My First Official Trip Report

[missouridisneyfans]

I have been to WDW a few times before, but never posted a trip report. Here is my first attempt at one. Please let me know if you have any questions.



Thursday, September 27, 2007
This was our first time using Magical Express and it was great and everything went smoothly. It took us about 1 ½ hour from the time we landed until we arrived at the resort. Upon our arrival, we were taken to the concierge lounge where we discovered that we were upgraded from deluxe concierge to the VP Suite at the BWI. The room is bigger than our entire house. It was spacious and the balcony view of the Boardwalk was great. We were almost just above the ESPN – rightly directly above the arcade. This room was definitely a once in a life time experience that we shall never forget!
Everyone is correct about dining plan not being really useful on the boardwalk. Most of the places you had to use cash or some type of a major credit card; even your KTTK card was not acceptable. I was told that you could go to the other resorts to find food on the dining plan, but did not feel like it.
The concierge staff was great and very friendly. They really try to help you with your every request. They even have been giving us bottled water to take back to our room. We both drink lots of water because we are not big soda drinkers.
We spent the afternoon touring WS in EPCOT. We stopped and saw some of the shows and presentations. The candy lady at Japan was amazing and very fast at her creations. I would definitely recommend people to see this presentation. The tour at Morocco is not available any more.
We ate at the Rose and Crown – the Roast beef sandwich was great – we shared the meal. Allears has that lunch has cottage pie, but they had the shepherd’s pie instead. I don’t know if that is a permanent change or what.
The crowds have been very manageable so far. On WS you can see lots of preparation for the Food and Wine Festival.
We went back to our room and our luggage was already in the room awaiting our arrival. We looked around the BWI and the Boardwalk. For dinner, we decided to try the pizza on the boardwalk and it was great, but a little too greasy for us.
We got back to the hotel to our wonderful turn-down service and settled for a nice night of rest and relaxation.


Friday, September 28, 2007
Spoodles for breakfast – Bacon and Egg panni – it was so so, not my favorite.
Undiscovered FW tour – Jordan was the guide and did a great job. This tour had a lot more back stage viewing than the Keys tour in MK. The tour allowed you to have 20% discount at the China pavilion for lunch – we did not partake of this special. The tour also allows you to have a special VIP viewing area for Illuminations, but we did not partake of this special either. The tour was great, but the heat can really get to you; especially in the back stage areas.
Electric umbrella for lunch – had the chicken strips and French fries for our meal. My wife had the chocolate cookie and I had the strawberry cheesecake. The meal was very good and it was also nice to sit down after our long tour
After our long tour, we went back to hotel to enjoy Lunar Park pool to relax. The water coaster was great. My advice is to get wet first it makes you slide faster. I went on it the first time dry and it was good, but went down my second time and I thought I was flying down at great speed. The view at the top is great – you can see ToT at MGM from there.
For dinner we went to Beaches and Cream – my wife had hot dog w/ grilled onions and it was so so. I had the chili cheese hot dog and it was so so. We both had fries and they were good. However, the best part of the meal was the No Way Jose Sunday. It was so big we decided to share it and we were we so glad we did that. It was the best part of the meal.
We went back to EPCOT FW to finish the rides we did not get done today. The Clammobile and the Crush talk were great. It is amazing how they do Turtle talk.
The walk to and from EPCOT is great and peaceful.
We got back to the hotel to our wonderful turn-down service and settled for a nice night of rest and relaxation.
Overall, our stay at BWI was great (and not just because of the room). I would attempt to stay here in the future. The staff was very friendly and pleasant.


