"Where did you get those shirts?" An August TR, with lots of pics! Updated 10/28!

[MeMom]

But who could sleep when we would be checking into Disney tomorrow??

What's the Jurassic Park ride like? Is it Kali River style?

The Harry Potter stuff must be incredibly exciting to HP fans. I don't know a thing about any of it you showed, so I can't appreciate it, but I liken it unto how we'll feel when all the new Fantasyland stuff opens up. We'll be taking so many pictures!

Checking into Disney...
now I'm going to be able to follow along and understand better.

 

[wdwgirl03]

What's the Jurassic Park ride like? Is it Kali River style?

It's more like Dinosaur meets Splash Mountain.

 

[Grybo]

It's more like Dinosaur meets Splash Mountain.

Exactly, but it's a tad bit scarier than Splash Mountain.

 

[Matthews4Disney]

Can't wait to read more! We leave in 21 days so I am especially excited to read your Disney TR and see all your great pics. Your TR is awesome!

 

[pinkxray]

Joining in. I love all of your WWOHP pictures and I can't wait to see what is in store for you at Disney.

 

[Sweetpeamd]

Subbing!!!

 

[Nicole786]

The part about Ollivander's is what I saw on your twitter or facebook. That is so cool! Sounds like you guys had a lot of luck at Universal with everything. Maybe we should've done what you guys did and do the HP stuff later in the day. Oh well.

I wasn't gonna post it, but I just had to!! If you go in the future definitely save HP for later in the day, although these days it doesn't seem to be very crowded

Joining in! I'm hoping I can convince my brother and sister to take a trip to US and Disney next summer. Looking forward to more.

Ahh that would be awesome! Thanks for joining in!

WOOOOW! If I got picked to choose a wand, I would probably buy it too. Maybe I should budget for that....just in case. Good thing you had an AP discount to use!

You got a lot of butterbeer. Do you get free refills if you buy the mug? Or are the refills just cheaper if you get a mug?

I love those "muggle" shirts. I can't believe your mom found them in walmart!

It doesn't make the refills free, but it reduces the price. We spent a looot of money on ButterBeer but it was so worth it

What's the Jurassic Park ride like? Is it Kali River style?

The Harry Potter stuff must be incredibly exciting to HP fans. I don't know a thing about any of it you showed, so I can't appreciate it, but I liken it unto how we'll feel when all the new Fantasyland stuff opens up. We'll be taking so many pictures!

Checking into Disney...
now I'm going to be able to follow along and understand better.

JP like some have said is a splash mountain type ride, but scary like Dinosaur. It only has one drop at the end. I can't wait for the new Fantasyland stuff!!

It's more like Dinosaur meets Splash Mountain.

Word.

Exactly, but it's a tad bit scarier than Splash Mountain.

Word.

Can't wait to read more! We leave in 21 days so I am especially excited to read your Disney TR and see all your great pics. Your TR is awesome!

Coming up soon, thanks for joining in!!

Joining in. I love all of your WWOHP pictures and I can't wait to see what is in store for you at Disney.

Thanks!! And thanks for joining in!

 

[Nicole786]

Subbing!!!

Welcome!!!

 

[ntikos]

I'm subscribing.


great report so far!

 

[pooksma]

Love it!! Great descriptions.

Tell me...what did the ButterBeer taste like?

 

[MarieTheCat24]

Oh my gosh! How awesome that you got picked to get a wand picked for you! Or is it to have a wand pick you? I don't know. I don't understand all this crazy Potter lingo. I did read the first book (way back when it first came out) so I guess I should remember the whole wand-picking process, but I don't. Anyway, I'm really happy for you! And you're right. That's totally how they trick people into buying expensive wands. Heck, even I, someone who's not a Potter fan, would feel like I absolutely must buy the wand if I was picked.

Question: Does not liking Harry Potter make me the most muggly of muggles?

 

[Nicole786]

I'm subscribing.


great report so far!

Thanks! Welcome!!

Love it!! Great descriptions.

Tell me...what did the ButterBeer taste like?

Its kind of like a sweet butterscotch/vanilla type drink, its very hard to explain! Like a cream soda with butterscotch!

