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Subscribe NowLast updated: December 8, 2024
The Villas and Bungalows keep the Polynesian's tropical theme and offer larger rooms with more amenities, plus a private pool. The 2-bedroom bungalows have excellent views of the nightly fireworks and water pageant.
Cost Range
$991 - $6,519
Lodging Area
Magic Kingdom
Category
Deluxe Villa
Transportation
Boat, Bus, Monorail, Walk
Room: B+
Pool: A-
Moana-themed rooms are bright and very functional
Most family-friendly dining on the monorail loop
Fun South Seas theme
View of Magic Kingdom fireworks from the pool
Boat and monorail transportation to the Magic Kingdom
Walking distance to EPCOT monorail (and Magic Kingdom, if you're up for it)
Close to Palm, Magnolia, and Oak Trail Golf Courses
No spa or exercise facilities (guests must use those at the Grand Floridian)
Noise from boat horns and whistles
Bungalows aren't as good a value as the Copper Creek Cabins
These are the largest studios in Walt Disney World. While they're functionally similar to a standard room at the Poly, they have enough small touches to make them different, inclusing recessed ceilings, and more stone and tile work in the baths.
A bonus here is that studios have two bathrooms. The smaller bath has a sink and step-in shower; the larger has a toilet, sink, and bath-shower combination. This means three people can get ready at once.
The bungalows are well built, with top-notch design elements from top to bottom. The open kitchen design works wonderfully, and you could easily host a good-size party inside. The floors are spotlessly clean, with interesting slate and rug textures, so you'll want to run around barefoot.
The bedrooms are spacious, the beds are the best on Disney property, the bathrooms are gorgeous, and the showers will make you feel as happy as anything nonsentient can.
We’ve mapped and taken photographs of the views from every single room on Walt Disney World property! Our Room Finder helps you find the perfect room for you and then request that room from Disney.
Lots of good dining options are found in the Polynesian's main building. If staying longer, more great options are a short walk away at the Grand Floridian.
Kona Café The menu is themed to the island decor, and though the dining room isn’t fancy by any stretch, the food is on a higher plane than your average java joint’s.
'Ohana Readers adore 'Ohana, which means “family.” It’s also an astounding amount of food that just keeps coming. Request a seat in the main dining room, where the fire pit is. Here’s something to consider, though: ‘Ohana tends to bring out your food at warp speed. This reader from Rochester, Minnesota, noticed it first: Our dinner felt very rushed. The food quality was as expected—it just seemed like we were being timed. The reader has a point—your server will bring food out as fast as you can eat it. If you’re dining with little ones, ‘Ohana is fabulous—when our kids were very young, we would’ve donated a kidney to any server who brought our food to the table that fast. If, however, you’re a group of grown-ups looking for a relaxed meal, ‘Ohana will probably feel more akin to competitive eating than dinner, unless you ask your server to space out your courses a bit.
Wailulu Bar & Grill Located in the Island Tower of Disney's Polynesian Villas, Wailulu Bar & Grill offers casual dining with views of the Seven Seas Lagoon.
Capt. Cook's Captain Cook's is the main quick service for the Polynesian. Located on the ground floor, near the back of the Great Ceremonial House and the entrance to Trader Sam's, Captain Cook's offers some unique items and decent sized seating areas. The indoor seating is small and hard to get at busy times, but there are also outdoor tables. For breakfast and lunch, guests at Captain Cook's can also use the outdoor seating of Trader Sam's, which is much more peaceful.
Barefoot Pool Bar There is good news and bad news about the Barefoot Pool Bar at the Polynesian Resort. The good news is that it’s one of the few pool bars worth spending time at. The bad news is that they’ll eventually close for the evening, and you’ll have to leave. The Barefoot Bar is located right next to the volcano pool (a great place for a pool bar), which itself has a fantastic location along the Polynesian’s gorgeous white sand beach. From the several tables and many chairs near the pool and bar, you can absorb the stunning vista of the pool, beach, Seven Seas Lagoon, Grand Floridian Resort, and the spires of Cinderella Castle off in the distance. Unfortunately some of that sweeping view is affected by the DVC bungalows, but it doesn’t ruin it by any means. In the evening hours, you can also enjoy the Electrical Water Pageant and the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Unlike most pool bars, Barefoot often stays open until after the fireworks are over. Another surprise here is that even the menu has a few bonuses in addition to the standard Disney bar menu. The Lapu Lapu, Island Sunset, and Tropical Macaw cocktails served in the Tambu Lounge are available at the Barefoot Bar. Sadly, the Lapu Lapu does not come in a pineapple, but the ingredients are the same. There is no food available here. In a vacuum, the Barefoot Bar is a pretty boring, ersatz tiki- themed bar near the pool. When you turn around and look at the view though, it is anything but boring. That alone makes this a wonderful spot for a nice tropical drink, especially during the fireworks.
Trader Sam's Grog Grotto Trader Sam’s is a hit with Disneyphiles, so get there early—there are just 50 seats inside and 80 on the patio.
Kona Island Any item on the Kona Cafe menu can be ordered from the bar.
Pineapple Lanai The only place at Disney World to get Dole Whip outside of a theme park. Lines should be shorter here than in Magic Kingdom's Aloha Isle.
Refillable Mugs Allows guest self-service soft drink refills from quick-service locations in hotels (NOT in theme parks) for $22.99 for the length of stay.
