Value Resorts and Inside Staterooms? Bah Humbug! 30 days of Disney fun! 02/10 Day 30

[dizneeat]

Florida rain is crazy, good call going back to the resort.

Yes, it is crazy, the way it comes and goes! It is so different from the rain we get!
And I love the blue skies after the rain!

..sigh...seeing those photos I can just about smell the Polynesian. Be still my heart.

Loved this update...the Poly, that flatbread (soo hungry!), the chip crown was too funny and the pics of OKW make me want to move right in.

So you love the Polynesian, Christine? I love the landscaping in and around but the Grand Ceremonial House feels too much like a hotel to me. Does that make sense?

Guess that is why we love OKW so much. It feels like you are "home". You get your own "little" flat, which is about twice the size of my flat! You have all your daily life amenities, a kitchen, a washer and dryer, lots of space, the balcony .......
And just driving through the gate and hearing the "Welcome home" makes my heart melt!

Fun update. We had CS at the Poly for the first time this past trip. Got me a Dole Whip Good call on going back to the resort. I like the look of OKW.

It was one of MickeyNicki's reviews that got us interested in Captain Cook's. We really enjoyed it and funny you should mention the Dole Whip. Friends of us, Mary Ellen and Joe stayed at the Poly and Joe really mastered the art of Dole Whips! He really had a way of filling that little cup!
We love OKW! All that space! So much more convenient if you stay for longer periods of time.

We would know that right Lessa !!

Your villa Karin is gorgeous !! Great update !!

So there is a rain story? Come on Rosie, spill the beans!

OKW is awesome. And in those four photos you haven't even seen half of it!

Found your report a few days ago, it took a while but I am finally caught up! I am another one who doesn't like to post when I am really behind so I waited until now to comment. Looks like you guys had a great time, can't wait to hear more about the rest of your trip. It was really neat to see DLP pics as I had never been or seen many pics from there.

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to catch up! Hope you can stick with us for the next 21 days I still need to review!
And we had lots more fun and adventures! The cruises are coming up shortly!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Oh, yes,I do love the Poly, Karin. It's the closest I will likely ever get to visiting Hawaii. Also, on our first trip to WDW, in August '81, we stayed at CR...of course, we were hooked, so in March '82 we went back for a long weekend, this time at the Poly. That first Poly stay was not great, but being so close to the MK, hearing the train whistle, the ferry horns is like being in the heart of the magic and enchantment. No other resort makes me feel the same at those two.

If we stayed as long as you & Tom do (on your longer trips), then a Villa with a washer/dryer and more space would be fabulous! I did stay in a 1 bedroom at SSR once - not crazy about the resort as it was not tropical enough, but loved the one bedroom and used that washer/dryer every night!! I was able to wear my favorite cropped pants everyday.

Isn't it wonderful to have a resort that feels like home each time you return?

 

[dizneeat]

Oh, yes,I do love the Poly, Karin. It's the closest I will likely ever get to visiting Hawaii. Also, on our first trip to WDW, in August '81, we stayed at CR...of course, we were hooked, so in March '82 we went back for a long weekend, this time at the Poly. That first Poly stay was not great, but being so close to the MK, hearing the train whistle, the ferry horns is like being in the heart of the magic and enchantment. No other resort makes me feel the same at those two.

If we stayed as long as you & Tom do (on your longer trips), then a Villa with a washer/dryer and more space would be fabulous! I did stay in a 1 bedroom at SSR once - not crazy about the resort as it was not tropical enough, but loved the one bedroom and used that washer/dryer every night!! I was able to wear my favorite cropped pants everyday.

Isn't it wonderful to have a resort that feels like home each time you return?

I can so understand why you like the Monorail resorts! We stayed at the Contemporary once and even though we stayed in a garden wing room, we LOVED it. The thought of just stepping out, crossing the street and be at the MK was just out of this world.

