Everything You Do, CELEBRATE YOU! - Polynesian - Club Level - TPV

[DaisyDuck001]

Happy New Year!

OOPS! Yes, the lolly would be a popsicle I think?! It's not ice cream, it's like a frozen ice lolly... Jeez whoever thought it would be so difficult to speak the same language!!

I know who thought that. It was whoever said, "Britain and the United States are two nations divided by a common language." Was that George Bernard Shaw?

Meeep I know! Is it February 26th?

Yes!

Disneyland is just as exciting to me because I've never been but I will in the next few years for sure!

Disneyland is in the process of shutting down many areas next week, some until 2019, and a few perhaps permanently, to make "space" for the new StarWarsLand. So if I were planning my first trip there, I'd probably pick a different time frame. Do you already have another WDW trip planned? Is it usually every September for you?

How's life since you got back from WDW? Did you get a new job after finishing your Master's degree?

 

[BibbitybobityLu]

Girl! I am a super bad DIS friend! I'm just checking in to say I'm still here and I'm catching up! As soon as I can I will be back and comment on all your super updates!

 

[BibbitybobityLu]

Hey! Look at me getting all caught up! Don't worry I'm sure it won't last!

I was too distracted/excited to even eat my morning toast, but my dog Stanley helped himself to it right off my plate, so I guess today is a great day for everybody.

Aren't dogs the best? Of course my dogs do this to me all the time...even when I am actually eating it! I think they might actually be seagulls...

We went out to the platform and it was reeealllly cold and rainy.
We were legit shivering.
After waiting no longer than 2 minutes out in the cold, Jamie dramatically threw his head back and proclaimed,

“THIS IS THE WORST HOLIDAY EVER!!!”

Wait. It was raining. And cold. In England??

Bless him! He must be suffering now! Get that boy back to Florida stat!

I love this.

At 10:25am we were pulling into Manchester Airport!
WOO!
Terminal 2, let’s go go GO!

Woohoo!! Big up Manchester! I don't know why I said that either. I'll just go now...

(We had 3 big suitcases. It was ridiculous.)
(…yes, two of them were mine.)

Don't worry, if that had been me all three would have been mine

Soon enough, we were back at our gate, waiting not-so-patiently to board!

I do love Virgin planes. They just seem purer than other planes!

I was happy because I’d managed to book our favourite seats for both journeys
(Unlike Jamie, I AM organised )

Good job you are organised! I have to say I did already pick our seats for both legs of our journey! And then changed them...twice...

Even though they’re at the back of the cabin, there’s plenty of room to recline as far as the seats will go, and no one behind me to kick my seat!

That is the best! That is a bad thing one planes...other people!

I texted my Mum to tell her we had boarded, and she jokingly asked if Jamie was asleep yet…

I sent her this in reply…

SERIOUSLY.
We had been sat down for 10 minutes.
HOW DOES ONE FALL ASLEEP SO EASILY?

Thankfully the stewards noticed my despair at being used as a human pillow, and kept the vino flowing.

Anyway.
Check out this rain cloud.

Bleh! British weather you suck!

We had some more wine and Amarula

See? Virgin Atlantic this is why we love you!

I went to the bathroom and Jamie had swapped all of our belongings over and made himself comfortable in the window seat
What a great travel companion.

I watched Man Up, then Pitch Perfect 2, and when the stewards gave out Fab ice-lollies, I recreated a photo from last year.

This looks like Fat Amy is paddling to get to the Fab!! Also if you haven't properly scrolled it looks like...errrmmm...something else...

More food!
We had a chicken wrap, crisps, millionaire shortbread, a cup of tea, and MORE WINE.

That's lucky!

The cups of tea are served in actual tea-cups.
You may think this sounds appropriate, but you are wrong.
Look how ridiculously small this cup is.

Ok Virgin I have been really proud of you so far but what the heck bro? You have the Union Jack on your butt and you don't have adequately sized TEA CUPS?!?!

We know her as Ann from Arrested Development….
Jamie had headphones on, so I nudged him and pointed to her on my screen, and, with no volume control due to his headphones, he SHOUTED:

“EGG!!!!”

I decided to watch Spy, has anyone seen it?!
We saw it at the cinema, I find it so hilarious.

I love that movie!

“Ahhh what a beautiful day! I can’t wait to soak up some sun!“

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

I’M HOME!!!!

 

[BibbitybobityLu]

They don't ship new bands to the UK.

PEOPLE IN THE UK WANT TO PAINT THEIR MAGIC BANDS WITH GLITTER NAIL POLISH AND SHINY PLASTIC DIAMONDS TOO DISNEY!! JEEZ!

Our first stop was our home for the next 2 weeks,
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort!!!
Let’s go!

We drove alongside the monorail for a while, which I got really unnecessarily excited about.

I think that this amount of excited about that is the necessary about of excited for that. Its science.

