New Details Emerge from Polynesian Island Tower Plans

Several days ago, Disney Vacation Club added the first points for Island Tower to the condominium association for Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. The condo drawings included with those filings give us another detailed look at several areas of the facility.  

Dining

Island Tower has an open-air table service restaurant. From the concept art alone, it was pretty clear that there would be some form of restaurant and the portion to the right always appeared to be open-air. It is very reminiscent of recent Walt Disney World additions like Geyser Point at Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Three Bridges Bar & Grill at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. 

The table service nature is confirmed by the single entry point and host/hostess podium (blue), as well as multiple references to "TSR" or Table Service Restaurant. 

Unlike Geyser Point, there is no obvious quick service pickup location. Some Disney resturants provide both table service and quick service dining from the same kitchen. This new Polynesian venue could offer mobile orders and pickup, but we will have to wait a little longer to confirm. 

There does appear to be a self-serve beverage station (not pictured) located on the side of the building nearest the new pool. 

Lobby

The lobby is...rather plain. Back in May, Disney released two pieces of concept art for the lobby (see one above). Based upon these plans, it appears to be a case of "what you see is what you get." There are apparently no other amenities present at angles not represented here. There is no gift shop. No coffee bar. There is not even an obvious location for Cast Members to serve guests or any back room management office space.

In recent years, Disney has deemphasized the massive lobby front desk, opting for smaller podiums and personalized guest service. There could be Cast Members positioned in the lobby using tablets to assist guests. Still it's a curious decision for a fairly large building with its own Porte Cochere. Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort once debuted without a front desk, referring arrivals to the Contemporary lobby. That decision was later corrected, and the smaller Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort received its own  lobby desk. We may have come full circle with Island Tower. If guests need help with their MagicBand+ or want to buy some groceries or a t-shirt, they may have to visit the Great Ceremonial House. 

Fitness Center

Fitness fans rejoyce: Island Tower has a gym. The Polynesian has long been without its own fitness center, instead referring guests over to the Grand Floridian. This will be a welcome addition for many, undoubtedly accessible by both Disney Vacation Club members and hotel guests. 

Not present: a Community Hall. Unless there are plans to add a Community Hall during other resort updates, the Polynesian may be the largest DVC resort with no dedicated youth activity center. 

Guest Laundry

There is a guest laundry room on the first floor, just west of the lobby. We do not have plans for most floors of the building. It will be interesting to see if this is the only laundry room or if there are others scattered throughout the tower. The building is loaded with Duo Studio and Deluxe Studio rooms which do not have in-room laundry facilities.

More Duo Studios

Speaking of Duo Studios, there are more than we thought. Previously we took a stab at estimating the room make-up of the resort. Those counts will have to be tweaked a bit. The room outlined in red above appears outwardly to be a Deluxe Studio room. Note the balcony that sits flush with the neighboring Lockoff Two Bedroom villa. But interior views show a shallower room with other resort facilities occupying some of the space. This image is taken from the 2nd floor. We do not have any details on floors 3-8, and cannot presently tell if this pattern continues.

Upper Lobby Lounge

Also on the second floor, the raised outdoor platform remains a mystery. Concept art shows guests sitting on a platform above the rear lobby egress point (below). On the plans, this area is labeled "Lobby Lounge." However there is no obvious access point to reach this platform.

This area sits above the main lobby, with the sections labeled "Open to Below" part of the 2+ story lobby with large windows visible on the building rear. The walkway labeled "CE" rings the lobby overlook, allowing guests to navigate from elevators to guest rooms. What's missing is an obvious doorway entry point to the "Lobby Lounge." Sometimes these plans are not comprehensive, but it's fair to file this one under TBD. 

UPDATE: After reviewing a newer piece of concept art released in May 2024, it appears this elevated platform has been removed from the resort entirely. In the image below, the red arrow points at the 2nd floor location where "Lobby Lounge" was previously positioned. Note the umbrella-shaped structure which once served as a sun shade for the elevated deck still exists. But now its purpose is more decorative in nature. 

Viewing Platforms

Finally, there are a lot of public viewing platforms. The mysterious, 2-story building cutouts are dubbed Pocket Gardens. None are connected to guest rooms and the one featured in these plans clearly has a doorway access point. Concept art shows smaller corner platforms near the pool on at least 5 floors. Again these are not connected to villas and have an access door. 

Lastly, the roof has no less than 4 separate platforms (green, above) which seem to be open for guest access. IF these locations are accessible by the public, they should prove to be especially popular during the Magic Kingdom fireworks. However, it remains to be seen whether there will be crowd control issues with hotel guests and even the general public potentially visiting. There are too many building access points to block non-guests, and policing more than a dozen individual viewing platforms could prove challenging. 

Note that there are no guarantees regarding availability of any of these proposed viewing spaces. While the designs suggest spaces accessible to the general public, their intended use may have changed throughout the development process. 

The D23 Expo is about to get under way in Anaheim. We may learn more about Island Tower (or its follow-up resort) in the coming days. If not, additional details are certain to emerge as we move closer to the start of DVC point sales. The building is set to open on December 17, 2024. 

Thanks to Chris from DVC.market, Dan and Wil for info used in this article!