I did speak to the staff at the Polynesian Hotel...many times while I was there. I did not want to list every issue that I had with the hotel on here, but since there are lots of questions from people, I'll go into some detail.
When making my reservations, I requested a first floor room for a number of reasons. The elevators in the Polynesian are quite small, and maneuvering a
scooter on and off of them is a challenge. It also meant that only one scooter (one person) could go on the elevator at once, leaving the other person and/or the kids alone on the other floor. Another reason I requested a first floor is that the other adult in my party is very overweight, cannot walk well, and also had knee surgery, so in the event of an emergency, it would have been a problem for her to take the stairs. I voiced these concerns during my many conversations with Disney before my trip. I was told we would be put in the Samoa building or another closer building to the Ceremonial House.
Upon check in, I was told the only room available was a room at the other end of the property near the Ticket and Transportation Center, OR a room on the 2nd floor of the building next door. After much discussion with the desk staff, we took the 2nd floor room because of the closeness to the main building and the promise of the desk staff that we would be put in a 1st floor room soon.
Ok, next issue. I go over to the Concierge to pick up my Annual passes and other passes that I had already paid for over the phone. I was told, again by Disney over the phone, that I could pick these passes up at the desk and go right over to the park. The concierge "earning his ears" staff, told me that they don't give out the passes there. Another staff member comes over and agrees with him. They could give me the 5 day passes, but not the annual passes. I told them that I knew they were able to do it, and that in the past I have been able to get the annual passes at the desk at Fort Wilderness and have never picked them up at the park. If you've seen that laminated chart that they keep at the desk that shows you the choices in passes and what extras you would like on it, you would know that they can give you the passes at the desk. So, they say "OK" and give me all four passes.
I assume we are in the clear with the passes! On to our fun vacation.
We go to our room, on the 2nd floor, of the building next door. We realize that there is no way we are going to get scooters on this elevator, especially the larger one for the larger person. I called the desk staff and asked them about the room change. Someone would call me back. Edward called and told me that he reserved a first floor room for the next day and to just have all of our luggage packed and they would take care of everything for us. He was very nice. I asked if they would take care of moving the refrigerated food and he told us not to worry. He said, and I quote "Pick up your scooters in the morning at the desk and just go to the park and have a fun day." We hadn't received our luggage from the Magical Express people yet, so we couldn't unpack anything.
I assume we are in the clear with the room change! On to our dinner.
The next morning our phone started blinking at 6:45 a.m. The message that was left said that we should pack our luggage and bring it to the desk outside so that it could be put in storage for us. WHAT!!!!
I called the desk and asked for Edward. He was busy. The woman told me that they do not collect our luggage and that we would have to do that ourselves. As for the food in the refrigerator, we would have to take care of that ourselves also. She said they aren't allowed to go into anyone's refrigerator. I told her what Edward had told me and she told me he was wrong and that wasn't their policy. I told her that from the point of check in, I had been told different stories from different staff members and that I planned on being in the Magic Kingdom in an hour. We walked up to the front desk to pick up the scooters and asked for Edward. The girl at the desk went through a door, came back and said "He's busy." She said there was nothing she could do for us. Someone else called our room and said that they would take care of everything, and not to worry about our luggage or our refrigerated goods. Because it was getting late in the morning, I sent the two teenagers over to the Magic Kingdom. They had their passes and it was only a monorail ride away from the hotel. I figured they were ok. My daughter calls me, very upset, and says that her annual pass isn't really a pass and that she is now in a line with "500" people waiting to talk to someone at Guest Relations. I call the desk and tell them this. They had no answer. Turns out that the people at the concierge desk gave us cards that looked like passes but really were just blank cards. We had to stand in line and pick up our passes at the park anyway!!
When we got back to the hotel that night, the luggage had been moved, the refrigerated food was in the refrigerator. Thank Mickey!!
The teenagers went to the pool that night and the next night by themselves. There were plenty of people around those nights. I got a call from my daughter one night saying that she wanted me to come to the pool and watch them. She was nervous because there was no one around and she would feel more comfortable with me coming there. I went to the pool and noticed a man at the end of the pool by the bathroom. I thought he was an employee and told the girls to quiet down. They told me that the guy wasn't a worker. They had seen him down there with a girl that they assumed was his girlfriend. All of a sudden, he came out of the bushes and came up to me and asked me for my phone. I could tell there was something not right about him. He was slurring his words and told me that he was lost and looking for his friends.
I said "You're lost at the Polynesian in Disney World?" He was looking at my purse and standing close so I could see that his eyes were glazed, he had large gauges in his ears and a very, very large belt buckle/medallion on his belt in the shape of two silver guns. It had to be 6 or 7 inches across. I have a lot of contact with teenagers and I could tell this young man was definitely messed up. My girls could tell there was something wrong with him. He finally walked away and went over and stood by the bathroom again, for quite awhile. I tried calling the front desk and got no answer. A girl came out of the bathroom and they walked away. I immediately went to the front desk and asked for security. They said there was no security around. They directed me to the other desk. I told the girls there that there was a young man down at the pool and they really needed to send security down there. They did a lot of head shaking, but no security showed up at the pool. If you have ever been to the Polynesian Hotel, you would know how dark and desolate some of the pathways get at night. I was concerned not only about my girls, but about any other kids that might be walking around the hotel.
This isn't all that happened, but I hope it gives everyone a clearer picture of how my stay went.
My family and I have been going to Disney World and
Disneyland for years. This visit to the Polynesian will not prevent me from going back. I really needed to get away and have a vacation that was kind of a splurge and staying at the Polynesian had always been a very enjoyable and memorable experience in the past. In the past, whenever you had a concern or a problem, Disney would bend over backwards to make your stay a better one. They were always consistently aware of making your stay at Disney a Magical Experience. You know those frozen Strawberry popsicles they sell in the park? It was so cold that my husband ripped his lip open on it before giving it to our baby girl. The people at the Polynesian left a dozen chocolate covered strawberries in our room with a note saying "I hope this makes up for that." When we had a problem with the air conditioning in our room years ago, they put us into the concierge building at no extra charge. It was a wonderful stay and the staff was wonderful to us. This time, there just didn't seem to be anyone who was concerned enough to make our stay "magical."
Hopefully, this answers some questions for some of you. I apologize for it being so long.
They guy was a dope! 
. No leis that time either 
Just kidding!
I have been working jobs that involve customer service (anything from movie theater concession sales when I was 16 to amusement park guest services to employee-related complaints) and I can honestly say that although I've come to work in a bad mood, I make it a point never to let it impact my professionalism. It is an essential part of the CMs' jobs to be pleasant and professional. It is no more acceptable for them to be rude than for them to fail to give a guest a room key upon check-in. If I were a resort manager, I would definitely want to know if my employees were not providing guests with the service they deserve and pay for.
