Construction News
We have been watching progress at the resort since it all started September 2013. Hopefully if you have been keeping up with my updates there have not been many surprises. I still find many shocked people on my Facebook when we show something new closed or talk about what is coming. There have been a lot of great reports being posted by people who are there (thanks for posting on my Facebook page) and it is a mixed bag of reactions. Some say that it is quiet and hardly noticed construction and others felt it was quite disruptive and the atmosphere was completely different. I for one would not imagine the resort has anywhere near the same feel but not from noise of seeing construction but just the limited amount of 
areas you can even access. It is only going to get worse. I have been trying to prepare people since last year that once the pool area closes it will be very limited on where you can even go and how you get around the resort. As of the second week of July we saw overnight the back doors in and out of the Great Ceremonial House be blocked off. In the following days walls went up around the stream area just outside the back of the Great Ceremonial House. This is the first part of closing off the whole pool area and I believe it will include a large part of the beach. I have a map showing closed off areas and areas that will close soon and be closed well into next year. The red outlined area shows areas currently closed and under construction (as of July 11). To enter and exit the Great Ceremonial House you must use the front entrance or the doors to the sides of the 
building.There were some rumors that management told guests that the Pineapple Lanai would open up soon but I have not been able to get anyone working on the project to say that this is even close to true. I would be surprised because it was described to me as the Pineapple Lanai would be a walk up window out in the area just outside the back doors of the Great Ceremonial House and not actually a place you walk inside of. There would be some counters up against the wall adjacent to the walk up window but if that whole area is closed for renovation then I don’t see that opening anytime soon.
Word is that some at Disney are not happy with the progress and they are behind on things like Captain Cook’s. The reopening was pushed out to August a while ago so I don’t know if it will be pushed out more or they are going to light a fire under them to finish it. I hope they take their time and do it right. I saw the results of them rushing the new room design in the rooms and the suites with little things being missed and they had to go back and fix a lot of stupid mistakes. Once the pool area closes rooms to the east (right) will have to go through the Great Ceremonial House to get to the boat launch and rooms to the west will have to go through the Great Ceremonial House or out in front of it to get to the bus, east pool and Transportation and Ticket Center. The rooms on the west side facing the main pool in Samoa and Niue are already going off line and will not be booked until pool construction is complete. No word on if they will do the opposite side of those buildings or even Rarotonga when they close the East pool to renovate it next year after the Nanea pool reopens.
Work continues on the bungalows with the first few having their shingles on and some siding and paint up. Tangaroa Terrace has and its surrounding area is getting new paths which has caused the rerouting of traffic from the east side of Rarotonga to be diverted through a room on the first floor. I get the impression this area will be closed for a while for them to go through that much effort to empty a room and make a path through it. This limits access to the bus and kids club from rooms like Niue, Samoa, Hawaii and even Rarotonga itself. You must walk around Rarotonga and out to the front of the resort.
There should be a temporary bar going up near the East pool before the Nanea pool closes so maybe we will see that soon. Some rumors about the Barefoot Bar getting a grill once it reopens I believe is false if I am to believe my sources. I was told other than some minor upgrades and a fence cutting off part of the bar, it would remain the same. I did hear that the permanent bar that will go in eventually at the East pool will have a grill so maybe that is the case or maybe people have their stories mixed up. Its too early to tell right now but if I get more info on any of that I will try and share it.
Construction Kingdom
This year is not only one of the toughest times to visit the Polynesian but it seems that it is a tough time to be anywhere at Disney World. I have been so focused on the daily changes at the Polynesian that when I took a peek outside that world I noticed that there was a lot more going on around the property. People have been asking me where they should stay if they change from the Polynesian. Well giving them an answer based off my experience with staying at other resorts on property seemed like it would not be too difficult but then I started asking around with my sources about other projects going on. Next thing I know I hear about room renovations at Boardwalk, Beach Club and even the Grand Floridian. Then I got some early word about letters that were going to go out to guests staying at the Wilderness Lodge about the main pool closing. Next thing you know we are talking about the Wilderness Lodge pool on my Facebook page. I just ran across an article on www.Mickeyxtreme.com that was from the Orlando Business Journal about renovations and rides being removed in the parks. Here is what it said.
“At a time when tourists are beating a path to Orlando’s vacation destinations, guests at Walt Disney World Resort are walking a maze of construction walls and missing a few well-loved landmarks as the place where dreams come true makes some of its own plans a reality. Projects range from high-profile havens of heavy equipment like the massive Disney Springs renovation, to quietly progressing guest area upgrades like the Tomorrowland renovations at Magic Kingdom. And then there’s Pandora: The Land of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom which, since its groundbreaking ceremony, has had few updates and is barely visible from any end of the park. Seriously, this site is as hard to find as a Na’vi, and not just because they’re a fictional species. When an already famous destination makes a few improvements, it attracts attention. New attractions and a better guest experience mean longtime fans will have even more reason to return. And those who have never been will want to make the trip. Multiply all that by Disney’s penchant for making everything bigger and better, and you have a major impact on the tourism economy. Although there’s never a good time to encroach upon a guest area, Disney seems to have several irons in the fire during the height of the economically vital summer tourist season. And while the projects are a necessary inconvenience, guests are not always so understanding when it comes to compromising their planned and paid-for vacation itinerary. The Disney Springs area is enjoying steady business, but traffic and parking will only become more congested as the site expands and road construction progresses. The removal of plants and the water feature from the Polynesian Resort lobby drew more than a few disappointed guest comments, both in person and on social media. And remember those Tomorrowland renovations I mentioned? They’ve resulted in the temporary closing of the PeopleMover and the temporary removal of the Astro Orbiter — yes, the entire ride is gone. Comments in the crowd ranged from impatient to priceless. “We paid to see the whole park, not bits and pieces,” said one guest. One young park-goer had the prize-winning quote, “Are they gonna replace it with the Millennium Falcon?” And — far be it from me to pass up a Star Wars sequitur — let’s not forget the social media sweetheart of Disney construction projects, Star Wars Land. Talk has been especially feverish about this project with the next Star Wars film currently in production. And with so many alleged sources and insiders saying it will happen, it’s only a matter of time before the rumor mill turns the work over to an actual construction crew. At least, that’s what we all hope. For now, join me on a journey to all of Walt Disney World Resort’s current construction projects. No FastPass necessary, but please watch your hands and arms. Especially if your laptop is resting on top of your lap.”
