The Last of the OCD Type A Planners To Get Her Dec 2011 TR started...

[shocky5]

This was our third stay at the Polynesian Resort but our first time to stay club level. I will say we are now officially 'spoiled' by club level. It was just so very convenient to grab snacks and drinks throughout the day and evening. I was not entirely sure pre-trip how much benefit we would gain from the concierge lounge but I do believe we got our money's worth just in drinks alone. And my kids looked forward to turn down service and chocolates each night.

Okay... so back to check-in. We pulled up to the Polynesian and were greeted immediately by Bob. Bob had a golf cart ready to load our luggage, called for our room number and explained he'd take us to our room first and then back to the concierge check in to get our official keys to the world and so on. Bob drove us around the Polynesian resort showing us where the pools were, the Great Ceremonial House, laundry service, etc. We already knew this information from prior visits but we enjoyed the tour anyway. The resort is beautiful and I could never get tired of seeing it!

Bob eventually made it to the longhouse we would be staying in - Hawaii.

He then escorted us inside. We had requested a first floor or third floor room because we wanted either a patio or a balcony. We were assigned to room 1526... Or were we? And here is one of the very few 'non-magical' moments we had on our trip...

Bob took us to what he thought was our room... he'd said 1526, but he opened the door to 1527, so crazy me thought he'd said the wrong room number. SO when he opened up 1527, there were other occupants in that room. In Bob's embarassment and confusion, he takes us back to the concierge lobby and tells them that the room we'd been assigned was occupied. SO they then told me that the only room ready at that time was on the 2nd floor. Not wanting to be a pain or prolong getting into a room with the kids, I opted for the available 2nd floor room. 2533. After we delivered luggage and kids to the room, and upon returning to concierge check in to get keys, etc., it was discovered that Bob took us to the wrong room initially. BUMMER. We should have gone in 1526 after all and it was vacant. I know we would have enjoyed the first floor room more but the thought, at the time, of moving three kids and luggage did not appeal. And I was relatively sure the kids were getting into swimsuits already... so I let my disappointment go and just went with it. On a positive, we were just steps away from concierge lounge and it was nice to let the kids go get a drink on their own throughout our stay.

Here is a pic of our room on arrival:

What was first on the list of to do's?? The plan was to let the kids go swim for a bit, then eat dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. From there, we would then go to Fort Wilderness to see campground Christmas decorations of which I'd heard were amazing! Then we were going to drop in at Epcot to try to do a dismeet with Heather and Ann.

All I'm going to say at this point is that it was a great plan.....

Stay tuned to find out how our first evening in The World went!

 

[shocky5]

While the boys were swimming, I snapped a few pictures...

This was our view across the Seven Seas Lagoon from the Polynesian and just outside our longhouse:

This is Erin and I sitting in the lounge chairs while the boys swam. For whatever reason, Erin didn't just jump in the pool as is the norm in past trips. She would ease her way in... I think it was a combo of being a teenager, who is modest (thankfully), and trying to decide if she wanted to hang with her brothers thus leaving mom alone in lounge chair...

She eventually got in the water and they got to swim about an hour before I pulled them out to go get ready for dinner.

We knew we'd need to leave fairly early for our ADR at WCC. I believe our reservation was at 5:25p and I wanted to give us about an hour to get there because I knew we'd need to take the monorail to the MK and then the boat to WL. It was a pleasant trip over.

Here is Erin and Nolan on the ferry boat from MK to WL:

I also have some pictures we took before dinner that are on the photopass so I will have to post those when the cd arrives to my house!

Now for a short dining review of WCC... we opted to have milkshakes and the skillet meal.

Nate, since he was still considered a kid, had his own skillet.

Erin, Nolan, and I shared another skillet... and I cannot imagine any one person eating one of these on their own...

The food was fine. Of course, we loved the milkshakes the most. I do think we were somewhat jet lagged at this point because Nolan was nodding off during our meal. Yes - my 10 year old fell asleep in what was supposed to be one of the loudest, rowdiest meals available in Disney World.

