The Official Polynesian Resort FAQ thread!

[Poly Pal]

We check in the day SeaSpray checks out.....I'm hoping we get assigned to her 3rd Floor LVC room!

Have a great trip!

 

[mirlow]

I like the first floor and have requested it again for our upcoming trip in Sept. I have three kids and it felt like we had extra space. My kids love the beach and it was great to go to and from our room. I also slipped out the patio door a couple of mornings while everyone was sleeping. Much quieter than the lock in the door clicking shut.

I don't think it would be bad to have a third floor room. My kids are a little older and we would be able to watch them on the beach from the balcony. I bet the view is awesome! I just really hate how the railing is at my eye level. I wish they had the chairs that are a bit taller, like the ones at the GF.

I just worry that we'd get stuck in a 2nd floor room.

 

[chamonix]

Seaspray, we arrive Friday morning. Are your boys coming with you on this trip?

I have this fear noone will recognize my username since it's french and noone knows how to pronounce it, I still get blank stares when I say "my DIS name is shaw-muh-nee".

I can't wait.

 

[SeaSpray]

Seaspray, we arrive Friday morning. Are your boys coming with you on this trip?

I have this fear noone will recognize my username since it's french and noone knows how to pronounce it, I still get blank stares when I say "my DIS name is shaw-muh-nee".

I can't wait.

I'm so glad you mentioned this because I always say "cham-on-iks" in my head when I see your user name! Now I'll try and remember the proper way to pronounce it.

DSs wont be with us on this trip; DS16 is at the Jersey shore for the summer, and DS19 works the summers between semesters and he just got back from the NJ shore, so he's used most of his vacation days already. Neither of them are really interested in WDW anymore. I'm hoping they outgrow that. lol In 2 years when DS16 graduates from high school I plan on volunteering to chaperone their senior trip to Grad Nights!

It'll just be DH and I. When I got back from my May WDW trip my DH took a picture of me, I really should post it so that people can see what I look like NOW, because when I look back at the pics of myself from my previous WDW trips I look somewhat different because of how different my hair looks. It's fairly long now, and straight. At any rate, we'll be wearing our orange bracelets, so we should be easier to spot with those on

 

[disneyfan67]

You people here have me wondering if a first floor patio is such a great thing after all? I like having the extra room, but I don't want to be dodging duck landmines on the patio.

Maybe I'll get my second choice and that was a 3rd floor room. Ya know, either way it's still great that I'm going to the Poly and much like Sea Spray, I'm excited as well. I know Disney and the Polynesian are special because I'm a person who doesn't get excited about much in life and has kind of a "what's the big deal" attitude concerning most things. But.... not when it comes to staying at the Polynesian. For some reason I feel like a kid going to WDW for his first time. I'm so looking forward to this much needed vacation and I hope I meet many DIS'ers/Polynesian fans on this trip and become friends.

I'll be seeing ya soon Polynesian! July 28th around 1:30 pm.

 

[huntconn]

I'll be seeing ya soon Polynesian! July 28th around 1:30 pm.

Have an awesome time!!!!!!

 

[SeaSpray]

It'll just be DH and I. When I got back from my May WDW trip my DH took a picture of me, I really should post it so that people can see what I look like NOW, because when I look back at the pics of myself from my previous WDW trips I look somewhat different because of how different my hair looks. It's fairly long now, and straight. At any rate, we'll be wearing our orange bracelets, so we should be easier to spot with those on

Well forget the "fairly long" part! I just had a "trim" last night and she actually cut off a few inches. But it's still straight. lol So look for someone who looks like what I look like in my web site pics, with SORT OF LONGER HAIR (LOL), but it's straight now, and no layers. lol (Good grief I'm 46 years old and STILL trying to find the "right" hairstyle!" )

EDITED TO ADD:
Here's a pic of DH and I from last summer on our Disney cruise. I still look just like this, except my hair is all straight now with no layers at all, and it's longer:

Here's what I looked like yesterday BEFORE my haircut! It's the same now, except a few inches shorter:

Eh whatever, we'll all find each other, I'm sure

 

[ADP]

See you guys Friday at the Polynesian. Can't wait to meet everybody!

