eeyoresmountainpals
<font color="green">Volunteer Firefighter and Mom
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2005
Hi everyone! We had the best time at WDW last month and I've finally gotten our trip report all done and gotten the pics added!
I have to say from the beginning that we were blessed with abundant pixie dust and we all agree this was our best vacation ever!
DAY ONE!
We arrived at the Contemporary on Saturday, 10/22, around 4:00 p.m. and checked in. We had a very nice room on the 7th floor with a view of the Magic Kingdom. This night was a surprise for our boys. We drove down there and they thought that we would just be finding a hotel off-site for the night. It was pouring rain when we arrived and we told them we just wanted to look around at the Contemporary. We parked, walked into the lobby and walked up to the desk. The boys had confused looks on their faces and that's when we told them we were staying there for the night. They were thrilled! We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner and it was wonderful. The boys, even though they're a little older, really enjoyed the characters.
After dinner we went back to the room to watch the fireworks.
View of the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom from our room at the Contemporary.
The rain stopped so after the fireworks 2 of the boys and I went swimming while DH took the other DS to the fun center. Although this night was a nice surprise for the boys everyone agreed that we like the POLY much better and we couldn't wait for the next morning to start our "REAL" vacation.
DAY TWO!
Day two is when our pixie dust started! We checked out of the Contemporary and were at the POLY by 8:50 a.m. We were anxious to get to the parks so we figured we'd have the bellman store our luggage, check-in, get our park tickets and go to MK. We pulled up and told the bellman our name and that we were staying concierge. He came back in a moment and told us that we would be in room 3517 and our room was ready for us!!! Ready before 9:00 a.m.! DH and I both looked at each other and were a little hesitant/disappointed because we had requested 3505 or one close to it because of the view. We needn't have worried. 3517 was a beautiful room with a beautiful view. It's on the end of the building so it seemed to be a little quieter than 3505, not as much foot traffic past the room!
New room decor in the Hawaii Building at the POLY (Room 3517).
View from Room 3517 in the Hawaii Building at the POLY.
Shortly after we checked in I had a voice mail on my cell phone. It was a call from another DIS member, Mom2Ashli! I called her back and we discussed meeting later.
We headed out to MK for the day. It wasn't as crowded as we had expected which was nice!
In the early part of the afternoon Mom2Ashli (Kelli) and her DH and DD met up with us in MK. It was so neat to meet someone from the DIS. She isn't someone that I had just posted occassionally with but we had really gotten to be friends through the DIS and it was such a pleasure to meet her and her family! We went to Mickey's Philharmagic together, then did a little shopping, walked down Main Street together and then rode the monorail back to the TTC together. It is so neat to finally meet someone that you've been able to get to know through the DIS!!! Thanks, Kelli!
After some afternoon snacks at the hotel we headed to MGM for FANTASMIC. Although we have visited WDW many times we had never seen FANTASMIC before. Through a series of perfect timing, coincidences and lots of pixie duest at the gate we ended up being escorted through the back way to VIP seating at FANTASMIC! Talk about Pixie Dust! We sat down around 6:30 p.m. It was cloudy because Hurricane Wilma was approaching but everyone thought the rain would hold off. Well, unfortunately, it didn't. At 7:25 p.m. the sky broke open, there was a crack of lightning, all the lights went out momentarily, and then they cancelled the show. They did set off some of the fireworks, which were nice to watch while we were waiting in the pouring rain for the crowd to thin out. But, you know what, we really didn't care. We were so thrilled to have been seated in VIP seating ~ it made us feel so special, that we weren't disappointed that the show was cancelled! Thank goodness for our cheapo ponchos!
We headed back to the hotel and were able to watch MK Hallowishes from our balcony.
DAY THREE
Monday could have been a real wash-out but we looked at it with a positive attitude!
We knew traveling down there that Hurricane Wilma was approaching and when we left home no one was sure where it was going. Sunday night we had received a voice mail telling us that all parks would be closed Monday morning with the hopes of opening later in the day. So we planned to take advantage of it by sleeping late but the winds and rain woke us up around 7:00 a.m. The rain was hitting the sliding glass door and we noticed that the rain was coming under the sliding glass door. So we packed towels around the door to keep the rain from getting to the new carpets. The rooms were just redone and I would have hated for the carpets to get wet if we could prevent it.
The palm trees blowing from Hurricane Wilma's wind!
