Canadians and Americans meeting in Hawaii...An October Poly PTR

[BreezysMom]

Aloha and Welcome to our PTR!!!

After proclaiming that I was not going to do a PTR this trip I decided tonight that it has been tradition to do one for each of our trips. I don't like to mess with tradition. So alas, I have decided to do one. But this PTR has a twist

I have recruited my Poly loving, Canadian, Cyber sisters Ambriel and Maiapapya (who really are sisters) to join in with me and share their plans and Disney memories as they will also be staying at the Poly during the same time! I don't know what I am more excited about?? Being back at the Poly again or finally getting to meet my Canadian friends in person

The irony of our friendship is that we were all at the Poly two years ago at the same time and never officially met in person. Since then we communicate via e-mail, Facebook and even phone calls. I feel closer to them then I do some of my relatives! We will get to more of that story later....

So anyway...back to me

About us...We are the Americans!

My name is Teri. I am the ultimate outward Disney lover of the family . DH (John) has also been bitten by the mouse but he is more of a closet Disney lover. We have one child, a 10 year DD who I call Breezy! I shudder to think how differently she will be on this trip since it has been two years since our last visit! She is a "tween" as they are called these days and those days of Princesses and Bibbity Bobbity Boutique are over

Disney is our little family's happy place and I look forward to a week with just the three of us and visiting with friends! We have traveled a tough road the last 15 months so this vacation is very much needed I suspect (or hope) that my tween will revert back to my little princess for the week because we all know Disney brings out the child in all of us!

Where...

The Polynesian of course! This will be our fourth stay. Our third Club Level. Our first stay was in 2007. DH and I scrimped and saved for 16 months to take DD, then 6 to Disney for all of ours first trip ever! About a month before departure we came into some extra money that we were instructed to use for our trip so we upgraded from CBR to the Poly. We were total Disney virgins at the time. DH heard from someone at work it was better to stay on the monorail so we picked the Poly because we have always dreamed of a trip to Hawaii. Why not chose a resort that would make us feel like we were there? Little did we know that it would lead to a NEW addiction

Here we are at the Poly in early October 2007. It seems like a lifetime ago!

As you can see DD is toothless and so young! We fell in love with the Poly upon arrival and really enjoyed the MK decked out for Halloween. Subsequently, we visited the following December 2008. Then headed back in 2009 for Halloween.

Coming up next for me I will recap our first ever trip to Disney in Oct 2007 and why we fell in love despite the fact that within our first 5 minutes on Disney property we entered a nightmare It is a good story if you have not heard it before

Eventually I will get to the exciting plans that we have in store for this trip! It entails a lot of fun, food and relaxation

We should be getting an introduction from the Canadian contingent of this PTR soon!

 

[BreezysMom]

But that is OK...because I can just chat and reminisce with myself until my Canadian Friend has time to get her part started!

So this trip....I have lost count on how many times I have had to reschedule, cancel, rebook, reschedule It has been a roller coaster to say the least!

After a trip in the spring of 2010 and then the summer of 2010 fell through we finally decided on October again. We love October and you can't beat the weather and the crowds so when we received a PIN code we booked! But then life spun way out of control After a short illness, my Mom passed away at the end of last summer from cancer. It was sudden and totally unexpected I had taken to the entire summer off from work to be with her and help care for her while DH worked from home and worked limited hours to care for Breezy.

While I knew going to Disney would make me happy, for that period of time. I knew there would be a cloud of sadness around me as I had many bad days last fall. I felt that I needed to get through my mourning period first so that I can truly enjoy a magical family vacation together. So we decided to delay Disney trip until this fall! We did other low key mini trips to get away throughout the fall and winter which helped get through that looooong winter we had!!

Turns out that I am glad we did because Maiapapaya and her sister Ambriel were also planning to head to Disney the same week. Gotta love the PIN code fairy

This upcoming trip is low key, not too scheduled and low maintenance. We have a few ADRs booked. I suspect that we will be spending most of our time between the Poly, MK and EPCOT. I Food and Wine and I love the Countries! There is so much to learn and EAT!!! It is an experience in itself!

Here is our countdown calender that Breezy put together for this trip!

It is a foggy, chilly morning here in Chicago and I wish I could stay on and update all day, but I am off to the Northwestern University Football Home opener! Happy Saturday...if anyone is out there reading

 

[maiapapaya]

The Canadian contingent is finally checking in! It's been one of those days ... an unplanned visit to the vet & the front of our house is currently torn off, literally. It's all good - puppy is fine and the house was planned, we are renovating, but it's still chaotic!

