Just returned from the Poly - 11/27 - 12/3

[Bride In The Attic]

We just returned Saturday from another wonderful stay at the Polynesian. We were there from 11/27 until 12/3.

I’ll preface this report by saying this is about our 12th stay at the Poly. I stayed there for the first time in 1972 when I was 5 and the Poly was brand new. I was instantly hooked and our family returned many times as I was growing up. Now it has become DH’s and my favorite resort and this was the second stay for my DD (8). DD (2) stayed at home with my mom for this trip so we could do “big kid” stuff.

We usually end up staying in the Aotearoa building facing the monorail (we are huge monorail fans) but this year I wanted to try something different. After many hours spent on Tikiman’s site (thanks Steve!) I decided to request the Fiji building facing the marina. We put this request on our reservation when we made it and then I followed up with a fax about 4 days ahead of time *** I will break here to say: I realize this is just a request and we honestly would have been happy with any room we were assigned – I just figured it didn’t hurt to ask ***

Our early morning flight arrived at MCO at 9:15 am. We used DME and were at the Poly at 10:30….love DME!! There was no line at check in and we got a very nice, efficient CM. Check in took all of 5 minutes! I asked if we could make a building request and she told us a room had already been assigned to us – 3rd floor of the Fiji building facing the marina and – it was already clean and ready for us!! What a great surprise and a wonderful way to begin our trip! She gave us our Keys to the Kingdom (we were able to have our tickets purchased at the Disney Store added to the room key at the concierge counter) and our leis and off we went.

Our room was 3315 in the Fiji building and it is probably the best garden view room I’ve ever had at the Poly. It was right in the middle of the building and we could see the Contemporary and the lagoon and had a great view of the Electrical Water Pageant at night. I loved sitting on the balcony listening to the sound of the water and boats. It was also very convenient to the Great Ceremonial House. To watch wishes all we had to do was go out the door of the building and walk a few yards to the benches at the end of the marina and we had a perfect view.

The new rooms are beautiful. My DH fell in love with the flat screen TV. I loved the new linens and light fixtures and the extra room by the TV is great. I also loved the shelves in the closet. The rooms felt bigger to me this time – maybe because there is no longer a table in front of the sliding doors.

We requested turndown service for our stay and Mousekeeping was top notch. It was so nice to return from a day in the parks to have our beds turned down (with a chocolate), fresh towels and extra toiletries. Just a nice extra touch.

CM’s were as friendly as ever – always an Aloha! and a smile as we passed by.

We used the concierge desk in the GCH to load our Disney Store tickets to our room keys and to pick up our CP tickets – the CM at this desk was very knowledgeable and upbeat.

We ended up at the Tambu Lounge one night and ordered drinks and a few appetizers to share. We were pleasantly surprised at the food here – yummy and very reasonably priced. We had the wontons with hot sauce, egg rolls and cheese plate. A nice place to go if you don’t feel like a full meal but don’t want fast food from Captain Cooks.

We ate breakfast a few mornings at Kona – delightful as always. And, on checkout day we at lunch there – very, very good and the desserts are to die for!

My only two minor disappointments:
Captain Cooks continues to be small and slow. I know they are working on expanding and I’m looking forward to the new and improved CC on our next trip!

I love the new shop (Boutiki) but again am disappointed in the amount of nice Poly clothing. I’m not talking about the Tommy Bahama clothes – there are plenty of them! I’m talking about Poly logo golf shirts, jackets, etc…. We went to the shop at the GF and they had wonderful GF logo items. I would love to see that at the Poly. While I did see some cute Christmas ornaments, paintings, etc I’d love to see nice quality clothing with the Poly logo – they’d get even more money out of us during our stay if they had these items!!

So, another great experience with the Poly – I absolutely hated to leave. We are already planning our return trip in 2007 and have no doubt where we will stay!

Let me know if anyone has any questions!

Aloha!

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

Great review! I'd love to stay at the Poly again, such a great resort! How were the crowds?

