Disney's POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT Information & Questions

[GADisneyDad14]

We will be arriving late morning, flight lands at 9:45, and we are planning a resort Disney Springs day on our first day. We are renting DVC points so our may not be ready until later afternoon.

We have ADRs at House of Blues for 6pm.

If we spend the day by the pool, is there a place to shower if our room isn’t ready in time for us to get ready for dinner?

Also, we will be celebrating dds 16th birthday while we are there. Do people decorate rooms? We normally stay at Pop and this is fairly common.

There are showers in the bathrooms underneath the Lava Pool slide. Warning, they are not exactly the nicest place to shower/change... but they’ll get the job done in a pinch. Unfortunately it just always seems to be very wet, damp, and kind of gross in those restrooms.

The other set of restrooms at the Lava Pool and the restrooms by the Oasis Pool are new and much nicer, but they don’t have showers.

Have fun!

 

[mickeynut1]

Have a Bungalow reservation booked on cash for Dec 3rd - Dec 6th, So excited! As this is our first time staying onsite as well as being at the Poly.

The Poly is amazing, you will love it! Enjoy the bungalow .

 

[Tess]

Drinks without purchasing the glasses. They still came in the glass. I don’t think there was a discount for not getting the drink served in the glass.

Yes, the drinks were served in the souvenir glasses, but if you opted to not purchase the glass, the price was lower--at least that was our experience. I am not a collector and would have had nowhere to store a Nautilus or two.

 

[hllb]

We may hang at the resort for a couple of hours on our first day with some friends before heading to Disney Springs. What should we walk around and see as an introduction to the resort?

 

[PPFlight75]

We may hang at the resort for a couple of hours on our first day with some friends before heading to Disney Springs. What should we walk around and see as an introduction to the resort?

You could walk along some of the walkways between the longhouses, tour through the GCH, walk around the marina, get a drink, etc. Those are some of the things I did when I was first at the Poly.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We may hang at the resort for a couple of hours on our first day with some friends before heading to Disney Springs. What should we walk around and see as an introduction to the resort?

Don’t know the ages in your party or interests, so some of these may not apply... but some ideas....

• Stroll the resort grounds
• Play a game of volleyball on the beach
• Grab a drink at Tambu Lounge (arguably the best bartenders on property)
• Grab a drink at the Barefoot Pool Bar (Steve IS the best bartender on property)
• Stroll over to GF (an easy walk) and explore the main building/grounds there
• See if Auntie Kau’i is working in the lobby - she’s usually at a desk over by the kids TV (she sells wonderful leis, necklaces, and other Polynesian themed items)
• Even if you don’t buy anything, just stop and chat with her - one of the true treasures of the Poly
• Check the recreation guide for daytime activities (http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/resorts/wdw/pdf/PolyCalendar.pdf) - some of the things like Mickey Tie-Dye shirts can be really fun and create lasting keepsakes (there is a charge for this)
• On certain days they usually do Hula dancing lessons in the lobby at some point in the afternoon

I’m sure I’m missing some things, but those come to top of mind.

Have fun!

 

[JennLTX]

Don’t know the ages in your party or interests, so some of these may not apply... but some ideas....

• Stroll the resort grounds
• Play a game of volleyball on the beach
• Grab a drink at Tambu Lounge (arguably the best bartenders on property)
• Grab a drink at the Barefoot Pool Bar (Steve IS the best bartender on property)
• Stroll over to GF (an easy walk) and explore the main building/grounds there
• See if Auntie Kau’i is working in the lobby - she’s usually at a desk over by the kids TV (she sells wonderful leis, necklaces, and other Polynesian themed items)
• Even if you don’t buy anything, just stop and chat with her - one of the true treasures of the Poly
• Check the recreation guide for daytime activities (http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/resorts/wdw/pdf/PolyCalendar.pdf) - some of the things like Mickey Tie-Dye shirts can be really fun and create lasting keepsakes (there is a charge for this)
• On certain days they usually do Hula dancing lessons in the lobby at some point in the afternoon

I’m sure I’m missing some things, but those come to top of mind.

Have fun!

As if I wasn't already excited enough about Going Home tomorrow, after reading your wonderful list I'm officially this guy right here ---> And this one, too --->

 

[ITALIANNYC]

Hey I am trying to figure out where to stay this coming august. This resort is on my list, but I have been seeing bad reviews on trip advisor and people complaining about how crowded it is.

Is the lake view DVC rooms the best ones to reserve?

Thank you very much

 

[Disney & ME]

We may hang at the resort for a couple of hours on our first day with some friends before heading to Disney Springs. What should we walk around and see as an introduction to the resort?

GADisneyDad14 gave a wonderful list but I would also add Trader Sam's depending on when you get there. They open at 4 and it is quite the experience. Enjoy!

 

[hllb]

GADisneyDad14 gave a wonderful list but I would also add Trader Sam's depending on when you get there. They open at 4 and it is quite the experience. Enjoy!

