Wet, Sweat, Fun & Sun But You Have HOW Many Snack Credits Left?

[Lizzards]

Welcome!! How old are your kids??

At the time of our trip, my kids will be 8 and 5. Your details and photos are great! Thanks for all the time and effort you are putting into this.

 

[Sailormoon2]

What a smooth, but still crazy long, travel day. Glad everyone arrived happy.

 

[kelmac284]

Nice updates. Loved the pics of the kids and you with Derek. I bet it was so great to see him!! I have to say we stayed at Pop once in 08 and we didn't like it. I guess we are just too spoiled LOL but 3 of the 4 times we went we stayed in a timeshare which was probably cheaper than the hotel for the same amount of time even Pop and we had 2 bedrooms 2 baths, our own laundry and kitchen and it was SO nice. There is def perks to staying onsight and mom loved it our last time when we stayed at the Coronado although that is a HUGE resort and it was like a mile just to walk to the pool or food court so if we ever stay onsite again I think she will request a closer room. But in 08 we stayed in our timeshare for a week and then my dad and lynn flew home and we stayed a few extra days and checked in to Pop. It was SO small and the beds were doubles. Luckily we had 2 rooms but Shane and I slept in separate beds because they were so small. I am sure it is fine for people on a budget and I TOTALLY get it but my mom said she would only ever stay in a moderate from now on if we don't do the timeshare. We have our timeshare for next year but she is wishing we were staying onsite. My dad may go and I told her that while I love staying onsite as well if he goes esp I am glad we will have it. We save a ton on eating in the room and it is nice to be able to stretch out if you are going to be there for a long time. Plus going in the summer I am sure we are going to be wanting to wash our sweaty clothes. I totally get though why you guys stayed there though and honestly if it was just me and the girls that would probably be where I would stay too. I have to ask though how did Jasmin do overall. I can't even imagine being in a life that for all of your life you never went anywhere and then to go somewhere so amazing. Was she overwhelmed or did she fit in well? How is she with the other kids? Are they all adapting well? I still think what you have done for not only her but all of the kids is amazing and they are SO lucky to have you not just for these trips but because you are such amazing parents and have given them the best life!! As always can't wait for your first park day!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

At the time of our trip, my kids will be 8 and 5. Your details and photos are great! Thanks for all the time and effort you are putting into this.

Oh those are fun ages!!! Thank you for following along!!

What a smooth, but still crazy long, travel day. Glad everyone arrived happy.

It was a long day....starting our day at 2:30am was maybe not a good decision but then again, the kids slept a bit on the plane and they were content and happy.

Nice updates. Loved the pics of the kids and you with Derek. I bet it was so great to see him!! I have to say we stayed at Pop once in 08 and we didn't like it. I guess we are just too spoiled LOL but 3 of the 4 times we went we stayed in a timeshare which was probably cheaper than the hotel for the same amount of time even Pop and we had 2 bedrooms 2 baths, our own laundry and kitchen and it was SO nice. There is def perks to staying onsight and mom loved it our last time when we stayed at the Coronado although that is a HUGE resort and it was like a mile just to walk to the pool or food court so if we ever stay onsite again I think she will request a closer room. But in 08 we stayed in our timeshare for a week and then my dad and lynn flew home and we stayed a few extra days and checked in to Pop. It was SO small and the beds were doubles. Luckily we had 2 rooms but Shane and I slept in separate beds because they were so small. I am sure it is fine for people on a budget and I TOTALLY get it but my mom said she would only ever stay in a moderate from now on if we don't do the timeshare. We have our timeshare for next year but she is wishing we were staying onsite. My dad may go and I told her that while I love staying onsite as well if he goes esp I am glad we will have it. We save a ton on eating in the room and it is nice to be able to stretch out if you are going to be there for a long time. Plus going in the summer I am sure we are going to be wanting to wash our sweaty clothes. I totally get though why you guys stayed there though and honestly if it was just me and the girls that would probably be where I would stay too. I have to ask though how did Jasmin do overall. I can't even imagine being in a life that for all of your life you never went anywhere and then to go somewhere so amazing. Was she overwhelmed or did she fit in well? How is she with the other kids? Are they all adapting well? I still think what you have done for not only her but all of the kids is amazing and they are SO lucky to have you not just for these trips but because you are such amazing parents and have given them the best life!! As always can't wait for your first park day!!!