We got up and had breakfast at the Concierge Lounge, which was a little crowded since no one could go to the parks! We were amazed at how the POLY was handling the hurricane. It was business as usual! Everyone was bright and cheery and getting their jobs done. They had unlocked all the buildings so that you could actually get from the Hawaii building to the GCH without getting too wet or blown away.
We went to Kona Café for lunch around 1:00 and while we were there we found out that they had opened Epcot and MK to resort guests only. We watched the crowds lining up for the monorail while we ate lunch and by the time we were through the lines had subsided.
We headed to Epcot around three. Could not believe how un-crowded it was. It was soooooooooooo nice! Epcot was open until 10:00 p.m. so we stayed until closing. We watched Illuminations and had a great view without having to stake out a seat very early. We got to ride soaring with very little wait time. I was a little disappointed, though, because most of the kiosks for the Food and Wine Festival were closed. I felt that if they were opening the parks to resort guests and something like this was not going to be open then they should have told us in advance and let us decide if we actually wanted to use a days ticket. The kiosks were one thing I was really looking forward to and I was disappointed.
Epcot Ball at night.
We were going to head to MK since they were open until midnight for resort guests but we were all too tired.
We all agreed that our vacation time was passing rather slowly and it was such a pleasant surprise. Vacations usually whiz by. But we couldn't believe we still had five days left!
DAY FOUR
Tuesday there was a lot of grumbling around the Concierge Lounge at breakfast about how cold it was and was going to be all day! Not for us, though. Were used to that kind of weather. It was very windy but the temperature was going to be in the 60's most of the day which is perfect for us!
Tuesday was the perfect example of why were not too big on pre-planning itineraries!
Our plans were to go out boating for part of the day and not go into any parks since we were planning to do MNSSHP that night. But it was much too windy for boating so....
We headed to MK first thing in the morning and there were almost no crowds! We rode on just about everything we wanted to, at least once, and never waited more than ten minutes for anything! We headed back to the hotel around 1:00.
The boys wanted to swim even though it was windy and pretty cool. They did some swimming, both pools, of course, and built a nice sand castle on the beach. We convinced the boys to take a nap so that no one would be crabby at MNSSHP! They were reluctant but we had to remind them that even though they can keep going and going and going, mom and dad cant. They gave in just so that mom and dad could get a nap but everyone fell asleep!
We had dinner at Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary before heading to MNSSHP. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. In hindsight, we really should have asked to see a manager before leaving, it was that bad. But we didnt so well just have to get over it.
We headed to MNSSHP around 7:30. I didnt want to deal with the crowds when it first opened so we waited til 7:30 and when we got there we walked right in. But I neednt have worried about those opening crowds. It was not crowded at all. Once again, everyone was scared off by the COLD weather. We wore lightweight jackets and it was perfect for us!
The highlight of the night was Hallowishes, the fireworks show. We had seen this from our room at the POLY so we really werent too worried about lining up with the crowds to watch it. (Are you getting the impression yet that were not big on crowds?) Instead, we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The was no line at all. We jumped on! Just as we came out of the first tunnel the fireworks started! WHAT AN AWESOME SIGHT TO SEE THE FIREWORKS FROM BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD! If you ever have the opportunity to do this it was great! When we returned to the station there was no one in line and they let us stay seated and ride again. Fireworks were still going off. And once again when we arrived at the station we got to stay seated and ride again. And this time we got to see the fireworks finale! What a site.
We stayed until midnight and rode everything several times! What a magical night!
DAY FIVE
Wednesday morning, after breakfast at the Concierge Lounge, we headed to Animal Kingdom. We drove our own vehicle because DH hates the buses! We had gone to AK last year and we werent thrilled with it. But we decided to give it another try. Well, please dont flame me because I know there are lots of AK devotees out there, but we just dont like that park! Too much cement, not enough Disney! We did ride Kali River Rapids for the first time, though. DH rode one time but the boys and I rode three more times! The line was almost non-existent because the weather was still cool and their werent a lot of fools wanting to get drenched! And drenched we were. Lots of people had rain ponchos but not us! Thats half the fun! We headed back to the hotel, soaking wet!
Kali River Rapids
Tree of Life
Since we were already wet there was no reason not to swim, so we changed and went swimming for a while. DH took one DS out on a water sprite and they had a great time while I swam with two DSs.
