Show Me Your Smolder! October 2012 B-Day TR NEW 4/1 Trip Wrap Up & NEW PTR LINK!

[khertz]

Definitely!

And you should make sure to have a resort day or two when you're at the Poly.

I can definitely say, a resort day would be a MUST if staying at the Poly!!!

Ok I am not done reading your TR yet but I had to stop by and make a few comments.

1 - I miss Hanson

2 - You, your husband, and son are so adorable!! You can just see how happy you all were on this trip!

3 - I miss Hanson

4 - I definitely noticed your son in the crowd because I remember when Taylor's kid was a baby and he wore the same blue ear protection!

5 - I have been wanting to try 'Ohana's breakfast for ever b/c I am a huge Lilo and Stitch fan, but I love Kona breakfast too much!! Sorry your experience was less than stellar, but hopefully next time will be better!

6 - Thank you for the great Hanson pictures! I miss them BTW. I didn't get very good pictures due to excessive rocking out so I love yours!!

I agree, I miss Hanson too! It has been too long since a full scale concert for me. I'm pretty excited about the new music though!

Thank you

How funny that you noticed him because of the earmuffs! I totally stole the idea from Taylor and his kids, but I cleverly mentioned to DH that they were the earmuffs Drew Brees had on his son after the Saints won the Super Bowl, and he was immediately on board! Truthfully, I was looking forward to seeing your posts from the 23rd to see what you were wearing because I thought it might have been you a couple rows in front of us that night!

I have been wanting to try Kona breakfast, but it's hard to convince my DH to shell out the money for a TS breakfast that doesn't include characters. If only they had Tonga Toast at 'Ohana!

My DH is to thank for all the great photos to I too could spend the time jumping and dancing!

Sorry to hear your Ohana bkfst experience wasnt all that wonderful. I too agree that you had a bad server. We ate there in Dec and had a great meal and our waitress came around several times asking if we needed more of anything. I hope your Oct ADR goes much better

I hope so too, since people seem to be reporting back with better experiences than what we had! It was just an off morning.

I agree that the Poly is one of those resorts I would really like to stay at some day, but probably never will because I belong to DVC. It would have to be a real splurge to stay there when DVC is paid for. Sigh.

Not surprisingly, you got more great pictures of Paxton with the characters and I really like the ones with Stitch. They are great!

I would think if four adults were eating off one skillet they would bring refills out promptly. Your server sounds like they were not too with it. Seriously, keep it coming. I hope next October is a better experience. Have you guys tried Cape May for breakfast? I love it there. Great character interaction and plenty of food.

What? No resort day?

Hey, unless Poly eventually gets a DVC wing!

He had so much fun with the characters! One thing I wish we had gotten more of during the trip is videos, especially of the character meets. I'll have to try and remember to do more recording next trip!

I hope the experience is better next time too, because I really wanted to like it! Never tried Cape May, but may have to put it on the list. Chef Mickey's was just getting a little too expensive and crazy for us to justify anymore, so 'Ohana seemed like a better alternative. Hopefully I am right about it and we just had a bad experience this past time!

All I can say now about the resort day is

 

[wdwgirl03]

AHH, the Polynesian! Man, I miss it there. My family used to stay there all the time when my sisters and I were younger. I would love to go back but it is crazy to think about how expensive it is to stay there! I have heard rumors of them adding DVC there which would be AWESOME!

Anyway, that's a bummer that nobody was that impressed by your breakfast. It still looks fun though! After all, you did get to go to the Poly.

 

[xoSamma]

I'm just a little behind...
That brownie sundae sounds so good! I will definitely need to try it soon.
I really like the "Almost" disney shirt, so sorry to hear that it was all out of the right size I hate when that happens.
Love the thomas pjs!
The poly what a beautiful resort! Agreed I have been trying to stay there each time so far with Alicia's discount but there is never a room for CM available. I don't understand why the room is so much just for a bed to sleep in at night. Ohana breakfast I've heard mixed reviews, I personally want to try it but I can't seem to pull myself from going there for dinner.

 

[khertz]

AHH, the Polynesian! Man, I miss it there. My family used to stay there all the time when my sisters and I were younger. I would love to go back but it is crazy to think about how expensive it is to stay there! I have heard rumors of them adding DVC there which would be AWESOME!

