Polynesian: Tahiti or Tuvalu?

[goofy89]

In October we will be staying at the Poly for the first time! Since it is our honeymoon we decided to splurge for the Theme Park View (probably a once in a lifetime thing for us). There are three buildings that have TPV (Aotearoa, Tahiti, and Tuvalu). Aotearoa seems to be set kind of far back. Has anyone had lagoon or TPV from here? How is it? I am trying to decide which of these three buildings offers the best TPV view so I know what to request. Any thoughts or opinions would be a huge help! Right now I'm thinking either Tahiti of Tuvalu.

[DVC2004]

We have stayed and I cannot reacall which building. I know it was on the pathway to the Luau area and were on the ground floor, looked straight out of our room directly at the castle! There was a small beach area back there too! I wish I had a map to look at right now- I'll try to find one and tell you which building it was. It was a fabulous location.

[SBETigg]

Tahiti and Hawaii have the best theme park views, right on the beach, parallel to the beach. Hawaii is club level. Choose Tahiti. Tuvalu doesn't really have much for beach, also it is so close to the luau cove that it gets a bit noisy, and it feels further away from it all. Also, I thought Tuvalu was mostly the suite accommodations, but I could be thinking of something else. Either way... Tahiti is your best choice, in my opinion.

[laprana]

In October we will be staying at the Poly for the first time! Since it is our honeymoon we decided to splurge for the Theme Park View (probably a once in a lifetime thing for us). There are three buildings that have TPV (Aotearoa, Tahiti, and Tuvalu). Aotearoa seems to be set kind of far back. Has anyone had lagoon or TPV from here? How is it? I am trying to decide which of these three buildings offers the best TPV view so I know what to request. Any thoughts or opinions would be a huge help! Right now I'm thinking either Tahiti of Tuvalu.

I'm so glad you asked this! We are staying in a theme park view room at the Poly for the first time in June and weren't sure which building to request. We put either Tahiti or Tuvalu on our reservation, so hopefully it will be one of those, but based on the resposes here, we might want to change it! Or we might just see where we end up, and then I can let you know how our view was. Really, if they told me that I had to sleep in one of the hammocks on the beach, I'd still be happy just to be staying at the Poly! It's my favorite WDW resort and I can't wait to get back there!!

[KarenP]

Tahiti is my favorite building for theme park view. Also the beach has much less traffic here so it is more private.

[SurferStitch]

DH and I stayed in Tahiti once, and we loved it!

We paid for a theme park view, but could easily see the castle as well (no upgrade... this room just had a great view of the castle). We were able to watch the fireworks from our room one night. We lucked out!

Our room was near the far end of the building, so we went out the exit at the end, and were able to walk to the TTC in only a couple minutes! It was right there.

Another great thing about Tahiti is while it can be nice to be right in the mix near the center of the resort (like Tokelau), it's also VERY nice to be further away and feel like you are really on a tropical island. The beach in front of Tahiti is very relaxing.

[CleveRocks]

In October we will be staying at the Poly for the first time! Since it is our honeymoon we decided to splurge for the Theme Park View (probably a once in a lifetime thing for us). There are three buildings that have TPV (Aotearoa, Tahiti, and Tuvalu). Aotearoa seems to be set kind of far back. Has anyone had lagoon or TPV from here? How is it? I am trying to decide which of these three buildings offers the best TPV view so I know what to request. Any thoughts or opinions would be a huge help! Right now I'm thinking either Tahiti of Tuvalu.

I agree with your avoidance of Aotearoa.

Choosing between Tuvalu and Tahiti is a matter of personal preference.

Tahiti gives a wonderful sweeping view of Magic Kingdom, and Space Mountain is directly across the lagoon. Tahiti has a nice lawn and also a nice beach in front of it, making it a pretty view.

Tuvalu, by contrast, is almost right on the lagoon. There is VERY little land between Tuvalu and the lagoon. This may be desirable to you. Or perhaps you like the view of the lawn and then the beach in front of Tahiti.

