The Official Polynesian Resort FAQ thread!

[kaysmommie]

We are going to be staying at WDW from May 13 to 18th, first at the VWL, then transferring to the Poly for the rest of our stay. I understand about the transfer of our luggage, but how do we get to the Poly? The transportation system for resort to resort is a little confusing to me. I would like to know as much before hand, so as not to wander around looking dumb? and wasting our time. Does anyone know this? and could anyone tell me about the park tickets, I dont really understand the system there either? I was to understand that our room ticket was also our park ticket? then how do we do that if we switch resorts? We've been to WDW a few times and each time the park ticket system changes on me. HELP!!

You could also take the small boat to Contemporary resort and hop the monorail to Poly, it usually starts earlier than the MK ferry. When you check in at the Poly ask them to put your park tickets and room keys altogether so you don't have to carry 2 different cards. Have a good vacation! Both places you are staying are really nice.

 

[KJF]

Just wanted to double-check - All rooms have a frig in them right? I thought that all deluxe rooms do. I was talking to someone yesterday about how I'll be staying there & they told me when they were there last April they had to ask at the front desk to get one & were told it would be $10/night (which they were never charged). I thought that was only at the values & mods that you had to pay. Thanks! Can't wait for my first stay there in Nov!

 

[LglBlonde]

All mods have fridges for free too. My understanding is the charge is at values.

 

[MOCHAGIRL2]

Thanks Kaysmommie, the info on the small ferry will be good. I noticed you have been to the poly, how was your stay? was it worth the price? do you have children? my boys are 16 and 11 and they have always wanted to stay at a monorail resort, so I'm suprising them with this resort, the oldest one knows we are going but the little one doesnt. I'm hoping this resort will be something they like.

Thanks again!

Now I see your post you do have children, cute.

 

[Nancyg56]

Thanks for the info. I'm glad you had a good trip. I was reading several recent posts, and some families had a really awful time at the poly. This is a first trip to WDW for my fiance, and its been several years for a vacation of any kind for my two boys 16, and 10, and we are sooo looking to have a good time. I am now very aprehensive about spending all that money, if its not a good resort? We've stayed at the POR before and had a wonderful time, I just wanted something special on this trip. What to do???

My family just returned from a 10 day stay at the Poly, and we found the resort as well as the CM's staffing it were wonderful. I read that there was a DIS'er who stayed just prior to our stay had a terrible experience with Mousekeeping. Perhaps her complaint is the reason we were visited by supervisors inquiring if we were happy with the service, and we had no complaints. The rooms were clean and the mousekeeper was very friendly.

I stayed at POFQ last August and thought that the resort was lovely. The pool was perfect for my 4 YO DGD, and the resort compact enough that I was not exhausted walking with her. Our stay could not compare with the convenience and amenities of the Poly. The Monorail alone is priceless. My family used the arcade at the Contemporary and liked the quick serve cafe there much better, but with the Monorail there was no problem. The restaurants are onsite and very good, the beach perfect for an evening walk and fireworks, the foliage is as though you were transported to another place, and the staff friendly and courteous. There are two pools and your children will love the Volcano pool. The slide is great for older kids. It is a very beautiful resort with amenities for all age groups.

I think that there will always be people who happen to visit at an off time, or have an experience that is less than magical. It is disappointing because the cost is high and the expectations are higher and rightly so. You will hear more about the letdown than you will hear about the great stays. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I think you will all have a wonderful time. Its very relaxing there. My kids loved just swinging in the hammocks on the beach. Its nice to be able to swim at night and watch the fireworks from the pool. Try to have either breakfast or dinner at either Ohana or Kona, we love them both. My kids had a ball - oh and they loved the arcade. Have fun.

 

[CinderellaBride12]

Sorry if this has been asked and I overlooked it somewhere but how do you go about leaving tips for Mousekeeping? Do you leave it every night or one big tip at the end of the stay? I was told you have the same mousekeeping the entire time so I wasnt sure. I was thinking if you did it every night it might give them more motivation. Any suggestions for mousekeeping tips would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Nancyg56]

Sorry if this has been asked and I overlooked it somewhere but how do you go about leaving tips for Mousekeeping? Do you leave it every night or one big tip at the end of the stay? I was told you have the same mousekeeping the entire time so I wasnt sure. I was thinking if you did it every night it might give them more motivation. Any suggestions for mousekeeping tips would be appreciated! Thanks!

My DD made envelopes with some Disney Clip art. We left it on the pillow every morning. We did not have the same mousekeeper every day, she was off for two days and was back on the day we left.

I tipped her because I appreciated her work, but I also made a point of stopping her and telling her how much we appreciated her efforts. I told her that my DGD loved her towel animals and that she was playing with them every night. I don't know if it made a difference, but I know that I always appreciated when my work was acknowledged and so I make a point of acknowledging those who make my stay special.

 

[marvin12]

We just switched from wl to the poly for our dec 07 trip. I do not know to much about this hotel.And would love any ideas for any request that I should ask for... It's just the two of us celebrating our 31st anniversary.
Oh we are staying gardenview, Thanks

 

[grecorj]

Ok, so I made ADRs for the Ohana character breakfast for the first morning at the Poly. I figured the kids would be up at like 6, ready to go, and I figured it would be a good day for an ealry character breakfast. I picked 730 (the earliest available) thinking we'd have enought time for breakfast, hop on the monorail and still be at MK before it opened at 9.

