yes, 5 months late but someone must be interested in reading split stay TR?

[loganpaulsmom]

HI all.. I am sure most of you that followed my PTR way back last Jan. until we went on our trip in May are wondering?? Where the heck did she go?? Well.. I have to say.. I was SO depressed when I came home from our trip that I couldn't even get myself to come on the DIS anymore.. So, thus no trip report.. Until NOW.. because.......... We have another trip booked for this coming April vacation!!!!
But.. this report is not about my plans but rather about my amazing trip that we took last May.. It was everything that I could have asked for and more.. And for those of you who don't know me or my story, let me introduce myself..
I am christine (soon to be 40 year old) mom of the most amazing 5.5 year old Logan and I am married to an unbelievable husband, Doug for the past 12 years.. We are from the Boston area.. and we love all things Disney.. This trip was my dream trip.. I will give you a little background, but I am going to try and focus more on the positive than the negative.. This trip was a dream because hubby and I and Logan had been through SO much in the past 4 years.. Husband was out of work for almost 1.5 years.. and Last year I got diagnosed with gallbladder cancer.. Had 3 surgeries in 3 weeks.. And after all was said and done our outlook on life changed.. Live and let live..Live life to the fullest.. Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today.. Its about the time and places that you go and spend with the ones you love.. Thus, this trip..
Split Stay.. 4 nights at the Boardwalk.. 4 nights at the Poly (have wanted to stay here again since, I was a teenager).. May 4th thru the 12th..

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Logan at the airport..

this morning started off VERY early.. 3:30am early. We had stayed at my moms who is 20 minutes away from the airport.. it's only 6:00am and i have already had breakfast and been taking tons of pictures..http://s693.photobucket.com/albums/vv299/loganpaulsmom/?action=view&current=P1000054.jpg
hubby and Logan waiting for the plane..

daddy and Logan on the plane...
Logan and I waiting for the plane..

logan i think may have coffee, cause its so early.. LOL

 

[loganpaulsmom]

The plane ride was uneventful with the exception of me coming down with a big case of anxiety.. I had not flown in 3 years and I guess i didn't realize it was going to bother me.. It did.. I was naucious the entire ride.. Oh by the way, for those of you who may have followed my PTR, Hubby and Logan had NO idea that we were staying at the Boardwalk for our first 4 nights.. They thought Coronado Springs..I got 2 different discount codes and I was able to upgrade.. Told the boys while waiting in line at ME.. SO, excited!!!

Love seeing that sign.. Notice the windshield.. Can you say Love bugs??

this picture says it all! Can you say HAPPY??

Got on ME at 11:15am.. How nice it is to get on so early and know that you pretty much still have a full day.. As we are on our way, our bus all of a sudden starts having issues.. The video goes off, and it starts getting really really hot.. Luckily, we were delivered to our hotel.. it was the alternator belt.. We got to the lobby of the BW.. Can you say ????
Guess what?? Not only did we get buttons.. (of course we have lots to celebrate).. But, our room was ready.. and.. our luggage arrived 20 minutes after we got to our room..

this is something that you always love to see when you check into your room!
Can you believe we were at the pool by 12:45pm.. Love that! I was a little bit disappointed in the choice of quick service like sandwhiches etc at the pool bar.. But, other than that, we LOVED the pool.. Logan made a friend right away..

I went to the Boardwalk bakery around 2:30pm cause I was starving! Got a turkey sandwhich (doug and I split, and it was SO good) a chocolate chip muffin, chips and 1 water and I only used 1 counter service.. YAY!
We left the pool around 3:00pm, headed back to our room to get ready for our first bus ride to MK.. Logan fell asleep on the way.. Poor kid.. I didn't take a picture of it, but got it on video and I crack up every time I see it.. We got to MK around 5:15pm.. And as we are walking down Main Street USA it starts to rain..we waited under shelter for about 20 minutes and then headed over to LTT, our first time eating there..had a 6:30pm ressie but arrived at 5:40 pm.we were seated within 5 minutes.. I loved it! I mean,. the food wasn't gormet or anything.. but it was good.. and there was So much of it.. We ate and headed our for our first night at MK..I don't have alot of pictures from this night, because since we had gotten up at 3:30am we didn't make it much longer than 9:00pm and back to the Boardwalk we went..

 

[loganpaulsmom]

So as I have started to write this report, I have realized that I don't really enjoy the writing part of it that much.. So, I think that I am going to do less talking and do more pictures and let them talk for themselves.. So here we go.. DHS.. Day 2..

Boat ride to DHS..

Doug and Logan DHS boat ride.

Outside of TSM. we never made it to Rope Drop, got there after 10:00am and got FP's for 4:20pm

doug infront of BTTF Clock ..

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Day 2 continued: One

my of favorites..

Another favorite!

