WDW/DCL Western Caribbean Honeymoon Extravaganza!! DONE!!! - PG 51!!

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day 1 - Arrival Day cont.​

We have this tradition of always going to the MK first thing. Se we dropped our carryons with bell services and hopped right onto the monorail to the MK. Tom never really understood the appeal of the monorail, but by the end of this trip, he LOVED it. It really was so easy to get to MK and EPCOT. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We got to the MK and the first thing we had to do was exchange our vouchers for our APs.

(I decided that when I step out of the continuous storyline for a little, I'll put it in italics so no one gets confused)
Now our first trip to WDW was August 9-16, 2006. Tom had never been before and I was trying to prepare him for the summer crowds. We had the exact same morning we did on this trip, except in 2006, I was SHOCKED at how few people there were around the entrance to MK. There was absolutely NO LINE at guest services.

Well this trip was more like what I had expected back then. VERY long line at guest services...but I didn't care! I was excited!

This picture was more of an on line boredom, "Now let me get you" picture.

While the CM at the counter was getting our passes, I thought I'd better practice my finger scanning abilities.

The first castle picture!

The first thing that we did at the MK was EAT! I wanted Pecos Bill's and Tom wanted to try to Fried Chicken Sandwich from Golden Oak outpost so we went our seperate ways and met up in Pecos Bills to eat. And would you believe, we actually FORGOT to take pics of our food!! But don't worry, we didn't let that happen again!!

After lunch, we rode Pirates, which was Tom's first ever ride. We also saw that they had built a stage for the Pirate Tutorial next to the Fuenta de Fortuna (which, by the way, when did it stop being a fountain?) The stage wasn't there last time we there. They used to just do the show on the side of the ride building.

We strolled through Frontierland and I was SO excited to see Frontier Donald!

After a quick pic with Donald, we walked by the Hall of Presidents. Since they had just refurbed it, we thought we'd check it out.

Well aside from the fact that I was a little disappointed that they took out some dialogue I used to quote from the old show, it was also NOT the best thing to do when you had woken up at 4:00 that morning...

We strolled through Fantasyland and over by Tomorrowland and we just couldn't last any longer. So we decided to go back to the Poly and HOPE that sometime between now and when we got back, we'd get that magical text telling us our room is ready and we can SLEEP!!

On the way back, we saw monorail Pink, which I was a little surprised about, since it had been involved in the accident a few weeks earlier.

Well we got back to the Poly and our room was NOT ready. We hung out in the lobby for a while. We took turns going to the gift shop while the other waited with the bags and I bought a dress that I would later where to 'Ohana that night!

Look what I spotted while I was waiting with the bags...

We got tired of waiting in the lobby and decided to walk to the pool bar and get a drink. Well, it was sort of confusing to find where the bar was and it was way in the back so I ran and got a Pina CoLava and Tom waiting at a table. At this point, we were getting really tired of waiting...I took my cell phone out and was demanding that it beep!!

Shortly after this picture was taken, the phone finally beeped with the wonderful message that our room is ready!! Woo Hooo!!!!!!

Up next: Getting to our room and dinner at 'Ohana!!!

 

[PopArtGal]

Woohoo!

Can't wait to see your room!

 

[anetnmike]

this is so much fun! it's like being packed in your carry on and getting in for free!

 

[YoNoSe]

Nik's DH chiming in again!

I'm going to just add some random thoughts to go along with Nik's linear detail. I'm tempted to jump ahead and just talk about the good stuff but I promised I wouldn't steal her thunder.

First of all, hello to all the cool people we met in the parks and on the cruise! I was curious when Nik told me we might meet some boardies, and maybe a little concerned since the internet has produced a wierdo or two. But not the Disboards! Everyone was really fun to talk to and (as I'm sure you all know) it's always great to meet another adult who "gets it."

I'd like to point out that Nik keeping the Poly a secret for so long blows my mind. She's usually the one who wants to exchange Christmas presents three days early because she can't take the suspense. Since I always leave the planning in her capable hands (I've been to WDW 4 times now....I think she's been there like 80) I really had absolutely no idea and it was a fantastic surprise.

While I still prefer the theme of WL it's impossible to walk away from the Poly unimpressed. And as Nik stated above the monorail access made traveling a breeze on this trip. Considering that we stayed at Pop last trip, that was a huge plus.

