Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby Feed the Force!! A May 2015 TR - Update 10/29 Trip Epilogue!

[kastoney]

Thanks for the info on the Poly and Tren-D. Gonna have to check that out next time were at DTD.

First, congrats on booking your birthday trip. I did my 40th at the world last year in the Wilderness Lodge & Boardwalk and it was awesome!!!! And the Poly seems the perfect place for you!

Your Ohana meal looks delicious. I haven't eaten there in almost 20 years and everytime I see photos I can't believe its been that long. Hopefully we can score a last minute ADR on our next trip since we'll be right there. Cause I'm sure I could get my money's worth in potstickers and bread pudding alone ; )

What a great night in MK. Love you could walk onto so much and of course Wishes!

 

[pookersmom]

I'm back on the DIS after a long time away and so excited to see that you're in the middle of a TR! I always love seeing all your photos. They're the best.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Great update and beautiful night-time pictures of MK! I'm so glad that you stayed persistent and was able to book the Polynesian Village for 2016!

Thank you! I'm so excited about next year!

I've been loving your trip report! I started with your cruise report because we booked one for April and ended up reading this one too! We always rent Dvc points when we go! Can't wait to see more pics of the next cruise and trip!

Thank you!! And thanks for reading both of my TRs! LOL. Which cruise are you going on? I loved our experience on DCL! I'm so happy that DVC points worked out for me next time. I'll be sure to post a TR next year too!

You mean you have ROOM for seconds on dessert?!?!?!?? Though I have heard of people asking to do things backward. Lol

Wow you can do things backwards??? I'd NEVER make it to the salad course then, LOL. For the record I've only ordered seconds of the dessert when it's been 3 or more people at Ohana. If it's just me and DH we only order one.

I don't like to make a reservation assuming that I will get a discount either. Luckily, we have gotten one for all of our visits, so far. I don't wait for the discount to make my room reservation though, because they often seem to be released after my 180 day ADR window. Our first family WDW trip and the first time we stayed at Poly (2012) it was a childhood dream, so I just told DH that we were going to suck it up and pay it. I had booked it before the discount, so it was rack rate. Then the discount, 30%, came out soon after, which I didn't even know they did, and we basically got a night+ free. However, Poly was a good $200/night cheaper then.

I buy tickets from Undercover Tourist all the time, and you just need to link them. I can't remember if they automatically link if you buy just tickets from Disney. It's easy though; just enter the number on the ticket or from the email (e-ticket) into MDE.

I have thought about renting DVC points before, but with just the 3 of us, we don't really need the extra space or the kitchenette. However, it might be worth it at the Contemporary, since there are so many more DVC rooms. We have been staying at POR lately, which is way more reasonable than the deluxes. It's good to know that renting DVC is pretty simple. I think if DH and I go to Food & Wine in the next couple of years, we will stay at one of the Epcot resorts for convenience. I think it would be a short trip with Epcot being the main focus, so they would be really convenient. I might look into renting DVC points then.

I was thinking of doing the Undercover Tourist tickets too! You do save a few bucks and every little bit counts!

I love the PO resorts especially POFQ which I have stayed at twice. If I couldn't stay deluxe next year that would have been my first choice. I think staying at the Epcot resorts for food n wine is the way to go...before I knew about renting DVC points I was always jealous of the people who could stroll back "home" to Beach Club etc. and then come back out later for more food. Sooooo convenient. I now know that I can possibly do that from now on too!

Congrats on getting a fab deal for the Poly!!!!!

Those castle photos, oh my gosh, so beautiful! Almost brought a tear to my eye! Just....magical perfection.

And Ohana, oh my goodness, that looks incredible!!

Thank you thank you!! I'm glad I made you tear up...I think! I do feel sentimental when I see everyone else's pictures too so it's all good.

And yes, Ohana, just a meal we always look forward to at WDW. Now that we're at the Poly next year. We may have to go twice. Hehehehehe.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Thanks for the info on the Poly and Tren-D. Gonna have to check that out next time were at DTD.

I've always had pretty good luck at Trend-D.

