Random thought as we get ready to go home...

[DisneyFive]

Book your 3 FP+ like this

1- 9:00-10:00
2- 10:00-11:00
3- 11:00-12:00

We do similar, but shift all those an hour back.
1- 10-11am
2- 11-12pm
3- 12:30-1:30pm.
That way you have close to two hours of standby with low wait time before you need to be at your first FP near 11am. Then do your second FP right away after your first. Then find a place for lunch and hit your third FP right after lunch and head out for afternoon break.

It just provides a little more time after rope drop for whatever you want.

The lizards are impossible to catch.

That's all for now ........

That made me lol.

Dan

 

[gatorlisa]

Magical express: don't use the luggage tags. Pick up your own bags and bring them to the bus yourself. That way you have all your crap as soon as you get to the resort.

Dole Whip is still awesome.

Totally agree with both of these.

Only used magical express once (I'm a manageable drive away so usually drive). We were going to be arriving late and there was no way I was going to wait an hour or more for my suitcase to arrive at the room so that I could brush my teeth and go to bed. So we left the luggage tags off and got our own stuff off the carousel before heading to the ME line. Took no extra time really, we knew our bags had been collected and were headed to the right place, and we had all of our stuff immediately with us in the room. I suppose if traveling with a larger group with small kids involved, I could see the appeal of not handling bags ourselves, but in our case, it's just easier to handle them ourselves.

And yes, Dole Whip is wonderful!

 

[old feller]

Staying at the Poly was great. We had a room 1st floor in Fiji overlooking the marina. Probably one of the best standard views rooms you can get.

The food at Captian Cooks was getting tiresome.

Tonga Toast should be eaten with strawberry compote.

Ohana dinner is the bomb!

Ohana bread pudding is an awesome way to finish an awesome dinner.

FP+ was handy

Everyone plans their day at Disney. I have seen many threads asking if planning so much is necessary. 100% it is. If you want to hit the highlight rides and not wait. Everyone is planning, by planning you are just keeping up with the majority- it keeps you up with everyone. Failing to plan pit lane you at a big disadvantage. IMO plan in advance and take the stress away at the park and save hours and hours of waiting.

The monorail is super handy

The bus home at the end of Fantadmic was a gong show.

Yes it's hot in August

Yes it rains in August

Yes I'll go back in August

The parks felt busy walking around, but the wait times I noticed (especially later in the day) priced the crowds were moderate-low

I won't do another pre-park ADR. If you want to be out of breakfast before rope drop you have to rush your meal you likely paid $100+ for bacon and eggs. Not worth it to me.

Memory maker is worth the price.

I don't understand the long wait for Peter Pan. I found Little Mermaid more entertaining and we walked on twice in a row.

Taking afternoon breaks to swim were life savers. Thanks MK monorail.

Drinks lots of water.

...... More random thoughts to come.

BOG ppo breakfast is not rushed....to me

 

[eyehartdisney]

Please expand on this - I'm fascinated! What is a fire spinning festival?

Fire spinning!

It's cool looking and, quite a good workout. The type I do is called "poi" and you can start it with just a long pair of socks and two tennis balls. There're a ton of instructions online to learn how to do it. You can also get what's known as "glow poi" or really any other type of spinning in LEDs as well, if you want to go that route, head to homeofpoi.com

And a fire spinning festival is a bunch of poi spinners, fan spinners (Warning, she's in a bodice, but nothing is untoward), staffers, jugglers (It's really rare to see these on fire), and it's a bunch of performances and workshops to help everyone improve their craft

 

[kappyfamily]

I was over at the Poly for lunch a few times. I found standing in line for 30 minutes to place an order VERY tiring. I felt like the resort was overcrowded and small. Staying over at The Grand Floridian, things have a little breathing space. I'm curious to know your thoughts? I stayed at the Poly years ago....and like the changes. But the crowds were a little high -- especially if I'm going "home" to relax after battling crowds in the parks.

Hmmm, to be honest, I've never experienced those kinds of crowds but I've never gone in the summer either. Sorry to hear that. We normally go in October/November or February/early March. I don't think I've ever had to wait more then a few minutes there. Shoot that sucks.

 

[crazymomof4]

I didn't see 1 mosquito while on vacation.

=QUOTE]

Loving your thoughts!
I've been telling my mother (who watches news about Zika) "I am a mosquito magnet and in 10 wdw visits I don't recall ever seeing 1 mosquito, much less being biten" Free or not, I'm not going to use the nasty, smelly, sticky bug spray unless I see one!

 

[Easto]

The resort re-fill mug is expensive, but worth it. I had 16 coffees and 37 cups of fountain drinks (rough estimates) got my money's worth

You get wet on splash mountain. More wet if you sit on the right. But not soaked, just wet.

Birkinstocks at Disney ... Do-able

Bring flip flops for the rain. Wet Birkenstocks or runners suck. Toss on flip flops for the rain.

If you are thinking about a stroller, bring a stroller. If you're not sure .... Your kids NEED a stroller.