POTC - I will always lament the fact that I never saw it pre-furb but I feel like it is the perfect introduction to the parks. There's something about the cold air blowing on that poor skeleton still at the wheel that makes you forget how much you were sweating five minutes ago and immerses you in the experience. Despite the coolness factor of the Davy Jones hologram and the animatronic Sparrow it's the simple effect of air conditioning, strobe light, and sculpture that always gets me.

The above pic with Donald illustrates what I like to call Post Wedding Smile Syndrome. I realized that after having my picture taken about 1,000 time the day before I was no longer smiling...I was just showing my teeth. Maybe it will be interesting to the dentists out there but I apologize to everyone else in advance if I appear angry/constipated in some of the photos. I don't know how those pageant girls do it.

Also, I'm generally a supporter of the "boring" attractions but Hall of Presidents nearly put me into a coma. They need to find a faster way to introduce all those robopresidents. It felt like Ellen's President Adventure.

I know I said I wouldn't jump ahead, but Ohana is so awesome that I can't wait for Nik's next entry just so I can read it and nod emphatically at the awesomeness....

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day One ~ Arrival Day Cont.
Our Room at the Poly​

I, of course, took pictures of our room right away!

Our luggage came almost immediately. The CM who brought it was very nice and pointed out the artwork next to the bed and put us on a hidden mickey hunt. There are three in this painting...can you find them??

Okay, it's not the best picture to find them. I know where they are and I can only see two from this distance and angle. So here they are.

It was a good thing he got me so intereted in the HM hunt because it distracted me from the fact that THE WHEEL ON MY SUITCASE HAD BROKEN OFF!! I don't know where, exactly. Somewhere between Newark airport and right now. FANTASTIC! That made for a fun aiport adventure in two weeks from today...but again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Unfortunately by now, there was no time for sleep before dinner. Tom got ready first, then enjoyed the little sitting area for a while until dinner.

Tom had the ironing board out so I thought what a perfect time to set the automatic on the camera and get a nice picture of the two of us all dressed up for 'Ohana.

Up Next: 'Ohana!!

 

[YoNoSe]

The room at the Poly was bigger than our living room (granted we live in a 2 bedroom apt). I tell people all the time, "stay anywhere you want. Who cares about the hotel? It's just four walls to sleep in between parks." The Poly proved me way wrong. The room was big, comfortable, and very well appointed.

Too bad we will not be stayng there again anytime soon. The House Fund beckons...

I did miss the Spanish park video channel but I can't blame the hotel for that!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day 1 ~ Arrival Day cont.
'Ohana!!​

We walked over to the Great Ceremonial House around 4:45. I didn't realize that 'Ohana didn't open for dinner until 5:00 so I was a little surprised to see the VERY long line to the check-in desk. We even thought maybe this line was for people without ADRs but no. We had to wait.

Oh, side note! At some point while we were waiting for our room to be ready, I realized that I forgot to get the Tables in Wonderland card from Guest Services when we exchanged our vouchers! Things like that make me so mad at myself because I try so hard to make sure everything goes exactly how I want it to. It was too bad I didn't have it for this meal because we would've saved a good amount of money but we did get it the next day and still ended up saving more than it cost us by the end of the week.

So, we checked-in a little before 5:00 so we got our pager and sat at the bar. Tom contimplated whether or not to get the Lapu Lapu for SO long that by the time he decided, our pager went off!

I was so excited to see the open fire pit.

The restaurant is way bigger on the inside than it looks. We were brought in the back and had the BEST seat in the house, IMO! This was our view.

Smile for a picture, honey!! Woops!! You broke off a piece of the bread before we got a picture!!

Okay, turn it this way so you can't see some is ripped off. It would have worked if the plate with the broken off piece of bread on it wasn't in the background!!

We just got a new camera a few months ago and were VERY excited about the "food" feature. We used it a lot and thought it took EXCELLENT pictures of the food.

Dipping Sauces

Salad

The bread and salad came immediately and soon after, came our drinks. I enjoyed the Pina CoLava so much from this afternoon that I ordered another one with dinner. Tom decided on the Lapu Lapu.

Next came the Chicken Wings and Pork Dumplings

Then Noodles and Veggies

Then the scewers started coming around. Turkey, Steak, Pork (not pictured)

This is how they bring you all the meats. This is shrimp. I don't eat shrimp, can you tell?

The dessert was bread pudding. When I first saw it, I said, "No thank you!" See, I never had bread pudding before and I don't try new things. But she convinced me to try it and let me tell you...it was DELICIOUS!!!

Here's another pic of the skewers in the fire-pit.

The drinky drinks must have gotten to us a little because we started acting a little silly.

Tom couldn't resist giving that statue a little smack on the way out!

Okay, if any of you know the 1989 romantic love song by Digital Underground, the Humpty Dance. It is a stupid song but one of those fun ones you can't help but sing along to. Well, if you don't know the song, at one point the singer starts calling people of all cultures to "Do the humpty hump" "Black people...do the humpty hump. White people...do the humpty hump." He calls on a few others but the one I always laugh at is what he says..."Samoans..do the humpty hump." So every time we passed this building, I had to sing "Samoans! Do the humpty hump!" That's what I was doing in this picture! (Is this inappropriate? Sorry!)

So, 'Ohana we absolutely LOVED 'Ohana! It was one of our favorites from this trip and we will definitely go back again. We pretty much went to bed right after dinner, we were SO tired and wanted to be rested and ready to go for EPCOT! It was definitely still light out by the time we fell asleep.

Up Next: Epcot!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

The room at the Poly was bigger than our living room (granted we live in a 2 bedroom apt). I tell people all the time, "stay anywhere you want. Who cares about the hotel? It's just four walls to sleep in between parks." The Poly proved me way wrong. The room was big, comfortable, and very well appointed.

Too bad we will not be stayng there again anytime soon. The House Fund beckons...

I did miss the Spanish park video channel but I can't blame the hotel for that!

Yeah! Stacey was all weird and mature this time! I felt like the show was much shorter, too, like it repeated much more often. And I do miss "Spanish Stacey."

 

[WLfamily]

First of all, hello to all the cool people we met in the parks and on the cruise! I was curious when Nik told me we might meet some boardies, and maybe a little concerned since the internet has produced a wierdo or two. But not the Disboards! Everyone was really fun to talk to and (as I'm sure you all know) it's always great to meet another adult who "gets it."

It was really nice meeting the two of you also Tom, and I am so glad to hear I'm not classified as a "wierdo".



POTC - I will always lament the fact that I never saw it pre-furb but I feel like it is the perfect introduction to the parks. There's something about the cold air blowing on that poor skeleton still at the wheel that makes you forget how much you were sweating five minutes ago and immerses you in the experience. Despite the coolness factor of the Davy Jones hologram and the animatronic Sparrow it's the simple effect of air conditioning, strobe light, and sculpture that always gets me.

Couldn't agree with you more! POTC is always the first ride we head to when we get to MK. We make it the first ride of every trip.


Also, I'm generally a supporter of the "boring" attractions but Hall of Presidents nearly put me into a coma. They need to find a faster way to introduce all those robopresidents. It felt like Ellen's President Adventure.

At least you stayed awake, my dh was snoozing!!

I know I said I wouldn't jump ahead, but Ohana is so awesome that I can't wait for Nik's next entry just so I can read it and nod emphatically at the awesomeness....


Our most favorite meal every single time!! You are soooo right on with the awesomeness of the place!!

 

[LuvMySoldier07]

Hey guys. Love the TR so far! My friend was staying in Tokelau the same time you guys were. We were in hawaii which is right next door. im surprised we didn't run into you at all. Anyway, is WL still your favorite resort? I am considering staying there for our next trip and was wondering how it compares to the Poly.
Cant wait to read more!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Lisa, as far as what you get for your money, WL is definitely still our favorite. It is just as beautiful as the Poly and all the rooms are in one building, so there's no going outside to go to the "food court." The grounds are just gorgeous. WL and AKL are the 2 least expensive of all the deluxes. I think there are a few reasons why it is so much cheaper than the Poly. First of all, the rooms are smaller and secondly it's not on the monorail line. BUT, it is still considered a MK resort. You can even see Wishes from the beach. AND there is no monorail BUT there's a boat to the MK, which is a very nice ride.

