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.
THE MAIN LAVA POOL AT THE POLYNESIAN
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:
Under the waterfall is a slide.
The main slide.
The hot tub is on the Samoa side, and is elevated, a nice effect.
The zero entry area on the beach side.
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.
In the back of the play area is this splash and play spot.
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
The smaller Oasis Pool is nestled among Samoa, Hawaii, and Tokelau. Niue and Rarotonga are also close.
It has a zero-entry edge…
…a hot tub…
…a bar…
…and a grill with limited hours but an interesting menu.
A more up-to-date menu is on Disney’s website here.
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
- Summary and overview of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Theming and Accommodations at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Photo Tour of a Standard Room at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Amenities at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Dining at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- The Pools at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- The Disney Vacation Club at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Photo Tour of a Studio at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Photo Tour of a Bungalow at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD
- Where to stay–the Basics
- Where first-timers should stay
- Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them
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8 comments
I’m assuming by the fences that you can’t swim at the beaches at Polynesian?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Does the splash pad here have height restrictions of under 48″ like some of the other resorts?
Alicea, I can’t confirm for sure that it does or doe snot–sorry!!
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