9 Days Poly CL DxDP...Too Much Food???...Too Much Fun!!!...1600 Pictures

[cdotla]

Just caught up.

That photo of the hammock you took with the GF in the background is AMAZING!!!

Funny all of the talk about the Poly vs. the Beach Club. We had a split stay at each last month (as well as one night at the CR). Here is a classic example of how subjective choosing favourite resorts can be: even though we experienced the exact same vacation, DH's favourite was the BC, whereas my favourite was the Poly.

However, don't get me wrong - we each thought all 3 resorts were pretty fantastic in their own way. I have yet to meet a Disney resort I did not like!

While we were not staying concierge, like you, we were on the DxDP for 7 of 11 days of our trip. And I had to scrimp to ensure we had enough credits to get us through! We also do 2 credit signature dining for most of our evening meals and of course CRT. And we saved big-time on the plan! I haven't done the final math tally, but after I complete our TR I plan to do a dining report so that I can share my findings. Pre-trip I had estimated that we would save about $400 on the plan - it will be fun to see what the final numbers end up being!

Once again, I must say that I am continuing to enjoy your fabulous report! You bring me right back to my beloved Poly!

 

[hstrickland]

Since I made the mad dash for fast passes at rope drop, I met the rest of the gang at Soarin....one of our favorite rides!!!

We stood in line for around 20 minutes, then used our fast passes for later. I've always read that if the wait time is 30 minutes or less....DO NOT use fastpasses....this concept has worked well for us.

DS3 was right at 40 inches tall, so we had to make sure that his shoes had really thick soles!!! He just made it on the ride...I'm sure he was tired of us saying on every ride...."stand tall, Jesse!" Disney is super picky about this let me tell ya! The first time we tried to get him on Soarin they said he was too short...literally by a hair....the second time...thicker soles & standin' tall...he was on!

Several of us wanted to ride Mission Space...didn't know if DS3 would be okay in the ride, so I stayed back with him....of course I was flashing pictures left and right, trying to get that 'one shot in a million'

I tried to get the monorail passing by, but missed it! Maybe next time!

We rode Soarin again...used our FPs, then rode Test Trak and headed for Italy. On our way we snapped pictures....I'm sure you are totally shocked!

Notice the green wall....I'm anxious to see the renovations that Disney has made. Was a tight squeeze through here, though, when there was a crowd.

China has beautiful scenery. Would love to try their TS restaurant, but didn't find time this trip....it's been years since we have eaten there.

Moving on around the World to Germany! It has always amazed me at how specific and detailed Disney was when they created these countries.

Finally, Italy is in our sites! I'm hungry....AGAIN!

We had lunch reservations at 12:00pm.....

The waiting area was really large and lots of room to move around in....

The restaurant was very elegant, very Italian! Loved the ambiance!

They were gracious enough to sit us in the corner of the restaurant away from everything....sometimes our children can be a little loud!!!

It was super hot on this day, so it was wonderful to be able to relax and cool off in a nice restaurant.....another reason we LOVE Dxdp!!!

We all got appetizers, even the children's menu had fried mozzarella! very tasty!

DH started off with Calamari.....another tasty dish! Enough for two!

I had tomatos & mozzarella salad....loved this!!!

For the main course I had Farfalle....very good, but really rich! I could have split this with someone.

My mom had the Gnocchi...she said it was just okay...not bad though.

DH had the Lasagna....he wasn't thrilled about it

I did not get a picture of my dad's dish and forgot exactly what it was, although he said it was delicious.

The kids had pizza which was really good.

Two peas in a pod....Pop and Stephen!

For dessert we had a Cannoli....good, but a little heavy on the orange flavor.

I had a chocolate torta....very rich, but good.

Here comes a complaint!!!!!!!!! Be warned.....the ONLY thing that was wrong with Tutto Italia was one waitress. She actually was a food runner...when she brought our food, we all about passed out from the odor!!! BAD! Perhaps she didn't have on deodorant....not sure. Glad none of us have weak stomaches.

