Practically Perfect at the Poly? **UPDATE 7/28 -- And We're Back!!

[tinacaplan]

How exciting it must've been to just hop on the monorail & be at MK so quick!

I'm glad they were able to get your AP sorted out without any further problems.

I couldn't agree with you more in regards to how a lot of women/girls dress for the parks. It really is quite ridiculous at times.

It sounds like the park was horribly crowded!

The monorail was pretty cool...can't lie about that!

The park was crowded, but not anything I wasn't expecting, so it didn't bother me.

Liked the Poly that much?

Ah...so you picked up on the sarcasm, huh? I kind of can't wait to do my final thoughts/wrap-up post just so I can explain my true feelings about our experience.

I will agree, the monorail is very convenient, and does break up the bus trips. Too bad the MK was so crowded that afternoon!!

It is fascinating what other people wear to the parks! Honestly, the shoes alone!

Yep...high heels?? Seriously?

Read your update before I entered the no picture zone!

I love all your pictures of the Poly. What a gorgeous resort!

Talk about MK crowds. Yikes! Remind me to NEVER go during President's weekend. Too many people. No wonder you retreated to the serenity of the Poly.

Glad you got your AP straightened out quickly. I'll never forget the time I purchased one (on a ticket upgrade) and they upgraded it incorrectly. Fortunately, I realized it on the last day of my trip.

The Poly is pretty, that's for sure.

I knew exactly what we were getting in to by walking into MK that afternoon, so I wasn't upset in the least.

Getting the tickets and converting the voucher to an AP was a far simpler process than I had anticipated it being, which I was quite happy about.

SO glad the tickets didn't turn into larger drama than that, seems like it was very easily fixed. I well remember the President's day crowds at MK, we beat a very similar path!

If we had been there any earlier, we'd have been there for rope drop, for sure. But we're Pres. Week vets by now. Its just that much worse when it coincides with Mardi Gras, which it did this year.

What a pretty walk around the Poly!

Sorry about your hassle with the APs and the huge crowds you encountered.

What an amazingly beautiful picture of the castle!

Your post about what people wear in the park cracked me up. We have gone to Florida in summer the last 4 year. We love finding all the people wearing jeans and sweaters. Where are you originally from? Hell?

Or the heels...

It was all really pretty! And again...the crowds didn't bother us at all. Although, EPCOT is certainly much better at dealing with large crowds.

 

[Missyrose]

I love your attitude about the crowds. Isn't nice just to get some stuff accomplished and then head back to your conveniently located resort?

I also love that Max loves CoP, my kind of kid.

 

[annmarieda]

I am sorry about the minor snag with the AP... glad it was an easy fix though.

I am totally with you on people watching though. Sometimes... I am really surprised by what people can wear. Not judging... just surprised since I know I could never pull it off. (like high heals)

congrats on being a galactic hero. cute pic!

 

[vamassey1]

I'm signing up for your report.

Our trip overlapped for a few days. We knew it would be crowded too, but I would rather be at a crowded Disney than not be at Disney at all. Our trip was only 4 park days and we went comando due to taking my 19 year old niece for the first time. Weather was much better than the freezing temps we had in 2010.

Max is super cute. I love that he loves COP. I'm sorry we missed it this trip.

 

[Stasieki]

I was at the Poly Feb 17-25. Joining in!

 

[tinacaplan]

I love your attitude about the crowds. Isn't nice just to get some stuff accomplished and then head back to your conveniently located resort?

I also love that Max loves CoP, my kind of kid.

Yes, it is! We're not commando people at all and the resort is a HUGE part of the trip for us.

I am sorry about the minor snag with the AP... glad it was an easy fix though.

I am totally with you on people watching though. Sometimes... I am really surprised by what people can wear. Not judging... just surprised since I know I could never pull it off. (like high heals)

congrats on being a galactic hero. cute pic!

Seriously...HIGH HEELS? But we've all seen it, haven't we?

I'm signing up for your report.

Our trip overlapped for a few days. We knew it would be crowded too, but I would rather be at a crowded Disney than not be at Disney at all. Our trip was only 4 park days and we went comando due to taking my 19 year old niece for the first time. Weather was much better than the freezing temps we had in 2010.

Max is super cute. I love that he loves COP. I'm sorry we missed it this trip.

