TRIATHLON & a week in flip flops, with a side of Poly & PICS now..!

[Claudine&John]

Will you travel with me? Do you have the time to immerse yourself into someone else’s experience in what is known in certain circles as, “the world”? The words below recount life lessons, amazing culinary delights, travel tips, and that special feeling you get when you can see true, pure, joy in through the eyes of your children.

We began our journey in January of 2008 when we traveled south from NY to visit my wife’s aunt and her husband in Disney to run the half marathon. I had been training for quite a while and although I was looking forward to the race, my focus and waking thoughts surrounded the fact that the race would be in that most magical of places. It was a quick trip for us as we were only going down for the weekend and it was at some point during that time that my wife’s uncle and I decided to do a triathlon together. I had been training and racing triathlon for about a year at that point and while my wife’s uncle had never done one, his physical fitness level and innate sense of competition were well suited to the task. It was January and the die was cast, we were coming back to Disney World in the fall to tackle the triathlon and we were not going to make it just a weekend thing…this was going to be monumental!

Fast forward to September 08 and with two weeks to go until the race I was feeling about as bad as it gets. My training was weakening and the northeastern weather was not cooperating either. I had resolved in my mind to just finish the race and if I felt good enough on race day I would push myself a bit…..but not too much, after all, there were rides to be ridden, a variety of foods to be consumed and pools to relax in. Our planning was going very smoothly thanks to my wife who is our stalwart travel agent and has the abundant patience to sit through booking, re-booking, changing flights, using reward points, and in general just putting up with me. She had really outdone herself this time and as such created a trip itinerary that rivaled that of any concierge or travel agent in all the land. Our trip would begin with a Thursday night flight to Orlando followed by a two night stay at the Port Orleans Riverside resort. For Saturday, Sunday and Monday we would hook up with my wife’s aunt and uncle and stay at the Key West DVC Club member resort. This sojourn to the lovely Key West would be followed up with a three night stay at the Polynesian that would take us full circle for a morning flight home on Friday… pheww!!! are you hanging in there with me? Do you feel the Disney love? Are you interested to see what it was like?

The week before departure was the usual harried mélange of laundry, pre-race logistics, last minute home stuff, and the requisite notification of the authorities aka the DD’s teachers. My last club race of the season was this week also which meant I had to do the race on Wednesday and then take my bike to the shop to get it disassembled and shipped to Disney on Thursday leaving a good week for the good ole folks at UPS to provide me with something to ride in the BIG race. My last club race went smoothly and as per my plan I did not drown in the swim, crash my bike, or pull a hammy or any other appendage on the run portion. I look relatively fresh eh?...it’s all a façade…I was hurting like a hangnail.

We began the last few days before departure with a clear plan on our minds and a firm grasp of what would be done first, and by whom. The DD’s had their hearts set on entering the Magic Kingdom on Friday morning making a direct bee-line for Buzz Lightyear and his magical shoot-em-up laser bonanza. DW and I had our hearts set on the fact that neither one of us would be at work, which was all we really needed. Work for both of us was a constant since the half marathon in January so the prospect of actually having more than two days in a row off was a pleasant one. I had wrapped up what I needed to do, left my special voice mail message, my e-mail and was ready to rock. DW had packed the DD’s and herself and had luckily reminded me to make a list of my “triathlon stuff” in order to prevent the inevitable, “oohh ---- I can’t believe I forgot my ----“. The seeds were planted, our bags were packed, our responsibilities were passed on and we were off.


The arrival at Newark was the usual drop off me with the baggage to check, take the DD’s to the parking lot and catch the bus back to the terminal, and make our collective way through security. Our trip through security is usually a bit different than most as DW is an airline employee and therefore can flash her badge to whisk us through the normally much shorter employee line. This time would be different however as we went through the “regular” line due to the fact that there was next to nobody on line. We jaunted through the shoes-off-shoes-back on ordeal and made our way toward our gate. As it was 6:30 pm and our flight wasn’t until 8:30 we stopped in the terminal food court area for a bit of refreshment. With our collective bellies satisfied and after a quick stop by the potty, we were as ready as ready gets. The flight boarded on time and it wasn’t until we were all seated and buckled that the pilots announced a “slight departure delay”. Now if you’ve heard about airlines cutting back on flights due to fuel costs, charging more for certain things, then you would be under the same strange assumption I was that these type of delays would probably have been dealt with also…..nope, not so much. Two (2) hours later….yes two….two hours of sitting on the tarmac, two hours of keeping the DD’s from decapitating each other, two hours of falling asleep and then waking up again only to see the same view….of the ground, a very close view. When we finally did take off we were all pretty shot and wouldn’t you know it, this plane happened to be the only one in the fleet with no tv’s, no in flight movie, no nada. The actual flying went smoothly and as it was dark there was no real feel for where we were or that tingling feeling you get when you look down and see the lovely lake laden country side near Orlando International. The landing and de-board went very quickly and before we knew it we were on the fake monorail toward the magic bus. As we were checking in with the Magical Express folks DW had a moment of shear terror when she realized that she had left the holy documents on the plane. These documents, handed down by many different Disney departments and painstakingly kept in line by DW were essentially the be all end all of our travel life line. The always helpful folks at the check in desk told us that there would be no problem checking us in and that the documents, while helpful, weren’t essential for checking in. We waited all of two minutes for the check in to proceed and during that time we contemplated how one of us would run back to the plane to retrieve the sacred scrolls. We resolved to not try and get them as at this point it was 2:00 am and the prospect of security, fake monorail, gate walk, was not in the cards. We boarded our magical bus which had two other passengers and made our way to the world.

