Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

We stayed in a Deluxe Studio in mid-November. We were able to purchase DVC points to stay here for 3 nights. This has been my favorite resort for years, because of the amazing theming, its proximity to the monorail and two parks (Magic Kingdom and Epcot), and the space in a Deluxe Studio. The room was clean and big. The Deluxe Studios have a long hallway, which has enough space for shoes, a stroller or other items used when out and about. It also has two bathrooms, both have showers and sinks - one has a bathtub and toilet. This gave our family of three the ability to get ready for the day with ease. In addition, there’s a nice kitchenette with a microwave, sink, toaster and mini fridge. We brought breakfast foods and easily made our breakfast before heading to the parks. There are three beds: one queen, and two pull down Murphy beds (one was a queen size and the other a twin). We stayed in the Moorea complex, which was a short 5-minute walk from the Ticket and Transportation Center, which is where you can pick up the monorail to go either to Magic Kingdom or Epcot. This made it easy and fast to get to Epcot from the hotel. We loved the food offered here too, with Polynesian-inspired dishes. It definitely tops all the basic theme park fare you mostly find around Disney World. We never tried the bus system while we were here, since we brought our car, and spent our days going to Magic Kingdom and Epcot while staying here. My son checked out the pull and gave it two thumbs up, he said the slide was one of his favorites out of all the Disney resorts we’ve stayed at. I can’t wait to stay at this resort again for future Disney trips, and plan to purchase DVC points again as it is the cheapest option when staying here.

Never write reviews, despite traveling consistently for work, because I feel like everyone is entitled to bad days, and having spent plenty of years in service industry jobs as I was in college and grad school I know it’s impossible to please everyone. That said. If you are expecting anything resembling a luxury hotel experience or even like a pretty OK three star hotel, stay elsewhere. A few snippets from this trip: - arrived at 4 (check in time.) Was told room was not ready and that 4pm was an “approximate” check-in time. Room was not ready until 5:52. - at 5:52, asked if the bell services could bring our luggage to the room and was told no - we had to be in the room for delivery. - returned to the hotel (with young kids) at 8pm. Was told bell services was “very busy” and they could “bring our luggage in approximately 60 minutes but it could be longer.” I said I would do it myself. I lugged all luggage on a cart to the bungalow - approximately a five minute walk. I called bell services to come pick up the cart and was asked “to be placed on a brief hold.” Nobody ever came for the cart. I walked it back myself after kids were asleep. Amazingly, everyone I talked to was wildly unapologetic and disinterested in helping. In the past, I have found “cast members” at Disney to be so kind, helpful, and unfailingly polite. This hotel was so understaffed that I think everyone was just hanging on by a thread. I don’t blame them. It was chaos. - silverware and dishes in the room patently unclean. Fingerprints on knives. Hair in a coffee mug. Hair in bathroom sink. Every 2-5 minutes, there is a thunderous sound of the water evacuation pump pumping water/sewage. Woke me and my kids up multiple times in the night. It’s the plumbing system for these bungalows. If you’re a sound sleeper, great. But it’s louder than the fireworks. - upon checkout, called one hour before pickup for bell services to come take our stuff since it was pouring rain and I thought I had learned my lesson. Was told all luggage carts were in use and they would “try” to get to us but all times approximate. Walked in the pouring rain to get a luggage cart and then went back to bungalow and took all luggage myself to the front lobby. In short, if it has been a dream of yours to stay at a bungalow, then do it. If you want a great view of fireworks, it’s exceptional. But this is basically a Best Western and there is no justification for the astronomical cost.

Cannot go wrong with this resort. A studio is so roomy. 2 bathroom areas, double pull down bed & Murphy bed. Small kitchen area also. Toaster/microwave and coffee machine. This time with DVC, we have a lake view and okaced in moorea. Lovely views but quite far from main hotel but very close to TTC. Very noisy, horns from boats are constant until after 10 pm and start around 6.30 am. I wake very easily. So not the best area for me

What an inviting oasis of Polynesian hospitality and warmth! A totally relaxing resort, with several entertainment options for family members of all ages! The updated interior is a long-awaited, yet lovely welcome, sharing a small taste of Aloha.

Don’t do club level here. Do it at the Grand Floridian. I wish I could have my night back and used it there. Not many options for people with dietary restrictions (vegetarian, vegan, non dairy, we have a wide array of people) , and not as many options in general compared to the Grand. The cappuccino machine was broken and we were told to go to the lobby for coffee (Cappuccino in the early morning on our balcony was a huge reason we wanted this stay for my family). No mickey bars, no cold bottled water, no smoked salmon for breakfast, very little hors d'oeuvre options. Forget about watching fireworks from the lounge because the glare from the indoor lights is so bright, you cant see outside the windows at night. I was dissapointed in the shower/tub combo shower (they should have a walk in shower) and a ton of mosquitoes on the balcony at night so you cant enjoy the view much (Grand Floridian didn’t have this issue). The food options are also not great here especially Captain Cooks (not many options and very limited) I recorded my experience so you can see it on You Tube “Disneyworld Vacationer”. Other than the club level, we stayed on the DVC side for the rest of the trip and it was heavenly. This is the best hotel in Disneyworld if you stay DVC, don’t do club level, and travel elsewhere for food. The vibe, tiki torches, trader sams, sand beach, boatrides, monorail access, so wonderful. I’ve stayed at pretty much all their hotels and here is my favorites list in order (and where you should stay): 1. Polynesian 2. Grand Floridian 3. Wilderness Lodge (if you are doing DVC, choose Boulder Ridge side) 4. Port Orleans Riverside 5. Tied between Saratoga Springs & Animal Kingdom Lodge I’ve also done Aulani and a Disney Cruise, if you can only afford 1, I’d choose Walt Disney World EVERYTIME I give this specific club level stay a 2 out of 5 stars because of my experience and the lack of service to make the experience magical as it usually should be with a Disney trip, but the hotel itself is so special that I love it. It has that magic from the original concept and build. I just wish the trend wasn’t to detheme and generalize aka “las vegas”ize the disney hotels that has been a trend lately. Magical express being cut was a HUGE loss for us (we added Universal and reduced our stay ay Disney because of that loss since the convenience of that transportation had locked us in the Disney bubble start and end of our trips)

We stayed at the Polynesian on May 24-29. The hotel is beautiful. It feels like you are in Hawaii. They give you a (fake) lei when you arrive. The lobby is beautiful and holds true to the Hawaiian vibe. Being on the monorail line was awesome. You can walk to the TTC to catch the monorail to Epcot. The grounds are very lush and beautiful but it makes it hard to find your way around. The signage is lacking. The pools were great. The pool with water slide was fun and there was lots of seats. It was very busy and it was kinda hard to find chair. There were servers that were taking drink and food orders. The quieter pool was right outside our building and it had zero entry area, plenty of shady areas to sit, drink refill station and quick service food. The rooms were clean and beautiful but the storage was limited. It did not have many drawers to unpack if you like to to do that. The room had a bathroom with a sink, toilet and bath/shower but then another bathroom with a shower and sink. My husband and daughter thought the bathroom with no toilet was weird. It does allow for multiple to get ready at one time which is nice. We enjoyed watching water parade and fireworks from the beach area. It's a very nice to stay and it has a lot of great amenities for your Disney vacations.