Second year in a row, the Disney Polynesian Resort didn't disappoint. We went September 2007 and knew we'd be back, and sure enough we went again September 2008. It actually feels like home to us now, because it's so laid back and everything is "right there". It's clean, the grounds are beautiful, and the location within the Disney grounds is ideal. For young children who want to see the Magic Kingdom, the monorail service at the resort can't be beat. If you want to see other attractions like Epcot or Animal Kingdom that aren't connected to that monorail, free bus service is available right outside the Magic Kingdom entrance to just about anywhere. Take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom entrance and catch a bus. No car, no fuss. Some highlights of our stay at the Poly: The Poly has docks out back over Seven Seas Lagoon where you can see a cool "parade of lights" every night, you can also see the fireworks over Disney Castle from those same docks every night, as well as catch a boat to the Magic Kingdom if you don't feel like taking the monorail. The Spirit of Aloha show was a-w-e-s-o-m-e, some of the best dancers I ever saw in my life. You must see this show. Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch, Mickey and Pluto is also a must. Hint: Do this breakfast on the day of departure, so when you kill half the morning eating breakfast, you don't miss any park time. The fabulous pool is zero entry, very big and has a neat volcano slide. Captain Cooks is awesome "fast food", don't listen to those "foodies" who complain about the food, it's great. And cheap. And fast. A truly great stay, definitely a solid four-star resort. Look, if you want a five-star Ritz-Carlton experience, why are you coming to Disney World? The Poly is by far the best resort Disney has, in my opinion. If you are going to the Magic Kingdom, stay at the Poly. Period. (Unless you're a cranky, stiff, upper-crust type - then you can stay at the "stiffer" Grand Floridian and pay more for no advantage.)

I have traveled to Walt Disney World countless times since I was very young, and have always stayed with Disney. Until this trip, I have never stayed at any of the Magic Kingdom resorts; they are among the most popular and expensive. My sister is a Cast Member, and was able to get my family a deeply discounted rate on a room at the Polynesian for one night. We had already booked a room at Port Orleans for our entire stay, but since this would be the first time staying at a Magic Kingdom Resort, we could not pass it up.

The Polynesian is a beautiful resort; despite being the very first hotel of Disney World, it does not show its age one bit. When you walk up to the lobby, you can smell the aroma of a polynesian firepit, and there is a beautiful atrium with tropical plants and waterfalls. I have seen the lobby several times during my travels to WDW, but this time, it was truly enticing!

Check-in was interesting; we were given our room keys, a resort information portfolio, and colorful leis! I thought that was a nice touch, as it made you feel welcome to this tropical paradise. Our room was not ready until about 2:00, so we had lunch at Kona Cafe. The food is very good; a combination of American, Asian, and Polynesian offerings are on the menu.

Our room was located in the Rapa Noi building. Although considered to be the farthest from the Great Ceremonial House (lobby), this was for the better as it was very quiet and peaceful. The rooms are extremely large, able to accomodate up to 5 big people!! There were only 4 of us, so the room was more than large enough. The beds and linens were heavenly comfortable; I got my best sleep in years! There was also a patio overlooking the tropical gardens.

The best aspect of the Polynesian is being able to get to the Magic Kingdom in just 5 minutes on the monorail. It made for a nice return from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party that night, and it was never crowded.

The ambience of this resort is exceptionally great. There are lighted Tiki fire torches along the walkways at night, and the palm trees and scenery make you forget about daily life and enjoy yourself.

Overall, this is now my favorite resort at WDW, and probably my most favorite hotel of all time. I want to return here for a longer stay!! You will not be disappointed with the Polynesian--It truly is paradise!!

