How the Other Half Lives ~ Updated 10/22: I Forgot Something!

[Tnkrbelle565]

Wow!!! What kind of Tiki Disney Gods did you pay homage to because you guys are having some amazing luck!!! I can't wait to hear about your Wildlife Excursion goes. I would love to do one!!!!!

 

[matkensgirl2000]

Fuzzy Disney math! That's hilarious I was wondering why the calculator in my head didn't work so well when it came to Disney.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I think we've all done fuzzy Disney math before. But I wouldn't have passed up a deal like you got at the Poly either.

 

[disneybarbie]

great update! I really must try Kona for breakfast one day... and .. 'fuzzy disney math'... I think you've coined a phrase! .. my FDM has to go one step further and convert amounts from $ to £, so it gets even more complicated lol



Hope you're having a great weekend,

Emma x

 

[Nermel9]

Great update, Kona looks so great for breakfast, I have to try it sometime!

I love the view from your balcony at the Poly, even if it is just palm trees, it's so pretty and tropical!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Congrats on the great rate to stay club level!! Lucky you!!! we are so jealous.

We stayed at the Poly in august '10 and every time I walked by the Hawaii building we'd wish we were staying there....can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[lmillercrew]

Those caramel treats look YUUUUMMY!
And how exciting to be able to stay at Club Level for almost pennies! (well, lots of pennies, but not as much as rack rate)

 

[KatGarcia]

It's just the neatest thing you got pixie dust after pixie dust and at the Poly no less! I can not wait to read more! Great stuff!!!

 

[A&Bmama]

Our breakfast ADR at Kona was at 8:25am. We were seated quickly and our waitress was very nice. I knew in advance what I was getting:

Mmmmmmmm, Tonga Toast. Yummy! With this strawberry sauce on it:

Is it really good? It's one of the things that have been raved about on the Dis that just doesn't appeal to me.

Dug decided to order something new and got the Samoan. According to allears.net: poached eggs with Hollandaise served over smoked pulled pork hash:

That, on the other hand, does appeal to me. I like my breakfast heavier on protein than carbs.

The waitress told us that this was her favorite dish; she just loved it! She said that, if Dug got up on his chair and declared it the best thing ever, she would pay for our breakfast. Well, it was so good he seriously thought about it! But we didn’t want the waitress to have to pay for our breakfast!

I would have paid money to see Dug stand on a chair and rave over his breakfast!

While we were enjoying our delicious breakfast, we discussed how to take full advantage of our newfound golden key status. With Club Level access during the Poly portion of our split stay, we wanted to utilize the lounge as much as possible.

You go girl!

we also wanted to take advantage of the dinner offerings in the lounge while we could.

Smart cookie.

Dug had also done some research on Club Level perks and found one other thing he hoped to take advantage of: a special Wildlife Excursion at Animal Kingdom! It was just offered for Club Level guests (for $50/each) and sounded really cool.

I would love to do that too! I can't wait to hear about it.

We were stunned by the response he received. Same rate that we were paying, even through the end of our trip, if we wanted. No upcharge for Club Level. No upcharge for weekend nights. Just our measly 40% off Garden View Bounceback rate! ($246/night total).

That's amazing! $246 for club level is quite a steal. Especially since you can offset some of you food cost with the lounge offerings.

Even though we’re cheap, and the idea of spending more money was painful, we realized that we would likely never have a chance like this again! I mean, upgrading from a moderate to Poly Club for about $60/night? So, we snatched it up!

That's so awesome. I'm glad you were able to end your YOD in style!


BTW I started my TR. I hope you can check it out. There are a few people that were regular posters on my last TR that I picture as my audience when I am writing and you are one of them.

 

[Dugette]

Wow!!! What kind of Tiki Disney Gods did you pay homage to because you guys are having some amazing luck!!! I can't wait to hear about your Wildlife Excursion goes. I would love to do one!!!!!

