Lisa F
is a very wise woman
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2000
- Messages
- 11,129
Hey all,
I just got back from an 8 night stay during which I stayed at 3 resorts. Originally I was just going to do a split stay between BWV and Poly but when I added an extra night could only get Kidani for it and so it was... lots of moving.
This is the first time I have been to Kidani - I have stayed in Jambo before, both regular and concierge... and I will say that I MUCH prefer Jambo to Kidani. I drove by the Jambo sign first and it was all nice and decorated for Christmas and I was kind of surprised and disappointed that the Kidani sign wasn't as well. Also since I did not do my research, I was surprised by the underground garage. It was not a huge deal, but it was just very disorienting when I was not expecting it! I didn't have a problem finding a spot near the Rafiki elevator but as it turned out the Rafiki elevator was about as far from my room in Rafiki as you could get (other end of the hall... we were super close to the lobby). I was also a little surprised that the Kidani lobby was smaller than I expected, but it was all fine for one night.
We had dinner at Sanaa that night and I found it kind of confusing to get from my room to Sanaa. I guess I am just not a huge fan of the layout of this resort. It wasn't a deal killer but I would probably choose to stay at Jambo if I had the choice again. That said, Sanaa is an amazing restaurant and we had a great server and enjoyed our meal very very much and it was nice to just go back to our room after... so for that reason I might stay at Kidani again in a similar situation.
The room was in fine shape, no complaints, and it was quiet. It did the trick for our first night there with planned morning EMH at AK the next morning.
Next we moved to BWV and although I requested a village green view, what I got was quite possibly the worst "preferred" view I've ever had. it was in an inside corner of a bump out and all we could see was a big piece of construction equipment (looked like some kind of cherry picker, probably for the painting) that was parked outside our window. it was on the second floor and I did appreciate not having to use the elevators and I think it was only about halfway down the long hall so the location was fine and we spent almost no time in the room except for sleeping. I was done handling my own luggage so when I checked in I dropped it with bell services before self parking my rental car. The valet was a bit cagey about where I should be parking and tried to send me to some lot far away. it's been a while since I've been at BWV but I replied "yeah but I can just park in that lot right over there, right?" He looked uncomfortable but then said "yes". I got a great spot very close to the building so not sure what that was all about. Bell services delivered my luggage very promptly. Other DIS friends there at the same time staying at value resorts had some major luggage issues but as always I found bell services at the deluxe/dvcs to be prompt.
I like the new decor, it is clean and crisp and feels like the shore to me without being kitschy. I was never a fan of the old pink and flowers and stuff but purchased BWV for the location, so I really like the changes. I felt like it was elegant and classy. My son LOVED the pull down bed... this is a huge value added to the room. Although it was just the two of us, it was nice to be able to leave the couch folded up and just have him in that bed. In fact, I was going to treat myself to a 1 bedroom (standard was available for not many more points and truth be told I prefer the standard view anyway) but it turned out the sleeping arrangements were better in the studio so I went with that. I was worried his pillow would fall off the top so I stuck the chair against it like a headboard and it was fine.
The room was clean when we got there and there were no maintenance issues. The only issue I had was my first night there, my neighbors came in late (it was part of a 2 bedroom lockoff) and it literally sounded like they were right there in my room. I could hear their conversations like they were talking directly at me and the banging and clattering of the drawers and silverware was driving me bonkers. I downloaded a white noise app on my phone and they shut up right around the time I figured it out. This was around 11:30pm.
Well then again at 3:30am I guess they were catching an early flight because there was much loud discussion and arguing about luggage. It was a really lousy night's sleep and I had to stop by the front desk to ask about something else and I asked if there was an issue with soundproofing. In my 17 years of owning BWV I have never heard anything like that. The front desk CM checked and confirmed there were 4 adults staying in that room who checked out today and that it was 2 adults checking in and told me it should be quieter. And it was, we did not hear a peep. So really I have no idea whether those people were just extraordinarily rude and loud OR if there is virtually no soundproofing between the rooms post refurb.
Entering through the international gateway a half hour before rope drop could not have been less stressful. We went through bag check, they let us in, we walked to future world where they were holding people from entering the two sides until closer to 9am. It was the least stressful rope drop I've been to!
Overall it was a good stay and I love my home resort of BWV.
