New Moana Pool Area, Restaurant & Castle View Gardens: Island Tower at Polynesian Resort
Walt Disney World has revealed new details for the restaurant, Moana pool area, and fireworks viewing decks coming to the Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. This shares full details, fresh concept art and our take on the upcoming addition to the Poly.
According to Walt Disney World, the new 10-story Island Tower’s architecture will pull inspiration from early concept art of the iconic property by Walt Disney Imagineering, also according to Disney. This expansion will unlock a new experience at the resort, beginning with an exquisite ceiling art installation in the tower’s lobby inspired by the South Pacific Islands and showcasing a variety of native wildlife. Each animal holds a strong connection to the islands and symbolizes values important to the people of the region.
The waterfront Island Tower will feature the charm of the South Pacific islands, thrill of exploration, and the beauty of the natural world. The Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows will offer a variety of guest room types that will sleep from two to nine guests, such as duo studios, spacious one and two-bedroom villas, and brand-new two-bedroom penthouse villas. The tower will also include deluxe studio rooms, adding to the deluxe studio rooms already available at the Poly Villas.
The Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows is projected to open on December 17, 2024, which is 5 years after Disney’s Riviera Resort opened on December 16, 2019. The new Poly tower will offer villas brimming with original artwork inspired by the Polynesian Islands, wayfinding and the natural elements: earth, water, wind and sky. Each guest room will also feature custom artwork inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studios film, “Moana.”
Other art will exist in the lobby, from sculptures crafted from recycled fishing nets to chandeliers built of living moss plants. Walt Disney Imagineering has partnered with various artists to create art influenced by the heritage of Polynesia and the spirit of conservation, along with Disney references.
Now, Walt Disney World has pulled back the curtain on resort restaurants, amenities, and other features at the Island Tower…
Get ready to indulge in the delicious flavors of Polynesia at the Wailulu Bar & Grill. “Wailulu” gets its name from the Hawaiian words “wai,” which means water, and “lulu” which means calm, which is very fitting as this unique restaurant will boast breathtaking views of the Seven Seas Lagoon.
Wailulu Bar & Grill will feature spacious indoor and outdoor seating areas and a spectacular bar space with views of Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom. This casual walk-up pool bar will feature an all-day menu for lunch and dinner that is influenced by the Polynesian Islands’ local and indigenous ingredients. Specialty coffee and on-the-go morning pastries will be available for breakfast.
The dining room will be adorned with dazzling Polynesian-inspired artwork, created exclusively for the space, including floating tropical fish sculptures crafted from recycled materials and reclaimed fishing nets. The fish will be “swimming” throughout the space, leading to a grand textile piece featured in the bar area, representing a colorful coral reef.
The center of the dining room will showcase an abstract Polynesian Stick Chart, an ancient navigation tool used to traverse the seas. A vibrant centerpiece composed of beautiful shades of blue, teal and green faux stained-glass will create an ambiance to dive in and explore the mouthwatering menu!
In other art, everyone’s favorite wayfinding princess, Moana, will be featured in a painting on display in Wailulu Bar & Grill.
Wailulu Bar & Grill looks nice! One of the biggest complaints about the lobby and other common areas of the Island Tower that have been showcased to date is that they’re too bland and beige–very one-note as contrasted with the colorful Polynesian Village Resort.
This looks like a much healthier mix of natural woods and materials, a calming earthy appearance…and colors! I love the fish above, and what appears to be a backlit stained glass panel along the wall. Between that and the open-air views of Magic Kingdom, this space looks like a winner.
The big question for me concerns capacity. Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort really, really needs more restaurants already. This delivers that, but is it sufficient for a tower of this size? Gran Destino Tower and Riviera Resort both added a lot more than this. While those aren’t exactly apples to apples comparisons, Coronado Springs is pretty close. It already had a lot of restaurants (especially for a Moderate Resort) and added several more with the tower.
This is one of my overarching concerns about the Island Tower in general. Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort is already very popular–perhaps Walt Disney World’s top “destination” resort (if not, #2 behind Grand Floridian). The infrastructure buckles when it’s busy, and the new Island Tower will exacerbate that.
