WDW in October vs. Hilton Head in March: a tale of two trips NEW! 10/6 p20

[Mndisneygirl]

Now I'm hungry after seeing all the food pics!

I don't think we've ever done the Energy attraction. Guess after hearing your rave review we'll continue to skip it....unless it's air conditioned and we're too hot in June.

I wish they offered the Chase lounge year round and changed the theming according to the time of year.

Yeah, on my TR, there are lots of food pics, so be prepared! I do have more time at F&W later on, so bring a snack!

Is the chase lounbe year round or just during wine and food? And do you show your chase to get in? I have 2, so I am prepared.

The food looks good. I never tried a single thing when there though. We were there on one of the last days and only had a few hours and we already had an ADR. I might need to get back and try some things someday.

I think this was the first time they offered the Chase lounge during F&W because they were the major sponsor. Maybe they'll do more things, that would be cool - a nice place to take a break! We did have to show a card (one per group) to get in there.
We purposely did not plan any ADRs in Epcot because of F&W. Hard for me, because I love almost all the restaurants there! You will have to go back!

 

[MeMom]

Mine, mine, mine!
I love watermelon.

I wanted the kids to ride Maelstrom. I was pretty sure Sarah had been on it before, but Paige took some convincing. We got Fps, and Sarah rode once with each of us. We got FPs for later and hoped Paige would go!

Sometime around here we went back to use the Maelstrom FPs! Guess what, third time's the charm! Paige finally agreed to ride it! I think she was okay, although was a little scared about the giant troll and going backwards. She typically freaks out about a ride, and then when she gets on it, she loves it and says it was no big deal!

Glad she liked it. Definitely not a freak out ride, but the part you can see from outside along with hearing the screams could be intimidating to someone who has never done it.

Apparently you don't get to see a picture of the yummy mushroom filet tonight! I may have gotten it another time though!

That was so good. The mushrooms were perfect!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Great update Sheree! You had a full day filled with lots of yummy food. How did you all do with no break? Gosh I was dragging during the afternoon during our trip without taking a little break. I am so jealous of the mushroom filet I hear so much about!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Mine, mine, mine!
I love watermelon.


Glad she liked it. Definitely not a freak out ride, but the part you can see from outside along with hearing the screams could be intimidating to someone who has never done it.



That was so good. The mushrooms were perfect!

I could go for some watermelon today -it's actually HOT here - it got into the upper 90s!!! Can you believe it??

Yeah, I enjoy Maelstrom - it's not a must do, but it's cool. The screams can alarm some youngsters for sure.
I could go for some mushroom filet now too!

Great update Sheree! You had a full day filled with lots of yummy food. How did you all do with no break? Gosh I was dragging during the afternoon during our trip without taking a little break. I am so jealous of the mushroom filet I hear so much about!

Thanks Kelli! We were just having so much fun! We didn't really rush anywhere, just enjoyed the day. We knew we had another Epcot day planned, so we didn't feel like we had to do it all in one fell swoop! I guess Disney gives me energy!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Tuesday 10/16

Today was a sleep in a little bit day. I never really sleep in that much, so I was up by 8 or so.
Our view this morning:



Looks like another lovely day!!

Just thought I'd throw in here that they did have a bounceback offer in the room

Free dining in August/September 2013. Ironically, they just announced that deal to the public last week!


We had somewhere to go for breakfast this morning – somewhere we’d only eaten at for lunch in the past. Somewhere LOTS of people love to go for breakfast. Somewhere I really wanted to go! Any guesses???


Here’s a hint: they have a specialty breakfast item.


Here’s another hint: Special coffee


One more? It’s at a deluxe resort that I love!


Okay, I’ll tell! We were heading to Kona Café!


We had a 9:30 ADR. We drove over there, since we had other plans for the day where we’d need our car. We got there right at 9:30 and could see a number of empty tables, so we knew we wouldn’t be waiting long. We were handed a beeper and walked over to look at the menu board and it started to buzz!! Nope, not long at all!

We were seated and had a kind of unusual server. He was very direct and had a very tiny, dry sense of humor. Can’t remember his name for the life of me, but the service was good despite his unusual personality!
Paige and I each ordered Tonga Toast and Dave and Sarah shared the Big Kahuna Platter. We also shared a press pot of Kona coffee. We also enjoyed some of that juice - POG, Lilkolai, Jungle, whatever it's called!! I love it!







Look at how intensely she's cutting into it! That little thing ate just about ALL of it!!

Everything was yummy! It’s funny, I like Tonga Toast, but I think it would have been good even without the bananas! In any event, we ate until our bellies were full and headed downstairs around 10:30.

Some of that fabulous Poly scenery and ambience!



Photobomb!


cont. in next post

 

[Mndisneygirl]

cont. I never know how many pictures I have, so I want to break up the posts so I don't go over. I'm too lazy to count!

