Island Tower at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

[maui22]

Assuming the WiFi is good. BLT is still very much hit and miss, even though (I think) there are Wifi amplifiers in most (all?) rooms.

My biggest concern is cell reception. Prefer to use cell reception with hotspot over hotel wifi.

 

[maui22]

You can't get early enough to rope drop - Kona hasn't been opening until 7:30, which matters to my group because CC can't do complex allergy orders until they open, and they haven't been turning their grills on until 7:30, meaning if you are rope dropping Kona, you need to get in and out of there in ~30 minutes to make an 8:30 early entrance time IF transportation goes flawlessly.

Only option we found was Kona Island. Coffee/tee and pastries. However, we bought a lot of the bacon, cheddar, egg croissants during our stay.

 

[ClipperDerek]

Great photos! Next time you’re here, we have a high speed train (Brightline) from Orlando to Miami you don’t have to drive it, if you don’t want to.

I thought about the Brightline train. I'm a huge fan of the concept and wanted to use it but from a cost/ benefit ratio the rental car worked out better for us. If they ever brought back Magical Express that might change the decision, but without that it's like this: Transport MCO-Disney $40, Transport back to MCO to catch the train: $40, Brightline train for 2 to Miami: $200, Uber to MIA airport: $40; total $320. Rental car plus fuel = $390 but in the meantime we had an excursion to the Disney Character Outlet, Downtown Orlando, my bank, Publix, the space Center, the beach, a quick preview of Vero Beach DVC (finally sold the wife on the idea of spending some non-park nights there) and South Beach, all of which would be more expensive and a hassle or not even possible within the time frame we had, without the rental car.

But I always keep the Brightline in mind, and I hope I can fit it in with a future trip. I think it's fantastic addition to the Florida tourism scene. Can't wait to try it. I wonder if there is a stop near the Vero Beach DVC that might be very useful?

Now, back to our regularly scheduled Poly Tower broadcast.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I did my part by refusing to click any links or call my guide.

Same!

 

[Lorana]

Great photos! Next time you’re here, we have a high speed train (Brightline) from Orlando to Miami you don’t have to drive it, if you don’t want to.

I took this train recently to catch the Disney Magic in FLL and it was a very nice experience!

 

[ClipperDerek]

I did my part by refusing to click any links or call my guide.

I did ask about the Poly sales rumors yesterday while I was there on property. I made sure there was nobody else around to overhear us but the Guide there was extra cautious about saying anything. He doubled down on both "we don't know anything" and "we are not allowed by law to say anything" so unfortunately I don't have any news to pass along, I was hoping he would say something "off the record" but no luck for me.

 

[eticketplease]

I did ask about the Poly sales rumors yesterday while I was there on property. I made sure there was nobody else around to overhear us but the Guide there was extra cautious about saying anything. He doubled down on both "we don't know anything" and "we are not allowed by law to say anything" so unfortunately I don't have any news to pass along, I was hoping he would say something "off the record" but no luck for me.

You were supposed to ask a bus driver

 

[tjkraz]

Universal sent out a marketing announcement and emails today about their new in park hotel the Helios (inside Epic Universe expansion). I assume Disney wanted to make sure that PIT wasn’t left in the dust

I don’t know the exact sequence but info about both Helios and Island Tower were posted within an hour of each other. In order for this to be an actual response from Disney, they would have had to be sitting on the IT info waiting for some universal announcement. Helios info could have come weeks or months later than it did. Personally, I think the timing was entirely coincidental.

I'm starting to think that one purpose of that DVC members email earlier this week was to gauge interest to see how significant incentives needed to be to move sales. I'm starting to wonder if, since many people responded, we just told DVD that big incentives weren't that important.

They didn’t need to send out a dog whistle email to know that interest is extremely high. There’s 3 years of evidence to that effect—including this 171 page message thread.

As quite possibly the last ever opportunity to buy direct points without RIV/VDH/CFW style resale restrictions, I expect it to sell like hotcakes without needing much in the way of incentives.

Older resorts will always be an option. Right now, could add 150 SSR points for $180 each. That’s certainly cheaper than Poly will be. OKW deals a few months ago were even better.

