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

[Micca]

If I found a resort with sinks I don't think I'd ever stay anywhere else

 

[iloveeeyore]

The smell in the lobby of the Polynesian, the HUGE foliage, the arcade at the Contemporary, breakfast buffet at Top of the World, a view from Contemporary tower of the construction of Spaceship Earth; FROZEN BANANAS with NUTS at the pool snack bars!!!!

 

[spectromagic fan]

In the mid 70s we stayed in our travel trailer in Ft. Wilderness. In those days if you stayed at one Disney hotel or the camp ground (there weren't many hotels back in those days), you could use the pools at any of the hotels. We used to go to the Poly and the Contemporary for our boys to play in the pools. I especially loved everything about the Poly--especially the volcano pool. We didn't get to stay in the Poly until 20 years later--and it didn't disappoint us one bit. We've stayed there a number of times since, and I still love it! Last Sept. we had a room overlooking the new volcano pool--I really missed our usual quiet garden view--the waterfall created a lot of noise and the children did a lot of loud playing. We're going back in July with one of our grown sons and our 13 year old grandson.

 

[sotoalf]

I wonder why those MK maps were removed from hotel room walls. What a nice touch. Why not replace them with WDW maps?

 

[ErinInCT]

Speaking of maps...I was just going thru some old "junk" & found my maps from my 1st WDW trip in 1978. Yes, I am a pack rat. It was so fun to look back at Magic Kingdom (that was the only park at the time!!) & see that lots of things have remained the same! (Funny to see how you bought tickets for the attractions - A, B, C, D or E rides - thank goodness that is gone) I wonder if there is a Disney museum that has all the maps from all the years (found my EPOCT '95 map from a future trip too). That would be fun to see! The pictures on the brochures are so funny because there is so much "countryside" around the park which is now so built up with the other parks! It was a fun stroll down memory lane!!

 

[Tinkbell]

I went as a kid in 1979. I remember taking the Ferry from Contemporary to "Discovery Island". I really enjoyed that place.

I remember the Contemporary room decor was shades of greens and blues. The pictures on the wall were characters from the mural that is still in the concourse. I also remember the map that hung over the daybed.

 

[DaveK]

This is a great thread that brings back lots of neat memories!!

The Polynesian was the first Disney resort that I stayed at, which was on my honeymoon in 1986. I'll never forget having our room by the quiet pool and thinking how neat it was to be married and at WDW!

The smells still seem to be the same today at the Poly as they were back then! The birds in the Great Ceremonial House, Tangaroa Terrace (I recall going to Minnie's Menehune Breakfast here once - maybe that was only a temporary location for it though), the water pageant (which had a lot more floats and different music than the show has today), and the torches -wow!

I read somewhere that there used to be a wave machine on the beach at the Poly years before we were there, but that it kept washing the sand away, so they scrapped it (although some of the machine was left intact in the lagoon and is still there??).

I remember eating lunch at the Snack Isle and unexpectedly running into a co-worker from back home who was there with his family. (I also ran into another friend and his wife from back home on that trip, while waiting to get into the character breakfast on the old Empress Lilly - at that time there were only trees surrounding the 'riverboat' and no Pleasure Island to be found!)

Does anyone remember having to stand in the queues for help with tickets and seating arrangements in the open area opposite the gift shop (at the bottom of the steps from where Papeete Bay Veranda was)? I remember they had CMs there at a counter where you had to go for help.

I still remember sitting up on the peninsula overlooking the lagoon (can't remember it's official name) and seeing the castle and the contemporary (before the GF) and enjoying the view.

I remember going to Top of the World a few times. The show was great and the view was awesome. I didn't pack a jacket and tie, & they had extra jackets there, one of which I had to wear to be able to get in for the dinner show. I think we also ate at the Pueblo Room at the time. I remember standing in a line that ran next to one of those huge murals and wondering how long it was going to take to get in to eat.

Being on the monorail was great, but remember when the CMs had to open and close every door at every stop manually? I kept thinking, why can't they make these doors automatic and cut down on the work that those poor CMs had to do?