We are me, Tracey, DH (Mike), DD almost 9 and DD6. This is our third trip to the Poly, first time staying CL. This is also our first trip without DSD19. She is off doing something more important, getting a college education! We will also be joined, as we have on our last two trips, with my sister Ambriel (Shari) and her DH (Wayne)

We are planning on celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary while at the Poly as well as DH's birthday which will actually be during our trip. The only hitch is DH still hasn't be given approval for his time off from work! An anniversary trip will be extremely disappointing if the groom can't make an appearance, so we are hoping for lots of pixie dust right now!!

We are also excited to finally be meeting our American friends in person! Two years ago I think we actually passed each other on the stairs without realizing it until it was too late - so this time BreezysMom & I are determined to finally meet up and enjoy some time with our families together. Can't wait!

 

[maiapapaya]

This is our cast of characters, Ambriel & DH on the left (with the lovely art work on their arms!) and the rest are my brood. This pic was from our first family trip to WDW in 2009.
(the picture is posting small in the preview, not sure why, hopefully it shows up bigger! ETA: apparently not! )

 

[ambriel]

I'm more of a lurker and don't post much, but here goes!

I'm ambriel (Shari). I'm maiapapaya's (Tracey's) sister. This is my 6th trip to Disney; 3rd time to the Poly and 1st time staying CL. This is my 4th trip with Tracey; 3rd family trip. Tracey and I had a solo trip many moons ago. Our first family trip in 2009 was DH's (Wayne's) first trip to Disney. He really didn't want to go, but finally relented. He was definitely bitten by the mouse when we were there and he's almost as hooked as me and Tracey. After we got home, after about a month, he actually confessed to having a severe case of the Poly Pout!

This is me and DH. At MNSSHP in 2009 DH and I went as Jack and Sally; this year we are going as the Red Queen and Stayne.

I've always loved Disney and go to the extreme. 99% of my clothing and shoes are Disney and I've started on some Disney tattoos. I had Steamboat Willie done yesterday on my lower right arm (pic below...excuse how large the pic is) and have a Pirates of the Caribbean chest piece in progress.

I also have plans for Jiminy Cricket (upper left arm - being done October 13...just in time for our trip), Jack & Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas (left hip), Davy Jones from POTC (right hip), the 4 stretching portraits from the Haunted Mansion (thighs) and Cinderella's Castle with fireworks and a monorail on my back. After that, I'll just about be out of real estate! I'm sure I'll find a spot to squeeze in a little Tinkerbell somewhere!

I'm really looking forward to finally meeting my American friend BreezysMom (Teri) in person as well as her lovely family. Thanks to facebook, I feel like I already know her but it will be good to finally meet in person. I do remember passing her on the stairs and remember Tracey saying "I think that was BreezysMom"...funny the little things you remember.



I'm in desperate need of a vacation so October 23rd won't be here soon enough!

 

[BreezysMom]

The gang is all here!!!

We are quite the eclectic group! The fact that we have all spent a week at the Poly together already is so ironic!

After returning from our 2009 trips we started to chat more via FB and e-mail and learned that even though we are from two different countries, totally differnt lives, we have so much more in common than just our love for Disney. Tracey and Shari were incredibly supportive during my Mom's illness and death. We have had celebrated our family successes and sadly our during our families sorrow we have been there for each other. I think it truly is a special relationship grown out of our love for Disney and the Poly.

So now that we have all introduced ourselves got the ball rolling! Let's talk about plans!!!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Hi there! I'm joining! Can't wait to hear more!!

I know what you mean about passing someone at a resort on the boards. Happened to me at WL this past year and I was so bummed because I realized it a few minutes after. My DH tried to track her down but we lost the opportunity. So a note to everyone - just stop and ask politely. If it isn't the person you thought, it's ok! And of course, last year, I did meat guitarob and thenewmrsb at the Poly and that was really cool!

Well, I won't be at the Poly while y'all are there but rather, a week or so earlier so I'll miss out AGAIN on meeting some Poly peeps that I've seen on the boards for years! So I'm excited to read all about your PTR!!!

 

[maiapapaya]

Hey Tinkerbellie! Glad you have joined us!

I thought I'd take a break from my busy day and sit a few minutes to dream about the Poly.

Ok, on with the planning ...