 

[4forMe]

Hello everyone. I am planning a family trip for late July 08 as my DH has a convention at that time. I think we are going to do a split stay between the Poly and the Dolphin. The Poly was where I stayed my first time at WDW and this will be my kids' first time staying onsite. My mother will be with us as well and loves the Poly.

I was wondering if anyone has stayed in a suite at the Poly and if that would be recommended over 2 rooms. I can't find any info regarding the cost of a suite. There will be 7 of us so we need to have either 2 rooms (my youngest DS will be 5 yrs old) or a suite. I was thinking of 2 connecting garden view rooms to keep costs down. Would anyone also have a suggestion as to which building to request? We will be spending most of our time going between MK, Epcot and the hotel pool.

 

[mr.mike]

You guys are getting me jealous... I don't check in until Sunday the 29th!
We'll be in Hawaii lagoon view too!!!

 

[chamonix]

4forme, you will pay well over $1000 for a suite. It may or may not be cost effective to book a suite instead of 2 rooms depending on season, and what room you are comparing to--for example, two regular (non-concierge) garden view rooms will not come close to the price of a two bedroom suite. Now, two lagoon view concierge rooms are close enough to the price of the 2 bedroom suite to make it worth considering.

Of course you get access to the concierge lounge with a suite, so you can "save" money on drinks, snacks, etc. compared to the "regular" rooms. Actually the suites are in a different building than the main lounge (suites are in Tonga) but there are snacks, drinks etc available in Tonga as well.

It's been awhile since I booked a suite, but I think if you play around with the Disney website booking pages you can see the suite prices, or you can always just call the main reservation number and ask. I just can't recall exactly how much they go for (must have blocked that out, lol!).

 

[chamonix]

Seaspray, I love your hair! I tried to put my pic in my sig, but it came out all blurry and weird when I cropped it. Hopefully all you tiki fest-bound folks will still be able to recognize me.

For those coming in after Friday, "we'll leave the light on for you"--I mean, a tiki torch of course! Aloha!

 

[McKelly]

I am green with envy for all of you going to ******** soon. Just wanted to say have a wonderful time and I hope there is a ******** 08, although, I thought I recall reading that was not going to happen until 09. Oh well! Have fun!!

 

[SeaSpray]

SeaSpray,
I know you've got older boys...I've seen the pictures! One other thing I did not like about the 1st floor...duck poop! My kids loved feeding the ducks, as did several others above us, which made the little buggers swarm around us. I don't know if there was some weird duck stomach virus going around or it was just a product of too much "human food" but those little guys constantly left little land mines all over our patio. Enough so that several times I cleaned the stuff up with our room towels (yuk!) It was bad enough that it made being on the patio kind of unpleasant. Also, we were in the second to last room and I really disliked being so far from the lounge. I think I'm going with 2 main requests: 1. 3rd floor 2. Close to the lounge. Thanks again. Have a great time at the Poly!

You know, I bet the ducks didn't have a stomach virus, I think it's just their nature to leave a LOT of droppings behind! My SIL & BIL live in front of a lake and there are a lot of ducks there and their backyard is always loaded with duck droppings. When you walk in their backyard it likes dodging landmines! I really never thought of that, in regards to having a room on the first floor...

We check in the day SeaSpray checks out.....I'm hoping we get assigned to her 3rd Floor LVC room!

Have a great trip!

Have a great time, Poly Pal! Sorry we'll be missing each other by a day. We'll all leave the Polynesian in great shape for you!

I like the first floor and have requested it again for our upcoming trip in Sept. I have three kids and it felt like we had extra space. My kids love the beach and it was great to go to and from our room. I also slipped out the patio door a couple of mornings while everyone was sleeping. Much quieter than the lock in the door clicking shut.

I don't think it would be bad to have a third floor room. My kids are a little older and we would be able to watch them on the beach from the balcony. I bet the view is awesome! I just really hate how the railing is at my eye level. I wish they had the chairs that are a bit taller, like the ones at the GF.