What great memories! Thanks!
DaveK

 

[MK Familystone]

That's Right the Jacket and Tie required "Top of the World"
THE FORMAL DISNEY WORLD!
Broadway NY. in Florida!
"THAT WAS THE MAGIC!!!"

 

[sotoalf]

God, every time I go to WDW with friends I say, "Remember when CM's used to manually close monorail doors?" I think Disney used to employ a CM solely for that purpose, lol.

I'm gald someone else remembers the Pueblo Room. What boggles my mind is how three restaurants fit on that floor (Terrace Cafe, Terrace Buffeteria, Pueblo Room) where only two fit now....

As for the Polynesian...that queue area at the foot of the steps - tat was the old Guest Services. Why and when was it moved to check-in? It always seemed more appropriate away from the chaos.

Ah...breakfast at the Tangaroa Terrace...

 

[christianweecare]

Our honeymoon at the Poly in 1975! We paid around $50/night. Alot of money back then! We are planning to return next year for our 30th wedding anniversary! I doubt we will paying the same rate, though!

 

[princessvacg]

Hi all. I am new to this site. It is so funny that you all are talking about this. My Dad and I were just talking about when stayed at the Poly when it first opened. He also said he paid $45.00 per night. I remember being able to open the doors and walking out to the sand beach!! It was great!

 

[MK Familystone]

Hi!
Pardon my ignorance but is there a forum on the Disboards for the early childhood years of Walt's BABY(WDW), we all fell in love with?
"THE MAGIC HAPPENS!!!"

 

[RoeMc1992]

I'll always remember my first stay at the Contemporary in 1976. I was 11 yrs. old and everything about the trip was magical. I remember eating the french toast at the Terrace Buffeteria every morning. It was the best!

 

[sotoalf]

Therer's a great website called "Walt Dated World," in which a relentless archiver posts pictures of old, shelved attractions and theme parks, as well as great pics of what the "Polynesian Village Resort Hotel" looked like in the 1970's. By the way the Contemporary pics from the same decade are pretty horrifying. All that orange!

Do a google search and it should come up.

 

[Cinderella37]

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who has noticed the distinct smell of the Polynesian. Of all the resorts I've been in across the world, I have never had a smell ingrained so deeply into my memory.

 

[wdw47]

rembering our first visit in 1988 and watching the monorail go through the concourse with ours sons they didnt want to leave the railing . looking out the window first thing in the morning and seeing the magic kingdome from our tower room and watching hte fire wowrks from the balcony we dont rember the cost but think it was less than $100.00 also watching the dinner show at the top of the world we were sad the year it wasent held any longer aand the fun ceneter with its shooting gallery and having my sons sa shoot that one dad lets see what it does we spent hours there

 

[sotoalf]

Does anyone remember when the Polynesian discontinued its water launch service to Ft Wilderness/Discovery Island? Someone mentioned a while back that in 1984 you could ride a launch Poly-Ft Wilderness, which was an eye-opener.

 

[sotoalf]

Bumping this thread in case anyone else has memories!

 

[ccotis]

I remember swimming in the lake/lagoon at both resorts. I loved swimming at the Poly as they had a floating platform about 15 yards off the beach that you could swim to and jump from.

 

[Wenda]

Boy, does this bring back memories of my first trip to Disney World in 1973. It was me and my best friend on our first trip without parents.

We got a package deal thru an airline and it included the Poly, Luau, and a ticket book. We had just enough E tickets to ride each of those rides once and we bought a few extra to ride HM and PC a few extra times.

I had totally forgotten about the CM's having to manually open the monorail doors for you but I can picture it now.

It was in July and the Magic Kingdom was open until 1am, After it closed we went swimming and loved the water fall.

We got ribs at the Barefoot bar. When I stayed again in the late 80's I was so disappointed that it was now only a bar. I remember loving the rib snack basket they had.

I also remember how very, very clean everything was. If a piece of paper or popcorn was dropped in the park a CM was there immediately sweeping it up. Also you did not go to dinner in shorts and a tee shirt, you put on slacks or a skirt and a nice blouse. That is one thing I like the way it is now. No dress clothes to pack - just come as you are