Polynesian

[MilwaukeeMom]

We used to camp in the campground at Fort Wilderness and take a boat to the Polynesian. It always felt so tropical and magical. We moved up to Disney Vacation Club and owned at Wilderness Lodge and Beach Club Villas. When the Polynesian DVC became a reality, we jumped on it. It’s by far my favorite! I love the theme, the music, the transportation, and the views! Our first trip, my son-in-law put the Wishes music on the Ipad and we watched the fireworks from our balcony. It was heaven for me I will say the alligator incident crushed my spirit for the rest of our stay, but I’m back to loving it. It’s really my favorite place to be, but I’m sure others can find fault with it.

 

[KellyHonos]

We used to camp in the campground at Fort Wilderness and take a boat to the Polynesian. It always felt so tropical and magical. We moved up to Disney Vacation Club and owned at Wilderness Lodge and Beach Club Villas. When the Polynesian DVC became a reality, we jumped on it. It’s by far my favorite! I love the theme, the music, the transportation, and the views! Our first trip, my son-in-law put the Wishes music on the Ipad and we watched the fireworks from our balcony. It was heaven for me I will say the alligator incident crushed my spirit for the rest of our stay, but I’m back to loving it. It’s really my favorite place to be, but I’m sure others can find fault with it.

See?! Sounds like HEAVEN!!!! Music to my soul!
Its okay...I think that incident rattled everyone. That happened a week before my sister and I were headed there and all my family got all shaken up and concerned about our safety. It was a sad time to go....But the incident happened at Grand Floridian, correct? Not Poly?

 

[Brett Wyman]

My personal opinion is mentally over-hyping a resort is a set up for things not meeting expectations. All resorts have various pros and cons, and Poly is no different. I personally love Poly and it's probably our favorite resort when I consider the overall mix of room size, view options, grounds, transportation, food/beverage, and location, but it's by no means perfect.

For every person like me that really likes what it has to offer, there will be just as many that don't care for it.

This sums up my feelings as well. It's also my favorite of the deluxes when weighted for points. I think it's the best of the monorail resorts hands down, all around of course, GF does some things better and Contemporary doesn't do much at all but it DOES have MK walk in access. I love the theming and the laid back atmosphere at the Poly. It just really speaks to me and I love returning there at the end of the day. It's my happy place more than the parks even are.

My deluxe rankings are...

1. Polynesian
2. BC/BW
3. Wilderness Lodge

 

[mickeynut1]

You had me at "discount"....how exactly do I get a discount on a deluxe?!

You can periodically check the Disney website or keep a look out here as there are usually rumors circulating these boards prior to the release of a discount. Right now, there's a general public room discount and an annual pass room discount. The current GP discount is for stays through September and the AP discount is for stays through June (you don't have to have an AP to book with an AP discount, but you will need to get it at the beginning of your trip if you don't have it beforehand). Keep in mind that discounts vary depending on the resort and it's usually stated as "discount up to 30%", for example (or whatever the max is). Some deluxes will get the highest percentage, while others will get the lowest (or something in between). In addition, not all resorts/room types are offered under a promo, so if what you want isn't available for your dates, it might already be sold out or that particular resort/room type wasn't offered with a discount. Hope this helps .

 

[KellyHonos]

This sums up my feelings as well. It's also my favorite of the deluxes when weighted for points. I think it's the bets of the monorail resorts hands down, all around of course, GF does some things better and Contemporary doesn't do much at all but it DOES have MK walk in access. I love the theming and the laid back atmosphere at the Poly. It just really speaks to me and I love returning there at the end of the day. It's my happy place more than the parks even are.

My deluxe rankings are...

1. Polynesian
2. BC/BW
3. Wilderness Lodge

Exactly. I'm a huge fan of the atmosphere and theming as well. It just gives you this "relax, take it easy" vibe, and I love it. The parks can be so chaotic and crowded that the poly just seems to hug you when you walk in.

 

[KellyHonos]

You can periodically check the Disney website or keep a look out here as there are usually rumors circulating these boards prior to the release of a discount. Right now, there's a general public room discount and an annual pass room discount. The current GP discount is for stays through September and the AP discount is for stays through June (you don't have to have an AP to book with an AP discount, but you will need to get it at the beginning of your trip if you don't have it beforehand). Keep in mind that discounts vary depending on the resort and it's usually stated as "discount up to 30%", for example (or whatever the max is). Some deluxes will get the highest percentage, while others will get the lowest (or something in between). In addition, not all resorts/room types are offered under a promo, so if what you want isn't available for your dates, it might already be sold out or that particular resort/room type wasn't offered with a discount. Hope this helps .

Thanks for explaining!!! If only I could go tomorrow...*sigh* sadly I'm going to try and wait out my next visit until the mayhem of Star Wars Land calms down, IF that ever happens... I'd love to see the new land but I'm not a die-hard Star Wars fan so I'm perfectly content seeing it 2-3 years down the line. I still haven't been to Disneyland so that's first and foremost!!!!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks for explaining!!! If only I could go tomorrow...*sigh* sadly I'm going to try and wait out my next visit until the mayhem of Star Wars Land calms down, IF that ever happens... I'd love to see the new land but I'm not a die-hard Star Wars fan so I'm perfectly content seeing it 2-3 years down the line. I still haven't been to Disneyland so that's first and foremost!!!!!