So I think if we're ever going to swing for a deluxe again, it's definitely going to be WL. We chose the Poly for our honeymoon as a once in a lifetime kind of thing. I just can't see spending all that money for Poly when WL is just as nice, in my opinion.

 

[YoNoSe]

WLfamily - you were the first boardie we met and set the standard! Hope you enjoed the rest of your trip!

I agree with Nik's post about the WL vs. Poly. If you've got the money, the Poly should be experienced but overall I prefer the WL.

Thinking about it reminded me of a podcast that discussed the story of the WL - the "history" of the lodge and the characters that established it. I really wish that they would publish a book containing all the incidental info about the resorts, rides, etc. There's tons of material in the queues and the shadowy corners of attractions that goes unnoticed by most of the guests.

 

[LuvMySoldier07]

Thanks, Nikki. WL sounds like a wonderful resort. I was just looking at some pictures of the rooms and they look so nice! Its funny how you described staying at the Poly as a "once in a lifetime" thing because I was just telling DBF the same thing. We got a great deal because of the military specials they had this year, but we would not be able to afford it otherwise. I was so happy I could experience staying at the Poly, but now I can't justify the cost. WL is more affordable and seems just as beautiful as the Poly.
Anyways, thank you again for your input! I can't wait to hear more about your trip

 

[PopArtGal]

WLfamily - you were the first boardie we met and set the standard! Hope you enjoed the rest of your trip!

I agree with Nik's post about the WL vs. Poly. If you've got the money, the Poly should be experienced but overall I prefer the WL.

Thinking about it reminded me of a podcast that discussed the story of the WL - the "history" of the lodge and the characters that established it. I really wish that they would publish a book containing all the incidental info about the resorts, rides, etc. There's tons of material in the queues and the shadowy corners of attractions that goes unnoticed by most of the guests.

Exactly what happened with us. We were spoiled at the Contemporary. But we probably won't spend that much money on a room next time. Maybe a villa in a DVC would be best suited for us. But one day, I hope to go back to the CR and try the Poly. But as you said, it doesn't appeal to us as much since you are not in the "central" building.

I would love a book with the history of buildings, and such. There's so much more to know about WDW that hasn't been said yet.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Next came the Chicken Wings and Pork Dumplings

I LOVE good food porn! I was meaning to do the same on the cruise, but I totally forgot! Great TR so far you guys!

 

[msGAJeepgurl]

I'm late, I'm new - I'm following. My DF & I are headed on our disneymoon in just over a month & we'll be staying at the WL. I cant wait to read about yours. It keeps me from obessing over mine!!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I'm late, I'm new - I'm following. My DF & I are headed on our disneymoon in just over a month & we'll be staying at the WL. I cant wait to read about yours. It keeps me from obessing over mine!!!

I'm glad you're reading my TR! Happy to help you keep you mind off your obsessing over your trip! It'll probably just make it worse, though!

Thanks, Nikki. WL sounds like a wonderful resort. I was just looking at some pictures of the rooms and they look so nice! Its funny how you described staying at the Poly as a "once in a lifetime" thing because I was just telling DBF the same thing. We got a great deal because of the military specials they had this year, but we would not be able to afford it otherwise. I was so happy I could experience staying at the Poly, but now I can't justify the cost. WL is more affordable and seems just as beautiful as the Poly.
Anyways, thank you again for your input! I can't wait to hear more about your trip

Exactly what happened with us. We were spoiled at the Contemporary. But we probably won't spend that much money on a room next time. Maybe a villa in a DVC would be best suited for us. But one day, I hope to go back to the CR and try the Poly. But as you said, it doesn't appeal to us as much since you are not in the "central" building.

I would love a book with the history of buildings, and such. There's so much more to know about WDW that hasn't been said yet.

Exactly. We listen to some of the Disney podcasts and they go into the history and backstory behind things like Pleasure Island and Chester and Hester's and there is SO much story out there that people just don't know. Like, there is a reason for every single thing you see in the parks that can be explained in the stories. It would be so cool if they did publish a book of all the stories behind the attractions.

I LOVE good food porn! I was meaning to do the same on the cruise, but I totally forgot! Great TR so far you guys!