The rooms are small at the values and not a fan of the double beds.....but when you're tired....it really doesn't matter how big the bed is, we pretty much dropped at night. I did laundry multiple times on the trip and having a washer & dryer in our room would have been awesome. I'm not sure we could ever afford the fancier places or the vacation villas......so we do with what we have. We made it work......we had 8 people in the 2 rooms and it was tight but doable.

I'll cover Jasmin as the report goes but overall, she did very well and took it all in.

 

[DizNee Luver]

August 8: Our first full day at Walt Disney World!!

So today was planned as a non-park day, this would allow us to recoup from our long travel day. We had 2 table service meals planned for today as well as swimming.....so not a boring day but an easier day.

We got up at 7am so we could be out at the buses by 8. I was having severe hip pain (I had my sciatica nerve set off prior to the trip and had just finished my steroid script) and so I was up and moving around long before 7. As we waited for the bus to Magic Kingdom, Mike took the opportunity to take pictures out in front of the resort.

























Michayla was loaded first with my assistance and then the rest of the family was let on. The rest of the people are then loaded once all wheelchairs are secured. These were while we were on the bus.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We needed to get to the Polynesian Resort so we could either go by the Resort Monorail Loop or by the Resort Launch Boat. We saw the boat was just coming across the lake & so we decided to head that way. Mike snapped a few pictures as we made our way to the dock.

The Ferry Boat that transports people from the Transportation & Ticket Center (TTC) to Magic Kingdom and back.



The Grand Floridian Resort in the distance.



Magic Kingdom's Train Station.



Going down to the dock.



**If you have someone in a wheelchair, they must be able to transfer on & off the boat. They are not equipped to take wheelchairs or scooters. Speaking of scooters, even if you can transfer, they can't take your chair. Chairs & strollers must be able to be folded/compacted down for the boat trip.**

We got Michayla on the boat and seated as Mike dealt with folding up the chair.



We are on our way to the Polynesian Resort after a stop at the Grand Floridian, that we could see coming up.



Looking at the Contemporary Resort across the lake.



The flag on the boat.



The Monorail in the distance.



The family on the boat.



The Grand Floridian Resort.







The Resort Launch Boat after we got off at the Polynesian Resort.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We were early for our 9:45am reservation at Kona Café, so we took the opportunity to look around. As we headed off the dock, we passed the beach area. Derek says this was greatly reduced with the addition of the new DVC Bungalows that over the water.



The kids posed in one of the rental boats they use to teach the renter on how to use it.



Beautiful flower.



The pool area.











Tiki's.







Mike took a picture of me wheeling Michayla up the ramp into the main lobby building.



The new Trader Sam's bar.....Derek said he tried once to go in but it was like a 3 hour wait.....he passed.





Capt. Cook's is the quick service restaurant at the resort.



A couple cute window displays.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Addy decided to pose with the surfboard.





As most of you know, the lobby went under a major refurbishment a while back, taking out the beloved waterfall to open up more seating. This is what the new lobby looks like. We had a CM try to convince us how great the new look was....it's nice & still tropical but I still like the original look. It made it stand out from other "nice" resort/hotel lobbies.

















This is what stands where the waterfall used to be.......









The gift shop~~BouTiki.



More Tikis





I'm the Queen....lol

 

[kelmac284]

Oh no I totally get it and like I said if it were me I probably would never even be able to go but if I did it would be that as well. I know for me though with my migraines, stomach and back issues if I have an uncomfortable bed no matter how tired I am I can't sleep. But I know for you guys esp it prob enabled you to do other things you wanted and not waste the money on a bigger room. That is why I am glad mom has her timeshare. It would be perfect for you guys but again it doesn't always work for everyone.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Look at the size of these leaves!!



More from just outside the main lobby and inside the lobby (floors 1 & 2).

























Kona Café & the Menu.





I checked us in & was given a pager to alert us when our table was ready. We hung out by the railing looking down to the main lobby area. Michayla was in a pretty good mood this morning.

