Captain Cook’s reopens
While some things at the resort are still in the destruction phase others are coming back to life. The beginning of the week I reported that Captain Cook’s was possibly going to open the following weekend. I knew that the inspections were going to happen on Wednesday and if things went well it would open earlier but to my surprise I got a message saying it was opening that day (Wednesday, August 13). I had a few people that were there go check it out as it was opening (thanks Joe) and Doctor Disney happened to come around the corner and see the opening ceremony.
I went and started to update my Captain Cook’s page by removing the temporary location info and moving it into the history section. Thanks to those who helped me with photos and info. I also read through some of the postings and comments on my own Facebook page. I was not going to write up a big review because within 24 hours of reopening I think there was 50 reviews out there (yes I am exaggerating). Jeff and Denise were on their way to check it all out so I figured I would wait and see what they got. Here is their review of the place.
I think all that is left is to answer some of the questions and address some of the comments. The most asked question on my page and other forums was “Where is the Dole whip machine?” How can it be that my site is getting in between 2 million and 3 million hits a month and no one seems to remember me saying many times that the Dole Whips would no longer be at Captain Cook’s and that they were going to be at the new Pineapple Lanai? Just outside the back of the Great Ceremonial House they are building the Pineapple Lanai to serve Dole items from a walk up window. They removed the old Wyland Gallery (or for those that remember the News From Polynesia) and they are constructing an area to order and eat Dole Whips.
The next most common comment and my initial thought was that they did not change Captain Cook’s much. I know people were spreading all sorts of rumors of Captain Cook’s getting bigger or expanding into the Wyland Gallery area or even the arcade area but I tried to tell people that other things were going into those areas. It was never closed to be completely redone. The major redo to Captain Cook’s happened back in 2005 so there was really no need for a major redesign. One thing I have learned over the last couple of years with all these changes is people will always find something to complain about. I liked the redesign they did back in 2005 and back then they added that whole room of seating. We aren’t going to see a food court like at Pop Century at the Polynesian. They cleaned up everything and put in new decorations and flooring and I think they did a nice job. As for the tables and chairs, don’t get too attached. They are on loan and will be swapped out when the furniture they ordered shows up. If you look under the table you will see the rental company name that they came from.
I was surprised to see the ordering system gone. When the Captain Cook’s introduced that in the last redesign they were the first to get the system. It now works very well at other resorts and is even at Tangaroa Terrace at the Disneyland Hotel. We will see how this new way to order food works once things get busy in there.
You will notice the posters on the walls in the seating area represent the islands the longhouses are named after. There are even some like Moorea and Bora Bora that use to be names of longhouses before the name change in 1999.
It has yet to be seen if there will be any outdoor seating for Captain Cook’s once they are done. I believe some seating will go in next to the Pineapple Lanai but the area where they use to have seating outside Captain Cook’s I believe is becoming part of either the new pool deck or kids wet play area and those will be on the other side of the fence to the pool area.
The new menu looks good but I am not as impressed as I was when I saw the menu they have at Tangaroa Terrace at Disneyland. Recently they added a loco moco to the breakfast at Tangaroa Terrace and I thought for sure they would add it at Captain Cook’s. They have other great Polynesian style items on the Tangaroa Terrace menu that I was hoping would make it out east to Captain Cook’s but instead they added Chicken and Waffles? What the heck is that? Nothing says tropical like poultry on a waffle. The lobster roll sounds like a nice idea until you see the $3 and change you get back from your $20 bill for getting one. Also when it says “lobster salad” I am guessing it is not a big lobster claw like the Food and Wine lobster roll but some small amount of lobster thrown into some mixture. I was sad to see the grown up grilled cheese gone. You can find the new menu on my Captain Cook’s page.
Most resorts do not have 24 hour access to food but the Polynesian is one of the few that always has. Now that it is open in its old location again it is back to being open 24 hours. The cooked items will not be available after 11:00 pm – 6:30 am.
http://www.tikimanpages.com/poly/captain-cook-s
It is good to see the place back open and along with the walls coming down from the Tambu Lounge area and new furniture in place it looks like some things are coming back to life. Don’t get too excited yet because there is still more work to come until the beginning of next year but we will see some things getting better. We should see the Pineapple Lanai open soon and hopefully the Gathering place adjacent to that.
Disney Vacation Club
Bungalows are coming along nicely. I am told about half of them will be released to the resort early next year with the remainder being released later in 2015. The bungalows are all 2 bedroom (not a lockoff) and sleep 9. They are about 1650 sq-ft and that includes a deck that is about 300 sq-ft. I get updated photos all the time and I post them to my Flickr account. You can access the full gallery at the bottom of the DVC page by clicking “visit the photo set on Flickr” at the bottom of the page.
http://www.tikimanpages.com/poly/the-resort/dvc/item/191-disney-vacation-club
There will be some unannounced amenities going in at the Polynesian that will be exclusive to Disney Vacation Club members I am told. Presale should happen in a few months but I believe that will also only be for existing Disney Vacation Club members. We all know the bungalows will be extremely expensive and almost impossible to get into if you do not have points at the Polynesian Disney Vacation Club but if you were hoping for a one bedroom or two bedroom villa at the Polynesian than you will be out of luck. the initial info of them all being studios is correct. They will connect but there will be no one bedrooms or units with full kitchens.
Look for this trend of converting existing rooms at resorts into Disney Vacation Club villas to continue.