Would I return to this restaurant? Absolutley!!!

Stay tuned for Behind the Seeds Tour!

 

[hstrickland]

"We had a great breakfast!!!! Would certainly do this again AND have an 8am ressie. Can you guess what I did next??? I left before the family and headed for rope drop with ALL the tickets in hand. I wanted to make sure I got fast passes for Soarin before the crowds hit.....it worked! I was the second person to get a fast pass!!!! I know...I'm a little over the top with this rope drop thing."

I'm confused. I thought you had to activate each ticket so you could get a fastpass? How would your family get into the parks if you had all the tix? What did I miss?

We were already in the park. Our reservation time for Akershus was 8am. The park was not open yet, but you still have to go through the gates with your tickets to go to breakfast. Around 8:45, I took all the tickets and headed for rope drop. This is one great thing about having a very early breakfast ressie for any of the parks....you are already in there so when the park opens you are one step ahead of the crowds. Does that make sense?

 

[hstrickland]

i've never been at a park at rope drop before .. my DH prefers to catch a few more ZZZZ's than i do. this time it's just me and the kids and my mom. so ... when you said you headed for the rope drop with all tickets in hand, do you actually have to go somewhere or did you just head to soarin'?

thanks!!

I walked back to the middle of Future world where rope drop takes place. Since I was there before 9am, I had to stop with everyone else. Since I was coming from Akershus, I was on the opposite side of everyone else (people from the main gate). Actually this worked in my favor because there were a ton of people from the main gate and only a handful of us from Akershus and the EP resorts (I'm assumming EP resorts) So, when they let the rope down, I was right in front. The CMs walk you to Soarin...they don't let you run. Does this make sense?? Not sure if I explained that correctly. Maybe someone else can help me out

 

[~armywife~]

I walked back to the middle of Future world where rope drop takes place. Since I was there before 9am, I had to stop with everyone else. Since I was coming from Akershus, I was on the opposite side of everyone else (people from the main gate). Actually this worked in my favor because there were a ton of people from the main gate and only a handful of us from Akershus and the EP resorts (I'm assumming EP resorts) So, when they let the rope down, I was right in front. The CMs walk you to Soarin...they don't let you run. Does this make sense?? Not sure if I explained that correctly. Maybe someone else can help me out

thank you so much!! i'm glad, actually, that the CMs walk you to soarin. had a 'black friday' vision of what it was goin to look like trying to get the fastpasses so, when you guys went, you got the fastpasses, then rode (without using the fastpasses), then immediately rode again using the fastpasses?

i'm thinking after reading your TR, that i need you as my vacation planner. this is my 2nd trip ever to WDW and i think i may be even less sure about what to do as i was the 1st time, especially since my husband won't be with us this time. i am very excited, though, to take my mom with us .. she hasn't been there before.

thanks again! can't wait to see more of your trip

 

[Carrie772]

The monorail runs one hour prior to park opening at EP, so we had to drive over if we wanted to make our reservation. If you DO NOT have a car, you can still get there. The CL CMs told us you could take a character bus (not sure what this is) to get to EP. I did not ask too many questions since I knew we were driving. I was just curious as to what others might have to do.

I believe the character buses are the ones with a name of a character on the destination headline. For example, at WL we kept seeing "Belle" on the headline. This is my educated guess.

 

[hstrickland]

Funny all of the talk about the Poly vs. the Beach Club. We had a split stay at each last month (as well as one night at the CR). Here is a classic example of how subjective choosing favourite resorts can be: even though we experienced the exact same vacation, DH's favourite was the BC, whereas my favourite was the Poly.

While we were not staying concierge, like you, we were on the DxDP for 7 of 11 days of our trip. And I had to scrimp to ensure we had enough credits to get us through! We also do 2 credit signature dining for most of our evening meals and of course CRT. And we saved big-time on the plan! I haven't done the final math tally, but after I complete our TR I plan to do a dining report so that I can share my findings. Pre-trip I had estimated that we would save about $400 on the plan - it will be fun to see what the final numbers end up being!