 

[kelmac284]

LOVE the update. We love the poly and all of the monorail resorts. Would LOVE to stay in one of those someday but like you said that's never going to happen. I can't even fathom how people can afford those. For us moderates are the best we can do and they are nice and occasionally you can get deals but then we only need one room too so I can see how those would be cost prohibitive for you guys too. On our trip we are going to fly in and that happens to be my birthday so we always go to DTD or I should say the springs first. We are not sure yet if we can get an extra night in our timeshare as you usually have to go sat to sat so if not we may try and stay in one of the hotels at DTD the first night but we always go and my mom's fave place is Fulton's crab house. That's where we ate our first night back in 10 and prob will go there again this time. We will prob walk around a bit but I know we will need more time and so our first day will also be a down day. On Saturday if we haven't already checked into our timeshare we will do that and mom dad and Shelby will prob stay and play golf. Our timeshare has a really nice golf course. So they will do that and Katy and I will take the car and go to the springs and look around. Then after their game is over we will pick them up and head back and use that as our DTD day and probably choose a different place for dinner since there are SO many new ones since last time we were there. We also always try to build a day in to resort hop and our last day we are doing a water park so if we don't have time before we may do it that afternoon before we move to Universal. We love to get on the monorail though and go to the poly, GF and Contemporary. We stayed in the contemporary on our first trip back in 01 but only cuz shane was still in the army and Shades of Green was booked so they put us there. We were in a garden wing room that was WAY far away and it was not that great in my opinion for how much they charge. IF we could have exchanged into dvc I wouldn't mind the bay lake towers but there are a lot of other places I would rather go. We also love to go over to the Yacht and Beach club and ride the boat over to the Boardwalk. Again not sure how much of that we will be able to do but since we will have a car it will def be easier to do that. I also want to go to the animation resort and look around. I agree too about missing the waterfall. I've only been to Hawaii once but that def reminded me of it.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Oh no I totally get it and like I said if it were me I probably would never even be able to go but if I did it would be that as well. I know for me though with my migraines, stomach and back issues if I have an uncomfortable bed no matter how tired I am I can't sleep. But I know for you guys esp it prob enabled you to do other things you wanted and not waste the money on a bigger room. That is why I am glad mom has her timeshare. It would be perfect for you guys but again it doesn't always work for everyone.

My dream is to stay at the Polynesian.....especially one of the new bungalows....they're pretty awesome!

 

[DizNee Luver]

LOVE the update. We love the poly and all of the monorail resorts. Would LOVE to stay in one of those someday but like you said that's never going to happen. I can't even fathom how people can afford those. For us moderates are the best we can do and they are nice and occasionally you can get deals but then we only need one room too so I can see how those would be cost prohibitive for you guys too. On our trip we are going to fly in and that happens to be my birthday so we always go to DTD or I should say the springs first. We are not sure yet if we can get an extra night in our timeshare as you usually have to go sat to sat so if not we may try and stay in one of the hotels at DTD the first night but we always go and my mom's fave place is Fulton's crab house. That's where we ate our first night back in 10 and prob will go there again this time. We will prob walk around a bit but I know we will need more time and so our first day will also be a down day. On Saturday if we haven't already checked into our timeshare we will do that and mom dad and Shelby will prob stay and play golf. Our timeshare has a really nice golf course. So they will do that and Katy and I will take the car and go to the springs and look around. Then after their game is over we will pick them up and head back and use that as our DTD day and probably choose a different place for dinner since there are SO many new ones since last time we were there. We also always try to build a day in to resort hop and our last day we are doing a water park so if we don't have time before we may do it that afternoon before we move to Universal. We love to get on the monorail though and go to the poly, GF and Contemporary. We stayed in the contemporary on our first trip back in 01 but only cuz shane was still in the army and Shades of Green was booked so they put us there. We were in a garden wing room that was WAY far away and it was not that great in my opinion for how much they charge. IF we could have exchanged into dvc I wouldn't mind the bay lake towers but there are a lot of other places I would rather go. We also love to go over to the Yacht and Beach club and ride the boat over to the Boardwalk. Again not sure how much of that we will be able to do but since we will have a car it will def be easier to do that. I also want to go to the animation resort and look around. I agree too about missing the waterfall. I've only been to Hawaii once but that def reminded me of it.

I wouldn't stay in the Bay Lake Towers......Derek said there is a huge crack at the top because the ground has shifted/settled......you would think they would have planned for that in the "swamp"......lol It's not that old!!

Poly is the only Deluxe that interests me....everything else is to fancy. It's not our style......

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Loving this!! I love how the girls all matched

 

[DizNee Luver]

Loving this!! I love how the girls all matched

We did that a couple times.....just made it easier to spot them all!

