"I think I'm in love, and her name is Polynesia..." an Aug/Sept '15 TR (NEW TR link @ end!)

[rteetz]

I've never been to blizzard beach but it sure looks like a lot of fun. I probably wouldn't do summit plummet but I definitely would do everything else.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Catching up on your updates!

What a great start to your trip. Your pictures of TT are amazing! It's probably my favourite ride at Epcot (hard to choose between it and Soarin'). I'm in the camp that likes San Angel food. I like the Mexican spices and flavours a lot!

Blizzard Beach looks amazing. I haven't been to that water park at all and hope that I get the opportunity at some stage to do so.
Looks like you were lucky with the rain staying away that day.

 

[skier_pete]

Man, these posts are killing me- I want to be planning a long trip SO BAD!!!!

I have not been to Blizzard Beach in probably 20 years. I know my kids would love it...... and I always say....maybe next time... but I doubt it.

Oh - no trips in the works? Sorry to hear that! It's tough to tear yourselves away from the parks to take a water park day, especially since they are pretty pricey. That said, especially on warmer weather trips - they are an awesome adder. I'm sorry we didn't get to them more. (You'll see if you keep reading.)

I've never been to blizzard beach but it sure looks like a lot of fun. I probably wouldn't do summit plummet but I definitely would do everything else.

Some amazing slides at BB. Summit Plummet is something else, but I was leery of trying it with recent back issues I've had. The family raft ride is excellent! BB beats TL on slides, but TL has the rung up on "other stuff".

What a great start to your trip. Your pictures of TT are amazing! It's probably my favourite ride at Epcot (hard to choose between it and Soarin'). I'm in the camp that likes San Angel food. I like the Mexican spices and flavours a lot!

Blizzard Beach looks amazing. I haven't been to that water park at all and hope that I get the opportunity at some stage to do so.
Looks like you were lucky with the rain staying away that day.

Yeah - those TT pictures are Photopass stock photos! Can't take credit for them! It's definitely DD favorite ride - she usually wants to do it at least 2-3 times a trip. Fortunately she's old enough now for single rider line! (Except she also wants to make a car.)

I've already said it I know - but BB rocks!

 

[Alexsandra]

Just stumbled on your trip report. Enjoyed everything so far. I really want to try BC one day. It looks so nice and I love that you could walk to Epcot. Love that sunrise shot you took. Just beautiful.
I just booked San Angel Inn for lunch on my upcoming trip in March. Looking forward to trying it. My kids loved the Mexican food at La Hacienda de San Angel on our last trip so I decided to give San Angel Inn a try this time around. My DS8 does not like spicy food either so I was surprised to see how much he enjoyed his meal there. He did have quesadillas but the rice that came with it was spicy for a kids meal. DS4 ironically will eat anything, spicy or not.
I've never tried any of Disney's water parks since we usually travel in the winter months, but I have to say you are really tempting me. I always wanted to try Typhoon Lagoon since I find Blizzard Beach's theme uninspiring. That might be because I am from Canada where I ski all winter long so going to a "ski" themed water park when I'm trying to escape the winter snow is maybe not the best idea.

 

[mlegerto]

Joined in. Sounds like you've had a great time so far!

DH and I were also visiting late August/early September and we stayed at the Poly - we were there on our honeymoon!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

I'm late to the party! Joining in and loving your report!

 

[BarbP]

Thanks for taking the time to do this trip report!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Just caught up! Loving the updates. I really like all your detail in your posts. Makes me feel like I am there with you guys! What a great park hopping day at DHS and Epcot.

I also miss the old TT but am loving the new TT too. I like designing the car and my DH has a competitive nature so we try and out-design our last car!

I can't do Missing Space Orange either. Ugh. Green all the way for me. In all honestly I can take or leave this ride. I do really like the games and e-postcards at the end of the ride though.

San Angel Inn was really surprising for me! I think it's because I find American Mexican food kind of bland in general but I like the fact that the flavors are kicked up a notch at WDW! Which reminds me that I'd like to go again on our next trip but just have to find the time to squeeze it in! Have too many ADRs as it is...

Blizzard Beach looks fun! I admit I'm not a huge fan of water parks but you definitely make it sound fun. And those donuts....yum!

