This Bridge is Old, Like You! - A July 2017 and April 2018 TR *Completed + New TR Link Posted

[MeghanEmily]

I laughed about Landon's excitement over the watermelon, because I was exactly like him as a kid!

What a completely different experience with HEA this time around! I'm so glad you all enjoyed it and got more out of it this time. We had a lousy time viewing it early on in our wedding trip, but when I saw it a second time by myself later in the year, I enjoyed it much more. I booked the dessert party, too, to make sure Nathan gets a fair shot at it. And I'm really looking forward to it!! But, like you, it bothers me that it's much more difficult to get the full experience compared to Wishes, and you make a good point that there are definitely certain groups of people at a disadvantage! As a company that's always seemed fairly interested in equitable and accessible experiences for all its guests, Disney kind of disappoints me a little with this one. But regardless, I'm still becoming more and more of a fan of HEA the more I experience it...especially the soundtrack.

What a great experience at the Poly! Interestingly enough, we didn't get that vibe at the Poly, but we did at the GF, where a lot of people find it feels stuff/unwelcoming/etc.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I'm glad you had a better experience with HEA this go around. I agree with you though that it is disappointing that only a limited amount of people can fully see and appreciate the show.

 

[Dentam]

I haven't seen HEA yet but will in about a month! I'm bummed to hear that it is harder to view it, but that's a good heads up for my planning.

Looks like a really great day all in all! Love the Poly - it was the resort we stayed at as a family during our very first WDW trip years ago and now my parents are DVC owners there!

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed HEA this time around! I didn't get around to seeing it when I was there, so I don't really have an opinion, but ... I'm with you on the viewing location situation. I've seen Wishes from the hub, from the Poly, and from near BOG (my favorite spot). I don't love that there's really only one place to see HEA.

 

[Dugette]

Glad you had a better experience at HEA this time around! I can totally relate to holding a 5-year-old at your eye level for a nighttime show...did that more than once at DLP and boy is she heavy! Aaaaaah, love the Poly, I miss that place! Looks like you had a great day!

 

[thumper*]

Here it was almost 4 years later and we were JUST now going on 7DMT for the first time.

Finally huh. I couldn't imagine.

It wasn’t a total fib. I enjoyed the dark ride aspect and the music. I just left out the part where Mama got super motion sick and needed to sit down on solid ground with some water.

So sorry to hear this.

@natebenma I love this picture. Hilarious.

Alex and I were surprised. We hadn’t expected the kind gesture, especially since we thought we had paid for the Rose Garden experience. After we got back home, we did see that the nice CM had indeed gotten some of our money back.

Awesome sauce

 

[amazingact21]

I’m so happy your HEA experience was better! I’ve seen it fully twice and both times were via the dessert party. Though one day I’d like to get there early and get a spot right in front of the castle!

Thanks again for your detailed review of the party. It really was what sold me on booking it. And of course now after reading about your Wild Africa Trek I don't think I can go on my next trip and not do that one.

We went to Disney last July, as well. Our experience of HEA was... okay. I was so bummed that we staked out a place 1.5 hours before the show, only to have a rude family jump in front of us at the last minute and block our view. And there were no cast members around to help out.

We booked a HEA dessert party for January '19 simply because we were so frustrated at our experience in July.

Completely agree!!!

It's so easy to have someone come up at the last minute and block your view, and that really hinders your experience with HEA. It's frustrating that you have to pay extra money to guarantee a good seat, but at least you get a few other perks out of it. The food was good and the ability to ride attractions closer to the show time than you would if you needed to stake out a spot was really nice. I hope you all have a good experience with it in January!

 

[amazingact21]

I laughed about Landon's excitement over the watermelon, because I was exactly like him as a kid!

What a completely different experience with HEA this time around! I'm so glad you all enjoyed it and got more out of it this time. We had a lousy time viewing it early on in our wedding trip, but when I saw it a second time by myself later in the year, I enjoyed it much more. I booked the dessert party, too, to make sure Nathan gets a fair shot at it. And I'm really looking forward to it!! But, like you, it bothers me that it's much more difficult to get the full experience compared to Wishes, and you make a good point that there are definitely certain groups of people at a disadvantage! As a company that's always seemed fairly interested in equitable and accessible experiences for all its guests, Disney kind of disappoints me a little with this one. But regardless, I'm still becoming more and more of a fan of HEA the more I experience it...especially the soundtrack.

