Polynesian questions!

[pennylane16]

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.

Oh goodness, I would love to stay CL, but I just can't justify the huge price difference. My son has a food allergy, so I don't know that we could make good use of the foods in the lounge. Thank you for the tip though! CL is just way out of our price range - Poly is a big jump for us price wise from AoA (though not a huge jump because we had a suite last time).

 

[pennylane16]

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.

Ahhh, I see. Thank you! If I luck out with the TA I'm trying to book through and score a good deal on a regular room, I think I will go with that - fingers crossed.

Is Pago Pago like... the "worst" overall as far as potential views/distance? I've analyzed the map a million times but it's not the same as having personal experience there, so I can't quite tell. Or are Aotearoa and Tuvalu the "worst"? Haha. I feel silly saying "Worst" about anything Polynesian because we've dreamed of staying there for years and never really thought it'd be in our price range. Aotearoa looks like it might have parking lot views on one side, but Tikiman site says Tuvalu is kind of out of the way because you have to walk around things?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Is Pago Pago like... the "worst" overall as far as potential views/distance?

It's the closest building to the TTC. Some find that an advantage. If you drive, it's also the building where you will be closest to your car.

I find nothing wrong with Tuvalu or Aotearoa, honestly.

 

[pennylane16]

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.

Thank you for your input! If I could swing CL, I would, but it's not in the cards for this trip.

 

[caliope]

We stayed in Tuvalu and though it was on the other side of the marina, we didn't find it to be an inconvenient location at all. It's all in perspective, I guess.

 

[pennylane16]

We stayed in Tuvalu and though it was on the other side of the marina, we didn't find it to be an inconvenient location at all. It's all in perspective, I guess.

Oh good! We stayed in a Little Mermaid room at AoA once, and I had heard on disboards that the walk to the bus stop & food court was really bad, but it didn't bother us much. Thanks!

 

[rosiebean]

I'm adding my voice to the regular GV room to the studio at Poly. I've stayed in the regular rooms twice, both GV, and our views were great each time. Once we were looking toward GF (in Fiji), and the other time, we were looking out at landscaping and the monorail (in Aoatearoa). Both views were very nice. And both trips, I requested balcony and got it each time.

My second trip, I shared a room with my mom and sister. Being in a regular room, we each got a bed. I slept on the day bed, and it was really comfortable. The room was plenty big for us, and we were even ok with sharing the bath, even with the sinks inside of the bathroom. We just agreed on a schedule for private shower time and the rest was easy.

With the studio, the extra bath area cuts into the rest of the room size. The regular rooms at Poly are really, really big. Having shared with two female adults before, I'd take space and beds over an extra bath. Not only would we have have been miserable sharing a bed or having to use the sofa bed, but with three adults and luggage, there was more than enough storage space.

 

[pennylane16]

I'm adding my voice to the regular GV room to the studio at Poly. I've stayed in the regular rooms twice, both GV, and our views were great each time. Once we were looking toward GF (in Fiji), and the other time, we were looking out at landscaping and the monorail (in Aoatearoa). Both views were very nice. And both trips, I requested balcony and got it each time.

My second trip, I shared a room with my mom and sister. Being in a regular room, we each got a bed. I slept on the day bed, and it was really comfortable. The room was plenty big for us, and we were even ok with sharing the bath, even with the sinks inside of the bathroom. We just agreed on a schedule for private shower time and the rest was easy.

With the studio, the extra bath area cuts into the rest of the room size. The regular rooms at Poly are really, really big. Having shared with two female adults before, I'd take space and beds over an extra bath. Not only would we have have been miserable sharing a bed or having to use the sofa bed, but with three adults and luggage, there was more than enough storage space.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

 

[pennylane16]

I really appreciate everyone's responses! You've convinced me to go with the regular room over the studio. And I just so happened to score a crazy deal on it through a TA, so I can cancel my res that I booked directly with Disney and save a bunch. Thanks again, all!

 

[mickeynut1]

I really appreciate everyone's responses! You've convinced me to go with the regular room over the studio. And I just so happened to score a crazy deal on it through a TA, so I can cancel my res that I booked directly with Disney and save a bunch. Thanks again, all!

Congrats on the deal! Have a great trip .

 

[SharonZ]

Don't forget to add the "extra adult" fee into your budgeting. I agree, with 5 people, I would definitely do a regular room.

 

[pennylane16]

Don't forget to add the "extra adult" fee into your budgeting. I agree, with 5 people, I would definitely do a regular room.

Yes, thank you! They included the extra fee in the quote, we really lucked out with a good deal! Now I'm just trying to adjust to the idea of paying OOP for dining since we are accustomed to the DDP and it was not available for our deal we got with the TA.

 

[Hopefully]

Yes, thank you! They included the extra fee in the quote, we really lucked out with a good deal! Now I'm just trying to adjust to the idea of paying OOP for dining since we are accustomed to the DDP and it was not available for our deal we got with the TA.

We are going without DDP this year by choice. I have always been very happy with it but I decided to try something different. My strategy is to purchase Disney Gift Cards over time to use to pay for our food. I purchased $500 already and will get 2 more. It is akin to prepaying for the DDP and we won't have a big credit card bill at the end. I'm happy with the plan

 

[pennylane16]

We are going without DDP this year by choice. I have always been very happy with it but I decided to try something different. My strategy is to purchase Disney Gift Cards over time to use to pay for our food. I purchased $500 already and will get 2 more. It is akin to prepaying for the DDP and we won't have a big credit card bill at the end. I'm happy with the plan

That's a good point. I'm doing the same, getting GCs at Target. The issue I'm running into is that I think the DDP saved us a bunch bc we like character meals!