swankybeth
<font color=teal>Loves bubble tea!<br><font color=
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2000
- Messages
- 3,098
Here's day one of my trip report. I'm still writing notes for half of the report (got lazy at WDW), so I'll post more later on....
Cast: Me, Beth, 20 years old, 8th trip to WDW
Saverio, 23 years old, 5th trip to WDW, my wonderful boyfriend
Alarm was set for 3:30. Called a cab to pick us up at 4:15 am for 6:15 am flight. What actually happened: dad came bursting in my room at 4:25 am asking if we ordered a cab!!! Holy, um, cow!!!
I accidently set the alarm for 3:30 pm. Next time, I'm triple checking!! Luckily my dad happened to have rented a car the day before (we don't have a car). Got ready in 20 minutes and my dad got us to the airport in no time. Go dad!!
We did curbside check-in ($3 for porters) and received our boarding passes. Went inside for some much needed Starbucks. Much to our surprise everything was closed in the airport (it was about 5:20 am). Starbucks was supposed to open at 5:30, so Saverio got in line to wait. I laughed at him, saying "there's no one here, why are you waiting?". Well, turned out, it was a very good thing we waited, because within a few minutes a GIGANTIC line formed behind us. Way to use your WDW strategies, honey! Got water, OJ, and a caramel macchiato ($9.57). Grabbed a Marie Claire from the news stand ($2.95) and boarded the plane.
Plane left 20 minutes late, but we still managed to land on time. Yay!! Took the monorail to the baggage claim and met our Tiffany Towncar driver, Asfar. Got our bags and headed off to Publix. Picked up Starbucks frappuchinos, chips, granola bars, trail mix, and Nutri Grain bars for the room (around $17). Got to the Polynesian by 10 am. Used the $8 off coupon in the PassPorter to pay Asfar. Total cost with tip: $87. Our room was not ready, so we left our bags with bell services and headed off to walk to the Ticket and Transportation Center to catch the monorail to Epcot.
As we walked around, we snapped some pictures of the Polynesian, including the volcano pool. I couldn't wait to try it out. As it turns out, we never did get to swim in it.
Anyway, we hopped on the monorail with no wait. Cool! Walked around Epcot a bit, taking pictures of all the cool topiaries they had for the Flower and Garden Festival. Then it was off to Test Track! Did the singles line. Had about a 15 minute wait. The ride broke down in the rooms where they did the hot/cold tests. Luckily I was in the cold part! Unfortunately, my boyfriend was in the car behind me in the hot part. While riding, I found two Hidden Mickeys. One was on the white board in the hot room. They have all sorts of testing times or some kind of times written down. If you look on the top, you'll see one is actually a Mickey head rather than a number! The other one is in the cold room. There is a Mickey shaped plant thing right in the window where that desk/computer area is. After that we did Cranium Command with no wait. We both love that show! It is so cute and so funny. It's never full, though, I wonder why. 
After that, we wandered around and took some more pictures.
Getting a little hungry, so we headed over to Mexico to grab some counter service. Got a kid's meal ($3.45). Wasn't too good. [You can see all of my full reviews on the restaurant board.] Wandered around World Showcase looking for some food for Saverio. Finally stopped in Morocco. He got a tabouleh wrap ($7.37). Didn't really like that either.
By that time I was feeling really sick from all of the heat and sun. I was trying to keep cool and drink lots of water, but it wasn't really helping. We decided to see Impressions de France to try and cool off. We were lucky, and walked right into the movie. I love Impressions de France. So beautiful and I just love the music. It is easily my favorite World Showcase movie. Felt much better after that. We took more topiary pictures and wandered over to Ice Station Cool. Of course we drank tons and tons of Beverly. Just can't get enough of the stuff!!
After that, we went to Mouse Gears and got a hat for me to wear. It was a white baseball cap with Mickey and it says Walt Disney World 1971. I like it and it keeps the sun out of my eyes! ($20.14)
We then went to Innoventions and sent out a few of those email postcards at the IBM exhibit. Walked over to the Land pavillion. Standby for Living With the Land was 40 minutes. Yeah, right. Grabbed a fastpass instead. Our Ice Cream Social was starting pretty soon, so we didn't have enough time for Food Rocks or Circle of Life. We just checked into the Garden Grill and waited for our PS time. Had a blast at the Ice Cream Social. ($17) Used our fastpasses for Living With the Land. Enjoyed it, but was squished into the corner because they put us in a row with two ladies, who let's just say, just had a whole lot more of them to love.
Decided to head over to the Polynesian to check in.
