No cats to herd this time! It's just the two of us!UPDATED 11/24-DIS Meet & Departure

[faerieprincess]

i LOVE this picture!!!!!!

Awesome update, Sara! i'm so sorry your feet were hurting you

How was your Hallowe'en?

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Just gorgeous photos even the ones you didn't take. It's a really nice shot of the two of you by the photopass photographer. Great acting skills to hide the pain of your blister!

 

[mom2mek]

WOW!! Again--what great photos!! What a great evening in the MK!! That Tinkerbell lady is interesting to say the least! YIKES!!

Thanks Becky! Yes, it was strange to see a grown woman who was (from what we could tell) all by herself, dressed up in a full blown (and fairly short) Tink outfit! I'm wondering if she changed in the park somewhere because I can't imagine that someone actually let her in the gates without explaining that adult costumes are not really allowed.

Great updates Sara! I'm so sorry about the foot problems! I hope you don't have a repeat in February.

I love all the pictures of course. The sunset pictures are fantastic! And I love the picture of you two on the side of the castle. That should definitely be in a frame if it isn't already.

Oh, we will not be having those problems in February...I can assure you! I will be bringing my croc flops with me, but I will be switching them out with another pair of shoes every other day. That way my feet won't be in the same position each day. Changing those pressure points is key I think. As far as Shawn....I think we will both be sure to check and double check that he has two of the SAME pair of shoes!! LOL!

i LOVE this picture!!!!!!

Awesome update, Sara! i'm so sorry your feet were hurting you

How was your Hallowe'en?

Thanks Sare! Our Halloween was great! Emily was Tinkerbell (and looked a little more appropriate than that grown lady in the MK that day), Katie was Silvermist (friend of Tinkerbell), and Michael was a zombie. Shawn did some cool make-up, but I must admit it was hard to see my little boy look so gross! It made me LONG for the Star Wars costumes back!

Just gorgeous photos even the ones you didn't take. It's a really nice shot of the two of you by the photopass photographer. Great acting skills to hide the pain of your blister!

Oh that's funny that you say that, because Shawn had the guy take a pic with our camera and I wasn't quite "acting" yet and that picture is hilarious! I look miserable! I couldn't post it it's so bad! Luckily by the time he got his camera out, I was able to put on a smile!

Sara

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Drop dead gorgeous sunset pictures!!!

*Note to self: don't forget the second skin and blister bandaids for our Dec. trip. OUCH!*


And I am so glad that you got a shot of me in my TinkerBell costume... my photopass picture didn't turn out.

 

[mom2mek]

And I am so glad that you got a shot of me in my TinkerBell costume... my photopass picture didn't turn out.

 

[DisneyJo]

Your feet sound so painful, it's amazing you managed to do so much in MK!

Beautiful sunset and fireworks shots and very strange about adult Tink

 

[mom2mek]

Your feet sound so painful, it's amazing you managed to do so much in MK!

Beautiful sunset and fireworks shots and very strange about adult Tink

Yes - they were in a lot of pain. Never have I had a blister on the bottom of my foot!

Tinkerbell was certainly some comic relief! Very strange indeed.

Sara

 

[MeMom]

I convinced Shawn that we did NOT need to exit with these crowds and we found ourselves a table next to the Ice Cream Parlor and watched as people exited the park. I love doing this. I love lingering in the park at the end of the night, watching all of the excited kids and sleeping babies….the tired, but usually still smiling parents maneuver through the crowds or wait in line for one last ice cream cone. It was really nice and I’m glad we decided to stop and watch.

Oh how I would love to be doing that tonight!

 

[Poohtigeey]

And I am so glad that you got a shot of me in my TinkerBell costume... my photopass picture didn't turn out.

Nicole! I thought that was you! You're so, um...special.

Ok, so I'm starting to think that Sara mailed me more than just Flat Stanley. Maybe Flat Stanley covered in germs? All her ploy to get me to finish reading her report!!!! Get me sick so I'll devote my entire afternoon to reading. Well, I've made it to the end. Even though your last post was mean to me I'm going to say this anyways. Your reports make me want to go back! So, I get so sad when I don't have a trip planned. I cannot wait to be there with you and your family!! We are going to have a BLAST!

Also, I want Shawn's camera!Wow!!!!! You are so lucky to have such awesome pictures of your great trip. Sorry about all the foot trouble. I have so been there!!!

I hope you can finish this before we leave in February. LOVE YOU!!!!!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Hi Sara!

Those are the best fireworks shots I've ever seen! I love that you can make out the roses in the foreground...nice!

Sorry about all the feet issues. Good for you for pushing through the pain and enjoying your night. What's a little blister when you have Fantasyland to tackle?!

I can't believe you're on your last day already! I need to go over to my TR and post...I still have a day and a half to go!! You're going to beat me!

 

[mom2mek]

Oh how I would love to be doing that tonight!

Oh yes, me too!

Nicole! I thought that was you! You're so, um...special.

