Third time is a Charm***Our Halloween at the Poly!

[BreezysMom]

Hi all!

Welcome to my trip report.

This was our third trip to the Poly and was the best yet! While I find our first trip was the most magical, I liked having some experience and knowledge behind us as it made this experience truly fabulous

I combined our last two TR's within this trips PTR which was so fun....you can find it HERE!

We had our must do favorites and tried some new things this trip but alas, never made to DAK! I don't know what it is about that park but we just never end up going there! But there is always next trip?!?

Get yourself a snack and a beverage and sit back and relax. I look forward to sharing our third trip of a life time.

First of all, who are we??

I am the Mom, the wife and the planner of all things Disney and otherwise. I do work part-time at a hospital close to home but essentailly I am a soccer Mom, and all that jazz!

DH is our hard working husband and Dad who actually enjoys going to Disney for our vacations! Lucky us DH loves to see his girls happy

DD is 8 and an only child so Disney is a perfect vacation spot for us. We have fun together and the place is filled with other kiddos for her to meet and share her downtime with while Mom and Dad relax at the pool. Plus we don't get the pleasure of sibling fights and all that fun stuff. Nonetheless, after a full day at the park we still heard the "I'm bored" or "what are we doing now?" Gotta love kids!!!

This was our first trip to the Poly and my favorite picture of our little family!​

While we have considered other resorts, like many the Poly is in our heart. I actually would like to stay at the GF but DD and DH have no interest. DH says maybe our next holiday trip he might consider it, but since we all our Poly lovers it will be our home resort for the time being.

This trip we added to our Poly experience and stayed GVCL with no dining plan. In hindsight, we should have done the dining plan. I actually think when all was said and done we paid roughly the same OOP for meals and snacks since we did two signature meals and all the snacks and park meals. I guess in reality it made me cringe spending $20-25 for a not so great counter service meal at the park.

Staying CL was fabulous and I will go more into that during the report. As for celebrations, we were celebrating our anniversary, DH's 40th Birthday and my recovery from major surgery earlier this year

We kicked off this vacation with the Miley Cyrus concert the night before we left! It was fun for DD as it was her first concert. They were decent seats but for some reason DD had this image of being front row All I can say is Hannah Montana has left the building Miley has grown up a lot and I feel bad for the parents who shelled out a lot of money for their little girls who thought that were going to see HM! We had a great night at the cencert and got home and fell into bed as we had to get up early and head on out to the airport!

Here is DD pointing to our countdown calender! I think she was so conflicted about what she was more excited for!

The next morning we woke up and finished up our packing. I had things pretty organized so there was little for us to do. We had to drive to my parents house to drop off our puppy and then my Dad was driving us to O'Hare. It was kind of a hassel since we literally drive right past the airport to get to my parents but they take great care of our baby and we get a free ride to the airport! DD still begs for a limo but I tell her a ride from Papa is so much better

We had a 12:20pm flight and made it to the airport in plenty of time! They boarded the plane quickly and we actually took off ahead of schedule! We landed at MCO almost 30 minutes earlier than originally planned! BONUS! We headed to the airport monorail to head to Magical Express! The first thing we noticed was that it was nice and steamy in Orlando!!!

We got to the ME area and they sent us right into line which was nice. The lady was sort of chatty and we could see that they were loading our bus. I could tell DH was getting anxious but the lady was being so nice! She finally handed us our stuff back and we headed to our bus.

We hopped on the bus and off we went! It was great! Then the best part...the Poly was the first stop. We were off to a excellent start! I love the ME ride. It has become a traditional part of our Disney experience!

The only bad thing for ME is I can never get a goood pic of the Walt Disney World sign and the Magical Kingdom sign Maybe one day I can convince the bus driver to pull over so I can get a good shot...then again I might have a bus load of people anxious to get to their resorts get ticked at me.

We pulled up to the Poly and got off the bus. I just love the Poly atmosphere and it is like all my worries and stressors disappear instantly! We are in the Disney bubble and will be for the next 8 days!

We walked up to the desk and introduced ourselves. They said to just wait a minute and a cart would come and get us and take us to the Hawaii Longhouse, but we were too excited and wanted to walk over to the Hawaii ourselves! My favorite part is walking into the Poly lobby when you arrive...life just does not get much better!

Up next...check in and off to the MK!

 

[mebbradley]

I'm following!
I can't wait to read all about it!

 

[1971DBday]

Signing on ...getting anxious and excited for our trip. When I last saw you I wasn't feeling well. Turns out I have positional vertigo. I am getting better, but still not 100%.

However, in case you didn't notice under the Poly faq thread...thank you again for the Fairy Godmailer! It came on a good day! Hannah was sick and quarentined to our room. It put such a smile on her face as I reminded her that she needed to get better for Cinderella. Thanks again and let me know if I can do anything in return.

Looking forward to reading about your adventure (helps with my day dreaming).

