PHOTOS - Sight-line test balloons up over Disney's Polynesian Resort

[Tom]

I'll throw some fuel on the fire that is the sadness surrounding the possible loss of the water/landscape feature in the center of the GCH....

I personally know the guy who designed and built that feature. He goes to my church and I see he and his wife every year at our festival (which started tonight and goes through Saturday).

I told TikiMan about this earlier and am attempting to setup a phone interview between them, because the guy is aging, and has recently added an oxygen tank to his personal being, so I'm not sure how long he'll be around to tell his amazing story.

The gist of it is that he owned a landscape installation and design company in FL back in the 60s. He submitted a bid and design proposal for the Poly's lobby. He won. He and his wife and kids were put up in a hotel by Disney so he, and all the other specialty contractors, could get their contracts and schedules.

The special surprise was that Walt himself (this was well before construction, and not too far before he died) went to each and every hotel room and met the contractors. My friend Tom shook Walt's hand (hey, that means there's 2-degrees of separation between me and Walt!), got the contract, took a group photo and Walt even played with the kids a bit. There's more to it than that, but that's the short version I got.

I saw them tonight, and reminded him that he owes me a copy of that photo. He said his kids tell him his ex-wife has it with her out on the east coast....and they're trying to get it back, along with any other artifacts from that project.

So, if they really are removing that water feature, it would really sadden me. Not only has it been an amazing piece of scenery to admire every time I've been in the GCH, but a friend of mine put his blood, sweat and tears into it 40 years ago.

That's my story for the day...

 

[thehowiet]

The center water feature looks like it will be a casualty of the new design.

...well as much as I can share.

That really is a shame about the lobby water feature. When I was a kid I always thought that really was a defining feature of the Poly and still do to this day.

I can't wait to see what it is you CAN'T share with us since you're always so generous with your information.

 

[MarkTwain]

I'll throw some fuel on the fire that is the sadness surrounding the possible loss of the water/landscape feature in the center of the GCH....

I personally know the guy who designed and built that feature. He goes to my church and I see he and his wife every year at our festival (which started tonight and goes through Saturday).

I told TikiMan about this earlier and am attempting to setup a phone interview between them, because the guy is aging, and has recently added an oxygen tank to his personal being, so I'm not sure how long he'll be around to tell his amazing story.

The gist of it is that he owned a landscape installation and design company in FL back in the 60s. He submitted a bid and design proposal for the Poly's lobby. He won. He and his wife and kids were put up in a hotel by Disney so he, and all the other specialty contractors, could get their contracts and schedules.

The special surprise was that Walt himself (this was well before construction, and not too far before he died) went to each and every hotel room and met the contractors. My friend Tom shook Walt's hand (hey, that means there's 2-degrees of separation between me and Walt!), got the contract, took a group photo and Walt even played with the kids a bit. There's more to it than that, but that's the short version I got.

I saw them tonight, and reminded him that he owes me a copy of that photo. He said his kids tell him his ex-wife has it with her out on the east coast....and they're trying to get it back, along with any other artifacts from that project.

So, if they really are removing that water feature, it would really sadden me. Not only has it been an amazing piece of scenery to admire every time I've been in the GCH, but a friend of mine put his blood, sweat and tears into it 40 years ago.

That's my story for the day...

...So can we take from this that the Poly water feature was one of the few aspects of the WDW resort that Walt himself was involved in the design of? If that's the case, that would elevate the fountain to almost untouchable status in my eyes. Not that Disney management ever asked me...

 

[WDWFREAK53]

I always said that I'd pull the trigger for a Polynesian DVC.

If they are going with the Aulani as a model...then I think they should do it in phases.

Phase I: Build New Resort to the side and behind the current Polynesian. (Keep current one running)
Phase II: Close down O'Hanas, etc. and move it over to the new Resort.
Phase III: Tear Down current Polynesian
Phase IV: Build DVC in current Polynesian's location.

The DVC should give their guests the best view of the Magic Kingdom so that's why I say put it where the current one is. I know the people will not agree with me but if they are willing to give Disney all that money, they should get some benefits and having VIP viewing of the nightly fireworks would be a nice perk. (Either that, or just make it taller so you can see over the standard Polynesian)

 

[montyz81]

I always said that I'd pull the trigger for a Polynesian DVC.

If they are going with the Aulani as a model...then I think they should do it in phases.

Phase I: Build New Resort to the side and behind the current Polynesian. (Keep current one running)
Phase II: Close down O'Hanas, etc. and move it over to the new Resort.
Phase III: Tear Down current Polynesian
Phase IV: Build DVC in current Polynesian's location.

