New Tower at Polynesian Village Resort: Timeline, Details & Construction Progress
Walt Disney World has announced plans to build a new DVC tower at Polynesian Village Resort. In this post, we’ll share details and a timeline, permits, and new summer construction photos. Plus, our opinion of the Disney Vacation Club expansion and why this is likely happening. (Updated June 12, 2023.)
Located on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon and on the monorail line to Magic Kingdom, the proposed project will replace Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, a luau featuring traditional Polynesian dances, live music, and an all-you-care-to-enjoy tropical feast. Spirit of Aloha is now permanently closed.
For those unfamiliar with Spirit of Aloha, the new Disney Vacation Club wing will essentially be between the existing Polynesian Village Resort and Disney’s Wedding Pavilion, which itself is adjacent to the Grand Floridian. This high-profile Magic Kingdom resort area has already become crowded in recent years with the addition of the Villas at the Grand Floridian.
“It’s no secret that our Members and guests love the monorail resorts at Walt Disney World,” said Bill Diercksen, senior vice president and general manager of Disney Vacation Club. “Expanding our Disney Vacation Club offerings at the Polynesian would give our Members and Guests yet another incredible option for staying close to the magic while making vacation memories that last a lifetime.”
The proposed Disney Vacation Club tower addition that’s being built at Polynesian Village Resort is currently slated to open in late 2024 at Walt Disney World. Proposed plans for the Poly tower include a variety of guest room types, new recreation offerings, and dining options. DVC indicates that more information and project details will be shared at a later date.
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows currently has 380 Disney Vacation Club villas, including the largest Deluxe Studios at any Disney Vacation Club resort at Walt Disney World. There are also the unique over-the-water two-bedroom Bora Bora Bungalows, which are not nearly as popular and have been problematic for their impact on the points pool.
This follows other work around Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort last year. That included enhancements to the Great Ceremonial House, a new porte-cochère, and rebuilt monorail station. All of that looks good, a nice step forward for the resort that maintained its thematic integrity while bringing needed improvements to the aging property.
Room refurbishments were also part of the Poly’s overhaul. See our Review, Photos & Video: New Moana Rooms at Polynesian Village Resort for a tour and thoughts on the changes from our most recent hotel stay. If you’re looking at the existing DVC rooms, see our Review, Photos & Video: New Rooms at Polynesian Villas.
Now let’s turn to a construction update as work progresses on the Polynesian tower…
Polynesian Tower Summer 2023 Construction Update
Progress continues to speed ahead on construction of the tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. We recently took a couple of boat rides across the Seven Seas Lagoon and were able to capture photos from multiple angles that show progress to date, as well as the scale of this structure as compared to the existing Poly longhouses. As you can see from the photos above and below, it quite literally towers above them!
Just in the span of a few days, we saw considerable progress on the Poly tower as concrete panels were lowered into place and built-out the tower. More than any in-park project, the Poly tower is really being constructed with remarkable speed. (If TRON Lightcycle Run or the EPCOT overhaul were built with this sense of urgency, both would’ve been done years ago!)
Here are views from the boat between the Grand Floridian and Polynesian, and the ferry to the TTC:
It’s interesting to watch the concrete slabs lowered into place and inserted into the building. We’ve seen this method of construction in other construction around Central Florida, but it’s the first time I’ve seen this with Walt Disney World resorts. This tower is progressing even faster than did Disney’s Riviera Resort or Gran Destino, and those went up pretty fast!
It’s also amusing how much faster Walt Disney World builds resorts versus attractions. Maybe “amusing” isn’t the right word. It’s a little discouraging. Defenders of Disney will point to the comparative complexity, which is at least partly fair. But CommuniCore Hall and Plaza and the surrounding trees in EPCOT aren’t exactly the pinnacle of Imagineering. The unfortunate reality is that Disney purposefully prolongs construction timelines in many of those projects to spread capital expenditures over multiple fiscal years. But I digress.
