MichelleTO
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 13, 1999
- Messages
- 221
This won't let me post on the trip reports, it says I have a duplicate post, so I am posting this here! 
I am writing this trip report as I sip white wine from my 10th anniversary Food and Wine Festival Glass we got at PFTS. The wine has a new 50th anniversary wine stopper on it and I just put my antenna topper on my car this morning! Its now pouring rain here, fall has arrived in Niagara and hurricane Wilma is threatening Florida, timing is everything. I think I enjoy the planning as much as the actual trip!
CAST
17 Canadians, who have traveled to a cottage together and who all enjoy each others company
Family #1
Me Type A, obsessive planner and Disney nut; this is my 10th time to the world. First exposed to Disney by my parents in 1976 and stayed onsite ever since! Poly Princess!
DH - just happy to be there and have me tell him what to do.
DD 12 yr old who loves Disney and is getting into the planning of the trip.
DS 8 yr old, loves Disney and is a roller coaster nut! Knows more about Disney than most adults.
DS 7 yr old loves Disney and is adventurous and likes his rides as well, constantly plays the Disney CD planner!
Family #2
Decided they wanted to experience Disney along with us experienced Disney nuts.
DW Loves rides and always has a good time
DH not a big ride fan but loves all the details of Disney
DD best friend of all the 12 yr olds on the trip, loves rides and adventure
DD2 best friend of all the others but whose parents couldnt make the trip so Family #2 brought her along so all the girls could be together
Family #3
DW organizer and planner, another type A to go along with me.
DH our favourite pirate! Loves rides and has fun
DD 12yr old another one of the best friends
DD 8 yr old friend and classmate of the other 8 yr olds on the trip.
Family #4
DW truly enjoys the magic of Disney.
DH always said he didnt want to do or like Disney but is now a convert
DD 12yr, one of the best friends, has fun long with all the rest
DD 9yr old that is happy to go along with the older or younger ones on the trip.
A little bit of background
We love to travel to Disney and have taken our kids when they were very young, and have discovered this is the best place to vacation with children of any age as they are accepted anywhere in the world and life is made easy by Disney for families with kids of all ages. We have also travelled to Disney by ourselves, yes without kids and have enjoyed these trips as much as those with the kids. We have stayed in every level of resort from value to Deluxe. We have personally toured every resort except for Pop. We have stayed at 6 of the Disney resorts, Poly, Contemporary, The Golf Resort (back in 1980 when it was called that), The Caribbean Beach, All Star Music, and All Star Sports. We would never really be interested in staying offsite as we feel part of the experience of the trip is being on the Disney property. However we always consider it when planning each trip. We have now created 3 Poly lovers who dont want to stay anywhere else. Fine for now but when they are older we will be considering renting DVC points and doing the Beach Club or possibly renting a vacation home and also venturing outside the world to Universal or Sea World!
So we usually do Disney every 2 years and save for the trip for 2 year starting the day we get back. We do the money jar thing for spending money and do account down every trip on our white board in the kitchen! We also have travelled in October for the past 5 trips, we love this time of year as we have the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday and the crowds at Disney are low, the MNSSHP is on as well as the Food and Wine festival. The weather is also great! In all of these trips we have never been hit by a hurricane, we have either arrived after or left just before, have experienced your typical afternoon rain but always very warm.
When planning this trip friends were interested in tagging along, as they wanted to do Disney and knew how we had planned our trips. Well it mushroomed into all the families travelling together and turned out to be an amazing trip. Many people couldnt travel as a group this size as it would have been a nightmare. However this group of friends is amazing. All of us have spent time together at cottages, or skiing or just socially around our homes. All the kids are well behaved and get along. I explained to everyone that I didnt expect anyone to do what we were doing, I would give them our plan and they could choose to or not follow my regimen. Everyone booked their own accommodations flights and tickets. I made the priority seatings and suggested the tickets to be purchased. Family #2 and #4 hadnt been to Disney with the kids but Family #3 had and knew what they wanted.
Family #2 and #4 stayed offsite at a Condo they were able to get at a great price. Family #2 could only stay for the first 6 days of the trip so the other family moved on Site to the Coronado after the other left. Family #4 stayed the entire time at the Coronado. We stayed at the Poly.
We all flew on Southwest out of Buffalo, great for us Canadians so close to the border, so much cheaper and easier than flying out of Toronto. We all love Southwest.
So here we go
Day One Thursday Oct 6th Our 16th Anniversary.
Family #4 had already left for MCO this morning as they didnt want to be that late getting in, something I now realize was a great idea even if it meant missing another day of school. Schools out. We all pick up our kids and families 1,2, and 3 head to the border and to Buffalo airport. We make a quick stop at Circuit City to purchase a new video camera. Parked at Sunpark instead of at the airport to save money, great service and so close to the airport would recommend this! Great SWA flt to MCO. Dumb moment #1 the kids brought their homework and their pencil cases right from school. Going through the security check they stop my daughters carry on and take her little scissors, the boys two pairs pass through, our fault, we should have pulled them and packed them, however I find it funny they only pulled 1 of 3 pairs. Kids do homework and sit together and we are there in 2.5 hrs. We planned the timing of this 10-day trip around our Thanksgiving holiday. The kids all got the Friday and Monday off so they only missed 4 days of school for this 10-night 11-day trip. We used Magic Express, this was great, very well organized and I loved not having to handle our 4 almost overweight bags! Magic Express users, you need to put those little yellow tags on your bags. I could not believe the number of people who got up to the desk to say they didnt put those tags on their bags but had them in their hands? not sure how they thought Disney was going to know which bags were theirs, Disney must have this happen all the time as they had a laminated sheet with different photos of bags so that people could describe their luggage so the ME people could find it rather than having these people going to the carousel. The Disney people from what we saw were very understanding and patient with those travellers who didnt quite read or understand the entire system. We had been given vouchers with our ME tags that we brought to our Gift Shop and received a free lanyard and a ME bus pin, the pin is nice and the lanyard was nice enough, just a plane black one .The others rented from L&M and picked up their cars and headed off to the resort. They were not too impressed with L&M and had issues with the vehicles they were first given. Kids loved the bus and the movie about Disney. It was very damp outside and looked like it just stopped raining. Arrived at the Poly did check in and it was 11pm. We had requested Tokelau but ended up in ground floor Samoa facing the Volcano pool. I immediately requested a room change, no go, you are on a waiting list. OK. The room was small compared to those in Tokelau and looked a bit beaten up, it had a great view of the Volcano pool so for some this would have been a bonus, for us, not so much, and we knew how noisy and busy this room could seem. We had a nice Anniversary Card from Mickey and Minnie in the room. Thank goodness. I had pre-ordered champagne and cheese and fruit directly from Poly room service and it was delivered around midnight. We enjoyed this as we settled in as did the kids who miraculously awakened as the food arrive. At 1:24 am I got the call the bags had arrived. They asked if I wanted them delivered now or to wait. I said bring them now. Nobody else including DH woke up as they were delivered. I knew they would be late and when we checked in the front desk asked if we wanted them that night. You could have chosen to have them hold them till the morning, but I wanted mine. I couldnt really feel settled, as I didnt unpack knowing I was going to change rooms. At that moment I wished we had taken another day off of school and flew in the morning.
