ShellieMay, Slinky Dog, and the SCRUNCHIEST Thanksgiving Ever! - A Nov 18 TR *FINISHED! 4/28*

[Newsies]

I'm so glad after the storm debacle that your drive down went without a hitch! You guys deserved a calm road trip! LOL

I'm glad that the drive down was easy, too-- I think I might have lost my mind sitting on the highway in bumper to bumper traffic again!

 

[Brocoloco]

What a nice family - love the way you turn your 20 drive into a fun adventure.

 

[PAsFab5]

You have a amazing family! Can’t wait to read more!!!

 

[Newsies]

What a nice family - love the way you turn your 20 drive into a fun adventure.

Thank you for being here and thank you for the kind words-- I really appreciate it!

You have a amazing family! Can’t wait to read more!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't wait to update you!

 

[Newsies]

Day 1
Breakfast at Kona Cafe/Magic Kingdom Morning
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Grace and I were the first ones awake… at 2:30 in the morning. Mom has to sleep with the TV on, so we switched from cable to YouTube (the Fairfield Inn & Suites at Kingsland has SmartTVs!) and put on Kitchen Nightmares, which is our favorite show. At 3:10, it was obvious that we were going to get a move on soon, so I got out of bed to do my makeup. 3:10 in the morning. Makeup.

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By 4:30, we had checked out of our hotel. You’re probably wondering: why on earth would you get up so early when you were so close to Disney to begin with?!? And the answer was this: Mom really wanted breakfast at the Kona Cafe before we got a “full day” at Magic Kingdom in. And, I mean… who can blame her? Disney trips are expensive, might as well get as much time out of them as possible!

We stopped at a Dunkin’ drive through for coffee to power us through the last three hours of driving. I was NOT impressed. All those who agree that Dunkin’ is just not the same down south, please raise your hand.

We were in Florida by 4:45. From there, we stopped once to use the bathroom, and then continued on our drive. I’m not going to lie: it was SO weird driving into the sunshine state while it was still dark outside. The sunrise was close to six that day (maybe a little after the hour?), so we were driving on a quiet I-95 in Florida for a while. It was SPOOKY. The drive all throughout Florida was shockingly painless. We encountered no traffic until we actually got to Orlando, and even then, traffic is hardly the word I would use for it. There were maybe 10 other cars on the highway, but because the highway construction is so bad in the Orlando area, we had to slow down just a little bit.

We arrived at the gates of Walt Disney World resort at approximately 7:40 in the morning, almost exactly three hours from the time we got back onto the I-95 in Georgia. If you’re a driver coming from the northeast region, and you can swing this plan-- stop at Kingsland, GA early the night before, get up at 4:00/5:00 the next morning, and finish the drive-- I recommend it. At the time, I was thinking to myself, “wow, we are the nuttiest Disney fans alive to be hopping back on the road at 4:00 AM to get to Kona Cafe for breakfast.” But looking back, this plan went without a hitch and brought us to WDW before MK rope drop. If you do this, you can easily get a full day of park touring out of your first day at the parks.

Anyway, it wasn’t too long afterwards that we were home at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. We gave our suitcases to Bell Services but left a lot of the other stuff in the truck. We didn’t know what else we would need, nor did we know when our room would be ready, and it was still very early in the day.

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We did online check-in, but I stopped at the front desk anyway to change our PIN numbers. When I did online check-in, MDE tried to tell me that dad and Grace’s PIN numbers were already set, so I just reset them at the front desk so they were all the same around the board. Grace got a button to commemorate her getting into college, and mom and dad got their commemorative “25 ears” happily ever after buttons.

As you can see, the Poly is fully decked out for Christmas!

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While we were waiting for dad to park the truck over in the DVC lot, Grace and I went to the restroom closest to Cap’n Cooks. Coming back, we were stopped by the DVC guide at the Poly station and we mentioned that we were here on our first home resort vacation as DVC members. She gave us these cute little buttons that said “DVC Members since 2017!”

Once dad was inside, we headed up to the Kona Cafe to see if they had any walk-in availability. Turns out, they did! We put our phone number down and waited about 5 minutes before being seated.

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As you can see, they were offering the pumpkin pancakes as a special this week. I didn't take them up on this special, but in retrospect, I kind of wish I had! I know that they serve red velvet pancakes here around Valentine's Day-- I'd plan a special trip just for that!

Mom and dad were so excited to just be there that as soon as we sat down, dad said, “Take a picture of mom and I!” Who was I to deny his request?

