The Official Polynesian Resort FAQ thread!

[BCV23]

Hi Polynesian Experts I've got ????

I'm switching my reservation from the CR to the Polynesian, it is my first trip ever and I'm so excited! The Polynesian looks fabulous. I've got dinners planned for Artist Point (in the WL) and for Jiko (in AKL). We won't have a car, what is the best way to get there?
Do I really need to make room/building requests? I was just planning on a regular garden view room (non smoking!), will we be disappointed?

It will be myself, DH, and two older teen DDs, any suggestions on don't miss things at the Polynesian? Thanks!

Well you certainly picked a great resort for a first visit. We don't request any building either when we book gardenview. I think they all have advantages.

To get to other resorts other than those on the monorail, you must transfer at a park. To get to Artist Point, take the boat or monorail to the MK and then take a bus or boat to WL. To Jiko, you could go to the MK and then catch the AK bus or take a bus from the TTC or from the Polynesian to AK or whichever park bus comes first. At the park, you'll need to transfer to an AKL bus. After the parks close, Downtown Disney serves as the transfer point. We use our rental car to go to other resorts for dinner because of all this. Some people use taxis.

 

[wasabi girl]

BCV23

Thanks very much!

 

[pink elephants]

The thing is, we are going to kinda 'wing it' on this trip and try and just go with the flow (as of right now), since the kids (including myself) in our family are all in their late teens and don't know what we are going to feel like doing each day until we are there.

Boston Tink, I'd just like to second Dalpal's recommendation to get p.s.s. The nice thing about them is that you can always cancel them easily. Think of them as a safety net. You may not need them, but would you really want to be caught without them? (we just watched the Flying Wallendas today, who do their entire tightrope act without a net , which is why I thought of that image! Terrifies me every time I see them!)

 

[Micheme]

Looking for a room or building recommendation

I was so lucky for our last trip with much help from all my fellow DIS'ers and Tikiman's website to secure a 3rd floor Tokelau room with a beautiful view of Magic Kingdon, the lagoon and Grand Floridan at a Garden View Price.

Now we are returning in Sept and bringing our 2 year old. We think the long haul from the pool, grand ceremonial house etc would be too much for both her and us to request the same rooms in Tokelau.

Can anyone give me any suggestions on rooms or buildings (specific room #'s would be perfect but not holding out for such). I would like a quiet area (not right by the big pool), a little closer to the main buildings, nice views and maybe a chance to get a great view at a Garden view price.

Thanks

 

[TheIncredibles]

Subscribing on...

Glad to see so many enthusiasts and interested vacationers talking all things Poly.

 

[bengalbelle]

Has anyone celebrated a birthday at the Poly? My mother will have her 70th birthday while we're there. I'm thinking about ordering something to be in our room when we come back from the parks. I'm also looking for suggestions for her birthday dinner. Someone suggested OHana's so we can watch the fireworks, but can you see the fireworks from every table? I have eaten at Ohana's before, but it has been 4 years and I can't remember.
Anyone have any other suggestions for celebrating her birthday there?

 

[skiwee1]

I have a question. I am getting my mom an ECV for our October trip. Her knees are really bad now and she cannot walk too far. Anyway we won't need a handicapped room as she is fine walking short distances. I was hoping to get Samoa 3rd floor again but now am wondering what to do with the ECV. I know it isn't fitting in those elevators! Do I leave it at the bottom where I see everyone leaving strollers or do I request a ground floor room? Would it even be safe sitting by the stairs or does the whole thing have to be hooked up to a charger? Any advice?

 

[LuvAriel]

I too have a question:

Does the Poly rpovide towels for the pool or do you suggest we bring our own. Does anybody know if they allow an infant tube for the pool???

Thanks
Andrea

 

[lovesdumbo]

LuvAriel-there are lots of towels at the pool. Don't know about the infant tube.

bengalbelle-not every table is a window seat. I don't know how accomodating they might be if you told them it was your mom's birthday. You could try to finish before the fireworks and walk down to the beach after you eat to enjoy them there.

 

[BostonTink85]

thanks for the advice guys, I guess I'll advise my mom to just make a PS

 

[chamonix]

Skiwee--About ECVs and elevators--unless Samoa is different, we had an ECV in the elevators in the Hawaii building with no problem at all. It fit with enough room for a couple people to ride with. My mom had to drive straight in and back off, but besides that, no problem at all. It also fit easily in the elevator in the GCH.
It needs to be plugged in to charge, so if you did leave it out somewhere, how would you charge it? My mom just kept it in her room (third floor) and plugged it in when they were there.
Also, they do have key locks on them to deter joyrides or theft. They can take some rain, but we were asked to cover the electrical parts with a poncho or something if it was going to be soaking in the rain for a long time or anything. HTH

 

[Margaret West]

Is Tikiman's website down? I have tried for 3 days to log on & all I get is the homestead page telling me that due to high volume, I can't log on. Do I have the correct site?

 

[7thdwarf/dopey]

Is Tikiman's website down? I have tried for 3 days to log on & all I get is the homestead page telling me that due to high volume, I can't log on. Do I have the correct site?

Yes, it is down. Apparently it has exceeded the bandwidth again. He posted further back in this thread that it had happened again due to high volume.

 

[Bartoli]

Looking for a room or building recommendation

I was so lucky for our last trip with much help from all my fellow DIS'ers and Tikiman's website to secure a 3rd floor Tokelau room with a beautiful view of Magic Kingdon, the lagoon and Grand Floridan at a Garden View Price.