Then I saw a comedy series on TV and the family stayed at OKW. I was sure this was filmed in a movie studio, as I had never before seen anything like it. When I saw OKW for the first time "for real" I was just in awe!
In 2006 Disney kindly offered an incredible AP holder discount and we were able to book a studio. Now Disney knows how to hook you! They upgraded us to a 1 bedroom and we were hooked for life!

Yes, it IS wonderful to have that one resort that IS home to you!

 

[englishrose47]

Karin , Lessa & I were there THAT week in May of 2009 when it rained the most in 50 years !! The parks were empty and rides were walk on !! The rain did not stop us !!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Day 9, August 22

Seeing the parks through Walt’s eyes and another late night at the Magic Kingdom - Part 2

So we got into our car and drove over to the Polynesian resort to have some lunch.

Look at you clever ones, taking your picture in the mirror! It turned out great!

I had a pineapple cup. We walked over to the seating area and who should walk up than two of the people who were on the tour with us. They pretended not to know us, so we pretended not to know them either.

Well, aren't some people just so

We sat there for a while eating our lunch and having a laugh because one of the chips really looked like a crown.

There she is, Miss Austria!!!



After a few hours the rain stopped and by early evening we left our villa to drive over to the Polynesian Resort again for some dinner.

Yes, that rain can make you feel like you're drowning in a hurry! What a nice relaxing afternoon, even if you were doing laundry. A day at WDW is best, no matter how you spend it!

 

[Stefy]

Lucky you guys got back before the rain started The villas do look lovely at OKW

 

[dizneeat]

Karin , Lessa & I were there THAT week in May of 2009 when it rained the most in 50 years !! The parks were empty and rides were walk on !! The rain did not stop us !!

Oh, I remember THAT May! Not from experience, but from TR here! No wonder you are a rain expert!

Yes, that rain can make you feel like you're drowning in a hurry! What a nice relaxing afternoon, even if you were doing laundry. A day at WDW is best, no matter how you spend it!

I know what you mean - we once were on our way to the car and the rain started when we got off the tram. Our car was about 20 cars down the row and we were drowned mice when we got to the car - had to put towels onto the seats, because they were so wet!
Honestly, I really enjoy having the washer and dryer handy in the villa. Makes for a lot less packing and it is done so easily, during the rain shower.

Lucky you guys got back before the rain started The villas do look lovely at OKW

We love OKW - the space can't be beaten! So nice when you stay for a little longer.
During that trip we were fairly lucky - we never walked into any big rainstorms.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Karin , Lessa & I were there THAT week in May of 2009 when it rained the most in 50 years !! The parks were empty and rides were walk on !! The rain did not stop us !!

Oh, I remember THAT May! Not from experience, but from TR here! No wonder you are a rain expert!

My family has a rain curse. In addition to the May 09 trip with Rosie we have also been rained on for pretty much our whole vacation in Dec 97 and August 08. Here's hoping this year is different!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 9, August 22

Seeing the parks through Walt’s eyes and another late night at the Magic Kingdom - Part 3

After a few hours the rain stopped and by early evening we left our villa to drive over to the Polynesian Resort again for some dinner.

We checked in at the Kona Café, were given a buzzer and told that it would be a 15 minute wait. There were lots of walk ups and the people signing in ahead of us were walk-ups too. We expected to be seated next, but no, Kona Café obviously doesn’t honour ADRs, so we had to wait our time, which didn’t sit well with me.
Finally we were led to our table, a tiny two top next to a column and our server introduced himself, then leaving us to check the menu.

While we were still studying the menu our server brought out the Soft Bread

and Makadamia Nut Butter. We then ordered our main courses.

Tom had the Teriyaki-style New York Strip, a sirloin strip grilled with pineapple teriyaki glaze served with mashed Yukon gold potatoes and stir-fried broccolini and

I ordered the Coconut Almond Chicken - sauteed chicken breast served with Asian greens tossed with honey-lime dressing, golden pineapple, strawberries, and toasted almonds. We munched on the bread until our main courses were served. After we had finished our entrees we were quite full, but ordered a dessert, since we were on the Disney Dining Plan.

