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

[juliebee]

Quick Question for DeborahB -- What kind of animal is that in your last photo?

I had to study it a while too! I believe it is a duck, we are facing it's tail and it's head is down nibbling something in the grass.

 

[johnsonet]

I haven't made it all the way through this thread, but am thrilled to have found it.

My DS and I will be staying at the Poly for the first time, 5/31 - 6/7. He has absolutely no idea we are staying there (he thinks we're staying at CBR) -- I can't wait to see his face when we arrive! He loves Dole Whips - so he'll be thrilled with CC's! We love Kona as well and already have a couple of meals planned there.

Looking forward to reading more of this thread and to hopefully find some longhouse suggestions.

What an AWESOME surprise for your son You will love it! I've stayed in Raratonga a few times and it's SO convenient to the GCH and monorail. If you have GV booked, it's a great longhouse A lot of people recommend Samoa and Tokelau. I've never stayed in either one but Samoa is in between the two pools. Tokelau has balconies on 2d floor and a bit more square footage... From what I can see, you can't go wrong with a rom at the Poly Keep reading - you'll get lots of great info from everyone on here

Subscribing.

My family will be heading to Poly May 29-June 13... celebrating 3 kid's birthdays, and our anniversary - all actually ON the days that they are!

Dh and I had a wonderful triple-split stay last November (Pop, Poly, and AKL)... we were originally booked for BC this coming trip - but we fell in love with Poly and changed our ressies up the DAY we arrived at Poly!

5/30, 6/5, 6/6, and 6/12.

What a great trip - LOTS to celebrate!! You won't regret the change from BC in my opinion. I've stayed there twice and it's very nice but Poly is extra special!

 

[blessedby3]

Just back yesterday evening from our stay at the Poly and we LOVED it.
DH says it is officially now his favorite resort- mine too. We were given our request of Tokelou. I had asked for first floor, but got second. We were in 2934. The room was huge- we have a family of 6- and we never felt like we were on top of each other. The one thing I found odd was just how small the elevators were in the building. We could barely get our family in one (with the stroller). I was wishing I had gotten that first floor request by about the 3rd time we had to cram our family into that tiny elevator.
Mousekeeping was fine- we did have to ask for more towels and toiletries a couple of times, but the room was always clean. We didnt get any towel animals like we did at POP. She also never placed our stuffed animals in any cute way, but thats okay. Our fridge did quit cooling and the maintinance guy said we needed to leave the doors adjar that were covering the fridge. Not so easy with a 17 mo old.
The grounds were so beautiful and we loved the pool/beach area. We laid in the hammocks and rested and DD played in the sand-so nice. We also watched Wishes from the beach one evening. Special times....
Cptn Cooks was okay. We only ate lunch/dinner there once and breakfast a few times. It was very convienent to our longhouse for getting refills in our mugs. We ate at Ohanas again and yum, yum. We just love this place!!
We are sorry to be home, but just wanted to post that we loved this resort and thanks for all the GREAT information on this thread.
If anyone has any questions, Id be happy to try and answer them.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Just back yesterday evening from our stay at the Poly and we LOVED it.
DH says it is officially now his favorite resort- mine too. We were given our request of Tokelou. I had asked for first floor, but got second. We were in 2934. The room was huge- we have a family of 6- and we never felt like we were on top of each other. The one thing I found odd was just how small the elevators were in the building. We could barely get our family in one (with the stroller). I was wishing I had gotten that first floor request by about the 3rd time we had to cram our family into that tiny elevator.
Mousekeeping was fine- we did have to ask for more towels and toiletries a couple of times, but the room was always clean. We didnt get any towel animals like we did at POP. She also never placed our stuffed animals in any cute way, but thats okay. Our fridge did quit cooling and the maintinance guy said we needed to leave the doors adjar that were covering the fridge. Not so easy with a 17 mo old.
The grounds were so beautiful and we loved the pool/beach area. We laid in the hammocks and rested and DD played in the sand-so nice. We also watched Wishes from the beach one evening. Special times....
Cptn Cooks was okay. We only ate lunch/dinner there once and breakfast a few times. It was very convienent to our longhouse for getting refills in our mugs. We ate at Ohanas again and yum, yum. We just love this place!!
We are sorry to be home, but just wanted to post that we loved this resort and thanks for all the GREAT information on this thread.
If anyone has any questions, Id be happy to try and answer them.