We became Poly lovers completely by accident. When we were planning our first family trip two years ago we initially thought we would stay at WL - I knew DH would love the theming of the resort. Unfortunately there are 5 of us and I soon realized we couldn't stay in a standard room with 5. A friend of mine (who also put me onto the DIS, thanks Ev! ) suggested the Poly. I hadn't even considered it, believing it would be too expensive. It actually turned out to be cheaper than the suite we would have had to book at WL. I also had to convince Ambriel since it would mean more $$ for her & her DH and they didn't need the bigger room.

As most of you probably know the Poly is one of the polarizing resorts ... either you love it or you hate it! So first timers beware, because if you're of the loving kind you will find yourselves hopelessly addicted!

Our next mistake was TPV ... DH decided as a treat for the family, because he had just completing a gruelling three year licensing program where he works that we would upgrade to TPV. Again, totally addicting. If you do it once be warned that nothing less will do ever again!

This is the view we woke up to every morning from our third floor room in Tuvalu ...

and this was our view every night ...

Needless to say last year's trip also saw us staying third floor Tuvalu TPV!

This year we are planning on something different. Because of our 10 year anniversary celebration and thanks to Ambriel's 40% room discount pin we will be treating ourselves to CL TPV!! Of course I am terrified that once again we will become addicted and will not want to settle for anything less on future trips!

 

[1971DBday]

Subscribed!!!! We will be at the Poly a few weeks prior to your trip, but look forward to all your preparations and stories! Teri and I still need to do lunch, but I am still on my pre-trip illness. Antibiotics are helping, but haven't knocked it out!!!

Looking forward to hear all of your plans. We are going for a shorter then typical stay and I had a dream last night that has me freaking out that we are going to miss out on so much. However, I am still trying to talk the family into the Poly for our June 2012 trip. So I can't complain since I will be upgrading to an AP for this trip and the next!!!

 

[chimo2u]

Hello! I am joining in and can't wait to read more I think it is wonderful that you have made quite the connection with another Diser how fun! And how special I will be going to the POLY NEXT Oct for my first POLY CL stay, 4th Disney trip, and I have followed along with many of Breezy Mom's and Maiyapapaya's posts over the yrs. I hope to fall in love with the POLY as much as you I will be experiencing my next trip with my Disney-loving 15 yr old DS, and my BFF of over 20 yrs. unfortunately army life has sent us all over our beautiful country ( Canada) and abroad,(she is currently posted in PA, USA with her hubby) , so we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, we are looking forward to sharing her first trip together! And showing her an amazing time!

My hubby is not the Disney fanatic I am (I've been planning my 2012 trip andd trying to nail down dates to go back since I got home with my son in FEB!).....He is happy to go every 3-5 yrs or so! Not I, I feel lonely and sad without a Disney trip in the works!..... Thankfully my son will join me on my trips and keep great company he is still fun loving and likes being with his Momma, so I'll take it while I can

meeting Disers is so much fun, and I am happy you have developed a friendship that extends beyond your love of the Poly and Disney, that is very special! I hope your meet and greet is great fun! I met one Diser on the morning of my sunrise safari in 2009 when we stayed at AKl CL , it was neat putting a name and face to the screen name!
I look forward to reading and following along on your journey! Maybe I will be lucky to meet more of my Dis friends in the future

 

[BreezysMom]

Hi everyone!! Welcome!!



Like I stated in my first post, our addiction started in 2007. After our last minute upgrade I tried to find out as much as I could to about the Poly and this is when I happened on this DIS. I think it was a few days before departure. Of course I was following a lot of advice as far as packing lists and so forth and by the time we were packed and ready to go we had 6 suitcases and 3 carry ons! I thought DH was going to kill me Little did I know we did not need 75% of that stuff!!!

First lesson learned......Pack half of what you think you may need!

So anyway, Longhouses? I had no clue what a Longhouse was and that I was able to "request" one. View categories?? No clue Not to mention Club Level? Ignorance truly is bliss!!

So on the morning of our departure day our car came to get us and our 9 bags and off to the airport we went. It was our first time flying post 9/11 and Bri's first time ever! It was awesome checking our luggage at the airport and knowing ME was going to drag all that junk to our room!! Needless to say, heading through security was nerve racking but once through we got to the gate and waited to board our flight. We were all very excited!