Hello and And I agree with you completely. My husband and I are both teachers, so our dates are limited. Oh well. We were there in February of 2010 and it was freezing! YUCK.

I was at the Poly Feb 17-25. Joining in!

We probably saw eachother!

 

[tinacaplan]

We came back to the room, our bags arrived, and we unpacked. We then got changed and went back to the GCH for our ADR at Kona. I was really looking forward to this, as I’ve heard virtually nothing but great things about Kona on the boards. I was feeling a bit apprehensive, as we did not have great dining luck in July. Or in February, for that matter. In fact, after the last two trips, I had concluded that a good meal outside of the signatures was hard to find. I was hoping that I had chosen better this time and our dining luck would turn.

A few shots of the lovely, indoor tropical paradise:

We were seated pretty quickly at a table near the entrance to the restaurant. If I have any complaints about Kona, it has to do with how open it is to the whole Poly lobby. It makes the experience a bit more frenetic than I might like, but our slow server made up for it. Um...sorta. Seriously, though, he left us sitting to peruse the menu for quite awhile.

When he did finally show up, we ordered everything in one shot.

We were first brought the bread with the macadamia nut butter. This was so delicious. I think it might be the one thing making me hold to my Kona ADR for April.

I had to have another Lapu Lapu. I’m not so sure this is really any different than any other Mai-tai kind of rum drink, but the pineapple sure is super cool!

We got the potstickers. They were yummy.

You can also see the bread and butter in the background.

Max had the children’s ravioli.

They were not horrible and he certainly enjoyed his meal, which is all that matters.

I had this:

The Tuna Oscar

And it was amazing. I think I was initially drawn to it mainly for the hollandaise sauce (I’m a fan), but it was so much more than that. The tuna itself was incredible. Perfectly cooked and the whole dish went together really well, even the fried green tomatoes. I will likely order it again when I return.

Except that Mark’s scallops were also delicious:

This is the description from All Ears: Shrimp and Scallops - panko breaded shrimp and pan-seared scallops with sticky rice and ponzu, spicy guava-passion fruit and wasabi cream sauces

This was also delicious. Both entrees were well balanced, perfectly seasoned, and very fresh tasting.

Thus far, it seemed that we had some good dining mojo.

Being that we were on the dining plan, we had to get dessert. I know...twist my arm, right? Well, except that were it not for the dining plan, we probably wouldn’t get dessert. But I was glad we did that night.

Mark had the Kona Kone. I’m not sure what was so special about this, aside from the cotton candy.

I had the banana chocolate creme brulee.

It was delicious...but what is up with Disney and all of their chocolate banana desserts? I swear, there is some iteration of this on multiple menus, particularly at the resorts. I shouldn’t complain, I suppose, as I am a rather large fan of chocolatey, banana goodness.


Max had the kid sundae:

He was pleased that he was able to get his favorite chocolate ice cream.

All in all, our dinner at Kona was fantastic and I would highly recommend it. The service was fine and the atmosphere was perfect for dining with a kid. It really is fanastic. It was one of the best meals we had, on a trip full of great meals.

After dinner, we walked back to Tokelau. While I had hoped we would have all made it to the fireworks, since we could see them from our private beach and all, but Max passed out by about 8:30. Not that I could blame him.

I ventured out by myself and tried to take some pictures of the Electric Water pagent:

That was as good as it got. I found, ironically, that my phone camera took better night pictures than my real camera. Not sure why.

Oh, and see that fuzzy pink thing off in the distance? Yep...that was the castle!

I would have loved to have relaxed in my beach hammock and watched the water pagent, but even for this New England girl, it was a bit cold. It was asleep before ten, and whiel I didn’t see the fireworks, I heard a few!

 

[MEK]

OMG - I had the tuna oscar the last time I ate at the Kona Cafe and it was so delish! I'm so glad you enjoyed your meal.

What a wonderful first day. I can just imagine Max crashing. He must have been exhausted.

I can't imagine watching the ELP right from your balcony. Nice. Very Nice Indeed!

Ok - so since you are a signature girl - have you eaten at the Flying Fish? What about meeting there for dinner in October? I enjoyed my dinner there and its a good location.

 

[tinacaplan]

OMG - I had the tuna oscar the last time I ate at the Kona Cafe and it was so delish! I'm so glad you enjoyed your meal.

What a wonderful first day. I can just imagine Max crashing. He must have been exhausted.

