My family has been lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World many times over the years. Now that my daughters are teenagers, each trip seems so special and I am grateful for all of the magical memories we have made. This year, we decided to go all out and try a resort that is new to us: Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. To make it even more magical, we splurged to a Club Level room.
The Poly, as it is affectionately called by Disney fans, is one of three 'original' resorts at Walt Disney World and is located in the Magic Kingdom resort area. Transportation is by monorail, boat or bus. The resort features two sit down dining locations, two lounges, a dinner show luau called Spirit of Aloha plus a coffee /sushi bar. There are also two shopping locations.
The feature pool has a volcano theme and the slide goes right through the middle. In addition to the volcano pool, guests can play on a multi-level sprayground and guests can also relax at a quiet pool.
Club level rooms are located in the Hawaii building, which is between the two pools and centrally located with easy access to the Great Ceremonial House for food, shopping and the monorail to Magic Kingdom and the boat launch to Magic Kingdom. We could walk to the bus stop in about 3 minutes or to the Ticket & Transportation Center in about 7 minutes. Here's a photo looking back at the TTC from the path to the resort. It's not a bad walk and you can pick up the monorail to EPCOT from the TTC.
We used all forms of transportation during our stay and found it to be a very convenient location. Our bus to Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs and Hollywood Studios also stopped at the Grand Floridian resort. But the trip was still quick and we never had to stand on the bus.
Deluxe resorts have the largest rooms at Walt Disney World and that is something we appreciate with our adult-sized children. Having space to spread out makes us all more comfortable. Our eldest daughter slept on the day bed and our younger one had a queen size bed to herself. There was also a comfortable chair with an ottoman and a desk. The rooms felt updated and we were very comfortable during our stay.
We had six drawers and two closets that lit up. Plenty of space for our family of four to unpack. The view from our room was of the quiet pool.
The club level lounge: the King Kamehameha Club, was terrific! We loved having the space just down the hall to grab coffee or make espresso, refill our water bottles and enjoy some of the special POG juice (Passionfruit, Orange, Guava). In the morning they offer a continental breakfast, through the middle of the day are beverages and snacks, in the evening were appetizers and small plates plus wine, beer and a special punch, and they end the evening with desserts and cordials. We were able to watch the Happily Ever After fireworks from the lounge with the music piped in, which was really nice.
This isn't enough food to replace meals, but it was a nice touch and we spent a lot less on snacks and drinks than we normally would have. The staff was excellent as well. Overall, we very much enjoyed the Club Level lounge and I highly recommend it if it fits your budget.
We enjoyed getting Dole Whip swirl at the Polynesian as well!
Here is the Kona Island dining location. In the morning, you can get coffee and pastries right before you hop the monorail. In the afternoon and evening, they offer sushi made on site.
Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. The location and rooms cannot be beat, especially if you plan to spend a lot of time at Magic Kingdom. With the pool and splash ground, plus the restaurants, you could easily spend a day or two just at the resort. The Club Level lounge was a splurge, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and I recommend it if it fits your budget.
Mary Graham is a Vacation Specialist with Coasters & Castles Travel. She visits Walt Disney World often and has personal experience with over half of the resorts. If you're planning a vacation, she would love to help you!! Contact her at mary@tripsbymary.com.
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