 

[kelmac284]

I would love the poly or the Animal Kingdom lodge. I have no interest in the GF and honestly not really in the Contemporary either. I just meant if I "did" stay at the contemporary I would stay there but that would be my last choice since to me it is too modern and not much Disney. We stayed in the Coronado and liked it and if we stay onsite again we are prob going to try Port Orleans. But I like the Yacht and Beach Club as well. Haven't seen the rooms but LOVE their pool and of course beaches and cream.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I would love the poly or the Animal Kingdom lodge. I have no interest in the GF and honestly not really in the Contemporary either. I just meant if I "did" stay at the contemporary I would stay there but that would be my last choice since to me it is too modern and not much Disney. We stayed in the Coronado and liked it and if we stay onsite again we are prob going to try Port Orleans. But I like the Yacht and Beach Club as well. Haven't seen the rooms but LOVE their pool and of course beaches and cream.

Port Orleans looked nice....we didn't get to see much, but that would be my moderate choice. I would NEVER stay at the Boardwalk.....I hate clowns and that pool would creep me out!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

We checked in at 9:30am and we're heading to our table at 9:45 (our actual reservation time). They seated us at a round table that seats 6.......so we squeezed 7 of us up to the table and Michayla stuffed in a corner. Our waiter was nice but was kept quite busy. We ordered drinks and then looked at our menus. Mike took some pictures inside the restaurant as we waited to place our orders.















The security guard photobombed Shyann.....lol





The chef came out to go over the allergies at the table. We had 4 of us: Mike can't have cashews or pistachios, Addy can't have tree nuts, I can't have gluten or coconut and Shy can't have peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, sunflower and very small quantities of gluten and egg. We put in our order with the chef & the waiter took the orders from Addy, Tony & Derek.

The Mega-Berry Smoothie (raspberry puree with non-fat yogurt and Odwalla berries GoMega) & the Liliko's Juice (orange, passion fruit & guava blend).





The plate with the maple syrup, butter & strawberry compote for the Tonga Toast and some ketchup.



Shyann got the Mickey Gluten-Free Waffles and Bacon.



Derek & I got the Samoan (Poached Eggs with Hollandaise Sauce over Smoked Pulled Pork Hash).



Addy & Tony ordered the Big Kahuna (French Toast, Pancakes topped with Pineapple Sauce & Macadamia Nut Butter (just not for Addy) with Ham, Sausage & Bacon).



Mike & Jasmin ordered the Tonga Toast (Banana Stuffed French Toast rolled in Cinnamon Sugar served with Strawberry Compote & choice of Ham, Sausage or Bacon).







So as I started eating my breakfast, Derek noticed that my egg yolk was super watery/runny where his "flowed like lava" (Chef Ramsey quote)....well unburying my meal from the arugula, I realized my eggs were raw. Like the whites weren't white.....they were clear, snot-like.......GAG!!!!! We let the waiter know & showed him all the different spots of clear egg whites on the dish and he said he'd be getting me a new plate cooked immediately. As I waited, Derek started pulling egg shells out of his dish (and mouth......gag, gag, gag!!). He didn't want to return his and just picked through it. As everyone enjoyed their meals....I sat and sat and sat. I finally got my new dish as everyone else was pretty much done. The 2nd dish was cooked and tasty but to be honest with you, our experience had been ruined.

This was one of my favorites from my trip in 2013 and I was really disappointed this go-round. The table was too small for our party, especially with a wheelchair, the waiter was overloaded so service was slow (not his fault), the raw eggs, egg shells and long cook times on a redo made this breakfast not a good experience. I'm not sure how quick I would be to return.....which is too bad as the Samoan is a really good meal!

 

[DizNee Luver]

A few more pics of the Poly before we headed out to the Monorail. The plan was to ride the monorail to Transportation & Ticket Center, get off & go around to get on the monorail for the loop around Epcot & then back.













On the Resort Monorail from the Polynesian Resort heading to the Grand Floridian Resort, Magic Kingdom, Contemporary Resort and then the TTC.



















At the TTC, we got off the resort monorail and went down the ramp around to go up the ramp for the Epcot Monorail Route. We thought the kids would enjoy seeing some of the stuff from the monorail.

 

[DizNee Luver]

The kids liked seeing Epcot from the monorail and they were excited to go to this park.











We returned to the TTC and decided to take the Ferry Boat over to the Magic Kingdom park so we could catch a bus to our next destination.













Here's another look at the new DVC Bungalows at the Polynesian Resort.







Another Ferry Boat heading back to the TTC.



Do you see the parasailer behind the monorail?



Some boaters on the lake.



The smoke stack on the ferry boat.