SunshinesOrangeBird
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2013
- Messages
- 23
My Family and I have been on a transition as we relocate from the Boston Area to the Philadelphia Area so out travel experience wasn’t unified. My wife was meeting my DD and I at Orlando International, as she came down via JFK and I from Logan Airport.
Friday, Oct. 28th 2016
My Daughter is 15 Months old and traveling alone with her was NOT fun. She is in that stage of her life where she just wants to walk and run, so sitting on my lap, for her, was unbearable. To make things worse, I was the middle seat, and I want to thank the people next to me for being amazingly non-judgmental. The good part is that the flight was only 3 hours and It went as quickly as it came, and the thought of being in Disney and seeing my wife was all the thought I needed to get through this experience.
We finally arrive at 11 AM, at MCO, where my wife was there to greet us at the Airport. We were excited to see each other and looked forward to an amazing vacation at Disney World. We went to retrieve our luggage and went straight to Disney’s Magical Express. We have only been DVC Members since 2015, and this trip was our second DVC Vacation, and we were excited to stay at the newly added Polynesian Village Villas!
As a Disney Vacation Club Member there is nothing like coming home! The Polynesian Village as you walk in has this amazing feeling of comfort. They say aloha and they give you lays. As you enter the Grand Ceremonial House, you can smell the hibiscus, it was welcoming and pleasant. I can’t say enough good things about this resort. What was truly magical is how that resort changes as you walk through it, when you’re in the pool area it is fun and excited and as you walk back to your room along the beach the mood changes to relaxing and clam. Staying at this resort is a masterpiece in itself.
My wife’s sister and husband just happened to be in Orlando at the time, so they stayed with us the first night. After a short bus drive to the Poly, we were able to check in and go to lunch. We ate at Kona Café. My wife and I, love Kona Café, we rarely go for lunch or dinner, and are usually there for breakfast, but Kona did not disappoint. My wife and I had the Polynesian Plate, I had the chicken and she had the Teriyaki version, it was delicious, I would recommend this dish to anyone!
We changed and got ready for an afternoon in the park. We got on the Monorail (Which is an out of this world benefit) and took it to Epcot to meet my sister and brother-in-law. We had fast passes, for Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Frozen: Ever After. We did the first two and Frozen was in the evening. We walked around world showcase and had many different plates at Food and Wine.
Food and Wine was a lot of fun this year. But I will be critical of it, the walkways at times were unbearable and it was hard to walk around people as they stood in the middle. As people remained in the walk ways, noise levels were an issue. I have always felt that the “tasters” were expensive and you can get a whole appetizer for the same price. With that said it was good to experience it. The following were our favorites. The Green-lip Muscles at New Zealand: (OMG, these were the best, and it was cheap, $4 for three stuffed muscles, it was delicious), The Lamp Chop at Australia: (My wife has three, I don’t eat red meat, but she and my daughter loved it). We had other items, but nothing comes to mind that was particularly exceptional.
My brother-in-law purchased the $20 win package that gave you three wine tasters from three different countries, France, Italy and Germany. This was a pretty cool deal! They gave you a sheet, and then proceeded to stamp the sheet when you got your three samples. I would do this again; it’s also all year round. I go to Disney a lot, and I hadn’t heard about this till now, I would recommend this for people that love wine and want to save.
The Imagineers that produced Frozen: Ever After did a great job using new and innovative technology to shield you from the reality of being on the same track. The animatronics were very awesome, however the actual ride and story was lacking. The best part of the Norway expansion, was the area, expanding the Norway area gave new life to Norway and I enjoyed it. They did a phenomenal job with Anna and Elsa’s Summer Home Area.
The five of us headed back to the Polynesian Resort. MY brother-in-law and I went to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. This is an experience everyone has to do. It is so much fun; the whole bar comes to life and does different things when different drinks are services. It is truly an amazing experience and Disney definitely stepped up in creating this place. A word of warning, the mixed drinks are horrible.
Saturday, Oct 29th 2016
This day was our Magic Kingdom day. We went in the morning got our coffees from Starbucks on Main St. and proceeded to Adventureland. We did a couple of attractions, like Jungle Cruise, before lunch. We had lunch at Skipper Canteen. Skipper Canteen was very good. I had the noodles in duck broth while my wife had the fried chicken. I would say the best part of this meal was the appetizers, we got the falafel plate. The falafel plate was good because they paired it with a nice cucumber yogurt, very tasty! I would come back here for sure. We ate with my DW’s friend and her husband from work that just moved to FL. They love Disney like us, so it was exciting to hang out with them for the morning.
We proceeded to have an enjoyable day at the Magic Kingdom, the lines were not long and we participated in a lot of attractions that we don’t usually do like Philharmagic and Dumbo. After hours of fun we had dinner reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern at 8pm.
At that point we were exhausted and we just wanted to eat and head back to our resort. We have eaten at Liberty Tree Tavern and I have enjoyed it many times, however, this trip not so much. They were way behind schedule and we have to wait over a half an hour to actually be seated. The restaurant was very noisy and our server was nowhere to be seen most of the time. You can tell that the atmosphere was flustered and rushed. However, as usual, I enjoyed the food and I love a good thanksgiving meal. After we left we went straight back to the resort for much needed sleep.
