We ate the World, but did we get to ride Soaring??

[heavenleigh412]

LB... I am so excited for you!!
I never get much sleep before a vacation either... I also don't sleep the night before school starts!

Are you done packing??

 

[heavenleigh412]

Ok... after a day of no trip report, I had to refresh my own memory as to where I was!
You will be happy to know I am finally done Christmas shopping and everything is wrapped and under the tree... DH usually likes to wait until the last possible second (it drives me insane )

I did his shopping at Raglan Road (he is EXTREMELY Irish... I hope you will understand when I say that... he is 100% Irish and loves everything Irish, anything to do with Ireland, and always says he is going home to see the Motherland... we'll see if he makes it, he hates to travel) But I am getting ahead of myself.

We leave Kona Cafe with DM and DF beaming and absolutely LOVING Disney.

We see the waterfall from above:

and the Poly Christmas tree:

We head back to Hawaii, scoping out the smoking sections as we go.
(There is one right behind the GCH by the small volcano, one in a separate area by the volcano pool, and one next to the small building located at the quiet pool... I mention where they are so you can find them or avoid them as needed, they aren't always clear on the Poly map)

Volcano Pool:

Quiet Pool:

Hawaii Building:

We are very happy to find out our room is ready!!
DD and I head upstairs to find that our luggage is also delivered (GO ME! )

DM comes through the connecting door and finds me unpacking, DD has changed and is already at the volcano pool (she could not wait to try out that slide!)
DM is shooting daggers with those eyeballs again! (uh-oh)

She wants me to call downstairs immediately and find out where her luggage is.
I want to relax and enjoy my vacation (and it has only been 2 hours!!)
I yes her to death and continue to unpack...

There is a knock on my door and yes, it was DM's luggage...
I tip the bellhop, and turn around... DM is standing there.
She wants to know if I have called yet.
I tell her of course I called... see here is your luggage *elaborate hand flourish*


up next: the run for Cirque

 

[heavenleigh412]

While DM is unpacking and DD is at the pool (DF is on the beach sunning, he is like a cat)
I take this opportunity to take some view pictures from our balcony...

 

[mishy]

Can't wait to read more
and see if DM has more daggers

 

[heavenleigh412]

DD returns from the pool and DF returns from the beach
Now starts the process of trying to get them to realize that we can not take the bus to Downtown Disney later... it is not around the corner and we need 30 minutes on the bus and we need to be there by 5 to get our tickets... therefore, we must leave by no later than 4:10 (I lose this battle)

DD gets dressed up, because after Cirque we are going to The California Grill :

There are almost no pictures of me on this vacation, yet I am positive I was there!
For some reason I have no picture of DM and DF our first night either...

We get the bus at 4:30 (and yes we are going to be late to get our tickets... I think to myself it would be my luck if this performance is sold out and our tickets would be gone... I do not voice this thought because DM is standing dangerously close)
Actually DM is the only one in our party sitting, and only because I made her instead of taking the seat for myself like she wanted me to... DM watched me very carefully our entire vacation because I have this annoying habit of dropping my blood pressure and falling over unconscious which makes it interesting to be out in public with me!

I did almost fall on her once when the bus made a turn I wasn't expecting and
she gave me the evil eye (I am sure you know that mother evil eye, the one that makes you feel like you are 3 and just broke her favorite knick knack ... I know I have it perfected with my daughter!)

We got off the bus at The Marketplace because I couldn't stand standing still anymore and we walked to Cirque. We got there about 5:18 (not that I was watch checking or anything)
I left DM and DF at the smoking section in front and went up to the box office to hopefully retrieve my tickets... and...
They had not been given away... the family gets to live!

There is no photography allowed in Cirque so I have no pictures

We went inside to get in our seats and DF looked bored... he still wasn't into Disney.

We had popcorn and drinks and I got a LARGE pretzel with lots of salt to keep my blood pressure up while I was sitting still for 90 minutes.

The show started the same way it always does with the 2 clowns wandering around the audience playing practical jokes. DF laughed a few times but still looked bored.
Then the show started and his whole face lit up... there is just something incredible about taking someone to Disney for the first time and watching the magic grab them!

I won't bore anyone with a blow by blow description of the show, suffice it to say, those little Asian girls are still the best in my opinion!

After Cirque, we walked through DTD stopping in stores and leisurely strolling about.

