It was a Horror-ible, and then Not-So-Scary (but exhausting!), October/NovTrip!! Completed 3/13!!!

[buzzrelly]

Back to the Trip Report!

We left off with me leaving wanting to leave EPCOT and Mike wanting to stay but feeling uncertain about getting back to the Polynesian by himself.

We took the little friendship boat because I was feeling exhausted and not feeling like walking all the way around the WS.


We were being a little silly, taking selfies of each other taking selfies So stupid, I know!






After much reassurance from me, Mike decided that he would stay and poke around a little longer, and I left EPCOT to go check out the room and rest. As I was walking, I started taking pictures so I could leave him a bread crumb trail that I ended up texting to him after.














And you know what? It worked! He told me later that looking at those pictures actually helped him find his way back…phew! I'm sure y'all are relieved to know he's not STILL wandering around EPCOT trying to find me ​

 

[buzzrelly]

I had gotten texted that our room was ready, and we got Tokelau 3918…





This was in the standard room category, so the least amount of points, and it was exactly what I had requested, so I was really happy!

Room pics…
















More room pics in next post...

​

 

[buzzrelly]

And as for the view from the balcony…

Looking to the right...


Looking straight ahead...



Looking to the left...



And kind of stretching and looking further left...


I thought this was a PHENOMENAL view for a standard view We got really lucky on this trip because I know you can make any request you want but they are never guaranteed. We just happened to get BOTH of the room types we requested…lucky us!

The only other time I stayed at PVC was in 2016 and we had a Lake View which meant we had a straight on view of the MK. It was very nice, but it was in MOOREA, and our room just happened to be one of the closest to the Ferry Boats/TTC and the ferry horns were really super annoying in the early morning and late at night. I MUCH preferred this room, and Tokelau, in general, is much more centrally located. Close walk to the main ceremonial house, and a close walk to the TTC. I would always request this house in the future.

So, once I got into the room, naturally I laid down to rest, right??? WRONG! I couldn't rest without Clorox wiping the whole room down (it's my OCD thing!), but then I realized that the Clorox wipes were in the owner's locker that was out in the car. So I grabbed my refillable mug and the car keys and went out to get the wipes, and instead of just grabbing the wipes, I ended up getting the whole owner's locker. I don't know WHAT I was thinking! When I first lifted it, it didn't feel too heavy and I was like, "oh, I can do this." But halfway across the parking lot I was wondering why I decided to carry this crazy thing by myself! I had to put it down and rest a bit and then finally got it over to bell services where the guy came right over and took it from me Thank goodness! I arranged with him to deliver it and also bring our luggage, so I grabbed a quick drink and went back to the room where he arrived shortly thereafter with our things and I could (FINALLY!) get to cleaning so I could relax

So THEN I laid down to rest, right?

WRONG! AGAIN!

Well, kinda…

I ended up getting on my bathing suit and heading to the pool…






I laid by the lava pool and read for a little bit while I waited to see if Mike would find his way back.

Up next: Drinks at Trader Sam's and dinner at 'Ohana!


(PS-I noticed a huge bruise on my hip the next day exactly where that stupid locker was digging into me )



CLICK HERE FOR NEXT POST​

 

[bluejasmine]

Really am enjoying the report!

 

[kastoney]

"Before the bridge was built, there used to be 'fairies' that would get you across."

Sorry…it's all I could think of when you mentioned that and I just spent all morning looking for that picture!

I'm sitting on the couch with my inlaws and they are looking at me like I'm crazy wondering why I'm inexplicably laughing

This is EVERYTHING! Jason and I randomly watched a PBS special a few years back on the building of the bridge and I could have sworn they meant ferry boats. Clearly I was not paying attention.

Mike was in love with these throwback soaps and shampoos at CBBR. He took them home and we aren't allowed to use them!

\
Insert more odd looks from my inlaws here. What is it 1975?????? In what world do they even make these products anymore

As I was walking, I started taking pictures so I could leave him a bread crumb trail that I ended up texting to him after.