Oh my gosh! How awesome that you got picked to get a wand picked for you! Or is it to have a wand pick you? I don't know. I don't understand all this crazy Potter lingo. I did read the first book (way back when it first came out) so I guess I should remember the whole wand-picking process, but I don't. Anyway, I'm really happy for you! And you're right. That's totally how they trick people into buying expensive wands. Heck, even I, someone who's not a Potter fan, would feel like I absolutely must buy the wand if I was picked.

Question: Does not liking Harry Potter make me the most muggly of muggles?

Haha! Not liking Harry Potter does make you pretty muggly I must so. Especially of your Pop Culture caliber! But its okay, most people I know don't like HP!

And getting the wands was totally awesome!!

 

[Nicole786]

I can't let this day pass without saying a little bit. May god bless America, the friends and families of the survivors and the victims. And may we all Never Forget.


Hope everyone likes video, we have a lot of clips for this chapter!

We woke up bright and early with a plan of action (and we were too excited to sleep). Check out was at 11 and we wanted to do some last minute things, so we packed up our last minute items and headed out to Universal Studios. We left our luggage in the room because we were coming back before check out. There was a piece of paper that was left under the door that offered a grand prize if you checked out early. If you checked out at 8 you got X amount of entries in the drawing and each hour it deducted. When we opened the door our housekeeper was there inquiring what time we would be leaving. I told her somewhere between 10-11. They really wanted us out of there!

We walked the path to Universal and arrived a little after opening. What a difference from Friday to Monday! It was so much less chaotic to get on what we came for: Rip Ride Rockit. We still waited around 15 minutes--but guess what! front row again! I guess our Universal luck was still lingering!

It was a great ride as usual, and already someone had asked about our shirts! We stopped to go get breakfast, We both got croissant sandwiches which were OK. We were just ready for Disney!

We had one more stop and that was The Mummy, we couldn't leave without going on this one more time!

If we had more time I would have attempted to go to a Family Feud taping--as residents of the Hard Rock we got priority access!

Here's another shot of Finnegan's a gem of a restaurant!

We were back at the resort around 10:15, we grabbed our luggage and left the room, heading downstairs to check out--the 2 people at the counter who worked at the Hard rock LOVED our shirts. Here's a video as we say goodbye to the Hard Rock onwards to Disney!



As we got in the car, we were so pumped and excited for Disney!! It was that awesome feeling when the whole trip is ahead of you!

We arrived at Downtown Disney to exchange David's annual pass voucher at Guest Relations. I know we can do this at the Magic Kingdom, but we made the mistake a long time ago, and now its become a tradition! Downtown Disney parking lot is PACKED. But it is still the weekend…

We arrive at Guest Relations, and david gets his pass. We don't walk into any of the stores, there will be plenty of time for that. We just soak it all in and head back to the car. I follow the signs for the Magic Kingdom and we drive under that beautiful sign as we excitedly tell them we are checking in to the Polynesian!

 

[Nicole786]

Here is a hilarious video that david filmed of our drive under the arch:



And this is just us driving, but it will have you laugh out loud at David singing the word "Polynesian" over and over to the tune of Illuminations:



And finally we arrive!



The super awesome security guard loves our shirts and welcomes us home. Tells us to park or valet straight ahead. In my excitement I go "something about parking, got it!" and zoom off. Did not even listen to him.

Here is a video of me trying to figure out how to get over to the lobby, and David being a GREAT HELP as he gets distracted by a monorail:



We ended up at the Polynesian exit. No! Not yet! But yes, we had to turn around, shamefully back to the security guard and this time actually listen to what he was saying. Another video!



The problem is, there is a sign that says "Buses only" but really you have to ignore that sign, and go straight to unload the luggage. Which is what we did the second time and finally made it!

Here is a somewhat shaky video, but you can really hear the excitement in our voices!



We were greeted, and shown the online check in service.

Judging by the check in line I was so glad we had done this!! We only waited for one person in front of us, and than it was our turn! The CM had some trouble finding us in the system at first but we were there! (We better be!) I asked where our room was and if it had a balcony--I just couldn't wait, the anticipation was killing me!! And we all know how important it was--we got lei's!!! And at 11am, our room was ready!! Let the magic begin!!