Tom got the No Sugar Added Apple Stacker - with cinnamon, sour cream and crisp won tons served with sugar free vanilla ice cream and

I thought I might give the Banana-Chocolate Creme Brulee - with a chocolate spiral another try.
It took ages for our server to bring the bill, but then we finally made our way over to the Magic Kingdom.

There were still a lot of people at the bag check and the turnstiles, but we finally made it inside the park. We were right on time for the Main Street Electrical Parade, which we both love, so we stopped and watched it.

After the Parade we walked towards the Haunted Mansion, but the line was still too long, so we walked through Fantasyland and saw that they were still distributing Fast Passes for Peter Pan’s Flight, so we got one.

We then walked back towards the Christmas store and over to Adventureland and when we saw that there was literally no line for the Jungle Cruise we jumped on board.

We just love to ride the Jungle Cruise at night as the skippers tend to be more relaxed and crack a lot more jokes than during the day. So we had a fun cruise and a lot of laughter. Next we hopped on another cruise, the one of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Again the line was pretty short, so we were off and on the ride in no time. When we got off we realized that the park had gotten far less crowded, so we walked over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to have a look at how long the line was there.

It was only a 5 minute wait, so we got in line and literally walked on the line, even though we asked to sit in the back of the train. Fun ride was over far too soon, so when we got back we just walked around one more time and rode again. By then it was nearly time to go and ride Peter Pan and on the way there we just had a look at the line for the Haunted Mansion and since there was none, we visited the 999 Happy Haunts residing there, too. By then our Fast Pass was valid and we hopped in line and were on the ride in no time. We watched out for the Hidden Mickey in the ride and were off just in time to catch the next performance of Mickey’s Philharmagic.

We only waited for about 5 minutes before we were led into the theatre. The show was fun as always and we still had about 20 minutes of Extra Magic Hours left, so we headed over to Space Mountain and since they let us, we got in line.

It said 20 minutes and it WAS a 20 minute wait. Since we were in the Stand by line we had lots of time to enjoy the ride area and found Disney's "newest" and "furthest" off resort, The Hyperion Resort!

There were still lots of people with Fastpasses walking on, but around the time the park officially closed we had finally gotten close to boarding our ride vehicle. Once we made it to the boarding area we were filling in the last two seats of a ride car. We had a lot of fun sitting there, screaming through space. It was time to leave the park, so we strolled towards the exit, got in line for the Monorail and picked up our car. It was way past our bedtime when we finally made it back to our villa, where we fell into bed.

 

[dizneeat]

My family has a rain curse. In addition to the May 09 trip with Rosie we have also been rained on for pretty much our whole vacation in Dec 97 and August 08. Here's hoping this year is different!

We did have our fair share of rain too! We were there for Hurricane Charley, stayed at AKL and were stunned at how huge the damage was.
And you must have been there in August 08 during Hurricane Fay then - we were too! Once I had gotten used to constantly wet feet and my first crocs we had a blast - the parks were empty!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

We did have our fair share of rain too! We were there for Hurricane Charley, stayed at AKL and were stunned at how huge the damage was.
And you must have been there in August 08 during Hurricane Fay then - we were too! Once I had gotten used to constantly wet feet and my first crocs we had a blast - the parks were empty!

Yep, Tropical Storm Fay, we didn't let her stop our fun though she did try her hardest!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

LOVE the pics! Sure brings back memories.

Karin, I was there during Tropical Storm Fay too! Had to switch from SSR to POP for extra nights due to canceled flight - we must have been there at the same time! I went to MK in my Mickey poncho, but decided instead of using a hopper day. I added on a few more and non-expiring for the next trip.

I like WDW in the rain.

