{"id":44077,"date":"2016-02-24T11:30:31","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T16:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/?p=44077"},"modified":"2022-05-04T21:10:03","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T01:10:03","slug":"chose-polynesian-studio-villa-marathon-weekend-couldnt-happier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/chose-polynesian-studio-villa-marathon-weekend-couldnt-happier\/","title":{"rendered":"We Chose a Polynesian Studio Villa for Marathon Weekend and Couldn’t Have Been Happier"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Polynesian<\/p>\n

After dozens of vacations to Walt Disney World, my most recent trip was full of firsts! \u00a0My first marathon, my first stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort<\/a>, my first time eating breakfast at ‘Ohana, first time having dinner (with 40+ friends) at Kona, among others!<\/p>\n

When I pulled the trigger and registered for the Marathon, my husband and I talked about where we should stay. \u00a0Typically we stay in our beloved Beach Club Villas but having just been there in November and spending the majority of our time at Epcot, we wanted to focus on the Magic Kingdom a little bit more and figured being on the monorail loop would be very convenient! We are fairly new Disney Vacation Club owners and looked at the monorail resort options \u2013 both for point value and availability. \u00a0I was surprised that the new Polynesian (studio) Villas came in lower than Bay Lake Towers. \u00a0They were definitely cheaper than the Villas at the Grand Floridian. \u00a0I was slightly skeptic as I always found the Polynesian decor to be so dark – in the way of colors, not mood! \u00a0However, I am a fan of brand-spanking-new so we figured if we could book the Polynesian, we would!<\/p>\n

As luck would have it, we were able to successfully book a Polynesian Studio Villa for 4 nights. \u00a0Another factor that played into this was that we were hoping to make several advanced dining reservations (ADRs) at the Polynesian between ‘Ohana and Kona Cafe as they both offer such amazing breakfast and dinner options. \u00a0I also knew from some marathon research that the monorail would be running in those early hours of race day so that I’d easily be able to get to the race start! \u00a0Added to the convenient location, the new studio villas were designed to fit a family of five, which we are, with the pull-down twin bed for the fifth person. \u00a0While we eventually added an extra night to our trip just a few days before we were due to leave, we stayed the first night at another resort since just three days before we checked in, the Poly wasn’t available for an extra night. The morning we switched resorts, we arrived at the Polynesian about the same time we had estimated we would have had we flown in that morning and taken Disney’s Magical Express to the resort as originally planned.<\/p>\n

\"Polynesian<\/a><\/p>\n

So Friday morning, less than 48 hours before the start of the marathon, we checked in to Disney’s Polynesian Villas which shares its front desk and lobby with Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort in the Grand Ceremonial House. \u00a0I was feeling very festive upon arrival and as soon as we were out of our Uber, I announced to the closest Cast Member who looked like he may possibly greet new guests that we were checking in and it was our first stay…. I wanted my lei!<\/p>\n

After receiving our leis, we were escorted inside the Grand Ceremonial House and quickly checked in. \u00a0Our room was ready and we had a late breakfast ADR at ‘Ohana (serving more as lunch) within 15 minutes so my middle daughter and I ran to drop a couple of bags off in our room. \u00a0Our room was located on the 3rd floor in the Tokelau Longhouse. \u00a0Even though there was some construction outside of our Longhouse being done on the East Pool, we had no problem with our room location at all.<\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/a><\/p>\n

Upon entering the room, I could feel the smile spread across my face! \u00a0I could tell instantly it would be great for us. \u00a0The room is a very good size and our studio boast two bathrooms (one with a gorgeous rain shower and sink\/vanity and the other a tub shower, sink\/vanity, and toilet), a kitchenette, a queen sized bed, a queen sized pullout, a pull-down twin size bed, a table and chairs, a closet, and a decent size hallway that you entered! \u00a0We quickly explored the room before running off to our ‘Ohana meal and I was very excited about the decision we made to stay there. \u00a0Off the balcony, you could even see Cinderella Castle!<\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Poly<\/a><\/p>\n

