What don't you like about the Polynesian?

[Nosmo King]

We are considering stay at the Poly on our next trip. We've stayed at Wilderness Lodge previously on two trips and are looking for a change, mainly do to our expanded family size to 5. I know that many people are gaga about the resort, so I don't want to hear from them; I know there are many good things.

But what about those that don't like the resort? What are the drawbacks about staying at the Poly? Anyone had a bad experience and wouldn't recommend it?

 

[TestTrack]

We are considering stay at the Poly on our next trip. We've stayed at Wilderness Lodge previously on two trips and are looking for a change, mainly do to our expanded family size to 5. I know that many people are gaga about the resort, so I don't want to hear from them; I know there are many good things.

But what about those that don't like the resort? What are the drawbacks about staying at the Poly? Anyone had a bad experience and wouldn't recommend it?

Well...for one...and maybe the biggest....it's an "outdoor" resort.

Not that I care...but just listing a reason some may say is a drawback. I for one find walking the grounds rather fun and relaxing. Avoids the hustle and bustle of the indoor areas.

 

[tdonald]

Well, it's rather expensive, for one thing. Captain Cook's (counter service) it my favorite CS for breakfast at WDW, but can be quite crowded. The theming is great, and it has the best location of any resort at WDW. Actually, I really can't think of much negative about it, so I guess I'm not much help!

 

[tigsmom]

Well...for one...and maybe the biggest....it's an "outdoor" resort.

Not that I care...but just listing a reason some may say is a drawback. I for one find walking the grounds rather fun and relaxing. Avoids the hustle and bustle of the indoor areas.

This was our only complaint. We were in one of the far buildings and it was a hike to the restaurants, not bad on a sunny day, but we got drenched in the rain. Also couldn't let the kids go to the snack bar by themselves at night, the lighting is low and it was difficult to find the way back.

 

[Disneygirl91395]

the only thing i can think of is all the buildings are seperate unless you book a room in the hawaii building which you have to say when booking you wont be in the same building as the lobby but everything about this resort is awesome captin cooks is the best if its your birthday(it was mine when we stayed there) the give you a free cupcake with wipped cream on it and its a great on the go place *note the hawaii and tonga building (tonga has suits) have concearage:wave:

 

[Scooter]

Some of the Longhouses are quite far from the Great Ceremonial House so if you buy a resort mug, you have to take quite a hike to fill it up. And as someone else mentioned, you can also get drenched if a sudden Florida Rainstorm hits because there is no cover.

When you first arrive, it's easy to get lost on the many paths around the resort, especially at night.

When they light the TIKI lights at night, sometimes they blow out or don't get lit and you can smell the gas fumes.

If you stay Concierge, which is pretty pricey, and you want to eat the snacks that are offered in the Concierge lounge, you better get there early because people sometimes swarm the place and hog all the snacks or fill their strollers and backpacks with the free water bottles, soft drinks, and other goodies that are offered.

It can get quite noisy if you have a room near the Volcano pool.

Despite all this, I still Love this resort!:lol:

 

[COProgressFan]

I love the Poly. But I always think it's funny when people say that the buildings are so far apart, or that it takes a long time to get to the Great Ceremonial House. Have you ever stayed at Caribbean Beach, Riverside, or Coronado? Or even the All-Stars? The Poly is MUCH more compact than any of those resorts are.

I've stayed in buildings all over the Poly, and I don't think it could take any more than 4 or 5 minutes tops to get to the GCH from any of the buildings.

 

[GrowingUpDisney]

We have stayed there once and really loved it. I am actually a fan of the "indoor" resorts and did not mind this "outdoor" (as mentioned in an earlier post) one at all. However you can get wet while moving between bldgs in the rain.

The absolute only problem I had was the location of the laundry facilities. We are DVC members and are used to washing our clothes. The laundry at the Poly is very close to the street and the entrance to the laundry room is on the back side of the building. In addition to that the door was not key entry only. I felt very vulnerable especially when I was alone in there or when leaving after sun down. If someone had grabbed me when I left that room no one would have seen it because the entrance is to the back of the property.

So I guess if you don't wash clothes you should be fine.

 

[tigsmom]

I love the Poly. But I always think it's funny when people say that the buildings are so far apart, or that it takes a long time to get to the Great Ceremonial House. Have you ever stayed at Caribbean Beach, Riverside, or Coronado? Or even the All-Stars? The Poly is MUCH more compact than any of those resorts are.

I've stayed in buildings all over the Poly, and I don't think it could take any more than 4 or 5 minutes tops to get to the GCH from any of the buildings.

Well, when you are used to staying at the WL everything is far apart. :lol:

 

[Polyman]

The paper-thin walls between rooms. Can hear every word from next room. Not shouting, regular conversation. Not a fun thing when you have come back from EMH at 3:00am and have to listen to the noise next door at 5:00am

 

[Hakunamatata]

The paper-thin walls between rooms. Can hear every word from next room. Not shouting, regular conversation. Not a fun thing when you have come back from EMH at 3:00am and have to listen to the noise next door at 5:00am

We had the same experience last week at AKL. The only resorts that we have not had this problem at are the DVC resorts. Not sure if they build thicker walls or what, but its been a problem everywhere else.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

We stayed there twice when DD was small and really enjoyed it, but it is a little spread out. You can't beat the view from a lagoon room, but you're looking at a 5 minute walk to the restaurants and monorail.

