Polynesian DVC Disappointment

[Master Yoda]

Good point. We booked that category several years ago during our first stay there. Very convenient.

They could do other booking categories at the different resorts, but it can become cumbersome to manage, and what kind of categories could they offer? Near a elevator, maybe? Except, how "near" is "near"? You might ask 10 people and get 10 different answers, so I can kinda understand why they don't do it more often.

I want a ground floor, near elevator, away from vending machine, water view, close to lobby category.

 

[Phonedave]

I want a ground floor, near elevator, away from vending machine, water view, close to lobby category.

So you can ride the elevator from your floor to the other floors just for the heck of it I presume

I want mine close to the lobby, but not noisy, and with a view.

Reminds me of when I worked in a grocery store in high school and a customer asked me to "put it all in one bag, and don't make it heavy"

-dave

 

[SandraAnn]

I always wonder why they don't split out that Savannah room category at Kidani into the different savannas. I don't care about Opakis, I want real giraffes.

 

[Glenn Stewart]

I'm glad they accommodated you, I wish they would have done the same for us. We were not traveling with another party.

Once again I just want to say to everyone on here that I understand room requests are not guaranteed. I am just saying if Disney is getting more of a specific request on a consistent basis (in this case, higher floor) than they can handle they should change the booking categories so that the consistently requested view is bookable. And if they are not getting too many requests of that type then they should accommodate the ones who request it.

when i booked most of my guests they would ask for 3rd floor and would give me room numbers, i always tell them it is a request and can not be guaranteed.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

@DougK thank you for sharing your stay story-sorry to hear about your experience. I hope you have better times moving forward.
It's interesting how Disney guests and DVC members are viewed and/or treated so differently at times, both for the better and for the worse. I guess the fact that they're different is the point. But can we have more towels at DVC please, yikes. Why is that by the way?

We have stayed at the Polynesian as regular guests in 2009 and 2010 at Raratonga and had amazing experiences, with a nice percentage off deal both times too. We had nice garden views both times and loved the convenience to GCH in addition to MK and the monorail of course.

My mom and aunt are DVC owners as of 2013 and have begun the very generous tradition of gifting us points every year for our wedding anniversary. We have stayed at AKL Jambo and will be staying at Bay Lake in March. They keep saying "you two LOVED the Polynesian, why don't you want to look into staying there?!?" There's something about it, like your experience eludes to, that makes it unappealing. Like it'll be so different from how we stayed as guests before, like we want to keep the memory of our past stays protected. I'd prefer to try other spots for now.

 

[flynnibus]

Soon rooms will have as many categories as the ship staterooms. Having to maintain the points balance complicates this for doc too

 

[Phonedave]

@DougK But can we have more towels at DVC please, yikes. Why is that by the way?

Dues, dues, and dues. Towels cost money, laundering towels cost money. Money comes from where - your dues and mine. Well, since your in-laws gift you points - their dues.

It's the same reason that DVC does not do daily housekeeping. People who want daily housekeeping, or 6 towels each can get it - at a cost THEY pay. People who don't want such things, don't have to pay for them, and they do not have to subsidize those who do with their dues.

-dave

 

[harryk]

A lagoon is a water body that is formed near coastal areas. It is shallow and has a small link with sea or the ocean though it is also separated from the ocean water with reefs or a low sandbank.

A lake is a still water body surrounded by land from all sides except a side where it is fed by a river, stream or any other moving body of water

So its just marketing, nothing to do with reality.

Possibly called a Lagoon since when it first opened they had 'moving water', i.e. a wave machine located opposite the beach at one of the islands sending waves to the beach. After a while they stopped using it since it was removing the sand from the beach. (This was before they stopped swimming in the 'lagoon' due to water critters.)

 

[stevehousse]

First world problems. Let's complain cuz I don't get my way. Be thankful you can even afford to stay there in the first place.

 

[Sans Souci]

First world problems. Let's complain cuz I don't get my way. Be thankful you can even afford to stay there in the first place.

This is such a ridiculous statement. This is a message board about planning a vacation to see a fake castle and people dressed up like cartoon characters--nearly everything on this board is a "first world problem."

How many people complain they can't get FPs to see Anna and Else or an ADR into 'Ohana? Where is the snarky "first world problems" comments for them?

