POLY, BLT & THE DREAM, WITH A TEEN AND A TWEEN…APRIL 2016***COMPLETED 8/15****

[buzzrelly]

Or…THE SQUAD GOES TO WALT DISNEY WORLD AND LOSES GRAMMY…AND SHE'S THREE FEET AWAY...

…Because that happened. A LOT!

Hi All! Welcome to my second ever trip report! The titles pretty much say it all. I LOVE my mom, but keeping track of her in WDW is a full-time job!

I have been dying to start writing this since we got back, but I wanted to finish editing my movie that I took with my brand new GoPro. That was MUCH harder than I thought it was going to be and it took MUCH longer than I thought it would! But it was fun and I am mostly pleased with the way it turned out. If anyone is interested in seeing it, here is a link…

This is a trip report for people who like their trip reports to read like a children's book…LOTS and LOTS of pictures! I swore I wasn't going to take so many this time, and I ended up with more than 1,500…gulp! I'll try to limit myself and choose only the best ones.

Here is a pic of my Disney Squad (12 year old DD came up with that and it stuck…I think it's cute!)




That's me on the left…I am the crazy Disney fan and planner of all vacations. I wish I could go all the time, but have to settle for once a year…poor me . Kidding…I know how lucky I am and I work REALLY hard the rest of the year to make these trips happen!

My Favorite Disney Movie: Tangled (followed by all Toy Stories and UP)
Favorite Character: Minnie
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain
On my Disney Bucket List: Keys to the Kingdom Tour (waiting for the kids to be old enough)


Second from left is DS14. He wouldn't actually smile in a LOT of pictures, he kind of looks like this but I THINK he had a good time…teenagers!

Favorite Disney Movie: Aladdin
Favorite Character: Darth Vader
Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Ride: Tower of Terror
On his Disney Bucket List: Visit Disney park in Shanghai

Next is DD12. She LOVES Disney and vacations almost as much as I do! I think she will take over all of the planning one day. She is ALWAYS smiling in pictures, and in real life


Favorite Disney Movie: The Little Mermaid
Favorite Character: Olaf
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Rock'n Roller Coaster or Splash Mountain
On her Disney Bucket List: To become a Disney Imagineer

Last but not least is my DM, Or Grammy. She had never taken a vacation anywhere until our trip to WDW in 2010, and then she was HOOKED! She loves it and looks forward to it as much as I do. I'm happy to be able to do this with her because she has worked so very hard all of her life and taken care of so many people that she deserves to relax and have fun more than anybody I know

Favorite Disney Movie:
Favorite Character:
Favorite Park:
Favorite Ride:
On her Disney Bucket List:


We left on April 6th for 11 glorious nights. The first night we stayed at The Hyatt at MCO because our plane landed so late, but then started at The Polynesian Resort and Villas for 4 nights, then took a 4-night cruise on The Dream, and then stayed for 2 more nights at Bay Lake Tower.

So read along with me if you want, while I relive an AMAZING vacation!

 

[buzzrelly]

