Interesting Facts about the Polynesian

Disney Vacation Club resorts dazzle members with exceptional amenities and breathtaking scenery. As part of a new series, I’ll show you that there’s more to them than that. Here are a few interesting facts you may not know about Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. 

Disney’s First Resort 

Technically, the Polynesian shares this claim, but it’s true. When Disneyland Resort opened in 1955, Walt Disney ran out of money. In a weird bit of Disney trivia, he had to sell a one-third stake in Disneyland to the American Broadcasting Company, aka the ABC network. 

As a byproduct of his financial shortfall, Disney couldn’t afford to build the Disneyland Hotel. An oil baron and Hollywood producer named Jack Wrather recognized the potential of the idea and paid for the resort instead. The Walt Disney Company wouldn’t purchase the Disneyland Hotel until 1987, 32 years after its debut. 

Disney wasn’t about to make the same mistake at Walt Disney World. So, when park planners strategized about the Disney campus, they knew one thing for sure. Disney would own and operate its own hotels in Orlando. Allowing outside entities to make money by selling Disney hotel rooms was a non-starter at the time.

So, Disney planned two resorts as part of the Walt Disney World launch. We’ll discuss the other one when I write about a different DVC property in a few months. From the beginning, Disney emphasized the Polynesian, though.

Even before construction had finished, park officials knew that the beauty of the Polynesian would dazzle guests. Disney went so far as to host media events at Luau Cove and other parts of the hotel campus. Whenever a celebrity or dignitary wanted to experience the new Walt Disney World, Disney sent them to the Polynesian, the place they felt showed off the magic of Disney the best. 

The Beatles Broke Up Here

Here’s one of the strangest stories involving any DVC resort. The Beatles, the most successful music band ever, officially broke up at the Polynesian. 

You may be wondering how it’s possible, but it comes down to the fact that everyone wants to vacation at Walt Disney World. That was true even of John Lennon, the band’s rebellious songwriter. 

Let’s just say that Lennon was going through some stuff at the start of the 1970s. The Beatles had technically disbanded in 1970, but their breakup turned into a legal nightmare. It took several years to sort out who gained which rights in the aftermath.

Meanwhile, Lennon had broken up with Yoko Ono for a time and taken up with May Pang for what he described as a “lost weekend” that lasted 18 months. They spent Christmas at Walt Disney World in 1974, when the park was still brand new, barely three years old.

At the time, the fanciest rooms at Walt Disney World resided at the Polynesian. So, Lennon was staying there when the legal paperwork arrived. It was the official divorce of The Beatles.  While staying in room 1601 at the Samoa longhouse, Lennon signed the documents that ended The Beatles. 

To this day, knowing fans put in the room request that allows them to stay here. I’m not promising you it will work, but the magic words are reportedly: “Building Samoa, Floor one, West-facing room.” Should you get this room request, you can share the same view that Lennon, one of the most famous musicians ever, had as he ended a band that sold 600 million records.

The Island Tower Brought the Property Full Circle 

Here’s a tidbit that will bake your noodle. When the Island Tower opened at the Polynesian, it finished a plan more than 50 years in the making. Believe it or not, a skyrise tower hotel had always been the plan for this hotel.

Before Disney broke ground on the Polynesian, plans called for a 12-story skyrise resort. As the Disney Parks Blog once stated, Disney intended “a bold design that might have looked more at home among the luxury hotels on Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach.”

By 1970, Disney thankfully updated the plans to feature a more thematic “village layout.” Those were the blueprints Disney used, and the construction crew was glad about it. I say this because the entire longhouse structure at the Polynesian came together in roughly eight months in 1971! Construction started in February of that year, with Walt Disney World debuting on October 1st, 1971. Yes, the timeless structures that have made the Polynesian so iconic are part of one of Disney’s most fast-tracked projects ever.