 

[wdwfan100]

Dues, dues, and dues. Towels cost money, laundering towels cost money. Money comes from where - your dues and mine. Well, since your in-laws gift you points - their dues.

It's the same reason that DVC does not do daily housekeeping. People who want daily housekeeping, or 6 towels each can get it - at a cost THEY pay. People who don't want such things, don't have to pay for them, and they do not have to subsidize those who do with their dues.

-dave

I understand dues, dues, dues. Mine increase every year and yet my home resort hasn't seen a refurb and the state of the rooms is pathetic. I can't have my air conditioning run during the day without it "magically" resetting and walking into a sauna when we return to our room. Same goes for the night. The A/C "magically" resets to save costs at the expense of our comfort. Nothing better than waking in the middle of the night sweating, it's fantastic. I agree, 6 towels a person would be expecting too much. I don't recall anyone even suggesting that. How about enough for everyone in the room to take a shower? That would seem reasonable. Disney is selling DVC as a pre-purchase on your deluxe resort vacation and ALL the legendary Disney service. It is not, and people should know it when they consider a purchase. There is quite a difference between being guest and being a DVC member. When we stayed at a Deluxe resort prior to becoming members, we typically felt appreciated as guests. I cannot say that same thing as a DVC member. It has not gotten to the point where we are actively looking to sell our points. However, we are no longer looking to purchase more and we do not view our membership in the same long term fashion we once did. There is no motivation for Disney to go above and beyond for someone that has basically stated, I am a return customer no matter how my vacations turn out.

 

[Phonedave]

I understand dues, dues, dues. Mine increase every year and yet my home resort hasn't seen a refurb and the state of the rooms is pathetic.

Different buckets - capital improvements are scheduled, budgeted, and planned for. You can see details in your yearly statement.

I can't have my air conditioning run during the day without it "magically" resetting and walking into a sauna when we return to our room. Same goes for the night. The A/C "magically" resets to save costs at the expense of our comfort. Nothing better than waking in the middle of the night sweating, it's fantastic.

You can override that easily. It is a balancing act between cost and comfort. This is not a DVC thing, it is not a Disney thing, it is an industry wide thing. Many hotels are switching to this sort of thermostat, because they understand that the potential savings are huge.

I agree, 6 towels a person would be expecting too much. I don't recall anyone even suggesting that. How about enough for everyone in the room to take a shower? That would seem reasonable.

That is reasonable - but then I find that there ARE enough towels for everyone to take a shower. I agree, there are just enough, and if people want to take two showers in a day, it is past the towel limit. But the reason still exists - dues, dues, dues.

Disney is selling DVC as a pre-purchase on your deluxe resort vacation and ALL the legendary Disney service. It is not, and people should know it when they consider a purchase. There is quite a difference between being guest and being a DVC member. When we stayed at a Deluxe resort prior to becoming members, we typically felt appreciated as guests. I cannot say that same thing as a DVC member. It has not gotten to the point where we are actively looking to sell our points. However, we are no longer looking to purchase more and we do not view our membership in the same long term fashion we once did. There is no motivation for Disney to go above and beyond for someone that has basically stated, I am a return customer no matter how my vacations turn out.

Honestly, I think it has changed for ALL of WDW. I don't think it is a DVC vs. non-DVC thing. The "legendary Disney service" has slowly eroded over the last 15 years or so. I noticed it eroding before I bought my contract, and unfortunately it has continued to erode after as well. So why did I buy, because at the time WDW was still a premium experience to me. Now, it is pretty much a middle of the road money grab. It holds a lot of memories for me, so we continue to go, but I see I time in the future were Hilton Head and Aluani become our destinations. We have already shifted our pattern to going less and less often and banking the points for larger/better rooms.

-dave

 

[wdwfan100]

Different buckets - capital improvements are scheduled, budgeted, and planned for. You can see details in your yearly statement.

Are the dues revenue not the source of the planned and scheduled capital budget? I assumed they were. Sorry if I'm mistaken.

You can override that easily. It is a balancing act between cost and comfort. This is not a DVC thing, it is not a Disney thing, it is an industry wide thing. Many hotels are switching to this sort of thermostat, because they understand that the potential savings are huge.

