Last Full Day at Disney for the Toffs :( Luau end to the trip!

[ToffPrincess]

Last Full Day
Magic Kingdom, 1900PF, Jungle Navigation Co & Spirit of Aloha​

So we wake up and it’s pretty obvious it’s our last day as everyone seems a little emotional. We have breakfast at 1900PF as is our tradition as a family. It was lovely and the coffee was actually pretty nice. I find the coffee pretty hit or miss throughout Disney (aside from Starbucks but who wants to queue in Disney for something other than rides?!) so today was a good start. I need at least 2-3 coffees in my system before 12 so I felt pretty perky and ready to go.

Quick stop at the ticket office as our 10-day park hopper + tickets were used up so we got day passes. An annoying expense but what can you do. I really want to get us annual passes but we are UK residents. Ill enquire at some point if we can have them and be put on my relatives US addresses where we often stay.

We are pretty much some of the first people in MK but it starts getting very busy VERY quickly. We do the carousel, Pirates, Tomorrowland Speedway, Small World and my uncle and I decide to be a bit crazy and queue for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as we missed our fastpass slots for the ride 2x due to various reasons. It is a LONG wait and even though we enter with a 60min warning it’s realistically more like 80 before we get to do the ride. Was it worth it? Is it that good? It’s definitely a great ride. I personally LOVE the Snow White theme and the cute touches they made to the mine part of the queue. I think the ‘rollercoaster’ part is great.. not too aggressive so good for pre-teen kids. The dwarfs in the mine singing as they collect jewels is my favourite part by far. I do think it could be longer though and maybe have featured a bit more Snow White. (I feel like there really should be rides for Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora and Belle where you get to see the characters in several scenes like Under The Sea.) I also think the fact you get a photo and video on your memory maker is amazing! Not the most flattering photo may I just add.. I don’t want to sound vain but I look freaking HUGE but it’s nice to get that little extra memory to take with you. I wish more rides did photos. We then go to Aladdin’s Magic Carpets and by this point MK is unusually busy. The area around Liberty Square and Haunted Mansion is so crammed you cannot move!

Lunch is Jungle Navigation Co and it is really good like last time. We order the dumplings x2 to share and each get a soup. DH and myself at there before but it’s my uncle’s first time and he is very impressed. He said it’s a pity it’s so hidden off to the side as he would have never known for it if I didn’t do all the bookings. He also agreed the theming and décor is just great. We debate staying in MK for the parade but it all just seems so sad to have a ‘last parade’ so we decide to head back to the GF and get packing while DS naps.

So we go back and DS sleeps for 3 hours. I pack our stuff up and it becomes apparent that we will need to go to the gift shop and get an extra suitcase. SO many mugs, t-shirts and random things. Not that many toys actually which I am surprised by. Just enough for Christmas presents for DS and a few cuddly toys that’s it. So I go and do that and when DS wakes up we head for the GF pool for a swim and some ice-cream. We are only there an hour and it’s a pretty grey day but I GET BURNT, DH gets burnt, my uncle gets burnt and DS (who I slather sun cream on regardless of weather) is so tanned when I take his magic band of to shower him the contrast is huge. Just FYI it wasn’t even a sunny day or particularly warm so be careful people!! We get more tan in one hour than the other 13 days!!

Then we shower and get ready for dinner which is the Spirit of Aloha show something I am so excited for as when I was a kid I loved it. I have so many Luau photos from my Disney days.

Spirit of Aloha​

When booking our table I was warned to turn up 45 minutes early for photos and to register. I also got that information in an email and in person so as advised we were early. We get to the Polynesian Resort and set about trying to find the location. Now, we have never stayed at the Polynesian so all the paths and walk-ways are totally foreign to us. We get a bit lost as it is just so dark!! When we finally get there and there are already a few groups of people sitting waiting. Nowhere to take photos. No one to sign us in. So we sit and wait. And wait. And wait. Finally a young boy shows up with a list and we all queue to get signed in and our table numbers. The leis are passed to me in a huge clump and we go back to the bench and sit and wait till they are ready to seat us. He tells me the photo opportunity is now, ‘somewhere inside the main hotel’. Basically they ask you to turn up early and then make you wait that whole time.. What happened to the greeting? The photos? Why make people turn up that early??

We get seated and what I find weird is we are a party of 4 sitting behind a party of 4. We have a 3-year-old with us and yet the table in front of us is 4 adults who are so tall and all wearing head gear (and ears) so DS can see NOTHING of the stage even with a booster seat. I’m almost 5ft 11 and I could see nothing. Can not believe I payed extra for category 1 seats and we can't even see. DS had to sit on people's laps to see when the show was on and I had to lean. The server is lovely and we order drinks and get eating. Hands down one of DH, DS & my uncles’ favourite meals. They all love pork and DS polished a whole portion of pulled pork off by himself. I am obsessed with all things Polynesian (and one of my closest friends is Tongan) so I am in my element. I love the food but for me the desert is EVERYTHING as I love sponge cake and pineapple.

By this time, the show has started and I am shocked. It is so bad I am a little embarrassed because I was telling everyone so much about it. My uncle came to Disney 3x with me when I was little but he said he never did a Luau due to it always raining whenever we booked. He was so excited and I was SO embarrassed by the cheesy, high pitched bad acting I just kept repeating, ‘wait till the dancing starts!’ I don’t even know how to explain the first half of the show. Some high-pitched 'kids' scream at each other on stage. One comes, one leaves there is an old woman that gives advice and dances.. they scream some more. DREADFUL. None of us could figure it out. Then there is some audience participation. DS got up with me and did the little dance kids do.

It took a HOUR before the proper entertainment & dancing started. Now that part was amazing. They did a dance to represent each Polynesian culture (Tahitian, Tongan, Samoan, New Zealand, Hawaiian..) and what was so refreshing was to see male dancers as well as quite often shows are very female heavy. Then one of the dancers did an AMAZING fire dance which was by far the highlight!!

I really wish the traditional dancing part was the whole show, I felt like I could have easily watched more. Is it worth it? No! Although I personally would sit through the bad bit all over again to get to the dancing and the food is great. Is it a must-do? No. Not on my list I am afraid but it is nice to do if you have the time and extra budget. I would advise parents to do the 5pm dinner over the 8pm one as DS was so tired by the time the proper dancing started.

That is how the evening ends and then it was a dash before the crowds to the Monorail to GF for bed. DS could barely keep his eyes open but kept saying ‘that was so much fun!’

And so ends out last day in Disney World for 2017!! A great day!! A fitting end to our Disney adventure I think!