Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows — Hotel in Bay Lake

Standing tall on the banks of the Seven Seas Lagoon and visible from across the water, the Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows is the latest Disney Vacation Club resort to open to both members and the general public alike.||With a beautiful, elegant Polynesia theme, both internally and externally, and fantastic views of Happily Ever After, it’s a great new addition to the Polynesian resort.||||Located north-west to the main Polynesian Resort, the Island Tower has its own dedicated entrance off of Floridian Way, with its own private car park for residents. The entrance has an unmanned barrier, so a Magic Band or Resort Key is required for entry – if you have neither of these, the intercom will connect you to a Cast Member that can confirm your stay and allow you to enter.||||Bell Services were ready to greet us as we exited our vehicle in front of the rear of the building entrance – the foyer has doorways at either side of the building – and they assisted us in lifting our luggage out of the boot (trunk) and onto a trolley. We were directed inside where we were greeted with a Cast Member and an iPad – this is a new, non-traditional way of check-in at the Island Tower. There is no desk in sight, just two members of staff each with an iPad. We added a business card to the room booking and were assigned a room – with a quick scan of our Magic Bands, we were on our way.||||Whilst the process was quick and efficient, I feel it lacked the usual warmth of the Disney welcome at a check in desk, which we found a little jarring.||||We headed back to the car to park it before heading to the room – there is a decent sized car park (sorry, parking lot) for guests – when we arrived it was half full with plenty of spaces left. We parked up and headed back into to the Tower to start our stay.||||Viewing Terraces:||There are four viewing terraces within the Island Tower – two facing the Seven Seas Lagoon & Magic Kingdom, and two facing the resort. Whilst these have notices about scanning your Magic Band, they (at time of visit) had no reader on the door, so could be accessed by anyone (so long as they made it up to the floors as the lift does require a key).||||The terraces have plenty of seating and artificial foliage, and are a great place to sit and relax. They have fans on too, which is nice in the Floridian heat. Whilst we did not use them during the fireworks (as we had our own Balcony), these would be ideal for those not in a lake view room.||||Duo Studio Room:||We’d booked a Duo Studio – Premium View – this was done via DVC Members Services. The alternative available accommodation was one of The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, which we were very tempted with. I am an outdoor guy at heart. During the call, we were verbally promised a view of the Seven Seas Lagoon and Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom if we took the Island Tower. This of course swayed us and solidified our choice – the new Island Tower was to be our home for the next two nights!||||Sadly, as we entered the room, my heart sank. The room was rather small and compact, and somewhat dark. It looked as though it was twilight, despite it being pre-5pm. This surprised me, what with it being in a new high rise tower on the lake, with no obstructions or buildings / foliage in front – just a lake. I headed straight to the window to see if there was a curtain that needed opening, only to find out the reason the room lacked natural light – it was a corner unit with a large, tall, overbearing wall to the right of the balcony, and the next door neighbors exposed, protruding balcony to the left. This meant our balcony was recessed and quite literally penned in a corner. I stepped out onto the balcony to check out the view, and immediately noticed something that I was genuinely surprised and taken aback at – the view of Cinderella Castle was only visible through the balcony of the next door room. The “premium view” we were sold was, in our opinion, anything but. Whilst the lake looked beautiful, the fact you had to look through what felt like a frame on either side, made it anything but “premium”.||||Retreating into the room feeling subdued and underwhelmed, we glanced at the space and immediately felt the lack of usable space. To the right hand side of the TV (and up to the wall) was a large open space perfect for luggage. The only issue – it would remain visible in the room for the duration of our stay, rather than be hidden in a cupboard. To the left of this space, and underneath the TV were six draws, laid out in a 2 x 3 format. These were large enough for two people to store their clothing for a few days. To the left of this was a floor to ceiling wardrobe with space for clothes to hang neatly. Whilst not the largest space, it was ample room for what we needed for our two night stay.||||Directly in front of the TV sat a medium sized sofa – which disappeared when you pull down the bed. There was a coffee table in front too, which made for a nice, relaxing sitting area for mid afternoon relaxing time in the room.||||To the left of the sofa (when looking at the TV), there’s a small kitchenette with a fridge/cooler, cupboard space and a microwave, with worktop surfaces too. There was also a coffee machine in the corner, perfect for those morning brews before heading to the Magic Kingdom. A perk of staying at Disney World as a DVC member is the complimentary Joffrey’s Coffee pouches. They both smell and taste so good!||||The bathroom was very small, and felt more like a cupboard than a conscious design choice to make an airy, roomy bathroom. It’s hard to communicate quite how compact it was – a toilet and a shower, hidden behind a sliding door. Whilst the decor of the shower – shiny tiles – was aesthetically nice, it felt far too cramped for my liking.