Trip Report Yikes...55 days to go, I better get this thing started! Oh yeah, we're live now

Well, were down to 55 days so I guess we should get this started. You were with us for the 16th, 17th, and the epic bungalow 18th so why not include you in on the 19th! So I guess its time for the WWWW&W,

The Who: The cast for this anniversary debacle should be no surprise:

Me (#BlueSteel)

DW

What can I say, we love each other to death…

The What: Details to follow.

The When: September 16th-21st. We’re pretty locked into these dates since we are flying for this trip. This will be the rare bubble visit where vacation creep does not play a role like just about all others have for us in the past.

The Where: We’ve got ourselves some banked Poly points so why not burn through those! 5-nights at the Poly will be our longest stretch at the resort and we couldn’t be more excited! Typically we’ve only visited for a single night before or after a cruise.

The Why: 19 years of marital bliss, of course! What better way to earmark an occasion than visiting the house that the mouse built!

More details to follow!

 

[riverside]

So we waited about 20 minutes at HS for the AK/BB bus then immediately walked on to the BB bus at AK. A short ride later and we arrived for our first ever visit to BB!
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This has to be the both the happiest and saddest sceene at the same time. I mean, cute snowman family having fun but also slowly dying....merry and morose.
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We had fun at BB but waterparks are just not my thing unless its me floating in the lazy river for a couple of hours with a beer in my hand.

The food offerings at BB were lacking so we shared a pretzel and decided to make for Nomad Lounge back at AK. I sent a message to a few folks and apparently I didnt scare @Zipitidoda yesterday enough and they joined us for nice couple hours of conversation!(did we convince J to take a cruise, Zip?) The NL menu has changed a but since our last visit.

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The DW and I each got a Wakulla and shared the lionfish tacos and poutine. The tacos were ok but the poutine was excellent!
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I went with a Kungaloosh for my second round and the DW went with churros. The chili-strawberry dip was good but DIFFERENT!!
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Zip and her hubby had a FP to get to so we parted ways and are now heading back to the Poly to get ready for our AP dinner.

OH!!! Anyone notice anything missing as you walk from the bus to AK???
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The "Have a Wild Time" sign??

 

[imahistorygeek]

We're sitting at Geyser Point and the music playing is from Dances With Wolves. This music combined with the scenery actually made me tear up. The view is amazing. I'll let @lostpro9het post the view.

 

[lostpro9het]

Sorry to have missed you, but we had problems getting into our hotel room and then the Hobbit really needed to sleep. If you'll be at Trader Sam's tonight or tomorrow night, we'll catch ya there. If not, I hope the rest of your anniversary trip is awesome.

Lets see how tomorrow rolls, we're about to head to our AP ADR. What park/days are you hitting this week?

The "Have a Wild Time" sign??

Winner winner chicken dinner! I hope it's only out for a refurb and not a Pandora makeover!

So we came back from AK, ordered an Uber for dinner, chilled at the pool for a bit before cleaning up for dinner. Since then, our RnR pics came in. My fist shot was my "Glamour Shot" pic

My second was me paying homage to Steven Tyler. Apparently Disney has issues with me paying homage to Stevie...

They had no issue with it in July!!!

Anyhow, uber picked us up, Rachel was awesome, and we're at Geyser Point enjoying the beer and the view before our AP ADR!

 

[imahistorygeek]

If you haven't tried Uber, you should. Easy and fairly inexpensive. Plus, cutting out the travel time from Poly to WL = awesome. We made it in under 5 minutes. Fare was $7.60. Completely worth it.

 

[Tuvalu]

The AK Have a Wild Time Sign has been missing since May....likely taken down in preparation for the opening Pandora crowds. Wondering myself if it will make a return.

 

[Tall Todd]

If you haven't tried Uber, you should. Easy and fairly inexpensive. Plus, cutting out the travel time from Poly to WL = awesome. We made it in under 5 minutes. Fare was $7.60. Completely worth it.

Aren't there boats connecting the resorts? Or do they run in a loop all around the lagoon? We're planning an afternoon around the lagoon after MK. Going to check out WL then Poly and maybe GF. Sounds like you think Disney Transp might not be the best thought?

 

[Souvenir]

Aren't there boats connecting the resorts? Or do they run in a loop all around the lagoon? We're planning an afternoon around the lagoon after MK. Going to check out WL then Poly and maybe GF. Sounds like you think Disney Transp might not be the best thought?

There are two different boat routes on the lagoon. One covers Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, Contemporary Resort, and Magic Kingdom. The other travels to The Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Magic Kingdom. You can do what you're suggesting but you'd have to switch boats at Magic Kingdom. The two use separate launches but they are near one another.

 

[Tall Todd]

There are two different boat routes on the lagoon. One covers Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, Contemporary Resort, and Magic Kingdom. The other travels to The Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Magic Kingdom. You can do what you're suggesting but you'd have to switch boats at Magic Kingdom. The two use separate launches but they are near one another.

Great tip, thanks! Just read up on boat travel, clearly mistaken on several points.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Aren't there boats connecting the resorts? Or do they run in a loop all around the lagoon? We're planning an afternoon around the lagoon after MK. Going to check out WL then Poly and maybe GF. Sounds like you think Disney Transp might not be the best thought?

We had a reservation and didn't want to chance being late, but also didn't want to be there too early. If it was a direct route from Poly to WL, with no boat change, we probably would have gone with Disney transportation.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Looks like you guys are having a great trip so far! Awesome that you got to meet up with @blgauger and @Zipitidoda !