DTD Christmas tree:

Lego family:

DD with Sleeping Beauty Statue:

After looking through every store in DTD (okay, I am exaggerating a bit) I finally impress upon my leisurely family that we do have dinner reservations at 9:30... I yet again get the evil eye...


up next: do we make dinner?

 

[LittleBlue22]

 

[LittleBlue22]

LB... I am so excited for you!!
I never get much sleep before a vacation either... I also don't sleep the night before school starts!

Are you done packing??

ready as I'll ever be. I'm still running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off. I can't wait to read your latest installments below/above (ykwim -lol).

 

[OregonDisneyFanatic]

ing the report. I can't wait for more. I showed DH the Poly pictures and told him I wanted to go there. He actually said OK. I don't think he heard me correctly I better go pack quick! Keep it coming!

 

[heavenleigh412]

ing the report. I can't wait for more. I showed DH the Poly pictures and told him I wanted to go there. He actually said OK. I don't think he heard me correctly I better go pack quick! Keep it coming!

Run don't walk to Poly immediately!!
(They moved the smilies on me, I think they do that periodically to confuse me)

ODF, We loved Poly so much, my only regret is there it was such a short trip and we didn't get to spend more time soaking up the atmosphere there... we did plan pool time and a night to watch MK fireworks and the Water parade though!

 

[heavenleigh412]

Can't wait to read more
and see if DM has more daggers

DM has that dagger thing DOWN... I watch myself carefully around DM.
She is a wonderful, loving and caring mother, but she likes things a certain way.
If things are not going well, the daggers are not just reserved for me! Only DD is safe...

 

[heavenleigh412]

I finally get the family moving towards the bus stop at DTD to take a bus to the Contemporary for our dinner at the California Grill.
(This involved much whining, cajoling and begging on my part. There were many more daggers from DM... she was SHOPPING, and how dare I interrupt! Might I add she was looking for EARS and having a hard time deciding I think DM was HOOKED!)

So, we get to bus stop only to find 1.3 million people also there... I didn't count exactly but if the rush for the bus was any indication, I was correct in this assumption.
We send DD ahead,she is the slimmest and fits through crowds well, also she knows how bad it is if Mommy doesn't get a seat... and let me explain this now. I look perfectly healthy, no one wants to hear that I need a seat. People can not SEE my heart rate or my blood pressure. However after a day oftraveling,standing on the bus to DTD, sitting for 90 minutes at Cirque with not enough leg room (I accidentally kicked the poor man sitting next to me no less than 5 times trying to keep my legs moving) and standing around looking at EARS, There was no way I was making it through standing on the bus for 30 minutes. (I quick explanation of my condition is: the things that your body normally controls unconsciously, my body does not... My doctor says perfect blood pressure is 110/70, mine is 80/50. A normal heart rate is about 80 bpm, mine is 42 bpm... now I do have the implantable to help with this, but the drops happen so fast it doesn't catch them BEFORE they happen, it just brings them back to my normal levels after the fact. Anyway, I have more problems than this, but these are the ones that have to do with this moment in time.)

I know I will probably get some feedback on the next thing I say, but I am going to say it anyway...
One of our biggest problems on the bus were families with a couple of small children. Now let me explain this...
When DD was little and I took her to Disney, she sat on my lap on the bus so as many people as possible could have seats. It is Disney, we have all been running around like crazy, we are ALL tired.
I saw 2 parents with 2 small children taking up 4 seats while elderly people stood. My opinion... put those little ones in your lap and let the older people sit down! (This happened every time we rode the bus, not just this trip from DTD)
If the bus stop was crowded, DM and I sat (when we could get seats) and DF and DD stood. (DD is 13 and weighs 20 pounds less than I do, she wasn't sitting in my lap no matter how much begging she did!)

Anyway, I am hopping off my soapbox...

The end result was we all sat this trip (my calculations must have been off...actually there were a few buses for that stop and thankfully they weren't all getting on ours)
DD gave up her seat when she noticed an elderly woman standing.
The bus ride to The Contemporary is about 25 minutes or so...

The tree in front of The Contemporary:

We jump off the bus and I race to check-in (we were about 15 minutes late for our ADR, it was approximately 9:45 PM and I was semi delirious)

We are taken up to the California Grill, and given a pager.
We stop for a bathroom break and DM is shooting daggers at me again.