First, congrats on booking your birthday trip. I did my 40th at the world last year in the Wilderness Lodge & Boardwalk and it was awesome!!!! And the Poly seems the perfect place for you!

Thanks! Super excited! Wow WL and Boardwalk! I can just imagine all the great meals you had. Did you actually make an ADR for any of them?
Happy 40th B-day! (Very belated!)

Your Ohana meal looks delicious. I haven't eaten there in almost 20 years and everytime I see photos I can't believe its been that long. Hopefully we can score a last minute ADR on our next trip since we'll be right there. Cause I'm sure I could get my money's worth in potstickers and bread pudding alone ; )

Wow 20 years! I just discovered this about 5 years ago. Actually I only started to stay on property 5 years ago too. Since then, I've never looked back. I wish you luck with last minute ADRs! I tried to get that one year during labor day weekend...we weren't at WDW but we went to Universal and just wanted to eat at the Poly. For a few weeks before I couldn't secure a ressie. We showed up there hoping to get a walk-in or last minute cancellation...we couldn't, so we ate at Kona instead, which although still good, was not Ohana!

What a great night in MK. Love you could walk onto so much and of course Wishes!

Yeah, MK kind of redeemed itself after a crazy crowded Monday. Makes me just want to tour MK during the evening!

I'm back on the DIS after a long time away and so excited to see that you're in the middle of a TR! I always love seeing all your photos. They're the best.

Welcome back!!
Hope you'll stick around!!

Thank you!!

 

[CQuinn]

Just jumping in and catching up, but your February trip is almost the same exact dates as ours! My husband will also celebrate this birthday during the trip.

 

[natebenma]

I rented DVC points once a long time ago when we stayed at the Aulani in Hawaii. It was great but it was only for 2 nights so it wasn't a big expenditure. The main reason I'm hesitant is the lack of cancellation policies. I'm sure that I'd have to buy some trip insurance - but I've never bought travel insurance before so not sure how/when to do it. Anyone rent DVC points before and got travel insurance?

I have purchased trip insurance for some of our winter trips. I either got it through AAA or went directly to the company- we use Allianz Travel Insurance online. We have never had to submit a claim, but it is nice to have this for a couple of hundred, just in case...

Price is based on the total cost you are insuring. I have also seen people talk about using insure my trip dot com, but we have never personally used it.

I'll second using Undercover Tourist for your tickets. Make sure you are getting the mousesavers newsletter for the best prices. I have never looked, but I am assuming that you can't get AP's through UT.

That is fantastic that you found a broker who was easy to deal with and you got a great price on renting points. I am very jealous of your stay at the Poly villas, but very happy for you!



I'll be staying at the Beach Club for 3 nights at the end of August with 3 pals and after I leave (school starts the next day for my boys), they have a couple of nights at the Poly! I have seen pictures of the rooms and they look fantasic and I have never stayed at the Poly. The theming really appeals to me though!

 

[natebenma]

I love the pictures and descriptions from your meal at Ohana! Every single things looks incredible.

We have only been once, back in 2010, but we went on the last night of our trip and we were all so exhausted that I think we fell asleep in the bread pudding. Ben loves all that food and dumplings are one of his favorite foods. He wanted me to take his friends there when we were on the class trip.

 

[disney2mom]

OMG I'm so excited! This trip is really shaping up to be the WDW trip of a lifetime!

I'm SO excited for you!!! You are definitely set to have the best 40th birthday trip!

I've always wanted to rent DVC points, it would work great for us because we are a family of 4 and my daughter usually brings her BFF along. How does it work?? Did you rent directly from the owner and did you have to pay them in full?? I'm considering doing this for our March trip now that I read about your great experience! We will only be doing 3 nights at the Disney Parks this time after our cruise, do you think it's worth renting points for 3 nights? Also, I've always bought my park tickets as a package through Disney, what is the advantage in buying through Undercover Tourist?

 

[soniam]

Also, I've always bought my park tickets as a package through Disney, what is the advantage in buying through Undercover Tourist?

The only advantage with Undercover Tourist is that they are cheaper and sometimes provide free days. The cheapest rates are through a link in the Mousesavers newsletter. Sometimes they are only slightly cheaper.

