Are you sure we’re in Florida?

[jenseib]

Hi all!

Welcome to my short Disney World vacation trip report.

This is part of a 3 part trip report and actually the third part I am writing. I started with the last portion first, which was a Disney cruise with a day and ½ of Disney World at the end. Then I did the Universal Studios part, which was the first segment. This is the middle segment with just a few days at Disney World pre-cruise.


For those that read those, you now fill in the rest of the gaps!.


To get things started I will start with a mini intro.


For those that don’t know me, I am Jennifer, or as many of my friends call me, Jen! I like to travel, I like to take pictures and then I usually like to write about my adventures. I do that for 2 reasons. Number one is that I hope it helps others in their planning. I tell the good and the bad and even though my experience isn’t what others may find or even like, I hope to at least give people a little taste of things. I secondly write these for my own personal reasons. I tend to post this on a couple of message boards as well as my blog. If I want to go back and remember my trip, I can just go and read it. Or if there is something I can’t remember in a few years, like why I didn’t like this, or what made that so special, I can go and reread about it.


Of course even when I write it down now, I still can’t remember everything, but the pictures tend to jog my memory and I usually have it pretty close to how it happened.


I am a Mom to 3, but many of you who have read my past reports probably only know my youngest, Claire. Claire is 11 now…boy time flies. My other 2 are just as special but they are adults and rarely travel with me now so they just are not in my traveling reports.


skag35 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I am also a grandmother now. Yes…I know…I am WAY too young to be a grandmother. I know, I know….you make me blush with all your compliments! But yes I am! And little Gracie is now 20 months old and just as cute as can be


baby4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I am also married and if you have read my past reports you have probably seen Skip make appearances. He isn’t always a fan of traveling, and he is even less of a fan of me traveling without him, but sometimes I just have to go and he gripes a bit at first and then makes peace with it.


This trip was actually a work related trip. Back in Oct. of 2014, 2 of my co-workers and I were chatting like we do daily on facebook, and my co-worker Brook mentioned great cruise rates for Feb 2016. Wow! Of course, Deb and I go and take a look and there were several short sailings that were reasonable. We had been talking about doing a work related cruise for some time now, but no one was ever pulling the trigger. They elected me to post about it on our private business page to see if anyone would bite….and bite they did. Soon we were all talking about cruising and then it came down to picking a date and a ship. It was between the Dream and the Magic. I have been on both ships, twice each. I was game for either really. Some wanted one over the other, some it was more about price and in the end we priced out a few sailings and basically went with the cheapest option, which was on the Magic on Feb. 7, 2016.


It’s a long story, but in the beginning we decided to add days to the trip either pre or post. We talked about Disney World, Universal and Sea World. Some could go earlier and some preferred after the cruise. In the end a few days precruise at WDW was decided on for most.


I had 2 roommates for the Disney World and Disney cruise portion of the trip, Cass and Brook. I have roomed with both before and I like both as roommates.


Cass and I both really wanted to do Universal though. So did a few other girls.

In the end Cass was coming down several days earlier than I, so she was going to do 3 days at WDW and then move over to Universal the day before I was to arrive. We decided that on my arrival day (and her Universal arrival day the day before) we would like to stay at Cabana Bay. It’s still a new resort and it looked so cute. We decided the next morning we would move to Hard Rock Hotel so we would have express pass access for the parks.


After that portion we were moving to Disney World and we got a GREAT deal on the Polynesian. None of us had ever stayed there before and we kept throwing around ideas and for the price…divided by 3…we just knew this was the best chance for us to stay at this resort. Cass and I were arriving on Feb. 4 and Brook was joining us on Feb. 5.


Several of my co-workers had arrived early, but the official “work” trip where we had activities planned with all started on the 5th. Like I said, several had arrived earlier and I had already done some “work” stuff with them, but as a whole, our first meeting was scheduled for the evening of the 5th. Many were arriving on the 5th and a few sadly were getting in too late to meet up with us for the first meeting. We kept that light and more of a get to know each other event.



Join me as I relive this Disney vacation….there were a lot of laughs and good times during those few days and we made memories to last a lifetime.