In case you missed it in the intro,
We're staying club level!!!!
The King Kamehameha Club to be exact.

I didn't miss it! I am equally parts excited and jealous! I'm jexited! Or exlous...I'm not good at this am I?

Now, this was the moment of truth…
If you’ve stayed at the Poly/know your resorts, you can probably guess why.
The Polynesian longhouses are three floors.
First floor rooms have a patio.
Third floor rooms have a balcony.
But the second floor rooms have nothing…
They have the big sliding doors, that just open up to nothingness.
(Well, there’s a fence there, of course. )

I’m not the type to kick up a fuss at Disney, but I really reallyyyy wanted that third floor balcony…!!!
It was the only thing I requested when I completed my online check in, and I even emailed the IPO (itinerary planning service that comes with club level) asking for a third floor room.

Why do the second floor rooms NOT have a balcony???? When I looked at where the rooms are I think we will have to have a second floor room! Well...unless I change our plans again..which I would never do... But seriously why no balconies??

Well, we piled in the elevator….
The CM reached out to the buttons…
And he hit…

NUMBER 3!!!!!!

WE HAVE A BALCONY PEOPLE.

YAY!

OMG, we were BLOWN AWAY.
I’d seen pictures of these rooms from every angle before coming here, and none of them will ever do justice to the real thing!
GAHHH it’s so beautiful.
And HUGE!

Those rooms are beyond beautiful!

This adorableness had been left on the bed, from the big man himself!

Aww! Ain't Mickey sweet!

And here’s what’s in the box!

Oh my God! NO!

Oh phew! It's just chocolate!

We had an UNBELIEVABLE theme park view room!!!

That's a view.

The concierge CM was really nice and helpful, she really knew her stuff.
She also pulled out this button, since I’d been THAT GUY and noted my birthday on my reservation!

(Our last day was October 6th and my birthday is October 16th… Don’t judge I only wore it on two occasions.)

Hey no judging here, I'm put my birthday on our ressie and I'm wearing that sucker Every.Single.Day. That's the thug life bro. This will be me:

You have been warned!

HEY GIRL HEYYY.

All hail!

She seems happy to see me.
(She follows me on Twitter, therefore, we’re BFFs.)

We finished unpacking and decided to check out the club level lounge!
This is on the second floor (above the concierge desk on the ground floor), with a balconied seating area upstairs on the third floor too.
So we walked along our corridor and came out here!

How fancy!

When Club Level asks you this question:

You say:

Sleepy boy.

Awww bless!

Jamie had the grilled chicken and bacon sandwich.
By the look on his face, I think he enjoyed it too.

Nah. Think he hates it.

But I made it out alive to find THIS!!!

Haha!
I just find this show the most random thing ever.

I love that so much! It's my favourite water based night time parade! Man it must be loud in the bungalows!

hen at 10pm, HalloWishes started!!!!
OMG you guys.
This was absolutely INCREDIBLE.
And as an unexpected bonus, there seemed to be a speaker on the ground right outside our room, so we could hear the entire show really clearly!!
It was absolutely magical!!!

Wow! This is amazing!

When the show ended, everyone down our longhouse clapped and cheered!!!
This is definitely one of my top Disney experiences ever.
I’m so grateful I’ve had the opportunity to experience this!
All thanks to Jamie, and the Polynesian construction planners.


(In case you missed my pre-trip report – we originally booked a garden view room, but I was a little disappointed to learn that we’d be looking out on extensive construction work on that side of the longhouse.
I really couldn’t afford to spend any more money on this trip so I figured I’d just deal with it, but Jamie went ahead and upgraded us to theme park view himself!!! What an angel )

He's a keeper!

I got ready for bed in the bathroom, and when I turned around I saw THIS at the door.

You know that thing I just said about High-Mee being a keeper? Maybe keep your options open?

Tomorrow we’re heading to the Magic Kingdom!!!!

YAY! Please feel free to continue as I have now caught up! (I know you were just waiting for me!)

 

[pkondz]

I do love Virgin planes. They just seem purer than other planes!

Oh, man. I missed you Lu!

Also if you haven't properly scrolled it looks like...errrmmm...something else...

Like what? I don't understand? Tell me!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Well what else are you going to take souvenirs back in?!

EXACTLY! How people take such small suitcases I will never know.

LOL, I was reading it the correct way! But yeah that's strange - that is usually the Spanish way to say it...

People have said that Hymie is this Spanish way, but it's spelt Jaime rather than Jamie, so I guess people were just misreading it

Gosh that room is beautiful! SO opnen but very cozy and just fantastic!!

Isn't it though? It was so amazing!

Gosh being able to see Hallowishes from your balcony just wounds incredible. How lucky you and Jamie were to be able to experience that!

