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

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Congratulations on the upgrade!! Wouldn't that be so nice for my honeymoon!!! I was thinking the same thing about putting in requests...how it might interfere with my chances for an upgrade but I listened to everyone's advice and put in my two requests...first, for a balcony and second, for tokelau. I thought that wasn't SO specific that it wouldn't ruin my chances! I'll just be thrilled to be on my honymoon at the Poly!!

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

I have to agree about requesting in your reservation what you want. I have this thing about getting rooms that face parking lots- I hate them. They are noisy, offer no view, etc. When we stayed at POFQ in '97 and the Poly in October, I specifically made the request of no rooms facing the parking lot. I also don't like staying on the first floors. The FQ and Poly staff were accommodating in meeting my requests (although the FQ staff was far less acommodating on other things- including the mold in my room- but that's another story)...

As for getting a free upgrade just because you don't like the room- it's very unlikely. Here's my story regarding room upgrades: On our honeymoon in 2005, we had made reservations through a travel agent (name witheld but I will say it is a national company). When the travel agent went over the resorts and we decided on AKL, I asked about rooms facing parking lots. The TA informed us that since we were on our honeymoon, the front desk would most likely give us a nice view (albeit standard room). This was our first time back to WDW in years, so I really didn't know what to expect, so I took her word for it. Well, needless to say, when we got there, the first thing I noticed was a room facing the parking lot, and a very cramped balcony. I like to sit outside on the balcony in the morning and have my coffee and read the sports section....there was barely enough room to do that. Well after calling the Travel Agency and giving them an earful, they basically told me it was my problem and that their agents have no responsibility when it comes to what they tell customers.....nice, eh? Of course, there were a handful of other things the TA misinformed us about- like needing additional tickets for MNSSHP. So- I went to the front desk at the resort and (as calmly as possible) explained the situation. The CM was very nice and understanding, but they wouldn't or couldn't (maybe due to vacancy) offer a free upgrade. They did however (at our cost) offer us a savannah room upgrade to one of the nicest rooms they had. It was on the end of one of the wings of the resort, and got great views and late night and morning activity in the savannah. It was expensive, but will forever remain worth it in my mind. I guess that's just one reason out of our past 3 WDW trips that AKL still remains my favorite...

Sorry so long, but it does give you a sense of what you can reasonably expect and not expect.....Others I'm sure will share their stories.

 

[BCV23]

blessedby3 - I know that a lot of DISers have said recently that leaving the room assignment up to chance was a better way of getting an upgrade, but I usually make a request. If there is something you really want, I'd add it to the reservation. An upgrade is a chance thing, not all that likely to happen, and I'd rather get the building, view, floor that I'm most hoping for. The few times I've gone without a request, I got a building/area that I wasn't happy with. That's just me, though, you can take that advice for what it's worth!

Good luck with your planning!

I agree with this too.

OK all this talk of requesting rooms really has me thinking I should too. We are going in a little over a month...is it too close to request a 1st level room? Should I call today and see what they say? Is it something I can do online?

It's not too late at all. I don't know if you can request online but you can certainly call and have it added to your reservation.

Hey folks!

Sorry I haven't checked in yet but for the past 5 nights we've been at Pop Century and my aircard reception was pretty crappy out there. Today we got our luggage transferred to the Poly and ran screaming here. LOL! Checked in this morning hoping to get a garden view room in Fiji and.....

WE GOT UPGRADED TO CONCIERGE!!!!!!

Congratulations!!!! Looking forward to your pictures!

Thought I'd pop in and say "Aloha" to all the Poly lovers here! We just booked two days at the Poly before our AKL stay next week, can't wait! We haven't stayed at the Poly for a couple years, hoping to have a magical stay, since we will have a WDW newbie with us this trip! My DD and her friend are looking forward to Kona coffee and the new sushi bar.

I've loved reading everyone's reports, and the photos are great, especially the link to the webcam - thanks, SeaSpray and tecdavidt! That's really making it seem like a long week before we head down.

That is a great combination IMO! Have fun!

