JULY 28
The next day I did my resort walk to check out things. I like to walk the resort in the morning when it is calm and quiet and the weather always seems so nice. The wildlife was waking up and making their way around the resort also.
I noticed that the exterior wood and stairs were finally replaced at Rapa Nui (which was the last to have this done) but I hear not all the new items are in the Tahiti rooms yet. There are still things to be ordered and installed but the resort has been running at capacity with the closure of the rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
I walked over to the Grand Floridian Spa to see how long the walk took. The fitness center at 
the Spa is open to Polynesian guests at no charge and there are hot tubs to use there if you want to use one. The walk was actually much closer to most of the rooms at the Polynesian than many of the rooms at the Grand Floridian.
As I suspected by the new smoking locations on the map they are using many of the longhouse sitting areas as the designated smoking area. When I say sitting areas there are areas at a few of the longhouses that have outdoor sitting areas on upper floors (look 
for them on my longhouse pages). They have added signs that designate them as the smoking areas. Some still ignore this new policy but I would say most were respectful and did not smoke outside the areas. I did see some people a few rooms down smoking at the sliding glass door to the room which is against policy and they could have been fined.
The buildings with external sitting areas are Tuvalu (3rd floor) Fiji (2nd Floor) Aotearoa (2nd floor) Samoa (2nd floor) and Niue and Rarotonga (share one on the 2nd floor connecting walkway). The sitting areas in Rapa Nui, Tahiti and Tokelau are internal so they are not designated smoking areas. I noticed that the exterior wood and stairs were finally replaced at Rapa Nui (which was the last to have this done) but I hear not all the new items are in the Tahiti rooms yet. There are still things to be ordered and installed but the resort has been running at capacity with the closure of the rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Other observations when walking the grounds was there seemed to be more wildlife (rabbits, ducks, etc.). Also they have done a lot of work on the landscaping. I have never seen such a drastic change since the time the hurricane took out a few of the trees. For one the Hibiscus 
bushes that were blocking some of the lagoon view rooms in the Hawaii (concierge) building were not just trimmed but chopped to the ground to clear the view. Also a tree was removed and relocated to help with a few rooms it was blocking. There was never many rooms with blocked views of the castle in Hawaii (which might be why they never felt the need to designate a Magic Kingdom view and a Lagoon View in Hawaii 
longhouse) but now there are one a handful where trees out at the beach might block the castle. Also all over the grounds they have cleaned up, added new exotic plants and sculpted the landscaping to make the resort look better than ever. Trust me I am not just making the place sound great. If it looked bad I would say so. Also there were no signs of the reported overflowing garbage anywhere. There was even a new sign outside Captain Cook’s since I was there in May.
The Barefoot bar now remains open until the fireworks or even through fireworks if they are busy enough. They also have servers out at the pool deck that will continue as long as the guests are using them.
The pool did not seem 
to crowded to enjoy but it is well used. There was always places to lay out even when it was crowded.
I actually spent some time in the quiet pool and the was great when it got cooler when a storm would be coming in. The water was very warm and there was two other people in the whole pool. The quiet pool is a great place to sit and relax if you don’t need the slide or the beach.
I saw a few families swimming in the lagoon and even a few adults with their small kids. BAD IDEA, and can I ask one thing…can people read signs!!! The info is that there is bacteria in the lagoon bottom so it is not a problem in the deeper water but it is at the shore. I am on the fence as to if I believe that but lets just keep in mind that it could be true. If you want to ignore that than lets remember that alligators do find there way into the lagoon. I have a photo somewhere I need to scan in of 
an alligator swimming in the waters near the Magic Kingdom. Also I have seen a vacation photo from a family of a rather large gator on the beach of the Polynesian. When we golf across the street at Magnolia we are always warned to not go near trees, bushes and all water even if the ball is inches from the edge. There are poisonous snakes, spiders and yes gators. The gators will have your arm or a small child in seconds before you even see them. If you want to risk your legs or arms than go play in the edge of the lagoon, but KEEP YOUR LITTLE KIDS AWAY FROM THE SHORE. Not trying to freak anyone out but there is a chance and I don’t take those chances with my kid.
After checking everything out and meeting a few Tikifesters around the resort. I also ran into Len Testa (of WDWtoday.com podcast, Unofficial Guide and Touringplans.com) and his daughter Hannah. It was great to meet Hannah and to see Len again. With everyone we know 
being at the Polynesian and many of them in the Hawaii longhouse it really seemed like home.
As Len and Hannah got settled into their room the kids were playing in the grass between the beach and our room. This is a favorite spot for the kids and is one of the reasons it is nice to have the open patio. Kai was enjoying running with Hannah and even a quick rain storm did not keep Kai from playing.
Our dinner that night was at the Rose and Crown so we could watch Illuminations. We had outside seating and a great view of the show after a great meal.
We took our time getting out of Epcot. It was good to see the wand coming down from Space Ship Earth. Now if they take the Leave a Legacy out it will be back to its original glory.
After Dinner Lisa wanted to meet us at the Pool but I don’t think she thought we would be there so late. She had contacted many of the Tikifest people to be at the pool to have a pre-party gathering and to watch fireworks. I got to meet many of the people I have been emailing for years now. I only wish I got to talk to everyone that was there but everyone was enjoying the evening and meeting each other as well as Lisa and her family. After the crowd thinned out we got in the pool and Kevin, Chris, Alyssa and Kristen all hung out in the zero entry part of the pool sharing stories and watching the castle turn colors as the girls swam around.
This is the first half of the trip report. The next half will start with TIKIFEST!!!