Anyway, that's a bummer that nobody was that impressed by your breakfast. It still looks fun though! After all, you did get to go to the Poly.

It is SO expensive and for such a small room compared to what we can get at Bonnet Creek that is already paid for. And it only gets more expensive as time goes on, so I think my dream resort will probably end up staying just a dream. It would be cool though if they added DVC there, because renting DVC points may not be out of the realm of possibility in the future!

I am hoping from what I have read in the responses here that we just had a bad server, and that when we try it again in October we will have a better meal!

I'm just a little behind...
That brownie sundae sounds so good! I will definitely need to try it soon.
I really like the "Almost" disney shirt, so sorry to hear that it was all out of the right size I hate when that happens.
Love the thomas pjs!
The poly what a beautiful resort! Agreed I have been trying to stay there each time so far with Alicia's discount but there is never a room for CM available. I don't understand why the room is so much just for a bed to sleep in at night. Ohana breakfast I've heard mixed reviews, I personally want to try it but I can't seem to pull myself from going there for dinner.

The brownie sundae was pretty amazing, but I don't really think you can go wrong with ANY item on the menu at Ghirardelli!

I loved that shirt too! And DH so rarely finds shirts he actually likes, so it was even more of a bummer. We even asked a CM to go look in the back for us to see if there were any mediums, but no luck.

Totally agree on the Poly! Okay, I get it's a gorgeous resort and very close to the MK with monorail access, but really?! That price is pretty steep for a place to lay your head at night!!

Never done 'Ohana dinner, but we are not really big on TS meals besides character breakfasts. We are more inclined to do a TS lunch in the parks if anything. But I have heard nothing but good reviews of it. Maybe one day if we EVER get to stay at the Poly, it would be an excuse to have dinner there.

 

[afwdwfan]

We took our time looking around the lobby since we were a little early, snapping those pics and just enjoying the ambiance. What a BEAUTIFUL resort! It's probably my dream resort at the moment, but we will probably never stay there because how can we justify paying that much for a room per night when we can stay at Bonnet Creek for nothing?

I have a hard time justifying it even if I'm paying to stay somehwere.

I definitely do want to stay there though, but then again, I'd love to stay in all of the resorts at least once.

We checked in and had our photo taken, but we didn't buy the package. Of course. Does anyone really?

No. When we went to Chef Mickey's, the CM was taking pictures with everyone's cameras in addition to the official picture. I'd never seen them do that at a character meal before. I wonder if he still has a job?

Or, you know, just banging it into the table a little.

It makes more noise that way.

In fact, I'm not even sure he signed with the "approved" Stitch autograph because he was in such a rush. DS didn't seem to notice though.

It's Stitch. He plays by his own rules anyway, so he can sign however he wants.

I think we just got a bad server. I think another problem was the size of our group. 5 people eating off of that platter was a lot, because there were only enough biscuits for everyone to have one, not much of the eggs and potatoes to go around, etc. And DH didn't realize you could ask for more of specific items.

I would tend to think it was your server. I've never been to a meal at Ohana, but we do love the family style meals and do LTT and WCC regularly. I know they tend to cater the size of the platter they bring to the size of your party, so I wouldn't think having 3 as opposed to 5 would make much difference there. It's just that at most of those meals, the servers are very attentive and have more food on the way as soon as your initial platter starts to get low. I think you just had a really bad server that morning, unfortunately. Definitely give it another chance!

 

[khertz]

I have a hard time justifying it even if I'm paying to stay somehwere.

I definitely do want to stay there though, but then again, I'd love to stay in all of the resorts at least once.


No. When we went to Chef Mickey's, the CM was taking pictures with everyone's cameras in addition to the official picture. I'd never seen them do that at a character meal before. I wonder if he still has a job?


It makes more noise that way.


It's Stitch. He plays by his own rules anyway, so he can sign however he wants.


I would tend to think it was your server. I've never been to a meal at Ohana, but we do love the family style meals and do LTT and WCC regularly. I know they tend to cater the size of the platter they bring to the size of your party, so I wouldn't think having 3 as opposed to 5 would make much difference there. It's just that at most of those meals, the servers are very attentive and have more food on the way as soon as your initial platter starts to get low. I think you just had a really bad server that morning, unfortunately. Definitely give it another chance!

I agree with that, the Poly is just plain EXPENSIVE!

Ooh, I didn't think they did that with the restaurant photos either, so I have never asked. You're probably right, that CM is likely long gone. Although they aren't really "losing" money, because I seriously doubt anyone he was taking pictures of on their personal cameras was going to buy the photo package anyway!

You know, I googled Stitch's autograph and it doesn't look the same in every photo. So I guess you're right on that front! He just does what we want and we should be happy he didn't smear a booger on the page.

The more I read people's reaction to our 'Ohana experience, the more excited I am that we are trying it again. I just hope we get a better server. And maybe a casual, "We are really hungry, keep the food coming!" will make a little bit of difference too.

 

[khertz]

Day 7 Continued: Friday October 26th

The original plan for the day after having breakfast at 'Ohana was that my parents were going to head to MK for their last day in the parks, and DH, DS, and I were going back to Bonnet Creek to swim and play until nap time. As we were sitting at the table at 'Ohana waiting for the check, DH starts saying how it is such a pretty day, and we are so close to MK, we should all just go for a little while. My parents start egging on the idea, saying they will take DS for awhile in the park so DH and I can have some time by ourselves in MK.

Now normally, I would not ever mind going to MK! However, I have been trying to get resort time every single trip since we started staying at Bonnet Creek, and it has never happened! In 2009, the park hours were so short and we had so many extra Christmas activities planned that we were hardly ever at the resort. Last year on DS's first trip, we got stuck a lot longer than we had planned in a Wyndham owner's update. Now this year, I was being coerced into going to a park instead because we were "right there."

Despite my half hearted protests (and reminding them that we did not have a stroller, since it was sitting out on our balcony in the sun so it would be dried out by that afternoon when we needed it), I was completely outvoted. So onto the monorail to MK we all went. My parents insisted they could handle DS even without a stroller, so as we entered the park, we created a diversion so they could get away with him without him noticing that DH and I weren't coming along. I have to admit, this was not my finest moment as I was actually pouting walking into MK.

We stopped to get some SotMK cards for DH, then headed to Space Mountain. Now let me remind you all, this was day 6 of our trip, and DH and I had not been on a single ride with a height requirement that would need a rider switch! We had only been on things DS could ride so far. It really didn't bother us at all, but we did have to admit it was pretty fun to finally get on our first roller coaster of the trip! Man, after riding Space Mountain in DL on 2 back to back trips, it was quite jarring to be back on the herky jerky WDW version!

I had insisted that we leave the park by around 11:30 so we would have time to do SOMETHING at the resort before putting DS down for his nap, so as we walked over to Frontierland, we discussed whether we should ride Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain. Although it is not his favorite, DH agreed to go on Splash with me since it is my absolute favorite and I had given up swim time to come to the park like he wanted.

The posted wait said 15 minutes, but it looked a lot longer. We still got in line but I was fully prepared to have to leave the line if it was taking too long. I used the "Time Your Wait" function on the Touring Plans app, and it took only a little more than 15 minutes, maybe 18, before we were boarding a log.

We did get a good splash, but not soaked, so DH was happy about that! And it was the first time in a long time on that ride that we rode through the entire attraction without getting stopped once. Usually Br'er Bear is ALWAYS getting into trouble when we are riding!

When we got off the ride, it was time to find DS and get out of the park, so I called my parents and they told us to meet them at the Riverboat. As we approached them, we saw they had rented a stroller! I couldn't believe they had wasted the money one one for less than 2 hours in the park.

While they were off on their own, they had taken DS to see Philharmagic.

​

They had also apparently tried taking him on the Carrousel... Oops, guess I forgot to tell them he hated it now!

We took DS and the stroller, which we returned before leaving the park, and headed onto the monorail to go back to the Polynesian and get our car. We were in a monorail car with a LOUD family with kids running all over the place and the adults shouting and goofing off, and they were seriously giving me a headache. We stopped at the TTC and they were asking how many more stops until they got to Epcot, so I was more than happy to tell them they had to exit there and switch monorails!! We were left with just an average looking British family in our car, parents and two girls...when all of a sudden their younger girl just starts climbing the poles and swinging around like she was on a playground and neither of the parents even batted an eye! Definitely an interesting monorail experience.

