Donald Duck's May 2010 Trip Report

May 13 - May 20, 2010 - Polynesian Resort

Greetings All!
Here is my first official trip report. My wife and I went to WDW to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary. We have lost count as to how many times we have been to the World, so let's just jump right in!

Day 1
Upon arriving at good old Orlando International, we grabbed our bags (don't like waiting for Magical Express delivery!) and headed to the buses. This was the scene waiting for the Polynesian...we were the only ones heading there!

Once a few other travelers joined us, with a wandering child, we boarded the bus and were on our way. First stop...Polynesian!

Here we are in the Poly lobby -- Daisy and Donald

This is the first trip in which we did the online check-in...wow...how quick and hassle-free! (So we thought). Our room wasn't ready yet (we arrived around 12pm and per our online registration, they knew this). We grabbed some lunch from Capt. Cooks.

Flatbread from Capt. Cooks

After eating and wandering around in the shops for about an hour, we checked back to see if the room was ready...still nothing.

So we headed to Tambu Lounge for some 1:00'tails.

Here I am with a Backscratcher, and you can see my wife's Tropical Mojito in the foreground...thanks to Wally!

Another check to see if room was ready...NOPE! By this time we had been up since 4am and we really were getting desperate to get in our room and unpack. So what did we do?? Took matters into our own hands...headed to Tuvalu, and stood outside with our luggage. (Yes we have no shame! :ROFLOL. The Mousekeepers asked if they could help us (oh you mean us standing out here sweating with our bags?! Why yes!). They checked on our room...it was just about ready so they told us to go up to the 3rd floor and wait on the balcony.

Impatiently waiting while said Mousekeeper is vacuuming!

All of a sudden there was a knock at the door...wait we're outside...oh it's the Mousekeeper telling us our room is ready! :sohappy:

So in we go four hours after our arrival...and here's the view we find from our balcony...awesome and worth the wait.

A few minutes later...my cell phone rings...its the front desk telling me our room is done. To which I reply...yes I'm already in it!

A few moments later, a knock at the door (our room door this time), and here's an anniversary surprise from our two dear friends.

If you haven't picked up on it already (from previous postings or this trip report)...I'm Donald Duck obsessed!

We finished unpacking, changed up, and headed to dinner....

 

[Donald Duck]

So where's dinner you may ask? Sushi Bar at the Kona Cafe.

Thanks to our great waiter (Nate) and sushi chef (Andreas)! They actually remembered us from our visit this past December too.

Pictured here is the Shrimp Tempura Roll (wife's on right), and my Tuna Sashimi (left). Delicious!

Next up...we headed to the MK to meet up with my wife's cousin and her friend. They were here celebrating college graduations.

We headed to the monorail and enjoyed an evening at the MK. We have a new camera on this trip, and figuring out night-time photography was a challenge the first day, so not many pics to share here, except this one of course...my first dessert of the trip.

Apple Turnover from Main Street Bakery

Followed by a banana bread pudding (not pictured).

It had been a long day, so after Wishes (our favorite) we called it a night.

Up next...TONGA TOAST!!!

 

[Donald Duck]

Day 2

Here was the view this morning from our room...they are starting work on the dock at the Poly.

But you know where I"m heading for breakfast...that's right...Kona Cafe for Tonga Toast!

(My wife's cousin joined us and I finished her Tonga Toast as well!)

Here is my wife's breakfast...a Ham and Cheese Omelet (trying to figure out the food setting on the camera)

Note to readers...we had planned a graduation celebration for breakfast this morning for our cousin, but our server did not read the ticket and thus nothing happened. When we explained to her after our meal, she seemed not to care, telling us that we "should have told her." So while the Tonga was great, this was obviously a little disappointing. If your whole deal is "What will you celebrate?" then one would think the server would pay a little more attention to this detail.

Oh well...off to EPCOT.
Here we are on the monorail.

Once we got there, we hit the usual rides...fast pass for Soarin, Spaceship Earth, Nemo, U of E, LIving with the Land. It was pretty hot out, so we headed back to the Poly after lunch.

