The *NEW* Polynesian Resort FAQ thread - *2008*

[kerry331]

RON, if we were going to be there longer we'd probably have driven down, however a short trip we planned for the first time, so we are flying...which i DREAD with 3 little kids.
We'll be checking in the 9th. Checking out the 13th. Hopefully we'll get to spend some good 'relaxing' time at the pool with the kids. How old are your girls? Hopefully our kids will get to meet too!
Have a SAFE drive down!!!!!! Maybe we'll see you there..

 

[MagicalEars]

RON, if we were going to be there longer we'd probably have driven down, however a short trip we planned for the first time, so we are flying...which i DREAD with 3 little kids.
We'll be checking in the 9th. Checking out the 13th. Hopefully we'll get to spend some good 'relaxing' time at the pool with the kids. How old are your girls? Hopefully our kids will get to meet too!
Have a SAFE drive down!!!!!! Maybe we'll see you there..

Thanks.
Neither of us like to fly, so now that we have a van, we'll be driving down from now on. Being able to stop in SC, which is about halfway, for a bit of a rest also helps. Now I only wonder if they make us pull into the weight station because we packed so much.

Our girls are 7 and 1, so we have "Big Sis" to help out.

 

[rachaelpink23]

We just got back from the Poly and it was truly amazing. I am so looking forward to going back. We got a free upgrade to the Hawaii building with a view of the Cinderella Castle. It was magical.

I posted a mini trip report on my blog:
http://rileyronanmomma.blogspot.com

Can't wait to go back!

Hey lady I know you! Its nice to see that we are both stalking the same DIS threads!!! Rochelle sent me the link to you blog and all of the pictures were so precious! I especially liked the one with Ronan and lilo. haha

 

[audrey2580]

We just got back from the Poly and it was truly amazing. I am so looking forward to going back. We got a free upgrade to the Hawaii building with a view of the Cinderella Castle. It was magical.

I posted a mini trip report on my blog:
http://rileyronanmomma.blogspot.com

Can't wait to go back!

What a great trip report! What happened with Mary Poppins?? LOL
Beautiful children - your son reminds me of my DS on rides, you never know what you're gonna get!!

 

[SeaSpray]

We just got back from the Poly and it was truly amazing. I am so looking forward to going back. We got a free upgrade to the Hawaii building with a view of the Cinderella Castle. It was magical.

I posted a mini trip report on my blog:
http://rileyronanmomma.blogspot.com

Can't wait to go back!

GREAT blog report; excellent pictures; beautiful kids!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[wiseguyslovethemouse]

SEASPRAY! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now, here goes my sappy confession. We stayed at the Poly in Nov 2005, and we loved it more than I can say. We've been back to the world three times since then, but always at different resorts. When we just returned in March of this year, we stopped for a snack at the Poly and to browse at the Boutiki... Well, I started to cry! How lame, I know! But, it finally hit me. The Poly is my love! When we went there, my little boy was a terror, and he was very sick. I was pregnant (though ended soon after in m/c) and it was just difficult all around. Coming back a couple of months ago, I realized just how beautiful the resort is, and how much it feels like home. Thank you for your thread, because all of your stories and pictures bring me right back there. I am absolutely positive, that when we surprise the kids this December with a trip to the Poly, they are going to flip and we are going to have the best Disney vacation ever. Thank you.

 

[juliebee]

Oh my I feel like celebrating that I just read all 100 pages over the last few days! Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread!!

I have a few questions that I was hoping someone could answer-

1. Are there any sitting areas/lobbies in the individual longhouses? I am a night owl and think I might need to leave the hotel room so my family can sleep therefore I am trying to figure out where I can go. If the longhouses don't have sitting areas, is there a decent place to go in the GCH?

2. Do you feel safe walking around the Poly at night?

3. Since we are planning on being there for our Spring Break (Mar 20-28) will I be crazy to want to be near a pool? Does it get to be too nutty there all night long?

Thanks for helping me out!!

 

[BCV23]

Oh my I feel like celebrating that I just read all 100 pages over the last few days! Thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread!!

I have a few questions that I was hoping someone could answer-

1. Are there any sitting areas/lobbies in the individual longhouses? I am a night owl and think I might need to leave the hotel room so my family can sleep therefore I am trying to figure out where I can go. If the longhouses don't have sitting areas, is there a decent place to go in the GCH?

2. Do you feel safe walking around the Poly at night?

3. Since we are planning on being there for our Spring Break (Mar 20-28) will I be crazy to want to be near a pool? Does it get to be too nutty there all night long?

Thanks for helping me out!!

Tokelau, Tahiti, and Rapa Nui do have their own small seating areas. We've stayed in Rapa Nui many times and my DH enjoys sitting there to read at night and I in the early am.

Niue and Raratonga don't have inside areas that I can recall but there is a second floor bridge between the two with a table and chairs. Samoa has its own outdoor seating area on the second floor landing closest to the GCH.

Since a room key is needed to access the longhouses at night, all of these areas feel secure to me.

In Hawaii, the concierge building, the lounge is open for reading all night long. Room key is needed for access to this building 24/7.

I don't know about seating in the three Western longhouses. But there are plenty of couches and chairs in the GCH and it is very quiet in the middle of the night. Captain Cooks is open 24/7...oh, you know that since you just read this whole thing!

