Island Tower at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

[MerlinandtheMouse]

That Poly tower looks just like this dump here. Absolutely ZERO theming, everything is gray and unimaginative and there's even an ugly concrete parking structure with what looks like some kind of desert landscape in the background. Brown dirt everywhere, no pools, nothing.

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Can’t believe how far Disney has fallen. What a trash piece of land it’s sitting on. Ocean where??

 

[DonMacGregor]

I’ve really grown to appreciate your comments in this thread lol.

I like to call it “snarkasm”….

 

[BamaGuy44]

Truly, nothing was more annoying then the hoard of people who came out (regular people and social media influencers alike) ripping the tower and how gray and prison-like it was when it was literally in its earliest phase…sorry for the terrible analogy, but honestly, does a baby come out fully grown with all its hair and makeup done? I swear sometimes people let logic and rational leave their brains when they want to join the hate train for something. At least let Disney show you a terrible POV video of the finished product before tearing it down.

What makes it even more bizarre is that everyone has seen the renderings showing basically what the final product will be.

But it's like a race to find reasons to pre-hate everything even when we know nothing about it. My favorite was people saying they know it will be bad because you can't theme a tower, as if Aulani doesn't exist with its immaculate theming?

The psychology of enthusiast/fan groups is fascinating. You see the same thing with Star Wars fans. Like I always say, nobody hates Disney as much as hard core Disney fans.

 

[Electron_si]

I like to call it “snarkasm”….

Well it’s well appreciated by some on this thread.

I’m part of the group that really likes RIV and its theming elements, that property was actually the reason we purchased DVC in the first place. I think this places me in the minority for Disney design support.

If the tower is even close to the renderings I think it’s going to be great and we are looking forward to booking a points stay there.

 

[bookbabe626]

IDK, I’m kind of hoping the Poly Tower Hate Fest continues, leading to slow initial sales and an awesome deal on points…a good deal would really help me convince DH that we need more points, even if we really don’t need more points. ;-)

But I doubt that will happen. All the haters are still going to be first in line to give Disney more money. Hypocrites, the lot of them.

 

[intamin]

Truly, nothing was more annoying then the hoard of people who came out (regular people and social media influencers alike) ripping the tower and how gray and prison-like it was when it was literally in its earliest phase…sorry for the terrible analogy, but honestly, does a baby come out fully grown with all its hair and makeup done? I swear sometimes people let logic and rational leave their brains when they want to join the hate train for something. At least let Disney show you a terrible POV video of the finished product before tearing it down.

People are willing to do anything to jump aboard the Disney hate train. It’s an easy way to gain views on youtube. Just say Universal good, Disney bad and expensive and you’re guaranteed to get a bunch of views. If I had a nickel for every time someone commented a form of “Walt is turning over in his grave” or “The Disney magic is gone” I swear lol. I noticed a lot of the people who were criticizing Poly tower shut up pretty quickly after the interior videos were released.

I’m not saying Disney is perfect or that some of their recent decisions haven’t been frustrating but jeez. The amount of negativity people love to spin up is absurd. There’s so much coverage nowadays and people see every little detail about the resort and expect it to look beautiful at every single step

 

[Electron_si]

People are willing to do anything to jump aboard the Disney hate train. It’s an easy way to gain views on youtube. Just say Universal good, Disney bad and expensive and you’re guaranteed to get a bunch of views. If I had a nickel for every time someone commented a form of “Walt is turning over in his grave” or “The Disney magic is gone” I swear lol. I noticed a lot of the people who were criticizing Poly tower shut up pretty quickly after the interior videos were released.

I’m not saying Disney is perfect or that some of their recent decisions haven’t been frustrating but jeez. The amount of negativity people love to spin up is absurd. There’s so much coverage nowadays and people see every little detail about the resort and expect it to look beautiful at every single step

I would also offer some recent wins, with one being the BRV refurb. They took a very dated building with rooms that were probably some of the worst on property and made them probably some of the best we’ve stayed in. The theming tied into the original resort but brought in a modern touch and I think it was a big win overall.

I think the SSR refresh is another great example of a well executed refresh. SSR is actually on our list to stay out now post refurb solely due to the new room look.

 

[Kailunkat]

I noticed a lot of the people who were criticizing Poly tower shut up pretty quickly after the interior videos were released.

Well except for me… I just can’t let those roofs go

It takes all types. I don’t think there has been a lot of genuine hate though, most are just pointing out things they hope will be changed before opening or are voicing concerns. We are all different. The most hate I think I’ve seen has been about the pool situation (which honestly doesn’t worry me at all). If people are lurking in this thread and making comments I usually take it as a sign that they love PVB and are excited about the PIT. I know I am!

But those roofs though.

