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]

After binge reading a bunch of your previous reports, I'm all caught up with this one and definitely following along! I'm also so jealous of how often you guys get to go!
This is so funny to me because my moms the same when it comes to birds! Funny story, my family was sitting down for a little snack and some shade a few years back at Sleepy Hollow in MK when a few ducks came over for a visit and my mom freaked out, like to the point she made a scene. A lovely cast member came to investigate and we explained her crazy fear of birds and he literally stood guard and kept the ducks away while we finished eating. It was so funny and just so memorable, we remind her every year and all get a laugh out of it!

Aw thats a lot of TRs to catch up on We are very lucky we get to go so much. I sometimes can't believe it myself that we are so lucky and I truly am grateful every time we go! That bird story is SO funny!!! I wish my Mom could get her own personal CM to guard us every time we eat . I always want to eat outside because we don't get to do it very often at home but we never can because of the birds

 

[Doc Disney]

You "didn't hate" Happily Every After. This gives me hope. I've only watched it online, but it left me feeling disappointed. Maybe if I wear earbuds and listen to the Wishes soundtrack...

Also, so glad to hear you enjoyed Voices of Liberty! It's a great little show. There most memorable part for me was when they sang Ole Suzanna and played air banjo. It was pretty hysterical!

Seeing Happily Ever After in person I think will change your mind! The whole combo of fireworks, projections and music does get you a bit!
I agree I loved the Ole Suzanna part! I actually kept singing that song the entire trip and couldn't remember where it came from and now you reminded me

 

[DryerLintFan]

@Doc Disney - the creator of the Black Forest Cake Conspiracy of 2017

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 - July 6, 2017
This morning we got up around 7:15 and headed to Capt. Cooks for breakfast. I didn't take any pictures but my Mom had Mickey waffles and I had the croissant breakfast sandwich. My sandwich as pretty meh but only because I go through phases with eggs and I wasn't super into eggs this trip
We left by 8:30 to catch the Disney Springs bus so we could transfer to Typhoon Lagoon. I do long for the days where you didn't have to transfer buses. I was hoping maybe the transfer thing was just temporary/for off seasons but sadly its not. Its extra odd because TL still has all the bus stops set up but only one is being used! The good news is the TL bus stop at Disney Springs was moved closer (to bus stop 1) so at least it wasn't a long stroll With the transfer we still made it to TL by 9:30. We had to wait a little before they let us in and then wait for opening
We ended up going to the side to wait because that would get us closer to the new family raft ride

Just a little after 10 TL opened and we headed in. Many people were running to find chairs and shade but we just walked slowly and easily found some chairs with shade. Usually we look for the sun but it was already so hot we knew we would need umbrellas
Our first stop for the day was Miss Adventure Falls. We didn't get to do it last time we were at TL because the line was too long. Luckily we waited only a few minutes!

I was worried I would get yelled at for having a camera but they did not care at all so long as you hold on with one hand to the raft.
Also not having to bring up your own raft is delightful and the conveyer belt is half the fun!

Sorry, waterproof camera isn't the best quality

We loved the ride! The parrot (his name is Duncan FYI) was talking/singing and moving and the lights in the tunnels and small details along the way were awesome!!
We decided to go back on since the wait was only about 10 minutes. I took some pictures along the way but there were several water spots on the lens so sorry
We realized that we got in the raft wrong the first time after seeing this sign

Next up: more TL

 

[Doc Disney]

@Doc Disney - the creator of the Black Forest Cake Conspiracy of 2017

Of all the things I talk about who knew the Black Forest Cake would be the most interesting

 

[Songbird76]

I personally am not a cake or a sweets fan in general so I didn't like it at all but it was definitely more of a light topping than it was actual frosting so it wasn't heavy by any means !
Also, I got sucked into YouTube world last night watching Voctave! They are incredible!!!

They really are! I would LOVE to sing with them...it must be incredible.

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
I've put off talking about it so far but one can not forget that summer in Disney is also Brazilian tour group season. As we were in line for our second trip on Miss Adventure Falls - with no exaggeration- hundreds of teenage Brazilians strolled in. They are easy to spot because they all wear matching clothes or backpacks! My Mom and I were like oh boy we better hurry and get everything else done we wanted to since there were so many people and it would make everything incredibly crowded!

Hello Duncan!