The bottom line is that the DVC Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort should easily make its Late 2024 scheduled opening timeframe. If anything, that seems like it’s on the conservative side if the project keeps up its current pace. Then again, with Disney Vacation Club sales slowing and both Riviera and Grand Floridian still having plenty of unsold inventory (and the Villas at Disneyland Hotel going on sale soon), perhaps the pace will slow so DVC can allow its existing properties to sell first.
Polynesian DVC Tower Commentary
I realize change is inevitable, but I’ll miss this path and the beaches it passes. I’ve spent many a morning photographing the sunrise over here, using the twin and triplet palm trees on these beaches to frame the Polynesian’s longhouses.
Newer Walt Disney World fans may not realize it, but this stretch of land was once relatively tranquil. I don’t recall what it was like before the Wedding Pavilion was built in the mid-1990s, but up until the Villas at Grand Floridian, it was a peaceful area with large swaths of beach and green space between the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. Now, there’s a lot of parking and development, with more on the horizon. Really has a “paved paradise to put up a parking lot” kind of feeling to it.
One thing that’s still unanswered by the plans and announcement is whether the new Disney Vacation Club tower will be part of the existing condo association, or a new one. The expansion to the Villas at Grand Floridian (above) is part of that resort’s current condo association, but that’s also a conversion rather than a new build. (See Grand New Rooms at Walt Disney World’s Flagship Resort for a look inside those.)
With the Polynesian expansion, it might make sense to roll this into the existing condo association to dilute the impact of the Bora Bora Bungalows. There’s probably a compelling counterpoint for treating the new wing differently, but it eludes me right now.
However it’s categorized, my sincere hope is that the Poly tower is built as if it were a standalone resort like Riviera Resort or the planned Reflections, rather than in the style of Bay Lake Tower or the Villas at Grand Floridian. Meaning, that it contains counter and table service restaurants and other amenities.
The last time we stayed at the Polynesian, the beach was packed with guests during the Disney Enchantment fireworks–to the point that there was literally no available space–and the lobby was incredibly crowded with people waiting to be seated at ‘Ohana and elsewhere. The existing Polynesian infrastructure is often already stretched to its breaking point, and this tower needs to provide relief to that. Adding guest rooms without amenities will further exacerbate those problems, so we really hope that isn’t the plan.
Regular readers will recall that I was harsh about the proposed Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge (above), which was supposedly a “nature-inspired” resort. It was slated for the former River Country water park location along the shore of Bay Lake between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness.
Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge was one of the projects put on indefinite hold as a result of the closure. Based on Walt Disney World’s activities on that construction site and scrubbing all references to Reflections from the internet, the project was safely assumed to be cancelled. I was ecstatic. Absolutely over the moon in response to its cancellation. Reflections was a half-baked plan from the start, and Disney not proceeding with it was a good thing.
This Poly tower news makes me wish that Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge were never cancelled. Not because I’ve suddenly had an about-face on Reflections (far from it), but because it would mean that this very-similar looking project at the Polynesian would not be happening.
Perhaps it would be simply a matter of forestalling the inevitable, with the site between the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resorts slated for future expansion down the road. I’d still roll the dice on that. At least delaying development might mean getting something that looks appropriate for the area, and has some semblance of theme.
As for commentary about the design, I had to check my calendar when I first saw the Poly tower concept art, thinking maybe it was April Fools’ Day. Much to my disappointment, this is not a lame joke. (It is lame, just not a joke.)
I won’t rehash all of it here, but my criticisms of this new DVC tower at the Polynesian are nearly identical to those of Reflections. That’s in no small part because this project bears a striking resemblance to the cancelled Reflections tower. (My bad–Imagineers were inspired by the original Poly plans. Sure thing, Bob.)
Disney’s recent approach to developing hotels adjacent to existing resorts doesn’t inspire much confidence, and this looks like a generically modern design that would be at home in Holiday Inn’s portfolio.