Bottom line, if you are making your guest wish they had stayed somewhere else, it's probably not the best idea. The cash price for the room are what? $350-$1200+ per night? DVC buy in is $155-$170 per point plus ~$6 per point in annual dues. These are not small numbers. For those prices, the balance between cost and comfort should be skewed toward guest satisfacation. I have only ran into this at Disney. I don't live in hotels, but I do travel fairly regularly. I haven't seen it yet in other places I stay. Of course Disney barely air conditions the rides in the parks anymore either, so this shouldn't surprise me.

That is reasonable - but then I find that there ARE enough towels for everyone to take a shower. I agree, there are just enough, and if people want to take two showers in a day, it is past the towel limit. But the reason still exists - dues, dues, dues.

I travel with several women in my party. Maybe its unique, but the women I travel with use two towels to shower. One for their body and one for their hair. So one towel per guest leaves us with an insufficient amount of towels. For us it's not about not being willing to reuse towels. We start with less than we need. Of course the front desk was so concerned with keeping laundry and towel costs down, they told me to go get extras from the pool. So much for lowering costs.

DifferentHonestly, I think it has changed for ALL of WDW. I don't think it is a DVC vs. non-DVC thing. The "legendary Disney service" has slowly eroded over the last 15 years or so. I noticed it eroding before I bought my contract, and unfortunately it has continued to erode after as well. So why did I buy, because at the time WDW was still a premium experience to me. Now, it is pretty much a middle of the road money grab. It holds a lot of memories for me, so we continue to go, but I see I time in the future were Hilton Head and Aluani become our destinations. We have already shifted our pattern to going less and less often and banking the points for larger/better rooms.

I agree that the service is degrading all over the resort and it is disheartening. I also agree it is a money grab. Truthfully, I don't mind paying a premium for a premium product. Disney stopped caring about their guest satisfaction a long time ago though. They consistently cut corners and stopped caring about the show elements that made them unique. I still feel that there is a notable difference in how we are treated as a DVC members and when we or a group we travel with stay for cash. Like I said before, we are not looking to sell our points and still travel to the resort. That being said, I have had a couple bad experiences in a row and was told by Disney, "Sorry, there is nothing we can do for you...you are staying on points". Translation..."we know your coming back anyway. We don't care how satisfied you are." This pattern will lead me to make a change at some point. My overall point is DVC at WDW is not a deluxe level vacatiom, in spite of what their sales material may say.

 

[Phonedave]

Are the dues revenue not the source of the planned and scheduled capital budget? I assumed they were. Sorry if I'm mistaken.

They are, but you have to look at what is driving cost increases. My dues have gone up at SSR because of housekeeping and front desk services. Capital project allocations have not increased significantly. You have to look at what is actually driving your dues increases.

Bottom line, if you are making your guest wish they had stayed somewhere else, it's probably not the best idea. The cash price for the room are what? $350-$1200+ per night? DVC buy in is $155-$170 per point plus ~$6 per point in annual dues. These are not small numbers. For those prices, the balance between cost and comfort should be skewed toward guest satisfacation. I have only ran into this at Disney. I don't live in hotels, but I do travel fairly regularly. I haven't seen it yet in other places I stay. Of course Disney barely air conditions the rides in the parks anymore either, so this shouldn't surprise me.

I look at Disney as a total package - that is the main reason people buy into DVC. There are a few that buy for other reasons (not a good investment) but the majority are for the parks. I do feel that the parks quality has gone down, but with DVC I know I get what I pay for (in dues). I know the breakdown and what goes into each component. Now I can agree that some things that don't cost money have been falling to the wayside. I would say I have run into the sensor thermostats about half the time now.

I travel with several women in my party. Maybe its unique, but the women I travel with use two towels to shower. One for their body and one for their hair. So one towel per guest leaves us with an insufficient amount of towels. For us it's not about not being willing to reuse towels. We start with less than we need. Of course the front desk was so concerned with keeping laundry and towel costs down, they told me to go get extras from the pool. So much for lowering costs.

Yeah, I can see that if you have long hair. I really think it is because people tend to use all of the towels that are in the room. Put two in there and people will use two, put 3 and they use 3.