Day 2 Friday Oct 7th
6:30am I was up and made coffee in the bathroom, oh did I mention no fridge in the room, I didnt bother calling for one last night as I knew were going to change rooms and that our grocery order wasn't arriving till noon. There were only decaf packets in the bathroom, so I pulled out my stash of coffee and filters I brought in the food suitcase. I made the most horrifically strong coffee and only had coffee mate to put in it. We were up so early as we planned to do EMH at the MK, but my goodness. I looked at the park hours and this week it had changed no EMH for MK on the Friday am, the park is opening at 9am. Got a call from the offsite families They had a rough night checking in as there condos were not ready and one of the kids wasnt well so they decided to spend the am settling in and would meet us at lunch. Dis Fam #4 was in for EMH so I called them and let them know it was 9 am not 8am. No time for Kona coffee to the MK we go, on the monorail, loved that first ride, pinch me am I really here. I felt almost fuzzy, as I couldnt believe it was actually happening. I am pathetic or what!
Family #3 is late and they called us on the cell that they had waited for 1 hr for an MK bus and to go on in. Generally the bus system was great but there were times for al of us when we had to wait an extended period of time for a bus. Did all of tomorrow land, met up with Family 3. Everything was a walk on. Did all the mountains and then did Fantasyland. Magic Kingdom was very quiet. We never ended up doing any EMH mornings and this turned out to be a good thing. The one day we went to a park with EMH it was the busiest. I headed back to the poly to meet the other families and the WeGo shop delivery. Wego shop was great, they called me that morning to confirm a few items and them to coordinate and exact time to meet them. I would also recommend using them. Not getting a rental car or using a car service was a big savings, so the additional $20+ to get this service was more than worth it. The time alone was worth it. Others stayed to ride, Pooh and Small world. I got back and checked with the front desk, yes we were moving to Tokelau and the room was almost ready, they had given us a late check out on our Samoa room so we could stay there till 1pnm. The others arrived at our Samoa room. A bit of mass confusing as we moved rooms, fed all the kids had a fridge delivered to the new room (again no fridge in this Deluxe room!) others arrived back from the parks and finally we all sat down at the quiet pool for a time out with wine, beer and sandwiches. Whew! Loved the new room 3rd floor 3928, would have loved 3915 closer to the beach but just happy to be back in Tokelau. We were now a together, had fed the kids unpacked the groceries and had a bit of a breather.
Did I mention he temperate 90+ and 100% humidity, didnt know it could be that humid without raining in fact the entire trip expect for the last 2 days were like this. The hottest we have ever had in October, yahoo, we love this, humidity was fine too, we were used to that. The sun often shone in the afternoon and then it was almost unbearable but for us who experience snow we loved this knowing all to soon we would be back in the frigid north!
Off to MGM! Family at the Coronado had gone back to their hotel so we met them at the gate. Arrived at MGM and were able to ride R n Roller coaster and Tower of Terror before our PS at H&V for a Fantasmic dinner package. It was so hot! Sun was out and even the water from the drinking fountains was hot. H&V was OK, but the kids didnt really eat their moneys worth, I think because it was too darn hot. Nice buffet wouldnt likely go back. I would spend the extra money and do Brown Derby. The girls had gone to the gift shop and bought DH and I wedding Mickey Ears for our Anniversary, very cute and thoughtful. My head was too big to wear them but I vowed to pin them on before the end of the rip. Rode a few rides before Fantasmic and got to Oscars in time. Everyone was wowed by Fantasmic. It had been cancelled the night before because of weather and we thought for sure tonight would also since a major lighting storm was all around, luckily it passed and the show went on. Wow what a great show!
Back to the room and I unpacked and finally felt organized.
Day 3 Saturday Oct 8th
Did MGM for opening, everyone there for the official opening. Did, all the majors and had perfect timing for shows and rides, it was all to well orchestrated, pats on the back for DW#4 and me! The others thought we had planned all of this but truly we got lucky, most rides were walk ons. The best was when DH #2 found Mickey in his back stage area just waiting for people. We got a great group shot with him, a very magic moment. I had picked up a Photopass card in MK yesterday and then used this throughout the trip. Also a great idea, we ordered a number of photos there but I went on line and they are not anymore expensive doing it from home. Just beware, if you want to view you Epcot pictures you had to view them at Epcot, they couldnt show you them in the MK. I thought this was odd, however when we were at the Grand Floridian in the gift shop they had the ability to view and print all the parks. I asked why, he said they used the internet technology not just the cards?? As well if you are there for more than a week you cant view your photos. I was in MK on the Sunday and they couldnt show me my photos from the previous Friday. However again I could view them a t the shop??? Anyhow, we can view all of them at home and put on the little borders etc.
Had our first Turkey legs (love these) and McDonalds Fries. Went to the Stunt show, very bizarre thing happened, one of the stunts had an accident. The motorbike hit a car and the show stopped. The main announcer came out and basically said some times thing dont go as planned so we now need to regroup, see you later that was it. We all thought it was a bit of a trick, not very Disney, like they never had it happen before. We never saw the end of the show and everyone left the theatre. The rider was OK, thank goodness. Everyone was beat, back to the hotels and to get ready for the adults night out at the Party for The Senses. We ordered Pizza from Poly room service, great pizza, but beware. They charge a delivery fee for room service, which is fine, but as I noticed later they also included an 18% gratuity charge and then when he presented the bill it had a line for tip, which I added in. So basically for a $16.99 pizza I paid a $12+ tip! My fault as I didnt read the tip was included not sure who also got the delivery charge, but hope it was the Cast member who delivered it. Not sure about that whole thing, delivery charge plus gratuity already added and then keeping the line of the bill for grat, beware!
Still very hot as the adults off to Epcot with no Kids, we had planned to do the Concert first but opted for trying some champagne at France and visiting other booths. To the party we go. We all met up in the reception area and enjoyed the Cirque performers.
The Party for the Senses seems expensive $95 each adult USD, but truly an amazing night. All the gourmet food and great wines, liquor and beer you could drink. All enjoyed! We even got to meet a local winemaker who has a winery in our city and was there at a station. The food, amazing, this is our 2nd party, we did the one in 2003 as well. Our faves, the Kobe beef and the shredded duck. If you know your wines you will be able to realize that you could drink $50 bottle of wines +. What a great event. We had tried every food station. The wine glassed we got to keep. Large Crystal goblets, but I am not too impressed with the logo on them for this years 10th anniversary. The one from 2 years ago (the logo) was better. However the 2 wine glasses made it home safe and sound and are wonderful.