On the way from the airport the bus driver dropped off the other passengers first at their resort and then took us to Port Orleans Riverside to what would be a much needed bed. Upon our arrival at Port Orleans we were greeted with a dimly lit paradise of grandiose style and striking landscaping. At 2:00 am any hotel would have looked good, but you could tell this place was going to be nice. We walked into the lobby which was barren and soulless save for the few night owls lurking around the main building. The check in area was gorgeous complete with décor and furnishings that reminded you of what a real resort should look like. It was sort of like being in a museum or a period home that gave tours because there was no check-in staff and no signs of real operation, ie phones ringing, terminals buzzing and complainers complaining. There was however a bell with a sign…..RING FOR SERVICE. At this point we were delayed, tired, ready to sleep and in no mood to have to ring a bell. I took it as a quaint sign that the place was relaxed, laid back, and the bell thing was the norm, after all it was 2:00 am…..did I mention that already? So being the dutiful father I asked DD-6 to go ahead and give that bell a hammering. She did just that and within about 2 minutes a very tired, very slow attendant came out from behind the scenes to see for herself what that loud bell like noise was. We mentioned that we were checking in and that we were very tired and so forth and so on…this women wanted no small talk, no big talk, no talk at all. I think maybe she wanted to go back to sleep or to whatever task she was up to. She didn’t flinch, smile, or take the time to explain when she told us that we wouldn’t be staying at Riverside, we were bumped over to the French Quarter due to a computer glitch. At 2:00 in the morning we were being told, not asked, told what was going to happen by a check in lady whose apparent goal in life at this point was to glutton through each day and do the bare minimum to keep her bank account replenished. O.k., I was angry, bitter, and otherwise overly judgmental. I tend to consider myself a very positive person most of the time, and I was really trying at this point but the overt atmosphere of the moment was too much for me….think about it, your spending hard earned money and your tired and the least a person in her position could do would be to just simply offer an “I’m sorry…there is nothing I can do”…or even throw us a bone or two, it was well within her power to do that but she didn’t.

The bellman that showed up to take us to the French Quarter however was the exact opposite of his lethargic fellow cast member. He was quiet, cordial, and very apologetic to us as he took us on a slow golf cart ride to the other side. We arrived at French Quarter check-in at around 2:30 am and met with the lovely staff at the check-in desk. There were no less than two attendants at the ready with big smiles and welcoming attitudes. I thought for a moment that maybe I should thank whomever was in my room over at Riverside because without even a word, I could tell that the ladies over at the French Quarter were what I expected to see when I envisioned my check-in experience. They sympathized with our plight and made extra strides to find out where our bags were and to let us know that they would be delivered asap. I was half expecting the bags to show up sometime the next morning as per our previous experience with magical express but this staff was on the ball and ready to please. We walked to our room and made haste for the beds….I was so freakin tired. Our bags were dropped off at some point in the night and as I was sleeping like a mummy I never even noticed the transaction.

We woke the next morning fresh but frazzled to a bright sun filled perfectly blue sky. Breakfast was a short walk down landscaped walkways with exceptionally appointed wrought iron fencing and decoratively stamped concrete paths. The food court at the French Quarter was adequate and spacious enough offering the usual breakfast fare in essentially an identical space as the Carribean Beach with a different décor. We ate slowly and guzzled some coffee as we thought about how we would attack the day. The French Quarter pool had been spotted by DD-6 the night before so that had to be part of “the plan” and we were also not going to get around a Magic Kingdom visit. The plans were made our surroundings were plush, and we went back to the room for a last minute check and to gather our must haves. The bus to the Magic Kingdom arrived just as we walked into the bus paddock and I was starting to feel as though this day might be filled with a bit more mojo than the previous night as karma has a way of leveling the playing field. We were speeded away to the hallowed grounds for a day of fun and sun and the ride was as always very smooth. Our arrival at the park hit an early snag though as our 7 day park hopper tickets were linked to our Poly reservation and not our Port Orleans reservation so in a sense, as far as park tickets go we weren’t supposed to arrive until Tuesday and it was Friday. It was a small glitch and the guest services people at MK helped us through it and figured out the situation in record time. We ended up having to purchase a one day park hopper ticket package for four and then were refunded the difference toward our 7 day package when checked in at the Poly. It was a weird solution since we had already paid for the things, but it was the quick solution and thanks to staff that was on the ball we were soon waiting on the Buzz Lightyear line to take on the evil Zurg (sp?) and his minions. This was a different day in the park for us as we challenged our DD’s to go on a couple attractions that we had never done before. One was Stitch’s great escape and the other was the Laugh Factory. These were both great in their own sense but by far we had much more fun in the Laugh Factory. We rounded off the day with a Small world and Peter Pan followed by a Snow White and lunch at the place that overlooks the Small World ride….sorry can’t remember the name. The food was good and as always the company was stellar as the DD’s scoffed down their PB & J’s and DW and I made quick work of a couple of salads. With an accomplished first day in hand we made our way back to the French Quarter to get our pool fix. DD-6 was in her glory as the slide at the pool is “do-able” and of the not-to fast, not too slow variety. We laughed and swam a bit until our weary stomachs and tired legs told us it was time to think about dinner. Our plan hatched that morning figured on either a quick evening trip to Epcot for some rides and then dinner in a foreign country, or head to Downtown Disney for some shopping and a nice dinner. The choice to head to Downtown Disney was easy as we hadn’t ever spent much time there and the DD’s weren’t really ready for the walking that occurs at Epcot. The French Quarter offers a water taxi service to Downtown and it’s a really nice ride through the watercourse. The ride takes you past the old tree house thingy’s that are currently under re-construction and past another DVC resort. We ended up deciding on the Rainforest Café and as we were holders of the “club” card which entitles you to half the wait time for a table we got on the list and got seated quite quickly. This is a $15-20 card that you can purchase from the check-in folks and it saves you 10% on your meal that night, so if you do the math it really makes sense to jump on the card unless you want to wait around for an hour or two. The dinner was decent and after we finished we realized that being up until 3:00 am the night before had started to take it’s toll on the DD’s so we headed back to the resort for some shut eye.

