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

[birdsatdisney]

Hi all,

My family and I are going to stay at the Poly in Nov. My wife has set the entire trip up. I am a huge customer service freak. Can anyone tell me how the customer service is at this resort.

Are the rooms very clean? (we stayed and the contemp and found it dirty)

Guest services good or bad? Please rate from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Places to eat food & choices for kids ages 7-5 at the Poly?

Check in and check out - easy or fustrating?

Housekeeping service, any issues?

Over all staff attitude, good/bad?

Any reccomendations as to what we need to see at the poly? This will be our 3rd trip to WDW and our first trip to the Poly.

Thanks for all that respond.


kevin.

 

[birdsatdisney]

Forgot to ask...

My wife normally plans everything when we go away, is there something nice I can do to suprise her during our stay at the Poly? I'm open to suggestions.

Kevin

 

[Tess]

Hi all,

My family and I are going to stay at the Poly in Nov. My wife has set the entire trip up. I am a huge customer service freak. Can anyone tell me how the customer service is at this resort.

My husband places a high priority on customer service. To be honest, at times we have found it lacking and other times stellar. Do not be afraid to politely request appropriate customer service if you find it lacking. New people are always present and some CMs aren't as skilled as others.

Are the rooms very clean? (we stayed and the contemp and found it dirty)

Our rooms over the years have been impeccably clean. If you read far enough, I'm sure you will find the contrary in reports. Housekeepers are not infallible--although at this level, I wish that was not the case.

Guest services good or bad? Please rate from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

We are usually CL guests and we have found the staff to be a 10+. We have also utilized the front desk staff at times and always been treated with respect, but not the personal feel you get at the club level. I give that service an 8.5.

Places to eat food & choices for kids ages 7-5 at the Poly?

The Polynesian offers a grab and go/quick service area known as Captain Cook's. It has a fair variety of foods and our children have always enjoyed the options. They are grown now, but liked the food when they were children. There is also a character breakfast held at the Polynesian in the 'Ohana restaurant--obviously very kid friendly.

Kona offers full table service dining with a variety of options in a casual dining atmosphere. 'Ohana at night is a family style meal that features grilled meats and a range of side dishes. Your best bet would be to take a peek at the menus from these restaurants and see what appeals to you and your family's tastes.

Check in and check out - easy or fustrating?

Check-in should be relatively quick and painless. The one caveat is one can never know how large a group is checking in at any given time. That said, if you compare a check-in at the Polynesian to a moderate or value--I would say the queues for check-in services would be less. In all the years I've visited, I have never seen a huge queue at the check-in desk.

Housekeeping service, any issues?

At any resort, someone will always have housekeeping issues. I personally have never had an issue. I have seen complaints about being made to wait too long for requested items, rooms or areas of the room not being cleaned to the guest's satisfaction, etc.--the usual thing one encounters with any resort. I will say that posters have usually had their complaints resolved to their satisfaction.

Over all staff attitude, good/bad?

The Polynesian CMs are some of the friendliest at Disney.

Any reccomendations as to what we need to see at the poly? This will be our 3rd trip to WDW and our first trip to the Poly.

This thread will give you a good many ideas on what to see and do at the Polynesian. I always tell folks to simply take time to enjoy the ambiance of the resort. It truly is lovely!

Thanks for all that respond.


kevin.

Enjoy your planning!

 

[Tess]

Forgot to ask...

My wife normally plans everything when we go away, is there something nice I can do to suprise her during our stay at the Poly? I'm open to suggestions.

Kevin

How about checking the kids into Neverland for the evening and taking her somewhere to dinner or a stroll around the World Showcase? I always enjoyed that when our kids were young and they LOVED The Neverland Club!

 

[juliebee]

My family and I are going to stay at the Poly in Nov. My wife has set the entire trip up. I am a huge customer service freak. Can anyone tell me how the customer service is at this resort.

I found the customer service to be great. The cashiers at the boutiques and Capt Cooks were efficient and nice, the 'castmembers' elsewhere were always friendly and said Aloha.

Are the rooms very clean? (we stayed and the contemp and found it dirty)

I was completely thrilled with the cleanliness of my room when I was there just a few weeks ago.

Guest services good or bad? Please rate from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

I stayed club level and every interaction was a 10.

Places to eat food & choices for kids ages 7-5 at the Poly?

We all enjoyed the food at the Poly, we ate at Capt Cooks 3 times and Kona Cafe 2 times. Food was great but I also recommend looking at the menus available online to see what you think.

