40th celebration
So every year on October 1 the Polynesian does something for its birthday. Officially it opened on October 1 (actually beating the Contemporary) but officially its birthday is October 24 because that was the day of the opening ceremonies. Well this year the Polynesian turns 40. To celebrate the Polynesian is looking for some special people to attend. The sent out a list of two kinds of people they are looking for.
1. If you are or know of any cast member who has been here all 40 years, since the Polynesian has opened, please let me know.
2. If you know of any guests who have been coming back to the Polynesian on a fairly regular basis and was here at the opening or close to the opening of the Polynesian, please let me know.
If you fall into one of these categories, let me know and I will pass along your information.
Rumors
So a rumor was going around about a few things at the Polynesian. The rumor was that the Polynesian was going to close down next year to take down the buildings to rebuild them and remove asbestos. Also that maybe the new buildings would house DVC. From what I am told there are no plans or reason to take down the longhouse buildings. If you look at my history page you will see that in 2002 they gutted the rooms and I would have thought that all asbestos materials were removed then.
As far as DVC is concerned, it has been rumored for years but every person I talk to says that Disney determined that there is no room to expand the Polynesian and there are no plans to turn existing rooms into DVC.
The only thing I have heard is that the Great Ceremonial House is in need of work to the extent that it might have to be taken down. The details of this I will be keeping to myself until I get more facts. Right now it is just a lot of rumors going around.
Do I think at some point Disney will totally redesign the Polynesian to be more modern and more like the new resort in Hawaii, I believe that will happen at some point. The feeling around the resort is that something big is being planned but nothing is for sure. At this point I think you need to enjoy what is there and remember that nothing last forever.
East Pool construction
Well the East Pool did not open back up on its scheduled date and down not look even close to 
being done. The Polynesian has no estimated completion date or confirmation on what is being done. We will just have to wait and watch the progress. Photos to come tonight of what is going on thanks to Len Testa of the Unofficial Guide book and Touring Plans.com. I get the feeling by looking at the progress that the zero 
entry idea was thrown out. It looks like they are just filling in the deep end of the pool and some other maintenance. Maybe because there is no lifeguard at this pool they decided it was best to not have a deep end. I know the deep end was why many enjoyed this pool. Much of Tokelau’s west side is surrounded by walls from the construction and the side entrance is blocked. There are signs around directing the guests around the resort.
Some other work is going on around Rarotonga. Looks like some work on some pipes. Not sure if that has anything to do with the work going on at the Pool but it is possible it does. Most of the walls put up around Rarotonga are on the end near the GCH and Niue.
Aulani
Well I am going to be heading out to Oahu the beginning of May to tour the not quite finished Disney resort Aulani. I will be meeting with the person who has been helping out with planning for the 2012 group that is going through Magical Vacations. Lisa at Magical Vacations has been working hard on getting great rates and details for July of 2012. Many people at Tikifest expressed an interest in us all getting together and visiting the new resort when it opens and Lisa has the best rates available. We won’t be having a Tikifest style party but we will be getting together to do some fun island excursions like maybe a visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center, The Arizona Memorial or maybe Waimea Valley and Haleiwa. I will be checking out the resort and bringing back as much info as I can so stay tuned for the report.
See my February article for info on the Aulani 2012 group rates and gathering.
http://www.tikimanpages.com/tiki/news/183-party-ttime-and-guest-review
Hope to see you there and enjoy the real Hawaii.