DH keeps changing his mind when it comes to his favorite resort....it use to WL, then we stayed at GF...then it was GF...now he likes the Poly Every trip we venture over to the EP resorts...now he says those look great, too.

We did keep EVERY single receipt from Disney just to see if we made the right decision. I was totally thrilled when I realized that we saved over $700!! And that's no exaggeration. Now that included meals, snacks & mugs...but who cares, right?! $700 saved. We did not even eat every appetizer or dessert that was on the plan and still saved money. At the end of our trip we had a ridiculous amount snack credits left, so we hit the candy store....still did not use them all and still came out ahead. I'm anxious to see your findings on your meal plan

 

[__disneygirl]

Hi there! I just read your whole report and WOW... THAT VIEW AT THE POLY! I love the Poly so much, EVERYTHING about it... but I think I love it 10x more thinking of the idea of staying 1st floor and walking out to the beach every morning. Just amazing.

Also... my mouth is watering! I want to do the DxDP so bad but our next trip is during Food and Wine so I really want to focus on eating that.

I was just wondering if you ate any of the CL food for lunch/dinner? It seems like you only ate breakfast in the lounge so I was wondering what kind of stuff they had at lunch and dinner and also how late does the food stay out? Thanks I love this report!

 

[precious pixie]

We did keep EVERY single receipt from Disney just to see if we made the right decision. I was totally thrilled when I realized that we saved over $700!! And that's no exaggeration. Now that included meals, snacks & mugs...but who cares, right?! $700 saved. We did not even eat every appetizer or dessert that was on the plan and still saved money. At the end of our trip we had a ridiculous amount snack credits left, so we hit the candy store....still did not use them all and still came out ahead. I'm anxious to see your findings on your meal plan

What amazing savings!!!! I have definitely decided to do DxDP on the next trip, I would hope to just break even but coming out ahead is even better

 

[vinotinto]

I'm (obviously!) still reading along (as my questions about the monorail to Epcot show). Since our kids are about your kids' ages (they;ll be 5 and 3) and since we're staying at Poly with the DxDP, I;m not missing any installments

Did you have a chance to look at Tutto's dinner menu? I originally switched my Tutto lunch ADR for dinner, because I thought there was lamb rack on the dinner menu. Now, I'm not sure it's still on the meny, and if that's the case, I would switch it back to lunch. All Ears has an old menu (from 2009) and WDW shows the same lunch and dinner menus. I keep debating between Tutto, Chefs, Biergarten and Kouzzina (for 1 lunch and 1 dinner).

We stayed last October at BC. It's a lovely resort and it is sooo close to Epcot and to many wonderful restaurants! Stormalong Bay was nice, but it was packed (yes, even with the wristbands). It serves a lot of people - YC, BC, and BC villas. I wish Poly would have wristbands too!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

Thank you for the awesome trip report. I just showed my kids (same ages) the pictures. We are staying at Poly for the first time in October (usually BC people) and I can't wait!!! You have inspired me to do a trip report (I just have to get caught up on my scrapbook first before I go - almost a year behind!)
Thanks again - you did a super job!!!

 

[hstrickland]

I was just wondering if you ate any of the CL food for lunch/dinner? It seems like you only ate breakfast in the lounge so I was wondering what kind of stuff they had at lunch and dinner and also how late does the food stay out? Thanks I love this report!

We usually ate breakfast in the lounge, basically to save our TS credits for Signature restaurants. They only had snack stuff out for lunch.....of course the only day I went up there for lunch was on our last Saturday and nothing was out but snack type stuff. As far as dinner goes, it starts around 5. The food was very good...appetizer type food. If you are a light eater it would probably be enough for dinner. Sometimes we would stop up there and get a bite before our dinner reservations and grab an adult bev The desserts were out when we got back at night, which was around 9ish. The desserts were okay...very picked over though by the time we got there. I believe it was all put up by 10...I think. No complaints on the quality of the food.

