DaveinFallsChurch
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
We just returned from our 8-day vacation at Disney and had an absolutely wonderful time! Over the next few weeks, I hope to put together a nice trip report mostly as a method of therapy to help me wean off from the week long Disney euphoria. I'm already feeling the effects of withdrawal this morning. Not having any princesses or furry giant creatures greet me while I'm eating my breakfast is just downright depressing.
I'm going to take my time with this one - I learned my lesson from building my PTR when I breezed through the 8 day touring plan in less than 10 days.
Table of Contents
Saturday, April 14th Part I - Get me to SeaWorld!
Saturday April 14th Part II - Shamu Gives us a Proper Welcome!
Sunday, April 15th Part I - Aloha!
Sunday, April 15th Part II - Loving the Mania
Sunday, April 15th Part III - An Italian Lunch, Ariel Strikes Out, and Exploring Another Dimension
Sunday, April 15th Part IV - Enjoying the Nightlife at MK
Monday, April 16th Part I - A Morning with the Princesses, the Fab Five, and Puddy
Monday, April 16th Part II - Learning How to Say Duuuude, Sound Financial Advice from a Piggy, and Eating like a Canadian
Monday, April 16th Part III -Touring the World and a Meltdown to Remember
Monday, April 16th Part IV - A Birthday Surprise for DW
Tuesday April 17th Part I - Tonga Toast, Main Street, and The Castle. What a way to start the day!
Tuesday April 17th Part II - Flying with Pan, Singing Dolls and Birds, and a Splash Down the Mountain
Tuesday April 17th Part III - Star Light, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight
Wednesday April 18th Part I - A Poly Sunrise
Wednesday April 18th Part II - Surfing with Lilo and Hanging Loose in the Cabana
Wednesday April 18th Part III - Fun on the Beach and Skipping Across the Pond for a Parade
Thursday April 19th Part I - A Breakfast and Safari in Africa
Thursday April 19th Part II - Partying with Simba and Co., Dino Adventures, and a Beautiful (Concrete) Tree.
Thursday April 19th Part III - Here Come the Birds! And the rain.
Thursday April 19th Part IV - Going Commando for Everest and Boma
Friday April 20th Part I - The Rapunzel Run
Friday April 20th Part II - An Abbreviated MK Day and Dining with the Tremaines
Saturday April 21st Part I - Staying One Step Ahead of the Storm on Our Last Day
Saturday April 21st Part II - Saying Goodbye
If you're interested, the links to my PTR and Live Report are on my sig which can serve as a preview of this TR.
As for my first post, I'm going to give a brief summary report and impressions of the trip and post a few of my favorite pics.
The Polynesian: It was everything I had hoped it to be. Beautiful landscaping. Very friendly staff. Great pool and beach. Wishes from the beach gives a completely different look and feel compared to the views inside MK. Awesome restuarant and shopping options. And being on the monorail. Yes, the room was a little outdated and worn, but in my opinion, you are paying extra for all of the other amenities and services, AND the atmosphere is one of the most unique and other-worldly of all the Disney Resorts.
We found our next resort!:This will be a tough one. We would LOVE to go back to Poly again for our next trip in two years. But we also enjoyed our brief tour of AKL after our dinner at Boma. Both DW and I agreed that we'll have to stay at AKL.
Best Food/Restuarant: Overall, it was Boma by a mile. Actually, we didn't have a bad meal at any of the Disney restaurants we ate at. I ate so much, I'm afraid to step on the scale. Pretty sure gained at least 10 pounds.
Best Character Meal: Best character interactions were at Ohana. The characters took their time with us and we never felt rushed. In fact, three of the four came back again as they were passing by to play with the kids again. Best food for a character meal was at Tusker House.
Best Live Show: FOTLK is still the best one for us. We tried Flights of Wonder for the first time and enjoyed it as well.
Favorite Rides: For DD5 and DS2, it was TSM. For DW and I, it was ToT which we tried for the first time this year.
Best "Celebrity" Moment: When CM Hiram (sp?) from Poly helped me with our bags. He was the CM from one of my favorite youtube videos by Bosox01 who helped out with the pronunciation with Aotearoa Longhouse.
Favorite Moment: Watching Wishes from the Dessert Party with DD on my lap.
Least Favorite Moment: Not being able to go PoTC as each time we went by, the ride was temporarily closed.
Perfect Snack Moment: The enjoying a shaved ice snack while sitting at Japan Pavillion's garden around 3:00pm with temps reaching the upper 80s.
Best Looking Garden at Epcot: Canada.
Longest Line for a Ride: The Seas Pavillion with Nemo which was still only 15 minutes. I don't know what was going on that day but it was also the same day TT started its refurbishment. Anyway, I consider this a success. The Disney Mobile Magic app was a godsend as I could time my fastpass runs with better accuracy by monitoring the return time windows.
Best Souvenir: Mickey Mouse Hands/Gloves.
Overall, everything was GREAT! CMs were once again nice and friendly all around. The weather was warm and hot except the last two days. But the rain actually made our touring a lot easier as it kept the crowds away. Here are a few of my favorite pictures I got to keep you enticed while I work my way to posting our Day 1 happenings. Once thing I learned, I wish I had a bought a better camera instead of our point-and-shoot.
Dumbo's Flight at Night:
Rope Drop at MK:
View from our Illuminations Cruise:
O Canada!