You're welcome! Good luck getting to try the Poly as well as getting to DL .

 

[Disneylvr1971]

We had our 1st stay in Sept. We are DVC and needed an extra night and figured why not. We thought there were pros and cons to it.
Pro: Had balcony view for the fireworks at MK. The extra bathroom was nice. Had my 1st Tonga Toast.
Cons: Did not like the walk to the main lobby. Small QS seating. Not enough CM's working the front desk. DH's magic band never did work on the door. (We had to go to the front desk 4x's and the CM's really didn't seem too concerned. He finally gave up) Lobby was busy, busy, busy.
However I am glad we did stay there as I really wanted to try it once. Maybe consider a split stay and try it before committing a large amount of money to a whole stay. Hope you get to do it and enjoy it!

 

[KellyHonos]

We had our 1st stay in Sept. We are DVC and needed an extra night and figured why not. We thought there were pros and cons to it.
Pro: Had balcony view for the fireworks at MK. The extra bathroom was nice. Had my 1st Tonga Toast.
Cons: Did not like the walk to the main lobby. Small QS seating. Not enough CM's working the front desk. DH's magic band never did work on the door. (We had to go to the front desk 4x's and the CM's really didn't seem too concerned. He finally gave up) Lobby was busy, busy, busy.
However I am glad we did stay there as I really wanted to try it once. Maybe consider a split stay and try it before committing a large amount of money to a whole stay. Hope you get to do it and enjoy it!

I'm glad you enjoyed the good parts!I had an issue with my magic band while staying at Coronado springs and to make up for the problems, they offered my sister and I additional fast passes! Very nice

 

[Salokin]

We’re from the uk but have been fortunate enough to visit wdw numerous times since opening and eventually became dvc owners. Our family has always had a special affinity with the poly over any other resort (Ohana, view, walk to gf etc.) but we’ve only stayed there once many years ago. I would love to be able to take my mum back there in October / November even just for a couple of nights especially as she’s getting old now but I’m not confident of securing accommodation 7 months out.

Hope you manage to sort your stay out, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

 

[KellyHonos]

We’re from the uk but have been fortunate enough to visit wdw numerous times since opening and eventually became dvc owners. Our family has always had a special affinity with the poly over any other resort (Ohana, view, walk to gf etc.) but we’ve only stayed there once many years ago. I would love to be able to take my mum back there in October / November even just for a couple of nights especially as she’s getting old now but I’m not confident of securing accommodation 7 months out.

Hope you manage to sort your stay out, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Glad you hear you guys enjoyed yourselves. I hope you can make it there soon! Thank you, I will definitely let the boards know when I finally make it there (one day) !

 

[sponica]

It's on my bucket list too @KellyHonos

I don't know why. I just have this voice that says "stay at the poly" then my bank account says "um you don't have enough digits, the moderates are fine"

 

[KellyHonos]

It's on my bucket list too @KellyHonos

I don't know why. I just have this voice that says "stay at the poly" then my bank account says "um you don't have enough digits, the moderates are fine"

Lol, did we just become best friends?!
That's how I feel too. Especially when all we do is sleep and shower in the room, it doesn't feel worth the big bucks. But the better options for transportations, the bigger rooms, the views are all a part of the price too, so one day when the timing is right, I'll make it happen.

 

[Salokin]

Lol, did we just become best friends?!
That's how I feel too. Especially when all we do is sleep and shower in the room, it doesn't feel worth the big bucks. But the better options for transportations, the bigger rooms, the views are all a part of the price too, so one day when the timing is right, I'll make it happen.

You’ve nailed it about the better options, that’s what you’re paying for. We often stay at beach club (lucky to have six nights there booked in October) and the ability to walk to Epcot and studios (and more importantly walk back or worst case jump a boat!) is amazing.

 

[Mom loves Disney]

Does anyone know if the Polynesian has cabanas to rent at the pools?

 

[sponica]

Lol, did we just become best friends?!
That's how I feel too. Especially when all we do is sleep and shower in the room, it doesn't feel worth the big bucks. But the better options for transportations, the bigger rooms, the views are all a part of the price too, so one day when the timing is right, I'll make it happen.

We're hoping to do AKL the next trip, as a stepping stone to deluxe accommodations. In a couple years some of my student loans will FINALLY be paid off and we'll have some extra money to play around with, maybe I can make Poly happen then.

 

[dansdad]

Does anyone know if the Polynesian has cabanas to rent at the pools?

Sort of. They are called pool patios instead of Cabanas. They just have chairs and a covering for shade. They don't have any of the amenities that the Cabanas at Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Beach/Yacht Club have. They're very nice, just basic.

 

[Mom loves Disney]

Thank you! How far away would these be from the kids splash area?

 

[dansdad]

Thank you! How far away would these be from the kids splash area?

The Pool Patios are at the Oasis Pool and the kids splash area is at the Lava Pool. The 2 pools are about 100 yards away from each other.

 

[tnolan]

I think a hotel should be in one building where you don't have to worry about the elements getting to your room. Especially in Florida where it can get really hot and have thunderstorms often.

I understand about the bad weather and heat, but there is just something about walking around the torch-lit paths especially at night that is very relaxing to us. Whenever we have the money we always try to stay at the Poly.