Now onto Disney!
At The Polynesian, which has become a favorite of my husband and I and some of our family, we had requested Samoa, first floor, facing the volcano pool. This is the building and view we generally have, and I had asked our
travel agent to make the request and also made it separately through the Touring Plans faxing service. Not sure who to credit, but we got what we requested and we were very happy with the location. We didn't hear any construction noise from the east pool construction and the construction was not so noticeable for us unless we walked to the Epcot monorail at TTC. It didn't really bother us in any event. We are big fans of this resort but had not been to visit since the construction, so we didn't know what to expect. The fence around the pool area isn't pretty but I could ignore it. Hopefully it is effective at least for the intended purpose. I was annoyed by people dropping stuff on lounges early and then taking off, which I could easily see from our patio while we had breakfast - it reminded me of being on a cruise - but we barely ever even try to use a chair or lounge at the pool anyway so we were not affected here. I was more just annoyed on principle. I don't understand claiming something that you clearly aren't using just so you can possibly use it later and to deprive someone who may ACTUALLY use it of the opportunity to do so. The seating actually did get filled up around the pool, or at least the seating was filled with towels and items if not bodies. We would personally just drop our sandals nearby and get in the pool. My view was no need for us to take up seating from someone who might actually want to sit when we just planned to swim or play in the splash area. The new-ish splash area is cute. The volcano pool seems to now be a rock pool - it doesn't actually look like a volcano to me anymore, but we still called it the volcano pool based on legacy. I don't remember that slide being completely dark but perhaps it always was? Anyway, I thought it was sort of scary
My 3 year old did not.
We had some pretty poor housekeeping on this stay at the Poly. There were black sooty smudges on the bathroom floor from check in which I was not completely able to clean off myself, and very obviously stained sheets on the daybed (which we wanted our toddler to sleep on, but not while it was dirty). My son get sunscreen on the patio glass doors which was never cleaned off during our stay. The bathroom floor was mostly cleaned on the third or fourth day after I complained to the front desk, but I wouldn't have mentioned it at all if I weren't already there (again) for something else housekeeping-related. I got to hear the housekeeper complaining in the hallway to another employee about having to change our daybed sheets after we had to ask the second time (at the front desk) to have them changed before we would let my son sleep on the bed. The room was made up very late some days - leading me to believe it may have been forgotten entirely had we not called to inquire. We also were not given toilet paper one day and the front desk suggested (when I was taking to them about the issue in person) that I get some myself from the bathrooms in the Grand Ceremonial House near Ohana or Captain Cooks. ??? That seems like a pretty unpolished response to me and I assume the folks in the bathroom thought I was insane as I stuffed TP into my bag from the stalls.
None of this would lead me to not stay at the resort again or not recommend it. I just don't remember having service issues on our prior Poly stays so this was surprising, and a bit annoying. We thought the room was great, though, and the updated GCH looked lovely. The blocked view from the beach with the new bungalows is a bit of a drag but I'm sure we will get used to it. We took full advantage of on-site Dole Whips only twice, which was probably not enough. We also caught most of the water pageant several times, which is always cute. I think we will always love this resort. Nearly everyone we encountered working there was friendly and professional and it felt familiar and comfortable despite the upgrades/changes.
We focused on MK more than Epcot during this portion of our visit since we would be switching to the Epcot area in a few days, and also visited AK (in fact we started off at AK). Our older son LOVED the Wilderness Explorer badges activities and we were able to collect 21, but I think he was a little disappointed that he didn't get a card or anything to signify reaching "fish" status. I guess we weren't efficient in doing the program, but it took us a long time for him to earn those badges. We visited AK over three visits (half day/basically 6 hour or so each). The heat and on some days crowds were a factor (as in all parks), and sometimes torrential rain. We were allowed to wait out the rain at the Flights of Wonder show area on one occasion and the rain was so severe that it was pouring through the tent covering in places and the wind was blowing it over the crowd (if you get into this situation note the folks in the bleachers seemed to stay pretty dry!).
This was a theme on our trip - there were attractions we didn't get to experience because they were cancelled due to weather (mine train, Tom Sawyer Island and others in MK - even the electrical parade and Wishes, at Epcot, Test Track over and over - we never did get to ride it, Flights of Wonder, Maharajah Trek and Nemo at AK) or our touring days were truncated for the same reason. This actually made it feel like even though we had 10 parks days, we got less done than on prior 10 parks day trips during other seasons. We did enjoy the pools most days, though pools were closed for lightning or threat of at times, or for severe rain. This will probably help inform which month we choose for a future trip.