I'm (obviously!) still reading along (as my questions about the monorail to Epcot show). Since our kids are about your kids' ages (they;ll be 5 and 3) and since we're staying at Poly with the DxDP, I;m not missing any installments

Is this the first time you have done Dxdp? We love it.....Hope the monorail is running for you!! After your trip, let us know what you find....or if you find out about this "character" bus

Did you have a chance to look at Tutto's dinner menu? I originally switched my Tutto lunch ADR for dinner, because I thought there was lamb rack on the dinner menu. Now, I'm not sure it's still on the meny, and if that's the case, I would switch it back to lunch. All Ears has an old menu (from 2009) and WDW shows the same lunch and dinner menus. I keep debating between Tutto, Chefs, Biergarten and Kouzzina (for 1 lunch and 1 dinner).

I did not look at the dinner menu, sorry!...Our friends did Chefs for lunch and loved it and Biergarten... they said both were great for lunch. I'm surprised that Allears is not up to date....I love that site!!!!

We stayed last October at BC. It's a lovely resort and it is sooo close to Epcot and to many wonderful restaurants! Stormalong Bay was nice, but it was packed (yes, even with the wristbands). It serves a lot of people - YC, BC, and BC villas. I wish Poly would have wristbands too!

Wouldn't that be great?!!! That would have to be my only complaint about the Poly....pool hoppers. Wristbands would certainly curve the problem. Of course this one small complaint of mine would NOT keep me from going back...love it! I have a feeling our next trip will be to the BC, though....DS9 is begging to go....you might notice my ticker changing soon

 

[hstrickland]

Thank you for the awesome trip report. I just showed my kids (same ages) the pictures. We are staying at Poly for the first time in October (usually BC people) and I can't wait!!! You have inspired me to do a trip report (I just have to get caught up on my scrapbook first before I go - almost a year behind!)
Thanks again - you did a super job!!!

Did you notice my ticker?? We changed it....decided not to do the cruise next summer. Think we will wait until the 3 and 4 year old are a bit older. Now, the big decision....which resort???? It's funny how many people on this thread have stayed at BC/Poly. DS9 wants BC, DD4 & DH want GF and I like Poly...who knows???

So you are going in October?? We did this last Oct and the crowds were great!!! Bet the Poly won't be too crowded for y'all either...weather was also wonderful...not so hot, but still able to get in the pool.

Can't wait to hear about your trip and your impressions of the Poly.

 

[LinnyNad]

Did you notice my ticker?? We changed it....decided not to do the cruise next summer. Think we will wait until the 3 and 4 year old are a bit older. Now, the big decision....which resort???? It's funny how many people on this thread have stayed at BC/Poly. DS9 wants BC, DD4 & DH want GF and I like Poly...who knows???

So you are going in October?? We did this last Oct and the crowds were great!!! Bet the Poly won't be too crowded for y'all either...weather was also wonderful...not so hot, but still able to get in the pool.

Can't wait to hear about your trip and your impressions of the Poly.

I have really been enjoying your trip report soooo much. Great pics too.

We are BIG Poly fans, but last year we ventured to stay at the GF in DEC. Now, don't everyone kill me, we liked it very much and at Christmas time, really what is not to love. However.....besides the monorail trip to the MK and the boat ride home from the MK, the convienece of the Poly is WAY better, in my opinion. There were times we would come back from Epcot and just walk back to the GF from the TTC because the whole switching lanes and waiting for the monorail can get quite long. The walk was pretty and relaxing. Another thing we noticed was that we headed over to the Poly for dinner 3 times ( Luau, Ohana and Kona) and then for breakfast once. I felt like we were always walking the path to and from. AND our big issue was, watching the fireworks from GF is just not as special. You get this weird sideways view of the castle and that's when you notice how far behind the fireworks really are from the castle. I just love walking around the Poly and being able to see that from just about anywhere.