I don't know what Tiki Gods were doing this! Although, I did find myself thinking during our trip that maybe Dug's Nana met up with Walt to pull some heavenly strings?

The Wildlife Excursion was very cool!

Fuzzy Disney math! That's hilarious I was wondering why the calculator in my head didn't work so well when it came to Disney.

Yes, Fuzzy Disney Math is dangerous! Yet, helpful...

I think we've all done fuzzy Disney math before. But I wouldn't have passed up a deal like you got at the Poly either.

I think it would have been hard for anybody to pass up that deal. I'm so glad we didn't!

great update! I really must try Kona for breakfast one day... and .. 'fuzzy disney math'... I think you've coined a phrase! .. my FDM has to go one step further and convert amounts from $ to £, so it gets even more complicated lol

Hope you're having a great weekend,

Emma x

Yes, Kona is a great place for breakfast! Lots of stuff to enjoy on that menu and a great location!

I can't say that I came up with Fuzzy Disney Math. I've seen it in several trip reports, but I think Gellybean might have come up with it (?). Wherever it came from, I love it! That's funny that yours involves currency conversion too...more fuzziness!

Great update, Kona looks so great for breakfast, I have to try it sometime!

I love the view from your balcony at the Poly, even if it is just palm trees, it's so pretty and tropical!

I can't believe you've never been to Kona for breakfast! Definitely try it out sometime! If nothing else, it's a good excuse to go to the Poly!

I wish I had a nice, palm-tree-lined balcony right now! (Not all this snow! )

Congrats on the great rate to stay club level!! Lucky you!!! we are so jealous.

We stayed at the Poly in august '10 and every time I walked by the Hawaii building we'd wish we were staying there....can't wait to hear more!!!

I still can't quite believe how all this happened! I always thought it would be cool to stay Club Level, but I never thought it would happen to us and for such a good rate! Crazy!

Those caramel treats look YUUUUMMY!
And how exciting to be able to stay at Club Level for almost pennies! (well, lots of pennies, but not as much as rack rate)

Those caramel treats were yummy! Club Level for lots of pennies was awesome!

It's just the neatest thing you got pixie dust after pixie dust and at the Poly no less! I can not wait to read more! Great stuff!!!

I think the Poly is a great place for pixie dust! All the CMs there seem much more intent on making magic than anywhere else we've stayed. Although, this was definitely a pixie dust overdose!

Is it really good? It's one of the things that have been raved about on the Dis that just doesn't appeal to me.

That, on the other hand, does appeal to me. I like my breakfast heavier on protein than carbs.

I like the Tonga Toast, but keep in mind I also like Reese's Puffs. Dug LOVED that breakfast he had, I'm sure you would too!

I would have paid money to see Dug stand on a chair and rave over his breakfast!

Oh, so you could have bought us breakfast - if only we'd have known!

That's amazing! $246 for club level is quite a steal. Especially since you can offset some of you food cost with the lounge offerings.

It really was about the best deal possible. In fact, technically it was less than $246, since we got our first (non club) night for free! And we did cancel some ADRs to offset a good chunk of the upgrade.

That's so awesome. I'm glad you were able to end your YOD in style!

Me too! It was perfect and hard to top!

BTW I started my TR. I hope you can check it out. There are a few people that were regular posters on my last TR that I picture as my audience when I am writing and you are one of them.

I saw your note over lunch at work, so I jumped over there and joined in. I'm so glad you're doing another TR! I can't wait to hear about it - especially some of the other parks you visited, since we haven't done that.

And just to throw it out there for any of my readers that may be hungering for an awesome TR to read between my updates ... go check out A&Bmama's TRs! I read her first one twice it was so good (really, I did!) Just make sure you have a box of kleenex for that one!

 

[aprilisis]

OMG...I can't believe the AWESOME rate you got for the Poly!!!
I can't wait to read more.

