Polynesian Resort Photo Update

Today we’ll bring you along for a photo update around Disney’s Polynesian Village!

Over at the resort, there has been a lot of work taking place, but now most of it is coming to an end. Let’s first take a look at the lobby that has been finished for a few months now.

In the center of the lobby stands a tiki statue on top of a small waterfall made out of rocks. Many people miss the large waterfall from the old design of the lobby, but this scaled down version definitely opens up the middle of the lobby.

There’s plenty of seating all around the new lobby. Most of the seating focuses on very bright colors, such as the orange and pinks shown here.

Looking to the front of the lobby, you can really tell how much different the lobby looks. The lobby is wide open and gives every guest plenty of space.

Moving outside, one of the major aspects of the refurbishments has been the Volcano Pool. The pool refurbishment recently finished up and this meant the addition of a water play area for kids, as well as a hot tub which the resort never had.

The water play area has really great theming with tiki statues squirting out water. Out of the water play areas on property, this is definitely of the largest ones.

Right in the front of the play area is a small slide for the younger kids.

On the backside of the water play area is a large wooden bridge that looks over the top of the entire play area.

With the refurbishment of the Volcano Pool came the addition of gates around the pool area. Every single entrance to the pool has gates where you must scan your Magic Band to enter the area. It also very clearly states you must be staying at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort to use the pool.

Moving into the main pool area, the pool focuses around the Nanea Volcano, which is where the main slide for the pool is at.

What I’ve always loved about the location of the pool here is the amazing view. Imagine sitting in the pool, maybe a cold drink in hand, and in the distance you can see Magic Kingdom.

Another great part about the pool refurbishment was the added seating. The pool area lacked seating before, and as you can see, there is plenty of it now!

Here you can see the hot tub that was added in during the refurbishment. It’s fairly large and has short rock walls surrounding it so it feels a little more private then many hot tubs around property.

Next up, let’s take a short look at the newly added bungalows.

As you can see behind the bungalows, they have a terrific view of Cinderella Castle. As there are 20 bungalows in total, not all are considered to be a theme park view as the islands in the Seven Seas Lagoon can partially obstruct the view. Regardless, you should be able to see fireworks from the bungalows, but maybe not a perfect view of Cinderella Castle.

The walkways out to the bungalows are also Magic Band access only, so there’s not as great of a view of Magic Kingdom from the beach as there used to be for non-resort guests.

Another thing to notice as well is that there are bungalows that are right next to the ferry dock for the Ticket and Transportation Center.

One of the most anticipated changes with the refurbishment was the addition of Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. Trader Sam’s is a extremely well themed bar that features cocktails that when ordered trigger special effects in the bar. The outside area here, called Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace does not have the special effects, but there are still plenty of cocktails available for a more casual experience.

Along the edge of the Tiki Terrace is a beautiful rock waterfall.

On the Tiki Terrace, there is plenty of seating available, so if the Grog Grotto is too busy, catching a drink outside is definitely a great option.

And of course, no area at the Polynesian is complete without another tiki statue.

One big thing to note is that this is still a resort under construction. As the Volcano Pool reopened, the Polynesian East pool, better now as the quite pool, went under a refurbishment which is expected to last until the end of the year.

On this day, the construction was just getting off to a start so there’s not much to see at this time.

So far, there’s some land clearing taking place around the area.

Many of the buildings have work taking place right behind them so the entrances on the sides of the buildings have walls right next to them.

That’s all there is to see at this time! Make sure to check back in the future for more updates as the refurbishment takes place on the quiet pool.