Basically, we were seated in a somewhat isolated location, not in the main eating area... our waiter was non-interactive in regards to antics... no extra ketchup or straws... and if I'd gone to this place solely for the antics, it would have been a total fail. We could hear the fun going on in the other room and my kids would get up and go peek around the fireplace we were seated next to trying to figure out what the noise was but otherwise our meal was very <ahem> boring.

I should mention that Erin had been diagnosed with croup and put on steroids prior to our trip and she was feeling okay but still coughing quite a bit. Our pediatrician sent me with extra just in case one of the other two kids might catch it as well. As luck would have it, both boys had begun to cough and become stuffy by dinner time. SO, the mom in me kicked in and decided we would forgo Fort Wilderness and the dismeet at Epcot so I could get the kids back to the room, drug them, and get them to bed so we could attempt to make rope drop the next day.

We rode the boat back to MK, this boat was larger than the ferry boat and we enjoyed the peaceful ride back.

The boys...

The girls...

The one thing we did not plan on when making our way back to MK to catch the monorail back to the Polynesian was the fact that it was a MVMCP night. So imagine our surprise when we dock at MK roughly at 7p and the very large crowd making their way out of MK... I told the kids to walk as fast as they could to the monorail or else it could be a long wait.

We made it on the second monorail to pass through which I didn't think was too bad considering the people in line behind us and the amount of shoving going on...

By the time we arrived back to the Polynesian, it was about 7:30p and it was nice to walk into our room to find this:

The kids took one more dip in the pool while I chit chatted with Eddie on the phone, we managed to make it through the electric water pageant production, and then we went inside, gave everybody some medicine, and all were tucked in bed by 9:30p. I couldn't believe how tired we were but it had been an early morning and we had a rope drop to make.... after setting our Mickey wake up call for 6:15a, I know I was asleep by 10p.

Who would get Mickey's call in the morning and would we make rope drop??

 

[annmarieda]

Just wanted to share with you all... my daughter just called me and told me the varsity basketball coach is going to have her play with the junior varsity tonight... she's an 8th grader for those that don't know... excited for her! Will be a good experience for her... and then there's this tiny bit of nagging in the back of my mind telling me that some of those JV girls mamas are not going to be happy about this... because it will take time away from their child on the court if he puts Erin in.

More to come... magic that all the drama mama's stay calm tonight.

go Erin!!!

We are heading out dos WDW in 6 days, but I will be keeping up with your TR before and after our trip.

I have to share with you... my dd is about to head to WDW, and is a few months shy of her 1 year anniversaryrolleyes: well, 4 to be exact)..and will be flying out of seatac. (I assume that is where you will be flying out of.)
I don't see that many disers from this side of the country who go to WDW. so between all of those things... I just had to say hi

 

[annmarieda]

OMG! that initial flight would have made me lose my mind! You are such a strong woman!!! We plan each flight to be at the airport 2 hours ahead just cause it takes so long here to get through security. We arrived very early this last trip and there was still a HUGE line.

I am sorry about the room mix up! Very frustrating.

I hate that we missed you. I know I am going to read parts of you TR and think "OMG, we just missed each other!". So you were at WL the night of the 15th? However, don't feel totally bad about missing the antics. I don't think we ever heard much going on there. I remember thinking before the trip that we may not want a room that is near the lobby because of the reported noise. Yet each time we went through the lobby it was pretty darn quiet!


Can't wait to read more!!

 

[shocky5]

OMG! that initial flight would have made me lose my mind! You are such a strong woman!!! We plan each flight to be at the airport 2 hours ahead just cause it takes so long here to get through security. We arrived very early this last trip and there was still a HUGE line.

I am sorry about the room mix up! Very frustrating.

I hate that we missed you. I know I am going to read parts of you TR and think "OMG, we just missed each other!". So you were at WL the night of the 15th? However, don't feel totally bad about missing the antics. I don't think we ever heard much going on there. I remember thinking before the trip that we may not want a room that is near the lobby because of the reported noise. Yet each time we went through the lobby it was pretty darn quiet!


Can't wait to read more!!

Ann - we were there the 16th at WL. I'm 99.9% sure you and Heather were in Epcot that evening. It seemed like anytime we knew we were in close proximity, each was headed in the opposite direction!