We got off the monorail at the Poly and got our car, then drove back to Bonnet Creek and made it there for around 12. Since it was going to eat up too much time going up to the room, changing into bathing suits, slathering on sunscreen, etc. to go to the splash zone, we ended up just taking DS to the small playground next to our building. He really loved being able to run around and go nuts without having to be in the stroller or told to stay close to us!

"This way, guys!"

He really loves playing outside, so this was probably a highlight of the trip for him, just being able to climb and swing and slide. We headed inside to our room at about 12:45 to feed DS a quick lunch and get him down for a nap at 1.

While he was sleeping, DH ran to the pharmacy to get some cough medicine for DS and some lunch for us. He came back with Chick Fil A for us! Love me some CFA! DS woke up around 3, and although I considered switching things up and staying the afternoon to get in our swim time, there was something at DHS I had REALLY been looking forward to! Any guesses?

UP NEXT: DHS Afternoon

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Sorry to hear that you didn't get your resort day

It's nice to have a day just to lounge around by the pool and a lot easier to do when you have a long stay at Disney.

Could it be that you're heading to DHS for a ride on the LA freeways?

 

[afwdwfan]

DH starts saying how it is such a pretty day, and we are so close to MK, we should all just go for a little while.

Well, you certainly can't argue with that logic.

And did he remind you how many times he sat through Hanson?

As we approached them, we saw they had rented a stroller! I couldn't believe they had wasted the money one one for less than 2 hours in the park.

We stopped at the TTC and they were asking how many more stops until they got to Epcot, so I was more than happy to tell them they had to exit there and switch monorails!!

You know, you only would have had to put up with them for a couple more minutes. You really should have told them 5 (Poly, GF, MK, CR, TTC, EPCOT) without explaining the whole monorail change, just because they were so annoying.

We were left with just an average looking British family in our car, parents and two girls...when all of a sudden their younger girl just starts climbing the poles and swinging around like she was on a playground and neither of the parents even batted an eye!

Maybe she's preparing for her future career.

He really loves playing outside, so this was probably a highlight of the trip for him, just being able to climb and swing and slide. We headed inside to our room at about 12:45 to feed DS a quick lunch and get him down for a nap at 1.

Well, even though you missed out on doing the splash area and some other stuff around the resort, it looks like you picked something fun for Paxton to enjoy.

DS woke up around 3, and although I considered switching things up and staying the afternoon to get in our swim time, there was something at DHS I had REALLY been looking forward to! Any guesses?

Could it be that you're heading to DHS for a ride on the LA freeways?

I'm with Dave on this one. I already had to re-read the part of that earlier update where you guys walked past ToT and RnRC without riding either one just to make sure I didn't miss something. If you don't ride it, I'll be very disappointed.

 

[khertz]

Sorry to hear that you didn't get your resort day

It's nice to have a day just to lounge around by the pool and a lot easier to do when you have a long stay at Disney.

Could it be that you're heading to DHS for a ride on the LA freeways?

The Premier AP's didn't help in my resort day crusade, because it was just all too easy to pop into the park even if only for an hour and not worry about "wasting" a day on our ticket! This year, we won't have that same option since we will have regular Park Hoppers, and we are skipping the character breakfast on our "off" day. I am feeling optimistic that it will happen according to plan this year!

That may or may not be part of the afternoon's plans.

Well, you certainly can't argue with that logic.

And did he remind you how many times he sat through Hanson?





You know, you only would have had to put up with them for a couple more minutes. You really should have told them 5 (Poly, GF, MK, CR, TTC, EPCOT) without explaining the whole monorail change, just because they were so annoying.


Maybe she's preparing for her future career.


Well, even though you missed out on doing the splash area and some other stuff around the resort, it looks like you picked something fun for Paxton to enjoy.




I'm with Dave on this one. I already had to re-read the part of that earlier update where you guys walked past ToT and RnRC without riding either one just to make sure I didn't miss something. If you don't ride it, I'll be very disappointed.

