Category — q. Reviews

Dining at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

by Dave

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

DINING AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

Disney’s Polynesian Resort has some of the best dining at Walt Disney World, most of it in the Great Ceremonial House.

The counter service offering is the first-floor Captain Cook’s–also with outdoor seating…

…which you can see through the windows.

You’ll find the most up-to date menu on Disney’s site, but above is the lunch/dinner menu as of my last visit.

You order and then use a pager to actually get your food when it is ready.

The well-known Polynesian treat, a Reuben sandwich.

The breakfast menu.

There’s a number of dining items at Disney World that are considered must-trys, but to me the one that most consistently lives up to its billing is Tonga Toast (above).

Outside of Captain Cook’s is a spot where you can grab a Dole Whip or Pineapple Sundae.

The first floor bar, Trader Sam’s, is based on the famous one at the Disneyland Hotel. On my visit it was too crowded for me to get in to the indoor part of this bar other than for a quick, out-of-focus shot. I promise do better soon!

There’s also an outdoor section to Trader Sam’s–an image of it is at the top of the page.

The Trader Sam’s review from our book, The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2019:

Upstairs there’s two table service restaurants, the family-friendly ‘Ohana and the Kona Cafe.

‘Ohana (review here) does a breakfast meal with Mickey, Lilo and Stitch, and a no-character evening meal with skewered meat.

Here’s the review from our book, The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2019:

‘Ohana gets booked up in advance and its staging area gets quite crowded.

Kona Cafe, around the corner from ‘Ohana, has two areas. One serves as a coffee bar in the morning and a sushi bar in the evening.

The other is the restaurant proper.

The Kona Cafe review from our book, The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2019:

‘Ohana is best loved by families; Kona Café is an under-appreciated gem, best known for its Tonga Toast. Neither is a truly distinctive adult dining experience–for that, you’ll need to go to another Disney World deluxe resort.

Also on the second floor floor you’ll find another bar, Tambu Lounge.

If getting to the second floor seems like too much work, you may find this bar cart downstairs in the lobby area.

Outside and towards the Grand Floridian you’ll find the luau dinner show. Our lukewarm review from our book, The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2019:

There’s also a bar at each pool, and the smaller Oasis pool has a limited-hours grill with an interesting menu (click it to enlarge it):

THE POOLS AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

This review continues here.

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June 22, 2013 1 Comment

Amenities at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

by Dave

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

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT

Your visit to Disney’s Polynesian Resort will begin in the Great Ceremonial House, where you will spend much of your time other than when you are at the pool or in your room.

The outside entrance is flanked by a couple of water features.

Inside, the check-in area is on the first floor of a two story space, where you’ll also find shops and casual seating. The famous old water feature is gone from this area, replaced by this OK item instead. First timers won’t miss the old one.

More from this area of the Great Ceremonial House.

On the side of this two-story space you will check in and find concierge offerings for help with tickets and reservations.

There’s some fun art here and there.

Also on this floor you’ll find one of the two shops in the building.

The second shop is upstairs.

Just outside it is the resort monorail stop. The resort monorail runs clockwise and takes you to the Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, and the Transportation/Ticket Center (TTC), where you can find the monorail to Epcot.

Note that for many of the eastern longhouses, the fastest way to either Magic Kingdom or Epcot is to walk directly to TTC and pick up the monorail there.

Buses to other Disney World destinations are outside and to the east.

On the grounds of the Polynesian you’ll find lovely but sometimes confusing walkways to the longhouses which contain the rooms…

…and a green space created in the walkway area between the Great Ceremonial House, Samoa and the main pool has become an informal grassy playground–kinda like the courtyard in front of the BoardWalk Inn.

DINING AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

This review continues here.

