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

[chiefdragon]

Loving your TR. Sounds like you had an amazing time.

 

[ElenaJane]

Liberty Tree Tavern is great! We are going there for the holiday dinner before MVMCP this year! I think it will be fun to try their holiday feast!

Ooooooo. Holiday Feast! I bet they add like cranberry sauce. Good choice!

 

[ElenaJane]

Just found your TR and subbing in. Enjoying reading it so far.

Thanks! I see you are training for the Half Marathon in 2016! Good idea to plan ahead! I can't seem to get past a 5k!

 

[ElenaJane]

Loving your TR. Sounds like you had an amazing time.

Thanks! It was amazing, but I think I say that after every Disney trip!

 

[ElenaJane]

I made an Itinerary for Will several weeks before the trip. He is more than happy to let me plan every detail. He usually just wants to know what time he needs to get up! So I made the Itinerary to have those basic details, which as you can see, were a lot of early mornings.

Again, sorry Will!

As you may be able to see, I expected him to be ready to eat breakfast in the Club lounge by 7:30am! HS was opening at 9am, so I wanted us to be at the bus stop by 8:00am.

I think my outfit was a little too obvious? But still, take a guess!

I left the new Mousekeeping envelope for the morning before we took off for the bus stop.

I downloaded an App for my phone called “DPart”. It seems overly simple, so I was not expecting much, but was intrigued to see how accurate it was. You choose your location and where you are going and it tells you when the next bus should be coming.

DID IT WORK!?! I actually think so, or it was just completely a coincidence that the bus would arrive roughly (within 5 minutes) when it said it would. You can also report other people’s buses, which gives you something to do at a bus stop. Meaning if you are at AK and you see the bus for Coronado Spring depart(DPart, get it?), you can indicate that, and supposedly this helps advance the system (as well as send good bus karma your way).

We made it to the bus stop, and there was a bit of a crowd. This is one reason Will and I are good for each other. I am a “gogogo!!!” kind of person, and I don’t like to wait and start to get anxious. Will then softly reminds me that we are at Disney and waiting at a bus stop at Disney is better than our usual Monday. He has a point.

We eventually board the bus which seemed to take a long time and it was standing room only. I enjoyed listening to a couple around us talk about their day and plans. I have to bite my tongue when I hear one family member give bad advice to another (“Yeah, we should try and eat lunch in the castle today”).

The sun is out and is intense, but the whole week the weather was really amazing. Could get hot while in the sun, but in the shade it was quite refreshing. I sent Will through the no-bag entrance to save us a space, and he chose the longest line because he could stand under the lone palm tree which provided some shade. It definitely was a poor choice for the line, but maybe premature skin-aging was not worth it to him!

So once we were let in, where would we be going...duh...TSMM! The time said 30 minutes and I said to Will, there is no way it would be this long, they just opened! I am sure they just put that time there as a deterrent. Well, we timed it and it took closer to 40 minutes. We enjoyed just talking and people watching and admiring the queue though.

Beer-ien?
We had a “blast” on the ride. This is another one that should have a ride photo! This is such a fun ride, but the crowd issue is still pretty crazy. However, back in October, you had two stampedes, one for the ride itself and the other for the FP-. So, it was, a little less crazy this time!

Oh the best laid plans...I initially thought we could sail through TSMM in under 30 minutes, and then ride RnR next. Since the FP are tiered, I thought we could use the tier 1 FP+ for TSMM and just ride RnR early enough in the morning to avoid a line. It was rated a 3 out of 10 day on TP! Well, by the time we got off of TSMM, RnR was pushing 40 minutes already.

So, we decided to use the force.

“Cupcakes you want.”

That’s right, Starring Rolls for cupcake and iced coffees!! Yoda was Hazelnut and delicious! “Eat me, you will”.

We had until 11am to use our FP+ for TSMM (10-11am). We could of just lingered at Starring Rolls, but seating is limited there and we wanted to free up space for others.

Will had never done the backlot tour and I had not done it in like, I don’t know, 5 years? 10 years?
I don’t have any pictures of the opening show, but it is pretty entertaining! I don’t remember that from before.

We then made our way through the warehouse to get to the trams.

Neigh!!!

This was maybe my favorite part of the ride:
Beeker Pin!!

