Official Poly construction update thread **updated video page 103(2/17/15)**

[Tikiman]

There are two different projects that affect the pools. The permits that went out last month are for maintenance to both pools at some point (meaning resurfacing, working on the pumps and filters, etc. is usually what is going on). This will close both pools I am guessing at different times for a short period of time. I am guessing a week or two but this is just my guess from past experience and not based on any factual information that I have seen. We know the permits exist and the work will be done sometime this year to both pools. Usually this stuff happens from January to April but again I have no idea on dates.

The next project involves the Nanea Pool (main pool) and as of now is predicted to close in August for about 8 months to a year. This will happen sometime this year even if its dates are changed again. As of now there is no specific date in August for this to happen so it is best to not mention any exact dates.

Let’s not confuse the two different events happening to the pools.
As for the work to the GCH it will NOT close the entire GCH. It will be done in stages and reports say it will be from March to December of this year. Some things will be closed and others will be open though out the whole process. Yes the water feature will go away and a different look and layout will be done to the entire lobby area. I can’t give you any more details right now but there will be some sort of water feature, nothing like what there is now and not located in the same place. There will be times that the places to eat will not be available during this process and they will do their best to have alternative services. Too many different options have been discussed so I don’t really want to share any more without knowing what they decided to do. Otherwise if I say what I think they are going to do, next thing is I see it posted other places saying it is a for sure thing.

I have also had a lot of emails from people saying they are calling the resort and getting different answers. They also keep telling me they are speaking directly to the front desk or recreations (in charge of the pool area). I have discussed this with people there including past managers and if they say you are speaking to the front desk or recreations, their phones are not capable of taking outside calls so chances are that they are not telling you the truth. Also people from recreations are busy doing other things and are not answering phones from reservations. Hopefully we all understand that when you call the resort number you are calling an offsite call center and not the resort. Even when you call the front desk from your room you are not actually calling the front desk of the resort.

I say this because they may not have current information or know what is going on at the resort. Also for many of these projects, few at the resort are given much information about schedules or details and often do not know until just before or after it happens.

 

[sandym718]

I really hope Captain Cooks will be open when we go March 1-8. They sent that letter and if it was going to be closed, they should have included that info. I can tell you my DH will NOT be happy if he can't get his daily Dole Whip. Trying to be flexible and understanding with the work going on, but for the amount of money...enough already.

 

[Masonmj84]

Capt. Cook's - alternate Dining Experience available

Mar. - Jun. 2014


Great Ceremonial House - Lobby

Mar. - Dec. 2014[/QUOTE]


Hi everyone, I just noticed that people have been posting updates about Cap't Cook's closing and construction in the GCH beginning this March. Does anyone know if this means beginning 3/1?? We are heading there 3/1-3/8, and I'm starting to get a bit nervous that there will be a lot of disruption. With two small children, this might be a deal breaker even though my heart is set on the Poly. I also don't want to look out at all construction, even though I know we won't be in the room a ton.
Thanks so much to everyone posting updates. This is a great forum/ site!!
P.S. I'm sorry that I don't think I'm quoting correctly![/QUOTE]

I'm also curious about when and what type of construction is projected for March. For example, during Mar - Jun will the construction in the Grand Ceremonial House be mainly Captain Cook's or will there be other major things going on during that time frame?

Along these lines, does anyone know if they're currently doing any work at the former Wyland Galleries site or are they waiting until March to start that? And are they also planning to start removing the water feature in March or is that further down the road (e.g., will they wait to do this until after they're done with Captain Cook's)?

 

[maddiebee]

Is it normal for this much construction to be happening at a resort? It just seems like so much at once. I don't know much about resort updates and such. Has it just been a super long time since anything has been done to the poly?

 

[Tikiman]

Is it normal for this much construction to be happening at a resort? It just seems like so much at once. I don't know much about resort updates and such. Has it just been a super long time since anything has been done to the poly?

I wrote an article that will be out on my site soon but it basically goes over the history of changes at the Polynesian.

I don’t know the history of other resorts to compare but I believe they go through about the same cycles of redesign and room changes.