Sounds like a great trip! We're planning to stay here the end of September. Did the Tokelou have balconies on the 2nd floor that you could walk out onto? Thanks!

 

[DeborahB]

Thanks for posting the lovely photos! Your view was fantastic!

Glad you enjoyed them! Yes, it was a fantastic view

DeborahB,
Thank you for posting that great review and your pictures look amazing.

You're welcome! It's a beautiful resort, isn't it?

DeborahB ~ thanks for sharing your pics. We did a LVCL/RPC split last summer, along w/ AKL CL. I agree that it is

Glad you enjoyed the pics! We loved it.

DeborahB, thanks for posting your beautiful pictures.

You're welcome! I love to look at them again too.

Quick Question for DeborahB -- What kind of animal is that in your last photo?

I had to study it a while too! I believe it is a duck, we are facing it's tail and it's head is down nibbling something in the grass.

Too funny! Yes that is a duck and Juliebee your analysis is correct! I didn't really notice how it appeared when I posted because my photo is actually clearer than it showed up on here. We saw many, many ducks all over the Poly....I guess they love it there too!

 

[Monorail Purple&Gold]

Is there a children's outdoor playground at the Poly???

I didn't see mention of it on the first few posts (and it's daunting to go through all 200+pages).

My Passporter says their is one near the volcano pool, but I don't see it on the maps. We go to O'Hana every trip, and if we can locate a playground here it would make showing up early that much easier on us. Every time we go looking all we can find is the Pina Colada spot (maybe we're not looking hard enough ). We searched the grounds in June but just couldn't seem to find the playground.

Thanks for any help.

 

[BreezysMom]

There is no playground but there is a beach with hammocks and lounge chairs. The kiddos can play in the sand while you have a cocktail.

 

[LJD2143]

Is there a children's outdoor playground at the Poly???

I didn't see mention of it on the first few posts (and it's daunting to go through all 200+pages).

My Passporter says their is one near the volcano pool, but I don't see it on the maps. We go to O'Hana every trip, and if we can locate a playground here it would make showing up early that much easier on us. Every time we go looking all we can find is the Pina Colada spot (maybe we're not looking hard enough ). We searched the grounds in June but just couldn't seem to find the playground.

Thanks for any help.

Although there is no playground, the Passporter may be referring to the Wet Kids Play Area (i.e. jumping water) that is off to the side of the Volcano Pool.

 

[BCV23]

Or it could be outdated info. Over the years we've stayed at the Polynesian, there were three different locations for the playground. The last playground was removed when the Volcano pool was built.

 

[lmgaddis]

We just got back last night from a wonderful 7 night stay at the Poly!! We stayed in Fiji room 1314. We asked for ground level with a patio and that is what we got. I loved it. We got to look at the pool and marina but it was considered a GV room. I really enjoyed it but Dh thought it was a little "dark" He wants to try the GF next time. Here are some pics of our room and view

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Just back yesterday evening from our stay at the Poly and we LOVED it.
DH says it is officially now his favorite resort- mine too. We were given our request of Tokelou. I had asked for first floor, but got second. We were in 2934. The room was huge- we have a family of 6- and we never felt like we were on top of each other. The one thing I found odd was just how small the elevators were in the building. We could barely get our family in one (with the stroller). I was wishing I had gotten that first floor request by about the 3rd time we had to cram our family into that tiny elevator.
Mousekeeping was fine- we did have to ask for more towels and toiletries a couple of times, but the room was always clean. We didnt get any towel animals like we did at POP. She also never placed our stuffed animals in any cute way, but thats okay. Our fridge did quit cooling and the maintinance guy said we needed to leave the doors adjar that were covering the fridge. Not so easy with a 17 mo old.
The grounds were so beautiful and we loved the pool/beach area. We laid in the hammocks and rested and DD played in the sand-so nice. We also watched Wishes from the beach one evening. Special times....
Cptn Cooks was okay. We only ate lunch/dinner there once and breakfast a few times. It was very convienent to our longhouse for getting refills in our mugs. We ate at Ohanas again and yum, yum. We just love this place!!
We are sorry to be home, but just wanted to post that we loved this resort and thanks for all the GREAT information on this thread.
If anyone has any questions, Id be happy to try and answer them.