I just worry that we'd get stuck in a 2nd floor room.

I know what you mean about the railing being at eye level, but so far we've really enjoyed having the balcony. I'm really hoping that we get a 3rd floor room again.

You people here have me wondering if a first floor patio is such a great thing after all? I like having the extra room, but I don't want to be dodging duck landmines on the patio.

Maybe I'll get my second choice and that was a 3rd floor room. Ya know, either way it's still great that I'm going to the Poly and much like Sea Spray, I'm excited as well. I know Disney and the Polynesian are special because I'm a person who doesn't get excited about much in life and has kind of a "what's the big deal" attitude concerning most things. But.... not when it comes to staying at the Polynesian. For some reason I feel like a kid going to WDW for his first time. I'm so looking forward to this much needed vacation and I hope I meet many DIS'ers/Polynesian fans on this trip and become friends.

I'll be seeing ya soon Polynesian! July 28th around 1:30 pm.

We're having lunch at Whispering Canyon on the 28th at 12:30pm then we'll be heading back to the resort. Are you in the Hawaii building?? If so, maybe we'll see each other in the lounge, and if not, then maybe by the pool.

See you guys Friday at the Polynesian. Can't wait to meet everybody!

See you in a few days, Aaron!!

You guys are getting me jealous... I don't check in until Sunday the 29th!
We'll be in Hawaii lagoon view too!!!

We'll be waiting for you!! Will we see you Sunday night at dinner??

Seaspray, I love your hair! I tried to put my pic in my sig, but it came out all blurry and weird when I cropped it. Hopefully all you tiki fest-bound folks will still be able to recognize me.

For those coming in after Friday, "we'll leave the light on for you"--I mean, a tiki torch of course! Aloha!

Ok I love YOUR hair! I pay a lot of money to try and get curls and body like that in my hair! At least now we both know who to look for.

I am green with envy for all of you going to ******** soon. Just wanted to say have a wonderful time and I hope there is a ******** 08, although, I thought I recall reading that was not going to happen until 09. Oh well! Have fun!!

Hopefully this will turn into a regular thing! I imagine we'll have to wait until this trip is over to see whether Steve wants to plan it again.

 

[4forMe]

chamonix, thanks for your reply. I will call the reservation center to check out the prices. Thanks for the suggestion regarding concierge services. We will not be on the dining plan, so it may make sense to utilize that service. I'm also considering WL but my first choice is the Poly.

Have a great time on your trip!

 

[mr.mike]

We'll be waiting for you!! Will we see you Sunday night at dinner??


)

I hate to say it outloud but it doens't look like we wil be making the dinner. I really wanted to go!!!

 

[Tess]

What a spectacular vacation we had and I must admit I'm not happy to be home. No really, I'd rather be back in Florida on vacation. I met only one fellow DISer on this trip, JC&AnnsMom.

The Polynesian was in great shape. Everything was neat, tidy, and colorful. Trees are blooming and many of the flowering beds have been trimmed way down.

We were housed in room 1512 and it had a lovely view of Cindy's house. Our mousekeeping was wonderful and we had no complaints whatsoever in that area. For those concerned about the duck doo on the patio--yeah, it could be a nuisance, but was cleaned off daily and we didn't find it a problem. We watched the duck parade every morning--single file line parading in front of Hawaii's patios and toward Tokelau.

The lounge food was excellent as always although the menu is being tweaked just a bit as most of you know. There were a couple of evenings that the desserts were practically nonexistent (only 4 pieces of a chocolate concoction) by 9:15 p.m. and another evening when there were only a couple of beers remaining. I don't mean a couple in the trough, I mean only two beers left in the kitchen. The lounge staff were wonderful as always and it was really great to see them all again. For anyone who knows Ku'ulei, she has moved up front. She was there part-time last year, but is now up front on a regular basis. You may get lucky and see her delivering packages or otherwise wandering around Hawaii. If not, and you want to say hi, catch her in the GCH.

The front desk staff could not have been more hospitable and professional. They were always readily accessible, friendly, and warmly greeting the guests. Special thanks to David for his special assistance.