TABLE OF CONTENTS


APRIL 6, 2016: ON OUR WAY!
APRIL 7, 2016: HEADING TO THE POLY!
APRIL 7, 2016: THE BOAT TO THE MK
APRIL 7, 2016: FIRST DAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM
APRIL 7, 2016: SPACE AND SPLASH
APRIL 7, 2016: TONY'S
APRIL 7, 2016: THE POLY!!
APRIL 7, 2016: MORE POLY PICS
APRIL 7, 2016: THOUGHTS ON THE POLY
APRIL 7, 2016: POLY POOL AND CAPTAIN COOKS
APRIL 7, 2016: WISHES FROM OUR ROOM
APRIL 7, 2016: LINKS TO YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF EWP AND WISHES
APRIL 8, 2016: O'HANA MEANS FAMILY
APRIL 8, 2016: MORE O'HANA, TEST TRACK, AND LWTL
APRIL 8, 2016: THE BEVERLY, THEN FLOWERS & GARDENS
APRIL 8, 2016: DOING DUFFY
APRIL 8, 2016: PICK-A-PEARL
APRIL 8, 2016: BACK TO THE MK
APRIL 9, 2016: THE FORCE IS WITH US AT DHS
APRIL 9, 2016: MORE OF THE FORCE & STALKING A TEEN SENSATION
APRIL 9, 2016: TOLD YOU I WAS A BEAVER
APRIL 9, 2016: MY FAVORITE KIND OF PARTY…A DESSERT PARTY!!
APRIL 9, 2016: OUR JUST DESSERTS
APRIL 9, 2016: A CREEPY WOOKIE AND THE MOST SPECTACULAR FIREWORKS I'VE EVER SEEN!!
APRIL 9: 2016: WRAPPING UP THE DESSERT PARTY
APRIL 10, 2016: A LIVING LEGEND FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
APRIL 10, 2016: BREAKFAST WITH DONALD
APRIL 10, 2016: DINOSAURS ARE ANIMALS TOO
APRIL 10, 2016: NOW WATCH ME WHIP, WATCH ME…DAB??
APRIL 10, 2016: GASPARILLA GRILL AND OUR LAST NIGHT
APRIL 11, 2016: GOOD-BYE POLY, HELLO DREAM!
APRIL 11, 2016: A TURTLE AND A BUTTERFLY
APRIL 11, 2016: WELCOME ABOARD! NOW POINT ME TO THE BUFFET!!
APRIL 11, 2016: CABANAS AND THE CLUBS
APRIL 11, 2016: STATEROOM 9574
APRIL 11, 2016: WINGS, MUSTER, AND BON VOYAGE!!
APRIL 11, 2016: ANIMATOR'S PALATE
APRIL 11, 2016: GETTING A LITTLE GOOFY
APRIL 12, 2016: TOTALLY TOASTED
APRIL 12: 2016: THE LOST CITY
APRIL 12, 2016: PICTURES? WHAT PICTURES?
APRIL 13, 2016: WELCOME TO CASTAWAY CAY!
APRIL 13, 2016: IN SUMMER
APRIL 13, 2016: COOKIE'S
APRIL 13, 2016: SEE YA LATER, MON!
APRIL 13, 2016: SPOTTING AN ENDANGERED SPECIES
APRIL 13, 2016: PIRATES IN THE CARIBBEAN
APRIL 13, 2016: PIRATES IN THE CARIBBEAN, PART 2
APRIL 14, 2016: BIBBITY-BOBBITY-BOO
APRIL 14, 2016: ROOM SERVICE
APRIL 14, 2016: ZOMBIFIED
APRIL 15, 2016: THERE HAS BEEN AN AWAKENING
APRIL 15, 2016: ROOM 8120
APRIL 15, 2016: BUNCHES OF ROOM PICS
APRIL 15, 2016: AND DID I MENTION THE VIEW?
APRIL 16, 2016: THERE HAS…ERRRR…NOT??BEEN AN AWAKENING??
APRIL 16, 2016: THE DARK SIDE 10K
APRIL 16, 2016: THE DARK SIDE, MILES 4, 5, AND 6
APRIL 16, 2016: THE FINISH LINE & ANOTHER DAY AT DHS
APRIL 17, 2016: GOOD-BYE MAY SEEM FOREVER
APRIL 17, 2016: FAREWELL IS LIKE THE END
APRIL 17, 2016: BUT IN MY HEART'S A MEMORY, AND THERE YOU'LL ALWAYS BE

 

[cheapster316]

I can't wait to read about the dream part of the trip.

 

[buzzrelly]

APRIL 6, 2012: ON OUR WAY!

Plane Tickets from New England to Orlando in April are crazy expensive because EVERY school around here is on break. We ended up taking a late flight on the Wednesday before our official school break started, and the kids got to miss a couple extra days of school. Mom and I brought some sandwiches to eat at the airport and the kids got McDonald's when we got there…






Here's our plane…Yay! Getting so excited!



DD is trying to teach me how to take a selfie. You'll see later that this lesson doesn't stick…I am SO bad at selfies


Flying into Orlando…my attempt at an "artsy" photo. HaHa!