Check in and check out - easy or frustrating?

Our check in was great! I had 2 people checking me in and one took all my carryons into the room while I finished out the check in process. It was stellar service.

Housekeeping service, any issues?

Not one issue!

Over all staff attitude, good/bad?

Fabulous!

Any recommendations as to what we need to see at the poly? This will be our 3rd trip to WDW and our first trip to the Poly.

I'd recommend planning on a day to hang out at the resort. Enjoy the pool, see the fireworks from the beach, just lay on the hammocks and let the kids play in the sand. Very relaxing!

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Hi all,

My family and I are going to stay at the Poly in Nov. My wife has set the entire trip up. I am a huge customer service freak. Can anyone tell me how the customer service is at this resort.

Are the rooms very clean? (we stayed and the contemp and found it dirty)

Guest services good or bad? Please rate from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Places to eat food & choices for kids ages 7-5 at the Poly?

Check in and check out - easy or fustrating?

Housekeeping service, any issues?

Over all staff attitude, good/bad?

Any reccomendations as to what we need to see at the poly? This will be our 3rd trip to WDW and our first trip to the Poly.

Thanks for all that respond.


kevin.

What fun! Planning your first trip to the Poly! I'll say that my first trip at the Poly was heaven and I couldn't believe how wonderfulling relaxing it all was.

Poly Customer Service - Really good but I'll say this - sometimes these things depend on the CM you encounter. Overall, the Poly is definitely one of the better resorts but at any resort you should encounter good service (and unfortunately you may receive less than stellar service if there is a bad CM).

Guest Services - 9

Food choices - It's Disney so you can pretty much eat anywhere. My kids were fine at Kona cafe and I hear Ohana is great (I will go there for the 1st time in a couple of weeks). I LOVE Cap'n Cooks for quick service. I like the interesting chips they serve with the grown up grilled cheese. I also love the mickey waffles in the morning. Good, typical, kids food too. You'll be on the monorail so take advantage of the Contemporary or GF (if you want, I find GF to be stuffy) and MK and Epcot!

Checkin/Checkout - FAST! Love the laid back feel too and they WANT you to be relaxed.

Housekeeping - best I've experienced on Disney property. By the way, Beach Club housekeeping was horrible.

Poly recommendations -
Watch the Electrical Water Parade & fireworks on the beach & let the kids play in the sand (get a kids meal in a sand pail and you'll have a sand pail & shovel for each child - not a bad price either, like $6).

Enjoy tropical drinks poolside! Or at the bar at night. Sometimes they have polynesian bands playing.

I've only been to the Poly once so I don't know everything myself - I've been asking these nice folks so many questions too! Have so much fun!!!

 

[johnsonet]

Thanks for the great photo!!

 

[grittyreid]

Okay I was on the smoking thread and am a little nervous. The latest posts have only a couple ashtrays with no place to sit. One says there used to be place to smoke by the pool/bar and is no longer there? Can anyone give me latest info. Going in june and very excited. Thanks

 

[lissiesmum]

We went in September once, and let's just say never again. It was just too hot for us (and very humid). Even our poor kids were flushed in the face with bright red cheeks from the heat. It would rain for a short period every afternoon (thunderstorm) and sometimes in the evening. The rain/storms were typically short lived though. We went through tons of clothes, as we were all sweating buckets! LOL gave me an excuse to buy some more Disney "wear" though. Again just too warm/uncomfortable for us, but some people really like the heat or have no other option.

I say ditto to two*little*birds. DD and I went the first week of September and would never go back in the summer/fall again for the same reasons. We're from NH and our summers are hot, but not sweltering. My DD's face got red and flushed and we just had a really hard time enjoying the parks with the heat. We probably spent two or three hours a day in the parks and then headed back to the WL to our air conditioned retreat! If you are a heat wuss like me, I would avoid summer/fall, but if you don't mind heat and humidity, you'll be just fine. The parks were empty that time of year and every ride was pretty much walk on or no more than a fifteen minute wait. There were three hurricane/tropical storms that threatened our week, and only one actually hit and went through very quickly. It only rained once the whole week, and it was the day the hurricane went through. It all depends on how you handle extreme heat....good luck with your decision!

 

[mmmears]

I have to agree with the PPs. We were here at WDW once in late Sept and once in mid Oct. Both times we all found it way too hot and humid. We were very uncomfortable.

