My family’s been to Disney 18 times. Problem is (if there is a problem) we have favourite hotels that we return to again and again. We don’t venture much afar – cause we love being on the monorail.
For example: my daughters and husband LOVE the Contemporary – they love being able to walk to Magic Kingdom (8 minute walk, but first monorail stop going home), DDs love the noise and music of Chef Mickey’s, and love the monorail going through the hotel. I LOVE the Grand Floridian – I love the Victorian feel, the white pastels and elegance, and the fact that it’s the closest hotel to Magic Kingdom when you’re catching the monorail to go there.
So – our problem is that when we return to Disney, we often stay at the Contemporary or the Grand Floridian. We overlook the Polynesian – the 3rd hotel on the monorail line. Sure we’ve eaten there oodles of times (at Ohana’s in particular), but I’d always been struck by how dark the hotel is inside. (I love the white pastels, after all.) So, I was never drawn to stay at a “dark” spot. But this past trip, we decided to give it a “go.” And it was definitely a success.
The interior of the buildings are still dark, but when you stay there, you realize that this helps contribute to the “cool” and breezy feeling of the tropics.
Having been lucky enough to have been to Hawaii several times, I didn’t need to get my fix of the polynesian islands at Disney. The juxtaposition of Mickey and luaus always struck me as a little odd… but having experienced it first hand, I must say that it works. (Course, I’ll be willing to go check out Disney’s new Aulani on Hawaii to compare too! :-)…)
The rooms at the Poly are decorated in a batik-style, with lots of prints. and bamboo.
You can’t easily walk to the Magic Kingdom, but you can walk to the Transportation & Ticket centre from the Poly – so very quick access to Epcot.
(And, still have the monorail to MK.)
But of course, the big draw is the volcano pool – which has a fantastic waterslide (in the dark). We spent many hot afternoons getting refreshed, and having fun here.
So, us four definitely had Poly rapport. We’ll be returning.