This was our 4th trip to WDW. It all got started 3 summers ago when we decided to go to Florida for a family gets together. My dhs extended family has been going to Destin Florida for a summer vacation for the past 20 years and we decided to finally join them. I thought since we were going to be down in Florida we might as well go to WDW. We are now hooked and have decided to make it an annual destination.
Our family consists of me (33), DH (40), DD (7), DS (3) and DD (18mths)
I love to plan our trips and at times I wonder if I am obsessed with planning! The crazy thing is with all the planning I do, only about 60% of it stays the same. Each trip we take we learn something new. We took off from Denver at 11:45 am and arrived at MCO at 5:20. I had booked a minivan with Dollar for 2 wks. We were going to drive it up to Destin and switch cars in Pensacola where we would then rent a car to drive to New Orleans where we would be flying home. We decided 2 days before we left to cancel the van and have a limo service pick us up. Now we would be without a car for most of our stay at WDW. We would instead pick up a car at the Dolphin through National and drop it off at MSY. We went with Yourride. I talked with Rabbit to make sure everything was set since it was a last minute reservation. Rabbit was there waiting and we had a van. This was the second time we used Yourride and we were very satisfied both times.
We arrived at the Polynesian around 6:30 pm. We were staying in the Hawaii bldg. This is our 3rd stay doing concierge at the Polynesian. We are hooked. The staff did some PS for us and scheduled my DHs tee time. I love the Polynesian and staying in the Hawaii bldg is just great. The staff was great and we are starting to remember each other. When we arrived to the longhouse we found out what room we were in. I think there is only one bad room in the entire longhouse and we got it. I cant remember the number because we switched rooms so many times during our stay. It is the first floor room right next to the service area. We were the last ones checking in and the Hawaii bldg was sold out so we couldnt switch rooms, not even to a LV room. We could switch the next day to another GV room. We decided to change rooms. We had a PS for the Kona Café but we cancelled because we got a bite to eat up in the lounge. They had crustables out for the kids. We had some lo mien noodles. They also had fruit, veggies and cheese and crackers, they had these out every night. We went to the MK for a little bit. It was hot and crowded, but it felt good to be there!
The next morning was a resort morning. This is a new tradition for us. I really enjoy just relaxing at the pool after a day of traveling. My DH got to go golfing at The Palm. He was so excited he got up at 5:30 for a 7:00am tee time (and checked the clock at hour intervals!!!). He said he loved it. I hung out with the kids at the pool. I just love the Polynesian pool. Its great in the morning when there arent many people. When DH got back from golfing we went over to the GF for lunch. We ate at the GFC. This was our 3rd time eating lunch at this restaurant. The atmosphere and the food are really good, but the service is always slow. We went back to the Polynesian to switch rooms. The switch was pretty easy. We got to stay in our room until 1:00pm and then we moved right into our new room on the second floor. We took naps and then went to the Kona Café for dinner. This was our 4th meal there. This was our best meal we have had at the restaurant. It has never been bad before, but just not great. I finally ordered the sticky wings that everyone raves about and they were very good. We headed over to the MK and did some rides and then came back for a late night swim.
We had to get up early the next day. We had an 8:05 am PS at the CP. I know that many people could probably care less about EE being gone but I really miss it. It is so hot in the summer and that extra hour in the morning could really help. I figured if we got the first seating at breakfast at least we would be in the park ready to go when it opened. I wasnt really looking forward to the meal, but I was pleasantly surprised! We did CP 2 yrs ago and it was a zoo. I dont remember thinking much about the food. This time it was more relaxed because there werent many people in there, what a difference that makes. We really enjoyed our breakfast this time. My youngest DD was a little apprehensive about meeting the characters, but she did much better than our last visit in January. At one point, she even offered pooh a piece of chocolate muffin albeit from a safe distance We were the first ones at the rope in Adventure Land. The CM working the rope gave the kids a gem and the baby a Mickey pin. We had a great morning in Adventure Land and Frontier Land. My DS was so happy that he was tall enough to go on SM and BTM!
We had lunch at Columbia Harbor House. This was ok for counter service. My kids could at least get mac and cheese. We headed back to the room for our afternoon naps. I went over to DD. This was the first time I had ever been there and I was surprised. Its not really crowded in the middle of the afternoon. After naps we went over to Ft. Wilderness for dinner. We ate at Trails End. We enjoyed eating here. Its not a very big buffet but the food is very good. We went over to the campfire after dinner. We got a $5 bag of smore fixings. I think this was the best deal we had the whole trip! The kids had fun roasting marshmallows and singing songs. We walked back to the boat and went over to the MK to watch the fireworks. If you do go over to Ft. Wilderness make sure to put some bug spray on.
One thing that I love about the Polynesian are the darkening blinds, it helps keep the kids asleep after sunrise. I got up and had a great jog over to the GF. This was one of my highlights. It was so quiet and just beautiful outside. I found out how much easier it is running at sea level! I am probably one of the very few people who like the fact that the sinks are in the bathroom in the Polynesian. Its so nice that I can get ready for the day while the kids stay sleeping. We ate breakfast in the lounge and then headed over to the MK for a couple of hours. We went over to Toon Town and then had some lunch at LTT. This was our 2nd lunch here and we enjoyed it as much as the first time. The service, food and atmosphere are very good. We headed back to put the baby down for her nap. I took the other 2 to go check out CSR. I enjoy looking at the other resorts. I dont think I would go out of my way again unless I have a car. It can take about 2-21/2 hours with Disney transportation to go to some resorts. We had a drink at the pool and then headed back to the Polynesian. We had dinner in the lounge. There was some pasta with red sauce along with the usual items. This is one thing I love about staying in the concierge building. The kids can sit and eat and watch TV or color while my DH and I can have a bite to eat, drink some wine and look out at the awesome view. We went over to Epcot for a couple of hours to do a couple of rides in FW.
