Hawaii? No kids, this is the Polynesian Resort in Florida! 03/01

[Alexsandra]

Hi guys, here goes another trip report! This is our fifth trip to Disney with the kids and it was one of our best ever!

I actually am writing a full trip report on my blog:http://disneymommytips.blogspot.ca
This is a condensed version of that trip report. If you want to see a more detailed TR with pictures and food reviews, you can visit my blog.

Let me first present the family:


JD my husband, me and my two boys DS 5 and DS 9.

We also had a surprise visit from my parents who joined us for the first three days of our trip:

my DS with his grand-parents

We were at Disney 10 days this time around for the kid's Spring Break vacation (Canadian Spring Break). We flew from Canada on Feb 29th and came back on March 9th. We had decided to stay 6 nights at Port Orleans French Quarter and we stayed at Disney's Polynesian Villas and Bungalows the last 3 nights of our trip. We actually got to try the Polynesian Resort by renting points from a DVC owner. This was our first time doing this and turned out to be a great experience.
Read my pre-trip planning here: Pre-trip report

Day 1:Travel day
Mon. the 29th: Our flight was at 6:00pm so we had time to pack and get our stuff ready. We headed to the airport three hours ahead of time just incase. We got there a bit early and decided to use our free access to the first class lounge. I kept the kids busy with some activity books.


We borded the plane early and got to our seats. It was only a three hour flight and it all had gone very smoothly. The kids each had an iPad to keep them busy.

We arrived at the Orlando airport around 9:00PM. We made our way to the Magic Express buses and luckily we boarded ours right away. We arrived at Port Orleans around 9:40pm. We check-in and made our way to our room located in building 2 on the second floor. I knew my mom was coming the next morning so I had made sure we had connecting rooms. The view was of the kids park and of the new pool area for kids. We dropped off our luggage and we all made our way to the food court to grab a late night dinner. After dinner we were so pooped we headed straight to bed.

Read about my travel day here: Day 1

 

[frostymojo]

Following along...

 

[Alexsandra]

Day 2: MK

My parents arrived early to surprise the kids. They walked into the room and the kids freaked out. They were so happy to see them. My mom was supposed to arrive at 8:00 am but they got lost and arrived an hour late. We were nervous about being late for our first FP and our breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace at 10:15 am. The plan was that my mom and dad were going to spend the day at the pool but as soon as they arrived they announced that they now wanted to join us. However they still had to unpack, they did not have tickets and we were already running late so I told my Mom to get settled in and to join us at the parks later but she was not liking my suggestion. Finally they decided to do a pool day after all.

So we quickly headed to Magic Kingdom hoping that we would make it to our first Fastpass of the day: The Seven Dwarf Mine Train. Luckily we arrived 5 min before our FP expired. We were all excited about trying this new ride and it did not disappoint. It was not only really fun, it was so well made. It is one of my family's new favourites for sure.

We are in the middle cart. Our faces are priceless on this pic.

We then made our way to Crystal Palace for a breakfast with characters. We love CP, especially in the morning because of all the natural light and the really good breakfast buffet. We had to wait for the chef to come and visit us because of our food allergies. My son DS9 is allergic to tree nuts, I am allergic to anise and cold-cuts and my DS5 is lactose intolerant. The chef made a special order of dairy free waffles for my DS5 so he was a happy camper while me and my DS9 were able to eat off the buffet by avoiding certain dishes. We had a great breakfast and the interaction with the characters was great.

Mmmm, waffles!


Happy kids!

After breakfast we walked into AdventureLand towards our next FP for Pirates of the Caribbean. We actually arrived 15 min early so we decided to watch Captain Jack Sparrow Pirate training. My son was selected to participate in the show and he was ecstatic.
It was a cute show and we all enjoyed watching my son up on stage with Jack Sparrow.



Some one on one time with JAck sparrow

After the show we rode our FP for Pirates of the Carribean. We then treated the kids to dole whips before riding the Magic Carpet Ride. The kids love this ride because of the spitting camel. They love trying to avoid the spray.

Mmmm, dole whips!

