Quick visit to the Polynesian
The resort looked great and while the lobby was not busy (just normal levels) the pool area seemed a little more than average on how crowded it was.
Weather was partly cloudy and no rain. Humidity was not bad but after walking a few buildings I was starting to sweat.
Construction work on the stairways of Aotearoa was done and the building was open. Only work I saw was some guys installing a light in the stairway of the west end of the longhouse and that was all the work I saw going on at the whole resort. Every building smelled fresh and looked clean. Music could be heard throughout about 2/3 of the resort. I heard it in many of the longhouses, over near Aotearoa, the pool area, around Hawaii, over near Tahiti and Rapa Nui. Torches seemed to be working fine except between Fiji and the Luau but sometimes when they have been working in certain areas of the resort they shut off the gas to torches in that area. BouTiki had some nice new resort wear with some new graphics.
I was going to go and try the sushi bar but it did not open up until 5 PM so I went and met with Amanda who works in the IPO and has done a great job of taking care of the club level guests that are going to Tikifest. I know they will be in good hands. Hopefully we will see Amanda at Tikifest.
I walked around some more and checked out the laundry room and took some new photos for the pages. The quiet pool was being used more than I have ever seen but everyone looked to have plenty of room to relax.
Later I was going to be meeting up with Marilyn who retired but worked at the Polynesian since the 90s and we met her in the Hawaii longhouse in 2000.
I walked around and took some more photos before deciding to enjoy my time and relax at the Barefoot Bar and watch the activity of the Seven Seas Lagoon. I enjoyed some great Mai Tai’s and got to chat with Tim at the bar. He has been there 11 years so I am sure many of you have seen him. He always looks so serious but he has a great sense of humor and is a really nice guy. I even asked him if I could put his photo on the site and he gave me his best Isaac (from the Love Boat) pose.
I had a view issue to check on for Len (Unofficial Guide book and Touring Plans.com) before it got dark so we headed over to Tokelau. The Unofficial Guide book had written down some observations (or maybe even got them from some stuff I gave them) about the great lagoon views from the west side of Tokelau. For some of you who are not aware Tokelau sits perpendicular to the beach unlike other longhouses along the beach. These rooms are garden view rooms but you can look sideways and see the lagoon. Well some trees near the end of Tokelau have grown over the last few years and are starting to block the lagoon view from the rooms. A guest had written to Len and told him that his room in 3908 (well he actually said 3208 but from the description and longhouse we figure he meant 3908) had a group of trees blocking it. Well it seems that these trees did grow and block some of the view towards the lagoon. Now before anyone gets excited if they requested these rooms, they are still great views for a garden view, you will still see most of the fireworks and it is hit and miss on which rooms along there will be blocked so there are still rooms on that side that will see through, or over the trees. Unless I went to each room and looked I cannot tell you exact room numbers but from looking there are still many that will see some of the lagoon or some of the castle and fireworks but a few will now be blocked. If you have stayed in these rooms and have photos it would be helpful if you sent copies to me. We even yelled up to a guy on his balcony and asked if he could see the castle and he said no. I think he was in room 3910.
We headed over to Kona Café and ‘Ohana was just opening. I have never seen a line so long that did not have a fast pass. We were a little early but they seated us. We talked about all the things that have gone on lately with Disney and many of the long time people are glad they retired or moved on. Things have just changed and I won’t get into the details but lets hope they don’t lose focus on the guest. I will add that everyone I ran into was very friendly and helpful and the resort looks like it is in great shape.
Dinner at Kona was great. I also got a menu for the sushi and you can order it in Kona Café. I tried a sampler and we ordered one other roll to split. I have had great sushi here in California and in Maui and I would say that it was close to what I have had here but not quite as good as Maui. I would get it again for sure but next time I hope to sit at the sushi bar and watch the monorail.
I walked over to check out the Campfire and Movies at the Grand Floridian. It was actually closer to the Polynesian then the Grand since it was on the beach next to the Wedding Pavilion so it was a 2 minute walk from the Polynesian. It was 
not very crowded.
As a side note the club level guest use to always get a chocolate post card on their last day. They came out with a new one recently. Here is a photo.
Online Dining Reservations
Effective June 16, Guests may now book dining reservations at select locations via the Internet at www.disneyworld.com/dining. Guests may book select table service restaurants and dinner shows up to 90 days in advance and soon may book a limited number of special dining events, too. When making reservations online, Guests will need to provide the number of adults and children in the party as well as the ages of the children. Guests also should have credit card information available if the reservation they are booking requires pre-payment or a credit card guarantee. For party sizes of 10 or more, Guests should call (407) 939-7861 for reservations.
Guests may retrieve previously booked dining reservations via the online dining application by entering the reservation confirmation number and the phone number provided when the reservation was booked. Modifications to reservations must be made over the phone by calling (407) WDW-DINE. Cancellations may be made online as long as the reservation did not require a payment. If there is a payment applied, the online dining application will refer Guests to (407) WDW-DINE for cancellation.
Guests with a WDW resort reservation may book dining reservations 90 days prior to their check-in date for their entire stay (up to 10 days). Resort reservation number is required for accessing this feature.
