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

[Tess]

hi, does anyone know if the poly still pipes in the wishes music into the cl lounge? tia

Yes, the Wishes music is still piped into the lounge.

 

[Tess]

My family will be making our first trip to the Poly in Aug. We are having a problem chosing the longhouse that will fit us. My wife and I have two children dd7 and dd3. We usualy come back to the resort in the afternoon to take a swim. We are thinking about asking for Tokelau. What do you think?

That would be my first choice--convenient to the pools, TTC, bus stop, and GCH.

 

[francie]

thanks, tess. one more question, please. does the cl lounge still have "theme nites"? i think a saw a schedule posted somewhere but it was quite a while ago. tia

 

[DenialFiend]

first time poly stay in 12 days!

 

[two*little*birds]

O.K. I am jealous of all of you that are leaving soon... LOL looking out my office winddow and dreaming of Disney (wishing the CN Tower was Cinderella's castle instead)... I'm having a productive day, can you tell?

 

[Tess]

thanks, tess. one more question, please. does the cl lounge still have "theme nites"? i think a saw a schedule posted somewhere but it was quite a while ago. tia

Yes, the lounge does it's theme nights as well. Someone posted earlier that the menu had changed recently. I compared the menu I had from last year with what had been posted by a recent returnee and it seemed the same. Guess I'll find out in short order.

 

[francie]

thanks again, tess. is there a link i can access with the schedule as to which nites is serving what? tia

 

[dmil]

Thank You Tess.

 

[NJBILL]

Are all rooms booked at the new Bay Lake Towers considered concierge level?

 

[BCV23]

Are all rooms booked at the new Bay Lake Towers considered concierge level?

None of the BLT villas are concierge. Sorry.

 

[NJBILL]

None of the BLT villas are concierge. Sorry.

sORRRY..i POSTED MY ORIGINAL QUESTION TO THE WRONG THREAD...

 

[Tess]

thanks again, tess. is there a link i can access with the schedule as to which nites is serving what? tia

It's right here in this thread--toward the beginning: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24477595&postcount=1152

As I said, someone posted earlier that things weren't exactly the same and yet another posted it was identical. This will give you a pretty good idea of what types of items are served.

 

[daleed77]

First question...have you ever been to WDW before over New Year's??? I always wanted to do this and finally did back in the late 90's....

Well, I personally, would never do it again. The crowds were so heavy it was impossible to get on anything and was difficult to walk around (this was on NYE and a day or two after). We were in MGM for NYE. We were staying at the Yacht Club and got to the park at 8:30 am and were told flat out that if we left the park we would not allowed back in (even as resort guests) as they would be at capacity in a few hours. We were in the park from 8:30 am until 1:00 am the following day. We could only get food at the carts as all the restaurants were always full.

I would definitely watch the fireworks from the Poly and not the MK....

Maybe this year with the slower economy it won't be so crowded but I still would never go over NYE again (or if I did I would just enjoy the resorts and not go to the parks until a few days after NYE). That was our experience and it was not fun. I just remember the day after going to MK and seeing 3 hour waits for Splash Mountain and seeing people with stollers and wheelchairs have a difficult time getting around through the crowds.

Don't want to scare you away but that was our experience. I had been to WDW at least 20 times before that and NEVER experienced crowds like that before. I am sure other people will post that there experiences over NYE was not that bad.

MJ

Thanks to those who responded.

We have been many times to WDW, but never over NYE. We are fine not going to the park if it's that much of a hassle. However, we live in NYC and crowds are part of our daily life

It sounds like having a nice dinner and then heading to the beach for fireworks is the best idea. The park will be there the next day!

Thanks again!

 

[carlnix30]

tess! where have you been? you always have all the answers.


my family is going crazy! 1 day and a wake up! hope to see you guys there!

 

[johnsonet]

Well if you wan to go top of the line on DCL you would want to book a Cat 1, 2 or 3 (with the Cat 1 being the most luxurious) and the Cat 2 a close second). There are two Cat 1's...the Walt Suite and the Roy Suite (usually sold out months in advance). Next is the 2 bedroom Cat 2 (2 of them) and then the Cat 3 (18 of them). These are the concierge service categories. These prices are not online...you would have to call to get them and they are expensive.

The Magic normally does the 7 day cruises and the Wonder does the shorter 3 and 4 day cruises to the Bahamas. The Magic is doing the Med next summer with longer cruises and is also doing the Baltic next summer.

As far as which itinerary to go on...that depends on if you want to the Med next summer or the Baltic (the Magic is doing both). Do you want to do a 7 day cruise...if so your choices would be the Eastern or Western caribbean on the MAGIC...if all you want is a 3 or 4 day cruise to the Bahamas you would book the Wonder.

