Just back from POR and the Poly (long)

[DeeCeeSW]

Spent 2 nights at POR (11/9-11/11) and 5 nights at the Polynesian (11/11-11/16). We avoided the parks entirely for the first three days of our trip (Super Soap, NJ Teachers and the VD Holiday).

POR--Saturday through Monday. We were assigned a room in Parterre Place, second floor, in the Magnolia Bend section. I loved the location as it was very close to the food court and pool. The room was what I expected, clean, but somewhat worn. It took Housekeeping three attempts to bring us a "regular crib" (they kept bringing Pack n Plays).

The room was very quiet, I never heard our neighbors. In fact, I wouldn't have had any idea just how many people were actually at POR if it hadn't been for the jam packed food court (especially at breakfast!). The food selection was varied, but kind of expensive (also expected). Try the beignets, they are very good!

We used Disney Transport to move to the Polynesian on Monday(Bell Services transferred our bags). We waited only 5 minutes for the bus to MK, and it appeared that the other buses were running pretty regularly.

Polynesian-this resort is truly magical! It was everything I expected and more. We were able to check-in at 12:30, however, our room was not ready until 2pm., so we swam at the Volcano pool. We were originally given the Tahiti building (my request for Tokelau through CRO had not been granted), but when I politely asked about availability in Tokelau, we were given a room after the CM spoke with her supervisor.

We stayed in Tokelau, room 3930, garden view. We were on the other side of the quiet pool. We faced other longhouses and a path to the TTC, but that was just fine. The room was much larger than I expected and immaculate. No wear and tear here! Our bags were delivered quickly and another CM delivered a red rose and "Magic Moments" certificate soon after for our 5th Wedding Anniversary. Very nice! Housekeeping was fantastic--we left a tip nightly and received tons of extra towels each day!

Captain Cook's was closed on our third day there for water line repairs, and so some products were relocated to the Kona Cafe. The management of CC refused to outwardly sell any refillable mugs prior to the closing because of the fear that they would have to deal with complaints and requests for refunds. I had to speak to the manager privately to obtain two mugs (sold to me concealed in a white paper bag), explaining that I wanted them as souveniers regardless of whether they could be used. A CM had actually told my husband that they were "out of mugs for the last two weeks." We knew this couldn't possibly be the case.

Overall, we had wonderful time at the Polynesian with the exception of our last night, when our 22-month-old DS fell in front of the Tokelau building and chipped one of his front teeth! There was no blood or bruising on his face, and he barely cried, so we actually didn't realize what damage had been done until we went to feed him dinner and he opened his mouth! I took him to a pediatric dentist today and he had the tooth filed down. :0(

A nurse at the dentist's office said I should have filed a report or informed the front desk about the incident, but I was so distraught and also preoccupied with packing for our departure the next day that it didn't occur to me. I wonder if I should call someone?

I will gladly answer any questions about these two resorts. I plan on posting a dining review on the restaurants board as soon as I get a chance!

 

[hopskip]

Wow! Ds sounds like quite a trooper!

Thanks so much for your trip report. We're leaving for POR tomorrow and I requested the Parterre Place building on an upper level floor (so that 4yo ds can have a quiet afternoon nap). I'm glad to hear that was your experience. What side of the building were you on? Was it a far walk for ds? What type of stroller situation did you use for the resort/parks? I'm a little worried about the crowds w/ CBR being closed. Dh & I only decided to go in Nov. because we didn't want to deal with crowds. We're all very excited regardless! This time tomorrow we'll be taking off!!

((Sorry so many questions! ))

 

[hallie]

Welcome back!! We're off in a few days to the POR!

Did you request Parterre Place or did you just leave wing it? I was thinking about requesting a location but I'm too indecisive so I think we're just going to wing it. The only request I made so far was no smoking because I hate smoke-yuck!

Any other advice you can give would be great!!!

 

[Boots]

The Poly sounds marvelous. Glad you had a great vacation except for the tooth incident!

 

[DeeCeeSW]

I did not request a particular building at POR, only to be in Magnolia Bend. I'm glad we ended up in Parterre Place. Our room was on the very far right end of the building (can't recall the room number!) but it was not a far walk from the main building at all.

We used our Maclaren stroller around town (Concorde LX-old model). We just folded it up for the buses and were able to keep it open for the monorail and the boat to Fort Wilderness.

I think that POR and the food court were particularly crowded last weekend because of all that was going on. We hit the parks on Tuesday and breezed through rides at MK and Epcot was very relaxed as well. I think that November is really the best time to go!