This was the greatest thing about this room! And we could hear the soundtrack clear as day! (Can you hear something clear as day? Or is that phrase reserved for seeing something clear as day... I have never known. )

You are too cute

I love the video at the end - so much fun!!

Great first WDW update Katie, I can't wait to read about your first day in MK!!!

Yay thanks for being here girl! And I hope you had a great Christmas / New years / whatever it is that you celebrate!

The view from your room is amazing!!!! If I ever stay at the Poly I want to book the same area!

I know, I miss it so much! You definitely should! Although, the whole place is so beautiful, no matter where you end up, your view would be great!

So happy that you have a new TR to follow!

We stayed at the Poly in August/September in the DVC villas with an MK view. Such an amazing thing to come home to a lit up castle every night! Now I feel too spoiled and not sure I can stay anywhere else with a different view ever again! LOL

Can't wait for more!

Yay I'm glad you're here! Omg I know exactly what you mean! I've been so spoilt by the Poly and the MK view - it's hard to imagine getting a rooftop / carpark view now although we don't usually spend a lot of time out on the balcony anyway, but we definitely MADE time on this trip. Like, when you're tired and your choice is to stay at Epcot an extra hour, or go home, sit on the balcony, and watch Wishes, there really is no question!

How did you find the villas? I think they look great, I really like the colour scheme. Although I heard there isn't much closet space or something? But I'm sure you're able to look past all that. I mean, you're at the POLY!

You guys got to WDW right after we left. Hallowishes was so great!

Can't wait for more!

Oh cool! I hope you had a great trip! And I hope the crowds were lighter for you in early Sept than they were for us!

I'm here. GAH you have no idea how much I want to go to Paris!!! Paris and Disneyland are the two places on my bucket list! Bonus that there's a Disney Park outside of Paris! Have you ever walked around Hotel Santa Fe? Why is it more expensive to pay with dollars then Pounds? Anyhoo, I loved you mini TR on PDL, looking forward to WDW!

They are two great places to have on your bucket list! Disneyland is on mine for sure I've only seen Hotel Santa Fe very briefly, my friend and I went on a midnight stroll and found ourselves there, it was very dark and we didn't go into the lobby or anything, but it seemed pretty cool! I like the Cars elements they've added. I have no idea why it's more expensive in $ than £ that's so strange? Is it maybe a conversion charge or something? I do like to see that you're maybe pricing up a trip though?! Thanks for reading!

Fabulous review so far! We are staying at the Poly for the first time this coming June/July so I am so thrilled to see this pictures. Is the upgrade to CL worth it? Interested to know since we may have a few more DVC points to spread out... Can't wait for more!

Amazing!! You must be so excited are you staying in the villas? I'm pretty much on the fence about whether the CL upgrade is worth it I think it really depends on the discounts available. Can you upgrade using DVC points?! If you've got them going spare thennn... We had a good discount so it was a nice little add on, but I would've been equally happy in a non-CL, MK view room I think. The planning office is really helpful, but they probably didn't do anything I couldn't have done myself (they only really booked our ADRs for us). The lounge is nice, we had a lot of free diet coke! And we always had breakfast there, and a couple of snacks every day, but no where near enough food to balance out the cost of upgrading Let me know what you decide!

Can I please ask if it's not too cheeky, have you used the Disney laundry service before and if so, was it considerably easy to use the machines and priced?

I've never stayed in a Disney hotel before, only villas but the laundry situation is a new one for me.

Thank you in advance

Not cheeky at all! Although I haven't used the laundry service before, sorry! You could try searching/asking on the resorts board, they will be more knowledgable over there

Hello Katie! You are hysterical! I just finished reading your last trip report and it was the perfect little pick me up during nursing school study breaks, so thank you for being awesome and hilarious! I was wishing and hoping that at the very end would be a link to another report and there it was!

Disneyland Paris looks so beautiful. I'm very jealous! Your family seems very sweet too

Yay Poly! That view is to die for! My dream upon dreams would be to stay there with that view!

So after about 18 exclamation points, I just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying your reports and I can't wait to hear more! My boyfriend and I are planning our own trip to WDW next December as a late graduation/birthday gift to me! yay!!! I'll be following along!

Hey! Haha, thank you! oh wow, I hope nursing school is going well! That sounds like a lot of hard work. But I'm so glad I brought you a bit of enjoyment during your study breaks!

I love love loved the Poly, I hope you get to stay there some time the MK view isn't even necessary because even just the basic garden views are beautiful

Disney in December! You've passed the 1 year mark! How exciting. And thanks for saying hello! I'm glad you're here reading

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Thank you so much for including your adventures in Disneyland Paris as part of your trip report! It was so fun to "experience" a new Disney park that I've never seen before! (And after reading about it, I need to get there someday!)

Hey girl! Yes you do need to get there someday! Work it into your bucket list please

You mean that there are people that AREN'T at the airport ridiculously early for their Disney vacations?!

