We got back Saturday from our stay 9/9-9/16. I really think some of the concerns people are having about the Poly can (and should!) be put to rest. We had a marvelous time! We had upgraded to a GVC room from a MK room about a month before our trip. Doing so saved us around $500, so we were happy to deal with no fireworks from our room. When we arrived, we found they upgraded us to a lagoon view (3503), so our views of the fireworks/castle/boat parade were fantastic!!! We had not requested an upgrade, but I think Tikiman's suggestion regarding an upbeat, smiling face goes a long way toward making castmembers want to go the extra mile for a guest. Perhaps because we didn't expect so much, we thought the level of service from the concierge staff was excellent. The staff in the lounge went out of their way to offer beverage suggestions and let us know when something special would be happening down at the lagoon. Everyone we encountered was smiling, pleasant and helpful. This attitude, I must add, was in spite of some very rude guests. (Overheard by my husband when a woman's son spilled milk all over the floor: "Oh, just leave it, honey. The servants will clean it up." Ugh.) The concierge office staff was very pleasant also, especially David and Sarah, who helped us change ADRs and who answered questions constantly, it seemed.
We did receive a lei upon check-in. We received another from the Polynesian dancers at the GCH on Saturday. Captain Cook's temporary location was uncrowded both times we visited. The food was okay, but we really loved the snack selection, since we had the dining plan. (The dining plan, by the way, is definitely overkill when staying concierge. We had a lot of trouble using all our meal vouchers and felt it was just too much.) We wanted to check out Neverland for our little girl, but never got a chance.
Our daughter loved both pools, but preferred the quiet pool because it was, well....quiet! LOL There is a big problem with all the mallard ducks swimming in it, however, so we had to be careful that it had been cleaned before we would swim in it. The ducks were so cute, but seem to be overpopulated and close to becoming a nuisance. My daughter also loved the sand pail and shovel she received from the concierge staff. The beach sand was perfect.
In the future, we don't want to stay anywhere else. The location is wonderfully convenient, especially with the frequent launches to the Magic Kingdom. The Grand Floridian is too stuffy; the Contemporary too boring. For us, the relaxed, pampering atmosphere of the Poly is the only way to go.
Any questions...ask away.
!!! Had a great time at the Contemporary in 2004, the only disappointment being the difficulty in gaining dinner reservations (due to poor planning on my part). We liked the look of the Polynesian during a short visit so thought wed book concierge there this time around. Its sometimes difficult (and expensive) to arrange ADRs from England so the idea of the Personal Vacation Itinerary seemed really appealing. However weve read a few negative postings around the web about poor service from concierge staff at Hawaii. Is this something we should be concerned about?
