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

[AUDramaQueen]

Caitsmama's post got me thinking....

She mentioned a certain gathering was going on, so for the sake of argument lets say a lot of those people would have also requested 1st or 3rd floor, right? And Disney is pretty clear that a request is just that, a request, not a guarantee. So I would assume that if they have more requests than they can accommodate, it would come down to first-come, first served. Right? Or is that not how it works?

In other words, while I would be a little miffed that my request didn't make it to the proper people, I am not sure I would be all that surprised to check-in late at a hotel as popular as the Poly and expect my request to be met right then.

 

[KimDis]

I'm soooo glad someone else confirmed no pineapple with caramel. Didn't want to say it wasn't there in July and misinform but I couldn't figure out how I'd missed that.

Hmmm, as the food offerings are a part of the club service, I'm a little confused as to why people shouldn't wonder, comment or reminisce about the things they enjoy or looked forward to experiencing. And I think each guest is going to have a different idea of what makes club level service valuable or worth the extra expense. It's completely subjective.

For me, AKL's strength was the savanna view for CL and the tea offering (a personal fav of mine). At the Poly it was the view from the lounge as well as the proximity of the resort to the MK and central location of Hawaii. NOT the food. At the GF I'm really looking forward to those extra touches of luxury I've experienced at club levels outside of WDW.

And Caitsmom - I don't care if you paid $5 for your room or $5000 - I'm happy to hear your point of view and your thoughts about the Poly and your vacation. Glad you finally got your great view of the castle. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Caitsmama]

I have noticed there has been a lot of talk about club level, mostly about the lounge food and what they have to offer, so with the risk of never getting a response from any more Dis'ers i must voice my opinion!

If you are booking club level at $200 + a night more than the regular rooms because the chocolate bar or the pineapple, please save your money buy a couple pineapples and head over to Hershey Park!! ( it is really a nice theme park)

I personally didn't state that this was the reason i stay CL - i just personally noticed a DIFFERENCE. We stay CL for a variety of reasons..

We stay club level Polynesian to enjoy the peace and quiet of a secure building, the great Staff that work there, the convienence of the location, warm welcome as we walk into our building, and the wonderful lounge that allows us to sit and sip Poly punch and watch wishes!
As do we.

At no point do I ever expect to recieve 200 dollars a night in food and drinks!
Nor do we.
I must say the tall guy with glasses that checked you in annoyed us the day we check in, in May, so we avoided him and spoke with the rest of the wonderful staff.

PS there are other guests that check in to polynesian club level that pay $600 + a night that are booked on the second floor. I cant imagine the second floor being vacant throughout the year because some people may not be happy with it. As a matter of fact we stayed on second floor in may!! shame on us!

Thats great if you enjoy it. We personally didn't - we prefer a balcony or patio. If my dd is resting during the day, i would like to be able to be outside and let her rest while i read.

Just a few of my responses..

 

[Caitsmama]

Caitsmama's post got me thinking....

She mentioned a certain gathering was going on, so for the sake of argument lets say a lot of those people would have also requested 1st or 3rd floor, right? And Disney is pretty clear that a request is just that, a request, not a guarantee. So I would assume that if they have more requests than they can accommodate, it would come down to first-come, first served. Right? Or is that not how it works?

In other words, while I would be a little miffed that my request didn't make it to the proper people, I am not sure I would be all that surprised to check-in late at a hotel as popular as the Poly and expect my request to be met right then.

Right.. i agree.. i am sure they had an overwhelming response for first/third floor -- however, as i am sure others did, we booked a year ago - and put the request in, i don't think it should be a "penalty" sort of for checking in later in the evening.. But, as you said, i am sure they had tons of requests.. someone had to get the second floor. And it just happened to be us - luckily only for the night. Nothing wrong if you ENJOY the second floor -- we just don't.