Man, this canyon has seen a lot of catastrophes.

We then made our way back to TSMM to use the first FP o’ the day! FP sure is the better way to go than stand-by!!!

Once we were off TSMM I was afraid to get in another line and maybe miss our ADR for lunch. So instead, we took a leisurely stroll through the park and made our way to lunch. A place we had never been before!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Love your Yoda cupcake quotes!

After much trial and error my family and I have finally reached a system/agreement that on DHS days we will do everything we can to stand at the turnstiles by no later than 8:05am and be one of the first 10 people in line at the gates. I've learned that it makes a huge difference in terms of wait times for TSMM despite some grumblings from the gallery when I wake them up early in the morning.

By the way, I LOVE how you included in your printed itinerary on the day before departure a viewing of Godzilla and a dinner at Red Robin. Totally awesome!

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

Joining in to read!! Really enjoying your report!! The Poly is a beautiful hotel, we haven't stayed there yet, but maybe will someday. I know you said you didn't really get the butterflies over the Epcot hotels. We walked the boardwalk area and went into Epcot thru the International Gateway. That was the 1st time visiting the boardwalk area and the hotels are beautiful. But then again, so are the Poly and GF.

Your cupcake looks so good! We haven't tried Starring Rolls yet but the carrot cake cookie in Writer's Workshop is great too.

I too got a BOG FP lunch from learning about it on here. Actually what was funny was I found the link here, made an ADR and then like the day before our ressie, while in Disney, we got an email invite to try it. Lol but at that point we already had the ADR. That was our 2nd BOG FP lunch. The 1st time was our August trip and then our March trip. We really enjoy the food there.

Looking forward to reading more of your report!

 

[annie170]

I love your itinerary. Mine usually include the order of rides and attractions. My husband refers to trips to Disney as "deathmarches."

I haven't done the Backlot Tour in at least ten years, also. Did you see many differences from that time to now?

I'm still trying to figure out that etch-a-sketch!

 

[KelleyK75]

Thanks! I see you are training for the Half Marathon in 2016! Good idea to plan ahead! I can't seem to get past a 5k!

Thanks! I know, I haven't done a half marathon before, so I thought I'd start slow and give myself a lot of time to train.

Love your itinery! I do that for my family, too.

The cupcake looks amazing!

FP+ was definitely the way to go for us back in March for TSMM. It only took a few minutes in line with FP+, and the stand-by time was at least 100 minutes every time we looked.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hehe, so glad you got your stuffing at LTT Elena.

Haha, so comical that Will's Disney schedule includes a Godzilla viewing.

Garshhh, what a cute Disneybound outfit.

Will's reminder is some of the best advice one can give/get in Disney. No matter what is going on, it is STILL better than what you'd be doing at home.

 

[ElenaJane]

Love your Yoda cupcake quotes!

After much trial and error my family and I have finally reached a system/agreement that on DHS days we will do everything we can to stand at the turnstiles by no later than 8:05am and be one of the first 10 people in line at the gates. I've learned that it makes a huge difference in terms of wait times for TSMM despite some grumblings from the gallery when I wake them up early in the morning.

By the way, I LOVE how you included in your printed itinerary on the day before departure a viewing of Godzilla and a dinner at Red Robin. Totally awesome!

I totally agree. This is twice now I underestimated DHS rope drop for TSMM. Unless you want a 30+ minute wait or more you have got to be there super early! I fully support your rallying the troops early!

Marriage is about compromise, right? 4 days in Disney, so I had to throw something Will's way and owed him Godzilla and a big platter of fries.

 

[ElenaJane]

Joining in to read!! Really enjoying your report!! The Poly is a beautiful hotel, we haven't stayed there yet, but maybe will someday. I know you said you didn't really get the butterflies over the Epcot hotels. We walked the boardwalk area and went into Epcot thru the International Gateway. That was the 1st time visiting the boardwalk area and the hotels are beautiful. But then again, so are the Poly and GF.

Your cupcake looks so good! We haven't tried Starring Rolls yet but the carrot cake cookie in Writer's Workshop is great too.

I too got a BOG FP lunch from learning about it on here. Actually what was funny was I found the link here, made an ADR and then like the day before our ressie, while in Disney, we got an email invite to try it. Lol but at that point we already had the ADR. That was our 2nd BOG FP lunch. The 1st time was our August trip and then our March trip. We really enjoy the food there.

