How do I go back to a world that doesn't have fireworks every night?

[solana131]

Following along! Can't wait to hear more!

Welcome aboard! I'll try not to bore you too much, but no promises as this is my first TR and I'm still pretty new to the DIS. I'm trying

I've never flown ... but so glad to hear you had a positive ME experience!

It was great. So nice not to have to worry about dragging the luggage along with us. I'm not sure I would feel as confidant if we had had connecting flights as I have horrible luck with losing luggage. But with a direct flight you are pretty certain your luggage is arriving with you

Joining in, looking forward to hearing how it went. We flew from MHT our last trip and really enjoyed it. Really easy to navigate and unlike some people, we didn't mind how Southwest does the boarding.

Yeah, MHT was great. And now that I know what they are doing, SW's boarding isn't such a big deal. It was just confusing and so different than any other airline I've ever flown. If it is a busy flight, lining all those people up in the tiny little space they have at each "post" is hard. But it is nice to pay only $10 extra and have your boarding pass all set early on. It was okay and we probably wouldn't let it stop us from booking with them again. They had some other weird rules onboard too, but it just took some getting used to. Welcome along!

 

[solana131]

So where were we....oh yeah, checking in.

Before long we pulled up to the Polynesian's ME stop.

We were in the very front seats and there weren't a whole lot of people on the bus with us, so we got off and waited for the driver to get our larger carry-on from under the bus. As we walked toward the doors a very nice lady came and greeted us and accompanied us inside. I thought this was something they did for concierge customers only, but it was cool. It made us feel very special. We walked past all the pretty fountains outside

And into that gorgeous Grand Ceremonial House

Our little escort brought us past the checkin spots and over to the concierge desk. I thought this was odd, but thought they just probably didn't have anyone checking in concierge, so we got lucky. I figured this lady would be so much better then the regular checkin CMs. Wrong! I don't know if it was her first day or what, but she was so incredibly slow. It took us 45 minutes to get checked in. All the other parties from our ME bus and another whole ME bus was checked in before she finally gave us our room keys. She was very nice, but I just don't know what took her so long! I had requested Tokelau and at one time I requested 1st floor so we would have a patio vs a balcony, then thought maybe a balcony would be better so I called and switched our request to 3rd floor. Well, they gave us 2nd floor so I asked if they had anything open on the 3rd floor and I guess that is what took so long. But really, can't you just look in the system and see if anything is open? It really had to take an extra half hour for that?

Anyway....after all that we ended up staying put on the 2nd floor. We had room 2920 and it was perfect. Sorry, I only got one shot of the room the whole trip. I figured there were so many online that you didn't need any. Well we had a nice little Mickey to welcome us to the room.

That was the one and only towel animal/shape we got the whole time. Is this normal? I thought people got them alot? I tipped Mousekeeping very generously too. Oh well, it didn't damped the mood any. We got our carryon stuff put away and looked out the balcony.

To the right

Center

To the left looking out to the Seven Seas Lagoon. The view was better than this picture shows. It was a great spot!

 

[Lidian]

Just going to share MY experiences, for comparison. I don't know if this is TYPICAL .. so not claiming it to be.

Anytime I've asked about a different room at check-in, it took FOREVER for them to check and then either make the change or say "sorry, you're SoL".

In 2009, we never got towel animals. In 2010, we got them almost daily. In 2011, I think we got one. (All outside of the one at check-in.) All with tipping what we felt to be generous.

Okay, back to YOU.

I love your resort pics! It looks like you had a lovely view! I'm super jealous you stayed at the Poly. DH promised when we went back it would be to stay at the Poly. That was prior to our May trip ... and still not happening.

I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

P.S. Your family is beautiful! Your DS is a doll!

 

[IheartDDuck]

We were in Tokelau in January also, room 2944. We did not get any towel animals either and I was so sad because I had talked them up to my BFF before we went. Didn't put a damper on our trip either though.

That is so strange that it took so long for the CM to check you in.