It was time for pool hopping!!! This was our first time as DVC members getting a chance to pool hop. Now, there’s no need to lecture me about waiting 30 minutes after eating. We were just going to splash around a bit, -this wasn’t serious swimming! The Volcano pool is so fun and relaxing! There weren’t many people there yet and Sarah braved the slide and loved it. She kept track – she went down it 25 times!! I wandered around and took lots of pictures. I discovered that there is no hot tub – the one flaw I have found with the Poly. But there are some beautiful cabanas, a ton of lounge chairs, hammocks, the sandy beach, the marina, the pool bar – all that makes up for the lack of hot tub (a little bit).
No one ever asked us for a KTTW card, or a DVC member card at the pool, maybe because it wasn’t crowded.






A little GF DVC construction


let's get in the pool already!


yes, those are my girls!


wandering


Look, a castle!






silly girls



The BIRDS!


One for Pat




marina


I could spend a day here



my sweet gang






Closer to noon it did start to get busier and we dragged ourselves out of the pool and got changed.

cont. in next post

 

[Mndisneygirl]

cont.

Apparently we spent a little time hitting Captain Cook's for a treat

Don't leave that alone!

and stopped in the BouTiki


I love these!


Dave picked up one of these


It's so pretty in here.


and out here






Time to say goodbye to the Poly for a while.
We were going on a little off-site adventure today!

Up Next – Celebration!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Well, I seem to be on an updating roll here, so let's keep going, shall we?

We found our way to Celebration – that took all of 10 minutes!


It’s such a cute town! We found a lot to park in and started walking around town. Took LOTS of pictures so here you go!


for a tour perhaps?







You've been warned!






I have no idea what this was about, but it's kind of funny that Dave took the picture!


Apparently I wasn't yelling at her!


some kind of festival going on there


Maybe Dave could transfer here!





taking a break



We found Celebration Town Tavern and decided that we needed to give it a try. I’ve heard so many good things about it! They had boneless buffalo wings, so Paige was happy. They had $3 Bud Light Lime, so I was happy! I don’t remember what else we ate – I didn’t make good notes! But we did get dessert – Boston Crème Pie! We sat at a table out on the patio and really had a nice time. We had a really nice server – with a Boston accent of course. The proprietors are from Boston and the New England theme is everywhere. I love that, since I spent a lot of time in Boston visiting my grandparents as a kid and went to college in Massachusetts.



can you read this? I can't! I wish I could, then I might remember what we ate!




Cute houses!




We enjoyed our visit to Celebration but we needed to head back “home”. Back at AKV, we stopped in Zawadi Marketplace and Sarah traded pins with Kingpin. We took a little time to lay low and rest for a while. We were going to be out late tonight! It was our night to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!!! YAY!

Next time: We finally get to MK, MNSSHP, meeting new friends, and some familiar faces! Will we get a sneak peek at New Fantasyland??

 

[MeMom]

Loved hanging out at the Polynesian through the pictures this morning! After a walk on the beach, we stop at the little tiki shower guy and wash the sand off of our feet. Of all the pretty pictures, that was the simple one that stood out to me. Just seeing it made me want to be there right now!

Any day that starts with Tonga Toast and a Big Kahuna is going to be a good day!

A trip to Celebration is on my list of things I'd like to do this summer, since we will have a car. That's a rare thing, since we usually fly, and since we're doing Sea World and no parks, this might be the perfect time to see Celebration. It sure is a cute place!

 

[wiigirl]

Great update...love the pics.

 

[MEK]

What a nice relaxing day starting with breakfast at the Knoa Cafe - that is definitely a winner in my book.

Wow - the poly pool is really empty at 10am. Go figure! The girls look like they are having a blast. Did you go back to the Poly pool a second time, because that certainly doesn't look like the day we saw you (or didn't see you)?

I have done a drive by through Celebration, but I really want to stop in there and walk around. We went during Christmas time when a main street was closed off. Was it easy to find parking? I never saw any lots. Guess I wasn't paying attention very well.

I would like to eat in that tavern. Glad you guys enjoyed it. It looks like a beautiful day to go exploring.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Oh, yummy! I could totally go for the Big Kahuna Platter right about now. Mmmm!

The Poly is gorgeous! I just love the look. Maybe someday... Celebration seriously looks like the most picturesque (did I spell that right?) town.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Loved hanging out at the Polynesian through the pictures this morning! After a walk on the beach, we stop at the little tiki shower guy and wash the sand off of our feet. Of all the pretty pictures, that was the simple one that stood out to me. Just seeing it made me want to be there right now!

Any day that starts with Tonga Toast and a Big Kahuna is going to be a good day!

A trip to Celebration is on my list of things I'd like to do this summer, since we will have a car. That's a rare thing, since we usually fly, and since we're doing Sea World and no parks, this might be the perfect time to see Celebration. It sure is a cute place!

Isn't the Poly lovely and relaxing? Just what we need!
Celebration is worth a side trip - it's not far at all!

Great update...love the pics.

Thanks, it was a fun morning/afternoon!