Anyone who has been to pretty much any major metro area in the last few years has undoubtedly seen something at least vaguely similar to this Polynesian addition. It looks a lot like mixed-use developments in Anaheim–not to mention the upcoming Disneyland Hotel DVC tower (below), or even the cancelled Reflections plan.
That these three designs are virtually indistinguishable despite being located a three very thematically-different resorts should say all that needs to be said. Despite Disney’s best efforts to invoke past plans and history to preemptively stymie criticism of this unambitious addition, the actual “inspiration” is simply modern, generic hotel/condo/apartment towers.
Perhaps some of you will dismiss this as needless negativity, especially those who were looking forward to Reflections or are big fans of recent Walt Disney World resort additions. That’s obviously your prerogative, and to each their own.
The thing is, we have not been negative about every hotel change at Walt Disney World. To the contrary, we’ve been more positive than the average reader about recent resort reimaginings, changes, and expansions. The DVC conversion at Grand Floridian makes complete sense, and those rooms look nice. The new lobby at the Contemporary is fantastic.
Beyond that, most of the new room designs in the last few years are generally good, with Riviera Resort (above) providing the template for how those should be done. I’m even (mostly) optimistic about the recently-announced BoardWalk restaurant and reimagining, aside from the lobby.
For the most part, it’s the new builds that I find problematic. In the last few years, Imagineering has really found its groove with the interiors, including room redesigns. By contrast, it seems like the prevailing sentiment is that the exterior and integration of theme simply does not matter.
When you compare Walt Disney World resorts built before the mid-1990s to ones built or redesigned in the last few years, there’s generally a clear division. Current projects are often interchangeable with real world Holiday Inns or other mid-tier chained brand hotels.
Look at the difference between BoardWalk Inn or Beach Club and the new casino tower at Coronado or the Fairfield Inn Des Moines Airport Riviera Resort. There simply is not the same depth of detail in the designs with new builds at Walt Disney World–they are not themed.
One explanation is that Disney simply doesn’t want to spend on themed architecture, which eat into profit margins on DVC contract sales. This makes sense, and also explains why Disney is adding these towers alongside existing resorts rather than making them standalone properties. By building adjacent to current hotels, they can share infrastructure or don’t need to offer every amenity on-site.
Another explanation is that the company wants to make things as crowd-pleasing as possible so as to not alienate any potential customers. The thing about this approach is that when you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. Either way, I don’t get it.
I’m not entirely unreasonable about development at Walt Disney World, I just think it needs to be done in a sustainable way, and one that’s respectful of what already exists. Like Gran Destino Tower or Disney’s Riviera Resort, I have no doubt that this Poly tower will have great guest rooms, offer worthwhile features, and functional enhancements to the Poly.
I’d imagine it’ll also add 1-bedroom and larger rooms to Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, something that has been requested by DVC owners for years. From that perspective alone, I suspect many members will consider this addition a “win.”
As much disdain as I have for the exterior appearance of Gran Destino and the Riviera, they are both excellent resorts if all you care about is their substantive offerings and view them only from the inside, or in isolation. To be fair, that may be the case for many of you.
The outside appearance of Four Seasons Orlando isn’t exactly anything special, but it’s a great hotel on the inside. The critical distinction is that Four Seasons is known for superlative service, not Disney design–and the Four Seasons didn’t impact the existing ‘skyline’ of Walt Disney World when built.
Personally, I think it’s very fair to say that Walt Disney World should aim higher as themed design and immersive environments are its calling card. Exterior design being “good enough” for downtown Anaheim should not be the bar by which Imagineering is measured. Something being sufficient to “complement” Angel Stadium is not quite the same as it fitting with the flagship Grand Floridian or iconic Polynesian. Those are exemplars of themed design, and if additions aren’t capable of matching their look, they simply shouldn’t be built.