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Our server, Joaquin, came around shortly thereafter. He was really warm and welcoming and put our drinks in. I got two, because I’m fancy like that. I ordered a cup of coffee AND a cup of liliko’i juice, also known as POG juice, also known as the nectar of the Gods. If you’ve never had liliko’i, which is a mixture of pineapple, orange, and guava juices-- you simply must try it whenever you see it on the menu at Walt Disney World resort. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and tart. Some of you may remember from our last trip that we had been magically upgraded to the club level at the Poly, which served all-you-care-to-enjoy POG juice from a giant tank. I was in heaven. Kona Cafe is also known for their coffee. It was very strong, I couldn’t finish my mug.

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Joaquin was very honest in his suggestions (which I appreciated!) I was in between ordering the Tonga Toast and the Macadamia Nut Pancakes, and he told me that both were great, but he would personally order the Macadamia Nut Pancakes because he was watching his sugar. I decided to watch my sugar alongside with him and put in my order for the Macadamia Nut Pancakes. Our food came out quickly and everything was hot and fresh.

The Macadamia Nut Pancakes are served with Macadamia Nuts inside of them, and a pineapple compote on top. Before they got to my table, Joaquin pointed out that the macadamia nuts actually absorbed the flavor of the pancakes.

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Presentation wise, these pancakes were gorgeous. That seems to be a trend across the board when it comes to “gourmet pancakes” at Disney World, they always look pretty. Last summer, I got the seasonal pancakes at the Grand Floridian and they were so stunning that you know what? I’ll drop that photo again right here:

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Taste-wise… the Macadamia Nut Pancakes fell flat. I found out the hard way this morning that I do not like macadamia nuts. They’re big, they’re awkward, they made it hard to cut and eat a small piece of pancake. I especially did not like them alongside the pancakes and the pineapple-- I really didn’t enjoy the way the pineapple compote and the pancakes tasted together. You get a choice of protein with your entree, and I chose ham. As you can tell from the photo, the ham was pretty dry this morning.

I was a little shocked that I didn’t enjoy breakfast this morning, but I chalked it up to personal taste. Everyone else at the table enjoyed their meal. We paid our tab and set our sights on Magic Kingdom!

Halfway through the meal, Grace looked to the side and saw the line to get on the monorail this morning had extended to the Moana Mercantile. She tensely asked me if the crowds were going to be like this all day, to which I stupidly and ill-informed-ly told her: no, it was just because we were near rope drop.

We went down to the boat launch to get to MK, and there was also a line. We had to wait for a second boat to come, but it was okay because the weather was nice, so I snapped a photo of the Grand Floridian while we were waiting.

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After we got off the boat at MK and got past security, we headed to Will Call to activate our Annual Passes. It looked like there was quite a line ahead of us, but in reality, it didn’t take us any more than 10 minutes to get to the front of the line.

We were SO excited!! Here we are at the Passholders-only entrance!

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Dad had to go to the bathroom first, so we stopped and I grabbed a few photos of the bench with Roy and Minnie. I'd like to say we were just over an hour into park open at this point (give or take), and the crowds were already pretty bad.

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First we went through the Emporium to try to get to Adventureland. Grace saw a hat she wanted (it said “I’m so fly, I neverland”), so we bought it using our brand new AP discount.

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Our first stop of the day was Pirates of the Caribbean! We walked right on.

Our second stop of the day was Splash Mountain. It had a 45 minute wait posted. Normally, we don’t wait more than 15, but we knew we had to be prepared to wait this trip, so we just hopped in line. Plus, we were on cloud nine-- we were finally at Disney, it wasn’t burning hot, and we were happy to be back at our happy place.

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I grabbed a ziplock bag as a souvenir.

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After Splash Mountain, we decided to head back to the Poly for lunch and to check on the status of our room. Someone on the DIS reported a few weeks ago that they never got their room ready text, so we figured it wouldn’t hurt to check the front desk and make sure our text wasn’t forgotten, too! It was around noon at this point, so we were ready for lunch. We hopped on the Main Street USA Railroad at the Frontierland station and rode it to Main St, then took the monorail back to the Poly.

(Click here to continue!)​

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm sure it was spooky but also kinda cool to head to Orlando so early in the morning! It's awesome that you could still get a full day out of it! Sounds like a great start

That pic of your parents at Kona is TOO cute! They look so happy

 

[Newsies]

I'm sure it was spooky but also kinda cool to head to Orlando so early in the morning! It's awesome that you could still get a full day out of it! Sounds like a great start

That pic of your parents at Kona is TOO cute! They look so happy

It was definitely a unique drive! I'm glad we got to do it. It was mom's idea to get up and go before 5:00-- it was a long day, but it worked out great for us!

It's my new favorite photo of them, they're so adorable! I love them so much!