My questions are: how long does it take to get from Poly to MK by monorail? what's the wait like for the first available seating at a character breakfast -- kind of assuming there will be a line.

Any thoughts?

 

[marivaid]

We did the 7.30 breakfast in January,got seated right away and the characters came in within a few minutes. There weren't many people there so early so we got to see the characters 3 times!

 

[paradisevalley]

We did the 7.30 breakfast in January,got seated right away and the characters came in within a few minutes. There weren't many people there so early so we got to see the characters 3 times!

We also did 7:30A in January, but it was on our last morning there before heading to the airport, it's a good time to go (tables are fresh, wait staff is rarin' to go, and characters are also rarin' to go), as that's when the restaurant opens. No real line. I think they had us wait five minutes - which didn't make a lot of sense because the restaurant was empty, but that's perhaps why we had to wait. Don't know how many times we saw the characters (at least three like the PP), but because there were not many there yet, the characters were almost falling over each other to stop at our table! I'd say we were done well before 8:30A!

I'm not sure how long the monorail takes as we did the ferry from the TTC in the mornings. It was about a five-minute boat ride. But since you'll already be at the GCH, it makes sense to take the monorail.

 

[T-i-double-g-err]

We just switched from wl to the poly for our dec 07 trip. I do not know to much about this hotel.And would love any ideas for any request that I should ask for... It's just the two of us celebrating our 31st anniversary.
Oh we are staying gardenview, Thanks

Make sure that you have the anniversary noted on your reservation. You never know if it will do anything, but it cannot hurt. We were at the Poly for an anniversary trip with the whole family a few years back and returned to our room to find a card from Belle & the Beast wishing us a happy anniversary (picture autographed to us by name). It was a really nice surprise.

On the subject, be sure to pick up anniversary pins at the guest relations window at one of the parks. It made are trip a little more magical to get the happy anniversaries. It also makes you more aware of the others around you celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoons, etc., and you find yourself wishing them a happy _______!

Finally, make sure that you note the anniversary on your dining reservation. Again, it may not do anything, but in many cases, Disney restaurants will spread some random magic to help you celebrate. We took an anniversary trip this last December. We noted the anniversary on our reservation for the dinner where we were officially celebrating; the waitress brought us a complimentary champagne toast to celebrate. We wore the pins for the entire anniversary trip and ended up receiving complimentary desserts wherever we went.

In terms of suggestions for the Poly itself, I'd check out Tikiman's site at http://tikiman2001.homestead.com/ where you'll find a wealth of information about the resort. If you surf around that site, you can get a better feel for the resort and the different longhouses. Based on that, you may want to make some room requests.

 

[kaysmommie]

Thanks Kaysmommie, the info on the small ferry will be good. I noticed you have been to the poly, how was your stay? was it worth the price? do you have children? my boys are 16 and 11 and they have always wanted to stay at a monorail resort, so I'm suprising them with this resort, the oldest one knows we are going but the little one doesnt. I'm hoping this resort will be something they like.

Thanks again!

Now I see your post you do have children, cute.

I definately think Poly is worth the price because of the theme and the monorail is the best. Poly and WL just feel very Disney to me. I love them both. My kids are 6 & 2 and they love the Poly, although we only had DD on our trips to WL. The pool although quite crowded with pool hoppers, is very nice. Our stay was perfect in every way and we can't wait to go back. have a great trip.

 

[WillBanksMom]

Are there towels at the pool or should we bring our beach towels from home?

 

[paradisevalley]

Are there towels at the pool or should we bring our beach towels from home?

There are lots of towels at the pool. In fact, my DD wrapped herself up in one and "took" it back to the room. We left it there for mousekeeping.

 

[MickeyMaz]

I can't remember if there towles near the quiet pool. Anyone?

 

[WillBanksMom]

One less thing to bring!

 

[DISNEY FIX]

I stayed at the Poly. con. in Dec. of 06. What did the Conscierge Staff do for you? We all hear the stories about how ADR's get lost, things aren't sent to the room for whatever reason....... I planned and made all of the arrangements for the last trip. We are going back 2x this year What can concierge do for me that i should let go of? Help me make the most of my trip.

 

[suffolkprincess]

We just switched from wl to the poly for our dec 07 trip. I do not know to much about this hotel.And would love any ideas for any request that I should ask for... It's just the two of us celebrating our 31st anniversary.
Oh we are staying gardenview, Thanks

Our family stayed at the Polynesian this past November and loved it. We had Fiji room 1306 and DH and I both thought that we would love that room for a couples trip, too: we liked hearing the luau a little in the background (atmosphere!) we LOVED being extremely close to the beach and having a partial lagoon view for the price of gardenview. The patio was really nice and relaxing, and Luau Cove beach is very quiet most of the time. DH and I enjoyed a drink out there together the one evening that DD4 fell asleep early. (I had a baby monitor and we were only about 40 feet away from her and we could see our patio door from the swing where we sat.)

That building is VERY convenient to the GCH, and also convenient to the marina and the resort boat to MK. The dock there is a great place to watch the electrical pageant and fireworks, btw.

Have a GREAT time!