PHOTOS - Disney reveals new lobby design and Trader Sam's lounge for the Polynesian

tirian

tirian

Well-Known Member
WDWtraveler said:
Photo update as of Friday, Dec 19. Overnight, the Polynesian Village Resort lobby was completed and open to guests this morning. The curtains were gone overnight. New furniture, new rugs, new seating areas. Even the carpet on the lobby stairs to the second level was completely replaced. In these photos, the lobby floor is overly "blue", but in actual appearance it is more closely like the original stone around the center lobby.

View attachment 76948

View attachment 76949

View attachment 76950

View attachment 76951

On the second level, the waiting area for 'OHana's has new furniture and carpet to match the lower lobby.

View attachment 76952

Finally, the kid's TV area near the front door was being completed this morning, with all new furniture.
View attachment 76953
Click to expand...
It reminds me of the Grand Californian lobby—there's so much wasted potential. It's difficult to believe the same company that gave us the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Wilderness Lodge is presenting THIS as a Deluxe resort. (Obviously, it's not the same people, but you'd expect the standards to be there considering it's a hotel.)
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
LL2WDW said:
The Poly has always been my favorite resort. In fact, I used to work front desk at the start of the 2000s. I've spent a lot of time in that lobby, with the waterfall.

I will miss it. It was beautiful in it's own way.

The new lobby, while very different from its predecessor, is not plain and ordinary. I travel all over the US for work, and I stay in many plain and ordinary hotels. A grand, 3-story wooden atrium with skylights, and views out onto a new pool/garden area...not my idea of normal. A big change, but not a lazy "ordinary" change, as is the popular argument.
Click to expand...
So a renovation is successful because of pre-existing elements?
 
Darby888

Darby888

New Member
Hugh Improvement, so glad they cleaned it up. The old fountain just ate up to much space...Look forward to staying there on my SSR points!!
 
dgp602

dgp602

Well-Known Member
kkocka said:
Pretty much what I've been preaching for pages: just wait and see. Again, not BAD, just lacking the wow factor.
Click to expand...
Ok..but isn't the "WOW" factor the exact thing that used to make Walt Disney World so special?? That's why removing yet another "WOW" factor such as this beautiful fountain, brings WDW one step closer to being UNI....The Christmas CBJ show, the Lights of Winter at EPCOT, the huge Christmas Wreath that hung from the Contemporary..all recent Christmas "WOW" cuts...:(
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
DW's first comment on seeing the new lobby was "this is ugly" and waterfall is pathetic. She's the designated pixie duster in the house and generally sees stuff at WDW in a more positive light than I do. We visited because she wanted lunch at Kona. She was PAPA-OSCAR'ed by what TDO had done to one of her favorite places at WDW

It's pretty obvious that the driver for this project was the mallification of the lobby, Now the store downstairs runs the full length of the lobby and is open to it. 'Notes from Civilization' has been replaced with the unthemed 'Moana's Merchandise'

The new lobby furniture is very uncomfortable the high back chairs especially remind me of the old Aeroflot seats that Russians used to joke about being used to shape the 'New Soviet Man'.

The only good notes from visit were we had a awesome CM named Maria as our server at Kona, And there was a Hawaiian acapella group doing Christmas songs in English and Hawaiian.
 
wdwgreek

wdwgreek

Well-Known Member
It looks like something from a mall trying to be themed... that said while open space is great, the Grand Ceremonial House does not feel grand. Mabye having the tiki will help establish a center piece,but compared to the other MK deluxe resorts :Wilderness, Contemporary, and Grand, this lobby has moved out of competition, it is the kind of lobby I would expect a moderate to have, for a hundred dollars cheaper I don't mind a less grand lobby, but when you pay top dollar the wow factor should start in the lobby. Imagine pulling in to the stunning façade and outdoor lush forest that the Polynesian has and then walking into... an open space bland mini mall feel... just my thoughts and normally I spread my share of pixie dust, but this disappointed me.
 
Clamman73

Clamman73

Well-Known Member
wdwgreek said:
It looks like something from a mall trying to be themed... that said while open space is great, the Grand Ceremonial House does not feel grand. Mabye having the tiki will help establish a center piece,but compared to the other MK deluxe resorts :Wilderness, Contemporary, and Grand, this lobby has moved out of competition, it is the kind of lobby I would expect a moderate to have, for a hundred dollars cheaper I don't mind a less grand lobby, but when you pay top dollar the wow factor should start in the lobby. Imagine pulling in to the stunning façade and outdoor lush forest that the Polynesian has and then walking into... an open space bland mini mall feel... just my thoughts and normally I spread my share of pixie dust, but this disappointed me.
Click to expand...

Agreed...They took the "Grand" out of GCH. This tiki statue better do a torch twirl act every top and bottom of the hour.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Clamman73 said:
Agreed...They took the "Grand" out of GCH. This tiki statue better do a torch twirl act every top and bottom of the hour.
Click to expand...

You mean IF the Tiki is installed..., From close inspection (easy to do rubble pile is only 5'6" tall) and I'm 6'3" and have a 'selfie pole for iPhone' there appears to be no mount point for the tiki at the top. I think the thing is done and it's BUGLY and water only flows on the side facing the street.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom