Pirates at the Poly – A September 2011 PTR

[Al and Kate's Mom]

So DH (Henry) and I are planning to go on our 3rd couples trip to the World in September - we'll be celebrating his birthday and going to MNSSHP. We LOVE POTC (hence the name of this report), and I'm trying to convince him to dress up for the party - we'll see if that happens or not.

Here we are on our 10th Anniversary Trip to the world (hands off, Cindy) -

Background

My Disney History is narrated in these two threads – I wrote them pretty much for myself, and I go back to them often to remember great times at the World – take a peek if you’d like!

The Making of a Disney Addict

Is it May Yet???


Mini-TR: May 2010 – Family Trip
So, this particular trip wasn’t awesome. Don’t get me wrong – it was Disney, so we had a good time, but it just didn’t have that “magic” feel that we’ve had every time before. POFQ was wonderful again – the girls loved the pool and taking the boat to DTD. Star Wars Weekend was fun, but very crowded. The GAD fastpasses were pretty cool.

So what was wrong? I think the big thing was that for the first time ever, Magic Kingdom wasn’t our first stop. I’m not superstitious (I think) – but for us, crossing under the train tunnel and popping out on Main Street makes it feel like we’re finally at WDW – going there later just threw us off. Another thing was that we always get PhotoPass pictures in front of the Castle, Spaceship Earth, Sorcerer’s Hat and Tree – we did that again, but when we got home, guess what was NOT on the PhotoPass.

I’ve tried to write this TR several times over the past year since we got back, and I just haven’t been able to…so how about just some pictures with a few comments thrown in for fun?

May 2010 pt.1 May 2010 pt.2 May 2010 pt.3 May 2010 pt.4 May 2010 pt.5

Why I Love the World in September

Today's Update Brought to You by the Letters O, M, and G

Can't Wait for the Cabana

Plan for the Trip

 

[The_Alice]

I'm in! Cant wait to read more!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Arrival Day
We arrived at POFQ mid-afternoon on Saturday – we were all tired from the driving, so decided to check in, get settled, then hit the pool. THE POFQ pool is pretty nice – it’s large, and the girls loved the dragon slide! After a couple of hours, we got cleaned up and hopped on the boat to DTD for some shopping. Headed to Chef Mickey’s for dinner – food was NOT good, but the girls had fun. Back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Day 2
DHS in the morning for Star Wars Weekend and lunch at Sci-Fi, then over to MK for Crystal Palace and Extra Magic Hours.

SWW was pretty cool – the storm troopers on top of the ticket building was neat, and we enjoyed seeing the characters roaming the parks. We had GAD fastpasses, so we hit all of our favorites – TSMM, RNR, TOT, The Great Movie Ride, Little Mermaid and the Backlot Tour. We always enjoy eating at Sci-Fi – not necessarily for the food, that’s okay but nothing great – we love the atmosphere. When it feels like 150 degrees outside, you can’t beat this cool, dark place to kick back and chill for a while.

Headed to MK in time to make our dinner ADRs at Crystal Palace – we waited a LONG time, but eventually got seated and got some food. I think the food at CP used to be lot better than it was on this trip, but again, I love the atmosphere. Since we had been seated so late, we were bumping up against Wishes, so we decided to leave before Tigger got to the table. The girls didn’t seem to mind too much. We watched Wishes from the front steps of CP – not the ideal viewing spot because the lights are still bright there, but it was Wishes, so we were happy. I LOVE EMH – I can’t imagine not taking advantage of them – although this trip, the crowds were still very large. We did manage to get through most of our favorites – SM, BTMRR, HM, POTC, Buzz, TTA. Overall, a good day!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Day 3
EPCOT, late dinner at Le Cellier.

We got some rain this day, but it wasn’t a big deal – we just copped a squat at the Electric Umbrella while it rained, then headed back into the fray once the heaviest of the showers passed. Spent some time in Innoventions, visited Figment, introduced the girls to Soarin and did TT twice. Le Cellier is one of our favorite restaurants, and it didn’t disappoint! I always get the Mushroom Filet – it’s one of my favorite dishes anywhere in the World. The girls like the idea of eating in a cellar, and Ally’s a steak-lover, so this was again a winner with our crew. Headed back to the hotel after Illuminations for some R&R.

