The Official Polynesian Resort FAQ thread!

[sheridac]

ALOHA sheridac!!

Awww!!!!

You embraced the exclamation point too!!!!!!!

So sweet!!!!!

 

[FINFAN]

Just back from 7 FAB nights at the POLY, our first stay...LOVED IT! We were in room 1321 FIJI, ground floor facing the marina. At first I was concerned because I have problems w/odors from boats and I did notice the gas smell walking by the first time, (but not again after that)...get migraines...so I thought, oh no....went back to see if anything open on the other side facing the GF....but the whole building was booked. ( we checked in on the 14th, day after freeDDP started so that hurt us) anyway, turns out we loved the room...you can see the volcano pool, kids woke up the first mornig to see Pluto and Stitch in the window of O'Hana's for character breakfast....sun shining off the marina water making reflections on our room ceiling...and as soon as CC is renovated it is SO CLOSE to there...a bit of a walk from the TTC, but to everything else ( except laundry) very nicely located. I had hoped for Samoa, but after seeing how some views were facing other buildings, I realized we were very lucky to have Ohana's as our building across from us. I HIGHLY recommend this room, as soon as you walk into the longhouse your room is right there. Only noise drawback is the ice machine is right there as well...but not a problem for us. More later, but wanted to post this for Nysie, as the walk to the pool is very short, and no noise from the folks there...and the best part? Our view was of the Contemporary and Space Mountain! The marina, volcano pool, characters each a.m., the views....plus felt pretty private and loved the patio area. It is raised up a few feet and there is lovely foliage that blocks folks seeing too much into the room...a benefit over other ground floor rooms that we noticed. My DH was thrilled as he has always hoped for a waterview and we never seem to be able to afford the upgrade, so this was a real treat.
I f we are ever able to stay at the Poly again, I would request this room...my kids are 12 and 16 and they loved the location...said they thought we scored an upgrade.

More later, but wanted to chime in w/our experience as first time Poly lovers!
BTW, parks were insanely crowded and DDP took up a TON of time, so we did not enjoy the resort as much as we would've liked...big mistake on our part. Only swam 2x in the pool, but really enjoyed the music and slide and we were able to get a table each time we went and also a cabana on the beach later on..very nice.

ETA: We were also granted a late check-out of 1 p.m....only other resort we have gotten that at was the Dolphin...a big score for our family, as our flight did not leave 'till 6 p.m.


Pam

 

[PolyAddict]

Just back from 7 FAB nights at the POLY, our first stay...LOVED IT! We were in room 1321 FIJI, ground floor facing the marina. At first I was concerned because I have problems w/odors from boats and I did notice the gas smell walking by the first time, (but not again after that)...get migraines...so I thought, oh no....went back to see if anything open on the other side facing the GF....but the whole building was booked. ( we checked in on the 14th, day after freeDDP started so that hurt us) anyway, turns out we loved the room...you can see the volcano pool, kids woke up the first mornig to see Pluto and Stitch in the window of O'Hana's for character breakfast....sun shining off the marina water making reflections on our room ceiling...and as soon as CC is renovated it is SO CLOSE to there...a bit of a walk from the TTC, but to everything else ( except laundry) very nicely located. I had hoped for Samoa, but after seeing how some views were facing other buildings, I realized we were very lucky to have Ohana's as our building across from us. I HIGHLY recommend this room, as soon as you walk into the longhouse your room is right there. Only noise drawback is the ice machine is right there as well...but not a problem for us. More later, but wanted to post this for Nysie, as the walk to the pool is very short, and no noise from the folks there...and the best part? Our view was of the Contemporary and Space Mountain! The marina, volcano pool, characters each a.m., the views....plus felt pretty private and loves the patio area. It is raised up a few feet and there is lovely foliage that blocks folks seeing too much into the room...a benefit over other ground floor rooms that we noticed. My DH was thrilled as he has always hoped for a waterview and we never seem to be able to afford the upgrade, so this was a real treat.
I f we are ever able to stay at the Poly again, I would request this room...my kids are 12 and 16 and they loved the location...said they thought we scored an upgrade.

More later, but wanted to chime in w/our experience as first time Poly lovers!
BTW, parks were insanely crowded and DDP took up a TON of time, so we did not enjoy the resort as much as we would've liked...bug mistake on our part. Only swam 2x in the pool, but really enjopyed the music and slide and we were able to get a table each time we went and also a cabana on the beach later on..very nice.



Pam

FINFAN,

So glad you enjoyed your stay and thanks for the review. I hope for Samoa too, but Fiji sounds good. I love the part about your view of Ohana. How cool!!!!Can't wait less than 3 months now!!!