 

[absolutmey]

We stopped at a Dunkin’ drive through for coffee to power us through the last three hours of driving. I was NOT impressed. All those who agree that Dunkin’ is just not the same down south, please raise your hand.

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... and I live in the South.

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[the2ndstar2theright]

3:10 in the morning. Makeup.

Gotta look good for Mickey...even at 3:10am.

But looking back, this plan went without a hitch and brought us to WDW before MK rope drop. If you do this, you can easily get a full day of park touring out of your first day at the parks.

This is honestly seriously impressive.

Once dad was inside, we headed up to the Kona Cafe to see if they had any walk-in availability. Turns out, they did! We put our phone number down and waited about 5 minutes before being seated.

That's awesome! I can't believe yall only waited 5 minutes with it being the week of Thanksgiving!

I ordered a cup of coffee AND a cup of liliko’i juice, also known as POG juice, also known as the nectar of the Gods.

THIS! I think I could only drink POG juice for a week and be perfectly happy.

 

[Newsies]

... and I live in the South.

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I'm glad we're all on the same page here!!

Gotta look good for Mickey...even at 3:10am.



This is honestly seriously impressive.



That's awesome! I can't believe yall only waited 5 minutes with it being the week of Thanksgiving!



THIS! I think I could only drink POG juice for a week and be perfectly happy.

Exactly. Nothing gets in between me and my commitment to looking good for the Mouse!!

THANK YOU. I was impressed as well. EXHAUSTED, but impressed. My mom knew what she was doing.

I couldn''t believe it, either! I think it helped that we arrived before 8 and most people were interested in getting to Magic Kingdom.

POG juice = LIFE.

 

[Newsies]

Mickey's 90th Birthday Fun!​

When we got back to the Poly, we went right down to Cap’n Cooks and grabbed some lunch.

Because we were on the Dining Plan, we were entitled to one refillable mug each. For those of you who’ve never been to a Disney resort-- the quick service restaurants sell refillable mugs! There are drink stations at the QS restaurants (and at some pools) where you can fill it up with soft drinks, tea, coffee, etc. whenever you’d like for the duration of your stay. I knew going into the vacation that the holiday mugs were out in resorts, but they weren’t available at Cap’n Cooks when I walked in. I asked a coordinator, and she said that they were temporarily out, so I told her no worries and that I’d just wait to get my mug at a later time.

For lunch, I got one of my favorites-- the pork fried rice!

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It came out hot and fast, but I do want to make a comment on the portion size. It was a little smaller than I remembered it being, but it was just as delicious! The pork fried rice comes with fried rice with egg, peas, carrots, chicken, and as you can see-- a HEAP of pulled pork! I enjoy this dish every time I come to the Poly. The quality doesn’t falter, and even though it’s a bit smaller, I still couldn’t finish all of it!

I had a Mickey Rice Krispie treat as well.

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There was a time where Mickey Rice Krispie Treats were king of the snack scene. But I'm afraid they're becoming more and more "meh" each trip. They always taste somewhat stale to me, I prefer the homemade ones. The freshest ones are usually at the confectionery on Main St, USA, but I didn’t even see those this trip.

After I was done with my lunch, dad started frantically calling to me from inside Cap’n Cooks… the holiday mugs were magically restocked!

Here’s a few photos I took later from the comfort of our room.

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I thought these were so adorable! I loved mine so much, I brought it back to school with me this week. To be honest, I think Disney should make more limited edition mugs like this throughout the year. So many people visit the Resort multiple times a year now, sometimes utilizing the DDP multiple times-- the standard selection if pink, blue, red, and yellow just isn't cutting it anymore!

After lunch, I went to the front desk to see if our room was ready. It wasn’t, but I wasn’t really expecting it to be ready. Since our room wasn’t ready and we had FP+ to attend to, we got on a boat launch back to MK. On our way in this time, we were handed this:

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I was so ecstatic! I didn’t try to buy Mickey’s 90th merch that day because I didn’t feel like dragging my family to a crowded gift shop and waiting in line for forty minutes for the chance to buy what little merch was left in stock. I know the plush went out of stock pretty early in the day. I was just happy to have the button!


We went straight to our first FP+ of the trip. Anyone want to guess which attraction you FP+ for your family on their first holiday visit to WDW?

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That’s right! Here at Walt Disney World, we get a holiday overlay on the Jungle Cruise every holiday season. It becomes the “Jingle Cruise,” and they add in a few Christmas themed jokes and decorations.

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Our skipper had a very sarcastic sense of humor, she wasn’t very memorable. It’s okay, though, I got the Trader Sam shots I wanted.

