Walt Disney World originally planned to reopen the Polynesian Village Resort on October 4th of this year. However, the opening has been pushed back until Summer of 2021. With lower than expected crowd levels, the popular WDW resort hotel will instead undergo an extensive refurbishment with enhancements for the Great Ceremonial House and Guest rooms. Let’s take a closer look at what could really be happening during the extended closure.
Navigating Home – Moana Retheme Ahead?
Yesterday’s announcement by Disney caused quite a ruckus among fans about the future of the Polynesian Village Resort. According to an article from Orlando Sentinel, a Disney spokesperson stated that some of the upcoming changes to the rooms will take inspiration from Moana, with new Pacific Ocean-inspired color scheme and details from the film. However, Disney has not made an official statement regarding the alleged changes, and fans have gone hog-wild with that snippet of info. The iconic WDW resort has been around for almost 50 years and has undergone several expansions and updates over the years. It was just in 2014 that the giant waterfall garden was removed from the lobby to make more room for guests due to the expansion of DVC rooms.
With the testing of new hallways last year with carpeting that looked akin to something from the movie, it’s certainly possible that a Moana-themed Polynesian Village could indeed be in the works. While we wait for an official announcement for refurbishment details from Disney, what would you think of a Moana overlay to the Polynesian Village Resort?
In the meantime, here’s the current look of the Guest rooms at the Polynesian:
Back in 2014, the Ceremonial House lobby went through a large refurbishment in which the flowering waterfall was removed for the current Tiki (which is apparently named Maui, and no, not preemptively from Moana!) now in its place. Although, we’re curious to see if there’s anything that could be changing here while the resort is closed.
Polynesian Village DVC Villas and Bungalows will remain open during this time; however, the Monorail will not be running from this resort beginning early October.
Other WDW Resorts
While the Poly won’t be reopening anytime soon, here’s the list of resorts at WDW that are open now, plus some with opening dates in the near future.
Now Open
- Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary
- Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge
- Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Beach Club Villas
- Boardwalk Villas
- Caribbean Beach Resort
- Contemporary Resort
- Fort Wilderness Campground & Cabins
- Old Key West Resort
- Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Pop Century Resort
- Riviera Resort
- Saratoga Springs Resort
- Villas at Grand Floridian
- Yacht Club Resort
Opening September 24
- Grand Floridian Resort
Opening October 14
- Coronado Springs Resort
It’s Time To Make New Magic
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Let’s Hear From You
This is not the first time resort openings have been delayed since WDW’s reopening. But the news of refurbishment and possible changes at this time makes sense while guest numbers are still down. What do you think about the Polynesian potentially getting a Moana makeover? How do you feel about Disney characters creeping into every aspect of Walt Disney World? Are there any other resorts you’d like to see get a similar treatment? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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