So either the Poly is going on lockdown, or it’s going to have more problems during peak seasons. Honestly, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Island Tower–including Wailulu Bar & Grill–is not accessible to guests who aren’t staying at the Polynesian. Obviously, there’s no stopping people from walking around outside, but I could see keycard access being required to enter the building.
The Island Tower will also include a new fitness center and pool area. Offering both aquatic fun and a relaxing escape, the new Cove Pool has a courtyard with a sandy beach area, whirlpool spa and magnificent views of Seven Seas Lagoon.
Little ones can embrace their inner wayfinder at Moana’s Voyage, a whimsical new splash area that will feature life-size sculptures of Moana and her iconic canoe from the Walt Disney Animation Studios film.
Both Disney Vacation Club members and guests staying at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will be able to experience these new aquatic features. In addition, you can keep cool in the Lava Pool, featuring a towering volcano, waterfall and 142-foot-long waterslide, at the existing Polynesian Village Resort. Or visit the Oasis Pool—a refreshing leisure pool set in a lush garden. You can also play volleyball, take a guided fishing excursion or rent a motorboat and explore Seven Seas Lagoon.
Finally, Disney Vacation Club Members and guests staying at the Island Tower addition will enjoy exclusive access to four tropical terrace gardens.
Each terrace garden will feature vibrant artwork, lush foliage and uniquely themed seating areas. The distinctively designed hideaways will offer families a serene locale to gather and take in the views during their stay.
These oases will offer picturesque views of Disney’s Oak Trail and Magnolia Golf Courses–but more importantly, Seven Seas Lagoon, making the terrace gardens a spectacular place for viewing Magic Kingdom fireworks.
Okay, I absolutely love these garden terraces. For whatever reason, I figured these large spaces (that are plainly visible in the above concept art) would be incorporated into the Grand Villas or one of the top-tier room types. This is way better than that, and I cannot wait to head here late at night or early in the morning and enjoy a cup of coffee and watch Magic Kingdom wake up or go to sleep, as the case may be.
Unless there’s a rooftop deck, I’m guessing these terraces will be an absolute cluster for fireworks viewing, so I won’t even bother with that. Nevertheless, I’m very pleased that Walt Disney World thought ahead with more fireworks viewing areas at the Island Tower–and I hope even more have yet to be revealed.
One of the biggest existing ‘infrastructure’ problems at the Poly is fireworks viewing. It’s clear that guests at the hotel side of the Poly won’t have access to these terrace gardens–a good thing, since space will be limited–but hopefully they do have access to common areas along the waterfront (presumably, they will). If the Island Tower can be a net-addition in terms of fireworks viewing capacity, that would be absolutely huge.
Regardless of whether the Island Tower as a whole is locked down, these garden terraces definitely will be. For one thing, Walt Disney World indicates guests of the Island Tower will have “exclusive access” to them. That’s a smart move and makes these a huge guest perk of the Island Tower.
Ultimately, I’m still not a fan of the Island Tower, but the terrace gardens, Wailulu Bar & Grill, and Moana pool area aren’t part of my criticism or skepticism. I have no strong opinion on the splash pad (hence no commentary above), but really like what we’ve seen of the terrace gardens and Wailulu Bar & Grill so far.
As for the exterior and everything else, I really don’t want to beat a dead horse since I’ve already yammered on about the building’s exterior at length in the commentary to our main post about the Poly Tower…and it’s really not relevant here, anyway, since this is a post offering a first look inside. My guess is that, like Gran Destino Tower before it, most of the criticism about the Island Tower will revolve around viewing it from the outside.
