Poly Tower Restaurant is really nice - the rest of it,not so much

[tommygunn]

Using our points to stay at the Poly this year. Staying in the longhouse studios which are fantastic


The rest of our party is staying at the Tower studios and it’s … well …. sterile. Colorless, bland. The whole building looks like it was built on the cheap right down to the fake flowers in the common areas.

But the Wailulu restaurant/lounge is the exception. Really well done and lots of attention to detail.

 

[jcolvin5]

The vast majority of reviews, that I've seen, are completely opposite of what you are describing. Looking forward to seeing it for myself in a few weeks when we drop into Wailulu for lunch.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

But the Wailulu restaurant/lounge is the exception. Really well done and lots of attention to detail.

I assume the restaurant is still walk-up only? Did you eat there? How difficult was it to get seated?

 

[PinkPixel]

Using our points to stay at the Poly this year. Staying in the longhouse studios which are fantastic


The rest of our party is staying at the Tower studios and it’s … well …. sterile. Colorless, bland. The whole building looks like it was built on the cheap right down to the fake flowers in the common areas.

But the Wailulu restaurant/lounge is the exception. Really well done and lots of attention to detail.

Which sadly could have replaced the luau without building a tower on top.

 

[sndral]

We joined the wait to be seated queue as we walked from the VGF last week & were seated immediately around lunch time. We liked the menu & the decor. I suspect anyone who’s a meat & potatoes type won’t like the menu offerings at Wailua, but we’re adventurous eaters & appreciated the variety.
As for the tower itself, the exterior is bland & a bit ugly IMO, every time I rode by on the monorail I thought maybe they can just paint it go away green or blend in blue & please can we just stop w/ the fake grass. The interior, OTH is lovely.
Here’s what the blue sky promised:

& here’s what we got:

Photos from dvcnews.
Maybe it’ll look better as the landscaping grows & fills in?

 

[atthebeachclub]

We joined the wait to be seated queue as we walked from the VGF last week & were seated immediately around lunch time. We liked the menu & the decor. I suspect anyone who’s a meat & potatoes type won’t like the menu offerings at Wailua, but we’re adventurous eaters & appreciated the variety.
As for the tower itself, the exterior is bland & a bit ugly IMO, every time I rode by on the monorail I thought maybe they can just paint it go away green or blend in blue & please can we just stop w/ the fake grass. The interior, OTH is lovely.
Here’s what the blue sky promised:
View attachment 928646
& here’s what we got:
View attachment 928647
Photos from dvcnews.
Maybe it’ll look better as the landscaping grows & fills in?

To be fair….you are comparing a beautifully lit evening scene with perfect exposure to an overcast wide angle midday snapshot. Of course it won’t look as nice. And yeah, I anticipate those trees will grow.

 

[Smugpugmug]

The exterior looks so bad that I'm officially sending a formal apology to the Riviera for the years of hating on its appearance.

 

[Kenito]

The exterior looks so bad that I'm officially sending a formal apology to the Riviera for the years of hating on its appearance.

Me too. The first time I saw Riviera in person was from the Skyliner at a distance. My first thought was that it looked like a giant tombstone rising from the swamp. But eventually I had a one bedroom stay there that included amazing cookies from the quick service and I became charmed.

 

[sndral]

To be fair….you are comparing a beautifully lit evening scene with perfect exposure to an overcast wide angle midday snapshot. Of course it won’t look as nice. And yeah, I anticipate those trees will grow.

What I saw most often was the side facing the monorail as I rode by on returns from Epcot, the side facing the lake is better, although looking at the lakeside from a distance while riding the boat it sure stood out & not in a good way.
Maybe if they paint the building a darker shade of beige & add more dark/wood accents it would break up its monolithic appearance especially on the street side .

 

[tommygunn]

I assume the restaurant is still walk-up only? Did you eat there? How difficult was it to get seated?

Yes walk up. But rather easy to get

 

[atthebeachclub]

Me too. The first time I saw Riviera in person was from the Skyliner at a distance. My first thought was that it looked like a tombstone rising from the swamp. But eventually I had a one bedroom stay there that included amazing cookies from the quick service and I became charmed.

“Tombstone rising from the swamp” is seriously killing me. I see it.

 

[Mikey15]

The exterior looks so bad that I'm officially sending a formal apology to the Riviera for the years of hating on its appearance.

It looks great in person. Beware of social media rage-bait photos of bad angles or uninteresting sections. The tattoos, the pocket gardens, there’s some really nice touches!