Next was The Swiss Family Treehouse. The view from up there is pretty breathtaking.

We had some time to kill until our third FP for Splash mountain so we ended up at the shooting range in FrontierLand. This was so fun that we spent quite a lot of change here. It was easy enough for the kids to use but still challenging enough for the adults.

We still had too much time between the the next FP so we decided to watch the Country Bear Jamboree right next door. This was our first time seeing this show and the kids thought it was a riot. They are still talking about it so I guess it left a mark.

It was now time for Splash Mountain. It was my first experience on this ride since I am kind of a chicken and always avoided it in the past. Of course, I am the only one who got completely soaked. The kids got a good laugh from it.

We are in the two first seats.

We had used up all our FP so we found a FP kiosk to add another FP. The kids wanted the Barnstromer so we headed to Storybook Circus and rode that. I don't know about you, but the Barnstromer makes me more sick than a regular roller coaster. I think it is all those sharp turns. Thank-goodness the ride is super short!

Next, we did Dumbo because no MK trip is complete without that classic ride under our belt. Dumbo is just got something so sweet and nostalgic about it that it just makes me happy thinking about it.

Dumbo ride with daddy!

We were done for the day since we had planned to leave the kids with Mom and Dad for the evening so that my husband and I could go out for a romantic dinner together. We headed back to POFQ and meet up with them. I changed the kids and dropped them off in my parent's room. We showered and got ready for our romantic evening out.

We ended up going to Disney Springs at The Boathouse restaurant. The restaurant itself was very beautifully decorated and was the perfect setting for a romantic dinner, however the food was very overpriced and the portions quite small. Even though we enjoyed our meal, we would not be returning any time soon.


My husbands tiny lobster roll for a whopping $30!

After dinner and some shopping we ended up sharing a ice cream sundae at Ghirardelli's. It was delicious!

Salted Caramel sundae, yum!

We walked around some more but then decided to call it a night, we were so tired from our day at the park that even with no kids in our hair, the party was over!

Read more about our day on my blog here: Day 2

 

[Alexsandra]

Day 3: Epcot.

Today we were heading to Epcot with my parents. It was another beautiful day and we were all excited to see the Flower and Garden Festival. I had never been to this event and was curious to see the beautiful flowers and topiaries I heard so much about. At the park entrance we were greeted by some pretty spectacular topiaries.




We headed to our first FP for Mission Space. My boys and I love anything to do with outer space as well as my dad so it was fitting to start the day here. We choose the green side because all of us are not big on motion sickness. We all thought the ride felt pretty realistic and the boys had a blast pretending to steer the space subtle.

Pretty cool topiary in front of Mission Space!


At the entrance of the ride.

After that we played in the interactive area for a little bit. The boys didn't want to leave but I had to drag them out so that we could make it to our next FP.

Having too much fun!

Next we headed to our the Finding Neemo ride but not before a great pic with Grandpa and Grandma


After Finding Neemo we spent quite a while in the aquarium watching the different sea creatures swim by. We saw fish, dolphins and sharks, sea turtles, sting rays and tons of other great creatures.

sting rays


Watching the fish go by

After spending at least 45 min in the aquarium it was time for our next FP: Test Track. My parents were not able to get the same FP time as us so they decided to go check out some of the topiaries while we rode TT.

My mom and dad checked out some of topiaries and gardens.

I never had the chance to ride Test track since it had been refurbished and was looking forward to finally trying it out. My kids thought this ride was a blast and as we walked out of the ride a CM invited us to ride again immediately. Of course, my boys gladly accepted the offer.

DS5 is hidden in the back seat next to my husband, lol

As we walked out we found my parents and headed to our final FP of the day: Spaceship Earth. This ride, still hold a sentimental place in my heart. It is one of the only ride I remember from my childhood. I teamed up with my dad and we ended up choosing a pretty cool future to live in. We then played in the interactive area for quite a while.

We were getting hungry and decided to try out the food carts offered for the F&G festival. We walked towards the World pavilions taking some pics of the spectacular gardens and floral tapestries on the way:


We had lunch at the Isla Fresca which was pretty good and then had fruit sushi, slush and Grey goose Vodkas for dessert. We walked around the pavilions for the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sights.