I stayed with high school friend and my 2 nieces for a birthday/holiday celebration for all. The things I remember were that we got upgraded the 1st night due to an overbooking of the garden view rooms. Gorgeous view of the castle from the beach front we got upgraded too but this is where the stay at the Polynesian goes down. The 1st day after getting into room found we had feather pillows and when informed front desk a housekeeper supervisor showed up and told me I was lying and must have requested them. I would not have except for myself because the rest of my group is allergic to them. After that noticed the thick dust on ceiling fans/headboards and asked the next day to have them cleaned due to the fact the other 3 people in my party have major allergies which made them have to take extra allergy meds and almost sent my friend to the hospital with an asthma event. Also after arriving that next night back noticed the floors had not been vacuumed, found crumbs that fell from our in room breakfast still on floor. Have kids so will have some crumbs but looked like had not been vacuumed. Also another night we returned back to the room to find only 2 towels and no pillow cases on my bed pillows and the pillows had been changed out to feather pillows again NOT at my REQUEST! Called again got same lady from housekeeping and requested to have regular non feather pillows brought to room. NEVER SHOWED UP! I truly did like the surroundings and conveniences that the Polynesian has but come on folks a little TLC would be nice in the rooms.Would I consider staying there again, probably but would do a room inspection once arrived in room to make sure it was clean and satisfactory before I stayed a night in it.

The wife and I just stayed at the Poly for our 5th anniversary. Originally, we had booked a Magic Kingdom View room, but when we arrived, they upgraded us to Concierge with Magic Kingdom View! Very unexpected, but turned out to be quite helpful as the concierge staff were able to assist us with a few non-hotel related issues that popped up.

Check-in was very quick, however it was very quiet when we arrived, - 1:00 PM on a Tuesday. We were checked in and had all our materials within 10 minutes. It being daytime, we had no problem finding the Hawaii building, the concierge staff greeted us there and had the tickets, etc included in our package (we were on the platinum plan).

Our room was on the third floor so had a balcony (not all 2nd floor rooms do, be aware of that, it varies based on building). Room was very large, it had a single sink setup, 2 closets and a little pantry area with fridge. The room could easily sleep 5 on the two queens and daybed (note that there are VERY few king bed rooms on Disney property). Literally dead ahead from our window was the Castle, a fact we took advantage of to watch fireworks on the balcony with a cool frosty beverage in hand. Personally, I found it a better view than in the parks sometimes.

The resort itself is lovely themed, lots of greenery and water features, with tiki torches at night providing a nice touch. One note, the walkways between the buildings are not covered, which can make things a bit interesting if it rains. That and as another reviewer noted, the buildings are spread out, which can make initial navigation a challenge.

Housekeeping for us was average overall, the room was clean, etc, no issues, but no towel animals during our stay. The odd think was that we left a tip out on several days, with a thank you note, and it was never taken by the housekeeping staff.

To me, one of the best things about the poly was the LOCATION. From the Hawaii building, it was a 5 min walk to the monorail in the Ceremonial House for access to the GF, MK and Contemp, or a 5 min walk in the other direction to the TTC for the ride to Epcot. In addition, boat service between the Poly and MK was frequent (tip - if you want to avoid the crowds, grab the boat just before fireworks at MK and you can see them from the boat and the marina as you pull up. Not always the best view, but adequate). For AK and HS you do need to take buses, they ran pretty often. The only place that was really a pain to get to was Downtown disney. You REALLY cannot beat the poly for access, especially if most of your time will be spent in MK/Epcot as ours was.

We didn't have kids with us, but the Poly is also an excellent choice for kids. Monorail access makes a mid-day break easy for small ones, and the resort offers the Neverland Club, a peter pan themed activity center that includes dinner at night so parents can walk over to the GF spa and take a break. (Note, the health club at the GF spa is open to poly guests and is very nice).

A note about concierge. As I mentioned, we did not book concierge. With the amount of food our plan included we didn't see the need. But I have to admit the lounge was nice. Amenities included different juices, sodas and drinks, continental breakfast, snacks during the day and appetizers at night (example, one night was pulled pork sliders, california rolls, veggie tray, cheese tray, pita bread and hummus and mini PBJs.) What became most valuable to us was access to the concierge staff. When two of our activities were rained out, having access to them made it MUCH easier to reschedule them.

Next to location, the best attribute of the resort was the fact it was very relaxing. Because the buildings were spread out, it never seemed crowded or overly hectic, and I find myself quite easily able to relax, not always easy to do at Disney.

We're going back in 2010 and already plan to book Poly concierge!