Just Got Back, 10 Days At The Poly, Any Questions ?

[searlproudbottom]

We left the Poly Sunday Morning at 4:30 am after 10 Wonderfull days.We stayed in the Raratonga Building Quiet pool side. We are still recovering and our trip report will come later. Any Questions.

Searl

 

[Goofy4]

Any mold, mildew, grouchy CM sightings ;-)

Since we'll be there a year from now and I'm planning on sending my in-laws to the Polynessian, sure I have questions...

- How's the pool? Is swimming past sun-down practical, or can it get cool?

- How's the beach for watching Wishes and light show? Long sleeves or jackets necessary?

- Any suggestion on long-house / location?

- Did you try OHanas or the Luau? Would a 3-year-old enjoy OHana’s

- How did you schdule your park visits? Early entry, MSNSSHP? How were the crowds?

Oh, I could go on, and on

Thanks!

 

[searlproudbottom]

Dear Goofy4
I didn't see any evidence what so ever of mold or mildew. As far as Grouchy Cms they were nowhere to be seen. Rumor has it they all left the Company and went to work for Universal, Just Kidding. In fact all the Cms were great. What I observed was the guests that were grouchy.

The Pool was warm and the slide closed at 8o pm.
If you plan to spend the day there I would suggest getting there early while the children are in the parks, once it starts to get busy it may be hard to find a table.

I watched wishes from the GCH, The beach and inside the MK.
The best place in my opinion Is inside the MK as the Fireworks surround you and the music is a lot louder. I could hardly here the music from the beach.

I have stayed at the Hawaii and the Tahiti, this time we requested the Samoa and had the Raratonga as our second choice. We ended up in the Raratonga room 1812 we had a view of the quiet pool. I think I liked this longhouse best of all. Our room was at the end of the hall but it was close to everything, the GCH, Bus stop, Pools, Guest laundry and was a short walk to the TTC. You cannot go wrong by choosing the Raratonga.

Yes we did eat at Ohanas it was one of the Highlights of our trip.
Our kids were 6 and 10 and loved it. I am not sure if a three year old would enjoy it as much. But I wouldn't be afraid of giving it a try. I did the Luau when my littlest one was 5 and she loved it as much as us.

I used the Official Disney Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger to make up Our schedule. Attached is our actual schedule. Although the crowds were heavier than we were used to they were still very manageable, wait times were usually around 20 to 30 minutes on stand by. We did take advantage of fast past. With you having a 3 year old make sure you take advantage of Baby swap. MNSSHP was crowded we had changed our day from Wednesday to Friday due to weather. I thing a lot more locals go on Fridays.

Our Schedule

10/13/04 WEDNESDAY DEPART SACRAMENTO 1:07: PM Arrive Orlando 10:55 pm Hyatt Regency


10/14/04 THURSDAY MGM Park Hours 9:00 am to 7:30 Pm
Fantasmic 7:30 Pm

10/15/04 FRIDAY MAGIC KINGDOM Park Hours 9:00 am to 10:00 Pm
Crystal Palace Dinner Time 6:50 PM SpectroMagic 9:00 pm Wishes 10o Pm
10/16/04 SATURDAY EPCOT Park Hours 9:00 am to 9:00 Pm
San Angel Lunch Time 1:00 PM Illumnations 9:00 Pm

10/17/04 SUNDAY EPCOT Park Hours 9:00 am to 9:00 Pm
Beaches and Cream Illumnations 9:00 Pm

10/18/04 MONDAY BLIZZARD BEACH THEN EPCOT Park Hours 10:00 am to 5:00 Pm

10/19/04 TUESDAY REST DAY
Mickeys Backyard BBQ 6:30pm

10/20/04 WEDNESDAY MAGIC KINGDOM MNSSHP Park Hours 9:00 am to 6:00 Pm
Plaza Restraunt Lunch Time 1:10 PM Share a dream come true parade 3:00 pm

10/21/04 THURSDAY Animal Kingdom Park Hours 9:00 am to 5:00 Pm
Rain Forest Café Lunch Mickeys Jammin Jungle Parade 4:00 Pm


10/22/04 FRIDAY MGM Park Hours 9:00 am to 7:30 Pm
Hollywood & Vine 4:40 pm

10/23/04 SATURDAY OPEN DAY

10/24/04 SUNDAY DEPART ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL 5:55:AM Arrive Sacramento 10:50 am

Hope this helps
Enjoy your trip
Sincerly
Searl

 

[Chicago526]

Originally posted by searlproudbottom
As far as Grouchy Cms they were nowhere to be seen. Rumor has it they all left the Company and went to work for Universal

I'm so glad you had a good time! I was worried after reading some of the negative reports, but in the last week they've all been positive again! I'm really looking forward to staying at the Poly!

 

[Goofy4]

Originally posted by searlproudbottom

I watched wishes from the GCH, The beach and inside the MK.
The best place in my opinion Is inside the MK as the Fireworks surround you and the music is a lot louder. I could hardly here the music from the beach.

Hmm... You lost me on <b>"GCH"</b> I can't get "Grand Californian" out of my head.

Thanks for the info!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Thanks for the report.
Glad you had a great time!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Originally posted by Goofy4
Hmm... You lost me on <b>"GCH"</b> I can't get "Grand Californian" out of my head.

Thanks for the info!

GCH = Great Ceremonial House

 

[Bracho]

Sounds like another great vacation... how were the crowds during your stay?