All this construction is actually less than they Polynesian has seen since it first opened. The expansion in 1978 was much larger than all that is going on now. Also the expansion of 1985 was bigger than what you see with the DVC. This is very minor compared to what has happened in the past. Even in the early 90s when the lobby was completely redone was similar to what they will be doing here soon to the GCH. The whole pool area was torn up just in 2001. Adding the bungalows and changing over two longhouses is nothing in comparison. I guess that is why I don’t understand the comments about how they are destroying the feel of the Polynesian. I have not met anyone who felt that they destroyed the Polynesian during any of the other renovations. Over the years the resort has changed many times and is actually very well maintained. They are constantly replacing things at the resort to keep it in good condition. Even the wooden stairways on the outside of the buildings were just replaced a year or so ago. There is very little that you can see at the resort that is still the original materials. Even the walkways have been redone in recent years.

You can see the evolution of the resort in my history section.
http://www.tikimanpages.com/poly/history

 

[maiapapaya]

I wrote an article that will be out on my site soon but it basically goes over the history of changes at the Polynesian.

I don’t know the history of other resorts to compare but I believe they go through about the same cycles of redesign and room changes.

All this construction is actually less than they Polynesian has seen since it first opened. The expansion in 1978 was much larger than all that is going on now. Also the expansion of 1985 was bigger than what you see with the DVC. This is very minor compared to what has happened in the past. Even in the early 90s when the lobby was completely redone was similar to what they will be doing here soon to the GCH. The whole pool area was torn up just in 2001. Adding the bungalows and changing over two longhouses is nothing in comparison. I guess that is why I don’t understand the comments about how they are destroying the feel of the Polynesian. I have not met anyone who felt that they destroyed the Polynesian during any of the other renovations. Over the years the resort has changed many times and is actually very well maintained. They are constantly replacing things at the resort to keep it in good condition. Even the wooden stairways on the outside of the buildings were just replaced a year or so ago. There is very little that you can see at the resort that is still the original materials. Even the walkways have been redone in recent years.

You can see the evolution of the resort in my history section.
http://www.tikimanpages.com/poly/history

When people talk about "ruining the feel of the Polynesian" it might not be so much from a perceived change to the theming, but more so the changing of the views and availability of those views? I personally haven't complained too much, but it does bother me that they've taken almost every single non CL TPV room out of public inventory and are converting them to DVC (this "public" vs DVC comment is even more relevant if the rumors are true that Poly DVC will not be available for normal "cash" rental). And there are concerns that the views from the remaining TPV rooms in Hawaii (CL) will be affected by the bungalows. The availability of the Poly is undoubtedly now quite affected by two longhouses (including the resort's largest) being taken from the regular room inventory and being dedicated to DVC. So, in comparison, while GF got DVC, once construction was complete it did not really have any impact on the rest of the accommodations at the resort. And while CR did lose a wing in the building of BLT, I don't think the percentage of rooms wrt total inventory of the resort compares to what is going on at the Poly.

WRT the lobby, which I know a lot of people are upset about, I'm reserving judgment. While I like the waterfall, the lobby has always felt somewhat dark to me. If they replace it with something spectacular (eg. a direct view out to the lagoon & castle) I'll probably be ok with it.

 

[Tikiman]

As much as I will miss Tahiti (unless I buy DVC) it did not take almost every single TPV room. It took about 64% of the TPV rooms and 50% of the Lagoon view rooms out of the total rooms available.

It will be no different in room totals than the resort was from 1978 to 1985.

I will miss the loss of the beach areas but maybe this will turn away the large amounts of non-resort guests from crowding the beaches.

As for the changes to the lobby, I agree we will have to see the final product. I would not expect it to be brightened up unless they add a lot of lighting on the first floor. I am not sure how much brighter it can get since the whole ceiling is a skylight. I can’t see them going and painting the walls white. Going brighter with any of the resort is just getting away from the theme.

 

[maiapapaya]

As much as I will miss Tahiti (unless I buy DVC) it did not take almost every single TPV room. It took about 64% of the TPV rooms and 50% of the Lagoon view rooms out of the total rooms available.