 

[DaveInTN]

Karin, sounds like you had a not-so-magical experience at Kona. The food looks good, but the customer service wasn't great huh? That's too bad. On our last trip, we had breakfast at Kona and our server was the BEST we had all week. Just goes to show you how important the individual cast members are to your overall experience. A great one can leave you with wonderful memories...a bad one can make an otherwise good meal not so great.

 

[Linda67]

Another great day Karin

Looks like you had a really great time at MK during EMHs. So cool to just jump on rides with no waiting

 

[Stefy]

Sounds like a really fun EMH loving all your photos

 

[KatMark]

How the heck did I now miss two updates????

I love your "princess crown" at the Poly and your pictures of all that yummy looking food. What great pictures at the MK too. We've been fortunate...no hurricanes whenever we have been there.

 

[dizneeat]

Yep, Tropical Storm Fay, we didn't let her stop our fun though she did try her hardest!

She was one LONG and RAINY storm, but we didn't let her stop our fun either! We just loved the empty parks!

LOVE the pics! Sure brings back memories.

Karin, I was there during Tropical Storm Fay too! Had to switch from SSR to POP for extra nights due to canceled flight - we must have been there at the same time! I went to MK in my Mickey poncho, but decided instead of using a hopper day. I added on a few more and non-expiring for the next trip.

I like WDW in the rain.

You were there during Fay too? I cannot believe it - where did you stay, we were at POR! I loved it, because every night there were some froggies sitting on the signs.

Karin, sounds like you had a not-so-magical experience at Kona. The food looks good, but the customer service wasn't great huh? That's too bad. On our last trip, we had breakfast at Kona and our server was the BEST we had all week. Just goes to show you how important the individual cast members are to your overall experience. A great one can leave you with wonderful memories...a bad one can make an otherwise good meal not so great.

Service can make or break a dining experience. Seeing people who signed in after us being seated way before us was just the tip of the iceberg.
But at least the food was very nice.
And we did have a few really wonderful experiences in the end!

Another great day Karin

Looks like you had a really great time at MK during EMHs. So cool to just jump on rides with no waiting

We love EMHs at the MK, especially when they are extra late. The park REALLY thins out towards the very end and everything is just a walk on - and the CM are having fun themselves and with their guests.

Sounds like a really fun EMH loving all your photos

Yes, we did! Love late EMHs at the MK!

How the heck did I now miss two updates????

I love your "princess crown" at the Poly and your pictures of all that yummy looking food. What great pictures at the MK too. We've been fortunate...no hurricanes whenever we have been there.

How the heck did you miss two updates? I guess the key word is WORK! You are all caught up now, Kathy! No problem!

The hurricanes were a new experience - Charley was hard to go through, but Fay was kind of fun!

 

[jenseib]

I just love late nights at MK. Looks like you got a lot done too. Thats the best part. So many people leave by 11ish and then the park is so nice an peaceful. There is just something so special feeling being there that late.
Our day there, it will be open till 2 AM. I am thinking of resting in the morning (we get off the cruise that day), if our room is ready and then heading over later in the afternoon. WE have CRT for dinner at 9:30 PM, and I hope when we get out the park is empty!

 

[dizneeat]

I just love late nights at MK. Looks like you got a lot done too. Thats the best part. So many people leave by 11ish and then the park is so nice an peaceful. There is just something so special feeling being there that late.
Our day there, it will be open till 2 AM. I am thinking of resting in the morning (we get off the cruise that day), if our room is ready and then heading over later in the afternoon. WE have CRT for dinner at 9:30 PM, and I hope when we get out the park is empty!

Aren't late night EMH at the MK the very best? Our first day in February the MK will be open until 3am again. I just pushed our Wave reservation back, so we can at least get a little nap in in the afternoon!

There is something extra magical about an almost empty MK in the early morning hours!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Hi Karin,

I wanted to say hi! I have not been on the DIS since November and have a lot of catching up to do!

I can't wait to read what I've missed.

Sophia