Hope Zoe is still bouncing around today and you all had a restful evening last night!!

 

[shocky5]

I actually woke up before the alarm went off or we got our wake up call... so typical for me to do that. I've always dreamed about being one who can sleep in but normally, I cannot. I really do try, though!!

When the phone rang with our wake up call, I tried to get Nate to answer the phone because I knew who would be on the other end... here's how that went:

Me: Nate! Nate! Answer this phone!!

Nate: C'mon Mom... who do you think it is?

Me: It's probably Mickey!

Nate: Oh, well just let it ring - he'll call back and I'll answer it then. (then he rolls over to go back to sleep)



After finally getting the kids awake and dressed in our Disney attire, we took a couple of pictures before departing from our room to head to the concierge lounge to grab some breakfast.

Erin and I in front of our non-balcony sliding window...

The boys and I in front of same window...

After grabbing some food from the lounge, we headed for the transportation and ticket center, on foot, and headed for the Epcot monorail and hopped right on. I was concerned about the wear and tear I'd been hearing about in regards to the monorail and am thankful to report we did not have to endure but one 'restart' for the duration of our trip. I did however notice many times when we'd opt to take the ferry boat from MK back to Polynesian that I would see a monorail sitting for a bit (5 or more minutes) on the track and was happy to be traveling by water. Not sure if it was a congested track issue or what...

I'm happy to report not only did we make it to rope drop at Epcot, but we were first in line at our turnstile! This was the first ever for our family!

Here are the boys in line...

Here is some of the scenery that greeted us while we waited...

When we were allowed into the park, we actually had a plan! Another first for us! We walked very quickly to The Land and grabbed fastpasses for Soarin and then immediately headed back over to Test Track. We rode this three times in a row, walk-on, before moving on. I do know I texted Ann and told her my 'good hairday was officially over' after riding Test Track repeatedly.

I really_really thought I had a picture of us loading on Test Track (still waiting on photopass cd, too...grrrr) but I guess I was wrong. After Test Track we rode Mission Space, Soarin', Nemo, Figment, and at some point in the day we grabbed fast passes again for Soarin and Test Track because we rode those before dinner and leaving the park. We also rode Maelstrom, Gran Fiesta Tour, and experienced Ellen's Energy Adventure for the first time. I couldn't believe this but my kids loved Ellen's Adventure.

We ate a lot of these on our trip....

We toured the counter-clockwise countries in World Showcase (and I most likely have these out of order...):

Mexico

Africa

Germany (complete with caramel treats - YUM)

The German Storyteller and the Nutcracker

Norway

Also snapped this shot of Spaceship Earth from Worldshowcase

After touring, it was time for our dinner ADR at Akershus in Norway. Small dining review... my kids did not care for this meal. The princesses were great, Nate loved his kid friendly pizza, but my older two turned their noses up at their meal. I had the beef tips of which Nolan and Erin ended up splitting because they had both gotten the meatballs. They loved the mashed potatoes but after trying the meatballs, the taste was just too different from anything they'd had before.

Here's a pic:

I think I ended up eating the green beans and we turned to dessert. The appetizer buffet was great and the dessert was delicious. So not a bad restaurant at all but my two older kids will tell you otherwise because of the meatballs...

I will have to post pictures of the kids with the princesses later. Didn't get them uploaded to photobucket like I had thought. Sorry about that.

We left Epcot after dinner, around 6:30p. When we were leaving Akershus, we actually ran into the sweet family we had met at the DFW airport on our way. Was fun to see a familiar face! We spoke to them and then made our way back to the monorail. The kids were ready to swim some more and I think we were still getting our "Florida legs" beneath us getting adjusted to the walking.

After swimming, we got ready for bed - it was early, 8:30p, and Erin decided she was starving. SO again, I was very thankful for the concierge lounge. We walked to the lounge, grabbed a few snacks and then got back to bed. We were asleep no later than 9:15p. I found this so funny! But kids were still fighting their colds/croup/whatever so I felt like I needed to make sure I didn't wear them out completely.

We had an early morning ADR at a magical place and a dismeet in the morning to get to!

 

[annmarieda]

I love the pictures taken in WS. I really wish I had taken more time there.