Glad to hear you had a great trip! Thanks for posting. Did you try the Tonga Toast?

Sounds like a great trip! We're planning to stay here the end of September. Did the Tokelou have balconies on the 2nd floor that you could walk out onto? Thanks!

Yes, Tokelau has balconies on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Nice size with 2 chairs and a little table...if I remember correctly.

Is there a children's outdoor playground at the Poly???

I didn't see mention of it on the first few posts (and it's daunting to go through all 200+pages).

My Passporter says their is one near the volcano pool, but I don't see it on the maps. We go to O'Hana every trip, and if we can locate a playground here it would make showing up early that much easier on us. Every time we go looking all we can find is the Pina Colada spot (maybe we're not looking hard enough ). We searched the grounds in June but just couldn't seem to find the playground.

Thanks for any help.

As pp said, no playground but the sand is like a HUGE playground for the kids. We brought sand bucket playsets from home for our girls and they just adored playing in the sand and digging holes to pour water into. We gave our sand playsets to another family the morning we checked out to spread a little pixie dust

 

[Monorail Purple&Gold]

Thanks for the quick response about the playground, folks!

 

[LJD2143]

We just got back last night from a wonderful 7 night stay at the Poly!! We stayed in Fiji room 1314. We asked for ground level with a patio and that is what we got. I loved it. We got to look at the pool and marina but it was considered a GV room. I really enjoyed it but Dh thought it was a little "dark" He wants to try the GF next time. Here are some pics of our room and view

Great pics!
Isn't it wonderful when your requests are granted?

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Glad to hear you had a great trip! Thanks for posting. Did you try the Tonga Toast?




Yes, Tokelau has balconies on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Nice size with 2 chairs and a little table...if I remember correctly.



As pp said, no playground but the sand is like a HUGE playground for the kids. We brought sand bucket playsets from home for our girls and they just adored playing in the sand and digging holes to pour water into. We gave our sand playsets to another family the morning we checked out to spread a little pixie dust

Thanks for answering about Tokelou! I'm thinking that would be a good centrally located longhouse for us and my in-laws. Thanks too for the idea of bringing sand buckets and then passing them on to another family! What a great idea!

 

[princessmorgan]

So I've been reading this thread trying to decide which place to request...thanks for all the pics! It's a bit daunting. This is our first trip to the Poly! I'm so excited but I kind of have a pit in my stomach for the money we're about to drop. We're so used to doing budget and staying in values but we decided to splurge since my sister and her family will be going, too. Where would you recommend we stay? It is me, DH, and 3 DD's-ages 4, 2, and infant. We will always have at least a double stroller with us. In my sister's family it will be her, DH, and her 5 children-ages 11 down to 2. I think we'll like to be close to transportation. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[KJF]

So I've been reading this thread trying to decide which place to request...thanks for all the pics! It's a bit daunting. This is our first trip to the Poly! I'm so excited but I kind of have a pit in my stomach for the money we're about to drop. We're so used to doing budget and staying in values but we decided to splurge since my sister and her family will be going, too. Where would you recommend we stay? It is me, DH, and 3 DD's-ages 4, 2, and infant. We will always have at least a double stroller with us. In my sister's family it will be her, DH, and her 5 children-ages 11 down to 2. I think we'll like to be close to transportation. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Watch out - you may end up spoiled by this trip We were a moderate type of family, but stayed here in '07 when the kids were 2 & 4, thanks to a discount code & the fact that my Dsis was coming w/ us & chipping in some $. We fell in love w/ it & now can't stay anywhere else! To us, it's worth saving up for, not to mention that the kids want to go back & it works well to tell them we can't get something cause we need to save the money for Disney! I can totally relate to that pit in your stomach feeling - it was a lot for me, even though it was discounted.