No we too are very interested in trying the BC. But I think I will wait until our DD (who is now 2) is older. When she can walk more, and is more into the Epcot resort. For now....we are MK junkies and love being on the monorail. Would I stay at GF again, sure.....IF the Poly was all booked. But not our problem this year, as we are going back to our love in October.

 

[Sweetpeamd]

Subbing!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

It's funny you mentioned the cruise...I just turned 38 (ouch) yesterday, and my planned 40th present is a Disney Cruise, I'm thinking the kids will be perfect ages! It's hard to get out of our Beach Club box, but it's been fun thinking about creating memories at a new place. I LOVED your pictures of the morning, it's my FAVORITE time of day at Disney!!! My short list of other places to stay includes Bay Lake Towers, Grand Floridian, then back over to Yacht (versus Beach just to try that end of the building). We had a 3 night stay at POR this spring and to be honest, we also really enjoyed that. But for us, transportation convenience is a HUGE factor because we tour much like you, up early, parks in the morning, resort in the afternoon, parks at night. This makes the transportation piece so important! I've been told once you stay on a monorail resort, you'll find it hard to stay off monorail. That's why, as beautiful as it is, AKL just isn't on my short list (maybe an adult only trip or a car rental trip or a short stay while in FL for something else trip) I have DH on the every other year plan with a 3 or 4 day stay (when in FL for something else) 'because we are so close' plan. I would love DVC, maybe if my 1-2 times a year lottery ticket hits the numbers! Thanks again for your report, I will try to remember to send you a reminder when I get posting it!

 

[hstrickland]

Part 1

This report will be in 2 parts. DH and my mother made soooooo many pictures...hate to leave anything out.

After a great lunch at Italy, DS3 and I had to leave the rest of the family. The little one still needed a nap in the middle of the day, so I volunteered to return to the Poly via monorail....of course! DH, DS8, DD4, grandma & grandpa did the tour. Since I wasn't there, DH is helping me write this report...he's dictating...I'm typing! This is DHs story......and DS8....he's correcting my husband as he talks!

Our reservation for the Behind The Seeds Tour was at 1:30. We did have a bit of a walk all the way from Italy to The Land. If you think my wife makes tons of pictures, you should meet my MIL!!! She made a picture of each country we passed.

Japan

On our way by France...notice the crowds are low!!!

Canada....one of my personal favorites!

We finally arrived....almost late! The walk was longer than we thought. You have to check into the desk located by Soarin. Then they take you back behind the scenes! We only had 7 in our group and we were 5 of them! The group behind us only had 2 people.

The first room you will walk into is a room with good bugs/bad bugs...no pictures I'll blame this on my MIL

First up......brussle sprouts................and celery grown hydroponically

They did ask us not to touch any of the growing plants or walk in the dirt due to disease.

If you have been on the Land ride, then you already know how cool it is to see all the vegetables and fruits hanging in mid air. It's even COOLER to get an up close and personal view. I was completely amazed!

Our tour guide was an intern from the University of Georgia...my in-law's home state. He showed us how to grow plants using a hydroponic technique.

He explained this technique indepth....really neat to hear. Our tour guide was very easy to listen to...not boring at all!!!

He gave us an informational sheet on how to put a hydroponic tank together. DD4 was even into this tour. I wasn't sure how she would fare, but she loved it.

The vegetables that are grown in the Land are eaten in restaurants at EP.

It was interesting to see the vegetables ONLY grown with water and nutrients...NO SOIL!

This is a cucumber plant....a vegetable that I'm not crazy about....BUT...

After we toured the hydroponic section of the Land, our guide gave us fresh cucumber to taste. And guess what??? Delicious!

Off to the world record tomato tree!!!! (they call it a tree)

DS8 looks bored in this picture.....not at all! He had a great time. Believe it or not, The Land is one of his favorite attractions at EP.

