Trip Report Go With The Flow...It's Spring Break, You Know! *COMPLETED*

Attention all planners (you know who you are!) ~ it is actually possible to have an excellent WDW vacation without following a pre-determined day-by-day (or minute-by-minute for you micro-planners) schedule. Even when it means missing the MK Welcome Show three times (*sigh*) or Wishes (gasp!) Even when you get stuck on a monorail for an hour and fifteen minutes. Or have to wait 40 minutes in the Main Street Starbucks and you aren't getting coffee (or even a snack).

Did you know it is possible to score a same-day ADR for dinner at Garden Grill (at a decent dinner hour)? Or snag a pre-park opening breakfast at Crystal Palace the night before? I wouldn't either, had we stuck to my plan.

Now some advance planning is always necessary, especially during the busy Spring Break period. And we are spring break veterans (having survived Easter week a few times!) so we know what to expect. That's why it was especially hard for me, the planner, to give up/adjust some of our plans and Go With The Flow! (channeling my inner Crush, can you tell?)

Now the details:
April 3-9, 2016
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

Cast:
Tuvalu and @TrolleyFollower91 (known as Em)

and our beloved Woody! He makes it possible for our Disney dreams to come true .

Goofy is his favorite!

Join us on a fun-filled week of surprises. Did we get to stay in a bungalow? Stay tuned.

 

[Tuvalu]

Always love your reports and incite @Tuvalu ! I'm in!

Following along - I am SO excited!

I don't know the secret to sleeping the night before a Disney trip either. I do not think it's possible. Looking forward to following along!

Absolutely following along! I've a lot to catch up with all the TR's and PTR's but can't wait for more in this one!

Can't wait to read more!

Happy to have y'all on board!!

 

[Tuvalu]

I'm looking forward to reading your trip report. I'm a total planner. I have been known to come up with daily itineraries to make sure we see everything we want to

But I also try to incorporate flexibility into my planning (I think that's why I'm actually not a fan of how much WDW forces you to pre-plan, especially with fastpass+. I maybe biased though, I prefer Disneyland's approach, it still allows some flexibility) So I'm really curious to read about your going with the flow

Flexibility is always a challenge for us planners! I initially thought I would dislike FP+, but I have become a fan. And because we have APs, it is easier to give up certain attractions knowing we can always catch them next time. So I do feel for those who can only visit the parks once and want to see everything.

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday (con't)
So we're on the DME bus and the Poly is the first stop! As we turn onto Seven Seas Drive and begin to pass the Transportation and Ticket Center, I overhear two women behind me:
Woman #1: "Is that the Magic Kingdom?"
Woman #2: "No, I think it is the Studios."

It took every fiber in my being not to correct her. Woody gave me the "Let it go" glance.

Then the bus made THE most important turn. Tuvalu is home!

Sometimes there are Cast Members who meet the DME bus and greet arriving guests with leis. There were no CMs around when we disembarked, but guests can get their leis when they check in. We did not check in at the Great Ceremonial House, however. Instead, we made our way here:

Can you imagine how excited we were?!!

That's Geoff, one of the amiable concierge CMs. As he was reviewing our information, he commented, "I see you requested a microwave."
Ummmm....No. (Who even knew you could? But as you will read later, we wished we'd gotten that microwave!)

Geoff said our room was not yet ready, but there would be a surprise waiting for us. He said I would receive a text when the room was ready. (Yeah, we've seen this movie before...never been successful with receiving the room number text!) We decided to explore the Poly grounds before heading over to the MK, where we had a lunch ADR.

 

[Tuvalu]

First stop was the new Oasis pool. We really enjoyed the old quiet pool, back when it had a real (8 ft.) deep end! The water in the deep end of that pool was always cool, even in the August heat. When they filled it in several years ago, we were bummed. So we have been anxiously awaiting the new pool, and we liked what we saw!

The Infinity edge really gives it a "cool" factor. It looks like the water is all shallow, but it's not.
The bar and grill area screams retro Polynesia. We had planned to sample the offerings, but it didn't happen . Next visit!

We walked over to the Lava pool. Woody and I got to swim in it last summer, but this is Em's first Poly stay in 3 years and she wanted to check it out.

There were folks in the hot tub and Em did not think it appropriate to photograph it .

 

[Tuvalu]

We made a little detour on our way to MK. I remembered it was the last day for the Easter Egg display at the GF, so we got off the monorail and went inside.

We have seen the display in previous years and while most of this year's eggs are new, there were a couple repeats...but they were good repeats. Notice this egg sits on spaghetti!

New this year:

This one's exquisite!