Day 4

Animal Kingdom for most of the day, then over to DHS for EMH.

I enjoy touring AK, but have learned to take it slow. We rode Dinosaur, then headed to Hester’s and Chester’s – Kate wasn’t tall enough for Primeval Whirl, so we got on the dinosaur Dumbo, as Kate calls it. While up there, saw pretty nasty looking clouds, so knew we were in for it. We made it over to Nemo just in time! I have to say – I didn’t love this show. I miss Tarzan! On to EE, but it wasn’t running, so we grabbed fastpasses for later and headed to the Safari. Enjoyed it as usual – the babies were so cute! Headed over to Rafiki’s – spent some time just wandering around, then back to EE where we got 4 rides in a row in before closing – it was AWESOME!!!!

Headed over to DHS – pretty crowded! The girls pretty much just wanted to do TOT, but it was broken down. We headed over to Muppets, checked with a CM about TOT – still down, so we grabbed dinner at Toy Story Pizza Planet. Not a memorable meal at all. Played some games in the arcade and then wandered around. The little dance part they put on at the Sorcerer’s Hat on EMH nights is fun – the girls danced around and seemed to recover from the disappointment of not getting to ride one of their favorites again. Headed back to the hotel and settled in for the night.

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Day 5

Magic Kingdom, lunch at CRT. Spent the whole day here covering pretty much the whole park at a leisurely pace. Lunch was just “eh” – but I love the chocolate cream-cheese buckle here – it’s my favorite dessert. Had to have dinner at Casey’s, then Wishes again.

Day 6

Our original plan had been to go to DTD in the morning, have Dinner at Garden Grill then catch a few things at EPCOT. We ended up just hanging out at the resort and relaxing for the day – it was nice!

Day 7

Magic Kingdom - take a break in the afternoon for lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe' then back to Magic Kingdom. We are now loyal WCC fans – this place was awesome – the atmosphere, the service, the food – it is on our must-do list now! Hit all of our favorites again. It started raining right before Wishes, so we got up under the overhang at the Plaza and watched the show, then left, feeling pretty much satisfied!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Departure Day

We originally had planned to have Breakfast at Chef Mickey's, then over to Magic Kingdom for a few hours to close out the Disney portion of our vacation. We got so much done with our GAD fastpasses though, that we decided to just pack up and head to the beach, bringing our Disney vacation to an end. As I said at the beginning, this trip just felt off, and by this point, I was ready to throw in the towel and quit trying to make magic that just wasn’t happening. We were tired and felt like we’d done everything we wanted to do – with a 10 hour drive ahead of us, it just made sense to blow a kiss to Mickey and hit the road.



Had another trip after this one – went with my DS, Allison for a sisters-only trip for a week at the beginning of September – it was fun but H.O.T. We didn’t take pictures, but we stayed at Coronado Springs – ok place, liked the Queen beds. Didn’t use the pool, but the food court was great. Crowds weren’t horrible until Labor Day, but we’d already gotten everything done that we wanted to, so no big deal.

If you’ve never done an adults-only trip, I HIGHLY recommend it – it is so totally a different experience, and to me, makes the family trips more special because I can truly make those trips about the girls – I’ve gotten to do what I want to do, so if they decide that they want to stay at the pool all day or just chill in the room, it’s fine!

Next up is a couples trip in September – we’ll be celebrating DH’s birthday and going to his first (my 3rd) MNSSHP – VERY excited about this one – just hoping we don’t end up having a hurricane party in the World!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Just set up my trip Twitter account - very excited Join me there if you'd like - @PolyPirates!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Two words - crowd levels.

There are lots of other words to describe WDW in September - "hotter-n-Hades" tops the list. There's also the potential to be Soarin' over Florida instead of California if a hurricane comes along, but I don't worry about that too much, unless there's a prediction for something REALLY nasty, and then we'd just postpone the trip.

