"It's Coming and it's BLUE" - A July 2010 TR - COMPLETED!!

[Disneyfreak616]

OMG and I totally responded to this update before! I must have read it twice I swear I'm losing it.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

I am all caught up!!

Last I left you, I was on my way to WDW the first week of Nov. I have since gone back again for a last minute 6 day trip and I am having withdrawals - BAD. Your TR is helping me with that!

First off, I am listening to SpectroMagic as I promised when reading your TR..and secondly OMGWAHOO!!! Youre going back for your 21st!!

Aww I'm sorry about your Disney withdrawals. I hate those. But I'm glad my TR can help!

Awesome. You get an A+ for listening to SpectroMagic as you read this. Frankly, I think the SpectroMagic music should be played constantly over every aspect of life. Everything would be so happy and wonderful.

I just wanted to let you know that I'm reading your TR... and I'm only on like the 2nd day or something. But everytime I have a free moment in computer class or at night I catch up on your report because it's great. I love it I just thought I'd let you know.You make me laugh so much I love how you write!

Thank you so much! I'm glad I can entertain.

Okay I was literally JUST about to comment Jess that's scary! Kara I am all caught up!! But I don't even know where to begin with all the stuff I was going to say so I'll just comment on the latest update:

LOVE the Minnie poncho! I sooo want one!

Those flashback pics are adorable!! You and your sister look so happy...except when you had to leave of course.

Love the Safari Never gets old to me. Just ask Jess. I freakkk out when the animals get close to the safari vehicle. But in a good way. LOL.

I hope Disney is reading this so they can see just how many people want these AWESOME ponchos and will make a gazillion more so we can all wear them and be fabulous together.

LOL. I've freaked out in both the good and the bad ways. I mean, it's SO COOL to be that close, but at the same time, depending on the animal, it's kinda intimidating.

OMG and I totally responded to this update before! I must have read it twice I swear I'm losing it.

Don't worry about it. I'm right there with ya. The old noodle is not...noodling quite as well as it used to.

 

[YukiPhnx]

wow, check out all these new people!!! It's going to get even crazier up in here!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

I hope Disney is reading this so they can see just how many people want these AWESOME ponchos and will make a gazillion more so we can all wear them and be fabulous together.

LOL. I've freaked out in both the good and the bad ways. I mean, it's SO COOL to be that close, but at the same time, depending on the animal, it's kinda intimidating.

Don't worry about it. I'm right there with ya. The old noodle is not...noodling quite as well as it used to.

HAHAHA I hope they are too. We would all look fantastic in them.

I know, like with the giraffes I'm always afraid that it's just gonna stick it's head in the vehicle. But it's cool to see them up close at the same time.

Yeah same here. The noodle is frieddddd.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Yeah same here. The noodle is frieddddd.

HAHAHAHA story of my life.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Oh also... in your Giraffe update part 1 you were talking about how you were watching people's disney videos on youtube and you recommended one.... yeah i just watched their entire trip. VERY entertaining. it took all night however I really enjoyed it so much so thank you for that hahaha

 

[MarieTheCat24]

wow, check out all these new people!!! It's going to get even crazier up in here!

I know, right? PARTY!!!

HAHAHA I hope they are too. We would all look fantastic in them.

I know, like with the giraffes I'm always afraid that it's just gonna stick it's head in the vehicle. But it's cool to see them up close at the same time.

Yeah same here. The noodle is frieddddd.

Exactly. I don't think giraffes are like violent or anything, but if one stuck it's head in the vehicle I would probably freak out and not in a good way. Well, maybe partially in a good way. But mostly in a "Giraffe, what are you doing? You don't belong in here" kind of way.