 

[KathyM2]

I'd love to stay here again!!

OMG so would I!! Location and theme and everything is just perfect.

I just wish it wasn't so expensive!

No kidding!

Wow, if I'd known that I'd probably would have gotten that instead.

Rummy Dole Whip...I definitely want to try that sometime. But your drink sounded really good!

Here's our delicious dumpling and chicken platter:

That looks amazing!

I've decided the Speedway is much better at night!

I will have to remember that...never tried it when it's dark out.

brave waiting in stand-by at Peter Pan.

You are brave. Glad it turned out to be not so long. I love this ride...but it does tend to have ridiculous lines.

From February 27th to March 5th 2016 we're staying at...a deluxe standard studio room...at the...

OMG you got your wish!! That's fantastic!! I hope to do that one day at the Poly or the GF...I think renting points is the only way it's ever going to happen!

 

[tgpez21]

Absolutely loving your trip report! Congrats on booking your next trip to the Poly!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Just jumping in and catching up, but your February trip is almost the same exact dates as ours! My husband will also celebrate this birthday during the trip.

Welcome! How exciting! We'll have to compare notes. I hope the weather is nice!

I have purchased trip insurance for some of our winter trips. I either got it through AAA or went directly to the company- we use Allianz Travel Insurance online. We have never had to submit a claim, but it is nice to have this for a couple of hundred, just in case...
Price is based on the total cost you are insuring. I have also seen people talk about using insure my trip dot com, but we have never personally used it.

Thanks for the info! Will look into those options!

I'll second using Undercover Tourist for your tickets. Make sure you are getting the mousesavers newsletter for the best prices. I have never looked, but I am assuming that you can't get AP's through UT.

Thanks! Will use mousesavers too! Yeah I don't think APs can be had through UT.

That is fantastic that you found a broker who was easy to deal with and you got a great price on renting points. I am very jealous of your stay at the Poly villas, but very happy for you!

Thank you!! It was surprisingly an easy experience, not that it wouldn't be, but I just thought there would be more paper work and more emailing back and forth.

I'll be staying at the Beach Club for 3 nights at the end of August with 3 pals and after I leave (school starts the next day for my boys), they have a couple of nights at the Poly! I have seen pictures of the rooms and they look fantasic and I have never stayed at the Poly. The theming really appeals to me though!

How fun, another trip at the Beach Club! The Poly just makes me feel like I'm in Hawaii when I'm not! BTW, heading to Oahu in November for a week...so excited!

I love the pictures and descriptions from your meal at Ohana! Every single things looks incredible.

We have only been once, back in 2010, but we went on the last night of our trip and we were all so exhausted that I think we fell asleep in the bread pudding. Ben loves all that food and dumplings are one of his favorite foods. He wanted me to take his friends there when we were on the class trip.

Think it is time for another trip to Ohana!
You would be the coolest mom if you took everyone there on that trip! LOL. I can imagine how hard it would be to get an ADR for that many people.

I'm SO excited for you!!! You are definitely set to have the best 40th birthday trip!

I've always wanted to rent DVC points, it would work great for us because we are a family of 4 and my daughter usually brings her BFF along. How does it work?? Did you rent directly from the owner and did you have to pay them in full?? I'm considering doing this for our March trip now that I read about your great experience! We will only be doing 3 nights at the Disney Parks this time after our cruise, do you think it's worth renting points for 3 nights? Also, I've always bought my park tickets as a package through Disney, what is the advantage in buying through Undercover Tourist?

Thanks!! Yes, you can either rent direct from the owner by looking at the DVC Rent/Trade board here and finding an owner with the right number of points. I use the DVC Points calculator to see how many points I need for my stay based on resort, time of year, and type of room (studio, 1-BR etc). I used this one but there are others online: https://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp

Once I figured out the number of points I needed I just went to the boards to look for an owner who had that many points and who was able to use that points in 2016. Some owners have points that have to be used for a certain date. As it gets closer and closer to expiration they may lower their prices. This would be good for a last minute getaway. FYI, I paid 12 dollars per point which I thought is very reasonable. But I've seen some points as low as 9 per point. Although they would be expiring in about 2 months. You're pretty much entering into a verbal agreement with a DVC owner. Thankfully I think (hope) most people on the DIS are reputable and very responsive! Depending on your owner, you can ask about a cancellation policy. My person was nice enough to offer a 45 day cancellation policy which is quite generous!