I do feel relatively safe on the grounds at night. I just use common sense as I would at home.

We used to go at Spring break every year and the pools are very quiet during the night in our experience. One time (this was summer), the volcano pool was unusually noisy until 10:00 pm....then silence. Not sure what happened but it worked.

wiseguyslovethemouse, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Happy planning to you both!

 

[churchlady]

Does anyone have a preference which of these two buildings? The only thing available during our stay would be lagoon view. I like the location of both of these, but I'm wondering what the view would actually take in? I did request an upper floor, full balcony to increase our chances of seeing fireworks and/or water.

Please help!!

 

[BCV23]

Does anyone have a preference which of these two buildings? The only thing available during our stay would be lagoon view. I like the location of both of these, but I'm wondering what the view would actually take in? I did request an upper floor, full balcony to increase our chances of seeing fireworks and/or water.

Please help!!

Well, you really don't need upper floor to see the lagoon, Wishes or the Electrical Water Pageant. You will be able to see them well from any floor on the lagoon side of Tahiti.

Tokelau is almost completely gardenview. I know a few years back, Tikiman reported that a very few rooms at the lagoon end had been classified as lagoonview. Don't know if that is still true.

Availability does change BTW. And happy planning!

 

[churchlady]

Thanks! The strange thing about Tahiti is that is offers MK view, so I'm wondering what part is just Lagoon.

 

[BCV23]

Thanks! The strange thing about Tahiti is that is offers MK view, so I'm wondering what part is just Lagoon.

From what Tikiman reported, when the Polynesian added MK view to the categories, CMs assessed each room individually to assign the proper category. If a palm tree trunk or frond or a bush obstructed the view of the castle, that room was categorized lagoon view instead of MK view. For the Western longhouses, the island may affect the view as well...I'm not sure. MK view is completely unobstructed as I understand it. But even so, lagoon view rooms in Tahiti will afford a great view of the Electrical Water Pageant, Wishes and the lagoon.

The lagoon views in Tuvalu should as well. I'm not sure if lagoonview in Aotearoa affords a view of the Electrical Water Pageant.

 

[surfboard]

no kidding

 

[churchlady]

Looks a little farther from the GCH and TTC, but an excellent view seems guaranteed!

 

[BCV23]

Looks a little farther from the GCH and TTC, but an excellent view seems guaranteed!

Tahiti is the furthest from the GCH but it is very close to the TTC. Only Rapa Nui is closer but not by much.

 

[Corryn]

Hi Everyone
I'm new to this thread....Me and DH were planning on staying at GF for my 40th birthday....we went to the AAA today, they were having their Disney Days. We were all set to book.
The TA tells us all rooms in the GF were booked. We were stunned, how could that be? So we had to choose, and we picked the Poly.

Now, at first I was a little bummed out, but then I started to think about how during every visit we take a ride over to the Poly for breakfast and I like to wander around the place, it's so beautiful. Then I remembered how when I was little I saw a special on it on Wonderful World of Disney and I wanted to stay there so bad! But back when we were kids, who could afford it

That turned my frown upside down..We are now booked at the Poly with a garden view...

Can anyone tell me about the garden view besides the obvious? Thanks

BTW, I love all the pics, OP!

 

[sandym718]

There are some excellent garden view rooms at the Poly where you actually do have a partial water view, or if you step out onto your patio/balcony you do. I know I was thrilled with our room on the east side of Tokelau. We will request that again next year - building location is very central, it was very quiet, and just stepping onto our patio we could see the water, a few steps out and we could see the castle. If you Google Tikiman and check out his site, he has excellent descriptions of each building, where each room #is in each and many photos of various views.

 

[Mike]

This is my first time staying at the CL so maybe my expectations are too high. I sent my dining requests in a few weeks back and got a response a day later with all of my reservations as requested. So far so good. Last Tuesday I sent in a request to have a session scheduled with a Photo Pass Photographer at the Poly. I got no reply. On Saturday I re-sent the email noting that I never received a response. A few hours later I got a reply giving me the phone number to call and set it up myself.

I knew the phone number already. Isn't it their job to set it up for me I don't get it. Any thoughts?

 

[Corryn]

Thank you for the Tikiman information! His site is so full of information

Question: DH would like to know - Since the Poly has no gym, is he able to take the monorail over to the GF to workout in the morning? Thanks

 

[momatater]

This is my first time staying at the CL so maybe my expectations are too high. I sent my dining requests in a few weeks back and got a response a day later with all of my reservations as requested. So far so good. Last Tuesday I sent in a request to have a session scheduled with a Photo Pass Photographer at the Poly. I got no reply. On Saturday I re-sent the email noting that I never received a response. A few hours later I got a reply giving me the phone number to call and set it up myself.

I knew the phone number already. Isn't it their job to set it up for me I don't get it. Any thoughts?

I'm sorry you are having problems with the Poly IPO. So am I. I haven't heard back from them at all! I don't know what's going on with them right now, this is the WORST service I have received from any IPO office in all the yrs I've been staying at CL. The sad part is, you and I are not the only ones having trouble.

Here's a link to a thread about this topic


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1806992

I hope they get their act together, I'm VERY frustrated with the lack of service they are providing!! Don't let the IPO office get you down about the entire trip...the lounge is fantastic and so are the CMs that work on site! Enjoy your trip!!!