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June 20, 2013 2 Comments

Photo Tour of a Standard Room at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

by Dave

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

PHOTO TOUR OF A STANDARD ROOM AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

Note: rooms in the Polynesian re-opened in July 2021 with a new Moana theme. The basics of the rooms are similar. I will update this review with images from them after I stay in one of these rooms! In the meantime, there’s more on these new Polynesian rooms on the Disney Parks Blog here.

Standard rooms at Disney’s Polynesian Resort are among the largest on property.

As you enter the room, on one side you’ll find the bath and the other two closets separated by a cabinet with a mini-fridge below and coffee service above.

Each is good-sized, and overall there’s plenty of space with multiple hanging levels. This image is of the one closer to the door…

…and this one the one closer to the room. Note the ironing board, safe, and small drawers, and the space at the left for hanging longer dresses. (Most rooms do not have the robes.)

The mini-fridge is below the coffee maker, and has plenty of room.

The bath is on the other side of the entry hall. It retains the old-fashioned design of not being divided–the toilet, tub and sinks all share one space. See the floor plan at the top of the page.

As you enter the Polynesian bath, you’ll find two sinks on one side…

…a tub/shower combo on the other…

…and a toilet at the back.

Further back in the room, one side has two queen beds and a chair.

A closer view of a bed.

Between the beds is this small bedside table.

The beds from the window end of the room–you can also see the easy chair.

At the end of the room are three large windows–rooms with balconies or patios will access these from this space as well.

Here’s the view from our balcony in the Hawaii longhouse, theme park view!

The theme park view is best at night during the evening fireworks.

The other side of the room…

…and from the back.

This side of the room includes a desk…

…with a table on wheels underneath that can serve either as a better typing position for a laptop, or be rolled elsewhere in the room to as a place to dine or play with the kids.

Next to the desk is a dresser with a TV on top.

There’s six smallish drawers here.

The last item on this side of the room is a couch…

…which flips down into a bed.

The bed is ~33 inches wide by ~72 inches long, but sleeps longer than that as the frames have 75 inches clear between them. I’m about 6 feet tall, and was quite comfortable in this bed–both in length, and in its cushioning.

The bed side of these rooms has fine proportions, but in rooms with a connecting door, the desk/dresser/sofa side has everything jammed a little too closely together. Overall these are among Disney World’s most livable rooms.

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

This review continues here.

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June 19, 2013 16 Comments

Review: VISION House at Epcot’s Innoventions East

by Dave

INNOVENTIONS AT EPCOT

Innoventions East and Innoventions West are areas of Disney World’s Epcot where “you are invited to imagine, invent, inquire and inspire as you explore amazing innovations that are making our lives better.” (Slow-loading source.)

Each of the two Innoventions pavilions holds a changing roster of 5-8 experiences, each with an external sponsor—ranging from Coca-Cola to Cornell University.

Innoventions is the perfect example of the Epcot itinerary quandary.

These are low capacity experiences of varying, but usually low, interest to typical theme-park visitors—and especially of low interest to most kids. (The Sum of All Thrills is a bit of an exception.)

So skip Innoventions, right? After all, it’s ranked as “Most Can Skip” here, and as “Avoid” for little kids, and “Skippable for everybody else, here.

Well, maybe.

The issue is that Epcot is willing to make you think, if you wish to, and you just never know when your kids (or you!) will have their imagination or intellect sparked.

REVIEW: VISION HOUSE AT INNOVENTIONS EAST [Read more →]

June 13, 2013 4 Comments

Review: The Lilo and Stitch Best Friends Character Breakfast at Disney’s Polynesian Resort

by Dave

‘OHANA AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT

‘Ohana (the name is Hawaiian for ~~“typographical error”~~ “family”) is a deeply-loved restaurant at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. In the evenings, dinner features flame-cooked meat skewers cooked over an open fire (menu here).

In the morning, though, the fires are out, and their entertainment value is replaced by Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and friends.

THE LILO AND STITCH BEST FRIENDS CHARACTER BREAKFAST AT ‘OHANA IN DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT

The Lilo and Stitch Best Friends Character Breakfast features standard continental American breakfast foods in any quantity you want, highlighted with a little Polynesian flair. (Somewhat vague menu here.)

