BreezysMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2007
- Messages
- 1,725
My family returned from our first trip ever to Disney World Friday night 
and I can officially say "I Love all things Disney". We stayed at the incredibly beautiful Poly! After 8 months of planning, reading books and of course scanning these boards on a daily basis, we arrived in Orlando Saturday evening 9/29 from Chicago. We headed off the plane, to the Magical Express bus and were at the Poly within one hour of our arrival.
We enter the delightful lobby of the Poly to be greeted with not one but two "alohas". We were next in line and all of the sudden DD vomits on my shoes! No warning, nothing, just blahhh
I could not believe it! So DH heads off to the bathroom with her while I try to get us checked in. At this point, I could care less where my room was, I just wanted to clean off my child and my shoes! Within minutes, a CM was there to clean up DD's welcome treat on the floor and another CM was checking me in asap! I was tearing up with every word I spoke. This nice lady, another guest, came up to me and hugged me and said she would trade me her teens for my sick child! 
She made me smile.
We got checked in and headed to our room. Figi, third floor facing the Wedding Pavilion. It was breathtaking! DH and I thought maybe the plane ride (her first), or maybe the OJ on the plane was the culprit, but no such luck. Our first night a long one! I will spare you the gorey details. Mousekeeping was quick at bringing us extra towels and helping clean up at 2 a.m.
The next morning, Sunday, a manager called to see if they could be of any help? I was impressed to say the least!! I explained that our carpet was in need of shampooing
and our bed linens needed to be changed. She was more than helpful and explained that when we felt "safe" to leave the room, they would get the room cleaned up like new! That is exactly what they did too! They also left us many towel animals! By Sunday night DD was better. I wanted to keep her away from people as much as possible so we did not pass along her bug to any other guests so we browsed the grounds, ate in our room and after 24 hours she was good as new. I cannot say enough nice things about the Poly staff after our first dreadful night but after that it was all good!
In summary...
The Poly- Beautiful! Relaxing! Not too big. We love to walk so we walked around a lot. The transportation options to MK and Epcot were excellent and swift. We barely waited for a boat or Monorail. If we did wait we enjoyed the views. The CM's were the best. We heard Aloha so much we were saying it all the time as well! The pool was great. Never too crowded early or late. The fireworks and EWP were priceless from our beach! I almost cried the first time we watched it was so magical
We will go back!
Magical Express- A great option. I loved not having to touch my luggage after we initially checked it at at the airport. Just pack some necessary essentials in a carry on for the first 3 hours and you will be okay. The change of clothes were priceless in our case!
Mousekeeping- Excellent from the first day to the last. We asked for early cleaning and got it every day as well as towel animals!
Dining plan- Well worth it in our case! We were scrambling to use it up at the end! Still needs some fine tuning at the resorts as far as info, but at the parks the menue options were clearly marked. When in doubt, we asked! I was alittle annoyed that an Uncrustable was not a snack. At least, that is what I was told. DD likes those on the run. The reusable cups were the best from morning to night!
Crystal Palace Dinner- Food was decent but characters were great and made it well worth it! Our server was wonderful!
Cindy's Royal Table Breakfast and Storybook Princess Breakfast in Norway- Food was good at both. Service was great at both and the princesses were amazing! Should have only done one or the other, but it was our first time. Live and learn.
Kona Dinner- Excellent! From the appetizer to dessert with coffee. This place is a must do! Service was great too!
Chef Mickey's Dinner- This is also a must do! The ultimate Disney experience! The characters were awesome and the food was pretty tasty for a buffet. Again, great service.
O'Hana's Breakfast- We had to do it! Breakfast was pretty good. Service a little slow and characters take a long time but were priceless when they did arrive at our table! Especially that stinker Stitch!
1900 Park Faire Dinner- Food was excellent for a buffet! The best by far! The Step Mother and Step Sisters were priceless! They are worth going to see alone! DD dressed as Cinderella and they were trying to convince her to be their maid! It was great. This dinner I would do again! We were seated right away and again we got great service.
MNSSHP- Awesome! Even in the rain. From start to finish, this ws a great night. The chracters were out in full force. We even saw those crazy step sisters again. The ride lines were quick. The parade was incredible and the fireworks left me speechless! I loved the music too! To think we were not even going to do it until DH and I decidied the day prior! This is a MUST DO!
Bibbity Bobbidi Boutique- A must do for all little girls. We did the hair and make up and brought a dress from the Disney store here at home. DD will never forget that whole experience!
Complaints- None really. The weather was a little annoying at times, but not bad enough to alter any plans. We still had plenty of pool time! I wish there was a little more info on the dining plan available. But I can't say anything negative!
Also, photopass is GREAT! Use it as much as possible and then you can buy the CD and you own the pics! We had DD pics taken at the Photo place on Main Street and they are priceless! I will be able to use the pics for Christmas gifts and so forth! No need to get a family pic this year for the holiday card either!
