The *ALL NEW* Polynesian Resort FAQ thread - *APRIL 2009*

[mechteach]

There's nothing special they'll be able to do at Poly to get you a better time at CRT ... you can always ask the Lobby Concierge folks to check things out for you, but they can't get anything done that you couldn't do for yourself by calling yourself. Sorry.

My advice to you is to see the 9:50 a.m. breakfast ADR at CRT as an experience rather than as your first meal of the day. <snip>

I think that your advice was very good about how to handle a late CRT ADR, and you are so right about the importance of a positive attitude. However, I think that Lilmattie13 was talking about a 9:50 pm ADR at Ohanas?

 

[queenmichelle]

I just checked in for my flight for tomorrow!!!!! I just can't wait to get to the Poly and check in and see which longhouse we get! I requested Tahiti or Rapa Nui because I want a room with 2 sinks and to be close to the TTC. I'm burtsing with excitement!!

 

[Me&3]

I just checked in for my flight for tomorrow!!!!! I just can't wait to get to the Poly and check in and see which longhouse we get! I requested Tahiti or Rapa Nui because I want a room with 2 sinks and to be close to the TTC. I'm burtsing with excitement!!

Have a Great time HAPPY SWEET 16 Raven

 

[Lilmattie13]

There's nothing special they'll be able to do at Poly to get you a better time at CRT ... you can always ask the Lobby Concierge folks to check things out for you, but they can't get anything done that you couldn't do for yourself by calling yourself. Sorry.

My advice to you is to see the 9:50 a.m. breakfast ADR at CRT as an experience rather than as your first meal of the day. CRT is much more about the experience than about the food, anyway. My strong advice is to get something light to eat at Capt. Cook's before going to MK that morning ... that way, your husband can get some food on-board to maintain proper blood glucose, but y'all won't have to eat so much that you spoil your breakfast, if you know what I mean. Maybe you can have some yogurt or something else from the refrigerator cases, or maybe the two of you could split an order of Tonga Toast or split a child breakfast platter, or grab some fruit or cereal-and-milk, something like that.

PLEASE don't let a little something like that spoil your good time. It's really not "horrible" ... you'll be at Disney World, after all! I guarantee you that "horrible" Sunday at WDW will be a lot more fun than today will be!

Lol! I have no idea where you got CRT from lol

We have 9:50 p.m. ressies at Ohana, like the other poster who had 9:40 pm ressies lol

Thanks so much for the advice on CRT but we arent doing that restaurant this trip.

I am not looking for any special treatment because I am at at Poly but I dont understand. I went strictly by the book on how to do the ADR, getting up early, on the computer, calling.

9:50 is just so late. I cant imagine just starting our meal at that time. Especially at Ohana, where you tend to overeat to begin with.

 

[CleveRocks]

Lol! I have no idea where you got CRT from lol

Well, now we both know that I shouldn't be responding to posts at 5:30 in the morning! Sorry about that!

 

[mwatson011]

Do they still have a hair wrap stand? I told my daughter about it, and now I just want to make sure it is there. Anyone know how much $ it costs, her hair is LONG! Thanks!

 

[ThruTheEyesOfMyChild]

My DD and I usually stay at a moderate resort each summer during free dining...however...I splurged this year for her 10th birthday and upgraded to my DREAM resort...the Poly...December 4-15 . I have only been to the resort for Spirit of Aloha Show and Ohanas. I could only afford the garden view room...but not familair with the resort layout. Any suggestions on where I could "request" our room to be once I have made our final payment next month?! Short walks to everything is great for me and my recovering ankle surgery...but we are definitely swimmers and the pool is important to us.

Thanks in advance fellow DISers.

 

[iloveeeyore]

My DD and I usually stay at a moderate resort each summer during free dining...however...I splurged this year for her 10th birthday and upgraded to my DREAM resort...the Poly...December 4-15 . I have only been to the resort for Spirit of Aloha Show and Ohanas. I could only afford the garden view room...but not familair with the resort layout. Any suggestions on where I could "request" our room to be once I have made our final payment next month?! Short walks to everything is great for me and my recovering ankle surgery...but we are definitely swimmers and the pool is important to us.

Thanks in advance fellow DISers.

Congrats on booking the Poly!! You will love it!

