"This is a special place"-Feb 2019 WDW & Cruise-COMPLETED (finally) 6/29!

[Lesley Wake]

Random ship shots – I liked the middle elevators with their murals!

Headed downstairs again and tonight was the Frozen show. Very cute, liked the puppetry for the younger versions of characters. Not as spectacular as the DCA version though, but that is understandable since DCA is a full-time production in a dedicated theatre, not like the ships where they rotate sets every day!

Afterwards did some window shopping to scope out merch we’d want to get later (I think the only shirt I got was the pink one).

Tonight’s dinner was Tritons, which was prob one of my favorite rotational meals.

Bread was Warm French Country Bread (with an Olive Spread).

Appetizers. I got the Iced Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp (with Green Asparagus, Horseradish Cream and Dill Dressing) and the Breaded and Deep Fried Brie (with an Orange and Cranberry Chutney). I liked the brie a lot, but I’m a big brie fan, so would take it anywhere! The shrimp was good but such little lobster and they both had a bit too much dill flavoring.

Mom got the Potage Parmentier (Leek and Potato Soup), which she liked. She may have also gotten the brie, but I don’t remember.

Mom and I couldn’t decide between the Chateaubriand-Roasted Fillet Steak (Roasted Filet Steak, Crushed New Potatoes with Shallots, Buttered Green Beans, Red Wine Jus, and a Bernaise Sauce on the side) and the Crispy Roasted Duck Breast (with Cabbage, Shallots, Honey Parsnip Mash, and a Duck Red Wine Jus) so we each got one and divided them in half. Worked out well because I liked duck more and she like steak more.

For dessert of course I had to try the Grand Marnier Souffle (with a Grand Marnier Crème Anglais) which became one of my favorite desserts, ever! I’ve since tried to make them at home (I make a pretty good chocolate souffle) but nothing can compare to DCL’s! I also go the Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulee (with Almond Biscotti), which was good but not as amazing as the souffle! I know mom got the souffle too.

After dinner we walked around Deck 4 a bit and it was just crazy seeing this emptiness out on the horizon!

We also checked out the art gallery, where mom re-enacted Pinkie, another painting she gives tours of at the Huntington Gardens!

Then back to bed – I couldn’t wait to finally see Castaway Cay!

​

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a fun night at Epcot! I'm glad you enjoyed the dessert party!

And sounds like a pretty good first day/night on the ship! Such a great pic of you and your mom all dolled up after dinner!

The wooden Finding Dory murals are so nice!! Your second day sounded very relaxing!

 

[buzzrelly]

I lost all of what I quoted when I was reading your TR at work the other day I loved all of your F of the Arts pics, and hope to see that myself someday!

We decided to take the country route around the showcase, about the same distance to the IG as the plaza route. Bridge was up which was a surprise, but they lowered it quickly.

That's so cool!

Even though we didn’t arrive at the port super early, I still loved the convenience of the DCL transport.

I love the DCL bus, but I'm not patient enough to wait around for it. We hire a town car to get there and usually do DCL transportation after the cruise.

25 minutes from arriving at the port until arriving at our room door wasn’t too bad!

Wow! Not bad!

But we were hungry, so we headed up to Cabanas.

I love heading to Cabanas as soon as we board, then I really feel like I'm on vacation

and headed to the top deck to watch us sail away.

Looks like the skies were clearing, thankfully.

It was crazy rough – lots of people stumbling in the aisles and several clean up crews outside… When we talked to our tablemate she explained how she has done 30 cruises (including 18 Disney) and this was the worst she every experienced!

Yikes! Sounds crazy, but I always find the first night and the last night to have the roughest seas.

Dinner tonight was Tiana’s Place.

My favorite MDR on all four ships

For dessert of course I had to try the Grand Marnier Souffle (with a Grand Marnier Crème Anglais) which became one of my favorite desserts, ever! I’ve since tried to make them at home (I make a pretty good chocolate souffle) but nothing can compare to DCL’s! I also go the Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulee (with Almond Biscotti),

Yum! I think I took the same picture of the same two desserts. I love them both!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Sounds like a fun night at Epcot! I'm glad you enjoyed the dessert party!