Saturday, September 29, 2007
Had breakfast at Spoodles this morning – had the AYCE meal – it was great, but the eggs were a little too runny for my wife. The French toast of the meal was excellent. The coffee is better at Spoodles than at the resorts so far.
This was the day we transferred from BWI to AKL. The transfer went smoothly – we called BWI bell service they came up within 10 minutes to get our luggage – after that is when we went to breakfast. We came back from breakfast and finished getting ready.
We went to take the bus transportation for this resort and it was fast. It only took 10 minutes for the bus to come by to pick us up.
AKL is amazing with breathtaking views. When we arrived we were taken to concierge desk to check-in; however, our room was not ready, but we were not surprised. We went to the pool to relax and do some laundry; while we waited for our room. About 45 minutes later they called us to let us know our room was ready. They first put us in room 4423 – (Arusha/Zebra Trail) only to discover that maintenance had decided that it had some type of leak – so they moved us – even though we went into the room and changed from our swim wear. We went back to concierge and we were given room 2319 (Arusha/Kudo Trail). At first my wife did not like the room because it did not have some of the other nice things like the new TVs as well as the distance from the concierge lounge, but after we went out on the balcony and saw zebras, giraffes, and some of the other animals that she decided it is an ok room – besides we are at AKL. We also noticed that this has a nicer view (other room had a tree right in our way of viewing) and this room also seemed closer to the animals.
Once we got to our new room, we called bell service and they delivered our luggage within 5 minutes of the phone call. All in all, I would consider it a very smooth hotel transfer.
We spent time on the balcony and then went to the culinary tour; which was great. I enjoyed it more than my wife, but it made me so anxious to try Boma for dinner that I went to the desk and had my ADR changed from 7:50 tonight to right now. Even with that change it only took 15 minutes and wow the food was great. I tried the Fufu and it was better than I expected. I also liked the Gerety Rice and it was great – I ended up having two servings of them. I also had some of those famous ZDs. I also bought some at Mara. My wife thought the carrot ginger soup was excellent.
Went to DTD and we waited 10 minutes for the bus to the place. It was raining so hard on the way over there, we thought we would have to leave as soon as we would arrive, but it stopped after our arrival. We had a great time and did our annual track to DTD. We also tried those create your own marshmallows at Goofy’s and they are the best.
We got back to the hotel to our wonderful turn-down service and settled for a nice night of rest and relaxation.
Just before going to bed, my wife noticed some cattle outside our window. We went back onto the balcony and also saw a zebra. It was a great sight and one that you have to see to truly experience its awesomeness.


Sunday, September 30, 2007
This morning we did the concierge breakfast safari and it was good – one of those once in a life time type adventures. I would have to say this is one of those adventures that you have to try at least once. Our guides were George and Ric – they were very knowledgeable and personable. We were able to see and learn about several animals on the safari. The guides also told us a little how the ride was built and how they kept the animals in their own area. The breakfast was very good at the end of the safari (it was in pizzafari instead of tusker house). We did not get a fast pass to ride the ride again, but it did not really matter to us; especially since we just got off the ride. It was a neat experience to travel back to pizzafari from the ride and see all the people and the parade with Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy on the truck walking to the Harambe village section.
The rest of the day we spent visiting the attractions at DAK. We did get to see the Finding Nemo, the Musical show and it was even better than we had imagined. We had seen a YouTube video of the show, but it was much better in person. It is like the FOTLK show where we will have to see that every time we go to DAK. The weather today was excellent – there was a nice breeze and it made being out in the park bearable.
Around 2:30 pm, we went back to the hotel to have lunch. We ate at Mara and had the chicken strip basket again (both of our favorite food at WDW). We then went and took an hour nap back in our room. We desired this trip to be full of rest and relaxation and it has truly been what we desired. I am glad now that we decided not to do our normal commando type trip. So far it is a great vacation.
This evening we decided to say around the hotel. We went up to the lounge for a snack after relaxing and reading around the pool. It was so windy that it was almost too cool to be around the pool. I tried the peanut butter uncrustable things and they are great. My wife had the carrot-ginger soup again. The lounge is nice to supplement your meals, but I would have to agree with others that it cannot be a meal replacements.
We then went to the fire pit to sit and relax and read while we waited for the story telling. It was so relaxing reading by the fire. The story teller was excellent and did a great job with audience participation. We all had a part in his story. It was one of my favorite things at AKL.
Around 8:10 p.m., we went to go find a seat to relax and read and wait for the cultural presentation. Our presenter, Kaiser – from Botswana came out earlier and I had the chance to talk to him about his country. I found the entire thing very informative and entertaining, but of course, I am excited about learning new things; especially about different cultures. It was nice to listen to his enthusiasm for his country. I felt sort of bad for him when his presentation started – he only had me, my wife and another gentleman show up. He did a great job of trying to get audience participation (me). I don’t how the others felt in the presentation, but I felt like I was listening to a friend talk. It was great. I asked for a card from his country (he was giving out to those who came to the presentation) and he wrote his name and email on it. I plan to send him an email when I get home.
The last thing we did was go do the night vision – again one of those events that you just have to experience to understand and feel the emotion involved with it. The view was just like you were looking at it in the day. My wife enjoyed it too; although, she stated she had a difficult making out the animals because of her bifocals – she did state she could see the shape/figure of the animals.
We got back to the hotel to our wonderful turn-down service and settled for a nice night of rest and relaxation.
Just before going to bed, my wife noticed some zebra outside our window. We went back onto the balcony. It was a great sight and one that you have to see to truly experience its awesomeness.
Overall, our stay at AKL was fair (and not just because of the room). I probably would not attempt to stay here in the future. The staff did not seem as friendly as they were at BWI. There the staff would acknowledge you and say hello; especially the concierge staff, but at AKL – I almost felt like an intruder. The concierge staff was not impressive as they were in email (especially Don as in Donald Duck). They never acknowledged your arrival and when you went to the desk to talk to them they always had that – I am busy personification about them. Also, concierge here gave us difficulty in getting bottled water for the room; although they ended up giving it to us begrudgingly – stated it was against their policy and we could not have any more. However, at BWI – they were more than willing to give us bottled water for the room – even to the point of asking how many do we want. Now, don’t get me wrong – I have worked in the service industry for 20+ years and I know that you can’t please everyone, but one thing I do know is that sometime all it takes is just a simple hello. I work in a library now and I can’t emphasize that enough to my own employees. It is just good customer satisfaction.
AKL construction update – we could not hear construction noise anywhere; including on our balcony. The concierge lounge is back up on the sixth floor overlooking the lobby. I agree with others that it is an impressive view of the lodge.