 

[jc040404]

LOVE the newest video! I wish I could put stuff together like that. They're so much fun to watch!

Dug really should've stood on his chair anyway, just for the reaction if nothing else! I keep trying to schedule Kona to try that tonga toast. I hope it eventually works out. Sounds sooo yummy!

Amazing about your room deal. I still can't believe you were given such an incredible rate for the entire stay! How awesome!!

Can't wait to hear more, especially about this Wildlife Excursion!

 

[Dugette]

OMG...I can't believe the AWESOME rate you got for the Poly!!!
I can't wait to read more.

I can't believe it either! I wish you could always stay in Hawaii for that rate! We'd probably never stay anywhere else!

LOVE the newest video! I wish I could put stuff together like that. They're so much fun to watch!

Dug really should've stood on his chair anyway, just for the reaction if nothing else! I keep trying to schedule Kona to try that tonga toast. I hope it eventually works out. Sounds sooo yummy!

Amazing about your room deal. I still can't believe you were given such an incredible rate for the entire stay! How awesome!!

Can't wait to hear more, especially about this Wildlife Excursion!

Glad you enjoyed the videos! I hope a visit to Kona works out for you sometime. If not, you can grab quick-service Tonga Toast at Captain Cook's. The room rate was crazy awesome. The wildlife excursion was a very cool experience too.

 

[Dugette]

We headed out to the bus stop to wait for a Downtown Disney bus. It had stopped raining, but was on the chilly side:

A bus arrived and we rode it to the Marketplace stop. Our plans here were to hit several of the major stores in hopes of finding suitable Christmas gifts for family/friends. We figured it would be something different to bring gifts home from Disney. And we wouldn’t be pressured to do all of our Christmas shopping shortly after getting home from our trip…we could just pick up odds and ends when we got back.

We took some pictures with the holiday display:

Our first destination was the Christmas store. We spent quite awhile browsing all the ornaments. We ended up purchasing quite a bit. We got lots of gifts here:

A light blue Mickey head ornament for Dug’s mom (same style as the one we got below)

A Mickey schoolteacher ornament for Dug’s dad (who’s a teacher)

A Mickey soccer ornament for Dug’s sister’s husband (used to play soccer)

(We’d already gotten Dug’s sister a Belle ornament on a previous trip that we were saving for Christmas)

A colorful jingle bell Mickey head ornament for my dad and step-mom

A Mickey Hanukkah mug for Dug’s best friend

And we couldn’t resist a couple for ourselves. The 2010 ornaments were on clearance:

Since we bought so much stuff, we were eligible to get the holiday fleece throw for fairly cheap, so we got that too. It was very pretty, with the holiday version of the castle on it. You’ll see it later.

We had everything shipped back to our resort, so we wouldn’t have to lug all of that around all afternoon (except for the fleece...we held on to that, knowing we might need it with this cold weather).

When we stepped out of the store, it had started drizzling again, but luckily I’d packed my mini umbrella! We hurried across the way to the Art of Disney store. Enjoyed checking out the prints there. If only we had a giant souvenir budget…there were some beautiful, expensive pieces of artwork in there!

After browsing there, we checked out the connected Memory and Tee Shirt stores. We found a few items in there. We got a birthstone necklace for Dug’s sister:

I really liked this too. It’s not my birthstone, but I love blue! So, Dug stealthily got me one for Christmas too, later in the trip!

Dug picked up some postcards to send to his great-uncle. Prior to the funeral, his grandpa’s brother had come out from Canada and had dinner with us. He really wanted Dug to start writing him letters. So, Dug decided to send him postcards during our trip!