 

[mom2rtk]

Welcome home!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am in. Looking forward to reading all about this.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Welcome home!

Yep, back to the real world. And back to cooking. LOL.

I am in. Looking forward to reading all about this.

Corinna

It should go fast. I have it all written up.

 

[canyoncam]

Yeah!!! Looking forward to this part as I just booked Poly next year.

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm here looking forward to this!

 

[ariane37]

I'm in! I read Cass's TR and am very interested to hear about the Disney part of the trip from your POV

 

[jenseib]

Yeah!!! Looking forward to this part as I just booked Poly next year.

I loved the convenience of being close to MK.

I'm here looking forward to this!

Yay!

I'm in! I read Cass's TR and am very interested to hear about the Disney part of the trip from your POV

We had such a good time there together!!

 

[jenseib]

Feb. 4, 2016, Thursday


Just a little summary/recap in case you haven’t read my Universal report.


Cass and I had roomed together for 2 nights. Our first night was at Cabana Bay and then we moved over to the Hard Rock Hotel for a night.


On Feb. 4th, Cass decided to stay back at the hotel to rest up and I headed off to Universal parks to meet up with some co-workers. After lunch with the girls I trotted back to the Hard Rock Hotel where we got an Uber driver and headed off to our next adventure. The weather while at Universal Orlando had been wonderful. Mainly in the 80’s and even though today was a little cooler, it was still a beautiful morning.


We headed to the Polynesian and it was like we were entering another world…and yes Disney is like another world, but this was different. The skies became grey and the temp just seemed to drop.


poly32 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It didn’t matter though, we were excited to be heading to the Poly!!!


poly33 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Our driver dropped us off and Cass helped me finish the Uber app, which I am still not sure I could do on my own without her guidance….and were greeted by some friendly CM’s!


poly arrival by Jenseib, on Flickr


I believe we handed our bags off to a porter and headed inside then to get checked in.


pol1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


The CM told us our room was ready! Score! BUT…did we still want a 1st floor room like I had requested. Um…yes, that is why I requested it. She said we were given a 3rd floor room for some reason but she would call and see if it could be changed. I told her yes we want the 1st floor, but if that room isn’t ready we would just take the 3rd floor room. It took some time, but finally she got through to the right person and we were granted a first floor room.


I took pictures while we waited.


pol2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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She then showed us where our room was…parking lot view. Hahaha. But we did book a standard in the DVC area.... She told us there really isn’t an easy way to get there as there was pool construction. UGH. This did turn out to be a pain in the butt. This would be my only complaint about the Poly really. We had to walk around the front of the resorts to our building and it was quite a bit longer. There really were no short cuts through buildings that made it any faster….and the weather was not nice. I think if it had been nicer then I wouldn’t have minded so much.


Cass went off to the room ahead of me and I walked around a bit getting the lay of the land and seeing if there were any shorter ways…and there wasn’t.


Once I arrived in the room I took it in. It was awesome….so much room and it had a split bathroom…one with tub/shower, toilet and sink and the other with shower and sink. That works very nice for 3 women.


I went right to taking pictures of the room.


pol3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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We ended up putting that pack n play on the top shelf to have room for luggage in the closet.


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I took pictures with both my camera and phone and sent off a bunch to Brook who was excited to see them.


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Our patio. In the reflection you can see our view of the parking lot….and Cass! LOL.


poly45 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We were trying to think of a fair way to have the sleeping situation. Obviously the bed is the best and then there was a couch and pullout bed. At first we joked about giving Brook the worst of the 3, though honestly I don’t know which the worst was as I didn’t think any were that bad. But we figured playing musical bed would be fair.


