Our First Magical Poly Vacation: April 14-21 2012!

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We just returned from our 8-day vacation at Disney and had an absolutely wonderful time! Over the next few weeks, I hope to put together a nice trip report mostly as a method of therapy to help me wean off from the week long Disney euphoria. I'm already feeling the effects of withdrawal this morning. Not having any princesses or furry giant creatures greet me while I'm eating my breakfast is just downright depressing.

I'm going to take my time with this one - I learned my lesson from building my PTR when I breezed through the 8 day touring plan in less than 10 days.

Table of Contents

Saturday, April 14th Part I - Get me to SeaWorld!
Saturday April 14th Part II - Shamu Gives us a Proper Welcome!
Sunday, April 15th Part I - Aloha!
Sunday, April 15th Part II - Loving the Mania
Sunday, April 15th Part III - An Italian Lunch, Ariel Strikes Out, and Exploring Another Dimension
Sunday, April 15th Part IV - Enjoying the Nightlife at MK
Monday, April 16th Part I - A Morning with the Princesses, the Fab Five, and Puddy
Monday, April 16th Part II - Learning How to Say Duuuude, Sound Financial Advice from a Piggy, and Eating like a Canadian
Monday, April 16th Part III -Touring the World and a Meltdown to Remember
Monday, April 16th Part IV - A Birthday Surprise for DW
Tuesday April 17th Part I - Tonga Toast, Main Street, and The Castle. What a way to start the day!
Tuesday April 17th Part II - Flying with Pan, Singing Dolls and Birds, and a Splash Down the Mountain
Tuesday April 17th Part III - Star Light, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight
Wednesday April 18th Part I - A Poly Sunrise
Wednesday April 18th Part II - Surfing with Lilo and Hanging Loose in the Cabana
Wednesday April 18th Part III - Fun on the Beach and Skipping Across the Pond for a Parade
Thursday April 19th Part I - A Breakfast and Safari in Africa
Thursday April 19th Part II - Partying with Simba and Co., Dino Adventures, and a Beautiful (Concrete) Tree.
Thursday April 19th Part III - Here Come the Birds! And the rain.
Thursday April 19th Part IV - Going Commando for Everest and Boma
Friday April 20th Part I - The Rapunzel Run
Friday April 20th Part II - An Abbreviated MK Day and Dining with the Tremaines
Saturday April 21st Part I - Staying One Step Ahead of the Storm on Our Last Day
Saturday April 21st Part II - Saying Goodbye

If you're interested, the links to my PTR and Live Report are on my sig which can serve as a preview of this TR.

As for my first post, I'm going to give a brief summary report and impressions of the trip and post a few of my favorite pics.

The Polynesian: It was everything I had hoped it to be. Beautiful landscaping. Very friendly staff. Great pool and beach. Wishes from the beach gives a completely different look and feel compared to the views inside MK. Awesome restuarant and shopping options. And being on the monorail. Yes, the room was a little outdated and worn, but in my opinion, you are paying extra for all of the other amenities and services, AND the atmosphere is one of the most unique and other-worldly of all the Disney Resorts.

We found our next resort!:This will be a tough one. We would LOVE to go back to Poly again for our next trip in two years. But we also enjoyed our brief tour of AKL after our dinner at Boma. Both DW and I agreed that we'll have to stay at AKL.

Best Food/Restuarant: Overall, it was Boma by a mile. Actually, we didn't have a bad meal at any of the Disney restaurants we ate at. I ate so much, I'm afraid to step on the scale. Pretty sure gained at least 10 pounds.

Best Character Meal: Best character interactions were at Ohana. The characters took their time with us and we never felt rushed. In fact, three of the four came back again as they were passing by to play with the kids again. Best food for a character meal was at Tusker House.

Best Live Show: FOTLK is still the best one for us. We tried Flights of Wonder for the first time and enjoyed it as well.

Favorite Rides: For DD5 and DS2, it was TSM. For DW and I, it was ToT which we tried for the first time this year.

Best "Celebrity" Moment: When CM Hiram (sp?) from Poly helped me with our bags. He was the CM from one of my favorite youtube videos by Bosox01 who helped out with the pronunciation with Aotearoa Longhouse.