He's so funny! Where our seats were in TL we could hear him singing and he was always singing about socks and sandals
Anyway, after our second fun ride we headed over to Crush 'n' Gusher

We waited about 10 minutes for our raft and chose the Banana Blaster slide which was a wise choice because the other two sides had huge lines and this slide had no one! Woohoo!

So happy @Tuvalu pointed out this slide because its so fun!
We headed over to Keelhaul Falls after this! Luckily these slides still weren't super crowded!

Next up was Mayday Falls

Mayday falls is definitely better than Keelhaul Falls! So much fun!

We had planned on possibly going to the other family raft ride after this but we could see from Mayday Falls the line was pretty long and its kind of a big raft to carry by ourselves (although we have done it before )
Next up was Castaway Creek!

Next up: TL continued

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
If anyone was wondering where all the Brazilians were...it was in Castaway Creek. It was almost impossible to actually move in the creek in some areas because it was so congested

So funny story. There was a guy filming all these kids (from Brazil) and we would see him here or there over bridges filming them in the lazy man river. He would always say something and they would all wave and yell. At one point we saw him and my Mom decided to stick her head up and wave like crazy . She was hoping that at some point they go back and watch the video and wonder who that lady is . The best part was the girls around us clearly didn't realize she was doing it on purpose and proceed to laugh at her for it! Jokes on them
Hidden-Ish Mickey

After our semi-unpleasant ride in Castaway Creek we made it to the wave pool!

We had actually just missed the waves so sat on one of the ledges for a bit
View attachment 218194

There happened to be a Photopass CM there so of course we hopped in line for pictures

We waited for what seemed forever for some waves. We waited amongst chant after chant from a group of you know who
Finally the waves came and we waded through two of them before deciding we were done
We got dressed and headed out of the park

Next up: Disney Springs

 

[12in12]

(

Of all the things I talk about who knew the Black Forest Cake would be the most interesting

Apologies for all the cake talk, but cake is always interesting and important in my book.
I love your whole TR but especially the food pictures

 

[Doc Disney]

(

Apologies for all the cake talk, but cake is always interesting and important in my book.
I love your whole TR but especially the food pictures

haha totally fine ! I love food and talking about food too

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
We were pretty hungry so decided we would eat lunch at DS. The bus driver from TL asked us where we were going and I said the Polynesian (since that was our eventual destination). He was so kind he dropped us off at the Polynesian bus stop and was so excited that there was a bus waiting for us! I had to gently break the news that we were going to eat first....whoops
We were yet again planning all different food options but it was so hot and we happened upon Chef Art Smith's first so my Mom suggested we ask if we can walk up so we did! We loved Chef Art Smiths Homecomin' last time we were there! They did have walk up availability with a wait for inside or no wait outside. It was so hot so I was a little worried about eating outside but the hostess assured me that there were fans so we said OK!

Well the worker was right and with the overhead fans it was actually quite pleasant out. Plus it was screened in so no birds for my Mom to worry about

After two failed days of not sharing we decided to finally pick something to share
We decided to go with the Fried Chicken Sandwich

Our waiter was kind enough to have the kitchen cut it for us so that was nice! It came with the chips which are BBQ with what is described on the menu as "icebox dressing." We also ordered an extra side of mac and cheese

Yum!!! We really enjoyed our meal! We probably could have done without the chips and just had the mac and cheese because we weren't super hyped up about them but they were fine! The chicken sandwich and mac and cheese were great though! I'm so happy we shared because we didn't even finish what we had
After lunch we headed to .... a place that should not surprise anyone if you read my TRs!
Thats right, Ghirardelli! I'm sure my Mom has this face on because we were so hot! We didn't order water with the ice cream and we really wanted a bottle to carry instead of the free tap water so I got some for us from one of the other stands instead of waiting in the long Ghirardelli line

Also not surprising my Mom got the Sea Salt Caramel Sundae

After ice cream we headed back to the bus stop and after another long bus wait back to the Polynesian. Back in the room we found a fun game from Mousekeeping!

Next up: a slow ending to the day

 

[12in12]

What, no cake with lunch for me to obsess over?

