Poly

[etwinchester]

Has anyone ever stayed on the first floor rooms?

I love having the first floor so you don't have to do elevators or stairs. Then again, we might not have that good of a view when your on the first floor.

How did anyone like their view and did you have like a little patio? Do the higher floors have balconies?

Also, do they have buses for MGM, Animal Kingdom, DTD and water partks? What about traveling and visiting other resorts, are their buses?

 

[catnik]

The first floor rooms at the Poly all have patios with a table and 2 chairs; garden view looks out over the pools, landscaped areas, etc while lagoon view looks out over Seven Seas Lagoon. Lots of people like the 1st floor rooms as they can easily go in/out of their rooms to the beach, pool, etc thru the sliding door. Most buildings have balconies on the 2nd and 3rd floors but several older buildings only have balconies on the 3rd floor. There is monorail and ferry transportation to MK from the Polynesian. You can walk over to the TTC (~5 min) to catch the monorail to Epcot. There are buses from the Polynesian to all the other theme and water parks and to Downtown Disney. You would need to walk to TTC to catch buses to other resorts (the monorail goes to the Grand Floridan and the Contemporary resorts).

Check out Tikiman's website for all things related to the Polynesian resort. It is a wonderful reference guide.......

http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/

We have stayed twice at the Polynesian and it is our favorite resort!

 

[luckywife]

We just returned from the Poly last month. We had a garden view room on the first floor in the Hawaii longhouse. The view wasn't anything spectacular, just nice and relaxing. We had 2 ducks that came up to the patio several times a day. I really liked being on the 1st floor and would probably request it next time. I believe (but I might be mistaken) that most 2nd floor rooms do not have balconies. I am pretty sure that all 3rd floor rooms do have them. There are buses to MGM, AK, DTD and all of the water parks. I don't think there are direct busses to other resorts. Tikiman has a great website that will answer all of your questions about rooms, locations etc.

http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[daannzzz]

I saw quite a few first floor rooms where the patio was surrounded completly by vegitation with some of the shrubs being high enough to block the view forward, when you are sitting.

 

[Lcm2108]

Both times we stayed at the Poly, I requested and recived 1st floor rooms. It was nice having the patio and both times, we were near the quiet pool. All we had to do was go out through the patio and the pool was right there. We did not find it to be noisy at all.

Lisa

 

[etwinchester]

Thanks so much. I don't mind the noise as I love to be near the center of the action. I just love first floor rooms and didn't know if it was worth it or should go higher for better views.

Thanks again to everyone.

 

[Tikiman]

Daannzzz,

I am not sure how you can say quite a few but the only building with ground floor rooms that are surrounded by vegetation right at the patio as you described is the marina side of Fiji as shown in the photo and I have never seen the plants so big that you could not see over them when sitting. Maybe the back side of Tuvalu has a few plants near the patios also and a handful on the garden side of Tahiti but even those they trim down quite often. I would say 90% of ground level rooms are very open and the views are not blocked by anything. In fact since there is no railing like on a balcony you actually have more room to stretch out on a patio.

 

[daannzzz]

I remember walking by the parkinglot side of Rapa Nui (s) and seeing the rooms back in the foliage. Maybe it has been cut back now. This was in 99 or 2000. It wasn't so high you couldn't see out at all. Just high enough if you sat in your chair you would just be able to see over the top. There were a few rooms in other places where the foliage surrounded the patio as well making it so you could not leave the patio unless you scraped through the bushes. Again, this may have changed but I was hoping th OP would take this into account and request a 1st floor room accordingly. We had a 1st floor room at the Yacht Club and I definately liked the feel as there was much more room than on the balcony.

 

[Tikiman]

I am not trying to make a big deal about this, I am just trying to figure out what you are referring to. The one side of Fiji is the only ground level rooms I can think of that you would be surrounded on your patio to the point you could not just walk out. Below is a photo of Rap Nui parking lot side in 2001 and it looks just like it did in 2000 when we were there and I don’t remember ever seeing any more plants that there are shown.

Here are photos of the other side of Rapa Nui and Hawaii. THis is typical of most the ground level rooms at the Polynesian.

 

[daannzzz]

Not being the most knowledgeable about the Polynesian Resort I do remember commenting on some of the enclosed patios. Where they were at I am not sure. I am pretty sure I didn't dream it but you never know. Perhaps it was another one of my "unable to escape" dreams.
In any case I just wanted the OP to know that there is a possibility of getting a room where you can't get off the patio. You know how Murphy's law works!!!

 

[Tikiman]

That is a very good point and it is good to know all possibilities when requesting a room.

Aloha

Steve

 

[jimmalru80]

Stayed 1st floor (pool side) in Samoa, 1st floor (pool side) in Tokelau, 2nd floor (water view) in Aotearoa, 1st floor (monorail view) in Aotearoa, 3rd floor (water view at garden view $) in Tokelau, and 2nd floor (garden view) in Rapa Nui. 1st floor views were good and not "blocked". Our views from 2nd or 3rd floors were great as well. We've always had a great stay at the Polynesian.

 

[etwinchester]

Which first floor view (which building) did you prefer or like better?

 

[travellady]

We were on the first floor of Rapa Nui facing the lawn (opposite of parking lot side). It was very quiet and peaceful, just what we asked for. There was no vegetation surrounding the patio, could see across to another longhouse (Tuvalu I believe). The one issue I would raise is it was pretty dark most of the time even though there was no vegetation direclty up to the patio. But if you are looking for quiet and peaceful, it was a great spot.

 

[jimmalru80]

etwinchester;
Pool side in Samoa was more convenient as far as access to the quiet pool was concerned. The room in Aotearoa had a more "private" feel as far as the patio was concerned. The kids had some great times with the ducks near Aotearoa. I guess it depends on your preference for quicker access to pools, GCH, etc. but we liked the benefit of the "private" feel a little bit more.