The next morning I woke up inspired, and really, really sore….I had been training for a triathlon people, let me tell you, when you go from miles & miles each day to walking around and stuffing your face your body can tighten like a pretzel. I knew the solution so I decided to head outside and take a run on the path between the French Quarter and the Riverside. It is a great place to run and I wasn’t the only soul out there either. The run through the Riverside was pretty nice and the resort looks really cool, right down to the main pool being on an island and the main building with a nice dock type area. I made a couple loops around Riverside and headed back to the French Quarter to finish up. I got back to the room and the DD’s and DW were quaffed and ready to get the day going. DW’s aunt had called and she was on her way to pick us up and take us to the Key West where we would spend the next three days. DW’s uncle had taken a different car and on his way as well so that he and I could head over to Fort Wilderness to check in with the race staff. We headed over to Fort Wilderness while the girls made their way over to Key West and then to Disney Studios to take the kiddies on some rides. DW’s uncle and I headed over to Fort Wilderness only to be turned around and told to park in the grumpy lot (how appropriate) over at the MK and catch a bus to the race locale. After some inter-park roadway negotiation we found the grumpy lot and loaded our stuff on the bus to be transported to the race site. Upon arrival at the site your constantly scanning the other folks signing up…”wow, there are some really fit people around here….what am I doing..?...is that the Lake we have to swim in?” needless to say the nerves start firing and the cold sweat starts creeping in. The sign in was painless and the race packet was filled with the requisite c-r-a-p including a really cool, really nice race shirt. I also made my way to the bike corral where a local bike shop had received and re-assembled my rocket which I had shipped the week before. South Lake bikes was rep bike shop at the race and I have to say that their service and attitude outshined anything I had ever experienced from any other bike shop I had ever been too. They adjusted my seat, messed with my front tire and basically tended to my every fear and trepidation that came with shipping my one and only man-toy into uncharted waters. DW’s uncle and I racked our bikes in the transition area and made our way back to the grumpy lot to grab the car and meet up with the girls. The day at Disney Studios was brief as DW’s uncle had requested that he and I spend some time in the pool at Key West to fine tune some swimming techniques and go over some basic race tactics as this would be his first triathlon. The girls went on some rides and did some fun things while we made our way to get in some swim time. Our swim time became a lesson full of lessons and all in all it was a learning experience for both DW’s uncle and myself as well. He had some basic stroke issues and an overall fear of drowning which would mean his trepidation level for the race was at a boiling point. We resolved to get to the race, see the swim, and make a gameday decision on wether or not to actually take it on. I had been through this type of fear several times in previous races and as such tried to relay that experience to him but it would still be his fight. That night we had a nice relaxed casual dinner at Key West and got our gear ready for the next day’s challenge.
Race day!!!!!
That morning we awoke early to fuel up and make our way to the start over at Fort Wilderness. We had to park in the grumpy lot again loaded on a groggy, fog laden bus to head over to Fort Wilderness. The arrival at Fort Wilderness was expertly planned and there was a ton of race staff pointing us in the direction of body marking (for those who don’t know what this means-it’s where they take a marker and write your age on your calf muscle, and your race number on each shoulder and on the top of each thigh) and to the volunteers with the sharpies. We got ourselves marked up and headed over to the transition area to set up our gear. Triathlon is a very gear oriented sport and as such it is also a plan oriented sport so as per my wonderful DW’s reminder and my list, I had everything I needed, err…thought I would need. We got set up and made ourselves ready and then headed over to the beach to check out the swim. DW’s uncle was really feeling the fear when we walked over to the lake. Not only could you not see the other shore, but you couldn’t even see fifteen feet off the shore. The fog was so thick and it was really dark still so there was next to no visibility. There was a big group of lifeguards getting ready to load into boats and kayaks and even as I was pointing this out to DW’s uncle I could see the his fear at this point was impenetrable. Think about trying to swim a mile, in a fog shrouded, dark water lake with limited experience and bad technique. What would you do? Would you run? Would you hide? ….for most it would be all the above. Triathlon races usually don’t start with everyone going off at once because of safety reasons and typically venues don’t accommodate enough space for this to be feasible so this race was no different. DW’s uncles’ wave was two in front of mine which meant I could catch up to him and if needed help him along a bit. This also meant that I would be in the last wave which also meant that I would be swimming through the entire field out in the lake if my swim went well. As the race coordinator made his final announcements there was an extremely emotional haze over the racers as he explained that a nine year old girl would be starting the race off as the first wave with her mother because she was doing this race to raise money for her father who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. This was part of the reason we had picked this race to do, it was a prostate cancer benefit race and as such it was a duel opportunity to raise money for a very worthy cause and to race in Disney. I was honestly close to tears as was the race director when he explained how this little girl had raised money and had trained for this race all to help save her daddy. She entered the water with her mom and when the horn sounded they were off. At this point I was concentrating on DW’s uncle and watched as his wave made their way to the beach and then into the water. I had a good eye on him and in the beginning he looked really strong. Then all at once he was gone…..he popped back up, and then went down again. The guards in the boat closest to him threw him a lifesaver and pulled him aboard, along with two other members of his wave. He appeared frazzled but fine from what I could make out and in no time my wave was asked to make our way to the edge of Bay Lake. The horn sounded and we entered the abyss to take on the mile swim in a next to zero visibility environment.

The swim was a challenge as the course was horseshoe shaped and the water was a bit choppy from the lifeguard boats tooling around the race course. I managed to get myself off course a few times but overall I kept my composure and muttled through the swim. The water was pleasant and warm and although I did see the occasional shadow there was nothing to report as far as gators, or other creepy creatures that make central Florida their dwelling grounds. I finished the swim, I didn’t make extremely quick work of it but I caught some guys from the waves in front of me and overall I never got passed so I felt pretty good about it.

I made the extra long run to the transition and hopped on the rocket to attack the Florida flat lands. I had been training quite a bit this summer in the Catskill hills and as such had a wide open, fang toothed grin when I began to ride the bike course. I passed with the fervent wind of a highway patrolman on hot pursuit. I rode my butt off because I was having so much fun, that I forgot all about “taking it easy” and “I’ll just finish”….silly old me. I had my best 25 mile bike ride ever and finished with an average speed of about 21 miles per hour. I slowed toward the transition and tried to make the most of the fuel I had brought with me on the bike. It was good, and kept me light, but it turned out to be too little….I hit the run with confidence for the first mile and then hit a grassy area that can only be described as the grassy oven of certain train wreck death march alley. It was awful, suddenly your smacked in the face by white hot sun, scorching humidity, and grass that hasn’t been mowed recently….or ever. The first and second mile were actually fairly decent for me considering I stopped a couple times to fuel and pour water over my head…I swear I could hear a HISSSSSSS every time I dowsed myself. The third mile met me with chills, shaking and a headache that felt like someone had strapped a rhinestone belt around my head…with the decorative side in. I walked, ran, walked, ran….stopped…walked some more. It was horrible. I knew I could finish but my feet and legs were telling me to go home and LAY DOWN!. I gathered a little courage when I saw the little girl who started the race with her mom out on the run course. I had passed her on the bike and gave her some encouragement and to see her again gave me a little boost to finish. I was nearly done and she was on her first lap of two into the grass oven so as she went by I tried to mutter out some words of cheer, I have no idea what I said…probably something like ehhh errrr GOOO!!! I began running again with a shuffle float and after a bit I could finally make out the finish shoot to mark the end on the 10K. My first glimpse of DD-6 was enough give me some life and I grabbed her little hand and made for the finish line…..I was finally done, cooked, fried, poached, baked, etc….I stumbled across the finish line and was greeted by a race volunteer saying “medical tent-medical tent-medical tent”, with DD-6 in hand an extremely nice gentleman grabbed me by the arm and placed me in a chair with a fan and a mister. I came back to life a bit and was ready to remove my shoes and collapse. The trip back to Key West was quick and painless and although I was in a lot of pain, I was happy I finished and was ready to relax a bit.

Up next……Dinner in Italy anyone?

 

[Claudine&John]

After the race was completed and my gear gathered and last items taken care of ie, bike shipping etc..we headed back to the Key West DVC resort to chill out and take an afternoon by the pool. As an aside DW's uncle had a pretty rough day. He did make to the waters' edge and his plan was going well until he realized he was in a bit over his head, literally and figuratively. It takes a real leap of faith and a lot of raw courage to jump into a misty, dark lake with 1,000 other folks splishing and splashing around and on top of that you have to swim a pretty long way. He made it to a rescue boat and was deposited back at the shore. He was pretty down about it but I'd say he's probably in about 1% of people that would have given it a shot. The rescue boat had collected a few other swimmers as well and as such they were told that they could finish the race but had to turn in their timing chips. So, DW's uncle gets on his bike and proceeds to torch the bike course....until mile 24. He was cut off a bit by another rider and went off the road. In an effort to get back on the course he ended up flipping head over heels and sliding to a screeching halt in the middle of the road. His adrenalin getting the best of him, he re-mounted and finished the bike leg. Now, at this point he had his worst fears realized in the water, in front of family and freinds, and now he had crashed his bike and given his body a good thrashing. He had cuts on his back, side, elbow, hands and hip. What would you do...? Would you hang em' up? Would you tell yourself, "o.k., this isn't my day..." well he didn't. He kept going, kept pushing and ran a blistering 10k. I would say beyond a shadow of a doubt, that even without the swim he as hard a day as anyone out there.

That afternoon is a bit of a blur as DW's uncle and I sat by the Key West pool and sipped frozen marguaritas while watching the DW's and the kiddies frolick in the pool. It was a nice respite, but the pounding in my head was really giving me a run for my money. We headed back to the room to get ready to go to Epcot and dinner in Italy. We had reservations for 7:30 so we figured we would head to the park, see a few things, then eat like royalty. My dinner prep time was spent in the prone position, trying my best to nap, but I just couldn't pull it together. I took a cold shower and struggled on a pair of shorts with a shirt and tried to rally to the park. I would have to don flip flops for the duration of the trip at this point due to the fact that both of my feet were covered in blisters and wearing socks or any full coverage foot wear was not an option. Old Navy flops for a week in Disney my friends...not foot friendly, not foot friendly at all. So we eventually made it to Epcot and DW's Uncle and I trailed behind the crowd a bit due to our collective pain and total lack of forward movement ability. DW, the DD's and myself made it on to Soarin before we hit Italy for dinner and let me just say that it is a really awesome ride. I had been on it before, but this time I had to remove my flops and leave them on the floor in front of me which made the whole thing a new experience. If you like Soarin and have not ridden it barefoot, I highly reccommend it. I felt like a little kid....
When Soarin was done we made our way to meet DW's aunt & uncle and saunter our way over to Italy. We have eaten there several times and it is always pretty good, so this night we planned to splurge it a bit and take it up a notch. We received the full compliment, appetizers, bottles of Lucente...the whole shootin match. Lucente-for those in the know, and those who r not, is a blended merger of Fransico Baldi and Robert Mondavi. Lucente is a unique wine and if you ever want to taste a really solid, really amazing red wine I would suggest picking up a bottle. It's a little difficult to find in your average liquor/wine store but the search is worth the find. Anyhooo....we were wined and dined to our hearts content and made the long slow stroll back to the cars. With a wink and a nod, we were all off to bed on what was a long day for all, and life altering experience for me. Triathlon may not be for everyone, but if you really want to see what makes up your metal, what drives your engine, what your capable of doing....take one on. I guarantee it will change somthing about you and maybe give you a unique way of envisioning your future.

O.k....enough of the preach....on to the Fun. Up Next, Animal Kingdom on a Monday....followed by the dinner with the Duke....of Earl that is.

 

[jen2207]

Triathlon??? "You so totally rock dude!" ~My best Crush (the turtle) impression.....

We were there the weekend of the triathlon, and it was foggy! We had early breakfast ADRs at 1900 Park Fare that day and on the monorail ride over to the Grand Floridian you couldn't see a thing! And then when the sun came out and cooked the fog away - hot hot hot and humid. Well, I guess I don't have to tell you!

I'm impressed - and am really impressed that you 1) rememner what happened after the race 2) VOLUNTARILY sojourned into EPCOT for dinner - the walk to Tutto is not a short one!

Soarin' would be awesome barefoot. I had to do the Batman ride at 6 Flags barefoot this summer and I would recommend that too!

I'll be interested to see what else you did while there - as we where there at the same time. I'm putting my notes together now for a trip report - maybe we'll see if we unknowingly crossed paths!

 

[Claudine&John]

Thank you, I appreciate it...it was foggy that day and the swim was no joke. You couldn't really see more than 20 feet in any direction.

I have put together some more stuff and will hopefully get to put it on tonight.....work is getting in the way again, my mind is still in the volcano pool at the Poly...

 

[Claudine&John]

The next morning saw me struggling to get out of bed and to my delight absolutely no headache was evident. I was actually quite surprised because the amount of Lucente that had been consumed the night before would make ancient Rome look like a Buddhist monastery. DW’s aunt and uncle and their little cherub, and my two DD’s were all awake and chompin down on some morning grubbage when I exited my tomb like dwelling to join them. The sun was already high in the sky and all of us proceeded to make plans for how we would attack all things Disney on this most gorgeous of mornings. It was fairly hot, and sticky as it had been the day prior but there was still a fair amount of Disney magic in the kiddies legs so we decided to make our way to the Animal Kingdom Park.

