Polynesian and Contemporary in the 1970's-1980's

[BCV23]

I remember Minnie's breakfast at Papeete Verandah but before that it was downstairs in what later became the concierge lounge and is now the Wyland Gallery. A buffet dinner was served there as well but I don't think it was a character dinner.

At that point, Papeete Bay Verandah had a great breakfast buffet without characters and dinner with a combo.

We never made it to the Pueblo Room but I do remember the Terrace as well as the Village Restaurant.

How about the very large outriggers on the beach?

 

[tiggersmom2]

I remember Top of The World in evening attire at the contemporary resort , but my favorite memory is.........

I was eight years old and at the dinner buffet for Tangoroa Terrace with my parents and two brothers. Well, my mom decided to spoon the RAW food on our plate (by accident ofcourse) but the wonderful CM alerted her that it was RAW - the cooked food was down the line. Well, my silly mom just scrapped the raw food off and filled our plate up with the cooked pork and fish. Needless to say we were sooooo sick the entire trip (My mom and I ). Everyone got to enjoy WDW, but my mom and I were worshipping the toilet god! All of this was totally my mom's fault! The funny thing is, this is one of our fondest memories! (Are we not the strangest people! )

 

[JJsmama]

My siblings and I love to remember our trips to the Contemporary.

Remember the game room downstairs? It was fantastic and every night we'd watch a Disney movie in the little movie theater there. Of course this was before everyone had VCRs and We saw Jungle Book for the first time.

We also loved the water parade every night.

 

[sotoalf]

When were the outrigger canoes discontinued at the Polynesian?

I just remembered that the "Fiesta" Fun Centver was part of the Tex-Mex ambience of the Contemporary that I mentioned a few posts back....it's a shame it no longer shows movies, because Ft Wilderness still does.

Was the Broadway show at Top of the World any good? I never went. I did attend the Polynesian Luau once...nothing special. However, the combo at the Papeete Bay Was authentic and a nice touch.

 

[BCV23]

Originally posted by sotoalf
BCV23 - That's a lot of boat traffic on Seven Seas Lagoon, what with ferryboats, launches, pontoons, and Water Sprites competing for space!

I'd love to see that 1985 Birnbaum. What restaurants were around at those two hotels at the time?

Tons at the CR:Terrace Buffeteria, Terrace CAfe, Pueblo Room, Outer Rim (listed as a restaurant that served only dinner not as a bar), Gulf Coast Room, Top of the World, Fiesta Fun Center Snack Bar and the Dock Inn.

Polynesian: South Seas Dining Room (that's where Minnie's breakfast was and it says a buffet style dinner), Papeete Bay Verandah, Coral Isle Cafe, Tangaroa Terrace, Barefoot Snack Bar (now Captain Cook's...I imagine as the times changed there were some guests who took this too literally!), and Tangaroa Snack Isle....a WDW place that served decent pizza!

 

[Mouseteacher]

I loved the Broadway review at the Top of the World. The singers - 2 males and 2 females- were quite talented. I went twice and enjoyed the dinner, also.

 

[BCV23]

We always meant to get our little ones over to the movies at CR but never did. We had two stays at FW though and did enjoy those movies.

tiggersmom2, how horrible but it's great you can laugh about it now!

We never made it to Broadway on Top...we were waiting until all of our kids were old enough...waited too long!

Even though the luau wasn't so great, we did it several times on our first night. They had an early show with Minnie and Goofy and Pluto maybe. It was perhaps at 4:30 or 5 after which my family would swim, watch the EWP and go to sleep.

I have no idea when the outriggers were removed but in my book it lists them as available to rent! They required 8 to paddle. I don't recall ever seeing them used.

 

[sotoalf]

I seem to remember the Gulf Coast Room being on the third floor, where the convention floor was (and continues to be); but that's a lot of restaurants in one area! How in the world did they all fit?

I remember the Tangaroa Snack Isle perfectly. Wasn't it by the arcade? I remember buying a soda late at night.

I suppose these restaurants started to close as WDW started to expand. The opening of new hotels and parks would offer more options to guests. There wasn't a lot to do at WDW if you liked to go out at night. Even the Marketplace closed at 10 pm...

 

[BCV23]

Yes, Tangaroa Snack Isle occupied the left hand side of what is now the game room.

My book says that the Gulf Coast Room was on the second floor? and jackeys were required for men. Other than Top of the World and the snack bars, the rest were somehow on the 4th floor....according to the book.

 

[leighe]

I love the Poly - we stayed there almost every summer from when I was 3 (1980) until I was 18 (1996). My mom and dad continued to go but I was in college and I was either to "cool" for WDW or I ws travelling somewhere that summer. The Poly *is* Disney for me. One of my first memories is checking in and meeting at meeting a CM with my name - Chanda. It is so unusual and I hated it when I was little (still not a big fan, but hey, what can you do?) My brother 's name is Josh and you could always find stuff with his name on it so I was a little jealous. The CM gave me her nametag and my mom still has it. Of course, my memory is a little hazy - but I always remember thinking she looked just like Barbie - which made it even more special!