I wish they would just add balconys to the second floor -- at least a small one - similar to the standing ones at the YC/BC - i mean, to have sliding doors that open up to just flat railings doesn't make much sense to me... LOL

 

[mickey2minnie1]

We are ataying CL in October, and I have to admit that I was looking forward to having fresh pineapple. However, it will not change my plans, lol.

Do they not have it for breakfast either with the fresh fruit?

 

[Tonyspad]

We have two boys and have always requested, and received, a second floor room. We love the ability for the kids to head to the lounge early in the morning without us. We leave the door cracked open, just in case!!

 

[carlnix30]

Thats great if you enjoy it. We personally didn't - we prefer a balcony or patio. If my dd is resting during the day, i would like to be able to be outside and let her rest while i read.

Just a few of my responses..

Caitsmama,

Please do not think that I am attacking you personally! I just notice that everytime we go, we see guests "hovering" around the lounge during the what we call, feeding time. like the food is something that is going to fly away never to be seen again! I feel people are missing the point! the food is a perk not a neccesity. Chef Dick remembered all my kids faces and names making them feel silly when they went in! (magical moment).


My point about the balcony is this, if you are assigned a second floor it is because others that came before you, have their rooms on the 1st or third floor! and they paid the same price as you. Why would that make you angry?


The economy is very bad for a lot of people, there are some that cant go because of layoffs, paycuts and tragedy. There are others that stay at Econo Lodge. just so that they may take their kids to something that they have never seen. then there are others that save 2 or three years just to go to Disney. I am sure that Disney is not taking as hard a hit as other companies, however if no one has noticed there a lot of Disney deals out there. meaning that they are not making the money they made even 5 years ago. So if the Pineapple and candy bar is all I lose.. I say Good bye candy bar, hello Disney!


I think it is great that you pointed out that they are cutting back on the things that they would normally provide.


I apologize if I have offended you or anyone else here as well. I plan on going and giving Chef Dick and Mickey a great big HUG and be thankful that we can afford polynesian CL and maybe buy a stranger some popcorn and a soda!

 

[Caitsmama]

Do they not have it for breakfast either with the fresh fruit?

Nope, not at breakfast either.

 

[Caitsmama]

carlnix, no, you didn't offend me.. i just wanted to give my pointers about my responses.. I completely agree with you about CL being about other things - just pointed out my observations as a heads up to other returning CL guests..

I honestly just think mabye it would be better if the 2nd floor rooms had either a lower rate (by just a bit) to make up the loss of the balcony/patio -- or something... I just think for those of us who look forward to this trip and sitting outside on our balcony/patio, to check in and not have one is just a bit disheartening.. although, i can see there are those who love the 2nd floor rooms - which is great!!

I guess in a perfect Disney world - they would have the ability to make everyone happy and have perfect rooms and views -- LOL
All in all -- the POLY is still a BEAUTIFUL resort - and it would not affect me wanting to stay CL there again!! It's one of my favs.

 

[PolynesianLily]

Caitsmama's post got me thinking....

She mentioned a certain gathering was going on, so for the sake of argument lets say a lot of those people would have also requested 1st or 3rd floor, right? And Disney is pretty clear that a request is just that, a request, not a guarantee. So I would assume that if they have more requests than they can accommodate, it would come down to first-come, first served. Right? Or is that not how it works?

In other words, while I would be a little miffed that my request didn't make it to the proper people, I am not sure I would be all that surprised to check-in late at a hotel as popular as the Poly and expect my request to be met right then.

Correct, Disney will try to accommodate everyone, however it is never guaranteed. I'm not sure if they do it on a first come, first serve basis at every hotel, but I'm sure that they would operate on that sort of a system when dealing with specific requests and such.

 

[Aliceacc]

HI everyone!!

We returned at 3:30 this morning (after a 4+ hour flight delay!!!!) from a lovely stay at the Poly!!!