We pulled out the couch bed to check it out…and it stayed out the rest of our stay. Cass and I were joking around and being silly. We decided to send a picture of us both in the bed together and send it to our co-workers….stating that we are such best buddies we are now cuddling. So then we tried to figure out how to take the picture. My point and shoot has a timer, so at first we played with that. Honestly we spent a lot of time setting this up because the timer would go off when we weren’t ready and of course we kept laughing. Then I realized that our iphones had a timer. So we set that up and I would click it and run and dive into the bed. I had the phone propped up and it would fall over as I jumped in the bed….which then got us laughing. We spent a LONG time doing this…because we are big dorks! Hahaha


I think this picture is from my camera, one of the early ones where we weren’t having fits of laughter quite yet.


polybeingsilly by Jenseib, on Flickr


And by the end, the bed was a total mess. LOL.


pol4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

[jenseib]

After a bit Cass and I both went outside to explore. We separated because I think I was going to call home and she may have as well.


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Our room wasn’t too far from to catch the monorail at the TTC and not too far from the bus stop.


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Construction…booo hoooo!


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I took a peek.


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Looking over at the Grand Floridian.


poly54 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And the new bungalows.


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I ran into Cass here while taking pictures and we both commented on how the bungalows now block the MK view of the regular rooms.


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We made our way towards the pool.


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Which is now all fenced in. I hate that Disney has done that to all their pools.


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And then we noticed the pool hours!



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We were NOT happy. Seriously??? They now close the pool at 8PM? What about people who like to come back and swim after the parks close? I know many like to spend a little time in the hot tub late into the evening. Cass asked about this and was told this is now year round too…even in the summer. I hope they were wrong.

It put a damper on our plans too. We had a dinner reservation this evening and the plan was to get in the hot tub after. Obviously that did not work. Sadly I never did make it in the pool or hot tub there….I guess I need to go back.


poly65 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Cass wanted something to eat so she headed inside and I went for a Dole Whip float.


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YUM!!!


pol5 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

[jenseib]

I ate my treat and walked around.



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I found Cass too.


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Outside seating area.


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Things were really changed around since last time I was here, but it looked nice.


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We peaked into Trader Sams.


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I was surprised how tiny it is.


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I headed out front with Cass and she told me that one of the rocks wasn’t real…it just floats in there (Well probably all the rocks are fake). I assume it hides something?


poly82 by Jenseib, on Flickr


poly81 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I had to go pick up my ticket at the MK. I had a special ticket and it could only be picked up on arrival. It kind of sucks though because I could not link it till I got it and of course that meant no prepicking FP+. I think Cass went back to the room. I believe I walked with her.


poly2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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This path is right outside our building.


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Me and all my friends.


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It was easy and painless and I jumped back on the monorail to head back to the Poly. I noticed these girls standing there with college program backpacks and they were tearing up as we left MK and I heard them say how they couldn’t wait to go in as official CM’s, etc. AHHHH…a new batch of CM’s. One girl ended up sitting next to me and I asked her about it and she was very excited and told me a bit about it. I have read several “Earning my Ears” books off of amazon, so I have a good idea how the program works…and basically they can’t enter the parks for free till after a certain point in their training. I think it is usually about 3 or 4 days after they arrive for most. I forget what this girl had been assigned too but I do remember thinking it was a good job.


monorailfull by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

[jenseib]

Back at the Poly.


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I think I browsed the stores a bit.


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And then back out front to head towards our room.


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That is the bus stop.


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I love seeing flowers in Feb.


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My plan had been to go back to the room and shower and make myself gorgeous. I wasn’t feeling it. I just fluffed up myself and put on a dress and makeup….we had plans tonight!


We were going to Narcoossee’s for dinner!


So we got all primped and pretty and went to head out and it is POURING! I went looking for the 2 rain jackets I had brought but could only find one. (Of course when we got back I remember where I put the 2nd one). No rain is not going to hurt us obviously, but we wanted to look nice for this dinner and not like a drowned rat. We made the long way to the mail building by going through other buildings. There is no direct route and it was a lot of back and forth but eventually we got there and took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian.


nar1.1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We went in and put our name in and had to wait a little bit.


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I thought this was cute.


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We were seated on the upper level. My view was of the castle…Cass’s was of me. I think she got the better view. Hahahaha!


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When we were seated they mentioned that there was a birthday celebration. Um no….Cass says “yes there is! Yours!”…oh yeah, my birthday is coming up isn’t. I had totally forgotten. That Cass is a sly dog!