Cesar Salad from Sunshine Seasons

We headed back to EPCOT later on to meet back up with our cousin. We had dinner around the countries.

Here's my dinner from Morocco...the Vegetable Platter (falafel, tangierine couscous salad, hummus, tabouleh, lentil salad and marinated olives ) with Baklava for dessert.

My wife's dinner from England, good old fish and chips with shortbread cookies for dessert.

Before heading back to the Poly, I had to have my 2 orders of Lefse from Norway. (Yes I did share - which is uncharacteristic for me!)

Up next...Breakfast, DHS, Jiko. Stay tuned!

 

[disneygirl1]

Loving the report! Can't wait to read more! :wave:

 

[sleepybear]

Great report so far. Love that your signiature says you're a Tonga Toast-aholic. I don't consider that a problem. :animwink:

 

[Donald Duck]

Day 3

We were extra lazy this morning and decided to opt for room service, so we could enjoy our balcony and the view of MK.

Here's our delectable fare: Fruit Platter with banana nut bread for me, and a vegetable omelet for my wife.

They even brought a toaster for my wife! Never seen that before...Disney thinks of everything, even avoiding "toast sweat"!
My sincere approval of the banana nut bread!


After breakfast we made our way to DHS around 10am. TSMM fast passes were distributed for the entire day already...that's insane. Plus the wait was like 80 minutes already...so we bypassed it and went down to TOT instead. Then we hit the Great Movie Ride, and had to stop for a snack!

At Starring Rolls...popcorn, my wife's favorite. I tend to take pictures of her munching...which she doesn't particularly care for!

We wandered around the shops a bit....it was starting to get really hot again, so we headed back to Poly to cool off poolside.

Indulging in one of my many Mai Tai's

After a relaxing afternoon, it was dinner time. Jiko! One of our favorites.
We took the boat over to MK for a transfer to the AKL.

We had the boat to ourselves (that never happens!) so the skipper to a pic!

We had a great table at Jiko and were seated right away.

Appetizer: Cucumber, Tomato and Red Onion salad

My entree: the Spice Crusted Tuna. Extra rare...excellent dish!

My wife's dish: the Maize Crusted Halibut...equally delicious.

Since we were celebrating our anniversary at this meal, we received a special dessert: a small Pistachio Creme Brulee

But of course...we had to get more dessert!

My wife's dessert: Lemon White Chocolate Mousse...complete with a butterfly cookie! (My wife loves butterflies and was thrilled with this!)

And my dessert: Kenyan Coffee and Koeksisters (spiced donuts). with an extra side of coffee icecream.

After we sufficiently stuffed ourselves, we headed over to DTD for some shopping, and called it a night.

Up next: MK, Bistro de Paris

 

[Donald Duck]

Day 4

Good Morning Sunshine! My wife was sleeping as I ventured out for coffee at Capt. Cooks. Mind you it was like 6:30am...I don't sleep late.

When sleeping beauty finally woke up, we headed to MK for the park's opening ceremony.

Look...it's Davy Crockett Donald!

We made a beeline to the bakery for breakfast. Line wasn't too bad. I'm still disappointed that they have taken the baked french toast off the menu. I loved that stuff. Also, they did not have any apple charlotte's this time, which is suprising because that was Walt's favorite and his own personal recipe.

Here's our breakfast: Egg and Cheese Croissant, Plain Croissant, Cinnnamon Bun, and a banana.

This is where the dining plan becomes a little too much to handle!
We typically take our food over to the noodle station seating area. There's usually no one over here, it's quiet, cool, and has a great view of the castle.

Afterwards, we did a couple of rides that I had never done. First the motorway...ok check that box. It's too loud but at least I can now say I've done it.

My second ride I've never done is the tea cups. I don't like spinning rides, so the only caveat to my going on this was that my wife was not allowed to spin!

Please don't spin....

I made it out OK...and Alice and the White Rabbit were waiting for me as I exited. I'm a big White Rabbit fan!

