- Joined
- Dec 19, 2023
- Messages
- 40
We just got back from a stay at the New Polynesian Tower this past week (May '25). We are a big family, so it was 2 parents, 3 adult children (all single), 2 high school children, and two littles (5 & 7) for a total of 9 people. (We have 8 kids but one of our college kids couldn't make it!) We stayed in one of the 2 bedroom Lock-Offs on the 3rd floor facing the parking lot/monorail line. We did not do any of the Disney parks on this trip. We are 14 year DVC members and our home resorts are Bay Lake Tower and Old Key West. Here are several thoughts:
1. We had a great experience with the Staff -- very helpful and pleasant.
2. We loved the decor, size, and layout of the rooms, especially the kitchen area, the master bathroom, and the openness of what would be the studio room (the lock off).
3. The walk over to the Polynesian feature pool is not bad at all, but do have everyone in some kind of footwear. The walkways are BURNING HOT mid-day.
4. The feature pool was quite crowded most of the day, so we would enjoy the play areas/slides for an hour or two, and then go back to the cove pool (closest to the Tower) to swim and relax.
5. Major TIP for other big families: One key to having so many people in a two bedroom is to pack light and do laundry while you're there. This keeps laundry/luggage clutter to a minimum.
6. Also a plus for big families: the 2 bedrooms in the new Poly Tower have 3 full Bathrooms!!!!! like Bay Lake Tower and Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village.
7. There are three special viewing areas, two of them facing the Magic Kingdom Park. You could see the MK fireworks from either. One is on the 3rd floor and one is one the 5th floor. We went up to the 5th floor and only 2 other families were there for the 9:20pm show. It wasn't crowded, and hearing the music with the show was great!
8. The restaurant downstairs was very good, but for a large family, we found that going over to Capt. Cook's in the main building was a better value. We also cooked dinner for everyone in the room a couple nights.
9. Being able to visit Typhoon Lagoon on check-in day was so much fun.
10. Since we weren't doing the parks (we truly wanted to rest on this vacation), we took a little time to ride the monorails and boats to the other resorts to get snacks and to explore. This is simple yet great fun!
1. We had a great experience with the Staff -- very helpful and pleasant.
2. We loved the decor, size, and layout of the rooms, especially the kitchen area, the master bathroom, and the openness of what would be the studio room (the lock off).
3. The walk over to the Polynesian feature pool is not bad at all, but do have everyone in some kind of footwear. The walkways are BURNING HOT mid-day.
4. The feature pool was quite crowded most of the day, so we would enjoy the play areas/slides for an hour or two, and then go back to the cove pool (closest to the Tower) to swim and relax.
5. Major TIP for other big families: One key to having so many people in a two bedroom is to pack light and do laundry while you're there. This keeps laundry/luggage clutter to a minimum.
6. Also a plus for big families: the 2 bedrooms in the new Poly Tower have 3 full Bathrooms!!!!! like Bay Lake Tower and Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village.
7. There are three special viewing areas, two of them facing the Magic Kingdom Park. You could see the MK fireworks from either. One is on the 3rd floor and one is one the 5th floor. We went up to the 5th floor and only 2 other families were there for the 9:20pm show. It wasn't crowded, and hearing the music with the show was great!
8. The restaurant downstairs was very good, but for a large family, we found that going over to Capt. Cook's in the main building was a better value. We also cooked dinner for everyone in the room a couple nights.
9. Being able to visit Typhoon Lagoon on check-in day was so much fun.
10. Since we weren't doing the parks (we truly wanted to rest on this vacation), we took a little time to ride the monorails and boats to the other resorts to get snacks and to explore. This is simple yet great fun!