Just before 9pm they ushered us out to see the fireworks, we got plastic Disney cups for any leftover drinks and a bag for our wine glass. I couldnt get a copy of the evening program and menu as I had given it up earlier, didnt want to carry it. So if anyone has an extra one I would love to get it. Watched Illuminations and then headed home.
Back to the Poly by 10:30.
Day 4 Sunday Oct 9th
To Epcot we go, everyone there at the gate for opening, wow what a great group!!!!!!
Highlights
Soarin! this is a great ride, if you have choice pick section B. Mission Space and Test track. All the majors and then one of the girls wasnt feeling well. I took her back to the poly as I had already seen everything at EPCOT. We went back, she napped and I got to finally really organize the room. It was a good time for her and me. After the rest had their fill of Epcot they came back to the Poly some of the other went to the Coronado for the downtime. We all rested and then went to the beach for a swim and to ride the water mice!
Everyone fed, watered and rested and back to Epcot to do World Showcase. Kids all did the KidCot stations and we managed to get from Mexico to Japan before illuminations. We did however find that we preferred to do the countries in daylight it was difficult at night to keep track of the group and enjoy each country. This is the first time we really found it was busy, likely because of the food festival. Anyhow, watched the illuminations from Japan, this time with all he kids. Highlights if the night were Margaritas in Mexico, Pretzels in Germany and beer everywhere. Low lights, the really bad service at any food stand, festival or not. I found this the most annoying part of the trip. We lined up in every park for snacks and were serviced so poorly, simply not enough staffing for the people. It made me crazy that in Epcot I could not purchase popcorn, it got to be a joke. The one stand that actually had some was a 20-minute line, which my DS and I endured, to come to the front of the line and discovered that they had no popcorn boxes left and no popcorn popped, as he had been too busy. I wanted to jump back there and help the poor guy! He gave my son the scraps left in the tray for free, which was very nice of him.
Headed out of the park after Illuminations but stopped at Mousegears as promissed, oh boy, the kids came back to life with the thought of spending money. Had a laugh when we ran into a friend from our hometown! Its a small world after all OK dont start that again.
Had a magical moment as we got to ride the front of the monorail!!! Love staying at the Poly, as it is so convenient to the TTC Monorail as well.
Day 5 Monday Oct 10th
On Safari we go. To AK for am. Did all the majors in the AM, got a FP for Dinosaur, but it ended up broken down in the afternoon. This trip we had experienced the largest number of breakdowns, we ended up stopped on 5 different rides and for more than just a minute or 2. However this always give you that chance to really appreciate al the details! Ate at Tusker House, we really enjoyed the food here, I had ordered a Roast Chicken meal to split with DS, many of the other kids had the chicken leg meal that came with mashed potatoes and gravy. Yummy but not enough food for the older ones, they could have done the roast chicken meal. The adults enjoyed a beer in the 100% humidity; wow did a Kenyan Amber taste good.
Back to hotels for rest. Some decided (of course us) to do MK for the evening for Spectro Magic and Wishes. Did rides as well but noticed how busy things were late afternoon. Got to see the parade, ride the majors and see the fireworks before heading back for a good nights sleep. Closed the park again! This is a vacation right? I wouldnt have it any other way.
Day 6 Tuesday Oct 11th last Full day For Family #2 boohoo.
This was our first real sleep in day as we were doing Blizzard beach then MNSSHP. Met at Blizzard beach and spent the day enjoying the water park. The offsite group packed coolers for a deli lunch buffet! This was great! Did all the slides with little waits. I followed the touring plan for BB that someone had posted on the DIS; it worked well doing the family raft ride first. We also rode the chair lift on the first ride up which was nice! We got some of the group photos from the family ride, as they were great! It was hot again so we were all starting to feel it. Back to the hotels to get ready for MNSSHP.
Met at MK for at LTT PS at 5:20. Got a funny phone call from Family #4 that DW was held at the gate because of her costume. They wanted her to buy shorts to wear under her hula skirt. Truly an overreaction by Disney as she was fully covered under her skirt. We all had a good laugh, as she is a very conservative person. Great dinner at LTT, again all the kids even the older ones didnt eat their money worth, too excited for the party. Off to Tomorrow land and photos and then all the rides. This was our 3rd MNSSHP and I really noticed a difference in the decorating and scare factor. It was a bit understated compared to past parties but still good. A CM told us none of the rides were open till 7pm, yah right, everything was open and walks on. Rode Space Mountain 3 times walk on, and everything else we wanted. Did treat stations when they were convenient. Parade and fireworks were great. Got stuck on Pirates for 30minutes, they actually turned all the lights on. The pirates kept singing the entire time!! They gave us handfuls of candy when we got off. However this made us too late for any other ride except for Aladdin. Finished Adventure land and then headed home. Went back on the boat to the Poly. Said goodbye to Family #2. Boohoo they would be back in Canada in 24hrs.
Day 7 Wednesday Oct 12th
Well we slept in till 8am, I was wide-awake earlier but he kids actually had a good sleep. Kids did some homework and then got organized for the day. Had some coffee and then went to the Kona Café for breakfast. DH had Tonga toast, yummy! Kids ate great. Had a great meal and then headed to Disney quest for an 11:30am opening. Met all the others at Disney Quest. Family $2 that was leaving did their shopping at Downtown Disney before boarding their plane. After 4 hrs in DQ we went to DTD. I would highly recommend going to DQ for opening. It was dead for the 1st 2 hours and then started to pick up. We were able to-do all the VR games many times and got the run of the place for 2 hrs.
Did DTD Disney, starting with a stop at McDonalds for the boys. Then did the shops. Everyone was starting to fade including DH whose attitude was a bit off. Did Goofys Candy Company, another cool thing form the Boards. You get a choice of Caramel apple; Mickey shaped rice Crispy treat, Jumbo Oreo, pretzel rod, etc. Then you pick what it is dipped in and what it is topped with. Think of every meltable and dippable candy. They make it, chill it box it and call it out for you to pick up. Mine of course chose the caramel apples. These are way to big. Convince your kids to choose the cookie, or pretzel rod or even the rice crispy treat. Very fun and good. But we ended up throwing most of the apple out before the end of the trip. Ended up at Earl of Sandwich for Dinner for the rest of us. Thanks again DIS boards for this suggestion. What a great meal. I highly recommend this to adults and kids, got great sandwiches, well priced. Headed by bus to the Coronado to visit the 2 families now there. Met them on the bridge to the Cabanas. Great location. Funny thing about the alligator that was discussed on these boards, they have videos and photos of it. It swam in the canal beside their cabana and into the main lake. I forgot the size difference of these rooms compared to the deluxe. They were very nice but much smaller. The theming of this resort is very nice and I really liked the way they had the curtain in the room to section off the vanity area. I like this best of all the moderates. All the kids and adults went to the pool, kids swam. The men decided they needed to go to Wal-Mart for a snack, water and beer run. The ladies and kids headed to the Pepper Market to feed the gang. What a great restaurant, for us Canucks think of it as a Movenpik Marche concept. The food was made to order at stations and you carried your chit around and then had it stamped as you ordered. You paid as you left the eating area after you ate. My kids snacked on their apples from Goofy Candy Company and these were the talk of the restaurant, even the manger came to see them.
