Is 7 Days Enough to Make a First Timer Fall in Love??--Aug'11 TR-- FINAL UPDATE 8/26

[Leshaface]

Also, which websites did you say you used to tour the parks? I remember easywdw, but I thought you said another one as well.

 

[jenjie]

Great TR! Looks like you made a believer out of your BF! We are going down kind of in the same timeframe that you did last year. Actually we switched from Aug 20 to Aug 24 as our arrival day. Did you notice any difference in crowd levels between the beginning and end of your trip? how were the crowds in general?

 

[heathsf]

Also, which websites did you say you used to tour the parks? I remember easywdw, but I thought you said another one as well.

Hi! I also used Touring Plans... I loved the Lines App and the touring guides were good too, but when there was a discrepancy I tended to go with easywdw.

Great TR! Looks like you made a believer out of your BF! We are going down kind of in the same timeframe that you did last year. Actually we switched from Aug 20 to Aug 24 as our arrival day. Did you notice any difference in crowd levels between the beginning and end of your trip? how were the crowds in general?

I don't think we noticed any difference between the days. But we definitely noticed much smaller crowds early in the morning at park opening. And it is going to be HOT! I thought the crowds were totally bearable as long as you have a good plan. I guess things are a little different now with FP enforcement but we did very well getting to the parks at rope drop (or close to it) and collecting FP throughout the morning. If you haven't already, check out easywdw for touring plans and information on summer touring. Is this your first August trip?

 

[jenjie]

I don't think we noticed any difference between the days. But we definitely noticed much smaller crowds early in the morning at park opening. And it is going to be HOT! I thought the crowds were totally bearable as long as you have a good plan. I guess things are a little different now with FP enforcement but we did very well getting to the parks at rope drop (or close to it) and collecting FP throughout the morning. If you haven't already, check out easywdw for touring plans and information on summer touring. Is this your first August trip?

Thanks! Yes it is. We've only gone twice before - once in October and once in March. I've looked at easywdw crowd calendar and it makes it look like a huge dip in crowd levels. OK I just checked and it begins to dip on the 26th. Not bad since the 25th is our first park day.

 

[Leshaface]

Hi! I also used Touring Plans... I loved the Lines App and the touring guides were good too, but when there was a discrepancy I tended to go with easywdw.

Thank you!

 

[heathsf]

Thursday, August 25 - Part 5

When I last left off, we had left Epcot after a day full of eating and drinking and were on the monorail to our next destination, which as many people have already guessed, was The Polynesian. I had especially been looking forward to this evening because it was my first time at the Poly and therefore my first time eating at Ohana.

We got off at the TTC and walked the rest of the way. What a nice/easy walk.

As soon as BF saw the pool, he said, “Why didn’t we stay here?”

The whole resort, both inside and outside, was so beautiful.

And what do you think BF did the moment we reached the lobby?

Are you noticing a pattern with him? Even though he’s taking up the whole couch for himself, at least he was polite enough to keep his feet off the cushions We were about 30 minutes early for our 5:20 ADR so I explored a little bit while BF napped, and then I joined him on the couch as I was feeling pretty tired too. When it was time we went upstairs to check in.

There were two lines at the counter, one for “stand-by” which was unbelievably long and one for people with ADRs which was very short. There were only 2 parties in front of us to check in. Just as it was our turn a group just walked right up in front of me to check in!! I was so annoyed and about to say something but I just bit my tongue. I was irritated by these people, but I was equally irritated that the CM was helping them even though they cut the entire line! Perhaps he didn’t realize… but saying something at that point would have meant interrupting them and I just didn’t feel like dealing with any sort of confrontation. Once we did check in, we waited 25 minutes to be seated which we definitely didn’t mind because we were still working on building up our appetites. We sat at the bar but decided not to drink anything as we really wanted to save whatever room was left in our stomachs for dinner.

And then finally…it was time for our long-awaited dinner at Ohana!