Garden views closest to the main pool are Samoa and Niue, which actually border the volcano pool complex on the east. Rarotonga is also very close to the main pool and the GCH, and it is steps away from quiet pool and bus stop. Tokelau is also very centrally located, near the quiet pool and bus stop, but just a LITTLE further away from volcano pool and GCH than others mentioned. I'd express your mobility concerns when making a request to be centrally located. We did this in 2006 and were place on the 1st floor of Rarotonga, which was perfect!

HTH!

ETA: Post # 7 (page 1) of this very thread shows a map of the layout of the poly. It's kind of hard to see where the pools are, but the main vaolcano pool is shown due north of the GCH, and the quiet (east) pool is in the courtyard betwwen Samoa, Hawaii, Tokelau and Rarotonga.

 

[lissiesmum]

I'm still trying to get some help from those of you who have stayed in a MK view room (besides the Hawaii building). I was wondering if you can see the EWP from your room in both the Tahiti and Tuvalu buildings? If you are on the first floor, can you still see the castle changing color at night? Is one longhouse that much better than the other in terms of view of castle/fireworks/EWP? Any help you could offer would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

I'm still trying to get some help from those of you who have stayed in a MK view room (besides the Hawaii building). I was wondering if you can see the EWP from your room in both the Tahiti and Tuvalu buildings?

Yep, you can see it from both.

If you are on the first floor, can you still see the castle changing color at night? Is one longhouse that much better than the other in terms of view of castle/fireworks/EWP? Any help you could offer would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!

Yep again. When we stayed 1st floor Tuvaly we could see the castle change colors all night. Went to sleep many nights watching that. I think Tuvalu is a bit better in that it is positioned about the same way that Hawaii is (the beach and marina separates them). Plus the EWP starts out where Tuvalu is and goes past towards Hawaii, then Tahiti and on that way.

Hope that helps!

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

I could only afford the garden view room...but not familair with the resort layout. Any suggestions on where I could "request" our room to be once I have made our final payment next month?! Short walks to everything is great for me and my recovering ankle surgery...but we are definitely swimmers and the pool is important to us.

CONGRATS on booking the Poly! What a wonderful birthday gift for your DD. You guys will LOVE it there!

Rarotonga is a good choice that's close to the GCH but Niue (which is even closer) and Samoa are also great longhouse choices that are close to the GCH. The Samoa building faces the Volcano pool on one side and the quiet pool on the other.

Definitely make sure to make a note on your reservation about your ankle. The CMs will do their best to accomodate you.

Hope that helps!

 

[lissiesmum]

Do you think you have a better chance of getting your room request depending on the day/time you arrive? For instance, would you have a better shot of checking in on a Sunday at one pm or monday at 8am? I would think more people check out on Sunday, but would you have a better shot first thing in the morning? Is there a day statistically that more people checkout/in on?

 

[mmmears]

Do you think you have a better chance of getting your room request depending on the day/time you arrive? For instance, would you have a better shot of checking in on a Sunday at one pm or monday at 8am? I would think more people check out on Sunday, but would you have a better shot first thing in the morning? Is there a day statistically that more people checkout/in on?

My best guess is that there are plenty of people who would check in and out on a Saturday or a Sunday, just because of school and work. I have asked the CMs at the resorts and they say that it really just varies day to day. We always do split stays, so we're always moving around mid-week.

Don't forget that if you don't like the room they give you you can ask them to move you to one that you would like better. If one isn't available that day, then it probably will be the following day. If you really want that perfect room or perfect view, it helps to be willing to move the 2nd day (just in case there is nothing available at check-in). If you are booking a MK-view room, you should get a really nice view automatically though.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Last Wedneday while my family and I were visiting the Polynesian for the 2nd time we went to the Kona Island Sushi Bar and it tasted just as good like they were in December 2008. So when we are back at WDW in December 2009 that is one location we will go to again.

 

[kimgof]

Woo HOO Leaving tonight to start the drive down to the Poly!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Good evening! We got back today from the Poly. Thought I'd share some thoughts from our first visit.

First a big thank you to all of you who post here! All of your suggestions/comments really helped.

We arrived on Sunday, 8/16 at about 9:30 or so. We had requested Tokelau or Tahiti, first floor. When I checked in, she said she could go ahead and put us in a room, if we wanted. I asked her what was available. 1042 in Tahiti was the first one she mentioned, so we went with that. It was nice to go ahead and get situated before heading to Epcot for lunch.