We had hor-devours in the Concierge Lounge and then headed to MGM for Fantasmic. Once again we drove ourselves, which worked out very well for us. We met up with a friend, someone that had worked at the Concierge Desk at the POLY last year when we were then. Hes a very sweet young man and the boys love him. Hes a great role model for the boys! Well, guess what, pixie dust was sprinkled again because through the same series of coincidences DH met up with the man that had put us in VIP seating Sunday night AND ONCE AGAIN WE WERE TREATED TO VIP SEATING. We all knew Sunday that it was a once in a lifetime thing but we were lucky enough to get the same opportunity again! Unbelievable! We had arrived early, around 6:30, so we had plenty of time to sit and talk and catch-up with our friend! We watched Fantasmic for the first time! IT WAS AWESOME! And it was so neat to get to catch up with our friend!
After Fantasmic we headed back to the POLY and we made it back in time to watch the water parade and Hallowishes from our balcony. We also were back early enough to take advantage of the desserts in the Concierge Lounge! Mmmmmmmm!
DAY SIX
We had breakfast at Kona Café this morning. I just had to have a real breakfast! The POLY concierge lounge is great but I like my cooked breakfast once in a while. It wasnt anything fantastic but it also wasnt very expensive, which surprised us! The boys tried Tonga Toast since we had heard so much about it. I really wasnt impressed with the banana stuffing. I know everyone usually raves about it but it just wasnt for me! However, the way that they fix the french toast around the bananas is great. In other words, I loved the french toast part just not the bananas. Does that make sense?
After breakfast we headed to Epcot. DH had 10:30 reservations for a Behind the Seeds Greenhouse Tour. DH is going to be putting up a greenhouse very soon and although he had done this tour many years ago he was very excited about doing the tour again. The tour last about an hour but his tour actually went on for about an hour and forty-five minutes. There were a few people on the tour that asked lots of questions and the CM didnt seem to mind taking lots of extra time to answer. DH said it was a very good tour. (Got him motivated to get his greenhouse up, too!)
One of the views from the "Behind the Seeds" Greenhouse Tour at the Land Pavillion at Epcot.
We had 1:00 reservations for LeCellier but decided not to go. Im a real steak lover and we had made these ressies mainly for me. But the meal at the Concourse Steakhouse a few nights before had left me not in the mood to pay a fortune for another steak for a while. We ate in The Land and had sandwiches and soup. They had a Shrimp Bisque that was delicious! DH and one DS are allergic to shrimp and another DS and I love it! So we always try to find something different with shrimp in it when we eat out! For fast food/counter service I think this is a fantastic place!
Epcot was really getting busy. I think a lot of the people that had stayed away earlier in the week because of the cool weather were there trying to make up for lost time! So we decided to head back to the hotel for a while.
We swam and napped. We had hor-devours in the Concierge Lounge.
Chef Dick and his fruit creation at the Concierge Lounge at the POLY. Chef Dick is wonderful.
Then we headed back to Epcot for the evening. It was a nice evening but much more crowded than any other time during our trip!
DAY SEVEN
Well, if youve been reading all the way through this then you should remember this from day three:
We all agreed that our vacation time was passing rather slowly and it was such a pleasant surprise. Vacations usually whiz by. But we couldn't believe we still had five days left!
Well, all of a sudden weve only got two days left. Where has the time gone. We dont want to only have two days left. The panic and sadness started to sink in!
After breakfast at the Concierge Lounge we headed to MGM. We drove our own vehicle again and we have decided that for us this is the way to go!
Number one priority was Lights, Motors, Action since we had never seen it. We headed straight there. Well, everyone, one word of warning...take the time to read the board where the post wait times, show times, etc.! The show wasnt until 11:30 and it was 9:30! Okay, we learned that lesson the hard way. So, we did the backlot tour and went over to the Millionaire game but decided we really didnt have time for that. By now it was about 10:45 so we decided to head back to Lights, Motors, Action and see if it was open yet to find a seat. It was and we got a good seat and just waited. The show was great, but not something that I would want to stand in a long line to see again. Its one of those can live with only seeing once attractions! But it is excellent and unbelievably choreographed!
During the show DH started not feeling well. So, as soon as the show was over we headed out. The boys and I did some swimming and the boys played on the beach while DH rested. We had planned to go to EPCOT that evening and meet up with our friend again but DH really didnt feel up to it so we stayed around the hotel for the evening. We walked around and enjoyed some of the scenery at the POLY.
