Poly Royal Adventure.ClubLevelBaby!5/14 DIAGON ALLEY BONUS Finale 7/15

[ElenaJane]

7 longggg months. The last WDW trip Will and I took was in October 2013. I knew on the ride home from the airport that we would need to start planning another trip. I had all the ADS (After Disney Syndrome) symptoms...frequently looking through pictures, contemplating a trip report, chatting non-stop to family about the recent trip (“this one time at band camp…” was instead “Oh that reminds me, when we were at Disney....”).

May 18th, 2014….I was able to get my fix!!!

About your host:

Elena
Married, early-thirties, no kids. Work can get pretty overwhelming, so planning the next WDW trip is a great escape for me!

Will
Hard-working, married, early-thirties, no kids. Same as me, whatdoyaknow? He works as a software developer/web developer/all around smart dude stuff! He is an amazing man who does a lot of volunteer work and also seems to enjoy spoiling me. He likes to buy vintage Disney Ts on Ebay and show off his “Disney Side”. I never knew he had one until the last year! He is not in the CIA or anything, but would only allow me to use his picture if his eyes are not visible.

So let’s get this thing going, shall we?! Let me extend my trip by living vicariously through my own trip report!

 

[ElenaJane]

Chapter Page

Backstory

Take off day!

Poly Club level check-in! Warning: complaints ahead

Off to MK! Bring on the Magic!

It's Legit(ish)!

You and Me in Paradise

Give me Liberty or give me....

Disney Buses...there is an app for that!

Ready for Prime Time!

I paid for that chocolate....

Rockin' Good Times!

A FANTASMIC few EMH

Hail that Taxi! We have a FP to make!

Spa Afternoon

California Dreaming!

MK B4 RD!

OMG! That's Eeyore!

Not a Frosty Reception at all!

Beauty and the Cupcake

Double your pleasure, Double your fun

We are not going to order that, wait, yeah, ok, let's do it!

What about now? How about now?

The Magical Depress...and I digress

DARKSIDE BONUS Part 1

DARKSIDE BONUS Part 2

DARKSIDE BONUS Part 3

DARKSIDE BONUS PART 4

DARKSIDE BONUS PART 5

DISNEY FOR A DAY PART 1

DISNEY FOR A DAY PART 2 - AND FINALE

 

[ElenaJane]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3191834
The above is the link from my first attempt at a Trip Report! The first page has the original backstory! I promise more pictures when we get to the actual meat of the TR!

So picking up where we left off from the last TR. Will and I were riding home from the airport, and he says I should start to plan the next trip! I knew there was a lot of construction that would be going on at the Polynesian, so I thought I would want to try out a different resort. So many resorts to choose from!

Everyone seems to love the Epcot resorts, but I don’t get the flutter in my heart when I think about any of them. Maybe because I have no childhood memories of them? Dunno. So, I thought about AKL, as we loved the WL, and it seems very similar with some zebra domes to boot. But, I had only one day planned at AK and AKL seems so far from anything else and the only mode of transpo is the bus. So, then I decided to give GF a try! I was able to book a GF Villa, studio!

Then a funny thing happened. I was actually trying to psych myself up about staying there. That seemed wrong, I should be excited!! I kept imagining getting a room that looked out towards Poly and missing it! So, fate stepped in. Spring discounts came out and guess which place did not qualify for the room-only discount? GF villas! So, then the plotting begins…..

We could stay at Poly, CLUB LEVEL, for less (ok not like a ton less!) than keeping our GF villa reservation!!! SOLD!

CLUB LEVEL BABY!!

I have always dreamed about staying CL at Poly, theme park view. I decided to settle on Lagoon view though. Yes, I knew there would be construction, I knew I would be looking at bungalows (that I’ll never afford) being built (Tikimanpages.com ROCKS), but Poly feels like home to me!!!!

We have never stayed CL, and were so excited about all the free snacks (yeahyeah, “free” snacks).

So trip was all set! I celebrated as the milestones creeped by...ADRs made (yep, up at 6am EST 180 days out….BOG dinner and CP breakfast before RD, check!!!....too much of a control freak to let Concierge people make ADRs for me!!), magic bands picked, tickets purchased, memory maker decided on (new for us!), gift cards slowly collected, FP+ booked at 60-days (and tweaked many times after!), Magic Bands shipped…..

I have patients booked out months in advance, so I had to request vacation time early (in November 2013!), which lead to some socially awkward conversations. The conversation would go something like this...keep in mind I am a professional adult, with no kids…

Me: I will be taking some time off from work in May.
Work Colleague (WC): You going somewhere fun?
Me: (Casually) Going to Florida.
WC: The beach?
Me: No.
WC: Oh. Weren’t you just there in October for the conference that was in Disney? (laughs) Not going there again?
Me: Yes. I am.
WC: (Puzzled) So there is another conference at Disney?
Me: No
Socially awkward silence as WC tries to understand why I am going to WDW voluntarily.