Then we moved to the Poly for 3 nights. I dropped my luggage with bell services at BWV and we took off for Epcot. We ended up over at the Poly and I never got a text so I stopped by the front desk to check in. The CM was ok, not great, and we were not offered leis (it was a little disappointing as there was a pile back there but I felt silly asking!) We didn't have time to go to the room before our 5pm Narcooossees dinner so we just freshened up a bit in the Ohana bathroom and then got on the monorail (I was prepared with fresh shirts, brushes and deodorant, lol). After that we went to the MK. It was a wednesday night and the MK was open late among a sea of christmas parties so it was PACKED. We'd been at Epcot since rope drop and after waiting 20 minutes in the peter pan fastpass line, both the kid and I hit the wall and decided to go back to the Poly and watch the fireworks from there. I had no idea how my view would be or anything but figured we could find somewhere in the resort to watch.
This is the first time I have EVER stayed at the Poly... in all of my years of going to WDW I have stayed at every other deluxe resort, either the regular resort side or DVC side (in some cases both) but for some reason the Poly was last on my bucket list. We had a Lake view and were in room 2030 Moorea, very close to the elevators and a bit on the TTC side.
O. M. G. I was completely blown away! Polynesian Village, where have you been all my life? These rooms are downright gorgeous with a clean, beautiful mid-century modern with tiki twist vibe. They are so gorgeous, I want to move in forever. I loved the split bath and my son, who has sensory issues and hates showers LOVED the rain shower. LOVED it. he was begging me to take a shower every day. I could not believe how truly close we were to the TTC, what a pleasure to have all of those transportation options. MK and Epcot are our two favorite parks so obviously this is a great spot. Also bell services brought our luggage about 15 minutes after being called. It was a night so maybe that helped.
When we got to the room, I could not BELIEVE my view. I had seriously hit the wall in the MK and couldn't deal with the crowds any more and figured we'd deal with whatever fireworks viewing we could have at the room, but it was absolutely gorgeous. here is a view of regular wishes from our room (we also watched holiday wishes our last night from the balcony too).
Also I decided that I'd like a drink and called room service and ordered a couple of Island Sunsets from the Tambu Lounge menu. They will send up pretty much any drink you want (i asked what was available) or anything off the Tambu menu but nothing from Trader Sam because you have to go down there to have those specialty cocktails. We did pay a premium for the drinks obviously through room service but it was $28 or so for 2 drinks and given that an avocado margarita in epcot is $14, I was happy to pay it for the luxury of having it delivered to my room. The only thing is I didn't realize it was a frozen drink and it did come a little melted in the bottom, but once I stirred it all up it was actually the perfect silky texture for drinking without leaving flavorless ice behind.
Also I just want to address the complaints about ferry noise. Yes it was there but it was majorly muffled by the doors being closed. I live on Martha's Vineyard, which is only accessible by ferry, so ferry horns "in the distance" (which is how it sounded to me) was a very familiar and comforting sound and did not bother me in the slightest. It was not loud enough to wake me up while sleeping that's for sure, and the kid slept through it too.
I had planned a pool day here and my son LOVED the slide. The pool was beautiful and it was a great few hours, I wish I had built in more time for that. It happened to be the coolest day of the week (high around 67) but the water and sun were both warm and it was not uncomfortable AT ALL swimming in those conditions. I went down the pool slide a few times with the kid, it was a lot of fun - he went down many more.
on our last morning we had room service breakfast in the room before going to the airport. It was a lovely spread although pricey since I ordered everything I wanted without a care, lol.
This was an awesome finale to our stay and although I had to change my plans to put the poly at the end instead of the beginning, I am so glad I did. It would have been a serious bummer to leave that lovely resort and go to any other. I have a new love. Sorry BWV, it was great while it lasted!... just kidding, I still love my old resort. But I was completely utterly blown away by every aspect of the Poly. I am hoping I can get it on my next stay at 7 months.
I called about 15 minutes before I needed bell services to get to my car (which was near the great ceremonial house in that lot over there) and at about 20 minutes I got antsy and decided to make a go of it myself just as bell services showed up. This guy was super nice, handled the luggage and loaded us all into a golf cart and drove me directly to the car. What a great way to end the vacation with little to no stress! I LOVE THIS PLACE!
I love DVC and buying in in 1999 was one of the best decisions I've ever made! It was a great stay made affordable because of it. It was a truly magical trip from beginning to end with only a couple or minor bumps in the road... but I love my DVC!