I was actually impressed that he never used his Hanson-watching as leverage for anything the rest of the trip! I'll admit, it wasn't my proudest Disney moment, and I was being a brat. But I got over it quickly once we were able to ride a couple of Mountains!

DH actually laughed at me because I just kept glancing over my shoulder with a little passive aggressive glare at them as they acted like banshees, but when one person in their group mentioned getting to Epcot, I said as loud as I could, "To get to Epcot you get off here!!" Your plan would have been funny, but I seriously doubt I could have withstood their racousness even for only one more stop!!

If I ever see her on the Olympics, I'll give her a pass. Otherwise, just a kid who doesn't know how to behave in public!!

Honestly, Paxton was so thrilled to play on the playground, and he of course didn't know he was even missing out on swimming! It was really a fine way to spend the morning.

Well, you won't be disappointed, but that wasn't what I was hinting at!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

The Premier AP's didn't help in my resort day crusade, because it was just all too easy to pop into the park even if only for an hour and not worry about "wasting" a day on our ticket! This year, we won't have that same option since we will have regular Park Hoppers, and we are skipping the character breakfast on our "off" day. I am feeling optimistic that it will happen according to plan this year!

I was thinking that you should probably avoid all ADRs that are located in the immediate proximity of a park on your planned resort day. So no monorail resorts and no Epcot resorts that could lure you or your family into a "quick" visit to the park.

 

[khertz]

I was thinking that you should probably avoid all ADRs that are located in the immediate proximity of a park on your planned resort day. So no monorail resorts and no Epcot resorts that could lure you or your family into a "quick" visit to the park.

That is exactly what we are doing!! I had planned on doing the same thing...'Ohana breakfast and going back to the resort. After 2 trips of trying to do a breakfast, then resort time and failing, I have finally realized this does not work!! So now we will do our second character breakfast on our departure morning instead.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Sorry you didnt get your resort afternoon like you were hoping for, but it looks like Paxton had fun playing on that playground for a few minutes.

Cant believe people let their kids act like that on the monorail.

 

[MEK]

Seriously, who doesn't love CFA?

I love Paxton's shirt. It is just so darn cute!

I can just see you pouting your way into MK, but at least you got to use your time wisely and ride Space and Splash. Great pictures on Splash, btw. Did you guys use your regular camera for those? I am always so afraid to use something other than my cell phone.

I hope you get your pool time. It really does look like a beautiful resort and the pictures I've seen of the Lazy River look amazing.

Ugh - to the annoying kids on the monorail.

 

[khertz]

Sorry you didnt get your resort afternoon like you were hoping for, but it looks like Paxton had fun playing on that playground for a few minutes.

Cant believe people let their kids act like that on the monorail.

He definitely had fun, and it was a pretty afternoon to play. Warm, but a great breeze going on. And I didn't post pictures of them because they aren't my kids, but there were some other little ones out there at the same time that DS had fun playing with!

I couldn't believe it either. In the case of the little British girl, she came close to kicking one of her parents in the head at one point, and they didn't even look up from whatever they were doing. They acted like it was totally normal for her to behave that way in public!

Seriously, who doesn't love CFA?

I love Paxton's shirt. It is just so darn cute!

I can just see you pouting your way into MK, but at least you got to use your time wisely and ride Space and Splash. Great pictures on Splash, btw. Did you guys use your regular camera for those? I am always so afraid to use something other than my cell phone.

I hope you get your pool time. It really does look like a beautiful resort and the pictures I've seen of the Lazy River look amazing.

Ugh - to the annoying kids on the monorail.

I don't know if anyone doesn't love CFA because their drive thru is always causing traffic to back up onto the road!! Seriously, it's SO good. We had one on campus too when I was in college...I definitely ate my fair share of CFA back then!

Thanks! It was our version of matching shirts since they didn't have the exact Soda Fountain shirt DH and I got for ourselves in a kids size, so we all just wore our Soda Fountain shirts.

It was really pathetic! I can't believe I was disappointed to be going to MK, but darn it, I really just wanted some resort time! We stay at this beautiful place with great amenities and never get to enjoy them. I'm tweaking the plans for October so that it lends itself to downtime at the resort though, so I hope it works out this time.