Favorite Moment: Watching Wishes from the Dessert Party with DD on my lap.

Least Favorite Moment: Not being able to go PoTC as each time we went by, the ride was temporarily closed.

Perfect Snack Moment: The enjoying a shaved ice snack while sitting at Japan Pavillion's garden around 3:00pm with temps reaching the upper 80s.

Best Looking Garden at Epcot: Canada.

Longest Line for a Ride: The Seas Pavillion with Nemo which was still only 15 minutes. I don't know what was going on that day but it was also the same day TT started its refurbishment. Anyway, I consider this a success. The Disney Mobile Magic app was a godsend as I could time my fastpass runs with better accuracy by monitoring the return time windows.

Best Souvenir: Mickey Mouse Hands/Gloves.

Overall, everything was GREAT! CMs were once again nice and friendly all around. The weather was warm and hot except the last two days. But the rain actually made our touring a lot easier as it kept the crowds away. Here are a few of my favorite pictures I got to keep you enticed while I work my way to posting our Day 1 happenings. Once thing I learned, I wish I had a bought a better camera instead of our point-and-shoot.

Dumbo's Flight at Night:

Rope Drop at MK:

View from our Illuminations Cruise:

O Canada!

Tree of Life Up Close

While waiting for the Resort Launch Boats at Poly

DD at Poly Beach

Sunrise on Poly Beach

Wishes Dessert Party

 

[FancyNancy]

Am I first??? Subscribing!

 

[Dreamsdocometrue9112]

I'm joining in! I love first-trip trip reports! Looking forward to reading

 

[204charity]

Oh Dave - what beautiful pics. (I was lucky enough to see some of those before anyone else!) LOL!

I am very excited to re-live my week in time again with a trip report too. It will certainly be nice to see how our 2 trips compare. LOL!

 

[Qltrgrl2]

Love your photos of the Poly. My trip in January for marathon weekend, I stayed at the Poly and loved the proximity to everything, plus the wonderful staff. Look forward to reading the rest of your report.

 

[we3travellers]

Can't wait to read your report! Poly is my dream resort. We stayed at AKL in 2010 and you can't beat it for the price. You can have a club room and/or savannah view for the price of the Poly. You won't be disappointed!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Am I first??? Subscribing!

Yes, you are!! Welcome!

I'm joining in! I love first-trip trip reports! Looking forward to reading

Thanks for joining in! I should clarify from my title - this was our first trip that we stayed at the Polynesian Resort, but not the first time at Disney. Although we did do a lot of things for the first time that we hadn't in our previous trips!

Oh Dave - what beautiful pics. (I was lucky enough to see some of those before anyone else!) LOL!

I am very excited to re-live my week in time again with a trip report too. It will certainly be nice to see how our 2 trips compare. LOL!

Thanks Charity! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing your trip report as well!

Love your photos of the Poly. My trip in January for marathon weekend, I stayed at the Poly and loved the proximity to everything, plus the wonderful staff. Look forward to reading the rest of your report.

Welcome! The Poly was absolutely gorgeous. I think I could have taken hundreds of more pics just at the resort if I had more time. The monorail was so convenient especially with a stroller. Plus, we were in the Tahiti Longhouse which meant that the TTC was extremely close-by. Loved having those options as well!

Can't wait to read your report! Poly is my dream resort. We stayed at AKL in 2010 and you can't beat it for the price. You can have a club room and/or savannah view for the price of the Poly. You won't be disappointed!

AKL was very beautiful! And you're right, the rates for AKL make it a very attractive option. The one thing I'll miss would be the proximity to MK and the monorail. With young children, Poly was very convenient from that aspect. Once the kids get a little older though, I don't think it will matter as much.

 

[mommy.foster.6]

Subscribing Can't wait to read your report, you have some great pics here already!
we got home from Disney late last weds and are feeling those disney blues too so considering writing my own report......or a dining one at the very least. Would love to hear about the Poly, we also have AKL on our list of places to stay...especially after having breakfast at Boma and exploring the resort afterwards!