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I always think that the Jingle Cruise is worth a go if you've never seen the holiday overlay before. I wouldn't wait more than 45 minutes for it, but if you can snag a FP+ that won't take away from something you'd like to do more, it's fun to see the holiday decorations!

It was around this time that Grace started complaining that she had a “dry throat.” She thought she was getting sick, so we got her some Tylenol from the stand across from the Magic Carpets. Since we were in the area with time to kill before our next FP+, we decided to do an attraction that was brand new to us: The Enchanted Tiki Room!

Dad really wanted to see the Enchanted Tiki Room on this trip. His Pandora Disney station kept playing the “in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki room” song, and none of us had ever done it before, so we went for it.

It was… short. Interesting? A one and done for us. I can see why it’s a love-it or hate-it type of show. I might give it another try when I’m not anxious about the crowds and the possibility of Grace getting sick on the first day of vacation.

Then it was time for us to actually move onto our next FP+: Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater! I booked this one because I knew we’d have to wish Mickey a happy birthday if we were going to be in MK for his birthday. There was a “birthday card” for you to sign out front, but honestly, we didn’t stop for it and I don’t think anything ever came of it?

We were through FP+ surprisingly fast.

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“90 looks great on you, boss!”

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After a round of hugs, we were ready to do pictures.

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Then I had an idea for a solo picture.

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I got a rousing “Awww” from everybody in the room. But I also got lipstick on Mickey’s nose, oops. I apologized profusely before zooming out of there.

As we were leaving his M&G, I got the text-- our room was ready! We were in Moorea 3026, on the third floor. That was perfect! We knew we would be getting Moorea (it’s the only longhouse with DVC suites that have a view of the castle), but I was sure to request a third floor room.

I will let you know why in the next update!

(Click here to continue!)​

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I LOVE the holiday mug, and I'm really hoping they still have some when we get there!

Your pictures from the Jingle Cruise turned out great! I almost forgot to snag a FP for it, but we remembered at the last minute and got one for our last day. I'm pretty excited to see the decorations!

Your pictures with Mickey are so cute! And I am obsessed with that button!

Aww, I hope Grace wasn't actually getting sick!! Being sick on vacation is the actual worst.

 

[Newsies]

I LOVE the holiday mug, and I'm really hoping they still have some when we get there!

Your pictures from the Jingle Cruise turned out great! I almost forgot to snag a FP for it, but we remembered at the last minute and got one for our last day. I'm pretty excited to see the decorations!

Your pictures with Mickey are so cute! And I am obsessed with that button!

Aww, I hope Grace wasn't actually getting sick!! Being sick on vacation is the actual worst.

I think you'll probably be able to snag one!!! Like I said, they kept restocking them throughout the trip, so I think they'll be able to keep them from flying completely off the shelves this year!!! You're getting SO close, I'm so excited for you!!!

We really enjoyed the Jingle Cruise this year, I know you guys will, too!

Thank you so much, we were so happy to meet him on his big day!

Fear not-- she was fine! She woke up feeling better the next day. She and I both do this thing where we get "stressed out" on the day we arrive on vacation because we're so excited, and sometimes that makes us feel like we're getting sick. Thankfully, it goes away before we wake up the next morning!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I think you'll probably be able to snag one!!! Like I said, they kept restocking them throughout the trip, so I think they'll be able to keep them from flying completely off the shelves this year!!! You're getting SO close, I'm so excited for you!!!

That's so good to hear! I can't believe how quickly time is flown, and I am SO excited to be headed back to my happy place! <3

Fear not-- she was fine! She woke up feeling better the next day. She and I both do this thing where we get "stressed out" on the day we arrive on vacation because we're so excited, and sometimes that makes us feel like we're getting sick. Thankfully, it goes away before we wake up the next morning!

Oh good! I've had something similar happen before, so I totally understand, and I'm glad she was okay!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

crying over you kissing Mickey (lol, my impact). what a way to start off your vacation and those buttons are reminding me of the ones we got on his birthday two years before as cast members. so long ago. i miss you. anyways, i'm so sorry i've only been putting likes but this TR is fab and you are fab and i'm always here for you sis and all the amazingness you do. that's all. can't wait to read more.

 

[missangelalexis]

The holiday mug is so cute!

Yay for getting a Mickey birthday button! Of course you had to meet him on his special day! Love all the pics, especially the one of you kissing him

 

[Newsies]

That's so good to hear! I can't believe how quickly time is flown, and I am SO excited to be headed back to my happy place! <3



Oh good! I've had something similar happen before, so I totally understand, and I'm glad she was okay!

You're going to be back at your happy place so soon!!!

