Resort and DVC news
On June 17 the license to sell Polynesian Villas was submitted. (thanks to SED Crockett for finding it)
https://www.myfloridalicense.com/LicenseDetail.asp?SID=&id=2969D0AA1BAF1F1B7B8331BEE10CFBB0
I am not going to attempt to decipher it for many reasons but mainly I have better things to do with my life…ha
There have been a lot of postings and speculation about the 162 units it talks about and while I don’t know how they come up with 162 units I just wanted to correct the numbers that keep getting posted over and over about the room totals that are not correct. Tokelau has 144 rooms. Tahiti had 143 rooms. Tahiti is almost the same footprint as Tahiti but one of the rooms in Tahiti was converted over to storage so it is one room down. This could end up becoming a room again during renovation bringing Tahiti back to 144 rooms. Rapa Nui is 74 rooms (26 on each floor but floor 2 and 3 are missing 2 rooms each). That brings the rooms to 361. Add on 20 bungalows and that gives you 381. From what I was told and from the photos I have seen so far Rapa Nui and Tahiti are being converted into Studios. Maybe when it is all said and done there will be one bedrooms in those buildings also but there is no evidence at this point to support that. There is evidence that Tokelau is building rooms that are different than the studio layout seen in the other two longhouses and after I enquired more about that I was told there will be one bedroom (and two if you add a connecting studio onto the one bedroom). The bungalows will all be 2 bedroom and not a lock-off as some have speculated.
I don’t know when they will start pre-sale but some DVC experts seem to think it will be later this year. They are trying to have the DVC rooms completed by the end of the year but the rest of the resort will be farther into 2015 before it is complete.
Progress inside the Great Ceremonial House has gotten to a difficult point. I have been talking about the waterfall coming out for the better part of the last 2 years. The other night someone got some photos of the nighttime activities at the Polynesian and got photos of what is left of the area where the waterfall was. I posted it on my Facebook page and I know it was upsetting for many to see. We all knew it was coming but seeing it is another thing. When I posted the photo of the hole that once was a waterfall to my Facebook page it got some of the highest totals of views, comments and hundreds of shares. I hear Disney was not too happy with me posting the photo and my goal is not to upset anyone but I do want to record all the history of the resort that I can find and this is history in the making. If Disney asked me not to share something and gave me a good reason I would not share it but most of the time “officially” they don’t even act like I exist. Only my contacts recognize my efforts and feel it is importaint that I continue to document the hisory of the resort.
There have been a lot of negative comments and false assumptions all over the internet about why the waterfall came out. I totally understand why people are angry and upset but as I said before, Disney did the right thing by removing it. I won’t go over the details again that I have shared in my past articles, but most of you who read my site know that if I post something it is based on facts from people that would know the answers. If I speculate about something I try and make it clear that my response is not based on any facts. Too many people on forums are talking about why the waterfall is coming out and it is obvious they do not know the facts but they write as if they do. I will always give it to you straight and I can tell you with full confidence that Disney looked into ways of keeping the waterfall and it was the right decision to remove it. They did not remove it just because it was cheaper than maintaining it. I think they could have replaced it with something smaller and better than what we have seen in the concept art but that is a separate issue.
As far as my feelings about the waterfall being removed, I think for me I handle loss differently than most. I try not to dwell on it and move on when it is something upsetting. For me I knew it was going to happen for a long time and I just have to wait and see how it all turns out in the end. Many of the plans they have for the resort I am excited to see, some I think could have been done better. It will be nice to have the open lobby but I think they could have done something better. The pool area I think will be a big hit when it is done and the approach to the resort will be a drastic change. As far as the new kids club, it is nice but I think they missed the mark not doing something similar to Auntie’s Beach House at Aulani. Adding back in a restaurant at Tangaroa Terrace was a missed opportunity also but I hear something for the DVC crowd maybe going in there.
