Disney's Polynesian Villas and Bungalows Review
Disney's Polynesian Villas and Bungalows Full Review
Full Review of Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows 2022
In February 2022 (still during COVID mask requirements and distancing) we stayed in the Villas and Bungalows section at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. We chose this option for a little extra space and proximity to the parks during our stay. We absolutely LOOOOOVED this resort. In this review, you’ll find our personal review with a breakdown of each section of the resort. It’s a long one so be prepared!
1. Room
I’ve always wanted to stay at the Polynesian so we splurged for our first stay as a family of 4 … and I DO NOT regret it. We secured a Deluxe Studio Room in the Tokelau building. There was elevator access to our floor and everything was very quiet where we were. The hallways were carpeted so I’m assuming that this helped keep things quite quiet. The room was larger than I expected! There were 2 bathrooms, a kitchenette with a fridge, microwave and utensils! We used the second bathroom as a makeshift bedroom for our 1-year-old and his crib. There were 3 beds available in the main room, one was a Murphy bed, the other was a small twin bed that folded down under the television area, and the final one was the main queen. Our balcony was shaded and quiet, and the dining area was great for quick breakfasts. We had loads of storage… under the bed, a closet, drawers in the bathrooms, drawers next to the bed, and a giant chest that you could fill up with whatever you needed. We used the chest as a place to put our kids items and also utilized it as a coffee table. The front entrance to our room had a great big mirror and was big enough to fit our double stroller without having to collapse it. The beds were so comfy! Our shower was perfectly hot and we didn’t even have to bring toiletries because they supplied them within the bathroom.
2. Pool
The pool areas were incredible! We loved the small area for kids to play in and the proximity to Captain Cook’s Restaurant. But our main place was the Lava Pool with the WILD waterslide. It also had a pool bar right next to it with loads of chairs, pool towels, a hot tub with an infinity edge, and a gate that you need your magic band or room key to get in with. The temperature was great to cool down but warm enough to stay in during February weather in Florida. We’re from the Northeast so it was definitely swimming weather for us.
3. Check-In
Check-in was easy as we were met by someone right outside. We used the mobile app check-in to let them know our arrival time. They confirmed everything with an iPad out front that we would get a notification once our room was ready and it would activate our Magic Bands. We were given Lei’s and turned over our large luggage items. We took our backpacks with us to go to the pool, grab some food, walk around and explore. Quite a bit of time went by and I thought I would go ahead and ask the front desk if our room was done or if they had an update on timing because our little guy was getting tired. The front desk said that our room was actually ready, I wasn’t notified, so maybe it was just a glitch in the system. The cast member updated my magic band with our room number and had our items taken up to the room. We also had groceries delivered. The bell service was quick and sooooo kind!
4. Food
I’m keeping food to just the Polynesian as we did eat elsewhere throughout the parks. The food here was incredible!!! I loved the Meatballs and rice at Captain Cooks. I also enjoyed that you could mobile order your food through the app and then be notified when it was ready. Perfect for not having to leave the pool area. It did get kind of redundant after awhile, so we tried a few other places for dinner, and even used Uber eats for pizza one night. We also had groceries delivered - because our little guy was still on formula at the time - and we needed it delivered as well as some other snacks that were toddler friendly for the parks and not just cookies, ice-cream and pretzels hahaha.
5. Activities
We loved the nighttime activities on the lawn near the pool at night. They had a hula hoop night, glow sticks, a dance party, and some other experiences. The activities department was energetic, happy and kind. There was also a s’mores party by the beach every few days. The one day we weren’t in the parks we went and grabbed some marshmallows to roast. You get the marshmallows for free but have to pay if you’d like chocolate and graham crackers. You can always bring your own, but they package everything small enough where you can get enough for just one s’more per person.
Yes I am wearing bathing suit bottoms hahaha
6. Proximity to Parks
We booked this hotel mainly for it’s proximity to Magic Kingdom and being on the monorail loop. We didn’t realize how close it was to the transportation and ticket center so that was a major plus! You can just walk one of the trails from the Poly to get to the buses or monorail. Surprisingly, we didn’t head to Magic Kingdom as often as we thought but it was still great to be able to get back to our hotel quickly.
7. Transportation Services
The monorail was amazing. I’ll just say it’s perfect being able to grab a coffee in the morning and jump right on, keep your stroller fully open with kids in it, and not have to go through security once you get to the park since you’ve already been checked at the Poly. We used the boat service one day and it took way too long - we still had to take a bus on top of that. Our son really wanted to ride the boat so we did (luckily we weren’t in a hurry that day) but if you’re in a hurry don’t use the boats hahaha. We did not use the Skyliner as it wasn’t near us for any reason to use it. The buses were also fast and efficient. In the event that we needed to get to places MUCH faster we utilized Uber since we had such little kiddos with us. If you’re unaware, Uber offers UberX with Car seats as an option in most cities. It’s a great thing for little ones! And for adults who do not want to lug their car seat all over creation. It’s perfect if you’re trying to get to a dinner reservation fast!
8. Staff
The staff was always pleasant and said hello whenever you walked by. They were always willing to help no matter what. I have ZERO complaints about the staff.
9. Cleaning Service
I believe that due to COVID cleaning services were either suspended or limited. We did get towel service but it would have been nice to have one day where they vacuumed or made up our beds. Having small children in a room for that long with snacks… there will be crumbs. Even if we had something like a broom and dustpan in the room, I could have at least used that but I was a little disappointed in this area. I also think that because of us staying in the DVC area they don’t clean often either. The cleaning staff was wonderful though! Always smiling :)
10. Laundry
The laundry rooms are great! Though you will need to head down early and check and see if anything is available. The machines are free. Yes I said FREEEEEE! So if you’re hanging back at the hotel for the day you could pop in some laundry so you’re not dragging wet stinky sweaty clothes home with you hahaha. The only thing you have to pay for is detergent. Or you can always bring your own travel packs. I think it only cost me about $1 to pay for soap and I did 2 loads of laundry. We stayed at the pool all day and napped that day so it was perfect timing to get it done. The rooms also are equipped with laundry baskets so you don’t have to wheel your luggage down you can just use a basket from the rooms.
11. Perks
The perks of staying on site were great. We were able to utilize the Genie + service to make reservations in the parks for our lightning lane at 7am before any one with a general ticket could. We also had extra magic hours in the morning. because we were Deluxe Resort guests we could stay extra hours at night (we didn’t of course because our guys were so small) but it’s great! We also were able to get back to the hotel in time to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the beach. We all just sat in the sand or on chairs relaxing in our jammies and then once the fireworks were over we would head back to our room and go to bed :) It was great not having to navigate the park closing, crowds, or transportation crowds after the fireworks ended.
Overall
This was an incredible resort. I would totally spend more time here the next time we travel and possibly less time in the parks. I loved the closeness to everything, the staff really made it memorable, the rooms were so great, the food was fantastic, the pool was my favorite ,the drinks were strong if you got an alcoholic beverage, and really just everything was magical. It was fantastic and I would stay here over and over again!
All in all, we truly enjoyed our 1st stay as a family of 4 at the Walt Disney World Resort. I’m so glad I was able to experience this with my boys. We made so many great memories that I’ll hold on to forever. I’ve also been able to take this experience and relay it back to you all! So if you have any questions at all let me know!