Polynesian Tower Poll

[Jack Kerouac]

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[Jwaire]

Ultimately, I think it just increases the value of contracts at PVB even if it comes at the cost of longer lines for transportation, food and overcrowding at other amenities like the feature pool.

We seem to live in a world where modern Disney guests prefer single incorporated towers with clean room designs and minimal resort theming.

For that audience, this tower is a win.

 

[Chili327]

I’m not an owner, but I voted “let’s see the points chart”, because that may be the deciding factor to buy in or not.

I can remove my vote if you don’t want my vote to affect results.

 

[tjkraz]

Transportation fears seem mostly unfounded. Poly is currently the smallest monorail resort. With the addition, guest numbers will be more in line with GF and CR. Bus service should be a complete non-factor; Disney provides effective bus transport to much larger resorts including some in the Deluxe category (AKL, BC/YC). If necessary, they can add bus capacity to maintain standards at a larger Poly resort.

Monorail will see more traffic, but only from guests going to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. MK traffic will be split between monorail, boat and walking. The primary impact will be felt early in the morning where high guest counts may cause some people to have to wait a little longer to board. Though in my experiences, DVC members don't seem to be major "rope drop" fanatics. If true, that will help spread out the guest traffic thru the morning.

 

[john7994]

Ambivalent and Agnostic because I really don’t care what happens at Poly (despite my Guide already saying it will be in the current association) - it’s not in my top 10 and while the Tower may be of some interest to me down the road - I would rather lay eyes on it in a tour before working myself up to a hard yes or no.

 

[BamaGuy44]

Transportation fears seem mostly unfounded. Poly is currently the smallest monorail resort. With the addition, guest numbers will be more in line with GF and CR. Bus service should be a complete non-factor; Disney provides effective bus transport to much larger resorts including some in the Deluxe category (AKL, BC/YC). If necessary, they can add bus capacity to maintain standards at a larger Poly resort.

Monorail will see more traffic, but only from guests going to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. MK traffic will be split between monorail, boat and walking. The primary impact will be felt early in the morning where high guest counts may cause some people to have to wait a little longer to board. Though in my experiences, DVC members don't seem to be major "rope drop" fanatics. If true, that will help spread out the guest traffic thru the morning.

Is it currently a long wait for the monorail even at rope drop time? Never rope dropped from Poly but in our experience transportation isn't mobbed at the times we go (early enough for a true rope drop)

 

[tjkraz]

Is it currently a long wait for the monorail even at rope drop time? Never rope dropped from Poly but in our experience transportation isn't mobbed at the times we go (early enough for a true rope drop)

Honestly I have no idea because we don't rope drop either. Transportation concerns keep coming up, so I was at least allowing for the fact that there may be issues at some time of day.

We visited the Poly about 2 weeks ago, with visits at approximately noon and 6pm, and got onto the next arriving train both times.

 

[Jwaire]

Is it currently a long wait for the monorail even at rope drop time? Never rope dropped from Poly but in our experience transportation isn't mobbed at the times we go (early enough for a true rope drop)

Yes. There were pictures on social media in the last few weeks of Poly monorail lines all the way around the GCH second floor and some reports it even went down the stairs to the first floor.

Within an hour of park opening, it's better but it's going to be a thing especially during the peak seasons. If you're staying at Grand Floridan, good luck.

The Poly is a busy place. So many outside guests come to O'hana, Trader Sam's, get Dole whips, or just park there to avoid the TTC.

No matter where we stay, I always visit too just to shop at Bou'Tiki.

More and more Grand Flo guests will choose to walk. The boat is pretty slow because it's shared between both resorts.

Disney may have to loosen the purse strings on the transportation budget. They've really consolidated down bus routes the last five years or so to detriment of guests (and the water parks). We waited 45 minutes for a Studios bus last September that was shared with Contemporary (why?).

 

[BamaGuy44]

Yes. There were pictures on social media in the last few weeks of Poly monorail lines all the way around the GCH second floor and some reports it even went down the stairs to the first floor.

Yikes but everything gets a long line on occasion, hard to judge from one day or week. I've ridden the monorail to and from Poly many times, never really waited long. But never at rope drop and we don't go during peak crowd times of year. I'm sure it varies quite a bit.

Hopefully they have a plan for handling the added traffic. A few years ago I would have given the benefit of the doubt and assumed some thought and planning went into it, but these days...

 

[hockeydad21]

Ultimately, I think it just increases the value of contracts at PVB even if it comes at the cost of longer lines for transportation, food and overcrowding at other amenities like the feature pool.

