Trip Report **Completed** It's My Birthday (and its a hot one...)!

Hey guys my computer isn't here yet but I really want to start my TR so I'm slowly uploading pictures hoping my computer can handle it So, it will be a slow start but here we go!!

Who?
Just my Mom and I (Mary and Megan)...as if you don't know us by now

When?
July 4- 14th!

Where?
The Polynesian

Why?
I'm off all summer and I always wanted to go to Disney for my Birthday so why not!

T-1 Day
I finished residency the Friday before leaving but this day was insane for me trying to get a bunch of training and applications done before I left. I was also trying to finish ALL our packing...since we are not light packers... These are just my two suitcases

Anyway we were finally all set to go and we were out for a quick walk before bed when my sister called me and told me Max (my nephew) was having trouble walking. Long story short she had to take him to the ER but it all turned out OK and it was just swelling in his knee from his recent ear infection. Luckily we knew all was OK by like 10:30 and could still get some rest!

Day 1 - July 4, 2017
We had a later flight (aka not 6 am) so we could sleep in a bit, but we were going to Disney so I still woke up at 6am I still didn't drag myself out of bed until 7 am though, don't worry
We got ready and took our usual "kidnapping" pictures

Soon enough it was 8 am and we were off to the airport !
Southwest in our airport had a new self check in thing so we tried it out. This gave my flash backs to when I flew out of Canada to Punta Cana and struggled with self check-in but this was much easier and it only took me a few minutes to figure out the luggage tags The whole thing, however, made my Mom very nervous so she was glad I was doing it
When we brought our luggage to the counter the worker was saying that we MUST be going to Disney World (based off the DME tags and the Minnie Mouse suitcases) and how he and his coworkers go to Disney several times a year too We were lucky to have TSA pre-check and the TSA worker was so sweet about our matching shirts and saying she loved them. Anyway, the whole experience was very pleasant and I looked at my phone when we were through and it was 8:27 am. Drove to airport, checked luggage, and went through security all in 27 minutes
We were pretty hungry so checked out the Anchor Bar's breakfast menu but we were not feeling it (and we are creatures of habit) so went to get our usual bagel breakfast

Petey was there of course

We enjoyed our bagels then headed to our gate to wait. It was a VERY slow airport day (probably since its a holiday) so it was kind of nice to relax in the quiet. Soon enough we were on the plane!
When I got up in the morning my Lambie (yes I have one) was on the floor by my carry on. I had no idea how she got there but it was like a sign that I had to bring her so I did

Magic Bands unite!

We were lucky enough to be seated in row 3 and there was a dog behind us which made it even better
Our flight was actually about 20 minutes longer than usual but we entertained ourselves with The Keepers from Netflix (love that you can download stuff to use offline) and we had a fantastic flight crew!
You all know what happens first at the airport (well besides the bathroom...)! The fonorail!!

Next up: down to DME!

 

[Doc Disney]

I did the Spirit of Aloha show a few years ago and enjoyed it as well. The only negative was that there were a lot of mosquitoes under the table and I got bitten a lot.

We actually wore bug spray but only knew to do that because of the 100 other bug bites we got in the previous nights standing outside at the Poly

 

[amjt660]

We did SOA when the girls were younger (think 10-11) and we all loved it.
I agree that younger ones might not stay focused for that length of time.

max

 

[Doc Disney]

We did SOA when the girls were younger (think 10-11) and we all loved it.
I agree that younger ones might not stay focused for that length of time.

max

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who liked it. I barely said a positive review of the show

 

[Tuvalu]

LOL at getting seated next to the ovens at Via Napoli on the day you were already SO HOT!!!!

Thanks for the positive review of Spirit of Aloha. We went once years ago and sweated all through dinner which prevented us from going back (well, that and the expense!) Perhaps we will give it a try during a cooler season.

 

[Big Hair]

I have been lucky to go to the "Spirit of Aloha" show twice. Once as a teenager a few years ago, scratch that, a few decades ago, and a couple of years ago. Both times it was outstanding. This last time we had a front row center table. The angry fire guy pulled my wife on the stage put black under her eyes and made her part of the dance sequence they were doing. It was hilarious. She was in a easy mood since we were taking advantage of the unlimited adult beverages. A memory my daughter and I will always have to share and reminisce together.

