Feb 17-24 Land-Sea Fun for the Whole FAMILY (LOTSA PICS)

[jewelmicky]

Hi everyone!

I have been going to start this pre-trip report for awhile now...so here we go. I am still learning how to do pics and quotes and such, so bare with me. First I'd like to thank all those who have taken the time to post here and share their experiences...I found the info here invaluable in planning and making the trip possible. I honestly don't see how people "wing" it at WDW...I think I would get eaten alive!

Some background and meet the motley family members

Me 30ish....the instigater, planner, organizer, and cruise director. I enjoy the planning but am not "anal" about it....I figure the more I put into it now the more everyone will get out later...we'll see. I work in health care, so have an "enjoy the moment" type attitude about life. Been to WDW 6 times and DCL twice, by no means an expert but at least I can relate.

Dear Partner 30ish...an engineer. I tell you this, not because I really care that you know she's an engineer....but because that fact pretty much sums up her personality. 2+2=4, lines have to be parallel, and angles right....ALWAYS. I have spent the better part of 15 years trying to convince her that life is not always a right angle.

Dear Daughter 5 1/2...for some reason that 1/2 is really important for a 5 year old. She is fearless and ready for anything (last time we went to Ceder Point she made them measure her at EVERY ride, just to make sure she hadn't grown in the last 15 min.) She has no interest in being saved by a handsome prince....but if there is one in trouble, she'll be the first one on the scene to save HIM! This will be her 3rd trip to the world, but the 1st she will probably really remember later.

Dear Neice 8...has had it really rough lately. She has never been ANYWHERE! Never on a plane, a boat, or out of state....Ohio doesn't count. She will stay away from anything scary.

Dear Folks....60's. GREAT parents....I really couldn't do it without them. Pretty active, but have to be "encouraged". Have never been to WDW or a cruise.

Dear FIL...60's. Has alot of health issues (more on that later as it impacts planning and such.)

Summary
Well that's the "crew" and this is the plan. My MIL passed away last June and she always wanted to take the kids to WDW but her health was too bad. This trip is sort of a tribute to her...and a way for us to put this past year or so behind us and move on.

We are doing the Land/Sea Package. I booked pretty late, November so was surprised to get all I wanted. I went through DU and have been very happy with thier service so far. We are staying at the Poly and have two connecting rooms books. On the Wonder we have connecting veranda cabins on deck 7.

I'll break here and continue next with all the pre-planning stuff. If there are any questions ask soon....we leave in about 6 hours for out stay at the airport. I'll be taking my laptop so will try to update a couple times. If there are any special pics anyone wants or anything let me know and I'll try to get them.

 

[jewelmicky]

Give me some feedback and encouragement people!

Is this a good start or should I just throw in the towel?

 

[Ness2289]

Great Start!

I'm tuned in as I have the same trip in just over six weeks!

 

[cnj]

Can't wait to hear more when you get back. Hope you had fun!

 

[dmja716]

Have a wonderful trip!!

I cant wait to hear all about it.

 

[LovableGluttons]

Keep going! I want to read all about it too!

 

[jewelmicky]

Well we didn't get off to the best start yesterday.

Our flight was delayed due to freezing rain out of Detroit....we got in an hour late. As we were getting off the plane, my mom complained of chest discomfort and was a bit short of breath. We made it to the DME area and while she was waiting over by the window in some chairs, I stood in line to get the passes. My DP (bless her) spoke with a CM and they decided to call EMS. They came pretty quick and checked her out....her heart rate was really high and blood pressure too...they decided it was best to take her to the Hospital...they took her to Dr. Phillips Hospital about 5 miles from WDW. She stayed there last night, they ran a bunch of tests, and cleared her come back and finish her vacation. She is okay, has to follow up with Dr. at home...A-fib was diagnosis but she converted back to normal on her own.

The CM was GREAT....she stayed with us the entire time and made sure we had everything. Once my dad left with mom to Hosp on Ambulance, CM ushered us right on next bus to Poly. My dad stayed with her til she was settled in and ok...then Taxi'd to Poly.

When we got the Poly the CM had called ahead and let them know what was going on....our room was ready and waiting. Connecting in Tokelau with a 2nd floor balcony. Great room, clean, and quiet....the view is just greenary, but nice....no pics yet, working on that (will add later.)

We where supposed to go to AK after we arrived, but ended up staying here at the Poly...weather was beautiful. Strolled around, rode the ferry boat over to Grand FLoridian....and just rode it back (was about the ride for the kids.) They are itching to get in the little speed boats! I wanted to stay close until I heard my mom was in the clear.

I ordered ECV's and they were waiting here when we arrived....in great shape (clean and fully charged)...the groceries from Garden Grocer were here too. They brought them to the room after we got here. The fridge works great, water gets really cold.

The grounds here are beautiful...such a shock after the cold north.

This morning didn't start off much better then yesterday! We had planned on getting up early and making rope drop at Epcot....but fickle fate decided to NOT play nice again!

...to be Cont...

 

[PizzieDuster]

I can't wait for more! Finally, another trip report and a wonderful trip report.... keep it coming!

 

[LovableGluttons]

sorry about your Mom.

Hope your trip starts to go better

 

[fairfax]

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[jewelmicky]

Just got back late Sunday night. Spent all day yesterday unpacking and doing laundry. I am working on downloading all my pictures and trying to figure out how to post them.

Update....where was I? Oh yeah.

Monday....Epcot with early ADR at Coral Reef 2:30pm.

