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{{Infobox resort
| name = Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
| resort = [[Walt Disney World]]
| area = Magic Kingdom Resort Area
| theme = South Pacific
| opened = October 1, 1971
| designer = Welton Becket and Associates; WED Enterprises
| status = Operating
}}

'''Disney's Polynesian Village Resort''' is a South Pacific-themed deluxe resort hotel at [[Walt Disney World]] in Bay Lake, Florida, spread along the southern shore of the [[Seven Seas Lagoon]] opposite the [[Magic Kingdom]]. It opened on October 1, 1971, making it, with [[Disney's Contemporary Resort]], one of the two hotels that opened with Walt Disney World. The resort is served by its own station on the [[Walt Disney World Monorail System|Resort Monorail]] loop.

== History ==
The Polynesian was one of five hotels sketched in early master plans for the lagoon area, alongside Asian, Persian, Venetian and Tempo Bay concepts; only it and the Contemporary, the built form of the Tempo Bay idea, were realised for opening day. It was designed by WED Enterprises with the California firm of Welton Becket and Associates and built by the United States Steel Corporation using the same unitised modular construction as the Contemporary, in which finished room units were assembled separately and set into place. Construction began only in February 1971, less than eight months before opening.

The resort's formal dedication followed on October 24, 1971, with a luau on the beach. An early feature was a wave machine installed in the Seven Seas Lagoon to break artificial surf on the beach; it was abandoned after it accelerated erosion of the shoreline.

The hotel's name has changed twice. It opened as Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, was shortened to Disney's Polynesian Resort in 1985, and regained the full Village name in 2014, during a multi-year refurbishment that also remodelled the lobby of the Great Ceremonial House.

== Layout and theme ==
Accommodation is arranged in longhouses, low-rise buildings named for Pacific islands, including Hawaii, Tuvalu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Rarotonga. Their pitched roofs, exposed beams and carved detailing follow the model of traditional island architecture, and the buildings sit among palms, tropical planting, tiki torches and streams fed by waterfalls.

The central building is the Great Ceremonial House, modelled on a Tahitian royal assembly lodge, which contains the lobby, shops, restaurants and the monorail station. For its first four decades the lobby was centred on a large rockwork waterfall planted with tropical species; this was removed in the 2014 refurbishment and replaced with a smaller tiki figure.

In 2021 the standard rooms were redecorated with colours, patterns and artwork drawn from the 2016 animated film ''Moana'', whose story is set in a mythic Polynesia.

== Dining and entertainment ==
The Great Ceremonial House contains 'Ohana, a family-style restaurant serving dinner with Polynesian-inspired dishes and a character breakfast, and the Kona Cafe, a casual table-service restaurant. The resort is also home to Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, a small, heavily themed lounge based on the Jungle Cruise's headhunter character, which opened in 2015, and to the Pineapple Lanai, a walk-up counter known for serving Dole Whip soft-serve. For many years the beach and luau cove hosted the Spirit of Aloha dinner show; it closed in 2020 and did not return.

== Expansion ==
[[Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows]], a [[Disney Vacation Club]] development, opened in 2015, converting three longhouses to studio villas and adding twenty over-water bungalows on the lagoon, each with a private deck and plunge pool. A further DVC building, the Island Tower, opened in December 2024 on the resort's western side, styled with carved panels and planting intended to evoke the islands of Polynesia.

== Transport ==
Besides the monorail, the resort is connected to the Magic Kingdom by boat across the lagoon, and guests can walk to the [[Transportation and Ticket Center]], giving direct access to the [[EPCOT]] monorail line. Buses serve the other parks and [[Disney Springs]].

== See also ==
* [[Disney's Contemporary Resort]]
* [[Seven Seas Lagoon]]
* [[Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa]]
* [[Magic Kingdom]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Resorts]]
[[Category:Walt Disney World]]
[[Category:Hotels]]
[[Category:1971 establishments in Florida]]

Disney's Polynesian Village Resort - Revision history

Admin: Imported from text file