We got on the plane, took off on time, landed early and headed to ME without issue. We were put on the bus and literally within 60 seconds after boarding the bus took off. I like the ME drive! I am not a stickler about how many resorts they go to first or have any issues with some other ME "complaints". The video is cute and then there is the passing of the Magic Kingdom sign and all the sights in between. We like to get ensconced in that Disney bubble and ME is what takes us there!

The first ME ride was interesting. I was busting with excitement, taking pics and trying to point out things to Breezy. She sat there unimpressed and quiet. While annoyed, I attributed it to being tired and a little stunned that she was on her first Disney trip that we surprised her with earlier that morning. I'll never forget the first moment ME pulled up to the Poly. It was love at first site Then we entered the lobby. It was about 6pm on a Saturday night so the Poly lobby was fairly busy but not the check in desk There was one family ahead of us. I waited anxiously to be called and then as I heard that "Aloha" Bri said "Mommy I don't feel good" and with that my Crocs and the floor of the lobby were covered with vomit

Yep, my kid just vomited all over my shoes in the lobby of the Poly. So I sheepishly walk up to the counter and give the CM my name. By this time someone had already sprung to action and came and covered the puke with towels and DH took Breezy to the washroom to wash up. I will tell you that this CM had no sympathy for me he was truly annoyed that my little princess just puked in his lobby. He checked me in quickly handed me my packet and as I waited in the lobby for John to return with Bri, I felt the tears stream down my face. Out of nowhere this women, a guest, came up to me and put her arm around me. A total stranger! She must have seen my whole check in scene! She had a southern accent, and said "honey, you take my obnoxious teenagers and I will take your sick little sweetie" I was a little taken aback by her but appreciated her as she made me feel a little less humiliated and sad thinking that all this planning and saving and finally being here was spoiled so quickly I wish I got her name or saw her again because she truly made me feel better.

Did she have the stomach flu? Was it the flight? My mind was swirling.

John and Bri came back and I scooped up my baby and off to find our Longhouse we went. The rather benign CM thankfully gave us a map and we were able to find Figi rather quickly. We walked into the room and were just in awe. It was wonderful. Figi was one of the last longhouses to be refurbed so everything looked brand new. They had just replaced all the bedding and mattresses so we were beyond pleased. Then DH opened the blinds I was in heaven!!

Of course after checking out the room, we attended to our little princess. Got her showered and in to her PJs which I thankfully packed in one of our carry ons, a lesson learned from the DIS I headed off to CC to get us some food and snooped around the resort a bit After DH and I ate and I attempted to feed DD some crackers and pretzels we hunkered down for the night. Of course it was the stomach flu as DD proceeded to become sick a few more times throughout the night. Thank God for Mousekeeping who came to our room at 2am and 4 am to deliver new linens and towels. Was I seriously is Heaven...living a nightmare??? When they did come to the door they were kind and sympathetic. The first lady came in and made Bri's bed out from scratch. All new linens and spread. Unfortunately the last time she hit the carpet in between the beds. That Mousekeeper at 4am helped me clean the carpet and then we covered it with towels. We tipped both ladies well as they deserved it! It is gross enough to clean up after your own kid, let alone someone elses and I should know! I worked in Pediatrics for years

We must have fallen back to sleep and I awoke to our phone ringing at 9am. It was a Housekeeping supervisor who was inquiring about our night. At this point I was in total tears. She told me that when we felt we could leave the room she would have a Mousekeeper come in and totally clean and disinfect the room and have the carpet cleaned. I was beyond thankful and totally impressed to say the least! A short time later there was a knock at the door. The front desk had delivered DD a get well basket and card with ears and some other goodies. I could not believe the service we were receiving! We had hardly left our room and were already devoted to the Polynesian and WDW!

This time John left and got us breakfast and wandered around the resort. By lunch time Bri was ready to eat so we got her some food. She ate lunch and we waited an hour. We figured it was safe to leave the room for a bit to explore the resort. I did not want to take Bri to anywhere that she could spread her germs so we just wandered the grounds. Before we left we called Mousekeeping and explained that we would vacate the room for a bit and while we were gone they did exactly what they said they planned! Before we left we left a $20 bill on the counter with a big note that said Thank you! When we returned the room was back to it's spectacular state and the money was still sitting in the dresser.

So day one at WDW was spent at the Poly. How could you not fall in love with it! That night we sat on the beach behind Figi all alone and watched Hallowishes . It was like we were the only guests on property. It was Sunday so the Luau was dark so the Poly was beyond quiet. After the fireworks, we went to bed and woke up the next day to FINALLY start our first ever Poly trip! I have to say though, if I would had never left the Poly all week you would not have heard me complain! We were in love!

