Who knew choking each other would earn us fastpasses?

[mickeystoontown]

Oh my, I was so very behind!!! I've been popping in now and then to read, but haven't had a minute to reply in quite a while. It really looks like you all were having a BLAST!! I am loving your pictures, and reading about the fun you guys are having with each other.

You sound like me. I read the email updates but forget that there are could be other posts. I get so behind sometimes.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Sorry I didn't post an update yesterday like I had hoped. I was busy trying to get the office in ship shape before the boss gets back in the States.

Last night, I pulled out some of my new items to list on ebay and I hope to get those listed today and tomorrow. I've been really lagging behind on getting things listed.

We are also still trying to get the house back into order after the whole flooding incident a week or two ago. We had to take out some of the padding underneath the carpet because it was so wet. So, that's something we still have to replace. And, the house needs a good old fashioned, from top to bottom, cleaning after the holidays.

Okay, so I'm going to go write about the luau. Be back in a bit.

 

[mickeystoontown]

When I last left off, we were leaving the Animal Kingdom and were a bit damp...both from the rain and from the misting fans. Luckily, by the time we left the park, it had stopped raining.

We walked down the pathway towards the bus stops and saw several buses pulling away. We were hoping that one of those wasn't the Caribbean Beach bus because that would mean we were in for a wait. As they passed us, we could see that they were for other resorts and not for the CBR.

We may have waited five minutes for a bus when one came pulling in. There weren't many people waiting with us and we thought that, maybe, the bus driver would wait for a while for other guests to board before we left. Thank goodness he didn't! Why? Because it was cold as heck in the bus. Great...another cold bus. The one that we had ridden on from Epcot was freezing cold too. Cold buses and damp clothes and hair are not a good mix.

The bus left as soon as the few people at the bus stop boarded and we were soon pulling into the Caribbean Beach Resort. We got off at our stop and walked across the parking lot to our building. The skies still looked like it may rain more and I worried that the luau would be cancelled since the show takes place outside. Me, being the smart Diser that I am, had made a back-up plan just in case the luau was cancelled. I made a reservation at Ohana at 8:00. So, even if it did rain, then we would still be at the Polynesian around the same time and we could still eat.

Anyway, we got back to our room and we found that mousekeeping had left us a little surprise. A towel dragonfly:

We had a little bit of time before we had to be at the luau so we decided to just rest for a while. John, of course, took a quick nap. Hunter flipped channels while I got our clothes out for the luau. I know it's a vacation but I always want to go-go-go. I guess I don't want to miss anything.

After about an hour, it was time to get ready. I called next door and talked to Mama, woke up John and told Hunter it was time to get dressed. We wanted to wear something that was semi-matching and Mama and I had gone shopping several times to find something for her to wear.

Once Mama was done, she came a knockin' on the door and when she said something, her voice was nearly gone. Oh no! The misting fans, the rain and the cold buses had done a number on her. We asked her if she felt bad and she said no not really. She was a little tired and sounded worse than she felt.

We walked across the parking lot to the bus stop and waited for a Magic Kingdom bus. I think this was our longest wait so far and it was only about 15 minutes. Of course, we had to keep in mind that it wasn't peak traveling hours to the parks and we could have just missed a bus before getting to the bus stop. When the bus did pull up, we were happy to see that there was plenty of room for all of us to sit down.

In no time at all, we were pulling into the Magic Kingdom and walking over to the monorail station. We saw that there was a monorail sitting there and we wanted to try and get on it. God Lord have mercy, walking up those ramps can be tiring at the end of the day. We made it in plenty of time and Mama and I were able to sit down. Hunter and John stood up so that we weren't all squooshed in.

In 2009, we went to the luau and we searched all over the Polynesian for the theater. Every castmember we stopped seemed to give us different directions. We were nearly running to get to the theater that year.

This year, I remembered which way we needed to go and we were soon at the entrance where the castmembers give you the leis. We were directed to the photographer who took a picture of us all. Mama didn't want to get in the picture because she thought we needed a family picture. Huh? What was she talking about? She IS family! Guess what? She was in the picture! (Sorry, I forgot to scan the picture so I could post it.)

After taking the picture, we were shown to another check-in line. I took this picture while waiting:

We were soon shown to our seat which was pretty darn good considering that we could be either Category 2 or 3. We were told that we had a Category 2 table. I was happy with the table we were given. It was off to the right hand side of the stage almost to the end but we were the second table which meant we had a good view.

Not long after we were seated, our server brought out the most delicious salad, juicy pineapple and wonderful bread. We fell in love with these when we saw the luau in 2009 and had so looked forward to Mama having a taste (or two or three).