And sounds like a pretty good first day/night on the ship! Such a great pic of you and your mom all dolled up after dinner!

The wooden Finding Dory murals are so nice!! Your second day sounded very relaxing!

Yeah I tried to get fancy for dinners!

I lost all of what I quoted when I was reading your TR at work the other day I loved all of your F of the Arts pics, and hope to see that myself someday!

I had some more fun taking photos in February too! It has a lot to offer, though is probably hard to schedule with your kids school schedules!

I love the DCL bus, but I'm not patient enough to wait around for it. We hire a town car to get there and usually do DCL transportation after the cruise.

Originally I was going to rent a car, but then changed my mind! I just loved not having to deal with luggage. And it let us sleep a little more!

Yum! I think I took the same picture of the same two desserts. I love them both!

Yup! In March there were 3 people at our table for desserts and we ended up getting 7 desserts! I originally ordered 2 souffles and my tablemates ordered 1 each but our server decided to bring over creme brulee for everyone too!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 7 – Castaway Cay!
February 12, 2019

Today was our stop at Castaway Cay! I had heard so many cool things about this place and was pretty excited.

By the time we woke up, the ship was already docked. I think we got out of bed around the time they got the gangplank ready (based on hearing announcements in the corridor while we were getting ready). Cabanas for breakfast, which had great views on the patio!

Mom and I grabbed our various beach gear and headed off the ship. Thankfully we didn’t have any excursions planned because it was too windy so nearly everything was cancelled!

Rather than taking the shuttle, we decided to walk to the beach so we could get photos. We stopped at the store where mom picked up some postcards and I ended up getting some pins.

Thankfully because it was one of the smaller ships we had no problem finding chairs (though all the hammocks were taken by people’s belongings, which is annoying when they aren’t even actually using them). Mom set up in the shade with her book while I rented some snorkeling gear and headed out into the lagoon. I didn’t bring a camera but did end up seeing all the spots (they are marked with red/white buoys), which was pretty cool. Once I finished the last one I must have twisted my leg weirdly because I got a horrible leg cramp! I do get Charlie Horses occasionally, but this one was pretty bad; I usually get rid of them by pushing my leg up against something to release the cramp, but that wasn’t really possible in the ocean, so eventually it did go away and I could swim back to shore.

Afterwards Mom and I just relax on the beach a bit and did witness people gathering at Pelican Point after a wedding (there were at least 2 on the ship throughout the voyage).

For lunch we hit up Cookies 2, where we ran into Rodrigo. I wish we had gotten a photo because he looked peak-island with his shorts, colored sunglasses, and tropical shirt! We chatted with him about our plans to go to the outlook and he said he’s been on the island over 300 times and never gone out there.

As for the food – it was good; we liked the main courses and desserts. I thought the corn was overcooked though.​

 

[Lesley Wake]

After lunch Mom wanted to looked at the overlook and I recommended renting bikes but she didn’t want to bike uphill. I tried to point out it was flat but she didn’t listen. So we walked. My directions were impeccable, but it was a LONG walk – don’t do that! Rent the bike! It was cool to see all the props and details on the path though.

And some great views from up top!

See if you can translate the flags.

(FYI, they say “Welcome to Castaway Cay”)

We continued on our walk and made our way to Serenity Bay; unfortunately they had already packed up the food so we didn’t get to try the steak or fish.

Thankfully I found an empty hammock so relaxed for a bit while mom went over and dipped her feet in the ocean.

We took the tram back to the main beach and then walked up to the next stop (if you haven’t been to Castaway Cay, there are 2 tram routes: one from Serenity Bay – Main Beach, and one from the Ship to the Beach, which has 2 stops) so we could take some other photos.

I have no idea how I made that awkward pose!

Before boarding mom sent some post cards from the post office, though I don’t remember how long it took for them to arrive home. We chatted with the mailman and he explained how the island locals all boat into Castaway and it’s about 30 minutes.

Back on ship where we got cleaned up and fancy! Watched sail away from our room window.