Friday, Oct. 28th 2016
My Daughter is 15 Months old and traveling alone with her was NOT fun. She is in that stage of her life where she just wants to walk and run, so sitting on my lap, for her, was unbearable. To make things worse, I was the middle seat, and I want to thank the people next to me for being amazingly non-judgmental. The good part is that the flight was only 3 hours and It went as quickly as it came, and the thought of being in Disney and seeing my wife was all the thought I needed to get through this experience.
We finally arrive at 11 AM, at MCO, where my wife was there to greet us at the Airport. We were excited to see each other and looked forward to an amazing vacation at Disney World. We went to retrieve our luggage and went straight to Disney’s Magical Express. We have only been DVC Members since 2015, and this trip was our second DVC Vacation, and we were excited to stay at the newly added Polynesian Village Villas!
As a Disney Vacation Club Member there is nothing like coming home! The Polynesian Village as you walk in has this amazing feeling of comfort. They say aloha and they give you lays. As you enter the Grand Ceremonial House, you can smell the hibiscus, it was welcoming and pleasant. I can’t say enough good things about this resort. What was truly magical is how that resort changes as you walk through it, when you’re in the pool area it is fun and excited and as you walk back to your room along the beach the mood changes to relaxing and clam. Staying at this resort is a masterpiece in itself.
My wife’s sister and husband just happened to be in Orlando at the time, so they stayed with us the first night. After a short bus drive to the Poly, we were able to check in and go to lunch. We ate at Kona Café. My wife and I, love Kona Café, we rarely go for lunch or dinner, and are usually there for breakfast, but Kona did not disappoint. My wife and I had the Polynesian Plate, I had the chicken and she had the Teriyaki version, it was delicious, I would recommend this dish to anyone!
We changed and got ready for an afternoon in the park. We got on the Monorail (Which is an out of this world benefit) and took it to Epcot to meet my sister and brother-in-law. We had fast passes, for Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Frozen: Ever After. We did the first two and Frozen was in the evening. We walked around world showcase and had many different plates at Food and Wine.
Food and Wine was a lot of fun this year. But I will be critical of it, the walkways at times were unbearable and it was hard to walk around people as they stood in the middle. As people remained in the walk ways, noise levels were an issue. I have always felt that the “tasters” were expensive and you can get a whole appetizer for the same price. With that said it was good to experience it. The following were our favorites. The Green-lip Muscles at New Zealand: (OMG, these were the best, and it was cheap, $4 for three stuffed muscles, it was delicious), The Lamp Chop at Australia: (My wife has three, I don’t eat red meat, but she and my daughter loved it). We had other items, but nothing comes to mind that was particularly exceptional.
My brother-in-law purchased the $20 win package that gave you three wine tasters from three different countries, France, Italy and Germany. This was a pretty cool deal! They gave you a sheet, and then proceeded to stamp the sheet when you got your three samples. I would do this again; it’s also all year round. I go to Disney a lot, and I hadn’t heard about this till now, I would recommend this for people that love wine and want to save.
The Imagineers that produced Frozen: Ever After did a great job using new and innovative technology to shield you from the reality of being on the same track. The animatronics were very awesome, however the actual ride and story was lacking. The best part of the Norway expansion, was the area, expanding the Norway area gave new life to Norway and I enjoyed it. They did a phenomenal job with Anna and Elsa’s Summer Home Area.
The five of us headed back to the Polynesian Resort. MY brother-in-law and I went to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. This is an experience everyone has to do. It is so much fun; the whole bar comes to life and does different things when different drinks are services. It is truly an amazing experience and Disney definitely stepped up in creating this place. A word of warning, the mixed drinks are horrible.
Saturday, Oct 29th 2016
This day was our Magic Kingdom day. We went in the morning got our coffees from Starbucks on Main St. and proceeded to Adventureland. We did a couple of attractions, like Jungle Cruise, before lunch. We had lunch at Skipper Canteen. Skipper Canteen was very good. I had the noodles in duck broth while my wife had the fried chicken. I would say the best part of this meal was the appetizers, we got the falafel plate. The falafel plate was good because they paired it with a nice cucumber yogurt, very tasty! I would come back here for sure. We ate with my DW’s friend and her husband from work that just moved to FL. They love Disney like us, so it was exciting to hang out with them for the morning.
We proceeded to have an enjoyable day at the Magic Kingdom, the lines were not long and we participated in a lot of attractions that we don’t usually do like Philharmagic and Dumbo. After hours of fun we had dinner reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern at 8pm.
At that point we were exhausted and we just wanted to eat and head back to our resort. We have eaten at Liberty Tree Tavern and I have enjoyed it many times, however, this trip not so much. They were way behind schedule and we have to wait over a half an hour to actually be seated. The restaurant was very noisy and our server was nowhere to be seen most of the time. You can tell that the atmosphere was flustered and rushed. However, as usual, I enjoyed the food and I love a good thanksgiving meal. After we left we went straight back to the resort for much needed sleep.
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