I'm been so busy with Christmas that I have a lot of catching up to do with this great thread...hopefully later today.

We head back to the Polynesian in a few more days and can not wait!

cmesq61, besides going to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail another great advantage of the Polynesian is the easy access to the big ferry at the TTC. Very easy roll on/roll off and the crossing is quite fast.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

can someone tell me what i need to request at poly to get a room w/ a balcony. i read that some buildings don't have one. this is a major reason we upgraded to deluxe...the baby will be in bed early some nights and napping during the day and we will need a place to sit other than inside a hotel room. thanks!

 

[sandym718]

can someone tell me what i need to request at poly to get a room w/ a balcony. i read that some buildings don't have one. this is a major reason we upgraded to deluxe...the baby will be in bed early some nights and napping during the day and we will need a place to sit other than inside a hotel room. thanks!

I know someone will chime in with which buildings have balconies/which do not - I don't know them all!! But I just wanted to mention - have you considered requesting a first floor? We did it last time and will be doing it again- it was SO convenient with napping kids. DH and I just sat right outside, but instead of being trapped on a balcony, or going through the room - and possibly waking them, we had the freedom to come and go (one at a time of course). It was great. We could take turns taking a walk through the beautiful resort, or going to get a snack etc. The patio/grass area, also helped us feel as if we had extra room. Dh would often take the kids out there to play (and watch the ducks!) while I got ready in the morning.

Just wanted to mention it, since it worked so well for us. This coming trip, DD will still be napping, but DS probably not (unless he's REALLY exhausted) so I think it will work well again, if we want to take him back to the pool or go to the beach, etc. And he can also sit outside with us to do his schoolwork during that time, too.

 

[Maxinesmom]

With a "garden" view, what kind of view could I expect? Is it worth more to upgrade to a different type of view??

 

[mmmears]

If a balcony or patio is the most important thing to you, I would just request that -- you'll be more likely to get it that way.

The GV rooms mostly overlook the lush gardens at the Poly. Some look out at the pools or the marina.

If you want to be guaranteed to be looking out over the lagoon, then book a LV room. But, all the rooms are the same. It just depends on which view you want to pay for.

 

[ConcKahuna]

can someone tell me what i need to request at poly to get a room w/ a balcony. i read that some buildings don't have one. this is a major reason we upgraded to deluxe...the baby will be in bed early some nights and napping during the day and we will need a place to sit other than inside a hotel room. thanks!

There are balconies on all 3rd floor rooms, no matter what building. Most 2nd floor rooms do not have balconies, but the ones in Tokelau, Rapa Nui, and Tahiti do.

With a "garden" view, what kind of view could I expect? Is it worth more to upgrade to a different type of view??

http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/PolynAccessRm.htm

The Browns have some photos there. Google is also good for Poly pics

 

[NJBILL]

There are balconies on all 3rd floor rooms, no matter what building. Most 2nd floor rooms do not have balconies, but the ones in Tokelau, Rapa Nui, and Tahiti do.

Does the above apply to Hawaii bldg also?

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Does the above apply to Hawaii bldg also?

The Hawaii building doesn't have balconies on the 2nd floor, but the lounge is on that floor. Which is a plus for some people.

 

[time4Mickey]

We just stayed on the 2nd floor of Hawaii. I was a bit disappointed at first but we were just a few doors from the lounge. It was wonderful and so convenient with 4 little ones. I love the Poly and we hope to be able to stay in Hawaii again. I would request a 2nd floor room. We had awesome views of Wishes!

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

The Hawaii building doesn't have balconies on the 2nd floor, but the lounge is on that floor. Which is a plus for some people.

It's definitely a plus for me. Here is the view from our 2nd floor room in Hawaii.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I know someone will chime in with which buildings have balconies/which do not - I don't know them all!! But I just wanted to mention - have you considered requesting a first floor? We did it last time and will be doing it again- it was SO convenient with napping kids. DH and I just sat right outside, but instead of being trapped on a balcony, or going through the room - and possibly waking them, we had the freedom to come and go (one at a time of course). It was great. We could take turns taking a walk through the beautiful resort, or going to get a snack etc. The patio/grass area, also helped us feel as if we had extra room. Dh would often take the kids out there to play (and watch the ducks!) while I got ready in the morning.