Now you may ask yourself what I did... I was asking myself this question...

Well, DM was HUNGRY (maybe we shouldn't have spent so much time looking for EARS)

I looked around for something to save me, and noticed my pager was all lit up... (someone loves me)



In case you didn't notice, I don't sit here for that long... it is one of the compensations I make...

Up next: The worst server ever??

 

[heavenleigh412]

We were escorted to a beautiful table by the window overlooking the Christmas tree...

It was decorated for DM and DF's anniversary:

We were told Jenny B would be our server... normally I don't remember names very well, but you will see why hers stuck!

Our server took about 10 minutes to get to us (yes DM was giving me evil looks... now really, I had no idea who our server was, the restaurant was NOT crowded, it was 10 PM and I was too tired to get up and go hunt her down and threaten her with bodily harm if DM did not get food)

Finally Jenny B comes walking over and introduces herself. She was a very pretty woman but seemed a bit "off"
I put this down to the fact that I was tired, maybe I was the one who was a bit "off"

She asked if we had a dining plan, and we answered yes... and it was on the card they leave on the table too...

She then took drink orders...

DF ordered a glass of wine.
DD ordered a coke.
DM ordered sparking water
I ordered bottled water.

Sounds easy enough... correct?

Not even!

DF got his wine... DD got her coke... DM got sparkling water... I got sparkling water.
She then dissappeared...
I HATE sparkling water, and I hadn't been paying attention when she poured!
She had walked over with a tray and it had regular bottled water and sparkling water on it... I had been looking at the tree and talking to DD.

Sparkling water is nasty, it tastes like metal... blech

I wait another 10 minutes or so for her to show up again... I explain that I did not want sparkling water, she apologizes and brings me a glass of Florida tap water ... can you say sulpher?

I give up, but now I don't like her...

We inquire about appetizers and the meal plan... she tells us they are included.
OK... we order.

DD orders a california roll
DF and DM order the fresh maine lobster
I order "snake in the grass" (remember this it becomes important) which is a sushi roll

We also order our dinners:
DD orders rainbow trout and so does DF
DM and I order pork tenderloin

Our appetizers come and they are delicious.

I then take my parents out on walkway to see the Magic Kingdom:

Our dinner comes and it is also delicious...
Everyone agrees it has been a fantastic meal.

We order coffee (which Jenny B informs us we will have to pay for separately)
and dessert.
DM was too full for dessert
DF and I ordered Valrhona Chocolate and Coffee (we loved it)
DD ordered Honey Crunch Cake, which was inspired by the year of a million dreams. (she hated it and said it tasted like plain yellow cake, no pineapple, no honey)

DM was brought:

sorry it's blurry DM yelled at for food pictures and I took this one quick when she wasn't looking!!

The check comes for three hundred fifty some odd dollars...

We tell her again that we are on a dining plan (premium so this was supposed to count as one credit)
She then looks directly at me and tells me my appetizer was not included in the dining plan
I did ask her before we ordered!!

She takes our cards, and brings us a bill for 60 some odd dollars... (that was for 1 appetizer, 4 coffees and a glass of wine)

We pay the bill and I tell DF that if he wants to tip her extra, he is free to, but there is 18% gratuity included in the plan, and I don't think she should get that much!
We never saw the woman except when she was mixing something up, I had to hunt her down to pay the check, she forgot to give us our cards back...

The food was wonderful, and I would always go back, but if I get her as my server again... I will be requesting a new server!!

Plus dinner took 3+ hours!!!!


up next: Do we get back to the hotel??

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Boy oh Boy that Poly is a great hotel!

Also, that MK castle looks spectacular!!

I saw the tree in front of the Contemporary. We went to dine at Cal Grill two weeks ago (Sis and I). I love Christmas at WDW.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

She takes our cards, and brings us a bill for 60 some odd dollars... (that was for 1 appetizer, 4 coffees and a glass of wine)

Makes NY City look cheap!!

The food was wonderful, and I would always go back, but if I get her as my server again... I will be requesting a new server!!

Plus dinner took 3+ hours!!!!

I don't blame you! 3 hours? That's outta control long!

 

[heavenleigh412]

Boy oh Boy that Poly is a great hotel!

Also, that MK castle looks spectacular!!

I saw the tree in front of the Contemporary. We went to dine at Cal Grill two weeks ago (Sis and I). I love Christmas at WDW.