We looked over the menu.


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And got some bread.


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And butter.


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And I believe I got the lobster bisque.


nar6.1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It was good, but not the best I have ever had.


nar9 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

[jenseib]

Our server came out and told us our food was almost ready but the fireworks were going to start soon. If we wanted, they would hold the food and we could go outside to watch the fireworks. We decided that would be fun and did just that. It was a little chilly and windy but we walked out and there were quite a few people out there. The bad thing is there isn’t much seating and only so much rail room to stand. We still had time and just kind of found a spot to stand for the time being. We kept hearing a tap on the window and this kid was there just tapping away and motioning for us to move. We just kind of waved. The fireworks had not started and we were not in the way for anything going on at the moment. Once they started I would position myself better. But the dad wasn’t having that and he rapped and motioned and we kind of gave him dirty looks.

A few minutes later he came out and told us how he paid big money to reserve that table and we were blocking his view. First off…he’s a big fat liar. You can’t pay to have a window table and yes you can request it but it is not guaranteed. That right there made us a little ticked off. He went off with his speech about not being able to see a thing. Cass said that really only 1 or 2 people at their table would not be able to see but they could move over once it started. No this was his special table and no one was going to move on their end. He kept going on and on and we just kind of glazed over and ignored him. He ended his rant by saying “you have no intentions of moving do you?” We both just kind of shrugged and let him walk away. The thing is, I had every intention of moving before he came out. I do try to be respectful to others, but nothing was going on…in fact the fireworks were delayed due to weather. I just couldn’t believe the nerve of this guy. And maybe if he hadn’t lied and just said nicely that once the fireworks started would we be kind enough to move over a bit so his son could see, I would have had no issues. I have a feeling that is family thinks they are entitled to a lot of things and the kid is probably a brat!!! Hahahaha.


So time was ticking and the fireworks were not going off yet. We were told the fireworks were loaded and once loaded they must be shot off that night, so they would be going off eventually. We waited. A few other families talked about how they could only wait so long before they had to be somewhere else. I found that odd….I thought this viewing area was for dining guest only. After a bit a few families left…needing to make ADR’s elsewhere. Gosh, that annoyed us. Here we are getting yelled out for blocking someone’s view and all these other people are standing here and NOT even eating here! If anyone should move, it should have been those families.


We ended up getting to sit on the bench. I was pretty darn cold at this point, but we waited it out. At this point I was waiting till the fireworks went off even if it killed me after having that run in with that father.


We saw parts of the water parade go by, but it wasn’t all lit up. Later we realized it was just getting in position to actually do the parade.


They did eventually go off!


nar10 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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Most of my shots were pretty bad, so I only posted a few.


As we walked back in Cass glared at the entitled family and she took a picture and said she was going to post it on facebook and let the world know what a jerk this guy is. LOL!


Once we got back in our server brought our food out.


nar12.1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I thought it was excellent, but Cass said hers was just ok. Now is it worth the big pricetag? Eh….probably not, but then again there isn’t a lot of food at Disney that is worth what they charge.


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Because Cass had noted my birthday, they brought me out their signature dessert on the house. Cass didn’t get dessert and honestly I was too full, but I ate the whole thing, except for the few bites Cass took.



nar13.1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

It would have never been anything on my radar to order, but I thought it was really good.


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We finished up and paid our bills and the Electric Water Parade was coming by, so we headed out via the porch we had sat on for the fireworks and watched it as well.


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It was mainly just lightly raining now. Not as bad as before. We headed over to the main building.


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I think we hit the restroom and wandered around a bit.


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I have never stayed at the Grand yet, but I feel like I know it pretty well….but in reality I just know the lobby. Hahaha.

Some day we will stay there!


We headed back to the Poly then and of course ideally we would have loved to have gone to the pool but since it closes at 8 PM there was no chance of that. We just chilled out and went to bed after a bit. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day as we had a tour scheduled first thing….and many more co-workers were arriving throughout the day and we would be having dinner together.

