Third Trip of a Lifetime!...2 TR and a PTR for the price of one!

[BreezysMom]

So on our way back to the Poly to do some swimming DH looks at the MNSSHP sign that was by City Hall. We had seen signs for it all week but sort of brushed it off...why would we want to pay more to get in the park when we have these park tickets that cost so much already?

But this time the sign said, tickets available for tonights party. DH looked at me and said "should we?" I was like why not? We had planned on spending the day at the resort swimming anyway, we already did our big dining meal for the day at CRT and had no other plans. We were leaving the next day

We really had no clue what MNSSHP was except a way for Disney to get more money put of us. It was early October so we were not really in the Halloween mode yet. We had experienced Hallowishes from the Poly beach and they were spectacular! Now we had tickets to the party!

So we headed back to the Poly for a day of R&R before the big party!

We love the Poly pool. DD, who was 6 at the time refused to go down the slide the entire trip! It was frustrating to say the least but I was not going to make her. We were able to borrow a life vest which was great for her feeling more secure in the pool. We had so much fun that afternoon!

Watch out! That is my big rear blazing down the slide...trying to show Breezy how much fun it was

DH and DD playing in the water. They had so much fun together. DH had been working on his Masters for two years prior to our trip and was finally done in June, but then with My Grandma's death and a major job change we felf like we hardly saw him ever. It was great to reconnect

It looked beautiful now but one of those sudden Florida downpours was rolling in so we decided to head back to the room for a nap and get ready for MNSSHP!

 

[BreezysMom]

So back at the room it started to get ugly out...Oh great! We bought these dumb tckets and now it looked like a worst storm ever

So it poured buckets for like three whole minutes and then the rain moved on and let the sun shine and heat up that humid Florida air! We decided to head over to the GCH for a pre-party snack and do some people watching before heading to MNSSHP!


Breezy had to have her lobby time to color and watch cartoons. I remember it being very quiet that day. All the free diners were leaving and no one was really checking in. Then they announce that it was hula lesson time! I apparently was not allowed per miss daughter of mine...but I am sure I could have if I really wanted to try

Now Mom had to take some more pics! I love Poly lobby pics!

Time to head to the Monorail for the party

The party was a blast! The parade and dance parties were so much fun and we partied until midnight!

Poor baby sacked out on the monorail on the ride back to the Poly

It was getting so cool. We walked around to get some candy. Bought some t-shirts and enjoyed some dance parties. But the it was time to settle somewhere for the parade. We found a spot right near the hub. Perfect location for us!

 

[BreezysMom]

I have to say that my yard sale was a BOMB! Oh well, the bright side is that all our excess stuff is out of the house and donated which is what we should have done in the first place.

DD got her pirate costume yesterday and I am beyond happy to report that it will take very little room in her suitcase So she is done for my to do list for her! Being that this is our third trip in three years I don't feel as much pressure of what to bring and what not to bring. Plus with the added bonus of club level, I don't have to worry about snacks and water which makes me very happy. For our trip in December we did have a couple cases of water shipped from Costco and it cast me about $12 TOTAL. DH thought I was nuts but did backtrack after he realized just how much money I save on buying bottled water. I strongly suggest shipping water if you family are big water drinkers like we are. I was not a fan of using all the plastic bottles but we try to live fairly "green" most of the time but Florida water is just yucky.

We are bringing refillable bottles for water for this trip. But we will also be buying the refillable mugs. We plan on having a few meals at Captain Cooks and I figure besides being good mementos, we will get our moneys worth for the counter service meals we have there.

I did some tweaking of our ADRs and got a copy of our itinerary e-mailed from the IPO at the Poly. I am really enjoying the IPO service so far! Now I just need to wait for our Magical Express packet and then it will really feel REAL Now it is time to finish our October 2007 TR....

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Wow! Her hair really held up I love the photos. Especially of the Poly - it's making me wish I was there again, sigh...

I'm so sorry the sale was a bomb. You never know what can happen.