But we did and Breezys (and my) first ride at the Magic Kingdom was none other than Dumbo!!

So that is how we fell in love with the Poly! They truly turned a nightmare into magic. Sometimes I wish I still had that ignorance of all things Poly and Disney but being in the know helps too!

That trip was also wonderful for other reasons. Free dining, which was a fairly new discount had just ended so the resorts and parks were empty. The weather was also beyond fabulous all week! It was a classic magical first trip despite the not so great start.

Tracey is right...you either love or hate the Poly and we are in the love category for sure. Especially if you like to spend time at the resort like we do. Things have changed since our first trip but we still have experienced mostly stellar service from the Poly CMs. Of course on our second trip, after a surprise upgrade to CL we got spoiled and stay CL now. Disney knows a sucker when they see them

Be back later to add some more...Happy Sunday and God Bless America on this solemn day

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I heard about Breezy getting sick but I hadn't heard the story about the stranger who came up to you - what a nice thing to say! And it is good to hear these types of stories where a vacation could have been a nightmare but the Poly switched it up and made it bearable.

 

[maiapapaya]

We too had vomit on our first WDW family trip. Unlike Breezy though it was at the end, not upon our arrival. DD almost 9, who I'll call Peach is a reformed motion sickness kid. She used to always throw up upon landing when flying and often in the car. Not this trip. She flew great and then rode all kinds of rides at WDW with no incident. Then just as she stepped off the ME bus on our return trip to the airport she lost her breakfast. With absolutely no warning there was her bacon & eggs all over the sidewalk. Also unlike Breezy's incident no one came to help. DH had to run to the washroom for paper towels while I tried to tend to Peach, who ended up with a new outfit. The one problem with resort baggage check was we had nothing to change her into. Ugh! I think the treatment that BreezysMom described is one of the reasons people return to Disney over and over. MOST CM's really do try to put their best efforts forward to make sure you have the best vacation you can.

Thanks to my friend Evelyn, as I mentioned earlier, I had been put onto the DIS early in the planning process. By the time we arrived I had us fully scheduled and organized including ADR's, a well-timed BBB reservation to be done just in time for an in-park MK rope drop, a long house request ...

I was thrilled that everything went off pretty much without a hitch. The only initial disappointment was our longhouse assignment. We had requested Tahiti, which is very popular amongst the non-CL Poly peeps ... double sinks, short walk to TTC, on the beach ... We were very sad to hear that we had been put in Tuvalu. That is until we arrived there! This longhouse is quite small and under-rated, a well-kept secret! It sits right at the edge of the lagoon with no beach in front of it. As a result if you are in a lagoon side room it feels as though you are right on the water. It is also quiet, except when the luau is on, but then you just hear the faint sound of the drums, which actually adds to the atmosphere. It is also quite close to the GCH, just a short walk around the marina. We highly recommend Tuvalu! I should qualify that by saying if you are booked LV or TPV. I would NOT recommend Tuvalu if you are booked GV. You will end up with a very uninspiring, close-up view of the end of Figi.

 

[maiapapaya]

Great to see you here 1971DBday! And welcome chimo2u, fellow Canookian! I hope you enjoy your Poly planning & trips!

 

[BreezysMom]

Shari...your costumes were awesome!! I cannot wait to see what you come up with this year

So planning...

So far this is a very rough schedule. We really tend not to plans things out too much but I try to take in to consideration the crowds and some of the sites that give park reference advice.

Day 1, Sunday~ We are scheduled to land at MCO at 10:30am! We have never arrived this early We will head to ME and off to the Poly to check in. Once settled there we will either store our stuff, if our room is not ready, or toss our stuff in the room and head straight to the MK. There is a party that night so I am hoping for low crowds. Our plan is to ride Space Mountain, Splash and BTMRR on our first day! Ambitious I know! But the priority is Space at it was closed our last trip and DH has decided after surviving RNRC, that Space Mountain should not be a problem

***I will take this time to make a disclaimer that DH started out not going on any of the coasters. On our first trip and second trip he did not go on ONE (except for the Barnstormer but seriously it is a toddler ride ) OK, I'll stop picking on him for now. Mom was always was the ride companion which is fine with me! Finally on our last trip he did BTMRR and RNRRC. Now he is all revved up to try Space Mountain and considering Spash

