Top 5 reasons to stay at Polynesian Resort

POSTED: Tue, 03/22/2011 - 12:00 | POSTED BY: Kristen Heptinstall

Sandy shores. Drum beats. Pineapple drinks with paper umbrellas. This is the Polynesian Resort, and here are the top 5 reasons why you should stay there!

5. Top Location. There's so much to say about Polynesian Resort's location. Directly across Seven Seas Lagoon from the Magic Kingdom, the beach at the Poly offers prime viewing for Wishes fireworks. It's located on the monorail line with direct access to the Magic Kingdom, and it's within walking distance of the Transportation and Ticket Center. You can even take a water taxi to the Magic Kingdom from the Poly.

4. The Pool. Definitely one of the top reasons to stay at the Polynesian are its great pools. There are two swimming pools at the Poly -- the main Nanea pool, and the east quiet pool. Nanea, one of the top theme pools on WDW property, was refurbished in 2001. It's a zero-entry pool with a large volcano-like structure, complete with waterfall and water slide. The east quiet pool is deeper and better for swimming laps.

3. Dining. The dining at the Polynesian is a fun hodgepodge of Pacific-inspired food. The ever-popular 'Ohana and the very underrated Kona Cafe offer traditional Hawaiian and Asian-inspired eats, and the Spirit of Aloha show is a crowd-pleaser with a lot of history and iterations going back to 1971. Even the Tambu Lounge is a popular spot for drinks. And there is nowhere else at Walt Disney World where you have 24-hour access to Dole whip. Yep, that's right, the 24-hour Captain Cook's counter service has Dole whip machines for your dessert - yum!

2. Monorail. One of only three resorts located directly on the Monorail line, there can't be enough said about how convenient this mode of transport can be. It's possible to avoid buses altogether at the Polynesian, using just boat and monorail transportation to every theme park save for Animal Kingdom. And if you have kids who really love riding the Monorail, it becomes an attraction in itself.

1. Walt Disney's vision. Only two of Walt's original five resort ideas came to fruition, and the Polynesian is one of these. The Asian, Venetian and Persian resorts never saw the light of day, and what was the Tempo Bay Resort eventually became the Contemporary. The Polynesian is one of the only resorts sprung out of Walt's imagination that was built as envisioned. Though the design of the building changed (see more on that here), the atmosphere is purely Walt. Walk into the Great Ceremonial and try to deny the presence of Walt himself.

In:

[email protected] wrote on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 14:01:

It's true, the Poly is such a great resort. most of all, I think the ambience and location can not be beat.

caitiesus wrote on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 15:51:

Those are all reasons I want to stay there and why it is my dream resort!

MrHub wrote on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 15:53:

These and many others, are the reasons we love to stay at the Poly so much. Even though we are DVC members, and our home resort is SSR, it doesn't take much for us to choose to stay at the Poly instead. There is a feel in this resort that I don't think you can find at any other resort in WDW. Maybe it is Walt's presence. If you have never been to the Poly, visit it sometime. Take a walk around and go down to the beach by the volcano pool. There is something special there!

katrina1122 wrote on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 18:41:

I found a type on the pool descriptions you might want to fix :)

Kristen H wrote on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 02:41:

@katrina1122 -- Thanks! Is that a Baby Ruth?!?

katrina1122 wrote on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 13:12:

Let's hope so.

NicolasDavis wrote on Fri, 04/29/2011 - 04:02:

Very nice resort but it will surely hurt my pocket.

Nicolas Davis

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