You're such a good wife!

I thought this was a PHENOMENAL view for a standard view We got really lucky on this trip because I know you can make any request you want but they are never guaranteed. We just happened to get BOTH of the room types we requested…lucky us!

Awesome room! Loving the design of the studio and your views. Makes me long for the Poly....

I ended up getting on my bathing suit and heading to the pool…

Sounds better than a nap to me!

 

[buzzrelly]

Really am enjoying the report!

Thank You!

This is EVERYTHING! Jason and I randomly watched a PBS special a few years back on the building of the bridge and I could have sworn they meant ferry boats. Clearly I was not paying attention.

Clearly!

Insert more odd looks from my inlaws here. What is it 1975?????? In what world do they even make these products anymore

My mom used to buy Alberto VO5 ALL the time! That was the good stuff!

Awesome room! Loving the design of the studio and your views. Makes me long for the Poly....

Sounds better than a nap to me!

Way!

 

[buzzrelly]

The pool was lovely, but it was getting kind of late and I texted Mike to see if, in fact, he got lost...




He sent me back a pic of where he was and then because he doesn't have the update on his phone, he couldn't see my guess. Anyway, I had left around 3:30 and he had been "poking around" this whole time. I told him he'd better start heading back so we could get ready for our ADR at 'Ohana. I went back to the room to change and lo and behold, he walked in shortly after. It was already getting dark so I took some pics from the balcony before we headed out…






The Poly just looks so pretty at night

Our ADR was for 8:05 so we walked over to see if we could get into Trader Sam's for a drink before. It wasn't overly crowded but since it's soooooo small in there, we ended up standing at the end of the bar. We were fine with that because we couldn't stay very long anyway, but one of our biggest regrets of this trip was that we never got back to TS like we wanted to. It's definitely on the list for next time and I told Mike we have to get there super early to get a table.

The bartender was awesome and so friendly. Mike and I both ended up ordering the…






This was so good! We both sucked it right down! This also started somewhat of an obsession with Mike that he loves these mugs and wants to collect them now. I have been following a Facebook page for people who collect these mugs, as well (I don't even know how I stumbled upon it, but I think it's because I follow ALL things Disney on FB). I asked our very nice bartender if he had any of the Hitchhiking Ghosts mugs left and he looked kind of surprised and said in a super quiet voice that he had a couple hiding up behind some other mugs but he would have to sneak it to us because they weren't supposed to have any left but it just so happened that he did. Writing this now I can see how someone might think he was pulling our leg, but he gave the mug to us all wrapped up and in a bag and when we went to check out at the desk, the lady ringing it up was really surprised that we had one.

Anyway, we stood and enjoyed our drinks and really liked watching all the antics that go on. We both definitely would have liked to spend more time here…sigh, next time.

Here's my artsy (or tipsy…you decide!) shot of Mike with his drink…


And we thought this was funny…

Well, that's it for our Trader Sam's adventure. Next, we headed off to…Oh, I almost forgot, y'all might want to actually SEE our super secret HHG mug!


Here it is, the piece de resistance...


And since Mike loves these mugs so much, I put this guy in his stocking…


This was kind of a pain to get on the Disney store website. It would show up, but then not be available to purchase, and then I actually purchased it and got an email a couple days later that it was sold out. Persistence paid off in the end though and I ended up getting it just in time for Christmas


Off to 'Ohana!​

​

 

[buzzrelly]

From Trader Sam's, we walked upstairs and checked into 'Ohana for our reservation.



While we waited, we poked around in the stores and took a couple pics in the lobby area…



It wasn't long before they called us, and we were seated p against the windows which would have been nice if we were staying for the fireworks, but they were't starting until 10 and we had an 8:05 reservation so it didn't really matter to us. Still pretty to look out over the pool and the Seven Seas Lagoon.