Our family consists of me (33), DH (40), DD (7), DS (3) and DD (18mths)
I love to plan our trips and at times I wonder if I am obsessed with planning! The crazy thing is with all the planning I do, only about 60% of it stays the same. Each trip we take we learn something new. We took off from Denver at 11:45 am and arrived at MCO at 5:20. I had booked a minivan with Dollar for 2 wks. We were going to drive it up to Destin and switch cars in Pensacola where we would then rent a car to drive to New Orleans where we would be flying home. We decided 2 days before we left to cancel the van and have a limo service pick us up. Now we would be without a car for most of our stay at WDW. We would instead pick up a car at the Dolphin through National and drop it off at MSY. We went with Yourride. I talked with Rabbit to make sure everything was set since it was a last minute reservation. Rabbit was there waiting and we had a van. This was the second time we used Yourride and we were very satisfied both times.
We arrived at the Polynesian around 6:30 pm. We were staying in the Hawaii bldg. This is our 3rd stay doing concierge at the Polynesian. We are hooked. The staff did some PS for us and scheduled my DHs tee time. I love the Polynesian and staying in the Hawaii bldg is just great. The staff was great and we are starting to remember each other. When we arrived to the longhouse we found out what room we were in. I think there is only one bad room in the entire longhouse and we got it. I cant remember the number because we switched rooms so many times during our stay. It is the first floor room right next to the service area. We were the last ones checking in and the Hawaii bldg was sold out so we couldnt switch rooms, not even to a LV room. We could switch the next day to another GV room. We decided to change rooms. We had a PS for the Kona Café but we cancelled because we got a bite to eat up in the lounge. They had crustables out for the kids. We had some lo mien noodles. They also had fruit, veggies and cheese and crackers, they had these out every night. We went to the MK for a little bit. It was hot and crowded, but it felt good to be there!
The next morning was a resort morning. This is a new tradition for us. I really enjoy just relaxing at the pool after a day of traveling. My DH got to go golfing at The Palm. He was so excited he got up at 5:30 for a 7:00am tee time (and checked the clock at hour intervals!!!). He said he loved it. I hung out with the kids at the pool. I just love the Polynesian pool. Its great in the morning when there arent many people. When DH got back from golfing we went over to the GF for lunch. We ate at the GFC. This was our 3rd time eating lunch at this restaurant. The atmosphere and the food are really good, but the service is always slow. We went back to the Polynesian to switch rooms. The switch was pretty easy. We got to stay in our room until 1:00pm and then we moved right into our new room on the second floor. We took naps and then went to the Kona Café for dinner. This was our 4th meal there. This was our best meal we have had at the restaurant. It has never been bad before, but just not great. I finally ordered the sticky wings that everyone raves about and they were very good. We headed over to the MK and did some rides and then came back for a late night swim.
We had to get up early the next day. We had an 8:05 am PS at the CP. I know that many people could probably care less about EE being gone but I really miss it. It is so hot in the summer and that extra hour in the morning could really help. I figured if we got the first seating at breakfast at least we would be in the park ready to go when it opened. I wasnt really looking forward to the meal, but I was pleasantly surprised! We did CP 2 yrs ago and it was a zoo. I dont remember thinking much about the food. This time it was more relaxed because there werent many people in there, what a difference that makes. We really enjoyed our breakfast this time. My youngest DD was a little apprehensive about meeting the characters, but she did much better than our last visit in January. At one point, she even offered pooh a piece of chocolate muffin albeit from a safe distance We were the first ones at the rope in Adventure Land. The CM working the rope gave the kids a gem and the baby a Mickey pin. We had a great morning in Adventure Land and Frontier Land. My DS was so happy that he was tall enough to go on SM and BTM!
We had lunch at Columbia Harbor House. This was ok for counter service. My kids could at least get mac and cheese. We headed back to the room for our afternoon naps. I went over to DD. This was the first time I had ever been there and I was surprised. Its not really crowded in the middle of the afternoon. After naps we went over to Ft. Wilderness for dinner. We ate at Trails End. We enjoyed eating here. Its not a very big buffet but the food is very good. We went over to the campfire after dinner. We got a $5 bag of smore fixings. I think this was the best deal we had the whole trip! The kids had fun roasting marshmallows and singing songs. We walked back to the boat and went over to the MK to watch the fireworks. If you do go over to Ft. Wilderness make sure to put some bug spray on.
One thing that I love about the Polynesian are the darkening blinds, it helps keep the kids asleep after sunrise. I got up and had a great jog over to the GF. This was one of my highlights. It was so quiet and just beautiful outside. I found out how much easier it is running at sea level! I am probably one of the very few people who like the fact that the sinks are in the bathroom in the Polynesian. Its so nice that I can get ready for the day while the kids stay sleeping. We ate breakfast in the lounge and then headed over to the MK for a couple of hours. We went over to Toon Town and then had some lunch at LTT. This was our 2nd lunch here and we enjoyed it as much as the first time. The service, food and atmosphere are very good. We headed back to put the baby down for her nap. I took the other 2 to go check out CSR. I enjoy looking at the other resorts. I dont think I would go out of my way again unless I have a car. It can take about 2-21/2 hours with Disney transportation to go to some resorts. We had a drink at the pool and then headed back to the Polynesian. We had dinner in the lounge. There was some pasta with red sauce along with the usual items. This is one thing I love about staying in the concierge building. The kids can sit and eat and watch TV or color while my DH and I can have a bite to eat, drink some wine and look out at the awesome view. We went over to Epcot for a couple of hours to do a couple of rides in FW.
Krissy