 

[Trisha Lynn]

Lets see how tomorrow rolls, we're about to head to our AP ADR. What park/days are you hitting this week?

Tomorrow is DAK, Tuesday is Epcot, Wednesday is MK & Epcot, Thursday is MK, and Friday is DHS & more Disney Springs and then we're out of the bubble to our airport hotel.

Tonight, we're at Scat Cat's for a night cap. I've been wanting one of the Southern Hurricanes since January.

 

[MinnieM123]

away then you deserve a flogging...it's ridiculous the number if obliviot (oblivious idiots) adults that have no sense of their ways[/rant time]

Yup, that's a pet peeve of mine, too. I mean . . . ADULTS . . . snapping gum in their mouths. C'mon . . . (I'd expect that behavior from maybe a 5-year-old.) Are these people so self-absorbed, that they don't even realize how obnoxious it sounds? And to push the point, is there a segment of the population that is just not being taught basic manners anymore? And it's not just a WDW issue either. I cringe at some of the things I see and hear in the city, during the work week.

Aside of the above, I'm really looking forward to more updates about your trip. Your room at the Poly was decorated very nicely. Haven't seen interior photos for some time for that resort (other than the refurbed lobby, which I don't care for.)

 

[lostpro9het]

Goooood morning!

We had a fantastic dining experience at Artist Point last night, details coming. Oddly enough we have no idea what we are going to do today other than CG tonight. Im thinking a little park time, the pool, then CG but cant decide which park...first world problems.

Yup, that's a pet peeve of mine, too. I mean . . . ADULTS . . . snapping gum in their mouths. C'mon . . . (I'd expect that behavior from maybe a 5-year-old.) Are these people so self-absorbed, that they don't even realize how obnoxious it sounds? And to push the point, is there a segment of the population that is just not being taught basic manners anymore? And it's not just a WDW issue either. I cringe at some of the things I see and hear in the city, during the work week.

Nailed it!

(other than the refurbed lobby, which I don't care for.)

 

[lostpro9het]

So after a short visit at Geyser Point we made for the lobby of WL, sorry folks AKL >WL

Cant come here and not look at this fella

But enough looking around, it was dinner time.

Now, on at least two other trips we had ADRs for AP but always canceled them out menu concerns, big regret! Leading into this trip read about a 5-course experience with a wine pairing and the 5 courses actually had things
i would eat! We were also able to take advantage of the TiW promotion and would get 30% off our bill, $60 tonight!!

Our waiter, Martin, explained/warned us that the 5 courses were actual full sized portions and not scaled back portions that other restaurants do. DW looked at me, then looked at Martin and said "go big or go home!" So big we went!

Up next: going big!

 

[susan lees]

Thats called "random stranger taking pictures"

So after a sweet WDWMagic M&G we made for a quick trip to MK. Upon entering main street i saw this:
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At first i thought this girl had fallen and went to help her up....then i saw the camera
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Thinking this may be the latest "dabbing" trend I decided to give it a go
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Nope, its not for me...

We had a BTM FP burning up so we made for frontier land. Along the way we decided to see if Skipper's had any availability, the wait was 40 minutes so we gave them our number for a text and made for BTM. Along the way we were sad to see this sight
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Skippers Canteen is coming up

My daughter lay down under the Eiffel tower in Paris for a photo. Mmmm I walked away lol. Having said that it is a rare photo now as that's now all barricaded off from tourists

 

[lostpro9het]

So we were presented with our bread service, it was hard not tearing this up but knowing we had a ton of food coming we restrained

Now, the wine pairing included 3 generous pours of Oregon wines.

The Pinot Grigio was served with our first two courses, a little dry a little sweet

The Pinot Noir was served with our main course, all dry but worked well with our mains

Finally, the chilled Risling was served with desert. This guy was SWEET!! It tasted more like a moscato than a risling. This fella could have been desert alone.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Thats called "random stranger taking pictures"

So after a sweet WDWMagic M&G we made for a quick trip to MK. Upon entering main street i saw this:
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At first i thought this girl had fallen and went to help her up....then i saw the camera
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Thinking this may be the latest "dabbing" trend I decided to give it a go
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Nope, its not for me...

We had a BTM FP burning up so we made for frontier land. Along the way we decided to see if Skipper's had any availability, the wait was 40 minutes so we gave them our number for a text and made for BTM. Along the way we were sad to see this sight
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Skippers Canteen is coming up

DYING!

 

[lostpro9het]

For our first course the DW went with the smoked wild mushroom soup and i had the short rib bolognese, both were excellent the soup was particularly outstanding

For the second course i went with the mixed greens, from living with the land, and DW went with the shrimp. The presentation of the shrimp was nothing short of phenomenal!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

 

[lostpro9het]

For our mains, i went with the pork porterhouse and the DW went with the half chicken. My main dish also came with an additional side! I opted for the Truffle mac n cheese.

We were rapidly getting full and worried about how we were going to finish two more courses and wine when the sweet course arrived...
We got the creme brûlée and the pumkin milkshake with cookies, the cookies got boxed and and brought home!

There was to be a final course of fruit pate but i think Martin realized we were toast when he brought the box for the cookies and did not bring out the fruit... I was fine with that!

The experience lasted almost TWO hours and it honestly felt like 40 minutes. I would absolutely repeat this meal but next time share the 5 courses rather than taking it on alone. We had planned on heading to EC after dinner but were plenty tuckered out and made for tye biats to take us home!