Recently my mom, sister and I took a girl’s trip to Disneyworld. I know, there might be wilder places to hang out on a girl’s trip, but I’m a Disney girl through and through, in large part due to the fact that growing up we lived next to Disneyland and my mom took my sister and I all the time (we were annual passholders). But since we lived on the West Coast, my mom hadn’t been to Disneyworld in nearly 40 years and my sister had never been. I knew I had to remedy that.
Since Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival is pretty much my favorite Disney event and I know both my mom and sister love to eat and drink just as much as I do, I knew it was perfect for us. And, since my mom also likes to travel in style, I figured a stay at the Polynesian was in order.
Although I’d admired it from afar for decades, my only glimpses of it had been from the monorail, until this trip!
First off, I LOVE that the rooms are all interior. Due to my mom and sister having some mobility issues, I asked that our room be first floor and near the transportation. We walked to the back entrance of the main building, took a right just before we reached the doors, walked outside for about two minutes and right into our building. So, on the one day it was raining, we barely got wet.
Our room was ready just a little after 3 pm and it was LOVELY! I’ve stayed at a couple different Value Resorts (All-Star Music and All-Star Sports), and a Moderate Resort (Port Orleans French Quarter), but this was my first taste of a Deluxe Resort. And boy could I get used to it! After my last trip to All-Star Music, this room seemed positively palatial! There were two comfy queen-sized beds with cute pillows that had greetings in English and Hawaiian. Everything was in earth colors, which really kept with the island theming.
In addition to our two beds, we also had a lounge chair in our room for relaxing and a day bed which was made up as a couch during the day and then served as a bed at night. Although there were only three of us and we could have easily fit in the two queens, I liked having the third bed so that we each got our own bed. I took the day bed the first night and found it surprisingly comfy. I was worried it might be like sleeping on the old fold out couch at my dad’s house, with a bar in the middle of my back, but it was great. My sister traded with me for the remaining nights because she thought the queen beds were too hard. She has a really sensitive back though. I had no problem with the beds. The only thing that kept me up a bit was some snoring in the room.
I loved that our room also had a little private patio. Well, as private as a patio in a hotel with over 850 rooms can have. I say private because there were little partitions separating our patio from the one next to us. Our patio had two comfy chairs and a little round table so that we could sit and enjoy the view. Although it was a bit hot to sit out there during the day, I did make sure to sip some tea (which I made in our in-room coffee maker) before we headed out for a day of fun at Epcot. Our room also had a view of the monorail, which was fun, but didn’t add any noise at all. There were also walking paths, but again, we couldn’t hear anyone out on them.
Did I mention our room had a coffee pot with selections of both tea and coffee? Since I 
usually have at least two travel mugs of tea every day back home, this was perfect for me. I could drink one in the room and then head to Capt. Cook’s food court to fill my souvenir mug with tea before we left our resort. Yeah, I know hot tea in 88 degree weather doesn’t make much sense, but I am a creature of habit. our room also had a fridge underneath the coffee pot area, which was next to a rather nice closet (with actual doors). My one wish was that Disney resort rooms had microwaves.
One of my favorite aspects of the hotel was the bathroom. It was lovely! My last Disney stay was at All-Star Music and while I do understand that Value resort means budget, this luxury was such a change! First off, there were two sinks and so much counter space! We could all fit all of our assorted toiletries on the counter and they could stay there for our entire trip! We also got a better class of “free” shampoos and soaps. No shampoo/conditioner combos for us. We had shampoo, conditioner, lotion and shower gel. We also had mouthwash, soap, a shower cap and a little kit with cotton swabs. And there were so many towels for us!
Although the shower/bathtub itself wasn’t any bigger (at least I don’t think it was), there was so much space to move around in the bathroom that it seemed bigger. In the Value resorts, the bathroom is divided. The shower/tub and toilet are in one room, which is positively tiny, and the sink is just outside it in an area that is also the closet. This area does not have a separate door, just a curtain you can draw across it. Considering how small the actual bathroom is, it’s hard to get dressed in it, so all this space let me spread out and feel like I could take my time.
Plus, the bathroom had this totally fun design to it. And did I mention all of the towels?
The room also has a very nice desk (with a pull out table) and a dresser with plenty of counter space. And of course, like all hotel rooms, there was a TV. Not that we watched it. There were also a TON of USB ports for plugging in our various electronic devices. It may be a bit hard to see, but on the back of the dresser, those are standard plug ins (four) as well as USB ports (also four). Plus there were outlets next to the two queen beds. We were charging phones and back up batteries for phones, so it was important we were all charged up and ready to go!
I also love that this hotel is on the monorail line, which meant it was very easy for us to get to Epcot. While I am glad Disney offers buses to all of their resorts, parks and other attractions, the wait for those buses and the lack of space on them is an issue. But in all the times we got on the monorail, we always got seats (I would have given mine up, but my mom and sister needed them). Granted, if you want to go to Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom or Disney Springs, the buses are the only hotel provided transportation.
Although I have honestly enjoyed all of the Disney resorts I have stayed at, as far as the rooms go, this one is 100% my favorite.
beetqueen 