 

[TinkPirateMom]

Your son is so cute and I'm very excited to read all about your trip. We are headed to the Poly in November. My little guy will be just shy of his 4th birthday at the time. I'm sure your son had a wonderful first trip!

 

[DMGeurts]

I love your pics so far! Your room looks gorgeous... I sooo wish we could stay at the Poly, it is such a beautiful resort - I miss the smell (is that weird?)... We've never stayed there, but when we stayed at SoG - we spent a lot of time there, because we always walked to the Poly to catch the Monorail... I love that resort - and someday - we will stay there.

Your view looks amazing - so serene and comfortable.

I wish I could help you out with check in... since we've never officially checked into a Disney resort before - I am quite clueless and a bit nervous for this process for myself. I'll remember about it taking longer, even if you only ask for a different room availablility... I'll weigh my options at check in and see if it's "that bad" and worth the wait for another room... I appreciate the tip on that (even if it wasn't really a tip) - LOL

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

D~

 

[MickeyMoguls]

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[FosterA]

yay!! finally figured out that you started your TR. I'm soooooo in

 

[solana131]

Just going to share MY experiences, for comparison. I don't know if this is TYPICAL .. so not claiming it to be.

Anytime I've asked about a different room at check-in, it took FOREVER for them to check and then either make the change or say "sorry, you're SoL".

In 2009, we never got towel animals. In 2010, we got them almost daily. In 2011, I think we got one. (All outside of the one at check-in.) All with tipping what we felt to be generous.

Okay, back to YOU.

I love your resort pics! It looks like you had a lovely view! I'm super jealous you stayed at the Poly. DH promised when we went back it would be to stay at the Poly. That was prior to our May trip ... and still not happening.

I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

P.S. Your family is beautiful! Your DS is a doll!

Well, good to know that it is "normal" and she wasn't just dumb. It really didn't bother me, I was just soaking up the atmosphere and happy to be standing at the checkin desk for the Polynesian! But DH was cranky and ready to be done traveling, so it made me anxious. But all in all, I guess it could have been alot worse and it was soon forgotten. Oh I miss it soooo much!
And thanks, Bradey is just the best little man I have ever known, but I'm sure every parent thinks that He just made us so proud on that trip to compare him to others his age.

We were in Tokelau in January also, room 2944. We did not get any towel animals either and I was so sad because I had talked them up to my BFF before we went. Didn't put a damper on our trip either though.

That is so strange that it took so long for the CM to check you in.

Oh, did you enjoy Tokelau's location too? I know some people like to be closer to the GCH, but I wanted a happy medium. It was perfect for us and I loved having the quiet pool right outside too. We took a quick dip there and then ran back in the room before we got too chilly. It was great.

Your son is so cute and I'm very excited to read all about your trip. We are headed to the Poly in November. My little guy will be just shy of his 4th birthday at the time. I'm sure your son had a wonderful first trip!

Yay! Will this be your first time at the Poly? It was so awesome. Of course I don't have anything to compare it to, but it was just so great to have so many different options for transportation right at your fingertips. And the restaurants were great, the shops, just everything. It's gonna be hard to stay anywhere else, but we will def try others. Disney has such a great variety of resorts.

I love your pics so far! Your room looks gorgeous... I sooo wish we could stay at the Poly, it is such a beautiful resort - I miss the smell (is that weird?)... We've never stayed there, but when we stayed at SoG - we spent a lot of time there, because we always walked to the Poly to catch the Monorail... I love that resort - and someday - we will stay there.

Your view looks amazing - so serene and comfortable.

I wish I could help you out with check in... since we've never officially checked into a Disney resort before - I am quite clueless and a bit nervous for this process for myself. I'll remember about it taking longer, even if you only ask for a different room availablility... I'll weigh my options at check in and see if it's "that bad" and worth the wait for another room... I appreciate the tip on that (even if it wasn't really a tip) - LOL

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

D~

Oh D~, the smell.....I had heard about that on here before the trip and thought that it was a little weird, but you're right! The GCH smelled so unique and awesome! We could even smell it when we walked by outside and the doors opened I don't know what the smell is, it is hard to describe, but I wish I could've bottled it and brought it home.

