LowesChevy's Completed Trip Report-Polynesian Oct 3-12th

[LowesChevy]

Polynesian trip report and notes from October 3-12th 2009!
We checked into the Polynesian the 3rd around noon. We drove over from Universal property with ease. It was Saturday so there was not much traffic. The lobby was busy-many guests checking and others awaiting the dreaded return trip on the Magical Express. I thought it would be 30 minutes or so. Luckily, the concierge staff was assisting with the check-ins and about 10 minutes later we had our passes and off to grab some lunch. The room was not ready and we opted to have a text message notification when it was ready. The place was hopping, but we were seated within a few minutes. The food and service were good.

Much to our surprise the room was ready around 12:30 PM! I made my way to the room and my parents opted to move the car to the other lot nearest the Tahiti building, where the room was located. I snapped these photos before they arrived.

The bathroom

We received as requested our ground floor room in the Tahiti building with a lovely Magic Kingdom view room-1022! We prefer a ground floor room, yes occasionally you do get noisy upstairs neighbors, but we really enjoy the patio on the ground floor. We settled in, unpacked the clothes and made a trip to the grocery store for some goodies. We had a few minor hiccups-we needed some more hangers, hand towels and the safe was shut so we had to call maintenance. No more problems, everything arrived eventually.

Check out these photos and room views

BLT is tucked behind The Contemporary

The Tahiti building is our favorite longhouse. It is close to the TTC, making it a quick journey and return from Epcot. This is one of the main reasons we prefer the Polynesian over the Grand Floridian because we go to Epcot most of the time. The double vanities make it a little faster getting ready in the morning. I can fix my hair while DM is brushing her teeth for instance. Being on the outskirts of the resort, this building tends to be more quiet for our liking. The cons to the Tahiti building are its distance from the Great Ceremonial House and Captain Cooks, but it’s really only a short walk away.

The building formerly known as the Tangeroa Terrace…

Mousekeeping was spot on for the duration of the trip. Only one time we return at like 12:00 PM and the room had not been finished. I think it was a big check in day so they rush to get the checkouts done first. She left plenty of towels and washcloths each day. The room was always neat and tidy when we returned. We also clean up after ourselves a bit though.

Here is a towel Mickey head

We washed our clothes in the laundry facility near the bus stop. The one beef I have with the Polynesian is their laundry room. There is no bathroom nearby. The room is pretty darn small. There are always 2-3 machines out of order. The change machine is out of quarters just about every time we go year to year. There was like zero air condition and no circulation. I know they are not in business to provide laundry facilities, but the place is a money maker, clean it up a bit at least. Most people have to do a little laundry while on vacation and we do not all stay at villas.

I guess my other beef would be the layout of the second floor of the GCH. You always have to fight your way through the crowds of people waiting for breakfast at O’hana to reach the Kona Café. Both stairways are at the same end of the building meaning you either walk through the crowds of seated people or try to fight your way around the strollers parked outside and then turn the corner to see a huge line of people flowing from the monorail station. It is great that the place is busy, but two restaurants that close crank up the noise factor.

A few nights that the parks were open late-after 11 PM, the neighbors came back and were a little noisy, but nothing outrageous. For the most part we were asleep by 10:00 PM! I know, I know, we are such party animals.  We never went swimming even thought it was mid 90s every day, just plum tuckered out most of the time.

We enjoyed breakfast many mornings at the Kona Café. The food and service were great each morning. We were off to the parks within 40 minutes or less on average. We also visited Captain Cooks for breakfast one morning and lunch another day.

Overall we had a fantastic time. We were assigned a room that fit our requests-always a bonus. Our room was beautiful and cleaned well each day.

Some notes and photos out and about at the Polynesian
The Great Ceremonial House or GCH for short houses not only the check in desk & lobby concierge, but also the Kona Café, O’hana, Boutiki, Samoa Snacks, Trader Jack’s, Captain Cook’s and the Wyland Gallery. It is a bustling space with resort guests as well as many guests from other resorts dining and monorail hopping. It is a gorgeous wide open 2 story space with lush and live vegetation in the center. The Polynesian has this intoxicating aroma that some of us just cannot get enough of.

After the recent renovations at the resort in 2006, they added some new wooden carved characters throughout the lobby and stores.
This one is in Boutiki

Pssst…I think he is hiding over here!