The first time we chose Oct because of the low crowds (before F&W). The second time we came 2 weeks earlier so we could reuse our APs.

We are not use to the heat or humidity, so it took us about a week each time to acclimate. Luckily, we came for 2 weeks!

It was so hot that my DD who was 2 asked why it was so sticky and wet! And she was relaxing in her stroller!

However, we had so much fun on those trips. So if that's the only time you can come, I would still do it. We opted out of a trip last summer because of the heat and humidity -- we decided to come here now instead. It's a trade off since we have record crowds and it's costing us a lot more money. But the weather is very nice.

 

[PolynesianAlex]

Curious Do they still play music underwater in the Volcano Pool?

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

I just upgraded to MK view...Happy Dance Happy Dance!!!!!!

 

[mmmears]

Curious Do they still play music underwater in the Volcano Pool?

Yes!!! I had learned about it here on the DIS, but kept the secret to myself. DH and DD were surprised and delighted when they discovered it out the first time we played in the Volcano pool.

 

[mmmears]

I just upgraded to MK view...Happy Dance Happy Dance!!!!!!

Yay!!! We have a great view of the castle right now and it's been fun to watch it change colors at night. The castle looks much bigger from here than I thought it would. Also, it's great to watch Wishes & the EWP from your balcony! Enjoy!

 

[johnsonet]

I have to agree with the PPs. We were here at WDW once in late Sept and once in mid Oct. Both times we all found it way too hot and humid. We were very uncomfortable.

The first time we chose Oct because of the low crowds (before F&W). The second time we came 2 weeks earlier so we could reuse our APs.

We are not use to the heat or humidity, so it took us about a week each time to acclimate. Luckily, we came for 2 weeks!

It was so hot that my DD who was 2 asked why it was so sticky and wet! And she was relaxing in her stroller!

However, we had so much fun on those trips. So if that's the only time you can come, I would still do it. We opted out of a trip last summer because of the heat and humidity -- we decided to come here now instead. It's a trade off since we have record crowds and it's costing us a lot more money. But the weather is very nice.

ITA!

I just upgraded to MK view...Happy Dance Happy Dance!!!!!!

Awesome! Congratulations!

Yay!!! We have a great view of the castle right now and it's been fun to watch it change colors at night. The castle looks much bigger from here than I thought it would. Also, it's great to watch Wishes & the EWP from your balcony! Enjoy!

I was happily surprised by this too! The MK views from Poly are def. better than from the GF.

 

[BCV23]

I was happily surprised by this too! The MK views from Poly are def. better than from the GF.

I think so, too.

 

[PolynesianAlex]

Am i the only person here who loves Humid Rainy Flordia ??

 

[kimgof]

Re: the hidden mickey tip, I should have
And for those of you I see going in late Sept, tell me your weather experiences with this time of year. I am going 9/23 with a college friend. She got a 40% off pin and is using it at the GF. The Polynesian is my absolute favorite, but she really wants to try the GF. Getting 40% off and then splitting costs is probably not an opportunity we'll have again. I am really concerned about the heat though and possible rain and hurricane issues. I don't tolerate the heat well. I'm sure we'll stick to my usual plan of early am's in the park, back around 11:30/noon for lunch and pool time and then parks again at night.

We went last year the last week in Sept. and it was our best trip so far. The parks were empty, the weather was great....not unbearably hot but definitely swimming weather. We only had one day that it rained for a few hours and that was it. I wish we could go that time of year every year but my oldest DS starts high school this year and can't miss that much school so we will be going in August this time....Ugh the heat! But it's Disney heat, so its worth it!

 

[team disney]

I have gotten more and more into hidden mickeys after discovering that it occupied my kids and they liked it too! I was wondering if anyone knew of any hidden mickeys at the Poly? I'd love to hear where they are so we can look for them too! Thx!

10 days - YAHOO!!!!!

Check out the carpeting in the longhouse hallways, (Tokelau had it) also in the picture/painting hanging in the room near the beds. I believe it was in the ocean wave or rock. I will have to go back and check my pictures. Also, I seem to remember something in the wall paper in the main stairwell of the GCH. Not 100% on that one.
GL and have fun!!

ETA: Looks like these have been mentioned already! Loved the photo of the wall at the staircase... that is what I was thinking about! It brought back a sweet longing for the Poly!!! LOL

 

[Tess]

Am i the only person here who loves Humid Rainy Flordia ??

I could skip the rain part, but we the heat and humidity!