News Update (as of Sep. 26)
The Resort has been planning a celebration for a while now and originally I thought it would be on October 24th (the Polynesian’s official birthday). I was then told that often they do something on the 1st (the actual day it opened) and that this year the big celebration would be on the 1st. I had told some of you to go check it out if you were there but as of this morning I am told due to lack of communication and changing of plans the celebration will now be on October 24th.
Make sure to check out Lou Mongello’s 40 hour show on the 1st and 2nd.
Polynesian construction
Tonga was closed to be remodeled starting this month. Booking a suite was blocked for this work to be completed. Looks like it should be open back the weekend of September 24. The rooms are said to look amazing and totally redone with new furniture. Do you think that this is what the rooms in the rest of the resort will look like when they change again? Looks like there is no bed spread on the bed but look at the other additions to the King Kamehameha suite Master bedroom.
Some maintenance is being done to exterior cosmetic items at Tuvalu and Fiji as well as the Marina is getting new ropes.
Want to be part of the Tikiman site?
Over the years I have relied on people at Disney and who visit Disney to help me with photos and info. I also have been trying to include people that write to me with reports or comments and use those in my articles. I figured that other opinions are important and I am sure some of you are tired of my bad writing skills, listening to me tell you how great the Polynesian is or how expensive Disney is making everything. I do my best to give you a place to get up to date info or a good collection of the history of the Polynesian.
Now in my 11th year of this site I am considering bringing in someone else to help add stuff to the site. You don’t really need to know how to write the code for building a web site, you just need to have a passion for the Polynesian, be good with details and have something creative to add. I am also hoping that it is someone who lives near Walt Disney World so when I need something checked out or photos taken you can help me out with that. Maybe if you don’t want to be creative and write anything for the page you can just help me with the info and photos. You will be an official part of my unofficial pages. If you are interested in helping me with the site send an email to tikimanpages@gmail.com
This site was created for all who visit or dream of visiting the Polynesian and it has only survived with your help. This site is not really MY site it is OUR site.
Aulani
Well Aulani opened on August 29 but the Grand Opening was September 22. Sort of like the Polynesian opening on October 1 but its opening celebration was on October 24. I am still not allowed to show you my behind the scenes report from my visit in May unless you request a password from me to access it but I think I am going to post an edited version that you can see so you can get the information about next summer with my tips for traveling to Hawaii. We might have some surprises so keep checking back for more info and we hope to see you there next July.
Does the Polynesian look dated?
Well we all have read many times how dark or dated some think the Polynesian looks. I for one believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion and no one’s opinion is more important that another. My issue comes from people stating their opinion as fact and those who think the Polynesian is old, rundown and dated or looks “70’s” is purely opinion and not based on fact.
Here are the facts.
Other than the physical shape of the buildings and the walls in the rooms, nothing at the resort is left from the resorts opening in 1971. When it comes to the rooms there is nothing visible in the 
rooms that is even from the designs of the 80’s. There have been major room changes in every decade of the Polynesian’s existence. Those who think the design is still similar to what would have been seen in the 70’s has obviously never been inside a Polynesian room in the 70’s. Now in the 80’s the rooms were bright with white walls but I don’t see them as very 
representative of Polynesian culture. Not until they brought in experts from Hawaii to redesign the Polynesian did they get rid of the last of the 70’s look around the resort and in the rooms. Since that redesign in the early 90’s lasting until the late 90’s they fully 
redesigned the look of the rooms and lobby again. The only thing in the rooms remaining from the 90’s design is the bamboo chair rail that was darkened from the 90’s design. Everything else was gutted from the rooms. Nothing in the design has anything to do with 70’s (whatever that is supposed to mean) and even the furniture and carpets in 
the lobby are new and of an authentic Polynesian design. As far as being dark, well they went with a theme that is darker than you will find at the Grand Floridian or Beach Club but then should it look like a Grand Floridian room? Just like the Animal Kingdom Lodge, the design has darker woods. This is similar to what you can find in the new Hawaiian Resort Aulani and that was designed side by side with locals.
The Polynesian goes through constant rehab of areas and materials but that is not necessarily because it is 40 years old, it has more to do with the amount of traffic and abuse it gets. They work hard to replace and fix worn or damaged thing at the resort (like all Disney resorts). It’s ok to not like the Polynesian and how it looks but let’s have an accurate assessment of it and not just throw out descriptions that don’t fit the condition.
Guest comments
Chris sent me this quick comment about a visit in August.
“Just wanted to let you know that I was at the Polynesian on August
6th for one night and I thought it was spectacular. It was my first
visit in 15 years and I thought the room was great, it was clean
neat, looked in good shape, I had a bad hair dryer and called the
front desk and they bought me a new one up in 5 minutes. I enjoyed
my stay so much that I\’m going to try to book a week for next
August, the price of the rooms are the only downside.”
Checking in
The Polynesian is working harder to get you in your rooms quicker and so far seems to be working. They have a room assigner that monitors rooms that need to be cleaned for guests that are check in, separate from the housekeeping that does the rooms for guests that are currently there. They make sure that rooms that are assigned to people showing up are ready to go as early as possible. If not a clean room will be made available to the guest checking in. If there is a specific room you requested and it is not ready until later you can have the option of waiting for it to be ready or take the room that is ready.
For club level they have curbside Cast Members that will meet club guests at the entrance and if they have luggage they will be driven over to the Hawaii longhouse. If they have no luggage because it is being brought from another resort, being delivered by Magical Express your you travel light, you will be walked over to Hawaii by a Cast Member. If you are club level and do online check in, you will still be checking in over at the Hawaii longhouse so actually online check in for club level guests does not really do anything.
Monorail Schedule
With the change in monorail schedule people are wondering what will happen at the monorail resorts especially during the Halloween and Christmas party. On the nights of the party instead of the monorails stopping an hour after normal park hours they will run an hour after the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom (approx. 10:30 PM). For the Night of Joy the monorails will run until the Magic Kingdom park is cleared.
For monorail guests on any nights after the monorail stops they will continue to run the boats (including the resort motor launch) and there will be added bus service to the monorail resorts.
Disney site to visit
I found a site that was new to me and I am really enjoying the content. An ex-imagineer has created a site with great stuff about Disney past and present. There was even a great copy of the Polynesian’s Welcome packet from 1994, as well as some information about Aulani.
Live from the Polynesian
Next week I will be at the Polynesian so if you have questions or things you need me to check on, send me an email to tikimanpages@gmail.com and I will try and get them answered for you.
