News New Polynesian Resort DVC villas building to open 2024

[Beacon Joe]

I'll be interested to see it in person. The design cues lifted directly from Destino are a bit surprising. I can't help unsee the similarities. And I like Destino a lot - but it feels like a great convention hotel. Not an island escape.

Overall, on pictures, I would say:

Rooms - A-
Restaurant - B+
Lobby - B (would be an A if it didn't look like a recycled Destino)
Exterior - C-
Pool - D
Scale/Integration with Poly - C-

This isn't bad. It just feels like they don't care about making anything really unique or special, especially from the exterior. It's similar to the big blue box, painted grey box of Tron, etc. Obviously, this is much more decorated than those. But, they take you out of the immersion. It just feels more soulless than I would want from Disney Parks.

Wait until you see the "beach" and other waterfront, uh, decor afterthoughts.

And the hanging green things that immediately bring to mind the aesthetics of the interior of an automated car wash combined with a cat tower/cat condo/scratching post.

Also willing to bet you'll lower your score for the pool after seeing its wonders in person.

And also after visiting the pool area, I imagine you'll also lower your score re: scale/integration with the Poly.

The feature restaurant is nice though. I called it a long time ago. Walking around the property, the whole place would feel very much at home in Virginia Beach. On the higher end, north side of town, where the Cavalier, Embassy Suites, and Marriott are. In fact, the feeling I got at the Polyday Inn? Gave me a similar vibe as the VB Marriott. Which is a nice hotel I really like and frequent. But not a vibe that I'd ever want at WDW. YMMV. Will be interesting once real reviews start pouring in as opposed to the Sam Chui-style crop of Vloggers running around the place, gushing about what is very, very much non gush-worthy.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Gone are the days of booking Kona for dinner and parking at Poly all day while you’re in Magic Kingdom.

True, now people just book it for breakfast and park at poly all day while they’re in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Christmas Decorations Arrive at Polynesian Island Tower for First-Ever Holiday Season

A couple of days after its official opening, the Island Tower has been lightly decorated with some Christmas decor for its first-ever holiday

blogmickey.com

 

[Disstevefan1]

Christmas Decorations Arrive at Polynesian Island Tower for First-Ever Holiday Season

A couple of days after its official opening, the Island Tower has been lightly decorated with some Christmas decor for its first-ever holiday

blogmickey.com

I will say, the decorations look beautiful.

 

[Nickm2022]

Am pleasantly surprised, had a great time there last week.

 

[peter11435]

Am pleasantly surprised, had a great time there last week.

Holiday services always does a phenomenal job with the decorations they are allowed to create for the areas they are allowed to decorate. In recent years the quality and artistry of their output has excelled.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Holiday services always does a phenomenal job with the decorations they are allowed to create for the areas they are allowed to decorate. In recent years the quality and artistry of their output has excelled.

If only they were allowed to decorate restaurants again

 

[peter11435]

If only they were allowed to decorate restaurants again

Seriously. It’s so annoying. A couple still get decorated but most are left barren. It’s especially annoying at locations where restaurants are easily visible from public spaces (Kona and Whispering Canyon) and at locations that are passed through by everyone like resort food courts

 

[castlecake2.0]

Seriously. It’s so annoying. A couple still get decorated but most are left barren. It’s especially annoying at locations where restaurants are easily visible from public spaces (Kona and Whispering Canyon) and at locations that are passed through by everyone like resort food courts

Who decides or pays for that decision, is it a line of business thing or individual locations or Jeff V? I still love that at CBR they even decorated the condiment bar but then at deluxe resorts and signature restaurants they get nothing

 

[peter11435]

Who decides or pays for that decision, is it a line of business thing or individual locations or Jeff V? I still love that at CBR they even decorated the condiment bar but then at deluxe resorts and signature restaurants they get nothing

I’m honestly not sure. I know that in many cases individual locations pay for their own decorations. But the fact that across the board restaurants are generally not decorated any more while merchandise locations still have all of their decor seems to indicate this is a line of business directive. Or from above as you say from Jeff V. CBR is weird because the center town market never lost any of its decor. Sebastian’s and Banana Cabana did lose all of theirs though.