Once you enter the Island Tower and can no longer see how it looks on the outside–and negatively impacts the Seven Seas Lagoon skyline–it’ll likely be a winner. At least, that’s my big hope. There’s no undoing the damage already caused by adding this tower to the monorail loop…so it at least had better be “worth it” in terms of the rooms, restaurants, and other amenities it adds. I really hope we get to a point soon where Walt Disney World additions aren’t evaluated from a “lemonade out of lemons” perspective.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the terrace gardens, Wailulu Bar & Grill, and Moana pool area? Have you already booked a stay at the Island Tower? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the Island Tower being added to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort? 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’ve stayed at the Polynesian Resort at least 52 tims since 1980 and have brought 39 different guests with me. I’ve not liked or stayed at the Polynesian Village resort since the waterfall in the main lobby was taken out. To my guests and me, it was the reason we stayed at the Polynesian…as well as attending the luau. I always took my guests to Ohana’s…it hasn’t changed. The food is the best in my opinion…and I’ve stayed at all the “inside” resorts such as the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary, and the Wilderness Lodge. Looking at the new pictures of the Polynesian isn’t nearly as exciting as the old rooms with the bamboo and the draping of the material. It made us feel like we were on a paradise island. I hope to visit one more time next year. I don’t go on vacations anywhere else but Disney World. There’s nothing like taking new folks for an exciting trip of wonderment! Thank you for allowing me to explain my hopes and dreams of past times with Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The kids I have brought over the years are bringing their kids now! So in total, I have introduced 67 people in all to Disney World and your resorts!
I agree with you, Tom, I think the tower is a blight, but people will undoubtedly love it. Poly is already way too overcrowded in every aspect. This new mega-plex is going to be really bad and it doesn’t appear that they have added enough amenities to absorb the new masses. My greatest concern is the Monorail station platform which is already a mess. Are they planning for another station or something to accommodate hundreds of more people? Also, in that same realm, I saw someone ask about the boat transportation, how will that work? Thank you!
Is that a couch is a cage?
It seems like we’ve been drinking a lot of lemonade at WDW and unfortunately, more seems to be on the menu with the Tom Sawyer Island announcements.
I’m not concerned about the food situation. We typically Door Dash or eat in the parks. The pool situation is concerning to me though as we stay at Poly often and picked it as our home resort mainly because it’s my kids’ favorite pool. That splash pad looks pretty lame compared to the Lava pool’s water playground and the Cove pool not having a slide means most families will still be headed to the Lava pool. This is basically just another Oasis pool with a splash pad. As it is the Oasis pool is rarely crowded and the Lava pool is a mad house. I really wish they’d gone the route of SSR and had 2 feature pools. I get it that SSR is a bigger resort – but the Lava pool was already over crowded most days – the tower is going to make it even worse.
The one thing they really needed to do for me was knock it out of the park with a really good pool. A big that is highly themed. From what I see, it’s going to be a boring pool that you could find at the Hilton next to Disney Springs.
I thought the same. That Splash pad is a complete let down vs the structure at the main Pool. Or compared to SSR, GF etc. Looks like they ran out of money.
The pool area seems too small. The lava pool already gets packed. They missed the boat here by being cheap. This was the time to do something special. OK sure an Aulani-style lazy river was not going to come, but more.
I would not be shocked if those gardens turn into some sort of system to enter ala TOWL; I’d bet on a popup bar cart for $12 beer and $15 cocktails too. But, the overhead would be much lower than TOWTL. It’s a great idea if they can pull it off. I typically have no issues getting into TOTWL if you plan ahead a little bit.
I don’t see the tower on lockdown at all. It’ll just be crowded, just like the great ceremonial house is now too.
Has there been any information shared about upgrades to the water transportation system around Seven Seas Lagoon with the opening of the tower? For instance, do we know if they will be expanding the current Poly boat dock or adding a new one, and/or adding more boats to be operating throughout the day? I know there’s no additional monorail stop, but I’m wondering how the existing boat transportation system will be able to absorb the increased volume of people the new tower will add.
Will the hotel side of the Poly also be locked down from tower guests – meaning the beach, restaurant, Trader Sam’s, Aloha Isle (dole whip)? Seems only fair and just for hotel guests.
haha yes that would be hilarious
I have stayed at the Poly the last 3 years over Spring Break – for next year I will likely stay at Grand Floridian instead
As mentioned in both the article and the comments, the Poly is in sore need of at least one if not two more dining options, and the new tower will only make that situation worse
Given the price point is now almost on par with GF, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more people making the same switch
It would be great if Diz brought back the Luau. If there isn’t room on the beach, they could put it ON THE ROOF!
