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

[NJBILL]

That's great Bill. We will have to say hi while we are there. We are so psyched to be going and really happy with the pricing we got from Southwest on a package with plane tix, rese, rental car and and park hoppers. The savings was the only thing that made The Poly affordable (somewhat) for us!

Happy Planning.

We will be "starting" our trip in Virginia (Lorton) as we are taking the Auto-Train..

 

[johnsonet]

10 weeks and 4 days until we get to the Poly! Thanks for this thread - I am so excited about staying here and so are my kids!

You will the Poly!

So it's official. We are making a family dream come true and we are headed to the Poly 7/20-7/27. The family is excited for the trip. I am excited to have something to plan again! I love planning Disney trips!

This will be our first stay at Poly, first trip to WDW in July and first stay at a monorail resort. Any tips are greatly appreciated!

I can't believe this thread is so big, it will take me a while to catch up, but I am subscribing now.

This is a great thread, with genuinely friendly people
We often visit WDW in late July and love it!
You cannot go wrong with the Polynesian. The grounds are gorgeous, the location is awesome and it's just an all-around festive place to be
I recommend planning on having breakfast at Kona Cafe at least once. Enjoying a day at the resort one day, so that you can enjoy the beach and pools and resort activities.
Plan some meals at the other monorail resorts (GF and Contemporary) for the convenient transportation via monorail
Have fun planning your trip!

 

[DeborahB]

Glad to hear it was a great week, great resort choice, and a wonderful time!

Do you suggest 1st floor on your room request instead of 3rd? I'm trying to figure out which one to request on our upcoming stay in Hawaii and would love some ideas, if you dont mind.

Welcome back!

mmmears I think third floor views are the best, personally, in the Hawaii building. We had requested that floor and ended up with 2nd (which is no balcony) and it ended up being fine. The view was gorgeous from our room. But I think the higher up the better.

Some people love the 1st floor rooms with the patio.

Just have your request noted on your ressie, and you can also reaffirm that with IPO.

 

[kaffinito]

Have you guys checked out Tikimans site lately? There's a goodbye message on there from Steve. He says that it's been 10 years and he's closing down the site!!!! It's in the What's New section of his pages.

 

[johnsonet]

Have you guys checked out Tikimans site lately? There's a goodbye message on there from Steve. He says that it's been 10 years and he's closing down the site!!!! It's in the What's New section of his pages.

That's too bad. But I can imagine that at a certain point it gets to be too much work... What a great resource his site has been, though. Wow. Maybe he'll open it up again in the future??

 

[mickeysmyboy]

DH and I arrive in 6 days to celebrate our 10th anniversary! I'm super excited to be staying at Poly!!

Quick question! Does anyone know the hours of the Kona Coffee bar?! I'm a coffee fiend! When we ate lunch at Kona Cafe in January the coffee bar outside was closed because they were setting up to serve sushi. Also, does anyone know if they serve coffee at the same time as the sushi?

TIA!

 

[disneyfan67]

Have you guys checked out Tikimans site lately? There's a goodbye message on there from Steve. He says that it's been 10 years and he's closing down the site!!!! It's in the What's New section of his pages.

It's too bad and the end of a era. Not only was it a great site and a joy for fans of the Polynesian like myself, but the man who created it/ran it, was a pleasure to meet in person. Steve is definitely one of the good guys and was a big help to a lot of people on this very board for many years and was missed when he moved on for reasons that I won't discuss here.

I wish Steve well and I thank him for all that he did with that site for the past decade.

 

[Picabo]

I remember checking back in Sept and they had a small pail and shovel set for 99 cents and a medium Nemo set for either $4.99 or $5.99.

WOW thanks! That's not nearly as much as I'd have anticipated!

If anyoen is going anytime soon - do you mind taking a peek in the gift shop to see what kinds of beach toys there are (and the cost)! THANKS! Pix would be even better but if that's asking too much - NO problem!

 

[BCV23]

Maybe Steve will even start posting on the DIS again. That would be great.

mmmears, it seems to me that everyone prefers whichever floor they've had in Hawaii. All our stays have been first floor which we request. I know Tikiman prefers it too....or at least that's what he had posted in the past. Others adore the third for the balcony and increased feeling of privacy. Some love the second for convenience to the lounge. But the MK is far enough away that the view itself will not change much from one floor to the next.

 

[Picabo]

Does anyone know if there is a preferred room (garden view) in Tokelau? I requested Tokelau on the end of the bldg closes to the lagoon. (Can't remember if that's north or south, sorry) After reviewing Tikiman's AWSOME site, that's the location we wanted to aim for. But wondering if there's a better floor to be on. If i recall, all 3 levels have balcony (patio on 1st). Oh and - is there an elevator in that bldg incase we're not on the ground level??