Just wanted to mention it, since it worked so well for us. This coming trip, DD will still be napping, but DS probably not (unless he's REALLY exhausted) so I think it will work well again, if we want to take him back to the pool or go to the beach, etc. And he can also sit outside with us to do his schoolwork during that time, too.

hadn't thought of it, but thanks! i'm from charleston though, so a little worried about palmetto bugs on the first floor. any problems with those critters?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

There are balconies on all 3rd floor rooms, no matter what building. Most 2nd floor rooms do not have balconies, but the ones in Tokelau, Rapa Nui, and Tahiti do.



http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/PolynAccessRm.htm

The Browns have some photos there. Google is also good for Poly pics

thanks!

 

[cmesq61]

Ok...here's a little more convincing....LOL... You can ride your ECV right over to the TTC (there's a short path directly from the Polynesian to the TTC) and ride right onto the monorail to Epcot!

Thanks SeaSpray! I'm convinced. Just waiting for my quote from Small World to see what's available and--gulp--what the damage will be.

 

[risingsunmom]

Any parents out there among the Poly faithful with comments on the Neverland Club? We are booked for 5/13 -5/20 at the Poly. DD 8yrs old and DS 5 yrs old at time of trip. DH and I would love to have one meal by ourselves for our 15th Anniversary. Do they have some kind of paging system to your cell if your child needs or wants you? Any stories appreciated.

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

With a "garden" view, what kind of view could I expect? Is it worth more to upgrade to a different type of view??

I kept asking this same question before our October trip, unfortunately no one answered me and it kind of bugged me....anyways- we had a "garden view" room, and basically it overlooked the walkways and some flower gardens. It was your basic view but nice and quiet. We were in the Tokelau longhouse. I don't know if I would have upgraded (if given the chance) to another view, unless it were say a view towards MK- even in that case, the cost might have far outweighed a potential upgrade decision.
Here's some photos from our balcony- because I knew someone would eventually ask the same question I had before our trip- a picture in each direction....Hope this helps!

 

[BreezysMom]

For our first trip in Oct of 07 we booked GV and we were fortunate to get a room in Figi, facing the lagoon. This was a beautiful view and I was shocked it was considered a GV. On our second stay, we requested Figi, third floor. I did not care which side because I knew either would be nice and unfortunately, we did not get our request upon check in. We got a standard garden view, which was was we booked. It was actually not so great because there was a huge tree in front of our balcony and that was all you could see. I would not be happy with this for 8 nights.

I called the front desk and asked if maybe we could move the next day and we were able to move to third floor Figi with a marina view and I felt blessed to be able to get my wish.

So the moral of my story. I want a water/lagoon view, plain and simple so on our next trip, that is what I am going to book. The entire Poly resort is beautiful but I got spolied on our first trip with our great view. Now I am going for broke and doing club level lagoon view. I need to wait a bit longer to get there, but I am okay with that. The thought of sitting in bed with my little girl and watching the fireworks and the EWP just seems so surreal!

So dh says Oct of 2010 if I want a longer stay. DD and I are already counting the months as poor dh just thinks to himself "here we go again". He did have one stipulation. Since we are stayling concierge he is only allowing 2-3 ADR's. He hates the scheduled dining! That is his only Disney complaint. It feels good to start the pre-lanning though...

 

[crcurton]

Subscribing and hoping for the Poly '09

 

[sandym718]

hadn't thought of it, but thanks! i'm from charleston though, so a little worried about palmetto bugs on the first floor. any problems with those critters?

Didn't notice any at all! And I am SO NOT a bug person, LOL!!!

If you look at NY Outlaw's photos above (great photos!!) we were in almost the same section, just closer to the lagoon, but on the same side of Tokelau. All that grassy area there was right off our patio, so that's where the kids would play sometimes. Also, if I wanted sun rather than shade when I was reading, I would pull my chair out onto that "lawn".