When: May 1 May 10
Where: Disneys Polynesian Resort
Cast: Too numerous to list over 70 total with the starring roles going to:
DD Fairy Tale Princess
FSIL her Prince
Me Queen Mother to FT Princess, sometimes called MOB (mother of bride or she who writes the checks)
Mom my mother and roommate for part of our stay
Gracely Hectors Mom
Lisa Wedding Event Manager
Monday, May 7
No wake up call today, and I slept until 8:45. Since I had planned to meet Eileen and Pura for breakfast at 9:30, I hustled to get ready and out the door by 9:25 am. Mom called Mo and made plans to meet her family and Mike and Chris for breakfast. When I arrived at Kona Café, Eileen and Pura were already at a table. We decided to share two entrees, and we ordered a ham and cheese omelet and French toast. Pura and I had café lattes, and Eileen had Kona coffee. After we placed our order, the rest of my family was seated nearby. Pura and Eileen and I finally had some time to catch up, and we discussed the wedding, and what they had done in the parks during their stay. After breakfast we stopped at Trader Jacks so I could exchange one of the two Minnie and Mickey frames Lucy had received. (She received the wedding frame as a gift so I returned a similar one I had picked up at Disney Studios.) I said my good-byes to Pura and Eileen, then headed back to my room to make some phone calls. When I finished I went down to the concierge office to see about shipping the box home, and Melissa was there covering for someone. I brought down the box of wedding paraphernalia, as well as my digital camera, and after they packed up the box I shared some of the wedding photos.
When I returned to my room, I had a message from Mo saying she, Mike and the boys were heading to the Animal Kingdom. Mom was going to join us, and I checked with Mike and Chris, but Mike said Chris didnt feel like walking around much, so they might head out to DisneyQuest. It was just past noon when we caught the bus to Animal Kingdom. We took our time wandering back through Harambe to Kilimanjaro Safaris, and there was practically no wait in the standby line. (Posted wait time was twenty minutes, but we pretty much walked through the queue maybe ten minutes.) We had a great safari there were many animals out and about. (The weather is still beautiful highs each day near 80 with a nice breeze.) Both the male and female lion were out and alert, giving us glaring stares as we passed by. There were elephants and giraffes, crocodiles, Thompson gazelles, an adult and baby rhinoceros, and many other animals I cant name. And of course we caught the elephant poachers! The twins wanted temporary tattoos, so we went to the stand on the walkway from Harambe next. Mike got an eagle and Andy a snake. We decided it was time for lunch, so we stopped at Pizzafari. The boys had pizza, Mom had a chicken Caesar salad, Mo and Mike shared the penne pasta with Caesar salad, and I had a delicious hot Italian deli sandwich.
It was almost 3:00 pm, and we wanted to see the 3:30 Festival of the Lion King show, so we went into a few shops to pass some time. We started over to Lion King at around 3:15, and ran into cousins Joan and Steve crossing the bridge to Camp Minnie Mickey. We visited for a few minutes they were headed out to Disney Studios, and then went in and were seated in the warthog section of the Lion King theater. Mo got picked to assist in the pre-show (shes so quiet and unassuming) she had to hand-jive to Hakuna Matata. We took some pictures and video of her, and then sat back to enjoy the music, dancing and colorful costumes of the Festival of the Lion King. (In previous visits Ive always recognized some of the main performers from past shows, but this was the first time none of the main four looked familiar.) When the show ended, it was just past 4:00 pm, so we headed out to catch a bus back to the Polynesian.
Back in our room, it wasnt long before Joel, Barb, Meg and Drew arrived to meet us for dinner. They had been to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure all day. We called Mike and Chris to tell them we were ready, then headed over to the monorail on our way to the Villains Dinner at 1900 Park Fare. Cruella deVill was greeting guests at the door, and she was very in character she looked bored with all the picture taking, and was just a tad snappish and rude. She told my white-haired Mom that she had half of a nice hairdo. Barb and Meg had their picture taken with Cruella, and Mom posed with the Queen of Hearts. Chris wasnt feeling too well, so he went to sit outside away from the crowd. We all soon moved out to the Mary Poppins topiary garden to wait for our dinner beeper to flash.
The buffet at 1900 Park Fare is spectacular hand-carved prime rib, chicken, roast pork tenderloin, seafood and pasta dishes, various vegetables and rice dishes, a huge salad bar, and that luscious chilled strawberry soup. There is also a large assortment of desserts, including key lime and cheesecake tarts, warm bread pudding with vanilla sauce, fudge and a make-your-own sundae bar. Barb and I had a Secret Garden with our meals a strawberry and mango margarita. We had visits from Governor Ratcliffe, Prince John and Captain Hook. Hook took a purse from a young woman at the table behind ours, and when he was rummaging through it, a feminine hygiene product in its distinctive pink wrapper fell out. He picked it off the floor, then threw it back down and stomped on it. The three women at the table were hysterical with laughter. The good captain also had a hook to pointed finger sword fight with Drew.
We sat in the Grand Floridian lobby for a few minutes while Meg and Barb went back to SummerLace to pick up a few things they had seen the night before. (They carry an extensive line of fragrant skincare and bath items.) The band on the second floor was playing when we sat down, and when they finished their set the piano player came out and played Dont Cry for Me from Evita. Everyone was pretty tired our vacations are winding down so we caught the monorail back to the Polynesian and said good-bye to Joel, Barb and the kids. We headed back to our rooms to pack, stopping at the volcano pool to briefly visit with Mo. (Andy was swimming and Mike was back in the room with his dad.) We finally went back to our room to begin the depressing job of trying to fit everything into our suitcases.
