Construction update from the Great Ceremonial House at Disney’s Polynesian Resort

SpaceMountain771 day ago

Hi everyone,

I am currently visiting the Walt Disney World Resort and staying at the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Because of our regular lunches at Captain Cook’s, I have been able to observe the progress at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. With this post, I am going to focus on the room refurbishments, rather than the porte-cochère, since it is easier to observe from the walking path.

First, Lakeland Antique Mall has significantly more furniture than it did in September. If you are looking for furniture, such as the chair/ottoman and daybed, lighting, wall art, or bathroom accessories, then this is the place to find it. Room decor likely came from the Fiji longhouse as you can observe empty rooms, on the first floor, when workers are present during the day. The second and third floor windows are occluded by tarps. Sliding doors are kept ajar; the gap is fitted with a piece of plywood that has an opening for ventilation. Scaffolding has been erected on the western side of Tuvalu, reaching up to the third floor. Because of fencing, it is difficult to see the activity within Tuvalu, however, current activity seems concentrated in Fiji. The entrance to Aotearoa is also fenced off, however, we have yet to observe activity, so the refurbishment progression seems as though it may be from the western longhouses to the eastern longhouses.

Regarding the rooms, unlike the photos that had been released of gutted Contemporary Tower rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which were speculated to be reimagined to include the Incredibles, the first floor rooms in the Fiji longhouse have not been gutted. Furniture and carpeting has been removed. However, much to my surprise, the bamboo trim remains along the wall. I am not sure if it will be removed eventually or if the existing trim will be incorporated into the new design. To me, the observable work is most similar to a DVC soft goods refurbishment, like the recent reimagining of Disney’s Old Key West Resort, which included carpet and paint, rather than a full gut.

What is most interesting is the clearly posted signage noting the active construction sites and violations for trespassers. I could not help but wonder if the intent was to deter influencers from capturing and sharing photos and/or videos through social media.

Cheers,
-SpaceMountain77