Pre-Trip Yep, We're Poly going back to WDW PTR!

My poor wife Val is not the biggest fan of Walt Disney World. Our last trip was in 2011 - we stayed at the Beach Club Villas and had a great time, but she vowed that would be her last Disney trip. She likes a nice beach or island vacation; sit on the beach, wade in the ocean, read books, have drinks, and relax. It's not that I don't like that kind of vacation, but I just love going to the World and so do our kids.

Last year we had two "beach" trips ( one was for a friend's wedding ) so for this year the kids have been clamoring to go back to Disney. I love the fact that my two teenagers ( heck, Alex is now 19 ) love Disney. With the 30% off deal at deluxe resorts, the pressure really turned up.


Val really had no chance - she actually agreed to let us go on our own without her but we twisted her arm and in the end she broke her vow - we were going back!

After spending some time on the new site for WDW I just couldn't get the rooms I wanted and I couldn't see all the availability I needed to create some options. I then realized that I needed help, so I called my WDWMagic friend, @Disneyfalcon aka Tammy at Kingdom Konsultants. She quickly put together some options for the Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge for us.

We had stayed at the Beach Club in 2009 and 2011 and loved it. Val, however, decided she wanted something different " if I have to go back, I at least want to try a different resort". OK, I said, sounds reasonable. After helping her view all the resorts she picked the Polynesian.

So the next day I called Tammy and told her to scrap everything and let's look at the Poly. Let me just say, I drove Tammy crazy ( and will probably continue to do so ) and she was just great. I know how much of a Disney nut she is and now know she is a great TA to book a Disney trip with! Even though I'm pretty astute with my WDW knowlege, she was invaluable.

In the end we booked an 8 day trip at the Poly for myself and my two daughters with Val and my son joining us 3 days in after a water polo tournament. We arrive July 29th and depart August 5th - I am beyond thrilled! Here's a picture of the crew from our trip last year to Anna Marie Island...

 

[fractal]

She will love the poly I stay there every time I go have checked out other places and nothing compares !!!

I do hope your are right! Beach Club was pretty nice.

V&A is worth it. Before the tip I think our bill was around 400 bucks but that also included wine pairing. It was about a three hour event, and by no means do they rush you. They are also more than happy to refill any glasses of wine that seems to vanish and I remember getting seconds on a few courses because of how awesome they were. When I took the inlaws out to dinner at V&A they were happy to design the 9 courses around both the veg menu and the "normal" menu for the mother in law.

If you happen to get or request a building at the Poly that is closest to where they do the luau dinner, you'll be able to hear the music while relaxing on the balcony.

Thanks for the info!

 

[bethymouse]

The convenience of the Poly's monorail is wonderful! The beauty of the lobby, the pool, the beach and watching Wishes from there! Make sure you walk the grounds- lovely walk to the TTC.
'Ohana is our favorite, and we really enjoyed Kona Cafe. We got GOOD coffee every morning at the coffee/sushi bar. It was a wonderful memory!
I hope you and your family enjoy the Poly! Can't wait to find out!

 

[Ella's Mommy]

OMG!!!! I LOVE your trip reports and I LOVE Poly!! We have been staying at Poly since the 80's when it was the Polynesian Village. I'm soooooooooo excited for your trip report!!!!!!! Don't forget they have Dole Whip at Capt. Cooks :0)

 

[Duckberg]

LOVE Ohana's,suggest the family get some ALoha Shirts before ($$) you get on property. It can help put you into the spirit of the Poly! Please post some family pics after your trip.

 

[Sarabell]

Sooo happy for you!! (and jealous I´ll admit). Me and my mom have always wanted to stay at the Polynesian. Someday we will for sure! I´ve promised myself that I will go back to WDW before Dec.2014. I hope you have a great time and off course I´ll be on the lookout for a trip report.