Love all the pictures!

 

[skier_pete]

Just stumbled on your trip report. Enjoyed everything so far. I really want to try BC one day. It looks so nice and I love that you could walk to Epcot. Love that sunrise shot you took. Just beautiful.

Thank you for stumbling in! BC was really nice and especially the location couldn't be beat.

I just booked San Angel Inn for lunch on my upcoming trip in March. Looking forward to trying it. My kids loved the Mexican food at La Hacienda de San Angel on our last trip so I decided to give San Angel Inn a try this time around. My DS8 does not like spicy food either so I was surprised to see how much he enjoyed his meal there. He did have quesadillas but the rice that came with it was spicy for a kids meal. DS4 ironically will eat anything, spicy or not.

Oh, your kids will love it. I would definitely ask you can get a spot near the rail, even if it means waiting a bit. The kids will love waving at the boats. I'm sure the kids meal has plenty of non-spicy options. The Quesadillas we had are definitely on the kids menu.

I've never tried any of Disney's water parks since we usually travel in the winter months, but I have to say you are really tempting me. I always wanted to try Typhoon Lagoon since I find Blizzard Beach's theme uninspiring. That might be because I am from Canada where I ski all winter long so going to a "ski" themed water park when I'm trying to escape the winter snow is maybe not the best idea.

Ha! We are from the Buffalo area so we definitely know the "snow" thing. While I've never gone to the water parks in winter, we did go in November when the temperatures were relatively cool. (Only 70-75 F outside.) The water in all the water park is heated everywhere, so even if it's not the hottest of days, you can have a good time at the water park. Us Northerners can take the cold anyways, can't we?

Joined in. Sounds like you've had a great time so far!

DH and I were also visiting late August/early September and we stayed at the Poly - we were there on our honeymoon!

Can't wait to read more!

Hey there Neighbors! (We are only about an 90 minutes from Burlington depending on traffic over the border.) Welcome along. Wasn't the Poly amazing? Of course, maybe you two never left your room....hee hee.

I'm late to the party! Joining in and loving your report!

Oh come on in, the party has barely started. We're still only on our second full day, and it's not even a park day - barely through 5 % of the photos!!!!

Thanks for taking the time to do this trip report!

Well, thanks for reading along! I've said it already - but I love getting feedback that people are enjoying it. I'm trying to post frequently. (Soon.)

Just caught up! Loving the updates. I really like all your detail in your posts. Makes me feel like I am there with you guys! What a great park hopping day at DHS and Epcot.

Thanks for reading along! I've been through some of your TRs before - you and hubby are a mainstay here on the DIS!

I also miss the old TT but am loving the new TT too. I like designing the car and my DH has a competitive nature so we try and out-design our last car!

Honestly, I like the new TT better. I never get to design the car - that's DDs job.

I can't do Missing Space Orange either. Ugh. Green all the way for me. In all honestly I can take or leave this ride. I do really like the games and e-postcards at the end of the ride though.

Agree it is not the greatest ride. To me it was just created just a little too early for the level of "interactiveness" that you would expect in this kind of attraction. Pushing buttons that do nothing is boring. They should make it like Star Tours 2.0 and have it be interactive. If you don't push your buttons right - it changes somewhat. I know this might be difficult since their are mulitple rides on the same "turntable", but I still think it would be possible.

San Angel Inn was really surprising for me! I think it's because I find American Mexican food kind of bland in general but I like the fact that the flavors are kicked up a notch at WDW! Which reminds me that I'd like to go again on our next trip but just have to find the time to squeeze it in! Have too many ADRs as it is...

Blizzard Beach looks fun! I admit I'm not a huge fan of water parks but you definitely make it sound fun. And those donuts....yum!!

Mmmmmm...the donuts. Top 3 Disney treats! San Angel Inn was good, but I wouldn't call it "must do" on my list. Every 10 years seems about right.