Oh also... in your Giraffe update part 1 you were talking about how you were watching people's disney videos on youtube and you recommended one.... yeah i just watched their entire trip. VERY entertaining. it took all night however I really enjoyed it so much so thank you for that hahaha

I sat and watched their whole trip in one sitting too. It took a while, but it was definitely worth it. They're so funny.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

JULY 26TH PART FOUR: A GRAND OLD TIME

So…I left the last installment off on a cliffhanger. It was definitely not the most exciting cliffhanger ever considering our lives weren’t on the line, we didn’t receive any shocking news, and we didn’t hook up with each other (thank god because that would have been weird…and illegal) but it was a cliffhanger nonetheless.

We just missed the bus back to the Polynesian. Siiiiiigh. We were not in the mood to sit and wait 20 minutes for the next bus. Nor were we in the mood to chase the bus down and demand that the driver let us on. So, despite the fact that my brain was still on OMG I MET A GIRAFFE overload, the lightbulb above my head went off and I had a moment of brilliance.

You see that other bus? The one that’s not pulling away from the station? That bus was headed to the Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Floridian. The Grand Floridian. The resort that’s just a hop, skip, and a jump (or a really quick boat ride) away from the Polynesian.

HALLE-FREAKING-LUJAH.

We quickly ran over there before that bus had the chance to leave and took our seats in that purple plastic furnished, air conditioned tube of wonderfulness. It was glorious. Never have I appreciated being in a Disney bus as much as I did in that moment. All I could think is how miserable I would have been waiting for another bus. It would have been 20 minutes of torture. But instead we were on a bus headed “home”.

The bus was practically empty – there was only one other family on board – so I put my feet up, closed my eyes, and listened to the Wilderness Lodge-themed music that was playing.

I dosed off for a little bit and awoke when I felt the bus come to a stop at the Wilderness Lodge. Except when I opened my eyes, we weren’t at the Wilderness Lodge. We were stopped a few bus lengths in front of the Magic Kingdom toll booth and there weren’t any buses/cars in front of us. Ummm…

I looked over at Mom and we exchanged “I have no clue what is going on” looks. Because I always think in terms of worst case scenarios, I couldn’t help but think that our bus driver had gone insane and was either going to run off and leave us sitting in a bus in the middle of World Drive or she was going to murder us all. I was cursing myself for not actually writing out my will as I had sworn I would do after our (what I perceived as being) near-death experience on the TTA earlier in the trip.

Anyway, the driver got off of the bus and looked around. Then, she came back on the bus and turned it off completely. Then, she tried to turn it back on again and nothing happened so she got back off the bus. By this point, the tween-aged girl from the only other family on board and I started exchanging “We’re totally all gonna die, right?” concerned looks. I love a kindred spirit.

As this was all happening, I was trying to figure out what I had done wrong to deserve such awful Disney karma. I mean, we missed the bus back to our hotel by 10 seconds, were saved from waiting 20 minutes in the heat by the WL/GF bus, and now we were sitting on a hot bus in the middle of World Drive for the foreseeable future. Ugh. We should've just waited for the next bus.

Just as I was trying to figure out how long it would take us to hoof it back to the Polynesian from the toll booth, the driver climbed back on the bus and was successful in re-starting the thing. Hallelujah! So we headed over to the WL and everything was back to normal. Except for the fact that I was bracing myself for the bus to explode or something. I mean, do buses normally just shut off like that? But we made it safely to the WL, took some more people aboard, and headed over to the GF.

And when I say we “took some more people aboard” I mean this incredibly weird teenage couple boarded, sat right across from me and Mom, and proceeded to kiss the entire ride to the GF. It was gross. And it wasn’t even just normal kissing, which, while inappropriate on a bus, would have been much preferable to what they were doing. These two were alternating kisses up and down each other’s faces. Like, they’d start at the chin and work up to the forehead and back down again. It was so weird. Who does that? On a bus? At WDW? With people sitting not three feet DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM YOU?

It took everything in my power to not burst out laughing right in their faces. I was pinching myself, thinking about how sad I would be to leave in two days, and making sure that I didn’t look over at Mom because if I had, we both would have lost it. Thankfully, we made it to the GF before their little make out session could get any weirder and I sprinted off the bus, finally free to laugh hysterically. Which I did. Right in front of all the people waiting for buses. Oh, me…

I composed myself and we headed to the lobby to explore a bit. Sure, we were originally just going to head right out to the boat dock, but we figured that we’re already there, so why not look around?