Ok, so I'm starting to think that Sara mailed me more than just Flat Stanley. Maybe Flat Stanley covered in germs? All her ploy to get me to finish reading her report!!!! Get me sick so I'll devote my entire afternoon to reading. Well, I've made it to the end. Even though your last post was mean to me I'm going to say this anyways. Your reports make me want to go back! So, I get so sad when I don't have a trip planned. I cannot wait to be there with you and your family!! We are going to have a BLAST!

Also, I want Shawn's camera!Wow!!!!! You are so lucky to have such awesome pictures of your great trip. Sorry about all the foot trouble. I have so been there!!!

I hope you can finish this before we leave in February. LOVE YOU!!!!!

Aww...Monica, I'm sorry that my reports make you sad, but I'm so happy you are reading again!!

I can't wait for February either! It's going to be so much fun to be all together at the BEST place!!!

I hope I finish this before February too! Seriously, this last day I'm about to write about should NOT take me very long! Unfortunately.

Hi Sara!

Those are the best fireworks shots I've ever seen! I love that you can make out the roses in the foreground...nice!

Sorry about all the feet issues. Good for you for pushing through the pain and enjoying your night. What's a little blister when you have Fantasyland to tackle?!

I can't believe you're on your last day already! I need to go over to my TR and post...I still have a day and a half to go!! You're going to beat me!

Thanks Missy. Shawn got some great ones, and honestly, I didn't really decide on which ones were best, I just posted a bunch I had uploaded to photobucket (I uploaded all of them, but then when I was in photobucket, I just wanted to put some in and be done with it; not go through each picture to decide! LOL! I guess I'm getting lazy since this report is taking so long to write! Point being, I think he actually had some better ones in there that I didn't post due to the aforementioned laziness!)

Yes, we pushed through that night....however, the next day.....not so much!

You are too funny about the posting my last day thing! My trip was only 3 1/2 days!! And only with 2 people! I better finish before you! (But I doubt I will....)

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Day 4 - May 16, 2009
Part 1 - A walking tour of the Polynesian

Our last day was upon us. We had originally planned to spend this day getting up at a leisurely pace and making our way over to Epcot sometime around 11 to do the World Showcase. I had an ADR for Le Cellier for dinner that night and I was also in desperate need of my Grey Goose Slushie that I had missed out on our previous rainy night. Neither of us had eaten at Le Cellier and we were really looking forward to that. We were going to end the night back at the Poly with a friend meet on the beach to watch Wishes.

That was the plan anyways.

When I woke up that morning, I couldn’t walk at all. It was pitiful. Shawn’s feet hurt, but he was leaving it all up to me as to what we wanted to try and do that day. As much as I hated to do it, I called Disney Dining and cancelled our ADR for Le Cellier and made a last minute one for Kona at lunch time instead. I just didn’t think I could handle the pressure on my feet all day. I was over-compensating for the placement of the blisters by sort of bending my foot to the side so that I wouldn’t be putting too much pressure on the injured part and doing that was causing my ankles to hurt a bit as well. We did briefly consider BOTH getting ECV’s to use that day, but just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. After I came to terms with the fact that we weren’t going back to Epcot, I relaxed and took it as a sign that we were supposed to really enjoy the Poly that day! Afterall, we were staying at a beautiful, tropical resort….why not take a day to immerse ourselves in its ambiance, right?

So we managed to get ready and head out around 11:00 to take a VERY SLOW walking tour around the Poly before our 12:00 ADR at Kona.

So without further adieu, our walking tour pictures of the Poly:

We walked over to where the luau takes place:

(Mr. Big Nose as we decided to call him...)

(I believe this was in the waiting area for the luau)

We scoped out a lot of the other longhouse locations (you know, for future trip research and saw the pros and cons of many of them).

(not a bad view)


We saw this really interesting tree...

Those things went all the way up this huge tree....pretty cool looking:

(Apparently it is a Floss Silk Tree, Native to Brazil)

Such gorgeous flowers all around the Poly:

Eventually, we wound our way around to the side entrance of the GCH and went ahead in to go to Kona:

There are such gorgeous details all throughout this resort:

More of our unplanned resort day coming up....

Sara

 

[faerieprincess]

i love love LOVE your pictures of the Poly!!! i'm so sorry your feet hurt so much, that is a horrible way to spend part of your vacation! Looking forward to hearing about your (yummmm) lunch at Kona.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

The Poly is just beautiful. I'm sure you were disappointed not to be headed back to Epcot....but spending the day at the Poly sounds like a great plan B!

 

[meeko_33785]

Great photos! Out of all of them, I think this one's my favorite:

Just beautiful, and I love how you framed it with the palm trees.

Sounds like you got some much-needed rest today and got to enjoy the Polly. If only your feet were feeling better. Hopefully next time you make it back to EPCOT you can try Le Cellier, but I'm looking forward to hearing about Kona.