At this point, I feel like I’m wasting my breath with all of this, though. If you don’t look at the concept art for the Polynesian tower at the top of this post and immediately think that it’s out of place, there’s probably nothing I can say that’ll change your mind. We simply have different tastes and expectations about the caliber of product Walt Disney World should be delivering given the costs and its rich legacy. To me, this is all very obvious, but I suppose reasonable minds may differ.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this Walt Disney World news? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about a new tower being added to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort? Happy that DVC is expanding the Poly Villas, or wish they’d build a new stand-alone resort? If you’re a Polynesian (hotel) fan, are you upset by this or indifferent to it? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I agree – they just don’t theme like they use too – the lobby of riveria is unimpressive compared to animal kingdom or grand Floridian
the riviera is the nicest DVC resort we’ve stayed in. Full stop.
I’ve just returned home from Aulani. If they name the expansion building Waikiki, in keeping with naming the longhouse after places (I know Waikiki isn’t an island, but still), it should fit right in. High-rise, over-packed chaos in the middle of everything.
perhaps slightly off topic but we are currently staying at the poly. the rooms in Fiji and aeroetoa buildings facing the construction absolutely should not be sold. we were given a room overlooking the constriction and it reminds me more of a war zone than an island retreat. they should be ashamed to book these rooms at all let alone at the price they are currently asking. unacceptable. also I agree with everything Tom has said in the article.
“If you don’t look at the concept art for the Polynesian tower at the top of this post and immediately think that it’s out of place”
Definitely have to agree.
But, as a DVC Poly owner who somehow thought they were going to add a new building near the TTC with 1 and 2 bedrooms I am happy that this might occur here.
I am very disappointed to hear that it is looking like a separate association. I so wanted to be able to book the new one at 11 months out and I’m getting too old and less interested in buying anymore points.
Probably the only thing I would consider is selling my original points and using the money to buy here (at a great loss of course).
Mostly agree with the sentiments in this article. Anything produced after after Animal Kingdom and Aulani has been unadventurous at best. Even if they retained the skillsets needed, they still wouldn’t be willing to produce anything like the transformative beauty and expense of Jambo House. Heck, truth be told, they would never greenlight the Animal Kingdom park either!
I recently spent time at Riviera resort. Inside, the resort is quite good – great spaces and immediate grounds, dining etc. Outside though, the building is odd and compromised – lacking many queues that evoke the French and Italian architecture or the layered changes in height and elevation common there. They settled on a french-ish single structure plopped on the shore of a lake looking out on a older, cheaper Caribbean resort. It stops the resort from ever achieving much real passion from the folks that stay there. Its enough for some that its a nice place, and on the skyliner. That mindset forms the foundation of Disney’s slide, and the loss of the fierce loyalty of their fandom.
Trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear and ruining the view for surrounding resorts
Growing up in a DVC family I have seen growth and fun surprises each new DVC resort brought. The new resorts currently popping up I had a hard time believing that they were actually Disney resorts. I thought by some mistake Disney had lost some property. The only reason I go to visit the other resorts is because my mom loves resort hopping. But she is not very impressed either by these new modern resorts. And a lot of other DVC members feel the same way. Instead of becoming more inclusive the resorts are feeling exclusive. The high maintenance security at the Riviera is unforgiving and does not treat DVC guests kindly.
I think with the article on the new resort Tom bricker has laid out in this article about the new resort builds, we can clearly see a focus on profit over creating magical family experiences. There is still no end in the creativity they could have brought to each of these resorts. If Disney was going to drop building parks for increasing park volume, then they should have considered adding in new attractions at each resort representing the resorts unique style.
As a child with two siblings it was expensive for our parents to take us to a night out at the polynesian for a luau. Yet, they made it possible and it is a memory that sticks with me well into my adult life. Sad part is I will never be able to take my kids there for the same experience. They hold on to that lame light show. Which also could be updated with amazing LED lights and improve the quality of the boats for the workers. Yet somehow, things that require money are being preserved for nostalgia.