I’m warning you now, this is probably the most random batch of pictures of the entire trip. I was just snapping pictures of stuff.

Oooo fancy.

An old-timey bird cage, or so I’m assuming. I don’t know much about old-timey things. Especially old-timey things that were used to house creatures I despise.

I love that chandelier. I want one for the entry way in my massive future house I've already started building in my mind.

I forced everyone to stop and go into Basin so I could look around.

I really wanted to buy a bar of soap with little Mickey heads, but that one was all they carried, and it smelled like cotton candy. Yuck. I haven't wanted to purchase cotton candy scented bath products since I was like 9.

These bars were cute, but I wasn’t about to buy non-Disney-related paraphernalia while at WDW. That would be CRAZY.

When we got home, I found these pictures on my dad’s camera, and I thought of you, Tinkgurl (and your fiancé!).

There must be something about men and paparazzi-like photo opportunities. LOL.

After we finished at Basin, we headed downstairs and out to the boat dock. By this point, we were all ready to get back to the Polynesian.

We didn’t have to wait very long before we were on a boat headed to the Poly! I love these little boats so much. They're probably what I'm going to miss most this year when we're staying at CSR.

Home sweet home. Siiiiiiiiiigh.

UP NEXT: Lounging around the Poly and dinner at my favorite restaurant!

 

[onelilspark]

I'm absolutely loving your Trip Report! You literally have me LOL'ing.

Joining in for the duration!

 

[Cat0727]

Lol I would have totally been expecting the bus to explode, too, like a scene out of Speed or something. Isn't it funny when you're sitting somewhere and there's all this empty space around you and people decide to plop down right next to or across from you? It's so annoying!

I didn't notice the birdcage when I visited GF back in November. It's an interesting piece of decoration.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

I'm absolutely loving your Trip Report! You literally have me LOL'ing.

Joining in for the duration!

WELCOME! And thank you!

Lol I would have totally been expecting the bus to explode, too, like a scene out of Speed or something. Isn't it funny when you're sitting somewhere and there's all this empty space around you and people decide to plop down right next to or across from you? It's so annoying!

I didn't notice the birdcage when I visited GF back in November. It's an interesting piece of decoration.

Yes! Why do people insist on doing that? The bus was practically empty and yet they felt the need to plop down right in front of us. It was strange. You'd think they would want some privacy or something.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Hey Kara! I haven't posted in a while but I just wanted to say I'm still reading and thoroughly enjoying your TR! Brilliant idea catching a GF bus when you just missed your Poly bus. I gotta say, I absolutely LOVE the WDW bus system. I love that from the moment I land in MCO, I don't have to worry about how to get anywhere. I love the seats, I love the drivers, I love the music.....but, like everyone else, I hate the waiting game. I hate when you turn the corner and the bus stop is in view, trying to figure out if you need to start running because your bus just might be there already!! AHH! It's pure madness! But just one of those parts of WDW that if it was any different, if just wouldn't be a trip to WDW!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Wow, what a weird experience you had on the bus! It just...stopped....It reminds me of what happened earlier this week. A freak storm blew in, and while I was on the bus ride home, the bus just stopped. It had ran out of gas!!! Omigosh. I was only about a 10 min walk away from my place, so I thought they would let us off, but the stores stayed closed. About 5 mins later, the reservoir of oil kicked in and we were off. Bizarre experience.

Huh...I wonder how they got the bird in the birdcage? Is that a GIANT bird cage in the lobby there?

Man, I love Basin. Especially their bath bombs. Those soaps are so adorable.

