Island Tower at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

[KimMcGowan]

You can see details in these new pictures much better than before. I always liked the new design - but I like it even better now. In particular I really love the “tattoo” designs on the walls!

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Here is the Grand Wailea in Maui

Wow they’ve basically used the exact same color palette. And I think all the mixed textures and Moana-esque engravings add so much to the tower. If DVD adds a bit more IP in the rooms to appeal to our Disney loving hearts, this tower could be something really special.

 

[hockeydad21]

Here is the Grand Wailea in Maui

Reminds me of a combo of the Grand Wailea and some of the Westin Hawaiian properties, specifically the Westin Hapuna Beach and Westin Ka'anapali

 

[sndral]

This is my concern as a VGF owner (and pool enthusiast).

Yeah, I really wouldn't expect this tower to affect crowd levels at the VGF pools. It will have its own pool plus be fairly close to the lava pool area outside GCH. I know I wouldn't bother with the VGF pool.

The Poly tower shouldn’t effect pool crowds at the VGF at all unless DVC suddenly reinstates pool hopping since folks staying at the Poly can’t swim in the GF pools anyway. Now the Poly pools may become more crowded & the monorail certainly will & that’ll impact GF guests. Likewise, the Poly & the GF share buses, w/ the GF being picked up 2nd, so I expect the AK & DHS buses to be more crowded by the time they reach the GF.

 

[Chili327]

So did they confirm what the holes are? (I haven’t read or seen anything official about the news today)

 

[GoingSince1990]

The Poly tower shouldn’t effect pool crowds at the VGF at all unless DVC suddenly reinstates pool hopping since folks staying at the Poly can’t swim in the GF pools anyway. Now the Poly pools may become more crowded & the monorail certainly will & that’ll impact GF guests. Likewise, the Poly & the GF share buses, w/ the GF being picked up 2nd, so I expect the AK & DHS buses to be more crowded by the time they reach the GF.

There’s been some speculation about tightening up access to the Poly pools with a Stormalong Bay style enforcement. I’m starting to wonder if this will also be needed at GF once the tower opens and the walking path reopens.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

The Poly tower shouldn’t effect pool crowds at the VGF at all unless DVC suddenly reinstates pool hopping since folks staying at the Poly can’t swim in the GF pools anyway. Now the Poly pools may become more crowded & the monorail certainly will & that’ll impact GF guests. Likewise, the Poly & the GF share buses, w/ the GF being picked up 2nd, so I expect the AK & DHS buses to be more crowded by the time they reach the GF.

My concern is they will wristband Poly (as they should) and then pool crashers will migrate to Grand Flo.

 

[Genie+]

Wow they’ve basically used the exact same color palette. And I think all the mixed textures and Moana-esque engravings add so much to the tower. If DVD adds a bit more IP in the rooms to appeal to our Disney loving hearts, this tower could be something really special.

The IP in Disneyland Hotel DVC was very well done. Charming with a modern feel yet still cohesive with the classic Disney resort. The Mary Poppins rooms at Grand Flo are another fantastically executed IP. Poly Tower may pull this off too.

Moana 2 is due around Thanksgiving this year. The original Moana and Lilo and Stitch are powerhouses in longevity. A wave of appreciation is growing every year for the Pacific Islands and their varied rich cultures. Poly is one of the strongest Disney resorts.

Altogether the timing is great and if the tower hits so many right notes? Popularity could soar. I am more excited than ever!

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

The IP in Disneyland Hotel DVC was very well done. Charming with a modern feel yet still cohesive with the classic Disney resort. The Mary Poppins rooms at Grand Flo are another fantastically executed IP. Poly Tower may pull this off too.

Moana 2 is due around Thanksgiving this year. The original Moana and Lilo and Stitch are powerhouses in longevity. A wave of appreciation is growing every year for the Pacific Islands and their varied rich cultures. Poly is one of the strongest Disney resorts.

Altogether the timing is great and if the tower hits so many right notes? Popularity could soar. I am more excited than ever!

Agree with all of this! I’m really excited to see what else they have in store for this project. I think expectations are high now, I really hope it lives up to it lol

 

[Genie+]

There’s still the feeling of a curveball around the corner though. The series of DVC changes in recent years… if they are going the extra mile here… would they really pass on an opportunity to have some future advantage. Is it really just going to be like BPK getting added to VGF? If it can’t apply the same restrictions as Riviera, what could be done. Are we 100% certain a trust can’t happen?

I can’t break from expecting a curveball. Hope I’m wrong!

 

[mkatsy]

Reminds me of a combo of the Grand Wailea and some of the Westin Hawaiian properties, specifically the Westin Hapuna Beach and Westin Ka'anapali

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Westin Ka’anapali woot woot! Spent part of our honeymoon there

 

[NVDISFamily]

Love what we see so far. Will definitely be on our radar to stalk at 7 months and try and get a room for a future trip. Kind or shocked at the no GV approach, but the 2BR penthouse sounds like fun. Sadly won't be getting any points here as we have locked in Wilderness Lodge as our MK area resort to own at and I'm trying to stick to some kind of plan.....

I do very much worry how busy the monorail will be at peak times. Perhaps they can add in a few Skyliner routes in the MK area..... one can dream. Perhaps another boat launch could help too.

 

[Genie+]

We booked VGF Nov 17-33 and Feb 2-7. Hoping to change Feb to the Tower at 7 months. If not then fingers crossed for longhouse.