Amenities
SWIPE TO EXPLORE
The Polynesian's main pool, the Lava Pool includes a volcano, 142-foot water slide, and waterfall grotto. The Oasis Pool is a more quiet bathing experience, with private, shaded areas and comfy lounge chairs.
Free Disney Movies Under the Stars are shown on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, weather-permitting, at the Great Ceremonial Lawn.
The Grand Floridian Health Club has weights, treadmills, and other equipment for your workout. Hours are typically 6 AM to 9 PM. Consider the walk over as your warm-up routine.
The Grand Floridian Spa is a full-service spa and salon. It's at the Grand Floridian, a short walk away. We think it's the best on property. Services include massages, body treatments, mani/pedi. and more.
Roast marshmallow around a campfire starting at 5:30 PM on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the Seven Seas Lagoon beach.
Motorized boats, and pontoon boats that seat up to 10 adults can be rented at the marina. Check with the marina for cost and operating hours.
Disney resort guests get into each theme park 30 minutes earlier than off-site guests, every day.
Those staying at Disney's Deluxe and Deluxe Villa hotels can buy Lightning Lane via Individual Purchase at 7:00 a.m. each day. Others cannot make that purchase until the official park opening time.
Disney's Deluxe and DVC resort guests get two extra hours in select theme parks on certain days of the week. The schedule changes, so check with the front desk.
Board the Walt Disney World Monorail on Floor 2 of the Polynesian's Main Building for convenient access to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and the Grand Floridian and Contempoary hotels.
Performed at nightfall on the Seven Seas Lagoon, this show is a stunning electric-light show aboard small barges and set to nifty electronic music.
Practical Matters
Check-in is 4:00pm
Check-out is 11:00am
All Disney resorts participate in Disney’s Online Check-In program. If you’ve checked-in online and provided a mobile phone number or email address, you will receive your room number electronically. Then you can go straight to the room and use your smart phone or MagicBand to open the door, skipping the lobby altogether.
These rubber and plastic wrist bands can function as your room key, park admission, charge card, and more! MagicBands cost money, but if you'd like a free option you can use the official Disney World app on your phone or request an RFID-embedded card at the front desk.
Park tickets are best purchased online in advance either directly through Disney or via our Least Expensive Ticket Calculator. However, if you arrive without park tickets, head to the concierge desk in the hotel lobby.
Dining reservation are best made online in advance or on your phone or tablet during your visit. You can also use our Disney World Reservation Finder.
Washers and dryers are availabile in laundry facilities at each Disney World hotel. Cost is $3 per wash, and another $3 per dry cycle. A small selection of soap, fabric softener, and dryer sheets are also sold, for around $1 each. Only credit/debit cards can be used for payment. For more information, see our Disney World Laundry Facilities page.
If you lose something in a theme park or during your stay at a Disney-operated hotel, visit Disney's Lost and Found website or call (407) 824-4245.
Disney hotels have gifts shops near their lobbies with a decent collection of Disney-branded souvenirs. You will also find basic pharmacy items such as sunscreen, aspirin, allergy and cold medicine, baby diapers and formula, shampoo, and the like. Resort hotels with Deluxe Villa rooms offer an assortment of groceries, as well.
Disney recommends a third party company, Kid's Nite Out, to provide babysitting services at the resort hotels. See our Disney World Child Care page for more information.
Transportation
Disney's Polynesian Resort is in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area. All modern GPS apps, and Google Maps, will have clear driving directions to it. As a backup, look for Disney road signs directing you toward the Magic Kingdom once you're on property.
Destination | Boat | Bus | Monorail | Car | Walk |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Magic Kingdom | 14 min | – | 11 min | – | 25 min |
EPCOT | – | – | 32 min | 17 min | – |
Hollywood Studios | – | 26 min | – | 19 min | – |
Animal Kingdom | – | 24 min | – | 17 min | – |
Disney Springs | – | 26 min | – | 15 min | – |
Disney provides free bus service to all destinations except the Magic Kingdom. Buses run about every 20 minutes. Disney's bus transportation system is the fastest option to get to EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios. For all other destinations, it's faster to drive your car if you have one.
If you have your own car, it's faster to drive yourself to Disney's Animal Kingdom, the Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach water parks, and Disney Springs. Disney's transportation system is faster to EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios.
The Magic Kingdom is accessible via walking path.
Boat service is available to the Magic Kingdom. Boat service might not be available during thunderstorms.
The Magic Kingdom is accessible via the resort's monorail station; walking is faster. For EPCOT, take the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) and transfer to the EPCOT monorail.
The easiest way to get to the Contemporary, Bay Lake Tower, and Grand Floridian is by taking the resort monorail. For all other hotels, it's faster to drive or use Uber/Lyft/taxis than to rely on Disney's bus service. If you must use Disney's bus service and the Magic Kingdom is open, it's probably fastest to walk to the Magic Kingdom bus station and take the bus going to the resort you're headed.
if you have a car, the easiest way to get to Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and other tourist destinations is to drive. Alternatively, Mears Transportation operates shuttle services between the Disney hotels and other theme parks.
Driving to the Resort
Getting to the Parks
and Disney Springs
Getting to Another Hotel
from Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Getting to Universal Orlando
Disney's Polynesian Resort is in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area. All modern GPS apps, and Google Maps, will have clear driving directions to it. As a backup, look for Disney road signs directing you toward the Magic Kingdom once you're on property.
if you have a car, the easiest way to get to Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and other tourist destinations is to drive. Alternatively, Mears Transportation operates shuttle services between the Disney hotels and other theme parks.
Disney Dish with Jim Hill Podcast
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