The kids loved seeing the fireworks from the Polynesian pool. It was very crowded in the water at times, though at night less so. We could hear some pool noise from the room but not enough to be bothersome to us, and we could definitely hear the fireworks. The kids slept right through those.
We had a (fabulous, as always) grownups only dinner at Victoria & Albert during our Poly stay. We used Kids Nite Out for babysitting for the first time, which went very well. Our sitter made balloon animals and beaded necklaces with the kids and they watched a movie. They went over to Captain Cook's for dinner. This was one of the severe weather nights and on the way back the monorail was crazy backed up and boats were down, so we rushed back in the rain (it had lightened up a bit when we had to "commute") in our formal wear. My shoes came off
A lifeguard let us cut through the pool area - she said she would trust that we weren't going to go swimming. The rain had been bad enough that a small sinkhole opened up by Samoa. It was quite a night. Dinner was delicious, though, and the kids enjoyed our little fruit bread from the restaurant for breakfast on the patio later on.
After 5 nights we switched to the Yacht Club. This was a new resort for us. A bunch of our family were flying down and checking in there on the same day and we wanted to be at the same resort for the next 7 nights. We love the Epcot resort area and are huge Epcot fans, so we were looking forward to trying out YC.
Unfortunately, in a packing frenzy I managed to badly fracture one of my toes on our resort switch day. The folks at Celebration Hospital were friendly and efficient - I had an X-ray done less than an hour after I hobbled in the door. Even more unfortunately because of the nature of the fracture the doctor said I could not walk for the rest of the vacation or I would be risking surgery (which I might need anyway), so he suggested looking into renting a wheelchair and sent me on my way with what the X-ray tech called "an ugly boot" and some crutches.
The Poly staff had been helpful in letting me know that I could get free transport to the hospital, though my husband just packed as far as he could while I uselessly whimpered and then drove me himself. The YC front desk staff were extremely helpful, as well. My husband checked in (while I was still at the ER) and asked whether it was possible to get a room on the first floor to make it a little easier for me in light of the fracture and wheelchair situation. He was informed that we had booked standard and there were no standard rooms on the first floor, but they graciously ended up upgrading us to a first floor room. When I stopped by the front desk after my return from the ER on my crutches, I was told of a list of wheelchair/ECV rental companies and told if I picked one they (YC) would handle everything and I could pick it up at bell services. The front desk clerk told me our room was a bit far from the lobby (it was hard on the crutches actually) but I just reiterated our thanks for making the switch to the first floor. I appreciated not having to deal with the stairs or elevator with a wheelchair/ECV so much. We ended up having a perfect view of the Boardwalk from our patio on top of that, which was an amazing treat.
Compared to the Polynesian the bathroom at YC seemed very small (sinks were outside here) and I ended up banging my foot on the bathroom door that first night when it was out of its protective shoe, which was really excruciating, but the room was very nice in terms of size. We lucked out and had a daybed which our youngest slept in. One night housekeeping took the daybed blanket and forgot to replace it (it was not in the closet) so that was unfortunate, but after a call it was replaced the next day. When we checked in we noticed one or two of the dresser drawers were broken (hard to tell if it was just one which made the other seem off, as well), but we called maintenance and they fixed it while we were out - impressive! And we had packed those drawers full, too! Housekeeping was great here. Even if the room was serviced later some days, it was always serviced. They even arranged the kids' stuffed animals cutely sometimes. We were able to make it to early dinner at Beaches n Cream that first day at YC despite the ER visit where we had a light meal and nearly finished a Kitchen Sink (mostly my husband). It was an adorable spot but pretty small, so they can't accommodate too many people. My parents LOVED this place - I think they ate there three times, but it may have been twice. I can't remember. They snapped up reservations as they became available during the week for late dinners or lunches. We had a drink and snacks at Crew's Cup once when we had headed to the pool and were shut out because of threat of lightning. Service was friendly and they had some nice snacks and interesting drinks. There were a few kids inside waiting out the pending storm with their families, presumably also hoping to be able to swim soon! We had an overall great experience at this hotel. The kids adored the main pool area, and the times I went I was able to find a place to sit (I was generally afraid to go near the water with my foot). The line for the slide could be long, longer than at the Poly. Once, after our magic bands were checked my older son went ahead of me (I was slow with my fracture boot) to meet his father and brother, who were already inside, and the lifeguard refused to give me a wristband for him, saying I needed to return with the child (whom she had just seen a second ago) - I suppose in case I passed off the wristband to a non-hotel guest? I thought that seemed like a bit much but luckily a friendly lifeguard who was also there at the entrance accompanied me the short distance to put it on his wrist so it was a non issue. There seemed to be a life jacket shortage some days at this pool - depending on the size you needed. We had our own in the hotel room, just in case. We loved being able to walk (or in my case, roll) to Epcot and HS, as we always do from this general location. We never made it over to the BW side, which I regret. We have really enjoyed that on prior trips.