Very soon our waiter brought over the bread. This was good, but I think, after reading so much about it, I though it would be better. It was good, but not like, "Wow! Awesome!" Don't get me wrong, we ate it…but I'm firmly in the camp of even bad bread is pretty good…kind of like pizza



A few minutes later, this came out...



I don't know what all this is, and I have to admit, I am not a big fan of Asian food. I did like the noodles and broccoli and I even tried one of the dumplings. Mike ate everything else and liked it all.


I think the beef came out first. I tried a couple bites but found it was too tough for my liking so I didn't eat much. I was REALLY excited for the chicken and was happy when it came out But then…I tasted it and All of this is totally my fault, but I think I just expected it to be chicken breast but it was kind of darkish meat…maybe chicken thighs? I just don't eat that and I was sorely disappointed. Finally, the shrimp came out and again, not a fan. Mike ate a bunch of everything though and he liked it all.





Finally, after a disappointing (for me) meal, the BEST part came out...





'Ohana bread pudding. And since I was still kind of hungry, I ate MOST of this! THIS definitely lived up to the hype and was absolutely delicious!

I'm not disappointed that we went to 'Ohana, but I will not be running back anytime soon. For me this is a one and done. Mike kind of feels the same way. Although he ate everything and he loves Asian for in general, he didn't love it and doesn't really want to go back either.

As we were walking back to our room, HEA had starTed. We kind of missed the beginning and weren't standing in a great spot, so I took a quick pic and we were on our way.



And that concludes our first full Disney day…whew!


I wanted to start adding something I saw in @Raeven 's trip report because I think it's such a neat idea to track how many miles we walked each day. These are all according to my iPhone app "STEPS," so I don't know how accurate it is. I'm also going to backtrack a little a list our mileage for the first few days we spent at Universal…


DAY 1: Saturday October 28th, travel day and Universal- 15,211 steps, 6.46 miles
DAY 2: Sunday October 29th, Universal- 19,810 steps, 8.13 miles
DAY 3: Monday October 30th, Universal- 25,217 steps, 10.21 miles
DAY 4: Tuesday October 31st, Universal, DS and MNSSHP- 24,325 steps, 11.13 miles
DAY 5: Wednesday November 1st, EPCOT 20,608 steps, 9.32 miles


I guess this is how we can go on a Disney trip and not gain a thousand pounds!

Coming up tomorrow…another activity from my bucket list!!

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT POST...
https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...trip-update-2-18.3649271/page-7#post-58672574
​

 

[Raeven]

I asked our very nice bartender if he had any of the Hitchhiking Ghosts mugs left and he looked kind of surprised and said in a super quiet voice that he had a couple hiding up behind some other mugs but he would have to sneak it to us because they weren't supposed to have any left but it just so happened that he did.

Ooo secret mugs, awesome!

Finally, after a disappointing (for me) meal, the BEST part came out...

I felt the same way about Ohana, but bread pudding yum!

I'm not disappointed that we went to 'Ohana, but I will not be running back anytime soon. For me this is a one and done. Mike kind of feels the same way. Although he ate everything and he loves Asian for in general, he didn't love it and doesn't really want to go back either.

Like I sald I felt similar to you, but Josh really liked it so I may give it another try in the future. At least I know the bread and bread pudding are good

 

[buzzrelly]

Like I sald I felt similar to you, but Josh really liked it so I may give it another try in the future. At least I know the bread and bread pudding are good

Yea, I don't know if I want to shell out $60 for bread and bread pudding again

 

[kastoney]

Ok, inquiring minds want to know why your husband is "Mike2" in your phone. What's a hubby gotta do to be #1?

The Poly just looks so pretty at night

Gorgeous! One of my favorite places.

Writing this now I can see how someone might think he was pulling our leg, but he gave the mug to us all wrapped up and in a bag and when we went to check out at the desk, the lady ringing it up was really surprised that we had one.

I would have thought he was pulling your leg too. What luck.

Here it is, the piece de resistance...