Monday, October 1, 2007
Today we had our last hotel transfer of this vacation. We transferred from AKL to the Poly. We got almost everything ready to go this morning and went to Mara to get a breakfast platter to share and supplement it with the concierge offerings. The food was enough for the both of us and it was good. After breakfast we finished getting the luggage ready and called bell service. They came up within 5 minutes after they called us back to verify that we needed our luggage transferred to the Poly (who knows what that was about?).
We went to the bus station to catch a bus to the MK. After a long wait (more than 15 minutes), we decided to catch the bus to DAK. Once we arrived at the DAK, we went to catch the Poly/Cont resort bus. We got to the place and the bus was already there (at least we thought). The CM asked me what resort I was going to – I stated to the POLY (I thought how obvious since I was standing in that resort’s bus line). The CM told us to get on the bus that it would take us there once it made a stop at the AsMu, WL, and then to our resort – the Poly.
Once we arrived, we went to the concierge stand out by the valet desk near the drive entrance. This was nice; especially since I thought I would have to find my way to the Hawaii building. We were taken there by golf cart. The CM who registered us for the resort told us that our room was already ready – we were surprised because it was 10 AM.
Our room was 3501 in the Hawaii building – just outside the door of the elevator – right next door to the concierge lounge. It has the most breath-taking view of Cinderella’s castle. We were on the third floor; which meant we actually had a balcony. I think right now this has to be my favorite resort. This view was definitely worth the cost.
The concierge staff has been outstanding like they were over at BWI. They are more than willing to give you a whole bottle of water for your room. They are not selfish with their water like AKL was with their water. The staff has also presented a friendly, approachable attitude.
We went to the MK for our 11:30 AM ADR for Tony’s Town Restaurant. We each had the breadstick appetizer and I had the chicken parmesan with spaghetti. It was good, but way too much. My wife had the meatball sub which she thought was very good, but again way too much for one person. Since we are on the dining plan, we also got dessert. I got the pistachio cream Brule and my wife got the chocolate bomb. Both desserts were very good – it was my first time for Cream Brule and wow is it good.
After lunch, we went to ride PotC and HM. The changes on the PotC are great and it does remind you a lot of the movies. Some of the new features can give you the wow factor. I read on the boards about seeing the key for the lock from the movies, but I could not find it. I decided to ask a CM and he told me that Captain Sparrow broke in last night and stole it. The CMs this morning did see a piece of gold that he accidently left behind and showed me where it was located. It was neat to see a piece of the movie at the attraction – I mean gift shop. We went through Liberty Square on our way to the HM. I finally saw the lanterns in the Liberty Tree as well as the two lanterns in the window. The new features of HM were spectacular. We plan to do both again in the next few days.
We decided to go back to the resort and rest (our daily nap time). We got back to the room around 3:15 PM. I decided to call bell service to see if our luggage had arrived. The bell service said he would check and call me back shortly (they were very busy at the time with arrivals). They called back in a few minutes and told us that they tracked our luggage down at AKL. They had not even shipped our luggage to the resort yet – I was not surprised with everything else that happened at that resort. They said they would have it shipped immediately to them and call us as soon as it arrived. We received a phone call about 20 minutes later stating that our luggage was here and they were on the way up to our room. Our luggage finally arrived and we got it put away. Just before the luggage arrived in the room – the front desk had brought us a chocolate poly sign. It was almost too beautiful to eat – I don’t’ know if we will eat it or not.
We decided to go back to EPCOT to see Off Kilter and we took the monorail. The trip was great and quick. Upon our arrival at the park, it started raining really hard. We decided to stay and see if it would stop raining. It did and we arrived at the Canadian pavilion to see the show. The show was awesome. It was our first time seeing the show. It will definitely not be my last time to see the show. It started raining so hard – I thought we were in a monsoon. We kept trying to return to the resort and finally did – we looked like a couple of drowned rats.
We finally made it back to the resort and ate at Captain Cook’s. We both had the flatbread pizza. It was good, but again too greasy for our taste. It finally stopped raining and we went back to our room. We went to the lounge to get a snack and some coffee to relax before going to bed. We went back to our room and set on the balcony. Again, the view is breath-taking and well worth the cost. We were able to see the Electric Water Pageant from our balcony and it was cool!!!!!!!!!!! We then went back into our room and relax and noticed that Wishes had started. We went back to the balcony to see the presentation and it made the room so much more beautiful and in a perfect location for us. We could hear the music and see both presentations from our balcony.
Our room had the turn-down service when we arrived. Again, this is something that is so nice to walk into. We finally settled in for a nice night of sleep and relaxation.


Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Today we woke up without an alarm and it was nice. We got up at 7:30 AM and got dressed and went to the lounge for a continental breakfast. They had the wonderful pineapple bread which is great. I have really enjoyed everything that I have had in the lounge.
We then went to the Studios today and took the park at a slow pace. It rain showered on and off all day today. I finally found the singing in the rain umbrella; which is amazing to see. The only thing that we did not do yet is ToT because I did not want to wait for more than 30 minutes and I did not want to wait for the next fastpass time (I knew that I would be able to do it on Friday morning). I did not get to do RnR because it does not open until Friday (I hope!). My wife and I were doing the Backstage tour and I got picked to be the person to get soaked (and we forgot the camera batteries back in the resort). All well, I will at least have the memory of the event.
We left MGM around 3 PM for MK because we wanted to eat at Pecos Bill (one of the restaurants that we attend every time we come to WDW). We got the bacon double cheeseburger, French fries, sprite, and peanut butter brownie mousse dessert. The whole meal was great as usual. We did PotC again and noticed things that we did not see when we rode it the first time. We also got to see the Captain Jack Sparrow character interaction today. The presentation was great and the person playing Captain Jack Sparrow is uncanning in having the same mannerisms has Johnny Depp. They do a great job in getting the audience to participate with the entire presentation. We did the JC ride and we had a guide who was either bored with his job or had the dullest personality. I think that ride is good depending on who your “guide” is for the ride. We then went to ride Splash Mountain and got stuck on the ride. We waited for 10 minutes and then they came to get us and took us out into the back of the ride (off stage) and then got us back to the little shop at the end of the ride (on stage). They also gave us a fastpass good for one MK attraction until October 31, 2007.
We wanted to see the Fantasmic show at MGM and went back to watch it. We have seen it several times, but we enjoy it every time we see it. The show seemed a little different this time to me (but not to my wife – I can’t explain it, but it did) than when we saw it in June 2006.
We got back to our room to our wonderful turn down service around 9:45 pm. We settled down for a nice night of sleep and magical dreams.