So you are a Dis vet but in case you haven't thought of these things -
1. So you bring too many clothes?? I save our socks, undies, and even clothes that are ready to be thrown away. I use these at the parks and then throw them away at the end of the day (for ALL of the family). I can find stained items and items that are ready to rip apart - skivvies! - and we use them once and toss them when we are there. Trust me, I'm not going to donate them so I'd be throwing them away anyway. It leaves enough room in the suitcase for purchases at the parks. I do the same with toiletries - only bring what I'll toss.

2. Get free samples all year round at walmart.com. I go to their website and individual websites for LOTS of free shampoo & conditioner samples & GOOD samples. We bring those and throw away the paper they come in (as well as floss, sample perfume, sample lotions, etc.).

3. I'm from Colorado and our water ROCKS so I hate water that isn't mountain fresh But I am a scrooge so I bring the koolaid, tea, crystal lite, etc. packets and put them in the water to flavor them. I buy them on sale with a coupon and can get them 10 or 12 for a buck or two! The kids LOVE them.

Ok, I'm sure you've thought of these things and done them but your comments have rung so true to me!!!

P.S. Totally JEALOUS you are going soon to the world

 

[BreezysMom]

So the Halloween party was a great success. The parade was incredible and of course Hallowishes was beautiful.

We were leaving the next day and had and ADR at OHana for breakfast.

We did ride a bunch of rides and did some trick or treating...but I am somewhat of a mean mom and do not let DD have too much candy and we had so much to take home as it was, so the candy lines were not a huge priority. We did get some photopass pics taken, but they were not so great but we have them for memories regardless. I can say now that I have done MNSSHP and MVMCP (coming up in next TR) and I had so much more fun at the Halloween party. I can't wait to go back this year .

I did a little bit of packing that night. I could not believe it was already time to go home. It seemed so short, especially since we were shorted a couple of days due to Breezy's illness, which by the way escaped DH and I and I am forever thankful for that!

The next morning we got up early and went to Ohana for breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. It is a great experience. I did feel a bit rushed by the server and I guess the food was pretty decent for breakfast, but frankly after a week of nothing but eating out I was almost sick of eating. Does anyone else ever feel like that?

I think we look so tired in these pics, but it was a great send off and has become a tradition for us to eat there our last morning.
We bought the dress for DD in the Poly gift shop. I love that dress and sadly she has outgrown it but got to wear it again our next trip

After breakfast we headed back to the room to finish packing. We checked our luggage at the resort which is so great!! Then we were going to go to the MK to say our goodbyes before we had to come back and catch our Magical Express bus to the airport.

 

[BreezysMom]

Wow! Her hair really held up I love the photos. Especially of the Poly - it's making me wish I was there again, sigh...

I'm so sorry the sale was a bomb. You never know what can happen.

So you are a Dis vet but in case you haven't thought of these things -
1. So you bring too many clothes?? I save our socks, undies, and even clothes that are ready to be thrown away. I use these at the parks and then throw them away at the end of the day (for ALL of the family). I can find stained items and items that are ready to rip apart - skivvies! - and we use them once and toss them when we are there. Trust me, I'm not going to donate them so I'd be throwing them away anyway. It leaves enough room in the suitcase for purchases at the parks. I do the same with toiletries - only bring what I'll toss.

2. Get free samples all year round at walmart.com. I go to their website and individual websites for LOTS of free shampoo & conditioner samples & GOOD samples. We bring those and throw away the paper they come in (as well as floss, sample perfume, sample lotions, etc.).

3. I'm from Colorado and our water ROCKS so I hate water that isn't mountain fresh But I am a scrooge so I bring the koolaid, tea, crystal lite, etc. packets and put them in the water to flavor them. I buy them on sale with a coupon and can get them 10 or 12 for a buck or two! The kids LOVE them.

Ok, I'm sure you've thought of these things and done them but your comments have rung so true to me!!!

P.S. Totally JEALOUS you are going soon to the world

Seriously I am in need of some skivies, I know TMI, so your idea has me thinking. Because DD is in need of socks and underwear too! Good idea!

