Arriving at the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World

Although we have never actually stayed at the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World, we usually do drop by there when we are in the area, just to enjoy the atmosphere and maybe grab a bite to eat at Captain Cook’s, or perhaps a Dole Whip. So here are a few photos from when we arrived at the Polynesian during our visit last summer.

For this particular visit to the Polynesian Village Resort, we arrived by car, choosing to drive our car directly there rather than following our other method of parking at Disney Springs and riding a bus over. We usually don’t have any trouble parking at the Polynesian, unless their lot happens to be full. But now that the construction trailers from the recent renovations are gone, that probably won’t be a problem.

As we were walking to the hotel from our car, the Monorail passed by overhead, and I was glad that I already had my camera out and ready. Of course, I could have just waited around a few minutes for the next Monorail to come by, but we were ready to get on inside. If this photo looks familiar, it was previously featured in the post Monorail Orange at Walt Disney World, and you can read more about it there.

As we move along underneath the Monorail station, we pass some beautiful blue water ponds, surrounded by lush green tropical growth. Yes, I know that the water here is not actually quite so blue, but rather the blue color comes from the fact that they painted the concrete base of the water feature blue so that it would look like the beautiful blue water that surrounds the real Polynesian islands. But since not much of anything else here is really real, except for the real plants growing everywhere, I don’t mind the illusion. And with the work done in recent years, this area looks even better than it did before.

Nearby is this statue of Uti, the goddess of fishing, as she holds her torch over her head so that she can continue fishing at night. Uti was originally sculpted for the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland in California, and it is interesting to find several of her companions throughout the Polynesian Village Resort in Florida. The Imagineers reused several of the figures, placing them around the resort, such as Ngendei, the earth balancer. Those are some of the interesting touches that add some nice history to the resort.

After we leave Uti behind, we go inside to be greeted by Maui, the symbol of the Polynesian Village Resort. He stands where a fountain-filled garden once stood, but his area’s smaller footprint makes the lobby seem much more open than it did before. You can see some other views of Maui here and here in other Burnsland posts. It seems as though I take a photo of him each time that we are there. Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course.

I am sure that some people are confused because the Maui found here in the hotel does not look anything like Maui in the recent Disney movie Moana. Of course, that movie version of Maui is just an artist’s interpretation. But then so is the representation of Maui here in the Polynesian Village. As much as I enjoyed the movie (which was really good, by the way), I hope that they are not planning to replace this Maui with the other Maui. I wouldn’t think that they are, but I’m sure someone at some point probably discussed it. If anyone is unhappy about it, maybe they can find a Maui plush character in the gift shop close by.

So there you have it, our arrival at the Polynesian Village Resort!

Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim his praise in the islands. - Isaiah 42:12

About the photo:

There was not much involved in the setup for these photos. Whenever we are walking somewhere at Walt Disney World, I usually have my camera out and ready, snapping photos along the way. Usually, that works out pretty well. I did have to stop and wait for the people that were around Maui to pass on by because I wanted the people-free look here, but otherwise, these were just snap-and-go photos.

Adjustments were made later in Photoshop, as usual, to bring out the detail and lighten up the shadows a bit. I also worked with the color in the photo of Uti, because the green of the plants behind her was just a bit overwhelming to start with.

Here is a before-and-after version of the water feature photo, showing some of how the undersides of the structures overhead were all dark before I worked with the Raw file to bring out the detail that was hiding in the shadows:

Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: June 7, 2016
Location: Polynesian Village Resort, Walt Disney World, Florida