And, we landed!!! I LOVE MCO at the beginning of the vacation and HATE it at the end



Since we got in so late, we booked a room at The Hyatt at MCO just to sleep in that night with plans to catch DME then next morning. Definitely a smart move on our part. Check in was a breeze, the room was super quiet, and the beds were comfy. My ONLY complaint was the I had gotten an email a couple days before that asked me if I wanted to "upgrade" to a runway view for a small fee…I think it was $10-20? I said, "sure, that sounds fun. Why not?" This is our "runway view."


I guess there might be a runway out there somewhere, but probably not worth upgrading for. Not a big deal. I would definitely stay here again, especially with a late flight, I just wouldn't spend the extra money on the upgrade next time.

DD and I went down to Starbucks and I got a cup of tea and some water for the kids. We were in bed by 11 or so and had a great night's sleep. We wanted to get up at the crack of dawn to catch the earliest DME...

 

[nenglim]

following...i know i am jumping ahead, but was your cruise on Apr 11?

 

[buzzrelly]

following...i know i am jumping ahead, but was your cruise on Apr 11?

Yes, it was! Were you on the same cruise?

 

[nenglim]

yes we were! we did the reverse, cruise first then GF for 3 days..and i saw my family in your video at cookies bbq!!!

 

[buzzrelly]

yes we were! we did the reverse, cruise first then GF for 3 days..and i saw my family in your video at cookies bbq!!!

HaHa! OMG! I LOVE that your family is in my video! I'll have to go back and check it out! Did you LOVE the cruise?? Was that your first one? What deck were you on?

 

[nenglim]

HaHa! OMG! I LOVE that your family is in my video! I'll have to go back an check it out! Did you LOVE the cruise?? Was that your first one? What deck were you on?

this was suppose to be our second, but the first time we we could not fly out from NJ due to the presidents day blizzard of 2010. It was not all that bad, cause i had bought travel insurance... We loved our cruise so much we have booked a second for next year. we were on deck 8. My 2 boys, 12 and 16 loved the Edge and Vibe so much, my 16 year old was the reason we booked next year. He wanted a last go on the Vibe before he ages out.

in your video, you could see my 2 sons back and my DH with the blue cooling towel on his shoulders. My DD, 5, i could just see her purple swim cover. i was not in our table, probably getting more food!

 

[buzzrelly]

this was suppose to be our second, but the first time we we could not fly out from NJ due to the presidents day blizzard of 2010. It was not all that bad, cause i had bought travel insurance... We loved our cruise so much we have booked a second for next year. we were on deck 8. My 2 boys, 12 and 16 loved the Edge and Vibe so much, my 16 year old was the reason we booked next year. He wanted a last go on the Vibe before he ages out.

in your video, you could see my 2 sons back and my DH with the blue cooling towel on his shoulders. My DD, 5, i could just see her purple swim cover. i was not in our table, probably getting more food!

Oh, no! That's what scares me about possibly booking a winter vacation. At least we are usually over all the snow and ice by April.

I must be blind, I've gone back 4-5 times and looked at the video again and didn't see your family

Your kids are similar ages to mine…I'm sure my DD remembers him from the Edge. DS LOVED the Vibe. We literally NEVER saw him! I guess I don't want to give too much away, haha! I'll get to that!

 

[Founders Fan]

Joining in - Bummer on the upgrade that wasn't so much an upgrade...

 

[nenglim]

[GALLERY=]
[/GALLERY]
Here we are in your video. Hahaha!

 

[buzzrelly]

Joining in - Bummer on the upgrade that wasn't so much an upgrade...

And thanks for joining in! I'm just glad that upgrade didn't cost that much . Lesson learned!

[GALLERY=]View attachment 173169
[/GALLERY]
Here we are in your video. Hahaha!

OMG! I'm glad you blew it up…I NEVER would have found them!!

 

[buzzrelly]

APRIL 7, 2016: HEADING TO THE POLY!!


We were all too excited to sleep in this morning. We couldn't WAIT to REALLY start our vacation and head over to Disney's Polynesian Villas Resort! We woke at 7am, and by 7:20 we were standing here…




After a very short wait, we were on this EMPTY DME by 7:30 am

After one WHOLE night together, I guess we needed some space, seeing as nobody wanted to sit together . Ahhhhh…togetherness

Anyway, a short while later we were seeing THIS WONDERFUL SIGN…


Oh my gosh, can't we just skip the check-in and go straight to our Happy Place?! No? Okay, okay…we've been patient so far, we can wait just a LITTLE bit longer!