We are not bringing a lot of clothing this trip. I will be doing laundry while we are there. I have learned the hard way with these trips. We brought SIX yes 6 suitcases for this particular trip and it was WAAAAAY too much. I did the whole suitcase full of snacks and water, DD had a suitcase full of gowns, shoes (never wore) and I brought every toiletry and medicine in the cabinet It was so crazy. I brought dress clothes, tons of sweatshirts and so on...all went unused. I was better for the December trip, only 3 suitcases for that one. This trip I plan on mastering the whole system!

I also do the Walmart samples I remind DH that if his contact solution gets to certain point in the bottle to stop using it and open a new one because his solution does not come in travel size. So we bring the almost empty bottle and at the end of the trip we just toss all the empty/almost empty bottles. We also use the Disney toiletries while we are there as well. And frankly, they do have most staples to buy at the shops, allbeit a small fortune, but available nonetheless.

I love Colorado. I lived in Denver for about a year 16 years ago. I lived with my Aunt and had a blast skiing, hiking and just enjoying all the Colorado had to offer. I really need to take DD there so she can see the Mountains. DH and I honeymooned in Vail! It was incredible.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Oh yeah, first thing I thought was 'she's a mean mom' NOT!!! So, not a ton of candy but Disneyworld??? You are the BEST

 

[BreezysMom]

So back to the Magic Kingdom for the last time. It was a wonderful 6 days. A truly magical first trip to Disney World for all of us. A trip of a LIFETIME!

We said our goodbyes to Main Street and the castle and only rode a few rides because the MK was mobbed. It was a Friday, the Friday before Columbus day, so a lot of those holiday weekend travelers were just arriving.

We took the boat back to the Poly, collected our things and sat in the lobby waiting for ME. DD colored and watched cartoons and DH and I sat and people watched as they entered the front door Our bus came and off we went. So long Disney World and a new found love the Poly . We flew home to Chicago and landed in a horrible rain storm Welcome home!

We went through the typical home from Disney blues. We saved up for a while for that trip so I knew we would not be going back so soon...but then about a month after we returned home I got an e-mail from Disney...40% off any stay during the so called "Magical Weeks of Disney". Forwarded it to DH, knowing he would say NOT A CHANCE. But was I wrong....he told me to book a trip for December 2008......

WE WERE GOING BACK TO DISNEY and for the holidays no less So this time I got to plan a trip with some knowledge and my new friend the DIS. 8 magical nights at the Poly in early December!

Stayed tuned....the second trip of a Life time is coming up and while the first one was magical since it was our first time, the second trip was beyond our wildest dreams! If you have a trip coming up while the holiday decorations are up...this next TR will not disappoint as I took lots of pics and we did everything that Disney had to offer for the holidays.

To keep you coming back for more, I will give you a mini spoiler...our second trip ended like our first trip started .

Coming up...December 2008 TR which includes lots of Character meals, MVMCP, Candelight Processional, Holidays around the World at Epcot, The Osborn Lights (yes we finally got to DHS) and the highlight for me...the castle, all draped in icicle lights.

 

[Stefy]

Your first trip looked pretty awesome, apart from the bug at the beginning, but you looked like you had a great time

Ohana breakfast looks v cool, we can't wait to do this next year

Looking forward to reading about your second trip

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Oh no! again! Although I'm sure you still had the best time

 

[BreezysMom]

After our great first trip we started to plan our second trip. I used the same TA but gave more input as to my preferences. There was so much to plan/do for the holiday season at Disney. It was a fun trip to plan.

This time we were going for 8 nights so I felt confident we would get to see and do everything we wanted. Remember our first trip we only went ot MK and EPCOT and really was only at Epcot a half of day. We had a lot to see!

The planning for this trip was complicated by the fact that in August my mother got gravely ill and they told us she was not expected to survive the day. Thankfully, she pulled through but a lot of her after care seemed to fall on me.

It also happened to be her 60th Birthday coming up in December and my family wanted to have a special party for her after our big scare. Her birthday happened to be the day before we were leaving for Disney so the party was the night before we were leaving.