Looking forward to reading more of your report!

I am sure if we stayed at any of the EPCOT resorts, we'd be like why did we wait so long to try them!?!?! I just know we love the MK area, so it is hard to break away!

The Cupcake was amazing! I went to the Writer's Shop last trip, just for that darn cookie! It really did live up to the hype. I hope it doesn't get converted into a Starbucks....but if it does, it better keep that cookie!

I really hope they keep the BOG FP option. It is such a fun place for lunch, but that stand-by line is Beastly!!!

 

[ElenaJane]

I love your itinerary. Mine usually include the order of rides and attractions. My husband refers to trips to Disney as "deathmarches."

I haven't done the Backlot Tour in at least ten years, also. Did you see many differences from that time to now?

I'm still trying to figure out that etch-a-sketch!

I just posted Will's itinerary! Mine was wayyy more detailed. Oh my gosh, "death marches", that's awesome. He and my husband should sit together on a bench at the Hub and just watch us race around like lunatics.

I had little memory of the last time I went on the BLT. I couldn't even remember if the opening show was around then!

"ALE-ien". Looks like Beer-ien to me though!

 

[ElenaJane]

Thanks! I know, I haven't done a half marathon before, so I thought I'd start slow and give myself a lot of time to train.

Love your itinery! I do that for my family, too.

The cupcake looks amazing!

FP+ was definitely the way to go for us back in March for TSMM. It only took a few minutes in line with FP+, and the stand-by time was at least 100 minutes every time we looked.

I make him an itinerary almost more for me than him. That way I don't get asked a hundred times, so what's the plan again?

 

[ElenaJane]

Hehe, so glad you got your stuffing at LTT Elena.

Haha, so comical that Will's Disney schedule includes a Godzilla viewing.

Garshhh, what a cute Disneybound outfit.

Will's reminder is some of the best advice one can give/get in Disney. No matter what is going on, it is STILL better than what you'd be doing at home.

It was a mini-stuffing crisis. I am now back to my healthier diet and counting down now until I can eat that Ooegy Gooey Toffee Cake at LTT that I have never tried!

He had been asking to see Godzilla for a while. I had to give him some incentive that day!!! He thought the movie was "awesome!!!" BTWubs.

Goofy!!!! Yep, kinda obvious. He's my favorite though so I had to put him in the mix.

So so true. I can get wrapped up in the schedule and how I pictured how things were going to go in my mind, and when they don't.... Seriously, sitting outside the Tangled Restrooms all day would beat a regular work day any day of the week!!

 

[ElenaJane]

We had eaten at Sci-Fi drive-in several times, so we wanted to try something new for lunch. I had been avoiding 50s Prime Time Cafe because, well, frankly I was worried about getting yelled at! I know the staff is supposed to give you a hard time, about not leaving elbows on the table and cleaning your plate. I am glad I did not let this stand in our way! Turns out to be a great place for food and our waiter was proficient, but not a big meanie!

For any vegetarians reading this, 50sPTC has 2, count them, 2 vegetarian options!!! Usually there is just one. They were both great options. We decided to each get a blue cheese salad and then split the “meaty” spaghetti.

And what about the most important part of the meal?

I told Will we needed to split the PBJ shake. He was very skeptical. I told him it sounds kind of gross, but everyone loves it. I am so glad he agreed to try it! YUM!!! The jelly was the part that frightened us, but really the shake tastes more like sweet peanut butter than a jelly flavor. We got it in a to-go cup and walked around.
Unfortunately, during lunch, Will got a work email about a server crashing at work. I knew it was something that was stressing him out, but we he was not sure what he could do from WDW!
So, we tried to make the best of it, and went to the Animation Class.

This was an interesting experience this time. Our animator had this sweet, child-like, peppy voice. She says we are going to draw Doug from Up. I get so excited as this is my favorite Pixar movie! But then, several grown men from the audience started booing and going “Noooo!”.

Um, is this a debate?

So, the sweet animator is like, ok, let me pick something else. I felt bad for her (and I wanted to draw Doug!)

She says how about “Ray” from Princess and the Frog, and that seemed to pacify the vocal men in the audience. I have only seen the movie once, so I was not too familiar with Ray.
Here is how ours turned out!