Handy signage throughout the Polynesian resort

One of the biggest perks of staying at the Polynesian is the monorail access to the Magic Kingdom. Via the monorail you can also access the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, & Epcot via the TTC stop. The monorail runs about every 5-10 minutes depending on the crowds and number of monorails that are operating on the track. The Polynesian’s stop is pretty safe in the morning (around 9AM), as you are loading into the monorail with the Contemporary & BLT guests. By the time the monorail stops at the Grand Floridian it can be very full of guests after and right before park opening.

Hello, goodbye, hello goodbye…A welcome sign at the monorail station
Aside from the monorail you can hop on the boat at the launch in front of the marina and the Volcano pool. When you leave from the Polynesian you head directly to the Magic Kingdom, on the return trip it stops first at the Grand Floridian, then returning to the Polynesian. It is a pleasant 5 minute trip and the boat holds about 24-28 people from what I could tell. It is a nice alternative when leaving the MK to get back to the Polynesian a little faster. You can always walk over to the TTC for a faster trip to Epcot or also take the ferry to the MK if it strikes your fancy. This was a longer visit for us, so we took advantage of both ferries.

A view from the TTC ferry boat

One day we saw a hawk perched up on a third floor balcony

 

[LowesChevy]

Sunday October 4th was our first full day and what a better way to spend it than at the Magic Kingdom. We had breakfast at Kona Café and got to the MK about 15 minutes before rope drop. The crowd was fairly large, but we were up front. Immediately after rope drop we went towards Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean.

After that we headed for Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. We practically walked on both rides and did Big Thunder twice. We ended up in the front seats on Splash and got totally soaked, luckily it was like 90 degrees our so we dried out pretty quick. We wandered through the shops in Frontierland and made our way to the Haunted Mansion, which also was pretty dead, if you know what I mean .

Taken from the Liberty Bell

Fantasyland was next and we rode It’s a Small World, Snow White’s Scary Adventure and the Teacups. We picked up fast passes for Peter Pan also. The lines were longer here as expected. I think the new expanded Fantasyland is a great idea. The area is congested all of the time because it has the most attractive and fun rides for little children. The addition of the Little Mermaid ride and higher capacity Dumbo, there ought to be more breathing room and hopefully lesser wait times.

Next we strolled down to Tommorowland to admire the construction zone. No, haha we grabbed fast passes for Buzz Lightyear, rode it and then hopped on the TTA. The TTA was apparently debuting its new audio for the first time today, not a big fan. Space Mountain was lit up, but the walls were high so there was not much to be seen at the time. We exited and used our Buzz fast pass and backtracked to The Magic Carpets of Aladin, then it was time for lunch.

It was shortly after 11:30 AM and the lines were quite long at the Columbia Harbor House. A CM was directing people into lines, but they still move slowly. I do not know why people cannot be decided on what they are going to eat before it is time to order the food. The menus are not large and there are lovely pictures to see the items. We received our food and went upstairs. It was nice and pleasant, only a few tables were taken. I had the fish and chicken, DM went with just chicken and DF the tuna sandwich. I love the food and atmosphere at CHH. I also like watching the crowds below from the windows.

After lunch, we decided to call it a day. We did not want to over do it because the temperature was in the mid 90s. We forgot about Peter Pan of course, but made our way through the shops on Main Street. We got on the monorail and went back to the room for a break from the sun.
That night we dined at Citricos in the Grand Floridian. You can read about our experience in the link below.


On the 5th, we stopped at Kona Café for breakfast then made our way to the TTC for the monorail to Epcot. By the time we arrived at 8:50 AM, guests were on their way to TT and The Land. We headed straight for Soarin, grabbed fast passes and hopped in line because the wait was only 15 minutes. After riding, The Land ride had no wait, so off we went. I didn’t really notice much of a change from the refurbishment, but it peaceful as usual.

It was around 9:45 AM and we made our way to Test Track. By that time and hour had passed so we grabbed fast passes. DM had a problem with the machine and we had to wait for the attendant to help us. The stand by line was reading 15 minutes.

On the way back to Soarin, we wandered through Mouse Gears to check out the new merchandise. The standby line for Soarin was now 20 minutes, still not bad for after 10:00 AM. After Soarin the crowds began to arrive and The Land ride had a huge line spiraling through the Sunshine Seasons seating area.