We opted to let them assign us anywhere as long as it had a balcony or patio - If I'm paying that much, I wanted some outdoor space to use when the kids were sleeping! We ended up in Rapa Nui, which a lot of people complain about since it's further from the pool, but we loved it since it was right next to the TTC - very convenient for either MK or Epcot, esp w/ using strollers. It was nice to walk to the Epcot monorail.

Go & have fun & try not to worry about the cost - the convenience to everything totally ended up making up for the money.

 

[Tess]

Just back yesterday evening from our stay at the Poly and we LOVED it.
DH says it is officially now his favorite resort- mine too. We were given our request of Tokelou. I had asked for first floor, but got second. We were in 2934. The room was huge- we have a family of 6- and we never felt like we were on top of each other. The one thing I found odd was just how small the elevators were in the building. We could barely get our family in one (with the stroller). I was wishing I had gotten that first floor request by about the 3rd time we had to cram our family into that tiny elevator.
Mousekeeping was fine- we did have to ask for more towels and toiletries a couple of times, but the room was always clean. We didnt get any towel animals like we did at POP. She also never placed our stuffed animals in any cute way, but thats okay. Our fridge did quit cooling and the maintinance guy said we needed to leave the doors adjar that were covering the fridge. Not so easy with a 17 mo old.
The grounds were so beautiful and we loved the pool/beach area. We laid in the hammocks and rested and DD played in the sand-so nice. We also watched Wishes from the beach one evening. Special times....
Cptn Cooks was okay. We only ate lunch/dinner there once and breakfast a few times. It was very convienent to our longhouse for getting refills in our mugs. We ate at Ohanas again and yum, yum. We just love this place!!
We are sorry to be home, but just wanted to post that we loved this resort and thanks for all the GREAT information on this thread.
If anyone has any questions, Id be happy to try and answer them.

Welcome Back! Glad you enjoyed your stay and Tokelau!

We just got back last night from a wonderful 7 night stay at the Poly!! We stayed in Fiji room 1314. We asked for ground level with a patio and that is what we got. I loved it. We got to look at the pool and marina but it was considered a GV room. I really enjoyed it but Dh thought it was a little "dark" He wants to try the GF next time. Here are some pics of our room and view

And welcome back to you. . .glad your trip was wonderful. The GF is nice too--we just prefer the Polynesian--you never know until you try them all which is the best fit for you!

 

[sandym718]

Just back yesterday evening from our stay at the Poly and we LOVED it.
DH says it is officially now his favorite resort- mine too. We were given our request of Tokelou. I had asked for first floor, but got second. We were in 2934.

Glad you had a great time!!! Can I ask - what request did you have first - 1st floor or Tokelau? We stayed 1st floor Tokelau last trip and just loved it, so I requested it this time. 1st floor was my first request, then Tokelau, then east side (of Tok). The reservationist actually listed first floor as a "special request" and it doesn't say "not gty" next to it. The other two say request and have the "not gty". Of course, I know NO request is guaranteed, but I like how she worded it

 

[princessmorgan]

Watch out - you may end up spoiled by this trip We were a moderate type of family, but stayed here in '07 when the kids were 2 & 4, thanks to a discount code & the fact that my Dsis was coming w/ us & chipping in some $. We fell in love w/ it & now can't stay anywhere else! To us, it's worth saving up for, not to mention that the kids want to go back & it works well to tell them we can't get something cause we need to save the money for Disney! I can totally relate to that pit in your stomach feeling - it was a lot for me, even though it was discounted.

We opted to let them assign us anywhere as long as it had a balcony or patio - If I'm paying that much, I wanted some outdoor space to use when the kids were sleeping! We ended up in Rapa Nui, which a lot of people complain about since it's further from the pool, but we loved it since it was right next to the TTC - very convenient for either MK or Epcot, esp w/ using strollers. It was nice to walk to the Epcot monorail.

Go & have fun & try not to worry about the cost - the convenience to everything totally ended up making up for the money.

Thanks for the input! I didn't think about being able to spend sometime outside on the balcony. So do the 1st floor GV rooms not have anything outside?

 

[kamikazecat]

We have requested first floor in Samoa (right off the volcano pool). Has anyone stayed there? We have a 3yo so I like the proximity to the pool but am worried about the noise level during an afternoon nap. Any thoughts?