Kinf of off topic, but I had to comment on your screen name. That's a name I haven't heard since I was a kid. Wouldn't by any chance be from Pittsburgh, would you?:animwink:

 

[DisneyJoe]

The paper-thin walls between rooms. Can hear every word from next room. Not shouting, regular conversation. Not a fun thing when you have come back from EMH at 3:00am and have to listen to the noise next door at 5:00am

I've read this complaint about every resort on property.

I've personally never experienced it, and we've been to 7 of the resorts, some multiple times, from value to deluxe and DVC.

 

[charatijennings]

Love the Poly. Do remember getting put in a far off building one stay and did get lost on my way from the Great Ceremonial House to our room (I'm a little directionally challenged). But we did figure out on a 2nd day that it was quicker to walk straight to the TTS than go back to the GCH to catch the monorail. And they do have the Dole Whips!

 

[Kelsybelle]

I've stayed at the Poly 7 times and loved every minute of being there. However, this past trip (we were at the WL and BC) we met up with family who stayed there and I couldn't believe how they changed Captain Cooks! (Quick service) It was really confusing and just put together so poorly! It was designed to be quick and efficient but in turn, the way you order your food (through a touch screen menu) get a slip, get in line to pay for your order, get a beeper, then wait to pick up your food was soooo time consuming and with the dining plan participants it was worse because it didn't seem like anyone could figure out what came with their plan (including myself) so the line was backed up with absolutely no place for anyone to move! That being said, it wouldn't stop me from staying there, it's just one small glitch in an other wise perfect resort.

 

[JustPlainBill]

My situation may have been isolated, but I know others who have had similar complaints, specifically with houskeeping/maintenance service at the Poly. The normal day to day cleaning of our room was mediocre at best, we had to put the trash cans in the middle of the room so that they wouldn't forget to empty them, tipping them didn't seem to change the level of service, if anything it got worse, so I wound up not tipping after 2 days into our stay. Their staff became argumentative and very unmagical when we asked them to fix/change our broken in-room fridge. At first they were pleasant and said they would do it, but after 8 hours and several calls, when they didn't show up, let's just say, it got ugly.
They (housekeeping) weren't very cognizant of detail in the room, several lightbulbs were out when we first checked in, the drain in the sink wouldn't work and the faucet in the shower was loose and broke off in my hand. Either these problems were reported by housekeeping and maintenence didn't fix them or the problems were never noticed by them to begin with and were never reported. All they really did was make the beds and replace towels, oh,...and pick up the tip I left. This happened last summer and we stayed at the Hawaii longhouse. It was our only visit to the Poly, maybe it was just bad luck.
We stayed at other disney deluxe resorts and never experienced anything like that before. We were very disappointed after spending over $500 a night, we expected just a bit more. I'm most likely in the minority, maybe it's just when something goes wrong most people let it roll off their back and live with the burnt out lightbulbs and broken fridge and don't bother trying to get it fixed, or these issue just never manifested before, I don't know? I know nothing is perfect, but that is when service is so important. Respond to the problem and get it fixed.

 

[JustPlainBill]

I've stayed at the Poly 7 times and loved every minute of being there. However, this past trip (we were at the WL and BC) we met up with family who stayed there and I couldn't believe how they changed Captain Cooks! (Quick service) It was really confusing and just put together so poorly! It was designed to be quick and efficient but in turn, the way you order your food (through a touch screen menu) get a slip, get in line to pay for your order, get a beeper, then wait to pick up your food was soooo time consuming and with the dining plan participants it was worse because it didn't seem like anyone could figure out what came with their plan (including myself) so the line was backed up with absolutely no place for anyone to move! That being said, it wouldn't stop me from staying there, it's just one small glitch in an other wise perfect resort.

I had to smile at your post, I had the same experience you did and felt exactly the same.

 

[Eyorefan]

We've stayed there several time and I love it. But there have been issues.
Captin Cooks is one. I like the food there, but the ordering system is bad. Why the touch screens? It makes it hard to do personalized orders. I have also noticed the issues people have with the DDP, but I have experianced this at several resorts, espeacially at breakfest time. I don't think its just a problem with the Ploy.

During one stay there we had a lagoon view. This was April during Grad Nights and I was woken up at 3:00 in the morning because they were testing fireworks. They did leave a note before that saying that it might be distracting and they were sorry, but I wish they would have told us about it when we checked-in and payed for the upgrade. If they had said, "We are going to test fireworks at the MK at 3:00am for 2 nights do you mind?" I would have passed on the view.

On the Mousekeeping note. In our 5 stays there we have had both good and bad experiances with them at the Poly. The good out ways the bad. I'm not highly picky though so I could have been staying in complete filth and not noticed. :shrug: I will say though, that we have also had the experiance where after 2 days of them not fixing burned out light bulbs we stoped at the front desk and talked to a manager. The problem was solved after that, but it was a hassle and for $500 a night all the lamps should work. We don't generally use the refrigerator so I have no idea if finding one broken is something that happens a lot or not.

Hope that helps!

 

[YankeeMouse]

What don't I like about the Poly? Maybe its perfection.:animwink:

 

[Kelsybelle]

I had to smile at your post, I had the same experience you did and felt exactly the same.

:wave: I'm sure we aren't the only ones! If enough people complain, maybe they will change it back! :shrug: