Tongue Tied and Twisted at the DIS Unplugged Mega Meet - 9/24 Final Update***

[TiggerTrigger]

DAY 6​

I wasn't sure how we wanted to handle our final day, so I was all over the place on plans for a while. I mean, we were starting the drive home, but I also wanted to make something of the morning. I even thought about a water park, but David didn't want to be that late getting on the road and thought we'd just be way too tired. He was probably right. I thought about a more casual morning at the resort with pool time, but he still didn't want to be driving home with wet bathing suits. Flying is fine, but 2 days of driving and things can get kind of stinky. So, I picked a spot for breakfast along the monorail loop and opted for our typical good-bye tour to round things out.

I got up semi-early, finished up packing, and started loading up my vehicle for the drive home. Eventually, it turned into a big family thing since my parents were doing the same, the kids wanted to hang out with everyone, and my mom needed me to go through all of the other goodies she brought so I could decide what was coming home with us and what was being returned. It was mainly some bday goodies for me and Kendall and unbirthday gits for Sammie (yup- we do that).

I also had a wardrobe dilemma. I had been planning on wearing this jade and navy dip dye romper sort of thing and it's really meant to be worn with sandals. Unfortunately, my feet were no longer in a place to tolerate sandals. So, vanity flew out the window. I put on my romper and dug out my joggers. Thankfully, I'd packed my Asics Gel Nimbus...which were my main distance shoes at the time. Meaning they have a ton of cushioning and are a little bit roomier than my other sneakers that I use for shorter times on cardio equipment and lifting, etc. I felt like a mismatched mess, but I could walk without limping. In fact, very little discomfort in these shoes. Back in the day, 20-something me would have suffered through and worn the better looking footwear. LOL

We were about to head out and officially leave PORS when it hit me...there was nothing every hung on our door. I mean, I know we wouldn't be getting a DME door hanger for the 'Tragical Express," but we've always had a checkout bill hung from our door around the same time. That didn't happen. Maybe they stopped doing this?Maybe it's now a feature on MDE and the app that I didn't research? Oh well...we all drove around front, parked and went in to formally check out. Also glad I allowed some extra time, because they were having computer problems.

Oh well, we got back in the car...next stop...the Poly...

Our arrival was actually pretty funny. Getting to the Poly is no biggie, but when I got there, I accidentally started to pull into the wrong lane. Yup...I got twisted around again. So, I did some fancy correction maneuvers and got myself into the proper lane. The guard came out and gave us a hearty ALOOOOOOOOOO-HA! And then joked with me that nobody saw that. LOL. I told him the vehicle behind us (my parents) were also part of our party for our ADR and he advised me to find parking in the area to the left. And when I pulled forward, I went to 'my other left' and had to do some more fancy maneuvers. I rock!

Speaking of rocks, the kids really loved the moving rock in the new water features outside.

So, we headed in...which would be our first time inside the Poly since the completion of the refurb.

I actually kind of like it. I know hardcore Poly fans are still devastated, but I find the more open feel a bit refreshing. Really, I'd be fine with it either way. Ultimately, last time we were in the Poly was during all of this construction. David and I chose to stay there because of room discount availability. I mean, even with the construction, the rooms are huge and the convenience factors are all still there. No regrets.
Now it's time to check in for breakfast. Hello KONA!!!

We're big fans of a Kona. No, there are no characters or scenic views, but the food has been consistently good in our visits, service is usually very good, and the prices are reasonable...at least when using Disney pricing standards. Now that my parents are AP holders and TiW holders, I want them to try places like this that are good and more kind to the wallet.

So, we head in and sit down.

There was actually a bit of a panic while checking in. I had ordered a cake to be delivered to this meal and the woman checking us in got very flustered and said there was nothing about a cake. While this would have worried me in any situation, when cakes are delivered to the Poly, the GF bakery (who services the Poly) charges you in advance. I was all happy about this because cake price wouldn't be factored into gratuity for the meal, but getting your $ back after you've already paid can be more difficult with these things. Thankfully, she called the manager out and he confirmed that our cake was delivered about 40 min prior to our arrival, that it was sitting back in the kitchen and looked amazing. WHEW! This was my big farewell piece, technically Sammie's cake, and a theme I've always wanted...so it was a major relief.
Back to breakfast enjoyment...Lilikoi juice!

So, breakfast was a no brainer for me...Tonga Toast. I even told our waitress that we always get it at Kona because I LOVE the strawberry compote. I just can't have it without it. David and my parents each got the Samoan...also an excellent choice. Kendall had me worried. They had Loco Moco on special, which is a common thing in Hawaii. She had seen it on Food Network Star and wanted to try it. She's adventurous and it has things she likes, but not all together. Sammie was the worst. In her defense, she is not a breakfast person, but she was in tears because there was nothing she saw on the kids' menu or the main menu that appealed. And then our waitress made magic...she asked Sammie if she'd eat the pancakes on the menu if they added some chocolate chips. WIN!
Here's where everything gets kind of crazy.

The Samoans come out perfect...even if the pic didn't. LOL

My Tonga Toast looks AMAZING --- PLUS --- our waitress brought me THREE...yes 3...things of strawberry compote.

Then things took a turn. Kendall took one look at the Loco Moco and burst out into tears. We got her to take a bite and she looked like she was gagging. So, I gave her a taste of my Tonga Toast ... she liked it ... so being a nice mom, I gave her my food and took hers.

Then Sammie's pancakes came out, but there were no chocolate chips. I alerted our server and she took Sammie's plate to get that fixed. In the process, she also noticed I was not eating Tonga Toast. I explained what happened, told her it was fine, but she insisted I have my own order of Tonga Toast. So about 15 min goes by...I'm hungry, so I pick at the Loco Moco...and then out comes a new plate of Tonga Toast and chocolate chip pancakes for Sam. Here's where it takes a crazy turn...

The manager who spoke to me about the cake came out, apologized for the mix up with Sammie and Kendall not liking the Loco Moco. He comp'd the Loco Moco, Sammie's pancakes, and one of the orders of Tonga Toast. I told him it really wasn't necessary, but he insisted.

And if we weren't already exploding with food at our table, let's add a cake to the mix! Sammie is a huge HM fan and I've always wanted to do a cake with this theme. I knew I wanted the wallpaper and I knew I wanted the Hitchhiking Ghosts (Ezra is the fave), and it all came together with the saying. I'm sure most of us know that at the end of the ride, the Ghost Host tells you that he'll lift the lap bar and a ghost will follow you home. Well, this was our farewell meal, and the cake would have all three ghosts, so the saying had to be "...and the ghosts will follow you home." And to complete the look, they throw in extra accents to balance the theme/appearance.

(used the flash just to help illustrate the details)

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Sammie is covered in chocolate before we've even cut into the cake!

The cake was REALLY good! Chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream filling, and chocolate ganache 'frosting.' We also had lots of leftovers. The cake came home with us and was dessert for like 3 days following the trip. I used to hate working with the GF's bakery, but between this cake and last year's bday cake (popped into the GF on my bday-eve for a meal at 1900 PF), I think the GF is becoming my go-to resort bakery.

So, we were beyond full and it was time to go, but we also had some unfinished business.

1. We needed some souvenirs for the kids and my coworkers.
2. We needed to do our traditional "farewell tour."

First up, souvenirs. I had the kids on a tight budget and we go super cheap for the work stuff, so we kept everything to the gift shop upstairs. i.e. no time in the Boutiki for us. Boo from the fun factor, but yay for the wallet. I regret not doing this back at PORS because they had some really great things in their shop that I just didn't see at the Poly. So, I settled for some pens for my coworkers...nothing exciting.

This is Sammie showing off her goodie...a mini misting fan. She's also got the glasses grandma gave her to make up for her lost shades. Funny, but I have a pic of her at WDW in 2013- almost exactly 3 years ago- where she's just "borrowing" these glasses.

...and Kendall...well, we kind of regret getting her a Donald Duck bill that makes quacking sounds.

It's been so long since we had annoying loud toddler toys that you kind of forget until it's too late.
So, we head outside to catch a monorail for our farewell tour.

Even got a back shot of the Boutiki window.

Just a little background...we usually try to do some kind of farewell tour before leaving WDW...just to sort of say good-bye to things before leaving. This time we're making a trip around the resort loop...no getting off. So, it's just a matter of getting a monorail to complete the task.

Not our monorail.

Still not our monorail.

Well, clearly we got one because here we are on it.

And like usual, I take pics as we go around the loop.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

The toughest is saying good-bye to the castle. Always a bit of a tearful goodbye. I was talking to a couple on a kid free trip during this time too...giving me the pros of DVC. Helped with the tears, but I was pretty emotional by the time we got to the Contemporary and didn't take a single pic in there. I did take a few more pics after that point.

We head back into the Poly so everyone can use the restroom before hitting the road...and I take a few pics while waiting on the slow-pokes in our group.

And then it's time to head out. Even grabbed a pic of Raratonga since we stayed there the last time we were at the Poly.

Ugh- and now the walk to the car and good-byes with family. It was close to 11:30am and we really need to get moving if we wanted to make good time/distance for the day...especially since we needed to be back in time to get the dog the next day.

It's never easy since my parents only get to see us a few times per year.

David agreed to drive the first leg so I could get a few pics on the way out.

Leaving the Poly...

Getting Gas. I know- not really fun, but it was funny because my parents wound up here too, so we got in a little hi at the gas station before really hitting the road.

And before you know it, we're officially on our way (pardon the cracked windshield)...

And now it's about to get real.

David forgot to turn, so we ended up going out towards 192. It's not such a bad thing since it's my fave of the maingates, and I caught a smidge of Donald on the gate as we officially exited the bubble.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We did get a little bit of magic outside of the bubble. First we saw the Characters in Flight balloon.

And I believe this is the Casting building.

*I mean, it does say 'Casting' on it.

But after that...it was just a drive. I snapped this pic of the FL sign on the way out of the state MUCH later in the day. Not like it's even remotely close to WDW, but just like you rejoice when you enter the state, you get kind of sad when you leave.

We stopped for dinner east of Biloxi, MS and that's when we had another tradition hit us...the "we're making really good time- we should just keep driving" tradition. I know some people do this on the way there, but we tend to do it on the way back. Kendall threw a bit of a fit because she loves staying in hotels and motels...even had a bit of a 12:30am meltdown in eastern Louisiana about stopping for the night. We got home sometime between 2:30-3:30am...dragged all of the bags in...got the AC going...and slept until almost lunchtime. I started on laundry when I got up...David went to get the dog from boarding...and the vacation was officially over. Well, I had the rest of the week off, but the super fun part was done.

Oh...and since we didn't get any beignets at PORS or in NOLA on either parts of the road trip, I tried to extend our PORS/POFQ feeling right after we got back. So, I took the kids for beignets. It's very clear how they both felt about them.

In Sammie's defense, they were awful beignets. Certainly nothing close to the beignet perfection of Cafe DuMonde or even the cool factor of beignets from Cafe Orleans in DL.
I guess that just means we have more reasons to travel!


Some final thoughts....

- As much as I love the DisUnplugged and felt great about being part of an event that helped so much with GKTW, I don't think I'll be planning a vacation around another event. I have no regrets about devoting more time to my family vacation than I was able to do for MegaMeet events, but it would have been nice to be there and have all of that be my only plans. Unfortunately, that's just not possible when the whole family is along.

- I would like to attend something again in the future, but what? Who knows. The reality...with work schedules and very strict school attendance laws, my time is quite limited. I already know that the 20th anniversary meet that could be happening in June is a no go because of work. Still, I also want to do something RunDisney at some point, so we'll see which happens first.

- It was our first time at a moderate and while it was nothing awful, the bed comfort factor and room size were an issue for me. I'd consider it again if it's a short trip or there are major budget considerations like there were this time, but BC, BW, Contemporary and GF will likely stay our resorts of choice..even if it means shorter trips or more time in between trips.

- I mentioned that the GF bakery is probably going to become my bakery of choice for custom cakes. The Contemporary bakery used to be my go-to, but they came in with a ridiculously high quote for a cake that would be "similar" to my rough sketch *see below*. They wanted $180 for a 6" cake like this. We've paid in the $120-150 range for 8" cakes more ornate than this from them, and that 6" HM cake from the GF was $107, so we're going to be giving the Contemporary bakery a break. They're ceasing their services with MK restaurants mid-December, so I'm guessing they are going through some kind of transition phase.

- My parents at least have several WDW trips coming up, so they're going to be making good use of their APs. I know they are going up for F&W, at some point in December for the holiday decor, and F&G. Hopefully, they'll get to work in a few more on top of those...and I'll have to live vicariously through them.

- I'm not sure when we're going to get back to WDW. It may be in late June or early July...if things go OK with selling the house. But, it may just be too much to travel around the time of a home sale, even though the timing would be perfect for the expiration of my parents' APs. There is one other issue...David said he didn't feel like this trip was a vacation. It was just too jam-packed with stuff. He's asking for a trip that's more relaxing. Option 1 is land/sea out of Port Canaveral, but land may be Universal because Kendall is begging to see all of the Harry Potter goodness.I haven't been to Universal Orlando since the mid 90s Uni Hollywood in 2003, so it would be like a whole new world for me too. Option 2 would be to hold off and do just sea from Galveston in late 2017 (prices are generally higher out of our port, so we'd probably break even in costs). What's crazy, our current house is only about 35-45 min from the port, but when we move, we'll be on the other end of the city and a much longer drive.

So, that's about it. Now I'm just praying I can make it through the next few weeks of work without losing my mind (sad, but true). I really appreciate everyone taking the time to read along and all of the kind comments. As usual, it helped ease the post- trip depression!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

I enjoyed reading along. All the best on your future travel planning. If you do go to "the dark side", I am sure you would enjoy it. I've gone to Universal three times and although it is not our "happy place", my family did enjoy the visits. The Harry Potter stuff is well done.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I enjoyed reading along. All the best on your future travel planning. If you do go to "the dark side", I am sure you would enjoy it. I've gone to Universal three times and although it is not our "happy place", my family did enjoy the visits. The Harry Potter stuff is well done.

Thanks Back in my FL resident days, we (my family) preferred Universal over MGM/DHS. I even had a few friends who used to be Uni employees...who were so pro-Uni that they were anti-Disney. I can't wait to see all that's changed over the years (a ton!). We've wanted to go back, but wanted to wait until the kids were tall enough to really enjoy the bigger rides...especially since they really seem to love coasters. Still, it would be tough to be in the area and not pop into a WDW park for at least one day. Who knows, maybe we'd toss in 1-day hoppers and try the 4 parks/1 day challenge. Thanks again for reading alone!

 

[ariane37]

Ah the last day It's even sad writing about it lol! Really enjoyed following along as you relived your trip, and I love your farewell tour tradition. Oh, and the HM cake! I'm considering surprising the family with a cake at one if our meals in Nov. so I have to look into that more. Thanks for sharing your trip with us

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Ah the last day It's even sad writing about it lol! Really enjoyed following along as you relived your trip, and I love your farewell tour tradition. Oh, and the HM cake! I'm considering surprising the family with a cake at one if our meals in Nov. so I have to look into that more. Thanks for sharing your trip with us

Thanks! Yeah, I've grown really fond of the farewell tour. Also a big fan of cakes - obviously The Cake Chatter thread over in the dining section has so much good info. Thanks again for reading along