On the way to the room I got a Polynesian magnet from the gift shop. ($4.24) I always get a magnet from the resorts that I stay in, just sort of a tradition. Also got a refillable mug. ($9.53) Another traditional purchase. It definitely wasn't going to pay for itself this time. Went to the concierge building and checked in. We had a wonderful CM, Matthew, who checked us in. We had a garden view, but weren't exactly enthused with the view from our room. Still, it was a big, beautiful room and we were happy with it. Matthew, being the wonderful CM that I said he was before, spoke to his manager and gave us a complimentary lagoon view upgrade. Pure magic!! I fell in love with the view from our balcony. We could see the castle, the train station, part of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, an itty bitty piece of Splash Mountain, the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary, the wedding pavillion, the Wilderness Lodge, and the Polynesian's beach. You could even hear the train whistle from the Walt Disney World Railroad. It was so heavenly. I was so happy, I can't even describe it! Bell services came with our luggage ($6 tip). Saverio went and took a shower, while I sat on the wonderful balcony and read a book. We went down to the concierge lounge for the evening service. Grabbed a couple of bottles of water, and were on our way back to Epcot.
We decided to take the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center instead of walking. Bad move. It took much longer. Oh well, live and learn. Transferred to the Epcot monorail. We did Spaceship Earth when we got to Epcot. It was a walk on. (Earlier the line was HUGE so we skipped it.) Nice ride, not one of my favs, but nice. We think we spotted a Hidden Mickey in the stars in the ceiling when the ride first starts. Anyone know if it really exists or if it was just wishful thinking? After Spaceship Earth we walked through World Showcase to exit through the International Gateway. Walked over to the Boardwalk for our Illuminations cruise.(I booked it as an anniversary treat for Saverio.) Had some time before it began so we got crepes on a stick ($5). Very yummy, definitely something different!
The cruise was really supposed to begin at 8:30, but our drivers were there at 8:15, so they started early for us. Our drivers were Jeff and Ryan. Ryan was training. Both very friendly and nice guys. We started off by cruising by MGM. Jeff told us that the blacked out spaces on the Swan and Dolphin are so that a monorail could eventually go through them and connect to MGM. Don't know if it's true, but it sounded cool to us!
As we cruised around, Jeff played Disney trivia with us. I kicked butt! Everyone was impressed with how much stuff I knew. Including myself! Eventually it was almost time for Illuminations to begin, so we parked under a bridge and waited for Illuminations to start. Wow!! What a perfect view! From this spot you could really see the synchronicity between the fireworks and the music. It was terrific! I really love the Illuminations music, and listen to it constantly on CD. When the cruise was over, Jeff gave us a signed picture of Mickey and Minnie with a little note that said happy anniversary. Isn't that sweet? Then he asked us who our favorite Disney characters were. We told him (Tigger and Timon) and he promptly produced pictures of Tigger and Timon for us!! What a nice guy!
Got the monorail back to the Ticket and Transportation Center. By that time it was exactly 10 pm and the Magic Kingdom fireworks were about to begin, so we stopped and watched them. They even piped in the music there! It was really cool, like a extra bonus or something. Walked back to the Polynesian. Grabbed some water from the lounge and went to sleep. It was definitely a great first day!
Beth
Cast: Me, Beth, 20 years old, 8th trip to WDW
Saverio, 23 years old, 5th trip to WDW, my wonderful boyfriend
Alarm was set for 3:30. Called a cab to pick us up at 4:15 am for 6:15 am flight. What actually happened: dad came bursting in my room at 4:25 am asking if we ordered a cab!!! Holy, um, cow!!!
I accidently set the alarm for 3:30 pm. Next time, I'm triple checking!! Luckily my dad happened to have rented a car the day before (we don't have a car). Got ready in 20 minutes and my dad got us to the airport in no time. Go dad!! We did curbside check-in ($3 for porters) and received our boarding passes. Went inside for some much needed Starbucks. Much to our surprise everything was closed in the airport (it was about 5:20 am). Starbucks was supposed to open at 5:30, so Saverio got in line to wait. I laughed at him, saying "there's no one here, why are you waiting?". Well, turned out, it was a very good thing we waited, because within a few minutes a GIGANTIC line formed behind us. Way to use your WDW strategies, honey! Got water, OJ, and a caramel macchiato ($9.57). Grabbed a Marie Claire from the news stand ($2.95) and boarded the plane.
Plane left 20 minutes late, but we still managed to land on time. Yay!! Took the monorail to the baggage claim and met our Tiffany Towncar driver, Asfar. Got our bags and headed off to Publix. Picked up Starbucks frappuchinos, chips, granola bars, trail mix, and Nutri Grain bars for the room (around $17). Got to the Polynesian by 10 am. Used the $8 off coupon in the PassPorter to pay Asfar. Total cost with tip: $87. Our room was not ready, so we left our bags with bell services and headed off to walk to the Ticket and Transportation Center to catch the monorail to Epcot.
As we walked around, we snapped some pictures of the Polynesian, including the volcano pool. I couldn't wait to try it out. As it turns out, we never did get to swim in it.