We all went back to one of the rooms then we headed back to the Poly. We planned to take the bus back to the MK then transfer to the monorail or boat to the Poly, however the first bus to the stop was unmarked and the driver offered to take us directly to the Poly, yahoo more Disney Magic. Fireworks were just going off as we got back to the Poly but we were too tired to go to the beach to watch!
Day 8 Thursday Oct 13th
To Animal Kingdom for opening to finish off anything undone and then lunch at Chahandri Chicken yummy! Had the cold Thai noodle salad and DD had the stir-fry, both were excellent. Others had the spicy wonton soup, they said it was amazing. Some of the best counter service is in AK. Of course my DS had McDonalds fries! Hopped parks to Epcot to finish the countries and complete the Kidcot masks. When they completed their masks and had all the countries stamps they were given a special poster and the CM from Morocco wrote a special message on the back for them. We had some Sushi at the F&W stations, good but $$ for 3 small pieces. Others also tried some of the curry and the Mexican offerings. Finished the countries, shopping and then tried to get on rides in Future World. This was EMH night for Epcot and it was busy. The first time we really experienced a packed park. I took 2 of our kids back and DH stayed with Middle child along with one of the other dads and kids to do Soarin. The ride was listed as a 70-minute wait. However it was only 30 by the time they rode. They were back not too much longer after us!
Day 9 Friday Oct 14th
A bit more sleep in.
We headed to Typhoon for opening and met up with the gang, which were now 13. Set up camp at the wave pool then did Crush Gusher, good but not as long as we suspected. It is a series of 3 slides not one long one as I suspected. Lots of fun, no waits. There is a very large beach area around this new ride, a great place to set up camp if you want quiet, it has restrooms and tons of lounges, which were deserted when we were there. As the Crush Gusher is a bit out of the main area of the park it seems they may be looking at doing more water rides in this area with the amount of seating and beach are they have built, it also seemed they were still constructing some other area beyond Crush Gusher.
Did the rest of the park slides and wave pool. Still like the slides better at BB but this wave pool is the best. Decided we wanted to do lunch at Earl of Sandwich, no problem all the buses stop at DTD after TL, right, well no, apparently not in the afternoon! It was a story of you cant get there from here and nobody knows. Every bus driver and cast member at TL gave us a different story. Finally get to DTD via bus to Port Orleans. Nightmare on the Disney bus system as nobody had the answer. Great lunch makes up for delay.
Brought all the kids back to our room in the Poly. Adults night out again. Lids wanted to stay in to watch Twitches on Disney TV, they are getting there fix of channels we dont get a t home. Went out the Board Walk, Boardwalk was busy, had a hard time getting a drink as the Club Jelly rolls was empty but they were charging a cover, decided it wasnt worth it. Lined up at a kiosk on the boardwalk to buy a beer but the cash wasnt working another Disney, kiosk snafu. Got our drinks then walked to the Beach Club to tour as ESPN was packed. Had a nice visit then took a cab back to the kids, should have saved our time and had drinks in the Contemporary Top of the World Lounge!
Kids were all good and sleeping except for the babysitters.
Day 10 Saturday Oct 15th.
We went to MK for opening, all the other people slept in. Did all the majors without wait. Had lunch at the noodle station. This is great. I recommend any of the noodle bowls, but not the chicken stir-fry. The egg rolls all have shrimp so beware of you dont like that. They are good for those of us who like shrimp. Another great suggestion from the DIS boards. We sat by the rail and watched Cinderellabration. It was empty and wonderful. Did more rides to finish off everything in MK we wanted to do. Shopped and then met up with one of the other moms to head to GF to the business centre to do online check in for SWA. We took the boat to GF. As we left the MK the Wishes parade was happening, first time we saw it and it was nice! Hot again!!! Other DW and I go off the boat at the GF as others went on to the Poly. Disney Family #4 stayed in the MK for the rest of the day as they arrived a bit later. We walked through The GF shopped and watched a wedding in progress in the lobby. Got to the business centre and checked in. However be aware that the online time is cheap $10 for 15minutes, however they charge you $1 per page to print!!!! So it cost us $23 for the boarding passes, we laughed paid it and lesson learned since we could have printed them off for free in the airport. All A boarding passes of course!
Got back to the Poly in time to change for the Luau. There were 2 families 9 of us for the 5:15 show. Had a great time, good food and the show was fine. However would choose the Hoop Dee Doo over the Luau. I hadn't done the Luau since 91, but have done the HDD many times and feel it is a better show and food.
Went back to the room and quickly got organized to go back into MK, as it was open late. Put on our Anniversary Ears and headed out. Met the other family and did BTMR and Jungle Cruise before setting out on the boat back to the poly for Fireworks on the Beach. We all enjoyed wishes and then headed back to the room. Adult enjoyed drinks on the balcony while the kids rested and one of the families headed back to the Coronado. Oh my goodness this is our last night, boohoo.
Day 11 Sunday Oct 16th
Up early I cant sleep in. Started pack while enjoying coffee and donuts from Kona Café. I told the kids if we got organized early enough we could go back to the MK to shop, but no rides, ya right Mom!
Well amazing how fast everyone cooperated. We were back in the MK at 10:30am. We had arranged that morning for a late check out so we were good as we were all packed and organized. Did all the shops in Main Street and then headed to the Splash Mountain shop for a t-shirt my DS wanted. Well, Splash M was only a 5-minute wait so we had to ride; I was as excited as the kids, did the ride and then finished shopping the MK. Stopped at VMK on Main Street. Attention any VMK users. Go to this on your way into the park. There are trivia questions you can pick up. If you answer them correctly and bring them back they give you codes for points on VMK. Also they re great questions but you need to research the answers as you do the park. A great way to get the kids interested in all the little details. As well if you purchased a pin at the Outpost in Frontier land they gave you a VMK code to use online to get your character a special pin. Left almost in tears, as it was so wonderful vacation. Back to the Poly, did the rest of the hotel shops and then grabbed lunch for the room from Captain Cooks. Boutiki is a great new shop. No time for a swim as we had to be in the lobby for a 1:15 Magic Express pickup.
Well it was a great time and we loaded the bus, ME users please make sure you bring your paperwork, the booklet you get from Disney with you to the return bus. The driver was so frustrated as people didnt have them; he finally gave up and just had everyone load the bus. This time it was a Mears bus with a little ME sign on the side. The bus on the way to the resort was the neat painted ME bus. No movie on the way back to the airport. Met up with the rest of the group at MCO, thoroughly depressed. Kids did homework on the departure lounge and on the plane. As we landed in Buffalo at 6:45pm we were welcomed to a chilly north wind. Back on Canadian soil, at 8pm after a stop at Duty Free and a wait at the border due to a Bills Game.
We picked up pizza before getting home and them settled in to a chilly home.
