By the co-author of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2020, the best-reviewed Disney World guidebook series ever.

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The Pools and Beaches at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort



By Dave Shute

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, click here.)

REVIEW: THE POOLS AND BEACHES AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

There are two pools and many beaches at the Polynesian.

  • The larger Lava Pool, loaded with amenities
  • The smaller Oasis pool with some nice amenities of its own, and
  • Multiple beaches

I’ll cover each of these in this post.

Review The Pools and Beaches at Disney's Polynesian Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

 THE MAIN LAVA POOL AT THE POLYNESIAN

The Pool at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

The main pool, known as the Lava Pool, is in the center of the resort, between Captain Cook’s and the beaches.  The Samoa longhouse is on one side, and the marina is on the other.

Some shots from around the Lava pool:

Lava Pool Disney's Polynesian Village Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

Under the waterfall is a slide.

Slide Lava Pool Disney's Polynesian Village Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

The main slide.

The hot tub is on the Samoa side, and is elevated, a nice effect.

Zero Entry Lava Pool Disney's Polynesian Village Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

The zero entry area on the beach side.

Night Lava Pool Disney's Polynesian Village Resort from yourfirstvisit.net
The Lava pool at night.

Also here is a remarkable kids water play area.

It includes two slides, one on the left above…

…and another one on the right. As alert reader Josh notes, this is a tunnel slide, accessed from the top, so there is more to it than it seems.

Kiki Tikis Splash Play Disney's Polynesian Resort from yourfirstvisit.net (3)

In the back of the play area is this splash and play spot.

Bar Lava Pool Disney's Polynesian Village Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

Also in the pool area you’ll find this bar. No real food, but the pool is right outside the Captain Cook’s quick service, so that doesn’t much matter.

THE OASIS POOL AT THE POLYNESIAN

Oasis Pool Disney's Polynesian Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

The smaller Oasis Pool is nestled among Samoa, Hawaii, and Tokelau. Niue and Rarotonga are also close.

Oasis Pool Disney's Polynesian Resort from yourfirstvisit.net (2)

It has a zero-entry edge…

Hot Tub Polynesian Village Oasis Pool from yourfirstvisit.net

…a hot tub…

Oasis Pool Disney's Polynesian Resort from yourfirstvisit.net (4)

…a bar…

Menu Oasis Grill Disney's Polynesian Village Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

…and a grill with limited hours but an interesting menu.

A more up-to-date menu is on Disney’s website here.

Mug Refill Station Polynesian Village Oasis Pool from yourfirstvisit.net

Around the corner from the bar is a refillable mug station, also with limited hours. (Sorry about the humidity on my lens!)

THE BEACHES AT THE POLYNESIAN

Back in the day you could walk right from the pool deck to the beaches at the Polynesian.  Not anymore, as the pool is now fenced in behind the umbrellas on the left.

Another beach stretches along the DVC Bungalows.

The beach in front of the Hawaii longhouse has some play tools.

And there’s another stretch of beaches near Luau Cove, between most of the Poly and the Grand Floridian.

THE DISNEY VACATION CLUB AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

This review continues here

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

 

 

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8 comments

1 Deb M { 04.08.19 at 12:36 pm }

I’m assuming by the fences that you can’t swim at the beaches at Polynesian?

2 Dave { 04.09.19 at 7:25 am }

Deb, as long as I have been paying attention (more than a decade) there’s been no swimming (or even entering the water) in any of the open waters at Disney World. This used to be not 100% enforced, but a terrible tragedy several years ago led to all Disney beaches being fenced.

3 Josh { 07.24.19 at 12:36 pm }

Hey Dave, the slide on the right in the kids section is actually a tunnel slide from up top. It’s not as big as the one in the main pool of course, but it’s not really small either. My kids agree that the play area is great.

4 Dave { 07.25.19 at 7:43 am }

Josh, thanks!!! Not having kids young enuf to play in there, I never really investigated (I did not want to trouble the parents…)

I’ve changed the words–see what you think.

5 Josh { 07.26.19 at 4:08 pm }

There’s a typo now (…there [is] more to it than it seems), but otherwise I think it’s great. 🙂

Thanks for the great coverage. Your website was invaluable in helping us choose a resort for DVC. The book is great too.

6 Dave { 07.28.19 at 10:50 am }

Thanks again Josh. Fixed. I pride myself that there’s the site has the most comprehensive info on the Disney resorts ever published, and the book the most accurate info of any guidebook!

7 Alicea { 05.02.20 at 10:20 am }

Does the splash pad here have height restrictions of under 48″ like some of the other resorts?

8 Dave { 05.03.20 at 3:02 pm }

Alicea, I can’t confirm for sure that it does or doe snot–sorry!!

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