Tips and recommendations for Polynesian club level

L

liveforholidays

Member
Original Poster
hi everyone.
We are so excited about our October trip to the Polynesian. We are a family of 4, kids ages 13 and 10 and will be staying for two weeks. Whilst we have been to The World before this will be our first time at a Disney Resort and we have Free dining with our package so we are looking forward to making the most of that. We deliberated for ages but finally decided to book a club level room which means we will be in the Hawaii building. Do you think it's worth it? Any tips for getting the best out of the resort and club level?
 
sxeensweet

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
liveforholidays said:
hi everyone.
We are so excited about our October trip to the Polynesian. We are a family of 4, kids ages 13 and 10 and will be staying for two weeks. Whilst we have been to The World before this will be our first time at a Disney Resort and we have Free dining with our package so we are looking forward to making the most of that. We deliberated for ages but finally decided to book a club level room which means we will be in the Hawaii building. Do you think it's worth it? Any tips for getting the best out of the resort and club level?
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I love club level and love the dining plan BUT with all the food from the dining plan along with probably not being at the resort much you may not get much use of the Club lounge. The lounges have light food items throughout the day and beverages including alcohol (wine and beer) in the evening at a certain time but if your in the parks most of the day you may not have much time to visit the lounge and take advantage of it.
We often would go grab a water on our way out (missed the breakfast offerings ar the lounge because we sleep in a little later) and maybe squeeze some time In to try to food and wine/beer in the evening, which was wonderful but we couldn't do it much because we were has either just eaten or was going eat soon.
So yes it's awesome to have club level but just think how often you will get use of it being it is not open 24 hours etc. :)
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
@sxeensweet, when was the last time you stayed club level? I have stayed club a few times since 2009 (AKL, WL & Poly) and there have never been individual bottles of water available for guests. Water is in a container of some sort and if you want water for your room, a CM will give you a small decanter.

On the other hand, canned carbonated beverages are aplenty.
 
Polydweller

Polydweller

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
@sxeensweet, when was the last time you stayed club level? I have stayed club a few times since 2009 (AKL, WL & Poly) and there have never been individual bottles of water available for guests. Water is in a container of some sort and if you want water for your room, a CM will give you a small decanter.

On the other hand, canned carbonated beverages are aplenty.
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Actually, water was available in individual bottles a few years ago. It has been quite awhile though, could be 10 years. Then they had large glass bottles for a couple of years but you had to ask for it. For the last number of years been just the cistern. The lounge manager told us that people would empty the fridge into bags and take it with them when they drove home. The cost got so high that they had no choice but stop having individual bottles.
 
sxeensweet

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
Tuvalu said:
@sxeensweet, when was the last time you stayed club level? I have stayed club a few times since 2009 (AKL, WL & Poly) and there have never been individual bottles of water available for guests. Water is in a container of some sort and if you want water for your room, a CM will give you a small decanter.

On the other hand, canned carbonated beverages are aplenty.
Click to expand...

Our very last time we stayed club level was in 2012 at The Boardwalk before we joined DVC so it has been almost 4 years come this December. I could of sworn they still had plastic bottles of water but we always bring our own bottles too so that might be what I was confusing. They do definately have ice water but don't remember for certain now that you say that if they had plastic bottles then or not. They did for certain as you mentioned had cans of soda. That I do remember. :)
 
L

liveforholidays

Member
Original Poster
sxeensweet said:
I love club level and love the dining plan BUT with all the food from the dining plan along with probably not being at the resort much you may not get much use of the Club lounge. The lounges have light food items throughout the day and beverages including alcohol (wine and beer) in the evening at a certain time but if your in the parks most of the day you may not have much time to visit the lounge and take advantage of it.
We often would go grab a water on our way out (missed the breakfast offerings ar the lounge because we sleep in a little later) and maybe squeeze some time In to try to food and wine/beer in the evening, which was wonderful but we couldn't do it much because we were has either just eaten or was going eat soon.
So yes it's awesome to have club level but just think how often you will get use of it being it is not open 24 hours etc. :)
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You have hit the nail on the head with the reason we deliberated - will we have the time to take advantage of it? I can see us enjoying breakfast offerings as we are up early to get to the parks kind of people. Love the idea of having a nice lounge to enjoy a wine or Beer in during the evening. What time is this offered and are they strict about it? I see they also offer liqueurs (which I loathe!) do they let you ask for a beer instead? It would be lovely to have a glass of wine before heading off for dinner somewhere or to get a glass of wine to take back to the room balcony whilst the kids get to sleep. Am I dreaming the impossible?!!
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
liveforholidays said:
You have hit the nail on the head with the reason we deliberated - will we have the time to take advantage of it? I can see us enjoying breakfast offerings as we are up early to get to the parks kind of people. Love the idea of having a nice lounge to enjoy a wine or Beer in during the evening. What time is this offered and are they strict about it? I see they also offer liqueurs (which I loathe!) do they let you ask for a beer instead? It would be lovely to have a glass of wine before heading off for dinner somewhere or to get a glass of wine to take back to the room balcony whilst the kids get to sleep. Am I dreaming the impossible?!!
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Quick answers for now :) ~ breakfast is continental, served from 7:30-10:30 am; snacks (goldfish crackers, cookies) are offered from 11-4 pm; evening appetizers, beer and wine from 5-7 pm; dessert and cordials (plus wine and beer) 8-10 pm. You can sit in the lounge 24/7, but cast members are only available from 7 am-10 pm.