It will be no different in room totals than the resort was from 1978 to 1985.

I will miss the loss of the beach areas but maybe this will turn away the large amounts of non-resort guests from crowding the beaches.

As for the changes to the lobby, I agree we will have to see the final product. I would not expect it to be brightened up unless they add a lot of lighting on the first floor. I am not sure how much brighter it can get since the whole ceiling is a skylight. I can’t see them going and painting the walls white. Going brighter with any of the resort is just getting away from the theme.

I don't have the actual stats, but I said "non CL TPV" rooms. There's probably only about 30 left? between Tuvalu & Aotearoa. Regardless of the specific numbers Tahiti is a large longhouse with "views" to be losing from the regular inventory, and 1985 was almost 30 years ago ... I'm talking about current availability being reduced (clearly 30 years ago they felt they needed a bigger resort so they expanded it, now they've just reduced it in the name of DVC - as opposed to a new build)

I think the lobby would probably be lighter without the large structure in the middle of the room, allowing more light to come through from the lagoon side (I wasn't talking about lightening the colour scheme)

 

[Skywise]

I'm in agreement with the lobby water feature. While I liked it it was more reminiscent of a 1970's shopping mall fountain. (Even moreso when I saw the earlier pictures on your site Tikiman!).

I'd be happy to see it replaced with something more grandiose (maybe a 2 story waterfall from the balcony!) but current DW trends leave me fearful that when I next go back I'll be seeing a palm tree on each corner of the skylight and an expanded seating area around a small gold fish pond! In this case I prefer the devil I know than the devil I don't...

I'll be more disheartened if they redo the entrance fountains.

 

[Tikiman]

I don't have the actual stats, but I said "non CL TPV" rooms. There's probably only about 30 left? between Tuvalu & Aotearoa. Regardless of the specific numbers Tahiti is a large longhouse with "views" to be losing from the regular inventory, and 1985 was almost 30 years ago ... I'm talking about current availability being reduced (clearly 30 years ago they felt they needed a bigger resort so they expanded it, now they've just reduced it in the name of DVC - as opposed to a new build)

I think the lobby would probably be lighter without the large structure in the middle of the room, allowing more light to come through from the lagoon side (I wasn't talking about lightening the colour scheme)

That percentage does not include club level rooms. If we included club level rooms that removing Tahiti would be removing 43% of all TPV rooms but you are very close to the total left. There are 27 non-club level TPV rooms and 36 club Level TPV rooms. There are also still 20 non-club level Lagoon View rooms, many of which can see the fireworks or castle with very little of the view blocked.

It is not like no one will be able to stay in Tahiti, it will just be people that decide that DVC is better for them. With increasing prices I find that purchasing DVC may be the only way I can stay there. Even if they built new buildings, based on the available land, buildings and current structures would have to come down to accommodate DVC.

I agree that not having something blocking the center would allow more light into the lobby. That was a very good point. I myself enjoy the feel of the lobby with the plants and waterfall and don’t see a need for it to change but then again I am not incharge.

 

[Tikiman]

I'm in agreement with the lobby water feature. While I liked it it was more reminiscent of a 1970's shopping mall fountain. (Even moreso when I saw the earlier pictures on your site Tikiman!).

I'd be happy to see it replaced with something more grandiose (maybe a 2 story waterfall from the balcony!) but current DW trends leave me fearful that when I next go back I'll be seeing a palm tree on each corner of the skylight and an expanded seating area around a small gold fish pond! In this case I prefer the devil I know than the devil I don't...

I'll be more disheartened if they redo the entrance fountains.

From what I know the new water feature will be much more subtle.

 

[Skywise]

From what I know the new water feature will be much more subtle.

See what I mean? Koi Pond!

Do you know if the fountains/waterfall at the entrance will be affected too?

 

[Tikiman]

See what I mean? Koi Pond!

Do you know if the fountains/waterfall at the entrance will be affected too?

Anything is possible but I have not seen or heard of any changes to the features at the main entrance.