Well put planning a Disney trip, a birthday celebration and getting ready for the holidays themself...I was way over my head Not to mention that I myself was having health issues and was in need of major surgery that I ended up putting off. Thank goodness I was going on vacation to Disney

So I prayed that we would not get hit with some crazy early December snow storm and we wpould get to Disney on schedule. We were so ready for this trip! The next morning after a wonderful party, and late night we woke up early to get on the road. We were dropping the dog off at my Mom and Dad's and my Dad was taking us to Ohare. So far, so good It actually was frrezing here in Chicago, like below zero freezing. Not normal for early December, but at least not snowing.

We boarded the plane on time...took off on time and landed early! Off to ME to hitch a ride to the Poly.....we walked up to the ME area and I could not believe my eyes it was CRAZY busy! Wall to wall people! So much for the low crowds of early December! Of well, who cares...let's get on that bus and head to the Poly!

So long Chicago!

Hello ME and Disney World!

We were the first to get dropped off and we headed into the Poly lobby to check in. It was beautiful! The decorated trees and the garland! There were Poinsettas placed throughout the foilage in the waterfall area. Very festive and beautiful!

There was no line to check in, we walked right up to a CM and I said hello and he grunted a hello back...I like to refer to him as Mr. Happy He checked us in and while I was nervous...hoping not to get puked on again. I was jumping out of my skin waiting to find our where are room was. We were staying garden view and I did request third floor Figi. We were placed in third floor Aotearoa. I asked him if there was third floor Figi available and he said NO! Oh brother! This guy was such a downer. He then proceeds to tell me that this is an upgrade...a lagoon view! Great! An upgrade...maybe we will see the castlke from our room?

Mr. Happy did not even give us leis and Aloha or anything. But who cares?? We were at the Poly, time to get this vacation started

We head over to our room, open the door and DH opens the blinds. Lagoon view??? We had a great view of a big tree and if you quinted you could see some water through the leaves and branches. I did not even think to take a pic. Oh well, we did pay for GV and that is what we received.

We only had our carry ons because ME had our luggage. Oh, I forgot to mention...it was COLD there that day. Thankfully, we had our winter coats with us and we were dressed for cooler weather coming from the frozen tundra of Chicago!

After a couple minutes in the room we started to smell something...it was not cigarette smoke...not incense...it was Pot! We were in a room next to Cheech and Chong!!! I called down to what I thought was the front desk, I now know is a call center and told them I was not happy with my location now. Plus, did I really want to spend 8 days and nights staring at that tree while my neighbor was smoking his own greenery?

No problem, they could move us to our third floor Figi, but not until the next day. It was a deal...but could they send someone up to deal with our neighbors? I also complained about Mr. Happy and our missing leis!

We headed back down to the desk to deal with some of our issues and get our leis and took some pics in the beautiful lobby.

Frankly, I love the Poly but the front desk people are hit or miss at times which is disappointing. I do have to say that I have also met some of the nicest CMs at the Poly front desk as well, which you will see how wonderful later in the TR they turned out to be.

By the way, ME had also lost one of our peices of luggage and basically told me to deal with it by calling the airline and this person and that person. It was not a great start but again, we are back at Disney, so far no puke and I just wanted to get this vacation started. The missing luggage, which happened to be filled with all my stuff showed up later that night while we were out.

We bundled up with our coats and hats and headed off to the boat to the MK. I had to see that castle!!!

Oh my The decorations were incredible! It was more beautiful than I imagined!

We could not stay too long because it was a party night, so we went on a few rides and headed back to the Poly to get a good night sleep. The next morning we were going to MK early to experience rope drop for the first time. We were no rookies anymore!

Coming soon...Day 2. Magic Kingdom and dinner at Chef Mickeys!

 

[Stefy]

Ouch, that CM sounded like a bundle of joy...not and what is up with the Pot smokers I am glad you got a nicer CM this time and they moved you to Figi.