I really liked the location, but DH said that he felt it was a little too far from the central part of the resort. Not sure we would stay in Tahiti again.

We really liked our room. It was huge! This turned out to be a good thing, as DH got sick on Monday (cough/cold) that got worse and then got a stomach thing Wednesday night (called the concierge doc), and he ended up spending a good amount of time in the room. The room location turned out to be good, in this regard, because the kids could go out on the patio while daddy was resting. DD10 liked to look at the lizards.

Between DH's illnesses and the pop-ups storms and remnants of TS Ana, we didn't get to do many of the things we wanted. Only got to the pool once, which is very unusual for us. Didn't make the campfire/movie either, which we were hoping to do. I guess I'll just have to go back soon.

One last comment regarding Ohana. I am so glad we went there. I was up in the air about the ADR. Somehow in 40+ visits to The World, I had never eatten there, and I wasn't sure if DH and the kids would like it. DH told me that he thought it was the best meal we had all week. :-0 Let me say, normally DH doesn't like Asian style foot/flavors, so this was a surprise. It was PACKED though. The crowd of people waiting to get in was crazy!

Thanks again for all of the info. It really helped!

I'm so sorry to hear about your DH! Well, you are right and you just have to go back

We have a 9:50 ADR for Sept 27 which is a Sunday. I got up at six to try online, I called at 7 am on the 90 day mark and still that is the only time that was available. It is horrible. I too am so hoping they will be able to squeeze us in a little earlier. DH is diabetic and there is no way he could eat at that time.

I was so bummed considering I did exactly what I was supposed to do to make the ADR and yet they were all booked already. I am hoping that staying at Poly they may be able to do something for us and make it a little earlier if possible. I can't imagine just starting a meal at that time of day.

We will see I guess.

I completely agree with you about not being able to eat at that time of day. Definitely try calling back and seeing if anything frees up or if you can do it another day too. I'm crossing my fingers for you!

My DD and I usually stay at a moderate resort each summer during free dining...however...I splurged this year for her 10th birthday and upgraded to my DREAM resort...the Poly...December 4-15 . I have only been to the resort for Spirit of Aloha Show and Ohanas. I could only afford the garden view room...but not familair with the resort layout. Any suggestions on where I could "request" our room to be once I have made our final payment next month?! Short walks to everything is great for me and my recovering ankle surgery...but we are definitely swimmers and the pool is important to us.

Thanks in advance fellow DISers.

I only book garden view and I ask for Tokelau and this year, ground floor. Definitely check out tikiman's site and allearsnet. They tell you where the longhouses are and if they have balconies. Since I definitely want a patio or balcony and I like to be in a central location (to the whole resort), Tokelau works for our family. Quick jaunt to the TTC, right next to the quiet pool (which is really great!), close enough to the Ceremonial House and Volcano pool.

Woo HOO Leaving tonight to start the drive down to the Poly!

So envious!!! Have fun and let us know how everything went on your trip! Have a magical vacation

 

[RebeccaDreamsDisney]

Hi there! Staying at Poly January 8-15th for the Marathon Weekend and wondered if anyone had suggestions for buildings. I'd like to be able to walk to the TTC in the morning to catch the monorail for the races but heard that Tokelau is a better choice of resort than Tahiti or Rapa Nui. Any advice? I know requests can't be guaranteed but I have to call to get the Dining Plan put onto my package so I figure I should try!
Thanks!

 

[mhanback]

Does anyone know if I can get fries with the kid's meals at Captain Cook's? And what are the chicken nuggets like? Are they the ones they have for adult meals at other counter services, or are they the yucky kids nuggets?
Thanks!

 

[WiscMomof2]

Does anyone know if I can get fries with the kid's meals at Captain Cook's? And what are the chicken nuggets like? Are they the ones they have for adult meals at other counter services, or are they the yucky kids nuggets?
Thanks!

You can get fries but they are separate from the meal.

 

[WiscMomof2]

Does anyone know if I can get fries with the kid's meals at Captain Cook's? And what are the chicken nuggets like? Are they the ones they have for adult meals at other counter services, or are they the yucky kids nuggets?
Thanks!

You can get fries but they are separate from the meal.