Now we are returning in Sept and bringing our 2 year old. We think the long haul from the pool, grand ceremonial house etc would be too much for both her and us to request the same rooms in Tokelau.

Can anyone give me any suggestions on rooms or buildings (specific room #'s would be perfect but not holding out for such). I would like a quiet area (not right by the big pool), a little closer to the main buildings, nice views and maybe a chance to get a great view at a Garden view price.

We just got back from a 7 day stay at the Poly. We were in Somoa room 1604 on the 1st floor facing the volcano pool. I thought it was great. We slept until 9:30 every day and I never heard a thing outside the room. With the door shut, curtains closed and air conditioner on, no outside noise could be heard. The pool was never really busy at night either. We have 3 schoolaged children and this was perfect for us. We could go right out the patio door to the pool and since we were so close to our room we did not worry about the patio being unlocked. ALso we were close to the GCH so when we wanted a refill we just had a short walk. Plus I could see the beach and the lake from my patio. Now this is the only bldg I have stayed in but I liked it so much that I will request it next time as well.

Hope this helps. Have a great time.

 

[Grumpy'n'Goofy]

Just wanted to share an aerial view picture of the Polynesian

 

[montblanc]

Hi,

What a great photograph! I'm printing it out and taking it with me when we go to the Poly in July.

 

[chamonix]

Don't worry, montblanc, they have maps that are easier to read and navigate around the resort than with this photo!

Hey, montblanc is pretty much in chamonix france. Our usernames here go together, lol!

http://www.chamonix.com/accueil.php?ling=F

 

[MOMOFMNM]

tikiman is your website up at the moment? Can I have a link? We are staying at the Poly and I requested a Tokelau room, ground or third floor because I heard they were about 409 sq ft and bigger than some others and space is important to me...the map doesn't make it seem to far from the pool or GCH...and where is the TTC?? We don't mind walking too much but let me ask how far is it from the fartherest buildings to walk to GCH, pool, or TTC??? I mean are we talking like a 5 min or 8 min walk or are we talking a 15 to 20 min walk? Thanks!! We are also doing Ohana... while we are there. IS it true they hand out leis when we get there? What about childrens activities? Where do I find info on this?? Where do you go at the Poly to see the Water Pagent?? SO many q's...but I switched from CR to Poly (actually was going to do POR) so I am trying to get the most for my extra $$$'s here!! I am more than comfortable with my change in resorts...thanks!

 

[RichKoster]

tikiman is your website up at the moment? Can I have a link? We are staying at the Poly and I requested a Tokelau room, ground or third floor because I heard they were about 409 sq ft and bigger than some others and space is important to me...the map doesn't make it seem to far from the pool or GCH...and where is the TTC?? We don't mind walking too much but let me ask how far is it from the fartherest buildings to walk to GCH, pool, or TTC??? I mean are we talking like a 5 min or 8 min walk or are we talking a 15 to 20 min walk? Thanks!! We are also doing Ohana... while we are there. IS it true they hand out leis when we get there? What about childrens activities? Where do I find info on this?? Where do you go at the Poly to see the Water Pagent?? SO many q's...but I switched from CR to Poly (actually was going to do POR) so I am trying to get the most for my extra $$$'s here!! I am more than comfortable with my change in resorts...thanks!

Here's the link to "Tikiman's Unofficial Disney's Polynesian Resort Website" -- http://tikiman2001.homestead.com . . . but it is down right now...

Sorry, the site you requested is temporarily unavailable.

Due to high volume of traffic, this site is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.

... as Tikiman posted in another message, there are so many Disney fans who love to go to his website that his bandwidth allotment sometimes gets exceeded -- but it will be back later. It has happened before -- and it will be back again, as it has in the past when this happens occasionally.

While his website is down, you can check out the Polynesian Resort map by clicking here (which is easier to read than the map posted on the first page of this topic here) and you can see where Tokelau is in relation to the Great Ceremonial House, the two pools, and the TTC (labelled "Transportation Ticket Center" on the map). It is a very short walk to all those places from Tokelau! There's also information there about children's activities as well as current information you can get from Guest Services when you're at the resort. There are activities like dancing to ukelele music in the GCH, coloring, watching Disney films, making a lei-type of bracelet or necklace, and be sure to go outside to the Tiki torch lighting ceremony. The NeverLand Club is available for nightly child care (for a fee) as well as free during certain hours each afternoon if you stay with your child (check with Guest Services for current hours). The Electric Water Pageant can be seen anywhere along the Polynesian Resort beach or from a lagoon-view room (except Tahiti, see Tikiman's early post in this topic) if that is what you're booking. Guest Services will let you know what the time of it is when you check in if you ask, or look in your resort newspaper after checking in.

We've never gotten a lei at 'Ohana but you will get a lei when you check-in to the Polynesian Resort as well as if you go to the luau dinner show "Spirit of Aloha".

Have a wonderful vacation at the Polynesian!

 

[eeyoresmountainpals]

MOMOFNMN ~ Tikiman's site is the absolutely best site for the info you're looking for but while his site is down you might want to try AllEarsNet. It's a very good site as well.

Here are some links for that site---------

This link is for the map of the POLY.

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/polymap.jpg

This link is for the POLY Fact Sheet:

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_poly.htm

This link is for the Photo Gallery:

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/g_poly.htm

Hope these links help!!