We had four wonderful days at the Polynesian 12/30 - 1/3!
We arrived at about 8:45 AM and were able to leave all our luggage with bell services while we went on to Magic Kingdom. There was NO line at the front desk, so we got checked in, got our Happy Anniversary and 1st Visit buttons and were on our way to MK by 9:15. Amazing.
We had room 2017 in Tahiti -- a fantastic location! We had an unobstructed view across the lagoon to the castle and our own private beach right in front. Plus, we were right next to the TTC, which made getting to and from both MK and EPCOT fast and easy. In fact, we only took the resort monorail the first day, since we happened to be at the GCH.
The room had two sinks, was clean as a whistle, and felt very new and nice. We had plenty of room to put stuff in the bathroom because of the little shelf over the sinks. We lucked out with our Mousekeeping experience, I think -- we brought home THREE towel creatures -- a clown, a bird, and a bouquet of flowers. I'll try to post a picture once I figure out where to put them! On New Year's Day, the Mousekeeper didn't come until after 5 PM, but that was the only thing that didn't go swimmingly well, and, frankly, given that it was a holiday, I didn't let it bug me.
The most amazing moment for us was on New Year's Eve. We'd gone to bed at 9:30, slept a couple of hours, and woke up at 11:55 to the sound of the MC across the lagoon annoucing the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks. We wrapped up in a blanket, went out on the balcony and watched the most amazing, incredible fireworks I've ever seen in person! The beachfront was filled with hundreds of people, the lagoon was full of boats, and from our lagoon-front room, we had heard NONE of it. We'd slept like babies until just before they started! It made the extra expense of the Poly worthwhile in that moment, when I could stumble right back to bed while everyone else was making their way back to their cars or whatever!
It was very hard to leave the Poly, and it's very hard to imagine staying anywhere else now that I've been there. We lucked out with weather, too -- 70s and gorgeous the entire time we were there -- maybe if it had been 50 and rainy, I would have felt differently about having to walk outside to get anywhere or do anything.
I would have done a bounce back in a heartbeat, but none of the open dates worked on our calendar. *sigh*
Let's see...what else can I tell you about the Poly? Oh! In the afternoons, kids (and grownups) can make lei bracelets in the lobby until 5 PM. They also had little plastic "stained glass" suncatchers and coloring sheets, as well as old Disney cartoons for kids to watch from little kid-sized stools.
For our anniversary dinner, my husband and I went to 'Ohana while our DD7 went to the Neverland Club. I can't say enough good things about the NLC -- DD went back the next night and enjoyed it just as much. I'm amazed that it's not full to bursting every night. For $33.75, we had three carefree adult hours, knowing our daughter was safe, entertained, and content right there on the grounds. Priceless!
I'll post more about our park excursions in another thread, but I have to say that in general, the planning that went into the trip was totally worthwhile. On some of the busiest days of the year, we were able to get on every ride we wanted and do everything we had planned with
very little waiting. It was worth every minute of planning I'd done to maximize the good and minimize the bad! There were times, even when thing were NUTS elsewhere, where we were the only people in sight in any direction!
I thought the storm pics were great!