Day 2-Monday~ DHS for rope drop hopefully! Our favs here are of course RNRRC and TSM. These two will be a must. This is really the park I let DH do the steering. He is a Star Wars and Indiana Jones fan. We are looking forward to trying the new Star Tours. Now let us talk about ToT. Mom, as in ME, has gone on a few times all by myself but this time Breezy is determined! So I hope to get her on it. It was more the "hotel lobby" or line que that freaked her out but she is a bit tougher now. So ToT is another DHS must! We hope to get in a lot more as we have most of the day planned there as well as an ADR for Sci Fi Dine for lunch. Depending on how long we stay, I am sure we will head back to the Poly for a bit mid to late afternoon and then possibly hit the MK in the evening for a while to hopefully see the ELP as we have not seen that yet. We like to spend whatever evenings we can in the MK because it will close many nights at 7 for the party.

Day 3-Tuesday~ Our early morning ADR at CRT which means we get to walk down Main Street prior to the park opening. Something I have always wanted to do! After breakfast we will probably spend a few hours at the MK then head back to the Poly for some swimming, siesta and then get ready for MNSSHP! It will be a late night for sure. DH and I have no plans to dress up. We are lame that way But I usually will wear my Mouse ears or something and a Halloween t-shirt. We also have some cool light up pumpkin necklaces so I am not a complete lost cause! DH, well he may wear black

Breezy as Belle in 2007 MNSSHP

A pirate in 2009​

Day 4-Wednesday~ Depending on how late we stay out the night before this will be a morning that we do not rush to get anywhere. I am sure we will be itching to get to EPCOT by this time so this may be a possibility. Right now DD has an appointment at Ivy Trellis for some Island braids in the afternoon but there has been discussions about whether she truly wants them and how long she will tolerate them. She is getting to the age where her hair is a big deal and primping it all the time. My Mom intuition is telling me she will want them out within 24 hours. I am guessing we will spend some time at EPCOT this day and probably the MK at some point in the evening.

Day 5-Thursday~ OPEN for whatever we desire Maybe we will play bus roulette. The first bus that shows up, we will head to the park. Who knows? Maybe we will eventually set foot in Animal Kingdom after four trips!

Day 6-Friday~ Last full day! ACK Another, whatever we desire day. But the evening we plan on Epcot. I love, Love, Love F&W so I am sure we will be spending the majority of our unplanned days there. We love to browse the countries and do lots of tasting We also discovered the Kim Possible missions on our last trip so that is on our must do list!!

Day 7-Saturday~ Departure day! Our flight does not leave until 730pm so we really have a good deal of the day to do something. We have an early morning ADR at 'Ohana and then will probably head to the MK before heading back to MCO

So as you can see, we are not uber planners. We have our lists.....

They are :

Must dos...
Would like to do...
Should try this time...
Not even going to bother...

So that is our plans for now. I have some other tricks up my sleeve and a few things planned for DD but this trip is truly intended to be a vacation so I am trying not to put too much pressure on us to get things in. It did not help that we had to cut a day that we did not need to after all, but why rehash that disaster

OK....NEXT

 

[BreezysMom]

We too had vomit on our first WDW family trip. Unlike Breezy though it was at the end, not upon our arrival. DD almost 9, who I'll call Peach is a reformed motion sickness kid. She used to always throw up upon landing when flying and often in the car. Not this trip. She flew great and then rode all kinds of rides at WDW with no incident. Then just as she stepped off the ME bus on our return trip to the airport she lost her breakfast. With absolutely no warning there was her bacon & eggs all over the sidewalk. Also unlike Breezy's incident no one came to help. DH had to run to the washroom for paper towels while I tried to tend to Peach, who ended up with a new outfit. The one problem with resort baggage check was we had nothing to change her into. Ugh! I think the treatment that BreezysMom described is one of the reasons people return to Disney over and over. MOST CM's really do try to put their best efforts forward to make sure you have the best vacation you can.

Ewwww! I did not hear that story I have learned the hard way myself to pack an extra clean outfit in our return carry on for unfortunate instances like this!

Great to see you here 1971DBday! And welcome chimo2u, fellow Canookian! I hope you enjoy your Poly planning & trips!

Yes, welcome everyone! I was beginning to think we were just talking to ourselves

 

[maiapapaya]

We are more scheduled than Teri, but with four adults and two kids I suspect that's the only way we would get everything done that we would like to do!

So here's the plan ...

