Before we get started, I want to take a minute to give a special Thank You to Toyota for letting us test drive the new 2019 Highlander, on our trip to Disney. If you’re in the market for a new midsized SUV, this one has it all.
Riley loved that she could sit in the middle (our Tahoe has captain seats, so she was very impressed with this) + that she could watch a movie on the DVD player.
John loved that it was Bluetooth compatible + synced right to his phone without a hassle. And I loved that it was very spacious + held all of our luggage with no problem. When you’re traveling with a blogger… lots of suitcases are always involved, so I was very impressed that it held all FOUR of our large suitcases!
Needless to say, we were all sad to see it go, but so thankful to collaborate with Toyota. Our drive to Disney went super smooth and Riley’s expectiontations are super high for our next trip!
Now, lets talk everything Polynesian.
We’ve heard nothing but good things about this resort, so I wasn’t worried one bit that it would be anything less than perfect. From access to the monorail, to the most amazing scent when you walk into the lobby, this resort was hands down, one of the nicest resorts we’ve stayed at in Disney.
Our Room
We bought points from some of our friends that are DVC members, so we stayed in the Deluxe Studio Villa. It had a Queen sized bed + a small pull out bed for Riley.
She thought this was “super cool” and we loved that we could put it up during the day, so we had more room to get around.
There was also a pull out couch, that could serve as a bed incase you needed the extra room.
We were able to use the chest as a place to store Riley’s clothes + luggage, so it was out-of-the-way!
I don’t know about you, but when we’re on vacation… I like for everything in it’s place and put away so I can relax and enjoy a clean space. So this was perfect!
It shocked us to see that there were two bathrooms. One didn’t come with a toilet, so that was a bummer, but it was nice having two separate spaces for everyone to get ready in the mornings.
Some of our favorite restaurants on site:
Ohana’s
If I could recommend any restaurant, it would be Ohana’s! We ate dinner + breakfast here, and dinner is a must if you’re visiting the Polynesian.
Everything they serve is “family style” but if there’s nothing that your child will eat, you can order something separate like Mac-n-cheese, chicken + fries.. etc.
Dinner by far was my favorite. Everything was simply amazing. From the steak down to the dessert, we went to bed with full bellies + and happy hearts.
Dinner consist of Pineapple Bread, Salad w/ an amazing Polynesian dressing, a bowl of everything pictured above, all the skewed Steak, Chicken + Shrimp you want, and Bread Pudding for dessert.
This Mai Tai was the perfect drink to end the night with!
If you do decide to eat dinner here.. I recommend booking your dinner around 7:30… so you can catch the fireworks from Magic Kingdom. We could see the Castle lit up from where we were sitting and Riley loved watching the fireworks, while she was sitting in John’s lap.
It was super sweet and probably one of my favorite memories.
Breakfast at Ohana’s was good, but wasn’t my favorite meal. It’s served “family style” as well, but most of the items weren’t things I normally eat.
Scrambled eggs, ham, waffles, biscuits and potatoes.
Riley loved it though, because she got to see Mickey, LILO + Stitch and Pluto. So this made it all worth it in the end.
Captain Cook’s
We grabbed dinner one night at this Quick Service restaurant, and it was “ok”.
I feel like all Quick Service restaurants aren’t the best, but they’re quick + easy.
Riley loved using her snack credits on the cupcakes here.. and when she let me have a bite , they tasted pretty good.
Oasis Bar & Grill
On our last day, it was warm enough to visit the pool, so we put on our swimsuits and headed down to the pool where the Oasis Bar & Grill was located. We needed to use up some QS credits, so we ordered the fish tacos + some fun drinks. I got the Froze (which was probably the BEST froze I’ve ever had) and John got a Mai Tai.
Riley stuck to her usual… chicken + fries… and I have to say, they impressed me. Not only was it real chicken, but it was actually good.
After a quick bite, we headed over to the play area and watched Riley play on the water slides, while we sat in the sun. She was in heaven going down the little slide over and over!
It was another sweet memory that was fun to watch.
Riley’s dress: If you love Disney themed clothes, I ordered Riley’s dress for $11! They have every character to chose from + you cant beat the price! Click here to check them out!
Dole Whips
This resort has it’s own Dole Whip station! John was pretty excited about this, and extremely happy that you could get Rum added to your Dole Whip.
Trader Sam’s
We wanted to eat dinner here one night, but unfortunately they were booked and don’t allow children in after 8PM. So if you want a low-key dinner, while using a Table Service credit, I would try this one out. It looked really neat inside, and I’ve read a lot of good things about it!
Activities on the resort:
The Beach
Over by the bungalows, there’s a man-made beach that Riley loved running around on.
From playing in the sand to watching the fireworks + Electric Water Pageant at night, this was a cute area that made you feel like you were actually staying somewhere out of the country.
At night, they also have activities for the kids.
From movies on the lawn to dancing with glow sticks, there’s plenty of activities for the kids to do before they go to bed.
The Monorail.
The monorail will take you to Magic Kingdom + Epcot.. and to us, this was a GAME CHANGER.
You will go through a security check before you get on the monorail, and it will save you from having to do it when you get to the parks.
We also never had to wait on a monorail. Somehow there was always one available right when we walked up, so this saved us so much time with getting to the parks.
To get to Animal Kingdom + Hollywood Studios, you will have to take the buses, but it’s not too bad. Just allow for 30minutes of travel (depending on what time of year you’re visiting) + security checks, if you have reservations at these parks.
I asked you guys to send me some questions about our trip, so I’m going to answer some here..
Q: How far did you drive?
A: Almost 9 hours. This was our first time driving to Disney, we normally fly.. so it was a little long, but def doable.
Q: Would you go back in January? What is the best time to go?
A: For us, we like to go in the off-season. We’ve done the first week in December and liked it, but the first week in January was def our favorite. We would for sure go back in either December or January.
We don’t do well with crowds + heat, so the Summer time just doesn’t sound appealing to us.
January was perfect because it was “dead” for Disney. We were able to ride whatever we wanted, without really having to wait in line. So to me, that’s worth it!!
Q: Did you have the meal plan? Was it worth it?
A: We did have the meal plan (the one with 1 TS, 1 QS and 2 Snack credits). John and I are still trying to decide if it’s worth it or not. We’ve always bought the meal plan when we’ve gone to Disney, so I can’t give an accurate answer.
I can say that most of the Table Service restaurants that we ate at were worth it, but the Quick Service meals weren’t always my favorite. (More on those in my next posts)
Q: Favorite dinner spot in Disney?
A: Food wise + atmosphere… Ohana, hands down!
We also ate dinner at 1900’s Park Fare at The Grand Floridian and Riley really enjoyed it. The food was good, and she got to see the cast of Cinderella, while we only had to use 1 TS credit.
I hope this post helped you if you’re trying to figure out where to stay on your next Disney trip.
Be sure you subscribe to the blog, so you’ll get an email when I make my next post on what we did at all the parks!
My next Disney post will be all about Magic Kingdom, so be on the look out for that!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday, and if you have any questions that I didn’t answer, make sure to leave them in the comments below!
xoxo- Lauren
Marie says
what a great trip! Thanks for the very detailed information! You and your beautiful family make everything look good!