 

[Tinkaroo]

I'm glad that you enjoyed your stay! We are staying at the Poly for the first time in March, and I'm looking for a good GV recommendation. Sounds like you liked your spot in Fiji!

 

[Bride In The Attic]

Great review! I'd love to stay at the Poly again, such a great resort! How were the crowds?

Crowds were great. We spent Sunday at Epcot since we figured we would get lingering Thanksgiving crowds but it was very managable. Monday (11/28) at the MK was a little more crowded than I would have liked but by Tuesday it seemed everyone had left. The rest of the week was great. Even on Friday the waits at SM and Buzz were only 20 minutes. It got a bit more crowded late in the day but Fast Pass return times were only about 45 minutes out so we used FP a lot. I would return this same week again in a second!

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Thanks for the great report - sounds like you had an awesome room!

 

[Tikiman]

Great room Susan. Thanks for the report. Maybe we will see you there in 2007.

Aloha

Steve

 

[oots]

We went in early novemeber and had room#3318 in Fiji-I think it is a great view for a "garden view" room. Glad to hear you had a nice time.

 

[LJP]

Hi Susan,

Loved your report - DH and I were there for our 1st visit during some of your dates - we split AKL first 4 nights then Poly from 30/11 - 3/12, couldn't get the Sat night for our last night, so got nurses rate at the Dolphin. Poly was somewhere i'd always wanted to stay in and I'm so glad we did. We too had booked garden view and had really no idea where we would end up, but got room 3607 3rd floor Samoa - magical, looking at the volcano pool and across the lagoon to GF, including the wedding pavilion. We could also see Big Thunder Mountain and if you stood at the left of the balcony you were looking right at the Castle. We couldn't have asked for a better room. The beds were so comfy, mousekeeping were great and all CM's were very friendly. We also found a really sheltered spot for a bit of sunbathing right by the little squirty water things at the side of the pool - no wind and really quiet. I had to try the Tonga toast too - delicious, but once was enough - really lovely, but just too sweet for me that early in the morning, glad i tried it tho.
Glad you had a great time too. We went to MVMCP on the 2/12 and got the boat back - it was chilly but so peaceful - and lovely to look back across the lagoon to the MK.

 

[SeaSpray]

Welcome back, and it sounds like you had a wonderful time at our favorite resort!!!! Thanks for the review Kona Cafe is our favorite WDW restaurant!

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for the report. Is the Fiji building noisy? I've only stayed in Tokelau. We asked the CM about staying in Fiji but they said it can be noisy becauese of the boats in the marina.

 

[Bride In The Attic]

Thanks for the report. Is the Fiji building noisy? I've only stayed in Tokelau. We asked the CM about staying in Fiji but they said it can be noisy becauese of the boats in the marina.

I didn't think it was noisy at all but then again there weren't many boats out when we were there - a bit too chilly.

 

[lovmy2girls]

We loved Fiji too. The other side is just as great, with the view of the cove. Glad you had a great time. Thanks for the report.

 

[DisneyObsessed]

Sounds wonderful. I can't wait til we get there! Is Fiji smoking or non smoking? How would I go about requesting a certain building? My ressie is for a garden view. I would love any advice you have to give!

 

[Bride In The Attic]

Sounds wonderful. I can't wait til we get there! Is Fiji smoking or non smoking? How would I go about requesting a certain building? My ressie is for a garden view. I would love any advice you have to give!

Fiji is non smoking....I would call your TA or CRO (whoever you made your ressie through) and have them add your building of choice as a request on your reservation. I also followed that up with a fax directly to the Poly about 3 days before we arrive. I've done this the last 3 times we've gone and have always gotten our requests. I know my room was preassigned as the CM mentioned there was already a room blocked for me. Honestly though, there are very few (if any) bad views at the Poly.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[Ilovestitch]

I'm glad you loved Fiji, its our favorite, too. Last December we were in room 3321 also facing the Marina. Its a great location and I'm surprised they don't consider it a lagoon view.

 

[scanne]

Thanks for the great report! I can't wait to return to the Polynesian in 2007 myself! Maybe we'll see you there!