Mom and the boys


Grey goose slushies in France





We then headed to our restaurant reservation at La Hacienda de San Angel for 5:30PM. We ordered some pretty amazing drinks but the food was just ok in my opinion. IT was a nice setting and we had a good time but I don't know if I will be returning here again.


Yummy drinks




After dinner we decided to get some dessert at the Florida Fresh quiosk where my boys each got a Pineapple soft serve (Dole Whip in other words). I check and it was nut free for DS9 which is great.


We decided to skip the Illuminations night show and head back to the hotel instead. As we walked back through the park, all the Topiaries were lit up as well as the fountains and building. It was quite beautiful to see.




We arrived at the resort pooped and ready for bed. We had a big day planed for tomorrow so we all hit the sack early.

Read more about my day here: Day 3

 

[DVCStephanie]

Great Trip report! I will be checking out your blog shortly

 

[abarriger]

Your photos are all so beautiful-- even the ride photos! The one on SDMT is incredible. Did you touch them up somehow?

 

[Alexsandra]

Great Trip report! I will be checking out your blog shortly

Thank you for following. As for my blog, I am not one of those amazing die hard bloggers but I post a lot of info about WDW for my friends and family and I figure its great for anyone else who is interested in going to Disney and needs some advise. I try to keep it up to date and post as often as possible. On the blog my TR is a little more in detail and there are definitely more pics. I am working on posting my Day 4 right now.

Your photos are all so beautiful-- even the ride photos! The one on SDMT is incredible. Did you touch them up somehow?

Thank you so much. I am no photographer but I have a good camera. I am one of those people who puts it on automatic and lets the camera figure it out but I can choose setting like night time or fireworks, or action shots. Plus, this time we bought the Disney photopass so we got great pics of us on the rides.

Honestly, I've been so busy at work, I have had not time to continue with my TR lately but I will in the next few days. Promise! I am glad you are along for the ride

 

[Alexsandra]

I've been gone for awhile on business and so busy with work and family life, I did not have much time to continue this Trip Report, but I am back now. So here it goes.

Day 4: Hollywood Studios

I woke up at 5:00am and decided to go get coffee at the food court as to not wake up the rest of the family. DS9 must of heard me because a second later he was up and asking me if he could join me. We both quietly got dressed and grabbed our refillable mugs and cameras. The sun hadn't fully risen yet and the resort was completely empty and quite peaceful. It was nice walking down the little cobble stone road leading to the food court. Once there, we both grabbed our morning beverages: a hot cup of joe for me and hot chocolate for my DS9.


Food court

We sat at one of the tables and chatted about all kinds of things. It was nice to just have some alone time with my son. It is rare that we get to do that back home in all the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

After our hot drinks we decided to check out the resort grounds before all the guest woke up and filled the place. My son, who had received a camera for his birthday, played the little photographer shooting some great shots of the area. He is really good for a nine year old, and it's not because he is my son. Port Orlenes French Quarter is so charming that we had no trouble finding great spots to photograph.


My little guy taking a picture of the river.


The river at sunrise (his shot)


Another of his shots


The beautiful courtyard


My son the photographer




a shot of me by the fountain






I personally love this one. I think DS9 did a great job!

If you would like to view more pics of Port Orlenes French Quarter you can check out Day 4 on my blog.

After a good half hour of taking pictures, we headed back to the room to see if the rest of the family was awake. On our way we crossed paths with my dad who was doing his morning coffee run. We discussed our plans for the day and continued on our way. Once in the room, my husband and my DS5 were awake and eating breakfast. We joined them and soon were all dressed and ready to head to the parks. Mom and Dad had bought their tickets for Hollywood Studios and so before leaving I reserved a few FP rides for them and I tried to see if I could add them to our lunch and dinner reservations. I was able to get a few Fastpasses at the same time as ours but I only was able to change our lunch reservation at 50's Prime Time for 6 people, Sci-fi was full for dinner so I was going to try to fix that at the restaurant once in the park.