Another way is you can go through an online "broker" like https://www.dvcrequest.com/default.asp
The advantage of the broker is that they do the work in pairing you up with an owner so you don't have to search yourself. The disadvantage is that the prices are usually higher (average of 14-16 bucks a point). And they don't always have a cancellation policy.

I've rented points one time before for only 2 nights! So you can rent points for any number of nights. I think it's a great way to stay at a deluxe resort for a fraction of the cost. Some work is involved but it's worth it! I'd never be able to stay at the Poly if it weren't for points! Good luck if you do try a point rental!

The only advantage with Undercover Tourist is that they are cheaper and sometimes provide free days. The cheapest rates are through a link in the Mousesavers newsletter. Sometimes they are only slightly cheaper.

Thanks for the info! I know so many people who purchase tickets from UT! I'm probably going to have to do this if I don't decide on AP. Not sure if you know the answer to this, but if you get park tickets and then upgrade to AP later, does it cost more than if you just got the AP in the first place?

OMG so would I!! Location and theme and everything is just perfect.

Love the Poly!!

Rummy Dole Whip...I definitely want to try that sometime. But your drink sounded really good!

It was!!

That looks amazing!

Sooo delicious!

I will have to remember that...never tried it when it's dark out.

It's much cooler! LOL. I should think about exploring all the parks solely at night...

You are brave. Glad it turned out to be not so long. I love this ride...but it does tend to have ridiculous lines.

Yes it is! I don't really want to waste an FP+ on this when it's not really a thrill ride. I save it for BTMRR and 7DMT! But I do still want to ride it once!

OMG you got your wish!! That's fantastic!! I hope to do that one day at the Poly or the GF...I think renting points is the only way it's ever going to happen!

Yeah totally...I am going to think about doing that on every trip now!

Absolutely loving your trip report! Congrats on booking your next trip to the Poly!

Welcome and thank you!!!

 

[hockeygirl14]

just found your TR! Looks like you had a great trip cant wait to read more!

 

[chunkymonkey]

BTW, this post marks my 1000th post on the DIS Boards!!

Day 6 Part 1: Star Wars Weekends without the Weekends

Today we were back at DHS! It was going to be a nice leisurely day, since the SWW crowds were no longer there. I had planned to just spend the entire day at DHS with possibly a pool break in the evening and then we'd come back and watch Fantasmic! Today we had to look forward to an early dinner at Rebel Hangar. This new Star Wars "lounge" experience just released ADRs a few weeks before our trip so I jumped on it. I thought it was only for the weekends but it was offered during the week as well, much to our luck. I scored one of the first reservations at 4pm...it was to be an early dinner/late lunch for us. Super excited about this!

First a cars shot of the day:

I can't remember what we had for breakfast today but I think that we grabbed a quick breakfast at AoA before heading to the parks since there aren't that many options for breakfast at DHS and we didn't want to eat at a TS.

CS's outfit was cute today:

Here's a PP pic of us outside DHS!

Oh and here are the Elsa and Anna topiaries which had made their way from Epcot. I still have not found our PP picture with them from Epcot. Oh well.

We missed Rope Drop so when we went in I think we decided to hit up some characters. This day was mostly a blur...I honestly can't remember everything that we did before Rebel Hangar but I'll try my best.

We then had FP+ for TSM! So we made our way to Pixar Place.

Our scores this time wasn't among our best...think our arms were just getting tired!

(DH on the left and I'm on the right)

We saw some of the SWW photo ops were still around. No PP photographers though but we still had fun!

Aaack!! Caught by Jabba the Hut!

Then we went to Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular! We had an FP+ for this so

Always fun as usual!

I went to get an iced coffee from Starbucks.

And they labeled me Sue Star Wars! LOL. (I just told them I was "Su" since when I say Su-Lynn, they spell it all sorts of strange ways).

I guess the CMs there are fans too!