Mama and Hunter:

Hunter is a super picky eater. He doesn't like anything with a sauce or gravy on it. He didn't eat any of the salad or pineapple but he ate almost all of the bread. Our server was very attentive and brought out two more wedges of pineapple and another loaf of bread.

I can not remember if the show started while we were eating our salads or if it started after the entrees came out. If they came out during the salads, I didn't take pictures of them.

Next, came the entree platter.

Here in Louisiana, if you have rice, it's usually either smothered with gravy or it is served with gumbo or jambalaya. At least that's the way it's served in our house. So, while the rice was good, it wasn't our favorite thing on the platter. The other foods were very good. Hunter ate some of the meat and continued to munch on the bread. Our server noticed this and brought out two hot dogs for Hunter which were very much appreciated.

Now, let's move on to the show pictures. Just after the show started, it started raining which meant that the performers had to perform on a small stage rather than come down near the audience. Still, the show was great. Ya'll are probably going to be sick of the pictures by the time I post them all. Some are fairly good, some are just okay and some aren't so good.

The girls were amazing....twirling the little pom-pom on a string thingies, shaking the little sound maker thingamabobs and swishing their grass skirts.

Not to be outdone, the guys came out and performed. These guys were buff to the max!

Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

More pics:

At some point in time during the above pictures, a fire twirler guy came out and he was AMAZING! None of the pictures turned out good and I guess I ended up dumping them. He was a little limited on how much he could do because it was raining pretty good by that time. He would get the crowd going and all of us were yelling and clapping for him. His performance was definitely one of the highlights of the show.

Also at some point, the servers came out with our desserts. They made a big show out of bring them out....there was hollering and smoke on the trays.

The dessert was tasty but it wasn't scrumpdelicious. I'm not a huge fan of raspberry as they are a bit tart. Having said that, there were no little volcanos left on the platter once we were done.

By the time the show and dinner was over (the rain had stopped completely), I had to tinkle very badly so Mama and I went in search of the bathroom as did everyone else in the theater. We waited our turn while John and Hunter waited outside for us.

We met up with the guys and started walking back down the pathway to the main building. Just then, we heard fireworks and stopped for a minute to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. What a great spot to watch them. I can see now why so many love the Polynesian.

Since the fireworks had just ended, we knew that the Magic Kingdom bus stops would be inundated with guests. So, we figured we'd just take our time and linger a little while.

I know that I took pictures of all of us in the lobby of the Polynesian and that I took pictures of the hidden Mickeys in the floor but I can't find them right now. Since Mama was getting hoarse, we thought we better stop in the gift shops and see if we could find some type of throat drop or, at least, some peppermint. We found some Sucrets (spelling?) in one of the shops and she bought those. We also did a little window shopping before catching the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom.

***Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

*****Whoa! Wait, I found some more pictures!

Look! I did get pictures of the fire twirling guy with my other camera:

In these two pictures, you can see how close to the front our seats were had the performers been able to come all the way down.

I forgot to mention something earlier too. There was a little boy about 3, maybe 4 that kept walking out onto the performance area. His Mama and the rest of his group would just snap their fingers and say something like "you're going to get into trouble if you don't get over here". Even the performers were looking at the parents like "get your kid outta here". This was going on while it wasn't raining so the performers were coming down pretty close. Had that been my kid, he wouldn't have done that but once (had he ever even done it that one time). Finally, an older man from the group went up there and got him and made him sit down. Then, the kid fussed for about 15 minutes that he wanted to get down.

Moving on.....I found the pictures we took in the lobby:

He's just kidding....this time.

Mama took this one:

****Now, back to where I was before. Mama bought the Sucrets and we were off to board the monorail. We had an entire car all to ourselves. I have a picture of John lying in Hunter's lap on the monorail and I can't seem to find it. It was too cute.

We walked over to the bus stop and were soon on a bus back to the Caribbean Beach Resort. Tomorrow was our "down day" and we were looking forward to doing "whatever".

 

[Caretames1]

Looks like we may have to check into the Luau. I think we'd all enjoy it. Oh just another reason to go again, and again, and again LOL

Hopefully your Mama wasn't getting sick. A down day seems like it came at the right time.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Looks like we may have to check into the Luau. I think we'd all enjoy it. Oh just another reason to go again, and again, and again LOL

Hopefully your Mama wasn't getting sick. A down day seems like it came at the right time.