I know what you mean about crowds and December. We went the beginning of last year expecting it to be quite, but when we arrived it was heaving, a CM told us that all resorts were booked to capacity

Looking forward to reading more

 

[BreezysMom]

Dec 2008- Day 2

This day we were going to MK. After we came home from our first trip I started reading about "rope drop". I decided that we had to see this! We got to bed early the night before and were well rested. This would be the perfect morning to experience rode drop!

Our usual morning at the Poly consisted of me being the first to wake...I would take a nice slow walk with lots of detours to Captain Cooks and get us breakfast and then I would bring it back to the room. We would eat and get ready and then head on out for the day.

This particular morning we had to have bell services pick up our luggage to store so we could change rooms. We stopped in the lobby to take care of our room switch on our way out, took some more pics and headed over the the MK.

On the monorail

DH and DD were moaning and groaning about me making them get to the park so early because we were just waiting around. On our first trip we got into MK prior to official park opening due to our ADR at CRT and I think they just assumed we would be strolling around like we did that morning

Finally the the music started and the opening ceremony began. They both quickly stopped their groaning...as a matter of fact, DH is insisting that we do rode drop all the time! He really enjoyed it and video taped the whole thing. I think his main goal now is to be the opening family

DD was sick of me taking pics already and it was only the second day!

Keep in mind that we(especially DH) are not fans of being scheduled on vacation. I go to great lengths to have a few "rough schedules" usually centered around ADRs so we can "go with the flow". We had an ADR at Chef Mickey's that night so we really did not have lunch plans.

Frankly, after a few hours the MK got really crowded and we were ready to leave. I called the Poly and our new room was not ready yet...what to do? I suggested that we head over to the WL for CS lunch and check out the decorations. This was totally part of my "planning" but DH was none the wiser. The WL was beautiful and we ended up eating at Whispering Canyon which was pretty a decent meal. I liked the atmosphere of the lobby and being able to gaze at the beautiful Christmas tree during lunch.

After lunch we went out in front of the WL to find a bus to take us back to the Poly...yea, I know there is none...but ended up catching a bus to the GF, I can't remember the circumstances but we walked from the GF to the Poly and checked at the front desk. Our room was ready and off we were to our favorite longhouse Figi We headed to our room and all our stuff was delivered about two minutes after we got there. We had a great view of the marina

I unpacked and got our new room all organized while DH and DD watched Stacey! Then we got ready for our dinner at Chef Mickey's.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

It is good to know that even if they can't accomodate your longhouse request for that first night, that they can work with you and change it the next night - I'll have to keep that in mind. But c'mon, you are at Disney and those neighbors??? Well, I guess they were vacationing too

 

[Stefy]

Wow your Figi view looks great CR and the Volcano pool

A good start to the morning at MK, we have never done rope drop before (although I think we stumbled upon it at AK) Looks like fun though

More please

 

[TiggerCL]

What a beautiful view from Figi! We leave for the Poly in 15 days and I'm enjoying vicariously living your past vacations through your TRs! Thanks again for posting!

 

[BreezysMom]

Before I go on I keep forgetting to mention that I got a new camera before our trip and was not used to it so some pics are not so great...I think I have finally figured out how to use it

After unpacking and resting for a bit DD and I headed to the lobby to hang out a bit before dinner at Chef Mickey's. DH stayed back to take a shower and call work (the only call he made thankfully). We love the Poly lobby DD colors and I people watch. She gets to interact with other kids while I relax.

After a while we took the monorail to CR for dinner at Chef Mickeys. This was our second trip to CM for dinner. In all honesty it was quite a contrast from or first visit. The food was really not so good and while Mickey, Donald and Goofy came quickly, Minnie was no where to be found. We finally saw her while we were eating dessert and she was still about 10 tables from us. I was somewhat annoyed that other tables kept asking for Minnie to come over because they wanted to go while a lot of people in the room were in the same boat.

The handlers let her go to this one table of about 8 people about 5 tables beyond us and they...took...their...time with her Finally, the handler basically told them that Minnie had to keep moving and one of the women at the table got ticked. She actually kept bringing her kids over to the table that Minnie was at to get ANOTHER picture. Poor Minnie! She was so gracious. The handler finally told them that if they wanted more Minnie they had to wait! UGH! I would have left long before but as you can see DD was dressed like Minnie. She loves Minnie, would could not leave. All in all our dinner at Chef Mickey's took over TWO hours which I think is a long time!