We had room service deliver pizza and we got to see Hallowishes and the water parade from our balcony.
DAY EIGHT
Oh no! The last day!
We had breakfast in the Concierge Lounge again! They had a nice selection each morning, bagels, cheese danish, coffee cake, croissants, fresh fruit.
After breakfast we headed back to MGM for the main thing that we had missed thus far on this trip...THE TOWER OF TERROR! We couldnt have a trip to WDW without Tower of Terror! We got to MGM at opening time and headed straight for TOT. The wait time was less than ten minutes. We grabbed fast passes for later and the got in line. DH and the boys convinced me to go, too. It was fun. Then we headed over to Aerosmiths Rock-n-Roller Coaster. DH and I werent going to ride but we waited in line because we werent too sure about DS16 getting on by himself. He has Down Syndrome and doesnt always do the lines well. We neednt have worried cause he did fine and by the time we got to the front of the line DH had decided to go. (DH was very reluctant but I kind of pushed him along.) I waited in the gift shop as they rode and as soon as they got off they headed back on again! Then we went back to TOT because it was the appointed time for our fast-pass. One DS and I sat out this time and we gave our fast-passes to someone else. We did a few more rides before heading out. It was getting very crowded by the time we left around 12:00.
We headed back to the hotel with the intention of having lunch at Kona Café. This is one of the best places we have found for a quick and rather inexpensive meal! They have the best burgers! And their seafood chowder is excellent! But the wait time was 30-45 minutes. They had plenty of empty tables but the hostess said that they were short on help and didnt have enough waiters and waitresses to staff the tables. What a disappointment. Oh, well. We got some take-out food from Captain Cooks and took it to the room. (Not that there is anything wrong with Captain Cooks but it certainly doesnt compare when youre ready for Kona Cafe!)
After lunch we headed to the marina for an afternoon of boating. First, we rented a Whaler and the whole family rode together. It was a lot of fun.
When we got back one DS went to build a sand castle on the beach while DH and I got Water Sprites and took the other two DSs out. I had DS11 with me and DH had DS16 with him! I cant remember the last time I heard DS11 giggling that much! We made sure to bounce over all the wakes and we had a great time!
We took a quick swim after boating and then went to the room. We called our friend and made arrangements to meet him for our last night.
We headed to MK around 5:30. As we walked through the main gates we heard the whistle for the train. We had promised DS16 that we would take a train ride and hadnt done it yet so we ran to try to catch it and we made it just in time. We made the whole trip around and got off at Main Street and met up with our friend! We were overwhelmed by the crowds! It was the most crowded it had been all week.
We headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, then Splash Mountain, then the Haunted Mansion and then Space Mountain. The lines were longer than any we had seen all week. We were spoiled all week being able to ride most rides more than one time. When it was time for the fireworks we headed to Fantasyland. Weve never watched the fireworks from there but our friend said it was one of the best places to watch them. And it was! Some of the fireworks are actually shot off from Fantasyland!
We said goodbye to our friend and made our way back to Main Street. It was quite a depressing walk. We stopped at a restroom and while DH took one DS into the restroom I sat on a bench with the other two DSs. I heard sniffling and looked to my right and one DS was crying. I looked to my left and the other DS was crying. So, naturally, you know what I started to do.
We did some shopping on Main Street and caught the monorail back to the POLY for the last time!
DAY NINE
Our last day! The time changed Saturday night so we got an extra hour to sleep. I set the alarm for seven knowing it would really be six so that I could get up and get everything packed while DH and the boys slept. Well, ONE WORD OF WARNING...The alarm clocks in the Hawaii building at the POLY automatically adjust for the time change. When it went off at seven it was really seven! So I felt a little rushed.
We had breakfast in the Concierge Lounge, one last time. We called for the Bellman to get our luggage and, naturally he was there in no time. We loaded up the vehicle and then DSs and I went back into the GCH for a little last minute shopping.
We headed for home about noon and after a LONG day in the van we were back in our real world by 2:00 a.m.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We all agree that this was by far the best vacation we have ever had!
And as of two days ago we also all agree that this was a vacation that God meant for us to take. Two days ago the transmission on our van died! Ten days to two weeks earlier and we would have been on the road when it happened. A month earlier and we probably would have cancelled our trip because of the cost of a new transmission. But we just look at it as a blessing that it waited until now to die!