After walking and shopping around a bit, we decided to grab a very light lunch. Since we'd be at Rebel Hangar in a few hours we didn't want to overeat. So we went to my favorite QS at DHS, Toy Story Pizza Planet! Because I can't leave WDW without some Pizza Planet pizza, even if it's just a tiny slice.

We all just split a pizza so that we wouldn't get too full. We weren't that hungry anyways. I've always liked the pizza here...it's the best "fast-food-not-authentic-new-york-pizza" IMO.

CS wanted some time to go to take character pics while DH and I went back to the Animation Academy to take a drawing class so we split up.

Back at the Animation Academy we waited to join the class. We were one of the last people in so we didn't get our own table but we got drawing boards and sat in the front. Today we were drawing Dopey!

Here's mine:

And here's DH's:

I love the drawing class! I first did it 2 years ago and now we've done it on every trip since.

We then went to an attraction we always wanted to check out, Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. There was a PP Photographer in the Walt Disney exhibit which I thought was really cool.

I'm really glad we decided to go because there's an official "rumor" of its impending closure. It's too bad because it was a very interesting exhibit. They have a little documentary running as well so we watched that too. I loved reading the timeline and seeing the artifacts. I hope they keep some of this stuff alive somewhere at WDW!

Oh look we were just on this thing! (Read my cruise TR here)

After that we went on the Great Movie Ride. I think we got the cowboy.

Meanwhile...

We all met up at did Star Tours, which was our last FP+ for the day.

I have yet to be the Rebel Spy...

It was now time for our much awaited ADR at...Rebel Hangar!

Stay tuned!​

 

[pookersmom]

Oooh can't wait to hear about Rebel Hangar!

I love your blue Star Wars top. The fashion in this TR is always very on point.

 

[KathyM2]

I love the drawing class! I first did it 2 years ago and now we've done it on every trip since.

I can't tell you how sad I am that this is closing before our trip. I love seeing everyone's pictures...you did such a good job!! Looks like a fun morning overall at DHS!!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

BTW, this post marks my 1000th post on the DIS Boards!!

I'm really glad we decided to go because they just announced it's closure.

Is that official? I thought it was still in the Rumor category.

 

[soniam]

Thanks for the info! I know so many people who purchase tickets from UT! I'm probably going to have to do this if I don't decide on AP. Not sure if you know the answer to this, but if you get park tickets and then upgrade to AP later, does it cost more than if you just got the AP in the first place?

I have not actually done the upgrade to AP, so I would try to reverify anything I say from others on the board. I have read that since the UT tickets are cheaper than tickets from WDW that you want to use the UT tickets to enter a park at least once. This supposedly allows you to just pay an upgrade difference I think. I thought this was the cheapest way to upgrade to AP, but reverify this before trying it.

 

[bcwife76]

Woohoo, congrats on 1000 posts!! You and CS always have the cutest outfits!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Oooh can't wait to hear about Rebel Hangar!

I love your blue Star Wars top. The fashion in this TR is always very on point.

Rebel Hangar was awesome...you will see soon!!
Thank you!! I tried...not to look like a hot sweaty mess, but it's not easy!

I can't tell you how sad I am that this is closing before our trip. I love seeing everyone's pictures...you did such a good job!! Looks like a fun morning overall at DHS!!

As Gracefulskinny said, it's just a rumor for now...though a pretty official sounding one! LOL.

Thank you!!!

Is that official? I thought it was still in the Rumor category.

Yes you are right - it's a pretty official "rumor" sounding rumor though!

I have not actually done the upgrade to AP, so I would try to reverify anything I say from others on the board. I have read that since the UT tickets are cheaper than tickets from WDW that you want to use the UT tickets to enter a park at least once. This supposedly allows you to just pay an upgrade difference I think. I thought this was the cheapest way to upgrade to AP, but reverify this before trying it.

Gotcha! I will do my research and see what is best. Thanks for the help!

Woohoo, congrats on 1000 posts!! You and CS always have the cutest outfits!

Thank you!!!
I figure since we do a lot of pictures as WDW that we should make an effort to wear stuff we'd want to be photographed in...but the key for me is comfort. If it's not comfy I won't wear it!