Crews have begun refurbishing the Niue building at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort as well as the resort’s boat dock. Work also continues on the new Disney Vacation Club tower with concrete poured for the pool and more brown paint on the walls.
Niue Refurbishment
Niue is a resort building near the Great Ceremonial House. Sidewalks around it are now blocked by green barriers while crews work on the exterior. A crew member in a cherry-picker was working on a second-floor balcony.
The crew member was doing something on the underside of the roof. The refurbishment is likely just on the building’s exterior. The Niue building was among those that received “Moana”-themed rooms in 2021.
Another pair of crew members were working on the first floor. It looks like they were working on the barrier between two of the room patios. Some of the patio furniture had been moved away from the patios and stacked.
An A-frame sign on the other side of the blocked-off sidewalk reads “Please Pardon Our Pixie Dust,” warning guests of construction.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Dock Refurbishment
Another sign warned guests that watercraft service to and from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort was paused Wednesday morning between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. during work on the dock. The Walt Disney World Monorail was available for transportation to Magic Kingdom, the Transportation and Ticket Center, and other nearby resorts.
The beams of the boat dock have been rotten so crew members were fixing them. It’s possible boat service will be paused on other mornings for continued work.
New DVC Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
The new Disney Vacation Club tower is located along the Seven Seas Lagoon, next to the Tuvalu and Fiji buildings. It replaces Luau Cove, which was home to the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. The new tower will be part of the same condo association as the rest of the DVC accommodations at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.
At the time of our last construction update, crews had just started painting the building brown. Much more of the wing on the right (when looking at the tower from the dock) is now brown or has a layer of white primer. Scaffolding is up around the bottom half of the wing for painting.
A large opening to the left is also no longer covered by plywood and none of the sliding glass doors are covered by tarps anymore.
The edges of some of the balcony walls and columns are not yet brown. The very top of the building is also still gray concrete with no white primer yet. Primer is a base coat that makes paint stick better and last longer.
A new brown steel wing-shaped frame has been installed on the roof of the center of the building. Concept art indicates this will be a decorative overhang covered in paneling that resembles wood. The four steel poles beneath the wing will also be covered in matching paneling.
Painting hasn’t begun on the center of the building and most of the balconies don’t yet have permanent railings. There are some railings on balconies near the roof. Through some of the sliding glass doors, we can see the steel frames of room walls but not much else.
We glimpsed some steel pipes behind a railing on the roof of the building.
This steel framework along the first floor of the building appears to be for covered outdoor seating of a restaurant. Several construction vehicles were parked around and inside this framework when we visited, but we didn’t see active work in this area.
To the right in the above photo, some construction materials are visible inside the building with plastic tarps protecting them. There are also dumpsters and toolboxes.
Plywood remains on another large square opening in the center section of the building. There are columns all along the top floors and there will be more roof overhangs installed later. The wing overhang in the center will be a unique piece, however.
The tower’s new pool is located on this side, close to Tuvalu and Fiji. Disney and Disney Vacation Club haven’t announced if the pool will be private for DVC members or available to anyone staying at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Other than one crew member on the roof, the pool is the only place we saw crew members.
Most of the pool has been filled with concrete. Wood walls outline the shape of the pool and there are short pieces of rebar sticking out of the concrete. Pipes run along the ground outside the pool.
Concrete has yet to be poured on two sections further away. They both have blue tarps around them and beneath a wire framework.
Right now, the pool has an odd shape. It’s barely visible in the concept art, so we don’t know exactly what the shape is supposed to be or what amenities will be around it (like a slide or hot tub).
There’s a digger parked next to the pool for moving dirt.
Compare the construction photos to the concept art for the tower below. Keep in mind designs are always subject to change.
The tower is scheduled to open at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort late this year. Take a look at room layouts for the tower.
Before the tower opens, The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort will open this summer as the 17th Disney Vacation Club resort.
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