Up Next: Food pictures!

 

[IheartDDuck]

In addition to the resort being beautiful, I think the convenience of being able to walk from the TTC to the Polynesian is one of it's best qualities. I just love being able to do that.

Can't wait to hear about dinner at Ohana.

 

[FosterA]

awwww. I love the walk to the Poly from the TTC. I especially love it at night when all the torches are lit!

ya'll should have done "snoozin" around the World instead of drinking around the World. You could get a photo of BF sleeping on all the couches at Disney.

crazy about the rudeness in line to get in to eat.....can't wait for an update to hear how the food was. WE stayed at the Poly but never did do O'hana so I'm curious.

 

[Leshaface]

I've always wanted to stay at the Poly just for the pool...and that cool looking Pineapple drink they make at the bar.

Ooh I would have been so mad/frustrated at those people. I'm surprised he didn't say anything to them too. Did he not see you in line? There has been a few situations that i've seen where people have cut (not in front of me, but other people) and a CM has said, politely, "I'm sorry this gentlemen/lady is next, but I can help you as soon as i'm done with all these people." I'm really hoping he just didn't see you.

I can't wait to hear about Ohana!

 

[teekathepony]

I've never been to the Poly yet! Can't wait to see it in September. It looks so pretty! I can't wait to hear all about your meal. I hope it was excellent, and that there was a bug in the food of the people who cut in front of you.

 

[heathsf]

In addition to the resort being beautiful, I think the convenience of being able to walk from the TTC to the Polynesian is one of it's best qualities. I just love being able to do that.

Can't wait to hear about dinner at Ohana.

It was a really nice walk and it was super convenient. I would LOVE to stay there on day.

awwww. I love the walk to the Poly from the TTC. I especially love it at night when all the torches are lit!

ya'll should have done "snoozin" around the World instead of drinking around the World. You could get a photo of BF sleeping on all the couches at Disney.

crazy about the rudeness in line to get in to eat.....can't wait for an update to hear how the food was. WE stayed at the Poly but never did do O'hana so I'm curious.

BF would LOVE that!!! In fact, that might even help me make my case for another trip! Hahaha!!

I've always wanted to stay at the Poly just for the pool...and that cool looking Pineapple drink they make at the bar.

Ooh I would have been so mad/frustrated at those people. I'm surprised he didn't say anything to them too. Did he not see you in line? There has been a few situations that i've seen where people have cut (not in front of me, but other people) and a CM has said, politely, "I'm sorry this gentlemen/lady is next, but I can help you as soon as i'm done with all these people." I'm really hoping he just didn't see you.

I can't wait to hear about Ohana!

I really don't know what happened. I'm glad I didn't make a big deal about it though. I don't like confrontation and it was much easier to just take a deep breath and forget about it. It's not like we were starving...

I've never been to the Poly yet! Can't wait to see it in September. It looks so pretty! I can't wait to hear all about your meal. I hope it was excellent, and that there was a bug in the food of the people who cut in front of you.

Thanks! It really is gorgeous. Even BF immediately wanted to stay there!

 

[kdevoe]

I'm am so enjoying your TR. Congratulations on your engagement!!! You know, the whole time I'm reading your trip report I'm thinking you guys are so cute together and how wonderful would it be if you got engaged on the trip!!! Even though it wasn't on your trip it's still so exciting!!! Congrats again. Can't wait to read more.

 

[heathsf]

I'm am so enjoying your TR. Congratulations on your engagement!!! You know, the whole time I'm reading your trip report I'm thinking you guys are so cute together and how wonderful would it be if you got engaged on the trip!!! Even though it wasn't on your trip it's still so exciting!!! Congrats again. Can't wait to read more.

Thank you so much Reading your post seriously made my morning!