You can get a beer during the day if you ask a cast member for it :). And we have taken glasses of wine back to our room to enjoy on our balcony.
 
surfsupdon

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
The Lounge at Poly is not the most relaxing. Cafeteria bench style open seating in some spots, and, because it is the Poly, there are more misbehaving children than at some of the other Lounges. Trying to say Poly has a theme that suits families very well, and is marketed as a more child friendly Resort, compared to a few other of the Deluxes.

Nothing wrong with it. Really enjoy your trip. I do love that Poly theme.
 
L

liveforholidays

Member
Original Poster
Y
Tuvalu said:
Quick answers for now :) ~ breakfast is continental, served from 7:30-10:30 am; snacks (goldfish crackers, cookies) are offered from 11-4 pm; evening appetizers, beer and wine from 5-7 pm; dessert and cordials (plus wine and beer) 8-10 pm. You can sit in the lounge 24/7, but cast members are only available from 7 am-10 pm.

You can get a beer during the day if you ask a cast member for it :). And we have taken glasses of wine back to our room to enjoy on our balcony.
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YES!!!!!!!! I do love a glass of wine or a beer. Now I think we will get good value out of it!
 
L

liveforholidays

Member
Original Poster
surfsupdon said:
The Lounge at Poly is not the most relaxing. Cafeteria bench style open seating in some spots, and, because it is the Poly, there are more misbehaving children than at some of the other Lounges. Trying to say Poly has a theme that suits families very well, and is marketed as a more child friendly Resort, compared to a few other of the Deluxes.

Nothing wrong with it. Really enjoy your trip. I do love that Poly theme.
Click to expand...
Understood. Although we have kids with us too so we will be one of the families adding to the noise and not relaxed atmosphere! If I have my glass of wine I won't care too much!!!!
 
surfsupdon

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
liveforholidays said:
Understood. Although we have kids with us too so we will be one of the families adding to the noise and not relaxed atmosphere! If I have my glass of wine I won't care too much!!!!
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I'm certain your children will be well behaved. Enjoy your trip and have a great time with your family!
 
KeithVH

KeithVH

Well-Known Member
Unless your heart is really set on a sit down breakfast, Hawaii still has a good meal here. Not as great as the GF but the big deal is you can save a LOT of time eating there, and not settling for junk in the parks. Also, since you have DDP, there may be times you do a signature meal requiring 2 credits. Unless you are a seriously heavy eater, evening service will prevent you from going hungry on nights you want to conserve credits (plus maybe DoleWhip from the captain). You've already mentioned cordials.

So, yes, club level can truly compliment DDP. It comes down to making the right choices.
 
L

liveforholidays

Member
Original Poster
KeithVH said:
Unless your heart is really set on a sit down breakfast, Hawaii still has a good meal here. Not as great as the GF but the big deal is you can save a LOT of time eating there, and not settling for junk in the parks. Also, since you have DDP, there may be times you do a signature meal requiring 2 credits. Unless you are a seriously heavy eater, evening service will prevent you from going hungry on nights you want to conserve credits (plus maybe DoleWhip from the captain). You've already mentioned cordials.

So, yes, club level can truly compliment DDP. It comes down to making the right choices.
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Great. Thanks for that. I had been thinking along those lines so it's good to hear that you can make a light dinner out of the evening offerings.
 
L

liveforholidays

Member
Original Poster
Tuvalu said:
@liveforholidays, you can see pictures of the Polynesian club lounge and a short commentary on what is available in my trip report:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/go-with-the-flow-its-spring-break-you-know.912354/
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Thank you Tuvalu for all the time, effort and information on your report! This kind of info is so much appreciated by people who are trip planning and it is so generous of you to spend so much of your time sharing it with us. Wonderful photos and lots if in depth info that I had not found anywhere else.
One very British question - what in the world are grits? Is it like porridge?
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
liveforholidays said:
Thank you Tuvalu for all the time, effort and information on your report! This kind of info is so much appreciated by people who are trip planning and it is so generous of you to spend so much of your time sharing it with us. Wonderful photos and lots if in depth info that I had not found anywhere else.
One very British question - what in the world are grits? Is it like porridge?
Click to expand...
I am so glad I could help you :). It's been fun writing about our vacation.
Grits are dried ground hominy (dried corn kernels with the hull and germ removed). It has a finer consistency than oatmeal (think Cream of Wheat). And it is usually served as a side dish, savory not sweet.
 

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