hAm53
hi!!!
- Joined
- Sep 21, 1999
- Messages
- 836
First off, I'm not sure if the pics will come out small, big, or all all. So I apologize in advance.
As much as I hate to admit it, weve become Monorail Resort Snobs. Our 8 nights at the Poly were, by far, the best out of any WDW Resort stay weve had.
It all started with a friendly Aloha! from the bell staff when our towncar pulled up on 8/31. The sounds of the outdoor waterfall and monorail zooming by brought out a huge smile.
Check in was a breeze. As we were there at 11:30AM, there were no rooms ready (we did not expect there would be since we were waaaay early), and our CM was great, showing us that although we were booked into a standard room in the way corner of the resort facing a parking lot, she wouldnt have that since we had wedding ears on. She asked how the wedding was, and when we told us that it wasnt for 5 more days she perked up oh youre getting married here in Disney! How about we put you in this room? She points out a room a little closer to the main building and filled with flowers outside of the window. We say that we dont care where we stay, as this was our first stay at a monorail resort (unless you count 15 years ago when all there was were the Contemp and the Poly). She starts showing us how you can easily get to the Wedding Pavilion from the room, when we inform her that were actually getting married at Sunset Point (which is outside at the Poly under Palm Trees with the castle in the background). OH!!! Youre getting married here at the POLYNESIAN!!! Well then I have a really special room for you. Again, we thank her and say that its not necessary, but she was already printing up room keys for our special location. The CM wouldnt tell us anything about it, other than that people specifically ask for it. And heres why. Check out the view . . .
How great is that!!! We were in the Somoa Building, but I can't rememebr what the room # was. I wanna say 3618.
Most mornings, Id eat my b-fast while watching the monorail go by and listening to the pool. We were only steps from the main building and also the boat to the MK. The TTC was even only a 3-4 minute walk. You could even here the MK Railroad!!! No view of wishes, but that wasnt a problem. We were just happy to be there.
The staff was always so warm when wed be walking around. From the maintenance guys whizzing by to the lifeguards, everyone had a smile and an Aloha! There were tons of birds, ducks, and bunnies all around the resort.
Although our room was yet to be re-done, it didnt show any wear, or that musty smell you sometimes hear about. The TV was small, only about 19, but thatll be changed soon. The bathroom on the other hand was HUGE!!! Everything was in one room, and it floors were all marble-looking and the sink was gigantic as well (more on the sink a little later).
Mousekeeping was good. Plenty of towels left every day for the two of us, and everything was cleaned up by the time we would head back to the resort around 2PM. A few towel shells here and there, but if not getting Towel Animals ruins your vacation, then theres something wrong. The first morning we were surprised to see a USA Today outside our door, and I felt bad for not reading it every weekday when it was there, but there were parks to go to.
We had Breakfast and Lunch at Kona, and B-fast & Dinner at Ohana. Which were great as always. We never visited Captain Cooks though. And Walter the bartender at the Tambu Lounge was fan-freggin-tastic. Ask for a Lei-lani if you see him. We went there almost every night with groups ranging from the two of us to 25, and he never missed a beat. Plus the 20% off from the Disney Dining Experience certainly helped.
Of course the monorail cant be beat. One day it took us only 4 minutes to get to the MK. 4 minutes!!! The busses seemed to take longer than at Riverside, but Im sure thats just because you would hear the monorail go by overhead ever couple of minutes. I would make the bus-stop a little larger. It seemed a little small for such a bug resort.
The night before the wedding I got kicked out to the Contemp (cant see the bride before the ceremony), while she stayed at the Poly. The Poly Staff sent up an autographed photo of Mickey & Minnie with a white balloon for the wedding, which was very thoughtful. At 1AM the Mrs. was cleaning her Mickey necklace when it fell from her hand, slid off the sink counter, and down the drain. Luckily she was able to reach it with her tweezers, but it fell back down. She called the front desk who said that maintenance would be there first thing in the morning, and if they werent able to get it, the lady at the front desk said shed run to DTD and find the necklace for her. Luckily the necklace was extracted at 7AM, but it was awfully nice of the front desk to offer. Like I said, the staff here is amazing.