What a great experience at the Poly! Interestingly enough, we didn't get that vibe at the Poly, but we did at the GF, where a lot of people find it feels stuff/unwelcoming/etc.

Landon loves watermelon so much. It's hilarious the things he reacts to. Telling Rapunzel his favorite picnic snack is carrot sticks, thinking the dessert party was a win because they served fresh fruit...

That was part of the reason I booked the dessert party; it was Alex's first time seeing it and I wanted him to get the full experience. The soundtrack does grow on you, doesn't it?

It is great how everyone takes away something different at the resorts. I suppose that's the great thing about having so many options. If one doesn't fit in well with your family, there's bound to be another one that works.

I'm glad you had a better experience with HEA this go around. I agree with you though that it is disappointing that only a limited amount of people can fully see and appreciate the show.

I know Disney probably had their hands tied with wanting to use the new projection technology but also knowing that would limit the viewing options of the show. And I know they added more fireworks to this one than Wishes, so maybe that was their compromise? Either way, it's a bit of bummer.

I haven't seen HEA yet but will in about a month! I'm bummed to hear that it is harder to view it, but that's a good heads up for my planning.

Looks like a really great day all in all! Love the Poly - it was the resort we stayed at as a family during our very first WDW trip years ago and now my parents are DVC owners there!

Looking forward to reading more!

Hopefully, you will find a great view for HEA! If you can then the show is great and very entertaining.

I can see why your family owns DVC at the Poly. It's such a laid back and beautiful resort. And there's nothing quite like being able to hop on the monorail and be at the MK in a few minutes' time.

 

[amazingact21]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed HEA this time around! I didn't get around to seeing it when I was there, so I don't really have an opinion, but ... I'm with you on the viewing location situation. I've seen Wishes from the hub, from the Poly, and from near BOG (my favorite spot). I don't love that there's really only one place to see HEA.

I'm sure if you're just looking for good fireworks then watching it from anywhere wouldn't be an issue. I just think that the soundtrack that accompanies the show makes more sense if you can see the projections on the castle.

Glad you had a better experience at HEA this time around! I can totally relate to holding a 5-year-old at your eye level for a nighttime show...did that more than once at DLP and boy is she heavy! Aaaaaah, love the Poly, I miss that place! Looks like you had a great day!

Holding those kids is tough work! It can be hard to appreciate the show when your arms are screaming. But I guess that's just part of bringing a young kid to the parks...
Nothing beats the Polynesian when you've got toddlers and are visiting the Magic Kingdom a lot. Being able to just hop on the monorail with them is so nice.

Finally huh. I couldn't imagine.

So sorry to hear this.


@natebenma I love this picture. Hilarious.

Awesome sauce

I felt like we were the only Disney fans who had yet to ride 7DMT yet! And that's slowly becoming us with the new Pandora attractions. We really have to get better about riding stuff sooner.
(Landon and Evie won't let us go that long with the Toy Story Land rides. They've watched videos of both and beg me to take them there so they can go on them. )

 

[thumper*]

OOPS this post was suppose to go on a different thread sorry.

 

[cindianne320]

Glad you enjoyed HEA! You have me sold on the Fireworks Dessert Party!

 

[khertz]

I was behind a few updates but just had a chance to get caught up.

I think as parents we have all been there with our own version of Evie on Barnstormer. It does feel terrible to laugh when they are so scared but sometimes their reactions are so over the top it's hard not to! Delilah is a lot like Evie on rides too. She's definitely not the Disney lover her brother is when it comes to attractions and characters.

I am excited to try the mobile ordering next time we are in the parks. We stupidly forgot about that option when we were at MK for MNSSHP last year, and I think it's such a great option to have especially when dining with kids.

It's really great that the CM was able to refund you the difference on the dessert party. We did the Wishes one back before the change, and I loved the space in the hub grass to spread out and watch. But I totally agree with you that you shouldn't have to pay such a steep price to get a good experience. I don't think we could justify the cost with 4 of us now, but maybe one day we will give it a try. I don't understand the pricing structure fully as the garden seems to be the preferred way to experience the show but costs less than the terrace, unless Disney considers the terrace the superior experience since you get a chair. But the view does not seem to be all that great of the show.

