MarkMichaels
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2001
- Messages
- 244
Checked out of the Poly this morning, Wednesday 3-19. Still love the resort, we like the dated look, its got a great pool, but as I've mentioned, no real magic this trip. Maybe we talked to the wrong staff, but other than at the Luau, we ran into a lot of cast members who were not doing their best to smile and make us happy.
Also, the remodeling at the Poly was noticeable. Nothing too bad, but they were tearing up some of the sidewalks this week and had a couple of the paths roped off. Looked like they might have been working on water pipes. They do a really good job of trying to make all these repairs blend into the scenery and not detract from the experience though.
We spent the day at Epcot today, our main goal was to take our time and just wonder around the different countries. My son also wanted to do Ellens Energy, which was the first time we had ever done that and we all thought it was pretty cool. The kids got their masks stamped at each country and once again, the characters were out in full strength again. The little bus they ride around Epcot in is fun to watch and the characters were doing a good job of having fun with people instead of just waiting to get their picture taken.
We left around 2 to run over to the Hard Rock and check in. It looked bad when we arrived, cars were everywhere, we sure didn't see crowds like this anywhere else. The luggage folks said 90% of the rooms had checked out/in today and they were running way behind getting rooms ready. I think they were preparing us not to have a room until at least 4 if not 5-6. We had a garden view booked, but when I finally got up to check in I joked and asked about a upgrade. Club level rooms were available so we said what the heck and paid the extra 50 per night to get a pool view club room. I'll move over to the Universal boards and post the rest of this trip including more info on HRH.
After getting a quick swim, we headed back to Epcot for 6 pm ps's at Coral Reef. It really is funny to us now hearing people complain about 60 minute waits for dinner when its so easy to call ahead. We've even used our cell phone to call just a few hours ahead of time and see whats available. I probably would not recommend the Coral Reef for its food. My daughter had the childs Mahi which was cold, my wife had a shrimp dinner with huge jumbo shrimp, but they were tough and rubbery. For the price, I thought the food should be better, but the view of the tank is really neat and the kids got a kick out of it. If we were hungry for seafood again, I would definitely go to Fultons Crab House in downtown Disney next time. Also, all those folks diving in the aquarium, aren't they worried about the sharks in there? The sharks weren't huge, but they still looked to have pretty sharp teeth.
After dinner, we finished up walking around the countries and really enjoyed taking our time. Were coming back in December, but only for 1 day then going on the cruise and think we'll just do Epcot like this again.
We still need to go to Downtown Disney and Disney Quest as I've promised those to the kids, but other than that, the Disney portion of our trip is officially over and heres a few final thoughts.
I know I posted that I got soaked on Kali River Rapids, but after thinking about it and talking with some other folks, we all seem to think they have turned up the water on that ride. We don't remember seeing that many people completely soaked. Tip for the day, don't wear jean shorts and get that soaked, 1, its very uncomfortable, and b, it'll tear up your legs if you walk around like that for hours. It'll be nice when all the bag check stands get finished. I always liked entering AK and the construction blocks the entrance. If you can't find characters down here now, your in the wrong park. Disney has done a great job of making them more prominent in the parks. We did not run into any rude guests this year. Everyone seemed more friendly and talkative than we have seen anywhere, its really nice to feel comfortable chatting with strangers like this on buses, the monorail, or by the pool. The parks also need to come up with some new merchandise to sell. My 8 year old is getting too old for stuffed animals, already has light swords and those spinning Mickeys that light up, yet doesn't want to only get t-shirts as souvenirs. Disney needs some good action figures or something for this age group.
I also managed to hook up my laptop to the cable and burn the entire WDW Tour video while we were there. If one of the moderators here wants a copy of the cd of that I'll see what I can do. Not sure if theres an easy way to share that video or not.
Heading over to the Universal boards tomorrow, let me know if anyone has any questions.
Also, the remodeling at the Poly was noticeable. Nothing too bad, but they were tearing up some of the sidewalks this week and had a couple of the paths roped off. Looked like they might have been working on water pipes. They do a really good job of trying to make all these repairs blend into the scenery and not detract from the experience though.
We spent the day at Epcot today, our main goal was to take our time and just wonder around the different countries. My son also wanted to do Ellens Energy, which was the first time we had ever done that and we all thought it was pretty cool. The kids got their masks stamped at each country and once again, the characters were out in full strength again. The little bus they ride around Epcot in is fun to watch and the characters were doing a good job of having fun with people instead of just waiting to get their picture taken.
We left around 2 to run over to the Hard Rock and check in. It looked bad when we arrived, cars were everywhere, we sure didn't see crowds like this anywhere else. The luggage folks said 90% of the rooms had checked out/in today and they were running way behind getting rooms ready. I think they were preparing us not to have a room until at least 4 if not 5-6. We had a garden view booked, but when I finally got up to check in I joked and asked about a upgrade. Club level rooms were available so we said what the heck and paid the extra 50 per night to get a pool view club room. I'll move over to the Universal boards and post the rest of this trip including more info on HRH.
After getting a quick swim, we headed back to Epcot for 6 pm ps's at Coral Reef. It really is funny to us now hearing people complain about 60 minute waits for dinner when its so easy to call ahead. We've even used our cell phone to call just a few hours ahead of time and see whats available. I probably would not recommend the Coral Reef for its food. My daughter had the childs Mahi which was cold, my wife had a shrimp dinner with huge jumbo shrimp, but they were tough and rubbery. For the price, I thought the food should be better, but the view of the tank is really neat and the kids got a kick out of it. If we were hungry for seafood again, I would definitely go to Fultons Crab House in downtown Disney next time. Also, all those folks diving in the aquarium, aren't they worried about the sharks in there? The sharks weren't huge, but they still looked to have pretty sharp teeth.
After dinner, we finished up walking around the countries and really enjoyed taking our time. Were coming back in December, but only for 1 day then going on the cruise and think we'll just do Epcot like this again.
We still need to go to Downtown Disney and Disney Quest as I've promised those to the kids, but other than that, the Disney portion of our trip is officially over and heres a few final thoughts.
I know I posted that I got soaked on Kali River Rapids, but after thinking about it and talking with some other folks, we all seem to think they have turned up the water on that ride. We don't remember seeing that many people completely soaked. Tip for the day, don't wear jean shorts and get that soaked, 1, its very uncomfortable, and b, it'll tear up your legs if you walk around like that for hours. It'll be nice when all the bag check stands get finished. I always liked entering AK and the construction blocks the entrance. If you can't find characters down here now, your in the wrong park. Disney has done a great job of making them more prominent in the parks. We did not run into any rude guests this year. Everyone seemed more friendly and talkative than we have seen anywhere, its really nice to feel comfortable chatting with strangers like this on buses, the monorail, or by the pool. The parks also need to come up with some new merchandise to sell. My 8 year old is getting too old for stuffed animals, already has light swords and those spinning Mickeys that light up, yet doesn't want to only get t-shirts as souvenirs. Disney needs some good action figures or something for this age group.
I also managed to hook up my laptop to the cable and burn the entire WDW Tour video while we were there. If one of the moderators here wants a copy of the cd of that I'll see what I can do. Not sure if theres an easy way to share that video or not.
Heading over to the Universal boards tomorrow, let me know if anyone has any questions.