It seems to be really common when we visit Disney World. I blame it on how overwhelmed with excitement we become!

crying over you kissing Mickey (lol, my impact). what a way to start off your vacation and those buttons are reminding me of the ones we got on his birthday two years before as cast members. so long ago. i miss you. anyways, i'm so sorry i've only been putting likes but this TR is fab and you are fab and i'm always here for you sis and all the amazingness you do. that's all. can't wait to read more.

Your #impacT!

Sis, I miss you more than words. And I should be the one apologizing to you-- I'm always trash at keeping up with other people's TRs, I don't think I've visited your DLR one since my last post I promise I'll read up on yours soon!!! ILY a milli

The holiday mug is so cute!

Yay for getting a Mickey birthday button! Of course you had to meet him on his special day! Love all the pics, especially the one of you kissing him

I love it so much! I'm using it right now

How could we not meet the big cheese on his big day?!? We had so much fun!

 

[Newsies]

Winner, Winner, Fried Chicken Dinner!​

Instead of calling bell services again, we just decided to grab the remainder of our things from the back of the pickup truck and lug it up to our room since we weren’t parked far away from Moorea and didn’t have that much to begin with.

Here it is: Moorea 3026.

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Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort has only two different types of Disney Vacation Club rooms: deluxe studios and bungalows. Moorea 3026 was, obviously, a deluxe studio. The layout is pretty simple: there’s a queen bed, a pull-out bed, a sleeper under the TV, a full-bath, a half-bath, a closet, a kitchenette, and a balcony.

First impressions: we loved the decor, especially the artwork. I love those parrots! There was also a mermaid painting in the full-bath that I adored. And of course, you can't beat this view!

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You’ve got the castle, space mountain, the lake… and of course, the Bora Bora Bungalows.

I mentioned in the last post that I specifically requested a upper floor during online check-in. As others have pointed out, the bungalows (while they’re gorgeous in themselves!) do obstruct the view of the castle from the lower floors, especially the first floor! If you’re interested in getting your full points worth of a “view” from the Lake View Polynesian Deluxe Studios, I recommend requesting an upper floor during online check-in. Of course, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get your request-- but it worked out perfect for us, so it’s worth a try, right?

One of the first thing we noticed was that there’s no dresser in the deluxe suites here. Which leaves very little storage space for you to unpack your clothes. However, we were able to make it work throughout the week because we brought hanging closet organizers (the fabric ones with little cubbies), the coffee table had storage space, and the half-bath had some cubbies and (VERY small) drawers underneath the sink that Grace and I stored some of stuff in. I would definitely consider that as you’re packing for a stay in a Deluxe Studio here! Bring closet organizers, they saved our lives this trip.

I thought we had the perfect amount of sleeping space. We’re a family of four adults, and we slept comfortably with mom and dad on the bed, me on the pull-out, and Grace in the sleeper (it’s her favorite place to sleep in the world. She loves the sleepers under the TV, I don’t know why.)

We waited about 25 minutes for Bell Services to come up and drop our suitcases off. We unpacked, mom and dad took a shower real quick, and then we headed back over to the Grand Ceremonial House.

When we got to GCH, we had a few minutes before we wanted to head over to Disney Springs, so we stopped at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. There was bar seating available, so mom, dad, and I sat down and placed our drink orders. There I ordered my first ever alcoholic drink on Disney property: The Mosquito Mojito.

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DISCLAIMER: I really wanted The Pearl this trip. I was disappointed to find out that the souvenir pearl sipper was sold out and probably wouldn’t be back before our trip was over. Of course I could have gotten the drink without the actual souvenir pearl, but I was so hoping for the sipper that I just ordered a different drink without a souvenir cup that interested me more. The Mosquito Mojito was good, it was minty and it went down smooth. Mom and dad got cranberry vodkas. Grace stood in the background and swayed to the music. Soon enough, we were on a bus to Disney Springs.

As we predicted, Disney Springs was packed. First, mom wanted to stop at Luxury of Time. It was right by the bus stop and they said they were giving out free watches to DVC members. They made mom sign up for email updates and then mom, dad, and I each got a free watch and a free necklace. They were weird? I didn’t get a photo of them, but the watch was white with rose gold accents, and the necklace was this odd little pendant thing? They weren’t “DVC themed,” which I guess my mom was expecting, and they’re both very poor quality. It was so strange, I don’t know how mom found out about this promotion or why Luxury of Time is doing it.

Anyway, we headed to World of Disney because I really wanted to see it now that it’s been reimagined AND because I knew they’d have the one souvenir I was desperate for this trip: the elusive rose gold Spirit Jersey!

