Polynesian questions!

[pennylane16]

Hello!
We've been to Disney in 2013, 2015, and are planning to head back in August of this year. Previous 2 trips we stayed at AoA and were very happy, but decided to spring for the Polynesian this trip. Both of my kids dream of visiting Hawaii so I figured this was the next best thing.

For some background info - our travel party of 5 consists of myself, DH, my 2 elementary school aged kids, and my mom.

Since I'm new to the Polynesian, I have a bunch of questions that I've tried to locate answers to elsewhere with not much for results.

First off, I know that many people would not recommend trying to squeeze 3 adults and 2 kids into a standard room or studio, but since we a) have our hearts set on Poly, B) there are no 1BRs at Poly, and C) cannot afford the crazy BoraBora prices, we are ok with all sharing the one room. We did this in a LM room at AoA in 2013, and while we greatly preferred the space of the AoA LK suite in 2015, we know what we are getting ourselves into with a standard room/studio.

1. This leads me to my first question: if you could choose between a standard view room with the 2 queens OR a standard view DVC studio with the 2 showers, which would you choose? Personally, I think the 2 showers is the better option considering there's 5 of us!

2. If we went the villa route, does every room in every longhouse have a balcony or patio? And do the longhouses that have rooms facing the parking lot actually have balconies overlooking the parking lot?

3. Is it likely Disney will release some sort of discount for August? If so, let's say there's a discount on Deluxe level resorts - would the discount apply to both the regular rooms and the villas or are villas excluded from discounts because it is DVC? And if I saw that a discount popped up, I would just call Disney and they'd apply it?

Ok, whoever has managed to stay with me through my post of any questions, I thank you! If you have any advice, I sincerely appreciate it!

 

[Roxyfire]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...-resort-villas-information-questions.3398524/

This has all the answers to your questions and more.

 

[pennylane16]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...-resort-villas-information-questions.3398524/

This has all the answers to your questions and more.

Thanks I found the answer to one of my questions, so I updated my original post Still digging through that thread to see if I can locate the rest. I tried doing searches but it didn't yield any helpful results thus far.

 

[Deb & Bill]

More of the Polynesian studios were declared into DVC inventory just recently. So there are a lot fewer available for cash through Disney Reservation Center. I doubt you'll get a discounted rate for the Polynesian studios.

Every studio has a balcony or patio. These three buildings were built differently from the rest of the Polynesian hotel rooms.

They usually apply discounts to vacant rooms or villas. So if they are all occupied, there is little chance of them offering a discount later on. You'd have to call and see if any discounted rooms/villas are still available. Not every hotel room or villa would be discounted. Just a percentage of them.

 

[pennylane16]

Ahh I see, thank you!

 

[Roxyfire]

Thanks I found the answer to one of my questions, so I updated my original post Still digging through that thread to see if I can locate the rest. I tried doing searches but it didn't yield any helpful results thus far.

Yeah the search isn't so great, for some of those they have great recommendations on room requests, for your other questions about which room, that's best asked right there with the experts

 

[pennylane16]

Yeah the search isn't so great, for some of those they have great recommendations on room requests, for your other questions about which room, that's best asked right there with the experts

I'll post there! Thank you again

 

[Sue M]

Personally I'd go with a regular room with 5 people. You get 2 queen beds and a sofa that easily turns into a twin side day bed good for adult. And you get more storage. Closets, dresser. Your mom can have the day bed to herself (my adult daughter slept on the one at GF and said it was comfy). You and husband in one queen, and the kids sharing the other queen.

True, 2nd floor doesn't get a balcony but you can put balcony as your only request on your res. I think all the regular long houses have decent views. One side of Raratonga has monorail view.
My friend had a DVC studio with parking lot view.

Even though the DVC studios have 2 bathrooms, that extra bathroom and the Murphy bed takes up pretty much all the room storage. You'd be living out of your suitcases. And only have 1 real bed. And one kid and your mom sharing the pull-out sofa, and one kid on the Murphy bed.

So it would also depend on if your mom would enjoy having her own bed more, or sharing a pull out sofa. And sacrificing room space for extra bathroom.
I'd opt for more room space. It's going to be cramped enough with 5 in a room. You could have some shower before bed, and some in the morning. So not everyone is showering in the morning.

