Disney Island Tower Review

A Towering Trip

As those of you who follow my Tipsy Housewife Travels page or Tipsy Mousewife Instagram profile know, I have a weakness for Disney trips and sharing my opinions about those trips. 

When I hear there’s a new offering available, I’m always tempted to check it out and in this instance, I gave into temptation and decided to stay at the newly opened Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Resort during my last trip to the Florida Parks.

So how was it? Well, the Disney resorts are almost always a five star experience, to me, but if I’m being honest, this one isn’t my favorite. 

If you want to know which ones are my favorites, you can check out my post on my favorite Disney Resorts or keep reading this one to see where it did and didn’t work for me, since you might have different preferences.

Or hey, read both posts! I’ll let you choose the order!

Some Disney Disclaimers

Before I get to my review, I want to make a few things clear. These are just my personal opinions based on the type of travel I do.

There are many resorts at Disney World each aimed at different clientele so just because one might not be for a traveller like me, an adult woman with no kids who works while she travels, doesn’t mean it won’t be a perfect fit for someone else.

I can only share my own experience based on my own needs and preferences. Where they overlap with yours, I hope you’ll find my opinions helpful.

Finally, I do not work for Disney and my Disney trips are not sponsored in any way. I’m spending my own money and giving you my own opinions as a fan of the Disney Resort properties.

Getting There

I use Uber when getting around Orlando which means I have a decent amount of experience Ubering from the airport to the Disney Properties. Despite that, I had some trouble getting to the resort since there was no dropoff option for the tower, only for the main lobby at the Polynesian as they share the same address.

I found out that you have to go past the security checkpoint at the main entrance and head down the road towards the Grand Floridian where there’s a second, unmanned security gate. You can either use your Magic Band to get in or the driver can use a call button.

This was also an issue on the way back to the airport so I ended up having bell services take my bags to the main lobby and walked there to get the car. It might change in the future and it’s not a huge deal outside of getting in and getting out but it’s worth knowing if you might be in a rush.

Checking In

Checking in was a little rougher than my past experiences but that might just be due to growing pains for a newly opened property. There’s no check-in desk since it’s a Disney Vacation Club property, but there were cast members in red Hawaiian shirts with iPads to check me in.

If you check in online, make sure you have your Magic Band paired in advance. You cannot access your floor on the elevators with an unlinked Magic Band.

If you don’t have a Magic Band you’ll need to get a key from one of the cast members or you won’t be able to press the elevator button for your floor.

I arrived in the evening and did not see any bellhops available to help me to my room. I travel with a lot of stuff but there were carts to use, at least.

While these little frustrations added up a bit, it was only really an issue at the start and end of my stay and it could be different by the time you come.

Room With a Lagoon View

I had a standard view room. It was right by the monorail and I enjoyed seeing it go by. With the balcony door closed it was mostly soundproof too.

The views overlooking the Resort of Seven Seas Lagoon are awesome when sitting outside. There are also 4 terraces in the building on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors you can utilize to see fireworks and sunrises and sunsets, which was awesome. 

The lobby of this Island Tower is also beautiful. A lot of the stuff in the resort is made from recycled plastic which is cool.

Thank You For Coming To My BED Talk

I knew that the room I rented was a duo studio with just a murphy bed, so I didn’t necessarily have the highest expectations going in. When I got there, however, I was very happy with how clean and new it was and how the decor and lighting made everything very warm and cozy-feeling at night. 

Unfortunately, that cozy feeling did not apply to the pillows on the bed, which were awful. They were like straight foam and my neck hurt all week. 

The blanket and top sheet were also very thin, which might not be a big deal through most of the year but it was pretty cold in Florida when I stayed there, like in the 30s and 40s at night. There was no heat setting on the thermostat but I had brought my own big blanket so I was OK.

You might want to consider bringing your own blanket and pillows or call down and see if you can get better ones, especially if you’re staying there at a cooler time of year.

It’s a shame, because the mattress was actually quite comfortable, though the murphy bed itself was very heavy to bring down. I found it easy enough but if you have mobility issues, this would be hard and you would have to ask for help.

Additionally, the fact that it comes down in the middle of a sectional sofa would make it very hard for someone with mobility issues to get in and out of this bed as the arm of the couch was in the way. 