We did some snacking around the world in Epcot on this leg of the trip, though less than I would have liked
We had meals at San Angel, Via Napoli and Tokyo Dining as well as counter service meals at Sunshine Seasons and Cantina San Angel.
We had service issues at San Angel for the first time that I recall in many, many visits to this restaurant. My family has been visiting this restaurant since the 80s. I made a reservation for the restaurant many months out and asked whether they could accommodate an ECV for my father, who cannot transfer for seating at a restaurant with two prosthetic legs to the knee. This was noted in my reservation including in the receipt they handed me when I checked in. Yet the maitre d mentioned more than once that "this was the first he was hearing of this" and initially put more chairs around a table than it could accommodate - so the chairs at the end did not actually sit at the table. When I said that wouldn't work because those people wouldn't have space for plates he reiterated that he just found out about this, making us feel like my father's disability was basically an inconvenience to him. Horribly unprofessional and exactly what we were trying to avoid with the maximum advance notice we could provide. I was shocked after so many visits to this restaurant and never experiencing anything like this and was noticeably annoyed. He said I should just be patient, to which I said I was trying to be but honestly losing patience. There had been no effort to act like we were being anything but an imposition and should be grateful for the 11 of us (including wheelchair) being placed at a too-small table. Eventually they tacked on another table and we were able to eat. We enjoyed our meal (the actual food) and drinks. The wait staff spoke to my dad in Spanish, which he loves (we are Hispanic), and we were able to catch illuminations after with a great view from the wheelchair viewing area by UK. My 8 year old somehow fell asleep.
We also had weird service at Tokyo Dining, which we loved last time. The waitress was lovely and the sushi chef even stopped by after a demonstration and offered samples, which was amazing. My mother was super excited about that. The manager was very rude, though. We asked if our son (a vegetarian) could get vegetable tempura or vegetable sushi instead of shrimp tempura or a California roll. She said yes. The regular children's options would come with soup and dessert, and the tempura would also come with veggies, rice and sushi. Since the soup was not vegetarian he could have some veggies on the side either way, and if he got the tempura he would get extra veggies. She would not substitute a vegetarian sushi for the included sushi. Last time we ate at the restaurant he was given an array of foods, but fine. This sounded reasonable. He ended up getting the sushi, but then it showed up with no veggies on the side and so I inquired about the side of veggies. The waitress said there would be no veggies and I said I understood from the manager (who discussed dietary issues with customers generally, apparently) that in lieu of soup, we would get veggies - which are a side with each of the other kid's meals - rather than getting nothing in place of the soup. The manager came out sort of angry and started arguing with me - just aggressive and not nice at all. She then relented and showed up holding a small dish and said something like "and here are his THREE pieces of broccoli" in an exasperated manner and set down three small pieces of steamed broccoli. There was nearly steam coming out of her ears, and I was befuddled by the whole thing. It was almost hilarious how angry she was about giving up the like 20 cents worth of broccoli. I just supplemented his meal with some of mine. (She also refused an accommodation for my mother, who has a shrimp allergy who asked for something that seemed like a simple switch.) I am not likely to return to this particular restaurant based on this kind of treatment, and it was such a strong juxtaposition with the attitude of everyone else in the restaurant who was just so nice and friendly. There are many tasty restaurants in World Showcase and lots of friendly people to meet. I don't need heartburn while I eat.
We had never been to Via Napoli before, but this was a lucky reservation since our youngest is a crazy picky eater and has recently added pizza to his very short list of acceptable foods. We had the largest pizza to share. Mr Little enthusiastically said he wanted red peppers on it; I was skeptical and got them on half. This turned out to be a good call as he refused to touch them when the pizza came out. The kids also split the bocconcini. They enjoyed seeing the pizza ovens - we were seated right by them - and I loved the cannoli martini! It may not have been a good match with pizza, but it was tasty on its own.
Sunshine Seasons is always a good pick for us with the variety of food choices, and we ate a LOT there waiting out the rain one day. Even my youngest made a good show. The vegetarian Indian curry dish was a bit underseasoned but we still gobbled it up and appreciated the offering. All the counter staff were friendly.
