First time at Poly!

[mickeysworld]

Yippeee!!! Just booked 2 nights at the Poly ($259/night plus a $75 dining card!) for December!

I am soooo excited as I have wanted to stay here since I was a little kid and now I finally get my chance! We will be celebrating DH's birthday and our 14th wedding anniversary! :cloud9:

This question has probably been posted many times over but whenever I do a search I get some weird error message so here goes, apologies in advance :blush:,

Any tips or must do's for my first time at the Poly?

We have ressies for Ohana one evening and I plan on trying some Tonga toast and a Lapu Lapu! :papple:

Also, is there a good place in the room to put the crib/packnplay and be able to give the baby some privacy? In the past when we've stayed at POR, we put the packnplay in the bathroom area and closed the curtain so she couldn't see us! Anything like that available at the Poly?

TIA for your replies, I can hardly wait! :joy::santa3::joy:

[TexasPrincessAurora]

I would definitely recommend checking out Tikiman's website that is totally devoted to the Poly. You can find out almost anything and everything from there. We stayed there on our first trip with our DS...I was like you. I had dreamed of staying there since I was a kid. It's an amazing place, absolutely relaxing!

One tip of something not to miss...watch the Electrical Light Parade and Wishes from the beach. Also just walk around the resort, especially at night, and listen to the Polynesian Christmas music they pipe in.

[IloveDisney71]

I am as excited as you are. I'm also staying at the Poly for my first time in Dec. I've always wanted to stay here ever since I can remember. I've been to the Poly a few times for dinner at Ohanas. I also recommend walking around and enjoying the atmosphere - it's amazing!!!
Thanks to the previous poster - I'll also be checking out Tikimans website!!!

[mickeysworld]

Thanks to the previous poster - I'll also be checking out Tikimans website!!!

Me too!!! Me too!!!

Yes, thank you TexasPrincessAurora!

IloveDisney71, I've only been in the Poly lobby to see the holiday decorations, so, like you, I'm ready to jump out of my skin! :D

[mickeefan]

What can I say other than you will love it there.

If you are a chocolate lover while at the Kona Cafe try the Kilauea Torte.
It's warm liquid chocolate inside a brownie volcano. It's every bit as good as it sounds.

[IloveDisney71]

I just spent about an hour on Tikiman's website about the Poly. Now I'm even more excited!!!
I will definitely be trying the kilauea torte - I'm a huge chocolate fan! Thanks for that tip mickeefan.
Mickeysworld - you will love the food at Ohana's: the wings, potatoes, & dessert are yummy- all the food is amazing! Go hungry!!!:mickey: Ever since my family discovered Ohana's, it has been a must for us on every trip.

[mickeysworld]

OK, I'm officially drooling! :eat: The kilauea torte sounds right up my alley - guess I'd better make a date with the Kona Cafe! Thanks for the tip! And I agree, Tikiman's site is incredible and if possible, now I'm even more excited!

[Nekochan]

Don't forget the dole whip

[SurferStitch]

Have a great time!!!

This December will also be the first time DH and I are staying at the Poly. Isn't that $75 dining gift card a nice little bonus? I was really happy when Melissa at MJ said we qualified for one.

I've been scouring Tikiman's site the past couple months....excellent info there. :thumbsup:

[crazykids]

We just came back from spending 8 nights at Poly - the resort is fantastic! The transportation IMHO is better than any other on property. Kona Cafe is a great restaurant, food & service was wonderful. Missed out on our Ohana reservation - kids had other plans that night! Captain Cooks also is a good CS restaurant, we ate lunch there 3 times during our stay. Pool is great & it was so nice to be able to sit on the beach at night to watch Wishes & the electric parade.

About the pack & play - It'll probably fit in the sink area of the bathroom, but you'd be interupting the baby everytime someone needs to use the restroom. We traveled w/ our 3 little ones (20 months, 3, & 4) so nobody had any privacy! We placed our pack & play by the sliding glass door so it would be out of the way from everyone. The privacy issue would be my only con about the Poly, but you'd have that problem at any resort. We ended up purchasing DVC while there because of this issue. It was too crowded having everyone in the same room all of the time :)

[laprana]

You're going to love the Poly! We've stayed there twice and we never want to go back home!!:D It's so relaxing there. The resort could be booked to capacity, and you'd never know it because it's always so peaceful!