If anyone has made it through this LONG trip report I thank you for taking the time to read all the way through it. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Let me know if you have any questions I may be able to answer for you!
I have to say from the beginning that we were blessed with abundant pixie dust and we all agree this was our best vacation ever!
DAY ONE!
We arrived at the Contemporary on Saturday, 10/22, around 4:00 p.m. and checked in. We had a very nice room on the 7th floor with a view of the Magic Kingdom. This night was a surprise for our boys. We drove down there and they thought that we would just be finding a hotel off-site for the night. It was pouring rain when we arrived and we told them we just wanted to look around at the Contemporary. We parked, walked into the lobby and walked up to the desk. The boys had confused looks on their faces and that's when we told them we were staying there for the night. They were thrilled! We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner and it was wonderful. The boys, even though they're a little older, really enjoyed the characters.
After dinner we went back to the room to watch the fireworks.
View of the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom from our room at the Contemporary.
The rain stopped so after the fireworks 2 of the boys and I went swimming while DH took the other DS to the fun center. Although this night was a nice surprise for the boys everyone agreed that we like the POLY much better and we couldn't wait for the next morning to start our "REAL" vacation.
DAY TWO!
Day two is when our pixie dust started! We checked out of the Contemporary and were at the POLY by 8:50 a.m. We were anxious to get to the parks so we figured we'd have the bellman store our luggage, check-in, get our park tickets and go to MK. We pulled up and told the bellman our name and that we were staying concierge. He came back in a moment and told us that we would be in room 3517 and our room was ready for us!!! Ready before 9:00 a.m.! DH and I both looked at each other and were a little hesitant/disappointed because we had requested 3505 or one close to it because of the view. We needn't have worried. 3517 was a beautiful room with a beautiful view. It's on the end of the building so it seemed to be a little quieter than 3505, not as much foot traffic past the room!
New room decor in the Hawaii Building at the POLY (Room 3517).
View from Room 3517 in the Hawaii Building at the POLY.
Shortly after we checked in I had a voice mail on my cell phone. It was a call from another DIS member, Mom2Ashli! I called her back and we discussed meeting later.
We headed out to MK for the day. It wasn't as crowded as we had expected which was nice!
In the early part of the afternoon Mom2Ashli (Kelli) and her DH and DD met up with us in MK. It was so neat to meet someone from the DIS. She isn't someone that I had just posted occassionally with but we had really gotten to be friends through the DIS and it was such a pleasure to meet her and her family! We went to Mickey's Philharmagic together, then did a little shopping, walked down Main Street together and then rode the monorail back to the TTC together. It is so neat to finally meet someone that you've been able to get to know through the DIS!!! Thanks, Kelli!
After some afternoon snacks at the hotel we headed to MGM for FANTASMIC. Although we have visited WDW many times we had never seen FANTASMIC before. Through a series of perfect timing, coincidences and lots of pixie duest at the gate we ended up being escorted through the back way to VIP seating at FANTASMIC! Talk about Pixie Dust! We sat down around 6:30 p.m. It was cloudy because Hurricane Wilma was approaching but everyone thought the rain would hold off. Well, unfortunately, it didn't. At 7:25 p.m. the sky broke open, there was a crack of lightning, all the lights went out momentarily, and then they cancelled the show. They did set off some of the fireworks, which were nice to watch while we were waiting in the pouring rain for the crowd to thin out. But, you know what, we really didn't care. We were so thrilled to have been seated in VIP seating ~ it made us feel so special, that we weren't disappointed that the show was cancelled! Thank goodness for our cheapo ponchos!
We headed back to the hotel and were able to watch MK Hallowishes from our balcony.
DAY THREE
Monday could have been a real wash-out but we looked at it with a positive attitude!
We knew traveling down there that Hurricane Wilma was approaching and when we left home no one was sure where it was going. Sunday night we had received a voice mail telling us that all parks would be closed Monday morning with the hopes of opening later in the day. So we planned to take advantage of it by sleeping late but the winds and rain woke us up around 7:00 a.m. The rain was hitting the sliding glass door and we noticed that the rain was coming under the sliding glass door. So we packed towels around the door to keep the rain from getting to the new carpets. The rooms were just redone and I would have hated for the carpets to get wet if we could prevent it.
The palm trees blowing from Hurricane Wilma's wind!