 

[Tonyspad]

When my family went to WDW the first time in '77 we tried to stay at the Contemporary but could not get a room one year out from our trip. So on our second trip my mother made reservations at the Contemporary two and a half years away and I remember her telling me that the reservationist said we got one of the last rooms for Easter '80! WOW

 

[colleen costello]

We had a travel trailer and camped each summer at Ft. Wilderness. It was fun, but as my sister and I got older it was "too much family togetherness!" One summer my parents surprised us with a trip to the Poly. It was wonderful. We had a room overlooking the quiet pool and I felt like a princess when they drove us over in the little golf cart! It was the summer that "Luke and Laura" on "General Hospital" were hiding out together, and the whole country was watching. Every afternoon we'd swim in the pool, then rush into the room to catch "GH." I think it was 1979 or so and I was about 15.

We had a dinner at Papeete Bay Verandah, where 'Ohana is now. I remember they gave all the ladies a flower to wear behind their ears, on one side if you were married and on the other if you were single. I thought that was SO cool. I also remember buying lots of shell jewelry from the little gift shop in the lobby. God knows what became of all those tacky necklaces!

We were Catholic and my Mom never let us girls miss mass. I always hated having to go to church on vacation but they had mass at the luau cove and it was pretty cool. I also remember that under the water in the old volcano pool, you could hear Hawaaian music. Again, this was unique to Disney and we were quite impressed!

 

[MK Familystone]

We couldn't get in those Resorts in June 1977. they were the hottest resorts booked by honeymooning couples, so we stayed at The Golf Resort across the street from the Poly.
Enjoyed the Buffet Breakfast with a window seat at the Poly on the second floor in the main house with a view of MK and Cindy's Castle.
Enjoyed dinner at The Top The World on the 15th floor of the Cont.
It was a Dinner/Stage Show combo featuring Broadway Musical presentations starring Gordon McCray, who sang "Daddy's Little Girl "to my new bride at our table including other selections from the musical "Oklahoma". Afterwards the band played dance music for the partrons. There was no going to DDT at that time.
How can I forget! The Monorail RED, Monorail Green, and etc. which we tried to have a different color every night at the TW Lounge over looking the MK after The Park closed on our way back to the Golf Resort.
"Funny" to think while sitting in a seat at TW 1977 and looking across at the sunset above that HUGE stretch of white sandy beach some day the GF would be sitting there.
Thank you for this thread!!!

"THE MAGIC HAPPENS!!!"

 

[sotoalf]

Just how difficult were the Poly and Contemporary to book back then? Did staying at Disney have the same cache it's got now?

I remember booking got easier when the GF and Carribbean Beach opened in '88.

 

[sotoalf]

MK Family Stone - the Outer Rim Lounge still serves Monorail Yellows! I had several on my trip last March....

 

[mickeymule]

We used to go to the Poly while I was very young. Tonga Building, first floor. Open the curtains and there was the castle, I will not forget that. And I remember waking up and on the wall to the right of me was the map of the MK. And there was also the Disney Channel. Now, my memory is not very good, and for this to stick for so many years says something.

I will say, that as Disney has grown the magic seems different. i think it is because now you can drive to the parks where as before the only way there was monorail or boat.

 

[MK Familystone]

Hi!
After the children came along the only Monorails we enjoyed as a couple were the ones you road in. Glad to know the refreshment is still available for our next trip. Thanks for the info!
As to the difficulty in booking the resorts on the Disney Property, Cont, Poly, and Golf, the travel agencies pushed offsite or The Market Place Hotels( disney downtown area ). I insisted to be at Monorail Resort but had to accept The Golf Resort. 5 min to a monorail the by bus. or 10 min walk to the Poly for the monorail.
The attraction for us to stay at a MK Resort was eliminating the driving to and from which we did for work everyday.
I think everyone wanted to be able to say when they got back from their trip to WDW, that they were special because a long white electric limo picked them up and dropped them off at their the resort front door ever time they went out.
IMHO:The Monorail was second biggest symbol other than Cindy's Castle, which in those was closed to visitors in the upper levels unlike now adays.
We had fast pass in 1977, there was paper booklets you purchased. You bought a booklet of the particular ride you wanted to ride on, not a debit card type pass like now a days, which is convenient but there is no stub at the end of the day as a momento of your trip.
'THE MAGIC HAPPENS!!!"


"GOOD LUCK CAPTAIN JACK ATTHE OSCARS!!!" AAARRR!!!

 

[Disney Fool]

I remember staying at the Contemporary (before that horrible makeover they did--who picked those fabrics anyway?) Does anyone remember the bathroom sinks that were shaped like Mickey Mouse's head, and his ears were the soap holders? Cute.
There was a very nice women's accessories store on the Concourse too, and it did not sell Disney items.

At the Polynesian: the parrots that were in the lobby, very beautiful birds. I also remember seeing Goofy water skiing around the Poly during the afternoon. Remember the Belgian Waffle station at the Tangaroa Terrace? BRING IT BACK! Waaahhh!!!!

 

[MK Familystone]

LOWELL: The home of The Lock Monsters, Spinners, The Biggest Folk Festival in August, and the mighty Merrimac River and soon to be Resturant City USA.
HOW ABOUT THAT!!!
"THE MAGIC HAPPENS!!!"

 

[sotoalf]

In the early days travel agencies were reluctant to book Disney because Disney didn't offer them commission or something; I remember this started to change in the late '80s as more hotels started to open.

Mickey Mouse-shaped sinks eh? I dont' remember those, but it's those little reminders of the "it all began with the Mouse" ethos that corporate Disney in the 21st century has sadly lost.