 

[DDuck4Life]

I can just see you pouting your way into MK, but at least you got to use your time wisely and ride Space and Splash. Great pictures on Splash, btw. Did you guys use your regular camera for those? I am always so afraid to use something other than my cell phone.

I used our small point and shoot camera. I'm too afraid to have the big camera out on rides like that. The P&S is small enough to cover with my hand in my lap quickly so I'll take more chances with it.

Although I did recently get a water proof sleeve for our big camera that I might try out next time to get some better shots. It's mainly for light rain but should hold up on Splash.

 

[RachelNinja]

Read most of your latest updates yesterday while I was drying my hair, so I couldn't comment. I did, however, read your latest update, and I too would be upset about the money used to rent a stroller for such a short period of time! I think the cost even for an entire day is crazy.

After having 2 trips last year where we stayed on property and used our APs, I'm really looking forward to going back to stay at my parents' timeshare. At this point, I have another cousins trip planned in Feb 2013 because I am getting my two girls 4-day tickets as bridesmaids gifts from our wedding last year. Anyway, the trips are totally different when you actually have time at the resort to relax. Plus, there's a huge difference between relaxing at a timeshare resort and a Disney resort. I don't fully get comfortable enough to feel rested at the latter. Howard and I both said it'll be nice to be able to plan a full day at a park and then a full day of rest afterwards. Of course, that doesn't mean we're not going to miss the benefits of APs and just going on our own!

 

[khertz]

Read most of your latest updates yesterday while I was drying my hair, so I couldn't comment. I did, however, read your latest update, and I too would be upset about the money used to rent a stroller for such a short period of time! I think the cost even for an entire day is crazy.

After having 2 trips last year where we stayed on property and used our APs, I'm really looking forward to going back to stay at my parents' timeshare. At this point, I have another cousins trip planned in Feb 2013 because I am getting my two girls 4-day tickets as bridesmaids gifts from our wedding last year. Anyway, the trips are totally different when you actually have time at the resort to relax. Plus, there's a huge difference between relaxing at a timeshare resort and a Disney resort. I don't fully get comfortable enough to feel rested at the latter. Howard and I both said it'll be nice to be able to plan a full day at a park and then a full day of rest afterwards. Of course, that doesn't mean we're not going to miss the benefits of APs and just going on our own!

Having those APs burning holes in our pockets definitely didn't help in my crusade for a resort day! It is just so hard not to want to go into the park even for only a short time because you know you are not "wasting" a day on a regular ticket. We won't have AP's this time, and our resort day will be the same day we go to MNSSHP. So if we don't plan a breakfast for that morning, we can sleep in until we get up on our own, spend the day at the resort, take a nap, and hit the party around dinnertime! Hopefully my plan works out this year!

 

[danimaroo]

Can you believe I am FINALLY caught up?! I mean, I know it's towards the end of your trip but I am caught up! YAY! I seriously spent most of my afternoon just reading your TR! Paxton is SO cute. I couldn't help but laugh at how sad he got every time the autograph book was taken away though! Poor guy just wanted his book.

The Princess meet was the cutest thing I've ever seen! The look on his little face of that smile while he has his hands up near his mouth while they signed the book was to die for! Such a good call on having him meet them all!!

I'm so glad I'm caught up because I love your TRs!

 

[khertz]

Can you believe I am FINALLY caught up?! I mean, I know it's towards the end of your trip but I am caught up! YAY! I seriously spent most of my afternoon just reading your TR! Paxton is SO cute. I couldn't help but laugh at how sad he got every time the autograph book was taken away though! Poor guy just wanted his book.

The Princess meet was the cutest thing I've ever seen! The look on his little face of that smile while he has his hands up near his mouth while they signed the book was to die for! Such a good call on having him meet them all!!

I'm so glad I'm caught up because I love your TRs!

You caught up!

Thanks, I think he is pretty cute myself. And seriously, that autograph book!! It is a great souvenir but what a headache in the parks when he starts throwing a fit over it. I'm hoping he will understand more what it is this year and not freak out so much.

The Princess meet was probably my favorite of the whole entire trip. He really made it easy to go overboard on the pictures during that meet!