We don't need reckless people like this in our lives

I'm rather jealous of your Club-level stay at the Poly. What a fantastic bonus!

It was great! I miss it so much.

So, not only were you in Disney World...

and staying Club Level at the Poly...

and had that ridiculous view outside your balcony...

but you had a speaker WITH THE HALLO-WISHES SOUNDTRACK RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR?!

Okay, my jealousy has hit a whole new level. Wow.

YES the fireworks soundtrack playing right outside was a huge highlight for me. I'd only seen HalloWishes once before back in 2012, but after this trip it's one of my favourite shows, I listen to that soundtrack all the time and pretend I'm sat on my little balcony in the sun .... and then I hang my head and cry.

If all of that excitement occurred just on your first day, I can't wait to see what else is in store!

It was a great trip for sure! Thanks for reading

Hey Katie!! I'm back at the DIS after a long break and was so excited to see your new TR. I'm not sure if I even finished the last one. Will make sure to go back and do that. So I just binge read the DLP posts and thought I'd comment on those before I start the Florida posts.

Oh hello stranger! It's good to have you back!

I love that your "service stations" serve Starbucks tea in this adorable white cup. Ours serve gasoline-flavored coffee approximately the temperature of lava in styrofoam.

I can imagine the gasoline-flavoured coffee in a styrofoam cup! That's quite the image. Do they tend to be primarily petrol/gas stations? Service stations here tend to be quite big, they usually have a Starbucks and a Burger King, and mini supermarkets and arcades and stuff. It's quite fun to stop there!

I love this castle so much!! I love the MK castle but this one has so much more character.

Isn't it pretty it's also one of those things that's much more spectacular in person than in photos.

That looks like a combination of Tom Sawyer Island and the Swiss Family Tree House. Fun!!

That's pretty much what it is!

Amazing! Thanks for sharing all the photos and video.

No problem! I'm glad you enjoyed them

I'm sold! I think we'll be booking a European vacation around 2019 (I like to plan ahead ) and Disney must be on the list!

THIS MUST HAPPEN! Euro-tours are the best. And since it's such a long trip for you, it's definitely the best way to do DLP. DLP only needs like 3/4/5 days so you may as well go see more stuff! Eeee I hope this happens for you guys

Someone needs to tell Billy about DLP! (ETA: The language in this is very NSFW.)

I love this guy! And now I like him even more! The main thing I remember him from is the "It's Spock, do you care?" video

(Again, NSFW language)

I never got to see it at HS so I'm glad I have the chance to see it someday at DLP.

In 2019!

This kid gets it.

That is so good. That's my reaction to bacon too

So they let the characters loose to be mobbed by the guests?!

YES and it's as awful as it sounds. Sometimes there's an orderly line, but more often than not, you'll see a big crowd of people stood around a character, all shoving their child in front of them for a photo.. I don't know why they haven't got that under control yet?!

Cute hat but I just don't see a rat.

Ok, so you have to flip it around in your mind, because the top half of this pic will be hanging over the back of my head. So, the bobble is at the bottom, that makes the nose. Then the black circles are the eyes, with whiskers either side. And the triangles make the ears! I don't know if that makes sense?!

It does sound long either way. I suppose the wine helps a lot.

Oh it helps

I think so, too. Like Jorge for George.

Yep, I've been informed that it is the Spanish version, but it's spelt Jaime, so it seems as though people were just misreading it. But I'm glad they did, it was funny! Especially to us, we had literally NEVER heard the name Hymie before. Like I've heard Jorge in Spanish but never Jaime. It just sounded funny to us since we had no idea why she'd called him that

If someone ever called Jamie Hi-mee I would die. And call him that forever.

I still do!

Oh, wow. I never realized how close GF is to the Poly. They look like they're right next door from this perspective.

Yeah, there's a path to walk between the two, they're very close

No judgement here, it's totally reasonable that you're celebrating your bday. I almost put my birthday down for our April trip (it's actually in May).

Haha, thanks! I don't see the big deal. I told this story in my last TR, but we found it hilarious that about 7 people in Via Napoli were celebrating a birthday, and the waiters were just going from table to table with cakes singing and clapping

I've never seen a carafe of water like that. Did it come from the club lounge?

It sure did, they would sometimes give us two, it was filtered and super chilled, MUCH nicer than the tap water

Can't wait to hear more about this amazing trip!!

Yay thanks for reading! Glad to have you here!

OK now that I'm finally back and living in real life again and am back on the TR reading grind, let me just say I LOVE THIS SERIES OF TRIPS! I love everything about this!

Thanks! Hope you had a great Disney trip

Always love your trip reports Katie!

Aww, thanks so much! and thank you for reading

Joining in! Loved your last trip report and am excited to follow along with this one too! Congrats on finishing your master's! I just finished mine so I understand your relief! Looking forward t o the next update!

