The Polynesian Monorail Has Reopened
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort just brought back something DVC members missed and desperately needed.
I’ll talk about that, a leaky roof, and some pool repairs in today’s update.
The Monorail Station Reopens
Planned or not, the Polynesian has performed a phased reopening of Great Ceremonial House amenities.
DVC guests knew that everything was returning to normal when ‘Ohana reopened in July.
Still, the resort’s logistics proved more challenging than they had ever been before.
The problem stemmed from Disney’s decision to rebuild the Polynesian monorail station from scratch.
That project took longer than everyone else on tap. So, it became the last remaining incomplete project on the Polynesian’s 50th-anniversary refurbishment list.
Thankfully, that delay ended on Labor Day weekend. Hotel guests excitedly hopped onboard monorail trams at the new station on Sunday, September 5th.
Disney hadn’t announced the reopening date. So, it was something of a surprise for resort guests.
With the monorail back in operation, the Polynesian is mostly back to normal.
However, the longhouses themselves are currently undergoing renovations.
Pago Pago started the process, but it just reopened after a month of downtime. Here’s a video with the changes:
Moorea and Tokelau are now receiving their updates. Disney previously indicated that it’d complete all updates by October 1st.
That’s less than a month from now. Since attendance crashes in September anyway, I believe that Disney can meet its announced deadline.
If some rooms at Moorea and Tokelau aren’t available on October 1st, that could be a problem.
That date will probably be the most trafficked since the pandemic’s start. So, DVC needs those rooms open in its inventory.
Updates at the Contemporary
Disney remains on schedule to complete renovations at Disney’s Contemporary Resort by October 1st.
The deadline here feels a bit tighter, though. Management has sent construction teams seemingly everywhere in the building.
You can’t help but notice scaffolding on several levels. Disney has used tarps to hide some of the work, but it’s impossible to keep everything from public view.
In fact, you cannot even approach the area that used to contain The Wave… of American Flavors. The future Steakhouse 71 is completely walled off with curtains.
For safety reasons, Disney has also closed off the children’s splash zone area on the campus. It’s unapproachable as well.
However, the most surprising part of the renovations involves some leaks near the elevators. It’s the space near where people check-in for California Grill.
Multiple Disney fansites posted pictures and videos of water gushing from the ceiling here.
So, those are the kind of projects the hotel must complete before it’s ready to host a flock of anniversary party guests.
Meanwhile, the Contemporary revealed another refurbishment…but not for a while.
The hotel has chosen to kick the can down the road on some pool renovations. The Contemporary will refurb the Feature Pool in January…of 2023.
Since the 50th-anniversary celebration will continue into 2023, I’m not surprised by this choice. Of course, guests will want to use that pool in 2022.
Please keep this information in the back of your mind when you think about early 2023 visits, though. The Feature Pool will apparently remain offline until April.
A Strange Letter
So, yeah, some of you may have gotten a weird letter from Disney Vacation Club.
The message begins:
“We recently noticed that you haven’t been utilizing your Disney Vacation Club Resort. It is always our goal to ensure that you are getting the most out of your Membership so that you and your family can enjoy magical vacations year after year.”
That’s a somewhat disingenuous way of opening dialogue here, as what DVC wants to do is buy back some contracts. So here’s the vital part of the message:
“However, if your family has decided that your Disney Vacation Club Resort isn’t the right fit for you right now, we would welcome the opportunity to speak to you if you are interested in selling back your ownership interest at Disney’s Old Key West Resort.”
The company knows which members haven’t used their points in a while. Ergo, DVC has reached out to some of them to ask to purchase their contracts.
Of course, there’s a catch…and it’s not the one you think. DVC’s contract offers are, let’s say, less what they’re worth on the open market.
The best comparison I can make is that we recently spoke with the Honda dealership about selling a car. Their offer was $3,500 under Blue Book value.
DVC has kinda done the same thing here. It’s reminded owners who aren’t using their points that they could just swap out for cash.
That sounds like a great deal…if you don’t know what you’re doing. Stuff like this explains why you should always use a resales agent.
Some Old Key West owners are about to take 75 cents on the dollar. You can’t blame Disney for trying, though.
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To learn more about how to experience the magic for less, rent DVC points, or rent out your DVC points as a Member, visit the friendly team at DVC Rental Store. To purchase a DVC resale contract, visit our partners at DVC Resale Market.