||||In a strange design choice, the sink to wash your hands was not within the bathroom, but sat outside in the main room, next to the door and to the left of the wardrobe. This meant that when you used the bathroom, you had to open the door with your dirty hands, only to wash them in the main room. In my opinion, this is incredibly unsanitary, and the strangest design of a toilet facility I’ve ever experienced in a hotel. It just felt incredibly janky and ill thought out. I carry hand sanitizer with me everywhere I go (even pre-Covid), and frequently clean surfaces when I travel, so this one completely took me by surprise and made me feel physically sick. If I were to take a shower, I’d have to touch the interior dirty door handle to get out of the room, when that same handle had been touched with dirty hands if I were to use the toilet. It simply makes no sense and is, arguably, disgusting.||||There were also a few of these rubber circles on the floor which we caught our feet on multiple times – are they door stops of sorts?||||We pulled down the bed to check out what the process was, only to find that once we did, there was no movable space in the room. At all. Speaking from my seated position on the left hand side of the bed, to the left was a small gap in-between the bed and the kitchenette, with the surfaces above body height when laid down. To the right was the balcony door, and at the foot was the TV stand/draws and a tight walkway. This really was compact. Also, the coffee table had to awkwardly be moved into a corner, which was difficult as this is where our luggage was sat. This really made us feel like we were in a room that was very compact – something we felt before we even lowered the bed.||||Overnight, we realized the bed was not as comfy as other Disney beds we have slept on in the past. Whilst it was not the worst, you could definitely tell it was a pull down bed. It lacked the overall comfort of the standard beds and felt a bit flat. There was also a very slight tilt to the bed, with our heads a few cm lower than our feet. This was apparent when looking from the foot of the bed in the morning – I was utterly convinced of this fact overnight but needed to check in daylight. It made me feel slightly sick.||||There were a selection of power outlets across the room, though the options close to the bed were lacking. Also, the lack of shelving / storage near the bed meant that nothing could be charged nearby overnight in a safe capacity, which was annoying.||||Happily Ever After:||Perhaps it’d be better and more accurate to say “Happily Never After”, as they were only visible in their entirety through the protruding balcony to our left. Also, this wasn’t a complete view either, and it was framed on all sides (by the walls and ceiling/floor). If the people in the balcony on the left were stood there, the view was completely blocked. Fortunately, we did get to see most of the show, but had this been our first view, I’d have been so incredibly upset. It was, at best, a “partial view”, which is a push – you should not have to awkwardly stare across and into someone else’s space to get a view of the show if that is what you have been promised at time of booking. This feels wildly disingenuous.||||The TV (as with all Magic Kingdom area resorts) live streams the soundtrack/audio to the show, so you can hear the music as it’s played in the park. This is something I absolutely love about these resorts – you can fully immerse in the show without having to be in the park itself.||||The Next Morning:||The following morning, we woke and still felt frustrated at the lack of space in the room. I was heading in early to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours (DVC resort guests get Early Entry to the parks when staying on points), whilst my colleague finished off some work in the room. However, when I returned late morning, the bed was still down and he was sat on his laptop, relaxing. This meant I had nowhere to physically sit, other than the bed itself, something I did not want to sit on. I had to awkwardly ask him to put the bed away so I had a place to sit, which meant he had to pack up his stuff and lift the bed back into position. This, for me, was the straw that broke the camels back and I had to admit that I didn’t like the room and could not stay for a second night.||||We called DVC Members Services and they were understanding and offered the chance to move to another resort. However when we called back to avail this, they informed us they actually could not do this, and the only people able to do this were the Polynesian front desk. We called them and after 90 minutes, agreed on a move to the Grand Floridian instead. The staff member was lovely and listened to our concerns and confirmed this was not the first time they had heard this feedback, which gave us comfort that we were not being awkward or too critical. The only issue for us – this was eating into our final afternoon in Disney World and the USA. Having to pack all our things up, move them downstairs, check out, transfer over to the GF, unload the car, check in and get things to the room was going to take a lot of time, but it was something we needed to do. I’ll go into greater detail about the move in a separate writeup.||||Final Thoughts:||The Island Tower holds itself on the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon, in a prominent location close to the Magic Kingdom. The interior of the lobby is stunning and airy, and gives a premium feel to the experience from the moment you enter the doors. However, our Duo Studio failed to live up to the experience we were promised, and we felt disappointed on multiple points – view (or lack of), space (or lack of), and light (or lack of). Whilst our experience may have been specific to the Duo Studio, we have nothing else to go on, so our overall opinion is,...