Anyway, we hopped on the monorail with no wait. Cool! Walked around Epcot a bit, taking pictures of all the cool topiaries they had for the Flower and Garden Festival. Then it was off to Test Track! Did the singles line. Had about a 15 minute wait. The ride broke down in the rooms where they did the hot/cold tests. Luckily I was in the cold part! Unfortunately, my boyfriend was in the car behind me in the hot part. While riding, I found two Hidden Mickeys. One was on the white board in the hot room. They have all sorts of testing times or some kind of times written down. If you look on the top, you'll see one is actually a Mickey head rather than a number! The other one is in the cold room. There is a Mickey shaped plant thing right in the window where that desk/computer area is. After that we did Cranium Command with no wait. We both love that show! It is so cute and so funny. It's never full, though, I wonder why. After that, we wandered around and took some more pictures.Getting a little hungry, so we headed over to Mexico to grab some counter service. Got a kid's meal ($3.45). Wasn't too good. [You can see all of my full reviews on the restaurant board.] Wandered around World Showcase looking for some food for Saverio. Finally stopped in Morocco. He got a tabouleh wrap ($7.37). Didn't really like that either.
By that time I was feeling really sick from all of the heat and sun. I was trying to keep cool and drink lots of water, but it wasn't really helping. We decided to see Impressions de France to try and cool off. We were lucky, and walked right into the movie. I love Impressions de France. So beautiful and I just love the music. It is easily my favorite World Showcase movie. Felt much better after that. We took more topiary pictures and wandered over to Ice Station Cool. Of course we drank tons and tons of Beverly. Just can't get enough of the stuff!!
After that, we went to Mouse Gears and got a hat for me to wear. It was a white baseball cap with Mickey and it says Walt Disney World 1971. I like it and it keeps the sun out of my eyes! ($20.14)
We then went to Innoventions and sent out a few of those email postcards at the IBM exhibit. Walked over to the Land pavillion. Standby for Living With the Land was 40 minutes. Yeah, right. Grabbed a fastpass instead. Our Ice Cream Social was starting pretty soon, so we didn't have enough time for Food Rocks or Circle of Life. We just checked into the Garden Grill and waited for our PS time. Had a blast at the Ice Cream Social. ($17) Used our fastpasses for Living With the Land. Enjoyed it, but was squished into the corner because they put us in a row with two ladies, who let's just say, just had a whole lot more of them to love.
Decided to head over to the Polynesian to check in.On the way to the room I got a Polynesian magnet from the gift shop. ($4.24) I always get a magnet from the resorts that I stay in, just sort of a tradition. Also got a refillable mug. ($9.53) Another traditional purchase. It definitely wasn't going to pay for itself this time. Went to the concierge building and checked in. We had a wonderful CM, Matthew, who checked us in. We had a garden view, but weren't exactly enthused with the view from our room. Still, it was a big, beautiful room and we were happy with it. Matthew, being the wonderful CM that I said he was before, spoke to his manager and gave us a complimentary lagoon view upgrade. Pure magic!! I fell in love with the view from our balcony. We could see the castle, the train station, part of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, an itty bitty piece of Splash Mountain, the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary, the wedding pavillion, the Wilderness Lodge, and the Polynesian's beach. You could even hear the train whistle from the Walt Disney World Railroad. It was so heavenly. I was so happy, I can't even describe it! Bell services came with our luggage ($6 tip). Saverio went and took a shower, while I sat on the wonderful balcony and read a book. We went down to the concierge lounge for the evening service. Grabbed a couple of bottles of water, and were on our way back to Epcot.
We decided to take the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center instead of walking. Bad move. It took much longer. Oh well, live and learn. Transferred to the Epcot monorail. We did Spaceship Earth when we got to Epcot. It was a walk on. (Earlier the line was HUGE so we skipped it.) Nice ride, not one of my favs, but nice. We think we spotted a Hidden Mickey in the stars in the ceiling when the ride first starts. Anyone know if it really exists or if it was just wishful thinking? After Spaceship Earth we walked through World Showcase to exit through the International Gateway. Walked over to the Boardwalk for our Illuminations cruise.(I booked it as an anniversary treat for Saverio.) Had some time before it began so we got crepes on a stick ($5). Very yummy, definitely something different!
The cruise was really supposed to begin at 8:30, but our drivers were there at 8:15, so they started early for us. Our drivers were Jeff and Ryan. Ryan was training. Both very friendly and nice guys. We started off by cruising by MGM. Jeff told us that the blacked out spaces on the Swan and Dolphin are so that a monorail could eventually go through them and connect to MGM. Don't know if it's true, but it sounded cool to us!
As we cruised around, Jeff played Disney trivia with us. I kicked butt! Everyone was impressed with how much stuff I knew. Including myself! Eventually it was almost time for Illuminations to begin, so we parked under a bridge and waited for Illuminations to start. Wow!! What a perfect view! From this spot you could really see the synchronicity between the fireworks and the music. It was terrific! I really love the Illuminations music, and listen to it constantly on CD. When the cruise was over, Jeff gave us a signed picture of Mickey and Minnie with a little note that said happy anniversary. Isn't that sweet? Then he asked us who our favorite Disney characters were. We told him (Tigger and Timon) and he promptly produced pictures of Tigger and Timon for us!! What a nice guy! Got the monorail back to the Ticket and Transportation Center. By that time it was exactly 10 pm and the Magic Kingdom fireworks were about to begin, so we stopped and watched them. They even piped in the music there! It was really cool, like a extra bonus or something. Walked back to the Polynesian. Grabbed some water from the lounge and went to sleep. It was definitely a great first day!
Beth
