Lots of concepts are taking shape at the Polynesian (now called the Polynesian Village Resort) so let’s get started on the update. This week, Disney released more information on the renovations taking place in the 3 long houses being converted to Disney Vacation Club rooms and the bungalows being built in the Seven Seas Lagoon. 360 rooms are being converted to Disney Vacation Club “Deluxe Studios” that sleep up to five people – two in the queen bed, two on the pullout sofa, and one small person on the sleeper that pulls out of the t.v. stand.
For reference, the foldout bed sleeps a small person probably less than 5 feet tall. It’s like a trundle rather than a twin and folds out of the t.v. stand that you can see a piece of to the right of the bed in the above photo. It will be exactly like those now in place at the Villas at the Grand Floridian (photo below) and Villas at Wilderness Lodge and those going in during the refurbishment at Villas at Beach Club.
In an interesting move, the Polynesian will not have any 1 or 2 bedroom suites in the long houses as they do in all the other DVC resorts. Instead, guests will be able to open doors between the studios to connect them if they wish. Why do DVC rooms matter to non-DVC owners? DVC rooms are available to cash guests at all resorts and these won’t be any different.
As for the bungalows, it has been announced that they will be cottage-type setups that sleep up to eight people. No definite information has been released about the number of bedrooms in each, but it’s predicted they will have two bedrooms. Again, even though these are technically Disney Vacation Club properties, DVC rooms become available to book for cash when DVC members use their points to purchase cruises or other non-Disney World/Disneyland entities and revenue needs to be recouped in order to pay for those exchanges. In short, these rooms will be available to cash guests.
The current structures have a way to go, but plunge pools are in place and railings are up. The color scheme is currently much different than the concept art, so hopefully there’s some painting left to do.
Basket swings are up on the porches on the sides of the buildings.
The fronts of the buildings are coming together as well, with some odd decisions made as to the front doors. Some have round windows, some square.
Construction fencing was open for a while as trucks took materials in and out. There seems to be a bit of a reconstruction of Paradise Point, though of course it won’t have the same view as it used to. The new hill has been planted with palms and walkways surround it.
Inside the resort, the lobby is taking shape. The center of the lobby is still draped with curtains, but it’s rumored that those are coming down before Christmas  and the lobby will look like this:
On the right of the lobby a new bench has been installed.
The glass ceiling is finished/refurbished and is out from under cover.
Down the hall and around the corner, the hallways are prepped and the opening to the space that will be Trader Sam’s is temporarily filled.
Outside, the pool is still under heavy construction as the volcano is remodeled. There’s trench work going on to the right of the deluxe cabana that looks to just be pipes going in.
In front, the porte chochere is finally finished and Christmas decorations are up.
The fountains in the front of the hotel remain walled off, but Christmas decorations are here too.
Stay tuned for more information as it develops on this resort.
This week’s construction update is all lobby all the time. The Polynesian lobby is officially open after a major remodel and removal of the water feature that the resort was known for. Let’s get started with the new look.