I agree that the service is degrading all over the resort and it is disheartening. I also agree it is a money grab. Truthfully, I don't mind paying a premium for a premium product. Disney stopped caring about their guest satisfaction a long time ago though. They consistently cut corners and stopped caring about the show elements that made them unique. I still feel that there is a notable difference in how we are treated as a DVC members and when we or a group we travel with stay for cash. Like I said before, we are not looking to sell our points and still travel to the resort. That being said, I have had a couple bad experiences in a row and was told by Disney, "Sorry, there is nothing we can do for you...you are staying on points". Translation..."we know your coming back anyway. We don't care how satisfied you are." This pattern will lead me to make a change at some point. My overall point is DVC at WDW is not a deluxe level vacatiom, in spite of what their sales material may say.

I agree with most of it. I have never been told they noting could be done because I was staying on points. I think a DVC room is still a deluxe room, based on Disney's definition of Deluxe - which is different from other hotels.

From what I have seen with other timeshares, DVC rooms and service is still well above the others. Granted I have only stayed with 3 other timeshares, so it's not a huge base to look at.

-dave

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I understand dues, dues, dues. Mine increase every year and yet my home resort hasn't seen a refurb and the state of the rooms is pathetic.

BCV owner? That is the only one I can think of. I do agree that sometimes they seem to think that the furniture and all will last longer than it does, or they're trying to keep our dues down somewhat. I would prefer that they up the dues a bit, and schedule more frequent refurbs of the resorts.

I can't have my air conditioning run during the day without it "magically" resetting and walking into a sauna when we return to our room. Same goes for the night. The A/C "magically" resets to save costs at the expense of our comfort. Nothing better than waking in the middle of the night sweating, it's fantastic

Hmm, I have heard of this, but we have never had a problem with it. I have never woke up sweating with the A/C at 78-80. Of course, I set it to 70 since we like a cooler room, and we don't have any issues.

I agree, 6 towels a person would be expecting too much. I don't recall anyone even suggesting that. How about enough for everyone in the room to take a shower? That would seem reasonable.

Sorry, but have to disagree with this one. There are the number of towels in the room that the room allows. 4 for studios and 1 bedrooms, 8 or 9 for 2 bedrooms, etc. If there is not that many available in the room, then mousekeeping should provide that number without charge. We did have one case where a studio only had 3, and we asked for the 4th, and it was not a problem at all.

Disney is selling DVC as a pre-purchase on your deluxe resort vacation and ALL the legendary Disney service. It is not, and people should know it when they consider a purchase. There is quite a difference between being guest and being a DVC member. When we stayed at a Deluxe resort prior to becoming members, we typically felt appreciated as guests. I cannot say that same thing as a DVC member. It has not gotten to the point where we are actively looking to sell our points. However, we are no longer looking to purchase more and we do not view our membership in the same long term fashion we once did. There is no motivation for Disney to go above and beyond for someone that has basically stated, I am a return customer no matter how my vacations turn out.

I'm sorry that you have received less than stellar service. We have yet to experience this, as every CM has always gone above and beyond what was needed at the time. We bought in many years ago, and have 17 DVC stays in the last 8 years alone. Only once has a CM not provided the level of service that we expect Disney to have, and that was at Soarin'. The resort CMs have always been top notch for us.

Just one example. A few years ago we were at the SSR Treehouses, and we noticed that the flat screen in the living room had a crack in the screen. Not wanting to be charged, we called the front desk to let them know, and we also told them that a replacement could wait until after our stay, since it was a small crack. Well, a maintenance manager showed up in 30 minutes with a brand new in the box TV, and replaced it in a few minutes. We had no plans to go anywhere that day, but even though we told him that it could wait, he insisted. That is Disney service. The service has not gone down for us even just this year on our 2 trips.

 

[wdwfan100]

BCV owner? That is the only one I can think of. I do agree that sometimes they seem to think that the furniture and all will last longer than it does, or they're trying to keep our dues down somewhat. I would prefer that they up the dues a bit, and schedule more frequent refurbs of the resorts.

It is BCV ( we also own at BLT). The villas are in rough shape.

Hmm, I have heard of this, but we have never had a problem with it. I have never woke up sweating with the A/C at 78-80. Of course, I set it to 70 since we like a cooler room, and we don't have any issues.

I think it's great you haven't had to deal with this. We like our rooms cool too. It is something I truly never thought I would have to deal with, especially at Disney.

