News Refurbishment coming soon to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort - Moana details to be included

[UNCgolf]

Having stayed at Universal's Royal Pacific this summer, and not having any nostalgia for Poly, I actually prefer this video of entering the Poly to the experience of walking to the Royal Pacific. The RP has a large canyon of landscaping under an adorned bridge and is thus an impressive but cold entry. Even with its limitations, this one seems much more cozy and welcoming.

I think the Royal Pacific is both a nicer hotel than the Polynesian and offers dramatically better value, but I agree that it's not as well themed and feels more generic.

I prefer the Polynesian landscaping, although the fact that the overall entrance looks they were about 60% finished and then just stopped and left it as is hurts it a lot.

 

[jaxonp]

I think the Royal Pacific is both a nicer hotel than the Polynesian and offers dramatically better value, but I agree that it's not as well themed and feels more generic.

I prefer the Polynesian landscaping, although the fact that the overall entrance looks they were about 60% finished and then just stopped and left it as is hurts it a lot.

Royal Pacific is due for a healthy refurb... It looks super dated right now.

 

[fgmnt]

I think the Royal Pacific is both a nicer hotel than the Polynesian and offers dramatically better value, but I agree that it's not as well themed and feels more generic.

I prefer the Polynesian landscaping, although the fact that the overall entrance looks they were about 60% finished and then just stopped and left it as is hurts it a lot.

My sister stayed in Royal Pacific for her bachelorette weekend and according to her it apparently needs some help. We both have a soft spot for the Polynesian.

 

[rreading]

I prefer the Polynesian landscaping, although the fact that the overall entrance looks they were about 60% finished and then just stopped and left it as is hurts it a lot.

Agreed. Fortunately, they will be able to work on this with time, and for many (most) guests, they will only see this view on arrival/departure. It can be said that it may hurt someone's first impression but they're going to look at the bamboo poles and the waterfalls and that will probably make the biggest impression

The other thing to be said is that Aulani is much more gorgeous but it has to compete in a different fashion and on a different scale.

 

[UNCgolf]

My sister stayed in Royal Pacific for her bachelorette weekend and according to her it apparently needs some help. We both have a soft spot for the Polynesian.

I was last there in early 2017 and it was great -- the beds were maybe the most comfortable hotel beds I've ever slept in -- but things could easily have gone down a bit since that was almost 5 years ago. Considering how much cheaper it is than the Polynesian and the fact it comes with the Unlimited Express Pass, though, hard to imagine it's not still a much better value.

Funnily enough, I think the new Moana rooms at the Polynesian look pretty similar to the current Royal Pacific rooms.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Agreed. Fortunately, they will be able to work on this with time, and for many (most) guests, they will only see this view on arrival/departure. It can be said that it may hurt someone's first impression but they're going to look at the bamboo poles and the waterfalls and that will probably make the biggest impression

The other thing to be said is that Aulani is much more gorgeous but it has to compete in a different fashion and on a different scale.

No, they really can’t continue to work on the Polynesian over time. They can’t just add flooring to the monorail station or ceilings all around without significant work.

 

[rreading]

No, they really can’t continue to work on the Polynesian over time. They can’t just add flooring to the monorail station or ceilings all around without significant work.

They could choose different ropes to hold the lights as many say they look cheap.

They could choose to decorate the pillars if they feel that is warranted.

They could choose a more authentic thatched roof covering (or remove it) if they decide that it doesn't add to the appearance.

These are the suggestions I've seen proposed over the last few pages which seem reasonable and more c/w the treatments in Aulani. I don't expect that they will necessarily do so and haven't been there to evaluate whether they would need to do so; but to suggest that they cannot continue to modify things seems disingenuous to me.

And why can't they improve/add flooring? I didn't see a clear problem with the flooring but floor treatments are performed quite commonly with limited expense.

 

[lazyboy97o]

They could choose different ropes to hold the lights as many say they look cheap.

They could choose to decorate the pillars if they feel that is warranted.

They could choose a more authentic thatched roof covering (or remove it) if they decide that it doesn't add to the appearance.

These are the suggestions I've seen proposed over the last few pages which seem reasonable and more c/w the treatments in Aulani. I don't expect that they will necessarily do so and haven't been there to evaluate whether they would need to do so; but to suggest that they cannot continue to modify things seems disingenuous to me.

And why can't they improve/add flooring? I didn't see a clear problem with the flooring but floor treatments are performed quite commonly with limited expense.

Any building could be better if you demolished parts and redid them.

The light fixtures would be one of the easiest things to change, but it would require new fixtures with a Florida Product Approval, not just swapping out the rope.

The columns could be painted. Actually applying anything more would require grinding off the finish to produce a rough surface for adhesion or building a completely separate structure around the columns.

