All Aboard! An August Princess Extravaganza!!!
- Thread starter DisMom1981
- Start date
DisMom1981
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2011
Thanks D! There were some not so pretty moments throughout the trip but also very special ones. He is who he is and he sees things in a different way that we don't always understand. It's frustrating for everyone, but when we do get it he really floors us with his ideas and thoughts.
That is hilarious about the two mirrors. I alway wanted to stay at the resort when it was Dixie Landings. It is a close second for me theming wise and moderate wise to CBR.
Joining inWe are maybe going next August and staying at CBR.
Hi there! Ahhhh August- a love/hate relationship! The positive is the August Disers are quite active and there are several on the boards who are super friendly and helpful.
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TheMaxRebo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
That water play area looks awesome! I can understand having some cutoff and height is probably easier to tell than age - as sometimes a bunch of older kids can make it too "rough" for little kids ... but I would think as long as everyone is playing nice they should be able to be a bit flexible
Wow, 3 beers for $8.25?!?!?! That's ridiculously good!
Wow, 3 beers for $8.25?!?!?! That's ridiculously good!
DisMom1981
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2011
It is great! We've considered adult only getaway weekends to Maine just to go to Sea Dog Brewery......haven't followed through yet, but some day!
DisMom1981
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2011
During our fabulous dinner at Sea Dog Brewery I threw an idea on the table for how to make the most of our pretty much only evening where we didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn/how to spend our first magical night in Disney. We've never stayed late enough to see Wishes. I learned about Poly Beach Wishes viewing from my fine friends on the Dis last year. Could we do this? Was it possible? It was only 5ish o'clock (we eat early, what can I say?). That meant a whopping 4+ hours to Wishes.
Despite hearing about the mess that was Downtown Disney, we decided to try to pass some time there. The parking signs pointed to the Castmember training/application center across the street from Downtown Disney. There were flocks of people crossing the busy road to get to their Disney shopping and dining emporium. There was no way we were parking that far away and luckily, we were able to enter the actual Downtown Disney lot AND snag a spot. However, the place was mobbed. We headed into the big Disney Store to let the kids pick out their Disney souvenirs and also to pick up gifts for two birthday parties we would be attending as soon as we got home. Alyssa picked out some awful MINIATURE Aurora play set. Like, remember micro machines? The pieces were even smaller. I knew it was a poor choice, but the child was so excited. I caved. Fast forward a few hours and what a nightmare to try to keep track of all the little shoes and accessories. Tommy picked a lightning McQueen/Dinaco race car set. A little bit better of a choice, but still not great. For Tommy's friend I picked out a cute charm bracelet with 4 or 5 princess charms- she LOVED it. For friend #2 an awesome CM helped me make a light saber in the toy store which was also a super gift.
We went to the Christmas shop to pick out our annual tree ornament-
Tommy picked a McQueen last year and Alyssa picked an Aurora this year (much to TJ's dismay). Some poor listening ensued and we made our way through the swarms of people in search of serenity in our mini van. At this point- it probably wasn't even 7:00 and hope of a successful evening was diminishing. Luckily, a Disney obsessed friend from home living vicariously through us and constant texting back and forth encouraged an early arrival at Poly to check out the resort and ride the monorail, get some adult beverage in those pineapples and Dole Whips.
We headed over to the Polynesian. There was lots of construction and walls up- no surprises there. I really enjoyed the Hawaiian plant life and fountains. I've never been to Hawaii, but felt like I was there upon entering the Poly. Everyone at the front desk waved hello. We still had a long way to go until the fireworks. Behavior was awful at this point- there was no way we were going to make it. When we put our foot down and turned around and headed back out to the car it got real. Everyone wanted to see fireworks. There were promises made, and the kid got his pixie dust. We gave it another chance. It wasn't a complete behavior redemption at that point, but it was much better.
We headed up to the monorail and the kids were so excited to see the Magic Kingdom. Ok, they weren't the only ones. I was pretty excited too! Then, we got stuck in the Contemporary for a 'reboot' I tucked this moment into the back of my head thinking we would avoid monorails as much as possible from this point on. No way did I want to be stuck in a broken monorail in August heat with no a/c. Despite the hold up, I was a little relieved since I knew we still had lots of time to kill before Wishes.
