City, Sand, and Savanna - Link to new trip report

[englishrose47]

Sorry Glenn I worked till 9:30p last night and was too tired to Dis again! I appreciate the announcement ahead of time , BUT I was NOT on the Dis you have to wait till I am !!Of course I can just hear Marv now As Pat won I will totally concedeI did think the Fire Knife guy was "HOT"
Great update Glenn !!!

 

[Flossbolna]

That was a fun post about the show! I am not so sure about wanting to see the cheesy story. That was one of the things that did annoy me a bit about the shows that I saw on the cruise: great parts in between, but the story they put around was a bit tooo sweet for me.

Ha, but then last week I saw "Death of a Salesman" at the theater and that story was certainly not sweet enough for me!

 

[dvc4life]

Great update! Love the pictures. I remember going there when our girls were younger and really enjoyed it.

And I'm very glad this was an equal opportunity post because those male dancers, well, um huh. Nice Abs!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

As I was standing there, a man came up and said, "Hey Glennbo!" He recognized me from my trip reports. It was funny because he said that he didn't want to be creepy or anything; he didn't want to be "that guy".

Too late.

Okay, I'm beating around the bush here out of humility...he seemed a little starstruck. I mean, in my mind, everyone should be starstruck around me, but no one ever is, so this was new for me too.

Well, gawrsh. You should have at least signed his forehead or something.

After he walked away, my mom asked me where he knew me from. I just said, "Oh, an internet message board" and I think that confused her enough that she let it drop!

It's interesting -- the breads at the Polynesian (at the luau, Kona Café, and 'Ohana) are all very good but different from one another.

Darn it, now I'm going to have to try all of them.

Then we met a couple more characters and something told me that by the end of the show the tomgirl was going to turn into a cute little thing who would win the affection of the big-dopey guy. But I don’t know, has Disney ever written a plotline like that before?

Or really, anyone in Hollywood?

At 8:30, our entrees arrived. This is the only picture I took of the entrée platter because right after I took it this food got transferred to our plates and absolutely devoured!

I'm guessing you didn't leave hungry.

I ended up eating 2 halves of chicken, 3 ribs, a mound of rice, and some veggies (broccoli, carrots, and sugar snap peas). Yeah, I was full. I wrote in my notes that the chicken and ribs were excellent, as were the bread and rice. I seemed to have left the veggies out, but I'm sure that was just an oversight.

Hey, I was right! Wait, there were vegetables?

And rather than that unmemorable plotline, instead, we have a dancing warrior girl. Now we're talkin'!

Luau improving...

Yes ladies, there were male dancers too. (Completely unnecessary, in my opinion. But since this is an equal-opportunity trip report, I'll post some pictures.)

Oh, why bother? The ladies wouldn't return the favor, you know.

And the tomgirl found a flower for her hair, and a dress. Huh! Whattayaknow!

This warrior guy was pretty fierce looking, but he reminded me of Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men".


"What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?"

He didn't have a cattle-gun-thingy, did he?

And then the ladies came out swinging these bolo-weapon things.

Then, then, then...and only then, we got to the grand finale. The fire-knife guy.

Pyrotechnics make everything better!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I'm glad you enjoyed the luau! We went in 2004 and loved it It seems like this show gets no respect around the DIS, but other than the corny script, we really enjoyed the entertainment, and we enjoyed the food.
You got some great pics - hard to get the "fire guy" in the dark. Gram and Poppy look so cute in their little dance.

 

[glennbo123]

Well, there is nothing better than starting a show by getting lei'd. (Hey, somebody had to say it.)

I felt a sudden urge for a cigarette and I don't even smoke.

You know, I almost put a comment in there like "let's keep it clean, people", but leave it to you!

Honestly, I think it's tres cool to be recognized like that. It's amazing how many people read the DISboards so I'm certainly not surprised you'd be recognized. I am surprised it doesn't happen more often, but I'm guessing a lot of people don't want to be "that guy".

On a previous trip I saw some people looking and pointing and I thought that maybe that's what it was. Or maybe I had something stuck in my teeth. One or the other.

I'm surprised that it doesn't happen more often too. In fact, when I saw Jiminy 78 when we first arrived at Kidani (way back in the "Where are Poppy and Gram" chapter) I thought that I'd be seeing DISers all over the place, but then, nada.