We got up and had breakfast at the Concierge Lounge, which was a little crowded since no one could go to the parks! We were amazed at how the POLY was handling the hurricane. It was business as usual! Everyone was bright and cheery and getting their jobs done. They had unlocked all the buildings so that you could actually get from the Hawaii building to the GCH without getting too wet or blown away.
We went to Kona Café for lunch around 1:00 and while we were there we found out that they had opened Epcot and MK to resort guests only. We watched the crowds lining up for the monorail while we ate lunch and by the time we were through the lines had subsided.
We headed to Epcot around three. Could not believe how un-crowded it was. It was soooooooooooo nice! Epcot was open until 10:00 p.m. so we stayed until closing. We watched Illuminations and had a great view without having to stake out a seat very early. We got to ride soaring with very little wait time. I was a little disappointed, though, because most of the kiosks for the Food and Wine Festival were closed. I felt that if they were opening the parks to resort guests and something like this was not going to be open then they should have told us in advance and let us decide if we actually wanted to use a days ticket. The kiosks were one thing I was really looking forward to and I was disappointed.
Epcot Ball at night.
We were going to head to MK since they were open until midnight for resort guests but we were all too tired.
We all agreed that our vacation time was passing rather slowly and it was such a pleasant surprise. Vacations usually whiz by. But we couldn't believe we still had five days left!
DAY FOUR
Tuesday there was a lot of grumbling around the Concierge Lounge at breakfast about how cold it was and was going to be all day! Not for us, though. Were used to that kind of weather. It was very windy but the temperature was going to be in the 60's most of the day which is perfect for us!
Tuesday was the perfect example of why were not too big on pre-planning itineraries!
Our plans were to go out boating for part of the day and not go into any parks since we were planning to do MNSSHP that night. But it was much too windy for boating so....We headed to MK first thing in the morning and there were almost no crowds! We rode on just about everything we wanted to, at least once, and never waited more than ten minutes for anything! We headed back to the hotel around 1:00.
The boys wanted to swim even though it was windy and pretty cool. They did some swimming, both pools, of course, and built a nice sand castle on the beach. We convinced the boys to take a nap so that no one would be crabby at MNSSHP! They were reluctant but we had to remind them that even though they can keep going and going and going, mom and dad cant. They gave in just so that mom and dad could get a nap but everyone fell asleep!
We had dinner at Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary before heading to MNSSHP. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. In hindsight, we really should have asked to see a manager before leaving, it was that bad. But we didnt so well just have to get over it.
We headed to MNSSHP around 7:30. I didnt want to deal with the crowds when it first opened so we waited til 7:30 and when we got there we walked right in. But I neednt have worried about those opening crowds. It was not crowded at all. Once again, everyone was scared off by the COLD weather. We wore lightweight jackets and it was perfect for us!
The highlight of the night was Hallowishes, the fireworks show. We had seen this from our room at the POLY so we really werent too worried about lining up with the crowds to watch it. (Are you getting the impression yet that were not big on crowds?) Instead, we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The was no line at all. We jumped on! Just as we came out of the first tunnel the fireworks started! WHAT AN AWESOME SIGHT TO SEE THE FIREWORKS FROM BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD! If you ever have the opportunity to do this it was great! When we returned to the station there was no one in line and they let us stay seated and ride again. Fireworks were still going off. And once again when we arrived at the station we got to stay seated and ride again. And this time we got to see the fireworks finale! What a site.
We stayed until midnight and rode everything several times! What a magical night!
DAY FIVE
Wednesday morning, after breakfast at the Concierge Lounge, we headed to Animal Kingdom. We drove our own vehicle because DH hates the buses! We had gone to AK last year and we werent thrilled with it. But we decided to give it another try. Well, please dont flame me because I know there are lots of AK devotees out there, but we just dont like that park! Too much cement, not enough Disney! We did ride Kali River Rapids for the first time, though. DH rode one time but the boys and I rode three more times! The line was almost non-existent because the weather was still cool and their werent a lot of fools wanting to get drenched!
And drenched we were. Lots of people had rain ponchos but not us! Thats half the fun! We headed back to the hotel, soaking wet!
Kali River Rapids
Tree of Life
Since we were already wet there was no reason not to swim, so we changed and went swimming for a while. DH took one DS out on a water sprite and they had a great time while I swam with two DSs.
