WDW Polynesian Village Day 4

Today we spent the entire day at Animal Kingdom, including dinner at Sanaa, the restaurant at the Kidani Village (DVC) section of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I would highly recommend this place to anybody! We went there mainly for my mother-in-law Phyllis (yes she comes with us to WDW and she’s wonderful!), so she could watch giraffes out the window as we dined. Phyllis loves giraffes. The food was African-Indian fusion, and anybody who knows me knows I hate Indian food, but I was feeling adventurous tonight and tried some new things, and I was pleasantly surprised. The food at Sanaa was fantastic! We will be back.

Anyway, I bring up Kidani Village as an example of a Disney DVC resort done right. They were so true to the Animal Kingdom theme that it really feels like an extension of the park. I’m hopeful the new DVC sections of the Polynesian Village will build upon the legacy of this wonderful resort. I’m cautiously optimistic after seeing the plans for the renovations here at the Polynesian.

Some of those plans are on display on the temporary walls in the Great Ceremonial House. This is a smart use of the otherwise unsightly space created by these walls. Since they block your view of what’s being destroyed from the past, they might as well show you what their removal will reveal in the future. In the case of the central area of the GCH, I like what I see. The grand old waterfall is being replaced by a bright and airy new courtyard, with the Polynesian Village logo rendered as a 3D sculpture prominently featured in the design. I think that will look really cool, and will be a nice tribute to the original logo.

The other renovation I’m excited about is the addition of Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. This new bar and seating area is going in the northwest corner of the GCH, where the old arcade used to be. You can’t see any of the construction going on, as the door leading out of the west side of the GCH is temporarily closed and the new seating area is behind the outdoor construction fencing. This area feels claustrophobic as you walk through it now, but it should look amazing once it’s finished next Spring. I’ve been to the Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at Disneyland, and if our version here turns out even half as well, we’re in for a treat!

Tomorrow we return to Ohana for breakfast with Stitch, one of my kids’ highlights of our stay. I will also try to make it to the Tambu Lounge and blog from there tomorrow night. Until then, aloha!

WDW Polynesian Village Day 3

This morning I got up early, grabbed some coffee in my refillable mug at Captain Cook’s, and decided to take a walk around the East side of the resort. As I was filling up my coffee, I noticed the cool new art hanging in the dining area, representing each of the Polynesian countries that have longhouses named after them. The prints were so colorful, I was inspired to take a picture of each one. Here’s my favorite, Fiji:

My first destination was Tangaroa Terrace, where my buddy Tikiman Steve asked me to snap some pictures of the Tiki masks on the outside walls. The only change to the place was the children’s play area, which they’ve renamed Club Disney. Next I walked over to the Quiet Pool, which was as quiet as ever, especially since it was 7:30am and still closed:

My final destination was the beach, where I wanted to get a good look at the new bungalows they’re building over the water. In the past, we would walk from Rapa Nui, past Tahiti, along the east side of the Quiet Pool to get to the beach. Unfortunately, since Rapa Nui, Tahiti and Tokelau are all closed and behind construction fencing, the only access to the beach is now by walking around Hawaii to the west end of that longhouse and turning north, where the fenced-off Volcano Pool sits. It felt like walking through a tunnel to get there, but it was quite a sight when I finally reached the beach.

The now quite narrow beach area still has sand and beach chairs to hang out in, and a spiffy new fire pit which I bet is pretty cool at night. The biggest new construction visible at the Polynesian are the DVC bungalows rising over the water just out from the beach. They look stunning! It reminds me of pictures I’ve seen of houses on stilts in Tahiti or Bora Bora. Sadly, these bungalows will be for DVC members only and cost an arm and a leg to rent ($2,000 per night?),  but they will be a wonderful new addition to the Polynesian Village Resort experience. The first of many, I trust. Tomorrow I’ll explore some of the other enhancements coming to our beloved Polynesian. Until then, aloha!