That room at the Poly looks huge! We were so impressed by the space at the Contemporary. You can definitely see how they began making the rooms smaller to fit more in at the later resorts compared to those first resorts.

 

[amazingact21]

Glad you enjoyed HEA! You have me sold on the Fireworks Dessert Party!

Honestly, being able to ride attractions all the way up until an hour before the fireworks was a big seller for me. Making the kids wait on a curb for hours in order to get a good spot has never worked out well in my experience, so this saved us from a lot of whining and complaining.

I was behind a few updates but just had a chance to get caught up.

I think as parents we have all been there with our own version of Evie on Barnstormer. It does feel terrible to laugh when they are so scared but sometimes their reactions are so over the top it's hard not to! Delilah is a lot like Evie on rides too. She's definitely not the Disney lover her brother is when it comes to attractions and characters.

I am excited to try the mobile ordering next time we are in the parks. We stupidly forgot about that option when we were at MK for MNSSHP last year, and I think it's such a great option to have especially when dining with kids.

It's really great that the CM was able to refund you the difference on the dessert party. We did the Wishes one back before the change, and I loved the space in the hub grass to spread out and watch. But I totally agree with you that you shouldn't have to pay such a steep price to get a good experience. I don't think we could justify the cost with 4 of us now, but maybe one day we will give it a try. I don't understand the pricing structure fully as the garden seems to be the preferred way to experience the show but costs less than the terrace, unless Disney considers the terrace the superior experience since you get a chair. But the view does not seem to be all that great of the show.

That room at the Poly looks huge! We were so impressed by the space at the Contemporary. You can definitely see how they began making the rooms smaller to fit more in at the later resorts compared to those first resorts.

I might cry a little when Evie turns 3 in October and we jump from paying for one kid to two. I miss the days when it was just Alex and myself and we could get away with a much smaller vacation budget!

I think because of the style and decorations, the rooms at the Contemporary feel bigger than the Poly. I don't think they are, but it was a nice trick on the mind.
One of the major reasons we keep going back to Shades is because it has the same space as the Poly and the Contemporary, and when it comes to kids that extra room is invaluable!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Oh how I love that you got a great HEA experience this time around
Totally agree with you though that it’s a lot of added expense and s shame that those who can’t afford it don’t get to fully enjoy HEA.
Your room at the poly looks great! So much space!
No wonder Evie conked out- you sure did s lot in one day

 

[amazingact21]

Oh how I love that you got a great HEA experience this time around
Totally agree with you though that it’s a lot of added expense and s shame that those who can’t afford it don’t get to fully enjoy HEA.
Your room at the poly looks great! So much space!
No wonder Evie conked out- you sure did s lot in one day

I loved our room at the Polynesian, pretty sure you could fit two Pop Century rooms in there.

It was a lot for one day, and Alex and I promised ourselves that next time we will make sure we get several days in the parks. This commando style touring with kids is exhausting!

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm glad the dessert party was a success! That's great that the CM was also able to get you your money refunded since you only wanted the rose garden view!

I'm also glad to hear you enjoyed the show much better this time!! Great pics of you all in the rose garden

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Well, that was quite an entertaining 30 pages! Obviously, I'm insanely late to the party, but joining in. I'm planning my first family trip to WDW in February and my girls will be 5 then, so I'm interested in hearing how other preschoolers do.

While I won't go through quoting every moment that made me chuckle, I feel I should validate your amusement at Evie's distaste for Barnstormer. We're Sesame Place passholders, so we got priority access and free ride photos when their new coaster opened this spring. My girls were psyched, they love the other coaster there, but...

And those gritted teeth are my FB cover photo!

 

[amazingact21]

I'm glad the dessert party was a success! That's great that the CM was also able to get you your money refunded since you only wanted the rose garden view!

I'm also glad to hear you enjoyed the show much better this time!! Great pics of you all in the rose garden

Yeah, we weren't expecting the refund at all. It was one of those instances where the Cast Member went above and beyond to help us out, and we really appreciated it.