We arrived at the park a little later than expected. We headed straight for our FP rides. I had booked Hollywood Tower of Terror for the four of us and The Great Movie Ride for my parents (because they really don't like thrill rides). We would text each other once done to determine a meeting place.


My boys at Hollywood Studios

I was not crazy about starting my day with HTT. As I have explained previously, I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to thrill rides and I suffer from motion sickness on certain rides. I have already rode HTT twice before on past trips so I knew what to expect but as we walked through the haunted hotel, I finally chickened out last minute which much complaint from both my kids.


The HTT


The spooky lobby


The boys are on the right, middle isle. Notice How I am missing.


My parents in front of the Chinese Theatre

We met up with my parents after that and went to see if we could sign up the kids for the Jedi Training. The lineup was so long but my boys were really excited to do it. When we finally got to the check in desk, we were told that our kids would be in the 6:30 PM group. It was at around the same time as our ADR and after discussing with my husband, we decided it was just too late for us. The kids were a little disappointed, but we told them that were coming back to this park in 2 days and that we would sign them up first thing on that day. They happily agreed to that and we were on our way to our next FP of the day for Toy Story.

I was happy to have gotten them a FP for around the same time as ours which was good because the wait time was crazy. I think 120 min. On our way to Pixar Place, my kids saw a face painting station where some kid was getting his face painted. They started the begging game, pleading with my mom and I to get their faces painted. I told them we would come back after our ride. Toy Story was pretty fun and the kids loved teaming up with the grand-parents. After the ride, we headed back to the face painting station but there were 6 kids waiting in line. I really did not want to waste a half hour waiting for this, so I convinced the kids to do it later. It did not go over that well, but they had no choice. AT this point my dad wanted coffee break so we went to the Writer's coffee Shop to grab a couple of coffees and an amazingly good carrot cake cookie. Thank goodness I shared that with Mom and hubby because it was huge and very rich, but oh so yummy!

After that we went to the Sci-FI restaurant to see if we could add two people to our reservation that evening. Unfortunately, they could not guarantee anything. I had to come back at the time of my reservation to see if they had room. I decided to just cancel the reservation altogether. I did not want to waste my time later if they could not guarantee we could eat together. Instead we decided we would go eat out somewhere in Disney Springs.

No too far from the restaurant, I noticed another face painting station with no lineup. So I called over the boys and granted their wish. They were so excited. It was $18 per kid and they got to choose from a multitude of faces displayed on a board. They, of course, chose Star Wars inspired makeup. I guess it is a little expensive considering it took the artists literally five minutes to complete. The boys, however, were so pleased with the result it was worth the $35.


My DS9 getting his face painted


The end result, very "star-wars-y"

Our next FP was for Star Tours. I was so happy to be able to get a FP for the whole family at the same time since we are all huge Star Wars Fans (with the exception of my Mom, who just doesn't get it). My dad was as excited as my boys. I knew they had added new scenes from the Star Wars Awakens film and I have to say, it was awesome. This ride was always one of my favourites and now Disney just upped the entertainment factor. My dad and the boys were all excited as they exited the ride, it was just so cute to see them together. Of course, we ended up exiting into in the Star Wars gift store so my kids, who know their grand-parents all to well, started milking them for gifts. And my parents, of course were happy to oblige.

My mom let them pick any gift of their choice. My oldest decided he wanted a build-your-own lightsaber. Of course he had to choose Darth Maul's expensive double sided lightsaber. I don't know how much that must of cost but I am sure my Mom spent a pretty penny for the custom, light up toy. My youngest thankfully wanted a build-your-own droid which was much more reasonably priced. Since both toys were customizable they spent a good half hour in the store choosing pieces and building them.


My DS9's double lightsaber


My DS5's custom droid

By the time we got out it was already time for our ADR at 50's Prime Time Cafe. Once there we checked in while my dad parked his scooter near the stroller parking. They had a plug there so he could charge it while we ate lunch. We did not want to run out of power half way through the day again. I had been to 50's Prime Time several time before but for my parents, it was a first. They really got a kick out of the fun 1950's theming found throughout the restaurant.