The first course is fruit, yogurt, breakfast breads with a hint of the Pacific Islands, and mango juice (other standard breakfast beverages are also available).

This is followed by a skillet with biscuits, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and breakfast potatoes. In our visit, we were among the earliest to be served (we had a 7.45a reservation)—before the real demand on the kitchen began–and the food was hot and perfectly cooked.

The potatoes and sausage each have a hint of the exotic to them—but the hint is subtle enough that even the most finicky kid won’t pine for a McDonald’s Big Breakfast instead.

The fruit, bread, and hot food are all served “family style”—your party serves themselves from the serving utensil, and you can get more of anything should you want it.

Later, the dedicated waffle service comes by! I’d forgotten this was coming so could manage only one…a turn of events I regret as I sure do love those Mickey-head waffles…kind of a weird Disney communion…

All in this is fine but largely routine breakfast fare.

What distinguishes the Lilo and Stitch Best Friends Character Breakfast is the cool setting of the Polynesian—one of Disney World’s most kid-pleasing locales—attendance by Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and others, and fun Mickey-led marches for kids around the restaurant.

At various times during the morning, the characters come out and visit with each table, pose for pictures, and then shift into parade mode. After the parade—at least on our visit—they take a break, then return a little later.

The Lilo and Stitch Best Friends Character Breakfast is a great place for breakfast, and a fun alternative to this site’s recommended Chef Mickey’s character breakfast.

Chef Mickey’s has better characters, in its buffet a wider variety of food choices, and better access to the Magic Kingdom. But the Lilo and Stitch Best Friends Character Breakfast is a fine choice as well!

HOURS, THE MAGIC KINGDOM, GETTING THERE, AND SUCH

Disney’s new website—which often works—lists the hours of the Lilo and Stitch Best Friends Character Breakfast as being 7.30-11a. I can’t tell for sure when the last seating is, but it is at least as late as 10.20a.

Families eating here as part of a leisurely morning can make their reservations for anytime.
Families combining breakfast here with a visit to the Magic Kingdom should eat as early or as late as possible.

Very early dining allows you to still make a standard 9a opening (but not morning Extra Magic Hours, or one of the 8a opening you’ll see at the busiest times of the year) while not having to rush out just as Mickey shows up.

Getting one of the latest possible reservations—10.20a, or later if you can–lets you do rope drop whenever it is, and thus see part of the Magic Kingdom while crowds are the lowest. It also lets you sleep in a bit longer, and to treat the all-you can eat meal as a filling brunch. So that’s the way to do Best Friends.

‘Ohana is on the second floor of the Great Ceremonial House—the main building—at Disney’s Polynesian Resort.

You get there from the Magic Kingdom by either boat or monorail.

Check the Polynesian boat boarding area at the Magic Kingdom before you get on the monorail—if the boat is there, it’s more fun, but it’s not worth waiting for.
Otherwise, take the resort monorail—also fun–getting off at the Polynesian.

If you are coming from the Contemporary Resort, take the resort monorail. From the Grand Floridian, you can walk, take the boat, or take the resort monorail.

From other Disney resorts, if you have one of the early reservations, ask your hotel concierge the day before how to get to the Polynesian. Disney runs special buses for early character breakfasts, so you may be directed to one of these, or to the resort’s standard Magic Kingdom transport if it is operating that early.

You can also drive to the Polynesian, but while construction is going on there—as it will be for a while—parking is scarce, so you may have to valet. It’s bad form, by the way, to leave your car in the Poly lot and head off to the Magic Kingdom for the day…

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June 9, 2013 No Comments

Theming and Accommodations at Disney’s Pop Century Resort

by Dave

For the first page of this review of Disney’s Pop Century Resort, click here.