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World of Disney was nuts, so we didn’t stay for long. I got the rose gold Jersey, mom got the millennial pink one, and Grace got the new fuzzy one! I’d really like to revisit the store in August, hopefully when it’s less crowded. I was sure to get a photo of that Nine Old Men tribute up there, though! It's one of my favorite parts of the entire store.

We had a dinner reservation at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ so we started heading there. We checked in and a few minutes later, I got a text saying that our table was ready and we headed inside!

Homecomin’, as a restaurant, was exactly how I imagined it would be: the tables were packed, but the restaurant wasn’t loud. The volume wasn’t loud, and the theming wasn’t loud-- while southern influences are found everywhere from the menu to the decor, nothing is so in-your-face that it takes away from the food. From the moment we sat down at Homecomin’, we felt relaxed and ready to eat. The lighting was a little dim, but not so much so that we couldn’t read the menu. Which, to be honest, wouldn’t have mattered to us anyway. We were so excited for this meal that we had essentially mapped this meal out well ahead of time.

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Our server, Autumn, was an absolute star. Couldn’t have asked for a better server if I wanted one. She was funny, she knew so much about the menu, gave great recommendations, shared anecdotes about her time working for the Mouse, and was never too far away from the table. She was exactly what you’d want from a restaurant with a southern kitsch: the definition of hospitable.

Because moonshine is the house special at Homecomin’, I asked Autumn for a drink recommendation. She came back with the Apple Pie A La Mode. The Apple Pie A La Mode is a mixture of Old Smokey Apple Pie moonshine, vanilla vodka, apple juice, cinnamon, house-made simple syrup, and a dash of lemon.

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I wasn’t expecting much from this drink, but holy cow. It tastes like apple juice at first, and it’s after you swallow it that you taste the nuanced flavor of the cinnamon. This is such a layered, tasty drink! It was one of my favorites throughout the whole week. I can’t wait to order it again when we come back next year!

We opted to pay OOP for an appetizer this evening because there was one we really wanted to try: the Thigh High Chicken Biscuits. Fried chicken thighs are drizzled in hot honey and served on cheddar drop biscuits with bread and butter pickles.

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Have you ever eaten something that was so delicious you couldn’t even speak? The Thigh High Chicken Biscuits were everything I wanted them to be and more. First of all: cheddar biscuits are my favorite carb. And this semester, I’ve really been enjoying chicken with honey? We have Stickey’s Chicken in my neighborhood, which has a great hot honey dipping sauce with their fingers, I always grab honey when I get Chik-Fil-A for breakfast, and now the Melt Shop in my neighborhood is serving some really great chicken tenders that are served with hot honey. If you’ve never tried chicken + honey, I recommend it, but I’m getting sidetracked. Back to the topic at hand: these biscuits are absolutely no joke. You MUST eat them. Tender, golden fried chicken with sweet and spicy honey and delicious cheddar biscuits… I have been dreaming of these since I ordered them.

For dinner, mom, Grace, and I got the Fried Chicken and Donuts.

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On the plate, we have two pieces of golden fried chicken (one was dark meat and one was white meat I believe), a side of mashed potatoes, two donuts, house-made gravy and house-made syrup.

We’ll start with the chicken first: perfect. Couldn’t have been better. As you can probably see in the photo, the golden fry was perfectly crunchy. But the mashed potatoes? They were the REAL star. They were perfect. PERFECT. They were creamy and rich, they almost had a milky aftertaste to them. I couldn’t stop eating them, even after I was full. I don’t like gravy so I didn’t try it, but my dad really liked it. The donuts were just okay-- I could tell they were fresh, but they were almost like tiny Dunkin’ Donuts. They were very standard, I was expecting more of a “fried zeppolle” situation. The syrup is meant for the donuts, but I thought that combo was too sweet. At Autumn’s brilliant recommendation, I dipped a little piece of the chicken in the syrup and it was maybe the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.

Grace got a side of Mac and Cheese instead of mashed potatoes, and it was also very good. It wasn't soupy like some Mac and Cheese can be. Dad got the Shrimp and Grits, which he really loved. I didn't try it it because I don't like grits, but I'll take his word on it for all you grits fans out there. He wanted me to grab a photo of it, so I did.

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We had our dessert packed up to-go. We all ordered the same thing: The Hummingbird Cake. It’s Chef Art’s signature grapefruit and banana cake, which is a dish he’s known for. Mom, dad, and Grace really liked it, but it fell very flat for me. It was just too sweet for my liking. It’s okay, though, because we had so many other great desserts throughout the week that I didn’t care.

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All in all: You MUST go to Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’!!! I am still dreaming about this meal. As soon as we left, we agreed that we’d go back in August when we return. It was one of the best meals we had all week, and maybe among the best we’ve ever had at Disney, period.

