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]

My wife is 5'2" and my son told she needed to 5'6" to a vote in the house! lol

Hahaha that means in our house no one would ever vote except for my Dad

 

[Doc Disney]

Ummmm LAVA FLOW!? Your mom is my own personal drink finder. Sign me up for one of those.

I didn't realize Characters in Flight was only 7 minutes long. Sounds like a rip off to me.. though I would like to see the awesome views just once.

AKL is so beautiful. I'm obsessed with it and the Poly and WILL stay at both at some point.

Haha you and my Mom have similar tastes in drinks apparently...I don't like things very sweet so I never really like what she does
Characters in Flight is cool to do but just once! Now that you live in the area I would definitely recommend trying it in the morning since its half the price

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 - July 10, 2017 My Birthday
This morning I got up and dressed in my obnoxious Birthday outfit

I was looking on the app and noticed a breakfast reservation for 'Ohana for about 20 minutes from then so I grabbed it! Since we never ate dinner the night before so we were extra hungry!

We were spoiled with this amazing table for two that we were lucky enough to have before as well
It was a wee bit humid out as you can tell by the windows

I got a Birthday card from the gang

Yummy bread!

Fruit

Our platter came out...

......
.....
.....
HAM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Even today the menu says bacon....not ham
As you can probably tell I (and so does my Mom) hate ham. I was soooo disappointed. I guess in hindsight I could have asked for bacon I realize that ham and bacon are kind of the same thing....but not in my mind
So we essentially just ate the fruit, bread, biscuits, waffles and potatoes Oh well!

Next up: 'Ohana continued

 

[becca_]

I love that you used your pin as a necklace! Such a cute idea!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued
Pluto was up first

Stich was next

Followed by Lilo...she asked how old I was and I said 29. She told me she was 6

Last up was the main cheese

Birthday kiss from Mickey

A kind woman at the table next to us took our picture

Overall we enjoyed our character interactions but we weren't super thrilled with our breakfast. Not even just because of the ham (although that did indeed make a big difference). In general the food was so-so and they were sparse with the waffles even when we asked for more. We probably won't be back anytime soon (but I always say that...then we are )

Next up: MK!

 

[Doc Disney]

I love that you used your pin as a necklace! Such a cute idea!

Thank you! I didn't like putting holes in my shirts so I did that quite a bit

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued
We shuffled our way over to the MK and somehow still made it in time for the opening. We got in a Photopass line and picked the wrong one The CM was super into her job but was spending like 10 minutes with every party. I'm not sure why we didn't end up ditching the line but we did get some fun Birthday photos.

Sorry, its a million pictures of me this day

Anyway, it was pretty crowded this morning but we still headed to Buzz as the park opened of course

Our first FP was for Space Mountain but it was down so we went on the Peoplemover instead

We went on twice actually since there was no line I asked to stay on
The Touring Plans app is insanely accurate about when down rides will open and they said in about 10 minutes and it was correct!

We took some more Photopass pictures after this...

Next up: more random pictures I'm sure

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued
And...more pictures

Our next FP was for BTMR but we happened upon Great Moments in History (with the Muppets). I have been dying to see this so I was so happy we were in the right place at the right time

I love Sam Eagle!

Next up: more MK

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued
We had the version about the Declaration of Independence! We loved it and can not wait to see the others...such a cute show (with a very catchy song)

We went on BTMR after this and I wrote down hot so I'm assuming thats why I don't have any pictures I do remember getting complimented on my ears a lot in this line AND I had a whole group of Brazilians wishing me a happy Birthday
After BTMR we had some time before our next FP so we headed into some air conditioning at the Country Bear Jamboree
Some bears must have been with us

We had such a great show because everyone in the audience was so into it and clapping along

Last FP of the morning was for Mickey....and I got the red card!!

So excited!