 

[lklasing]

Just signing up - can't wait till our May trip to the Poly!!

 

[glennsgirl762]

I am subscribing because I want to learn everything about this beautiful resort. We just got back on sunday from the CBR and had a wonderful time. We went to dinner at the Kona Cafe and The Spirit of Aloha and fell in LOVE with this resort! We were only able to venture around the resort for a short time and this is where we want to stay for our 25th anniversary. Unfortunately we have to wait until 2008 but I am sure it's going to be worth it!

 

[Nysie]

Hi Pam, Thanks for your trip review!! Wow Figi seems great too!! Did you hear a lot of boat noise? Thanks!!

Denyse

 

[Nysie]

Tikiman, if being close to the pools wasn't an isssue, would you suggest Samoa or Figi? We'll be there in December!

 

[vacation4me]

Subscribing....cannot wait until our October trip.

 

[stephpi4]

Question here...when they are renovating a building, do they completely finish the WHOLE building before they reopen it? Would they ever open up a floor or a section while still working on the rest? We really wanted Tahiti in October!!

 

[Tikiman]

Tikiman, if being close to the pools wasn't an isssue, would you suggest Samoa or Figi? We'll be there in December!

I think Fiji has better views but that is based on my opinion. The reason I like Samoa better is because of the location (not that the views are bad there either).

 

[Tikiman]

Question here...when they are renovating a building, do they completely finish the WHOLE building before they reopen it? Would they ever open up a floor or a section while still working on the rest? We really wanted Tahiti in October!!

With Rapa Nui and Aotearoa they did a few floors at a time and did not close the whole building. With the rest they did the whole building before opening it back up. Tahiti did close this week and they are doing the whole building. It will open back up when they are done with all the rooms. This will not happen earlier than late November.

 

[kaysmommie]

I have a question about internet. Do they have a lounge where you can use it really quick to pay a bill or something or do you have to pay for it in your room? Also how much is it? Thanks in advance. My DH needs to make our mortgage payment during our trip. We don't plan to spend family time on the computer at all.

 

[jadedNYer]

Kaysmommy -
I was at the Poly 8/7-8/12. HSIA is available in the rooms. There is no internet access in the lobby/lounge. I think it is 9.95 for 24 hours and about 5.00 for one hour.

I found the service to be extremely glitchy. I could access the internet early in the morning or late at night. During the day I couldn't get on at all. We switched to the BWI for our last five nights and service there was much more stable and reliable except for the day when Disney's computer system was down. The Poly problems could have been related to the jack in my room but I don't know for certain.

 

[kaysmommie]

Kaysmommy -
I was at the Poly 8/7-8/12. HSIA is available in the rooms. There is no internet access in the lobby/lounge. I think it is 9.95 for 24 hours and about 5.00 for one hour.

I found the service to be extremely glitchy. I could access the internet early in the morning or late at night. During the day I couldn't get on at all. We switched to the BWI for our last five nights and service there was much more stable and reliable except for the day when Disney's computer system was down. The Poly problems could have been related to the jack in my room but I don't know for certain.

Thank you hopefully it will work long enough to pay our bill online. Do you know if it is dial up? I know nothing about this sort of thing.

 

[oldhag]

Does anyone have any pictures of the Nuie Longhouse? Will be staying there in October. I believe that is the smoking building and my dear sis smokes I would appreciate any pictures or decriptions anyone can give me. Thanks.

 

[Nysie]

Thanks for the help Tikiman and everyone!! Now another question- would you do GV with dining or concierge knowing that the afternoon/eve. offerings are just a little something and not your dinner?

 

[ConcKahuna]

Niue is smoking optional. It's also in a great place, right next to the GCH and both pools. For pictures, I'd go to Tikiman's site. I dont have the link, but I'm sure you can find it 2 or 3 (dozen) times in this thread

 

[slenderella]

Does anyone know if the Poly will let us do a late check-out?

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

Also the concierge lounge gets a huge 2 story tree during Christmas. We will be there this December.

Aloha

Steve

WE ARE ALSO COMING IN DECEMBER. WE ARE COMING 6TH TO THE 10TH. WHEN ARE YOU COMING? WE MIGHT JUST NEED THE "TIKIMANS" AUTOGRAPH!!!! YOUR WEBSITE IS AWESOME.

 

[jadedNYer]

Kaysmommie,

There is a high speed internet connection jack behind the desk. The cable is in a pouch on a hanger in the closet so no need to bring you open. You just need to connect and open your browser. I called tech support a few times and they were very pleasant and helpful.

I did resort to dial up at the BWI when the computers were down (the wifi continued to work but I didn't want to lug my notebook to the lobby). I plugged the phone line into the notebook and had AOL search for a local number. Worked fine.