And our #1 fave:

We are HUGE fans of Inside Out!!!!

 

[MinnieM123]

Ha ha ha!! Tuvalu is "home"! I like that comment.

I don't recall what year it was, but I saved up the money to stay 3 nights at the Poly. Checked in, and voila--they upgraded me to the concierge building, Hawaii !! The view was beautiful, too. (By the way, how was your view--just wondering if the new bungalows over the water interfered. I can't really tell by looking at a few photos I've seen, if the Hawaii view is obstructed now or not.) Anyway, I'm so happy that your group enjoyed your stay there.

The rehab of the quiet pool was very nicely done. I liked it even before the rehab as a quiet oasis, as the volcano pool area was always crazy full of people. Now, the quiet pool is even more attractive for guests who want to get away from the noise.

The photos of the GF Easter eggs were gorgeous! I had seen a few in another member's post, but a few of your close-ups were amazing. Their chefs at the GF are such artists!!

 

[Tuvalu]

We did look for the Teddy Bear Lady when we were in the GF lobby but did not see her. (I did spot her later in the week when I popped into Basin to get some Body Butter for my DIL.)

Got back on the monorail and arrived at a VERY CROWDED Magic Kingdom...we expected as much, so we weren't surprised. As we made our way down Main Street, we caught the Spring Trolley Show (much to @TrolleyFollower91 's delight!)

It was an incredibly gorgeous weather day with no humidity . Cindy's Castle was especially beautiful.

(Yep, I'm wearing the much-longed-for purple MagicBand!)

We continued on our way to our lunch destination.

You guessed it!

 

[Tuvalu]

We arrived right on time for our ADR...but it was obvious by the number of guests in the gathering area that we were in for a wait. We had not eaten anything but a Starbucks pastry before boarding our plane 6 hours earlier (remember we never got our Biscoffs ) and we were hungry. Correction ~ HANGRY .

As the minutes ticked by, the planner in me grew increasingly frustrated as I feared we would miss our highly-coveted 7DMT fastpass window. This is when Woody first uttered the phrase that would remain the theme of our week: "We'll just have to go with the flow." (Easy for his laid-back self to say!)

25 minutes later, we were led to our table in the Betsy Ross room.

Our server arrived promptly and we gave him our usual order ~ turkey, pot roast and a cheeseburger. Typically the food comes out in under 10 minutes. Not today. Our bellies had to wait another 30 minutes for sustenance. "Liberty Tree Tavern is falling down a few notches on our must-do list," complained Em.

Though we were dangerously close to FP time, we were not willing to sacrifice the main reason for our LTT lunch:

We ordered two to share. Yum-O as always! Though I was surprised to discover that we weren't charged the $7.50 menu price for each ~ our bill reflected a 50 cent increase per cake. Not a lot, mind you, but I couldn't help feeling a bit deceived. And we really didn't have the time to bring it to our server's attention as we had a FP to make.

 

[MinnieM123]

Interesting review of Liberty Tree Tavern. I've never actually been in there, but it sounds like I'm not missing much.

That's a nice picture of the spring trolley show. I always liked the pretty dresses and hats that the CMs wear in those old-time shows. Really brings me back to my first visit to WDW. I was as excited about the shows in MK as I was about the rides! Good times, fond memories with my mother back then.

 

[Tuvalu]

Interesting review of Liberty Tree Tavern. I've never actually been in there, but it sounds like I'm not missing much.

That's a nice picture of the spring trolley show. I always liked the pretty dresses and hats that the CMs wear in those old-time shows. Really brings me back to my first visit to WDW. I was as excited about the shows in MK as I was about the rides! Good times, fond memories with my mother back then.

The food at LTT has always been good, but lately the service has really been slipping. We have another ADR for an upcoming trip, so we're giving it another chance.

We love the shows too! How sweet they remind you of your mom.

 

[MinnieM123]

We love the shows too! How sweet they remind you of your mom

Thank you. (May God rest her soul.) Even to this day, nothing will ever compare to my mother and I walking down Main Street USA for the first time, and seeing all the sights (and parades), with the castle in the distance.

 

[Tuvalu]

We power-walked to 7DMT, which is not easy to do when the park is packed (especially through the congested Small World/Peter Pan corridor.) The standby wait was posted at 140 minutes. Happily, Mickey's head turned green when Em scanned her band. I scanned mine next and was startled when the CM called out, "Happy Birthday Tuvalu!"

Weird...not my birthday...not wearing a Birthday button .

I requested the front car since I have motion sensitivity with back-and-forth rocking.

We made it!!!!!