While riding Test Track, there was some sort of malfunction causing the cars to stop for several minutes. We were on the incline area past the corrosive, heat and cold chambers. I am pretty glad we did not get stuck in the heat chamber . By that time it was 11:00 AM and time to head for the World Showcase!

We hit the small kiosk store on the walkway between Future World and World Showcase to purchase the handy gift card that can be worn on your wrist. That is a great idea-it beats having to search for cash and handling money before touching your food. Every time you charge the receipt provides a running balance left on the card.

Starting in Canada, I ordered the spicy sausage with sweet corn polenta. It was a great dish, but I needed a bottle of water real quick. We grabbed a cheese plate from Cork, but it took a while because the cashier botched the transaction. The cheese portions were huge and enough to share between the three of us. We perused the shops in France and decided to bypass the escargot.

Spicy chicken sausage

After France we strolled to Morroco, where I got a falafel pita pocket to munch on. We snagged an empty table to take a little break as well. It was quite tasty although all of the dressing and salad was on one side and the dry falafel on the other, so getting a well balanced bite was a bit of a challenge.

We were more on a food mission than a shopping spree. No one was in the mood for sushi in Japan, but I did get a Lobster roll near the American Adventure. The lobster roll was tasty, but a little dry-some more dressing would have gone a long way. We went to Italy for some cannelloni. It was very cheesy and rich. I cannot say I would order it again however.

For dessert, it was apple streudel time in Germany. It is served with vanilla sauce. The streudel is a little difficult to cut through, but it tasted very good.

We made our way back through the World Showcase so I could continue to take pictures of the food & wine booths. Maelstrom was down at the time. We went inside to cool down, shopped and rode The Three Caballeros. It is cute, but I really miss El Rio Del Tiempo. By now we were pretty tired and it was after 4:00 PM, so we went back to the room for a little rest before dinner.

When we left the crowds were still not too bad. The line waits were around 30-45 minutes for Soarin and Test Track. For dinner we were off to Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge. You can read about this experience and my other reviews from the link in my signature.

 

[LowesChevy]

October 6th, DHS

I wanted to make rope drop at DHS, so we grabbed a quick breakfast at Captain Cook’s. My parents had cereal, but I opted for the breakfast sliders. They were a bit dry, but tasty. We hopped in the car and drove over to the park. Of course we were stuck parking all the way to one side of the lot, but it beats waiting for the bus. The rope drop crowd was pretty impressive, the exact reason I wanted to get here early.

The majority of the crowd headed toward Pixar Place for Toy Story Mania. I jumped in line for fast passes, which took forever. Some people are just plain clueless, I know they may have never done it before, but ask for help-there is always an attendant there. They keep jamming the same ticket in there or do not wait long enough for the ticket to come out. Another observation is that people with paper tickets seem to have the most problems. The stand by line was only 15 minutes, so we agreed to get in line as well.

After that, the line had grown to about 30 minutes standby- still pretty good in my opinion. The Green Army men were out interacting with guests as they walked by and waited in line. The fast passes were being distributed for around 11:00 AM now.

Since the wait for TSM was not too long, we had to wait to grab more fast passes; however, we practically walked on Tower of Terror and had a very random wild ride. We walked over to Rock and Roller Coaster and obtained fast passes for later. The stand by wait time was around 20 minutes at that point.

We cut through the villains shop to cool off and check out the merchandise. Starring Rolls Bakery was jamming and many guests were grabbing breakfast. We rode the Great Movie Ride…yawn. Our tour guide was not very convincing. P.S. when are they going to change this thing? It has been the same for like what 20 years now! We went back to TSM and rode again. Now the standby line was around 45 minutes and the fast passes were going for around 12:30-1:00 PM. Most of the guests present and arriving by 10:30-11:00 AM were probably getting their fast passes by now, so not too bad time wise.

We had an adr for Mama Melrose at 12:05 PM and on the way we rode Star Tours. The wait was about 5 minutes and we practically walked on.

Crowds were still light as we left early afternoon

Mama Melrose’s had just opened up at 12:00 PM so the servers began to seat people. We dined on flatbreads and salads for lunch. Again you can see how our experience was in my dining review below. After lunch we were ready to hit the shops on the way out and head back for some rest. We had dinner at Tony’s Town Square at 5:00PM before the MNSSHP.

