Disney's POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT Information & Questions

[Syndrome]

So, we have a 10 night stay booked for the Poly in late January . Admittedly , I am not following along with all the latest resort news going on at WDW . What can we expect if we are staying at the Poly in January/February ?
Here is what I think I have heard .........?
Capt Cooks, and Kona Cafe open ? Ohana, Trader Sams closed ? How about Tambu , Pineapple Lanai , pool bars ?
Both pools open ? BouTiki open ?
Will the Grand Ceremonial house be open / finished by January / Feb ?
Whats the low down on upcoming room refurbs ?
How about Monorail service ? Resort mono and or expess mono to/from Poly closed in January ? How about the normal boat service ? Monorail service from TTC to Epcot is closed correct ? So that will be bus service ?

Any updated news or best guesstimate's would be appreciated , thanks !

We changed up from AK Jambo to Poly due to pretty much "nothing available or open" at Jambo during our stay . Hoping Poly has to be better than "nothing open" , lol .

 

[disny_luvr]

I'm really hoping my TA is right. I would NOT be happy at the Grand Floridian (which seems to be where most people who have been moved have been placed).

Fingers crossed your TA is right! I agree about the GF. I know many people love it, it’s just not for us.

 

[mickeynut1]

What a great trip for the big 5-0! It should be fabulous!!

I agree!!

Talk about cutting it close. We are booked at the Poly for July 20-27th! If nothing goes wrong (at this point I expect everything to go wrong) we will be in a brand-new room!

I hope everything works out and the Poly is open for your trip .

 

[Dug720]

I agree!!



I hope everything works out and the Poly is open for your trip .

Thank you!!

 

[maltdizzy]

So, we have a 10 night stay booked for the Poly in late January . Admittedly , I am not following along with all the latest resort news going on at WDW . What can we expect if we are staying at the Poly in January/February ?
Here is what I think I have heard .........?
Capt Cooks, and Kona Cafe open ? Ohana, Trader Sams closed ? How about Tambu , Pineapple Lanai , pool bars ?
Both pools open ? BouTiki open ?
Will the Grand Ceremonial house be open / finished by January / Feb ?
Whats the low down on upcoming room refurbs ?
How about Monorail service ? Resort mono and or expess mono to/from Poly closed in January ? How about the normal boat service ? Monorail service from TTC to Epcot is closed correct ? So that will be bus service ?

Any updated news or best guesstimate's would be appreciated , thanks !

We changed up from AK Jambo to Poly due to pretty much "nothing available or open" at Jambo during our stay . Hoping Poly has to be better than "nothing open" , lol .

Most of the resort will be closed in January/February. The Grand Ceremonial House entrance/lobby construction, the hotel room refurbs, and the monorail closure will run until mid-July 2021. If you have a hotel room reservation, you will be moved either to DVC at the Poly or another Deluxe resort. The earliest a Poly hotel reservation can be booked is July 19, it's all DVC until then.

• Little news on the room refurb designs beyond Moana accents
• Both pools are open
• Capt. Cooks, Kona Cafe, Tambu Lounge, Pineapple Lanai and Barefoot Pool Bar are open
• BouTiki and Moana Mercantile are open
• Trader Sams (Grog Grotto and Tiki Terrance), Kona Island Coffee and Sushi Bar, 'Ohana, Oasis Pool Bar & Grill, and Spirit of Aloha are closed

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Poly had a handy transportation sign posted in the GCH this past weekend. Note this applies to park hours as follows, which may/may not be the case on your day.

MK - 9am-6pm
Epcot - 11am-7pm
DHS - 10am-7pm
DAK - 8am-5pm

 

[GADisneyDad14]

The lobby white board that had survived with only a few revisions and crammed in details since July has been rewritten.

This was another day with different MK hours (8am open instead of 9am).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Another sign with the basics. This may be one of these things that has always been around and I've never noticed, but I also saw the "Transportation Tip" about "driving being a convenient option especially during opening hours" on the resort TV scroll.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Couple of other sights around the resort:

Lapu Lapus were good as always. Walter and other familiar faces back in their regular home at Tambu. We were glad to see Steve back at the Barefoot Pool Bar - he had not been called back when we were there in July. Poly really has some of the best bartenders around.



Lava Pool hours still 10am-10pm, continuing what seems to be the consistent feature pool hours across property in place since Labor Day weekend.



Disney hawking sugar-filled Halloween beverages with glow cubes at the Barefoot Pool Bar.



Still quiet at the marina. Fishing tours are offered, but that's it.



Otherwise, not much action around the resort in terms of work yet, except for the well-documented giant crane and front entrance working currently underway.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thank you!!

You're welcome .

 

[mrsap]

Thought I’d share...

https://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/di...sort-great-ceremonial-house-refurbishment.htm

 

[KNOTTGOOFY]

Just curious about bus transportation to HS from the Poly for opening. How long are the bus lines. From what I have been reading bus service starts at 9:15.