I have had the meatballs at Akershus a couple times. First time it was yummy... i believe served with logan berries. The next time was way to heavily seasoned.

BTW, on being first in line at the turnstile!!!

And you are correct about the 16th.. but I thought you were referencing the 15th. Thats what I get for staying up late to dis. I get all confused.

 

[veggiemama]

Love the pictures at WS.

I can't believe how much you got done in the day and were still in bed by 9:30!!

 

[oceanwave]

Great pictures!

Love Nate's response to Mickey's wake up call! My husband would say the same thing, to him sleep is more important

Congrats on making it to Epcot so early and being first in line! I never did accomplished that when we were there last.

 

[KatMark]

Amy, as promised, I'm back...finally.

Love the introductions. Glad the flights were smooth (but I'm with your daughter...I'm not a flier either...it will be tough to get on plane in 12 days all by myself.

I love the photos of the Polynesian...it really is a beautiful resort.

We were stuck in that back room at the WCC the one and only time we went. But there were no "antics" going on in the main room either. Mark and I loved the milkshakes; the food -- not so much.

Great photos at Epcot. That's great you got to do Test Track three times in a row.

Again, I'm with your kids...we did lunch at Akershus...did not care ofr it; but the Princesses were great.

 

[sl_underwood]

 

[shocky5]

Glad you are joining in!

 

[shocky5]

I love the pictures taken in WS. I really wish I had taken more time there.

I have had the meatballs at Akershus a couple times. First time it was yummy... i believe served with logan berries. The next time was way to heavily seasoned.

BTW, on being first in line at the turnstile!!!

And you are correct about the 16th.. but I thought you were referencing the 15th. Thats what I get for staying up late to dis. I get all confused.

Ann - this was probably the most time we've ever spent in WS. And I'm happy to report my kids didn't complain. I'm glad they are getting old enough to be interested in what each country has to offer... not much on the films, etc but the offerings in the various stores were interesting to browse through.

I can't believe we were one of the first... I can definitely say, and this will be in my trip report, that I'm glad I utilized the 'touring' resources I did to help determine our days, etc. because it made a huge difference in what we got done. And I was skeptical to some extent at taking the planning that far but am glad that I did.

Love the pictures at WS.

I can't believe how much you got done in the day and were still in bed by 9:30!!

All I can say is touring plans coupled with easywdw and ridemax made huge differences in our days.

Great pictures!

Love Nate's response to Mickey's wake up call! My husband would say the same thing, to him sleep is more important

Congrats on making it to Epcot so early and being first in line! I never did accomplished that when we were there last.

Nate is so funny. He finally jumped up and of course Mickey didn't call back that day but he was willing to answer the next day...

Amy, as promised, I'm back...finally.

Love the introductions. Glad the flights were smooth (but I'm with your daughter...I'm not a flier either...it will be tough to get on plane in 12 days all by myself.

I love the photos of the Polynesian...it really is a beautiful resort.

We were stuck in that back room at the WCC the one and only time we went. But there were no "antics" going on in the main room either. Mark and I loved the milkshakes; the food -- not so much.

Great photos at Epcot. That's great you got to do Test Track three times in a row.

Again, I'm with your kids...we did lunch at Akershus...did not care ofr it; but the Princesses were great.

I'm glad several of you feel similar to how we did about the Akershus food. The meatballs were highly seasoned and I think both the meat and the gravy... I think my kids ordered them without the berry sauce which may have been their downfall. Oh well... we still enjoyed the experience. Nolan has an Ariel story that I probably shouldn't share on the DIS.

Kathy, I agree - the milkshakes at WCC were very good!

 

[shocky5]

Here is the picture of us loading onto an empty Test Track

And the princesses from Akershus Royal Storybook Dinner:

I will still have some more pictures when photopass arrives so I will share those then.

I do realize I've left something out that plays a 'small role' in the memories of our trip... As I stated earlier, we booked our trip in honor of my 40th birthday even though I really didn't plan on celebrating my birthday because the trip was for the family and not me. But when we booked, Eddie did tell them we were celebrating my 40th more to tease me than anything. Well I got the 'Happy Birthday' button upon check-in and while I didn't have any intentions of wearing it, my kids stuck it on my park bag. Just tuck that away in the back of your mind for later stories!