If you sit through a DVC presentation you get 3 FP+ and a $50 gift card.

DVC FP+ will be 3 each for your family.

DVC FP+ can't be used on the high priority rides which is odd.

I flew Spirit and i would do it again.

No alarm clock at the Poly. With our tablet and 2 cell phones we never slept in.

I was a stroller parent, lots of people without strollers walk like zombies. Thanks cell phones, text messaging, and Pokemon Go. I had a near crash every 2-5 minutes. Take your face out of your phone and enjoy the view.

Let's pretend Disney is a road. Walk on the right side of the road.

Some photo pass photographers do a great job composing pictures. Some do a crappy job. Most are really good.

When taking pictures make sure your lens is clean. We have a few photo pass pictures with black specs in the same spot on every picture.

There should be a photo pass photo spot for people with Memory Maker to get a picture without strangers in the immediate background.

Security searches your stuff for your safety. Enjoy the safety.

Secondary security search takes almost a second. No big deal.

Ask talking Mickey to do the hot dog dance

If talking Mickey does the hot dog dance you better join in.

Learn the hot dog dance.

Don't spit on the ground you filthy animal.

when your kids are chasing the animals in the park; squirrels, ducks, etc don't encourage them. They are being ____________ ( fill in the blank) and you should tell them to stop.

Big props to parents from the UK. I saw some super parenting from some UK dads especially. Not putting up with their kids freak outs.

Most kids have at least 1 freak out per trip, the UK dads were the best at reeling their kids in.

Bring a backup battery charger for your cell phone. Dead phone doesn't do a good job running My Disney Experience app.

Wi-Fi worked well for MDE app.

Wi-Fi kicked me off a lot, but it was easy to reconnect when I needed to use the app.

People that stop in the middle of the road or walkway..... What the heck??? Move to the side pal.

If you can't afford DVC, you can finance it. With perfect credit and 20% down the interest rate is 10%. With the same credit and 10% down you get the lovely interest rate of 17%.

We went to a DVC meeting. They were 30 minutes late and the meting took 90 minutes.

During and after the meeting I felt like they had some in another room watching us. I would be surprised if they had someone monitoring the sales pitch trying to pick up on cues. Also watching and listening to your conversation when the sales rep leaves the room.

We are planning to go back same time, same place - had a great trip

 

[Staarr11]

This is so helpful. Thanks!

 

[Parker Clan]

We just got back from our 6th August trip, and of course the week we were there they were going through a drought. Not anymore obviously lol for our last six days there it didn't rain once! With heat index 106. We are totally used to it though, I will be investing in those cooling towels for the neck next year in case of another drought. Other than that, guzzling waters, keeping your body nourished, hats, sunscreens and mid day breaks!!!! Life saver

 

[kandb]

More thoughts:

Do laundry. In August you'll sweat and your clothes will be too gross to wear again. $3 for a wash $3 for a dry and you won't stink. Seriously, don't repeat clothes before washing.

Magical express: don't use the luggage tags. Pick up your own bags and bring them to the bus yourself. That way you have all your crap as soon as you get to the resort.

Dole Whip is still awesome.

Mickey waffles taste like non Mickey Waffles.

Captain Cook's food was getting tiresome.

The sushi at Kona Island is supposed to be amazing. My wife says so.

Kona Island has great coffee

Kona Island servers all the same food as Kona Cafe. Hint hint if you don't have a reservation.

The lizards are impossible to catch.

I didn't see 1 mosquito while on vacation.

I saw a gator, at the airport, before taking off.

I saw what appeared to be a gator trap while on the monorail between GF and MK.

It's hot in August

Polynesian Lobby smells awesome.

World of Disney store at Disney Springs is so awesome.

Earl of Dandwich in Disney Spring is like Sunbay, just 1 galizzion times better. Food is awesome.

Wolfgang Puck Express in Disney Spring was really good too.

I hate how many people reserve chairs by the pool, but never once put their *** in the chair. Who claim a chair you're not going to use?

That's all for now ........

Just an FYI, last year we had to wait for our bags for almost 2 hours. A thunderstorm had moved in and they would not let the baggage handlers go to the plane to get the luggage out and airport employee told us that a luggage carrier had gotten struck by lightning a few weeks before that. I think it's best to just bring a carryon bag with the stuff you want at the resort right away. One of the best thing about DME is you don't have to retrieve luggage which is a PIA.

 

[Easto]

I am running out of thoughts, any questions?

 

[Liv4Dis]

No questions, but thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread. Excellent sense of humour and glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[grannyminnie]

Love your style of reporting, Easto, and your sense of humor too!

 

[DVCcurious]

If I was at a DVC presentation when they left us alone to peep on us I'd start saying kinky sex stuff to give the voyeurs some fun. Like "honey, I think we should try XYZ tonight". stuff like that.

 

[Matty_Disfan]

Yeah, this was awesome.

 

[Joed88]

Just got back as well. First stay at the Poly. I'm a Beach Club guy but it will be hard not going back here. Loved it.

 

[Easto]

If you want to meet Gaston and some other rare characters, be ready to wait a long time.

People line up for some character meets before the character comes out

The character lines have a quota (X number of people) and they will close off the line not allowing anyone else to visit that session.

Gaston will be back at 4:00, I suggest you come back at 3:30 and line up for the 4:00 visit <--- got this a couple times. By 4:05 the Gaston line is maxed out and they close it off.

Even if you have Memory Maker, bring your own camera. Some of the Photographers will take a couple pics then let their camera hang and not pay attention. Have your own camera ready to snap a pic because you never know what will happen.

I never went on the old Soarin' but the new Soarin was really cool. Pay attention to the smells in the air.

Test Track was really fun and my girls favorited Epcot ride.

FEA was pretty similar to Little Mermaid. It was good, like I thought it would be, not mind blowing that I'd need to go a second time.

Elsa and Anna meet was 20 mins. All day never saw it longer than 20 mins. They have 3 sets of characters so the line moves fast.

I got a mosquito bite on my arm last night at home and it's really itchy today.

Tamboo Lounge at Poly offers some of the same food as 'Ohana. If you can't get to 'Ohana try Tamboo Lounge.

Honey Corriander chicken wings - awesome.

Bread pudding - Fantastic

Pulled Pork Nachos - Da Bomb

For $8-&9 you can order any of the above at Tamboo Lounge.

You get 6 chicken wings per order. They are not battered, they are large, they are scrumptous.

The nacho portion was twice the size I expected for a $9 order of Nachos from Disney.

Did I mention the bread pudding is amazing?

The life guards at the Poly pool were insanely friendly. Usually life guards give the drill sergeant vibe. The life guards were really cool. Specifically a dude from Antigua and Haden from Texas.

The Poly water slide was fun, the waterfall provides a great back massage until your kids jump on you.

Poly has a patch of fake grass that is really comfortable to lay on while they play their nightly movie.

They played Zootopia one night and Lilo and Stich another. Didn't notice the other nights we were off doing other stuff.

Dole Whip can be purchased from the Pineapple Lenai (sp?) which is exactly 27.34 paces from where they show the movies.

The selfie stick ban at the parks might be Disneys best rule ever.

The washrooms at the parks seemed cleaner than I expected.

I may repeat some things, I'm just typing whatever pops in my head.

If you are on the fence or have any inkling about taking a stroller: TAKE IT

During the day at MK they had a huge crane working on the castle, painting I believe. Every day we were there.

Although DHS is under construction we managed to spend a whole day there.

Festival of the Lion King is the best show at Disney.

There is a walking path between Grand Floridian and Polynesian along the water that offers a bunch of really nice places to take some pictures.

I never understood why people take videos while on the ride.

I never understood why people record the entire fireworks show.

Their is a site called YouTube that offers many videos of every ride and fireworks show Disney offers. Their video is probably 17x better than yours. Put down your phone or tablet and enjoy the ride/show.

The lady that say behind me on FEA recording the ride with her phone light glaring in my face 94% of the time. I don't like you.

My daughter pulled out one of her loose teeth. The front desk actually has tooth fairy boxes - how cool is that.

The tooth fairy does not visit Disney, Tinkerbell takes her place.

......

 

[jrt1176]

Staying at the Poly was great. We had a room 1st floor in Fiji overlooking the marina. Probably one of the best standard views rooms you can get. - We stayed at the Poly last trip and enjoyed it as well. My niece was into Hawaii, so I thought it was a good fit.

The food at Captian Cooks was getting tiresome. - We stopped in once or twice for a quick snack and I thought it was pretty good overall. It's quick, cheap and they have something for everyone. It's not a nice sit down meal, but it's good for what it is.

Ohana dinner is the bomb! - I liked Ohana and the food was very good. I would go back if I stay at the Poly, but I think it gets the following because of the "more bang for you buck" all you can eat high end items. Then again, there are a lot of buffets at Disney now and they all have a following. It was my first time there and it was a great experience.

Ohana bread pudding is an awesome way to finish an awesome dinner. - Yes, it was!

FP+ was handy - VERY!

Everyone plans their day at Disney. I have seen many threads asking if planning so much is necessary. 100% it is. If you want to hit the highlight rides and not wait. Everyone is planning, by planning you are just keeping up with the majority- it keeps you up with everyone. Failing to plan pit lane you at a big disadvantage. IMO plan in advance and take the stress away at the park and save hours and hours of waiting. - I don't plan every detail, but some planning is a must to do everything you want.

The monorail is super handy - It is...but, switching to go to Epcot can take some time. It's too bad they don't have direct lines.

The parks felt busy walking around, but the wait times I noticed (especially later in the day) priced the crowds were moderate-low - I'm not into RD. I think you can get more done in in the evenings while sleeping in than getting up very early to rush around. It's still a vacation!

Memory maker is worth the price. - I agree.

I don't understand the long wait for Peter Pan. I found Little Mermaid more entertaining and we walked on twice in a row. - The loading/unloading is slow and it's not a long ride, so that makes the lines really long.