Sorry, but have to disagree with this one. There are the number of towels in the room that the room allows. 4 for studios and 1 bedrooms, 8 or 9 for 2 bedrooms, etc. If there is not that many available in the room, then mousekeeping should provide that number without charge. We did have one case where a studio only had 3, and we asked for the 4th, and it was not a problem at all.

Our last stay we were in a two bedroom with 6 people. 3 women that use two towels each. We had a total of 6 towels. When we called to ask for more I was told that I would need to pay for a towel package if I wanted more. When I pressed the issue it was suggested I go to the pool and get towels from there.

I'm sorry that you have received less than stellar service. We have yet to experience this, as every CM has always gone above and beyond what was needed at the time. We bought in many years ago, and have 17 DVC stays in the last 8 years alone. Only once has a CM not provided the level of service that we expect Disney to have, and that was at Soarin'. The resort CMs have always been top notch for us.

Just one example. A few years ago we were at the SSR Treehouses, and we noticed that the flat screen in the living room had a crack in the screen. Not wanting to be charged, we called the front desk to let them know, and we also told them that a replacement could wait until after our stay, since it was a small crack. Well, a maintenance manager showed up in 30 minutes with a brand new in the box TV, and replaced it in a few minutes. We had no plans to go anywhere that day, but even though we told him that it could wait, he insisted. That is Disney service. The service has not gone down for us even just this year on our 2 trips.

Again, I am very happy that you are having good experiences. We have too. Unfortunately, we are seeing the negatives pile up in recent visits. Some of these stays we booked using a combination of points and then moving resorts and paying cash. The difference in level of service has been noticeable to us.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Our last stay we were in a two bedroom with 6 people. 3 women that use two towels each. We had a total of 6 towels. When we called to ask for more I was told that I would need to pay for a towel package if I wanted more. When I pressed the issue it was suggested I go to the pool and get towels from there.

OK, have to completely agree with you there. A 2 bdr can hold up to 8 or 9, so there should have already been that many towels in the room. I think a manager visit would have been called for at that time.

 

[Phonedave]

I think it's great you haven't had to deal with this. We like our rooms cool too. It is something I truly never thought I would have to deal with, especially at Disney.

Depending on the make / model of the thermostat, they have a hold feature you can access that overrides the motion sensor. I know you said you have never seen this type of thermostat in other places, but trust me, they are everywhere. So much so, that if you do a quick search on the make/model of the one in your room, you will be sure to find a dozen websites/videos showing you how to put it into override.

For example, the ones in SSR, if I recall, after setting the temp, you hold down "Cool" and the "down arrow" and it will hold that temp for 12 hours, no matter what goes on with the motion detector. We (my wife especially) likes the room very cold while sleeping, and last trip (Nov 2015) the temp would go up during the night while nobody was moving around. Before going to bed, put it in override, and a cool room all night. Other thermostats are similar.

-dave

 

[wdwfan100]

Depending on the make / model of the thermostat, they have a hold feature you can access that overrides the motion sensor. I know you said you have never seen this type of thermostat in other places, but trust me, they are everywhere. So much so, that if you do a quick search on the make/model of the one in your room, you will be sure to find a dozen websites/videos showing you how to put it into override.

For example, the ones in SSR, if I recall, after setting the temp, you hold down "Cool" and the "down arrow" and it will hold that temp for 12 hours, no matter what goes on with the motion detector. We (my wife especially) likes the room very cold while sleeping, and last trip (Nov 2015) the temp would go up during the night while nobody was moving around. Before going to bed, put it in override, and a cool room all night. Other thermostats are similar.

-dave

Thanks for the information. I will give this a try next time we are at "The World".

 

[Goofnut1980]

I'm sorry you didn't get your request and it sounds as if it ruined a great trip to Disney. We don't put our expectations that high at a place I am only there to sleep at. AKV is very good at any requests but that resort is huge. We go to have a great time but when we bought into DVC we know we would be treated a little differently than the guest paying a crap ton a night for a room. We paid a fraction and expected things to be different, like towel service. However that is something I would like to see increased by one day. Because who takes only one shower a day at Disney??? We shower morning and night, and heck if its hot.. mid day as well. Towels get a little "special" after day 2. ha