After our extended monorail ride we made another bit of an error. We headed directly to Poly Beach- not realizing it was quite the hike from the main house. We should have gotten ice cream and drinks first, as once we got to the beach, there was no going back. We arrived just as the campfire/smores were ending (Darn), and enjoyed being the only ones on the beach for awhile- rocking on the swings and then I was able to breath a little relief as we began settling into lounge chairs to watch a Pumba and Timon internet safety PSA. Side note- the new DVC Poly homes look awesome, but they do block part of the beach view of Cinderella's castle.
I had bought tons of light up necklaces at the dollar store- an awesome enhancement to evenings on our trip last year. However, I got some melons of light up jewelry this year- they weren't very bright and some were total duds.
By this point we had exhaustion on our side rather than against us and the kids were actually RESTING in their chairs. Before long The Emporer's New Groove was on. I've never seen this movie and though my kids were glued to it, I decided I hadn't been missing much by not seeing it ever and played on my phone.
The movie was paused so we could watch the Electrical Water Pageant- kind of a dated, lame show, but it passed the time and the kids really enjoyed it.
And finally, Wishes.
The kids loved the fireworks and I was so happy we did it and stuck it out. The best part was the smooth exit from the Poly back to CBR. This was our latest evening in the world and we had another leisure day ahead of us where we would check in to our actual 'home' for the week, meet up with our family, AND have an unexpected hiccup that would result in some pixie dust grown up fun.
Despite hearing about the mess that was Downtown Disney, we decided to try to pass some time there. The parking signs pointed to the Castmember training/application center across the street from Downtown Disney. There were flocks of people crossing the busy road to get to their Disney shopping and dining emporium. There was no way we were parking that far away and luckily, we were able to enter the actual Downtown Disney lot AND snag a spot. However, the place was mobbed. We headed into the big Disney Store to let the kids pick out their Disney souvenirs and also to pick up gifts for two birthday parties we would be attending as soon as we got home. Alyssa picked out some awful MINIATURE Aurora play set. Like, remember micro machines? The pieces were even smaller. I knew it was a poor choice, but the child was so excited. I caved. Fast forward a few hours and what a nightmare to try to keep track of all the little shoes and accessories. Tommy picked a lightning McQueen/Dinaco race car set. A little bit better of a choice, but still not great. For Tommy's friend I picked out a cute charm bracelet with 4 or 5 princess charms- she LOVED it. For friend #2 an awesome CM helped me make a light saber in the toy store which was also a super gift.
We went to the Christmas shop to pick out our annual tree ornament-
Tommy picked a McQueen last year and Alyssa picked an Aurora this year (much to TJ's dismay). Some poor listening ensued and we made our way through the swarms of people in search of serenity in our mini van. At this point- it probably wasn't even 7:00 and hope of a successful evening was diminishing. Luckily, a Disney obsessed friend from home living vicariously through us and constant texting back and forth encouraged an early arrival at Poly to check out the resort and ride the monorail, get some adult beverage in those pineapples and Dole Whips.
We headed over to the Polynesian. There was lots of construction and walls up- no surprises there. I really enjoyed the Hawaiian plant life and fountains. I've never been to Hawaii, but felt like I was there upon entering the Poly. Everyone at the front desk waved hello. We still had a long way to go until the fireworks. Behavior was awful at this point- there was no way we were going to make it. When we put our foot down and turned around and headed back out to the car it got real. Everyone wanted to see fireworks. There were promises made, and the kid got his pixie dust. We gave it another chance. It wasn't a complete behavior redemption at that point, but it was much better.
We headed up to the monorail and the kids were so excited to see the Magic Kingdom. Ok, they weren't the only ones. I was pretty excited too! Then, we got stuck in the Contemporary for a 'reboot' I tucked this moment into the back of my head thinking we would avoid monorails as much as possible from this point on. No way did I want to be stuck in a broken monorail in August heat with no a/c. Despite the hold up, I was a little relieved since I knew we still had lots of time to kill before Wishes.
After our extended monorail ride we made another bit of an error. We headed directly to Poly Beach- not realizing it was quite the hike from the main house. We should have gotten ice cream and drinks first, as once we got to the beach, there was no going back. We arrived just as the campfire/smores were ending (Darn), and enjoyed being the only ones on the beach for awhile- rocking on the swings and then I was able to breath a little relief as we began settling into lounge chairs to watch a Pumba and Timon internet safety PSA. Side note- the new DVC Poly homes look awesome, but they do block part of the beach view of Cinderella's castle.
I had bought tons of light up necklaces at the dollar store- an awesome enhancement to evenings on our trip last year. However, I got some melons of light up jewelry this year- they weren't very bright and some were total duds.