Wednesday, October 3, 2007
We got up this morning and went to the lounge for breakfast (no supplements today). I just love their pineapple bread.
We then left to go the MK today. We did Tomorrow Land and Toon Town Fair today and had a great time. We choose to ride the WDW Railroad all the way around the park. It is a great way to relax a little while in the park. We were able to walk on most rides or maybe wait 5 to 10 minutes for every ride – it was great.
We had lunch at Casey’s today and had the Gram Slam Hot Dog combo (I had the apple slices and my wife had french fries). It was a great meal as always. It is one of the restaurants that I look forward to eating at every trip to WDW. We then came back to the hotel.
While at the hotel, we did our last loads of laundry on this trip. We used this time to do some recreational reading and relaxing before heading to Downtown Disney.
We had “dinner” in the lounge tonight. They had these wonderful chicken drums and fried rice; which were both excellent and tasty. We then decided to go to Gierdellehe’s for ice cream; especially since we were going to that area tonight anyway. We got their famous hot fudge sundae; which is absolutely the best.
We then made our way to see Cirque du Soliel (we already had our tickets for the show). We were in section 104 – row H. We think we had the best seats in the house. You could see all the action of the show. We had seen this show before on a TV special, but it is just so amazing to see it in person. I would highly recommend this production.
We then left the show and made our way back to the Poly. We came home and went straight to bed – it was after 11:30 pm – way past our normal bedtime.


Thursday, October 4, 2007
We had breakfast in the lounge again, with no supplemental items from other places. I have really enjoyed this lounge – it is so relaxing and inviting. The lounge is a great place to eat, read the paper, and relax. The only complaint that we would have about this lounge is no chocolate milk – all the others did have it – and yes we did ask for it.
We then left for the MK for the day. This allowed us enough time to finish all the rides that we really wanted to ride on this trip. We finally were able to ride Splash Mountain without it breaking down. The secret to the ride is to ride in the back – you don’t get as wet as you do in the front of the ride. We went to ride Hall of Presidents, but it was closed for refurbishments (or at least we thought it was).
We then came back to the resort, so that we could eat at Captain Cook’s for lunch and rest for the MNSSHP tonight. I had the bacon double cheeseburger and Polynesian chips combo and my wife had the multi-grain turkey sandwich with Polynesian chips combo. We both had water to drink and my wife had her favorite dessert – apple charlotte. I had the vanilla cupcake – I have now had it twice there. We then went back to our room and took a two-hour nap – gave us plenty of time to relax and rest before tonight’s party.
We went back to MK at 4 PM to go to the MNSSHP and our ADR at LTT. We were nervous because as soon as we got off the monorail it started pouring down rain. However, that was the last time it rained all night. We had a little bit of time before we could give our names in for our reservation and noticed that the Hall of Presidents was not closed – just a section is being re-done on the side of it; which is good because it is one of my favorite attractions. The characters tonight for LTT were Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale, but no Mickey Mouse. The food was excellent – except the pork (we don’t like pork – although I tried it). I absolutely love the Macaroni and Cheese (something that I look forward to eating) and my wife absolutely loves the mashed potatoes and gravy (we asked for more of these items as well as the turkey). All of the food was excellent and so was the dessert. We were able to get pictures by ourselves with the characters and together (thanks to nice people at the table near us).
We finished with a little time before the party actually began so we caught the last Dreams Come True show at Cinderella’s Castle. The show was good, but not a real necessity to see. After that show, we headed to the front to get our pin for tonight’s party. We finally got it and started toward Adventure Land and went around the park from that starting point. We made it to every candy giving station; except for the two in Tomorrow Land (ran out of time). We saw both parades because my wife and I did not have a good spot for the first parade. The parade is very good and worth seeing. We saw the Hallowishes presentation, but I would not recommend it from Liberty Square (just before going over the bridge). We thought it would be a good spot to watch – not too close, but then most of these fireworks were behind the castle instead over the castle – the trees there blocked a majority of the view – but we thought all well we will wait until tomorrow night and see the Hallowishes from our balcony at the POLY – Hawaii building. We went to see the last Villain Mix and Mingle – not at all what we expected. (I think we were expecting some type of show like they normally do at the castle, but this was just the villains dancing. We did get to interact a little with the Queen of Hearts from Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. We did not make to any of the dance parties; which is probably good because neither of us dance well. Overall, the party was very good and I would highly recommend it. We got a lot of candy even though we did not have children with us. The CMs gave us more than just one or two pieces – they usually just dumped a handful of candy in our bags.
We made it back to our room by 12:45 AM to our nice turn down service and went to bed. We had magical dreams all night long.