 

[shocky5]

Once again, the alarm was set and Mickey was set to call. Nate had informed me he would wake up and answer the phone call this time and he did. He was funny to watch while he listened to the message. He had kind of a half-grin on his face but I could tell he was questioning whether he was really listening to Mickey or if it was a recording!

The kids got up and we were ready to head out the door. We had an early ADR at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom for 8:05a. We were also going to meet up with Ashley (lilpixiebabe) and her sweet daughter Alexa and brother Joe and Mom.

Here was another little twist... when we had made this ADR originally, the MK was set to open at 9a. Well, as luck would have it, MK changed their hours a few weeks before we left and were now opening at 8a. We opted to keep the ADR because it was a predicted low crowd day and we had tickets that night to Mickey's Very Magic Christmas Party. So the plan was to get there about 7:40a, get in the park a little bit early, take some pics, have breakfast and then tour the MK.

We were out the door and to the monorail by about 7:35a. Pretty good, I thought. We hop on the monorail, make our way to the Grand Floridian, unload and load and then hear the announcement (after the doors are shut) "Ladies and Gentlemen, please be patient while we reboot the monorail. We will be on our way shortly." Ashley had texted me by this time telling me they were in the park at CP. Well, 'shortly' in Disney terms is not necessarily short... we did get on our way, pulled up to MK, and unloaded only to find large lines at bag check which I'd failed to consider. DOUBLE

We got through bag check, made our way over to the left where the early breakfast ppl get to enter and the clock is ticking to 8a. I wasn't concerned about being late for ADR, but I didn't want to get trampled by the people ready to run the second the park opened. We got into the park when we hear the countdown begin, the people cheering, and I tell my kids stay on the sidewalk of the shops on Main Street and hold on to each other... and before the rope even fell, people were going under it and running up Main Street. My kids were in shock... and laughing... it was a funny memory for us.

We finally arrived at Crystal Palace:

And I immediately hear someone say "AMY!" And it was Ashley and her sweet family. Her mom and brother were gracious to take our pictures for us.

We then checked in, visited while we waited to be seated and were called in after about 10 minutes to go to our table. We really enjoyed this breakfast! And I'm a total loser because I do not have a single food pic from this meal. Sorry friends!! But here are the characters we spent some time with!

Nolan was the only one who was brave enough to do the kid parade... the other two were either 'shy' or 'too cool.' Here's Nolan with his ever present smile on his face:

Crystal Palace was a great breakfast, no complaints, and we all ate everything we wanted to try. We were finished up by 9a and headed out into MK next.

I would say this is where our 'day' got a little bit weird...

To be continued....

 

[shocky5]

We absolutely love Magic Kingdom. But it's like we couldn't get our 'rhythm' going while in the park this day. I don't know if it's because we knew we would be there that evening for the party or if we were more tired than we cared to admit from our three early mornings in a row... but regardless, we were all a little bit irritable.

We headed over to Tomorrowland first to check out getting a fastpass for Space Mountain. We got a fastpass but the standby was so short, we decided to go ahead and ride it, too. The last time my kids rode this ride, they were 'this size.'

From our first trip in 2007... Erin was 9, Nolan was 6 and Nate was 4.

Needless to say, they 'liked' Space Mountain in 2007, but they didn't LOVE Space Mountain in 2007. When we visited in 2009, SM was under refurb so we didn't get to ride it then. SO I was a little bit unsure how they would respond to it this time....

They LOOOOVED IT! And I have the photopass pic to prove it when the cd arrives.

We rode it once, and tucked our FP's away for later on.

As we were leaving SM, we decided to stop off at the restroom before heading over to Frontier Land... I was looking down at my phone texting with Ann when I hear "I believe somebody is following you!" It was a CM with one of the characters and I was the somebody following... I had no idea that we were walking behind and were about to run over this character who undoubtedly thought I was a little nutty at the time...

The CM and Stitch were kind enough to stop and take a picture with the kids.