 

[heathsf]

Thursday, August 25 - Part 6

It was finally time for dinner at Ohana. We definitely weren’t as hungry as we should have been to go into this all-you-can eat meal. But we were still psyched! We were seated right at a window and this was our view:

The food started coming right away. First, bread and Mixed Greens with Honey-Lime Dressing:

Next, Coriander Chicken Wings and Pork Fried Dumplings:

Sauces – Peanut, Chimichurri, and Sweet-and-Sour:

Everything so far was absolutely delicious (we didn’t eat much bread though… no point in filling ourselves up even more than we already were and we wanted to enjoy the good stuff!). I particularly enjoyed the dumplings but I had to fight BF for them…good thing our “cousin” was frequently checking on us to see what we needed more of. The wings were great also.

Next up was the noodles and I enjoyed them WAY too much. They were sooo yummy I just couldn’t stop eating them. So much for not totally filling up on carbs!

Now I completely failed with the rest of the pictures. The food just kept coming and coming and coming and I wanted to eat and eat and eat. So what’s missing? The skewers which are prepared in a giant oak fire in the middle of the restaurant: Sirloin Steak, Asian BBQ Pork Loin, Mesquite Grilled Turkey, and (non-peeled) Shrimp. I think BF tried everything (hmm, it’s possible he skipped the turkey) while I stuck to the shrimp. I forgot to mention that there was broccoli served with the noodles. Here’s a table shot at the end of the meal when we finally gave up:

BF certainly looks defeated doesn’t he? It was all so excruciatingly delicious and we both wanted to eat more but we just couldn’t. Well, with the exception of dessert, since we obviously saved room for that. Our cousin returned to the table (the service here was excellent) to ask “Can I get you more of anything?” and BF replied “Yeah, an appetite!”

Then it was time for the famous Ohana Bread Pudding a la mode with Banana Foster sauce. Yum!!!!!

My mouth is watering as I write this. That bread pudding would make a great breakfast right about now…

Anyway, BF perked up a little after dessert.

We used 2 table service credits to pay for dinner and then headed outside to check out the famous Poly Beach. BF really loved the resort and I bet I could use that as leverage to plan another trip one day in the future… assuming we could somehow afford it!

After a little bit of a struggle, we finally managed to both climb into the hammock. We had the beach to ourselves and it was so quiet and peaceful and just beautiful out there. While relaxing in the hammock we were enjoying our view of a very pretty rainbow stretching overhead, which you can faintly make out in the second picture below.

It didn’t feel like anything could ruin this perfect moment, until it started to rain. Then we started walking (running) back to the TTC unsure of what our plan was. We had originally been planning to go back to Epcot, and we still had TT FP to use. As soon as we arrived at the TTC the rain stopped, so now we had a third option of going back to the beach and returning to the hammock. We ultimately decided to take the monorail back to Epcot, give away our FP, and go back to Pop and call it a night. We were tired and full and wanted to get a good night’s sleep so we could wake up early to take advantage of rope drop for our last day.

Up Next: Our last day at Hollywood Studios

 

[teekathepony]

Wow, what an awesome meal! The food looks so good! And what better way to relax and digest than laying in that hammock on the beach!

 

[Leshaface]

Your meal looks AMAZING! Especially the noodles and that bread pudding! Drooling right now!

How peaceful the beach looked and such a pretty rainbow!

 

[heathsf]

I know I have been dragging this TR out for a long time now (going on 10 months!!) but I just don't want it to end... I'm sad to be on the last day but I promise I will get it done. Now that school is ending I will have plenty of time to wrap it up within the next few weeks or so. Thanks to everyone who has actually stuck around

 

[Leshaface]

I know I have been dragging this TR out for a long time now (going on 10 months!!) but I just don't want it to end... I'm sad to be on the last day but I promise I will get it done. Now that school is ending I will have plenty of time to wrap it up within the next few weeks or so. Thanks to everyone who has actually stuck around

Don't worry! That's how I felt with my last TR too...Because you'll never know when you get to start another one.

 

[heathsf]

Don't worry! That's how I felt with my last TR too...Because you'll never know when you get to start another one.