Me: I have family in the area.
WC looks relieved. All is right in the world. I do have family in the area...if by “area” you mean general state of FL, and I did not say I was visiting them in May, not my fault if they assumed that!

Whenever the upcoming trip was discussed with anyone else, in my head I was yelling “Club Level Baby!!!!”.

But tried to keep my cool…

 

[ElenaJane]

This is always my favorite day to read on others’ TRs! You can feel the excitement!

Cat knew something was up, but was too lazy to care.

We love non-stop flights + in-flight entertainment + unlimited snack + free bag check = JetBlue!! JetBlue only offers one non-stop flight a day out of Richmond, and it is super-duper early. I think Will would prefer a later flight time, but I love that this essentially gives us an almost full day for our first day!!

I had a work conference in Richmond the day before our flight, and as it is over an hour drive from home, we decided to spend the night in Richmond (airport is in Richmond). The day before, I was sitting in professional attire, listening to important information. Then I would just get this wave of excitement.

I had no problem getting up the morning of! I ate my usual breakfast bar. I knew we would be getting a second breakfast...CLUB LEVEL BABY…..in a few hours!

I decided this trip I would be Disney Bounding!! http://disneybound.tumblr.com/ Everytime I say that outloud, it sounds naughty. I think I am saying Bondage. Which sadly, I am sure Disney Bondage exists somewhere.

Anyhoo….here is my first Disney BOUNDING outfit!

red cardigan, blue dress, yellow necklace...any guesses?

I was hoping my attire would help my one of my goals of the trip. Stay Tuned!

We checked out of our hotel (which had no hidden mickeys, no piped in smells, no mousekeeping towel animals….BOR-ING!) and made the short drive to the airport!

To prove how early it was:

Despite the time, I definitely had a pep in my step!! Went through security and waited at the gate.

Boarded our flight! 7:00am on the dot!

I just finished reading 3500: An Autistic Boy's Ten-Year Romance with Snow White and highly recommend it! Combines my love of memoirs and Disney! Let me know if you can think of similar books!

So what’s better than reading WDW magazine and a coke zero?

Doing the same with free snacks!! The flight attendant did have a little smirk when I asked for 2 cookies and a pretzel, but they say unlimited snacks!

I can feel the plane start to tilt down!!! We start to make our approach! I can see the beach!

Touchdown! Right on time, thanks JetBlue!

9:00am, begin to deboard. Last trip I made an ADR for Tusker House 10:30am on our touchdown day. We made it in time, but it was pretty stressful! This time, our first reservation was not until lunch! So less need to race to MDE, but I think we walked at a pretty good clip anyway. Hopped on the faux-no-rail, which is a lot more fun heading away from the gate than towards!

I had put our Magic Bands on before we touched down.

Presto change-o

I have been following this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3190181

I tried my hand at Dotting and Sparkling and Nail polishing a previous MB I had. It looked awesome...if I could say my 6 year old niece made it for me.
Fortunately, someone on the thread mentioned Duct Tape. Who knew they made “designer duct tape”? Found the perfect one for our Poly adventures! As a bonus we have made various repairs to things around the house with our Polynesian Duct Tape!! Keeping it classy! We got so many compliments from CMs about the bands. My favorite would be when they thought it was a newly released Disney product!

Our MBs turned green, we lined up for Poly (FYI, duct tape has no issues with RFID)! Even though we did not have an ADR to make, I was ready to get rolling!

We FINALLY boarded and took our seats…..and were the first ones there.

Took about 15 minutes for it to fill up, and unfortunately it was announced Poly would be 3rd for drop offs. I just can’t figure out how they determine this. Why sometimes one resort gets dropped off first and sometimes last.

By the way, I have read a lot of negative comments about the new DME video. I actually liked the new one. It was quieter (which could of just been the bus driver's volume preference), and informative. I enjoyed the clip about the animator especially:

Regardless of resort order, we crossed into the world of happiness!

After a stop at Wilderness Lodge and then Contemporary, we finally had Poly in our view!

First sign of construction!
It was time to check in and experience the CL difference! Would it be everything I dreamed of?

 

[PrincessMomto2]

Hi looking forward to following your trip report. I love the Poly and I am curious to see what's happening with the construction. So if you don't mind I'm hopping aboard!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining! Congrats on Club Level!

I like your magic bands - been thinking of doing the designer duct tape too. There is one pattern that reminds be of the Haunted Mansion wallpaper so might go with that.

Liking forward to more!

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

We went at the same time!! Excited to keep reading!