Next we saw some of the construction wall for the Fantasyland expansion...can't wait for these coming attractions!

Here's the location of the Little Mermaid Ride...my wife's favorite movie.

And here's a close-up of the Beauty and the Beast Restaurant

Afterwards, it was time for our mid-day departure back to the Poly.

My wife grabbed a grilled cheese from Capt. Cooks, while I grabbed another Mai Tai up in Tambu Lounge.

After this we relaxed pool-side, and got ready for our dinner at Bistro de Paris.

 

[Soaringirl]

I'm loving your report with all your great pictures and I'm very hungry...

 

[tiaragirl]

Great, easy to read TR! The pictures are wonderful.. and it's nice to see Donald getting some love!

 

[Donald Duck]

Day 4 continued

Dinner this evening was at Bistro de Paris. This is the first time we have dined at this restaurant. While the food was excellent, we'd have to say the ambiance was lacking just a bit. There was no music playing and it was awkwardly quiet. The major problem occurred when we tried to use our dining plan for dinner...not accepted!! So we were presented with a very large bill to pay...have no issue with that, except that when booking this reservation, it is booked the same as all other dining plan restaurants. Now, we are Disney fanatics, know the processes, etc...but this was a complete surprise to us. When we asked about it, the staff said this happens all the time at Bistro, and that they've been begging to be removed from the dining reservation list and separated out like Victoria & Albert's for almost 7 years! Hmm...guess we're not the only ones who had this problem. So BE AWARE if you choose to dine here!!

Compliments of the chef...tomato soup with a bruschetta topped with avacado and salmon.

My appetizer: Mediterranean Style Tuna Tartar

My wife's appetizer: Sautéed Jumbo Shrimp with crab and sesame seed croquette

My entree: Seared Sea Scallops

My wife's entree: Sea Bass with gnocchi

For dessert: Warn Chocolate Almond Cake

and...Creme Brulee trio

Sufficiently stuffed from this meal...and not feeling very magical after emptying our wallet(!) we skipped Illuminations and headed out before the crowd stampede to the exit.

Up next...back to EPCOT for Behind the Seeds!

 

[Donald Duck]

Day 5

Today we decided to take the Behind the Seeds tour, something we'd always talked about doing but never actually took the time to book.

The tour took us in some pretty cool areas. It started by heading out the doors to the right, behind the Soarin Fast pass kiosks. It takes you right into the backstage area where you get to learn a little bit about the pests that Disney faces in their green houses. This is also the area that they give out lady bugs for select guests to put in certain areas of the greenhouse. Naturally, yours truly volunteered to release said bugs...why should kids get to do everything! (2 other volunteers were chosen as well!)

Next we were taken to a look into the lab to see what projects are currently being worked on.

We then head out to the greenhouse! This is the same area where the boats go through for Living with the Land, except you are in the back walking on concrete. No one is allowed to walk on the sand in these areas so there is no contamination, except the intruding toads who sneak in from time to time.

It was back here where we were allowed to sample some of the seedless hydroponic cucumbers. Very fresh and tasty!

They also provide handouts teaching you how to make your own hydroponic garden at home...out of a simple fish tank! Haven't tried that one yet, but it would be interesting.

Here I am releasing the lady bugs onto a squash plant (I believe). I did drop one lady bug on the ground, but I did pick it up and place back on a leaf.

We wandered from green house to green house, hearing the basics about the plants and the amount of work that goes into maintenance. One interesting fact was that they let the majority of plants in these greenhouses reach full maturity as part of the show for aesthetic purposes in the ride, even though the flavor diminishes.

We even wandered into the farm raised fish area. I'd post pics of this but the red lighting screws up the pictures and burns your retinas!! We all got to feed the farm raised tilapia as well.

Hidden Mickey:

They also passed around one of the pumpkins that had "earned its ears". Pretty cool how they can form the vegetables into the mickey shape!

After the tour we were hungry...but did not venture to eat anything healthy after our tour. No...instead we went to Beaches and Cream for what else, ice cream!