The DVC should give their guests the best view of the Magic Kingdom so that's why I say put it where the current one is. I know the people will not agree with me but if they are willing to give Disney all that money, they should get some benefits and having VIP viewing of the nightly fireworks would be a nice perk. (Either that, or just make it taller so you can see over the standard Polynesian)

All this while still calling the entire complex the Polynesian resort! The name has to stay, but I think if they rebuild the GCH into something that looks like Aulani inside, I suspect it won't be that disappointing. Hopefully they put in some water feature even if it isn't the one that is in there now.

 

[tikiman]

Are you able to elaborate on this at all?

I really wish I could share more but at this point I have to watch what I share. When I can share more I will but I can say that so far some have guessed correctly on what they are going to do and others are very far off. I can say that 90% of the buildings will remain with updates to them so hopefully some of the original feel of the resort will be the same.

I know by comments that I get from people emailing me that they think I am not telling everything because I don't know or I like to keep people in suspense and neither is true. I just have to be careful what I say and when but it is killing me not to share. I am very curious as to what people are going to think of the new resort. I still am not sure how I feel.

 

[Sharkreef11]

I really wish I could share more but at this point I have to watch what I share. When I can share more I will but I can say that so far some have guessed correctly on what they are going to do and others are very far off. I can say that 90% of the buildings will remain with updates to them so hopefully some of the original feel of the resort will be the same.

I know by comments that I get from people emailing me that they think I am not telling everything because I don't know or I like to keep people in suspense and neither is true. I just have to be careful what I say and when but it is killing me not to share. I am very curious as to what people are going to think of the new resort. I still am not sure how I feel.

Thanks, tikiman. I appreciate everything that you have been willing to share thus far. I am very excited regardless. I don't know if I missed this, but are completion dates still looking around 2017 for the DVC side of things?

 

[Witchy Chick]

Looks like the last longhouse will be scheduled to be done sometime in June. I don't have any schedule on any of the other things that might be happening so I can't really answer that completely.

We are currently booked into 3 rooms (party of 10 of us going) in Poly January 10th - 15th for Marathon Weekend. We also have three meals ('Ohana dinner, and two Kona Cafe breakfasts) scheduled in Poly. In your opinion (and without divulging any inside info) -- should we possibly look into moving to another resort? We have two small children who will need naps each day, and I don't want them affected by any construction noise.

I also should add that my DH is less than thrilled at us staying at Poly (the only resort where I could book three rooms via the RunDisney reservations). He is going to be out of control if we have to deal with construction hassles as well.

Thanks for any info, tikiman!!


Witchy

 

[tikiman]

Thanks, tikiman. I appreciate everything that you have been willing to share thus far. I am very excited regardless. I don't know if I missed this, but are completion dates still looking around 2017 for the DVC side of things?

Well thanks to a new friend I know dates for the new rooms but when the GCH will be worked on and completed and when the phases of DVC will start and finish are still very foggy. If I take all that I have heard and stick it in a blender (my brain) I would guess 2017-2018 but it could be sooner or later. It is really hard to say. I would say I would be very surprised if it took until 2018 or later to finish DVC.

 

[tikiman]

We are currently booked into 3 rooms (party of 10 of us going) in Poly January 10th - 15th for Marathon Weekend. We also have three meals ('Ohana dinner, and two Kona Cafe breakfasts) scheduled in Poly. In your opinion (and without divulging any inside info) -- should we possibly look into moving to another resort? We have two small children who will need naps each day, and I don't want them affected by any construction noise.

I also should add that my DH is less than thrilled at us staying at Poly (the only resort where I could book three rooms via the RunDisney reservations). He is going to be out of control if we have to deal with construction hassles as well.

Thanks for any info, tikiman!!


Witchy

Well during that time it looks like Hawaii longhouse will be under construction. I have been at the resort when new rooms were going in twice (1996 and 2006) and I did not hear any noise and saw only a little bit of activity external to the buildings. The con to going is that there will be some work going on but the pro is that you might end up in one of the new rooms. I would not expect to see any work starting on the DVC stuff by then.

 

[disneyeater]

I really wish I could share more but at this point I have to watch what I share. When I can share more I will but I can say that so far some have guessed correctly on what they are going to do and others are very far off. I can say that 90% of the buildings will remain with updates to them so hopefully some of the original feel of the resort will be the same.

I know by comments that I get from people emailing me that they think I am not telling everything because I don't know or I like to keep people in suspense and neither is true. I just have to be careful what I say and when but it is killing me not to share. I am very curious as to what people are going to think of the new resort. I still am not sure how I feel.

Thanks for sharing what you could and I will still hold out hope that they are doing something similar to your signature on mouseowners.