I know, that's exactly how I feel! Once I finish this thing I'm going to totally immerse myself in other people's TRs (like yours!) to satisfy my WDW cravings.

 

[heathsf]

Friday, August 26 - Part 1

It’s so darn difficult to 100% fully enjoy one’s last day in WDW knowing that you have to leave in a couple of hours. There are few things in the world that are more heartbreaking! But, sigh… that last day had actually arrived. The first day of vacation is so great when you still have the entire thing to look forward to. Oh geez, I’m really making myself sad dwelling on this. So anyway, it was our last day…

We were leaving our room at 8:30 to check our suitcases with luggage services for our flight later that day. Even BF, formerly known as The Skeptic, was sad the trip was coming to an end.

Here’s a shot of the view from our room on this sticky morning. I can’t believe the Art of Animation Resort is finally opened! I’ve been looking at those unfinished buildings for so many years on previous trips.

After getting rid of our luggage, we got really lucky as two buses for HS arrived one right after the other.

We arrived at HS at 9:03 and headed right for TSM to grab FP. Once again, the end of the line was all the way back by the entrance to Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was a 15 minute line and our return time was between 12:05 and 1:05. I don’t know if I was tired of taking pictures at this point or just feeling grumpy about it being our last day but I don’t have a single photo from entering HS, the crowds at TSM, or anything in between. Sorry

At this point I was really hungry and convinced BF to go to Starring Rolls so I could try the Butterfinger Cupcake I’ve read about on here. That was the only thing I ordered, and BF got a chocolate chip muffin, bagel with cream cheese, and orange juice. We used 4 snack credits. (You should be wondering how we could possibly still have snack credits left after our jaunt around the world at Epcot yesterday. The answer is that we are totally silly and for some reason didn’t use them. Oops.)

BF enjoyed his food. I totally regretted getting that cupcake. It was just too much for me. Too much icing, and way too rich. I just couldn’t handle it. Maybe it was also a little early for such a treat and it shouldn’t have been the first thing I ate. Whatever the reasons, this cupcake just wasn’t for me and I was disappointed in myself that I really couldn’t eat it. BF tried some of it and the rest went into the garbage I felt horrible for wasting it.

After eating, we checked out the wait at ToT. It was posted as 20 minutes so we hopped on line, but it definitely seemed like it was going to be more than 20 minutes as we were standing outside in the hot sun so we changed our minds and looked for something else to do. We walked back across the park to Animation Courtyard, stopping on the way for some Photopass pictures.

We skipped Mushu (even though I can’t get enough of that show – it makes me laugh every time!) and went right to the back area to see if we could meet Sorcerer Mickey. We got on line a few minutes before he was due to arrive but once we saw how slowly the line was moving we once again changed our minds (apparently we were quite impatient this morning) and decided to do another Animation Academy drawing class instead. I did snap a photo before we left. He’s showing me his good side.

We had a little bit of a wait before the next drawing class so BF did his usual thing

And then it was time to draw! BF got serious and put on his glasses.

We were literally the last people out of the room because he wanted to add the finishing touches.

Unlike last time (re: my chubby-cheeked Mickey), both of our characters looked pretty good if I do say so myself.

Mine:

BF’s:

On our way out we said “what’s up” to Pooh Bear but we didn’t have time to stay and chat since we wanted to catch the 11:30 Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

The show was totally full, something I wasn’t expecting since it was the first show of the day. We were glad we got there relatively early. This was our view of the stage:

BF really enjoyed the show. Looking back, he really enjoyed most things we did which makes me so happy. Anyway, after the show we strolled by one of my favorite “hidden” park secrets, a scene from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, one of my favorite childhood movies. This is one of the upper floor windows in the building that houses the Hollywood & Vine restaurant.

Up Next: BF gets to experience what it’s like to be a victim of Wayne Szalinski’s electromagnetic shrink ray