We seem to live in a world where modern Disney guests prefer single incorporated towers with clean room designs and minimal resort theming.

For that audience, this tower is a win.

1. The tower is getting at least 1 restaurant
2. The tower is getting its own pool.
3. Have you seen the room designs at the Villas at Disneyland Hotel??? Those are a far cry from "clean room designs". They're arguably the most vibrant and artistic of any DVC resort.

 

[tjkraz]

Yes. There were pictures on social media in the last few weeks of Poly monorail lines all the way around the GCH second floor and some reports it even went down the stairs to the first floor.

The Poly has been at its current room count for what..at least 20 years? If there was an abnormally large backup in recent weeks, I suspect there were specific issues which contributed to it. That doesn't seem to be the norm.

Having the GF walking path closed is undoubtedly causing problems. Some number of Poly guests were likely headed for GF to dine, see the gingerbread house, use the fitness center, etc. Some guests will even walk all the way to MK. From the new tower, it's an easier walk than the older buildings.

That said, there's also an element of "not building a church for Easter Sunday." If the monorail runs efficiently about 90% of the day, there's only so much you can do to address the other 10%.

 

[Chili327]

Yes. There were pictures on social media in the last few weeks of Poly monorail lines all the way around the GCH second floor and some reports it even went down the stairs to the first floor.

I may need some clarification here. Otherwise that IS one hell of a long line. lol

 

[DMPicone]

The Poly has been at its current room count for what..at least 20 years? If there was an abnormally large backup in recent weeks, I suspect there were specific issues which contributed to it. That doesn't seem to be the norm.

Having the GF walking path closed is undoubtedly causing problems. Some number of Poly guests were likely headed for GF to dine, see the gingerbread house, use the fitness center, etc. Some guests will even walk all the way to MK. From the new tower, it's an easier walk than the older buildings.

That said, there's also an element of "not building a church for Easter Sunday." If the monorail runs efficiently about 90% of the day, there's only so much you can do to address the other 10%.

It's not just the Poly itself. In the last decade they've increased capacity at both Grand Floridian and Contemporary with DVC towers that added to the total room count. This is looking like the largest addition of the 3. The overall number of passengers affects every resort since it's a loop. More people going to a location or from one means fewer open spots at every station. I just got back last week after staying at BLT and was surprised that on the first day (Saturday) at about 3 in the afternoon trying to get from Contemporary to Epcot we waited for 4 resort monorails because each only let about a dozen passengers on. The Epcot line was empty though. People choosing to use the resort line in place of the express line combined with increasing numbers of passengers (I'm sure the gingerbread houses boost demand, not sure if drinking around the monorail line does much) seems to be pushing the limits of what the monorail can handle. When this tower opens I expect things will be far worse if they don't change something like adding buses. They already have boats but most seem to go for the monorail. The tower is a distance so maybe they can entice people to opt for the boats and start dedicated ones instead of the loop.

 

[Jwaire]

1. The tower is getting at least 1 restaurant
2. The tower is getting its own pool.
3. Have you seen the room designs at the Villas at Disneyland Hotel??? Those are a far cry from "clean room designs". They're arguably the most vibrant and artistic of any DVC resort.

1. The Tower is getting a quick service and bar, no restaurant has been announced.
2. The Tower is getting a DVC quiet pool and a small splash pad. It's not getting a feature pool. DVC guests will continue to choose to take their children to the Volcano pool and large splash pad, which are already overcrowded.
3. The Villas at Disneyland Hotel are 1) not located at Walt Disney World (and don't share the same budget constraints) and 2) still have white walls and the clean design aesthetic just with slightly more theming like a light up headboard.

Unless they go all out (which I doubt), just take what they're doing everywhere else on property and apply a tropical theme to it.

The days of custom themed light fixtures, bed frames, vanities, hardware, tile work, flooring, soft goods, bedding, towels, etc. are over.

 

[Cybertruck]

The days of custom themed light fixtures, bed frames, vanities, hardware, tile work, flooring, soft goods, bedding, towels, etc. are over.

Walt Disney World (and don't share the same budget constraints)

I generally agree with your point however the Villas at Disneyland Hotel do have custom wall panels, art work (engraved) on the front of the Murphy bed and other touches that are not the standard chain hotel room design of the Florida DVC Resorts. Not sure I follow you budget comment since members pay for these refurbishments.

I do not hold any hope with the recent Fort Wilderness DVC Cabins concept rooms. They are step backwards in my view. The Boulder Ridge update was a step in the right direction.