We ate at the 50's Prime time for lunch on this day.. It was good.. 3 things came of it.. One.. I realized, that I don't like fried chicken (not a fan of the skin)..lol another, the servers don't like when you are on your Iphones during lunch, even ones that aren't waiting on you. and.. realized, I wasn't going to be doing much of food porn, cause I never rememembered to take the pictures.. lol

Love this picture

 

[loganpaulsmom]

So.. I have to apologize for being all over the place.. i just can't decide if I want to just put the pictures up and let them tell the story or actually write about our trip.. I have to tell you, so annoying having the upload my pictures from my Iphone to photobucket. it is taking forever.. LOL.. So, for today.. Let me start by doing a mini food review from our trip.. We had lots of places we went to on this trip.. alot were more for logan than for the food, but never the less, here is my review..
Day 1.. LTT.. We loved this place.. I loved the hussle and bussle.. We had great service and we were seated right away even when we got to our 6:30pm at 5:40pm. It was a little bit too much heavy food in the hot florida sun.. but, i would recommend this place at least once!
Day 2.. 50's Prime Time.. The themeing of this restaurant is GREAT! You can't help but get nostalgic.. Doug got a turkey sandwich which he really enjoyed. Logan was in a mood, and pretty much did not eat a thing (but ordered the mac and cheese).. i got the sampler.. it came out cold, so they got me another one, and I realized, I don't like fried chicken.. over-all it was ok.. I probably wouldn't do it again.. But, it was fun for a try.. Oh and word of advice, don't use your IPHONE.. We got really yelled at by waitress (who wasn't even ours).. lol
We originally had ressies for the Sci-fi, but we cancelled them and left DHS at around 4:45.. So, we decided to head to DTD I was dying to try earl of sandwich.. Can you say YUMMO? for a quick service, this place was great.. Logan loved the hot peanut butter and jelly. doug got the ham and pineapple, and I got the earl's club.. I will definitely b going back here.. withotu a doubt..
Day 3.. Kousinna Breakfast: LOVED! French Press Coffee.. i got the vegetable flat bread..breakfast that was fantastic.. Doug got some reg. eggs.. and Logan the Mickey waffles (which we found out he didn't like that much cause they tasted more like cake and less than waffle, weird kid.. lol) I would recommend this restaurant. it didn't seem as busy as other restaurants but the food was really good..
We were at Animal kingdom today (originally this was our pool day but it was drizzling so we figured why not?).. My first try at the jalepeno pretzel.. OMG.. I still think about it.. and my 5 year old.. LOVED IT.. Another must eat for next time.. lol
Tonight we didn't eat on the meal plan..I had always wanted to eat at Il Mulino at the Swan (I had a restaurant.com $25 off).. I have to say.. Not that great.. I was a bit disappointed. Now, i don't know if it was my choice of entree, but being from the north east, i guess I am spoiled with seafood. I choose the seafood risotto.. my first 2 bites were fine and then I started looking and my scallops were like a pinkish brown.. They looked bad.. which of course freaked me out.. I guess gulf shrimp is that color, but even when i showed the server she went ewww, which of course did not make me feel better.. I had a peach bellini which was really good.. but.. honestly.. I think it was like $11.. I ordered risotto balls.. which, Logan ended up having for his dinner, and doug got his favorite carbonara.. he did like his.. I will tell you.. I felt a bit out of place with a child.. it was kind of a stuffy place and the tables were really close together.. so if you have a child that may not sit well, your neighbors may not be too happy.. Overall, I think it was overpriced and not worth the hype.. I So wanted to LOVE this restaurant...
Day 4.. Went to the boardwalk bakery this morning, for a croissant and a crumb cake and of course Coffee.. Lol it was pool day and we hung out there pretty much all day.. so i went back to the bakery for a quick turkey sandwich.. good for some thing quick.. then it was on to Epcot.. I was supposed to do DIS meet.. I waited about 30 minutes after the designated time, but never ran into anyone.. I did however, enjoy my first grey goose slushie.. and it was GOOD. .especially since it was about 95 and not a cloud in the sky.. We had ressies at la hacienda.. our first time here.. It was GOOD.. one of our favorite places to eat.. I got a mango blueberry margarita.. (not my favorite).. I had the flank steak with tamale.. Excellent, and actually way too much steak.. Doug got the pork with Mole, there was not a drop left on his plate.. and Logan beef tacos, which he loved.. of course we strted with the chips and salsa.. almost ruined my appetite.. LOL The desserts were excellent too...Chocolate Mousse Empanada.. OMG.. Ridiculous! So good.. Try this place.. for sure!
Ok.. So that is my first 4 days of dining.. that is probably a lot to read.. So, I will end for now.. and hopefully upload some pictures..

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Ok.. So where we were.. I think on day 3.. this was supposed to be our pool day.. but, the weather was not cooperating. Since I know we can do all of Ak in a half a day, I said let's go there.. What an awesome time we had, even in the rain, which was around for most of the morning and early afternoon.. last time we went when Logan was 2, we had an AWFUL experience at Ak (think inlaws after 5 days being together) but this time was great.. Safari.. Kali River Rapids... Dino land.. jalepno pretzel.. awesome!..Here are some of my favorite pictures..

this is the picture of a boy not happy that his mom brought the pink poncho.. LOL

One of my favorites..

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Day.3 continued.. After spending most of the morning and early afternoon at Ak, we headed back to BWI.. We had ressies at Il Mulino at the Swan.. Which I was So looking forward to ( read a couple of posts above, disappointed).. But, we got all dressed up and strolled the Boardwalk and had just a great time as a family.. Here are the best pictures that we took from the trip.. At least in my eyes anyway..

My 2 handsome boys!

LOVE this one too.

.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

This is my absolute favorite one..

After our mediocre meal at Il Mulino we headed back to BW and walked and watched the street performers.. We had a big day tomorrow so I wanted to get to bed early..

Next up.. Mother's Day and our big switch to the Poly..

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Day 5 has arrived.. The day that I have been waiting for since I was 12 years old, which was the last time that I stayed at the Poly.. The 10 times I have been back since, I have never missed a chance to go back and just hang out in the lobby or a take a walk through the property.. I know it sounds strange.. But, the smell takes me back to being there with my mom and dad.. It feels like home.. I can't explain it any better than that..

I was Sad to leave the BW.. I really loved it.. I loved the area and I loved the ability to walk to Epcot.. But, I was SO looking forward to the Poly.. The only downside of going to the Poly, it meant we were halfway through our vacation..
We packed up, brought our stuff downstairs for the bellman to transfer to the Poly.. and we walked over to Epcot.. we actually got there right after Rope Drop.. I got in line with Logan to see the Characters. While Doug ran to get Soarin Fp's.. Once we got all the characters, we headed over to Fast Track.. Hardly any wait and then we headed over to Soarin for to use our Fp's and then got new Fp's for later in the day.. Our favorite ride in all of Disney.. I could do it over and over again.. By this time it was around noon, and we had 2:30pm lunch ressies at Le Cellier (not a bad way to spend your mom's day) but, I wanted to get our room at the Poly, so off we went..
Once we got there, we found out that we had been upgraded from our standard room to a Lagoon View. I should have known when he told me our room number 2220, that it was a second floor, but off we went anyway.. I got there and loved the location but was so disappointed not having a full balcony. I had gotten used to it at the Boardwalk.. I am so not a complainer.. But.. I really wanted to be able to walk outside with my coffee and just "chill out".. So, I went back to the Lobby and explained.. I didn't care what my view was, I just really wanted a full balcony..
They put us in Tahiti, 2037.. We got there.. Yes, it was a far walk from the ceremonial house, but I got into our room and started to cry.. because.. This was my view every morning..[

 

[loganpaulsmom]

This was Mother's Day.. Seriously?? Could I have any better of a day? I don't think so.. I even had an outfit made for occasion.. LOL..This is my MD outfit.. I love it..

this is so nice to come in and see..

On the monorail on our way back to Epcot.. For.. lunch at..

This has been my favorite place.. I have to tell you.. This time.. EHHHH.. It was not bad.. But, not outstanding either.. My steak came out to rare for me and by the time i got it cooked a little more the boys were pretty much ready to leave.. But, even with that all, I still am a big believer in this place.. Something about it makes me really feel Disney.. And to spend Mom's Day there was just perfect..
Next up.. we had dinner ressies at Via Napoli.. Did we make them??

 

[loganpaulsmom]

[COLOR="Navy"]We decided against the ressie for Via Napoli.. We were just too stuffed for a 7:00pm ressie.. So we decided to cancel.. Although, I definitely want to try it this next time, it looked SO fun.. We ended our night at Epcot around 9.. Jumped on the Monorail and headed back to the Poly.. Once we got there, we were hungry.. we decided to grab a bbq chicken pizza and the adult grilled cheese... OMG.. they both were SO good.. I can't even tell you.. so so so good. Totally worth the money I thought.. We again were on DDXP, but if I was walking around the Poly, I would defininitely grab something from there.. We got back to our room just in time for Wishes.. I can't begin to tell you what a thrill it was to go back to our room after running around all day and be able to watch Wishes with a nice cocktail and then just fall into bed.. THE BEST
Ok.. so this whole time I have been going off a journal that I took with me and I just got to the last page.. i guess the last part of my trip I was too busy to write.. Which now means I need to gather my thoughts and look over all my pictures and try to reply my steps.. LOL More later once I figure out how to do that..[/COLOR]

 

[koolcatshelby]

Great trip report What a wonderful family and great outlook on life.

 

[Diegosmom]

loving it so far...thanks for posting

 

[loganpaulsmom]

loving it so far...thanks for posting

Great trip report What a wonderful family and great outlook on life.

Thank you guys for being my first 2 readers.. I was beginning to wonder.. lol
I had such a great trip and now that I am going on another one, i don't knwo how i will be able to top it.. But, i am sure going to try..