Well, that was quite an entertaining 30 pages! Obviously, I'm insanely late to the party, but joining in. I'm planning my first family trip to WDW in February and my girls will be 5 then, so I'm interested in hearing how other preschoolers do.

While I won't go through quoting every moment that made me chuckle, I feel I should validate your amusement at Evie's distaste for Barnstormer. We're Sesame Place passholders, so we got priority access and free ride photos when their new coaster opened this spring. My girls were psyched, they love the other coaster there, but...View attachment 341974

And those gritted teeth are my FB cover photo!

Hi! Thank you for joining and enduring the 30 pages of this report! I really appreciate it.
I'm pretty sure I say I love taking my kids at every age, but five is really fun. They've really grown into themselves by that point and have their likes/dislikes. Plus, they're at that wonderful age where anything can come out of their mouths! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Oh my goodness, those ride photos!!!! They are hilarious; you can't fake those kind of reactions...genuine terror on their tiny little faces. You'll have to wait and see what some of their reactions to the Disney coasters will be!

 

[amazingact21]

Tuesday, May 1st, 2018 Part 1:

For all the late night shenanigans my kids participated in, they still woke up bright and early at six a.m.

Bleary-eyed, Alex and I listened to Landon beg us to take him down to the pool again. We were living that scene in the Lion King, where Simba pushes a sleeping Mufasa and yanks on his ear and whines “Daaaaad.”

All made complete with the “he’s your son” comment from me.

When nagging didn’t work, Landon roped Evie into trying to jump off the bed with him and that did the trick. I was up and separating small children ad haste. No emergency room visits for us this time around.


I stepped out on the balcony to get my first (and only) good look at our view:


My goodness! What a sight to behold!

The Contemporary and Space Mountain. Sure, there was a gigantic palm tree in the dead center and a lot of traffic down below going to and from the Great Ceremonial House, but still…it was a glorious scene to behold first thing in the morning.

Nothing quite like seeing part of the Magic Kingdom from the comfort of your room. It made it twice as hard to go back in the room and start the departure process. Broke my heart a little to know that we would have to leave such an amazing room before we really even got to appreciate it.

It made Alex and I want to stay at the Polynesian again even more.


Landon was still pestering us about the pool, so I logged on to the MDE app and pushed some FPs around from park opening to a little later in the day. Then I sent Alex down to Captain Cook’s to grab us all something to eat and changed me and the kids into our bathing suits. During this process, Mousecleaning knocked on our door and I opened it before they could. They did do the three knock warning, so I had plenty of time to prepare for the encounter. This was right when the controversy over people barging into rooms began, and therefore I paid attention to the timing.

The woman who knocked was very nice and sweet, but she did bring up me checking out and kind of asked when I thought I’d be out of the room.

It was barely seven in the morning!

I know she needed to get in the room and clean so it could be turned over, but pressuring me to get out when I had 4 hours left was a little much.


Alex returned about half an hour later (he said it was really busy in the restaurant) bearing a bag laden with coffee, milk, two kid’s breakfast meals, a breakfast platter meal, and a burrito ensemble.

There was so much food!

Alex wasn’t sure what to expect so he’d ordered us each our own meal; honestly, he could have ordered half that and we would have been all right.

The first order of business was cutting up food for the kids. I wanted to snap a picture of their food before it got chopped into tiny bits, and I pushed the camera in front of Alex:

f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Because I was in the way and bumping elbows with Alex, I ended up knocking the second kid’s meal on the floor.


Good grief…

It was completely my fault, and I had to spend a good five minutes cleaning up the mess I made while Alex had to half everything on the plate he was cutting. It was a good thing we’d ordered two and could split the one remaining platter.

Oops.

Alex’s plate was a smorgasbord of breakfast delights:
f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


And I had the biggest breakfast burrito I had ever seen:
f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Seriously, look at that bad boy! It was massive and I only ate about two thirds before I gave up and split the remainder with the kids and Alex. The good news was that it was pretty tasty, thus continuing my love of the Polynesians restaurants.

Just let me stay there and eat for a weekend, I’ll be happy with that.

(And that’s not even talking about the fact that the Dole Whip stands now include the alcoholic version!)