THANKS!

 

[Kathy Z]

We were on the lagoon side of what is now the Hawaii longhouse in April, 1975(Tonga back then.) The cost per night was $68.00! Our children were 7 & 5 and bedtime came immediately after the electrical water pagent passed by.

 

[kaffinito]

We were on the lagoon side of what is now the Hawaii longhouse in April, 1975(Tonga back then.) The cost per night was $68.00! Our children were 7 & 5 and bedtime came immediately after the electrical water pagent passed by.

What a nice memory that must be!

 

[matthew_hull]

You can order anything from the Kona Cafe menu while you sit at the Kona Sushi bar. Including a cup of coffee. (I don't know the published operating hours; sorry.)

DH and I arrive in 6 days to celebrate our 10th anniversary! I'm super excited to be staying at Poly!!

Quick question! Does anyone know the hours of the Kona Coffee bar?! I'm a coffee fiend! When we ate lunch at Kona Cafe in January the coffee bar outside was closed because they were setting up to serve sushi. Also, does anyone know if they serve coffee at the same time as the sushi?

TIA!

 

[DeborahB]

We were on the lagoon side of what is now the Hawaii longhouse in April, 1975(Tonga back then.) The cost per night was $68.00! Our children were 7 & 5 and bedtime came immediately after the electrical water pagent passed by.

I'll bet it was a great time for you and your family!

Don't you wish we could get that nightly rate now?

 

[Kathy Z]

Yes, great memories. We were in the same building with the same view 5 years later (I can't find what we paid then.) Then in 1985 we stayed at the Golf Resort. I think that is now Shades of Green.

My husband & I are headed back down to the Polynesian with our granddaughters (ages 10 & 7) for a week in May, making use of the 3 nights free. It will be their first time at WDW. We could only fit a garden view room into our retirement budget. We'll watch some of the fireworks from the beach and stay in the MK for the fireworks at least once and probably twice. We'll stay at Epcot for Illuminations once.

 

[WiscMomof2]

Have you guys checked out Tikimans site lately? There's a goodbye message on there from Steve. He says that it's been 10 years and he's closing down the site!!!! It's in the What's New section of his pages.

Wow that's too bad!! I really enjoyed his site and got alot of helpful info for our upcoming trip. I'll have to pour over it for anything I may have missed before he shuts it down.

 

[kaffinito]

Wow that's too bad!! I really enjoyed his site and got alot of helpful info for our upcoming trip. I'll have to pour over it for anything I may have missed before he shuts it down.

I know. I read that website for years before I got on the DIS. I'm really going to miss that site, especially the bits of music, and those wonderful photos of the views from different locations in the longhouses. And the menus... It was a really good site.

 

[LJD2143]

Have you guys checked out Tikimans site lately? There's a goodbye message on there from Steve. He says that it's been 10 years and he's closing down the site!!!! It's in the What's New section of his pages.

That is very, very sad! Such a wealth of Poly info is going to disappear!

 

[LJD2143]

DH and I arrive in 6 days to celebrate our 10th anniversary! I'm super excited to be staying at Poly!!

Quick question! Does anyone know the hours of the Kona Coffee bar?! I'm a coffee fiend! When we ate lunch at Kona Cafe in January the coffee bar outside was closed because they were setting up to serve sushi. Also, does anyone know if they serve coffee at the same time as the sushi?

TIA!

When I was there in December I was able to get coffee with my sushi.

 

[blessedby3]

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

My first request was for Tokelau, because I wanted one of the larger rooms. I had first floor as my second request. They actually had us in another building, but I asked about my request of Tokelau and the CM told me it wasnt noted even though I had seen it noted on my papers. He told me he could get me Tokelau, but on the second floor. Thats what we took since I really needed the bigger room more than the first floor.

Does anyone know if there is a preferred room (garden view) in Tokelau? I requested Tokelau on the end of the bldg closes to the lagoon. (Can't remember if that's north or south, sorry) After reviewing Tikiman's AWSOME site, that's the location we wanted to aim for. But wondering if there's a better floor to be on. If i recall, all 3 levels have balcony (patio on 1st). Oh and - is there an elevator in that bldg incase we're not on the ground level??

THANKS!

There is an elevator, but it only fits a few people- LITERALLY. I couldnt believe how small that elevator was. We are a family of 6- Me, DH, DD19, DS13, DD9 and DD1. It only fit our family plus our stroller, and it was tight. I really wish I could have gotten my request of first floor too, as I hated trying to get us all in that tiny elevator every day!!