After a fairly short refurbishment and sprucing up, Captain Cook’s has reopened at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The location underwent a complete remodel a relatively short while back, so there aren’t too many changes to note, but a couple of changes answer some questions people had about the remodel.
Continue reading Captain Cook’s Reopens and more changes at the Polynesian
As Walt Disney World adapts to changes brought about by the introduction of FastPass+ and the MyMagic+ program, crowd control solutions change nearly daily. The newest introductions to the way guests move through queues have been return time cards, which Disney says are meant to nearly eliminate standby lines. First introduced for the Frozen Summer Fun Sing Along, the cards are obtained from cast members throughout the day until all cards have been given out. Guests return to the line in the window of time printed on their card, turn the card in to cast members at the attraction, and enter a much shorter standby line or are immediately seated.
Over the last couple of weeks, these return time cards have been tested at various attractions including the Princess Fairytale Hall Anna and Elsa meet and greet and Soarin’ at Epcot (neither attraction is still using them), with mixed guest reviews as to their effectiveness. The most recent venue to get return time cards, however, is Be Our Guest restaurant.
Be Our Guest is a modified quick-service restaurant during lunch time, which is served from 10:30 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. (the end of lunch service depends on several variables including crowd volume). In the past, resort guests were offered FastPass+ entitlements that allowed them to enter the line to order without waiting and guests not eligible for this option stood in a standby line that formed over the bridge and often out into New Fantasyland. While the line moved rather quickly in most cases, the lack of cover led to some pretty hot and sometimes wet waiting conditions.
Currently (no one knows if this is only a test or if it’s being permanently implemented), guests who want to eat without a FastPass+ reservation are being given return time cards and no standby line is being allowed to form. While this makes for a much more pleasant wait (you can enjoy the rest of the park) it also means that if you don’t get a return time card while they’re being handed out, you’re out of luck for the day.
So how can WDWTools.com help you get into Be Our Guest while you’re at Walt Disney World? Because it may now be harder to get into lunch with standby seating filling up as the restaurant opens and people get return time cards, consider a dinner reservation at the restaurant instead, secured with our reservation sniper. We’re running a 50% off sale through this weekend on single searches using the code NKJKDGQX3T.  It may be just the time to secure your reservation rather than worrying about waiting to see if you can get in.
FINAL UPDATE: Confirmed that all show changes observed were temporary technical issues. Voiceovers are still in place.
UPDATE 8/8/2014: There are reports that the voiceovers have returned and that they were not functioning due to a technical issue.
The Tommorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover went down for refurbishment on June 2 for a whopping two-month refurb, reopening on August 5. While initially closed for the first portion of the day due to “technical difficulties”, PeopleMover was back in operation by 11:45am. Some major alterations have occurred, most obviously an orange paint job.
Almost all voiceovers have been removed. The only voiceovers remaining are the introductory voiceover (“Welcome to your grand circle tour of Tomorrowland…”), the explanation of the EPCOT diorama, Star Traders, Tomorrowland Speedway, and a rewritten explanation of the Carousel of Progress, and Roz’s “move along” voiceover as one passes Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor. Such storied phrases as “Experiment 626 has escaped!” and “This time it’s laughter their after at Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor!” are gone forever (hopefully). It is possible that more voiceovers will come back later on, or that they failed to play on this ride-through, which was shortly after the ride re-opened from a morning-long technical outage.
Much of the track now has background music or sound effects and new safety voiceovers have been added when boarding/unboarding.
That was fun.
UPDATE: Here’s a ride-through video so you can see the new experience for yourself.
Renovation is now in full swing at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort with lots of noticeable changes taking place. A new traffic light has been installed near the entrance, though it is not yet operational.
The scrims that hide the work going on near the entrance including the new resort sign have been changed from an image of the concept drawings of that sign to decorative foliage scrims which have been put up all over the property.
The major changes to the Grand Ceremonial House that have taken place over the last couple of months leave little room for more, but a temporary section of wall has been added to the ‘Ohana waiting area while another has been removed.
Downstairs, the former exit to the pool area has been blocked off. The exits are now under the main staircase and near the former Captain Cook’s.
Outside, the back wall of the former Captain Cook’s has been removed to allow for expansion and the waterfall and creek that we thought might stay safe is gone.
Decorative scrims have been added to the fencing and guests must walk through the center of the property near the quiet pool to reach the longhouses.
The Nanea Pool area is now closed for major refurbishment. It has been completely fenced in and some of the beach is now inaccessible.
Guests of the Polynesian who stay during the pool closure will be offered several “upgraded” options including free admission to Blizzard Beach for the duration of their stay. The guests’ admission will include a dedicated bus and park entrance as well as complimentary towels and use of their refillable mugs at the water park. When Blizzard Beach closes for refurbishment later this year, accommodations will be switched to Typhoon Lagoon. The quiet pool will remain open, and guests are not allowed to pool hop to the other resorts nearby.
Construction continues on the Disney Vacation Club bungalows, which don’t show too many signs of development at the moment. Earlier in the week crews were seen dropping plunge pools into place, confirming rumors that the bungalows may have their own pools and explaining the large hot-tub-like structures seen sitting on the former Paradise Point.
The front of the resort remains walled on the left side with major work going on behind the walls.