We had hor-devours in the Concierge Lounge and then headed to MGM for Fantasmic. Once again we drove ourselves, which worked out very well for us. We met up with a friend, someone that had worked at the Concierge Desk at the POLY last year when we were then. Hes a very sweet young man and the boys love him. Hes a great role model for the boys! Well, guess what, pixie dust was sprinkled again because through the same series of coincidences DH met up with the man that had put us in VIP seating Sunday night AND ONCE AGAIN WE WERE TREATED TO VIP SEATING. We all knew Sunday that it was a once in a lifetime thing but we were lucky enough to get the same opportunity again! Unbelievable! We had arrived early, around 6:30, so we had plenty of time to sit and talk and catch-up with our friend! We watched Fantasmic for the first time! IT WAS AWESOME! And it was so neat to get to catch up with our friend!
After Fantasmic we headed back to the POLY and we made it back in time to watch the water parade and Hallowishes from our balcony. We also were back early enough to take advantage of the desserts in the Concierge Lounge! Mmmmmmmm!
DAY SIX
We had breakfast at Kona Café this morning. I just had to have a real breakfast! The POLY concierge lounge is great but I like my cooked breakfast once in a while. It wasnt anything fantastic but it also wasnt very expensive, which surprised us! The boys tried Tonga Toast since we had heard so much about it. I really wasnt impressed with the banana stuffing. I know everyone usually raves about it but it just wasnt for me! However, the way that they fix the french toast around the bananas is great. In other words, I loved the french toast part just not the bananas. Does that make sense?
After breakfast we headed to Epcot. DH had 10:30 reservations for a Behind the Seeds Greenhouse Tour. DH is going to be putting up a greenhouse very soon and although he had done this tour many years ago he was very excited about doing the tour again. The tour last about an hour but his tour actually went on for about an hour and forty-five minutes. There were a few people on the tour that asked lots of questions and the CM didnt seem to mind taking lots of extra time to answer. DH said it was a very good tour. (Got him motivated to get his greenhouse up, too!)
One of the views from the "Behind the Seeds" Greenhouse Tour at the Land Pavillion at Epcot.
We had 1:00 reservations for LeCellier but decided not to go. Im a real steak lover and we had made these ressies mainly for me. But the meal at the Concourse Steakhouse a few nights before had left me not in the mood to pay a fortune for another steak for a while. We ate in The Land and had sandwiches and soup. They had a Shrimp Bisque that was delicious! DH and one DS are allergic to shrimp and another DS and I love it! So we always try to find something different with shrimp in it when we eat out! For fast food/counter service I think this is a fantastic place!
Epcot was really getting busy. I think a lot of the people that had stayed away earlier in the week because of the cool weather were there trying to make up for lost time! So we decided to head back to the hotel for a while.
We swam and napped. We had hor-devours in the Concierge Lounge.
Chef Dick and his fruit creation at the Concierge Lounge at the POLY. Chef Dick is wonderful.
Then we headed back to Epcot for the evening. It was a nice evening but much more crowded than any other time during our trip!
DAY SEVEN
Well, if youve been reading all the way through this then you should remember this from day three:
We all agreed that our vacation time was passing rather slowly and it was such a pleasant surprise. Vacations usually whiz by. But we couldn't believe we still had five days left!
Well, all of a sudden weve only got two days left. Where has the time gone. We dont want to only have two days left. The panic and sadness started to sink in!
After breakfast at the Concierge Lounge we headed to MGM. We drove our own vehicle again and we have decided that for us this is the way to go!
Number one priority was Lights, Motors, Action since we had never seen it. We headed straight there. Well, everyone, one word of warning...take the time to read the board where the post wait times, show times, etc.! The show wasnt until 11:30 and it was 9:30!
Okay, we learned that lesson the hard way. So, we did the backlot tour and went over to the Millionaire game but decided we really didnt have time for that. By now it was about 10:45 so we decided to head back to Lights, Motors, Action and see if it was open yet to find a seat. It was and we got a good seat and just waited. The show was great, but not something that I would want to stand in a long line to see again. Its one of those can live with only seeing once attractions! But it is excellent and unbelievably choreographed! During the show DH started not feeling well. So, as soon as the show was over we headed out. The boys and I did some swimming and the boys played on the beach while DH rested. We had planned to go to EPCOT that evening and meet up with our friend again but DH really didnt feel up to it so we stayed around the hotel for the evening. We walked around and enjoyed some of the scenery at the POLY.
We had room service deliver pizza and we got to see Hallowishes and the water parade from our balcony.
DAY EIGHT
Oh no! The last day!