 

[fractal]

The convenience of the Poly's monorail is wonderful! The beauty of the lobby, the pool, the beach and watching Wishes from there! Make sure you walk the grounds- lovely walk to the TTC.
'Ohana is our favorite, and we really enjoyed Kona Cafe. We got GOOD coffee every morning at the coffee/sushi bar. It was a wonderful memory!
I hope you and your family enjoy the Poly! Can't wait to find out!

Thanks for the tips! We have Ohana booked for the first night there. Countdown has begun!

OMG!!!! I LOVE your trip reports and I LOVE Poly!! We have been staying at Poly since the 80's when it was the Polynesian Village. I'm soooooooooo excited for your trip report!!!!!!! Don't forget they have Dole Whip at Capt. Cooks :0)

Thanks so much! Excitement is building in our house; Toni and I just finished out countdown paper chain.
Do you mean they have Dole Whips at the Poly? Did not know that. Wow.

LOVE Ohana's,suggest the family get some ALoha Shirts before ($$) you get on property. It can help put you into the spirit of the Poly! Please post some family pics after your trip.

Great idea! Will definitely post pictures.

Sooo happy for you!! (and jealous I´ll admit). Me and my mom have always wanted to stay at the Polynesian. Someday we will for sure! I´ve promised myself that I will go back to WDW before Dec.2014. I hope you have a great time and off course I´ll be on the lookout for a trip report.

Thanks Sarabell!

 

[foreverbelle]

Two years has flown I tell you. I don't think you will be disappointed in most of the places you picked, and Poly would be a dream come true for myself so I would hope she will love it. We will be down there for a little while at the same time, we head in on the 2nd.... Btw, she gets props for returning after vowing to never return. Looking forward to a trip report!!

 

[fractal]

Some major changes to our trip.

No water polo tournament for Sterg so he and Val will be joining us for the entire week. My mother will also be joining us. That added dynamic should make things very interesting. We are also changing the date of our trip. Arriving July 20th until the 27th. Most of the dinning options I've kept but may make a few changes. I'm excited that it's one week earlier - but need to think about how having Yia-Yia ( Greek for grandmother ) on the trip will change things. My mother is 75 and in good health but I know she will not be able to keep up with our normal pace.

This is going to be one crazy vacation.

 

[ladydi]

The poly is lovely. We loved taking the boat over to the magic kingdom in the morning-it was such a relaxing way to start our day.
If your yiayia is not the traditional grandmother who wears the black wool dresses, she'll do ok. We brought our yiayia and once in a while she'd sit out a ride to catch her breath but for the most part, kept up pretty well. A couple of mornings she slept in and met us at the parks so we had some time for commando style.
Looking forward to your TR. My kids are just a bit younger than yours so I'm looking forward to see what not to do with them next trip!
Happy Easter!

 

[fractal]

Two years has flown I tell you. I don't think you will be disappointed in most of the places you picked, and Poly would be a dream come true for myself so I would hope she will love it. We will be down there for a little while at the same time, we head in on the 2nd.... Btw, she gets props for returning after vowing to never return. Looking forward to a trip report!!

Yes, it goes fast! We had to change our dates so we will now be down a week earlier than originally scheduled. Yes, Val does get props - but it will cost me ( actually it already has ). Thanks and I hope you have a great trip!

The poly is lovely. We loved taking the boat over to the magic kingdom in the morning-it was such a relaxing way to start our day.
If your yiayia is not the traditional grandmother who wears the black wool dresses, she'll do ok. We brought our yiayia and once in a while she'd sit out a ride to catch her breath but for the most part, kept up pretty well. A couple of mornings she slept in and met us at the parks so we had some time for commando style.
Looking forward to your TR. My kids are just a bit younger than yours so I'm looking forward to see what not to do with them next trip!
Happy Easter!

I wish I was on the boat right now! My Mom is traditional in her cooking but very contemporary with most everything else. I hope it goes as well with her as it did with your "yia-yia". I'm also anticipating that she will be spending a good amount of time with Val on the resort. Thankfully they get along. Thanks and Happy Easter to you too!