I have been talking about taking pics of food for the past few trips, but now with this new "food" setting on my camera, I really had no choice! We were determined to take pictures of everything! It was hard not to dig in at first but then it became a habit. At one point, our cruise tablemates were like, "Uh, that's just a salad" and it probably was the plainest salad you will ever see but I just couldn't NOT take a picture of it!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Okay, I just finished creating and ordering my Photopass book. I pre-ordered the CD+book combo RIGHT before the price went up AND it was also the time that someone on the DIS (what would I do without the sneaky codes from the DIS!) posted a Disney Visa discount.

So I pre-ordered and paid a total of $127.46 for BOTH!!

Well, when I ordered the CD it came to 149.95!! (More than what I paid for BOTH!) And I just put in my order for the book and it came to $78.46!!

Total = $228.40!! Again, I paid $127.46! $100 saved!!!

I LOVE saving money!

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Okay, I just finished creating and ordering my Photopass book. I pre-ordered the CD+book combo RIGHT before the price went up AND it was also the time that someone on the DIS (what would I do without the sneaky codes from the DIS!) posted a Disney Visa discount.

So I pre-ordered and paid a total of $127.46 for BOTH!!

Well, when I ordered the CD it came to 149.95!! (More than what I paid for BOTH!) And I just put in my order for the book and it came to $78.46!!

Total = $228.40!! Again, I paid $127.46! $100 saved!!!

I LOVE saving money!

YEA!! What a great deal! I love a great deal!!

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Nik's DH chiming in again!

I'm going to just add some random thoughts to go along with Nik's linear detail. I'm tempted to jump ahead and just talk about the good stuff but I promised I wouldn't steal her thunder.

First of all, hello to all the cool people we met in the parks and on the cruise! I was curious when Nik told me we might meet some boardies, and maybe a little concerned since the internet has produced a wierdo or two. But not the Disboards! Everyone was really fun to talk to and (as I'm sure you all know) it's always great to meet another adult who "gets it."

The above pic with Donald illustrates what I like to call Post Wedding Smile Syndrome. I realized that after having my picture taken about 1,000 time the day before I was no longer smiling...I was just showing my teeth. Maybe it will be interesting to the dentists out there but I apologize to everyone else in advance if I appear angry/constipated in some of the photos. I don't know how those pageant girls do it.

Also, I'm generally a supporter of the "boring" attractions but Hall of Presidents nearly put me into a coma. They need to find a faster way to introduce all those robopresidents. It felt like Ellen's President Adventure.

Yeah, we have lots of pageant girls down here and I just don't understand how they can smile so much...but if you look at their eyes, you can tell when it's fake. It just makes my face hurt. Don't worry -- when I met you, Nikki, and Christy, I thought you all had genuine smiles on your face. Maybe the "wedding smile syndrome" had passed by then...?

Day 1 ~ Arrival Day cont.
'Ohana!!​

Oh, side note! At some point while we were waiting for our room to be ready, I realized that I forgot to get the Tables in Wonderland card from Guest Services when we exchanged our vouchers! Things like that make me so mad at myself because I try so hard to make sure everything goes exactly how I want it to. It was too bad I didn't have it for this meal because we would've saved a good amount of money but we did get it the next day and still ended up saving more than it cost us by the end of the week.

So, 'Ohana we absolutely LOVED 'Ohana! It was one of our favorites from this trip and we will definitely go back again. We pretty much went to bed right after dinner, we were SO tired and wanted to be rested and ready to go for EPCOT! It was definitely still light out by the time we fell asleep.

We absolutely LOVE 'Ohana! I'm hoping I can convince my parents and DH that we need to go back on our weekend trip in October...yum, yum, yum! You had a great table...and what kind of camera do you have that has a food setting? That is so cool! I get mad at myself when forget things like that, too...I got mad at myself for two reasons on our trip -- both times I deviated from The Plan, we ended up at the park with EMH and it was way crowded. Oh well! And then I just found out that I booked our October trip during F&W Festival so it's going to be more crowded at Epcot, which is the park my parents want to spend their park day at (again)...but that's life. Since I already bought our MNSSHP tickets, I can't change it. *Sigh* Why on earth to I make spur of the moment decisions like that?????

I am LOVING your trip report, Nikki!