 

[imktdqt810]

GHOST TOWN?
I have been bouncing around boards today and since we currently have a studio booked June 2021 I went onto the DVC board and read some folks saying the Poly was a ghost town. I mean I get it....hotel is closed so not a lot of action, parks are closed early so you are at the resort more....but some folks are saying the walkway to GF was not lit up, no "tropical music" being piped in. I'm still on the fence with keeping my reservation knowing the hotel part is closed but figured all it means is less crowds. Just wondered if anyone here is seeing the same thing if you have been there recently or if you are currently there now. Thanks!

 

[Doofenshmirtz513]

GHOST TOWN?
I have been bouncing around boards today and since we currently have a studio booked June 2021 I went onto the DVC board and read some folks saying the Poly was a ghost town. I mean I get it....hotel is closed so not a lot of action, parks are closed early so you are at the resort more....but some folks are saying the walkway to GF was not lit up, no "tropical music" being piped in. I'm still on the fence with keeping my reservation knowing the hotel part is closed but figured all it means is less crowds. Just wondered if anyone here is seeing the same thing if you have been there recently or if you are currently there now. Thanks!

Can't speak to lighting of the GF walkway, but when we were at the Poly over the weekend, there was tropical music playing around the resort. Things are relatively quiet compared to normal, but it's not a "ghost town". In many respects, it's pretty nice because the pool isn't overly crowded, the line for the slide isn't too long, the pool bar rarely has a line, and the shops and Captain Cooks aren't busy. There are still people walking around and some in the lobby, and there was a decent crowd for the outdoor movie the one night I happened by.

We really enjoyed the level of activity around us.

 

[beercity]

Fishing tours is an improvement. They didnt have those last month.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I very much agree with @Doofenshmirtz513.

It’s definitely not a ghost town, IMO. It’s certainly different and I do miss some of the buzz, but I wouldn’t say ghost town. Honestly in some ways it’s nice to experience Poly with a little less commotion going on. Some might argue that during normal times Poly’s popularity is its biggest problem, to some extent.

We stayed there frequently during the 2014-2015 work (which was far more intrusive than the current work) and the vibe feels around the same to me.

As for the tropical music - it has not been playing on the DVC side of the resort for what seems like at least a few years now. You’ll get it around the Lava Pool, the beach and some other spots. But the DVC side, not so much. This was a problem pre-COVID.

 

[grannyminnie]

Sounds like a good time to be at the Poly! Except for the transportation issue...












with

 

[silver236]

GHOST TOWN?
I have been bouncing around boards today and since we currently have a studio booked June 2021 I went onto the DVC board and read some folks saying the Poly was a ghost town. I mean I get it....hotel is closed so not a lot of action, parks are closed early so you are at the resort more....but some folks are saying the walkway to GF was not lit up, no "tropical music" being piped in. I'm still on the fence with keeping my reservation knowing the hotel part is closed but figured all it means is less crowds. Just wondered if anyone here is seeing the same thing if you have been there recently or if you are currently there now. Thanks!

At this point I would say that is actually a perk. With only DVC being opened you won't have to worry about crowding (or the pool reaching capacity like it has at other resorts) and the restaurants aren't nearly as busy. We just stayed there in September and loved it. There are people around but it's pretty quiet, which we very much enjoyed. You'll probably never have another chance to have the Oasis pool all to yourself.

 

[Lehuaann]

Sounds like a good time to be at the Poly! Except for the transportation issue...












with

It really is. Transportation is not an issue. PVB being so close to the TTC puts the resort at a greater advantage over many, imo. And the TTC baggage check lines aren’t an issue either, since you just walk through a body scanner now.

The buses were excellent and most of the time they came in multiple sets. Meaning, if DHS showed up at 9:15 am, there were more trailing behind it. At the parks, the bus attendants kept the routes flexible. If no one was in line for the OKW bus nearby, they would bring the Poly guests down and change the route. We had zero issues with the bus service.

We also don’t know if they will open the boat service once the monorail station closes.




As far as ghost town - not quite. It just wasn’t your typical Grand Central Station. I’ll take the relaxed aloha vibe all day long....

 

[minerva78]

We just booked an extremely discounted last minute stay renting DVC points on a Poly studio for October 24 - 30 and I can't believe I did this. The deal was just too good to pass up to stay at a deluxe resort. I have been wanting and planning for a trip for my family for YEARS, and now that a have a non refundable payment for a room it looks like we're going, lol. This will be the first trip for my husband and 2 girls, and my first trip since I was a teen, so the good thing is they have nothing to compare it to. I plan to do a real trip next year in either June or December. This trip is really because I just needed to go somewhere for a change of pace. I've been going through a rough time emotionally and we all need a little break. We're only doing 2 Park days, my girls will spend some time doing virtual learning, and we'll just hang out at the resort. I have NO real expectations for the trip, I'm wanting it to be low key, and I'm happy for all the safety precautions.

I've read back a little but still had a few questions, I have not done any real Disney research in many months so I've got a lot to catch up on! It sounds like only the DVC section is open, correct? Are they currently doing construction on the hotel rooms? Which food options are currently open? And is the pool still open as normal? Thanks for your help, I'm so excited yet a bit overwhelmed to be going so soon!