 

[skier_pete]

The afternoon was again spent relaxing at the resort. No one really wanted to go to the pool, of course, because we’d spent all day at the water park. Before we left for dinner, we finally were able to meet up with one of the family’s from our photopass share @twinsouviners and her family were actually right down the hall from us in a 1-bedroom DVC room. We had a present exchange going, and dropped off our stuff. They have 3 cute kids two 3-year olds and an infant. The little one must’ve just woken from his nap, cause he looked kind of out of it The two older kids loved their little stuffy’s we got them, and were throwing them around the room. It was too cute! They a present as well, which she really liked. (Actually – I stole one of the rice krispie treats in there – yum!)


Tonight was a “Parents/Kids” night out. DD was dropped off at the kid’s club about 6 PM, and then we headed over to the Yachtsman’s Steakhouse. This is our third trip to the Yachtsman, and as usual it did NOT disappoint. You better not be a vegetarian at the Yachtsman!

DW had designed an outfit for tonight that was inspired by Cinderella. Only Cinderella never looked this gorgeous!

Sorry, again I forgot my camera, so you’re stuck with phone photos. I swear I eventually get this camera problem resolved. There’s a ton more pictures starting around day 4 or 5.


Dinner starts out with rolls and popovers with a butter or a roasted garlic spread.

I tried not to overdo it on bread – but that Garlic spread is so good. We decided to split the Artisan Cheese Board – which was made up of 4 different cheeses. Here’s what they are.

And here’s what they looked like:

Two of the cheeses (the 2nd and 3rd on the list) we both agreed were quite tasty. The first one was OK – a little to sharp for our tastes. The fourth one – the Blue Cheese – could kindly be described as “earthy” or as the card said “grassy/nutty”. Not so kindly I would say it had a taste/odor of grass and cow crap. DW pointed out that in all cases the side flavor did successfully enhance the taste of the cheese, and in the case the cranberry/almond panforte actually made the stuff taste somewhat tolerable. Still, I would NOT recommend trying it.


For dinner we are creatures of habit and both got our favorite cut – the Strip Steak:

The picture doesn’t do it justice. This is what I like to poorly describe as “butter steak”. Steak that is so tender that when you eat it almost seems to melt in your mouth like the finest butter you’ve ever tasted. The flavor and the tenderness of the steaks were suberb as usual, and the side that came with the steak, the scalloped potatoes, were also delicious. And no steak goes without an order of Onions:

I forget that I don’t love their onions here. They are good, but so soft and salty that you get tired of them. The steak certainly doesn’t need them. Note to future self – skip the onions.


And while we’re talking self, skip the side, too! At least this one. It was a cornbread stuffing with crabmeat that sounded really fantastic but ended up being just sort of OK. I didn’t think the crab flavor worked well with the other flavors.

At the end of the meal, even though we LOVED the steak, we both had a hard time finishing the meal. We asked if it would be possible to split a steak in the future, and they said “YES”. I worry that that would make for too SMALL a portion, but it would be a pretty good way to eat at Yachtsman for a reasonable price. Get a couple Appetizers/sides and one meal, you might be able to get away under $100. As it was, we ran a $167, and that was without any alcohol!


We tried to time our dinner to get us over to Jellyrolls right about opening. We finished our meal and slowly walked over to the Boardwalk. The 2nd half of our favorite date night on the planet.

Jellyrolls was great as usual – with two minor exceptions:

One – this was the first time I ever remember them saying they couldn’t do some of the songs. And there were several, maybe 4-5 songs they couldn’t do.

Two – the crowd was really small. We ended up with DW going back to the room to get DD out of the kid’s club and then she came back. The place never peaked at even half full. We are so used to packed houses I suppose because we are usually here during food and wine, it definitely effected the energy of the place.


Those two things combined meant the players were talking to the audience a lot more. They also played a lot of stuff that we haven’t heard them play before. They ended up playing BOTH my requests on the night: “Let’s Stay Together” by the Reverend Al Green (our wedding song) and “Somebody to Love” by Queen.

We also met Twinsouvenirs and her husband there. (They were at Yachtsman a little after we were too.) We all had a good time, though of course Jellyrolls isn’t a great place for conversation.

We stayed until close to midnight – and then we had to leave before I turned back into a pumpkin. DD was well asleep in the room, and we knew it was going to be an early morning for DD and I to get our butt in gear for us to do the YES program.

 

[mlegerto]

DW had designed an outfit for tonight that was inspired by Cinderella. Only Cinderella never looked this gorgeous!