-Erica

Thanks Erica! I'm glad you're enjoying it And thank you for the congrats, and congratulations to you too!!! Boyyyy I'm glad it's over

Just joining in for this trip report! I read your last one too before my trip. We also were in Disney the same time (Sept 25- Oct 2). It was by far one of my favorite trips to the WDW since I had never been in the fall. And....THAT VIEW!!!!! It makes me just want to direct deposit my paycheck to Disney right now! Look forward to the tuning in for the rest!

and thanks for reading! That's cool that you were there too, you should look for yourself in the back of my photos I'm so glad you enjoyed Disney in autumn, I'd like to try some other times of the year, but I think autumn will always be my favourite Omg, how great would it be, if like, every month, a small portion of your paycheck went directly to Disney, and after an unknown amount of time you got a letter saying "SURPRISE! You're going to Disney!" I would definitely sign up for that. I don't know what I'm talking about anymore haha. But thanks again for reading!

 

[UDFlyer12]

Amazing!! You must be so excited are you staying in the villas?

Yes, we are staying in the villas! I think we decided to stay non-CL for now so that I can go again for a long weekend in October. 2 trips are better than 1! Also, I know you are probably super busy, but I need more updates to fuel my addiction please. (I can stop anytime I want, I swear I can )

 

[ursalita]

Do they tend to be primarily petrol/gas stations? Service stations here tend to be quite big, they usually have a Starbucks and a Burger King, and mini supermarkets and arcades and stuff. It's quite fun to stop there!

Oh, I understand what you mean. When I think of service stations it's places that have gas and very basic conveniences. Nicer places like Starbucks or McDonald's are separate entities. We have what you're referring to but they are off larger highways, places I wouldn't stop unless I was on a road trip. But my perspective is pretty limited, I live in a state you can cross in 45 minutes so we don't have those. I'd have to go to Connecticut or Massachusetts for that.

THIS MUST HAPPEN! Euro-tours are the best. And since it's such a long trip for you, it's definitely the best way to do DLP. DLP only needs like 3/4/5 days so you may as well go see more stuff! Eeee I hope this happens for you guys

In 2019 Jamie has to exercise some options so we might have some extra money to spend on something like a trip to Europe. Sammy really wants to go to England and I want to see Paris so I've been looking at possible itineraries if we spend a couple weeks in Europe. Unfortunately, Jamie doesn't like to travel outside the US because of baseball. He doesn't want to miss any Yankee games. I guess he went when he was a kid and had baseball withdrawals. I wonder - can you watch baseball in the UK?

Ok, so you have to flip it around in your mind, because the top half of this pic will be hanging over the back of my head. So, the bobble is at the bottom, that makes the nose. Then the black circles are the eyes, with whiskers either side. And the triangles make the ears! I don't know if that makes sense?!

Yes, that makes perfect sense. I can't believe I couldn't see that.

Yep, I've been informed that it is the Spanish version, but it's spelt Jaime,

Jamie gets that misspelling all the time of the girl's name.

Yeah, there's a path to walk between the two, they're very close

Now that we'll be staying there in August (have you heard this?) I've done more research. I guess they share a fitness center? It really opens up our ADR options...

Haha, thanks! I don't see the big deal. I told this story in my last TR, but we found it hilarious that about 7 people in Via Napoli were celebrating a birthday, and the waiters were just going from table to table with cakes singing and clapping

That's so funny. I'd think the CMs would get pretty immune to the celebrating buttons but it seems like they are acknowledged quite a bit at Disney.

 

[mlegerto]

Yay I'm glad you're here! Omg I know exactly what you mean! I've been so spoilt by the Poly and the MK view - it's hard to imagine getting a rooftop / carpark view now although we don't usually spend a lot of time out on the balcony anyway, but we definitely MADE time on this trip. Like, when you're tired and your choice is to stay at Epcot an extra hour, or go home, sit on the balcony, and watch Wishes, there really is no question!

How did you find the villas? I think they look great, I really like the colour scheme. Although I heard there isn't much closet space or something? But I'm sure you're able to look past all that. I mean, you're at the POLY!

We're the same way. We typically do not spend that much time out on a balcony - just the odd time here and there with a drink while we get ready for dinner or something, but with that view, we made sure to utilize the balcony and the view!! How could you not LOL. We found ourselves tired at the end of a night and deciding to head back to watch wishes from our balcony than battling the crowds in the parks haha.

We absolutely loved the villas!! The colors and decor were stunning. There wasn't as much storage I do agree, but there was still a full closet, two huge drawers along the bed sides and the beds were high enough to store your luggage under them so that was great because it didn't take room up in our closet. I believe the "coffee table ottoman" was also able to lift up for storage, but we didn't need it with just the two of us. My fav part (other than the view) was the dual bathrooms! Made getting ready so much easier!!