THEMING AND ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

Disney’s Pop Century Resort is one of 5 value resorts at Walt Disney World:

Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort, opened in April 1994
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, opened in November 1994
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, opened in January 1999
Disney’s Pop Century Resort, opened in December 2003
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, opened in May 2012

Each of these five has four-person standard rooms. At Pop Century, All-Star Movies and shortly in All-Star Music, you get two queen beds and a coffee maker. In the not-yet refurbed rooms at Music, and in All-Star Sports and Art of Animation, you get full beds and no coffee makers. Queen beds in All-Star Sports are possible soon.

For most families looking for standard rooms and not worried about full beds or coffee makers, Art of Animation is the best choice, followed by Pop Century. Art of Animation rooms are also the most expensive–especially in the summer, when they approach moderate-level pricing. The All-Stars are all priced the same, and are the least expensive. Pop rooms average $40 more per night than the All-Stars, and $40 less per night than Art of Animation.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort officially salutes “many of the 20th-century popular culture crazes—including toys, gadgets, music, movies, fads and catch phrases.”

Pop Century’s theme is to recall the later decades of the twentieth century, through enormous statues of toys, games, Disney characters, and other stuff relevant to the decades. You’ll find scattered around the resort a Mickey Mouse Telephone, Roger Rabbit, a Big Wheel, bowling pins, Baloo and Mowgli, Lady and the Tramp and more…all 30 to over 60 feet tall!

Elsewhere you’ll find Play-Doh, Mr. Potato Head, a more than life sized foosball game, a pool designed to look like a bowling alley, a four-story laptop, and more.

ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

There are 2,880 rooms at Pop Century, evenly divided among ten accommodations buildings, each with elevators.

They are available in four booking classes, basically preferred or standard, with each of these available as pool view or not. The least expensive rooms are standard without a pool view, and most expensive are preferred pool view.

Preferred rooms are scattered in wings of several buildings and in general are a shorter walk to the main pool, the gift shop and food court, and the bus stops. Pool view rooms overlook one of the three pools, and will be louder than others.

Once you’d booked your class, during online check in (or over the phone) you can further request particular areas, a lake view, upper or lower floors, near transportation, and near elevators.

These rooms a refurb completed in 2018 now have two queen beds–the second is a fold-down bed that makes the table disappear when it’s down. Refurbed rooms also have more storage, more power points, bigger TVs, more bath privacy, and coffeemakers. A full photo tour of a refurbed room begins here.

Also available are rooms that sleep two on one king bed. There’s fewer than 200 of these, and they too are not directly bookable, nor do they show up on the on-line forms.

My general recommendation is an upper floor lake view room. These will be quietest and loveliest. Here’s some lake views:

THE AREAS AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

A quick look at the map tells you a lot about Disney’s Pop Century Resort.

The key points to notice are Hourglass Lake, at the top, the Disney Skyliner gondola station here, circled in black, and the central resort services, circled in red and orange at the middle.

Rooms facing Hourglass Lake will have the best views, and many will be close to the Skyliner station. Rooms closer to the central resort services will have the shortest walks to concierge services, dining, and the bus stops.

Pop Century’s ten buildings are nominally divided into five areas–1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s–representing the icons and memories of each decade, each area with a different set of larger-than-life Disney characters, toys from the era, and other decorations, with a particular focus on music playback tools.

However, there’s just one ’90s building, grouped in with the ’80s buildings, so in fact Pop Century really has just four areas.

The three ’50s buildings, grouped around the Bowling Pin pool
The two ’60s buildings, grouped around the main Hippy Dippy pool
The two ’70s buildings, the only ones without a pool in their center–making them quieter–and
The two ’80s and one ’90s buildings grouped around the Computer pool

THE 50s AREA AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

The three buildings in the 50s area– Buildings 1, 2 and 3–take dancing at a sock hop and bowling as their overall theme, with a bowling pin shaped pool and bowling pins hiding the stairs. While bowling was more popular in the 60s, its popularity began to take off in the 50s.

