Disney's Polynesian Village Resort is one of the high-end places to stay on property at Walt Disney World, just outside of Orlando. The resort is near the Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World's analogue of Disneyland), and is situated on the Seven Seas Lagoon. It opened on October 1, 1971, the same day Walt Disney World opened. Between 1985 and 2015, it was called simply "Disney's Polynesian Resort."
The hotel is a sprawling complex, with 11 "longhouse" buildings named for Polynesian islands such as Rarotonga, Tahiti, Hawaii and Rapa Nui. Each building is two or three stories tall, and houses dozens of guest rooms; in all, the resort has 847 rooms. The heart of the hotel is the Great Ceremonial House, a massive two-level building that holds the hotel's reception desk, several stores and cafes, and 'Ohana restaurant.
'Ohana restaurant, and its adjacent Tambu Lounge, are on the upper level of the Great Ceremonial House. The restaurant is an all-you-can-eat affair, with great spears of meats brought around to your table for you to choose from regularly, and a pu-pu platter brought to your table to kick things off. There are activities for children, and it can get pretty loud. Tropical drinks are available, including one served in a pineapple, and a Tropical Itch, which comes with a backscratcher.
The hotel's pool area is small, but a looming volcano with built-in water slide gives it some oomph. The grounds are landscaped with tropical plants and many tikis, giving it a very lush feel. Many tikis are copies of those found at the
Enchanted Tiki Room
classic
The Enchanted Tiki Room
Anaheim, CA
Themed Attraction
9.8
's pre-show lanai in Anaheim, including Pele, Ngendi, Rongo, and even Uti. (Orlando's
Enchanted Tiki Room
classic
The Enchanted Tiki Room
Orlando, FL
Themed Attraction
9.4
has a few of these tikis around, but they are not part of the pre-show). There is a dinner-show luau performed regularly at the resort, called the Spirit of Aloha Show.
The monorail to the Magic Kingdom stops at the Polynesian Resort.
The hotel was quite nice, but a little too streamlined and Seventies for my preference. I'm not a fan of the logo character... It just looks too transparently cartoonish. Roaming the grounds was pretty but not as much as, say, the Wilderness Lodge. Roasting marshmallows on the beach was a quaint little diversion. Receiving leis in the lobby was a nice touch. Drinks in the Tambu were good, and deceptively nearly put us under the table before we could get to Spirit of Aloha.
Sobered up by a brisk walk around the resort, we got our table for the show. The endless food arriving at our "category 1" front-row table was fantastic. The pineapple-coconut bread and warm pineapple bread pudding dessert were to die for. The Spirit of Aloha luau show was mixed. A contrived, Disneyfied storyline frames the actual Polynesian dancing, and I could have done with less of it. The dances interspersed traditional stories would have been much preferred. But I get that it IS Disney, so a contrived, Disneyfied storyline is to be expected.
If we end up at WDW again, I would certainly be willing to do Spirit of Aloha again. Between the food and the dancing it was still a good time. With Trader Sam's, another evening at the Polynesian becomes that much more appealing.