 

[Nicole786]

We were on cloud 9 at that point, we just couldn't believe it. It was fun sharing the excitement with the other families in the lobby checking in. Everyone was in such a great mood with their lei's around their neck.

So where was our room? TOKELAU!!! the most perfect location!! Right smack in the middle, exactly where we wanted to be.

And my other request? Granted!! We were on the second floor with a balcony!! Our stay was off to an amazing start! And since the room was ready, we began our journey over passing by so many CMs greeting us with "Aloha!" and offering help (which we eventually needed the first time because we got a bit turned around) We filmed a lot, but lots of Poly pics coming trust me!!

We arrived at our room with ease, what a great location! (video)



We had a cute towel mickey with lei's waiting for us.

When I went out on the balcony floating above me was a mickey balloon that had lost its string! I jumped up and grabbed it to tie around a chair, mousekeeping must have missed it but I was pretty excited!

We called for our luggage which did not take long at all, we quickly unpacked (man did it feel good to unpack and call this place home for 9 days) and headed out to the monorail! (another thing that felt amazing to say!)

Can you see the hidden mickey?

It was a scorcher out today!

We hopped on Monorail green -- a sure sign of great things my favorite color!

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom shortly after, I taped a bit of our first monorail ride of course! "To our new passengers, aloha!"



We hurried over to Tomorrowland to grab some Space Mountain fast passes. We went into the gift shop over there and this is when we noticed that Vinylmation had taken over Disney!!

I do enjoy vinylmation, and was planning on buying one, but I had my eyes set on the Toy Story collection that was set to premiere at D Street later that week (great stories of that coming up!)

With FP in our hand, we headed to the toontown train to take us to Frontierland for a nice ride and than an easy walk to Columbia Harbour House. The premiere MK quick eatery!!

We ordered our first quick service meal of the trip and walked upstairs to the table we always eat at, overlooking Haunted Mansion.

I had the Shrimp and David had the chicken with 2 chocolate cakes. I love the fried shrimp here. Its standard, but the only quick service place that has it. I had a french fry for the first time in 7 months so I was happy!

After a wonderful lunch it was 2pm and we had a craving for a ride!! Haunted mansion it is! Walked right on!! A father standing behind us offered me money for the shirts, and another woman we ran into told us they were awesome!! We agreed that next time we would make 10 of these shirts and wear them every day!

Next on our own must do list was Pirates. We always like to FP a major attraction and than work our way around the "no lines" rides like HM and POC. We scored front row and enjoyed the most wonderful boat ride!

We stopped for a Dole whip, and than found a parade spot!

A beautiful backdrop for a great parade set to start in 5 minutes!! Only problem was, what do you get when you mix Florida in the summer? Afternoon storms!! Yes, it started to rain!!! We waited it out, it wasn't too bad, and Disney put on a shortened version of the 3pm parade.

After that we were beat, and we retreated back to the room for afternoon naps. A great night was planned ahead!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Ahhh great update! I loved all your little videos, and yes I did watch all of them. I loved your driving music. And in the one of you guys approaching the lobby I like David's "the smell of Disney moving water comment."

I so miss hearing that "Aloha and welcome aboard" greeting on the monorail. Looks like you're off to a great start. Can't wait for more and I am curious about your vinylmation stories.

 

[serendipity]

Love this Trip Report!

 

[Native NYer]

Great location at the Poly!

 

[merrymouse1]

Im in. Loving the video clips, feels like Im there with you!

 

[Nicole786]

Ahhh great update! I loved all your little videos, and yes I did watch all of them. I loved your driving music. And in the one of you guys approaching the lobby I like David's "the smell of Disney moving water comment."

I so miss hearing that "Aloha and welcome aboard" greeting on the monorail. Looks like you're off to a great start. Can't wait for more and I am curious about your vinylmation stories.

So glad you enjoyed the video! We took a lot so there is more coming!! David was super excited as you can see from the video. I totally miss that monorail greeting everyday!

Love this Trip Report!

Thanks!!

Great location at the Poly!

Yes we were very happy with our proximity to everything!!

Im in. Loving the video clips, feels like Im there with you!

Thanks for joining!! Im glad you enjoyed the video, theres more coming!!