The checkin wasn't really that bad. If its normal that is fine and I wouldn't let it change your plans if you don't like the room assignment. I wouldn't even have noticed the long wait if it weren't for DH being cranky I sent him to explore the GCH with Bradey, but he just quickly walked around and came back to complain. Geesh. Next time I will send him outside to the beach or something

I hope I can speed things up and get to my POFQ exploring day before you leave. It was so nice. Can't wait to stay there sometime. You'll love it. And the walk up to Riverside was nice and easy. Make sure you go up there to explore too. Their pool is really cool as well as FQs.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

Welcome! Thanks. I know I'm going kinda slow, but I don't know how to do the big updates with tons of pics. It is taking me a while. I hope I don't bore you all to death

yay!! finally figured out that you started your TR. I'm soooooo in

Hey there! Welcome. Sorry, I should've posted it somewhere probably. I'm still pretty new at this


So, No updates today folks because I am at home and all my pics are on my work computer. I know thats a little backwards, but thats the way I have it. My hubby and little man are icefishing today, so I have the house to myself which NEVER happens! And what do I do.....I clean. Seriously, you would think I would throw in a romantic girly movie and just veg, but nope. I've washed my kitchen floor, done 4 loads of laundry, read just a little and now I'm catching up on here. I'm boring, I know. But off to enjoy my peace and quiet for a while longer

 

[mommytominnie]

I'm in!! Can't wait to read more of your family's first trip!!!!

 

[solana131]

I'm in!! Can't wait to read more of your family's first trip!!!!

Well welcome aboard! We'll see if we can't get this thing moving along. I was kinda waiting for my photopass CD to come, but I'm afraid I will forget things if I wait too much longer. So here we go......

 

[solana131]

So when I last left you we were just getting to our room and admiring the view. I can't believe I didn't get better pictures of the room and view, but it was great. Tokelau was the perfect location and I am glad we were on the TTC side instead of the pool side. Less people walking by. Not that we were in our room too often, but it was nice and quiet anyway.

So, after we got our carry-on stuff put away we went right over to Captain Cooks because we hadn't had anything to eat since the little snacks we brought on the airplane. We did not buy the dining plan, so all our food was OOP. But I had asked everyone for Disney Giftcards for Christmas and we had a ton. So off we went with empty stomachs and giftcards in hand.

Captain cooks worked perfectly for us. We had most of our meals all week here and were happy with it each and every time. This was the first night, so we got our refillable mugs. What a great deal! I wish they had some kind of juice for Bradey for breakfast, but he just had the iced tea mostly, so it was all good. They have the touch screen ordering stations that were pretty neat. I've seen people online complain about them, but they were pretty self explanatory and we had no problems. I got the Aloha Pork Sandwich with their homemade Poly chips. DH got the Bacon Cheeseburger, and DS got the Kids Grilled Cheese. We grabbed our drinks and the buzzer and went outside to sit. It was so beautiful out and no one was out there, so we had the place to ourselves.....well, besides the ducks all around, but they didn't bother us.

I was horrible about taking pictures of food all week, so I apologize right off the bat, but I'm sure you can find food porn anywhere online. But here are the pics after a few bites

The Aloha Pork. Yum is all I can say to this. I had it 3 times in the week. So good!

Bill's burger. He said it was good, but it just looked like any other burger to me. You're the Polynesian for crying out loud....put some pineapple on it or something

And Bradey's grilled cheese. He gobbled it right up, so it couldn't have been too bad. The kids meals come with 2 sides and a small drink, so we stocked up on those and put them in our fridge for later. He liked his refillable mug better, so he never drank the waters.

After dinner we headed back to the room to see if our luggage had come yet, but it wasn't there. So I talked them into taking a ride around the monorail loop to get a feel for the place. This was fun and Bradey just loved the monorails all week. So worth the extra money to be on the monorail trail for his first visit. We got off at the Contemporary and went down to the Contempo Cafe to get some dessert. Their cupcakes were awesome!

