End of the year update
The lobby is now open and while we are still waiting for the Tiki to make an appearance it looks as if most of the stuff is in. I know that besides Disney Vacation Club taking up the view and 3 longhouses, the removal of the waterfall is something that has gotten many people upset. I myself have mixed feelings. I loved the waterfall but I understood the reason it was removed. I also can understand them wanting to get some of that square footage back
to have more available space for people to relax. They could have put something large back in but the plan was to reduce the size of what was there since they had to remove the original water feature. I will say that I don’t think it gives a “WOW” factor when you come in. I think it could have been done better with the fountain and added some creative and interactive elements. The rocks are unimpressive for sure. Hopefully when the Tiki is installed it will help it look a little better but with all the great rock formations Disney can do, this dose look like a pile of rocks. Even the rocks going in around the pool were done much better than this. I am dissappointed but I’m not going to hate the whole resort because of the changes.
My initial impressions are that it is arranged very much like the sitting area of the Animal Kingdom Lodge lobby. It looke like it will be a nice place to relax. I think I liked the furniture that was introduced to the lobby in 2009 but this stuff has a very retro tiki look and feel. That seems to be the theme with the renovations including when you see inside the renovated Disney Vacation Club longhouses.
The redish orange color can be found in the lobbies of the Disney Vacation Club longhouses and hallways so if you don’t like the lobby, you won’t like the changes inside the Disney Vacation Club longhouses. There is some great new artwork around the lobby. Gone is much of the traditional Polynesian artwork and with it some of the authenticity but it is replaced with more of an Adventureland theme. You will find many of the changes to be an Adventureland feel. Rumors that the renovations were going to be based on designs found at Aulani were never true. None of the designers I ever spoke to ever mentioned Aulani as inspiration for anything other than the new kids wet play area and the Infinity hot tub. It will be nice to have the lobby open again. There will not be all the walls to negotiate but remember, this does not complete the work at the Great Ceremonial House. 
There is still work continuing on Trader Sam’s and at this point I am told it will open the last week of March. We saw permits to do work to the kitchen that Kona Café and ‘Ohana share so I would expect a closure at some point for an unknown amount of time.
‘Ohana and Tambu got a new look out in the seating area when the same elves came in to get the lobby ready to open.
Other new changes to the Great Ceremonial House include updating the kids activity area that is just to the left of the main entry. They had used this area for the temporary check in desk area while the check in desk was being redone. Some other work that will continue at the Great Ceremonial House is plans to redo the entry into the building. They planned to make larger water features out in front that I was told would be the new picture spot. We have seen the ponds drained and some work going on but no major progress. If they still plan on doing this to the entrance, my guess is that it work will pick up at the beginning of the year.
The new front desk open up a while ago and some of the stones that are around the new desk were reused from the rocks around the waterfall, or at least that is what someone told me. I am guessing they had to cover up the yellow and turquoise tile that still remained from the original floor. I think they did a nice job on the front desk area. The new Disney Vacation Club office is expected to be open. They are getting ready for the initial sales to start soon. Farther down the hall, Trader Sam’s is still closed off with work continuing inside. You can see the retro look of the outside wall and while they will be making quite a bit of progress inside next month, they are not planning on opening up until the end of March.
I have been reading how people don’t like the new blue stone used in the center of the lobby. The stone used in the lobby is the same stone used all over the original floor. Some pieces are even from the old border around the waterfall. The new skylights have a tint that gives it the bluish look but the rock is all the same. Also the Mickey ears are still there.
They relandscaped the area out on the back side of the Great Ceremonial House and took down some walls over near Niue longhouse. This opened back up the area west of Nuie that was closed for the area to be renovated. I had heard the Gathering Place was going to go in around that area but it looks like it is just a grass area with no stage like in the concept.Maybe the stage is going in later or somewhere else or maybe was cut from the plans. I guess we will know as things continue around the new pool area.
The kids club changed from the Neverland Club and opened back up as Club Disney. In November they changed the signs to be Lilo’s P
layhouse. Back when I first heard the kids club was going to change I was told the theme was going to be something Hawaiian, similar to the kids club at Aulani. I thought that was a great idea. Then when Club Disney opened and I was told that this was going to be the model for all the resort kids clubs. Personally it seemed like a poor effort. I guess for some that saw the sign they thought it was a night club for adults. The name change was to make it fit the resort better and to eliminate any confusion as to what it is. I still have not found out if they changed anything inside or plan to. If you happen to take your kids there, let me know.
Parking at the Polynesian will again become difficult and nearly impossible if you don’t have a reservation. Many people that go get photos for me have said they have not been able to park at the Polynesian unless they have a reservation. When I saw that they shut down much of the parking lot, I thought it might be for the work to start on the front of the Great Ceremonial House but now I am thinking it has more to do with getting storage for all the stuff to go into the Disney Vacation Club bungalows and studios. We saw Disney posted some more renderings on the Disney Parks Blog about the Polynesian DVC. Tim at DVCNews.com did a nice write up of the DVC event.
For those who have been reading my site or Facebook for the last few years, there should not be any surprises. Many people did not believe me about the bungalows being 2 bedroom (not a lock off) or that the longhouses were all studios. I have seen and shared the studio layouts on my site (seen here http://www.tikimanpages.com/poly/the-resort/dvc/item/194-dvc-news-and-information ) but I never got confirmation on what the furniture arrangement would be in the studios. We see and read that the studios will sleep 5 with what looks to be a king bed, a fold out queen and there will be a day bed folding out from under the TV like they do at Aulani. Much of the DVC will be completed soon and people will be staying in them by Spring but who can stay and how will you get the ability to stay in them is the big question. I was told that it would be very difficult to book in them this year. With some information leaking out on other pages about DVC going on sale in January and the cost per point (not officially announced) My trip in July could be my last to the Polynesian. Room prices are getting too expensive. The only way I am going this year is with the Magical Vacations Travel discount. Now it looks as if purchasing enough points for a week a year in a studio will blow way past our $30k limit we set aside so we may be out.
The Disney Vacation Club part of the property is coming together. The area that was Sunset Pointe was always intended on becoming an area to with winding paths, planters with tropical foliage and some areas to relax. As you can see in the rendering, the area will be just that. Mitchell got some nice photos of the area that I posted on my Facebook page and loaded to my Flickr albums. Access to the boardwalks out to the bungalows will be restricted to guests staying in them but the elevated area and paths will be available to all guests to enjoy. They are also working on new paths around the other longhouses to feed into the new pool area. The paths look similar to the paths they are putting in around the old Sunset Pointe.
2015 should be an interesting year for visitors to the Polynesian. I think the first part of the year will be rough with things still under construction but by Summer things should be coming together with everything being done by the end of the year. I hope all of you have a great holiday and see you in 2015.