 

[Smugpugmug]

It looks great in person. Beware of social media rage-bait photos of bad angles or uninteresting sections. The tattoos, the pocket gardens, there’s some really nice touches!

I was just at WDW and saw it in person. Nope, still looks horrendous.

 

[lowlight]

I was just at WDW and saw it in person. Nope, still looks horrendous.

I didn’t like Riviera in photos, but I ended up liking it in person. It’s still not anything special with theming and is on the sterile side when viewed from afar, but in person it’s rather charming. Having seen the Poly tower in person, it’s really, really uninspiring. It would have been okay on its own in another location. It looks like they plopped a Marriott down in the middle of two of the best themed properties in WDW. And the worst part is, a lot of room views from those properties are now basically this tower.

 

[SL6827]

Riveria is beautiful, it just doesn't need to be in the Caribbean. They did a disservice to both resorts putting it where they did. They were just too obsessed with making a dollar to care about the wonderful theming that they once took pride in. I still wonder why they didn't do a Caribbean DVC building there. What's to say they won't throw up an Anartic themed DVC within sight of Kidani at some point? They could, because they no longer care.

 

[Royal Consort]

Riveria is beautiful, it just doesn't need to be in the Caribbean. They did a disservice to both resorts putting it where they did... they no longer care.

On the one hand, the taller structure rising by Caribbean Beach is jarring. On the other hand, I am not sure Disney ever really cared. Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary are all within each other's sightlines with Victorian grandeur literally next to the Pacific Islands.

For my mind the most godawful thing Disney ever constructed in Florida was that Swan and Dolphin monstrosity that looms sinisterly over Crescent lake like Bob Chapek over a Tomorrowland cabana.

I think Riviera could have gone with a more ornate 'historic hotel' theme and could have been somewhere else but its placement is no more thematically discordant to what they've previously built. Similarly, the Island tower could have tied in with the kitsch of the resort more sensitively (can kitsch be sensitive, thats the problem right?) rather than the clean concrete tower that has no architectural ties or cohesion with the classic resort.

 

[SL6827]

On the one hand, the taller structure rising by Caribbean Beach is jarring. On the other hand, I am not sure Disney ever really cared. Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary are all within each other's sightlines with Victorian grandeur literally next to the Pacific Islands.

For my mind the most godawful thing Disney ever constructed in Florida was that Swan and Dolphin monstrosity that looms sinisterly over Crescent lake like Bob Chapek over a Tomorrowland cabana.

I think Riviera could have gone with a more ornate 'historic hotel' theme and could have been somewhere else but its placement is no more thematically discordant to what they've previously built. Similarly, the Island tower could have tied in with the kitsch of the resort more sensitively (can kitsch be sensitive, thats the problem right?) rather than the clean concrete tower that has no architectural ties or cohesion with the classic resort.

Ya, that is so true about the Swan, Dolphin. Didn't think of that. Uggglllyyyy.

 

[AstroBlasters]

On the one hand, the taller structure rising by Caribbean Beach is jarring. On the other hand, I am not sure Disney ever really cared. Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary are all within each other's sightlines with Victorian grandeur literally next to the Pacific Islands.

For my mind the most godawful thing Disney ever constructed in Florida was that Swan and Dolphin monstrosity that looms sinisterly over Crescent lake like Bob Chapek over a Tomorrowland cabana.

I think Riviera could have gone with a more ornate 'historic hotel' theme and could have been somewhere else but its placement is no more thematically discordant to what they've previously built. Similarly, the Island tower could have tied in with the kitsch of the resort more sensitively (can kitsch be sensitive, thats the problem right?) rather than the clean concrete tower that has no architectural ties or cohesion with the classic resort.

Disney never constructed the Swan and Dolphin. There is a great and detailed chapter about how the Swan and Dolphin came to be in an amazing book titled Disney Wars.

https://www.amazon.com/DisneyWar-Ja...d=63175d90-3ce0-41a5-b318-15321773a9d1&nodl=1

You can also read a condensed version in the history section here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Swan

 

[SL6827]

Disney never constructed the Swan and Dolphin. There is a great and detailed chapter about how the Swan and Dolphin came to be in an amazing book titled Disney Wars.

https://www.amazon.com/DisneyWar-Ja...d=63175d90-3ce0-41a5-b318-15321773a9d1&nodl=1

You can also read a condensed version in the history section here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Swan

Well who ever did should be embarrassed.