You definitely should look into the luau. We had been to Disney 13 times before we ever tried it. If you are on the dining plan, it's two table service credits per person but we think it's worth it.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Photobucket and I have a love-hate relationship. I found more pictures:

The monorail pulling up:

John sleeping in Hunter's lap:

Hunter doing his signature dance:

Walking to the bus stop:

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Great update! Hope your momma was feeling/sounding better after a good nights rest. The luau looks like a fun dinner show. Maybe one of these years I'll add the DDP and give it a try.

 

[johnsonmatt3]

So the Luau is just as much as a character meal? thats awesome, I totally want to do it now. How hard is it to get an ADR there?

 

[Bridora]

So glad the luau wasn't canceled! You got some great shots of all the action!

I hate that you've had more water trouble... Hopefully that's your share for the rest of time!

Watching the fireworks from the Polynesian beach is magical, isn't it?

 

[deedeew80]

Hi Lisa! Great update! Glad the Luau wasn't cancelled due to the rain! I have always wanted to do the Luau but I am like Hunter & a very picky eater! I'm not too sure I would like the food. Mike & I went to Ohana on our honeymoon & I didn't eat anything! I didn't even like the bread! (not sure if it's the same at the Luau) So I'm not sure if we will ever do the Luau! I never thought to ask about getting something else to eat. I could do a hot dog! Anyway. Glad you all got to enjoy it! Hope your mom didn't get sick! Can't wait to read more! Have a great New Year!!!

 

[Bethislucy]

A little late but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday!

 

[jusero]

So glad you got to do the luau again. It is sooooo much fun. We did it for my 50th birthday celebration this past May. We ended up sitting on the left side of the theater, but were so happy to get front row seats. My least fave was the dessert. My fave part was the hubba hubba eye candy ... the men dancers.

We also love to watch the fireworks from the Poly beach. Since our hotel, Shades of Green, is right across the street from the Poly, we are able to just walk over and grab a seat on the beach. There are also a couple nights a week where, after the Wishes fireworks show, they have a light parade on the water that passes the Poly beach as well as their own private fireworks show. We were lucky enough to catch it this past trip. Well, I did anyway. DH had to run to the potty.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[MEK]

I have always wanted to attend the Luau, but have never gotten around to it. I'm so glad you posted so many pictures of the food and the performers. The food looks pretty good and, judging by Hunter, the bread must be delicious.

Your last set of pictures of the performers turned out really good. Try adjusting the contrast on some of the darker ones and see if they lighten up a bit. I just learned that trick and its working well for some of my dark outside pics.

Poor Mama - I hope she doesn't get sick. Looking forward to your lazy day!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

First of all, Happy Be-lated Birthday

As with most things it seems in my life, even if they are an aggravation, the farther in the past they become the more endearing they seem. Likewise our experience with the luau last summer, it was hotter than blazes waiting in the Aug heat to enter the luau, a great reward for showing up early

Anyway, looking back I'm still glad we went & getting to see your pic's reminded me how much I enjoyed that fresh cut pineapple, the yummy salad & that great sweet bread. Dinner was okay, dessert my least fav too. I guess I liked the first course the best food wise. But as another poster noted, hubba hubba the eye candy at the luau! Not to mention the performers really are amazing

I have to say, it warms my heart to read of your back up plan. We were on the dining plan for the first time so I had asked on (I think) the restaurant boards about what would happen if it rains out since you use 2 TS credits for the luau per person. Someone recommended a back up plan so I did exactly as you & got a ressie at Ohana's for 3.5 hrs after our luau - just in case.

I later went back to my post to comment I had taken the advice & someone else came along posting how rude & selfish it was of me make a ressie at the coveted Ohanas intending not to go. I've had great experiences on the DISboard so I was surprised someone would flame me over this. Anyway, another poster commented the flamer was actually the one being rude. In any event, I kept the ressie but the day of our luau I did go to the Ohana desk to cancel my ressie for later that night. They told me no big deal, people do it all the time oh, sorry, I guess I've been rambling on your TR

 

[natebenma]

Poor Mama! Hope she was ok. Sounds like you all had fun at the Luau, though.

The sunset picture of the Spirit of Aloha sign and the performers are awesome. The food looks good too.

So cool that you got to see some of the fireworks after the show. The Poly really does have a great viewing location.

Now after seeing your smarty vocabulary at Animal Kingdom (bovine and hoofed animals), I am surprised to see descriptions like "little sound maker thingamabobs" and "pompom on a string thingies" Don't you know those are Indigineous South Pacific instrument thingamabobs? May I join your smarty club?

 

[jenseib]

Happy New Year Lisa

 

[jenseib]

I hope you mama gets better. I hate that feeling when you can't talk very well. And of course everyone else loves it when it happens to me. LOL!

 

[Caretames1]

Happy New Years!

Carey