I had never seen this. THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know what all this is, and I have to admit, I am not a big fan of Asian food. I did like the noodles and broccoli and I even tried one of the dumplings. Mike ate everything else and liked it all.

I love Asian food and I'd be all over this. I have very little interest in the meat at Ohana, but I could do noodles, potstickers and wings for days!

I'm not disappointed that we went to 'Ohana, but I will not be running back anytime soon. For me this is a one and done. Mike kind of feels the same way. Although he ate everything and he loves Asian for in general, he didn't love it and doesn't really want to go back either.

I'm with you. My one and done was 20 years ago (when my brother was on the college program) and I've never been back. I love Asian food, but I'd much rather do Morimoto and have something more authentic than mass quantities of meat

 

[MeghanEmily]

One very nice thing was that here in CT we got a very pretty little bit of snow on Christmas morning, so we were able to channel our inner Bing Crosby

On Christmas Day we got more than a pretty little bit...more like 2 feet. Uggh. We got trapped in our house and my grandmother couldn't make it over for dinner...and she was supposed to bring the dressing! So we ate dinner without dressing...and she just ate dressing alone with her dogs! I have to agree though...it was kinda pretty.

She was so sweet and her husband was telling us all about Pandora and Flights of Passage. It was so nice to spend a few minutes chatting with them both

Awesome picture! So nice to squeeze in such a nice little Dismeet

so we decided to head over to Club Cool…somewhere Mike had NEVER been…tee, hee, hee! Can you GUESS what happened next??

Hmmm...I wonder...

oh, wait! What the…eww…..

Oh my gosh!! Best Beverly face I think I've ever seen!

Poor Mike! He looks so sad and betrayed. Like, "Why would you do this to me?"

Mike is Canadian and really likes to connect with his Canadian heritage when he's in EPCOT

Neat! I didn't know this! I also feel like a pretty proud Canadian whenever we set foot in the Canada pavilion. It's not the most accurate depiction of the entirety of Canada as a country or anything—what pavilion is, really?—but it's so beautiful, and I love chatting with Canadian CMs!

(which I kind of don't really get because I'm Irish and I don't feel the need to go to Irish festivals or eat at Raglan Road ever but anyway)

Bahahaha

he wanted to "poke around" in some of the shops (his words…and he pokes around a lot, which sometimes makes me crazy because I am not a real poker-arounder…I am more of a go, go, go get in and get out kinda gal).

Haha aww man! He's a poke-around kinda guy! I can sometimes get into this, but I'm usually like you. Nathan likes to poke around whenever he goes grocery shopping, and it drives me absolutely bonkers! Make a list, get in, get out!

As I was walking, I started taking pictures so I could leave him a bread crumb trail that I ended up texting to him after.

Ahahahaha hilarious!! ...but also...smart.

I thought this was a PHENOMENAL view for a standard view We got really lucky on this trip because I know you can make any request you want but they are never guaranteed. We just happened to get BOTH of the room types we requested…lucky us!

Your room looked awesome! The DVC rooms at Poly are really nice. And a great view for standard, for sure!

WRONG! I couldn't rest without Clorox wiping the whole room down (it's my OCD thing!),

Haha I get this! I don't typically do this, but it's a VERY good idea...and something I might start doing... It's remarkable how many germs they find on hotel room tv remotes when they test them, etc. I do, however, always always always wipe down everything I might touch around me on an airplane. People worry about the circulated air on airplanes, but from my limited research it's really mostly the surfaces you touch that you should be worried about. And, of course, the water...but alas, I'm digressing into OCD-Land...

I asked our very nice bartender if he had any of the Hitchhiking Ghosts mugs left and he looked kind of surprised and said in a super quiet voice that he had a couple hiding up behind some other mugs but he would have to sneak it to us because they weren't supposed to have any left but it just so happened that he did. Writing this now I can see how someone might think he was pulling our leg, but he gave the mug to us all wrapped up and in a bag and when we went to check out at the desk, the lady ringing it up was really surprised that we had one.