 

[emilyindisney]

Enjoying your trip report so far! Your room and the view from your balcony is just gorgeous- what a dose of Disney magic! Looking forward to hearing more

 

[TheLittleKatie]

I'm so excited you're getting this baby going! I have been on vacation the last two weeks and am super behind on all things DIS. But I am ready to get in the Disney spirit because I have my resort booked for my Dec trip and it's less than a year away which means I need lots of TR's and dining reports and all around DIS goodness to help me along

You're officially going to Disney THIS YEAR

Did someone say free alcohol???

You look so freakin happy

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORRRLD

(who made this gif?!)

Did they mark on the map where the Titanic sank in 1912? Am I reading that right? That seems very...morbid for a long plan ride

Yep, and I never found it weird until you pointed it out... Now I find it weird...

Yes!!! I love that movie! Melissa McCarthy is my favorite!

I say this all the time!!! And the line that follows it makes me LOL every single time Do you remember it?! I'm not sure I can repeat it since it could be deemed offensive... But thankfully, @BibbitybobityLu went there instead, and posted it in her comment on the next page so see that if you want reminding

But didn't you have a map???

Correct. Still got lost.

That is very much a Spanish/Mexican thing...lots of them here in South Texas but it's usually spelled Jaime not Jamie

Yep thanks for the clarification! It seems a couple of people must've misread his name as Jaime. We've never ever heard that variation of the name before, so it just seemed really funny that someone would interpret his name like that, it made my day!

Soooooo pretty! Although I will admit that I miss the water features and waterfalls...I stayed at the Poly several times as a kid and it just doesn't look the same anymore
It is very beautiful though!

Ahh I know a lot of people seem to miss it. I never had that connection with the old water feature though, I just saw it briefly when eating at Ohana. So I can fully appreciate the new lobby

Wow, that is a gorgeous room!!

I know!!!!

That's so awesome! Ahhh, I just booked Beach Club and had decided that I was going to stick with that rather than trying to find availability for Bay Lake at 7 months out (DVC rules/timelines) but now these pictures have me second guessing myself! The MK area resorts are so amazing!

Omg either of those would be ridiculously good I would be totally torn too! I guess you still have a few months to decide

Awesome, awesome updates!! I can't wait to read more!!!!

Thanks girl! I'll be right over at your PTR, I wonder if I've missed anything

I literally feel like a Dis failure. Just this morning I thought to myself "Hmm, self, I haven't seen any updates from Katie's TR in a long time, I wonder where she's been?!" SO I come on the Dis, and look at my watched threads page and your TR ISN'T THERE! I commented after your first day at DLP and never hit the watch thread link. I have so much catching up to do now!

Oh no! Well there's no rush but I'm glad you thought of me and that you came to catch up!

Really enjoying your trip report so far!

I think the pronunciation "HIGH-mee" is more prevalent in spanish speaking communities (which in Orlando is very common!)

I LOVE the Poly lobby refurb. I loved the water feature but the open-ness of the remodel makes it look HUGE!

Its amazing you got to see Hallowishes from your balcony. Even better that you could hear all the music!

Cant wait to read about the rest of your trip!

Thank you!! Ahh yeah, people have said that high-mee is the pronunciation for the name Jaime, so the CM must have just misread it We just found it funny because it high-mee didn't exist as a name as far as we knew... Neither of us had ever heard that name before. So when she said it we were just like haha!

YES I agree, the Poly looks great! I understand people having an emotional attachment to the old lobby, but I love the new one!

OMG I know!! I'd heard that we wouldn't be able to hear the music, one of the CMs told us we should watch from the lounge "because they pipe the music in there so you'll get the whole experience." So I don't think you can hear it from all the rooms. I think we really lucked out having a speaker right outside outside out room!

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it

First, Hymie will go done in legend. So that is always a positive. Second, that kid just keeps getting cuter every day. Thank goodness he looks like his mother. I'll post another one so your heart continues to melt.

Aww bless him, I saw the previous picture, I think he was dressed as the alien from Toy Story? But this new one... Does he have little tiny suspenders holding up his trousers?!?!? That is SO CUTE. Does he have a name?! (I understand if you don't share that kind of info on the internet!) He is just precious!

Yes. I would consider that a first world problem.
But just barely.

I don't think that's possible.

Normal morning routine:
<Alarm rings> "mmrble... shwehhh... whaa??" <Hand reaches out. Hits snooze.> (Repeat several times.) Finally stagger out of bed and stare at self in mirror hoping somehow you'll wake up eventually and recognize the bed-headed person in the mirror.

Disney trip morning routine:
<Alarm begins to ring><Springs out of bed less than one micro-second later does a cartwheel and turns off alarm.> "I'M GOING TO DISNEY!!!!!" <Dances.>

YES that's me on Disney day!

I'm trying to grow it out really long so I can comb it over my head.

Bahaha send pics.