We were in Tokealu 2912-- a Garden View room with a great view of the Lagoon!!!! We had a partial view of the fireworks, and it was a lovely spot to just sit and have breakfast or relax. My kids, particularly my 6 year old, spent lots of time making lei bracelets in the GCH, and yesterday both girls enjoyed a hula lesson as we awaited the arrival of DME.

What a wonderful week!!!!!

 

[carlnix30]

HI everyone!!

We returned at 3:30 this morning (after a 4+ hour flight delay!!!!) from a lovely stay at the Poly!!!

We were in Tokealu 2912-- a Garden View room with a great view of the Lagoon!!!! We had a partial view of the fireworks, and it was a lovely spot to just sit and have breakfast or relax. My kids, particularly my 6 year old, spent lots of time making lei bracelets in the GCH, and yesterday both girls enjoyed a hula lesson as we awaited the arrival of DME.

What a wonderful week!!!!!

Welcome back alice!


how as the weather? looking at the forecast it looks as if it was a typical summer rain in the evening and sunshine all day..

How were the crowd levels?

 

[Caitsmama]

Welcome back alice!


how as the weather? looking at the forecast it looks as if it was a typical summer rain in the evening and sunshine all day..
Yes, hot 90's, and clouded up in the afternoon, rained one or two days briefly, some days it didn't - then usally cleared back up after.

How were the crowd levels?

Large! Except for early a.m. of course - EMH at night were a joke - MK especially was PACKED.

Iknow it's not directed at me, but here are my answers!

 

[AUDramaQueen]

I wish they would just add balconys to the second floor -- at least a small one - similar to the standing ones at the YC/BC - i mean, to have sliding doors that open up to just flat railings doesn't make much sense to me... LOL

I totally agree that this makes no sense. What is it about the 2nd Floor of this building that it was built without a balcony? Did it upset the architects and was told "No balcony for you!"?

Seriously, does anyone know why they wouldn't have built it that way to begin with?

 

[Aliceacc]

Welcome back alice!


how as the weather? looking at the forecast it looks as if it was a typical summer rain in the evening and sunshine all day..

How were the crowd levels?

My sister was there the week before us, and her family of 5 went through 28 ponchos. We didn't need one. The two days we had afternoon rain, it was while we were getting ready for dinner.

Aside from that, it was predictable August weather-- hot and sticky. The misters helped a lot!!!

Does anyone know what the crowd levels were supposed to be? We hit rope drop just about every day (10 minutes late twice) and those early mornings were incredible!!! We didn't wait more than 10 or 15 minutes for anything!!! And (thanks to the occasional child swap and one suddenly timid 6 year old) we did Thunder Mountain 6 times, Splash once, Soarin' 6 times, Toy Story, Indy Speedway ,Test Track 4 times, Mission Space 4 times, Pirates, --- pretty much everything but Tower of Terror, RnR, and EE. And it wasn't commando-- we just worked the Fastpasses well and hit it lucky.

We were out of the parks most days by about 1, then back for 6 pm ADRs most nights.

What worked for us was a 6:45 wake up call for me. I got up and showered, hit Captain Cook's for breakfast to go, then got everyone out the door by 8 am ish.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Nope, not at breakfast either.

How can you have a tropical themed resort without pineapple in CL???

 

[rlahsin]

This will be our first stay at the Poly. What is a Lapu Lapu? It sounds like something I MUST try!

 

[BreezysMom]

This will be our first stay at the Poly. What is a Lapu Lapu? It sounds like something I MUST try!

It is a potent cocktail served in a Pineapple. I think someone just posted a pic recently, there is also a pic on the first few pages of this thread.

 

[BreezysMom]

How can you have a tropical themed resort without pineapple in CL???

No doubt! I have to honestly say that I am beyond annoyed at this cutback! First the pineapple bread in the morning and now this

 

[PrincessaC]

Does Lapu Lapu have coconut in it?

And when you guys talk about having pineapple .... do you mean like just plain pineapple? or is there something else to it?

I can't wait til our trip!!