Aloha and Happy New year.
Sorry it has been a while since the last update. Hopefully I will get the Christmas photos up soon and change the graphic on the t-shirts. Also I need to update the room prices to show the new 2010 prices. I took some time off around the holidays and I was determined to not spend it on the computer.
Well I would like to think that 2010 is going to be a better year but unfortunately it is not starting well for Disney or the Polynesian Resort. It is still a great resort in my opinion and has so much to offer and I think some of the negative things happening at the resort are not exclusive to the Polynesian but are happening all over Disney Property.
It looks like management and the economy are affecting the experience of a large majority of guests and the theme for 2010 so far seems to be more money, less services. Now I really want to start off the year on a more positive note and I don’t want to discourage anyone from planning a trip this year but I do like to report what I find out is going on so that you stay informed. Let me get through some of the things I see as going in the wrong direction and I will finish up this report with a more positive tone.
I have been reporting of cut backs and problems with management for a few years now and I must say that I wish they would listen to the complaints. Over the last few years we have seen service go down and prices go way up. During a time when other places seem to be trying to lower or keep prices steady because of the economy Disney seems more focused than ever on how to make a buck. Their objective does not seem to be to keep loyal customers coming back by having a great experience. I have watched services cut and quality go down while prices get to the point that I don’t know when I will be taking my family back.
I also believe that when these hard times are affecting the guest experience you really need quality Cast Members around to help set the tone. A negative experience can be offset by so many of the great Cast Members that work for Disney but with the way they are being worked lately it makes it hard for them to keep positive. I have seen so many great long time and even new Cast Members worked to the point that they no longer want to be there and many have left because of what they see behind the scenes. That to me is the foundation of the company and without that it is not going to be the experience that we go to Disney for. I know of many long time Cast Members that are going to make this their last year and to me they were always a big part of why we visit WDW.
I have also seen services come and go. In some cases the complaints got so bad that they had to rethink the changes but in other cases the cutbacks became permanent. A new cut back that you will see is your experience with the characters. All over Disney there will be less characters and less time to experience them. Even at the Polynesian the character experience at ‘Ohana has been limited. Not only has the time characters spend gone down but Goofy has been removed as of December. This is happening at other Character meals also. We shall see if this changes back at some point.
Another change that is in affect now is the new room category in the Hawaii (Club Level) rooms. Even after they added Theme Park View rooms to the standard rooms a few years ago, the club level rooms still only had Garden and Lagoon view rooms. As of 2010 they will now have Theme Park view rooms in the club level building. Now it is not like they took the lagoon view price and kept it at its originally reported price for 2010 and reduced the rooms that will stay lagoon view (since they are admitting that some rooms did not have as good a view). Now you will be paying the same lagoon view price (increased in 2010) for the rooms that are partly blocked and paying more for the rooms now labeled Theme Park Club Level. The only positive I can take from this is that you can now book a room with a guaranteed unobstructed view of the castle. I will be updating the Hawaii map with the new rooms that have the Theme Park view category soon. I will also say that I know the views of the rooms and some of the rooms that did not change category on the lagoon side still have very nice views of the castle without paying the extra for it.
Here are the room numbers that are now Theme Park Club Level.
1505, 1506, 1507, 1511, 1512, 1513, 1517, 2501, 2502, 2504, 2505, 2507, 2510, 2511, 2512, 2513, 2514, 2517, 3501, 3502, 3503, 3504, 3505, 3506, 3507, 3508, 3509, 3510, 3511, 3512, 3513, 3514, 3515, 3516, 3517
Now with all that said I will give you the brighter side of things.
Starting off with a report about an addition that was going on around Christmas where they set up a queue line at the lobby entrance with Aloha Mickey and Minnie as well as Pluto and Goofy as a character meet and greet and photopass location. I don’t know if this is still going on or how long it will continue but this may help with some of the reduced experiences at the character dinning. I was told this was a decision by some new management. Sounds like they have someone who is trying to improve the guest experience instead of take away from it.
I was also told that the lobby changed the check-in desk with the concierge desk lines. This was done to increase the size of the lobby concierge and help guests faster with their concierge needs. Now remember lobby concierge is the concierge that all guests can use for their dinning, tickets or other needs.
I have also seen some improved menus in the Hawaii Club Level. I have some of the menu additions in my recipes section.
I will say that when we were at the Polynesian in August I was very happy with what I saw as far as service, amenities and how well they were keeping the resort up. The staff I was in contact with was friendly and professional.
With the increased cost and less availability of discounts through Disney it is going to be harder to save on your trip. Don’t forget that Magical Vacations still has some incredible exclusive discounted rooms for the Polynesian and some other resorts so visit the site and ask for a request for the times that you want to go because they might have discounts available that are not listed yet. http://www.magicalvacationstravel.com/mv/index.php
Keep sending in your family photos to put on the “Friends of the Polynesian” page and trip reports are always good.
I hope you all had a great Holiday Season and lets all have a great 2010.
Aloha
Steve