I did ask about the Poly sales rumors yesterday while I was there on property. I made sure there was nobody else around to overhear us but the Guide there was extra cautious about saying anything. He doubled down on both "we don't know anything" and "we are not allowed by law to say anything" so unfortunately I don't have any news to pass along, I was hoping he would say something "off the record" but no luck for me.

Front line guides won’t know a single thing until sales officially opens and management sends them a bulletin with details.

 

[hockeydad21]

I think it would be foolish of them to assume that the interest is irrespective of price, especially given that they'll be competing with resale prices. What percentage of the people that responded do you think would still be interested if it turns out that there is no real incentive? My guess is not very many, especially if they can get other resorts for cheaper.

I’m 100% out on swapping my resale points (330 poly) for direct points (375 poly) if the incentives stink.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I think the golf course side (well, all 4 honestly) could potentially be nice workspaces for folks who have to laptop it during the day while at WDW.

As someone who goes to Disney to get as far away from work as possible this didn't even enter the stratosphere of my thinking lol. Even though I bet the lake side will still always be more popular even during the day but great to have all this extra (what we hope will be) quiet space to chill and work and enjoy.

 

[DanCali]

I think it would be foolish of them to assume that the interest is irrespective of price, especially given that they'll be competing with resale prices. What percentage of the people that responded do you think would still be interested if it turns out that there is no real incentive? My guess is not very many, especially if they can get other resorts for cheaper.

I remember not too long ago the number of aggregate Poly resale listings was in the single digits....

https://www.disboards.com/threads/polynesian-resale-listings.3945413/post-65481083

Now there are over 100 and many have been on the market for 30+ days with dropping prices.

It seems that quite a few potential buyers (myself included) are waiting to see what will happen with the tower and what the incentives will be. So I agree with you on that - I may pay "a bit extra" to get points that I can use at Riviera and other new resorts, but I'm not going to pay substantially more for that. especially since we already have some direct points from the sales last year.

The once area I maybe don't fully align with your comments is that I don't care at all if direct points at other resorts are cheaper. I'm not buying direct points at any resort with resale restrictions. If Poly Tower is indeed without those restrictions, we'll most probably purchase if the price makes sense.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Mystery solved?

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/n...ew-gardens-island-tower-at-polynesian-resort/

Don't be fooled by this misdirection. I'm still holding out hope that "Politow" will sprout transportation options out of these orifices.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

View attachment 888841

Don't be fooled by this misdirection. I'm still holding out hope that "Politow" will sprout transportation options out of these orifices.

View attachment 888842 View attachment 888843

Honestly, a direct skyliner system would seriously increase our interest in buying. The monorail is not for us.

 

[Kailunkat]

View attachment 888841

Don't be fooled by this misdirection. I'm still holding out hope that "Politow" will sprout transportation options out of these orifices.

View attachment 888842 View attachment 888843

Bring on the zip line!!!

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Bring on the zip line!!!

You got it!

 

[The_MT]

You got it!

View attachment 888848

That actually looks feasible!!! Come on Disney, make the magic happen!

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Another great use of those garden spaces would be if they combine this project with another "Blue Sky" idea from years ago and create the "Island Tower of Terror."

 

[zavandor]

Another great use of those garden spaces would be if they combine this project with another "Blue Sky" idea from years ago and create the "Island Tower of Terror."

View attachment 888849

I would add-on at a Tower of Terror themed resort in a heartbeat and I don't even need more points. Come on Disney, take my money!

 

[BrianLo]

I remember not too long ago the number of aggregate Poly resale listings was in the single digits....

https://www.disboards.com/threads/polynesian-resale-listings.3945413/post-65481083

Now there are over 100 and many have been on the market for 30+ days with dropping prices.

It's funny, they did such a good job at driving the resale market into a frothy frenzy, but then they've waited too long to start sales.

Small contracts are already settling below 160's. A 225 launch price really won't seem as special as it was a few months back. A 250 price, that people have formerly theorized (I disagree), is going to be a clear no-thank-you.

 

[Cyberc1978]

I’m 100% out on swapping my resale points (330 poly) for direct points (375 poly) if the incentives stink.

If you want to stay at Poly1+2 why would you want to swap?

Also if the incentives are good or really good the resale value of Poly will decrease. The better incentives the more the resale value will decrease.

Unless you suffers from FOMO on new resorts I’d just stick with what I have. Maybe you could add on instead?