Tonight was Pirate Night and we could hear the music everywhere which was cool. But, we had different plans!​

 

[Lesley Wake]

It was Palo for us (with a 4-night cruise I knew they would have the 3 rotational menus and 1 pirate night menu. I definitely wanted to try the rotational ones so decided to put Palo on Pirate night, which worked out well.) Our server was Claudius who was great.

Of course we started out with Antipasti, though had to be careful not to get too full on these!

For appetizers, I got the Gnocchi and mom got the Caprese Salad. Both delicious, with the gnocchi being super delicate and the Caprese very fresh. Claudius also brought out the fried Calamari and Shrimp for us to share, which was the best calamari I’ve had. The shrimp was great too, but very big!

For main course, we both got the Grilled Prime Beef Tenderloin (with pancetta potato, sautéed spinach, a choice of Barolo Chinato Wine Sauce or Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce). I think we both got both sauces and I know our server plated them for us, but I seem to not have a photo of it!

Claudius also thought we’d like the Pappardelle con Aragosta (Papparadelle pasta tossed in Lobster Tarragon Sauce with Leeks, White Truffle Oil and grilled Lobster), which was my favorite thing at Palo! Maybe my favorite thing on the cruise! Absolutely delicious!

For dessert, mom got the Amaretto souffle and I got the Chocolate souffle, which we both liked.

(I think at some point mom got a glass of wine, but I don’t like wine, so I stuck with water or Coke.)

We rolled ourselves out of there and had about 1 hr before the Pirate show, so we tried to rest in the room (and get changed into casual clothes) and digest! We went back upstairs with some time to go, but a delay plus the stage show (which we couldn’t really see from our spot against the ship rail) meant we were up there for about 1 hr! Pretty exhausting after eating such a huge meal and just wanting to sit down!

For the pirate show itself – I mentioned we couldn’t really see much happening (and it was really not our jam anyways). They had video screens but often would show the crowd, which was great for people on screen but not good if you were relying on the screen to tell you what was happening! There was also a group of adults who had staked out a spot in the front row of the show and were standing there taking photos without actually dancing and blocking the kids, which was pretty annoying!

Anyways, Mickey zipped above and then it was time for fireworks! Our Palo server had told us where they would be going off based on the ship location/wind, so we got a Starboard Rail spot. They were definitely fun, especially in the ocean!

I also noticed a couple taking wedding photos up on the concierge deck, which would have been a fun idea!

We skipped the Pirate Night buffet – still so stuffed from Palo and besides everyone went running for Cabanas, so we went the opposite way to get back to our room and pass out!

Coming up - Another relaxing day at sea. ​

 

[buzzrelly]

How did you like the snorkeling at Castaway Cay? I literally almost drowned, but I’m not the best swimmer to begin with and probably shouldn’t have gone.

I’ve been to CC four times and haven’t made it to the lookout either. Maybe next time!

Your PALO dinner looks delicious. I’ve already decided that next time I’m doing PALO for both brunch and dinner!

 

[Woth2982]

I just love Castaway Cay! I cannot wait to get back there! I think we are going to go on a 7 night Fantasy Cruise in 2022, was going to be 2021, but Covid. Darn you Rona!!! Looks like you had a great relaxing day, and the overlook has some stunning views! Your Palo meal looks amazing! I am getting super hungry just looking at it! We skipped the Pirate buffet on our first cruise since we were so stuffed from our late meal, we decided to switch to first seating on our second cruise so we could partake. Of course I was 6 weeks pregnant in January so I was experiencing ALL day and night sickness, but my DH enjoyed it! Who knows maybe 3rd times a charm for us haha. That is frustrating that some adults were blocking the view at Pirate night, I agree about the screens. They are great when youre stuck in back and can't see the stage, but I don't really need to see the crowds.

 

[Lesley Wake]

How did you like the snorkeling at Castaway Cay? I literally almost drowned, but I’m not the best swimmer to begin with and probably shouldn’t have gone.

I’ve been to CC four times and haven’t made it to the lookout either. Maybe next time!

Your PALO dinner looks delicious. I’ve already decided that next time I’m doing PALO for both brunch and dinner!