But, if you did not want to break the bank you could book a veranda cabin which is a Cat 4, 5, 6. The oceanview cabins are Cat 8 & 9...and the inside cabins (no window or natural light) would be Cat 10, 11, 12!!!

Many first time cruisers like to try the 3 or 4 night cruises....I prefer the 7 night or longer ones....gives you more time to relax or take part in the activites.

Disney Cruise Line provides a fantastic cruise experience. They have the highest return cruiser rate in the cruise industry. We have already done 17 DCL cruises and I have 3 more booked already. It is my favorite cruise line. I usually stay in a Cat 9 oceanview cabin which is fine for me.

Here is the link to DCL website and you can get tons of info on the cruise board but if you have any specific questions on itineraries or which ship, etc. ask away...I would be glad to help.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage&bhcp=1


MJ

MJ - I just saw this! I REALLY appreciate the info I need to head to the Cruise threads
Also - your pics are incredible and your daughters are gorgeous. It's easy to see that one looks just like you and the other looks just like your DH
I had to tell my DD (age 12) about the Dis-Hayden-Poly "thing" and she was in awe So glad you had a nice trip!

 

[melk]

Just wanted to tell all you Poly lovers that we returned last week from our WDW trip. I needed a place to stay our first night (rest of stay was at VWL with our DVC points), and have always wanted to stay at the Polynesian.

I kept it as a surprise for my family, I told my DH at the baggage carousel at the Orlando airport that we wouldn't be at the Lodge that night. He was surprised to say the least. Then we told the kids as we were driving there in the rental car. They were so excited.

We checked in around 11:30 a.m., (did get leis...the kids loved them), and our room was ready in the Tokelau building (I had reserved a garden view room). We got lunch at Captain Cooks. Can't remember what we had, but I know we all liked it. Then we headed to AK for the afternoon. We met friends for dinner at 'Ohanas which was a great time and food was delicious.

The next morning had breakfast at Captain Cooks and then had fun at the volcano pool until check-out. We loved the room, very impressed with it and the fact that it fits a family of five very comfortably. Our only complaint is that our stay was way too short.

So to sum it up, loved, loved, loved the Polynesian. I waited 25 years to stay there (wanted to from my first visit as a teenager!), I just hope I don't have to wait another 25 to get there again. It is so romantic there, I would love to go someday, just DH and I (don't know how we would ever manage that one, though, our kids love it too much ).

Thanks for all who contribute on this thread, I read it faithfully before our trip.

 

[francie]

thanks again, tess.

 

[teacher5]

We went last year to WDW over New Years and though it was crowded, it was very doable. We followed Tour Guide Mike's advice and had a great time. We also went in June 2008 and it was crowded as well and HOT! I would rather go over NYs because I don't like being in crowds when it's very hot. But we are going in July this year anyway since dd11 is dancing in WDW. You will have fun, no matter what. The parks are decorated so nicely for the holidays~It makes it so special!!!

 

[Tess]

tess! where have you been? you always have all the answers.


my family is going crazy! 1 day and a wake up! hope to see you guys there!

Hey, I have a vacation for which to prepare! Save some sunshine for us--if I ever get packed! Aw, who am I kidding, I'll be packed and ready to roll on Monday and flying on Tuesday!

 

[Tess]

Just wanted to tell all you Poly lovers that we returned last week from our WDW trip. I needed a place to stay our first night (rest of stay was at VWL with our DVC points), and have always wanted to stay at the Polynesian.

I kept it as a surprise for my family, I told my DH at the baggage carousel at the Orlando airport that we wouldn't be at the Lodge that night. He was surprised to say the least. Then we told the kids as we were driving there in the rental car. They were so excited.

We checked in around 11:30 a.m., (did get leis...the kids loved them), and our room was ready in the Tokelau building (I had reserved a garden view room). We got lunch at Captain Cooks. Can't remember what we had, but I know we all liked it. Then we headed to AK for the afternoon. We met friends for dinner at 'Ohanas which was a great time and food was delicious.

The next morning had breakfast at Captain Cooks and then had fun at the volcano pool until check-out. We loved the room, very impressed with it and the fact that it fits a family of five very comfortably. Our only complaint is that our stay was way too short.

So to sum it up, loved, loved, loved the Polynesian. I waited 25 years to stay there (wanted to from my first visit as a teenager!), I just hope I don't have to wait another 25 to get there again. It is so romantic there, I would love to go someday, just DH and I (don't know how we would ever manage that one, though, our kids love it too much ).

Thanks for all who contribute on this thread, I read it faithfully before our trip.

Thanks for your opinion--glad you enjoyed your stay! Tokelau is a longhouse I frequently recommend--great central location!

thanks again, tess.

No problem francie!