I love the little boat rides too! It's just so nice out on the water.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

Hey Kara! I haven't posted in a while but I just wanted to say I'm still reading and thoroughly enjoying your TR! Brilliant idea catching a GF bus when you just missed your Poly bus. I gotta say, I absolutely LOVE the WDW bus system. I love that from the moment I land in MCO, I don't have to worry about how to get anywhere. I love the seats, I love the drivers, I love the music.....but, like everyone else, I hate the waiting game. I hate when you turn the corner and the bus stop is in view, trying to figure out if you need to start running because your bus just might be there already!! AHH! It's pure madness! But just one of those parts of WDW that if it was any different, if just wouldn't be a trip to WDW!

I agree, in general, WDW transportation is amazing. For the amount of people they have to move every day, they do a great job. Of course, we all have a couple bus horror stories, but they'd never keep me from continuing to use the buses. Traveling via bus just screams "Vacation!" while traveling via car just says "Eh".

Wow, what a weird experience you had on the bus! It just...stopped....It reminds me of what happened earlier this week. A freak storm blew in, and while I was on the bus ride home, the bus just stopped. It had ran out of gas!!! Omigosh. I was only about a 10 min walk away from my place, so I thought they would let us off, but the stores stayed closed. About 5 mins later, the reservoir of oil kicked in and we were off. Bizarre experience.

Huh...I wonder how they got the bird in the birdcage? Is that a GIANT bird cage in the lobby there?

Man, I love Basin. Especially their bath bombs. Those soaps are so adorable.

I love the little boat rides too! It's just so nice out on the water.

Yeah, it was definitely weird. I don't know much about cars/buses, but maybe the engine stalled or something...can a bus engine do that? I don't know. I'm just glad we made it back to the Poly in one piece.

What a bizarre experience! How do they let a bus run out of gas? You'd think they'd have the amount of time between refills down to a science so that something like that wouldn't happen.

Yep, that's a giant bird cage in the lobby. Ugh, too many bird cages. At least they didn't have any actual birds in them.

Oooo I really wanna try the bath bombs. I'll have to buy a couple this year.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

A Special Message to All of My Readers:

Guys, before I post the next update (which I will do momentarily), I just wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for reading, commenting, and just being all-around awesome people! Your comments and kind words mean the world to me. I've had an account on the DIS for a while now, but I didn't get up the guts to start posting until a little over a year ago. It's a bit intimidating, y'know? But, now that a year has passed, I am so thankful that I did it. It's been a joy getting to share my Disney memories with all of you. But also, it's been so much fun just getting to know you all. I don't have many people (outside of my family) in the "real world" who "get" Disney. My friends will listen to my Disney stories and pretend to be excited when I flail over everything, but I've never really had someone who'll flail with me. I'm really glad that I've found that here. Getting to know you guys has made the place I love more than anything in the whole entire world even more special. And that's quite the accomplishment. Kudos, guys. Kudos.

Anyway, basically what I'm trying to say is that you all rock! Thank you for putting up with my ridiculousness and I look forward to sharing the rest of this trip (and those in the future) with you guys!

GROUP HUG!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

JULY 26TH PART FIVE: HANG LOOSE, HANG TEN, HOWZIT, SHAKE A SHAKA...
Once we finally made it back to the Polynesian, as per usual, I made a beeline for our room, collapsed into my bed, and slept for a couple hours. The end.



Kidding.

Well, I’m not kidding about the nap part, but I’m kidding about that being the end. Even though I was asleep, the rest of the family wasn’t, so I thought I’d share some pictures from their afternoon at the pool. They are BIG fans of spending time at the pool. Seriously. They spend every afternoon of our vacation out there. I, on the other hand, am not a huge pool fan. It’s obviously gorgeous and everything, but I have this thing where I can’t stand being in crowded pools. In all our trips to WDW, I’ve been in a pool exactly 2 times. Once at the Polynesian, and once when we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. And both times, I only really went in just so I can say I did it. And so my family would stop pestering me. I’m just more of a “lay on a raft in a nice quiet, serene pool where I don’t have to worry about getting splashed” kinda gal. I think if we traveled in the “off” season, I might enjoy the pools a bit more, but in the summer they’re just too dang crowded. And noisy. And chaotic. And your feet melt the second they touch the deck.