 

[ariane37]

Ok I have to start with the dad - OMG! I don't remember if Cass wrote about him in her TR but no way would I have moved after he talked to me like that. DH probably would have started out nicely telling him sure, we'll move once the fireworks start but since I would have known he didn't "pay big money to reserve that table", I wouldn't have even offered at that point. I try to stay happy when in Disney but people like that really piss me off........

We stayed at the Poly for the first time in January, a few weeks before your trip. We rented points and were in Moorea. I did like that we were close to the TTC but didn't like the walk to the main bldg., especially since the few days we were there it was unseasonably cold. I'd always wanted to stay at the Poly and I'm really glad we did, you can't beat the size of the room!! But I prefer places like AKL where you really only have to walk outside to go to the bus, and it's mostly covered. I even prefer the BW because while you do have to go outside to eat for the most part, it's close. While your room may be far from the lobby at either resort you're walking inside.
I haven't really kept up on the pool hours but I wonder if it's really been closing at 8 all summer? That would suck. Because it was so cold during our stay we didn't use the pool, and it was an adults only trip, too. But our kids like to swim late at night so they would have been upset if the weather was a bit warmer and they were with us.

 

[Pinkocto]

What a great update. All the pictures of the resort made me feel I was there. The room is awesome!

Too cool about the college program/new CMs.

I hate that they're closing pools early. After park pool time and relaxing is a must.

And the nerve of that guy during the fireworks!! That just ruffles my feathers!

Sweet that Cass remembered your upcoming birthday

 

[mom2rtk]

LOL, you crack me up. The bed shot is a hoot.

The shots around the Polynesian were stunning. I haven't been there since they removed the waterfall though, and it does always catch me off guard when I see that big open expanse. Sigh.

I can't believe that guy actually came out and asked you to move. What a hoot. And being a liar on top of it? Ugh.

 

[dolphingirl47]

BUT…did we still want a 1st floor room like I had requested. Um…yes, that is why I requested it. She said we were given a 3rd floor room for some reason but she would call and see if it could be changed.

How strange, but I am glad that they were able to sort it out for you.

She told us there really isn’t an easy way to get there as there was pool construction.

That sounds like a bit of a pain.

I went right to taking pictures of the room.

The room looks amazing. Is this one of the DVC studios?

Sadly I never did make it in the pool or hot tub there….I guess I need to go back.

Oh, does the Poly have hot tubs now. From memory, this was the only deluxe hotel that did not have any.

We peaked into Trader Sams.

We never found the inside last year, but sitting out on the patio was nice.

I was surprised how tiny it is.


pol6 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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pol7 by Jenseib, on Flickr

From the photos, this looks quite a bit bigger than its counterpart at Disneyland.

We were going to Narcoossee’s for dinner!

This is my favourite restaurant at Walt Disney World.

So we got all primped and pretty and went to head out and it is POURING!

What a pain that the weather let you down.

Our server came out and told us our food was almost ready but the fireworks were going to start soon. If we wanted, they would hold the food and we could go outside to watch the fireworks.

We have watched the fireworks on the patio as well after a meal there and really enjoyed it.

But the dad wasn’t having that and he rapped and motioned and we kind of gave him dirty looks.

What a jerk! I would have dug in my heels as well.

We finished up and paid our bills and the Electric Water Parade was coming by, so we headed out via the porch we had sat on for the fireworks and watched it as well.

What a near finish to the evening. I love the Electric Water Pageant.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Ok I have to start with the dad - OMG! I don't remember if Cass wrote about him in her TR but no way would I have moved after he talked to me like that. DH probably would have started out nicely telling him sure, we'll move once the fireworks start but since I would have known he didn't "pay big money to reserve that table", I wouldn't have even offered at that point. I try to stay happy when in Disney but people like that really piss me off........

She did. He was just crazy.

We stayed at the Poly for the first time in January, a few weeks before your trip. We rented points and were in Moorea. I did like that we were close to the TTC but didn't like the walk to the main bldg., especially since the few days we were there it was unseasonably cold. I'd always wanted to stay at the Poly and I'm really glad we did, you can't beat the size of the room!! But I prefer places like AKL where you really only have to walk outside to go to the bus, and it's mostly covered. I even prefer the BW because while you do have to go outside to eat for the most part, it's close. While your room may be far from the lobby at either resort you're walking inside.