 

[intamin]

Well except for me… I just can’t let those roofs go

It takes all types. I don’t think there has been a lot of genuine hate though, most are just pointing out things they hope will be changed before opening or are voicing concerns. We are all different. The most hate I think I’ve seen has been about the pool situation (which honestly doesn’t worry me at all). If people are lurking in this thread and making comments I usually take it as a sign that they love PVB and are excited about the PIT. I know I am!

But those roofs though.

Right and I commented on the pool as well. Some of it is justified criticism but when people were comparing it to a prison because they hadn’t added any paint or paneling at that time I can’t help but roll my eyes

 

[marmentrout85]

I feel like people are reacting like the PIT is replacing the resort they love instead of being an addition to it.

 

[StarCruzer]

Generally, my biggest concern is amenities. Mostly because existing Poly restaurants are super popular already, so I'm itching to hear what the restaurant situation will be. Plus realistically with that many added guests, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they add buses for EPCOT. The poor monorail system was never made to handle the number of guests it does today.

 

[Kailunkat]

Generally, my biggest concern is amenities. Mostly because existing Poly restaurants are super popular already, so I'm itching to hear what the restaurant situation will be. Plus realistically with that many added guests, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they add buses for EPCOT. The poor monorail system was never made to handle the number of guests it does today.

Yes it would be really nice if some of those billions of dollars of WDW improvements went towards improving monorail function.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Yes it would be really nice if some of those billions of dollars of WDW improvements went towards improving monorail function.

There’s really not much they can do.

 

[CastAStone]

There’s really not much they can do.

They could knock down and rebuild completely. Modern system. Double tracked stations to allow two trains to load/unload at once.

It’s not worth the investment I’m sure. But surely those support structures have a lifespan. And how far off can that be?

 

[Kailunkat]

There’s really not much they can do.

I know nothing about the engineering or structural systems associated with the monorail but considering that it breaks down and people occasionally need to be evacuated off it - there must be some sort of mechanical wear and tear that could be addressed. Couldn’t they add more cars or somehow up capacity?

Also from a purely aesthetic perspective, I would really love it if it didn’t smell like pee all the time. I say this with love, but the monorail is stinky.

Like - can we get some of that Poly lobby smell piped in at least? Do the DVC buildings get that too? Or is it just the main building check in areas?

 

[downeyland]

monorail needs to be upgraded to be more like BART transit yes!

 

[DonMacGregor]

They can’t add trains and they can’t add cars.

There is a finite and very specific space allocated to each train on the beam to ensure the space between trains and maintain safe separation. It’s called a Moving Blocklight System and is part of the overall MAPO system that controls train spacing by monitoring the number of hold points between each train (there must always be two). Adding trains is impossible because they don’t have enough space on the resort loop beam to maintain those hold points.

They can’t add cars because the length of the trains is limited by the length of the platforms. Sure, you might be able to extend the platforms at Poly and Grand Flo, but the Magic Kingdom station wouldn’t be very easy, and Contemporary would be impossible.

 

[OKW Lover]

There is a finite and very specific space allocated to each train on the beam to ensure the space between trains and maintain safe separation. It’s called a Moving Blocklight System and is part of the overall MAPO system that controls train spacing by monitoring the number of hold points between each train (there must always be two). Adding trains is impossible because they don’t have enough space on the resort loop beam to maintain those hold points.

Good info! Most people don't understand this. You can't speed up the trains because they will just get to the next hold point sooner. Also, the overall capacity of the monorail is limited by the amount of time each train must remain in the station to load and unload.

They can’t add cars because the length of the trains is limited by the length of the platforms. Sure, you might be able to extend the platforms at Poly and Grand Flo, but the Magic Kingdom station wouldn’t be very easy, and Contemporary would be impossible.

I wonder about this. The existing platform at the Contemporary is much longer than the actual space the train uses. I think that they could reconfigure it enough to add a car or two. Extending the Poly or GF platforms I suppose could be done. IIRC, the trains are almost fill the current platform.

Not at all sure how long the platforms are at the TTC though.

 

[RivShore]

They can’t add trains and they can’t add cars.

There is a finite and very specific space allocated to each train on the beam to ensure the space between trains and maintain safe separation. It’s called a Moving Blocklight System and is part of the overall MAPO system that controls train spacing by monitoring the number of hold points between each train (there must always be two). Adding trains is impossible because they don’t have enough space on the resort loop beam to maintain those hold points.

They can’t add cars because the length of the trains is limited by the length of the platforms. Sure, you might be able to extend the platforms at Poly and Grand Flo, but the Magic Kingdom station wouldn’t be very easy, and Contemporary would be impossible.

So what do you think the end of useful life plan is? Busses and tear it all down?

 

[OKW Lover]

So what do you think the end of useful life plan is? Busses and tear it all down?

I doubt they have a plan for that. Perhaps some blue sky ideas like the skyliner? More boats?