Anyway…

First of all, here’s some Poly-view gorgeousness. From what I can surmise, Dad went up to the top of the slide platform thingamajigger and took these.

I WANNA BE AT THE POLY RIGHT NOW! SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH.

And here are some pictures of the pool and the surrounding area with guest appearances by my sister. And my mom's head.

So, that’s their afternoon at the pool. When they came back to the room, it was around 7:00, so they woke me up and we goofed around for a while. I must say, those times when it’s just the four of us, goofing around and making fun of each other are some of my favorite moments at WDW. I don’t even remember what exactly we were doing/saying, but I remember laughing really hard. I love my family. A lot.

At one point, Dad and I went out on our patio and took some pictures of the view. I absolutely loved looking over the marina. From now on, every single time I stay at the Poly, I’m requesting this view.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST~

 

[MarieTheCat24]

Around 8:20, we headed over to the GCH for our dinner reservations at my absolute favorite restaurant in the whole wide world…’OHANA!

Our ADR wasn’t until 8:50, but we figured we’d check in a little early and just hang out in the GCH.

For 8:20 in the evening, it was wayyyy more crowded than I expected it to be. I mean, it’s ‘Ohana, so I knew it would be crowded, but there were a lot more little kids running around than I expected there to be. I guess I figured that families with little kids would want to eat dinner earlier than that, but thinking back on my own childhood, I was quite the night owl, so I guess I shouldn’t have been that surprised.

We were called (or rather buzzed) to be seated right at 8:50 and at this point I was about to jump out of my skin, I was so excited. As I said before, ‘Ohana is my favorite restaurant. Ever. It’s a beautiful, magical, tropical, happy, wonderful, grilled meat-filled extravaganza of incredibleness. I wish I could eat there every day for the rest of my life. I know that on the flip side, there are a lot of people who have gone to ‘Ohana and been disappointed. Those kind of posts have become all too common on the Restaurant board. But ‘Ohana and I have the kind of relationship where I will never be disappointed. Ok, that’s not totally true. I would only ever be disappointed if they ran out of food. As long as there is food, I will be content. I don’t care if it’s over-cooked, under-cooked, or whatever, as long as it’s there, I will enjoy my little ‘Ohana bubble of happiness.

Anyway, as usual, we were asked if we had ever dined here before, and I’m pretty sure the speed with which I said yes conveyed my excitement/need for large skewers of grilled meats to the hostess and she picked up the pace a bit. I mean, she barely got out “Have you-” before I screamed “Yes!” I think she was pretty impressed by my dedication.

We were seated at a table right near the grill. Woo! That meant that I got to ogle the fine men grilling my meat. I don’t even remember if they were particularly attractive, but they were grilling large skewers of meat for me, so I’m pretty sure I would’ve married them right then and there if they asked.

Our waitress, who was so sweet (and it’s killing me that I can’t remember her name because she deserves a DIS shout-out), came and took our drink orders. And then our server (a younger guy who was also awesome, whose name I also forget) brought out a loaf of the delicious pineapple bread (which I didn’t take a picture of), some yummy-licious salad with honey-lime dressing, and the dipping sauces for the meat (the peanut sauce is my favorite).

We helped ourselves to some salad and bread, but only a little bit because you’ve gotta pace yourself at ‘Ohana. Yes, the bread and salad are delicious, but the things we all really eat there for come out later, so you’ve gotta leave room.

Our waitress brought our drinks over from the bar. Mom and Dad got beers while Katie and I ordered Virgin Strawberry Daquiris. They were delicious as always. BUT…the next time I eat at ‘Ohana will be on my 21st birthday, so goodbye Virgin Strawberry Daquiri, hello Lapu Lapu!