We probably didn’t arrive at the park until around 10:00 am or so and as such didn’t really get a good look at the place beyond the throngs of visitors that all decided to show up at the same time we did. A couple years back we made reservations to have breakfast at the Rainforest Café and when you are finished you can walk through the gift shop and through a special park entrance in the back of the restaurant. If you get there when the park opens you basically get a quick jump on the crowds waiting at the main gate. The breakfast is really good and it’s totally worth it if your plan is to see the park early. So our late-ish arrival meant that the fast-pass thing would be our modus operandi for the day and we made our way over to the Safari to secure passes and then headed over to the Kali river rapids to check the situation for that. The stand-by line wasn’t long at all so we hopped on it and walked almost directly on the ride, save about two to three minutes of actual standstill. Even a short wait for this ride isn’t bad though because the imagineers have created a little chunk of southeast Asia for you to gawk at while you wait. It’s full of little gardens, sculptures, flowering plants and basic kitch that can probably be found in most garage sales, but never the less it’s all displayed with care and fervent attention to detail. We boarded the raft in quick fashion and as we had two little, but not too little ones with us we had a little extended period of transfer while they got secured into the bright orange super bar thingy. My DD-6 had some ride fear going on when we got on the line for the ride but working my daddy magic and with DW working hers we convinced her that it would be a good time. My DD-4 however was completely the opposite and wanted to make the thing plunge down more rapids and was pretty upset when it was over. DD-6 and I ended up on the top side of the big plunge so we got minimal soakage but there was another family on the craft with us that didn’t fare so well. The dad took the brunt of the water wave and was a bit “unhappy” about it. I was laughing so hard when we came out of the wash that I think I may have added to his burgeoning fury but I just couldn’t help myself. DW and DD-4 got a little wet as well and they were laughing right along with me, which made the whole thing that much more enjoyable. The ride is waaaay too short though, before you know it it’s over and while it’s cool and everything, it’s probably better to get a fast pass and then ride it right before you leave for the day. We then took a little walk over to Dinoland to check out what was going on there and the girls jumped on the flying stegasauras (sp?) thingy. I didn’t go on with them but it looked like fun. While I was watching them I struck up a conversation with another dad that was perched by the fence trying to snap a quality shot of his family when the topic of heat came up. He pointed out to me how the certain parts of the Animal Kingdom Park are hotter than others due to the foliage and the tight-ish walkways. I re-counted my harrowing experience from the day before in the hot grass oven death machine and how it nearly Ko’d my vacation. As I finished what I was telling him, he stopped me and asked me, “you did the whole thing? the whole race, swim-bike-run?” I responded to the affirmative and he actually put down his gear and shook my hand to congratulate me. Here is a total stranger, we spoke for maybe five minutes and he took the time to give a sincere congratulations and shake my hand. Only in Disney folks….only in Disney. I’m from NY and we kind of don’t act that way toward other folks around here, but in Disney you meet people like this all day long. I made a silent comment to myself to pass this gesture on to someone I didn’t know at home because of how it made me feel and maybe try to spread the magic a bit around the NY area. DW and the girls de-dinoe’d and we made our way baaaaack over the Safari to cash in the fast passes and see some wildlife. The tour was awe inspiring as always and there was plenty to see. There was a baby giraffe and two baby elephants to check out. The lions were asleep as always and we caught the poachers in making it a win-win for all involved. The juxtaposition of AK safari and MK jungle ride was enough for DD-6 to be convinced that we had indeed caught poachers, and that that little guy in the back of the truck was not only REAL but safe from poachers hell bent on his demise. It’s only when you experience these attractions with another person whose mind is so open to possibility that it occurs to you how cool this place really is. It’s one thing to look at pictures and to describe to people what the ride is like, but you have to just go on it yourself, it’s true Disney magic… a different experience each time, coupled with the comfort of the familiar and the fantasy of neverland. We jumped from our safari vehicle and headed straight for our own oasis in the savannah, our personal way station, a vision in the hot fury….a …o.k, we were hungry so we made a stop at Pizzafari. The food and service at this place is typical park fare with plenty of staples and a few curveballs to give the sophisticated pallet folks a “I’m in the right place” sort of feel. We ate in a nearly empty room which was odd because it seemed as though there were quite a few guests in the park that afternoon. The meal was good as always and I had my first coke in probably 3-4 years. I try to not indulge in all that is liquidy and sugary as the motto “don’t drink your calories” has been my montra for quite a while now. The boost was much needed and as such I didn’t even have to finish it as just a few sickenly sweet sips were enough. We noticed that the lights inside the café were getting brighter by the minute and when we inspected what was going on outdoors the solution to the quandary was quickly identified. The sky had turned a curious shade of purple-ish green and some folks were just starting to clamor for shelter. A quick scan of our park guide revealed that the Lion King Show was just about to start and as we have never seen it we decided to make a break for Camp Minnie-Mickey. The deluge yet to unleash we made haste for stroller parking in front of the Lion King venue and quick stepped into our seats. The show was worth it and the dancing and theatrics were a great compliment to the day including being seated in the LIONS SECTION…Raawwrrrr.. my DD-4 still recounts that moment for us when we least expect it. When the show ended the kiddies were clearly in need of some down time and as us adults had been hot enough, wet enough, and fed enough we made our way back to the parking lot. At this point DW’s uncle had taken off to tend to matters back home so our wayward group of now 6 made took the tram back to the conveyance. It was a good thing we took the tram too, because as soon as we closed the doors in the car the clouds unzipped and released incalculable amount of water right on our location. It rained so hard that we had trouble negotiating the parking area. The car was silent and the kids were in amazement of the torrential weather event occurring just outside the comfy confines of DW’s aunts Volvo. As we inched our way back to the Key West we decided to get the kiddies into costume and head for the Magic Kingdom for an evening of revelry after a brief respite. The costumes came out and the kids played a bit while the adults scanned the horizon and feverishly checked the weather channel for updates and the latest satellite imagery. The evening was going to be a total wash (punny) so we decided to de-costume the kids and make a rainy trip to Downtown Disney for a bit to eat. Us adults settled on The Earl Of Sandwich…..let me just say here that I could have eaten there for the entire week. I am a sandwich freak, give me something easy to eat, wrapped in an edible container, and filled with all the delights the food world has to offer and I am putty in your hands. This place is incredible. I actually called an audible while I was ordering (sorry-football reference, I know I know I’m a triathlete, I’m not supposed to make those kind of manly references…sorry) I got up to the counter and changed my order as I scanned the menu one last time and noticed the chicken cobb salad wrap. It was a glorious mixture of anything and everything you could imagine all wrapped together in a nice, neat, petite package….kind of like DW…..but I digest. With the adults free and clear we took the kids to the giant golden arches of nugget goodness and got them some junkfood. They were happy and as there was a slight drizzle in the air we felt it was best to keep them happy, keep them moving, and make our way back to Key West to divvy up the loot and stuff our gills. That night we watched Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on DVD (which we had brought) and slowly, one by one fell off into an early nights slumber.