I liked the snorkling, but I've gone snorkling in Hawaii before (in rougher currents) so I was fine!

I think the lookout would be a good way to get another view of the island! And if you have bikes it would be a quick ride over there (on level ground).

I still haven't gotten to try Palo brunch! We were supposed to do both for the Alaska cruise, but obviously that didn't happen!

I just love Castaway Cay! I cannot wait to get back there! I think we are going to go on a 7 night Fantasy Cruise in 2022, was going to be 2021, but Covid. Darn you Rona!!! Looks like you had a great relaxing day, and the overlook has some stunning views! Your Palo meal looks amazing! I am getting super hungry just looking at it! We skipped the Pirate buffet on our first cruise since we were so stuffed from our late meal, we decided to switch to first seating on our second cruise so we could partake. Of course I was 6 weeks pregnant in January so I was experiencing ALL day and night sickness, but my DH enjoyed it! Who knows maybe 3rd times a charm for us haha. That is frustrating that some adults were blocking the view at Pirate night, I agree about the screens. They are great when youre stuck in back and can't see the stage, but I don't really need to see the crowds.

I did end up partaking in the Star Wars Buffet this year even though I had late seating! I think it helped I limited it to the crepes (and skipped most of the savory food), which was worth it!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a nice time at Castaway Cay and a delicious dinner at Palo!!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Sounds like a nice time at Castaway Cay and a delicious dinner at Palo!!

Yes, it was a nice chill day followed by a delicious meal!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 8 – Another Chill Day!
February 13, 2019

Our last full day on the cruise. Very sad! But it was yet another chill day!

I know we had breakfast at Cabanas again (and I trained mom well enough to know to take a photo of my food plate for me while I got drinks). I wish there were more trays at cabanas. Hard to juggle plates and drinks and stuff. Ate out on the back deck again, watching us go along. And I ran into Rodrigo at fruit station who was always happy to see us.

Also, this was a day at sea that wasn’t really necessary for repositioning. But in order to keep us out of rough seas, the captain basically had us go in large ovals all day! I know mom was on deck during one of the U-turns and she said it was cool to actually watch!

I then made an appointment for the Onboard Booking. I really liked how you can reserve your spot in line on the app! Though it was great once they opened up the option to put a placeholder down via the app.

Onboard I ended up making a booking for February/March 2020 Star Wars Day at Sea, as it worked out well with the timing (making sure I could hit up Flower & Garden Festival afterwards) and the itinerary (Western Caribbean). I did end up going on that cruise (thankfully right before Covid-19 shutdowns started) and will write up a TR…eventually! But I actually didn’t end up using the OBB for that! After VGT rates came out, it was cheaper for me to switch to a guaranteed verandah vs the cheapest verandah I had booked with a discount, and then I moved the OBB to our family Alaska cruise…which was postpone and due to the OBB made a bit more complicated with booking via my TA, so officially I haven’t yet used my OBB!

I tried really hard to get mom to at least put down a placeholder, but she refused, though ended up agreeing to book Alaska only a few months later

The OBB appointment coincided nicely with Jack Jack’s Diaper Dash. We got a few walkers on the course, who were disqualified! But the finals was just classic – you have to watch this video!

Stopped at Mickey’s Mainsail and the other shop on my way back to the room. Got some pins, ornament, and a shirt. Guy at counter helped me choose mystery pins to get chip and dale cupcakes. So cute and I’ve never had a CM offer to do that.

Mom and I then met up again in the room and headed up to the adult pool, where I soaked in the hot tub (my leg was hurting again from the strain while snorkeling). I wish the hot tubs were bigger as they were both pretty full when I got there which made it uncomfortable. I then relaxed on the chairs a bit (I love how the adult chairs are cushioned).

For lunch, I was just going to grab some pizza, but I needed to go inside to grab a drink (the outside station wasn’t working), which tempted me to just get a full plate… well then I had a plate and 2 cups (I got one for my mom too), which was a bit too much to carry, so a CM helped me out. I felt bad when we basically had to walk all the way down the ship to the adult pool deck (that is on the forward part of the ship while Cabanas is on the aft side).