We had breakfast in the Concierge Lounge again! They had a nice selection each morning, bagels, cheese danish, coffee cake, croissants, fresh fruit.
After breakfast we headed back to MGM for the main thing that we had missed thus far on this trip...THE TOWER OF TERROR! We couldnt have a trip to WDW without Tower of Terror! We got to MGM at opening time and headed straight for TOT. The wait time was less than ten minutes. We grabbed fast passes for later and the got in line. DH and the boys convinced me to go, too. It was fun. Then we headed over to Aerosmiths Rock-n-Roller Coaster. DH and I werent going to ride but we waited in line because we werent too sure about DS16 getting on by himself. He has Down Syndrome and doesnt always do the lines well. We neednt have worried cause he did fine and by the time we got to the front of the line DH had decided to go. (DH was very reluctant but I kind of pushed him along.) I waited in the gift shop as they rode and as soon as they got off they headed back on again! Then we went back to TOT because it was the appointed time for our fast-pass. One DS and I sat out this time and we gave our fast-passes to someone else. We did a few more rides before heading out. It was getting very crowded by the time we left around 12:00.
We headed back to the hotel with the intention of having lunch at Kona Café. This is one of the best places we have found for a quick and rather inexpensive meal! They have the best burgers! And their seafood chowder is excellent! But the wait time was 30-45 minutes. They had plenty of empty tables but the hostess said that they were short on help and didnt have enough waiters and waitresses to staff the tables. What a disappointment. Oh, well. We got some take-out food from Captain Cooks and took it to the room. (Not that there is anything wrong with Captain Cooks but it certainly doesnt compare when youre ready for Kona Cafe!)
After lunch we headed to the marina for an afternoon of boating. First, we rented a Whaler and the whole family rode together. It was a lot of fun.
When we got back one DS went to build a sand castle on the beach while DH and I got Water Sprites and took the other two DSs out. I had DS11 with me and DH had DS16 with him! I cant remember the last time I heard DS11 giggling that much! We made sure to bounce over all the wakes and we had a great time!
We took a quick swim after boating and then went to the room. We called our friend and made arrangements to meet him for our last night.
We headed to MK around 5:30. As we walked through the main gates we heard the whistle for the train. We had promised DS16 that we would take a train ride and hadnt done it yet so we ran to try to catch it and we made it just in time. We made the whole trip around and got off at Main Street and met up with our friend! We were overwhelmed by the crowds! It was the most crowded it had been all week.
We headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, then Splash Mountain, then the Haunted Mansion and then Space Mountain. The lines were longer than any we had seen all week. We were spoiled all week being able to ride most rides more than one time. When it was time for the fireworks we headed to Fantasyland. Weve never watched the fireworks from there but our friend said it was one of the best places to watch them. And it was! Some of the fireworks are actually shot off from Fantasyland!
We said goodbye to our friend and made our way back to Main Street. It was quite a depressing walk. We stopped at a restroom and while DH took one DS into the restroom I sat on a bench with the other two DSs. I heard sniffling and looked to my right and one DS was crying. I looked to my left and the other DS was crying. So, naturally, you know what I started to do.
We did some shopping on Main Street and caught the monorail back to the POLY for the last time!
DAY NINE
Our last day! The time changed Saturday night so we got an extra hour to sleep. I set the alarm for seven knowing it would really be six so that I could get up and get everything packed while DH and the boys slept. Well, ONE WORD OF WARNING...The alarm clocks in the Hawaii building at the POLY automatically adjust for the time change. When it went off at seven it was really seven! So I felt a little rushed.
We had breakfast in the Concierge Lounge, one last time. We called for the Bellman to get our luggage and, naturally he was there in no time. We loaded up the vehicle and then DSs and I went back into the GCH for a little last minute shopping.
We headed for home about noon and after a LONG day in the van we were back in our real world by 2:00 a.m.
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We all agree that this was by far the best vacation we have ever had!
And as of two days ago we also all agree that this was a vacation that God meant for us to take. Two days ago the transmission on our van died! Ten days to two weeks earlier and we would have been on the road when it happened. A month earlier and we probably would have cancelled our trip because of the cost of a new transmission. But we just look at it as a blessing that it waited until now to die!
If anyone has made it through this LONG trip report I thank you for taking the time to read all the way through it. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Let me know if you have any questions I may be able to answer for you!
You really may want to consider it one time! Thanks for reading my report!