It was hard to get to the main building because of the construction and also it was so cold while we were there too. I do like the resorts like AKL where your walks are inside too.

I haven't really kept up on the pool hours but I wonder if it's really been closing at 8 all summer? That would suck. Because it was so cold during our stay we didn't use the pool, and it was an adults only trip, too. But our kids like to swim late at night so they would have been upset if the weather was a bit warmer and they were with us.

I haven't either, but if that is true it is such a shame.

What a great update. All the pictures of the resort made me feel I was there. The room is awesome!

We had a great room

hate that they're closing pools early. After park pool time and relaxing is a must.

Me too

And the nerve of that guy during the fireworks!! That just ruffles my feathers!

LOL. He ruffled ours too

Sweet that Cass remembered your upcoming birthday

She's a good friend.

LOL, you crack me up. The bed shot is a hoot.

If we ever travel together we are doing that too. hahaha

The shots around the Polynesian were stunning. I haven't been there since they removed the waterfall though, and it does always catch me off guard when I see that big open expanse. Sigh.

Yes, it is different looking, but honestly I was never a huge fan of that water feature so it doesn't bother me.

I can't believe that guy actually came out and asked you to move. What a hoot. And being a liar on top of it? Ugh.

He was a total jerk.

How strange, but I am glad that they were able to sort it out for you

I don't get why they didn't honor the request in the first place.

That sounds like a bit of a pain.

Yes it really was.

The room looks amazing. Is this one of the DVC studios?

Yes it is. Very nicely done.

Oh, does the Poly have hot tubs now. From memory, this was the only deluxe hotel that did not have any.

Hmm I am not sure now that you say that.

We never found the inside last year, but sitting out on the patio was nice.

We walked by a couple of times before we found the door.

From the photos, this looks quite a bit bigger than its counterpart at Disneyland.

I barely remember DL's but this was REALLY small inside. Only a couple of tables.

This is my favourite restaurant at Walt Disney World.

I thought it was good.

What a pain that the weather let you down.

The weather was not my friend once we left Universal.

We have watched the fireworks on the patio as well after a meal there and really enjoyed it

It was a nice spot to watch them.

What a jerk! I would have dug in my heels as well.

Total jerk.

What a near finish to the evening. I love the Electric Water Pageant.

It was nice to watch the parade. Not many people take the time to do it.

 

[jenseib]

Feb. 5, 2016, Friday


We had early morning plans today so I was up early and got ready. Even though I get up early, I always put off getting ready completely till the end and then have to rush.

I did go for a quick morning stroll and I checked the weather app. I think it was 58…and at home….52. Yeah…that didn’t make me happy. And I also talked to Skip who was rubbing it in my face that the temps were so similar.


I got a quick breakfast and then Cass and I headed to the T&TC to catch the Epcot monorail.


epcot1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We headed through bag check and then went to the early entry line since we had to arrive before park opening for a tour.


epcot3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Cass had forgotten her chapstick and she is a little bit obsessed with chapstick so she went in search of some. Not much was open and we could only walk in so far, so I just roamed in the general area of where I would meet back up with Cass. I think we had been told to meet at Guest Services but they told us to go on to Innoventions so we headed that way and checked in.


epcot2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I grabbed a bottle of water for later.


epcot4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We had some time to wait so we used the restroom, chilled on a bench and walked around a bit.


epcot3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot7 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot5 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot6 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Finally it was time to start the tour and our guide introduced herself. I can’t remember her name now off the top of my head but it was an unusual one.

She handed out headsets for us all to wear and they sucked! They crackled and everyone kept adjusting it and we realized that most of the issue was her. Her microphone was in her scarf and every move she made made it worse for us. She tried adjusting a bit but it never was good.