I can't imagine watching the ELP right from your balcony. Nice. Very Nice Indeed!

Ok - so since you are a signature girl - have you eaten at the Flying Fish? What about meeting there for dinner in October? I enjoyed my dinner there and its a good location.

It really was fantastic. I had no idea I liked tuna so much and Kona was not the only time I had it during the trip.

We had really good meals this trip.

And Flying Fish? Love it! Its right there, too, since I'm pretty sure we're staying at the Beach Club. I haven't eaten at FF since 2010, but it was fantastic. Their signature red snapper entree was quite memorable.

 

[KatMark]

I'm caught up, Tina. Great pics of the Poly, and the "crowds" at the MK.

Glad you had a good dinner at Kona....Mark's scallops have my mouth watering.

 

[jennyjinx3]

Just stumbled upon your trip report! Love that you were brave enough to visit over President's Day! We love the Poly, and have never eaten at Kona so thank you for sharing the food pics from there! Looks great!

 

[MEK]

And Flying Fish? Love it! Its right there, too, since I'm pretty sure we're staying at the Beach Club. I haven't eaten at FF since 2010, but it was fantastic. Their signature red snapper entree was quite memorable.

Cool. I'll check with Cynthia and see if that is OK with her. I'm sure it will be. We are at VWL right now but tomorrow is 7 months so I am going to call and waitlist for BCV and BWV. We may just waitlist for our last 3 nights because we may have a better chance of getting that.

The other place that is awesome is Blue Zoo. Have you eaten there? Really good. Plus I have a TIW that we can use!

 

[tinacaplan]

Just stumbled upon your trip report! Love that you were brave enough to visit over President's Day! We love the Poly, and have never eaten at Kona so thank you for sharing the food pics from there! Looks great!

Kona was fabulous. The Poly really does have excellent dining options. My husband and I are both teachers, so if we want to go to Disney at any time other than the summer, we're looking at some pretty packed weeks.

 

[annmarieda]

I am a fan of Kona... never tried the tuna though. I might have to.

I think the EWP is kinda special since only the MK resorts really get to see it. While our room didn't have bay lake right in front of it, if we went out on to our balcony and looked left we were able to watch it most nights (those that we were in the room for)

What a great ending to your day!!

 

[amandaw]

I'm glad y'all enjoyed Kona! We really enjoyed our meal there last May. Although, I will agree with you about the environment of the restaurant. Both of y'alls entrees look delicious. I wish I would have ordered the scallops & shrimp. But, the coconut chicken was very good, too.

Sounds like it was a really nice start to the trip for y'all!

 

[dizneeat]

Looks like you had a great meal at Kona! We have not been there in a while - we had some issues the last few times we went and we are "through" with the menu!
No blame for being out like a light early that evening .... you had a really early morning and poor Max must have been so excited.

Was your room on the first floor? Nice to just venture out onto the patio, but I am always so afraid of the "wildlife" (I can say it out loud - snakes) on first floors!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Your dinner at Kona sounds great! Isn't that banana chocolate creme brulee so good?

It's funny, I think I'm one of the only people on the Dis to ever have a disappointing meal at Kona! We love it there for breakfast, but unfortunately, I think we'd be hard-pressed to try lunch or dinner there again, despite really hearing nothing but good over and over!

Your update just reminded me that I completely and totally forgot to watch the EWP while we were at the Poly! That's so fun that you did, it looks really cute!

 

[dizneeat]

It's funny, I think I'm one of the only people on the Dis to ever have a disappointing meal at Kona! We love it there for breakfast, but unfortunately, I think we'd be hard-pressed to try lunch or dinner there again, despite really hearing nothing but good over and over!

You are definitely not the only ones. We had our fair share of issues there - concerning food AND service! (Like being seated at a 6 top with 9 people! and the server just shrugging her shoulders. Having to wait forever for food and then being served the wrong or cold food!)

 

[jenbear123]

Hello there! Thanks for the great Kona review. The food looks fantastic and fresh. I too have found service to be rather slow there. Great view from the Poly!! I was also in the world over presidents day weekend although I did leave before it got too crazy.

 

[Missyrose]

Sounds like you had a wonderful dinner at Kona. We've had a couple of pretty terrific meals there ourselves. Franklin is, of course, partial to the Tonga Toast in the mornings there. Did you guys get to eat there for breakfast at all during your trip?