Check this out!!! Pretty cool!

This is the new tomato tree that they started growing. We will see if it breaks the record!

Look closely at this picture!!! What do you see in the background???

A Hidden Mickey!!!!! The plants are in the shape of Mickey ears. DS8 has a Hidden Mickey book that he carried around, so he was always looking everywhere we went.

If I could only grow pepper plants like this....especially at $2.50 a pepper!

Stay tuned for Part 2!!!!
Giant pumkins, Gators' & 9 lb Lemons!

 

[hstrickland]

It's funny you mentioned the cruise...I just turned 38 (ouch) yesterday, and my planned 40th present is a Disney Cruise, I'm thinking the kids will be perfect ages! It's hard to get out of our Beach Club box, but it's been fun thinking about creating memories at a new place. I LOVED your pictures of the morning, it's my FAVORITE time of day at Disney!!! My short list of other places to stay includes Bay Lake Towers, Grand Floridian, then back over to Yacht (versus Beach just to try that end of the building). We had a 3 night stay at POR this spring and to be honest, we also really enjoyed that. But for us, transportation convenience is a HUGE factor because we tour much like you, up early, parks in the morning, resort in the afternoon, parks at night. This makes the transportation piece so important! I've been told once you stay on a monorail resort, you'll find it hard to stay off monorail. That's why, as beautiful as it is, AKL just isn't on my short list (maybe an adult only trip or a car rental trip or a short stay while in FL for something else trip) I have DH on the every other year plan with a 3 or 4 day stay (when in FL for something else) 'because we are so close' plan. I would love DVC, maybe if my 1-2 times a year lottery ticket hits the numbers! Thanks again for your report, I will try to remember to send you a reminder when I get posting it!

DH and I are 38, too Getting close to 40! That's a great idea for a 40th bday present....a cruise! We share many of the same opinions. I actually had booked the AKL (love the way it looks) but after much thought about transportation, I quickly switched to the Poly. My ONLY hesitation about BC is that it has no monorail. I know many people believe that the monorail is overrated, but I have now stayed at all 3 monorail resorts and find it super convenient with small children and strollers!!! And quick, especially from the Poly. The TTC is wonderful and only a short walk...no switching lines. We have thought about DVC, too.....but DH wants a boat first We're only 4 1/2 hours from WDW, so DVC could work I'll keep my eye open for your TR in October! Would love to hear a comparison of the BC to Poly.

 

[cdotla]

DH keeps changing his mind when it comes to his favorite resort....it use to WL, then we stayed at GF...then it was GF...now he likes the Poly Every trip we venture over to the EP resorts...now he says those look great, too.

We did keep EVERY single receipt from Disney just to see if we made the right decision. I was totally thrilled when I realized that we saved over $700!! And that's no exaggeration. Now that included meals, snacks & mugs...but who cares, right?! $700 saved. We did not even eat every appetizer or dessert that was on the plan and still saved money. At the end of our trip we had a ridiculous amount snack credits left, so we hit the candy store....still did not use them all and still came out ahead. I'm anxious to see your findings on your meal plan

Actually...it depends on how you calculate our savings. When I said I estimated our savings at $400, that was based on what I estimated we would have spent out of pocket if we had NOT been on the DxDDP.

If I were to calculate what we actually saved by virtue of using up every snack and meal credit, and every appetizer and dessert we were entitled to during the course of the trip, our "savings" will likely be more in line with the $700 figure too.

As I said, I have yet to do the tally, but I have all of our receipts and can't wait to find out the final numbers! Once I start the dining report with our saving calculations, I will let you know!


Looking forward to Part 2 of the Behind the Seeds Tour!

 

[jdd]

Thanks so much for this report! I'm the one that's been waiting . I know DS9 will love this tour - I'm going to book it today. We are currently in the process of building a worm compost bin (his summer project) so that he can have rich soil to mix into his garden. He will absolutely LOVE learning how to build a hydroponic tank