 

[tikiman]

...So can we take from this that the Poly water feature was one of the few aspects of the WDW resort that Walt himself was involved in the design of? If that's the case, that would elevate the fountain to almost untouchable status in my eyes. Not that Disney management ever asked me...

I don’t think many people realize how much of Walt is in the Polynesian. Walt’s early love of Hawaii and frequenting the tiki bars of the (then called Polynesian supper clubs) created an idea in his head about making his own tiki bar. The tiki room was what came out of his idea but originally he wanted it to be a place to eat, drink and relax in the tropical atmosphere while birds and flowers sing around you. This was the first animatronic and we all know what that turned out to do for Disney. This was also the feel he imagined for the Polynesian. He wanted it to be isolated with the best view of the park. This is why he picked its location and if you look at the original design for the resort you will see a much larger lagoon next to it where the artificial waves would roll up onto the shore. I recently posted a bunch of concept stuff to my facebook page showing this design. Walt wanted his guests to have that feeling that he had when visiting the islands. More of Walt’s imagination when into the Polynesian than any of the other resorts he was involved with.

 

[Sharkreef11]

Well thanks to a new friend I know dates for the new rooms but when the GCH will be worked on and completed and when the phases of DVC will start and finish are still very foggy. If I take all that I have heard and stick it in a blender (my brain) I would guess 2017-2018 but it could be sooner or later. It is really hard to say. I would say I would be very surprised if it took until 2018 or later to finish DVC.

Good stuff! Thanks again. Love to hear whatever you are able to share.

 

[Tom]

...So can we take from this that the Poly water feature was one of the few aspects of the WDW resort that Walt himself was involved in the design of? If that's the case, that would elevate the fountain to almost untouchable status in my eyes. Not that Disney management ever asked me...

As tikiman said in Post 134, yes, Walt did indeed play a role in the original design of the Poly. He wasn't around to see any construction on property, but he was able to help get some specialty contractors lined up.

 

[majortom1981]

Are you able to elaborate on this at all?

Disney knows that anybody who has dvc points and a lot of people who dont will buy points at the poly if dvc ever goes there. So they are probably going to do a very expensive dvc since they know points will sell out quick.

I just hope they dont design it like alunai. The same designer did that and animal kingodm lodge. I feel both look very similiar and would not want a 3rd resort that looks the same.

 

[Witchy Chick]

Well during that time it looks like Hawaii longhouse will be under construction. I have been at the resort when new rooms were going in twice (1996 and 2006) and I did not hear any noise and saw only a little bit of activity external to the buildings. The con to going is that there will be some work going on but the pro is that you might end up in one of the new rooms. I would not expect to see any work starting on the DVC stuff by then.

Thanks for the info. Based on our group size, I was really gunning for a villa at BLT (so most/all of us could be together). If I eventually can get that, great. If not, I won't be upset to remain at Poly (although my husband might not be too thrilled). And -- if this is the last chance to "visit" the jungle in the GCH, that's a selling point (for me) to remain in Poly. Thanks again!!


Witchy

 

[WED Purist]

I will agree with your geometry and lesson here, but it is my understanding that "sight line" balloons are actually flown to the literal height of the structure being represented, at that specific point. That way, you can go anywhere on property and see what the actual high point will look like from all the various vantage points.

Your theory works when doing point to point surveying, and you only view something from a specified location. But in this case, they need to see what the high point will look like from everywhere.

Too bad they didn't do that with the Dolphin...

 

[RSoxNo1]

I really wish I could share more but at this point I have to watch what I share. When I can share more I will but I can say that so far some have guessed correctly on what they are going to do and others are very far off. I can say that 90% of the buildings will remain with updates to them so hopefully some of the original feel of the resort will be the same.

I know by comments that I get from people emailing me that they think I am not telling everything because I don't know or I like to keep people in suspense and neither is true. I just have to be careful what I say and when but it is killing me not to share. I am very curious as to what people are going to think of the new resort. I still am not sure how I feel.

I can say, and edwardtc can confirm that everything tikiman corresponds with the information I put on WDWFanBoys. I can also say that we got this information from entirely different sources.

 

[Tom]

I can say, and edwardtc can confirm that everything tikiman corresponds with the information I put on WDWFanBoys. I can also say that we got this information from entirely different sources.

I'll second this motion.

 

[DougK]

I understand they have to fix the GCH.

I understand they want to add DVC to the Polynesian Resort.

I understand there will be construction hassles during the next few years.

But I don't understand why they have to remove the "water feature" in the lobby and not replace it.

Why, so they can have more DVC kiosks and gift shops in that space?

This, if true, really makes me upset.