Disneys Polynesian Village Resort - Hotels On Magic Kingdom Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, or simply the poly as it's often called, is themed with a very Polynesian feel to it, or at least it's based on all of the best things of Polynesia and Hawaii. The entire property is incredibly lush and tropical but it all comes at a price.

Rooms
The rooms here are typical of pretty much any Disney hotel these days, even if these are a tiny bit bigger in some cases. The buildings here are only three stories tall at most but not all rooms will have balconies (lanais) so check on that if you want one.

Rooms with garden or parking lot views are usually the cheapest option while those that face the beach and Magic Kingdom are likely to be the more expensive with suites being even pricier. They're all themed with a nice Polynesian theme which works really well to keep you in that island vibe.

You'll find all of the usual options like a flat screen TV, sofa that folds out into a bed, mini refrigerator, and so on. You'll also notice that the water here tends to smell pretty bad, even more so than other Disney resorts. It has a nasty sulfur smell, like much of this area in Florida, but always seems to stink the most here. It tastes equally as bad.

Club Level
The poly offers club level (aka concierge level) options on the rooms in the Hawaii building. There is a two story lounge in this building with excellent views of the beach and lake as well as the Magic Kingdom and the nightly fireworks can be seen from this lounge or many areas around here.

The lounge features various food items and snacks for breakfast and dinner service as well as drinks and cookies throughout the day. In the evening you'll find a variety of desserts, most of which lack flavor but pack in the sugar. None of the food here is intended to be a full meal replacement, but you can certainly eat enough to fill up when you consider how much you're eating everywhere else. Breakfast is good and usually saves time (and money) that you'd otherwise waste in a restaurant.

If club level rooms sell out they do tend to offer the same club level privileges to guests not staying in the Hawaii building but you'll lose some convenience as you'll have to leave one building and walk to the Hawaii building for your drinks and food.

It's usually an expensive upgrade for club level and it's not something you will ever make up for in terms of price paid for the upgrade. In fact, the club level upgrade is probably twice the cost of the food and drinks you'll be able to get out of it. It's more about convenience than anything else and for that it's an upgrade I usually take here. If you want to save money, don't upgrade, because once you do it's hard to live without club level on future trips.

Pool
There are two pools on property, one is known as the "quiet pool" and is a really boring oval bit of water that's rarely used unless somebody has an AFR in the main pool and shuts it down for an hour.

The other (main) pool is the "volcano pool" because it has a giant volcano in it along with a water slide that flows through the volcano which is a lot of fun. This pool is a zero entry pool so anyone can walk or roll right in. The Barefoot Pool Bar is located right next to this pool for all of your drinking and snacking needs.

What you won't find is a hot tub. Even when they refurbished this pool years ago nobody thought to add a hot tub which is pretty mind boggling to me. After a long day of walking a hot tub is a must at any hotel and I can't believe how badly Disney dropped the ball on this one.

Recreation
There is a beach here, but like all lakes in this area, you cannot swim in the water. Once you see and smell it you wouldn't want to anyhow, but there is a bacteria in many Florida lakes that can get into your eyes / nose / mouth and cause some serious damage so stay out of the damn lakes as they say. Kids may enjoy playing in the sand and everyone can enjoy just relaxing in a hammock for a while.

You'll also find a marina where you can rent various types of boats, with the small boats being the most popular. I highly recommend getting a boat and cruising around the lake for 30 minutes. It's tons of fun. And here's a tip: Stick to one person per boat unless it's a small child that must ride with you. Two people will really slow the boat down.

Kids will love the onsite kids club where they can play game, make crafts, watch movies, and even have dinner all while the parents go out and play or have a nice dinner that doesn't involve a kids meal. It's not cheap, but well worth the splurge at least once on your trip. Kids must be 3 to 12 years of age and fully potty trained.

Dining & Shopping
You can grab drinks and snacks by the pool at the Barefoot Pool Bar or counter service food at Captain Cook's and Kona Island.

Table service options include 'Ohana, Kona Cafe, or Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. If you just want to grab a drink and be away from the pool head over to the Tambu Lounge.

As for shopping, there are a few onsite shops to check out with a lot of the same Disney merchandise you'll see all over the place.

Transportation
One of the best features of the Polynesian Village Resort is the fact that it's both on the Magic Kingdom monorail line as well as a short walk to the Ticket And Transportation Center which offers a monorail to Epcot. No other resort has this level of monorail convenience.

When you're ready to go to the Magic Kingdom you'll just walk to the Great Ceremonial House (lobby) and right onto the monorail. You could also take a boat from the dock out by the pool area.

For Epcot, you have two choices. Either hop on the same monorail but rather than getting off at the Magic Kingdom, you'll ride it to the Ticket And Transportation Center. From there you walk off that monorail and walk onto the Epcot monorail. Or, you can simply walk to the Ticket And Transportation Center which is a block or two away and takes about 5-10 minutes on foot.

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is located right next to the Polynesian and connected via a walking path and a five minute walk. For everything else you'll take a bus.

Conclusion
It's a beautiful hotel and who doesn't love a tropical vibe? They have great amenities and the best transportation options of any hotel in The World. Period. Of course, it all comes at a ridiculously high price. At the same time, this hotel packs in crowds and you can't help but feel like cattle. Too many people, not enough facilities and recreations areas as items.

Construction Note
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort is currently undergoing some construction that's expected to last through 2015. We're hearing a lot of complaints from people about the noise as well as the closure of the (main) volcano pool so you may want to think twice about staying here right now.

The rumors we're hearing say that the new pool will finally have a hot tub, but we'll believe it only when we dip ourselves into some hot and bubbly water. Other new additions include a new lobby area as well as Disney Vacation Club "over the water" houses. These should be pretty neat but if you've ever seen or smelled the lake water here you'll have to wonder if this is a good idea or not. Bay Lake is not quite the same as the clear ocean waters of Tahiti.

• Building: Hotel	• Building: Lanai / Balcony	• Building: Low Rise	• Property: Arcade	• Property: Club Level
• Property: Dining On Site	• Property: Has Shows / Entertainment	• Property: Laundry On Site	• Property: No Resort Fees	• Property: Stores On Site
• Room: Coffee Maker	• Room: Hair Dryer	• Room: Mini Fridge	• Room: Room Service	• Room: Safe
• Recreation: Beach	• Recreation: Bike Rentals	• Recreation: Kids Club	• Recreation: Marina / Boats	• Recreation: Pool
• Recreation: Water Slides	• Internet: Free In Room	• Parking: Paid Self Park	• Parking: Paid Valet	• Disney: Boat Transportation
• Disney: Bus Transportation	• Disney: Deluxe Hotel	• Disney: Monorail Transportation