Reviews of Polynesian Village Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 03/16/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
Love Polynesian! One of my favorite Disney resorts. Amazing pool area and activities.. amazing dining, dole whip, quick monorail or boat ride to MK, beautiful rooms etc!! Could talk forever about Polynesian!!
Pros:
Beautiful pool area, great dining, easy access to Magic Kingdom, great themingCons:
All rooms are away from lobby and main building with food and shoppingReviewed by RhinoRubicon Review Date: 03/16/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
As awesome as advertised. Best room for us was Samoa first floor and the end of the hallway closest to the lagoon.
Pros:
Location, vibe, roomsCons:
PriceReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/11/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
The Polynesian Resort is the only hotel that my family have ever stayed in. From Webern my kids were 6-13. We wouldn’t stay anywhere else.
Pros:
Easy of stay from food, drinks, and access to parks. We never even waited for the bus only 5 minutes.Cons:
Even though we register as 4 people in the room, we never get enough of all towels.i often had to call. We even tip!Reviewed by TR Starnes Review Date: 06/13/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
We had a standard view but it turned out to be lagoon view and we could see the Castle. Fantastic room - well appointed and spacious.
Pros:
Accommodations. Amenities. Restaurants on site.Cons:
Price.Reviewed by Lauren kilpatrick Review Date: 04/17/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
This hotel is all dis ey..old hawaiian vibes that i love stop changing it because its great as is
Pros:
Beautiful old disney feels and ohanasCons:
ExpensiveReviewed by disneymom5 Review Date: 02/13/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
Our favorite resort, albeit expensive—even by Disney standards. You will be paying a lot to stay here. But on the upside...Really gorgeous grounds, fabulous pool (plus a quiet pool, if you prefer) wonderful location, monorail, relaxing and fully immersive theming, and honestly, some of the best and nicest Cast Members you’ll find in all of WDW—Seriously! Some of these CM’s have been here for 20+ years, and they’re true Disney gems.
However, since they built the bungalows on the beach, the views (particularly in front of the Concierge building, Hawaii) have been severely impacted, such that now only the third floor rooms in Hawaii have a true theme park view. You can no longer see the park and beautiful view of the water from the first floor rooms, and it’s obstructed from the second floor also. Why did Disney decide to place the bungalows DIRECTLY in front of Hawaii and ruin the views for so many club level guests?...it’s inexplicable.
But, that issue won’t necessarily be a factor if you’re in a standard room in one of the other longhouses. We stayed in Samoa, which is a great location but look at a map to decide which longhouse would work best for you, and consider specifically requesting that building. For example, you may want one of the longhouses closer to the TTC. If you like to play basketball, work out daily or plan to use the fitness room shared with the Grand Floridian, perhaps you want one of the buildings closer to the GF. All the grounds are so lovely at the Poly that even an entry-level garden room will give you a nice view.
The volcano pool is awesome and kids (and some grown-ups!) will love the water slide. There’s a great water play area for little ones. There are swings on the beach to just relax and watch boats go by, and there’s a volleyball area on the beach too. The beach area is nice but thanks to the bungalows, not even close to the picturesque, serene retreat it once was, sacrificed just so they could build a few bungalows for the very tiny fraction of guests who can actually afford them. (Why didn’t they just put them on that peaceful, secluded strip of unused beach between the Poly and the Grand Floridian?? They had to put them right in front of the Hawaii building and basically take away 75% of the prime beach area?...Really??) Of all of the changes to the Poly over the past 15 years, this and the removal of that stunning, huge water feature in the center of the great ceremonial hall, have been the absolute worst changes. But, other changes have been mostly positive.
Great theming and atmosphere, food and nearly everything else is conveniently located.
‘Ohana is fabulous for dinner and a must to visit at least once, especially if you have the table service dining plan. The character breakfast is fun and relaxing, and unlike other great character breakfasts such as Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey’s, this one brings the food to you! So there’s no chance of missing those photo ops because your kids are at the buffet.? (I recall many times, trying to round up my kids from a long and expansive buffet so they didn’t miss Pooh or Mickey!)
Captain Cooks is a great counter service option, and one of only three locations on all of WDW property which is actually open 24 hours, at least at this point. (Another is Picabu in the Dolphin, I can’t recall the third.
The beach is a great place to see the fireworks, and the music is on the speakers outside so that’s a great option of you don’t have a view from your room. However, visitors all over WDW have also discovered this prime viewing spot; since most of the beach was taken up by the bungalows? it can get really crowded on the beach so grab your spot early.
Don’t forget to watch the Electric Water Pageant right before the fireworks, it’s not to be missed! It visits all the resorts on the water and stops at the Polynesian around 8:50 each night, so enjoy! Aloha!?