Mom and I headed downstairs to watch Mary Poppins Returns, which was definitely a priority for me as I hadn’t seen it yet (I think Mom and my sister had already seen it though). Mom had wanted to check out the Art of the Ship Tour, but unfortunately messed up the time so it started 1 hr before she thought and we missed it.

Shopping again, where mom got an ornament and photo frame. I considered these mugs but ultimately knew we had such a huge mug collection, we didn’t need to add to it!

And these were just too cute!

Then back up deck and I decided I wanted a snack (we had late seating after all). Wanted to try pizza, and I love chicken tenders, so I got both (I liked the tenders, because, well they are Disney chicken tenders, which are the best; the pizza was not my favorite). I never ended up doing the pool slide – I just didn’t want to deal with the stairs and lineup!

We headed back to the room and packed up our belongings. Mom really was confused about how much to tip and ended up basically doubling the previous tip via cash.

The final show was Believe, which was cute enough. ​

 

[Lesley Wake]

Dinner was at Animator’s Palate tonight. I dressed in my Chip dress, which people thought was appropriate!

Our Montreal tablemate and I competed in the animation show to see who could guess the character first! We should have done trivia together!

I think bread tonight was Garlic and Herb Foccacia, but looks like they had some other types of rolls too.

Appetizers – I got the Black Truffle Pasta Pursettes (Pasta purses with truffle scented cheese and coated with a delicate champagne sauce), which were good but not amazing – I thought the truffle flavoring was too strong for me. Mom got the Tomato Tarte (with Glazed Goat cheese and shaved Radish), which I think she liked.

We both got soups, mom got the Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup (with Bacon bits and chives) and I got the Creamy Butternut Squash Soup (Garnished with chives and drizzled with sour cream), which I think we both liked but weren’t super memorable.

For main course I got the Ginger-Teriyaki Dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin (served on Wasabi Mashed potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind Barbeque Reduction), though I got regular mashed potatoes as I don’t like wasabi. Looks like mom got the Pennete Bolognese (Penette pasta mixed with a rich Bolognese Sauce garnished with shaved Parmesan-Reggiano and Toasted Garlic Ciabatta). We both liked our meals, though again nothing big to write home about.

The big issue at this meal ended up happening with our Platinum tablemate. I had mentioned she had some allergies so Rodrigo would have her order her meal ahead of time. Based on what was available, she had ordered one of the lighter options of slow-roasted Breast of Chicken. And when it came out…well it just didn’t look that appetizing. Very dry and boring. I mean, everyone at the table could tell it would not be yummy. She ate a couple bites but when Rodrigo came around to check he could tell she was dissatisfied. OMG, the stress on his face! And then head server came over and they tried to figure out any way to make it right. In the end, she said, just leave it the way it is. For dessert, she asked for cheese. Not on the menu. So they tracked down a cheese plate (I think the room service ones) and that was more up her alley.

Anyways, for dessert Mom got the Lemon Icebox Pie (with lemon curd and berry crème) and I got the Cookies n Cream sundae (cookies and cream ice cream with chocolate sauce and chocolate chip cookie). Both were decent.

Overall, this wasn’t our absolutely favorite meal. But the atmosphere in that restaurant is pretty fun! We really loved the animated screens and the Mickey show at the end was cute (since it was a 4-night cruise we didn’t have the Animation Magic show). And it was a fitting final night dinner show!

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

And one funny story – when you do cruises I find that you end up on the same schedule as some people so notice them a lot when you are going to eat or go to events or whatever. Especially people in the same dining room as you. There was this one family, including a very buff African American man and I just “knew” him. Like he was so familiar. We were on the same schedule and I kept running into him in the elevator, restaurants, shows, and even the beach at Castaway Cay. I finally realized he had to be an athlete so was convinced for a while that he was a member of the LA Rams (who I am a big fan of), but then wasn’t too sure since I should have definitely recognized him if that was the case (and I did end up using my 50mB of free data to try and figure out if it was him). Well finally on the last night we saw him taking some photos with a couple waiters outside AP. Mom and I were waiting to take a photo with the sign, so I discretely asked one of them who he was. Turns out it was Robert Griffin 3rd (RGIII) who played for the Washington Redskins when I lived in the DC area, so I definitely should have known who he was. I did talk briefly to his wife to compliment their daughter (who was adorable) and eventually checked Instagram and saw him post from the cruise right after boarding. But I didn’t want to bother them too much, so I didn’t get a photo with him.