We continue our walk back over to Frontier Land with the sole intention of riding BTMRR. We love this ride as well. And as luck would have it, we were able to get another FP and not wait too long in the standby line ensuring at least two rides on this ride, as well.

Nolan and I on BTMRR

Erin and Nate on BTMRR

After this ride, we made our way over to Fantasyland... and it was at this point I just felt like we were 'wandering' around. The kids were cranky, thus making me cranky, and I was really missing Eddie there to help buffer some of that. The lines were pretty long in Fantasyland and no one really wanted to wait in line yet we really didn't know what else we wanted to do... so we jumped on It's A Small World knowing it would at least give us a break and I could "think" about what we wanted to do....

This was a funny moment... this holiday season is the year Nate figured out who the Rockettes were... and upon entering this part of IASW, you can see him pointing at some dolls doing 'kicks' and he's asking me if those are suppposed to be the Rockettes...

From IASW, we went to Liberty Square and rode Haunted Mansion. We always enjoy this ride so much. We did not take the que through the cemetary... but vowed we would the next time we rode.

After we got off of this ride, we walked over to Adventureland and headed towards POTC... we managed to grab some Mickey Bars to eat on our way. Here are the kids finishing theirs up before we got on the ride:

The Mickey Bars and POTC seemed to really help. We'd decided after we got off of this ride, we'd make our way back to the Polynesian, eat lunch there, swim a bit and then rest before going back to MK at 4p for our ADR at the Plaza. We ended up buying one of the POTC movie DVD's to watch in our room... best investment I made the entire trip. If ever I wanted them to rest, we'd put that movie on and they'd be so calm and quiet!

We did watch the performance of Jack Sparrow's pirate training which was cute and took a few pictures before we left.... but in the back of my mind, I really couldn't believe we were already leaving the MK after only a few hours. I was worried we were making a mistake...

Jack Sparrow

Some other pics on our way out... just trying to take it 'easy.'

We stayed true to our plan to leave for a bit. We road the ferry boat back, went to Captain Cooks and grabbed a light lunch and then went to our room and laid down with the movie on. I think every one of us slept some which is probably what we needed.

Next up... back to MK for early dinner and Mickey's Very Magic Christmas Party! Would we have a better experience the second time around??

 

[swwake]

I am loving this so far! I am trying to figure out when it was that I saw you entering the Hawaii building in a rush with the kids and texted "was that you Amy that I just saw at Hawaii?"

I'm thinking it had to be either Saturday night after we arrived and were on our way to WL for dinner, or maybe sometime on Sunday when you would have taken a break back at the resort.

 

[shocky5]

I am loving this so far! I am trying to figure out when it was that I saw you entering the Hawaii building in a rush with the kids and texted "was that you Amy that I just saw at Hawaii?"

I'm thinking it had to be either Saturday night after we arrived and were on our way to WL for dinner, or maybe sometime on Sunday when you would have taken a break back at the resort.

Yay! You made it over here! I am not sure either! I think it was Saturday night because it seems like you were going to WL for dinner and I got your message while sitting by the pool with the kids while they swam some. But it's so funny you say that because I was trying to decide when as well so I could get it in my report!

 

[momabaarjo]

So sorry about Mr. ??? and the delays in security. I had to laugh because that was around the time you texted me about having your name called at the gate...I told you that you were already getting the magical treatment! I love that you called yourself both the rooster and the hen...poor Erin and her rough start to the flight!

I love the town car pick up...so glad that we used it instead of trying to get back to MCO on marathon day! I am going to have to check out club level if we ever go back as a family.

I am so loving all of your pictures...including ones with you in them. Even with photo pass, I am still the one behind the lense and I always try to avoid the camera anyway!

Nolan sleeping during WL skillet meal....I wish I would have kept this ADR instead of the one I replaced it with...the meal looks better and even with Nolan sleeping I am sure the atmosphere was better!

I can't believe that Nate told you that Mickey would call back...

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Amy. I love the photos with the Princesses. And the pictures with Pooh and friends at my favorite breakfast place are adorable.

Glad the kids LOVED Space Mountain this trip. Great morning at MK. And sometimes the best thing to do is take a catnap in the afternoon to revitalize yourself.