I’m really hoping I can hit that some nights when we get back from the parks. I know it gets crowded...

 

[GADisneyDad14]

GADisneyDad14 gave a wonderful list but I would also add Trader Sam's depending on when you get there. They open at 4 and it is quite the experience. Enjoy!

Yeah, definitely!

Kids can be in there before 8PM too. DS actually likes the little Tiki mug fruit drink they serve and all the special effects.

 

[hllb]

We are starting to doubt Disney transportation and have reserved a car. If we end up keeping it, what do we need to know about having a car at Poly? I’m assuming we’d monorail or boat to MK, and walk to TTC for monorail for Epcot, and then drive everywhere else.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We are starting to doubt Disney transportation and have reserved a car. If we end up keeping it, what do we need to know about having a car at Poly? I’m assuming we’d monorail or boat to MK, and walk to TTC for monorail for Epcot, and then drive everywhere else.

Yep, that’s pretty much it. I’ve rented a car on two of my Poly stays. Hated both times, to be honest. I was quickly reminded 1) how obnoxious rental car costs often are in Orlando, 2) how annoying parking at AK and HS can be. The busses have their negatives too, but all things considered I’d rather deal with the busses than parking myself. Uber/Lyft/Taxi/Minnie Vam are also quite useful alternatives.

Sorry to be negative - I just really like not driving at all when I’m the world.

 

[hllb]

Yep, that’s pretty much it. I’ve rented a car on two of my Poly stays. Hated both times, to be honest. I was quickly reminded 1) how obnoxious rental car costs often are in Orlando, 2) how annoying parking at AK and HS can be. The busses have their negatives too, but all things considered I’d rather deal with the busses than parking myself. Uber/Lyft/Taxi/Minnie Vam are also quite useful alternatives.

Sorry to be negative - I just really like not driving at all when I’m the world.

We’ve only driven. One time we stayed off site. The second time we had a 2 yr old and wanted to be able to easily take a break mid day. But our son fell asleep in the stroller every day before we could leave the park lol. But, we tried the buses at CBR one day and hated it lol. I did rely on buses when I went for a half marathon with a friend and they we’re fine. We were at AoA that time.

We did get a good deal through Costco though. $230 for the week. Maybe I’ll price out Uber. Might be costly though because we have to do the XL

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We’ve only driven. One time we stayed off site. The second time we had a 2 yr old and wanted to be able to easily take a break mid day. But our son fell asleep in the stroller every day before we could leave the park lol. But, we tried the buses at CBR one day and hated it lol. I did rely on buses when I went for a half marathon with a friend and they we’re fine. We were at AoA that time.

We did get a good deal through Costco though. $230 for the week. Maybe I’ll price out Uber. Might be costly though because we have to do the XL

I’m not up to speed on rental car costs, but that seems pretty good for the week I think.

I was probably unfairly negative in my first comments. Driving is fine... my mind just immediately thinks of melting two summers ago on the HS parking lot tram. Just one little random, isolated memory that’s stuck in my head!

 

[hllb]

I’m not up to speed on rental car costs, but that seems pretty good for the week I think.

I was probably unfairly negative in my first comments. Driving is fine... my mind just immediately thinks of melting two summers ago on the HS parking lot tram. Just one little random, isolated memory that’s stuck in my head!

I’m still torn on the idea. I remember walking instead of waiting for a tram before, but we go when it’s not crowded and we’re always parked fairly close!

 

[PolyRob]

I’m still torn on the idea. I remember walking instead of waiting for a tram before, but we go when it’s not crowded and we’re always parked fairly close!

Do you plan on only utilizing the car for AK and HS since you will be on the monorail? For that rental price, you could get six roundtrips in a Minnie Van and they hold six people. The Minnie Vans were extremely convenient when I used them.

 

[hllb]

Do you plan on only utilizing the car for AK and HS since you will be on the monorail? For that rental price, you could get six roundtrips in a Minnie Van and they hold six people. The Minnie Vans were extremely convenient when I used them.

Yes, that would be the plan. We would need at least 5 round trips due to park hopping. But definitely something I’ll play around with. I thought I saw that Minnie vans were in very high demand and hard to get though?

 

[PolyRob]

I used the Minnie Van service two times in late October. YC to GF on a Saturday about an hour after Epcot closed and on a Thursday from HS to GF at park closing. We did not wait more than 5 minutes for either trip. My driver the first night did say he was getting a ton of MK pickup requests and that we worked our perfectly because he dropped off at BC and he could get us on his way back up to MK.

We found the service to be great, but with a limited number of cars in the fleet, I guess there could be situations where the waits are impacted negatively.

 

[disneyquilter]

Has anyone stayed in a Marina/Pool view? If so, which Longhouse did you stay in? How was the room? This will be our first stay at the Poly, and we are so excited