We stayed in Tokelau before it became DVC facing Hawaii in the beach end of longhouse. If we looked to the right off our balcony we could see Wishes. Had to crane a bit!! Or we could just walk down the hall to the beach end doors and go outside on the landing to watch! We were on the beach path, short distance to msin pool and boat dock. Also close to path to TTC. We were also right next to the quiet pool, now called the Oadis Pool. It was a great location and all floors had balconies.

Our last stay we were in Samoa facing Lava pool on 3rd floor, balcony. Amazing views and so close to everything.

 

[pennylane16]

Personally I'd go with a regular room with 5 people. You get 2 queen beds and a sofa that easily turns into a twin side day bed good for adult. And you get more storage. Closets, dresser. Your mom can have the day bed to herself (my adult daughter slept on the one at GF and said it was comfy). You and husband in one queen, and the kids sharing the other queen.

True, 2nd floor doesn't get a balcony but you can put balcony as your only request on your res. I think all the regular long houses have decent views. One side of Raratonga has monorail view.
My friend had a DVC studio with parking lot view.

Even though the DVC studios have 2 bathrooms, that extra bathroom and the Murphy bed takes up pretty much all the room storage. You'd be living out of your suitcases. And only have 1 real bed. And one kid and your mom sharing the pull-out sofa, and one kid on the Murphy bed.

So it would also depend on if your mom would enjoy having her own bed more, or sharing a pull out sofa. And sacrificing room space for extra bathroom.
I'd opt for more room space. It's going to be cramped enough with 5 in a room. You could have some shower before bed, and some in the morning. So not everyone is showering in the morning.

We stayed in Tokelau before it became DVC facing Hawaii in the beach end of longhouse. If we looked to the right off our balcony we could see Wishes. Had to crane a bit!! Or we could just walk down the hall to the beach end doors and go outside on the landing to watch! We were on the beach path, short distance to msin pool and boat dock. Also close to path to TTC. We were also right next to the quiet pool, now called the Oadis Pool. It was a great location and all floors had balconies.

Our last stay we were in Samoa facing Lava pool on 3rd floor, balcony. Amazing views and so close to everything.

Oh my goodness, you are really selling the regular rooms! I was convinced I'd be bummed out by not having the 2 showers (we had 2 last year at the AoA suite and it was really nice), but you're making me reconsider here! Thank you for your input!

 

[Sue M]

Oh my goodness, you are really selling the regular rooms! I was convinced I'd be bummed out by not having the 2 showers (we had 2 last year at the AoA suite and it was really nice), but you're making me reconsider here! Thank you for your input!

Your welcome. I'd go on the Poly thread and Look at pics, also on Tikiman Pages to check out info and pics. And have a chat with mom to ask her pref if having her own bed is a priority for her or if she's ok sharing a pull out.
You will know what will work best for your family.

Everyone has dif prefs, I'm not a fan of DVC studios because we prefer 2 real beds. Not having to move around furniture to fold down pull out and put it back up in the morning to get floor space back.

 

[caliope]

Personally, for my family, we'd choose more real beds over more showers. You spend more time in the bed than in the shower…

We enjoyed the Poly standard room and as others have said, you can put balcony or patio as your only room request. It's not guaranteed but 2/3 of the rooms fall into those categories (only the 2nd floor of the standard longhouses don't have balconies).

Whatever you choose, I hope you have an amazing trip! Poly is wonderful!

 

[Kimberle]

Just an FYI, we've stayed at the Poly 2x. Both bathrooms had the sink area inside the bathroom. Many other WDW resorts we stayed at had the sink area outside the bathroom making it much easier to get ready in the morning.

 

[Hopefully]

I would definitely choose a Standard Poly room over the Studio. There is more open floor space and I believe it will be way more comfortable for a family of 5.

 

[Surgie2]

We had a tour in January of one of the regular Poly resort rooms in the Hawaii longhouse which is Club Level. I believe all of the regular resort rooms are the same as far as size. If 5 in our family were traveling, I would consider the room to be comfortable for that many people. The tricky part will be one bathroom but it's very doable IMO. The couch/bed looked like it would be comfortable.

