Yes they SHOULD be ashamed of themselves - how many times have all of us gone to the GCH just to soak up the ambiance even if we were not staying at the Poly, I know I have done it many times.
Truthfully, I've been to wdw once. I'm a Disneyland kinda girl, for years and years. But I stayed at the Polynesian and there is simply no way to capture that feeling of first seeing and smelling and fully experiencing that resort. It's...dare i say, magical. It was a hundred times better than I could ever imagine. I absolutely loved our room, I photographed every detail of the room, including the bathroom, for future use. (I'm an artist, this is what I do.)
I fully expected to love the volcano pool but while we stayed there, I fell in love with the smaller quiet pool. I often went swimming at one in the morning. I ate dole whips by the pool every night. I soaked it up and thoroughly enjoyed having that pool all to myself. I made friends with the local lizards and the bunny.
In short, the poly blew me away. It was more than I could expect, more than I DID expect, and I'll simply never forget walking into the GCH for the first time and smelling the flowers and pineapple and seeing that masterpiece lobby focal point.
I would be devastated to have booked a vacation there and walk in to see construction walls in the lobby, no volcano pool, no captn cooks (meaning, no dole whip at three am) and limited beach access not to mention construction walls around the resort.
It breaks my heart. I know it's a hotel, I shouldn't get attached, I'm just a newbie anyhow, blah blah whatever, but the fond memories of a long overdue vacation with my mom stick to the insides of my mind. Happy times were there. Worries were forgotten dreams were literally coming true.
Maybe I'm just a romantic. Or maybe delusional. You decide.
I could have gone to wdw years ago, but chose to save up a bit more to stay at a deluxe resort. I won't be able to afford it again, unless I don't vacation anywhere for another five years, just for a week at the poly. The prices are just outrageous. And to pay that with all of the construction and minussing going on, no, thank you.