 

[johnnyr]

searlproudbottom - Glad to hear you had a great time at the Poly. We are not arriving until July 2005 and can't wait. It will be our second time staying there, but we always make it a point to visit no matter where we stay on property.

Some time ago, there was talk about renovating the GHC. Was there any work being done to that area when you were there?

 

[searlproudbottom]

Dear Bracho
The crowds were a little crowded on Fri, Sat, and Sunday, but still manageable. on Mon, Tues, Wed and Thurs the crowds were very light, 5 to 10 minutes on most E Ticket standby lines.

Dear johnnyr
They are working on the GCH, One or more of the shops near Captain Cooks was walled off, I think the Tiki man might know of the renovations going on. Check out his site or his trip reports.

Dear Chicago526
I am probably going to get some heat on these comments but I truly believe in what I am about to say and will stand behind my opinions. First of all I have never met so many people with bad behavior. Not the Cm's but the guests. The words Please and Thank you seemed practically non-existent. To give you just one example. When I would enter a building I always look back to see if someone is behind me and then hold the door open even if a person is 20 feet from the door. Very rarely did I get a simple Thank you. Although a lot of Guests treat the Cms with respect, I think there are just as many that doesn’t. I all so think that living though 3 hurricanes probably put all the Cm's under allot of stress.
I wouldn't put too much about the negative reports you have read on these boards. As far as I am concerned the Cms at the Poly made our trip, a trip to remember.

Sincerely
Searl Proudbottom

 

[jjohnson]

I was comparing your schedule to my tentative & always changing one & noticed you didn't do any EE. Did it make a difference going at 9:00 to the other parks? I have UOG & had scheduled to go to the park that was opened for EE the day before but then figured I should take advantage of EE & changed Monday to EE at AK, Wednesday EE at Epcot & Thursday EE at MK. Should I change the scheduled to what the book says & not do EE? Also thought its going to be hot next August & we should head out early....thoughts?

Hope this all makes sense. Glad you enjoyed the Poly. I ended up switching to BC after all the negative comments.

 

[PhilliesFan]

We stayed at the Raratonga building in 2002, and I also loved the convenience of that building. We've stayed in the Hawaii and Fiji buildings in the past, but you cannot beat the location of Rartonga. I'm glad to hear you had a wonderful time at the Polynesian. We never had a bad time at that resort. The CM's were always pleasant, the resort clean, and the amenities and service were outstanding.

 

[BCV23]

Searl we were at the Polynesian from 10/20 to 10/25. Glad you had a great trip. We've never stayed in Raratonga but now that it has been renovated it does seem like yet another great building.

jjohnson, I would not let negative posts affect your choice of resorts. Things seem to go in streaks here and when someone posts a negative report people remember a bad experience they had and post about it. It happens for all the resorts. Most people don't chime in on the positive reports.

Our stay was I think our 31st at the Polynesian so we've obviously had good experiences overall. BC is a pretty resort too and if the location and decor are what you prefer that's great. But don't miss out on a great experience because of a few bad reports. I'm not discounting people's reports at all just saying for each bad report you read there are many more great stays that don't get highlighted as much.

 

[searlproudbottom]

Dear jjohnson
I made my schedule directly off the Official Disney Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger. I didn’t try to merge the EE and the two together. I think there our three or four ways to putting together a schedule and it depends on about three or four varyables.

1, how many days do you have to visit?

2, do you have young children?

3, have you been to the world before?

4, what time of year are you going and what are the crowds like?

For our Family, We had been to the World many times. We went to the world in a some what of a slow time and we had plenty of time (Ten Days ). Our vacation was planed to be really low key. We didn't push the girls, we let them sleep in and stay up until they were ready for bed. Only once did we get up early to get to the MK before they opened. If you only have a short time you might want to take advantage of EE and then head off to another Park. When My Wife and I had no Children and were young we were at the parks when they opened and went to bed when they closed. You really need to work on a schedule that fits your needs.
Hope this helps
Sincerely
Searl Proudbottom

Dear BCV23
It’s too bad we didn't meet. It would have been fun. Maybe next year?
Sincerely
Searl Proudbottom

Dear PhilliesFan
Ditto
Sincerely
Searl Proudbottom

 

[jjohnson]

You did help thank you. I'm going to stick with EE for MK & AK only. We have 8 days but I don't want everyone to be miserable trying to keep with the "schedule".

Thanks again.

 

[wld]

Searl,

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Did you put your requests on your reservation or some other way?
Thanks

 

[VickiVM]

I'm interested to hear how the Backyard BBQ was. My kids are 6, 8 and 11...would they enjoy it and is it worth the money?

Thanks

 

[searlproudbottom]

Dear WLD
I am not sure what requests you are talking about. As far as our room requests I made them when making our room reservations. But you can change them at any time. As far as dinner or lunch reservations once you book your room at any Disney resort you are given a conformation number and then you can make a reservation for most restaurants or recreation activity. I Think the Dis has a time line to make your Reservations.

Dear VickiVM
In Regards to Mickey’s Backyard BBQ. My Kids are 6 and 10, and they loved it. As a parent’s point of view I had a good time as well, the food was just ok . The food didn’t compare to the Whispering Canyon, which in my opinion was the best BBQ I had ever had in my whole life. I would also say that it came in second to the Hoop de due. Was it worth the money? In Disney terms I would say yes. In the real world no. Would I go there again? Not for a while. I sure you and your family will have a good time.

Searl