Pros:
Great location, monorail, gorgeous landscapes and immersive themingCons:
Costly, even for a standard roomReviewed by Sandy Review Date: 09/30/2018
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We stayed here on our very first trip to Disney. Wanted to be on the monorail. While it was convenient for that purpose, I otherwise don't think it was worth the deluxe price tag. May have been updated since, but when we went I was shocked that our room was so old and in desperate need of an update. Not what I was expecting for the money.
Pros:
MonorailCons:
PriceyReviewed by paulacraiglow Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We stayed at Poly, our first time, for my son's 14th birthday. Normally we stay moderate and I would not usually spend the money but I had heard so many rave reviews that I bit the bullet and spend the exorbitant cost. We arrived late evening and had already received our text so went straight to our room. Was disappointed in how dirty our building was in the hallway and elevator area. It looked like the carpet had not been cleaned in months. While the room was clean, it was plain and a bit worn. While I will admit my expectations were high due to the cost, we have stayed at nicer moderates.
The quick service cafeteria was small and did not have a huge selection, which was disappointing. The parking was awful and one evening, I took the very last parking spot. I assume this is due to everyone coming to eat at the restaurants.
The couple of bright spots were the cast members. They were always friendly and had smiles on their faces. Our interactions at the gift shop and concierge would very good. We also enjoyed the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom. Although we did have to wait a couple times for one with enough seats. And on the morning of our early morning breakfast at Crystal Palace, the boat was almost 30 minutes late starting service.
I am sad that it did not live up to my expectations and I will not visit again, other than to eat at Ohana!
Pros:
lobby, dole whip access, cast membersCons:
rooms, transportation to parks, food serviceReviewed by Hbgriffin76 Review Date: 09/25/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
Best hotel ever! Beautiful atmosphere, gorgeous gardens, multiple ways to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. My favorite!
Pros:
Monorail and atmosphereCons:
NoneReviewed by Michael P Review Date: 12/20/2017
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
As a long-time Disney fan, particularly of the Polynesian resort, it pains me to give this resort hotel a poor rating. However, I believe it is justified based on two things - poor service and inconvenient to the theme parks. I'll explain...
The service at the Polynesian was surprisingly poor. For starters, housekeeping (or "mousekeeping" as Disney calls it) was not on the ball. We had to keep asking for more in-room coffee pods, since they did not refill them daily. On one day, we slept in and went to the park in the afternoon. Apparently, that must have caused them to skip our room and it evidently NEVER got serviced that day, which left us with no new towels and a dirty room to come back to. On our second day there, I misplaced my flip flops at the pool area and had to chase down housekeeping and resort lost & found to find them. Every time I called, I was told in an uncaring tone that they don't have them and there's nothing they can do. On the second to last day, they miraculously appeared in my room. Really??? It took you all week to find them??? Finally, on our last day, I went to lobby concierge to ask about arranging transportation off-site. After waiting in line and listening to the concierge cast member have thorough conversations with each guest about dining, thing to do, etc., when it was my turn, he offered a very cold response and said "your only option is Uber or Lyft." After explaining that I'd prefer a taxi service instead and asked if they can arrange it for me, he said he cannot do that but provided me a number for Mears taxi to call. Really??? You're concierge!!! It's YOUR job to arrange transportation for me. Why would you make a guest do that? I guess since it's not revenue for Disney, they don't give a hoot.
As for the so-called convenience factor of staying on the monorail loop - that is a bunch of baloney! Disney recently switched bag checks from park entrances to the resorts. While this may save time at the parks themselves, resorts like the Polynesian get HUGE lines of people trying to thru bag check on onto the monorail. On one particular evening, it took us 90 mins to get from our room to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. That's right, Disney, 90 minutes! You can see the castle across the lake from the resort but due to this terrible new system for bag checks, it causes a large bottle neck. We tried taking the water taxi from the Poly boat dock to MK, but had to wait for three separate boats to arrive before being able to get my family of four onto one! The other option was to walk to the TTC and take the ferry across the lake to the MK. Despite these options, none of them were convenient at all, made us miss precious time at the parks, and caused a lot stress for my wife and I with two small children in tow.
In summary, for the exorbitant amount of money we paid to stay the Poly, it was NOT at all worth it. The service was poor, almost unacceptable for Disney standards. The convenience factor was not there. Looking back, we could have stayed at a Moderate or Value resort for half the cost, and received the same level of service and convenience. The Poly is a rip-off and the prices Disney charges is highway robbery, considering the poor experience we had there. I have a feeling if I complain to Disney directly, they will respond the same way they did during my trip - with an unfeeling spirit and dismissal.