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
We realized quickly that for us to have a chance to survive the heat we needed a long afternoon break that included at least some indoor time. My Mom and I have a hard time sitting still so it was tough for us to do this but we would usually try and find something on TV to watch This day we watched a show about people being kidnapped in different countries...just some lighthearted entertainment
Anyway, we did decide to also go for a swim even though we spent the morning at the water park. And thus would begin the routine we would follow most days . In the pool we played trivia and the CM told me I was "really good" but I had some tough competition with two teenage boys who also knew a ton! It was actually really fun because it was mostly adults playing and the CM asked some really tough questions!
Well after our long break we finally got dressed and headed to Hollywood Studios since we had some evening FPs planned
I got a new hat so you can see at least some variety It was too big on me but now that I washed it it fits

My one main goal was to see The Music of Pixar Live! so we followed the CMs directing traffic that way (well not that we didn't know where we were gong anyway ). We were kind of hungry, but I wasn't sure if you could bring food into the show so we walked up the ramp and noticed they were selling some snacks and speciality drinks. We grabbed some glazed pecans and headed in!

We were there about a half hour early but we were entertained by the interactive questions and eventually the Toy Soldiers

Soon enough the show started!

For those of you who have not seen it or read about it the live orchestra performs the scores of Toy Story, Up, Cars, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Monster's Inc. In the background they show film clips to accompany the music. Toy Story was first and as we all know Toy Story 3 is so sad and of course they threw some of those clips in and pretty much everyone (except the kids) started crying. I'm not kidding every adult around us was literally shedding tears and talking about how emotional it was...ourselves included! Luckily we got a break with Cars but then Up hit!

My Mom never saw Up so I was giving her the story while they played the music and of course everyone started crying about that because they essentially just showed the beginning of the movie. For years I have said I didn't think Up was that sad but something about live music made me cry . My Mom vowed to never see Up after that even though I tried to tell her the rest of the movie isn't that sad! Luckily we finished off without tears with the rest of the movies However, just when we thought we were safe they played "You've Got a Friend in Me" as a sing along and legit everyone started crying again We must have had a very emotional crowd. That song is very sentimental for my family because I can remember seeing Toy Story as a 7 year old (wow I feel old) and loving it and we listened to that song all the time at my house! Just goes to show how magical movies can be and how they stick with you for life! Especially something as epic as Toy Story. Anyway that was a lot of rambling but the show was pretty long and lasted about 50 minutes. We did have Fast Passes for Aerosmith and Tower of Terror (we missed the Muppets) but at some point during the show we were both so hot (VERY stagnant air in that theatre) that we agreed we would leave after the performance. I also had high hopes of seeing Fantasmic, but I was ready to leave the park! Too much heat...and too much emotion Plus, as per usual, I had a stomachache from not eating/the heat so I knew it was best to go back home.
Back at the hotel we ordered chicken nuggets to share from Capt. Cooks. The CM asked us if we wanted the adult size or the kids and we were shocked to learn the adult size was even a thing

All those times of pretending to order kids meals for nonexistent kids and we could have just ordered adult meals !! Now we know
Truthfully it was too much for us anyway and a kids meal would have been fine
After eating we went back to our room semi-defeated by the heat and watched a comedian showcase thing on TV and went off to early bed!

Next up: Day 4

 

[Doc Disney]

What, no cake with lunch for me to obsess over?

Sadly no...but I'm sure there are some cupcakes coming up in future days to talk about!

 

[Dave Z]

We are enjoying your TR, keep the pictures coming.

 

[Songbird76]

Sadly no...but I'm sure there are some cupcakes coming up in future days to talk about!

OOOOOH, I will keep an eye out for that. I do love a good cupcake.

 

[*Flynnderella*]

I really really hope they still have this show when we go back in a couple of years!!! I can't even talk about Toy Story 3 without welling up. When I saw it at the cinema, there wasn't a single child in there.

Great pictures & can't wait to hear the rest

 

[Doc Disney]

We are enjoying your TR, keep the pictures coming.

Thank you! I'm out of room on my computer so hopefully my one adapter comes in today so I can keep going

 

[Doc Disney]

OOOOOH, I will keep an eye out for that. I do love a good cupcake.

So does my Mom You will see more coming up

 

[Doc Disney]

I really really hope they still have this show when we go back in a couple of years!!! I can't even talk about Toy Story 3 without welling up. When I saw it at the cinema, there wasn't a single child in there.

Great pictures & can't wait to hear the rest

Sadly it is temporary and at least according to the website is ending in August 27
Maybe they will extend it though!