DAY 1 Part 2
Pool and Cocktails
ahhh this is the life!
The weather was still really warm out (a theme for our entire trip lol) so after everyone got settled we decided to make some drinks and head out to the pool.
I had brought some Bacardi and 2 bottled mixers from home for this very occasion, so I hopped down to the ice machine and we started making our drinks which involved getting ice, pouring in the rum, adding the mixer and then pouring it between 2 plastic cups, Im sorry but were just classy broads! We cant help but ooze sophistication!
Drinks in hand we walked to the pool. We decided to go to the Jamaica village pool because Old Port Royale just seemed kind of far at the time. Now if we knew that the Jamaica village pool was actually a decent hike from our building things might have been different lol
We laid out on the plastic chairs for about 8 minutes before burning up and getting into the water. We talked and hung out there for a while and then decided that we should go back to our rooms to shower and get ready for dinner.
Sorry no more pool pictures, but that's not the kind of image I want floating around the internet thank you very much!
Lets go to the Poly!
The plan was to head to the Polynesian to get a pre-dinner drink and watch the fireworks from the Poly beach and then go get dinner at Ohana.
We entered the Poly and there were lots of ooohs and ahhhs from my group, the waterfall at the front of the Great Ceremonial House is pretty impressive.
We stopped at the gift shop in the lobby and picked up a disposable camera for Ariel (which by the way took amazing pictures for a disposable!) I lead everyone upstairs and through a HUGE crowd.
I guess this is what they mean by crowds during free dining! It was a madhouse in there! People standing up, sitting, just taking up whatever space was available
and the line to check in at Ohana, wow!
We headed towards the bar and lucked out to find 4 chairs available. We checked out the menu & ordered our drinks wine for Jasmine, wine for Belle, a dirty martini for Ariel and a Pina Colava for me.
I know our drink order is disappointing considering what they have at the Poly, but to be fair, the drink menus were really standardized & didnt even have the Lapu Lapu or Backscratcher on them. I dont know what the deal is at the wdw bars, but it seems like theyre going to more of a blah bar menu.
All of the menus were the same at every resort we went to
.I hope theyre not taking away the old favorites. Also I was driving so I couldnt order anything w/ too much alcohol (another theme on this trip unfortunately!)
After we paid for our drinks I said we should mosey on down to the beach for Wishes. Since my friends all live in the northeast, they were a little scared of bringing their drinks down to the beach because they didnt know if it was allowed.
But I assured them that this is Disney and theyll do almost anything to keep guests happy here, including letting them take their (gasp!) alcohol down to the beach.
This is the way Wishes should be seen
At the beach we took off our shoes & put our feet in the sand. I know that it isnt a real beach, but the sand at the Poly is so nice, you really do feel like youre in a tropical paradise
..um, until you see the Grand Floridian and the castle I guess! It sure was nice down there. I would totally go watch Wishes at the Poly beach again.
Ariel and Jasmine got another round at the pool bar and when they came back it was time for Wishes.
They pipe the music in so it really is lovely. Jasmine was really impressed with how long and elaborate the show was. I was just so happy to be there, it was awesome!
Off to Ohana
As soon as Wishes was over we went back up to the Great Ceremonial House for our Ohana dinner. By now the crowd had really cleared out and I didnt even have to wait to check us in.
After about 15 minutes and another round of drinks (but not for me, Im the driver!
) we were seated. I should say that it was about 8:40 at this point so we were ready to eat right away.
Our waitress came and took our drink orders (just tea and water this time lol) and then the salad, potstickers and wings came. They were all really good. We ordered more potstickers, I swear they give you the same amount whether youre a table of 2 or a table of 4.
And after the appetizery part it was a long long time until they came with the turkey and pork loin. Then it was another long time until they brought the meat sauces. And then it was another long long long time until the shrimp and steak came.
Ive been to Ohana before and I know the service isnt the best, but this was the worst service Ive ever had there.
We almost left without the famous bread pudding because we were all falling asleep at the table. It was 10:30 before we left!
We all agreed that the service was super slow but the food was great.
Everyone really liked the steak, the potstickers and the dessert the most, except for Ariel, she doesnt eat dessert (crazy I know, but I eat her portion! no joke, I really do
) Belle was still talking about the bread pudding at the end of the trip.
Hey, where is our hotel?
We dragged our tired behinds to the car and then I started driving home. But hey, this doesnt seem right, thats the Contemporary there!
Yes I went the wrong way out of the Poly and ended up at the Contemporary, uh-oh! The guard at the Contemporary steered me in the right direction and we made it home. Im sorry to say that this was only the beginning of my driving mishaps on this trip.
I just never realized how hard it is to navigate around the wdw property! My husband usually drives there so I never pay attention I guess, but man I was worse than a student driver in there!
Even when I looked at the map before leaving I still got lost a bunch of times when we were there. But I think by the end of the trip I was getting the hang of it lol!
Thats all for our first day. Stay tuned for the next update when we take Epcot by storm
.can we convince Belle (who is afraid of heights and pretty much all thrill rides) to ride Soarin?
Wait and see!