After we finished up at Homecomin’, we got on the next bus to the Poly. Luckily, the bus was pulling in as we arrived! Once we go to the Poly, I took a quick shower, and then I CRASHED from exhaustion at around 10 PM.

Next up: our Epcot day!

(Click here to continue!)​

 

[missangelalexis]

Your room looks awesome! And such a nice view!

Sounds like a great night at DS. Homecomin looks fantastic!!

 

[meghannnmouse]

Winner, Winner, Fried Chicken Dinner!​

Instead of calling bell services again, we just decided to grab the remainder of our things from the back of the pickup truck and lug it up to our room since we weren’t parked far away from Moorea and didn’t have that much to begin with.

Here it is: Moorea 3026.

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Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort has only two different types of Disney Vacation Club rooms: deluxe studios and bungalows. Moorea 3026 was, obviously, a deluxe studio. The layout is pretty simple: there’s a queen bed, a pull-out bed, a sleeper under the TV, a full-bath, a half-bath, a closet, a kitchenette, and a balcony.

First impressions: we loved the decor, especially the artwork. I love those parrots! There was also a mermaid painting in the full-bath that I adored. And of course, you can't beat this view!

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You’ve got the castle, spaceship earth, the lake… and of course, the Bora Bora Bungalows.

I mentioned in the last post that I specifically requested a upper floor during online check-in. As others have pointed out, the bungalows (while they’re gorgeous in themselves!) do obstruct the view of the castle from the lower floors, especially the first floor! If you’re interested in getting your full points worth of a “view” from the Lake View Polynesian Deluxe Studios, I recommend requesting an upper floor during online check-in. Of course, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get your request-- but it worked out perfect for us, so it’s worth a try, right?

One of the first thing we noticed was that there’s no dresser in the deluxe suites here. Which leaves very little storage space for you to unpack your clothes. However, we were able to make it work throughout the week because we brought hanging closet organizers (the fabric ones with little cubbies), the coffee table had storage space, and the half-bath had some cubbies and (VERY small) drawers underneath the sink that Grace and I stored some of stuff in. I would definitely consider that as you’re packing for a stay in a Deluxe Studio here! Bring closet organizers, they saved our lives this trip.

I thought we had the perfect amount of sleeping space. We’re a family of four adults, and we slept comfortably with mom and dad on the bed, me on the pull-out, and Grace in the sleeper (it’s her favorite place to sleep in the world. She loves the sleepers under the TV, I don’t know why.)

We waited about 25 minutes for Bell Services to come up and drop our suitcases off. We unpacked, mom and dad took a shower real quick, and then we headed back over to the Grand Ceremonial House.

When we got to GCH, we had a few minutes before we wanted to head over to Disney Springs, so we stopped at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. There was bar seating available, so mom, dad, and I sat down and placed our drink orders. There I ordered my first ever alcoholic drink on Disney property: The Mosquito Mojito.

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DISCLAIMER: I really wanted The Pearl this trip. I was disappointed to find out that the souvenir pearl sipper was sold out and probably wouldn’t be back before our trip was over. Of course I could have gotten the drink without the actual souvenir pearl, but I was so hoping for the sipper that I just ordered a different drink without a souvenir cup that interested me more. The Mosquito Mojito was good, it was minty and it went down smooth. Mom and dad got cranberry vodkas. Grace stood in the background and swayed to the music. Soon enough, we were on a bus to Disney Springs.

As we predicted, Disney Springs was packed. First, mom wanted to stop at Luxury of Time. It was right by the bus stop and they said they were giving out free watches to DVC members. They made mom sign up for email updates and then mom, dad, and I each got a free watch and a free necklace. They were weird? I didn’t get a photo of them, but the watch was white with rose gold accents, and the necklace was this odd little pendant thing? They weren’t “DVC themed,” which I guess my mom was expecting, and they’re both very poor quality. It was so strange, I don’t know how mom found out about this promotion or why Luxury of Time is doing it.

Anyway, we headed to World of Disney because I really wanted to see it now that it’s been reimagined AND because I knew they’d have the one souvenir I was desperate for this trip: the elusive rose gold Spirit Jersey!

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World of Disney was nuts, so we didn’t stay for long. I got the rose gold Jersey, mom got the millennial pink one, and Grace got the new fuzzy one! I’d really like to revisit the store in August, hopefully when it’s less crowded. I was sure to get a photo of that Nine Old Men tribute up there, though! It's one of my favorite parts of the entire store.

We had a dinner reservation at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ so we started heading there. We checked in and a few minutes later, I got a text saying that our table was ready and we headed inside!

