Just returned from the Poly last night!!!

[daisy112878]

My dad is DVC so we usually stay at BCV. This was our first experience staying in a MK resort. The Poly overall we loved. The resort has an awesome feel to it and is very nice. The pools are awesome and so is the beach. Capt. Cook is small but good for a snack or mickey ice cream bar. Since we stay at the BCV were not use to big crowds in the lobby or places to eat so the crowds for O'hanas was kindof a shock. Starting at like 430pm the lobby got incredible packed with people, upstairs and downstairs. The line for O'hanas most of the time was to Kona Cafe. We did do breakfast at Ohanas at 850am on July 4th and it was great. The guys in our trip had been here three times before while us girls were at CRT. So this was the first for us girls and it was very good. The food was hot and fresh. Probably the best character meal food I've had at disney. Our rooms were great. We were in the Tokelau building on the third floor and right in the center over looking the quiet pool. We were right around from the stairs and elevator. It was an easy walk to the Ceremonial House and to the TTC for Epcot. The rooms were bigger then we expected and nice.

Now the part we didn't like is we felt far away from everything but MK. The bus rides were longer then we expected esp to Downtown Disney. I guess mostly we felt like this b/c at BC you're more centrally located and it doesn't take long to go anywhere. Plus we love walking to Epcot. We also had the hardest time with buses this trip. They came few and far between. We waited one night for a Downtown Disney bus for 30 minutes which usually doesn't happen. We've never had to wait longer then 15 minutes for a bus on all our previous trips. My sister asked a bus driver about this and the bus driver said that they were running low on bus drivers and buses these days. She told my sister they've had to bring in bus drivers and buses from other locations. I'm guessing this was an all over the theme parks/resorts situation.

 

[grimley1968]

Sounds like you had a good time. I'm glad you liked the Poly.

As for the transportation, I've never had a problem with buses at the Poly, especially when compared to the EPCOT area resorts. Also, to go to EPCOT, one can easily walk to the TTC and catch the direct EPCOT monorail, which is what we usually did. Frankly, we also did that for MK as well. Those direct monorails are much faster than that resort monorail loop. The only buses I ever take from Poly are to AK and MGM, which I don't go to as often as MK and EPCOT. We usually drive to DtD, since buses to there are less frequent at all the resorts. I think Poly has the best transportation of all the resorts.

I stayed at BC last summer, and while it was nice to walk to EPCOT and catch the boat to MGM, it took us FOREVER to get to MK or AK. Those buses made 4 or 5 stops before heading to the parks, while Poly buses stopped at GF, and possibly WL but not always, before heading to the destination. Frankly, the waits for the buses and the number of stops they made sealed the deal against us staying at an EPCOT area resort again for the foreseeable future.

I bet if the buses were slow at Poly during your stay there, they were definitely even slower at the other resorts, since other resorts just don't have the number of transportation options Poly has. I hope they remedy that situation soon.

 

[alohaguy]

Glad you had a good trip... and it can get crowded at OHana's, especially in the summer, and for July 4th weekend.

I find the transportation at the Polynesian to be one of its most attractive features. If you go to mainly MK and Epcot, then you can't beat the Polynesian. I am so used to taking the ferry or the monorail to MK, and just walking to the TTC for the monorail to Epcot that I have never even considered staying at a non-MK resort. I stayed at the GF recently and found myself frustrated that I had to take a monorail to the TTC, then on again to Epcot - I'm spoiled by the Polynesian.

I go to Downtown Disney probably only once per trip and frequently I've taken taxis just to speed things up. I find the buses annoying because of all the stops they make, but this is true of all the resorts.

If MGM and Animal Kingdom are your main destinations, then the Polynesian may not be the best resort, but if you're like my family and mainly visit MK and Epcot, there's nothing better.

 

[daisy112878]

We're Epcot, AK, and DTD people. Also we love having the Broadwalk Bakery a short walk away. We like Mk but it's more for the fact it's MK. My DH and I usually go there twice just to walk down main street, eat at CRT, ride space mountian and see the show in front of the castle. We go to DTD at least 3 or 4 times depending on how long we stay at WDW.

But like I said before Poly is a very nice resort. I just think we like the laid back feeling of BC and walking to Epcot. Also the Poly buses were combined with the Contemporary resort which I found kindof odd since the GF is closer. Overall it was a great trip and we enjoyed it a lot. The Kona Cafe has a great breakfast. The Tonga Toast is awesome. I highly enjoyed it.

 

[Tikiman]

Welcome home. Glad you got a great room location. The good news is Captain Cook’s will be much larger soon with an expanded menu and a full kitchen. I have not been to a resort yet that has as good a transportation and easy access to Epcot and the MK. Even when we stayed at the ALK that does not share a bus we waited forever for a bus. We went to Pleasure Island one night when staying at the YC and we saw 3 Polynesian busses come before one YC bus but than again that is not the resorts fault but Disney busses. That is why we always rent a car to go from one location to another that busses cannot do easily or to go to other resorts for dining or to check them out. Yes the rooms at Tokelau are larger and even the original rooms are some of the largest standard rooms on WDW property.

Polynesian busses are usually combined with the Contemporary (or sometimes they switch to the WL) and the GF so something strange must have been going on if they were not. Also that was what I did not like about the YC was all the stops at the other resorts and you had no other transportaion other than the busses and that boat that we could always walk faster than. I do like the area over near the YC/BC. That is why we spend a few days over there and than a week or more at the Polyensian.

Welcome home.

Aloha

Steve

 

[Tess]

One of the very few complaints I've had with my favorite resort (and I know it's not the fault of the resort itself) is the bus situation. This year we found the transportation to AK and MGM to be spectacular. No long waits for either park and the return just as speedy. Sometimes we were sharing a bus with Contemporary and sometimes we were picking up folks from GF--I'm not sure how they are routing now, but I'd say it was about 50/50 which resort was sharing IF we were sharing at all. Many times the bus was full and we simply headed to our park.

Now, all of that said, the bus to DD and/or Typhoon Lagoon is always a long wait. We waited 40 minutes this year for the TL bus one morning and didn't even make it in time for the opening. Granted, we did arrive within 15 mins of opening, BUT we were waiting at 8:00 a.m. for the bus! The DD bus is the same--long waits with an even longer trip.

This year we took taxis from EPCOT to DD and back. We rode the bus one time to get there and took a taxi back. I can't stand spending a full hour coming and going--besides, we had to get back one night to see the basketball game and eat our Earl of Sandwich yummies!

Glad you enjoyed your stay at the Polynesian!

 

[Suzanne74]

I agree about the transportation. I love the access to MK and Epcot but the bus to AK was filled with Contemporary guests already and it took us from waiting at the bus stop to getting off at AK - 65min!!! I stayed at OKW and they have a ton of bus stops but it never took more than 30min to get to any park - including waiting. WE actually waited 35min for a DTD bus before we opted not to go. I guess since you get lucky with the monorail, you have to share the other buses - to me, I don't think any deluxe should have to share, esp when POP, CSR and CBR don't.

Glad you had fun though!!!