Finally back from 9 nights at the Poly-- November 19-28. Here are the notes-- as well as maybe a few answers to recent inquiries...
From the leis and cookies in the lobby upon arrival, to Eb helping us unload the Beverly Hillbilly-mobile with 2 coolers and endless itemsI have no idea how he did it-- our arrival was pleasant. We had Room 3041 in
Tahiti. This was NOT where I wanted to be. You cant get farther from the GCH. In the end though, we loved it as we were up above the easily viewable 1st and 2nd floor rooms
(dont forget to close your drapes folks!) and there was no traffic going by Tahiti. It was very convenient to the TTC, which we used to go to Epcot and got off here when returning from MK. Tahiti has the
bigger rooms. They feel huge.
Mattresses and pillows were lovely and plentiful (well the pillows were, only one mattress per bed...). My DH-13 enjoyed the
daybed (she is 5 4) but when she lay on our bed the last night was stunned at how comfortable it was. The 2 sinks in the bathroom really were nice. The bathroom is huge and comfortable.
Housekeeping was great some days and just OK others. But it was always clean. It was clear when different people did the rooms by the way it would be left/beds made/toiletries, etc. No towel animals, but some days DDs animals were cutely arranged. Nothing was ever missed with the exception of one day when all the recycling was left on the bathroom counter still (they leave a request to recycle) and no toiletries were left. No biggieI think they may have been sidetracked. The
AC worked fineyou need to have the slider shut for it to go onthere is a sensor on the door. The
fridge was fine and was set on 5 upon arrival.
H2O products worked as well as any high end stuff I brought (and ran out of). Any change in my "normal" hair is due to the Florida/hotel water, not the products IMHO.
I suggest keeping any personal items well out of the way as with the exception of DDs stuffed animals, they moved nothing of ours to clean. I say that positively.
TVsuch limited channels! For 9 mornings, I had to turn on the darn WDW channel at volume 22! I do not like the fact it is locked on such a high volume. One hotel coming home has an upper lock of a sound level lower than that!
Laundry- $2 per wash, $2 per dry--BUT you get about 50 minutes dry time (I wasn't timing it, but I know it went over 45 min. when I
started paying attention. 4 loads wash divided into 3 dryers. Did 2 dryer loads 2X to be dry well. (I do prefer the ones that give X minutes for .25.) Empty laundry room on Friday at 10 a.m., BUT several loads of wash in machines...for 1/2 hour. We removed them finally as more people came in and then a CM came in and bagged them. I never saw the party return in the 3 hours I spent there. (They'd have needed to ask where the laundry was.) It got very busy later! I'd definitely do a very early or late night laundry.
Captain Cook's had
amazing food. I was so surprised to find it to be freshly made and delicious
consistently. We ate there every day for 1 meal or another and everything was great. Our favorites were the stir-fried noodles-- what a lovely taste! Made fresh for each order. Also the Aloha Pork sandwich was wonderful. I actually loved the chip mix-- but the fried won tons were the best. Asian slaw was delicious also. Tonga toast was perfectly done each time and never greasy. Breakfast always hot, good, no grease at all, even with bacon or sausage. DH and I split a breakfast platter many days. Decided to get the refillable mugs-- ended up a smart move, even with the walk from Tahiti.
1/2 pint of milk here (white) was $1.29. Same price for a
pint of milk upstairs-- Trader Jack's. They have NesQuick Chocolate pints here for the same $1.29. Sushi was pretty good here and the Poly salad was great! Don't even get me
started on the Dole whips. I really thought people here at the DIS were a little goofy
about the Dole Whips. Now...I know the truth. I could eat one at every meal. They were unbelievably good-- DH and I got them many nights...
Volcano Pool-- considerably cooler than
Quiet Pool-- which was quite nice. Too many kids in Volcano Pool many times. Not nearly enough caution used by kids in waiting for the green light. Witnessed one accident when a child didn't wait at all to go and crashed hard into the one at the bottom of the slide only seconds later. Scary. Also noticed a distinct odor at the top of slide indicating lack of proper "potty breaks". Ick. That was when DD and DH quit the slide. Lifeguards always paying very close attention and switching off frequently.
The
grounds were perfectly manicured-- we saw workers each day out early grooming plants, etc. Sadly we occasionally saw a beer bottle in the bushes or another piece of garbage, but it was just gorgeous and peaceful. We loved the atmosphere and especially the Welcome Home at the gate. It especially meant a lot the night we did a drive-by of Downtown Disney and wound up off-property and heading the wrong way on 4! 50 long minutes later, the guard made our night with her Welcome home.
Safe-- nice size, works well. Very handy to have, easy to use. We fit plenty of stuff into it when we would leave the room.
Charged everything to room keys. Balance always easy to read and all correct (I saved all my slips to be anal...)
Kona was the best food on the trip. Enjoyed Artist's Point, but preferrred Kona's food. I understand some feel it is noisy, but it really wasn't bad at all. Maybe for a
romantic proposal it would be too noisy, but in the restaurant itself, even on a busy night, we found it easy to talk normally/quiet and hear well. Service there was great, food delicious and the presentation was gorgeous.
Any questions or things I missed-- feel free to ask. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat!!
Never saw a hot dog in Capt. Cook's, listed or eaten.