 

[maiapapaya]

Great to finally start reading your TR, although looking at your arrival pics is bringing all of those feelings of withdrawl back!

Another thing we have in common - I would love to stay at GF too (preferably at Christmas!) Unfortunately it appears that my DH has become a complete Poly addict and won't consider staying anywhere else. Except he concedes that maybe we can book a MK view dormer room for our 25th wedding anniversary (in 17 years! )

 

[ladybugmom]

I'm joining in!! Another Poly-lover here!! We're headed back in May--can't wait!! Looking forward to reading your TR!!

 

[MrsSpratt]

Anyone who is Mama to a Blehneim is aces in my book - can't wait for more!

 

[BreezysMom]

I'm following!
I can't wait to read all about it!

Welcome...I can't wait to write all about it!

Signing on ...getting anxious and excited for our trip. When I last saw you I wasn't feeling well. Turns out I have positional vertigo. I am getting better, but still not 100%.

However, in case you didn't notice under the Poly faq thread...thank you again for the Fairy Godmailer! It came on a good day! Hannah was sick and quarentined to our room. It put such a smile on her face as I reminded her that she needed to get better for Cinderella. Thanks again and let me know if I can do anything in return.

Looking forward to reading about your adventure (helps with my day dreaming).

I am glad she got it! I am glad your DD is better! Have a great trip

Great to finally start reading your TR, although looking at your arrival pics is bringing all of those feelings of withdrawl back!

Another thing we have in common - I would love to stay at GF too (preferably at Christmas!) Unfortunately it appears that my DH has become a complete Poly addict and won't consider staying anywhere else. Except he concedes that maybe we can book a MK view dormer room for our 25th wedding anniversary (in 17 years! )

Wow, that is a long time to wait! I am sure you can convince him sooner

I'm joining in!! Another Poly-lover here!! We're headed back in May--can't wait!! Looking forward to reading your TR!!

Welcome! I think May would be a great time to go! Maybe our next trip. Thanks for joining!

Anyone who is Mama to a Blehneim is aces in my book - can't wait for more!

That is my baby! Her name is Poly and she is TR writing cuddle buddy! We missed her so much while we were there. It is a shame she can't go to the place she is named after!

Thanks for all joining in! I am off to work out and then to work so will finish day one later

 

[tarak]

Subscribing! I'm hoping reading your TR will make the next 12 months go by faster. Probably not, though.

I was talking to my husband about our split stay next year and he said "wouldn't it be easier to just stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge the whole time?" I sputtered a bit and then said it was much easier to take the monorail or the boat to go to the MK and Epcot. I was shocked. He's the one who loves the Poly and never wants to stay anywhere else. I love the AKL and the Poly equally, I think. Doing a split stay for me is like getting two vacations in one.

 

[BreezysMom]

Subscribing! I'm hoping reading your TR will make the next 12 months go by faster. Probably not, though.

I was talking to my husband about our split stay next year and he said "wouldn't it be easier to just stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge the whole time?" I sputtered a bit and then said it was much easier to take the monorail or the boat to go to the MK and Epcot. I was shocked. He's the one who loves the Poly and never wants to stay anywhere else. I love the AKL and the Poly equally, I think. Doing a split stay for me is like getting two vacations in one.

We talk about a split stay all the time but then I think about packing and unpacking....I hate to do both!

I think if it was a longer stay, like greater than 10 days I would consider doing a MK resort and an Epcot resort.

I agree the change of scenery might be nice and add some to the vacation

The 12 months will go by quickly, before you know it, it will be the first of the year and then spring break and then summer vacation! We will keep you company

 

[mickeystoontown]

I wanna join in too! I've got over 6 months until our next trip to Disney. I've often said trip reports and pictures are what keep me sane until my next Disney trip. Thanks for your contribution to my sanity.

 

[mla1977]

Hello! Sounds good so far and it is nice to see a TR from someone new to me!

 

[HANDYMOM]

so I can read later....

 

[LexisAuntieLala]

I am excited to read your report (or start to anyway). We are staying at the Poly for the first time in about a month and are soooo ready to go!

 

[MrsSpratt]

Is Poly named after the Poly!?!?! We have a Lulu and her little sister (a maltipoo) named Coco - it sounds like we are running a puppy brothel!

 

[Zuzu03]

Subscribing too - our trip is SO far away - I love living vicariously through these TRs!

 

[1971DBday]

DD(3) is on antibiotics and is doing better, but now DD(13) is sick. This is definately our everybody get sick-time right before WDW trip.I just pray everyone get healthy in the next 17 days!!! Reading on and enjoying all of the tips and sneak peeks before the trip. Also noting the Electric Lemonade......

 

[DisneyBoundinDec]

can't wait to read all about it!!

Subscribing! I'm hoping reading your TR will make the next 12 months go by faster. Probably not, though.

same here! we are going Nov 2010

 

[BreezysMom]

So where did I leave off....