Tree of Life Up Close
While waiting for the Resort Launch Boats at Poly
DD at Poly Beach
Sunrise on Poly Beach
Wishes Dessert Party
I'm going to take my time with this one - I learned my lesson from building my PTR when I breezed through the 8 day touring plan in less than 10 days.
Table of Contents
Saturday, April 14th Part I - Get me to SeaWorld!
Saturday April 14th Part II - Shamu Gives us a Proper Welcome!
Sunday, April 15th Part I - Aloha!
Sunday, April 15th Part II - Loving the Mania
Sunday, April 15th Part III - An Italian Lunch, Ariel Strikes Out, and Exploring Another Dimension
Sunday, April 15th Part IV - Enjoying the Nightlife at MK
Monday, April 16th Part I - A Morning with the Princesses, the Fab Five, and Puddy
Monday, April 16th Part II - Learning How to Say Duuuude, Sound Financial Advice from a Piggy, and Eating like a Canadian
Monday, April 16th Part III -Touring the World and a Meltdown to Remember
Monday, April 16th Part IV - A Birthday Surprise for DW
Tuesday April 17th Part I - Tonga Toast, Main Street, and The Castle. What a way to start the day!
Tuesday April 17th Part II - Flying with Pan, Singing Dolls and Birds, and a Splash Down the Mountain
Tuesday April 17th Part III - Star Light, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight
Wednesday April 18th Part I - A Poly Sunrise
Wednesday April 18th Part II - Surfing with Lilo and Hanging Loose in the Cabana
Wednesday April 18th Part III - Fun on the Beach and Skipping Across the Pond for a Parade
Thursday April 19th Part I - A Breakfast and Safari in Africa
Thursday April 19th Part II - Partying with Simba and Co., Dino Adventures, and a Beautiful (Concrete) Tree.
Thursday April 19th Part III - Here Come the Birds! And the rain.
Thursday April 19th Part IV - Going Commando for Everest and Boma
Friday April 20th Part I - The Rapunzel Run
Friday April 20th Part II - An Abbreviated MK Day and Dining with the Tremaines
Saturday April 21st Part I - Staying One Step Ahead of the Storm on Our Last Day
Saturday April 21st Part II - Saying Goodbye
If you're interested, the links to my PTR and Live Report are on my sig which can serve as a preview of this TR.
As for my first post, I'm going to give a brief summary report and impressions of the trip and post a few of my favorite pics.
The Polynesian: It was everything I had hoped it to be. Beautiful landscaping. Very friendly staff. Great pool and beach. Wishes from the beach gives a completely different look and feel compared to the views inside MK. Awesome restuarant and shopping options. And being on the monorail. Yes, the room was a little outdated and worn, but in my opinion, you are paying extra for all of the other amenities and services, AND the atmosphere is one of the most unique and other-worldly of all the Disney Resorts.
We found our next resort!:This will be a tough one. We would LOVE to go back to Poly again for our next trip in two years. But we also enjoyed our brief tour of AKL after our dinner at Boma. Both DW and I agreed that we'll have to stay at AKL.
Best Food/Restuarant: Overall, it was Boma by a mile. Actually, we didn't have a bad meal at any of the Disney restaurants we ate at. I ate so much, I'm afraid to step on the scale. Pretty sure gained at least 10 pounds.
Best Character Meal: Best character interactions were at Ohana. The characters took their time with us and we never felt rushed. In fact, three of the four came back again as they were passing by to play with the kids again. Best food for a character meal was at Tusker House.
Best Live Show: FOTLK is still the best one for us. We tried Flights of Wonder for the first time and enjoyed it as well.
Favorite Rides: For DD5 and DS2, it was TSM. For DW and I, it was ToT which we tried for the first time this year.
Best "Celebrity" Moment: When CM Hiram (sp?) from Poly helped me with our bags. He was the CM from one of my favorite youtube videos by Bosox01 who helped out with the pronunciation with Aotearoa Longhouse.
Favorite Moment: Watching Wishes from the Dessert Party with DD on my lap.
Least Favorite Moment: Not being able to go PoTC as each time we went by, the ride was temporarily closed.
Perfect Snack Moment: The enjoying a shaved ice snack while sitting at Japan Pavillion's garden around 3:00pm with temps reaching the upper 80s.
Best Looking Garden at Epcot: Canada.
Longest Line for a Ride: The Seas Pavillion with Nemo which was still only 15 minutes. I don't know what was going on that day but it was also the same day TT started its refurbishment. Anyway, I consider this a success. The Disney Mobile Magic app was a godsend as I could time my fastpass runs with better accuracy by monitoring the return time windows.
Best Souvenir: Mickey Mouse Hands/Gloves.
Overall, everything was GREAT! CMs were once again nice and friendly all around. The weather was warm and hot except the last two days. But the rain actually made our touring a lot easier as it kept the crowds away. Here are a few of my favorite pictures I got to keep you enticed while I work my way to posting our Day 1 happenings. Once thing I learned, I wish I had a bought a better camera instead of our point-and-shoot.
Dumbo's Flight at Night:
Rope Drop at MK:
View from our Illuminations Cruise:
O Canada!
Tree of Life Up Close
While waiting for the Resort Launch Boats at Poly
DD at Poly Beach
Sunrise on Poly Beach
Wishes Dessert Party