 

[hockeydad21]

The IP in Disneyland Hotel DVC was very well done. Charming with a modern feel yet still cohesive with the classic Disney resort. The Mary Poppins rooms at Grand Flo are another fantastically executed IP. Poly Tower may pull this off too.

Moana 2 is due around Thanksgiving this year. The original Moana and Lilo and Stitch are powerhouses in longevity. A wave of appreciation is growing every year for the Pacific Islands and their varied rich cultures. Poly is one of the strongest Disney resorts.

Altogether the timing is great and if the tower hits so many right notes? Popularity could soar. I am more excited than ever!

Agreed. I think this tower is going to be a heavy (yet subtle) dose of Moana themes. We already know there's going to be some sort of outrigger and manta ray splash pad, which all tie back to Moana themes, then add in the success of the movie and the launch of the live action in December, and you have a perfect setup for a heavily themed Moana tower. Really looking forward to seeing the classy touches of Disney IP similar to that of which they used in VDH. Should be beautiful.

 

[mkatsy]

There’s still the feeling of a curveball around the corner though. The series of DVC changes in recent years… if they are going the extra mile here… would they really pass on an opportunity to have some future advantage. Is it really just going to be like BPK getting added to VGF? If it can’t apply the same restrictions as Riviera, what could be done. Are we 100% certain a trust can’t happen?

I can’t break from expecting a curveball. Hope I’m wrong!

Eeep … I don’t want to be the fly in the ointment, but adding those extra weeks to the same timeshare license is super simple. Like, should have been done by now simple

 

[hockeydad21]

There’s still the feeling of a curveball around the corner though. The series of DVC changes in recent years… if they are going the extra mile here… would they really pass on an opportunity to have some future advantage. Is it really just going to be like BPK getting added to VGF? If it can’t apply the same restrictions as Riviera, what could be done. Are we 100% certain a trust can’t happen?

I can’t break from expecting a curveball. Hope I’m wrong!

I seriously wouldn't worry about it at this point. They've made it very clear at this points it's going into PVB, so there's no restrictions. And as far as the trust is concerned, people are likely overthinking it. CFW + Reflections = the future trust properties. DVC sales will commence within another 6-10 weeks, so I highly doubt there will be any curveballs at this point. Next thing to look out for will be room designs, which I think they would have to get out there before people start making cash bookings.

Westin Ka’anapali woot woot! Spent part of our honeymoon there

my wife and i did part of our honeymoon there as well! beautiful area and resort!

 

[AstroBlasters]

We booked VGF Nov 17-33 and Feb 2-7. Hoping to change Feb to the Tower at 7 months. If not then fingers crossed for longhouse.

I think there are going to be a lot of 7m waitlists….

Reminds me of a combo of the Grand Wailea and some of the Westin Hawaiian properties, specifically the Westin Hapuna Beach and Westin Ka'anapali

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I feel like if people said…. “I am really disappointed that this looks like every other high end hotel in Maui” then at least that would be a valid comment. But all of the Instagram comments about it looking like any generic Marriott or Hilton just baffle me….

I really hope the rooms match the quality of the lobby….

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

I hope this posts with the quality of the original (from Scott Gustin’s twitter) and not to overthink this (I’m obviously going to overthink this) but just wanted zoom in on a few things, namely the holes which look more and more like they’ll be lounge/fireworks viewing points. There’s also a colorful structure/window/lighting in the lobby or restaurant area- Interesting thing to include in an updated concept rendering…best guesses? Also do we think the fact that the upper 2 floors have clear bannisters versus the lower levels that have covered ones means anything in respect to room type/point charts?

 

[Jwaire]

I feel like if people said…. “I am really disappointed that this looks like every other high end hotel in Maui” then at least that would be a valid comment. But all of the Instagram comments about it looking like any generic Marriott or Hilton just baffle me….

There's definitely similarities to higher end JW Marriott's and newer Westin's I've stayed at. This isn't a surprise as the project has the same architectural firms ("WDI Partners" like WATG, Gensler, etc) that build those hotels building it. But they do what they're told.

I don't think it's bad, but I also don't think it's particularly impressive for such a prime location. It's a rehash of already used design elements like the clean look, large columns and wood paneling we've seen mixed in at Gran Destino, Riviera, Discovery Tower, the Cabins and even the upcoming Lookout Cay.

The problem with trendy designs is they get dated pretty quickly. Just look at the lobby at Bay Lake Tower and unlike a JW Marriott or Westin, Disney isn't going to dramatically update a hotel lobby in 15 years.

WDI is capable of so much more. Just look at the Fantasy Springs hotel, which has a modern flair but tons of impressive thematic elements.

We have come a long way from the golden age of Walt Disney World theming. Bare minimum is acceptable now, whether it's in attractions, experiences or resorts, and that's kind of sad.

 

[Royal Consort]

WDI is capable of so much more. Just look at the Fantasy Springs hotel, which has a modern flair but tons of impressive thematic elements.

I am right with you up until this point which i dont believe is a good example: I am including Fantasy Springs Hotel within the de-themed category. An argument can be made that some flourishes on the park facing Grand Chateau are ornamental enough, but the Fantasy Chateau side is a bit of an ugly communist tower in either direction.

The public interiors seem okay if not oversaturated in their palette. Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and certainly MiraCosta blow their new flagship out the water, but hey, I'm the mug that booked FSH so I own my hypocrisy.

A better argument would be along the lines of the Oceania/polynesian wing of Explorer's Lodge in Hong Kong. I've been at HKDL all this week starting at it. Explorer's Lodge demonstates a richly themed tower is achievable.