Sadly, as we entered the room, my heart sank. The room was rather small and compact, and somewhat dark. It looked as though it was twilight, despite it being pre-5pm. This surprised me, what with it being in a new high rise tower on the lake, with no obstructions or buildings / foliage in front – just a lake. I headed straight to the window to see if there was a curtain that needed opening, only to find out the reason the room lacked natural light – it was a corner unit with a large, tall, overbearing wall to the right of the balcony, and the next door neighbors exposed, protruding balcony to the left. This meant our balcony was recessed and quite literally penned in a corner. I stepped out onto the balcony to check out the view, and immediately noticed something that I was genuinely surprised and taken aback at – the view of Cinderella Castle was only visible through the balcony of the next door room. The “premium view” we were sold was, in our opinion, anything but. Whilst the lake looked beautiful, the fact you had to look through what felt like a frame on either side, made it anything but “premium”.

Retreating into the room feeling subdued and underwhelmed, we glanced at the space and immediately felt the lack of usable space. To the right hand side of the TV (and up to the wall) was a large open space perfect for luggage. The only issue – it would remain visible in the room for the duration of our stay, rather than be hidden in a cupboard. To the left of this space, and underneath the TV were six draws, laid out in a 2 x 3 format. These were large enough for two people to store their clothing for a few days. To the left of this was a floor to ceiling wardrobe with space for clothes to hang neatly. Whilst not the largest space, it was ample room for what we needed for our two night stay.

Directly in front of the TV sat a medium sized sofa – which disappeared when you pull down the bed. There was a coffee table in front too, which made for a nice, relaxing sitting area for mid afternoon relaxing time in the room.

To the left of the sofa (when looking at the TV), there’s a small kitchenette with a fridge/cooler, cupboard space and a microwave, with worktop surfaces too. There was also a coffee machine in the corner, perfect for those morning brews before heading to the Magic Kingdom. A perk of staying at Disney World as a DVC member is the complimentary Joffrey’s Coffee pouches. They both smell and taste so good!

The bathroom was very small, and felt more like a cupboard than a conscious design choice to make an airy, roomy bathroom. It’s hard to communicate quite how compact it was – a toilet and a shower, hidden behind a sliding door. Whilst the decor of the shower – shiny tiles – was aesthetically nice, it felt far too cramped for my liking.

In a strange design choice, the sink to wash your hands was not within the bathroom, but sat outside in the main room, next to the door and to the left of the wardrobe. This meant that when you used the bathroom, you had to open the door with your dirty hands, only to wash them in the main room. In my opinion, this is incredibly unsanitary, and the strangest design of a toilet facility I’ve ever experienced in a hotel. It just felt incredibly janky and ill thought out. I carry hand sanitizer with me everywhere I go (even pre-Covid), and frequently clean surfaces when I travel, so this one completely took me by surprise and made me feel physically sick. If I were to take a shower, I’d have to touch the interior dirty door handle to get out of the room, when that same handle had been touched with dirty hands if I were to use the toilet. It simply makes no sense and is, arguably, disgusting.

The bed was a pull down, which was not...

Another Disney trip and another Disney resort to review. This time, we stayed at the new Island Tower at the Polynesian Resort. It was just my wife and I this time to celebrate our 20-year wedding anniversary, so we booked one of the Duo Studios. The lobby was nice. It looks like a standard hotel lobby, There are no shops in the tower, just a big community table and seating. You can also access the Wailulu Bar & Grill directly from the lobby. One nice thing is that you have to use your magic band to access the elevator. It's probably not a big concern, but it does keep non-guests from being able to explore the hallways. Our room was not a "big" room, but it was enough for just the two of us. It is basically one room that contains a Murphy style bed that, when folded up, converts to a couch, a kitchenette, and has your bathroom sink and mirror. The toilet and shower are located in another room. This is great for being able to get yourself ready in the morning and not trying to share a bathroom with others trying to shower or do their business. The kitchenette has a coffee maker, microwave, refrigerator, and multiple cabinets and drawers. There were even utensils and plates in the cabinets. Our room also had a small balcony with two chairs and a small table. Unfortunately, our room faced out towards the front of the building, so the view was not spectacular. The only cool thing about the balcony was that you could watch the monorail go by. I would imagine the balconies overlooking the lake have much better views. Once you go out the back doors towards the lake, there is a nice seating area to relax or watch the nightly fireworks from the Magic Kingdom. There is also the Electric Water Pageant, which is a small floating parade on the lake. Around the path, you will find a small pool, splash pad, and hot tub. There are really no extras here, just a basic pool. There is also walk-up access to the Wailulu Bar & Grill. You can grab a to go drink and sit at the pool or lakeside to relax. We were able to get seats at the bar, and the food and drinks were very good. (separate review coming) My wife likes mixed drinks, but I am just a beer guy. I love IPAs. If you do too, try the Terrapin Luau Krunkles Passion Fruit-Orange-Guava IPA! I really liked that one and stuck with it most of the trip. The Island Tower is part of the Polynesian Resort, so you can take a short walk to get to the main lobby, shops, and restaurants. The Polynesian is connected to the Magic Kingdom by the monorail and by boat. You can access the Transportation and Ticket Center by monorail or by a walk path. Disney Springs and all other parks are connected by the bus system.

My overall experience here was that it was nice, nothing great. There were no over the top Disney experiences here. You really couldn't tell that you were at a Disney resort at all. There are no stand-out character decorations really. I never saw any of the Disney characters walking around. It just feels like you are at a nice hotel off-site. Maybe that's what you are looking for. If so, give it a try. It is a Disney Resort, so you do get full Disney service. Everything was clean and we always had fresh towels and the bed was made. All of the staff was nice and accommodating. It was not a bad experience, just not what I feel an on-site Disney resort experience should feel like. I doubt we will stay at the Island Tower again. Not because it was a bad experience, just because there are other resorts that we have stayed at that we like better.

Trip stay // March 30 - April 3 2025

Overall...