It looks like it was a good year for me to spend time at Disneyland instead of Disney World. I don’t miss the humidity either.
Photo of Astro Orbiters from Allears.net
4th of July
The days surrounding this year’s 4th of July were interesting. For many years now the beach at the Polynesian on and around the 4th of July have been a hot topic. It used to be somewhat of a secret that it was the best place to view fireworks. Then some jerk came along and made a web site about the Polynesian and told everyone it was even better than being in the Magic Kingdom. Then that jerk had to stop going on the 4th because people would literally stand on the patio of his room blocking the view for him and his family. Well we all know it got out of hand. It has also been a big thing for locals. Many even book rooms to be there and view the fireworks. I can’t say I blame them and even they were doing this even back when it was not a disaster so my guess is the problem was being caused by something other than locals. One contributing factor is that Disney staff at most resorts, on the reservation lines and maybe even some at the Polynesian are telling guests that they should go enjoy the fireworks from the beach after dinner or returning from the park. You know I am always honest with my opinion and I will not fault you for having a different opinion so here it goes. My feelings agree with what the official policy has been for as long as I have known the Polynesian and that is the beach and pool area is for Polynesian Resort guests only. Yes I have read the debates and the criticisms that this opinion is elitist and selfish but I have this opinion even based on the fact that sometimes when I go to Walt Disney World I don’t stay at the Polynesian and when I don’t stay there I don’t park there or take up a table at the pool or lounge on a hammock or chair on the beach. I have ordered a drink and sat at the Barefoot Bar but there were 5 open chairs and if someone said I had to leave if I did not have resort ID I would get up and go with no questions asked. So that is where I stand. I don’t feel entitled to use private property that I did not pay to use. I won’t debate it here because you don’t have a chance to respond so it would not be much of a debate.
Every year they consider new ways of enforcing the closed resort policy on big holidays like the 4th of July. Even on non-holidays they have checked ID at the pool and even issues wrist bands from time to time. Past 4th of July’s they checked our ID getting on the resort monorail from the Magic Kingdom and again exiting the back of the Great Ceremonial House and again on the beach. Obviously this was not going to keep all 
non-resort guests from getting to the beach. This year they had a little help from construction fences. They also had the help of portable scanners or as they call it the “Sled”. This allows them to go around and scan people. Reports from the 4th were of people being scanned at the pool from time to time and on the beach and even exiting the Great Ceremonial House. Also 100% of the people going into the club level building “Hawaii” were scanned so that you did not have “tailgaters” or people walking in behind groups that had a key to open the doors. They also roped off a section of the beach and put chairs for club level guests to use so they could view and not have to fight the crowds. Extra security was called in that day to deal with the crowds. This will possibly be the last year they will have to worry about this kind of security because we know for sure a gate is going up at the pool when it is completed, we just don’t know 100% yet how far the fence line will enclose. Some info and my own guessing says the 
beach will be on the other side of this gate also. Personally I don’t see them having the fence run between the zero entry of the pool and the beach. No one is going to want to open a gate to go from the beach to the pool and it would make it easier for them to enforce the policy of no non-resort guests on the beach. I guess we will know soon enough. Since I only visit the Barefoot bar and don’t go in the pool or hang out in a hammock if I am staying at a different resort, then I won’t be affected. One side of the bar will be accessible from outside the fence I am told. As I mentioned before, things like the movies on the beach and the campfire are stated as available to all Disney resort guests so that is being moved to a new area that is not on the other side of the gated area. It will be just outside the back of the Great Ceremonial House.
A fun addition is saw during the holiday was a specialty drink called the Uncle Slam. It looked like a fun way to celebrate the 4th of July. These drinks were limited to how ever many of the cups they had. The best part is you 
got to keep the cup. I never did find out how much they were charging for these things but I am sure one swipe of your Magic Band and you could buy a round of drinks for your friends. Also they tried out serving Shave Ice at the Kona Coffee Bar for the first time and it seems this will be offered for a while if it is popular enough. The reports are that it is very good and they should keep it. My thoughts were that it should be down near the pool and not all the way up at the coffee bar but I hope they keep it.
Report on Cast Members
I want to give special attention to the staff at the Polynesian. With all that is going on at the resort I know how frustrating it has been for them dealing with construction themselves, schedules that they find out about late or last minute and angry guests who were caught by surprise at the state of the resort. Most of the reports I am getting from guests is how the staff (especially the club level staff) has gone above and beyond to make their stay better in spite of the construction issues. This is great to hear and will definitely make a difference to those staying there under less than perfect conditions. The best thing you can do for the staff other than having a good attitude yourself is to remember their name and write to the Polynesian, recognizing their contributions. It does make a difference to the management when they hear a specific person did a great job.