One last photo of our room door before taking the magnets down

We headed back quickly to the room – mainly so I could throw off my dress and pack in my suitcase to leave outside by 10:30 for pick-up. Then to sleep. At least we had late breakfast tomorrow!


A quick wrap up on my cruising thoughts:

At first I wasn’t totally sold on cruising. I think boarding the ship felt very hectic to me and I couldn’t just pause to take it all in. It didn’t help that I was just exhausted after 4 park days at WDW and the seas being so rocky. So I went to bed the first night thinking – Ok, cruising is one and done for me.

But slowly I started to come around to it. The food was great and I did like being able to relax. Castaway Cay of course was great! And everyone we interacted with was so friendly (like I usually hear about DCL). So of course I ended up booking another cruise, then another. So now, I definitely am more interested in exploring more via the ships!

I have looked into other cruise lines due to costs, but I think Disney really works out well for what I like, not just being Disney. I don’t really care for casinos or drinking a whole lot, so those aspects of other ships would be wasted on me. Being a kid-free adult also works out great because there are so many awesome places for kids, as well as awesome places without kids, you don’t get overrun. And the rotational dining is a great concept, so I wouldn’t need to pay extra to go someplace other than a single dining room. And not having to make reservations or decisions about where to eat is very appreciative with my family (it will often take us an hour to decide where to go an eat…well at least pre-Covid it did). So for the time being, I’m sticking with Disney!

And of course after getting off this cruise, I had this to look forward to!

​

 

[missjackiemcg]

Lesley, this was SO much fun to read!!! It makes me so grateful we were able to do our Very Merrytime Cruise in December before our whole world changed so much!!

I wish we had booked a placeholder on our trip, but somehow I just completely forgot about doing it, even though it was definitely on my mind to set it up!!! I hope to book another cruise soon...Jimmy keeps reminding me we need to go again "before he's 12" so he can still go to the Kid's Club!!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Lesley, this was SO much fun to read!!! It makes me so grateful we were able to do our Very Merrytime Cruise in December before our whole world changed so much!!

I wish we had booked a placeholder on our trip, but somehow I just completely forgot about doing it, even though it was definitely on my mind to set it up!!! I hope to book another cruise soon...Jimmy keeps reminding me we need to go again "before he's 12" so he can still go to the Kid's Club!!

Definitely remind him that there is still the Vibe and the Edge! But obviously, try to get back sooner rather than later!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 9 – Valentine’s Day at Disney Springs
February 14, 2019

So even though the cruise was done, we still had more Disney time!

Today was Valentine’s Day! Obviously no hot dates planned as it was just me and mom, but still fun to visit then! I had some heart chocolates I brought from home which I left for our stateroom host and also gave to the servers (who didn’t even realize what day it was)!

We got up and finished up any carry-on packing, though thankfully late dining meant we didn’t have a super early breakfast. Breakfast was at the final restaurant (Animator’s Palate), but we ended up being the only ones at our table.

In addition to some assorted pastries, mom got “For a Sweet Journey” (Buttermilk pancakes, blueberry pancakes, whole wheat pancakes, Belgium waffles), which we thought would be a choice of one of those but instead was 1 of each, though they were more eggo-style and sized. I got the “Eggs for the road” (Scrambled eggs with hash browns and choice of meat, though I got no hash browns, and one each of grilled sausage, ham and bacon). Both were pretty meh (and I forgot to take a photo of mom’s). Honestly, I don’t really plan on doing the rotational dining room breakfast again.

Getting off the ship was pretty chill without any real line since we were in the last group of people to leave. I loved all the colored bag tags, though you aren’t supposed to take photos in that area. Easily made our way through Border Control.