 

[Uncle Lupe]

How did I miss this for so long!?? My jaw dropped with an excited gasp when I saw this popup in what's new. I need to check my news feed daily. Can't wait to read your TR. Your ability to convey your thoughts with words and nice pictures makes for a great read. Are you and Toni going to try and top your feat of 5 EE rides in one AK visit? With the ease of access to MK,the mountains are begging to be beaten multiple times.

 

[Violet]

 

[fractal]

How did I miss this for so long!?? My jaw dropped with an excited gasp when I saw this popup in what's new. I need to check my news feed daily. Can't wait to read your TR. Your ability to convey your thoughts with words and nice pictures makes for a great read. Are you and Toni going to try and top your feat of 5 EE rides in one AK visit? With the ease of access to MK,the mountains are begging to be beaten multiple times.

Thanks Uncle Lupe! I am pretty psyched. Toni is ready to go commando; and as much as she loves my Mom she's already said to me " I hope Yia-Yia doesn't slow us down". We are definitely targeting EE and the MK mountains!

 

[fractal]

Trip is now fully payed for! Good feeling.

I also changed a few things up with our meals...

Ohana's
50's PT
Citricos
Restaurant Marrakesh
Whispering Canyon
Via Napoli
Kona

I figured eating at the Poly on arrival day and on our last night would make things less stressful. Plus I've been wanted to try Kona.

We are on the regular dinning plan. Citricos is a 2 credit meal so I added Via Napoli as a fancy pizza night that I'll pay out of pocket. I hope both live up to their reputation.

I'm also looking forward to taking the boat over to WL to check out the resort and dine at Whispering Canyon.

We are 64 days out - Toni has her paper countdown chain hanging in her room and even Val is getting excited ( although she won't admit it ).

 

[mousefreak]

We did Whispering Canyon last September and had a blast. WL is a beautiful resort! Make sure the kids ask for ketchup and straws.

I'll be interested to hear what you say about 50's PT and Via Napoli. They're on our radar for February.

 

[Tuvalu]

We are on the regular dinning plan. Citricos is a 2 credit meal so I added Via Napoli as a fancy pizza night that I'll pay out of pocket. I hope both live up to their reputation.

The pizza at Via Napoli is delicious, the freshest-tasting pizza we've ever had.

 

[Billy6]

Dining looks great, Chris.... Actually it looks like mine for this June trip coming up.
Did Via Napoli and Ohana last year and had to book both again. Whispering Canyon will be a new one and I hope it lives up to some reviews...

 

[Tuvalu]

I'm also looking forward to taking the boat over to WL to check out the resort and dine at Whispering Canyon.

Be aware that you can't take a direct boat from the Poly to the WL. You will need to go from the Poly to the MK (via either boat or monorail) and then catch the WL boat from there.

For a less scenic but faster trip, take the bus from MK to WL. The bus ride is 5 minutes and there is never a long wait for the bus.

We stayed at the Poly last week and had dinner at Artist Point. We took the monorail to MK and then the bus to WL. On the return trip, we took the boat from WL to the Contemporary (the Contemporary boat was at the dock and had available seating; the line for MK boat was very long and the boat wasn't there). Then we boarded the monorail in the Contemporary and rode back to Poly.

 

[Ella's Mommy]

YES ) They have a dole whip machine in Capt. Cooks!! Kona is also really good!! You must try the sticky wings. What I really love about Poly is being able to sit at the pool with a view of the castle :0)

 

[fractal]

We did Whispering Canyon last September and had a blast. WL is a beautiful resort! Make sure the kids ask for ketchup and straws.

I'll be interested to hear what you say about 50's PT and Via Napoli. They're on our radar for February.

Thanks for the tip. We were actually considering WL for this trip. 50's PT we did last trip and it was a lot of fun for us. It was Toni's ( my 11 year old daughter ) favorite. The food was pretty good but a lot depends on the servers you get. Ours was Uncle Tim and he was great!

The pizza at Via Napoli is delicious, the freshest-tasting pizza we've ever had.

I keep hearing good things about the pizza there. Looking forward to it, thanks!