Up next…….We head back to MK, costumes, laughing (again), fish-n-chips and rides capped off with a Luao in paradise….

 

[Claudine&John]

Have you ever wondered what you would feel like if you swam, biked and ran your bleeping body until it shutdown, and then traveled around the amazing parks of Disney for a week??….in flip flops…? I can tell you one thing, the going is rough folks, but the rough kept going.

We awoke on Tuesday with renewed legs and clear heads after having been rained out the night before and getting some quality down time at the Key West. We decided since we didn’t get to take the kiddies in costume to MK the night before, that we would do it today. This was also a moving day for us, which would be the last in a series of three resort hops throughout our trip. We decided that on our way to the MK we would swing by the Poly and get checked in. Figuring that even if our room wasn’t ready we could at least establish that we had arrived and let them know that the bags were on their way from Key West. Additionally, it would provide DW’s Aunt an opportunity to park at the Poly and we could all hop on the monorail. When we entered the lobby at the Poly we were greeted with plush tropical surroundings and festive décor. DW and I got in line to check in while DW’s Aunt took the costumed kiddies over to check out the waterfall and other distractions. The check in was quite smooth and when we told the cast member our name, his response was, “ohh well aloha Mr. & Mrs --- your room is ready and welcome to the Polynesian”….he then proceeded to give us lei’s (sp?) and a map to our room. We had requested a room with a theme park view and as we would only be there for a few days we figured why not spend a little extra, after all there really wasn’t much of a difference anyway. Our room was located in the Hawaii building which is located adjacent to the main pool and overlooks the beach on the lake. When we entered the building we noticed three cast members seated at desks is a second sort of mini lobby. Upon receiving several more Aloha’s we made our way to our room on the first floor room 1512. Entering this room was like that first bite of a sundae, you know it’s going to be good, you know it’s going to be nice…..but when the experience takes you, the feeling is hard to describe. The shades were drawn a bit to showcase the absolutely incredible view and the room itself was neat as a pin with several noted details that we hadn’t become accustomed to having stayed at a few other resorts. It instantly felt comfortable, relaxing and right, all at once. As I sorted through the allotment of checkin stuff I noticed a curious sheet regarding the hours of “concierge” room items and that certain tasks, if requested could be taken up with the fine folks who had greeted us down the hall. “Concierge huh, nice!!1”…DW’s Aunt recounts as DW and I kind of give eachother the ??? look. Our bags were due to arrive in the afternoon so we decided to put the room exploring on hold until we could get back from the MK. On the way out we passed the concierge desk and I made a mental note to really get to know those people before we left. We managed to snap a couple shots before we left.

room with a park view.....

Lake view

We boarded the monorail and headed toward costumed fun time at the kingdom of magic. The girls were very giddy and as DD-6 had opted out of her “Rosetta” costume the two little ones were in there glory, our DD-4 was Snow White, and our Aunts DS was dressed as a knight.

the little ones, DW and DD-6 having a laugh on the future relax-a-train...

The two of them are a few months apart in age so they looked like they fell right out of a play. We entered the park and made our way over to future world to get our fix of Buzz and go to the laugh factory again. The two little ones got questioned in the laugh factory and when our DD was asked where she was from she answered with our street address…..no city or state, just where we lived on our street. It occurred to me that she probably thought we weren’t that far from home….after all we were in the happiest place on earth. It was cute in extreme cute sort of way and I think the audience had a good chuckle with us. We made our way around the usual attractions after that with rides on just about everything as there was next to no waiting for anything. We made a quick stop for lunch at the place directly across from the haunted mansion (again I apologize I cannot remember the name) and it was a really pleasant meal. The fish & chips was a comfort and we were able to get cool and relax in a peaceful place. It’s décor is that of a seaside restaurant and much like the other counter service locations it has a decent selection and can satisfy most pallets.

We had to part ways with DW’s aunt and her DS at this point and as we had reservations for a luau at the Poly, we decided to get back to room and change for dinner….

Up next….flaming batons, fresh pineapple, and a volcano you can slide through…

 

[Claudine&John]

We departed MK and made our way over to the monorail to have our first drop off at our new home at the Poly. It was a little surreal to actually be getting off at that stop knowing we could just walk over to our room and not have to hop on a bus, or take a ferry or drive through meandering roads to get home. We greatfully stolled through the lobby and checked out some of the wares in the gift shops before DD-6 had enough and her repeated pleas to go in the pool were no longer ignored. We entered our building and were once again greeted with the ceremonial aloha's and headed for good ole 1512. We all did a quick change and made for the pool as we had a small window before we needed to get dolled up for the luau. The pool is an awesome spectacle....it has a huge volcano slide (which is waaay fun) and it also features a zero entry area so the real little ones can frolic all they want without the whole drowning issue. DD-6 was instantly in love with it and as such did not really want to do much else for the rest of the time. It was a bit windy and as such one of the lightpoles was exhibiting textbook harmonic resonance with each gust, giving off a nice BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG....the resonance effect was due to the semi light construction of the pole itself and the fact that it was in direct shot of the wind direction causing it to flex and rebound with a rythmic frequency. The reason I explained the whole light pole thing is because when I went to go invetigate the sound I noticed a familiar resort type site causing further "investigation". This was the pool side oasis, the watering hole next to the watering hole, ....o.k. the bar. One of my favorite moments at resorts is sitting on a bar stool barefoot....o.k. so if that makes me weird, color me weired....I have no issues with that. I ordered a margaurita (rocks) and a Pina Colada for DW. The margaurita was stellar, as was the Pina Colada but the surroundings and the place really made the moment. In a short while our egg timer was barking and we needed to make our way back to 1512 to get dolled up.