 

[Octoberbeauty]

I'm in! I love the Poly. I'm having a hard time not staying there on my next visit, but my oldest wants to try an Epcot resort.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

ELENA!!! I'm so on board. I loved your last report, so I'm totally stoked you're doing another.

WOW, I think you may be the first couple in history to have matching Magic Bands. But the makeover is fantastic!!!

 

[AAshleySEG]

Looking forward to hearing about your Club Level experience! We are going to be doing CL at AKL this October, and I am so excited!!

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

OH MY GOSH. I just read your travel day post (somehow I skipped it earlier) and I just realized: WE WERE ON THE SAME FLIGHT! I flew out of RIC on Jetblue at 7am! And it was also a nonstop flight! How crazy is that!?!?! I wonder if I have seen you?

 

[ElenaJane]

Hi looking forward to following your trip report. I love the Poly and I am curious to see what's happening with the construction. So if you don't mind I'm hopping aboard!

Hop on aboard! There was a lot of construction, but it really did not diminish our enjoyment. However, I think it would have if the Waterfall had been all boarded up. At the end of July, there will be lots of construction in the GCH AND the Volcano pool will be closed!

 

[ElenaJane]

Joining! Congrats on Club Level!

I like your magic bands - been thinking of doing the designer duct tape too. There is one pattern that reminds be of the Haunted Mansion wallpaper so might go with that.

Liking forward to more!

HM is my favorite ride! Who knew there were so many patterns of Duct tape? Next trip will be for MNSSHP in September. I have found candy corn and spider duct tape. Haven't decided yet!

 

[ElenaJane]

We went at the same time!! Excited to keep reading!

That is so cool! Same plane!! I love when we are boarding and I try to pick out who is going to Disney. I love that flight. A little early, but has always been on time!

 

[ElenaJane]

I'm in! I love the Poly. I'm having a hard time not staying there on my next visit, but my oldest wants to try an Epcot resort.

I think trying out a new resort is a great idea. There is going to be heavy construction until late 2015. Everyone seems to love the EPCOT resorts, so I am sure you will love it. I've had my eye on the Beach Club but haven't booked a trip there yet.

 

[ElenaJane]

ELENA!!! I'm so on board. I loved your last report, so I'm totally stoked you're doing another.

WOW, I think you may be the first couple in history to have matching Magic Bands. But the makeover is fantastic!!!

ROB! I can't promise any Chester Cheetahs on my Safari. Hard to top that! My guide did say "Look under those trees you can see the Cheetah" and I thought of you!

So, you are implying that we are the coolest couple you know, with the matching bands, right?

Got to give Will credit for agreeing to wear a Poly-themed band without even batting an eye.

 

[ElenaJane]

Looking forward to hearing about your Club Level experience! We are going to be doing CL at AKL this October, and I am so excited!!

Boy, you have more countdown tickers than anyone I have seen!

I will say our initial impression with CL on our first day was, well, a little disappointing. I had such crazy high expectations though. Stay excited about CL in October. I am sure you will love it.

 

[mirage0306]

We stayed club level at the Poly last year. Sniff, sniff--I loved it so much. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we all did. I can't wait to read along and see all your pictures. I can't wait to go back someday.

 

[MrsMuffinMan]

Following along! I'm going with friends in October for the Food and Wine and we were going to stay at the Poly, but opted for the Contemporary because of the construction. I laughed out loud at the awkward moment when you tell your co-workers you're going to Disney. I have that same moment when ever someone asks "where in Florida are you going?"...some people just don't get it?

 

[jrj]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3191834
The above is the link from my first attempt at a Trip Report! The first page has the original backstory! I promise more pictures when we get to the actual meat of the TR!

So picking up where we left off from the last TR. Will and I were riding home from the airport, and he says I should start to plan the next trip! I knew there was a lot of construction that would be going on at the Polynesian, so I thought I would want to try out a different resort. So many resorts to choose from!

Everyone seems to love the Epcot resorts, but I don’t get the flutter in my heart when I think about any of them. Maybe because I have no childhood memories of them? Dunno. So, I thought about AKL, as we loved the WL, and it seems very similar with some zebra domes to boot. But, I had only one day planned at AK and AKL seems so far from anything else and the only mode of transpo is the bus. So, then I decided to give GF a try! I was able to book a GF Villa, studio!

Then a funny thing happened. I was actually trying to psych myself up about staying there. That seemed wrong, I should be excited!! I kept imagining getting a room that looked out towards Poly and missing it! So, fate stepped in. Spring discounts came out and guess which place did not qualify for the room-only discount? GF villas! So, then the plotting begins…..

We could stay at Poly, CLUB LEVEL, for less (ok not like a ton less!) than keeping our GF villa reservation!!! SOLD!

CLUB LEVEL BABY!!

OMG I can't get past this...too funny Laughing so hard... can't breathe