As I mentioned in my last Disney hotel post, when Christian and I ran the Wine & Dine 5K we did a split stay starting at The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (see that post here) for one night and finishing with three nights at Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. We rented Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points for this stay and paid $458.25 per night - our portion was $305.50 per night splitting with my friend. The same room booked through Disney would have been $961 per night. Wild!!
I have been looking forward to staying at the Polynesian resort for so long! The theming is inspired by the South Pacific and that vibe can be felt throughout all the buildings and grounds of the resort. Poly was one of the opening day resorts along with Disney's Contemporary Resort on October 1, 1971, so it's rich with Disney history!
We stayed in a DVC room in the Moorea building and loved it. Oddly enough, our favorite part was the bathrooms! There is one full bathroom with a tub and shower combo and one shower room with a sink and counter. This made it so much easier for our group of three to get ready in the mornings and get ready for bed at night.
Transportation
Monorail
Many guests stay at The Polynesian because of the convenience of the Monorail. It is the quickest way to get to Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. You can also visit any of the other Monorail Resorts (Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa) this way.
The quickest way to get to EPCOT and Magic Kingdom is actually to walk to the Ticket & Transportation Center and catch the EPCOT or Magic Kingdom monorail from there. That way you aren't having to get on and off the monorail waiting in double the lines. We were staying in the Moorea building which is VERY close to the monorail, it took us less than 5 minutes to walk, just as fast as getting to the Ceremonial House (aka main building/lobby.)
If you're heading to EPCOT and want to start your monorail journey at the Polynesian stop you'll have to switch monorails at the Ticket and Transportation Center. Magic Kingdom is the second stop after Grand Floridian on the Resort line.
Buses
Buses are the only way (besides rideshare or driving) to get to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. We did not utilize the buses on our trip as we spent most of our time at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. I will note that once park hopping restrictions end it will be possible to monorail to EPCOT, walk to the back of the park and then take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios. But that would take longer than the bus so I wouldn't advice it unless you really hate buses.
Walking
If you'd really want you can take the mile and a half-ish walk from Magic Kingdom to The Grand Floridian and then a walking path from The Grand Floridian to the Polynesian. As of November 2023 the paths between resorts were closed due to construction.Dining
‘Ohana
By far the most popular restaurant at the resort thanks to it's character breakfast and all you can eat dinner. After this trip we have now had breakfast and dinner here. Breakfast was super fun with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto coming around for photos. They have all the traditional breakfast items - Mickey/Stitch waffles, sausages, spiced potatoes, eggs, fruit and biscuits. There is also a pineapple bread and Hawaiian-style ham.
Dinner is our favorite thanks to the endless 'Ohana noodles, potstickers and more! I also enjoyed the shrimp and Chimichurri chicken. The banana bread pudding was one of Christian’s favorite bites of the trip.
Tambu Lounge – Great Ceremonial House
We had dinner here on one of our evenings because they have the famous Ohana noodles and bread pudding as well as the pot stickers. This is a great way to get some of Ohana's signature dishes without having to pay the $62 price tag. We even had a view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks from our seats. It is mainly a bar, but as mentioned above you can also get some small bites. Christian wanted to go back but I insisted we try the resorts other restaurants first, ha ha!
Capt. Cook’s
This is Polynesian's quick service restaurant. We ate here a couple times. The first time I had the Aloha Pork Sandwich and Christian had Pulled Pork Nachos. Both were tasty but the bottom bun on my sandwich got a little mushy. The day we left for the airport I had the chicken tenders and Christian tried the Thai Coconut Meatballs. Sadly the meatballs weren't very flavorful.
Pineapple Lanai
A simple snack window where you can pick up some Dole Whip. We grabbed a vanilla pineapple swirl. I think occasionally they have other flavors, but our only options were pineapple, vanilla or swirl. We enjoyed our Dole Whip in the Trader Sam's Tiki Terrace area before they opened at 3.
Kona Café/Kona Island
We had breakfast at Kona Café on our second morning. I got the Big Kahuna Sampler plate so I could try a bit of everything (macadamia nut pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausage, ham and potatoes.) Everything was really good, but I did not have room for it all. Christian had the Tonga Toast which is stuffed with bananas. Kona Island is right next store and offers pastries for breakfast and sushi for lunch & dinner.
Oasis Bar & Grill / Barefoot Pool Bar
Pool bars with some light eats and drinks. Waiters will walk around to take orders or you can go up to the counter to order. We did not utilize these but did see some tasty sounding items on the Oasis Bar & Grill menu.
Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto/Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace
Trader Sam's is one of the harder places to get into. On our visit we got in line at around 1:15 so we could put our names on the walk-up reservation list at 2pm. The bar doesn't open until 3 but we were in line early enough that we were one of the first groups seated. We got mocktails but if you get one of the fancier drinks it comes with a "show." One drink has your server drag themselves over to you like a zombie. Another is pulling a "pearl" cup out of Shelly the clam. By far the most popular interaction is for the Uh-Oa. I won't spoil it for you, but it's pretty intense. If you don't need the ambience and theatrics, you can head to the Tiki Terrace outside for the same drinks.
Recreation
Pools
There are two pools at The Polynesian. The main pool is the Lava Pool complete with, you guessed it, a volcano slide! We sat here for a few minutes to enjoy the ambience (and children's laughter) before moving over to the Oasis Pool for a swim. The Oasis pool is a quiet pool so you won't have to worry about kids playing loudly or splashing. Both pools also have hot tubs. You can even head to a sandy beach overlooking Seven Seas Lagoon!
Activities
As with all other Disney resorts there is more to do than just eat, sleep and go in the pool! There are pool activities, s'mores campfires, movies on a big screen outside and much more. Looking for some exercise? There are jogging trails and volleyball courts too. You can even go fishing or rent pontoon boats to drive yourselves OR hire a boat for a fireworks cruise and enjoy the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the water with snacks and soda. Don't forget to watch out for the Electrical Water Pageant!
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