Wow, looking at the crowd shot, you really did have a great table. There's a lot of people packed in there.

We did pay for the Category 1 seating...it was vacation!

Gram and Poppy dancing... Yeah, I'm pretty much a sap.

Not gonna lie... I love doing random photos (like your photos of James on the stage) specifically to see if anyone follows suit. Usually they do which I consider a huge victory.

We're such trend-setters!

You're a bigger man than me Glenn as I promise there would be no male dancer photos. Good on you though, something for everyone.

I know my readers.

Wow, Tomboy-girl found a dress and was the pretty girl all along. Somebody should make that into a movie.

I'm the bride I'm the bride!!!!! Whooo HOOO !!

Guess I got carried away...

Yeah, a little carried away, but I can understand how important this is.

Had a long day at work and got home late. Was on the phone and just had the opportunity to log on when I saw the update.
I was hoping you know didn't beat me to it.

Good timing!

Sorry Glenn I worked till 9:30p last night and was too tired to Dis again! I appreciate the announcement ahead of time , BUT I was NOT on the Dis you have to wait till I am !!

I figured that a post was fair to all.

Of course I can just hear Marv now As Pat won I will totally concedeI did think the Fire Knife guy was "HOT"
Great update Glenn !!!

The Fire Knife guy was "HOT" -- good one Rosie! Why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah, because that never occurred to me!

 

[glennbo123]

That was a fun post about the show!

Great, I'm glad you liked it Magdalene.

I am not so sure about wanting to see the cheesy story. That was one of the things that did annoy me a bit about the shows that I saw on the cruise: great parts in between, but the story they put around was a bit tooo sweet for me.

Yeah, I was thinking that they have such a diverse age-range of people there that they probably have to keep it pretty basic.

Ha, but then last week I saw "Death of a Salesman" at the theater and that story was certainly not sweet enough for me!

Ha, I bet! We're going to see Don Giovanni in a couple of weeks and he'll get thrown into the fires of h-e-double-hockey-sticks if I'm not mistaken.

Great update! Love the pictures. I remember going there when our girls were younger and really enjoyed it.

Thank you Chris! It was a fun time.

And I'm very glad this was an equal opportunity post because those male dancers, well, um huh. Nice Abs!

You're welcome!

Too late.

I hope I didn't bash the poor guy in this chapter. I didn't mean for that. It was really nice to hear that somebody out there read my ramblings and liked it.

Well, gawrsh. You should have at least signed his forehead or something.

Yeah, you're right...this whole "celebrity" thing is new to me. I should just ask myself "what would Lindsay or Miley do?"

Darn it, now I'm going to have to try all of them.

Yes, you do. I already have it listed as a major life accomplishment on my resume.

Or really, anyone in Hollywood?

A new idea, never been done. Hardly ever.

I'm guessing you didn't leave hungry.

I can't believe I ate the whole thing.

Hey, I was right! Wait, there were vegetables?

I'm not sure why they had vegetables, totally unnecessary with all of that other stuff, but yes. (Actually, I love vegetables. Fruit, I can take or leave.)

Luau improving...

Oh, why bother? The ladies wouldn't return the favor, you know.

True.

He didn't have a cattle-gun-thingy, did he?

Thank goodness, no. Just that long pointy thing with a blade at the end, which I'm sure was harmless.

Pyrotechnics make everything better!

Let's stuff ourselves and watch pyrotechnics!!

I'm glad you enjoyed the luau! We went in 2004 and loved it It seems like this show gets no respect around the DIS, but other than the corny script, we really enjoyed the entertainment, and we enjoyed the food.

Exactly! It is what it is, don't expect too much from the plotline. Just enjoy.

I thought the food was good!

You got some great pics - hard to get the "fire guy" in the dark. Gram and Poppy look so cute in their little dance.

Thanks. I couldn't get any of the fire guy where the fire wasn't so blurred, couldn't speed up the shutter enough. But the pictures look cool like that.

Thanks Tammie!

 

[MEK]

Great update, Glenn. I'll leave the Judys to the pros.

My thoughts exactly!

That was a great update. Best I have read about the show. Thanks. Now I feel like I have seen it. My favorite, besides the food pics, was the fire guy! Wow! Totally cool.

So - was it worth it? Would you go again? I've often toyed with the idea of seeing it but never do. It just looks so colorful and interactive!

Summer is quickly approaching. Are there Disney plans for this summer?

