Polynesian Orchid

When Walt Disney World first opened its gates to the public on October 1, 1971, it declared itself “The Vacation Kingdom of the World,” offering both “a place to play, and a play to stay!” There were two such places to stay on that first night—Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Themed to the South Pacific, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort featured a Great Ceremonial House and seven longhouses, which held the guestrooms, on the beaches of Seven Seas Lagoon.The centerpiece to the Great Ceremonial House was the beloved waterfall garden, where water flowed over volcanic rocks under a canopy of coconut palms and surrounded by some 75 different species of tropical and subtropical plants.More than 50 years later, there have been more than a few changes to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. “Village” left the name in 1985 and returned again in 2014—the same year that the resort underwent a then-controversial-to-some renovation that removed the waterfal