Friday, October 05, 2007
We did not wake-up until almost 10 am this morning (really late for us – we usually wake-up by 7:30 am every morning even without an alarm clock). We got ready and then decided to go to MGM to finish the last few rides that we have not had a chance to see yet.
We arrived at MGM about 11:30 am and headed straight to Sci-Fi Drive-In for lunch. Even though we did not have an ADR – we only had to wait about 10-15 minutes. It was a lot different than what we expected – I don’t know what we really expected. We both had the cheeseburger and French fries meal. We both had shakes for our beverage – I had strawberry and my wife had chocolate – we both thought they were really good. The food was good, but again way too much for us. For dessert, we both had the hot fudge sundae – they were good, but not as good as Gherdelli’s. We then went to ride ToT and RnR – well at least I did. I noticed that now RnR finally has a single-rider line that is truly single-rider (all the way through the preshow – right up to where you get on the ride – you are separated from all of the other riders – no chance to go through the single-rider line to get there faster and then at the last minute go together or with others in your party. It was truly nice for us single-riders who see abuse of this all the time on other rides. After I got of ToT, I met Chloe – Hollywood’s greatest gossip columnist. She spent about 15 minutes interviewing me and just conversing with me about my job (I am a librarian – I never saw someone so excited to meet a librarian). I told her that I had to go meet up with my wife and she walked outside the building with me – arm in arm. She asked me my wife’s name and I told her and she said that they went to school together. She met my wife and continued our conversation there for about 5 minutes. It was overall a great interaction with one of the street characters.
It rained hard off and on all day. My wife told me that a couple of times it rained really hard while I was on the two rides. We decided to go back to the Poly for our daily nap (almost 1 ½ hours today). We woke up and freshened up a little and decided to go to the GF or CR for one of their CS meals. We ended up eating at the GF’s Grill. She had the chicken strips with Cole slaw meal and I had the hot dog with grapes meal. Both meals were very good and tasty. For dessert, she had their chocolate cake – which she said is very rich tasting and could not eat it – too much chocolate (this totally surprised me because she is a chocoholic). I had their carrot cake; which was fantastic. We then went back to our hotel to relax and start preparing to head home tomorrow (how sad!!!). It was really raining, thundering, and lightning by this time.
We got back to our hotel to our nice turn-down service for a nice night of relaxation. We did make one last trip to the lounge for their desserts; which are heavenly. I will truly miss this lounge when we get home. We spent the evening on the balcony and saw the EWP and Hallowishes (it finally stopped raining for a little bit). The Hallowishes is much better from this viewpoint – we did not notice it last night, but they shoot fireworks over the entire MK Park. We then went into the room and settled down for a nice night of magical dreams.


Saturday, October 6, 2007
This morning we got up early to have our breakfast at O’Hana’s; which is one of my favorite character meals. It was great as usual and the food is always good. We then finished getting ready to make our trip back home. We finished and left for the morning at MK.
We arrived about 10 AM – just as the park was opening. We did not ride a lot of rides during this time, but mostly just walked around the park to get our last views of the park.
Overall, the Poly is a terrific resort and we will definitely stay here in the future. The lounge is great and one of the highlights of our trip. The view was worth the entire cost of the trip.
We then made it back to the resort around 12:45 PM to check out of the hotel and get ready to be picked up by ME. The ME experience was great and I would definitely use it again.
This trip was amazing and it was a truly deluxe experience that we will never forget. This experience already has made me start thinking about my next trip to WDW. We just don’t know when yet or where we will be staying next.

 

[Poppinsme]

Great report!
Thanks for the info on the Poly, we are so excited to be going there.
Sounds like you had a really fun time.

 

[northriver]

Wow great report, thanks so much for sharing all the little details!