The thatch is not just decoration but an actual roofing product. Replacing it means putting on a new roof.

The floor of the monorail station is grey concrete. The floor could be painted but with all of the people walking there it won’t last long. You could add something on top, but there are very strict code requirements for walking surfaces and stairs. If the added floor is more than ½” thick then you’d have to have a very small ramp and make sure that ramp doesn’t push water towards the lobby. At the exit stairs you would have to have a very small ramp because you’d be incredibly lucky if you were able to add even ⅛” at the top of the stairs. You’d also have to be careful around things like the railings to make sure you aren’t trapping water their either. The other options would be to cut off the very top of the existing precast concrete that makes up the floor, which would be incredibly expensive, precise and time consuming work.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Any building could be better if you demolished parts and redid them.

The light fixtures would be one of the easiest things to change, but it would require new fixtures with a Florida Product Approval, not just swapping out the rope.

The columns could be painted. Actually applying anything more would require grinding off the finish to produce a rough surface for adhesion or building a completely separate structure around the columns.

The thatch is not just decoration but an actual roofing product. Replacing it means putting on a new roof.

The floor of the monorail station is grey concrete. The floor could be painted but with all of the people walking there it won’t last long. You could add something on top, but there are very strict code requirements for walking surfaces and stairs. If the added floor is more than ½” thick then you’d have to have a very small ramp and make sure that ramp doesn’t push water towards the lobby. At the exit stairs you would have to have a very small ramp because you’d be incredibly lucky if you were able to add even ⅛” at the top of the stairs. You’d also have to be careful around things like the railings to make sure you aren’t trapping water their either. The other options would be to cut off the very top of the existing precast concrete that makes up the floor, which would be incredibly expensive, precise and time consuming work.

That floor I think was definitely a safety decision not budget decision. The TTC, GF, and Epcot are all the same material. I’ve seen guests slip and fall on both the brick flooring at the MK station and the old wood flooring at poly.

 

[lazyboy97o]

That floor I think was definitely a safety decision not budget decision. The TTC, GF, and Epcot are all the same material. I’ve seen guests slip and fall on both the brick flooring at the MK station and the old wood flooring at poly.

It was not. A variety of materials are used for walking surfaces all over Walt Disney World. Just below the Polynesian monorail station is new hardscape that is not plain concrete. In-ground materials may not always be appropriate for an elevated application but plenty of options still exist. Even if there was an absolute safety reason to have just concrete, no stamping or special aggregates, then at a bare minimum they could have done an integrally colored topping slab so that it wasn’t just grey.

 

[castlecake2.0]

It was not. A variety of materials are used for walking surfaces all over Walt Disney World. Just below the Polynesian monorail station is new hardscape that is not plain concrete. In-ground materials may not always be appropriate for an elevated application but plenty of options still exist. Even if there was an absolute safety reason to have just concrete, no stamping or special aggregates, then at a bare minimum they could have done an integrally colored topping slab so that it wasn’t just grey.

Okayyyyyy I thought I was agreeing with your post but I guess I’m wrong and you are right, the floor was picked solely on the basis of being cheap and screwing over the Guest even though it’s the same flooring as almost every other monorail station.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Okayyyyyy I thought I was agreeing with your post but I guess I’m wrong and you are right, the floor was picked solely on the basis of being cheap and screwing over the Guest even though it’s the same flooring as almost every other monorail station.

What exactly were you looking for? Why would an integrally colored topping slab be unsafe?

 

[TrojanUSC]

Okayyyyyy I thought I was agreeing with your post but I guess I’m wrong and you are right, the floor was picked solely on the basis of being cheap and screwing over the Guest even though it’s the same flooring as almost every other monorail station.

The Magic Kingdom is brick, the Contemporary is carpet and the GF is cement but it is not plain gray in color (more like a beige). That leaves... the TTC and Epcot, both of which are not particularly themed environments.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Boy! What a tough crowd.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

I'll add: the Polynesian has always been a Mid-Century Modern interpretation of Polynesian/Tiki. In fact, Tiki was a major influence to the whole MCM style. They have continued that here...which makes sense as MCM is so hot right now.

 

[wdwmagic]

New main entrance holiday decor at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort​

New main entrance holiday decor at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

The recently remodeled Polynesian Resort is now decorated for the holidays.

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[UNCgolf]

I think at this point it's safe to say that Disney has no further plans to fix this entrance by replacing the industrial look.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I think at this point it's safe to say that Disney has no further plans to fix this entrance by replacing the industrial look.

It’s “modern”.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It’s “modern”.

…so are newly designed garbage cans

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I think at this point it's safe to say that Disney has no further plans to fix this entrance by replacing the industrial look.

Gotta “save” something for the next refurb. I still think they’ll make the columns look like wood, it’ll just take a few years so they can put it on a different years budget.