That lake is a preserve for a lot of local animals who are being pushed out of their homes due to the extreme amount of building taking place in the Orlando area. More homes are great but at what cost. It would have been nice to see Disney take a more Naturalistic approach to the new resort. Picking one polynesian island. Incorporating unique styles of building. Research the local Flora, fauna and focused on incorporating Endangered species into the design and culture of the building. It is almost as if Disney has created a fall back that is separate from the building and business plans they execute. Disney conservation makes them look good, but do they stand by the principles and values they preach. If they are that could be the only reason for this modern concrete behemoth. They have failed to continue investing in the magic. Magical family experiences are a thing of the past. The nostalgic feeling people have today when they see one of the classic Disney resort designs is a reminder of the new Disney. Not a Walt Disney World but a corporate Disney with a lot of rules and no fun.
It’s interesting. This is the second comment I’ve seen recently about security at Riviera. We were just there last week and didn’t notice a thing. Maybe I’m just not very observant!
We were just at WDW and are Poly owners. I’m interested in the tower because the kids are getting bigger. One of the many DVC employees I spoke to believed it will a separate contract because new-buyers at Grand Floridian are complaining that they don’t get a full 50 years (Disney could fix this be extending the legacy Poly contracts like the other DVC resorts that got that a few years ago).
Another DVC guide indicated that the new Poly Tower will have at least 2 restaurants & “all its own amenities”, which will certainly help if not relieve pressure on the Poly, at least not add to it.
Of course, take my relay of what they unofficially told me with a grain of salt…..
I have also heard the same rumor about the separate condo association for that same reason. That makes sense and is probably correct, especially if the tower is distinct from an amenities perspective.
I’ll believe it when I see it when it comes to the “at least 2 restaurants.” Sure, if we’re classifying Capt. Cook’s and Pineapple Lanai as two restaurants, I could believe that. But I doubt we’re getting something the size of ‘Ohana and a large CS. The tower is big, but not that big–and they’ll want to devote as much space as possible to rooms.
In any case, thanks for sharing!
A large part of what the Resorts are selling is nostalgia – even the Contemporary’s architecture respects this, as the unique A – frame gave a very unique take on modernity- unlike the hyper Modernist garbage Tom so lovingly describes that has been the house style of Disney since Eisner left.
And the cynical assumption is that Disney fans are mind-numbed robots, so long as the name Disney is attached. By the way, how are Disney’s live action remakes, which follow the same reasoning, doing? They make you want to go back and see the original animation. Ditto on the Disney DVC schlock towers.
Bob Chapek is a convenient fallguy! Bob Iger is to blame for Disney’s downfall.
I know some people can’t pass up grabbing that extra buck wherever they can.
I just feel the beauty of Seven Seas and the three distinctly different hotels/resorts is highlighted by the “natural space” between them all. All of that, the soul if you will, will be lost when every inch is filled in with nondescript buildings. Without that natural space between them nothing will stand out.
I can confirm that as of a few weeks ago, that new building looks like doodie. Obviously it’s still just a concrete shell, but I do not see how they can make it look Polynesian. Way too tall, for one thing.
Tom,
I agree 99% with you. I’d argue there’s at least a few people who think the architecture of the Poly is a misrepresentation of Polynesian architecture. It’s a parody on purpose, I get it. But I’m over it, it’s 2023, move on.
Hey Tom – given all the construction, when would you recommend booking a DVC studio at the Poly in 2024? Will the construction in the first few months of 2024 likely be very disruptive and an eyesore, or is it best to beat the rush of people once the new tower opens in late 2024? (Our current targets are late Jan or early Mar.) Thanks!
IMHO it doesn’t matter. The current DVC longhouses are at the opposite side of the resort. I’ll be there in 3 weeks and expect no disruption or construction noise from the site.
They really need to go back to Eisner’s model of building truly immersive and unique resorts like the Wilderness Lodge. He was personally involved and brought in architects with specialty in the area/style he wanted represented. They could build a new Poly tower that would flow with the existing resort and look like it belonged in Hawaii.
They need to lay off these hotel designers.