We arrive at MCO just before 1:00, so will hopefully be at the Poly mid-afternoon. We plan on checking in, at Hawaii for the first time and then heading to the MK. We never feel we are truly at Disney until we take that first walk down Main Street. We have two other MK days planned, so we have no expectations for this day other than to take that first stroll and to hit SM, the girls' absolute favorite ride. Ambriel will be heading to HM, her traditional first ride.

I should mention that I absolutely love how they deck the MK out for the Halloween. The fall is my favorite time of the year, so I really enjoy it!

As Teri mentioned, it is a party night, so we will be heading back to the Poly to check out what the lounge has to offer in the way of dinner-hour snacks.
Hopefully we'll run into some friendly faces from the DIS too ... We will definitely have to watch the EWP from our balcony, another "now we know we're really here" thing and DH will quietly sit out and watch (Hallo)wishes from HIS balcony. I think this is his absolute favorite thing about Disney.

Day 2 - Monday, and DH's birthday! I am truly hoping that the birthday boy will be at WDW with us to partake in the celebration!! We too are heading off to DHS for our first full park day. Must-do's for us are TSM - DH's fav ride and the new Phineas & Ferb M&G. The girls & I are diehard fans! We are not at the stage yet where the girls are ready to brave RNRC or ToT, which is fine by me because I don't think mom & dad are at that stage yet either!

Monday night we will be celebrating DH's birthday at 'Ohana, his fav. I am hoping to order a custom cake, I just haven't figured out a design yet. I was going to order him the Jedi Mickey cake, but it is only available at the YC and it's crazy expensive!

Day 3 - TuesdayWe will be heading to Epcot FW for morning EMH. Soarin' & TT are our must-do's here, oh and I'm sure some shopping for the girls' Duffy bears much to DH's chagrin. We will be enjoying (I hope) lunch at Le Cellier. This is our first time dining here. For some reason I'm not super keen (I've heard mixed reviews & that it's dark & crowded) but DBIL wants to try it, so we'll check it out. We will made an early return to the Poly for a swim and some down time since we are also heading out to MNSSHP Tuesday night.

Last time the girls were masquerading princesses, DH was Obiwan from SW & I was Mary Poppins.

This year the girls are going as Lilo & Stitch and DH & I are Carl & Ellie from UP. Last time we were crazy enough to go right on Halloween. Never again!! It was a mob scene - not fun - especially with a stroller! We are hoping that this time we will have a more enjoyable experience.

Day 3 - Wednesday - Resort Day!
We have decided to take a day and just enjoy The Poly. We will start off with breakfast at 'Ohana with Stitch and the gang. Then it's off to the pool for our half day cabana rental. Once we have to reluctantly relinquish our pool side refuge at 2:00 there will probably be some sea raycer rentals and hula lessons in store. DH and I will be having a special anniversary dinner this night, so Shari & her DH will be heading to the MK with the girls for dinner at CP and then an evening of MK fun. Later, DH & I will be dining at CG with things timed so we will be able to enjoy Wishes during dinner.

Day 4 - Thursday - MK morning EMH
Our only plan today is really for a full-on MK day. We will do SM & HM again as well as BTMR and POTC. There will be chili dogs for lunch at Casey's and some shopping at the Emporium too! We have no solid plans for Thursday evening. We will probably take in the Poly's torch lighting ceremony featuring "Mr. Yummy" . I think the bonfire and movie on the beach are possibilities too.

Day 5 - Friday This is our crazy busy day. Initially we had planned on skipping AK this year, but it is Peach's favourite park, so I really hated to disappoint her. So ... it will be AK for morning EMH rope drop and a very quick visit. Shari & her DH will take Peach on EE - I joined them last year and just felt too pewky after to make it worth a return ride. Surprisingly even though it also caused Peach to feel naseous she wants to go again. Shari will have to deal with the vomit if that happens! We will also do the safari, a favourite of DD6, who I will refer to as Pumpkin.

We will make a early return to the Poly for some down time. We will then head to Epcot mid-afternoon to start eating our way around the world for F&W. We will head over to the YC later to board our boat for an Illuminations cruise, another special treat to celebrate our 10th.

Day 6 - SaturdayToday we bid a sad good-bye to our friends Teri, John & Breezy. But we will be thankful for this great opportunity to finally meet in person and spend some time together!

Today we also head back to MK. Crazy to head there for a Saturday after a party, but we wanted to spend a little more time in the MK before having to return home Sunday. We will be dining with the princesses themselves at CRT for lunch. I think this will be Pumpkin's last year wanting to don the princess dress, so I will indulge her with dragging the big pink pouf around the park in a backpack until it's time to dress her for lunch.

