Best graduation present ever! July 2012 PTR

[solana131]

I agree, it is a sign. Honestly, I think you would enjoy either resort.

I had to laugh at the photo of the dessert from kona... I thought it looked like a snake... You know - the kind that they play the flute to call it up out of the basket - the name excapes me right now. LOL

I know the food places are closed after Illuminations... I am not sure about the gift shops... I would think they would be open - but I am not sure.

I love hearing about your frist day!

D~

A cobra And thanks alot....now I definitely will never eat a Kona Kone!

Okay, I am so confused! Is it Poly or POFQ??

What? You're confused? How could you possibly be confused??

Sorry...I know I'm annoying. I went through this last trip too. Its because I am always doing all the planning by myself. Anytime I ask the other traveling people they just say "I don't care, you pick it". It gets a little stressful for me. But I am 99% sure we are sticking with the Poly. I have almost switched twice now, but I can never follow through. I just know how much I love everything to do with the Poly, and I hate to give that up. If it was just a normal trip with Dani, I would be fine with POFQ, but with the heat and crowds and the way I plan to tour the parks, I think the transportation options at the Poly are very important. And having a 24hr QS location.

So....Poly is the answer

 

[KatMark]

I'm trying to catch up AGAIN! I love the purchases and the little cards you've made.

 

[jennyjinx3]

A cobra And thanks alot....now I definitely will never eat a Kona Kone!



What? You're confused? How could you possibly be confused??

Sorry...I know I'm annoying. I went through this last trip too. Its because I am always doing all the planning by myself. Anytime I ask the other traveling people they just say "I don't care, you pick it". It gets a little stressful for me. But I am 99% sure we are sticking with the Poly. I have almost switched twice now, but I can never follow through. I just know how much I love everything to do with the Poly, and I hate to give that up. If it was just a normal trip with Dani, I would be fine with POFQ, but with the heat and crowds and the way I plan to tour the parks, I think the transportation options at the Poly are very important. And having a 24hr QS location.

So....Poly is the answer

No you are not annoying at all! In fact you could be my twin! I have waffled back and forth so much about our trip, but like you cannot bring myself to leave the Poly! The break would be much too painful!

 

[solana131]

I'm trying to catch up AGAIN! I love the purchases and the little cards you've made.

Welcome back Kathy! Hope you had fun

No you are not annoying at all! In fact you could be my twin! I have waffled back and forth so much about our trip, but like you cannot bring myself to leave the Poly! The break would be much too painful!

I will definitely stay somewhere else next time, when we can go at low crowd levels, but not ready just yet. And this will be an amazing first time for Dani.

 

[204charity]

Oh it is hard isn't it? As much as I love the Poly, I vote for POR Royal Room! It is a great opportunity to do this, and maybe next family trip you can get back to the Poly?? The $$$ savings is significant isn't it? I know I have been struggling myself with some resort changing demons myself!!

I don't know what the big deal is about these "Royal Rooms" but I think I'll have to check it out! I think when we go back to DW - our son would LOVE to stay at AOA in the Nemo wing or the Cars wing, but I am hoping we can swing BLT for hubby.

Thanks Liddy Now I just have to listen to the blah blah blah blah from my mom who thinks I'm spending too much. I am, but I don't care and I'm an adult...leave me alone!

Ugh! Don't you hate that??? It makes me crazy when my mom butts in her two cents all the time on my spending. "Mind your business woman...mind your business....."

Awesome purchases! And that's awesome you got some GCs, too!!!

I agree, great purchases - and YES you will use all of them. Trust me. We just did 1 week in APRIL and we had to buy one of those stupid $14 HEAVY-AS-HECK water bottle sprayers from Disney - and used it every day!!!

Thanks. I think I am going a little overboard. I doubt I will use half the stuff I am buying, but I would rather be safe than sorry. I picked up another $20 GC today while I was at Walgreens. They are few and far between around here and I figure that if I can pick up a small one everytime I think of it, then I will have a pretty good store by the time July rolls around. Already have $70 and still have 87 days to go!

Great job on the GC. We can't get those here in Canada.

Welcome back Kathy! Hope you had fun



I will definitely stay somewhere else next time, when we can go at low crowd levels, but not ready just yet. And this will be an amazing first time for Dani.

Yeah, yeah - SURE you will!

 

[solana131]

Yeah, yeah - SURE you will!

I will...I really will. There are so many I want to try. AoA looks right up our alley, but that will have to wait until my son is with me. On our Feb trip we had dinner at Wilderness Lodge one night and DH said "If I'm forced to come back, I want to stay here" So that is where we will stay next. And POFQ is definitely near the top of my list too. So that will take care of at least 3 years . Then maybe I can get back to the Poly!