I just got back from an 8 night stay during which I stayed at 3 resorts. Originally I was just going to do a split stay between BWV and Poly but when I added an extra night could only get Kidani for it and so it was... lots of moving.
This is the first time I have been to Kidani - I have stayed in Jambo before, both regular and concierge... and I will say that I MUCH prefer Jambo to Kidani. I drove by the Jambo sign first and it was all nice and decorated for Christmas and I was kind of surprised and disappointed that the Kidani sign wasn't as well. Also since I did not do my research, I was surprised by the underground garage. It was not a huge deal, but it was just very disorienting when I was not expecting it! I didn't have a problem finding a spot near the Rafiki elevator but as it turned out the Rafiki elevator was about as far from my room in Rafiki as you could get (other end of the hall... we were super close to the lobby). I was also a little surprised that the Kidani lobby was smaller than I expected, but it was all fine for one night.
We had dinner at Sanaa that night and I found it kind of confusing to get from my room to Sanaa. I guess I am just not a huge fan of the layout of this resort. It wasn't a deal killer but I would probably choose to stay at Jambo if I had the choice again. That said, Sanaa is an amazing restaurant and we had a great server and enjoyed our meal very very much and it was nice to just go back to our room after... so for that reason I might stay at Kidani again in a similar situation.
The room was in fine shape, no complaints, and it was quiet. It did the trick for our first night there with planned morning EMH at AK the next morning.
Next we moved to BWV and although I requested a village green view, what I got was quite possibly the worst "preferred" view I've ever had. it was in an inside corner of a bump out and all we could see was a big piece of construction equipment (looked like some kind of cherry picker, probably for the painting) that was parked outside our window. it was on the second floor and I did appreciate not having to use the elevators and I think it was only about halfway down the long hall so the location was fine and we spent almost no time in the room except for sleeping. I was done handling my own luggage so when I checked in I dropped it with bell services before self parking my rental car. The valet was a bit cagey about where I should be parking and tried to send me to some lot far away. it's been a while since I've been at BWV but I replied "yeah but I can just park in that lot right over there, right?" He looked uncomfortable but then said "yes". I got a great spot very close to the building so not sure what that was all about. Bell services delivered my luggage very promptly. Other DIS friends there at the same time staying at value resorts had some major luggage issues but as always I found bell services at the deluxe/dvcs to be prompt.
I like the new decor, it is clean and crisp and feels like the shore to me without being kitschy. I was never a fan of the old pink and flowers and stuff but purchased BWV for the location, so I really like the changes. I felt like it was elegant and classy. My son LOVED the pull down bed... this is a huge value added to the room. Although it was just the two of us, it was nice to be able to leave the couch folded up and just have him in that bed. In fact, I was going to treat myself to a 1 bedroom (standard was available for not many more points and truth be told I prefer the standard view anyway) but it turned out the sleeping arrangements were better in the studio so I went with that. I was worried his pillow would fall off the top so I stuck the chair against it like a headboard and it was fine.

The room was clean when we got there and there were no maintenance issues. The only issue I had was my first night there, my neighbors came in late (it was part of a 2 bedroom lockoff) and it literally sounded like they were right there in my room. I could hear their conversations like they were talking directly at me and the banging and clattering of the drawers and silverware was driving me bonkers. I downloaded a white noise app on my phone and they shut up right around the time I figured it out. This was around 11:30pm.
Well then again at 3:30am I guess they were catching an early flight because there was much loud discussion and arguing about luggage. It was a really lousy night's sleep and I had to stop by the front desk to ask about something else and I asked if there was an issue with soundproofing. In my 17 years of owning BWV I have never heard anything like that. The front desk CM checked and confirmed there were 4 adults staying in that room who checked out today and that it was 2 adults checking in and told me it should be quieter. And it was, we did not hear a peep. So really I have no idea whether those people were just extraordinarily rude and loud OR if there is virtually no soundproofing between the rooms post refurb.
Entering through the international gateway a half hour before rope drop could not have been less stressful. We went through bag check, they let us in, we walked to future world where they were holding people from entering the two sides until closer to 9am. It was the least stressful rope drop I've been to!
Overall it was a good stay and I love my home resort of BWV.