 

[jennyjinx3]

I am here too!! Can't wait to here more detail about your trip! You are filling a void right now...thank you!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Subscribing Can't wait to read your report, you have some great pics here already!
we got home from Disney late last weds and are feeling those disney blues too so considering writing my own report......or a dining one at the very least. Would love to hear about the Poly, we also have AKL on our list of places to stay...especially after having breakfast at Boma and exploring the resort afterwards!

Thanks! Happy to have you on-board! I just loved Boma and wish I could have tried their breakfast as well. I wonder if it's similar to what we had at Tusker House for breakfast?

I am here too!! Can't wait to here more detail about your trip! You are filling a void right now...thank you!!

Welcome! I'll try to dig up some more pics of Poly that turned out well.

 

[emma212010]

Wow!! Absolutely beautiful pictures! I love the POLY! It's my favorite Delux resort by far! I'm glad you enjoyed your time there. I'm excited to hear about your trip!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Wow!! Absolutely beautiful pictures! I love the POLY! It's my favorite Delux resort by far! I'm glad you enjoyed your time there. I'm excited to hear about your trip!

Thanks! I was bound to get some good ones after taking about 900 pics! There were several that were so blurry and dark, I can barely tell what I was shooting for. And there's one where I took one of the ground while riding the Speedway. DD was driving and it was quite bumpy.

 

[stepdisney]

Hi DaveinFallsChurch. I'm stepdisney in Haymarket.... Can't wait to hear about your Poly trip. We are torn between YC and Poly this year.....

 

[auprincess]

can't wait to hear all about it!!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Hi DaveinFallsChurch. I'm stepdisney in Haymarket.... Can't wait to hear about your Poly trip. We are torn between YC and Poly this year.....

Welcome! I don't think you could go wrong with Poly!

can't wait to hear all about it!!!

Hi Stevie! Good to have you onboard! I should have the first post ready sometime tomorrow.

 

[Carol17]

Can't wait to read your report! A little confession: For years, when we have taken the monorail, we would look at the Poly and say, we will never stay there. It just looked too...70's. From a distance, it seemed dated and unattractive. Well, we have changed our tune! We did a little DIS research and realized that this is a beautiful resort! We have stayed at YC, WL, BWI,Contemporary, AKL,CBR...and last year was the Poly. Loved it! We are going back next year and will return to the Poly. We are converts!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Can't wait to read your report! A little confession: For years, when we have taken the monorail, we would look at the Poly and say, we will never stay there. It just looked too...70's. From a distance, it seemed dated and unattractive. Well, we have changed our tune! We did a little DIS research and realized that this is a beautiful resort! We have stayed at YC, WL, BWI,Contemporary, AKL,CBR...and last year was the Poly. Loved it! We are going back next year and will return to the Poly. We are converts!

That's funny because I used to think the same way! That's before I discovered DIS and learned what Poly had to offer. We would love to go back at some point.

 

[auprincess]

I see you will go back in 2 years ~ will you go in April again? We are also planning a 2014 trip, just not sure what time of year yet. A lot will depend on the school schedule. Luckily we had a late spring break this year (I live in AL and most of the schools had their break in March).

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I see you will go back in 2 years ~ will you go in April again? We are also planning a 2014 trip, just not sure what time of year yet. A lot will depend on the school schedule. Luckily we had a late spring break this year (I live in AL and most of the schools had their break in March).

I don't think we're going to be able to go in April next time but not completely sure. It all depends on what kind of flexibility we have with DD's school schedule. Our spring breaks are always on Easter week so definitely will be avoiding spring break week. I would love to go back during late January like last year, but I really enjoyed using the pool this time around and would like to do that again. So that leaves us with summer months, possibly late August? I know the heat and humidity will be an issue.

So I'm in the same boat as you. Not sure yet.

 

[solana131]

Joining in! We took our first trip this last Feb and stayed at the Poly. We loved it so much. I am now planning a trip with my cousin for her graduation and I really can't afford it, but I just can't stray from the Poly! I had such a wonderful time in Feb and I just can't give up the conveniences of the transportation, 24 hr Capt Cooks, etc. So I am along for your TR to get excited for my July trip