For as bland as the building may look on the outside, Disney’s new Island Tower at the Polynesian resort in Walt Disney World has some unique features not found in any of the other resort hotels.  Like all Disney resorts, it has a spacious lobby and a restaurant, but a unique feature is the four terraces found among its upper floors.  To access these terraces, you or someone in your party has to be staying at the Island Tower.  For those of you who don’t know anyone staying there, I will lead you on a virtual tour of the terraces, going on what we like to call here: The Terrace Trail.

While you are strapping on your blog hiking boots, I should introduce myself. I’m Ella. I work on the Statistics team here at Touring Plans, creating attraction wait time forecasts. This is only my second foray into blogging.  Recently, a friend stayed at the Island Tower, and I was lucky enough to have a chance to look around the new resort.

I met up with my friend for a meal at the Wailulu Bar & Grill, with great food and an incredible fireworks view – but that’s not why we’re here.  What you’re interested in is the terraces! After we finished our meal, we roamed around looking for them, since the signs are only on the floors with terraces.  In the end, we went to all the floors of the building in our search.

The Bamboo Forest Terrace

For our tour, we will begin on the third floor where the Bamboo Forest terrace is located.  The defining feature of this terrace is the large wooden arches over the seating area.  Two long couches line the inner sides of the archway, and there are some chairs are by the edge of the balcony.  The foliage in this terrace is largely, you guessed it, bamboo.

This is the most minimalist of the four terraces, making it a great place for the adults in your party to find somewhere serene to enjoy a moment of peace with a good view of the resorts along Seven Seas Lagoon.

The Lava Rock Terrace

Heading back to the elevator, we journey up to the fourth floor to the Lava Rock terrace. Entering the door and looking to the right, you will see the large mural, which is the defining feature of this terrace.  It depicts a volcano erupting in a Polynesian style.  The other wall is a black rock consistent with a lava theme.  The floor is a similar black tile floor.

There are a few red couches and some chairs closer to the balcony, making this terrace a better place for small groups.  There are also a few planters of the same black rock of the wall with some ferns providing a nice contrast to the stark red and black of the rest of the room.  The view here is of the golf course across the street, along with some pristine monorail viewing.

The Wave Break Terrace

Onwards, to the fifth floor, where we find the Wave Break Terrace!  Similar to the Lava Rock terrace, this one has a large mural on the right wall when you walk in.  This mural is much more inviting with a scene depicting a beach with mountains in the background, palm trees, and a canoe similar to Moana’s.  The other wall is a slatted wood with some bird accents.  The centerpiece of this terrace is a wicker structure based on the curve of a wave over a U-shaped couch.

This terrace, like the others, also has some chairs up closer to the balcony.  The layout of the couch makes this terrace great for larger groups wanting a good place to hang out in one place together.  This terrace is the one with the best views of the Magic Kingdom, and when I was there, I got a great view of the Electrical Water Pageant.

The Lagoon Reef Terrace

Now, we venture up one more floor to the final terrace on the sixth floor.  Last, but not least, we have the Lagoon Reef terrace.  Both walls here are a deep blue with wooden coral with Polynesian-style patterns.  There are rounded planters with tropical flowers and multi-color benches lining the largest of the planters.

There are a few small tables here and, like all the other terraces, chairs along the balcony.  In the opinion of a 20-something-year-old with no kids, I believe this is the terrace that kids would be most interested in spending time at if they are fine giving up the Magic Kingdom view for a golf course view.

 

You all can slip off your virtual hiking boots as we return to the lush lobby of the Island Tower.  We hope you found this tour useful as you prepare for your next visit to the Island Tower at Walt Disney’s Polynesian Resort. I hope you all have enjoyed your tour along the Terrace Trail.  If you have, I’m Ella; if not, this has been Derek Burgan with the Saturday Six.

Have you stayed at the Island Tower? Which terrace was your favorite? Let us know in the comments!