Then we moved to the Poly for 3 nights. I dropped my luggage with bell services at BWV and we took off for Epcot. We ended up over at the Poly and I never got a text so I stopped by the front desk to check in. The CM was ok, not great, and we were not offered leis (it was a little disappointing as there was a pile back there but I felt silly asking!) We didn't have time to go to the room before our 5pm Narcooossees dinner so we just freshened up a bit in the Ohana bathroom and then got on the monorail (I was prepared with fresh shirts, brushes and deodorant, lol). After that we went to the MK. It was a wednesday night and the MK was open late among a sea of christmas parties so it was PACKED. We'd been at Epcot since rope drop and after waiting 20 minutes in the peter pan fastpass line, both the kid and I hit the wall and decided to go back to the Poly and watch the fireworks from there. I had no idea how my view would be or anything but figured we could find somewhere in the resort to watch.
This is the first time I have EVER stayed at the Poly... in all of my years of going to WDW I have stayed at every other deluxe resort, either the regular resort side or DVC side (in some cases both) but for some reason the Poly was last on my bucket list. We had a Lake view and were in room 2030 Moorea, very close to the elevators and a bit on the TTC side.
O. M. G. I was completely blown away! Polynesian Village, where have you been all my life? These rooms are downright gorgeous with a clean, beautiful mid-century modern with tiki twist vibe. They are so gorgeous, I want to move in forever. I loved the split bath and my son, who has sensory issues and hates showers LOVED the rain shower. LOVED it. he was begging me to take a shower every day. I could not believe how truly close we were to the TTC, what a pleasure to have all of those transportation options. MK and Epcot are our two favorite parks so obviously this is a great spot. Also bell services brought our luggage about 15 minutes after being called. It was a night so maybe that helped.
When we got to the room, I could not BELIEVE my view. I had seriously hit the wall in the MK and couldn't deal with the crowds any more and figured we'd deal with whatever fireworks viewing we could have at the room, but it was absolutely gorgeous. here is a view of regular wishes from our room (we also watched holiday wishes our last night from the balcony too).

Also I decided that I'd like a drink and called room service and ordered a couple of Island Sunsets from the Tambu Lounge menu. They will send up pretty much any drink you want (i asked what was available) or anything off the Tambu menu but nothing from Trader Sam because you have to go down there to have those specialty cocktails. We did pay a premium for the drinks obviously through room service but it was $28 or so for 2 drinks and given that an avocado margarita in epcot is $14, I was happy to pay it for the luxury of having it delivered to my room. The only thing is I didn't realize it was a frozen drink and it did come a little melted in the bottom, but once I stirred it all up it was actually the perfect silky texture for drinking without leaving flavorless ice behind.

Also I just want to address the complaints about ferry noise. Yes it was there but it was majorly muffled by the doors being closed. I live on Martha's Vineyard, which is only accessible by ferry, so ferry horns "in the distance" (which is how it sounded to me) was a very familiar and comforting sound and did not bother me in the slightest. It was not loud enough to wake me up while sleeping that's for sure, and the kid slept through it too.
I had planned a pool day here and my son LOVED the slide. The pool was beautiful and it was a great few hours, I wish I had built in more time for that. It happened to be the coolest day of the week (high around 67) but the water and sun were both warm and it was not uncomfortable AT ALL swimming in those conditions. I went down the pool slide a few times with the kid, it was a lot of fun - he went down many more.
on our last morning we had room service breakfast in the room before going to the airport. It was a lovely spread although pricey since I ordered everything I wanted without a care, lol.

This was an awesome finale to our stay and although I had to change my plans to put the poly at the end instead of the beginning, I am so glad I did. It would have been a serious bummer to leave that lovely resort and go to any other. I have a new love. Sorry BWV, it was great while it lasted!... just kidding, I still love my old resort. But I was completely utterly blown away by every aspect of the Poly. I am hoping I can get it on my next stay at 7 months.
I called about 15 minutes before I needed bell services to get to my car (which was near the great ceremonial house in that lot over there) and at about 20 minutes I got antsy and decided to make a go of it myself just as bell services showed up. This guy was super nice, handled the luggage and loaded us all into a golf cart and drove me directly to the car. What a great way to end the vacation with little to no stress! I LOVE THIS PLACE!

I love DVC and buying in in 1999 was one of the best decisions I've ever made! It was a great stay made affordable because of it. It was a truly magical trip from beginning to end with only a couple or minor bumps in the road... but I love my DVC!
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