The CM tried to tell Mickey it was my Birthday but he didn't hear Thats OK! We got the cousins bit about having the same ears as him

Next up: lunch and relaxing

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued
Shocker of all shockers we were super hot so we headed out of the park

We decided to change it up for lunch and picked Contempo Cafe instead of Capt. Cooks

I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Flatbread

At this point in life I should know better than to order anything "buffalo chicken" when not here in Buffalo. This was OK but not great. Plus is had way too much chicken on it.
My Mom ordered a pepperoni flatbread (technically its meat lovers with just pepperoni )

We both ate this one mostly It was yum!
Back at the Poly my Mom got a cupcake from Capt. Cooks and made me pose with it like it was for my Birthday

We spent a ton if time in the pool again before it started pouring and lightening. We didn't really know what to do while it was raining so we went to the Tambu Lounge for a drink.
We both chose the Backscratcher

I think I liked it better than my Mom liked it but neither of us could finish it
I don't know if you can tell from this picture but I wasn't just slightly raining...it was pouring !

Back in the room we packed up a bit since we were leaving the next day
It finally stopped raining around 5 so we got ready to head back to the MK

Our first ride was the train It was closed earlier in the day so we were happy to see it was open

Next up: more MK

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued
Random photo from the train

We got off at Fantasyland Station and headed over to our FP!
Tomorrowland Speedway
Look at those CMs in the car

I really struggled to drive with the steering wheel on the other side of the car

We had a random FP from earlier in the day when Space Mountain was closed (even though we got on Space Mountain) so we used in for Buzz Pictures were down again
We went on Carousel of Progress after this Some women was standing up with her baby and got us stuck because they would not move until she sat down
Finally it was time to head over and check in for dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table! We were slightly early so I took some surrounding pictures!

I couldn't contain myself with this light picture

The CM checking us in was so mean but at the end of checking us in gruffly said "Happy Birthday Princess"

Cinderella!

We were seated pretty quickly and we were at a nice big table for 4...hooray!
Our waitresses name was also Megan

Next up: more CRT

 

[Ciara]

Day 10 continued
Shocker of all shockers we were super hot so we headed out of the park
View attachment 220779
View attachment 220780
We decided to change it up for lunch and picked Contempo Cafe instead of Capt. Cooks
View attachment 220781
I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Flatbread
View attachment 220782
At this point in life I should know better than to order anything "buffalo chicken" when not here in Buffalo. This was OK but not great. Plus is had way too much chicken on it.
My Mom ordered a pepperoni flatbread (technically its meat lovers with just pepperoni )
View attachment 220783
We both ate this one mostly It was yum!
Back at the Poly my Mom got a cupcake from Capt. Cooks and made me pose with it like it was for my Birthday
View attachment 220784
We spent a ton if time in the pool again before it started pouring and lightening. We didn't really know what to do while it was raining so we went to the Tambu Lounge for a drink.
We both chose the Backscratcher
View attachment 220785
I think I liked it better than my Mom liked it but neither of us could finish it
I don't know if you can tell from this picture but I wasn't just slightly raining...it was pouring !
View attachment 220788
Back in the room we packed up a bit since we were leaving the next day
It finally stopped raining around 5 so we got ready to head back to the MK
View attachment 220789
Our first ride was the train It was closed earlier in the day so we were happy to see it was open
View attachment 220790

Next up: more MK

Ham and Bacon are totally different Bacon is so much better!

I love your dress/romper? Its super cute

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued

We actually had a long wait for our food which is odd because I feel like they usually rush you. The only reason I cared was because I was starving
My Mom chose the Castle Salad. She was a little grossed out by the egg in it but she just ate around it and enjoyed the rest of it

I chose the charcuterie plate. It was yummy!

Our waitress surprised us with wands since it was my Birthday (usually only little kids get them)! I was so excited! Apparently it doesn't take much to please me

Snow White came by first

One of the managers stopped by our table to comment on how cool my ears were and so did other CMs
For entrees we both ordered the beef and shrimp Sorry its such a bad picture I was getting weird shadowing.

Although it wasn't very heat hot it was still just as delicious as it was last time. The potatoes are extra good for some reason
Next princess up (and by far the nicest about my Birthday) was Aurora

Next up was Ariel

Next up: more CRT

 

[Doc Disney]

Ham and Bacon are totally different Bacon is so much better!