I had the Red Velvet cupcake. It had a sweet cream cheese frosting on top and a less sweet cream cheese filling. The cupcake was so moist and delish. Bill had the Dulche de Leche which was a chocolate cupcake with caramel filling and a buttercream frosting. Bradey had the dirt n worms cake. He ate the gummy worms, but not the cake. I think he was just tired. We got the cupcakes to go and took them on the monorail with us back to the Poly. It had been a long day and we were almost ready for bed. But before that.....

WISHES! We only had to walk to the end of our hallway and we watched them from the balcony for the stairs. It was great. To be able to watch the fireworks then turn around and be in bed in 1 minute. Priceless!

 

[solana131]

These are from between supper and the monorail ride. Just walking around the Poly exploring the resort.

The castle looks so small in the pictures, but I couldn't believe how close we were to everything. I remember sitting in one particular hammock and between my feet I could see the Contemporary on one side, Space Mountain in the middle and the beloved Castle on the other side. Does it get any better than that?!

This is Tokelau from the beach. I tried to get one of those end rooms for a better view, but they were taken. No biggie.

Thats our room. The one on the second floor in the middle of the picture with its light on and the drapes open.

Looking toward the beach with Tokelau on the right.

Tiki torches light the walkways at night. We did go to teh Great Ceremonial House the first night to watch the Torch Lighting Ceremony. That was a great quick little song and dance thing where a Polynesian guy lights the torches in front of the GCH to the music of big drums and chanting. He did a little fire twirling and it gave us a taste of the Luau fire show. Bradey didn't love it. At one point I looked down and he had his hands over his ears and his eyes squeezed shut I asked him what was wrong and he said it was too loud and he was afraid the guy was going to burn himself. He told me it isn't good to play with fire!

 

[dara00]

hi there, I'm joining in! looking forward to reading more!

 

[KatMark]

Sorry I got a little behind (DH and I were out celebrating over weekend). Love the updated; have to love the fake monorail and seeing the first Disney sign. Love the Poly...it is so beautiful. I am sorry check in took so long...so frustrating. Towel animals are hit and miss and depends on mousekeeper's schedule and if she knows how to do them.

 

[solana131]

hi there, I'm joining in! looking forward to reading more!

Hey Welcome! I look forward to sharing our trip with you! Thanks for joining us.

Sorry I got a little behind (DH and I were out celebrating over weekend). Love the updated; have to love the fake monorail and seeing the first Disney sign. Love the Poly...it is so beautiful. I am sorry check in took so long...so frustrating. Towel animals are hit and miss and depends on mousekeeper's schedule and if she knows how to do them.

Well you certainly deserve to celebrate Kathy, no worries All in all we had a great arrival day. Timed the ME bus just perfect, and I didn't really mind the long checkin because I got to soak up that yummy Great Ceremonial House smell

 

[KatMark]

I read the updates on the train ride home on my Iphone and somehow missed dinner at Captain Cooks (which we love) and your walking around the resorts. Great photos. If I didn't have my heart set on AKL for our 30th, I'd go back to the Poly in a heartbeat.

 

[DMGeurts]

I love the update... Your room location looks spectacular! The food looks yummy - and the view... aaaahhhhh.... Sorry your little guy was scared by the lighting ceremony, but I bet the Poly was the perfect place for his first trip.

Can't wait to read more.

D~

 

[Moodyzblu]

Great pics ! I'd love to stay at the Poly at some point .. it just looks so incredible .. but looking at pics will have to do for now !

 

[jennyjinx3]

Just got caught up...love all your photos! Makes us yearn for the Poly, and we can't wait to go back in Sept! We stayed in tokelau too, bottom floor, the one you said was booked. We loved it...we thought we would use the patio more, but didn't! We were either too tired or just walked out to the "point" to watch fireworks and then off to bed! Can't wait to read more!