The Island Tower at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort recently opened to guests on December 17th, 2024 as the resort's newest and largest expansion ever. In this article, I'll be giving you a virtual tour of the tower and providing some honest commentary throughout.
If you'd like to check out my video from opening day and get my raw first impressions, please check out the vlog by clicking here. Hope you enjoy!
History
As for just about every article I write, we need to take a moment to look back in time and discuss the history of the Island Tower. Now, I'll be honest, there isn't really much to talk about here (*proceeds to ramble on*), but there's enough noteworthy details that I want to discuss that should help explain why and how the Island Tower even came to fruition in the first place. So, let's begin!
Our story begins back in 1966 when Disney was drawing up plans and ideas for the various hotels that would make up Walt Disney World. Plans originally included three resorts along the Seven Seas Lagoon that never even came to fruition, which included Asian, Persian, and Venetian themes. In the end, only three hotels opened alongside the Magic Kingdom on opening day in 1971. This was Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds, and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort.
Fun fact: The Polynesian was actually dedicated 45 minutes before The Contemporary and Fort Wilderness were, so if you want to get really technical, The Polynesian is truly the original resort at Walt Disney World!
But back to the tower. As seen in the concept art above, the original design for The Polynesian was reminiscent of the luxury, more modern hotels found on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Obviously this more modern theme would have been evocative of something you'd find in the 1970's, but you get the idea.
For whatever reason, the original tower idea never saw the light of day, as Disney opted for a more traditional island theme that represented the vibrancy and culture of beachside villages in the oceania region. Taking inspiration from places like Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Bora Bora, the classic Polynesian theme we all know and love came to life through the magic of Disney's incredible attention to detail and storytelling.
As far as the remainder of The Polynesian's story goes, the rest is history... literally. The only notable enhancements I can recall is the lobby "update" back in 2015 alongside the addition of the Bora Bora Bungalows. Additionally, there were also a few aesthetic updates made back in 2021 to the exterior of the Great Ceremonial House and incorporating more of the Moana IP into the hotel rooms, but that's about it.
Then enter March of 2022, when Disney officially announced out of the blue that the biggest expansion to the resort was about to take place with the addition of the Island Tower.
It's worth noting that the Island Tower was not built on unused land. The tower replaced the former Luau Cove, which hosted a nightly dinner show called "The Spirit of Aloha." It was an original and unique offering that had been at the resort since it first opened, featuring an island-inspired three course family-style meal brought to your table while you were entertained by hula dancers, fire artists, drummers, and more. The setting was an open-air amphitheater along the water which provided the perfect setting to experience what it was like to attend a traditional Hawaiian luau. If you've ever been to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness, that's basically what The Spirit of Aloha was, just themed to The Polynesian instead.
Unfortunately, the experience never came back after Disney temporarily suspended their theme park and resort operations back in 2020. And with the announcement of the Island Tower being made public exactly two years later, The Spirit of Aloha dinner show had ran for almost 50 years at The Polynesian.
Demolition of the Spirit of Aloha amphitheater began shortly after the announcement, with land-clearing for the tower (also known as "Project U") beginning in the Summer of 2022. Vertical construction began as early as January of 2023, with the Island Tower officially opening on December 17th, 2024. That's a construction timeframe of just under 1,000 days, which is actually pretty good for Disney.
As far as why Disney made the sudden announcement to construct a new tower at The Polynesian, it's really anybody's guess. Usually, when Disney makes any sort of announcements, it usually comes after months of circulating around the rumor mill in the Disney community, but the Island Tower was truly a surprise project. Besides the obvious excuse of "no good idea at Imagineering ever truly dies," the original belief (and what was probably true at the time) was the fact that Disney had originally canceled another in-development project in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area, with that being Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge.
Reflections was originally announced back in the Fall of 2018. Set to be constructed on Disney's abandoned water park, River Country, land was cleared all throughout 2019 with site prep taking place shortly into 2020. But when the pandemic happened, the construction site was left abandoned for almost two years by Disney management. It seemed like Reflections had been canceled.
Now, at the time of writing this, it's important to note that this formerly canceled project has now been revived, and construction is happening on this new Disney Resort as we speak (more on that in a future article). But at the time of the Island Tower announcement in 2022, Disney had cut the chord on this DVC project.
Again, all of this is purely just speculation, but it is widely believed that the reason why the Island Tower even exists is because Disney still wanted to expand the capacity of the Magic Kingdom Resort Area, all while adding in a new modern Disney Vacation Club timeshare property to the area. Considering The Spirit of Aloha dinner show had never returned from closing in 2020, this area of The Polynesian was prime real estate for development. Even if you look back at the two pieces of concept art for Reflections and the Island Tower, you can't help but notice the modern design similarities between the two. All things considered, there really isn't any other explanation.