To say the least, we are hooked on Disney. The minute we hit the ground in Chicago, DD asked when we are going back. I know my review is long but I had so much to share! We truly had the vacation of the lifetime. We waited for DD to be 6 and this was the perfect age for her to see Disney for the first time. She will remember it forever! We are now planning a 2008 holiday trip to the Poly.
and I can officially say "I Love all things Disney". We stayed at the incredibly beautiful Poly! After 8 months of planning, reading books and of course scanning these boards on a daily basis, we arrived in Orlando Saturday evening 9/29 from Chicago. We headed off the plane, to the Magical Express bus and were at the Poly within one hour of our arrival. We enter the delightful lobby of the Poly to be greeted with not one but two "alohas". We were next in line and all of the sudden DD vomits on my shoes! No warning, nothing, just blahhh
I could not believe it! So DH heads off to the bathroom with her while I try to get us checked in. At this point, I could care less where my room was, I just wanted to clean off my child and my shoes! Within minutes, a CM was there to clean up DD's welcome treat on the floor and another CM was checking me in asap! I was tearing up with every word I spoke. This nice lady, another guest, came up to me and hugged me and said she would trade me her teens for my sick child! She made me smile. We got checked in and headed to our room. Figi, third floor facing the Wedding Pavilion. It was breathtaking! DH and I thought maybe the plane ride (her first), or maybe the OJ on the plane was the culprit, but no such luck. Our first night a long one! I will spare you the gorey details. Mousekeeping was quick at bringing us extra towels and helping clean up at 2 a.m.
The next morning, Sunday, a manager called to see if they could be of any help? I was impressed to say the least!! I explained that our carpet was in need of shampooing
and our bed linens needed to be changed. She was more than helpful and explained that when we felt "safe" to leave the room, they would get the room cleaned up like new! That is exactly what they did too! They also left us many towel animals! By Sunday night DD was better. I wanted to keep her away from people as much as possible so we did not pass along her bug to any other guests so we browsed the grounds, ate in our room and after 24 hours she was good as new. I cannot say enough nice things about the Poly staff after our first dreadful night but after that it was all good!In summary...
The Poly- Beautiful! Relaxing! Not too big. We love to walk so we walked around a lot. The transportation options to MK and Epcot were excellent and swift. We barely waited for a boat or Monorail. If we did wait we enjoyed the views. The CM's were the best. We heard Aloha so much we were saying it all the time as well! The pool was great. Never too crowded early or late. The fireworks and EWP were priceless from our beach! I almost cried the first time we watched it was so magical
We will go back!Magical Express- A great option. I loved not having to touch my luggage after we initially checked it at at the airport. Just pack some necessary essentials in a carry on for the first 3 hours and you will be okay. The change of clothes were priceless in our case!
Mousekeeping- Excellent from the first day to the last. We asked for early cleaning and got it every day as well as towel animals!
Dining plan- Well worth it in our case! We were scrambling to use it up at the end! Still needs some fine tuning at the resorts as far as info, but at the parks the menue options were clearly marked. When in doubt, we asked! I was alittle annoyed that an Uncrustable was not a snack. At least, that is what I was told. DD likes those on the run. The reusable cups were the best from morning to night!
Crystal Palace Dinner- Food was decent but characters were great and made it well worth it! Our server was wonderful!
Cindy's Royal Table Breakfast and Storybook Princess Breakfast in Norway- Food was good at both. Service was great at both and the princesses were amazing! Should have only done one or the other, but it was our first time. Live and learn.
Kona Dinner- Excellent! From the appetizer to dessert with coffee. This place is a must do! Service was great too!
Chef Mickey's Dinner- This is also a must do! The ultimate Disney experience! The characters were awesome and the food was pretty tasty for a buffet. Again, great service.
O'Hana's Breakfast- We had to do it! Breakfast was pretty good. Service a little slow and characters take a long time but were priceless when they did arrive at our table! Especially that stinker Stitch!
1900 Park Faire Dinner- Food was excellent for a buffet! The best by far! The Step Mother and Step Sisters were priceless! They are worth going to see alone! DD dressed as Cinderella and they were trying to convince her to be their maid! It was great. This dinner I would do again! We were seated right away and again we got great service.
MNSSHP- Awesome! Even in the rain. From start to finish, this ws a great night. The chracters were out in full force. We even saw those crazy step sisters again. The ride lines were quick. The parade was incredible and the fireworks left me speechless! I loved the music too! To think we were not even going to do it until DH and I decidied the day prior! This is a MUST DO!
Bibbity Bobbidi Boutique- A must do for all little girls. We did the hair and make up and brought a dress from the Disney store here at home. DD will never forget that whole experience!
Complaints- None really. The weather was a little annoying at times, but not bad enough to alter any plans. We still had plenty of pool time! I wish there was a little more info on the dining plan available. But I can't say anything negative!
Also, photopass is GREAT! Use it as much as possible and then you can buy the CD and you own the pics! We had DD pics taken at the Photo place on Main Street and they are priceless! I will be able to use the pics for Christmas gifts and so forth! No need to get a family pic this year for the holiday card either!
To say the least, we are hooked on Disney. The minute we hit the ground in Chicago, DD asked when we are going back. I know my review is long but I had so much to share! We truly had the vacation of the lifetime. We waited for DD to be 6 and this was the perfect age for her to see Disney for the first time. She will remember it forever! We are now planning a 2008 holiday trip to the Poly.