We headed over to the luau pavillion from our room which was roughly a five minute walk or so through the plush surroundings and palms. The whole area was brimming with activity and we had our picture taken with leis and so forth. It was a really nice time of day and the wind was still kicking which made for an even more authentic island feel. There is a little staging area before you enter the pavillion itself and while your there you can get a drink and basically hang out with the other happy people. When it was time to get seated we were greeted by a huge group of servers and staff and made our way to our table which was ....yep you guessed it, front row center. I don't know who we greased, or how we got such good mojo at the Poly but it was showering on us pretty much the entire time. Our server was named Leo and I swear the guy is a magician. He brought our food and drinks in near stealth like fashion and honestly I have never seen anything like it. He had fun with us and the DD's and basically catered to our every need with quick, pleasant and magical service. The food was nothing to write about but your not really there for the food anyway so it was adequate. The appetizer/salad is pinapple infused cibatta bread, with a mixed green salad tossed in a mango vinegrette. The main course is fried rice, grilled whole chicken and sweet bbq'd ribs. I am not really the picky type but it could have been better.....the tickets are $180.00 for a family of four and as such the rice shouldn't taste like a box mix, and the chicken shouldn't be greasy...anyhoo.. The desert was really good and the presentation was interesting. It's a pyramid shaped chocolate mousse with a raspberry drizzle sauce which is pretty good. The dinner show is really good and that was worth the price of admission so it more than made up for the dinner. You basically get a feel for the different cultures and dances of Polynesia and the performers were really on. I will post some pictures DW got of the flame twirling dude and his flying display of fire twirl when I can figure out the whole picture thing.

With dinner over we went back to the room and I made a stop by the concierge to discuss dinner reservations for the next night. The girls were going to get re-suited to go back in the pool and the concierge and I had a nice chat while he looked up availability. We settled on Marakesh in Morocco for dinner the next night, and during this moment I made a mental note to be more anal retentive and snag as many pre trip ressies as possible, in an attempt to give us more options in the future. At first I was a little floored that Mexico was completely booked on a wednesday night but you live and you learn in the magical wonderland don't you. I had also heard that the magical concierge had some "pull" but that is not really the case, or at least it didn't appear to be.....until thursday night but I'm saving that for another installment. We headed over to the pool to get our wet on and I made another futile attempt to get DD-6 on the volcano fury slide of vortex goodness. She again declined but she was a good sport about it. It was dark at this point and while we could have stayed there all night, we really needed to get back to the room. We all got jammified( PJ's) and went out on the veranda to catch the fireworks over at MK. You could hear the not-so-scary holloween show in full swing and the music was quite audible, even across the lake. We watched the light parade make it's way around the lake and it was fun for the girls as DD-4 loved the octopus and made us all laugh with her pronunciation. The fireworks were awesome and you can seriously get a really good look at how the entire park just lights up with every blast. If you ever have a chance to catch it from the Poly I can highly reccomend it. My next goal is to see it from the Contemporary. This day and night was filled with firsts, seconds, and more and by the time the fireworks were wrapped up we were all ready for a nice respite and dreamland...

Up next, belly dancing-more MK firsts-and the Poly baby....the Poly

 

[Claudine&John]

The next morning we awoke in paradise. The Poly is my kind of place, it’s quiet, calm, and the location is perfect. I walked out on the veranda to a bright sun and a slightly diminished wind from the previous day. The lake was already a buzz with activity and the different horns around the seven seas lagoon were having their usual breakfast conversation as the “world” slowly rose from slumber. The girls were groggy and still in bed so I made my way to the concierge lounge for a bit of a look-see and to grab a bite. The spread was the typical continental breakfast with some really nice choices and fresh everything. The lounge is complete with a nice TV nook and several tables with a two story glass window facing the lake. I also noticed the nestle coffee maker and decided to whip up a couple latte’s for DW and myself. It’s kind if a vacation thing of ours since we went on DCL last year…I’ll try to attach a link to that TR here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1622564


I also grabbed a couple really yummy looking rolls and left. I made it back to the room with coffee in hand which makes puts me right at the top of DW’s happy list to start the day off right. I recalled to DW what was in the lounge and that we could get the DD’s and ourselves a bite before we headed out for the day. We dressed in wake up gear and headed down the hall for the foodie freebie. The hoopy multi-colored cereal was spotted by DD-4 and DD-6 made her way over to the Danish section. DW and I made up a couple bagels with some peanut butter and locked and loaded a couple more lattes. I must note here also that they have pretty much all your gonna need to get your day started here, there is soda in cans, fresh fruit, to go cups, toasters, juice and the usual nice stuff. They also drop a USA Today in front on your door each morning so if you want to sip your latte on the veranda and catch up on the outside world you can. We left the lounge and made our way over to the boat launch site to catch a craft over to MK. If your staying at the Poly this is absolutely, positively the quickest way to get to MK with no crowd. We rode it a few times while we were there, back and forth and if you have to wait all of five minutes, that would be a stretch. The entire trip takes about five minutes and you get to feel the wind and the rocking of the boat all the way across. When we entered MK we headed straight for the train and to get over to frontier land. We had arrived fairly early and as per DW it is the best way to get on those popular rides with no wait. On the train we stopped at the Frontier Land stop and headed straight for Splash Mtn. It was a “must do” on our list this time and we really wanted to give it a family go. We had not been able to all go together due to DD-4’s height but now she had grown to a robust 40” and was ready to cut loose. DD-6 was a bit scared at first but we got in line and headed straight for splashy fun. The wait included the time it takes you to walk all the way through the cue to where you mount the floating log things. I can’t imagine what that line is like but the cave you walk through looked pretty cool and if you had to wait I guess it wouldn’t be too bad. The ride was a lot of fun and DD-6 kept asking when the last drop was and as I had no idea I kept telling her there are TWO more…yeah o.k. Dad….After we plunged to certain splashy wetness we de-boated with wet-fanny and made our way to the run-away railroad. People may think there is a collective disease of loose bowels on this side of the park, because it seemed to me that every other “splasher” had a wet bum, and we were no exception. There was no line for Thunder Mtn so we walked right on and began the consoling of DD-6 who was trembling still from the misty mountain plunge. She wasn’t doing to badly when we sat down and she got to ride with DW while I rode with DD-4. Let me just say that DD-4 is a trip on rides like this, she is hooting and hollering and screaming like there’s no tomorrow. When we pulled in the station at the end she says, “that’s it?” the family behind us laughed as hard as I did…she’s a little pip squeak and she can’t get enough of the white knuckle fun. So we had our fun of the mountains and made a break for it to Pirates to catch the newly added stuff. There was again no line for Pirates and we walked right on….this was at least 10:30 am on a Wednesday….weird. The ride was killer, as if they could make it any better. They added Jack to the mix and it’s truly a whole new ride…..I loved it. After that we made our way through the gift shop and I spotted the gold medallion from the movies up high on a shelf. If you want to spot it, kept to the right side of the shop as you exit the ride, it’s roughly the fourth or fifth bookshelf against the wall on the right hand side…..I hope that doesn’t ruin anyone’s search for it….