MNSSHP was a blast. Last year was our first year and I feel it is worth the cost for us. Even though we are all adults, just the time you have in the park with a limited number of guests is awesome. The candy lines were not long-yes we got candy! We walked on basically every ride we wanted to. We were on Main Street for the 1st parade and only had to stand behind one line of people sitting on the curb after it started-the view was great. We watched Hallowishes from Toon Town and hit a few more rides. By then we were beat and ready for bed!

October 7th, Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is another place where driving to is a bit easier than waiting for the bus. We made it over just a few minutes after rope drop and immediately headed for Expedition Everest. The stand by time was only 5 minutes, so DF and I grabbed fast passes and hopped in line. DM decided to sit this one out since her experience with The Mummy a few days prior . You have to love the queue-some much to look at as you wait in line. We rode, she shopped. Afterwards we made our way through Asia and into Africa to check out Kilamanjaro Safaris. The stand by time was about 35 minutes. Today was a bear-with the real feel temps well over 100 degrees, we decided to grab some beverages and cool off before we could get fast passes for KS.

As we were on our way back to Asia, Devine (sp?) was out walking around and I snapped some photos. We had never seen her out, so it was pretty sweet.

After riding EE, we did some shopping in the store. They always have really cool stuff here-different stuff. We also stopped by a little shop up near Kali River Rapids that had t-shirts, lucky pendants-key tags etc., scarves and some items with the Buddha. It was time to ride Kilamanjaro Safari then. We had a really great tour guide-probably the best I have heard. The animals were not too active, but I did get some nice photos.

It was blazing hot and we had completed our attraction mission. We headed back towards the Oasis, hitting the shops along the way. People were just arriving for the day around 11:30 AM-boy that was going to be a long hot day for them. AK has like the least amount of air conditioned attractions.

We actually had to pick up a few things outside the world, so we made way for The Florida Mall. We stopped at Chilis for lunch and hit a bookstore. Afterwards we came back to the room rested and went to Epcot later. For dinner we dined at the Yachtsman Steakhouse-make sure to check out my review!

 

[LowesChevy]

October 8th, DTD & Epcot

On Thursday we decided to hit DTD early because with the upcoming holiday weekend, the place was just going to be a madhouse at night. We took the monorail to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at the GFC. I always enjoy this place, so bright and airy. The food is not much different from the Kona Café, but the change in atmosphere is pleasant.

After a leisurely breakfast we got back on the monorail and headed for the Contemporary. We hit Fantasia and Bay View Gifts for some goodies and gifts. I walked out to get a few pictures of our new home- Bay Lake Tower. I checked the menu at the Contempo Café and admired the new LCD type screens with the items and pictures. We made our way back to the Polynesian to drop off our stuff and grab the car keys.

Downtown Disney was surprisingly busy for the time of day, I guess other people had the same good idea. It was lunch time, so mainly the restaurants were packed. We stopped at the World of Disney and took advantage of the $20 shipping and had some items send home. We perused Team Mickey Athletics and TrenD before heading the toy store.

We ate at lunch at Wolfgang Puck Café. The new setup is kind of neat, a little confusing. It had been 4 years or so since dining there last-definitely before the refurbishment years ago. I had the same pizza from the other night and it was just as good! The food was quite good for counter service.

Later that evening we ate dinner at Il Mulino in the Swan.

October 9th, DHS & Epcot

The resort was noticeably more crowded by now and we figured the park crowds would be out in full force. The next day was EMH morning at DHS and we wanted to ride TSM at least once more, so we decided to head over after breakfast. The fast pass line was even long and it stretched to the Narnia walk through! It took about 10 minutes and we did stand by too. We did Star Tours again and saw Muppetvision 3D while waiting for the TSM fast passes to be ready.

We took the bus because we planned on going to Epcot immediately afterwards, but decided to come back to the Polynesian to cool down a bit. It was really hot and the thought of heading to another park at the time was out of the question.

Later on, we went to Epcot and the crowds were heavier in the World Showcase being Friday afternoon. We headed right for Mexico for some Dos Equis and chorizo quesadillas.

One of my favorite building designs

Quesadilla

We next visited China and did some shopping. The pot stickers at China were tasty and there was Siracha available if you wanted to kick it up a notch. I stopped for the beef tenderloin with mango bbq sauce from Cape Town-a little difficult to eat, luckily we grabbed a table so I could cut the meat.