MORE Luau! MORE Luau! MORE Luau!
The little kid in me thinks that the Moana raft in the kiddie splash zone looks awfully tempting to climb upon. The adult that I am seems to think that the raft is very much not designed for climbing and playing on. Is it a play feature, or simply decorative?
I would hope that they designed it to be climbed on, as any feature in a splash pad becomes climbable in the eyes of a child.
Hi, everything looks really great, but I’m confused. According to what I’m reading these pictures are of Wailulu is also of the pool bar. How can the nice looking restaurant with the great views also be the pool bar? Unless they all have the same name aka Vero Beach with it’s “we ran out of names”: Wind and Waves Bar, Wind and Waves Market and Wind and Waves Restaurant. And wouldn’t it be unprecedented to have a WDW restaurant only open to DVC members?
Keep up the fabulous pictures and reporting Tom. You are miles ahead of all the WDW reporters.
From what I’ve seen, I expect the restaurant will be on the ground floor facing Seven Seas Lagoon and on the right (if your back is to the Tower) will be the pool bar that is probably accessible from the restaurant and the pool, which is further down on the right. So it’s all the same space – picture a round bar, one side boarders the restaurant and one side boarders the pool area.
And as to the DVC only restriction – remember, anyone can book rooms at Island Tower by paying cash (right now that’s the only way to book a room! I’m waiting for the announcement as to when we can book with points). So it’s not DVC only. It’s just like Riviera.
Will the restaurant be available to anyone, or be restricted to guests staying at the tower?
Also, has the menu been posted, or did I overlook it?
I assume the whole tower is going to be on lockdown, requiring a keycard/MagicBand/etc to enter. How else do they restrict those garden terraces?
No menu yet. I wouldn’t expect to see one until late October or November.
The outside is what it is (I agree it’s not great). But these interior views and the Moana splash area look great. It seems like Disney has received the message from 2019 to today after the poor theming inside the Riviera. It is interesting to compare this to the Helios annoucement today. The Helios exterior looked great, but the inside was certainly disappointing and bland. The Island Tower’s exterior was clearly just drafting on the Aulani design, but the theming inside is much improved. Is Disney learning its lesson that it was theming and the details that made it king?
Wait a second…I like the interior of Riviera (and I say this as a vocal critic of the exterior) and love the interior at Aulani!
I agree what Disney showed today is very promising, but I really don’t think their circa-2019 interiors are bad. Then again, I disagree with a lot of fan critiques and think Disney interior design has gotten noticeably better starting with Riviera. Just contrast the room redesigns from 2015-2018 with ones over the last few years. They’re so much better!
Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, I have not been to the Aulani and can’t comment on its interior. I just thought the exterior design of the Island Tower and Aulani look similar, and I don’t really like either (it is hard to match big/tall with polynesian-vibes). When I say that the Island Tower’s interior is much improved, I meant relative to what I thought it was going to be given its exterior design and some of the original concept art.
The only point of disagreement is with the Riviera. I am disappointed by both its exterior and interior. Not enough theming, generic modern lobby, cramped halls and small elevators, and rooms that can only imitate real luxury and that lack theming that makes the Disney difference. We agree that room designs were bad 2015-2018, but I think that bled over into the Riviera. Totally agree that new rooms, e.g., at Poly, Grand Flo, Boardwalk, etc., are much improved.
I am very excited for these spaces! I’d love to move my 2025 DVC points stays over to the new villas, but wondering if that is very likely given the high demand. I don’t think we’d add on and buy points here so we’d have to book at 7 months. And I don’t have a good feel for how quickly points will sell/be available for DVC bookings.
Was there any info shared about the opening date(s) for the new pool and outdoor areas?
I would assume all of this opens when the hotel opens. I guess it’s possible they aren’t ready on time, but I’d bank on it being done by mid-December.