Our meal at Cantina was excellent - though it really added up. The adult empanadas were very good - the sauces were a nice counterpoint. The kids empanadas came with plenty of chips, and my husband enjoyed his fish tacos. We took advantage of the indoor seating at Hacienda (during lunch).
At MK we had each of a breakfast and lunch at BOG. Breakfast was more successful, I think, as we had some items that were extremely over salted, to the point of being inedible or nearly so (the French onion soup and a meat dish that I can't recall which my mother eventually gave up on). Breakfast was a little overpriced but we did enjoy the food for the most part; the yogurt in the children's crepes had an odd flavor, something different from plain yogurt that we couldn't quite put a finger on. We had the same issue after breakfast (which was pre-park opening) that some others have reported where some staff directed us that we could ride Mine Train, which they identified as the only open ride, and then another ride CM told us we had to wait at the entrance until all of the rope drop crowd got on line (I could see them in view but they were not yet to the queue). We said thanks but no thanks - we had a FP for later anyway - and a FP CM motioned for us to go through her line. She had originally told us to go through the standby line and that it was not necessary to be held back to wait. Not sure what was going on with the other CM, since his instructions were inconsistent with several other folks that morning (including other ride CMs), but what can you do?
We had counter service meals at Pecos Bill Cafe (made good use of the toppings bar
) and Tortuga Tavern (still good for vegetarians but we were sad to see the toppings bar go). We also enjoyed Dole Whips and a float in Adventureland and a Mickey pants sundae from the Plaza ice cream shop. Somehow we made it through the trip with NO churros and no visit to Sleepy Hollow. These are definite regrets.
The kids really enjoyed playing Sorcerer's - we spent some time on this during rainy periods up until they had an outdoor mission and it was too rainy to proceed without ruining the cards. They never got to see the electrical parade or Wishes from the park because I left it until too late in the trip and we were rained out. I feel guilty but I won't leave it until late in the itinerary next time. We didn't plan to - it was pushed back because of my injury - but next time it will be up front!
We also did Hoop de Doo on our first night. We had never done this before. It took ages to get there from Poly. We took a boat from Poly to MK, which was quick, but I think we just missed the boat from MK to FW and we waited over 20 minutes for the next one - perhaps there was a delay? Then the boat going over was incredibly slow. Next time we will leave the full 90 minutes; I think we had left a little over an hour. We made it just in time, though really it was fine since the beginning was just eating anyway. Even as vegetarians (plus my pescatarian husband) we had plenty to eat. The mashed potatoes and corn were surprisingly good. The show was hard for me to follow - I was very focused on the kids - but they had a lot of fun. I think we would do it again as a first day activity or a switch day activity.
We spent the least time at HS, which I think is typical for us. We didn't make the Muppet Show or HISTK playground, or the Lights, etc. stunt show as intended, but we did hit Toy Story Mania, Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones stunt show (our kids and especially the 8 year old LOVED this), Hollywood & Vine lunch (kids loved this for the second trip in a row, last time breakfast), Disney Junior Show, Rock n Roller Coaster, Star Tours and Fantasmic. We managed to only get stuck behind two Frozen parades. Getting out after Fantasmic was pretty awful particularly while riding in an ECV. The kids adored the show, though. It is hard to say if we would do it again. Maybe if the weather was nice and we just waited out the crowd before leaving? It was rough, though. We just walk/rode back to YC after because the boat line was so backed up and made it in about 15 minutes; no boat ever came by in either direction so we definitely beat the crowd waiting, even the folks at the front of that enormous line. As a bonus, we saw a baby bunny on our way to the hotel. Total win.
In general it felt like we got a lot less done on this trip as far as Disney goes, but not less at Universal. I am not a huge fan of FP+ and did not like booking attractions 60 days out. There were lines at the kiosks in the parks each time we wanted to use them and we had serious problems with the app on site. Also, I think I would rather risk a cold snap in January (which we have experienced) than crazy rain in August (which we have also experienced, along with more typical August rain). Even with earlier park closing we just got more done in January. Late May/early June was even better in terms of weather and park hours, but we may be able to take more days on a future trip in January again. We'll see. The kids do love the pools and there is just no guarantee with January weather unpredictability that you will get even one day of swim-worth temps, at least for our family. I know people differ on what is swim-worthy.
So we will still be back to Disney even though I disliked FP+ (a lot) and found that Disney has become less fun than it used to be in a sense, at least in my opinion, but I think we may give it a couple of years (or possibly more). We have lots to see and do in the meantime, and that will give us time to miss it.
Next up - Charleston, site of flooding, dolphins and amazing food.