 

[Doc Disney]

LOL at getting seated next to the ovens at Via Napoli on the day you were already SO HOT!!!!

Thanks for the positive review of Spirit of Aloha. We went once years ago and sweated all through dinner which prevented us from going back (well, that and the expense!) Perhaps we will give it a try during a cooler season.

I don't think I could make it any more evident that we can't handle the heat. We are very northern
I had heard about people sweating and I was so nervous because clearly we were so hot. However, the sun was setting and it surprisingly got cool out so I think cooler weather would be a better bet I wish it wasn't so expensive though...that price tag is difficult to swallow

 

[Doc Disney]

I have been lucky to go to the "Spirit of Aloha" show twice. Once as a teenager a few years ago, scratch that, a few decades ago, and a couple of years ago. Both times it was outstanding. This last time we had a front row center table. The angry fire guy pulled my wife on the stage put black under her eyes and made her part of the dance sequence they were doing. It was hilarious. She was in a easy mood since we were taking advantage of the unlimited adult beverages. A memory my daughter and I will always have to share and reminisce together.

Thats so awesome! I forgot about it until you just said that they pulled some adults on stage and it was so funny! I wouldn't have even done the Birthday dance had I not had some sangria so I totally get that

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 6 - July 9, 2017
We got up early, had a quick croissant breakfast, and headed to the monorail. We had a long bag check line but still much quicker than the old security!
I spy the Magic Kingdom

The park wasn't open yet so we wandered around the Emporium and right into the Mayor. He gave me his business card and told me it was good for getting me into the back of every line
My Mom asked for a picture of him and I and he said of course...look who photobombed

So then we got a picture of the three of us.

They were really into talking about Buffalo and chicken wings The fire chief kept saying he LOVES chicken wings
My Mom didn't want a picture with them so instead got a picture with Casey

Hello squirrel

We waited around a bit for the Opening Show

Next up: MK continued

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 6 continued

I was too lazy to move closer to the Opening Ceremony

We decided to rope drop POTC

My Mom is much better at a pirate pose than I am

Totally missed the memo that they started taking pictures on Pirates We are like chatting in the back row not paying attention

I will leave my comments to myself....but wanted to commemorate her.

Next up: random MK happenings

 

[LeighM]

All caught up (again LOL). The worst mosquito bites I've ever gotten on WDW property have been at the Poly. Not sure what kind of mosquito got me a couple of years ago while we were walking from the Poly to the GF, but that bite hurt worse than the fire ant bite I got at Riverside!

 

[Figaro Family]

I noticed you were using chilly towels on the hot day at Epcot. Do those work? How long do they last? I'm trying to decide if they're worth buying for our trip in a few weeks

 

[Doc Disney]

All caught up (again LOL). The worst mosquito bites I've ever gotten on WDW property have been at the Poly. Not sure what kind of mosquito got me a couple of years ago while we were walking from the Poly to the GF, but that bite hurt worse than the fire ant bite I got at Riverside!

They were seriously the worst! I was so happy that I got some mosquito bites before we left because I brought some anti-itch and pain cream with me My Mom's were so bad that she had to take oral antihistamines to help her

 

[Doc Disney]

I noticed you were using chilly towels on the hot day at Epcot. Do those work? How long do they last? I'm trying to decide if they're worth buying for our trip in a few weeks

They are awesome and definitely a must! They last several hours and if they showed any sign of becoming dry we would just wet them in a bathroom. I got my Mom's frog togg off amazon. I've had mine for years but probably came from there too. They were truly a life saver in the heat

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 6 continued
POTC continued

I love this shirt!!! If I were more into T-shirts I would buy it

We headed over towards HM after this

Sadly it was down so we decided on IASW
This guy is so creepy

After this it was time for our first Fast Pass!
Tiana was chatting about foods she wanted to learn how to make

Rapunzel asked if I was going to have lanterns for my Birthday (I was yet again wearing my Birthday pin early)

Next: continuing MK

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 6 continued
After our M and G we headed to Under the Sea Pretty short waits for everything

Next up was Barnstormer followed by Dumbo

Our next FP was for Buzz so we headed on The pictures must not have been working again ....
Next up was the Peoplemover!