What a nice relaxing day starting with breakfast at the Knoa Cafe - that is definitely a winner in my book.

Wow - the poly pool is really empty at 10am. Go figure! The girls look like they are having a blast. Did you go back to the Poly pool a second time, because that certainly doesn't look like the day we saw you (or didn't see you)?

I have done a drive by through Celebration, but I really want to stop in there and walk around. We went during Christmas time when a main street was closed off. Was it easy to find parking? I never saw any lots. Guess I wasn't paying attention very well.

I would like to eat in that tavern. Glad you guys enjoyed it. It looks like a beautiful day to go exploring.

I'd definitely want Kona breakfast every trip!
That was NOT the day we sort of didn't see you at the Volcano pool! We did go back a second day. It was too great to not do again! Perfect for a break from MK (that's what we did next time!).
We found a public parking lot in Celebration not too far from the lake. It was a perfect day to wander around town! You should check out the Tavern. Good food for sure! And cheap beer!

Oh, yummy! I could totally go for the Big Kahuna Platter right about now. Mmmm!

The Poly is gorgeous! I just love the look. Maybe someday... Celebration seriously looks like the most picturesque (did I spell that right?) town.

Yes, Kelli, that was some seriously yummy breakfast! I love the Poly and just read a DVC thread that they have "plans" for converting and adding DVC at the Poly so SOMEDAY I will stay there!!! We toy with the idea of paying for a night or two, but it's still too expensive most of the times we travel. So now we just hang out there like we own the place and pretend!
Celebration is picturesque! Yes, you did spell it right! Very cute,and quaint, it reminds me a bit of Charleston SC, only new!

 

[micandminforever]

Joining the fun.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Joining the fun.

Glad to have you here! I'm trying to keep it moving so I can finish before our August cruise. We're leaving 3 months from tomorrow! YIKES!

 

[Poolrat]

One for Pat

Finally all caught up. I need to have a day like that.
All are on the list of things to do.
Kona, swimming at the Poly and Celebration. Maybe on the fictional long trip I keep saying I need.

Some day.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Finally all caught up. I need to have a day like that.
All are on the list of things to do.
Kona, swimming at the Poly and Celebration. Maybe on the fictional long trip I keep saying I need.

Some day.

I highly recommend it! This was a trip where we had 6 full days - one of our longest! I'd LOVE to have a trip that was 8 or 9 days, but because we drive, it eats up a couple days on the ends.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I just told Marc that we needed to drive to Celebration and have lunch. The last time we went over there and drove around we decided that we want to move down after Baylor graduates from High School.
It just seems like the perfect little community!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I just told Marc that we needed to drive to Celebration and have lunch. The last time we went over there and drove around we decided that we want to move down after Baylor graduates from High School.
It just seems like the perfect little community!

Well that's not a bad idea at all! Only a few more years, right? I don't think I'll ever get to retire!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

MNSSHP time!

We got into our costumes and headed to the bus stop around 5. We were at the bus stop, and one of the girls and I noticed a woman with 2 young girls. One of them had a purple cast on her arm. I remembered from the DIS and facebook that there was another DIS family staying at AKV and one of the girls was going to be sporting a lovely purple cast! I'd sort of been keeping an eye out for them. So I marched over and said, “Are you Mary from the DIS?” or something like that. Sure enough, it was MaryAZ and her two beautiful daughters all dressed up for the party! We rode the bus together and got to know each other a bit. The girls became fast friends and we managed to spend quite a bit of time together at the party, as you will see.

We arrived at MK and I gave Sarah my bag to go through bag check, and I went through the no bag line to go to Guest Services to get our MNSSHP tickets. I noticed that they had a “Costume Bingo” card on the desk behind the window. I figured they were having some fun! I asked if the party was sold out and she said “not yet”. I asked if it was close, and she said, “I don’t know” in that way that says, I just can’t tell you with a smile.

We went in and saw all the gorgeous fall decorations! So pretty!!






Love all the colorful bunting and pumpkins everywhere! I took all these pictures and didn't really notice the detail of the carved pumpkins above the shops until I saw them on other TRs!
DOH!

So – our costumes:




The Trick or Treat bags had Frankenweenie on one side and Wreck it Ralph on the other.

Sarah – Boo from Monsters, Inc. (we used to call her Boo – she looked like her when she was little.)

Paige – Marie from Aristocats (she’s rather obsessed)

Me and Dave – yeah, we went all out – Mouseketeers!

I will have to go look for the photopass shots. I didn't get them in my laptop and need to upload to photo bucket.

Meanwhile, we shall continue on!

We headed to Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise with about a 10 minute wait. We had a fabulous skipper!

Then POTC – WALK ON!

Up next – Big Thunder! Yup, 5 minute wait, which is about how long it took to walk through the queue!
Okay the picture says 10.



Haunted Mansion – sure! Why not with a 5 minute posted wait time! We went through the “new” interactive queue since we hadn’t done that before. Very cool.





up next: how about a sneak preview?