 

[jedijill]

I haven't seen the luau for years....it does look fun!

Jill in CO

 

[afwdwfan]

Great luau pictures, Glenn! I especially loved your highly detailed plot summary!

 

[glennbo123]

That was a great update. Best I have read about the show. Thanks. Now I feel like I have seen it.

Thanks MEK! Well, I hope that I didn't make you feel so much like you've seen it that you don't need to see it, if you know what I mean.

My favorite, besides the food pics, was the fire guy! Wow! Totally cool.

I bet you'd have fun taking pictures of that.

So - was it worth it? Would you go again? I've often toyed with the idea of seeing it but never do. It just looks so colorful and interactive!

I realized after I posted that I didn't do the best job of assessing what I thought, so I'm glad you asked. Was it worth it? Yes. The food was really good, plentiful, and the show was fun even though it wasn't all that exciting plot-wise. The Category 1 seats were worth the upgrade also. Would I go again? Maybe someday, but I don't need to go again real soon...which is like a lot of other Disney attractions, right? In a reply to someone else I think I said that in comparing the Luau to Hoop-de-doo, I think I'd give a slight edge to Hoop...I thought that the show there was a little bit more fun.

Summer is quickly approaching. Are there Disney plans for this summer?

Hmmm, yes I should probably do a separate post on that.

I haven't seen the luau for years....it does look fun!

Jill in CO

We had a nice time and it made for a fun (and filling) evening!

Great luau pictures, Glenn! I especially loved your highly detailed plot summary!

Thanks Andy. I don't think I can blame the lack of details on the delay in getting this posted...I don't think I could've told you any more the moment after walking out of there! It was fun, but not real mesmerizing! Except for the hula girls, I remember them.

 

[scottny]

When people approach it is a weird thing to experience.
You did have good seats.
Male Dancers. Disney tuend into Magic Mike. LOL
Great pics of the show. We have yet to do it but one day we will.

 

[glennbo123]

Male Dancers. Disney tuend into Magic Mike. LOL
Great pics of the show. We have yet to do it but one day we will.

I laughed at the Magic Mike reference.

Thanks Scott.

 

[glennbo123]

Some of you have asked about our upcoming travel plans and if Disney is on the horizon. Well, yes it is, but not exactly how I had originally planned it. You see, this year is kind of a biggee anniversary-wise and I had hoped to take Judy to Hawaii.

I had a plan to stay at the Grand Californian for a couple of days and hit Disneyland on our way out west, then on to Hawaii where we'd hopefully visit a couple of islands before spending several days at Aulani. I had it spreadsheeted out (yes, "spreadsheeted" is a word, especially on the DIS), bought a Hawaii travel book, and had been paying close attention to a few Disneyland and Aulani trip reports here on the DIS. Heck, I even went so far as to buy a new Hawaiian shirt. But, from the "it's always somethin'" department, or when life is too similar to the game of "Life", a pretty significant household expense cropped up late last year and just couldn't justify spending more money heading off to Hawaii. I thought about paring down the plan to just visiting Aulani, slashing the expenses of island-hopping, but the airfare was still more than I could stomach. Plus, how could I fly all the way to Hawaii and only visit one island?

On a side note, even though we'd decided not to go, at the 7-month window I looked at availability at the Grand Californian and Aulani to see if I could've carried out my original plan and Aulani looked good, but I couldn't have gotten a Studio at the Grand Californian. So, I don't know how I'll swing that when the time comes that we do attempt this trip. And I do plan to attempt it at some point in the future. (I'm sure that my Hawaiian shirt will still be in style. )

So.........in place of Aulani, we're heading to that "Hawaii of the East Coast" - Hilton Head Island. It's a DVC resort that I've wanted to visit for quite a while, but to be honest with you, when my real goal was Hawaii it's taken me several months to get used to the idea that we're going Hilton Head instead and I hope that I can enjoy it for what it is and not be bitter, thinking of where I could have been instead.

I booked a 1-bedroom for a week in late-June. At this point, I'm still not sure if any of the kids are going with us or not. Judy

wants it to be a trip for just the two of us, as an anniversary trip like Aulani was going to be. And hopefully at least the older kids, Lauren and Marlene, will have summer jobs and not be available to travel. I booked a 1-bedroom so that we'd have the flexibility to take them with us if we decided to as the trip got closer, but we also wanted the kitchen as well.