I BEG YOUR PARDON?!?!?!?

Oh! You mean the smiley guy!
Phew!

your mind is FILTH!

Okay, I'll tell you. Not hard. It's just a gif. You add it just like a picture.

I figured it out I was just confused because it didn't have a background so I thought it was a mysterious new Disboard smily.

I'll alert all the king's horses and all the king's men.

I was amused the other day when I read that no where in Humpty Dumpty does it imply that he's an egg.

Not long at all. Usually just a few seconds... hmmm... 30?
Unless of course you're really stupid and bring an underage child with you and don't have a letter from her other parent with you.
But who would do something that dumb?

Some super-doofus I guess.

No! Not sarcasm at all! I love multi-grain bread!

GOOD! Me too!

I don't know. Hmmmm.... A little deeper maybe?
Voices always take me by surprise when I first hear them.
When I read, I suppose I narrate in my mind and that's what they sound like...
Without "sounding" at all.

Come to think of it I thought the same thing when I first met him I guess I'm used to it now, so it's weird to think of him with a deeper voice

Also, we're going to need to hear your accent sometime please.

Definitely there for food and wine. I've managed to time this trip perfectly so that I can do food & wine, MNSSHP and MVMCP all in the one trip.

I'm doing a split stay though - Wilderness Lodge to start, Old Key West, then a Disney cruise and finally finishing it all off at Beach Club. Now if only I could fit the Poly in there somewhere too....

That's such a good idea! What a great time to visit.
Wow your trip sounds amazing! I've just seen that you're doing a PTR, I'm going to have to start following along I haven't ever visited Old Key West, but Wilderness Lodge and Beach Club are two of my favourite resorts!

I'm thinking of setting up some form of 12 step program for people with a Disney addiction - "just one more day at Disney please and then I promise I'll quit" - I'd probably be able to sign up half the boards (including myself)

I need this too, day dreaming about Disney is way too time consuming!!!

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

I need this too, day dreaming about Disney is way too time consuming!!!

The first step is to print this out, fill in your name and keep it in your purse

 

[pkondz]

YES that's me on Disney day!

Knew it.

Bahaha send pics.

your mind is FILTH!

It's Lou's fault. She rubs off on me.

I figured it out I was just confused because it didn't have a background so I thought it was a mysterious new Disboard smily.

Well I am an international man of mystery... so that was a possibility.

I was amused the other day when I read that no where in Humpty Dumpty does it imply that he's an egg.

An egg? Of course not!

He was a porcelain tea pot.

Some super-doofus I guess.

Also, we're going to need to hear your accent sometime please.

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Happy New Year!

I know who thought that. It was whoever said, "Britain and the United States are two nations divided by a common language." Was that George Bernard Shaw?

Yes!
Disneyland is in the process of shutting down many areas next week, some until 2019, and a few perhaps permanently, to make "space" for the new StarWarsLand. So if I were planning my first trip there, I'd probably pick a different time frame. Do you already have another WDW trip planned? Is it usually every September for you?

How's life since you got back from WDW? Did you get a new job after finishing your Master's degree?

Happy New Year to you too!
I haven't a clue who said that, but it's definitely fitting for my trip reports I'm always conflicted on which terms to use, should I cater to the mostly American readers, or stay true to my British self and let you guys figure it out for yourselves
That's really good advice for Disneyland, thanks!! I looked into it and you're right, it looks like it would be best to wait until a lot of the refurbs and expansions are done. As much as I can't wait to get out there, I'm not really in any rush. And I can't complain about sticking with WDW for a while Yep September is our month!!! I'd love to try early January to catch the tail end of the Christmas decorations, and also Flower and Garden festival, but I just love September Hopefully my future involves an annual pass so I can take a few shorter trips rather than one long trip per year Do you have any plans to go to Disney?
Post WDW life is always depressing but things are fine here thanks, yep trying to be a real adult now!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Girl! I am a super bad DIS friend! I'm just checking in to say I'm still here and I'm catching up! As soon as I can I will be back and comment on all your super updates!

You give me your love then rip it away from me without a second thought, taking my heart along with you.

Aren't dogs the best? Of course my dogs do this to me all the time...even when I am actually eating it! I think they might actually be seagulls...

So does mine!! He's managed to snatch a few things off my plate before

This is also my dog:

I love this.

Literally me on Disney day.

I do love Virgin planes. They just seem purer than other planes!

She's back ladies and gentlemen

This looks like Fat Amy is paddling to get to the Fab!!

Omg it does! I didn't even realise

Also if you haven't properly scrolled it looks like...errrmmm...something else...

HOW HAVE YOU NOT BEEN BANNED FROM THE DIS YET.

Ok Virgin I have been really proud of you so far but what the heck bro? You have the Union Jack on your butt and you don't have adequately sized TEA CUPS?!?!

