoping this was a typo since I know that some guests are scheduled there before the 16th! BVC, you might want to contact them and see if the reopening date has changed or not.

 

[betterlatethannever]

"The Hawaii building is going under a renovation of the rooms and lounge areas. If all goes well and we are on schedule the building should be open by October 16th."

I notice it says October 16th, not the 11th, as I've read other places. I'm hoping this was a typo since I know that some guests are scheduled there before the 16th! BVC, you might want to contact them and see if the reopening date has changed or not.

Did they say you would be notified a few days before you check in if it wasn't ready? Or will they start checking for availability at the other resorts at the time of checkin?

Ed

 

[SeaSpray]

Did they say you would be notified a few days before you check in if it wasn't ready? Or will they start checking for availability at the other resorts at the time of checkin?

Ed

They didn't say either way. But I know that I won't wait until the last minute. If October 11th and then the 16th come and go and Hawaii is still not open, I will contact IPO myself to find out how close to completion they are. If they can't guarantee that the Hawaii building will be open for our arrival on October 28th, I'll make a change at that point. I know in the past, Disney has contacted guests who are booked at resorts that won't be open on time, and has worked with them, prior to their trip, to place them in other resorts or other areas of the same resort. I plan on staying tuned here on the DIS boards, to find out the latest progress