There was also nowhere to put your unpacked luggage and no chair, so if you are a person who likes to sit down and put your shoes on, you would have to go on the balcony to do so. The couch felt very low, which might also be tough if you are a person with mobility issues.

Grocery Games

There was a cute kitchen area in the room but I found it very odd that there was no sink even though there were dishes and utensils and a microwave, toaster, fridge, Keurig etc. 

They provide a dish towel, sponge, and dish soap but you have to wash your dishes in the small bathroom sink that’s in the front entryway, which was also an odd placement.

Even if the kitchen was more complete, grocery delivery was a bit confusing despite my efforts to explain how to get to the tower in the notes section of the app. I later found out that you can have groceries delivered to the main lobby bell services and then you can call and the bell services cast members will bring them over.

They will not accept or deliver hot food but they will do groceries, so if you are one to order Uber Eats or whatever, this will be annoying for you.

There are great ice and water machines on every floor so consider bringing a cup with you. Thatés your signal, Stanley Girls. 

Tower Treats

The only food access in this island tower is the Wailulu Bar and Grill that has lunch and dinner as well as grab-and-go breakfast, so this was sort of a pain. If you need anything from the store or any other kind of food or drink you have to walk all the way over to the main lobby building. 

It wasn’t that far but still felt like a pain.

Fortunately the food at Wailulu was awesome and I ate there twice on this trip. The menu features Polynesian and Asian style dishes, like Sticky Pork Ribs and Crispy Chicken Wings.

By the way, if that last sentence made you hungry, you might want to give my recipes for Soy Sauce Ribs and Crispy Oven Baked Wings a try. OK, now back to Wailulu.

It was never more than a 10 minute wait and they have mobile ordering to-go as well. If you’re planning to eat a lot of your meals offsite at the parks or other resort restaurants then you shouldn’t have a problem.

On the other hand, if you think you’ll be having a lot of meals at the Tower then you might find yourself having to reorder something you’ve already tried, especially given the previously mentioned grocery and food delivery issues.

Getting Around

The rest of the Polynesian grounds were really nice but pretty crowded and noisy. I think it’s because a lot of people were coming to check out the new space in addition to everyone staying there.

I was never able to get into the Tambu Lounge or Ohana but I did get to enjoy the Kona Cafe for breakfast and dinner and watch fireworks from the Tiki Terrace at Trader Sam‘s. 

While it was a great spot to see the fireworks, I didn’t enjoy Trader Sam’s as much as I thought I would because the barstools were uncomfortable for a shorter, stouter person like myself.

Moving away from the Polynesian, I liked the ability to walk to the Grand Floridian from the Island Tower. I use the Grand Floridian Spa a lot and I could walk there in 2 minutes from my room at the tower.

As far as park access, it’s very easy to get back and forth to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot and to enjoy the other monorail-adjacent resorts.

Final Thoughts

Overall I enjoyed my stay at the Polynesian Tower, but I just cannot justify spending that much. It is the most expensive resort on property. 

There are lots of perks and my room was fine, but after a day or two I realized it kind of felt like a cement efficiency apartment and for some reason I can’t explain it was giving me 1980s USSR Soviet Union vibes. I know that’s weird. 

Nikolai Goofchev?! is that something?

Also because the tower is new there were a lot of gawkers hanging out that were not staying there that took up a lot of the seats and relaxing areas, so that may get better over time.

Still, I am so glad I stayed here but it was a one-and-done for me. I realize I can enjoy a lot about the Polynesian without having to stay there. 

I would rather stick with Wilderness Lodge or Coronado springs. I just love Wilderness Lodge!

I would still give this resort 5 stars when compared to all resorts, including non-Disney ones, but I donét think it is worth the money for me as a childless person. 

If you have kids, however, this is probably an ideal choice because of location and being able to use the monorail and not having to fold up your strollers etc. There was also a lot for kids to do here and the pools and splash pads seemed awesome for small kids.

I did see A LOT of families stressed and arguing around dinner time. Like I definitely saw some families who will divorce or go no contact with their in-laws when they get home!

If you have a trip here you should not be worried you won’t enjoy it, especially since I shared some of the quirks you can plan for. I think you will love it but I would personally rather stay at other resorts three times for the price of one trip to the Polynesian.