Homecomin’, as a restaurant, was exactly how I imagined it would be: the tables were packed, but the restaurant wasn’t loud. The volume wasn’t loud, and the theming wasn’t loud-- while southern influences are found everywhere from the menu to the decor, nothing is so in-your-face that it takes away from the food. From the moment we sat down at Homecomin’, we felt relaxed and ready to eat. The lighting was a little dim, but not so much so that we couldn’t read the menu. Which, to be honest, wouldn’t have mattered to us anyway. We were so excited for this meal that we had essentially mapped this meal out well ahead of time.

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Our server, Autumn, was an absolute star. Couldn’t have asked for a better server if I wanted one. She was funny, she knew so much about the menu, gave great recommendations, shared anecdotes about her time working for the Mouse, and was never too far away from the table. She was exactly what you’d want from a restaurant with a southern kitsch: the definition of hospitable.

Because moonshine is the house special at Homecomin’, I asked Autumn for a drink recommendation. She came back with the Apple Pie A La Mode. The Apple Pie A La Mode is a mixture of Old Smokey Apple Pie moonshine, vanilla vodka, apple juice, cinnamon, house-made simple syrup, and a dash of lemon.

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I wasn’t expecting much from this drink, but holy cow. It tastes like apple juice at first, and it’s after you swallow it that you taste the nuanced flavor of the cinnamon. This is such a layered, tasty drink! It was one of my favorites throughout the whole week. I can’t wait to order it again when we come back next year!

We opted to pay OOP for an appetizer this evening because there was one we really wanted to try: the Thigh High Chicken Biscuits. Fried chicken thighs are drizzled in hot honey and served on cheddar drop biscuits with bread and butter pickles.

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Have you ever eaten something that was so delicious you couldn’t even speak? The Thigh High Chicken Biscuits were everything I wanted them to be and more. First of all: cheddar biscuits are my favorite carb. And this semester, I’ve really been enjoying chicken with honey? We have Stickey’s Chicken in my neighborhood, which has a great hot honey dipping sauce with their fingers, I always grab honey when I get Chik-Fil-A for breakfast, and now the Melt Shop in my neighborhood is serving some really great chicken tenders that are served with hot honey. If you’ve never tried chicken + honey, I recommend it, but I’m getting sidetracked. Back to the topic at hand: these biscuits are absolutely no joke. You MUST eat them. Tender, golden fried chicken with sweet and spicy honey and delicious cheddar biscuits… I have been dreaming of these since I ordered them.

For dinner, mom, Grace, and I got the Fried Chicken and Donuts.

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On the plate, we have two pieces of golden fried chicken (one was dark meat and one was white meat I believe), a side of mashed potatoes, two donuts, house-made gravy and house-made syrup.

We’ll start with the chicken first: perfect. Couldn’t have been better. As you can probably see in the photo, the golden fry was perfectly crunchy. But the mashed potatoes? They were the REAL star. They were perfect. PERFECT. They were creamy and rich, they almost had a milky aftertaste to them. I couldn’t stop eating them, even after I was full. I don’t like gravy so I didn’t try it, but my dad really liked it. The donuts were just okay-- I could tell they were fresh, but they were almost like tiny Dunkin’ Donuts. They were very standard, I was expecting more of a “fried zeppolle” situation. The syrup is meant for the donuts, but I thought that combo was too sweet. At Autumn’s brilliant recommendation, I dipped a little piece of the chicken in the syrup and it was maybe the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.

Grace got a side of Mac and Cheese instead of mashed potatoes, and it was also very good. It wasn't soupy like some Mac and Cheese can be. Dad got the Shrimp and Grits, which he really loved. I didn't try it it because I don't like grits, but I'll take his word on it for all you grits fans out there. He wanted me to grab a photo of it, so I did.

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We had our dessert packed up to-go. We all ordered the same thing: The Hummingbird Cake. It’s Chef Art’s signature grapefruit and banana cake, which is a dish he’s known for. Mom, dad, and Grace really liked it, but it fell very flat for me. It was just too sweet for my liking. It’s okay, though, because we had so many other great desserts throughout the week that I didn’t care.

​

All in all: You MUST go to Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’!!! I am still dreaming about this meal. As soon as we left, we agreed that we’d go back in August when we return. It was one of the best meals we had all week, and maybe among the best we’ve ever had at Disney, period.

After we finished up at Homecomin’, we got on the next bus to the Poly. Luckily, the bus was pulling in as we arrived! Once we go to the Poly, I took a quick shower, and then I CRASHED from exhaustion at around 10 PM.

Next up: our Epcot day!

(Click here to continue!)​

How much are those jerseys at the park? So cute