But September crowd levels - oh how I love thee. TP has the Resort Crowd Level for the week we're going at a 1 for all days except one, and that day is a 3. Translated into English - I may run into more Happy Haunts at the MK than other park guests

Now, I've often wondered what it would be like to have the WHOLE park to myself for a few hours, and I've come to the conclusion that I wouldn't really like it - part of the WDW experience for me is seeing all the other guests - I just don't need to see them standing in front of me in line So September is PERFECT for crowd levels!

 

[The_Alice]

So glad you are a fellow Casey's lover! We adore grabbin some dogs over there and hangin' out on Main Street people watching.

I totally agree about September. It's been awhile since I was there in Sept, and maybe I was very blessed but I remember it being a bit cool. But, all of the recent reports talk about the heat, eesh. I'll stick with October, lol.

Looks like you all had a blast! Checking out your Twitter! Mine is @TheAliceWDW.

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

So glad you are a fellow Casey's lover! We adore grabbin some dogs over there and hangin' out on Main Street people watching.

I totally agree about September. It's been awhile since I was there in Sept, and maybe I was very blessed but I remember it being a bit cool. But, all of the recent reports talk about the heat, eesh. I'll stick with October, lol.

Looks like you all had a blast! Checking out your Twitter! Mine is @TheAliceWDW.

Followed Thanks for reading along!!!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Oh. My. Grapes.

Disney adds Fantasmic showings nightly through September, and the TP Crowd Calendar goes nuts. REALLY? One show has THAT much impact on park levels? Do people sit around and say, "Oh - WOW - we can see Fantasmic every night if we go in September - let's book!"?

Ok - so the peak crowd level during our stay is still predicted to be a 3 - I'll take it! Just confusing - I mean, I like Fantasmic, but I can't imagine basing a decision on going/not going to WDW on whether or not it's showing nightly. Oh well - to each their own - that's what makes WDW so awesome - we can all love different aspects of it!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Just booked a Cabana so DH and I can laze around by the Poly pool on his birthday - I can't wait!!!

We have most of our plans made now - flights booked, ADRs booked (still hoping to pull out a few more as we get closer to time), sitters (AKA grandparents) confirmed for the kiddos...only 2 months away -

 

[micandminforever]

Sounds like a great way to spend a birthday.

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

I'm definitely a planner (I'm here aren't I? ) I plan, re-plan, change those plans, go back to the original plan, scrap the whole thing and start over...and eventually land on a final plan (maybe). So here it is for this trip:

Thursday - fly out of Nashville at 6:30, arrive MCO 9:30; meet up with our Tiffany Town Car driver; stop at Publix for some snacks and drinks to keep in the room; check in at Poly by 11:00. IF we're lucky enough to have a room ready, unpack; if not - head straight to MK for a few hours, then hop to Epcot for dinner at Les Chefs de France and watch Illuminations.

Friday - hit AK as close to rope drop as possible to grab EE fastpasses and hopefully get in at least one ride before breakfast at Tusker House; spend most of the day hitting the different areas of AK before hopping over to Epcot for EMH - dinner at Via Napoli.

Saturday - DH's birthday! This is our lazy day for the trip - I have breakfast ADRs at Kona's, which we may or may not make depending on when DH wakes up (no WAY am I waking him up early on his birthday!). Then, hit the Cabana for the day Dinner at Kona, Wishes on the beach, head to the Boardwalk for some after-hours fun.

Sunday - Magic Kingdom day - we'll get there whenever we get moving; lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe , then back to MK for EMH. We have dinner reservations at Crystal Palace, after Wishes, then will ride as many rides as we can before heading back to Poly.

Monday - Epcot in the morning, lunch at Coral Reef. If we get everything done we want to, will head back to the hotel to rest for a bit, if it takes longer, we'll go straight from there to DHS for EMH, with dinner at Mama Melrose.

Tuesday - DHS for the Toy Story Mania dash (if we can move), lunch at Sci Fi, back to the hotel for some R&R before MNSSHP

Wednesday - Pack it up, head to Whispering Canyon for breakfast, then either to Downtown Disney for some shopping or to a park if we missed anything earlier in the trip that we HAVE to do. Tiffany Town Car will pick us up at 3:00 to catch a 5:00 flight back to reality. Then we get to see our girls Then we get to start planning the next trip