At this point it looks like the pool will still close at the end of July with the pool bar possibly remaining open until mid August or until the temporary bar is set up at the East pool.The pool will remain closed until next March or April. After it is completed the East pool will close to be rethemed and a bar and grill will be added.
The Great Ceremonial House is currently under construction and should continue being worked on into next January. Captain Cook’s should open back in its original location sometime in August. I may soon have more on schedules for things like the front of the resort and the entry to the lobby being completed.
For the latest Construction photos sent to me go to my Flickr album.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68472970@N00/sets/72157637650176246/
4th of July at the Polynesian
The 4th of July is always an interesting time at the Polynesian Resort. We use to go during the week of the 4th every year because it also is around our anniversary (June 30) and my birthday July 8. It started getting to busy for us and the year people took our chairs from our patio and then proceeded to stand 4 feet from our balcony totally blocking the view from our room we decided it was time to pick a different time to go. Officially the beach and pool area are off limits to non-resort guests but we all know that most of the time that is not enforced. Even some Cast Members will suggest you go down to the beach and enjoy the fireworks after dinner. Most of the time this is not a big deal but some nights it gets like main street during fireworks. This is unfortunate for those paying to stay there. With construction taking up some of the Hawaii beach and the Tahiti beach being gone, it limits the amount of area to view so I expect this 4th of July to be quite crowded unless they finally enforce the rules. Past years we have seen different attempts to limit access to the resort on the 3rd and 4th of July by checking resort ID at the back doors of the Great Ceremonial House, checking resort ID at the pool area and even walking the beach and asking for resort ID. We even got asked for resort ID getting on the resort monorail from the Magic Kingdom one year. They would not let anyone into the parking lot that did not have a room or dinning reservation but right now that happens every day because of construction. Some years wrist bands are handed out at the pool and beach area after showing your resort ID. A few years ago I remember being told about an aggressive plan they had to reduce the amount of non-resort guests on the 4th. The staff was trained ahead of time on how to handle it but at the last minute they backed off doing it because they were worried about offending people. I would expect that this year they will plan something to limit access but I would be surprised if they actually put that plan into action. Next year will be a whole different story once the fence will limit access to the pool and beach.
There are usually some fun activities at the resort around 4th of July. I can remember activities going on all day long and the resort having a very different feel. This year activities will include:
Nanea Volcano Pool Deck
1:00pm – Red, White and Blue Critter Round-Up
1:30pm – Revolutionary Hula Hoops
2;00pm – Star Spangled Bucket Relay
2:30pm – Stars and Stripes Ring Toss
3:00pm – Patriotic Pool Party
4:00pm – Celebration Dance Party
4:30pm – Declaration of Your Beach Bag
5:00pm – Red, White and Boom Blaster
6:00pm – 9:00pm – Party on the Beach Join us on the Polynesioan Beach for games, contests and dancing leading up to “Disney Celebrates America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky” fireworks spectacular!
9:00pm – Movie Under the Stars – National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets – Rated PG
Monorail schedule
The monorail is on a limited schedule from June 22 through summer 2014 to have the new automated system installed.
- Magic Kingdom Resort beam – 8:30am to midnight
- Magic Kingdom Express beam – 9:30am to 11:30pm
- Epcot beam – 9am to 11pm
For July 3-5 the operating hours are going to be extended.
July 3 and 4 Monorail Hours
- Express Beam: 7:30am to 2am
- Resort Beam: 7am to 3am
- Epcot Beam 8am to 2:30am
July 5 Monorail Hours
- Express Beam: 8:30am to 11:30pm
- Resort Beam: 7am to midnight
- Epcot Beam: 8am to 11pm
Thanks to WDWMagic.com for this information and Todd Hurley for the photo.
What is this buinding?
People keep asking what the building being built on the shore along with the Bungalows is. It is a utilities building that houses the panels for the electrical to the bungalows. It also will have a generator that will be to power the lighting along the boardwalks of the bungalows. So now you know.