Would you consider staying Club Level? There is a whole CL thread on this forum with helpful info. https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...-and-questions.3414590/page-421#post-57315181

Lots of discussion on whether Club Level is "worth it" or not which each family would need to decide for themselves. But with 5 people, having access to the lounge (which is right in the Hawaii building) as another space to hang out would be helpful. There is a continental breakfast each morning as well as snacks during the day and appetizers and desserts in the evening. Beer and wine is included. CL rooms have been included in the discounts offered in the past from what I have read (perhaps just the Garden View CL but not Lagoon or Theme Park View). Of course, no guarantees on future discounts.

We decided to book 3 rooms in Club Level for our family of 10 traveling next year. I like knowing that we will all be in the Hawaii longhouse and the lounge food will be handy for our grandchildren (and us - especially in the mornings as we get an early start). So it's something you might be interested in looking into.

 

[pennylane16]

Your welcome. I'd go on the Poly thread and Look at pics, also on Tikiman Pages to check out info and pics. And have a chat with mom to ask her pref if having her own bed is a priority for her or if she's ok sharing a pull out.
You will know what will work best for your family.

Everyone has dif prefs, I'm not a fan of DVC studios because we prefer 2 real beds. Not having to move around furniture to fold down pull out and put it back up in the morning to get floor space back.

Thank you! I would definitely want to let my mom have a queen bed. She'd be happy to have either of my kids share a queen with her. I'd rather myself and my husband take a sleeper sofa so she could have the real bed. I really was just thinking of the shower, but you've got me thinking the space of the regular room might be nice! I'm currently crossing my fingers for a deal with a travel agent on a regular room! Thanks

 

[pennylane16]

Personally, for my family, we'd choose more real beds over more showers. You spend more time in the bed than in the shower…

We enjoyed the Poly standard room and as others have said, you can put balcony or patio as your only room request. It's not guaranteed but 2/3 of the rooms fall into those categories (only the 2nd floor of the standard longhouses don't have balconies).

Whatever you choose, I hope you have an amazing trip! Poly is wonderful!

Thank you so much! I'm starting to lean towards the standard room over the studio!

 

[pennylane16]

Just an FYI, we've stayed at the Poly 2x. Both bathrooms had the sink area inside the bathroom. Many other WDW resorts we stayed at had the sink area outside the bathroom making it much easier to get ready in the morning.

Good to know! I think we want to stay at the Polynesian so much, we'll work around that, but good to know ahead of time - thanks!

 

[pennylane16]

I would definitely choose a Standard Poly room over the Studio. There is more open floor space and I believe it will be way more comfortable for a family of 5.

Seems like this is the general consensus on this thread so far! I'm leaning towards the standard poly room now! Thanks

 

[_auroraborealis_]

One side of Pago Pago (DVC) faces the parking lot, and that includes their balconies/patios. Everyone wants Tokelau for the standard view, but 1/3 of the Standard Studios are in PP, so a good number of people will end up there.

I am not a fan of the sofa bed in the studios.

I agree that the days of getting a room-only discount on the studio booked via Disney is about to end, as the Poly inventory is going to finish declaration to DVC, leaving Disney with only about 5% of the inventory on a regular basis. Generally, most discounts exclude monorail DVC; while Disney still was renting half of Poly cash it was included.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm going to join the chorus of strongly recomending a regular resort room, not a villa. 2 beds trumps 2 showers ANY day for me. My mom would kill me if I booked a room for 5 and she saw the configuraton of the villa rooms.

Plus, as has been mentioned, the chance of getting a discount on a cash villa reservation is hit/miss. Probably more miss now that they've declared more inventory to DVC.

A regular resort reservation is the best bet both for room comfort and discount potential, IMO.

As @Surgie2 notes, CL could be a benefit with the size of your party (there's a lounge in your longhouse which can be a nice "living room" to hang out in while others are getting ready, sleeping, etc) but it's not critical. CL comes at a somewhat heavy premium. A non-CL room would be just fine too.