This trip is just all about the transportation and convenience....you have to admit, the Poly is first in that category. So many options

 

[204charity]

I will...I really will. There are so many I want to try. AoA looks right up our alley, but that will have to wait until my son is with me. On our Feb trip we had dinner at Wilderness Lodge one night and DH said "If I'm forced to come back, I want to stay here" So that is where we will stay next. And POFQ is definitely near the top of my list too. So that will take care of at least 3 years . Then maybe I can get back to the Poly!

This trip is just all about the transportation and convenience....you have to admit, the Poly is first in that category. So many options

Oh, I agree 100% with the transportation issues at the Poly. It's the best of the 3 monorail deluxe's by far. Being so close to the TTC, really makes it better than the others!!! I have always loved the feel of POR, but our little experiences we had with buses this trip have made me realize DH would absolutely HATE to be 100% reliant on buses for 7 nights!!!

I was worried we would NEVER get to Disney if that was the case, so thank god for the DVC rentals. BLT here we come!!! (Well, ONE day....)

 

[solana131]

Just sold our old screenhouse for $250! Yay! I'm heading out to get a couple more giftcards I have a HUGE yard sale scheduled for the beginning of June, so I will put all that towards this trip too. I am determined to be able to afford the Poly and not max out my credit cards!

Waiting not so patiently for them to open up the Desset Party. You can book through June now. They should be opening July up in a couple days. Hope I can score a ressie there for the night of the 20th. That would be so nice to not have to fight for space for Wishes

 

[solana131]

WooHoo! Just booked the Wishes Dessert Party for that Friday night! Price seems a little steep for just dessert, but to have an assigned seat for Wishes....I would pay alot more

Stay tuned......big changes coming up

 

[solana131]

The resort changing demons have officially struck. I called and switch over to French Quarter this morning. And honestly....I am not that sad about it. First of all, the CM on the phone said I now owe $400 instead of $1400, so that is good. And I have a goal to try all the Disney resorts at some point or another....I might as well start now. I am very excited about staying at POFQ. We visited for breakfast on our Feb trip and fell in love. And its all D~'s fault anyway for posting those cool hidden mickey pictures on her TR....so if you're upset that I left the Poly, blame her!

Some pretty pictures I stole from somewhere...

So I will need to update all my spreadsheets and the daily slideshow I made for Dani. So bear with me and I will get things in gear here very shortly.

 

[DMGeurts]

I really think you'll love it Suzie.... I know - it is my dream to stay at the Poly...

I will tell you this... I had POFQ booked for 7 months previous to our trip - and there wasn't one single day that went by that I thought about switching it... I just "knew" it wasn't the right resort for us... It didn't have the cool theming... the pool/slide were lame... Every single day, I thought about switching to CBR or POR... But I never did. The only reason I ever kept my ressie is because everyone who had ever stayed there has said that they'll never stay anywhere else. I figured - if it was THAT good, we needed to try it.

For the girls - it was love at first sight... They loved everything about it. They loved how quiet and secluded it felt, they loved the gardens, trees and flowers. They loved the pool (they thought the slide could be faster - but they loved the pool) - but they are teen age girls - all they do is sit in a beach chair and tan anyways (LOL)... Then we started visiting other resorts... POR... It was huge - they didn't like it - and once they realized that it was faster to walk back to our room than it was to walk to some of the rooms that were actually in that resort - it was a no brainer... We also visited AKL... they had no interest there (like I thought they would)... We visited the Poly - and we LOVE the Poly, don't get me wrong, but honestly, I don't think they'd enjoy staying there - maybe they would? That would be the only resort I would ever want to try. I guarantee - you will love POFQ - you may not love it as much as the Poly... but the busses really aren't that bad.

D~ <--- Sorry about the pics... did you see the ones I posted this morning? LOL

 

[jennyjinx3]

You will have a great time no matter where you stay! And POFQ looks beautiful! Nice $$$ savings too!

 

[solana131]

I really think you'll love it Suzie.... I know - it is my dream to stay at the Poly...

I will tell you this... I had POFQ booked for 7 months previous to our trip - and there wasn't one single day that went by that I thought about switching it... I just "knew" it wasn't the right resort for us... It didn't have the cool theming... the pool/slide were lame... Every single day, I thought about switching to CBR or POR... But I never did. The only reason I ever kept my ressie is because everyone who had ever stayed there has said that they'll never stay anywhere else. I figured - if it was THAT good, we needed to try it.

For the girls - it was love at first sight... They loved everything about it. They loved how quiet and secluded it felt, they loved the gardens, trees and flowers. They loved the pool (they thought the slide could be faster - but they loved the pool) - but they are teen age girls - all they do is sit in a beach chair and tan anyways (LOL)... Then we started visiting other resorts... POR... It was huge - they didn't like it - and once they realized that it was faster to walk back to our room than it was to walk to some of the rooms that were actually in that resort - it was a no brainer... We also visited AKL... they had no interest there (like I thought they would)... We visited the Poly - and we LOVE the Poly, don't get me wrong, but honestly, I don't think they'd enjoy staying there - maybe they would? That would be the only resort I would ever want to try. I guarantee - you will love POFQ - you may not love it as much as the Poly... but the busses really aren't that bad.