After Pirates we headed over to the flying carpet and took off with Alladin. Again DD-4 controlled the up and down motion and the peanut butter bagel was almost a re-visited item. We had our fun, got spit on by a camel, and then checked to see what the line was like at the Jungle Cruise. We ended up with fast passes for that so we had some time to kill. We headed over to the Tiki Room for a show and laughed a bit as the birds sang to their hearts content and entertained us. I always like the end of the show when they tell everyone to leave….it’s funny. We walked out of the show and I followed DW over toward a roped off area where we kind of stepped out of the crowd and staged for a bit. I was under the impression that this was a plan check spot so we could decide what to do next but DW had a plan. The roped off area was to meet Jasmin and Alladin and as all DD-4 could talk about the whole vacation was Jasmin and how she wanted to look like her and dress like her. Well within about five minutes the ropes came down and we were first in line. The DD’s talked with Jasmin for a minute or so and we got some good pics while Alladin kind of hung out in the backround trying to wave to the girls. The pictures came out great and they really enjoyed meeting them.

We then headed over to the Jungle Cruise to cash in the fast passes and take a trip on the wacky ride. Our “cruise” guide for the next two weeks was a sort of tin voiced amateur comedian and he made his best attempts to have us laugh but the tin in his voice made the experience a tough one for these ears to handle. I’m not complaining, I just think he could have toned it down a tad…and he was funny. We finished our ride and played with the mechanical boat thingys for a bit before we decided to head back to the Poly to swim and chill out....gratuitous pool pic...

We had a wonderful pool day, it wasn’t crowded, the drinks were flowin and the activities for the kids were boundless. The kids club people came out on the beach and played games with the kids which was a really nice touch and DW and I basically just watched them have fun. When the games finished DW took DD-4 to a swing on the beach which had an almost immediate sedative effect on DD-4. She fell asleep quick and while DD-6 and I played in the pool DW took DD-4 to the room to lay her down for a good rest. I tried in vane again to get DD-6 to go down the slide but she wasn’t having it. We splashed a bit more and then made our way to the room to get cleaned up and ready for dinner in Morracco.

On the way in to the room I stopped by the concierge again to see if they could get us in to either Kona Café or Ohana on the next night. They told me to check back later as there was no openings until late, late but that something might open up. I was a little surprised that even the concierge couldn’t get us into restaurants in the resort we were staying at but I guess that was just another lesson in pre trip planning that I took. We got dressed for dinner and made our way over to Epcot a little early so we could see some attractions. When we arrived at the park we made our way to the living seas to check out the new-ish Nemo ride and maybe get some turtle time with crush. The Nemo ride was really something else….it is sort of so-so and mildy entertaining until you get to see the animated fish in the tank with the real fish. I don’t know how they did it but they really nailed it. My jaw dropped, I was speechless (this never happens-ask DW) and I turned to see if the girls were enjoying it as much as I was. They were indeed and after we got off we all had a good laugh and joked around in the little fish statue play area. We made an executive decision to head over to Moracco because our ressies were for 7:00 and it was 6:40. It doesn’t seem like it’s that far of a walk especially since you can see where you need to go, but wearing cheap flip flops & carrying a four year old on legs that were torched for a good reason…..well you get the idea. We made it to the restaurant with a few minutes to spare and checked in at the front desk. They whisked us to our table in short order and we were seated in the corner of the dining room with a view of the whole place. The décor and atmosphere in this place is really something else. If you have a chance to look around while your in there it is really, really cool. There were two musicians playing some regional tunes and even a belly dancer to really bring the place some flavor. The menu is really interesting and there are some traditional dishes mixed with some more familiar fare. DW is a vegetarian so occasionally we have to become creative with our choices but she found something to her liking and she enjoyed it. We ordered a special appetizer of goat cheese with crispy bread and a balsamic drizzle and I ordered the shish kebab with tenderloin beef. The DD’s has some typical kid chicken with fries and they were happy. At one point the belly dancer asked for all the kids to come down and dance with her so DD-6 was in her glory and quickly ran down and jumped right in.

We didn’t have desert and we made our way out of the restaurant to see if we could fit in some more rides. We headed straight to test track as that was another ride that we as a family were able to ride for the first time due to the height thing. DW had never been on it either and as I knew she would like it so we jumped on line. There was no waiting at this point as it was about 8:30 and we basically walked right on. DD-6 was again feeling some ride trepidation so DW and I moved quickly to quell her fears and while she cried a bit at first, but when we got off she said it was her favorite ride of the week. With the speed induced adrenalin rush over with and our collective bladders ready to burst, we quickly sped through the gift shop and made for pottyville. At this point it was 8:45 and we needed to head toward the exit so while we were on our way out DW took DD-4 on spaceship earth while I sat with DD-6 who flat out refused to go on. I had a little talk with her and let me tell you she is a toughy….she has an answer for everything that one. With spaceship earth behind them DW and DD-6 came out buzzing and at that point the park people were speeding us toward the exits so we went off to board the monorail. The ride was great and we were speeded back to our resort in no time flat. I had some fun racing DD-4 around in her stroller on the path back to the Hawaii building and DD-6 and DW took a slow stroll and soaked in the landscape. When we finally landed in our beds the mood was groggy and our bodies had just about enough for the day so we made like bears and hibernated.

Up next…..MK finale, a final dip….and Ohana….mmmmm Ohana..!

 

[OhMari]

Please come back and tell us about O'hana's and the Poly.