Rather than using DCL transport, I had rented a car via Alamo, so we hopped the shuttle over there. The driver made sure to tell people that if they didn’t have a confirmed reservation, they couldn’t go over as there were no extra cars (some people thought they could walk up and get one, and it was extra annoying because they had already loaded all their bags on the bus before realizing they were stuck, so the driver had to unload things). Anyways, actual car pickup was easy enough (I had mom be in control of the bags/tip so I could beat the rest of the people to the line), and we ended up getting upgraded to a small SUV rather than the cheapest car, which I had booked.

Originally I had hoped to go to Cape Canaveral and see the NASA stuff there. But I didn’t realize how exhausted I would be getting off the ship! So we just headed right to Orlando. I also knew there would be tolls so had set aside cash, but didn’t realize it would be several different toll booths rather than one at the start; luckily they gave change!

We arrived at WDW way too early for the room to be ready, so decided to head to Disney Springs for a bit. It was lovely and uncrowded due to the early hour!

First stop was the Ganachery. (Oh and do you notice my Valentines Day themed shirt?)

I had noticed something on twitter that morning and they finally had S’Mores when I visited! Every time I’ve gone they haven’t offered them. Mom and I each got one and they were messy but glorious!

Window shopped on our way to the Marketplace, as well as admired the Lego statues. Loved Rey of course!

Mom ended up buying dad a couple of ties in the Co-op to put away for future presents. I think I also bought an ornament at Days of Christmas, but I’m not sure which one since this was the only photo but I know I didn’t get this one!

We went over to Amorettes to get something for breakfast the next day! I wanted the ice cream bar cake, but had to stop myself! One time I need to get this on my first day and then I can snack on it the rest of the trip!

Mom decided she wanted Poutine for a snack. I had thought I’d get Pizza Ponte but realized it was further away than I thought, so didn’t want to go all that way when we were parked in the Lime garage, so we both shared.

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

While it was still early, we headed over to our final resort – The Polynesian, where I had a DVC studio booked for 2 nights. I dropped mom off with the bags before going to return the car (Disney Car Care Center FTW). I think we did have to wait a bit in the lobby before finally getting our room assignment.

We were in Pago-Pago, on the 3rd floor. I would have preferred closer to the main building, but overall it worked out nicely.

I was also shocked by how HUGE the room was – I had always heard the Poly rooms were big, but didn’t expect this!

I loved all the artwork in the room

And while we just had a parking lot view, it was cool seeing the monorail from the balcony.

We got settled a bit (though it took forever for the bags to be delivered), and we also got a ‘surprise” delivery from my dad who had ordered flowers for my mom.

I wish we had gone and relaxed by the pool, but we basically collapsed before I could put my swimsuit on and ended up just napping for a bit in the room! I had serious ship-vertigo and felt everything was rocking for a couple days!

Eventually it was dinner time! Though we did make a stop with a photopass person who took the worst photo I’ve had in a while (though it was beat a year later)! Like seriously – you don’t try to retake it?

​

 

[Lesley Wake]

And we didn’t have to go far, as I’d finally get to try Ohana’s! Mom and I got Lapu-Lapu’s from the bar outside the restaurant while we were waiting to be seated, which were yummy! (Mom borrowed my ears for Valentines Day)

Of course we got our pineapple coconut bread, salad, and the delicious appetizer platter! Of course shrimp and meats!

At some point in the meal Happily Ever After started. While we didn’t have a window view, I had placed mom in a spot where she could see the fireworks (I had a big column in my way), and she was impressed and excited to see more the next day. (Originally I had hoped to catch the fireworks from the beach but I messed up the fireworks time with respect to my ADR.)

And of course, the absolutely amazing bread pudding dessert! OMG I love this so much!

By the time we got back to the room the rest of dad’s surprise was there. He had ordered from in-room deliveries a bunch of treats and a nice tote bag, which mom still is able to use.

Mom also gave me a “Galentine’s Day” card, which was pretty fitting!

Time for bed and to get ready for the next day as it was my mom’s first visit to the Magic Kingdom!​