Our FP window for Haunted Mansion was now open, but we decided to pop in to Philharmagic first. We were stunned to find the entire queue full of guests, something we have not seen since the attraction opened. We still managed to laugh at Donald and make it on time here:

Love the mansion! Definitely in my top 3 attractions.

Our final FP was for Pirates. This may surprise some of you, since I have expressed disdain over the drenching that can occur at the bottom of the waterfall with the new boats. We have learned that we can stay dry in row 6 (as long as we pass the water cannons in time!) The standby wait was 60 minutes when we breezed into the FP line. It was a great ride...we didn't get wet.

It was now past 4 pm and I still had not received our "room ready" text. (Shocking...Not!) But we were ready to return to the Poly, so we made our way out of the park.

 

[Tuvalu]

Each time we entered the Hawaii building, we were greeted with an "Aloha!" The CM at the desk apologized that I was never texted our room number (something about a supervisor needing to check the room) but room 3524 was ready for us. We climbed the open staircase to the 3rd floor.

We passed this door on the way to our room. Em said the occupants had likely returned from a cruise.

Our room:

Was I excited to see this!

And here is the surprise Geoff mentioned this morning:

Along with the candy and snack basket were two real leis, one for a woman and one for a man. Woody and I had received similar leis a couple years ago during an anniversary celebration. Those leis:

The male lei has a not-so-pleasant fragrance, and Woody only wore it for a quick picture. I did not even open the container that held his new lei. Em, however, gladly modeled the flower lei.

The ribbon is supposed to be worn over the heart .

And while our room did not overlook the lagoon, we were pleased with the view:

@MinnieM123, the bungalows do interfere with room views in Hawaii, especially those on the first and second floors. Rooms formerly categorized as theme park view were downgraded to lagoon or garden view. Our family was not happy with the addition of the bungalows (we miss the pristine beach and Sunset Pointe), so it is just as well we had a lovely pool view.

 

[jlsHouston]

First stop was the new Oasis pool. We really enjoyed the old quiet pool, back when it had a real (8 ft.) deep end! The water in the deep end of that pool was always cool, even in the August heat. When they filled it in several years ago, we were bummed. So we have been anxiously awaiting the new pool, and we liked what we saw!

View attachment 138666 View attachment 138667 View attachment 138668

The Infinity edge really gives it a "cool" factor. It looks like the water is all shallow, but it's not.
The bar and grill area screams retro Polynesia. We had planned to sample the offerings, but it didn't happen . Next visit!
View attachment 138669
View attachment 138670

We walked over to the Lava pool. Woody and I got to swim in it last summer, but this is Em's first Poly stay in 3 years and she wanted to check it out.

View attachment 138672
View attachment 138673

There were folks in the hot tub and Em did not think it appropriate to photograph it .

Oh GEEZ, I can't stand this now. I just want to be at the POLY after looking at these pics.

 

[MinnieM123]

Oh my gosh!!!!!!!! A really and truly CLOCK in the room!!!!!!!!!!!! Hawaii must be the only building on site that still has them! Out of all your pix from last night, that one made my day!!

I liked your pool view. And I agree, that it's better than some of the "other" alternatives now.

 

[lostpro9het]

View attachment 138855

The level of excitement on Woody's face is off the charts!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

The level of excitement on Woody's face is off the charts!!!

He's chillaxin' on the Mine Train!

(Actually, I wish I would have some of his calm spirit on this roller coaster of life!)

 

[Tuvalu]

Oh GEEZ, I can't stand this now. I just want to be at the POLY after looking at these pics.

It was great! Wishing I were back there now too!

Oh my gosh!!!!!!!! A really and truly CLOCK in the room!!!!!!!!!!!! Hawaii must be the only building on site that still has them! Out of all your pix from last night, that one made my day!!

I liked your pool view. And I agree, that it's better than some of the "other" alternatives now.

I did my happy dance when I saw it! Though I had packed my travel clock just in case...

 

[JIMINYCR]

We passed this door on the way to our room. Em said the occupants had likely returned from a cruise.

Enjoying your report.
This door banner is part of a package that can be ordered at Disney Floral and Gifts. It can be personalized with the guests name. I did this as a surprise for DW on our last trip. Our package I ordered had tons of fun stuff waiting for us in our room. They were great to work with by the way.

 

[Tuvalu]

Enjoying your report.
This door banner is part of a package that can be ordered at Disney Floral and Gifts. It can be personalized with the guests name. I did this as a surprise for DW on our last trip. Our package I ordered had tons of fun stuff waiting for us in our room. They were great to work with by the way.

Thanks! I had no idea.