After breakfast, Alex and Evie took all our belongings and loaded them in the car while I took Landon to the pool. Our MagicBands worked this time and we went right in.
There were only a few other families in the pool that morning, probably because it was kind of chilly. I purposefully sat in one the chairs not under an umbrella in order to stay warm.

When Alex and Evie got back to us, we let Evie play in the kid’s area for a short while, then we dragged both kids into the main pool. I wanted to say that I’d tried the pool out at least once!

Landon threw such a fit at having to swim in the boring “grown up pool” though that it didn’t last long. Before I could even get my hair wet, we were back at the kid’s section letting them get their slide on.

Finally, around nine thirty (I want to say we didn’t make it down to the pool until 8:30) we made the kids get out and changed so we could head to a park. A part of me had seriously considered making the entire morning a pool day and leaving straight from the resort. But ultimately, I didn’t want to waste the park ticket we had bought and knew Alex would be bummed to have missed Disney time.

Both kids were extremely grumpy with this decision; they moaned and groaned the entire car and tram ride into the park. It was tiresome, but when Alex and I managed to get through bag check and into the park without any delays and felt how beautiful the weather was, we knew we had made the right call.

f4 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Animal Kingdom was busy as could be, but it was sunny with no humidity and we were in a Disney park. Bring on the complaining, kids, nothing could ruin the Disney high we were feeling at that moment.


Our Fastpass for Kilimanjaro Safari was available to use shortly after we entered the park, so we headed that way first:



We didn’t have to wait much more than ten minutes before we were loaded into a vehicle near the back and sent off on our animal tour.

Got to see baby hippo butt:






And an up close version of my favorite animal:


Disney and giraffes…basically the perfect equation to a happy Alicia. Couldn’t ask for much more at that moment. Even both kids were thoroughly enjoying themselves. (The safari is one of the few attractions that Evie loves.)


My shoelaces came untied right as we were pulling away from the giraffes, and my amazing husband was kind enough to help me out:


He gave me grief for taking that photo, but I always want to highlight how much he helps me out in the parks. There’s not too many times where he hasn’t offered to push a stroller, carry a backpack, run back to the room for diapers, or tie a lazy wife’s shoe. Nothing will top walking around Animal Kingdom Lodge until two in the morning with a 13 month old Landon who wouldn’t sleep, but everything has been appreciated.


After the safari, Alex and I wanted to go check out Pandora and I got to show Alex the “secret entrance” that he didn’t know about. On the way there, I couldn’t help but take in how gorgeous the park was looking that day.





Just let me loose inside the park with a camera and zero plans, and I’d be a happy camper.

The change from Africa to Pandora was so subtle yet clearly defined that it blew me away.




And as busy as Pandora turned out to be, nobody was utilizing this bridge:



I couldn’t believe more people weren’t coming and going through that route, but it only benefited us. We got to the bend and let the kids get out of the stroller and run around for a few minutes. We figured it would be crowded and congested inside the new land and there wouldn’t be much opportunity for movement for the kids, so we wanted to give them the chance to get their wiggles out before more sitting came their way.

Good tip to all my fellow parents out there….walk in via the bridge.

This was going to be Alex’s first time seeing Pandora and as the bigger fan of the film, I was looking forward to seeing what he thought of the new area.



Up Next…Let’s Get Him a Banshee. No, let’s wait until he’s a little older. But We Could Totally Get Him One Now. We Shouldn’t, Though.

 

[natebenma]

I stepped out on the balcony to get my first (and only) good look at our view:

Ahhhh!!!!

Nice!

Sounds like an amazing morning- some pool time for the kids and then a (rare) beautiful day at Animal Kingdom. It is usually hotter than the surface of the sun there!

He gave me grief for taking that photo, but I always want to highlight how much he helps me out in the parks. There’s not too many times where he hasn’t offered to push a stroller, carry a backpack, run back to the room for diapers, or tie a lazy wife’s shoe. Nothing will top walking around Animal Kingdom Lodge until two in the morning with a 13 month old Landon who wouldn’t sleep, but everything has been appreciated.

YAY, Alex!

He is a gem!

Up Next…Let’s Get Him a Banshee. No, let’s wait until he’s a little older. But We Could Totally Get Him One Now. We Shouldn’t, Though.

Landon or Alex?