 

[maiapapaya]

That percentage does not include club level rooms. If we included club level rooms that removing Tahiti would be removing 43% of all TPV rooms but you are very close to the total left. There are 27 non-club level TPV rooms and 36 club Level TPV rooms. There are also still 20 non-club level Lagoon View rooms, many of which can see the fireworks or castle with very little of the view blocked.

It is not like no one will be able to stay in Tahiti, it will just be people that decide that DVC is better for them. With increasing prices I find that purchasing DVC may be the only way I can stay there. Even if they built new buildings, based on the available land, buildings and current structures would have to come down to accommodate DVC.

I agree that not having something blocking the center would allow more light into the lobby. That was a very good point. I myself enjoy the feel of the lobby with the plants and waterfall and don’t see a need for it to change but then again I am not incharge.

I think they could have taken Luau Cove and maybe one long house on that side of the resort and built a low-rise tower type building (incorporating a new home for the luau on the first floor), but that's neither here nor there at this point.

The problem with DVC is the annual maintenance cost! We priced out GF and for what we were looking at - one bedroom for one week during October - the maintenance fee was going to be about $1700/year. We also have to build in the exchange rate being from Canada. DVC isn't necessarily that much cheaper when you add on the extra fees (ie. I think it would take a while for us to break even when compared to what we spend each year given the discounts we take advantage of).

WRT the lobby I hope they keep the waterfall & plants concept, but maybe push it off to one side to allow for more light to come into the lobby area, while keeping the general feel.

 

[horse11]

Would any one care to post a pic of the entrance fountains? Could this be a good alternative for our family picture since most likely the lobby fountain will be gone?

 

[DisneyChristmas]

What about the ground level of Hawaii building? Will this still be called TPV? It seems that it's gong to be Backside-of-the-Bungalows View.

We have CL TPV reservations for December 2014. I will be extremely unhappy if we get a ground floor room and my sole sight from the patio is new structures blocking the lagoon view.

I wonder what the view will be from Hawaii 2nd and 3rd levels?

 

[Skywise]

What about the ground level of Hawaii building? Will this still be called TPV? It seems that it's gong to be Backside-of-the-Bungalows View.

We have CL TPV reservations for December 2014. I will be extremely unhappy if we get a ground floor room and my sole sight from the patio is new structures blocking the lagoon view.

I wonder what the view will be from Hawaii 2nd and 3rd levels?

I was there Christmas 2013 - From the construction it looks like the bungalows will intersect the MK view at about halfway through Hawaii (The yellow protection piping extends out that far) so at least half the first floor should have a clear view.

The real question is how tall the bungalows are. If they're only one story, similar to something like the four seasons bora bora

http://www.fourseasons.com/borabora/offers/

Then I think the impact will be minimal.. the Magic Kingdom should sit just above the roof line.

(But this is all speculation so far...)

 

[Masonmj84]

Just wanted to let everyone here know that the latest update from Tikiman indicates that Captain Cook's is currently slated to be closed for refurbishment beginning March 9 (closure time looks to be anywhere from 3 to 6 months). A temporary counter service food location will be set up near the old Tangaroa Terrace and be called Cast Cove.

In addition to Captain Cook's, other work that may occur in the GCH beginning in March is the conversion of the old Wyland Galleries location into a temporary check-in desk (no indication of when this may actually start or finish or when the current check-in desk may be closed).

Not sure if there will be any additional work starting in the GCH in March, including when they may begin taking out the water feature (one has to wonder how they'll time this with respect to the massive refurbishment of the entire area between the back of the GCH and the beach slated to begin in August - from a construction standpoint, it would seem easier to do both at the same time but that would really be awful from a crowd flow and guest experience standpoint).

In any event, thanks to Tikiman for these updates!

 

[polyfor4]

Thank you for keeping us updated! On that note, does anyone remember what it was like the last time Captain Cooks was remodeled?? Just wondering what we can expect for menu options. Are dole whips, tonga toast, and pork nachos too much to ask for???

 

[DisneyMom2Boyz]

How does anyone feel about Capt Cooks now closing? Sounds like alot of stuff going on at one time even with a discount?