You didn't mention what room type you have booked, but if you have a garden view, I'd recommend requesting the Rarotonga longhouse. This is where we stayed both times, and it's great! It's in a perfect location - right next to the Great Ceremonial house w/Captain Cooks and all the shops and restaurants, about a 5 minute walk to the TTC, and right by the quiet pool. The main volcano pool is just a quick walk down the sidewalk! Both times we have had a room facing the quiet pool and we could watch Wishes at MK from our balcony!:fworks: A definite touch of Disney magic!

If you're at the resort in the evening, there is a torch lighting ceremony each night, I think it's around 6:00 p.m. It's really neat to see!

'Ohana is wonderful! One of the best meals I've ever had at WDW and such a fun, but relaxing, atmosphere. I'd recommend Kona Cafe, too. Great food, great service, and just a really nice place to eat!

Have a great trip! Once you've been to the Poly, you'll want to keep going back!:thumbsup:

[AbeeNormal]

Please excuse my ignorance.......:(

Can someone tell me how to get to Tikki Man's website? :help:
I'm also staying at the Poly in Jan.:tikki::tikki::tikki:

Thanks so much !!!:hi:

[dog-ears]

Just google search for tikiman2001.

We're staying at the Poly for the first time too and our trip's in just 11 days - I can hardly wait!

[mickeysworld]

You didn't mention what room type you have booked

If you're at the resort in the evening, there is a torch lighting ceremony each night, I think it's around 6:00 p.m. It's really neat to see!


We booked garden view and all I requested was first floor patio, so hopefully the tiki gods will be good to me! I'm hoping my girls will have a nice patch of grass to run around on while the baby sleeps! :sleepin:

Do you know where the torch lighting ceremony takes place? My girls would love to see that. The love the fire dancer in the FoTLK show so, thanks for the tip!


Just google search for tikiman2001.

We're staying at the Poly for the first time too and our trip's in just 11 days - I can hardly wait!

So excited for you! I'll be looking for your trip report soon!

[mousetrapper]

Don't forget the Tonga Toast for breakfast at the Kona Cafe!:thumbsup:

Less than one month and counting for us...

:cloud9:

[mickeefan]

Our favorite garden view is Samoa.
One one side is the quiet pool.
Other side is the volcano pool which we never found noisy.
It is close to the beach to go watch the electric pagent and wishes. Some nights when we were on the volcano side, first floor, we just walked out the sliding glass doors and watched wishes from the side walk.
It is just a short walk to the GCH.

[DisneyOtaku]

You're going to love it there! The Poly is my favorite out of all the resorts I've stayed at (Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, Carribean).

Be sure to do some shopping on the second floor of the lobby--it's one of my favorite shopping areas of the whole WDW resort!

[laprana]

I think the torch lighting ceremony is on the backside of the Poly (where the pools are) just in front of the entrance to the GCH, if I'm remembering correctly. We didn't watch it last year, but we did see it the year before last. It was neat! I found this on another site describing the ceremony:

"This short program is the Polynesian welcoming of the night. It features an authentic Polynesian dancer who does a traditional fire-knife dance, and lights the torches leading into the Great Ceremonial House. A Polynesian entertainer is also on hand to perform chants and authentic drumming. It is presented each evening, Tuesday through Saturday, at 6 p.m."

Hope that helps!! :wave:

[mickeysworld]

Sounds great! Thanks so much for the info. :mickey:

[LudwigVonDrake]

I stayed at the Poly for the first time in July and LOVED IT!!!! Congratulations on your booking :wave: Try to eat at Kona Cafe as well. The food is delicious ::tasty:

Have a great trip :tikki: :tikki:

[garymacd]

Yippeee!!! Just booked 2 nights at the Poly ($259/night plus a $75 dining card!) for December!

One question: how did you get the dining card?

[mickeysworld]

One question: how did you get the dining card?

Sure! I booked online using the Tasty Deal Offer under the Annual Passholder/ Special Offers section of the disneyworld website.

I had to book at least 2 nights and the dining card is included! $20 for values, $50 for moderates, $75 for deluxes and $100 for deluxe villa (DVC resorts).

If you are interested you may want to try online, early morning, before 9 am eastern, middle of the week, like Wednesday, and see what pops up. This is what I did and surprisingly the Poly was available! I tried calling and the CM on the phone was unable to see the same availability so they suggested I book online and call back to cancel my other ressie. I did and not 30 minutes later the online offer was gone! I feel so lucky!