Polynesian trip report and notes from October 3-12th 2009!

We checked into the Polynesian the 3rd around noon. We drove over from Universal property with ease. It was Saturday so there was not much traffic. The lobby was busy-many guests checking and others awaiting the dreaded return trip on the Magical Express. I thought it would be 30 minutes or so. Luckily, the concierge staff was assisting with the check-ins and about 10 minutes later we had our passes and off to grab some lunch. The room was not ready and we opted to have a text message notification when it was ready. The place was hopping, but we were seated within a few minutes. The food and service were good.

Much to our surprise the room was ready around 12:30 PM! I made my way to the room and my parents opted to move the car to the other lot nearest the Tahiti building, where the room was located. I snapped these photos before they arrived.





The bathroom


We received as requested our ground floor room in the Tahiti building with a lovely Magic Kingdom view room-1022! We prefer a ground floor room, yes occasionally you do get noisy upstairs neighbors, but we really enjoy the patio on the ground floor. We settled in, unpacked the clothes and made a trip to the grocery store for some goodies. We had a few minor hiccups-we needed some more hangers, hand towels and the safe was shut so we had to call maintenance. No more problems, everything arrived eventually.

Check out these photos and room views

BLT is tucked behind The Contemporary



The Tahiti building is our favorite longhouse. It is close to the TTC, making it a quick journey and return from Epcot. This is one of the main reasons we prefer the Polynesian over the Grand Floridian because we go to Epcot most of the time. The double vanities make it a little faster getting ready in the morning. I can fix my hair while DM is brushing her teeth for instance. Being on the outskirts of the resort, this building tends to be more quiet for our liking. The cons to the Tahiti building are its distance from the Great Ceremonial House and Captain Cooks, but it’s really only a short walk away.

Mousekeeping was spot on for the duration of the trip. Only one time we return at like 12:00 PM and the room had not been finished. I think it was a big check in day so they rush to get the checkouts done first. She left plenty of towels and washcloths each day. The room was always neat and tidy when we returned. We also clean up after ourselves a bit though too.
Here is a towel Mickey head


We ended up having to do laundry twice during the trip. The one beef I have with the Polynesian is their laundry room. There is no bathroom nearby. The room is pretty darn small. There are always 2-3 machines out of order. The change machine is out of quarters just about every time we go year to year. There was like zero air condition and no circulation. I know they are not in business to provide laundry facilities, but the place is a money maker, clean it up a bit at least. Most people have to do a little laundry while on vacation and we do not all stay at villas.

I guess my other beef would be the layout of the second floor of the GCH. You always have to fight your way through the crowds of people waiting for breakfast at O’hana to reach the Kona Café. Both stairways are at the same end of the building meaning you either walk through the crowds of seated people or try to fight your way around the strollers parked outside and then turn the corner to see a huge line of people flowing from the monorail station. It is great that the place is busy, but two restaurants that close crank up the noise factor.

A few nights that the parks were open late-after 11 PM, the neighbors came back and were a little noisy, but nothing outrageous. For the most part we were asleep by 10:00 PM! I know, I know, we are such party animals. J We never went swimming even thought it was mid 90s every day, just plum tuckered out most of the time.

We enjoyed breakfast many mornings at the Kona Café. The food and service were great each morning. We were off to the parks within 40 minutes or less on average. We also visited Captain Cooks for breakfast one morning and lunch another day.

Overall we had a fantastic time. We were assigned a room that fit our requests-always a bonus. Our room was beautiful and cleaned well each day.

Aside from the monorail you can hop on the boat at the launch in front of the marina and the Volcano pool. When you leave from the Polynesian you head directly to the Magic Kingdom, on the return trip it stops first at the Grand Floridian, then returning to the Polynesian. It is a pleasant 5 minute trip and the boat holds about 24-28 people from what I could tell. It is a nice alternative when leaving the MK to get back to the Polynesian a little faster. You can always walk over to the TTC for a faster trip to Epcot or also take the ferry to the MK if it strikes your fancy. This was a longer visit for us, so we took advantage of both ferries.

A view from the TTC ferry boat
One day we saw a hawk perched up on a third floor balcony