Very beautiful! How adorable are you!

 

[awalker1015]

Love your report! You have a lovely family.

 

[MidnightParade]

Sounds like a fantastic date night! Would you say Yatchsmen is on par or above the Keg or maybe Ruth Chris? (If you have ever been to them before!lol).

Yay Jellyrolls! I was worried about going when it was crowded but I guess that's when it's better! I will keep this in mind.

Loved the DWs Cinderellaesque outfit! That shawl is so pretty!!!

 

[rteetz]

Looks like you had a great night out! I have never been to yachtsman let alone any signature restaurant at Disney. We typically don't eat huge meals on vacation so we've just never looked into a place like yachtsman. It's does look great and I hope to try it some day in the future.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Fun date night! Tell your DW she looks lovely! I love her shawl. Did she make it?

 

[skier_pete]

Very beautiful! How adorable are you!

ME? I hope you mean my wife. She is, though.

Love your report! You have a lovely family.

Thank you!!!

Sounds like a fantastic date night! Would you say Yatchsmen is on par or above the Keg or maybe Ruth Chris? (If you have ever been to them before!lol).

Yay Jellyrolls! I was worried about going when it was crowded but I guess that's when it's better! I will keep this in mind.

Loved the DWs Cinderellaesque outfit! That shawl is so pretty!!!

I would put Yachtsman's slightly above the Keg (I assume you are referring to the Canadian chain). I've only eaten at Ruth's Chris once, and I guess I would put it on par with that. Really I put it at the level of a high-end steak house - which I guess Ruth's Chris is considered to be, but specifically we have eaten at The Western Door here in Buffalo, and VooDoo Steak at the Rio in Vegas. And it's waaaayyyy better than Le Cellier.

Really what I think about Yachtsman is it's one of the best "deals" on Disney property. The reason I say this is you are going to pay $45 for a steak (which includes a side), but any of these other steak houses - Ruth's Chris for instance - you will pay at least that amount. So therefore, you are NOT paying a premium for eating on Disney property, you're just paying high-end steak prices.

Jellyrolls is best with a crowd. The key is to get there before 9:30 PM (ideally by 9 PM) on a busy night so that you can still get a good seat. Usually by 10 PM it's cranking pretty good.

Looks like you had a great night out! I have never been to yachtsman let alone any signature restaurant at Disney. We typically don't eat huge meals on vacation so we've just never looked into a place like yachtsman. It's does look great and I hope to try it some day in the future.

It's admittedly very pricey, we'd never been there until we 2011 and we were in our forties, so you have plenty of time!

Fun date night! Tell your DW she looks lovely! I love her shawl. Did she make it?

Yes! She did make the scarf herself. She's just crafty that way.

 

[mlegerto]

ME? I hope you mean my wife. She is, though.

haha, yes I do mean YOU. I know this ISN'T a photo of you and instead of your beautiful wife, I just think it's adorable when men express their love for the special ladies in their lives!

 

[DisneyJo]

DW had designed an outfit for tonight that was inspired by Cinderella. Only Cinderella never looked this gorgeous!

Awww what a wonderful, cute thing to say

I can't wait to go to Yachtsman next year, I always hear such great things about it!

 

[skier_pete]

haha, yes I do mean YOU. I know this ISN'T a photo of you and instead of your beautiful wife, I just think it's adorable when men express their love for the special ladies in their lives!

Awww what a wonderful, cute thing to say

I can't wait to go to Yachtsman next year, I always hear such great things about it!

Well - that's nice of you both to say. Just telling the truth about my wife!

Yachtsman's a winner. We've been 3 times and never been disappointed - even at the price. We want to break out next time and try and different signature restaurant, but it's tough to resist Yachtsman.

 

[jandlinz]

All caught up. I love your Cinderella comment about your wife. I said, "Aw!" out loud after reading it. Your steak dinners looks amazing. We always seem to visit the water parks when we go. We always have so much fun. You do have to be careful though. My mom bumped her head on a slide years ago. She had to be rushed to the ER for a concussion. She was bruised very badly. In fact she was in the hospital for a couple of days where her and my dad couldn't finish their vacation and missed their flight home. I'm glad you didn't end up the same way. Can't wait to read more.