My advice to anyone is that like CRT, you have to try Chef Mickey's at least once, especially a first visit to Disney World. We plan on seeing Mickey at Ohana our next visit and catch Minnie at her house or MNSSHP.

After dinner we headed to the MK to see Spectro and the castle all lit up in icicle lights

Isn't the castle stunning?

It was a wonderful evening despite the massive crowds. We did not go on any attractions we just watched Spectro and Wishes and then browsed the shops on Main Street. This is why I love staying at the Poly and of course having Park Hopper tickets so we can just hop over to the MK when we feel like it.

After Wishes we went back to the Poly to get to bed...the next day we were spending a relaxing morning at the resort because the we were spending our evening at MVMCP but before the party DD had an appointment at BBB and then an early dinner at CRT!

Stay tuned!

 

[BreezysMom]

So the next morning we had lots of flexibility...DD and I went for a walk around the resort and she played on the beach for a bit. That night we were going to MVMCP and were taking it easy that morning. The Poly is just so tranquil to me I cannot get enough of the views everywhere you go!

The beach behind Figi. The GF Wedding Pavilion. I just now noticed the bird nest in the tree!

Those dreaded pool hoppers!

Early morning view of the pool area.

After our walk we met up with DH and had some breakfast and then swam for a bit. I LOVE coming back to our room after Mousekeeping comes and cleans up! Dh and I have our seperate reasons for loving a week long stay at Disney. For me, I don't have to cook, clean, make a bed, do dishes...I actually get a vacation! He gets all that and does not have to step foot in a car to drive. He has a long daily commute and the traffic stinks and it just makes him crabby The minute we walk into the Poly lobby I can just see his stress and tension melt away.

Here is a favorite site of mine!

This day they left us a cute surprise!

So cute! It was my Minnie Santa Hat! I left it set up all week like that.

We needed to start getting ready to head back to the MK. We wanted to catch the Dreams parade before Breezy's appointment at BBB and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!! Stay tuned

 

[Stefy]

Wow that sucks, two hours waiting for Minnie, but you persevered and got a great pic. We haven't done CM's, it does look like fun, but the food doesn't look to appealing TBH.

Gorgeous pictures of the resort, I love the first pic of the beach behind Figi. We still can't decide what LH to go for, now its a toss up between Figi and Aotearoa. With Figi can you get a balcony GV room overlooking the Marina? Or is that classed as LV?

The castle is just beautiful when its all icicled up. Christmas is such a great time to go if you don't mind the crowds

Can't wait to read about MVMCP

 

[BreezysMom]

Wow that sucks, two hours waiting for Minnie, but you persevered and got a great pic. We haven't done CM's, it does look like fun, but the food doesn't look to appealing TBH.

Gorgeous pictures of the resort, I love the first pic of the beach behind Figi. We still can't decide what LH to go for, now its a toss up between Figi and Aotearoa. With Figi can you get a balcony GV room overlooking the Marina? Or is that classed as LV?

The castle is just beautiful when its all icicled up. Christmas is such a great time to go if you don't mind the crowds

Can't wait to read about MVMCP

All of Figi is GV!

I would say in the grand scheme of things, it was not that crowded, not like spring break or Christmas itself, but after 15 months of reading how quiet it was I was shocked to see the large number of people that were there. The time we went there was this vortex of Pop football/cheerleading, Mousefest and I guess a lot of South American's, not tour groups but large families vacationing at Disney. After the third day or so, we adapted to the "crowds". DH was hava a coronary if we went dury "busy" season.

It was just quite a contrast to our first trip which was after free dining ended in early October and we literally walked on everything, got great parade, firework spots and never waited for than 5 minutes to be seated for a meal. I really think that there is no "slow" time at Disney anymore. Certainly some times will be better than others.

Thanks for reading my TRs!