News at the Polynesian
Well there is not a lot to report but I know a few people were disappointed in ‘Ohana getting rid of the potato dish last year. Well for those of you who miss it, they brought it back to the menu at dinner. (Update May, 06, 2009 It was reported that the potatoes are still not being offered. I will have to find out about the menu change and report back)
Work continues on repainting the roof of the longhouses and some work to the wood around the exterior stairways. Fiji is having its stairways worked on right now but should be done soon. This is normal for this time of the year for this type of maintenance.
I still have not heard what is holding up the construction of the beach cabanas. They were originally going to be built by April.
About the New Site
Well the new web site is growing almost every day as I go through and add new photos and update information. I still have a lot to do and there might be some bugs. If you see a misspelling or something not working correctly just let me know.
I have had some comments that the pages don’t have as many photos as the old site. I still need to add them and we are still trying to figure out the best way to have galleries for them so you might see it change from day to day. Also thanks for sending in your room view photos and photos for the “Friends” page. Soon I hope to have that stuff in place.
The Longhouse pages are going to be getting more photos and info as well as the suites. I am also going to add some info about the real islands that each longhouse is named after.
Some tips. When you click on a map or a photo to expand it, make sure your viewer is as big as it will go. When these things open they open to a certain percentage of available screen so if your screen is reduced then the picture will open smaller and on some of the maps it might make it hard to see. I also am making up new longhouse floor plans that have some added detail like smoking areas, stairs and elevators along with larger maps of the room numbers. They will replace the existing maps on the longhouse pages. There is an error on some of the room categories and the compass on Tokelau is pointed in the wrong direction so I will try and fix those soon.
I have started to add photos to the trip reports so go check them out. So far the 2000 and 2001 trip is done. They give a day by day report of the trip without getting into too much detail. On most of these trips we split our stay with other resorts and the Polynesian so it gives you my opinion and comparison of these resorts to the Polynesian resort. I also share with you where we ate with some comments. These are right from my notes taken during the trips.
I want to again thank Matt Turk for all his help with the new site.
At the neighboring resorts
One of my favorite things about the Polynesian is having easy access to the other monorail resorts. I always go and visit the Contemporary to shop or eat and besides the new restaurant the Wave, there is some other news at the Contemporary.
Cast Members joined Walt Disney World Ambassador Clay Shoemaker to open Fantasia Market, the newly refurbished sundries shop, at Disney’s Contemporary Resort April 17.
On the resort’s fourth floor concourse, the shop with a Fantasia theme is located by the window wall overlooking the soon-to-open Bay Lake Tower, just beyond Fantasia gift shop. It features consumables, beer, wine, liquor, cigars and cigarettes. Fantasia Market also will offer the convenience of in-room grocery delivery service to Bay Lake Tower Guests beginning in the summer.
Many Cast Members, some whom have worked at Disney’s Contemporary Resort for more than 25 years, were excited that the store will provide more convenience to Cast Members and Guests.
“We are so happy to finally open Fantasia Market; it’s one of the last of the renovations we are making here at Disney’s Contemporary Resort,” said Thea Sergeant, general manager of the resort. “You can’t complete your resort without a sundries shop. No one Guest remembers everything, so you have to have a shop for those last-minute necessities or even just a cool beverage.”
Hawaii Resort news
Disney Resort & Spa at Ko Olina is rumored to be delayed by some of the people over in Hawaii. I am thinking of putting up a page with some of the photos, concept art and info so keep your eyes out.
Joe Rohde and other well known Disney Imagineers were sent out to Oahu to work on the design of the new resort.
Quick Facts Date Announced:
October 3, 2007
Location/Geography:
Disney Resort & Spa at Ko Olina will be located on the island of O’ahu’s western
side in the picturesque Ko Olina Resort & Marina.
Size:
21 acres
Planned Number of units:
350 hotel rooms
480 Two-bedroom equivalent vacation villas for Disney Vacation Club
Planned Restaurants:
One full-service restaurant and one buffet restaurant
Planned Convention Space:
8,000 Sq. Ft.
Planned Spa:
Full-service spa, 18,000 Sq. Ft.
Workforce:
Approximately 1,000 Cast Members anticipated
Tikifest 2009
Well we are on our way to hitting our maximum for the Dessert party in August. Our night of give-aways will be announced in the news letter that will go out to those who sent in their form and payment for the party along with other details. It looks like the drawing for the stuff will be Monday August 3 at 8:00 PM on the beach in front of Hawaii longhouse so we can all enjoy the sunset and stick around for the Electric Water Pageant and Fireworks from the beach.