So as we were anxiously heading through the Poly lobby to make our way to Hawaii, I did slow down and smell the lobby. Yes, that Poly lobby smell! The lobby noise and the atmosphere are just awesome! I figured if I kicked up my heels and screamed in delight that DH and DD would be totally embarrassed but that was how I felt

We walked past the pool which was LOADED with people and that is when we looked over and saw a huge net covering the slide. DD made mention of the slide being covered and we just brushed it off as we wanted to get checked in!

We walked up to those sliding glass doors and they magically opened for us and that is when we heard it for the first time "Aloha"!

We were checked in by Alexander who was really great! We chatted him up for a while and then headed off to our room. We had a fabulous garden view room on the third floor room 3524. It was a nice view but I did have room envy of our neighbors across the hall as I saw the fabulous view from their room when they had their door open. But that view was almost $1000 more and frankly, the lounge sufficed and actually turned out to be a great place to hang our throughout our trip! But I am not to proud to say that everytime I saw someone from across the hall heading out of their room, I was insanely jealous!!

Here is our view

After we chilled out for a bit in the room and changed out of our Chicago cold weather clothing, DH and DD headed to the lounge while I unpacked our carry ons. In reality I needed to run back down to the CM desk and get the items they purchased for me and my box I sent! They had my stuff they they purchased but did not have my box yet. They were sending someone for it. So I set up the "welcome gift" from Minnie and Mickey. It was an autograph book and journal and some Disney treats from Trader Jacks.

After setting the surprise up I met up with DD and DH in the lounge and they were feasting on the food offerings. I have to admit that they would not be happy with the evening offerings as they are two of the pickiest eaters around but when I sat down with them they raved about the food! DH was overjoyed with the beer selection and I immediately pour myself my first large cup of Ku'ulei Special drink of the vacation.

We toasted each other to celebrate our arrival and then decided to head off to the MK since it was closing at 9pm and I wanted to go and come back before Wishes!

It was a beautiful evening despite the fact that it was blazing hot...we really did not care as we had a long miserable chilly summer and fall!

Off to the boat we went and took that first ride over to the MK. I could not wait to see that Castle! So we get through the gate and DD sees some CMs with a jump rope. They call her over and she starts to jump rode with them! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We are at the MK and this kid wants to jump rope?

I preach patience to this child all the time so I guess I had to wait!

Finally she was done jumping rope and off to Main Street we headed. But we were stopped because some Celebrate today dance party was heading down infront of the train station . Good Lord, would I ever see the castle. It is so close! OK Disney people...the parade is pretty lame but the music was rockin, so it was cool. But DD does not let me dance in public so I stood there and waited for it to pass.

Then finally, there is was.....

Yeppers! Look at all those people. I was a bit shocked at the amount of people, but surprisingly there was little to no waits on any of the rides.

So of course I had to take a pic of DD in front of the castle. This year she decided to do a signature pose as you will se throughout the TR.

Usually we try to do a signature ride our first ride...the line for Dumbo was fairly long so we headed to the TTA and then DD says she wants to ride the Speedway. OK, whatever...not my favorite ride because it is loud and the fumes are obnoxious but hey, let's go for it!

We headed to the TTA and rode that. I have to admit, while Space Mountain rattles my brain a bit, I actually missed it! It looks really cool though so I am looking forward to riding it upon our return!!

I was keeping track of the time and I wanted to get out of the park before Spectro started so we headed back to Main Street and then again, a CM tempted DD with a Hula Hoop! DD is a Hula Hoop champion, she will sit in front of the TV just shaking her hips with that hoop for an hour! It is quite funny! So she Hula hooped on Main Street and then we headed back to the Poly for wishes. The sun had set and night had fell upon the MK! Just as beautiful as ever!

The one bad thing about going so close to Halloween is that a lot of the merchandise is sold out. DD had to have a Halloween ear cap and the candy corn one was all she they had left. It is actually kind of cute. I am really ticked that we did not get a MNSSHP pin this year! We looked all over but they were out...but that is part of the next day TR!

We took the monorail back to the Poly so we could browse Boutiki....I think I have reached my image capacity so I will stop here for now....

Coming soon, our first evening at the Poly. Wishes on the beach, turndown service and loads of surprise gifts left in the room for DD

Disclaimer...I thought the larger pics were too in your face but I don't like the smaller pics either so I I am going to use the larger size for the next installment!

 

[ladybugmom]

Oh, thank you!! I liked the larger pictures better b/c you can see everything in detail!! It looks like a great first day!! And Wishes on the Poly beach is always a great way to end your day!!

 

[Luv2trav]

I love your trip report so far! I am going to be staying LVCL over Easter and I am hoping they will help me out organizing some surprises for my boys on Easter...

What kind of beer was offered if you don't mind me asking and would DH be able to bring a couple back to our room in the evening..(I am not saying a lot I mean 2-3 of them )