Actually, with all of the snow days that we've had this year, even this trip was in jeopardy since Judy's school year now ends the day before we check-in. There were several days of buffer when I booked it! If they miss another schoolday (which looks unlikely today fortunately!), the last day will extend into the next week causing us to miss 3 days of our stay at HHI. Judy has mentioned this to her principal and could potentially have the last day off if this were to happen, but I could also see the school saying "no" because "if we let you, we have to let everybody", that kind of thing. I looked into availability at HHI for later in the summer, but nothing is available now, not for a contiguous week certainly. For a while there, I thought that I was going to have to rent the reservation or the cancel it and rent the points before they expired. Wow, was that not sitting well. And actually, having the trip threatened due to circumstances has helped me to accept it and really want it...what’s the saying? "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?" (Or almost gone?)

So anyway, I'm excited to see that the suites at Hilton Head are being refurbished and we should get to enjoy some new appliances and furniture. I need to plan some day trips, to Savannah or Charleston or both, and I'm eager to schedule some excursions.

Tell me, people who've been there -- what room requests should I make?


Link to next chapter

 

[Flossbolna]

1 Judy

 

[Flossbolna]

So, now that I am at the computer and not on the Ipad with a very weak wifi signal, I can write a little bit more.

I was going to ask about your trip plans for the summer as well, so thanks for letting us know about them! I am sorry that you were not able to do the Hawaii trip that you had been hoping for. But I am glad that you finally got excited about going to HHI instead. From what I have seen in pictures, this seems to be a very nice resort!

I can't help with room requests, but I can recommend Savannah. It is a beautiful town. Most of the touristy things are along the Riverwalk, which I did not find that interesting. But just walking through the town with the squares with tree with Spanish moss and the old houses, it is soooooo pretty! And if you haven't read it: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a wonderful book. I only read it after I had been to Savannah, but it would be the perfect vacation book for the beach at HHI before you make your day trip to Savannah.

I would love to see Charleston, too!

 

[afwdwfan]

So.........in place of Aulani, we're heading to that "Hawaii of the East Coast" - Hilton Head Island.

I'm sorry that your well planned and spreadsheeted trip to Hawaii didn't quite work out. Sometimes life and being responsible and blah blah blah stuff just gets in the way.

But, visiting a new Disney resort, located anywhere, is a nice fallback plan. It should be a very nice week. Here's hoping for no more snow days this school year!

 

[elphie101]

Not much to comment on, only to say that I finally (finally) caught up!

And yes, I can relate all too well to the "spotting someone in the parks you only know from the DIS" feeling - it's incredibly odd and yet thrilling at the same time!

 

[MEK]

You are going to LOVE HHI! I sincerely hope you don't have to miss a single day of it. It is a wonderful place.

As far as room requests, I have always stayed in a 2BR and they are plentiful. I'm not sure where the one BR's are located. Are most of them in the main lodge. I would request a high floor with a view of Broad Creek. Everything is close together so you won't be dissatisfied wherever you stay.

You MUST go to Savannah and I highly recommend Vic's on the riverfront for lunch or dinner. Best shrimp and grits EVER and very reasonable for lunch. There are places closer to the river but they are not nearly as nice and the food is the same price.

For your big special dinner in HHI try Vine! It's in Coligny Plaza and not very far from the resort. Make you reservation really early. the food is amazing. Go back and read my old TR. I'm serious. It was super delish ! http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...-Reviews-Vine-Hilton_Head_South_Carolina.html


I also recommend Charleston. It's gorgeous! OMG you are making me want to go back so badly right now. I love it there.

Oh yeah - on Thursday afternoon check out the farm market in Bluffton. Super cute town, lots of cute restaurants and really fun stuff at the market.

Have SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Glenn! Sorry life got in the way of your plans this year. I guess you'll have plenty of time to plan "THE" trip for the future. That's what so great about DVC! I'm sure you'll love HH!

A couple of tips - at DLR you can use your points at Paradise Pier or DLH - not too bad at PP and they are both newly renovated. Just look under the "Disney Collection" You can also get a suite if you call Member Services - we have done it before.

Also - Allegiant Air flies to Honolulu direct from Phoenix, which is a hub, or from LA. They have some really good fares if you can get to Phoenix from your area, might not work, but could be worth a try

Tell Judy Happy Annivesary!