The Island Tower (Outside)
Now with that "brief" history lesson out of the way, it's time to discuss the Island Tower in full. Let's start with the exterior of the building.
The exterior is okay. Design-wise, I'm not really a huge fan. The slanted roof at the top and the glass railings on some of the balconies don't really work in my opinion. However, when it comes to the color scheme of the outside, I'm actually okay with it.
Seeing the outside colors of the tower in person surprised me. Photos, as usual, won't do any part of the tower much justice, and that is especially true when it comes to its exterior. The colors are much warmer in person than I thought. The original concept art we got I think made the tower look a lot more muted in color variation, but the dark browns and warm clay-like colors compliment each other nicely. There's a little bit of cream color that can be found as well, but not an abundance of it, which I appreciate. Overall, the colors don't exactly match the rest of the resort, but they work well enough that I'd consider them to "fit in." Somewhat generic, but passable.
You may notice that the sides of the tower are decorated with island-inspired design elements. According to Disney, these designs were actually created by a tattoo artist. An interesting choice for sure, but tattoos are a common part of Polynesian culture, so it's a cool and unique detail nonetheless.
We'll stay outside before getting to the interior of the tower. As such, let's talk about the pool area!
The Island Tower pool is actually one of my favorite parts about this expansion. It manages to connect the tower to the rest of the resort in a seamlessly perfect way. The area is called "The Cove Pool" and while it is a bit smaller in comparison to other pools at the resort, this is the third major pool to open at The Polynesian, so its size isn't really a make or break. Although, I think a major miss here was not calling it "The Luau Cove Pool" as a nod back to the former dinner show, but that's just me being picky.
Where the pool lacks in size, it certainly makes up in design. The views from this pool are gorgeous, and there's even a sunny green space right along the water where guests can sunbathe and relax. There's a ton of areas to sit, including plenty of hammocks for added relaxation. I can tell this will definitely be a popular spot to watch Magic Kingdom's nightly fireworks, especially considering you can literally watch them while in the pool. That's how great the views are here.
The theming in this area is pretty solid, too. If you pay attention, there are some fish carved out of what appears to be driftwood, and it looks like they're swimming in the planters surrounding the pool. It's a nice added touch.
The Moana-themed splash pad for kids is adorable. The play area is called "Moana's Voyage" and is a great little addition to the space. The sail on her boat is actually a real sail that moves with the wind. At night, the fountains light up with a rich blue color which makes the area all the more inviting. If you look at Moana's boat from behind, you'll notice that the Imagineers placed her in a way where it looks like she's about to set sail on the waters of the Seven Seas Lagoon. You'll notice that a common theme throughout this article are little subtle details that will often go unnoticed by most guests, and we love to see it.
Another outside element nearby is the new restaurant that opened with the tower, called Wailulu Bar and Grill. The new eatery is easily the highlight of this expansion. It boasts incredible waterfront views of the Seven Seas Lagoon, and the outdoor portion is inspired by a lava rock pool bar. The name "Wailulu" actually translates to the phrase "calm waters" which is very fitting. It's seriously a fantastic restaurant.
While I did eat at Wailulu Bar and Grill on opening day (and had a great first experience), I felt like I did not try enough in order to give it a proper review. As such, a separate article about Wailulu Bar and Grill will be on the way soon. In the meantime, you're more than welcome to watch my vlog from opening day to experience my brief but delicious visit to what I think is the new best restaurant at The Polynesian.
One final thing that is accessible from the pool area is the addition of a Fitness Center. I guess I never realized that all this time, The Polynesian was missing a proper fitness room, and the Island Tower now incorporates this much-needed addition. While I did not explore the inside, I was informed by a Cast Member that the Island Tower Fitness Center is accessible to all guests staying at The Polynesian, which is great to hear.
The Island Tower (Inside)
Now we get to the interior of the tower. And by that, I really just mean the lobby. We won't be talking about the hotel rooms or the Terrace Gardens in this article, as there are plenty of photos and videos online of guests who have already had the opportunity to stay in the tower. We're only going to be focusing on the lobby here.
I'll start with the positives. The lobby is pretty and spacious.
Remember what I said about the Imagineers including lots of subtle details? Well, the Island Tower lobby is nothing short of that. Upon walking into the lobby, one of the first things you'll notice are four large pillars. Each pillar is designed to represent the four major elements of island culture, with that being Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. In the image above, you can see the Fire pillar featuring flame-like designs (right) and the Water pillar (left), which features ocean waves.