Soon, we arrived at the Poly


Check-in was a breeze and we quickly stashed our luggage with bell services then went upstairs to get some coffee and food…









While I was waiting for DM, I took a quick pic of the beautiful lobby. I was in love the minute I walked in. This was our first time staying here and I know there were some people who were very upset when the lobby was made over. I had nothing to compare it to and I thought it was just lovely <3




Once we got our caffeine fix and had full bellies, we were ready to be on our way to the Magic Kingdom. Our plan was to hop on the monorail. Unfortunately, when we went to get in line, we found out it was not running. We actually didn't have good monorail luck in general on this trip. It was down more than I ever remember it being down. This was unfortunate and is probably the reason we all have to give the slightest edge to BLT over POLY for future stays. I'm getting ahead of myself though, I'll speak more to that later in the report.

Nothing could have ruined our good moods at this point though, so down, off to the boat launch we went...

 

[buzzrelly]

APRIL 7, 2016: THE BOAT TO THE MK

It was a PERFECT morning weather-wise and it was a really lovely walk over to the boat launch. We were just strolling and enjoying the beautiful landscaping here…




We even got to experience some of the local "wild-life."


Here is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip…


The scenery was gorgeous, but waiting for the boat to come seemed to take Forever! And because the monorail wasn't running, I think the line was extra long. You can kind of see it behind us, and there was probably as many in front of us.


We missed getting on the first boat that came, but thankfully another one followed shortly after. It definitely isn't a BAD way to travel, but when you're anxious for your first park day, the whole boat process can be a little tedious. Here's our closer look at the Magic Kingdom as the boat is preparing to dock…


Ahhh…LOVE that view!

 

[hill6]

Great review so far. Just read your April 15 report and greatly enjoyed it.

 

[nenglim]

we love the Poly... it was our first intro to disney in 2009. I have not seen the new lobby yet but i remembered being awestruck by the old one...i was very surprised when i learned they were taking it down... but the old lobby was darker compared to your picture and had less seating.

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

YAY! Following along! I loved your other trip report, so excited for this one too!

 

[buzzrelly]

Great review so far. Just read your April 15 report and greatly enjoyed it.

And thanks! Happy you could join in

we love the Poly... it was our first intro to disney in 2009. I have not seen the new lobby yet but i remembered being awestruck by the old one...i was very surprised when i learned they were taking it down... but the old lobby was darker compared to your picture and had less seating.

No complaints here. I actually like how Disney changes things every once in a while to keep it fresh and updated. Especially something like a hotel lobby that I could never see myself getting particularly attached to. Now if they started messing with Splash Mountain, that would be another story

YAY! Following along! I loved your other trip report, so excited for this one too!

Back! And thank you for your kind words! Happy to have you here

 

[buzzrelly]

APRIL 7, 2016: FIRST DAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM


As I said, the boat took longer than we anticipated. We got to the boat launch around 8:50 am, and the above picture of the MK from the water was taken at 9:30 am. But the time we actually got into the MK at 9:45, the kids were anxious to get on some rides and they had NO interest in stopping for pictures. I can't say as I blame them, since I was excited too! But that didn't stop me from trying...





Can anyone guess where we are heading???


If you guessed this, you'd be correct!




After Pirate's, we headed over to Haunted Mansion since the wait wasn't too long…


Artsy



We were all in very good moods at this point…I think I might have even gotten DS to smile

…or not

Seeing as I'm such a crazy planner, I know which rides we should hit early before the crowds set in. So after Haunted Mansion, we quickly made our way over to Tomorrowland to get on…
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(…these dots add to the suspense)
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THE PEOPLE MOVER??!!! What the?? What am I, a newb??





We were actually just trying to kill time until our first FastPass, and to be honest, we rather enjoy the PM, though we usually wait until lines are long in the afternoon and can't get on anything else. No matter…

Anyone want to guess what our first FastPass of the day will be?

Gotta wait until next post since I've uploaded too many pics already