Here's us taking a picture while seated at the counter...watching them make our disgustingly large treats.

Here I am with my own personal holy grail...the No Way Jose...yes I finished it. Next time I am requesting less chocolate sauce and more peanut butter!

My wife opted for a Cherry Ice Cream Soda...hot dog and fries not pictured, but you can imagine what they looked like :lol:

Stay tuned...more food and fun to come!

 

[blackthidot]

Words can't express my emotions right now buddy. Great job. You are truly loved on this day.

 

[v_misses_epcot]

Loving your report so much considering my bf and I are huge food fans as well! Only thing that irked me was you waiting outside for mousekeeping at the doors. But to each their own, I know at my resort, check in time is at 3:00pm. I personally would have gotten scared if a guest just came to stand outside the door while I was cleaning and I would have felt rushed. x_x Now if it was past 3:00pm I as a quest would be complaining up front in the lobby.
Glad you're having fun! and please continue to post more yummy pictures.

Next week my bf and I are going to Crystal Palace, Trails Inn and Konas Sushi at the Poly! Which yes thank you by the way, that is the same sushi roll we want to try and it looks amazing!!! :sohappy:

 

[meganw1985]

I LOVE all the food pics! It's so great to see that you guys obviously step out of the box dining-wise and try different things you normally don't see people eating! I love it!

Although I do have to say, I tried Tonga Toast from Capt. Cook's last year, and I wasn't a huge fan...maybe it's better at Kona? I did really like the potatoes though.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Awesome report so far! LOVE the food shots!!

 

[Andrew54]

Great Report!

 

[Donald Duck]

Day 5 continued

After Beaches and Cream we headed back to the Poly to relax. We spent the evening at MK.

Here I am pictured with crumb cake from Main Street Bakery. Not pictured is the apple turnover I had before! So good! The girl behind me was amazed at my second dessert.

Here's some shots of the castle right before and during Wishes.

Next Up...Day 6's dinner at the Flying Fish.

 

[Donald Duck]

Day 6

We went to AK today, and rode Everest, saw Finding Nemo...and that was it! AK is a HOT park! It just wore us down today, and we bailed pretty early.


We'll jump right to the good stuff...dinner! We dined at Flying Fish tonight. Excellent food, excellent service, great atmosphere!

Here is my appetizer: Salad of Local Vero Beach Arugula and Watercress

My wife's appetizer: Fresh Mozzarella di Bufala, "Ugli Ripe" Beefsteak and Tiny Florida Grape Tomatoes

For dinner tonight, I had a smoky-citrus and fragrent pepper-spiced yellowfin tuna. Outstanding.

And my wife had the Oak-grilled Maine diver scallops over risotto. Both this picture and this dish belong in Bon Appetit magazine! My wife said these scallops are only rivaled by one other dish on property, and that is the scallops from Narcoossee's (where' we'll be dining on our last night).

We hadn't booked this dinner as an anniversary celebration, but the wait staff was extremely attentive, and brought out a little surprise for us compliments of our proudly displayed anniversary buttons:

This is the White Chocolate Florida Peach Creme Brulee. All I'm going to say is WOW! Probably one of the best desserts I've ever had, and I don't like creme brulee!

But again, we had to get our own separate desserts. It is vacation after all and we just love food too much to pass it up!

My wife loved the creme brulee so much that she ordered the regular one off the menu...but it beat her this time. She couldn't finish!

And I opted for the Blue Dark Berry Tart. I fiinshed (of course). It was really, really good.

After dinner we headed back to the Poly to sit beach side and watch Wished on the lounge chairs.

Here's a great view of the GF at dusk.

And once Wishes was over, I had a little gift from Norway waiting for me. The schoolbread. And I had to indulge, even though I had already put away essentially 2 desserts. (Good thing I'm a runner!)

Up next...our last day.

 

[NewfieFan]

Loving the TR and all the food !

I can't eat much food at all... and on vacation I'm even worse. I lose my appetite when I'm excited and when the weather's hot (both are at Disney)!

 

[blackthidot]

Food !