A more noticeable detail though are the sea creature designs scattered on the ceiling of the lobby. If the designs of these sea creatures look familiar, that's because they were designed by the same tattoo artist who created the exterior art on the sides of the tower. Sea creatures include a sea turtle, whale, dolphin, crab, stingray, and more. Here's a closer look at the whale in particular.
Each of the sea creatures were supposedly fully constructed from 100% recycled materials, ensuring Disney's newfound sustainability effort. As for the light fixture, it's supposed to represent the nighttime stars that Way Finders would use to help them navigate the ocean during their travels. You can kind of make it out.
Moving towards the back left corner of the lobby, a spacious and serene seating area is located right in front of a two story mural. If you take a closer look, the mural is aqua-marine in color and features plenty of easter eggs to the Walt Disney Animation Studio film Moana. Guests will spot characters and icons from the film including the Heart of Te Fiti Maui, Pua, Hei Hei, Tamatoa, and more. If you're extra observant, you may even spot some hidden Mickeys, too!
According to Imagineers, the entire mural was designed and created using various types of seashells to paint and carve certain characters and patterns. The shells helped give different parts of the mural various textures and gave it a more natural look overall.
Besides the mural, other noteworthy and noticeable elements in the lobby include a green and grassy chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a model of a traditional way finding outrigger on display in a corner near the elevators. Here's a look!
That's about it for the lobby. As you can see, there are certainly plenty of little hidden details that are representative of traditional Polynesian culture and the natural elements of the islands, but is it enough to make up for the somewhat sterile lobby?
I'm afraid my answer to that is no. Now don't get me wrong, there are a ton of hidden and meaningful details all throughout the tower, both inside and out. The problem is that most of them are so incredibly subtle that the average guest probably won't even take notice. I mean, let's be real. Is the average guest actually going to notice that the four pillars in the lobby represent the elements? Or that the sea creatures on the ceiling are made out of recycled materials and were designed by a tattoo artist? Probably not.
But I see what the average guest doesn't see. And if you're reading this, there's a good chance you probably do too. What I see here is a project that is trying to fit in with The Polynesian, but misses the mark to do so.
I say this for a multitude of reasons. The lobby is way too modern, and very sterile. Sure, it's pretty and spacious, but it is not nearly as warm or inviting or tropical as the Great Ceremonial House. The Island Tower lobby is a consistent boring beige throughout, with little pops of color here and there. And the same goes for the theming. What shouldn't be subtle is subtle, and there needs to be more of it. "Light" theming isn't going to cut it, especially at a major Disney resort.
I'm not saying that the lobby or tower as a whole has nothing to do with Polynesia, because it certainly does. I'm not even saying the lobby is ugly to look at either, because it's not. In fact, it's very pretty. But my main issue here is consistency. For context, let's do a side-by-side comparison of the Great Ceremonial House lobby and the Island Tower lobby.
You can't help but notice the stark contrast between the two. On one hand, you have the Great Ceremonial House, which is warm, earthy, and tropical. Guests are invited by an abundance of beautiful foliage native to the islands and flowing water features just before you walk in. And then you have the Island Tower lobby, which is modern, beige, and sterile. Pretty, but generic and boring.
In terms of consistency, it breaks the vibe of The Polynesian. Every "recent" addition to the resort has kept proper thematic integrity with it. Take the Bora Bora Bungalows, for example. They were added back in 2015, but if you hadn't known that, it looks they've been there since day one, as they match the rest of the resort perfectly. The brown longhouses, the red and orange roofs, etc. And that's how it should be. What makes Disney stand out from everyone else in the themed entertainment industry is their incredible attention to detail and thematic consistency. And while the Island Tower does have lots of detail to it, there's no denying that the overall design does not match the rest of the resort, and that's my main issue with it.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Island Tower at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort turned out to be not nearly as bad as I originally speculated. There were plenty of things that I was pleasantly surprised with, and equally as many things that I was not impressed by. In short, I think the tower is passable. It's an okay addition that will most likely grow on me over the years, but that's about it.
The incredible waterfront views of the Seven Seas Lagoon, charming pool area, and subtle details throughout help make up for the overly modern and very beige lobby, but it's still not enough.
Wailulu Bar and Grill is easily the standout of the tower. Once again, a full review article on this new restaurant will be out soon, so stay tuned!
But now I'll turn it over to you. What do you think of the Island Tower at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort? Do you like the modern theming of it? Or do you prefer the original lobby better? Let me know in the comments below, and thanks for reading!
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