HJL413
03-17-2007, 02:15 PM
DW - Linda
DS - Harry (10)
DDS - Sandra and Alexis (twins 7)
ME - Harry - The Trip Planner
and our friends
John
Sue
Cecilia (3)
The 8 of us travel to Disney World 2/28 - 3/05 for our first stay at the Polynesian
We have a 5:25 pm flight on SW out of Philadelphia.
Our friends arrive at the airport around 3:30 pm and we arrive around 4:00 pm. We enter a very long security line which has us slighly concerned, however, we meet our friends near the gate at 4:45 pm. Just enough time to buy some snacks and a couple of beers for John, a nervous flyer who makes me look like a pro and we get in line. Our friends take Alexis and add her to their family while they pre board (an absolutely silly term) and we line up with our "A" passes and in minutes we are taking up 3 rows of seats ready to take off for our amazing trip.
A little background is necessary. I never thought I wanted to go to Disney World until our 1st trip in 2005. The moment we arrived and drove under the Disney World sign I was hooked. The little kid in me was in awe. It is tough to explain, however, most everyone here understands. I now love going to WDW and I have so much fun trip planning. I really enjoy the experience of sharing Disney with others on INTERCOT so I hope the length and detail of my trip reports is appropriate.
HERE WE GO:
We landed 20 minutes early at 7:40. Sue had arranged Mears shuttle service and our kids were thrilled to see a driver holding a sign which almost spelled our last name right, just missed by 1 letter. The bags arrived and we were on the way to the Polynesian
The shuttle ride was all 8 of us acting like kids as we watched for signs of WDW. Our driver thought we were staying at the GF and drove right past the Polynesian. A quick turn around at the GF entrance and back to the Polynesian.
We arrived around 9:00 and it was a quick check in process. We did a very fast once around the Grand Ceremonial House. We were assigned 2 rooms on the 2nd floor in Tuvalu. We had requested Tokelau and rooms with a balcony so we were 0 for 2 on room requests.
We enjoyed the many things about the Polynesian, however, we didn't fall for the resort as many predicted. I will try to provide honest opinions about our Polynesian experience.
The first comment I have is that the Hawaiian theme hits you as soon as you enter the resort and it works great. It is easy to understand why everyone greets you with aloha.
It was odd being sent to find our room ourselves with only a map. The Tuvalu building is back near the lake and the 8 of us had no idea where we were going. After a few mistakes and the help of a CM near the dock we found our building.
The biggest complaint we had about the Polynesian is how it screams 1970's. When we entered the building the hallways were narrow and the decor felt like the Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii. The 1 elevator in the hall felt like a 1970's motel not a deluxe reort and the elevator had the most hideous musty smell. It must have been the cleaning chemical they use because it remained constant for the entire trip. John explained to the kids that this was how things smelled back in the 1970's.
We were in our adjoining rooms by 9:30. Cecilia was asleep so Sue stayed in the room and ordered room service. We were all very hungry so John joined our family and we went looking for a late dinner.
We thought the only choice would be Capt. Cook's, however, we took a chance and stopped at the podium at Kona Cafe. It was exciting when the hostess said of course we will serve dinner. Our waitress was thrilled to have our table and she provided a wonderful introduction to the Polynesian.
We started with pot stickers and sticky wings which were devoured fast. John had turkey medallion, Linda had mahi mahi and I had the noodle stri fry. They were all great, however, the mahi mahi was the best. The children had hot dog, burger and grilled cheese with smiles all around. This was a wonderful dinner. We enjoyed a happy walk back to our rooms for some much needed sleep as we had a 9:20 ADR for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I left a 6:45 am wake up call so I could get up and go for an early run and it was sleep time for everyone
NOTE: I will attach some photos soon.
Next: Day 1
HARRY
DS - Harry (10)
DDS - Sandra and Alexis (twins 7)
ME - Harry - The Trip Planner
and our friends
John
Sue
Cecilia (3)
The 8 of us travel to Disney World 2/28 - 3/05 for our first stay at the Polynesian
We have a 5:25 pm flight on SW out of Philadelphia.
Our friends arrive at the airport around 3:30 pm and we arrive around 4:00 pm. We enter a very long security line which has us slighly concerned, however, we meet our friends near the gate at 4:45 pm. Just enough time to buy some snacks and a couple of beers for John, a nervous flyer who makes me look like a pro and we get in line. Our friends take Alexis and add her to their family while they pre board (an absolutely silly term) and we line up with our "A" passes and in minutes we are taking up 3 rows of seats ready to take off for our amazing trip.
A little background is necessary. I never thought I wanted to go to Disney World until our 1st trip in 2005. The moment we arrived and drove under the Disney World sign I was hooked. The little kid in me was in awe. It is tough to explain, however, most everyone here understands. I now love going to WDW and I have so much fun trip planning. I really enjoy the experience of sharing Disney with others on INTERCOT so I hope the length and detail of my trip reports is appropriate.
HERE WE GO:
We landed 20 minutes early at 7:40. Sue had arranged Mears shuttle service and our kids were thrilled to see a driver holding a sign which almost spelled our last name right, just missed by 1 letter. The bags arrived and we were on the way to the Polynesian
The shuttle ride was all 8 of us acting like kids as we watched for signs of WDW. Our driver thought we were staying at the GF and drove right past the Polynesian. A quick turn around at the GF entrance and back to the Polynesian.
We arrived around 9:00 and it was a quick check in process. We did a very fast once around the Grand Ceremonial House. We were assigned 2 rooms on the 2nd floor in Tuvalu. We had requested Tokelau and rooms with a balcony so we were 0 for 2 on room requests.
We enjoyed the many things about the Polynesian, however, we didn't fall for the resort as many predicted. I will try to provide honest opinions about our Polynesian experience.
The first comment I have is that the Hawaiian theme hits you as soon as you enter the resort and it works great. It is easy to understand why everyone greets you with aloha.
It was odd being sent to find our room ourselves with only a map. The Tuvalu building is back near the lake and the 8 of us had no idea where we were going. After a few mistakes and the help of a CM near the dock we found our building.
The biggest complaint we had about the Polynesian is how it screams 1970's. When we entered the building the hallways were narrow and the decor felt like the Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii. The 1 elevator in the hall felt like a 1970's motel not a deluxe reort and the elevator had the most hideous musty smell. It must have been the cleaning chemical they use because it remained constant for the entire trip. John explained to the kids that this was how things smelled back in the 1970's.
We were in our adjoining rooms by 9:30. Cecilia was asleep so Sue stayed in the room and ordered room service. We were all very hungry so John joined our family and we went looking for a late dinner.
We thought the only choice would be Capt. Cook's, however, we took a chance and stopped at the podium at Kona Cafe. It was exciting when the hostess said of course we will serve dinner. Our waitress was thrilled to have our table and she provided a wonderful introduction to the Polynesian.
We started with pot stickers and sticky wings which were devoured fast. John had turkey medallion, Linda had mahi mahi and I had the noodle stri fry. They were all great, however, the mahi mahi was the best. The children had hot dog, burger and grilled cheese with smiles all around. This was a wonderful dinner. We enjoyed a happy walk back to our rooms for some much needed sleep as we had a 9:20 ADR for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I left a 6:45 am wake up call so I could get up and go for an early run and it was sleep time for everyone
NOTE: I will attach some photos soon.
Next: Day 1
HARRY