Oh, and funny story…when our waitress brought out our drinks, Dad jokingly complained that his beer didn’t have an umbrella, so our waitress wound up bringing a bunch over just for him. It made us laugh. And was just more proof that ‘Ohana is awesome.

Up next, were the Honey-Coriander Chicken Wings and the Pork Dumplings.

There are no words to adequately describe just how awesome both of these foods are. You just have to go eat them. Seriously. Call and/or go to the WDW website and make an ADR for ‘Ohana. Both of those dishes alone are worth the 30 some dollars you pay.

Here’s a picture of the Lo Mein and the vegetables. I kinda forgot to take one before we dug in, so ignore that they’re half empty. LOL.

And then – cue the fanfare – it was time for our server to bring out the meat skewers. I didn’t take a picture of the actual process because I was too busy drooling, but here are a couple (somewhat blurry) pictures of the meat on my plate.

Here we have the chicken and the pork. They were both really yummy.

And here’s the steak. I don’t even know why I’m posting this picture because it’s terrible, but whatever. It’s my favorite of the meat. I alternate back and forth between calling the steak and the chicken wings my favorite part of the meal, but I can never come to a firm decision. It’s just so hard to decide!

I know that a lot of people complain that they feel rushed when eating at ‘Ohana, but we’ve never had that problem, and this meal was no different. We didn’t feel rushed at all. Our server was more than happy to bring out seconds and we took our time eating and enjoying the ‘Ohana atmosphere. We learned how to shaka, we sang “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride”, and we awww-ed as the kids adorably paraded around the restaurant. At 10, the Summer Nighttastic Fireworks began and they piped the music into the restaurant, so we got to enjoy them. It was wonderful. We didn’t have to deal with the crowds AND I had a giant plate of meat in front of me. Heaven.

I can’t remember if they brought out dessert right before or right after the fireworks, but here are the pictures. The bread pudding is to die for. TO DIE FOR. I don’t even really like bread pudding, but this stuff is so good. Our awesome waitress also brought us an extra bowl of ice cream with Mickey sprinkles. Love it.

In her TR, Lia (__disneygirl) wrote about the relatively unknown concept of food drunkenness. She’s a lot better at describing it than I ever could be (so go read her TR! The link’s in her signature and her comments are all over this TR) but essentially food drunkenness is a lot like actual drunkenness, minus the alcohol, plus a lot of delicious food. After our meal at ‘Ohana, I was drunk on food. I was giggling uncontrollably, telling ridiculous stories, and, at one point, one of the extra drink umbrellas our waitress brought wound up behind my ear like a flower. It was quite the night.

It was getting close to 11 - Yes, we spent 2 WHOLE HOURS at 'Ohana - so we paid the bill and headed out. But not before I took a picture of this awesome Tiki warrior (?) at the entrance.

He's so menacing. And well-sculpted.

We also went downstairs and took our traditional picture with the tiki statue outside of Boutiki.

Frankly, I'm surprised I could even sit still long enough to take the picture. LOL.

With that, we decided to call it a night. We headed back to the room. Everyone else went right to bed, but I stayed up and watched Stacy for a while. Eventually, the food drunkenness caught up to me and I was out like a light.

UP NEXT: AM EMH at MK....That was way too many abbreviations.

ETA: I just realized that this started a new page, so make sure you go read my post at the bottom of page 25...I wouldn't want you to miss it!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Ahh I get so excited when you post new updates
But oh my GODDD I totally understand your obsession with 'Ohana. I had always heard it was good and a difficult reservation to get, and after seeing food pictures of it I decided to try it on my past trip in February.
Needless to say, it's now the family favorite. Nbd
I wish I was there right noww! Next time I go I need to make sure I'm starving so I can stuff myself with a weeks worth of 'Ohana food.
Best restaurant ever

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Mmmmmm Ohana. And can I just tell you that your TR is making me SO excited for our stay at the Poly in July!! This TR is the best! I get so excited when you update it!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

This TR is the best! I get so excited when you update it!

Yeah I agree 100% !! This is my favorite trip report ever