Just wanted to share my great experience of the Poly. Me and Dh stayed 2 Aug to 8 Aug. On arrival Tina checked us in and checked our requests against our allocation. i had asked for Samoa or Rarotonga, balcony, non-smoking, and got Rapa Nui, 3rd floor (balcony) non-smoking. She also noted that it was our anniversary soon (must have mentioned it when booking) It was very speey with no wait. we then moved onto concierge where we upgraded our park hoppers, all so easy and the CMs were so friendly. BTW, the next day when we came back from the parks was a sigened photo of Minnie and Mickey personally congratulating us on our anniversry. It made me bounce up and down for a little while, such a nice gesture.
Location turned out great (room 3107) as it was only a 5 minute walk to the TTC, Captain Cooks (the temp. location) and the quiet pool, and really its only a couple more minutes to the Great Ceremonial House or volcano pool. I didn't find the resort too spread out all The room was just gorgeous, with 2 full size beds, flat-screen TV, good size fridge. View was not the greatest (parking lot) but it didn't matter really...the room was huge! the other thing I noticed was how well air condidtioned the longhouses were and it was a welcome relief to walk through the automatic doors every day.
The temporary Captain Cooks never seemed too busy and had plenty of grab and go stuff like fruit, youghurts, chips, pastries etc. Really good for grabbing breakfast on the way to the bus stop. The quiet pool was exactly that, never too crowded, and the right temperature, where the volcano pool always seemed too warm. we did go to the volcano pool a couple of times and it was nice to cool down but not the right pool for actually swimming, more wading around the other people . I loved the bar and the cocktails right next to the pool, really friendly barman, and the beach had the nicest sand i've ever come across...so to set the scene, pina colava on a hammock, watching the boats going to the magic Kingdom, which you can also see from the beach, the Grand Floridian in all its glory to my left, and the sun beating down, just beautiful. We also had a stunning view of the electrical water pageant and Wishes from the beach, no music but you could just make it out from MK if you listened hard.
Shops in the main house had everything you would expect, the usual merchandise, but some really nice clothing in Boutiki and Poly specific souvenirs. i am now the proud owner of a tropical print sundress The gallery downstairs is also worth checking out, beautiful glass sculptures, very unafforable for most though. I saw different entertainment in the lobby, like lei-threading, towel animal demos, hula lessons, always something going on.
Upstairs we tried Ohana for breakfast (been to dinner before) and I thought the characters, service and food (esp. pineapple bread) were outstanding. Since being back, I have switched my Chef Mickeys for Ohana, for my October trip. It was so much calmer and the characters didn't seem in a rush like at Chef Mickeys. Much nicer.
Transport was always right there when needed, never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus or monorail. You do have to share the bus with either the Contempary or Grand Floridian depending on the route though. Worst journey is to DTD as it goes to Typhoon Lagoon too so this will take you around 30 minutes on a good day. We only went there once as it was so annoying to be on the bus that long. the boat to MK was my favourite way to get around, so peaceful and easy without the big crowds of the monorail, and you could just put your swimgear on under your park clothes and hop in the pool on the way back to your room as the dock is right next to the pool. Very nice on a hot day.
So my overall opinion: a stunning piece of paradise that gives you a true vacation amidst the chaos of the parks. It was warm, welcoming, luxurious, beautiful, worth every penny and I wouldn't change a thing Now my problem is, how do i ever save up enough to stay there again? Nothing will ever compare
Wanted 10 nights at the GF (before and after our cruise) but it was not available! So we are spending 4 nights at the Poly before our 4 night cruise on the Disney Wonder then it is back to the GF for 6 nights!