Oh I wish I was back at the Poly. What a great trip.
I am writing this trip report as I sip white wine from my 10th anniversary Food and Wine Festival Glass we got at PFTS. The wine has a new 50th anniversary wine stopper on it and I just put my antenna topper on my car this morning! Its now pouring rain here, fall has arrived in Niagara and hurricane Wilma is threatening Florida, timing is everything. I think I enjoy the planning as much as the actual trip!
CAST
17 Canadians, who have traveled to a cottage together and who all enjoy each others company
Family #1
Me Type A, obsessive planner and Disney nut; this is my 10th time to the world. First exposed to Disney by my parents in 1976 and stayed onsite ever since! Poly Princess!
DH - just happy to be there and have me tell him what to do.
DD 12 yr old who loves Disney and is getting into the planning of the trip.
DS 8 yr old, loves Disney and is a roller coaster nut! Knows more about Disney than most adults.
DS 7 yr old loves Disney and is adventurous and likes his rides as well, constantly plays the Disney CD planner!
Family #2
Decided they wanted to experience Disney along with us experienced Disney nuts.
DW Loves rides and always has a good time
DH not a big ride fan but loves all the details of Disney
DD best friend of all the 12 yr olds on the trip, loves rides and adventure
DD2 best friend of all the others but whose parents couldnt make the trip so Family #2 brought her along so all the girls could be together
Family #3
DW organizer and planner, another type A to go along with me.
DH our favourite pirate! Loves rides and has fun
DD 12yr old another one of the best friends
DD 8 yr old friend and classmate of the other 8 yr olds on the trip.
Family #4
DW truly enjoys the magic of Disney.
DH always said he didnt want to do or like Disney but is now a convert
DD 12yr, one of the best friends, has fun long with all the rest
DD 9yr old that is happy to go along with the older or younger ones on the trip.
A little bit of background
We love to travel to Disney and have taken our kids when they were very young, and have discovered this is the best place to vacation with children of any age as they are accepted anywhere in the world and life is made easy by Disney for families with kids of all ages. We have also travelled to Disney by ourselves, yes without kids and have enjoyed these trips as much as those with the kids. We have stayed in every level of resort from value to Deluxe. We have personally toured every resort except for Pop. We have stayed at 6 of the Disney resorts, Poly, Contemporary, The Golf Resort (back in 1980 when it was called that), The Caribbean Beach, All Star Music, and All Star Sports. We would never really be interested in staying offsite as we feel part of the experience of the trip is being on the Disney property. However we always consider it when planning each trip. We have now created 3 Poly lovers who dont want to stay anywhere else. Fine for now but when they are older we will be considering renting DVC points and doing the Beach Club or possibly renting a vacation home and also venturing outside the world to Universal or Sea World!
So we usually do Disney every 2 years and save for the trip for 2 year starting the day we get back. We do the money jar thing for spending money and do account down every trip on our white board in the kitchen! We also have travelled in October for the past 5 trips, we love this time of year as we have the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday and the crowds at Disney are low, the MNSSHP is on as well as the Food and Wine festival. The weather is also great! In all of these trips we have never been hit by a hurricane, we have either arrived after or left just before, have experienced your typical afternoon rain but always very warm.
When planning this trip friends were interested in tagging along, as they wanted to do Disney and knew how we had planned our trips. Well it mushroomed into all the families travelling together and turned out to be an amazing trip. Many people couldnt travel as a group this size as it would have been a nightmare. However this group of friends is amazing. All of us have spent time together at cottages, or skiing or just socially around our homes. All the kids are well behaved and get along. I explained to everyone that I didnt expect anyone to do what we were doing, I would give them our plan and they could choose to or not follow my regimen. Everyone booked their own accommodations flights and tickets. I made the priority seatings and suggested the tickets to be purchased. Family #2 and #4 hadnt been to Disney with the kids but Family #3 had and knew what they wanted.
Family #2 and #4 stayed offsite at a Condo they were able to get at a great price. Family #2 could only stay for the first 6 days of the trip so the other family moved on Site to the Coronado after the other left. Family #4 stayed the entire time at the Coronado. We stayed at the Poly.
We all flew on Southwest out of Buffalo, great for us Canadians so close to the border, so much cheaper and easier than flying out of Toronto. We all love Southwest.
So here we go
Day One Thursday Oct 6th Our 16th Anniversary.
Family #4 had already left for MCO this morning as they didnt want to be that late getting in, something I now realize was a great idea even if it meant missing another day of school. Schools out. We all pick up our kids and families 1,2, and 3 head to the border and to Buffalo airport. We make a quick stop at Circuit City to purchase a new video camera. Parked at Sunpark instead of at the airport to save money, great service and so close to the airport would recommend this! Great SWA flt to MCO. Dumb moment #1 the kids brought their homework and their pencil cases right from school. Going through the security check they stop my daughters carry on and take her little scissors, the boys two pairs pass through, our fault, we should have pulled them and packed them, however I find it funny they only pulled 1 of 3 pairs. Kids do homework and sit together and we are there in 2.5 hrs. We planned the timing of this 10-day trip around our Thanksgiving holiday. The kids all got the Friday and Monday off so they only missed 4 days of school for this 10-night 11-day trip. We used Magic Express, this was great, very well organized and I loved not having to handle our 4 almost overweight bags! Magic Express users, you need to put those little yellow tags on your bags. I could not believe the number of people who got up to the desk to say they didnt put those tags on their bags but had them in their hands? not sure how they thought Disney was going to know which bags were theirs, Disney must have this happen all the time as they had a laminated sheet with different photos of bags so that people could describe their luggage so the ME people could find it rather than having these people going to the carousel. The Disney people from what we saw were very understanding and patient with those travellers who didnt quite read or understand the entire system. We had been given vouchers with our ME tags that we brought to our Gift Shop and received a free lanyard and a ME bus pin, the pin is nice and the lanyard was nice enough, just a plane black one .The others rented from L&M and picked up their cars and headed off to the resort. They were not too impressed with L&M and had issues with the vehicles they were first given. Kids loved the bus and the movie about Disney. It was very damp outside and looked like it just stopped raining. Arrived at the Poly did check in and it was 11pm. We had requested Tokelau but ended up in ground floor Samoa facing the Volcano pool. I immediately requested a room change, no go, you are on a waiting list. OK. The room was small compared to those in Tokelau and looked a bit beaten up, it had a great view of the Volcano pool so for some this would have been a bonus, for us, not so much, and we knew how noisy and busy this room could seem. We had a nice Anniversary Card from Mickey and Minnie in the room. Thank goodness. I had pre-ordered champagne and cheese and fruit directly from Poly room service and it was delivered around midnight. We enjoyed this as we settled in as did the kids who miraculously awakened as the food arrive. At 1:24 am I got the call the bags had arrived. They asked if I wanted them delivered now or to wait. I said bring them now. Nobody else including DH woke up as they were delivered. I knew they would be late and when we checked in the front desk asked if we wanted them that night. You could have chosen to have them hold them till the morning, but I wanted mine. I couldnt really feel settled, as I didnt unpack knowing I was going to change rooms. At that moment I wished we had taken another day off of school and flew in the morning.