Again, Will is definitely better at this than I am!

After the drawing, I could see Will was pretty concerned about work, so I decided to skip our 3rd FP+ (for Voyage of the Little Mermaid) and just head back to the resort so he could pull out his laptop and see what he could do. I made a 4th FP+ before we left, for RnR at 6pm!

On the way out we ran into a PP. Maybe it is just me, but there did not seem to be as many as there are in MK?

Again, the DPart app was right and the bus showed up right when it said it would!! It was just Will and I on the bus.

Which meant the bus driver felt free to complain away to us! He looked like this little guy, but with a big ole scowl!

We got back to Poly after a long busride (felt long at least). I decided while Will slaved away at work, I would give that pool a try!

 

[ElenaJane]

This was the afternoon we really started to appreciate having the CL lounge. Will had a great place to work, with wi-fi and snacks and did not have to be stuck in the room!

I on the other hand, changed into my bathing suit and hit the pool!

I basically just swam around, keeping my head dry. My favorite part is going to the place where the “stream” ends in a mini waterfall into the pool. It feels so good on the back (like a little massage) and then you also have this amazing view of the castle. I closed my eyes and took it all in, trying to remember that moment on more stressful days of the future!

I took a shower and re-applied sunscreen (sun was out in force!). I then tackled some administrative issues!

I had collected 39 gift cards for this trip, so I went down to concierge and paid off what we had accrued so far.

I also asked about chocolate.

Yep, thanks to Disboards I knew people on CL got a welcome gift of chocolate. Our welcome gift was more along the lines of worker disatisfaction and apathy, so I was ready for some chocolate! The CL CM apologized that we never got it and quickly gave me this beauty.

Opps, seems I ate a piece before taking a picture! Nomnomnom.

I also left out a new Mousekeeping envelope.

While in the room I saw Peter hopping around outside! I love Disney wildlife!

Will was still working away in the lounge, so I joined him and read for a little bit and also took some more pictures.

Ok, I am liking this CL more now!!
By 5:00pm, they brought out the appetizers. I did not schedule an ADR for dinner, so we decided to eat what we want!

Hidden Mickey Wasabi!!!!

Sushi and PBJ! There was also hummus and fruit.

I would of taken more pics of the CL food offering, but jeeze louise, when the food is brought out, it is like elbow to elbow mad dash!

Even with all the fancier offerings, Will and I are still reminiscing about those little, adorable, crustless PBJs. So yummy.

During all of this, Will is eating but working on his laptop. All of a sudden he begins to smile and pump his fist in the air. He fixed the work issue!!! He was so happy and proud of his accomplishment! He says folks at work were grateful that on his vacation he saved the day! He was so happy for the rest of the day, and I got to swim, so it turned out to be a great afternoon!

We were ready to head back to MGM, as we were going to lose our FP+ window for RnR if we did not leave soon! We both were not excited about taking a bus though, so I suggested we take the monorail to EPCOT and then bus it to MGM. We knew this was going to be a risk, but we love the monorail!!
Did we make it!?!?!?

 

[annie170]

That pool is amazing!

Couldn't 50's Prime Time have served your spaghetti meatless?

Club level appetizers look delicious, as well as the chocolate welcome gift!

 

[ElenaJane]

That pool is amazing!

Couldn't 50's Prime Time have served your spaghetti meatless?

Club level appetizers look delicious, as well as the chocolate welcome gift!

The pool is amazing. Going to be totally closed in 2 months though! Seems so silly to close in during the summer!

The spaghetti is "meaty" meaning it was a soy-based Meat substitute! It sounds a lot tastier than it sounds! Like Boca Burger crumbles.

I am glad I fought for that chocolate. Victory tasted sweet.

 

[PrincessMomto2]

Wow I can not believe that TSM fills up so quickly in the morning. I love it but geeze 40 mins right after opening. My favorite ride at HS is RNRC. Hope you guys make it. The food looks wonderful and I also love the cute PB&J sandwiches. My younger daughter would love them. I also love the Volcano pool too. Zero entry and the waterfall? What is not to love? Also the bar right near it with great tropical drinks doesn't hurt either!

I also work in the IT field and have had to "work" at WDW. Comes with the job. Glad he saved the day! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day.