Again, Saturday night we have no big plans, so will hopefully head back to MK for one final good-bye until next time.

Day 7 - Sunday - home day

We will be having a ME pick-up around 10:30, so we will have our traditional last day breakfast at CC's and then slip into the inevitable Poly pout. boo
It's depressing just writing about it and we haven't even gone on our trip yet! Geeks!

 

[BreezysMom]

Ummmm, Fireboy

Must put that on our must do list

 

[BreezysMom]

Stacey has her tips! Now I will give mine totally unsolicited Consider this your lucky day

Teri's Poly and WDW Tips

(mostly observations from 4 years of being a DIS member and after reading some gripes on some threads today I thought I would get some things off my chest, if you will ) ****Disclaimer, these are my thoughts and not that of my fellow PTR participants***

1. Never worry about the weather forecast pre trip. It always says it is going to rain...ALWAYS! Aside from some monsoon like rains, our best days at the parks have had some sort of rain involved! Ponchos and a change of clothes and socks in a Ziploc bag are always in our park backpack!

2. Crowds? What crowds? What we experience in Sept/Oct is nothing like spring break, Christmas and summer Fast Pass is your friend

3. Pack half of what you think you will need This is from a family that brought 9 suitcases on their first trip Shorts, T-shirt, bathing suit and some undergarments (deodorant would be nice too!)

4. Don't sweat the small stuff! Your at the Poly and the happiest place on Earth! Literally take time to explore the resort and look at the beautiful foliage. I fear too many people look for a rip in the wallpaper or a worn chair before or if they realize the beauty that surrounds them and the imagination that goes into the entire WDW resort!

5. Pay it forward...this has been a family routine of our for years. We try and start our day with totally positive thinking. We smile and say Aloha to every CM we pass. We are on vacation, they are at work. I imagine how I feel at work and rarely do I get greeted kindly. (Granted, I work in a hospital ) We hold the door open for people with strollers or just because. Hubby always gives up his seat on the monorail or bus if needed, even to another gentleman, because that is just how he is Any unused fastpasses we may have as we are leaving the park get passed off to people walking in the park. We always try and do kind things everyday to keep the magic going

6. Be realistic! It is Disney World. Not Heaven There may be small issues that need to be addressed, but do it during your stay, not gripe about it on here and write a nasty letter after the fact. Remember, the CM you are dealing with most likely did not cause the issue, they are just the poor sucker who has to rectify it I also hate it when people have a bad experience or issue and they beat it to death here on the DIS. Get your gripe out and move on. But please do not rain on someone's parade because your expectations were not met My favorite saying is different strokes for different folks. What irks me may roll off another persons back so I respect that.

With the exception of tip number 7!

7. Lastly, and this is really important so take note! No where does it say "COME TO DISNEY...GET A TOWEL ANIMAL" So please, do not come back from Disney and complain to your thread peeps how you paid xy&z and got NO towel animal Mousekeeping is there to clean your room, not make you a towel animal. I am willing to bet that there is a group of Mousekeepers that rue the day or person that started the whole towel animal business I have seen the inside of other guests rooms when the door has been propped open and you could not pay me enough to clean up after some of these slobs let alone leave them a little pixie dust! Geez! (I am not saying that only slobs get passed up by the towel animal pixie dust to be fair. I am sure some very neat people have been neglected of the ever coveted free souvenir)

So there is Teri's top 7! Take them or leave them...I often wonder if long time WDW employees secretly hate the explosion of cyber communities such as this. While we get so much good information...I think it also leads to a lot of people with expectations that a Disney novice or pre computer generation traveler would not have

OK, I feel better On with the planning

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Joining in a little late here, but I can't wait to read about your trip! We are probably going to stay at the Poly on our next trip - I haven't stayed there in years, and my DH never has. But it really is a beautiful resort! How do you all like CL at the Poly? That is also something I am considering for us but I am not sure whether it will be worth it or not, so I would love some first hand reviews! I am sorry to hear about your little one being sick, but it is great the way that Disney handled everything! My little brother lost his towel there on a trip once (that he had just bought; we think he accidentally put it in the towel return) so we went to see if there was a lost and found and his towel wasn't there, but the CM gave him a new one! Disney magic right there! Anyway, I look forward to reading about your trip with great family and friends!

p.s. - I love all of your Halloween costumes!