No way!! That's awesome!!

I'm not disappointed that we went to 'Ohana, but I will not be running back anytime soon. For me this is a one and done. Mike kind of feels the same way. Although he ate everything and he loves Asian for in general, he didn't love it and doesn't really want to go back either.

I'm sorry to hear that! I'm not a huge fan either, but Nathan loves it. For us it'll be a once-in-a-while thing for Nate, but definitely not every trip.

Ok, inquiring minds want to know why your husband is "Mike2" in your phone. What's a hubby gotta do to be #1?

Oh my gawd! I didn't notice this till now, but now I definitely want to know, too!

 

[buzzrelly]

Ok, inquiring minds want to know why your husband is "Mike2" in your phone. What's a hubby gotta do to be #1?

Well….there was a little rumor a little while back that I had a boyfriend AND a husband, so…

Nope! One man is MORE than enough!

I wish I knew why, but one day Mike's texts started coming up under his email address and I couldn't figure out why. And now all of his texts come from there so I renamed it but I couldn't call it just "Mike." But sometimes, randomly, the texts still come from the original Mike which is his phone number. Clear as mud, right?

I would have thought he was pulling your leg too. What luck.

Mike asked me if I put in the TR that when the bartender gave us the mug all wrapped up, he said, "here is your ham sandwich, just tell the lady at the front that you need to pay for this ham sandwich." There also might have been some winking involved , and also, I'm not super sly like that so I had absolutely no idea what the heck he was talking about at first

On Christmas Day we got more than a pretty little bit...more like 2 feet. Uggh. We got trapped in our house and my grandmother couldn't make it over for dinner...and she was supposed to bring the dressing! So we ate dinner without dressing...and she just ate dressing alone with her dogs! I have to agree though...it was kinda pretty.

Oh, my! Yikes! Poor Granny, and poor you! But…what is dressing? Stuffing or gravy? Either way, you shouldn't have to live without it! I'm just picturing the poor dear eating a bowl of gravy alone on Christmas

Haha aww man! He's a poke-around kinda guy! I can sometimes get into this, but I'm usually like you. Nathan likes to poke around whenever he goes grocery shopping, and it drives me absolutely bonkers! Make a list, get in, get out!

Aren't men supposed to be the "hunters" and women the "gatherers?"

Haha I get this! I don't typically do this, but it's a VERY good idea...and something I might start doing... It's remarkable how many germs they find on hotel room tv remotes when they test them, etc. I do, however, always always always wipe down everything I might touch around me on an airplane. People worry about the circulated air on airplanes, but from my limited research it's really mostly the surfaces you touch that you should be worried about. And, of course, the water...but alas, I'm digressing into OCD-Land...

Oh, I do it to all of our seats and surfaces on the airplane too

Now that I think about it, I might have started doing all this after that awful trip I referred to in your TR when I came home crazy sick! I also NEVER travel anywhere without a z-pack. I call the doctor before I go and ask every so sweetly for one and tell him that I've gotten sick on vacation before. He's nice enough to prescribe it, though in the past 5-6 years I have only needed it once.

Oh my gawd! I didn't notice this till now, but now I definitely want to know, too!

See above! I wish it was a better story!

 

[Raeven]

Yea, I don't know if I want to shell out $60 for bread and bread pudding again

I definitely agree I don't know when we would do it but it took me a few years to even consider eating there again.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Oh, my! Yikes! Poor Granny, and poor you! But…what is dressing? Stuffing or gravy? Either way, you shouldn't have to live without it! I'm just picturing the poor dear eating a bowl of gravy alone on Christmas

Oh I wondered if dressing would be a word that's just used around here. It's basically stuffing, but always cooked separate from the turkey instead of inside the cavity. I would have felt MUCH worse if she'd been noshing on a bowl of gravy alone...