Next up: even more MK

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 6 continued
Peoplemover!

We were doing decently well with the heat up to this point but all of a sudden we really needed some AC. We looked around and decided to do something we have never done before.

OK...as a kid I remember Alien Encounter and being absolutely terrified of it! My Mom for some reason could not remember it at all. I was a little nervous going in based on my Alien Encounter memories, but instead I was wondering why we wasted our time . The 'theatre" is much smaller than I remember and the whole thing was dumb. I could, however, see how it could have been terrifying when it was a regular alien and not just Stich. I can also see why its only open seasonly.
This is my what did I just see face...

After Sitch we went for a better option (Monster's Inc Laugh Floor) before hitting up our last FP of the morning: 7DMT!

After 7DMT it was time to head to lunch. We took a page out of @Tuvalu and @TrolleyFollower91 's book and headed to BOG! We pre-ordered our meal and I'm so glad we did because it was chaotic in the non-preorder line. Last time we ate there I did not pre-order and I learned my lesson

We both got our own French Onion Soup. Sorry its blurry .... but it was as delicious as ever!

We shared the turkey sandwich. We ordered it without tomato which also meant it came without lettuce The lighting in there makes for weird pictures...This was super yummy as well!

Next up: BOG continued

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 6 continued
We also each got a cupcake (which I kind of forgot about ordering...)
My Mom got the Lemon Meringue cupcake...she said it was good even though she doesn't like meringue usually

I got the Master's cupcake...yum!

Last time we ate dinner at BOG we didn't feel super great about it, but lunch renewed our love of BOG

We headed out after this....but first a PP picture (Jk clearly this must have been from the morning based on my hair...whoops)

We deiced to take the boat back to the Poly for unknown reasons...it wasn't a good choice when its hot out

Next up: probably some more boat pictures

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 6 continued
One last boat picture

We got back to the room and found a little pile up a la Mousekeeping

We took a long afternoon break in the pool again. We inadvertently made friends with a little kid who kept trying to show us his elephant prize he got from playing games . We kept trying to direct him towards his parents but instead he was just glom onto other people...no stranger danger there
Anyway, after our long break we got ready and headed to HS for the evening. I was very loose on evening plans this trip which was kind of nice we could just go with the flow. We missed our Aerosmith FP the night of the Pixar show and its my Mom's favorite ride so we picked one up and suddenly we had a plan

As you can see by the background it was pretty dead inside Hollywood Studios

We had a great ride on Aerosmith as usual

A kind woman offered to take our picture

Next up: more HS

 

[kaitertot5249]

I don't think I've ever heard positive things about the Spirit of Aloha show! I'm so happy that you had such a good time. It looked like fun and the food looked pretty good too!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 6 continued
These PP pictures are weird...

I didn't take any pictures but after Aerosmith we headed over to Toy Story Mania because I was able to get a FP. Woohoo slow days are the best days
Then it was time for One Man's Dream

Its even more chaotic in there now that the Guardians of the Galaxy M and G is in there
The preview that was playing was for Cars 3 and the CM said it was the last day for the preview so we were glad we caught it!
We wandered around a bit after and noticed that Jake had no line and he was literally looking around for people to come visit so we did. I never saw Jake and the Neverland Pirates but from the Disney Jr. Stage Show I knew he has something about Gold Doubloons and he started digging like he was looking for some when I mentioned them

I was able to make a reservation on the bus ride to HS so we headed to dinner at Sci-Fi ! We were behind some people checking in who were so mad Sci-Fi couldn't seat them sooner even though their reservation was 2 hours later . They were saying they were hungry and they couldn't wait...oh OK

We ordered some fried dill pickles, crispy onion rings, and boneless chicken wings in the spicy Buffalo sauce
I attempted to take one picture and one picture only....it was so dark that I didn't attempt any others after the boneless wings

Yum! Our food, albeit snack food, was super good! Plus you can't beat the atmosphere
We decided to head out of HS after this because we thought maybe we would try to redeem our Rivers of Light dining package FP since you can use them up to 5 days after if your show got rained out
On the way over I made a FP for Everest so we headed over there

Next up: more AK