 

[castlecake2.0]

I’m honestly not sure. I know that in many cases individual locations pay for their own decorations. But the fact that across the board restaurants are generally not decorated any more while merchandise locations still have all of their decor seems to indicate this is a line of business directive. Or from above as you say from Jeff V. CBR is weird because the center town market never lost any of its decor. Sebastian’s and Banana Cabana did lose all of theirs though.

My goal for 2025 is to get my location decorated, wish me luck

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I've stayed in various Disney hotels 20+ times and never used or even looked for a gym. I think I may recall seeing one in the 'hidden' Contemporary floor where the hair salon used to be.

I do my best to work out in real life, but with the incredible amount of walking, constraints on time, fun to be had, etc - who are these raving lunatics who cant skip the gym for a few days?

Although maybe the same people who prefer non-discript modern hotels on their Disney trip.

I guess people are not all the same? For some people, a workout or exercise routine in the morning helps them feel energised and better enjoy their day.

Personally, that seems less strange to me than all the early mornings, strategising to book attractions, etc. that a WDW vacation has become in recent years which does not seem like much of a vacation to me. Again, we're all different, though.

 

[MisterPenguin]

My goal for 2025 is to get my location decorated, wish me luck

Find out how Living with the Land CMs were able to get a yearly budget for Christmas decorations and, by carefully storing the decorations and adding a little more each year, were able to make LwtL an hour-long queue-ride.

 

[Prince-1]

I've stayed in various Disney hotels 20+ times and never used or even looked for a gym. I think I may recall seeing one in the 'hidden' Contemporary floor where the hair salon used to be.

I do my best to work out in real life, but with the incredible amount of walking, constraints on time, fun to be had, etc - who are these raving lunatics who cant skip the gym for a few days?

Although maybe the same people who prefer non-discript modern hotels on their Disney trip.

Ahhhh, the old, "I don't do something so it's weird when other people want to do it" argument. Logic at it's best.

 

[Comped]

Just got the promotional button for the new villas. It's mostly a Moana 2 promotional button (even with an Only in Theaters bit)- with the title of the resort relegated to a small portion of it. Very odd choice considering that Grand Floridian villas got a much more timeless button.

I still like it for my collection though.

 

[celluloid]

Then proceed to wear them EVERYWHERE they go so that why everyone knows they staying at the poly lol

For some reason it annoys me less than the magic band era.

 

[FiestaFunKid]

Ahhhh, the old, "I don't do something so it's weird when other people want to do it" argument. Logic at it's best.

I guess people are not all the same? For some people, a workout or exercise routine in the morning helps them feel energised and better enjoy their day.

Wow, never knew gym rats were so soft and defensive......Yes - we all have different opinions - and it's ok to state them without insulting people. I re-state, when logging 15k steps a day, a morning on the stair climber wouldn't be my priority - and if it's yours, god bless you - I suppose you could have worse obsessions.

 

[Prince-1]

Wow, never knew gym rats were so soft and defensive......Yes - we all have different opinions - and it's ok to state them without insulting people. I re-state, when logging 15k steps a day, a morning on the stair climber wouldn't be my priority - and if it's yours, god bless you - I suppose you could have worse obsessions.

You do realize your posts are filled with insults.

And you seemingly missed the point of my post but that’s ok…you be you.

 

[FiestaFunKid]

You do realize your posts are filled with insults.

And you seemingly missed the point of my post but that’s ok…you be you.

an exaggeration to make a point on the importance of gym in a disney resort, not an insult - guess you decided to take it at face value and it went over your head - and then started in on the insults instead which was a very insightful point (hint - don't take that at face value)

 

[Sir_Cliff]

an exaggeration to make a point on the importance of gym in a disney resort, not an insult - guess you decided to take it at face value and it went over your head - and then started in on the insults instead which was a very insightful point (hint - don't take that at face value)

These posts don't seem in good faith, so I probably shouldn't respond. However, the fact that the other deluxe Disney resorts include gyms suggests that, whether you personally use them or not, they are an expected amenity in hotels of a certain level. You can also find lists of jogging and running trails at Walt Disney World on their website which I'm sure are of no interest to you, but are obviously of interest to someone.