 

[mom2mek]

i love love LOVE your pictures of the Poly!!! i'm so sorry your feet hurt so much, that is a horrible way to spend part of your vacation! Looking forward to hearing about your (yummmm) lunch at Kona.

Thanks Sare! The feet thing took me totally by surprise! I've gone on much longer trips and have never had a problem with blisters! I've only had to deal with my feet being overall "tired", ya know? This was new to me, and I wasn't prepared!

The Poly is just beautiful. I'm sure you were disappointed not to be headed back to Epcot....but spending the day at the Poly sounds like a great plan B!

Thanks Missy! Yes, I was glad that we were getting a chance to really spend some quality time there - it is so gorgeous!

Great photos! Out of all of them, I think this one's my favorite:



Just beautiful, and I love how you framed it with the palm trees.

Sounds like you got some much-needed rest today and got to enjoy the Polly. If only your feet were feeling better. Hopefully next time you make it back to EPCOT you can try Le Cellier, but I'm looking forward to hearing about Kona.

Thanks - I love that picture too! Yeah, I was kind of bummed about missing out on Le Cellier, but I was hoping that by cancelling it, someone who tried to get in was able to! Plus, we LOVE Kona, so that was a nice consolation prize!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Day 4 - May 16, 2009
Part 2 - Lunch at Kona and a Tour around the Lake!


We entered the GCH and took our time looking in the shops and (of course) Shawn took pictures!

I knew I didn’t really need to take any pictures with my little camera, but I did take a picture of Shawn, taking pictures! LOL!

(Captures a great shot of how his feet were wrapped too…)

And of course, I took pictures of the store!

As we walked around the lobby, it dawned on me to go up to the desk and check to see if there were any seats left for the early showing of the luau that night. That would still give us enough time to meet up with our friends on the beach to watch Wishes! Unfortunately, there weren’t any tickets left, which I had pretty much expected, but thought it was worth a shot asking about. Oh well. On to lunch at Kona.

We arrived a few minutes early, and were seated right away. I ordered up some coffee and Shawn was already onto the mixed drinks at this point. Plus we decided on an order of the pot stickers. Those things are soooo good!

For my lunch, I ordered the Polynesian Plate Lunch with the chicken in peanut sauce, sticky rice, and macaroni salad. It’s the same thing I had on our family trip in October 2008 and I couldn’t bring myself NOT to order it because I had enjoyed it so much the year before.

Shawn had the Stir-Fried Asian Noodles with Chicken and Pineapple. He said it was good, but he wasn’t overly talking about it, so I think it was nothing spectacular, but worth getting to him. He enjoyed it.

We both enjoyed our meals and the service was great. Unfortunately, we were too full for dessert (when will we learn to SHARE an entrée so that we can order dessert…..??), which was sad because I think the Kilauea Torte is one of the BEST desserts in all of Disney World.

When we left Kona, we decided to meander out towards the marina and investigate the possibility of renting a boat for a little while. Seemed like a good thing to do that didn’t require ANY walking!

We hobbled out to the marina and looked over our options. I did not want to whip around Bay Lake or Seven Seas Lagoon on individual Sea Racer boats, and we didn’t need the largeness of the pontoon boat, so we opted for the one in the middle, and snagged us up a Boston Whaler. We grabbed a couple of life vests, signed some forms and we were off on a little romantic boat ride!

(Bye, Poly….we’ll see you soon)

(If I had not told you about the bottom of my feet, you would think they were fine, no?)

(That's our longhouse Tahiti, I believe. Except we were on the other side of it....the "cheaper" side! LOL)

We joked that we had the most pitiful engine on that boat…we were barely moving this whole time and he had the thing on full throttle! LOL! It was fine, it’s not like we were in a rush, but we didn’t know how on earth we would make it back in time during the allotted 30 minutes. Oh well. It was worth taking our time, so we could enjoy the views like this one:

We made our way around Seven Seas Lagoon, over by the Contemporary, and then on to Bay Lake.

It was neat to pass underneath the monorail.

More pictures from the water in the next post and then….what did we do next????

Sara

 

[faerieprincess]

i'd love to comment on how those Kona pictures made me weak with hunger, but, well, they did. So i'm off to find some lunch.

But may i just say, weak and shaking with hunger as i now am (thanks to you)..... AWESOME photos!!!!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Love the Poly pictures Sara (and Shawn)! They really are fabulous and could sell anyone on that resort.

Did I ever tell you that I made a wish in that fountain in the lobby (with a penny) when I was a kid? I wished for a dog and then I got one for my next birthday. I'll never forget that and think of it everytime I walk in the Polynesian.

Kona looks fantastic as well! Sure beats the Lean Cuisine I had for lunch.

How fun to rent the boat too! Such beautiful scenery in both those lakes.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Lunch at Kona looked fabulous! YUMMM!!

I'm not a huge fan of boats, but the scenery on your little excursion was truly beautiful! Sounds like a perfect way to spend the afternoon. (Oh..love the toe polish color!)