I love your dress/romper? Its super cute

Bacon is 100 times better
Thank you! Its a romper It looks confusing haha

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued

Jasmine was the last to stop by

For dessert I ordered the Clock Strikes Twelve. Its Dark Chocolate Mousse. Its OK - I think I ate a few bites, mainly just too much of a sweet for me

My Mom ordered the Jaq and Gus which is strawberry cake and cheesecake with some other things on it. I swear this looked different than the last time my Mom ordered it
She enjoyed it

I also got a cupcake since it was my Birthday

Luckily it was a small gathering and it was only our waitress, another CM, and my Mom singing to me

I feel like Cinderella's Royal Table gets a bad rap but we yet again really enjoyed our meal and will definitely be back! The food was great, we didn't feel rushed at all and we enjoyed meeting the princesses. I was really happy that I chose it for my Birthday After dinner we headed to the hub for Happily Ever After. You can't not watch (double negative ) fireworks on your Birthday! It was super crowded but we were able to stand fairly close to the castle. I wanted to make sure I saw the projections this time

Next up: more HEE

 

[12in12]

Everything is better with bacon. I also don't like ham so can understand why you were disappointed with your breakfast at Ohana.
I am sad you are already on your last day of your trip because that means the TR will end soon .

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 10 continued
More HEE

This is my favorite part

Well, it was my first time watching Happily Ever After with a full view of the projections! They are great and add to the fireworks but my Mom and I both agreed that if it remains that crowded in the hub it will take us a long while before we see the projections again because it was much more comfortable standing down Main Street . Overall, as I sit here listening to the Wishes soundtrack, I can truly say I love Happily Ever After too Wishes will always remain in my heart but I do think Happily Ever After is a worthy replacement...even though it pains me to say it I have been watching it and listening to the soundtrack on YouTube and I am genuinely excited to see it again (but preferably not amongst a massive crowd ).
We paid the price for being so deep into the hub as we tried to work our way out. We encountered a massive wait for the monorail but luckily slipped in line just before a ton of people from the Express line decided to come to our side. I think we ended up getting on the second monorail. I will say, and I would say this even if I wasn't staying at a monorail resort, that I wish during high crowd levels they would only allow monorail resort guests/dining reservations on the resort monorail. I made my Mom guess how many people would be left in our car at the TTC and she said 5 and I said 0. I was correct. Every single person in our car and the cars around us got off at the TTC . I mean like I said even if I wasn't staying at the Poly I would say the same thing. It just annoyed me since everyone was so aggressive about pushing their way through line. Rant over.
Anyway, after that delightful rant I really was so happy that I was able to spend my Birthday in Disney World and I had the perfect magical day

Next up: Last Day

 

[Doc Disney]

Everything is better with bacon. I also don't like ham so can understand why you were disappointed with your breakfast at Ohana.
I am sad you are already on your last day of your trip because that means the TR will end soon .

I'm glad I am not the only one who dislikes ham but likes bacon. It was so disappointing! I'm sad its coming to an end too

 

[Songbird76]

It was so beautiful! My Mom wasn't quite as into it as I was though Oh no thats terrible!!! I truly think I was over tired because I can't imagine actually having that reaction in normal life. I took a bad spill a few years ago in Disney (slipped at Sci-Fi Dine In) and I literally started crying because I hurt my knee so bad. My sister laughed at me thinking I was crying because I was embarrassed! Those sisters
I also feel like this was semi-payback since when I hit my head in Disney last year and got a concussion my Mom filmed the whole thing while laughing (clearly she didn't know I was that hurt ). Now that I'm writing this I realize I'm accident prone in Disney

Huh...kind of funny...I don't think I had any accidents at Disney, yet in daily life I am the BIGGEST klutz. I had a coworker for a while who would just laugh at me constantly as I had a tendency to run into poles. (I work in a warehouse and we used to fill one order at a time by carrying a basket around and putting the ordered items in the basket, and I would cut corners too close and run into shelving or support columns. Now we have big carts and we don't carry the baskets around, so I don't have as many problems.) My husband, when I trip, says "Hi, Sweetie." because he says he wouldn't know it was me if I didn't trip at least once a day...or run into door handles. How did I not end up with sprained ankles, or concussions in 10 days of Disney last year??
Sorry your mom fell...that must have been embarrassing. Nothing worse than having an audience to your accidents!

 

[LadyBelle]

I'm glad I am not the only one who dislikes ham but likes bacon

Add me to that list.

Every pic I see of you and your mom in dresses or skirts makes me smile because when I wore a t-shirt dress to head to Fulton's Crab House in 2004, the bus driver asked why I was so dressed up.