Day 2 Friday Oct 7th
6:30am I was up and made coffee in the bathroom, oh did I mention no fridge in the room, I didnt bother calling for one last night as I knew were going to change rooms and that our grocery order wasn't arriving till noon. There were only decaf packets in the bathroom, so I pulled out my stash of coffee and filters I brought in the food suitcase. I made the most horrifically strong coffee and only had coffee mate to put in it. We were up so early as we planned to do EMH at the MK, but my goodness. I looked at the park hours and this week it had changed no EMH for MK on the Friday am, the park is opening at 9am. Got a call from the offsite families They had a rough night checking in as there condos were not ready and one of the kids wasnt well so they decided to spend the am settling in and would meet us at lunch. Dis Fam #4 was in for EMH so I called them and let them know it was 9 am not 8am. No time for Kona coffee to the MK we go, on the monorail, loved that first ride, pinch me am I really here. I felt almost fuzzy, as I couldnt believe it was actually happening. I am pathetic or what!
Family #3 is late and they called us on the cell that they had waited for 1 hr for an MK bus and to go on in. Generally the bus system was great but there were times for al of us when we had to wait an extended period of time for a bus. Did all of tomorrow land, met up with Family 3. Everything was a walk on. Did all the mountains and then did Fantasyland. Magic Kingdom was very quiet. We never ended up doing any EMH mornings and this turned out to be a good thing. The one day we went to a park with EMH it was the busiest. I headed back to the poly to meet the other families and the WeGo shop delivery. Wego shop was great, they called me that morning to confirm a few items and them to coordinate and exact time to meet them. I would also recommend using them. Not getting a rental car or using a car service was a big savings, so the additional $20+ to get this service was more than worth it. The time alone was worth it. Others stayed to ride, Pooh and Small world. I got back and checked with the front desk, yes we were moving to Tokelau and the room was almost ready, they had given us a late check out on our Samoa room so we could stay there till 1pnm. The others arrived at our Samoa room. A bit of mass confusing as we moved rooms, fed all the kids had a fridge delivered to the new room (again no fridge in this Deluxe room!) others arrived back from the parks and finally we all sat down at the quiet pool for a time out with wine, beer and sandwiches. Whew! Loved the new room 3rd floor 3928, would have loved 3915 closer to the beach but just happy to be back in Tokelau. We were now a together, had fed the kids unpacked the groceries and had a bit of a breather.
Did I mention he temperate 90+ and 100% humidity, didnt know it could be that humid without raining in fact the entire trip expect for the last 2 days were like this. The hottest we have ever had in October, yahoo, we love this, humidity was fine too, we were used to that. The sun often shone in the afternoon and then it was almost unbearable but for us who experience snow we loved this knowing all to soon we would be back in the frigid north!
Off to MGM! Family at the Coronado had gone back to their hotel so we met them at the gate. Arrived at MGM and were able to ride R n Roller coaster and Tower of Terror before our PS at H&V for a Fantasmic dinner package. It was so hot! Sun was out and even the water from the drinking fountains was hot. H&V was OK, but the kids didnt really eat their moneys worth, I think because it was too darn hot. Nice buffet wouldnt likely go back. I would spend the extra money and do Brown Derby. The girls had gone to the gift shop and bought DH and I wedding Mickey Ears for our Anniversary, very cute and thoughtful. My head was too big to wear them but I vowed to pin them on before the end of the rip. Rode a few rides before Fantasmic and got to Oscars in time. Everyone was wowed by Fantasmic. It had been cancelled the night before because of weather and we thought for sure tonight would also since a major lighting storm was all around, luckily it passed and the show went on. Wow what a great show!
Back to the room and I unpacked and finally felt organized.
Day 3 Saturday Oct 8th
Did MGM for opening, everyone there for the official opening. Did, all the majors and had perfect timing for shows and rides, it was all to well orchestrated, pats on the back for DW#4 and me! The others thought we had planned all of this but truly we got lucky, most rides were walk ons. The best was when DH #2 found Mickey in his back stage area just waiting for people. We got a great group shot with him, a very magic moment. I had picked up a Photopass card in MK yesterday and then used this throughout the trip. Also a great idea, we ordered a number of photos there but I went on line and they are not anymore expensive doing it from home. Just beware, if you want to view you Epcot pictures you had to view them at Epcot, they couldnt show you them in the MK. I thought this was odd, however when we were at the Grand Floridian in the gift shop they had the ability to view and print all the parks. I asked why, he said they used the internet technology not just the cards?? As well if you are there for more than a week you cant view your photos. I was in MK on the Sunday and they couldnt show me my photos from the previous Friday. However again I could view them a t the shop??? Anyhow, we can view all of them at home and put on the little borders etc.
Had our first Turkey legs (love these) and McDonalds Fries. Went to the Stunt show, very bizarre thing happened, one of the stunts had an accident. The motorbike hit a car and the show stopped. The main announcer came out and basically said some times thing dont go as planned so we now need to regroup, see you later that was it. We all thought it was a bit of a trick, not very Disney, like they never had it happen before. We never saw the end of the show and everyone left the theatre. The rider was OK, thank goodness. Everyone was beat, back to the hotels and to get ready for the adults night out at the Party for The Senses. We ordered Pizza from Poly room service, great pizza, but beware. They charge a delivery fee for room service, which is fine, but as I noticed later they also included an 18% gratuity charge and then when he presented the bill it had a line for tip, which I added in. So basically for a $16.99 pizza I paid a $12+ tip! My fault as I didnt read the tip was included not sure who also got the delivery charge, but hope it was the Cast member who delivered it. Not sure about that whole thing, delivery charge plus gratuity already added and then keeping the line of the bill for grat, beware!
Still very hot as the adults off to Epcot with no Kids, we had planned to do the Concert first but opted for trying some champagne at France and visiting other booths. To the party we go. We all met up in the reception area and enjoyed the Cirque performers.
The Party for the Senses seems expensive $95 each adult USD, but truly an amazing night. All the gourmet food and great wines, liquor and beer you could drink. All enjoyed! We even got to meet a local winemaker who has a winery in our city and was there at a station. The food, amazing, this is our 2nd party, we did the one in 2003 as well. Our faves, the Kobe beef and the shredded duck. If you know your wines you will be able to realize that you could drink $50 bottle of wines +. What a great event. We had tried every food station. The wine glassed we got to keep. Large Crystal goblets, but I am not too impressed with the logo on them for this years 10th anniversary. The one from 2 years ago (the logo) was better. However the 2 wine glasses made it home safe and sound and are wonderful.
Just before 9pm they ushered us out to see the fireworks, we got plastic Disney cups for any leftover drinks and a bag for our wine glass. I couldnt get a copy of the evening program and menu as I had given it up earlier, didnt want to carry it. So if anyone has an extra one I would love to get it. Watched Illuminations and then headed home.