Hawaii was very busy when we were there and another guest indicated she had spoken to many folks who were upgraded to concierge. Lucky them! The resort in general was very busy.

The pools were exceedingly crowded. We have a habit of returning to swim after lunch. This has never been a problem for us during our June visits and we've always been able to secure seats. July must be much busier than June because we had a terrible time getting chairs at the quiet pool. You could forget the volcano pool. One day we opted to sleep in and have a pool morning. It seemed the pool was constantly being closed due to lightning around 2-4 p.m. We hoped to enjoy a little time in the sun without the interruption. My husband and I got up at 6:30 a.m. headed up to the lounge for breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and to the pool by 7:30 a.m. By 10-11 a.m. it was packed. We were very surprised how early the pools filled and had not experienced this on any of our prior vacations. I have no idea if this is a July phenomenon or one that we will be seeing again next June.

I do have one complaint with our stay. While strolling the grounds at the Polynesian, the resort loop was barely audible. There were a few spots where it could be heard clearly (e.g. in front of Hawaii, at the beach end of the volcano pool, and the marina), but the sound was nearly nonexistent at the quiet pool, the volcano pool, or around the walkways of the resort. For us, the loop is the ambiance to the pool time and the resort itself. Without it, the pool time was a bit lacking and the ambiance while strolling around the resort was diminished. I did ask about the sound quality and was told the music now starts later in the morning and ends in the evening because guests complained it was too loud and they couldn't sleep. I know you can't please everyone, but bring back the sound at the pools and adjust the volume so it can be heard! I know, not much of a complaint--more of a minor annoyance.

I know there were a number of folks worried about the DSA/nonsmoking room issue. It really appears to be a nonissue for most smokers. I saw people smoking everywhere and two people actually had resort ashtrays on their patios in Samoa and Rapa Nui. Not one thing was mentioned at check-in about smoking and, perhaps would only be discussed if someone asked for a smoking room. Many people were smoking on balconies--not that I encourage this, but it appears the resort is doing nothing to discourage it either.

For those who are interested, the DSAs I took note of are: the entire patio area surrounding the pool bar at the volcano pool (which is not listed on the maps), the upper deck area across from Samoa at the volcano pool, the west end of the patio in front of Captain Cook's, the second floor staircase/deck area of Samoa and Figi (covered areas), the entrance door area to Tangaroa Terrace, the garden area between Tokelau/Tahiti/Rapa Nui (on the pathway), the crossing deck between Rarotonga and Nuie (next to GCH), pathway next to Tahiti (near the walkway to TTC) and in front of the GCH. I'm sure there are others that I did not see, but there were also folks smoking around the quiet pool and that is not a designated area. They weren't trying to be sneaky, there were plenty of CMs (lifeguards) about that could have said something, but no one did. As I said, I think a good many people simply haven't been given the heads up on the new rules OR they don't care.

We used Captain Cook's a couple of times and did not find the new process a problem and it was fairly busy. It seemed a shorter wait for us this year than in years past.

That's about all I have for now--I'll probably copy this to its own post on the resorts main board, when I have time. I've uploaded my pictures and they can be found at: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2089473445 if anyone is interested.

For those heading out soon--I wish I could go back, but then again--someone has to start saving for next year!

 

[BCV23]

Tess, I'm so glad your Polynesian trip was wonderful this year!!

So many of you going this weekend!!!! Have a wonderful time meeting each other and enjoying the Polynesian. Will someone have a Mai Tai for me, please?

We're first floor people at the Polynesian. We love it! As for the ducks, try not feeding them...it helps. And it is supposed to be far better for them as well.

Now one trip we did have a little bugger who came by each morning and quacked at our window. After he figured out he wasn't getting anything from us, he left us a little sign of his disdain. We figured we had the family before us to thank for his expectations.

Have fun everyone!!!!!

 

[Nursejilly]

So happy to hear you had a great trip!! We will be at the Poly 11/15-11/21 and can't wait!!

 

[chamonix]

Thanks for the report, Tess. It's so nice to see this year's Polynesian Pout! It's been fun to see how much your kids have changed in the pictures.