By this point we had exhaustion on our side rather than against us and the kids were actually RESTING in their chairs. Before long The Emporer's New Groove was on. I've never seen this movie and though my kids were glued to it, I decided I hadn't been missing much by not seeing it ever and played on my phone.
The movie was paused so we could watch the Electrical Water Pageant- kind of a dated, lame show, but it passed the time and the kids really enjoyed it.
And finally, Wishes.
The kids loved the fireworks and I was so happy we did it and stuck it out. The best part was the smooth exit from the Poly back to CBR. This was our latest evening in the world and we had another leisure day ahead of us where we would check in to our actual 'home' for the week, meet up with our family, AND have an unexpected hiccup that would result in some pixie dust grown up fun.
TheMaxRebo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
Kinda glad we skipped Downtown Disney this past trip as it sounds just so stressful lately!
Bummer about the Monorail Reboot - never had experienced one but doesn't sound fun! Bummer about now snacks/drinks for the Poly beach - in the past we had just gotten drinks from the pool bar, but I assume that wasn't open either with the construction. and you were probably there right before the outside dole whip stand opened, though not exactly sure of the dates.
Love watching Wishes from the beach there though - can really get a sense of how spread out they are!
and I love the Electrical Water Pageant just because it is so old and outdated
Bummer about the Monorail Reboot - never had experienced one but doesn't sound fun! Bummer about now snacks/drinks for the Poly beach - in the past we had just gotten drinks from the pool bar, but I assume that wasn't open either with the construction. and you were probably there right before the outside dole whip stand opened, though not exactly sure of the dates.
Love watching Wishes from the beach there though - can really get a sense of how spread out they are!
and I love the Electrical Water Pageant just because it is so old and outdated
DisMom1981
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2011
Kinda glad we skipped Downtown Disney this past trip as it sounds just so stressful lately! Bummer about the Monorail Reboot - never had experienced one but doesn't sound fun! Bummer about now snacks/drinks for the Poly beach - in the past we had just gotten drinks from the pool bar, but I assume that wasn't open either with the construction. and you were probably there right before the outside dole whip stand opened, though not exactly sure of the dates. Love watching Wishes from the beach there though - can really get a sense of how spread out they are! and I love the Electrical Water Pageant just because it is so old and outdated
You are right- there were no dole whips during the time we were there. Glad that has been remedied because c'mon- you can't just take away the dole whip!
We did enjoy the electrical pageant- a water parade is neat. Just think they could spice it up a bit for the deluxe guests who are paying so much to stay in the monorail resorts (and the non monorail resort guests sneaking into the place lol)!
You are so lucky- it looked like such a beautiful place to stay. Hawaii only 3 hours away and minutes from cinderellas castle sounds good toe!!
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ABCastillo
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2013
joining in!
DMGeurts
Never open texts with the "Hand Sewn Button" attac
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2008
I loved the last update Ann! DTD is a lot of fun - and I am glad you were able to get birthday gifts for friends. 
Bummer about the other treats that were chosen too... I have always hated tiny toys like that, as they were always a pain to keep track of - and I am a bit OCD with keeping the girls' toys "complete"... I know - I am weird. 
So glad you made it to the Poly...
And yah - a broken down Monorail is par for the course for me... Rarely do I ride it with out some sort of failure. We've learned to avoid it whenever possible - or at least when we have to be somewhere. It's in serious need up upgrading and it would be nice if Disney would fork out a chunk of change to make this possible - it's not as if they don't have the $$ for it.
Yay for being able to see the water show - even if it is dated. And Wishes... We've only seen them from the Poly once... And we watched from a bench in the marina... It wasn't a horrible place to watch them from, to be honest.
I hope you'll come back to finish off your TR... I'd love to see how the rest turns out.
D~
Bummer about the other treats that were chosen too... I have always hated tiny toys like that, as they were always a pain to keep track of - and I am a bit OCD with keeping the girls' toys "complete"... I know - I am weird. So glad you made it to the Poly...
And yah - a broken down Monorail is par for the course for me... Rarely do I ride it with out some sort of failure. We've learned to avoid it whenever possible - or at least when we have to be somewhere. It's in serious need up upgrading and it would be nice if Disney would fork out a chunk of change to make this possible - it's not as if they don't have the $$ for it.
Yay for being able to see the water show - even if it is dated. And Wishes... We've only seen them from the Poly once... And we watched from a bench in the marina... It wasn't a horrible place to watch them from, to be honest.
I hope you'll come back to finish off your TR... I'd love to see how the rest turns out.
D~
DisMom1981
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2011
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