A jukebox decorates the center of one of the buildings…

…and Lady and the Tramp (1955) the other two.

The 50s buildings are reasonably good places to stay, with their principal negative being distance from the bus stops.

THE 60s AREA AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

The 60s area, with Buildings 4 and 5, is themed to flower power and other more innocuous 60s themes and has the most centrally located of the Pop Century rooms. Many of them surround the main pool at Pop Century, the Hippy Dippy pool.

These rooms have become even more convenient with the new Disney Skyliner gondola station opening on the bridge between Pop and Art of Animation, with service to the Caribbean Beach hub, from which you can re-board the gondola lines to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Stairs are themed to yo-yos, which resurged in the 60s.

The movie theming is the Jungle Book (1967).

You’ll also find here Play-Do–invented in the 30s as a wallpaper cleaner, and repurposed in the 60s as a creative toy.

THE 70s AREA AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

The 70s has buildings 6 and 10, and is the only area at Pop Century that does not surround a pool, making these rooms generally Pop’s quietest. Still close to buses, the Skyliner, and the central services and main pool, and with plenty of lake views, it’s the area at Pop Century I recommend the most.

Stairs are themed to 8 track tapes, frankly a dull and forgettable choice.

In a testament to the state of Disney animation in the 70s, this area is the only one at Pop Century with no Disney movie highlighted…

The overall theme is active play, and the courtyard of buildings 6 and 10 is dominated by a larger than life foosball court.

Smaller play areas are also here–e.g. Twister, which nowadays is a prima facie venue for sexual harassment.

You’ll also find an enormous Micky phone which sets a Disney connection that makes up for the absence of a movie reference in the 70s area.

The Mickey phones were part of an AT&T program of “Design Line” phones that launched in the early 70s.

Across the foosball court is a Big Wheel–launched in 1969.

THE 80s AND 90s AREA AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

Two 80s buildings–7 and 9–and one 90s building, 8, make up a three building group surrounding a pool that works more as a unified area than as two separate themed areas, which is why I consider them together here.

These buildings are most distant from the main pool and central dining, gift shop and other services, but some rooms, especially in Building 9, are not far from the bus stop.

Stairs are themed as Rubik’s Cubes, invented in the 70s but licensed to be sold in the 80s…

…and to 90s-style cell ones, which are almost life-size.

The pool area in the center of the three buildings is laid out like an early laptop, with the keyboard on one side and the screen on Building 8. The green item at the left of the screen is a floppy disk, which were central to computing until they weren’t.

The Disney movie referenced here is Roger Rabbit (1988).

Across from Roger is probably the weakest principal icon at Pop Century, a Sony Walkman–introduced in Japan in 1979.

Adding some playfulness to what other than Roger Rabbit is pretty dull theming is this charming couple, found near Hourglass Lake.

PHOTO TOUR OF A ROOM AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

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June 4, 2013 21 Comments

Category — q. Reviews

Dining at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

DINING AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

THE POOLS AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

Amenities at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT

DINING AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

Photo Tour of a Standard Room 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

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE RESORT

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Review: VISION House at Epcot’s Innoventions East

INNOVENTIONS AT EPCOT

REVIEW: VISION HOUSE AT INNOVENTIONS EAST [Read more →]

Review: The Lilo and Stitch Best Friends Character Breakfast at Disney’s Polynesian Resort

‘OHANA AT DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT

THE LILO AND STITCH BEST FRIENDS CHARACTER BREAKFAST AT ‘OHANA IN DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT

HOURS, THE MAGIC KINGDOM, GETTING THERE, AND SUCH

Theming and Accommodations at Disney’s Pop Century Resort

THEMING AND ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

THE AREAS AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

THE 50s AREA AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

THE 60s AREA AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

THE 70s AREA AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

THE 80s AND 90s AREA AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

PHOTO TOUR OF A ROOM AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

MATERIALS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

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