D~ <--- Sorry about the pics... did you see the ones I posted this morning? LOL

For some reason it didn't show up in bold on my subscribed thread list, so I missed them. Thanks for saying something or I would've totally missed them. It looks so pretty at night. Can't wait! I loved all the pictures of the Hidden Mickeys in your room. We had one in the paintings on the walls in the Poly, and some in the carpet in the hallways, but nothing like this. I know the Poly is "better", but I can always go back if I don't like this one. I just figured it was a good chance to try the bus transportation without lugging a little one around. We will be at Wilderness Lodge the next time Bradey comes with us, so we will have to take mostly buses there. This will give me a good look at how it all works. If I think it will be too much for DH & DS, I will insist on the Poly for that trip. But I think we will like it. Dani doesn't care because she has never been and doesn't know what to expect. She will love the pool here. And having the DTD boat will be fun for us too! I am determined to try Earl of Sandwich this time and to get me some goodies from Goofy's Candy Co!

You will have a great time no matter where you stay! And POFQ looks beautiful! Nice $$$ savings too!

Yep, that $$ thing really helped me feel better about this. Honestly though, I can still visit the Poly for dinner (still have 1 breakfast and 1 dinner ADR at Kona) and we can go watch Wishes from the beach and soak up that Poly atmosphere without spending the extra $$$ on the room. We don't need the huge rooms at the Poly and we won't miss the balcony because it is going to be too hot to spend much time out there anyway. I am happy with my choice and I think I might actually sleep for the first time since I booked this trip tonight!

 

[solana131]

Almost changed back again last night Oh my goodness it is a SICKNESS I tell ya! But I made it through the night...I wonder if this is what people feel like when going through a drug withdrawal...

Later today I will continue with my daily plans. Gotta at least pretend to work this morning Be back soon

 

[KatMark]

I think you need to subscribe to the "resort changing saga" thread.

 

[204charity]

Almost changed back again last night Oh my goodness it is a SICKNESS I tell ya! But I made it through the night...I wonder if this is what people feel like when going through a drug withdrawal...

Later today I will continue with my daily plans. Gotta at least pretend to work this morning Be back soon

Don't change! Stick with FQ!!!! (I need someone who's opinion I trust to try it out before I do.) LOL

No, but really, in all seriousness...you are right to try a bus resort out without your little one in tow. If you think it will be too much for him to handle, then you can just book Poly next time. I have heard that people blow the bus thing completely out of proportion at DW anyways. My cousin stayed at AKL and she said the bus service was AMAZING. And they were there right before Christmas. Not once did they have to stand on the bus....lots of room for everyone and little to no waits ever.

 

[solana131]

Don't change! Stick with FQ!!!! (I need someone who's opinion I trust to try it out before I do.) LOL

No, but really, in all seriousness...you are right to try a bus resort out without your little one in tow. If you think it will be too much for him to handle, then you can just book Poly next time. I have heard that people blow the bus thing completely out of proportion at DW anyways. My cousin stayed at AKL and she said the bus service was AMAZING. And they were there right before Christmas. Not once did they have to stand on the bus....lots of room for everyone and little to no waits ever.

Yeah, I am pretty sure we will stick with FQ. I am sure we will spend quite a bit of time at the Poly with our 2 Kona ADRs and just hanging out there. I loved Captain Cooks, so we will probably get lunch there a couple days.

And its not my DS I am worried about not liking the buses....its DH! He hates to travel, hates heat, and hates crowds. Yeah, he's a joy But he is the one I worry about if we stayed off the monorail trail. DS is fine with anything.


Booked our flights today! I tried to wait for a Southwest sale, but they weren't really that bad anyway. They kept sending me deals every week but they were not for our dates. Finally got one for our time period, and for some reason our flights were not included in the sale But even the sale prices weren't any better than the regular price for those flights, so I booked them anyway. NOW the real sale will come. Oh well....at least we are booked and we got an early flight down and a late flight back so it adds two days to our trip, kinda sorta.

So with the Wishes Dessert Party booked, and the flights booked, I have nothing else to do but wait for 77 days! *hey, where's the thumb twiddling smiley guy?*

 

[solana131]

I think you need to subscribe to the "resort changing saga" thread.

Not fair....I have only actually changed once. I have thought about it a million times, but only actually done it once So far....

 

[KatMark]

Not fair....I have only actually changed once. I have thought about it a million times, but only actually done it once So far....

See...that's the beginning...you've THOUGHT about it a million times.

 

[solana131]

Anyone know how to or if you can upload a Word document to here? I made up some really cute "planner pages", but I don't know how to upload anything other than pictures. I upload my pics to Photobucket, but I can't upload the Word doc to there? Can I? I even figured out how to download the Disney font to use. They came out really cute. Can't wait to give the little planner book to Dani for her graduation present!