My time at the Contemp was, well, blah. I had an exploding clown room in the north wing, although I was upgraded to a king bed. The place was nice, but my room was in-between two room blocks from 2 conventions, so one crew came in at 3AM from a party, while the 2nd bunch left at 5:30AM to go to theirs. I think the place will be a billion times better once the renovation is complete. One thing that I did notice was that there were two phones in the room. And you needed it if there were other people staying with you. The place looked even bigger than our Poly Room. It was just a short walk to Chef Mickeys for b-fast, which I forgot was such a decent value. Even though my PS was for 9:30, I was up and awake at 8, so I wandered over at 8:30, and was seated within 5 minutes. I filled up since I knew I wouldnt be eating until 6:30PM and wandered back to my room. Would I stay there again? Yes, because the location is great, but only after the renovation is complete. Those exploding clown rooms are a little loud, even after seeing photos of them before we left.
I have some Exploding Clown Room Pics, but I'll hafta add them later.
We stayed at the Poly for a few more days after the wedding, then went on a 3 day Wonder Cruise, then over to Riverside. When we checked in at 12:30, we were surprised to have a room ready for us. We requested the mansions, and got a corner room in Oak Manor. POR is usually home base for us, so we know our way around. We were surprised to see a bunch of mold on our shower curtain the first morning, but a short note with our Mousekeeping Tip fixed that right up. That was the first time weve ever had a problem at Riverside. Despite the fact the resort was a ghost-town (parking lots were totally empty), the busses were always prompt. A few times, we were the only ones on the entire bus. The boat the DTD is always a nice change of pace, but we were really spoiled by the Monorail at the Poly. It took a couple days to get used to taking busses everywhere again. Of course we had to visit Bob Jackson at the River Roost, and keep an eye out for a bright green sticker that he put up by his piano. The night manager at the food court gave us a free Banana Split b/c he saw our wedding ears, and the rest of the food court crew would always say Congrats whenever they saw us.
Would we have liked to stay at the Poly the whole time, of course!!! But I still believe that Riverside is the best value of any resort on property. I do think that well try to stay at the Poly again in the near future.
Sorry that this was so long, and if you have any questions, just let me know!
As much as I hate to admit it, weve become Monorail Resort Snobs. Our 8 nights at the Poly were, by far, the best out of any WDW Resort stay weve had.
It all started with a friendly Aloha! from the bell staff when our towncar pulled up on 8/31. The sounds of the outdoor waterfall and monorail zooming by brought out a huge smile.
Check in was a breeze. As we were there at 11:30AM, there were no rooms ready (we did not expect there would be since we were waaaay early), and our CM was great, showing us that although we were booked into a standard room in the way corner of the resort facing a parking lot, she wouldnt have that since we had wedding ears on. She asked how the wedding was, and when we told us that it wasnt for 5 more days she perked up oh youre getting married here in Disney! How about we put you in this room? She points out a room a little closer to the main building and filled with flowers outside of the window. We say that we dont care where we stay, as this was our first stay at a monorail resort (unless you count 15 years ago when all there was were the Contemp and the Poly). She starts showing us how you can easily get to the Wedding Pavilion from the room, when we inform her that were actually getting married at Sunset Point (which is outside at the Poly under Palm Trees with the castle in the background). OH!!! Youre getting married here at the POLYNESIAN!!! Well then I have a really special room for you. Again, we thank her and say that its not necessary, but she was already printing up room keys for our special location. The CM wouldnt tell us anything about it, other than that people specifically ask for it. And heres why. Check out the view . . .
How great is that!!! We were in the Somoa Building, but I can't rememebr what the room # was. I wanna say 3618.
Most mornings, Id eat my b-fast while watching the monorail go by and listening to the pool. We were only steps from the main building and also the boat to the MK. The TTC was even only a 3-4 minute walk. You could even here the MK Railroad!!! No view of wishes, but that wasnt a problem. We were just happy to be there.
The staff was always so warm when wed be walking around. From the maintenance guys whizzing by to the lifeguards, everyone had a smile and an Aloha! There were tons of birds, ducks, and bunnies all around the resort.