Where: Disneys Polynesian Resort
Cast: Too numerous to list over 70 total with the starring roles going to:
DD Fairy Tale Princess
FSIL her Prince
Me Queen Mother to FT Princess, sometimes called MOB (mother of bride or she who writes the checks)
Mom my mother and roommate for part of our stay
Gracely Hectors Mom
Lisa Wedding Event Manager
Monday, May 7
No wake up call today, and I slept until 8:45. Since I had planned to meet Eileen and Pura for breakfast at 9:30, I hustled to get ready and out the door by 9:25 am. Mom called Mo and made plans to meet her family and Mike and Chris for breakfast. When I arrived at Kona Café, Eileen and Pura were already at a table. We decided to share two entrees, and we ordered a ham and cheese omelet and French toast. Pura and I had café lattes, and Eileen had Kona coffee. After we placed our order, the rest of my family was seated nearby. Pura and Eileen and I finally had some time to catch up, and we discussed the wedding, and what they had done in the parks during their stay. After breakfast we stopped at Trader Jacks so I could exchange one of the two Minnie and Mickey frames Lucy had received. (She received the wedding frame as a gift so I returned a similar one I had picked up at Disney Studios.) I said my good-byes to Pura and Eileen, then headed back to my room to make some phone calls. When I finished I went down to the concierge office to see about shipping the box home, and Melissa was there covering for someone. I brought down the box of wedding paraphernalia, as well as my digital camera, and after they packed up the box I shared some of the wedding photos.
When I returned to my room, I had a message from Mo saying she, Mike and the boys were heading to the Animal Kingdom. Mom was going to join us, and I checked with Mike and Chris, but Mike said Chris didnt feel like walking around much, so they might head out to DisneyQuest. It was just past noon when we caught the bus to Animal Kingdom. We took our time wandering back through Harambe to Kilimanjaro Safaris, and there was practically no wait in the standby line. (Posted wait time was twenty minutes, but we pretty much walked through the queue maybe ten minutes.) We had a great safari there were many animals out and about. (The weather is still beautiful highs each day near 80 with a nice breeze.) Both the male and female lion were out and alert, giving us glaring stares as we passed by. There were elephants and giraffes, crocodiles, Thompson gazelles, an adult and baby rhinoceros, and many other animals I cant name. And of course we caught the elephant poachers! The twins wanted temporary tattoos, so we went to the stand on the walkway from Harambe next. Mike got an eagle and Andy a snake. We decided it was time for lunch, so we stopped at Pizzafari. The boys had pizza, Mom had a chicken Caesar salad, Mo and Mike shared the penne pasta with Caesar salad, and I had a delicious hot Italian deli sandwich.
It was almost 3:00 pm, and we wanted to see the 3:30 Festival of the Lion King show, so we went into a few shops to pass some time. We started over to Lion King at around 3:15, and ran into cousins Joan and Steve crossing the bridge to Camp Minnie Mickey. We visited for a few minutes they were headed out to Disney Studios, and then went in and were seated in the warthog section of the Lion King theater. Mo got picked to assist in the pre-show (shes so quiet and unassuming) she had to hand-jive to Hakuna Matata. We took some pictures and video of her, and then sat back to enjoy the music, dancing and colorful costumes of the Festival of the Lion King. (In previous visits Ive always recognized some of the main performers from past shows, but this was the first time none of the main four looked familiar.) When the show ended, it was just past 4:00 pm, so we headed out to catch a bus back to the Polynesian.
Back in our room, it wasnt long before Joel, Barb, Meg and Drew arrived to meet us for dinner. They had been to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure all day. We called Mike and Chris to tell them we were ready, then headed over to the monorail on our way to the Villains Dinner at 1900 Park Fare. Cruella deVill was greeting guests at the door, and she was very in character she looked bored with all the picture taking, and was just a tad snappish and rude. She told my white-haired Mom that she had half of a nice hairdo. Barb and Meg had their picture taken with Cruella, and Mom posed with the Queen of Hearts. Chris wasnt feeling too well, so he went to sit outside away from the crowd. We all soon moved out to the Mary Poppins topiary garden to wait for our dinner beeper to flash.
The buffet at 1900 Park Fare is spectacular hand-carved prime rib, chicken, roast pork tenderloin, seafood and pasta dishes, various vegetables and rice dishes, a huge salad bar, and that luscious chilled strawberry soup. There is also a large assortment of desserts, including key lime and cheesecake tarts, warm bread pudding with vanilla sauce, fudge and a make-your-own sundae bar. Barb and I had a Secret Garden with our meals a strawberry and mango margarita. We had visits from Governor Ratcliffe, Prince John and Captain Hook. Hook took a purse from a young woman at the table behind ours, and when he was rummaging through it, a feminine hygiene product in its distinctive pink wrapper fell out. He picked it off the floor, then threw it back down and stomped on it. The three women at the table were hysterical with laughter. The good captain also had a hook to pointed finger sword fight with Drew.
We sat in the Grand Floridian lobby for a few minutes while Meg and Barb went back to SummerLace to pick up a few things they had seen the night before. (They carry an extensive line of fragrant skincare and bath items.) The band on the second floor was playing when we sat down, and when they finished their set the piano player came out and played Dont Cry for Me from Evita. Everyone was pretty tired our vacations are winding down so we caught the monorail back to the Polynesian and said good-bye to Joel, Barb and the kids. We headed back to our rooms to pack, stopping at the volcano pool to briefly visit with Mo. (Andy was swimming and Mike was back in the room with his dad.) We finally went back to our room to begin the depressing job of trying to fit everything into our suitcases.