They're not true Brits! It's an outrage. It's 2:30pm and I've had 5 cups of tea in giant mugs today. And you're going to give me ONE of those teeny tiny tea cups on an 8 hour flight??? NO.

These are my favourite lines in the film

Along with when Miranda says her spy name/porn name (name of first pet + name of the first street you lived on) was Amber Valentine, and Melissa McCarthy's was Meatball Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard I laughed for about a week.

PEOPLE IN THE UK WANT TO PAINT THEIR MAGIC BANDS WITH GLITTER NAIL POLISH AND SHINY PLASTIC DIAMONDS TOO DISNEY!! JEEZ!

TELL ME ABOUT IT.

(Have you watched AHS Hotel yet? It's the finale tonight!!!!!!!!!! )

You will be there soon!!!

Why do the second floor rooms NOT have a balcony???? When I looked at where the rooms are I think we will have to have a second floor room! Well...unless I change our plans again..which I would never do... But seriously why no balconies??

I haven't a clue, there must be a structural reason because it would be a very odd thing to design for no reason... Why do you think you'll have a second floor room?!

Hey no judging here, I'm put my birthday on our ressie and I'm wearing that sucker Every.Single.Day. That's the thug life bro.

Wearing a birthday button at Walt Disney World is the literal definition of thug life.

This will be you.

YAY! Please feel free to continue as I have now caught up! (I know you were just waiting for me!)

I'll get right on it! Thanks for finally giving your approval. You're officially to blame for this almost-month-long hiatus

 

[pkondz]

Literally me on Disney day.

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Yes, we are staying in the villas! I think we decided to stay non-CL for now so that I can go again for a long weekend in October. 2 trips are better than 1! Also, I know you are probably super busy, but I need more updates to fuel my addiction please. (I can stop anytime I want, I swear I can )

Awesome! I've just noticed your signature, you're going March, June, July AND October?!??! That's the greatest year ever You'll have to let me know how you find AKL, that's what we've got planned for our next trip
And sure thing, some updates are coming up!! Maybe today, if not tomorrow

In 2019 Jamie has to exercise some options so we might have some extra money to spend on something like a trip to Europe. Sammy really wants to go to England and I want to see Paris so I've been looking at possible itineraries if we spend a couple weeks in Europe. Unfortunately, Jamie doesn't like to travel outside the US because of baseball. He doesn't want to miss any Yankee games. I guess he went when he was a kid and had baseball withdrawals. I wonder - can you watch baseball in the UK?

This sounds like a great plan! We don't really show baseball over here, I've only seen NFL/NBA games, but I just did a quick Google of "watch baseball in London" and there might be a couple of places that play it, it might be worth looking into Also, when we were in Florida, my Jamie live-streamed a few English football (soccer) games online on his laptop, maybe your Jamie could see if that was possible?

Now that we'll be staying there in August (have you heard this?) I've done more research. I guess they share a fitness center? It really opens up our ADR options...

I hadn't heard about your new trip plans, thats awesome!!! I'm going to check out your PTR yep they do share a fitness center, and I agree, it makes planning ADR times much easier

 

[TheLittleKatie]

We're the same way. We typically do not spend that much time out on a balcony - just the odd time here and there with a drink while we get ready for dinner or something, but with that view, we made sure to utilize the balcony and the view!! How could you not LOL. We found ourselves tired at the end of a night and deciding to head back to watch wishes from our balcony than battling the crowds in the parks haha.

We absolutely loved the villas!! The colors and decor were stunning. There wasn't as much storage I do agree, but there was still a full closet, two huge drawers along the bed sides and the beds were high enough to store your luggage under them so that was great because it didn't take room up in our closet. I believe the "coffee table ottoman" was also able to lift up for storage, but we didn't need it with just the two of us. My fav part (other than the view) was the dual bathrooms! Made getting ready so much easier!!

I'm so glad you loved the villas! That's good, I was under the impression that the storage space was much worse than that from the amount some people were complaining It seemed as though you'd just have to leave your suitcases in the bathtub or something but that's good that there's a closet and drawers AND space under the bed. Omg YES I'd forgotten about the two bathrooms! I bet that comes in really handy. We walked past the villas every time we walked to the TTC and I'll admit I was creeping on those ground floor studios that had their curtains open

Enjoying your trip report so far! Your room and the view from your balcony is just gorgeous- what a dose of Disney magic! Looking forward to hearing more

Hey Emily Thank you!! I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Aww I know, I miss that room so much!!! I could hardly enjoy the New Years Eve fireworks from our apartment balcony because it was nothing compared to our prime Poly viewing spot! Yay thanks for reading, updates coming up real soon!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

The first step is to print this out, fill in your name and keep it in your purse

View attachment 144794

perfect!

Omg, if we ever meet and you don't look like this I'm going to be extremely disappointed.

It's Lou's fault. She rubs off on me.

Wait, she rubs what?