I woke up Monday morning with a Killer Headache and upset stomach. (I found out later in the week that this was going around.) I tried to drink a bit of juice and water...I though maybe I was just dehydrated...nope. I wasn't able to hold anything down...but I did feel a little better. I sent DP, kids, and her dad to Epcot with my tour plan... and my fingers crossed. I went back to bed and slept until Mousekeeping came in and woke me up around 11:00am. Once I got up I realized I felt MUCH better....drank some juice and ate a mini bagle. I called DP to see how they were doing, and decided to meet them at the CR ADR.

After calling my dad and finding out my mom was being released from the Hospital later that afternoon, I headed out to Epcot via the Monorail. The kids had done Soarin, Crush, and Nemo. After I got there I grabbed everyones cards and ride the Scooter to get TT FP's. We had time for The Land before CR which was running about half hour behind.

CR was fantastic. I now there has been mixed reviews here, but our service was excellent and food good...we had a good view of the tank and got to see a feeding. I really ended up just grazing....but the dessert was great and the rest of the table raved about thier meals.

Cont. in a bit

 

[jewelmicky]

Let's see if I can figure out this picture thing.....

First one is what it looked like out our front window the day before our trip.

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This one is what the line for DME looked like. Our flight was delayed over an hour due to de-icing. The line was REALLY long, this is only part of it.

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My mom recieved medical attention from Fire EMS....they were very nice. By a very nice CM stayed with us the whole time and made sure we got on the next bus to the resort after my dad left on the ambulance with mom. The people I was initially in line with the check-in for DME were on the bus with us. It really tired DD out...she squeezed in a nap.

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Finally we make it to the Polynesian. Our rooms were ready, we unpacked, and decided to take a walk while papa scoped out the smoking areas and took a nap.

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Strolling around the resort at sunset.

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The first one to the Hammick

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Our first glimpse of the castle

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Since the Volcano pool was closed they had a shuttle boat running back and for to the GF...we took a quick ride over and back.

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From the boat ride

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These are some of the pics from the first day...i didn't really take too many at the parks...mostly at the Poly, Wonder, and CC..

More to come...

 

[kalel29]

Sounds like your vacation turned out ok after a rocky start. Can't wait to read about it.

 

[snowwhite139]

Great report! Glad your mom is feeling better! I'm very interested because we've done the cruise and WDW, but never the same year. It will be interesting to see how the combination works.
Thanks for filling us in!

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Great Report Tell us more!!!!

 

[CapnJackGroupie]

Can't wait to hear how the rest of your vacation went! Glad your mom was feeling better.

 

[jewelmicky]

Here are a couple day pics. Like I said before, I was not feeling well so these pics were taken by DP and there are not too many.

In front of Tokelau on the way to Epcot.

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With Figment

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In Living with the Land...always one of my favorites

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My mom was released from the Hopital this afternoon...they ate dinner at O'Hana's and said it was great.

Tomorrow is Breakfast at Kona and HS day.

 

[jewelmicky]

Finally we wake up on Tuesday and EVERYONE is present and healthy!

Our plan for today is an early breakfast at Kona Cafe

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I, of course, ordered the famous Tonga Toast. It was very good, but next time I will split it with someone who orders eggs. It was very rich...I only ate about half of it.

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We make it to HS after waiting 20 mins for a bus...if you are using a scooter FYI only 2 can fit on a bus. We hit ToT first, my favorite....twice with no wait. I have talk the girls into riding it...then they had to ride it again, then we grabbed FP's for later before Fantasmic. The girls are into High School Musical...so we made sure to catch the show. It was cute.

I took with pic while we waited for show and parade.

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We saw Indiana Jones before the parade....

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We did the Fantasmic dinner package and ate Hollywood and Vine. It was good, plenty of food and deserts were pretty good. I still like 50's Prime Time better. But, the package was nice...we didn't have to worry about getting in line for the show so early. Just make sure if you use it....the entrance is by the front of the part, not anywhere near to regular entrance. My DD5 LOVED this show....we had the handicap seats at the back...turned out to be a good thing as the wind was blowing toward us....we got a bit misty all the way in the back.

We went to the early show and left the park right after....the only down side was having to wait for 3 busses back to the Poly because of the Scooter limits.

 

[MadiMouse]

Can't wait to read more!

 

[jewelmicky]

The plan for today was to have breakfast at O'hana's with Lilo and Stitch. The kids LOVED it....the food is served "family style." My FIL and dad's eyes got really big when that tray was brought out.
I loved the mango/orange juice...the kids favorite was the Mickey waffle.
My favorite part was the expression on the girls faces when Stitch put his paws around them!

The plan was to get to MK by rope drop...we ran about 30 min behind schedule....
It seemed I spent a good part of the trip trying to get everyone to hurry up...they just didn't understand that the earlier we got moving the more smooth the afternoon would be. Oh well....and it wasn't the kids who were the hold up either.
What can I say about MK other then it was PACKED. We did good until we broke for lunch at 1pm....it was so bad we decided to just go back to the Poly for a break and never went back. We ended up watching the fireworks from the beach at the Poly and it ended up being one of my favorite family things we did. The Dole Whip at the Poly is wonderful...if you like pineapple which I do.

We haven't been able to decide what to do tomorrow....we missed AK on Sunday. The CM at the DCL desk told us we can go to AK tomorrow and take a bus from there to the port. If we go to AK we drop off bags at a special DCL area. Then according to this CM we get special passes for the headliner rides and have to be back at gate by 12:00. We are really considering this option. AK is my favorite park and I hate miss it completely.