Back to the Poly by 10:30.
Day 4 Sunday Oct 9th
To Epcot we go, everyone there at the gate for opening, wow what a great group!!!!!!
Highlights
Soarin! this is a great ride, if you have choice pick section B. Mission Space and Test track. All the majors and then one of the girls wasnt feeling well. I took her back to the poly as I had already seen everything at EPCOT. We went back, she napped and I got to finally really organize the room. It was a good time for her and me. After the rest had their fill of Epcot they came back to the Poly some of the other went to the Coronado for the downtime. We all rested and then went to the beach for a swim and to ride the water mice!
Everyone fed, watered and rested and back to Epcot to do World Showcase. Kids all did the KidCot stations and we managed to get from Mexico to Japan before illuminations. We did however find that we preferred to do the countries in daylight it was difficult at night to keep track of the group and enjoy each country. This is the first time we really found it was busy, likely because of the food festival. Anyhow, watched the illuminations from Japan, this time with all he kids. Highlights if the night were Margaritas in Mexico, Pretzels in Germany and beer everywhere. Low lights, the really bad service at any food stand, festival or not. I found this the most annoying part of the trip. We lined up in every park for snacks and were serviced so poorly, simply not enough staffing for the people. It made me crazy that in Epcot I could not purchase popcorn, it got to be a joke. The one stand that actually had some was a 20-minute line, which my DS and I endured, to come to the front of the line and discovered that they had no popcorn boxes left and no popcorn popped, as he had been too busy. I wanted to jump back there and help the poor guy! He gave my son the scraps left in the tray for free, which was very nice of him.
Headed out of the park after Illuminations but stopped at Mousegears as promissed, oh boy, the kids came back to life with the thought of spending money. Had a laugh when we ran into a friend from our hometown! Its a small world after all OK dont start that again.
Had a magical moment as we got to ride the front of the monorail!!! Love staying at the Poly, as it is so convenient to the TTC Monorail as well.
Day 5 Monday Oct 10th
On Safari we go. To AK for am. Did all the majors in the AM, got a FP for Dinosaur, but it ended up broken down in the afternoon. This trip we had experienced the largest number of breakdowns, we ended up stopped on 5 different rides and for more than just a minute or 2. However this always give you that chance to really appreciate al the details! Ate at Tusker House, we really enjoyed the food here, I had ordered a Roast Chicken meal to split with DS, many of the other kids had the chicken leg meal that came with mashed potatoes and gravy. Yummy but not enough food for the older ones, they could have done the roast chicken meal. The adults enjoyed a beer in the 100% humidity; wow did a Kenyan Amber taste good.
Back to hotels for rest. Some decided (of course us) to do MK for the evening for Spectro Magic and Wishes. Did rides as well but noticed how busy things were late afternoon. Got to see the parade, ride the majors and see the fireworks before heading back for a good nights sleep. Closed the park again! This is a vacation right? I wouldnt have it any other way.
Day 6 Tuesday Oct 11th last Full day For Family #2 boohoo.
This was our first real sleep in day as we were doing Blizzard beach then MNSSHP. Met at Blizzard beach and spent the day enjoying the water park. The offsite group packed coolers for a deli lunch buffet! This was great! Did all the slides with little waits. I followed the touring plan for BB that someone had posted on the DIS; it worked well doing the family raft ride first. We also rode the chair lift on the first ride up which was nice! We got some of the group photos from the family ride, as they were great! It was hot again so we were all starting to feel it. Back to the hotels to get ready for MNSSHP.
Met at MK for at LTT PS at 5:20. Got a funny phone call from Family #4 that DW was held at the gate because of her costume. They wanted her to buy shorts to wear under her hula skirt. Truly an overreaction by Disney as she was fully covered under her skirt. We all had a good laugh, as she is a very conservative person. Great dinner at LTT, again all the kids even the older ones didnt eat their money worth, too excited for the party. Off to Tomorrow land and photos and then all the rides. This was our 3rd MNSSHP and I really noticed a difference in the decorating and scare factor. It was a bit understated compared to past parties but still good. A CM told us none of the rides were open till 7pm, yah right, everything was open and walks on. Rode Space Mountain 3 times walk on, and everything else we wanted. Did treat stations when they were convenient. Parade and fireworks were great. Got stuck on Pirates for 30minutes, they actually turned all the lights on. The pirates kept singing the entire time!! They gave us handfuls of candy when we got off. However this made us too late for any other ride except for Aladdin. Finished Adventure land and then headed home. Went back on the boat to the Poly. Said goodbye to Family #2. Boohoo they would be back in Canada in 24hrs.
Day 7 Wednesday Oct 12th
Well we slept in till 8am, I was wide-awake earlier but he kids actually had a good sleep. Kids did some homework and then got organized for the day. Had some coffee and then went to the Kona Café for breakfast. DH had Tonga toast, yummy! Kids ate great. Had a great meal and then headed to Disney quest for an 11:30am opening. Met all the others at Disney Quest. Family $2 that was leaving did their shopping at Downtown Disney before boarding their plane. After 4 hrs in DQ we went to DTD. I would highly recommend going to DQ for opening. It was dead for the 1st 2 hours and then started to pick up. We were able to-do all the VR games many times and got the run of the place for 2 hrs.
Did DTD Disney, starting with a stop at McDonalds for the boys. Then did the shops. Everyone was starting to fade including DH whose attitude was a bit off. Did Goofys Candy Company, another cool thing form the Boards. You get a choice of Caramel apple; Mickey shaped rice Crispy treat, Jumbo Oreo, pretzel rod, etc. Then you pick what it is dipped in and what it is topped with. Think of every meltable and dippable candy. They make it, chill it box it and call it out for you to pick up. Mine of course chose the caramel apples. These are way to big. Convince your kids to choose the cookie, or pretzel rod or even the rice crispy treat. Very fun and good. But we ended up throwing most of the apple out before the end of the trip. Ended up at Earl of Sandwich for Dinner for the rest of us. Thanks again DIS boards for this suggestion. What a great meal. I highly recommend this to adults and kids, got great sandwiches, well priced. Headed by bus to the Coronado to visit the 2 families now there. Met them on the bridge to the Cabanas. Great location. Funny thing about the alligator that was discussed on these boards, they have videos and photos of it. It swam in the canal beside their cabana and into the main lake. I forgot the size difference of these rooms compared to the deluxe. They were very nice but much smaller. The theming of this resort is very nice and I really liked the way they had the curtain in the room to section off the vanity area. I like this best of all the moderates. All the kids and adults went to the pool, kids swam. The men decided they needed to go to Wal-Mart for a snack, water and beer run. The ladies and kids headed to the Pepper Market to feed the gang. What a great restaurant, for us Canucks think of it as a Movenpik Marche concept. The food was made to order at stations and you carried your chit around and then had it stamped as you ordered. You paid as you left the eating area after you ate. My kids snacked on their apples from Goofy Candy Company and these were the talk of the restaurant, even the manger came to see them.