We also had been keeping an eye out for a 5x7 frame to put our Disney Visa print from our November trip in. We found one at this store that looks great on our mantle:

We headed out and came across the Pooh bench, so had to take some pictures:

Next up, we went to Mickey’s Pantry. I’d been looking forward to this, as I always enjoy the Disney kitchen gadgets. However, I’d forgotten that this store had added an extensive spice/tea/salt/sugar section. We were sucked into that for quite awhile, smelling all the goodies. A nice cast member helped us pick out some things. We got a lot of gifts here:

Pizza seasoning for Dug’s sister and BIL, since they like to make homemade pizza

Salt free steak seasoning for Dug’s dad, since he loves to grill steaks

My dad and step-mom enjoy cooking, so we got them a few things: chardonnay oak salt, California fields tea, and a California spice blend

There is a couple we’re friends with and they love tea, so we got a few for them: almond cookie tea, Bombay chai tea, and a sampler pack

We also couldn’t resist getting some stuff for ourselves:

These are the sweet onion sugar, Murray River sea salt, and peach tea (haven’t tried that one yet). Not pictured, we also got popcorn seasoning, which Dug has already finished, since he loves popcorn. And we got a pizza seasoning for ourselves. I think we’ll use it again tonight to make homemade pizza for dinner!

We found another gift for my dad and step-mom here. It was a wine holder/insulated wrap thing that said something like, “I love all the wine rooms in my house…the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, etc.” It was appropriate because they love wine and have TONS of it in their house! They loved this, by the way.

One small thing we found right before we checked out was Mickey shortbread cookies. Dug’s Nana, who’d passed away right before this trip, was known for making delicious shortbread. Dug picked up a cookie for each of his family members. Seemed appropriate.

We had to get a basket because we were carrying so much stuff at this store, by the way. When we checked out, we asked for everything to be shipped back to our room, but they are not allowed to ship food products, so we ended up carrying it around. Oh well, not too heavy.

By now, it was time to head to our lunch ADR at Portobello. On the way, we passed the Lego store, so Dug snapped some pictures:

We made this ADR specifically to go to the “meatball bar.” I love meatballs, so this seemed like a pretty cool concept. We had a nice server. I think it was only his second day working there, so he apparently didn’t have his own nametag yet and was wearing someone else’s? Strange.

I ordered a Peach Italian Cream Soda to drink:

It was good, but really didn’t last long. Dug got a limoncello:

We enjoyed these while eating the bread they bring out that’s accompanied by roasted garlic and olive oil. The server showed us how to spread on the garlic:

We ordered the sampler of meatball sliders, so we could try one of each:

Everything was very tasty. Dug particularly enjoyed the salmon meatball (I skipped that one). The pork one was a bit spicy. The chicken and beef ones were yummy.

This was a nice, little meal. I love that you can belly up to the bar and order meatballs!

After that, it was time to head out. We’d save Ghirardelli for later. We would have to come back, as there were still stores we wanted to visit and more gifts to get. We walked through the Pleasure Island area, past Raglan Road, to the PI bus stop. Rode the bus back to the Poly. Just in time for naptime!

I took a brief nap and here’s where you get to see the fleece we bought:

Up next: Dinner in the lounge and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

 

[Kurby]

i'm late to the party but i found you and i'm loving it

 

[TheDreamsComeTrue]

I love hearing what you got there for Christmas! The fleece blanket you got is adorable!
Great update!

 

[Nermel9]

I love the Christmas store at DTD, it's my favorite! I always spend way too much money there!

I've always wondered about Portobello, it seems like it would be good! I didn't know they had a meatball bar!

I love that castle throw, I got one the year before, and I use it all the time!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Sounds like you guys are having a great time!! Great idea to do some Christmas Shopping in disney!!
Mickey's Pantry sounds great!! I'll have to check that out for sure!!

Salmon meatballs???? eeekkkk.....I don't blame you for staying away - LOL
and I love Salmon, but in a meatball???

 

[lmillercrew]

The cooking store sounds very interesting AND very yummy!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Wow! Great job with doing a huge chunk of your Christmas shopping. You guys have a big list of people to shop for Don't envy you! Luckily my family is huge so we pull names