Oh, I do it to all of our seats and surfaces on the airplane too

Now that I think about it, I might have started doing all this after that awful trip I referred to in your TR when I came home crazy sick! I also NEVER travel anywhere without a z-pack. I call the doctor before I go and ask every so sweetly for one and tell him that I've gotten sick on vacation before. He's nice enough to prescribe it, though in the past 5-6 years I have only needed it once.

I like the way you think!!

 

[pezgirlroy]

Great report. We did Halloween Horror Nights about 6 years ago. I am a scaredy cat and do not like things like that at all. I used my husband as a human shield as well. I actually ended up having fun but def. scared. The worst was when coming out of one of the haunted horses, a guy with a chainsaw (what is up with them) came out of nowhere...I literally jumped in the air and thankfully my husband caught me. So yeah I understand.

 

[buzzrelly]

Great report. We did Halloween Horror Nights about 6 years ago. I am a scaredy cat and do not like things like that at all. I used my husband as a human shield as well. I actually ended up having fun but def. scared. The worst was when coming out of one of the haunted horses, a guy with a chainsaw (what is up with them) came out of nowhere...I literally jumped in the air and thankfully my husband caught me. So yeah I understand.

Thanks for reading!

Yea, I don't know what I was thinking with all that, but I'm glad I tried it once!

 

[buzzrelly]

November 2nd was a big day for us! It started with something that I've been dying to do for years but was never able to because I typically travel with my kids, and it ended with desserts, stormtroopers and happily ever after!

We were up before the sun (literally) This was taken as we were walking over to the Contempo Cafe at 6:54 am…


Mike and I sat with our coffee and snacks trying to wake up…


Get ready foodies...




At around 7:30 we walked over to the MK




I was telling Mike on the way there that I wanted to get more pictures in front of the big Mickey Pumpkin-head and Fall decorations before they went away, since last night was the last MNSSHP and I knew they'd be transitioning over to Christmas soon.

Imagine my surprise when I walked around the corner to see this…


I was SHOCKED! I could NOT believe how fast they got this all decorated! After a moment of disappointment at having missed some fall decoration pics, I literally started to cry because it looked so beautiful And yes, Mike thought I was absolutely nuts that I was crying

There was a Photopass photographer out and we took a couple pics…




We ended up using this next one on our Christmas card, but I have to say, it looks so much better as a 1'' x 1", as opposed to what I'm seeing here...



While we were waiting to get let in, we were chatting with a nice couple who offered to take our picture...



Why the heck were we up so early, you ask?

Continued in next post...​

 

[missjackiemcg]

Yes, I'm asking!! Why the heck were you up so early?!

And...I totally get the tears!! Rob looks at me like I'm insane, too, but it is just so beautifully magical when it's all decorated for Christmas!! Makes me teary just thinking about it

 

[buzzrelly]

We were let in at 7:45 am. I guess the days of getting an empty Main Street picture are gone...



I tried getting a picture of Roy's window that didn't come out great…



I was just amazed at how beautiful the MK looked, and how fast this happened!




I'm not sure where all the other people were headed, but Mike and I were headed here…


to check in for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour!





I was so flipping excited! I had been wanting to do a tour for years!

We were scheduled for the 8 am tour, so we and about 8 others met up in TS Theater and met our awesome guide, Joseph! Ironically, here he is telling us all to not take any pictures...



Let me just say, that I was TOTALLY geeking out on this tour! It was all I had dreamed it would be and left me wanting more. My favorite thing about it was talking about Walt and the history of the park, though I think most people would say going in the utilidors was their favorite part. I loved that too! I just loved everything about this and hope to do more tours. Joseph was an awesome tour guide and was really knowledgeable about the parks. I don't know how he kept us all riveted for five hours, but he did! So gifted! Mike also really enjoyed this tour despite him not being the biggest Disney fan, and he said he would definitely do more tours if I wanted

For our next tour, I am debating between the Marceline to the MK vs Backstage Magic, if anyone wants to vote.

I have a couple pictures I'll share in the next post...​