After our delicious breakfast at ‘Ohana, we simply walked over to the monorail station and hopped on the resort loop monorail and head to the Magic Kingdom. \u00a0Leaving the Magic Kingdom was just as easy, hopping back on the monorail to return to our resort! \u00a0I really liked that the DVC section of the Polynesian was right there in the heart of the rest of the resort. \u00a0While being separate has its appeal at other resorts, at the Polynesian, I appreciated the short distance to the Grand Ceremonial House where all of the restaurants, monorail, and shops were. \u00a0Dinner was super easy to get to as it was also in our resort at Kona Cafe!<\/p>\n

After dining with 40 something of our dearest friends, we started to walk back to our room just as Wishes started. \u00a0Not only could we see Wishes across Seven Seas Lagoon, we could also hear the music as it was piped in to the resort. \u00a0We were able to watch the amazing show from right where we stood at the pool entrance, and be back in our room only a few minutes after it ended. I loved how I didn’t feel segregated in our Longhouse but could walk to the end of the hallway and see all of Seven Seas Lagoon, the new Bungalows, the Magic Kingdom, and other Magic Kingdom Resorts.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

I was so thankful for our resort choice again the next morning. \u00a0I planned to chEAR my teammates who were running the half marathon on Saturday morning. \u00a0My friend Scott was driving over early and we were going to walk next door for about 5:45 am to meet more friends! \u00a0As Captain Cook’s is open 24-hours, we darted in there to grab a quick on-the-go bite and coffee for me! Within just a few minutes we were at the Ticket & Transportation Center (TTC) to chEAR on the runners! \u00a0The walk wasn’t even five minutes, which was perfect since I only had to walk back to meet my family for our breakfast ADR at Kona! \u00a0How much more convenient can you get?<\/p>\n

We spent that morning at the Magic Kindgom, and left for lunch at the Contemporary’s Wave Restaurant, followed by a Be Our Guest Podcast Meet outside of Contempo Cafe! \u00a0Since this was the afternoon before my marathon, I knew I wanted to turn in early. \u00a0We took the monorail over to the Poly after the meet and grabbed something small to eat at Captain Cook’s before heading to our room.<\/p>\n

Once back in the room, my husband and I planned the next morning. \u00a0I was planning to be up and ready to go before 3:00 am. \u00a0The monorail service began at 3:00 am the mornings of the half and full marathons so I planned on taking the monorail to the TTC to switch over to the Epcot monorail and head over for the race start! \u00a0(Yes, as Scott pointed out after I was already on the resort monorail, I could have much more quickly walked to the TTC but at 2:45 am and with my first marathon nerves, I wasn’t thinking clearly! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)<\/p>\n

My husband and three children planned to meet back at the TTC to chEAR on Sunday morning so it was a quick walk for them. \u00a0Post chEARing, everyone walked back to the Poly for another breakfast at Kona! \u00a0Do you see a pattern here? \u00a0We’re walking or hopping a monorail every time we leave or come back to our resort! \u00a0It’s super convenient, especially with double stroller! \u00a0No emptying it out and folding it up!<\/p>\n

\"Walkway<\/a><\/p>\n

The pattern continues, monorail back, monorail over to Top of the World Lounge (located at Bay Lake Tower, via the Contemporary), monorail back, walk over to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare the next day, monorail to the Magic Kingdom, monorail back, walk back to the Grand Floridian for dinner at Narcoossee’s. \u00a0It was so easy. \u00a0So gorgeous. \u00a0So convenient. \u00a0 While budget is likely the most important factor in selecting a resort for your Walt Disney World vacation, location is huge factor for us. \u00a0For marathon weekend, being next to the TTC and on the monorail loop was priceless.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort? Share in the comments!<\/em><\/p>\n

Want to book your own stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort? Get a free, no obligation quote.<\/p>\n

\"Quote1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Incoming search terms:<\/h4>
  • https:\/\/www themouseforless com\/blog_world\/chose-polynesian-studio-villa-marathon-weekend-couldnt-happier\/<\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    After dozens of vacations to Walt Disney World, my most recent trip was full of firsts! \u00a0My first marathon, my first stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, my first time eating breakfast at ‘Ohana, first time having dinner (with 40+ friends) at Kona, among others! When I pulled the trigger and registered for the Marathon,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":44135,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[507],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walt-disney-world-resorts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44077"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84867,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44077\/revisions\/84867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}