We got started and headed to a back stage area…hee hee! She asked what we all hoped to get out of the tour and the majority of us were Disney vets and wanted more knowledge about Epcot and of course to see backstage areas. We touched and looked at some stuff back there. I think we looked at an animatronic head.

She seemed a little rusty, but we were just getting started.

We headed out a door and were in the Guest services area. She then started talking and it was a lot of mumbo jumbo. I started glazing over. I know there were a couple of times where I thought the info she was giving might not be exactly accurate. She also seemed to stumble over some of her words or say words wrong…or make up new words. LOL. I also noticed she blinked…a LOT. At times keeping her eyes closed like she was thinking. Then all of a sudden it was really quiet and she looked over at the people at the guest service desk and made some joke like “stop watching me” and laughed. Cass and I looked at each other…OK! My guess is she was new. Were we her first tour? Ut oh!


We then headed outside and she stopped us in a super windy spot. It was cold today and even in the sun the wind was cold. Now Cass loves colder weather and even she was cold. Of course the wind made her microphone crackle more too.


She told us more info…again I was kind of questioning in my mind some of what she said. After a bit she moved us out of the wind.


As you can see, she has her eyes closed all the time.


tour2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We talked about Spaceship Earth and how it was made.


tour1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And then we got to go in the back way and ride Spaceship Earth! When it was time to take our picture Cass made a crazy face and I put my sunglasses on. The last time I wore those same sunglasses and it made me look like I had no eyes. Claire thought that was the coolest thing ever. It didn’t work this time.

I took a few pictures on the ride.


epcot8 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot9 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot10 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot11 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot12 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Always got to get go go girl.


epcot13 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It came time to pick our life and we selected stuff I have never done before, so that was fun.


Sadly I looked pretty normal.


epcot5 by Jenseib, on Flickr


But Cass did not and we could not stop laughing.


epcot6 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot7 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Next we headed out to the fountain of nations. It was windy, hard to hear from the fountain and again I glazed over.


epcot14 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot15 by Jenseib, on Flickr


She started talking about how deep the fountain is. And this is where she lost me. I can’t remember exactly but I think she said it was bigger than Spaceship Earth. I saw others looking at each other too. Something she said about it wasn’t making sense so I kept trying to figure it out. Then she talked about Roy being brought out of retirement to open Epcot. Ok, I don’t have an encyclopedia of knowledge in my brain, but wasn’t he dead by then? I seriously had a lot just going through my brain as I glazed over because so much was not making sense. Then Cass leans over and says “I guess they dug Roy up for the Epcot opening”. Ok, it wasn’t just me. And Cass said she noticed others giving each other looks. I said to Cass that maybe she meant Roy’s son? But Cass said no she said his brother. I seriously was not enjoying this like I had hoped. But we spent money on this and it was something Cass wanted to do, so I stuck with it. I will say I went a little attention deficit during this tour. I later found out that Cass was close to leaving and requesting her money back.


I took this picture as I glazed over her talking. It was more interesting to me.


epcot16 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We walked over to the sea next….I can’t remember if we rode it or not. But we then were going to be shown one of the old lounges used by executives and employees of the sponsor company. Can’t remember who it had belonged too, but I want to say it was a phone company. It now is only used for special functions….but recently it was announced the Epcot dessert parties are going to be held there.


We were excited to go in and check this out.


Once we got up there she let us walk around and she kept talking. Now we had been told no pictures in backstage areas, but this really wasn’t, so I asked if we could take pictures and she said she thought it would be ok, and everyone started snapping.


epcot17 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Get out of my way Cass….I am trying to take pictures here.


epcot16 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot18 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot14 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot19 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot20 by Jenseib, on Flickr


epcot15 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

[canyoncam]

So I just finally found time to find and read Cass's report. It is very interesting seeing the same day through two different eyes.

That really was a horrible tour experience! I would've been with Cass in wanting my money back. I am sure I would have followed through in demanding it back.

And back to the dinner and fireworks. I am pretty good at acting like I don't know what people are talking about (actually it's not always an act ) so I could have easily ignored that father. People are just jerks when it comes to entitlement anymore.