We all went back to one of the rooms then we headed back to the Poly. We planned to take the bus back to the MK then transfer to the monorail or boat to the Poly, however the first bus to the stop was unmarked and the driver offered to take us directly to the Poly, yahoo more Disney Magic. Fireworks were just going off as we got back to the Poly but we were too tired to go to the beach to watch!
Day 8 Thursday Oct 13th
To Animal Kingdom for opening to finish off anything undone and then lunch at Chahandri Chicken yummy! Had the cold Thai noodle salad and DD had the stir-fry, both were excellent. Others had the spicy wonton soup, they said it was amazing. Some of the best counter service is in AK. Of course my DS had McDonalds fries! Hopped parks to Epcot to finish the countries and complete the Kidcot masks. When they completed their masks and had all the countries stamps they were given a special poster and the CM from Morocco wrote a special message on the back for them. We had some Sushi at the F&W stations, good but $$ for 3 small pieces. Others also tried some of the curry and the Mexican offerings. Finished the countries, shopping and then tried to get on rides in Future World. This was EMH night for Epcot and it was busy. The first time we really experienced a packed park. I took 2 of our kids back and DH stayed with Middle child along with one of the other dads and kids to do Soarin. The ride was listed as a 70-minute wait. However it was only 30 by the time they rode. They were back not too much longer after us!
Day 9 Friday Oct 14th
A bit more sleep in.
We headed to Typhoon for opening and met up with the gang, which were now 13. Set up camp at the wave pool then did Crush Gusher, good but not as long as we suspected. It is a series of 3 slides not one long one as I suspected. Lots of fun, no waits. There is a very large beach area around this new ride, a great place to set up camp if you want quiet, it has restrooms and tons of lounges, which were deserted when we were there. As the Crush Gusher is a bit out of the main area of the park it seems they may be looking at doing more water rides in this area with the amount of seating and beach are they have built, it also seemed they were still constructing some other area beyond Crush Gusher.
Did the rest of the park slides and wave pool. Still like the slides better at BB but this wave pool is the best. Decided we wanted to do lunch at Earl of Sandwich, no problem all the buses stop at DTD after TL, right, well no, apparently not in the afternoon! It was a story of you cant get there from here and nobody knows. Every bus driver and cast member at TL gave us a different story. Finally get to DTD via bus to Port Orleans. Nightmare on the Disney bus system as nobody had the answer. Great lunch makes up for delay.
Brought all the kids back to our room in the Poly. Adults night out again. Lids wanted to stay in to watch Twitches on Disney TV, they are getting there fix of channels we dont get a t home. Went out the Board Walk, Boardwalk was busy, had a hard time getting a drink as the Club Jelly rolls was empty but they were charging a cover, decided it wasnt worth it. Lined up at a kiosk on the boardwalk to buy a beer but the cash wasnt working another Disney, kiosk snafu. Got our drinks then walked to the Beach Club to tour as ESPN was packed. Had a nice visit then took a cab back to the kids, should have saved our time and had drinks in the Contemporary Top of the World Lounge!
Kids were all good and sleeping except for the babysitters.
Day 10 Saturday Oct 15th.
We went to MK for opening, all the other people slept in. Did all the majors without wait. Had lunch at the noodle station. This is great. I recommend any of the noodle bowls, but not the chicken stir-fry. The egg rolls all have shrimp so beware of you dont like that. They are good for those of us who like shrimp. Another great suggestion from the DIS boards. We sat by the rail and watched Cinderellabration. It was empty and wonderful. Did more rides to finish off everything in MK we wanted to do. Shopped and then met up with one of the other moms to head to GF to the business centre to do online check in for SWA. We took the boat to GF. As we left the MK the Wishes parade was happening, first time we saw it and it was nice! Hot again!!! Other DW and I go off the boat at the GF as others went on to the Poly. Disney Family #4 stayed in the MK for the rest of the day as they arrived a bit later. We walked through The GF shopped and watched a wedding in progress in the lobby. Got to the business centre and checked in. However be aware that the online time is cheap $10 for 15minutes, however they charge you $1 per page to print!!!! So it cost us $23 for the boarding passes, we laughed paid it and lesson learned since we could have printed them off for free in the airport. All A boarding passes of course!
Got back to the Poly in time to change for the Luau. There were 2 families 9 of us for the 5:15 show. Had a great time, good food and the show was fine. However would choose the Hoop Dee Doo over the Luau. I hadn't done the Luau since 91, but have done the HDD many times and feel it is a better show and food.
Went back to the room and quickly got organized to go back into MK, as it was open late. Put on our Anniversary Ears and headed out. Met the other family and did BTMR and Jungle Cruise before setting out on the boat back to the poly for Fireworks on the Beach. We all enjoyed wishes and then headed back to the room. Adult enjoyed drinks on the balcony while the kids rested and one of the families headed back to the Coronado. Oh my goodness this is our last night, boohoo.
Day 11 Sunday Oct 16th
Up early I cant sleep in. Started pack while enjoying coffee and donuts from Kona Café. I told the kids if we got organized early enough we could go back to the MK to shop, but no rides, ya right Mom!
Well amazing how fast everyone cooperated. We were back in the MK at 10:30am. We had arranged that morning for a late check out so we were good as we were all packed and organized. Did all the shops in Main Street and then headed to the Splash Mountain shop for a t-shirt my DS wanted. Well, Splash M was only a 5-minute wait so we had to ride; I was as excited as the kids, did the ride and then finished shopping the MK. Stopped at VMK on Main Street. Attention any VMK users. Go to this on your way into the park. There are trivia questions you can pick up. If you answer them correctly and bring them back they give you codes for points on VMK. Also they re great questions but you need to research the answers as you do the park. A great way to get the kids interested in all the little details. As well if you purchased a pin at the Outpost in Frontier land they gave you a VMK code to use online to get your character a special pin. Left almost in tears, as it was so wonderful vacation. Back to the Poly, did the rest of the hotel shops and then grabbed lunch for the room from Captain Cooks. Boutiki is a great new shop. No time for a swim as we had to be in the lobby for a 1:15 Magic Express pickup.
Well it was a great time and we loaded the bus, ME users please make sure you bring your paperwork, the booklet you get from Disney with you to the return bus. The driver was so frustrated as people didnt have them; he finally gave up and just had everyone load the bus. This time it was a Mears bus with a little ME sign on the side. The bus on the way to the resort was the neat painted ME bus. No movie on the way back to the airport. Met up with the rest of the group at MCO, thoroughly depressed. Kids did homework on the departure lounge and on the plane. As we landed in Buffalo at 6:45pm we were welcomed to a chilly north wind. Back on Canadian soil, at 8pm after a stop at Duty Free and a wait at the border due to a Bills Game.
We picked up pizza before getting home and them settled in to a chilly home.
Oh I wish I was back at the Poly. What a great trip.