Oh got to go! Have to put my kids to bed. To be cont'd tomorrow!

 

[buteraa]

great report so far.

 

[Alexsandra]

Ok people, I'm back again for another instalment of my TR.

Where was I? oh, yes, 50's Prime Time. We were asked to wait in the lounge while they prepared our table. My kids played with their new toys while my mom and dad check out all the fun 50's themed decor.




Here we are taking a picture in the "kitchen" found at the entrance with a friendly waitress!

We were quickly seated at a large corner table and our waitress quickly came over to introduce herself as "mom". All the waiters here play around with its guest and pretend to be family members. She made sure our elbows were off the table and then took our drink orders. My dad excitedly ordered himself a milkshake while my husband opted for a Margarita. My mom ordered a apple cider beer which she raved about for the whole meal.





I, on the other hand, waited for the chef to come out to review what was safe for my kids and myself to eat before ordering anything. As soon as the drinks arrived, the chef poped around followed by his sous chef. They were extremely nice and helped us choose safe items on the menu. They even offered to make me a dairy free milk shake which I gladly accepted. Yay! I ordered my favourite fried chicken which I decided to share with mom and my dad ordered the sampling of Mom's favourite recipes. He loved his meal.


My dad's plate consisted of fried chicken, pot roast, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and greens

 

[Alexsandra]

After lunch we decided to check out Indiana Jones Epic Spectacular. Indiana Jones is a favourite in our household and my kids enjoyed watching the stunt doubles recreate some of their favourite scenes. Plus it was a great spot to get out of the hot sun for a while. It was fun entertainment for the whole family.

We were all feeling a little tired and overheated in the afternoon sun and headed to the Honey I shrunk the Kids Playground. The kids love this playground and it gives the adult a chance to sit back and take a break from the park. We made our way down the Streets of America and my parents ask us to take a picture of them.



The kids played in the playground for a while and my parents finally decided that they were going to head back to the resort for a little R&R. We still had a few rides that the kids had wanted to do so we told them we would meet up with them later, before dinner.


Mom with the kids in Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground

Our next stop was the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. No matter how old my kids get, they still like this show. Their favourite part being the bubbles falling from the ceiling. I think it is a cute musical and it is another spot that is great to visit when the sun and heat are at its highest. The air-conditioned theatre is pure bliss on a hot afternoon!

As we exited we saw some storm troopers do their rounds in the animation courtyard. They were not very friendly (as you would expect from a storm trooper) and did not stop for photo ops or anything like that. But I did get a quick shot of one of them.



By now my husband and I were pretty tired and told the boys to choose one last ride before we headed back to the resort. Of course, without hesitation, they chose Star Tours, again! There was a 5 min wait time so we practically walked on and this time got a whole new ride experience which was fun.


C3P0 in Star Tours.

When we got back to the resort we got changed and headed to Disney Springs with my parents. We were all really hungry and did not feel like waiting for a sit down meal so I suggested we go to Wolfgang Puck Express. This was our first time dining here and we were all blown away by our meals and the affordable prices. My husband and I had delicious meal sized salads while my parents had pasta and pizza that they shared with the kids. It was all so delicious and the portions were huge, we had trouble finishing our plates. I definitely recommend this place!



We then walked around Disney Springs, shopping and enjoying the evening knowing that it was my parents last night with us. They had an early flight back home tomorrow and they wanted to make sure the kids got spoiled before their departure. The bought each kid a huge Lego set at the Lego Store. My kids were in heaven!


At the Lego Store


A happy grand-child with his grandma

As a final treat we stopped at Goofy's Candy Co and got the little one an white chocolate marshmallow Olaf.


It was really getting late by now and we grabbed the boat back to our resort. Disney Springs was a really nice way to end the day and it make my parents final night with us special. Once we reached our room, my kids, who were sad that their grandparents were leaving the next day, gave them big hugs and kissed them goodnight. After I put them to bed, my parents gave us all the stuff they did not want to carry back to Canada like extra food and their refillable mugs. We said our goodbyes and called it a night.

To read more about my day at H.S, you can view my blog here.

Next up, my day at Animal Kingdom