Makes NY City look cheap!!



I don't blame you! 3 hours? That's outta control long!

I love Poly, it is gorgeous and relaxing and has 24 hour a day Dole Whips... that is the definition of perfection!

This was my first Christmas ever at Disney... it was all I expected and more... don't even get me started about those Dancing Lights (no really don't because that puts me 2 days ahead of myself on this trip report!)
Disney does everything in a big way, and Christmas was no exception.

Only Disney could make NYC look cheap

Yeah we weren't too happy when we realized it was almost 1 AM... especially since we had all gotten up at 4:30 AM (well except for the princess, I mean DD)

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

I love Poly, it is gorgeous and relaxing and has 24 hour a day Dole Whips... that is the definition of perfection!

This was my first Christmas ever at Disney... it was all I expected and more... don't even get me started about those Dancing Lights (no really don't because that puts me 2 days ahead of myself on this trip report!)
Disney does everything in a big way, and Christmas was no exception.

Only Disney could make NYC look cheap

Yeah we weren't too happy when we realized it was almost 1 AM... especially since we had all gotten up at 4:30 AM (well except for the princess, I mean DD)

Uff da! That is a looonnnggg day!

I spent $275 on dinner for two at Bistro De Paris and we have the DDE card which gives us 20% off!!!

 

[heavenleigh412]

Uff da! That is a looonnnggg day!

I spent $275 on dinner for two at Bistro De Paris and we have the DDE card which gives us 20% off!!!

Yeah... it was looooooong, and it was our first day!

Web couldn't make up our mind between Bistro and Chefs... we chose chefs because it looked like there would be more there for DD to eat, but I think next time I want to try Bistro...

Buzz, I hope that dinner was GOOD!

The first time we went to River Cafe (non-Disney... it is a restaurant here in NYC overlooking the Manhattan skyline, very exclusive, very expensive)
We were celebrating Mother's Day and DD making the honor society for the second year in a row (I love that kid, even though I pick on her unmercifully)
We were seated right near the window, the sun was setting, the atmosphere was incredible, the food was incredible.
Then... the check came.
There were 5 of us... the check was $675... DD almost keeled over...
How's that for a lesson in how much things cost?

The whole time we were in Disney, DD kept asking me "How much would that have been if we weren't on the dining plan?"

My answer was always " a lot, honey... it would have been a lot... but don't worry we can eat like animals because we already paid for it"

 

[heavenleigh412]

Well the original plan was to take the monorail 2 stops to Poly... but because of Jenny B and her various disappearing acts (who knew there was a magic show at California Grill?) when we headed down to the 4th floor, everything was gated off and there was no monorail!

Yes, I am sure you can picture the look from DM by now...

Well, what was I to do?

The answer was simple, I am a New Yorker... I hailed a taxi...
This is considerably easier in Disney than it is in New York.
Within seconds of exiting the Contemporary we were on our way back to Poly!

DF insisted on paying the driver (which annoyed me... but since he jumped out and shoved the money at the guy, I had to deal with it... plus I was too darn tired to argue about it)

We walked through the GCH and out the back door and then past the volcano pool to Hawaii.
One key to the kingdom card swipe later we were strolling up the lounge stairs to our rooms.

Sorry folks no pictures of this walk at night yet... I was exhaustapated (if you do not know this word, it is because it is mine... the definition is simple: it is when you are so tired, your tongue hangs out of the side of your mouth and you drool all over yourself and don't notice)

We had turn down service which would have been wonderful if I wasn't too exhaustapated every night to eat the chocolate (it is here at home in my candy bowl though)
I did appreciate the fact that I did not have to pull down my own covers because I would have just slept on top of them...

We did have presents, and I did take a picture:

These were DM's.
We got the Polynesian chocolate bar in our own room, which is too beautiful to eat and resides in my fridge right now.


up next: our first park day... Epcot

 

[tinawv]

I am hooked. What a compliment to be mistaken for your 13 year old daughter's sister. I wish I had that problem. Looking forward to more.

 

[heavenleigh412]

I am hooked. What a compliment to be mistaken for your 13 year old daughter's sister. I wish I had that problem. Looking forward to more.

why thank you! I am glad you decided to come and even more glad you decided to stay!

Yeah that whole sister thing, DD hates that ... me not so much