An advantage of Tuvalu is that it is much closer to the Great Ceremonial House (and thus the monorail stop) and the main pool. Tahiti is roughly a 5-minute walk. I know it doesn't seem that long, but I timed myself several times ... 5 minutes from my room to the outside door of Captain Cook's off of the pool area.

As mentioned, an advantage of Tahiti is that it seems more private because it's far off to one side of the resort.

Tahiti is closer to the Transportation & Ticket Center. This is convenient when you go to Epcot, as it is much better to walk to TTC to take the direct monorail to Epcot, rather than take the resort monorail from Poly all the way around the lagoon to the TTC and then transfer from that monorail to the Epcot monorail. Being close to the TTC also helps when getting a bus from Disney's Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. From those parks, you can choose to take a Poly bus back to Poly, or take a bus back to the TTC and then walk from there to your room ... just take whichever bus comes first. But if your room is in Tuvalu, that's a nice hike.

Another advantage of Tahiti ... the rooms are slightly bigger than Tuvalu's. And Tahiti's bathrooms have 2 sinks (Tuvalu's have only 1).

Yet another advantage of Tahiti ... both the 2nd and 3rd floor rooms have balconies. In Tuvalu, only the 3rd floor rooms have balconies; the 2nd floor rooms have what's called a French balcony, meaning the sliding glass doors open but there is a railing right up against them so there is no actual balcony you can step out onto.

With the only substantial disadvantage of Tahiti being its much farther distance to the GCH as compared with Tuvalu, I've always preferred Tahiti.

I hope I spelled out your choices. Have fun!

[laprana]

I'm at the Poly now (only one more day ) and we're in a theme park view room in Tahiti. We couldn't be happier!! The room is fantastic...bigger than rooms we've had in Rarotonga and Tokelau, with 2 sinks in the bathroom. It's a 5 minute or less walk to the TTC, 5 minute walk to the GCH, and it's right on a beach that almost never has anyone on it. We have a great view of Space Mountain and the Castle and can watch Wishes from our balcony and hear the music.Parking is also great! We're able to park in the lot in front of Rapa Nui, which is only about 1/3 full while it's hard to find a spot in the main parking area. Long story short, , I highly recommend Tahiti!! It's fantastic!

[ginger19]

We stayed in Tuvalu a few years ago with a TPV and really liked it. We were close to GCH and had a beautiful view

[DisneyDINK]

We stayed in Tuvalu last trip. The view of the castle was great. I did like hearing the drums from the luau and watching and hearing the boat to the GF & MK come in and out.

Over on the Tahiti side you'll have the ferries to and from the TTC and the MK going by all the time. I'm not sure how loud that will be.

If and when I go next time I'll probably ask for Tahiti, just for the sake of variety, although I wasn't disappointed with Tuvalu.

[Polynesian Dweller]

You won't be disappointed by either but I'm with Sherri and CleveRocks in thinking Tahiti is better. They sum it up very well.

I'd add that being one of the Poly's newer building the rooms in Tahiti are 476 sq ft vs 415 sq ft. That actually makes a big difference. The rooms feel much larger.

Tahiti's location near the TTC is an advantage when going to Epcot and the express monorail and ferries are options to MK. Only 3 minutes away.

And as CleveRocks timings suggest, and mine are really close to his, the Poly is not as spread out as people think. From one end to the other (TTC to Luau Cove) is 7 minutes. It's clever landscaping and curving paths that makes it feel big. So I wouldn't make building location a factor at all.

[goofy89]

Thanks everyone! I'll probably request Tahiti but either way I'll just be happy to be at the Polynesian!

[jimsgal05]

hello we did OUR Honeymoon last may 11' stayed at the POLY building Tuvula...omg AWESOME the view was amazing of MK... out only bummer was the british family with a crazy loud baby crying all night for 3 nights in a row.. but other wise Go for that building yopu are near every thing and the views of the poly, MK , GF and Contemporary...oh my!!!


wish we were going there in Aug but POP CENT. is were we are headed..much happiness to you and anyone else that is getting married and spending thier honeymoon at Disney