Although our room was yet to be re-done, it didnt show any wear, or that musty smell you sometimes hear about. The TV was small, only about 19, but thatll be changed soon. The bathroom on the other hand was HUGE!!! Everything was in one room, and it floors were all marble-looking and the sink was gigantic as well (more on the sink a little later).
Mousekeeping was good. Plenty of towels left every day for the two of us, and everything was cleaned up by the time we would head back to the resort around 2PM. A few towel shells here and there, but if not getting Towel Animals ruins your vacation, then theres something wrong. The first morning we were surprised to see a USA Today outside our door, and I felt bad for not reading it every weekday when it was there, but there were parks to go to.
We had Breakfast and Lunch at Kona, and B-fast & Dinner at Ohana. Which were great as always. We never visited Captain Cooks though. And Walter the bartender at the Tambu Lounge was fan-freggin-tastic. Ask for a Lei-lani if you see him. We went there almost every night with groups ranging from the two of us to 25, and he never missed a beat. Plus the 20% off from the Disney Dining Experience certainly helped.
Of course the monorail cant be beat. One day it took us only 4 minutes to get to the MK. 4 minutes!!! The busses seemed to take longer than at Riverside, but Im sure thats just because you would hear the monorail go by overhead ever couple of minutes. I would make the bus-stop a little larger. It seemed a little small for such a bug resort.
The night before the wedding I got kicked out to the Contemp (cant see the bride before the ceremony), while she stayed at the Poly. The Poly Staff sent up an autographed photo of Mickey & Minnie with a white balloon for the wedding, which was very thoughtful. At 1AM the Mrs. was cleaning her Mickey necklace when it fell from her hand, slid off the sink counter, and down the drain. Luckily she was able to reach it with her tweezers, but it fell back down. She called the front desk who said that maintenance would be there first thing in the morning, and if they werent able to get it, the lady at the front desk said shed run to DTD and find the necklace for her. Luckily the necklace was extracted at 7AM, but it was awfully nice of the front desk to offer. Like I said, the staff here is amazing.
My time at the Contemp was, well, blah. I had an exploding clown room in the north wing, although I was upgraded to a king bed. The place was nice, but my room was in-between two room blocks from 2 conventions, so one crew came in at 3AM from a party, while the 2nd bunch left at 5:30AM to go to theirs. I think the place will be a billion times better once the renovation is complete. One thing that I did notice was that there were two phones in the room. And you needed it if there were other people staying with you. The place looked even bigger than our Poly Room. It was just a short walk to Chef Mickeys for b-fast, which I forgot was such a decent value. Even though my PS was for 9:30, I was up and awake at 8, so I wandered over at 8:30, and was seated within 5 minutes. I filled up since I knew I wouldnt be eating until 6:30PM and wandered back to my room. Would I stay there again? Yes, because the location is great, but only after the renovation is complete. Those exploding clown rooms are a little loud, even after seeing photos of them before we left.
I have some Exploding Clown Room Pics, but I'll hafta add them later.
We stayed at the Poly for a few more days after the wedding, then went on a 3 day Wonder Cruise, then over to Riverside. When we checked in at 12:30, we were surprised to have a room ready for us. We requested the mansions, and got a corner room in Oak Manor. POR is usually home base for us, so we know our way around. We were surprised to see a bunch of mold on our shower curtain the first morning, but a short note with our Mousekeeping Tip fixed that right up. That was the first time weve ever had a problem at Riverside. Despite the fact the resort was a ghost-town (parking lots were totally empty), the busses were always prompt. A few times, we were the only ones on the entire bus. The boat the DTD is always a nice change of pace, but we were really spoiled by the Monorail at the Poly. It took a couple days to get used to taking busses everywhere again. Of course we had to visit Bob Jackson at the River Roost, and keep an eye out for a bright green sticker that he put up by his piano. The night manager at the food court gave us a free Banana Split b/c he saw our wedding ears, and the rest of the food court crew would always say Congrats whenever they saw us.
Would we have liked to stay at the Poly the whole time, of course!!! But I still believe that Riverside is the best value of any resort on property. I do think that well try to stay at the Poly again in the near future.
Sorry that this was so long, and if you have any questions, just let me know!
Hoping your wedding was wonderful. Much love and happiness to you! 
That Poly room had a great view!!!