In Germany we checked out the shops and by now the heat was really bad. The walking around in the sun and drinking did not help, but if we were going to make it till 7:00 PM for dinner we needed a break from the sun. So it was back to the Polynesian to rest for a while.

We came back to Epcot around 5:30 PM, strolled through MouseGears and the Gateway shops. I enjoyed walking through the shops in the UK. I feel like the CM s in Canada and the UK have the friendliest. Japan was the next stop- I just love the Mitsokushi department store. There was a big crowd picking out pearls this time.

By then it was time for dinner at Teppan Edo. My first impression was that the area for check in is very chaotic. You can read about the rest of my experience in my dining review.

October 10th

My birthday, my choice right? I decided we should go to the Magic Kingdom to spend the day. I had also made an adr for lunch at the Plaza, so it all worked out perfectly. The crowds were definitely heavier than the beginning of the week, but it was Columbus Day weekend of course. We waited in line at the Will-Call window, which took forever, but eventually I received my choice of fun card, fast passes and the other option. I opted for the fast passes because with the crowds, I figured it would be our best shot to ride more attractions. You are given two sets of four attractions-Daisy and Donald groups. From each group you had a choice of three fast passes. You could load up on three for just one ride or ride three rides, your pick.

When you fed the special fast pass into the machine, you basically received a fast pass for the current time. That was awesome, although if the fast passes ran out for the day, you too would be out of luck. So keep that in mind if you have your birthday on a really crowded day!

We used the fast passes and rode some favorites like the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Liberty Belle and the TTA. The wait times were noticeably longer

Look at that line foolish mortals

We rode the train from Frontierland to Main Street USA to make our way towards the Plaza for lunch. We only waited a few minutes to be seated and the place was only about ¾ full. The service was good-the food came fast and was hot and delicious. After a nice break out of the sun, we used our last fast pass for Buzz and made the journey back to the Polynesian. This time we took the small ferry.

Near the GF marina

Later that night we had birthday dinner at Jiko in the Animal Kingdom Lodge.


October 11th, Epcot

It was our last day to an otherwise perfect vacation. We ended up staying two days longer because I did not want to come home on my birthday. Then also the plane tickets were like $100 more to come home on Sunday. So why not just stay till Monday.

I could spend a portion of every day at WDW at Epcot. There is always so much to see and do here, especially with the food and wine festival going on. We grabbed fast passes for Test Track and waited in standby. After riding, we scoped out MouseGears again, hit Club Cool and waited for the Character Spot to get photographs for my little cousins with Mickey and Donald. We waited about 45 minutes, which was not too bad, not good either, but it is the holiday weekend.

We went back to the Polynesian and had a quick lunch at Captain Cooks. The place was hopping, but it did take too long to get the food. The food was pretty good I might add for counter service. We chilled out a bit and packed up the suitcases for departure tomorrow.

Later on we returned to Epcot for dinner at Le Chefs De France around 6:00 PM. IT was about 4:00 PM so we walked along the World Showcase, which was very congested. We stopped by Mexico for the boat ride and shopping

At Norway we browsed the Café and rode Maelstrom-look at that crowd, bums to elbows everywhere!

We grabbed some brews and black forest cake in Germany. Yes, dessert first for me! An open bench was the perfect place to people watch. I made sure we enjoyed the F & W fest before the weekend arrived because the lines get long and the crowds can be overwhelming.

We slowly made our way from Mexico to the UK till it was time for dinner. There were many people trying to score walk ups, but to no avail. It only was few minutes before we were seated early and had a lovely meal.

We had a fantastic trip. The weather was hotter than usual, but we had plenty of days to take it easy and not push ourselves. I always have more pictures and if you have any questions feel free to pm me about them. I would love to sit and chat, but it is time to start planning for next year. Tata!

Loweschevy

 

[Tess]

An enjoyable read--my birthday(and anniversary) is October 9--alas, we were there the week before for F&W. No freebies for me, but my husband took the gift card when we were there in May for his birthday.

It sounds as if you had a wonderful trip and the weather was good. We actually loved the 90s and hit the pool everyday in the afternoon, but we did hear loads of grumbling. When it is that warm, you need to take the cool down break!

I'm with you, time to plan for next year. . .