Happymom's June 2010 WDW Trip Report and....SURPRISE Cruise on the Disney Wonder!!!

Day One: Are you sure we are going to the Polynesian Resort TODAY??

On past trips, we've always had a late flight to Orlando which would put us at our resort after dinner time. This time however, we were thrilled to have a noon flight, which meant we would be able to enjoy the late afternoon and evening at Disney.

We boarded our plane, and just as we settled into our seats we hear "Good afternoon, this is the captain and you are not going to like what I am about to say". Uh oh. He lost me after I heard the words "mechanical problem" because I pretty much went into a fit of panic. He said we were going to have to get off of the plane. I did not argue. The last place I wanted to be was on a plane with a "mechanical problem".

They told us they were going to try to find another plane for us. From another city. That would have to then fly to our city. After they somehow managed to find it. :brick:

An hour later, they announced that they could not find another plane, so they were going to try and fix the one we were supposed to be on. NOT what someone who has a deathly fear of flying (that would be me) wants to hear.

While the kids used up all of their new goodies and surprises I had hidden in their backpacks (you know...the ones that are supposed to entertain the kids during the actual flight), my husband worked hard to try to get us on another flight. All flights to Orlando or anywhere near Orlando were sold out for the rest of the day. And the next day.

Another hour goes by and we are told the good news that we will board the plane at 3:00. At 3:00, they start an announcement which I am sure is going to be about boarding....but instead they say they do not know when OR IF we were going to be able to board today. This was about the time my migraine kicked in.

Finally sometime after 4:00, they let us board. I don't remember much about the flight because I was in zombie mode by that point. We stopped at the McDonald's in the Orlando airport for dinner. Have I mentioned that we had a 6:00 adr for Kona Cafe? Yep. Had to settle for a quarter pounder instead.:hurl: With my migraine in full swing, we headed to the Avis rent a car line. I waited with the kids while my DH stood in line. For an hour. Yes, I said an hour. :fork:

It was about 10:00 p.m. when we finally walked into our room at the Polynesian. One piece of good news is that we got the room we had requested...third floor facing the pool in Tokelau. Here is the view we had from our room:

 

[mouselvrmom]

Oh, no! That sounds awful! It sounds like it got better from there, though! Can't wait to read more!

 

[happymom52003]

Day Two: You'd think I'd learn to trust my intuition

As my alarm went off, I felt my body arguing with my mind. My mind was telling me to get up NOW, for we were going to Star Wars Weekend today and it was imperative to be at the gates well before park opening. My body was telling me to throw my blackberry off of the balcony. Guess who won? Luckily my blackberry stayed put, but so did I...and the rest of my family.

After we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, I had the thought that we should just skip Star Wars Weekend and go to another park instead since we did not get an early start. However, it was Sunday which meant we would not have another chance during this trip to go. So I threw my common sense out the window, and we were off to DHS.

By the time we got there, all of the Jedi Training Academy's and Padwan Mind Challenges for the day were full. Toy Story Mania fastpasses were gone. And the character lines had been cut off because they all had to get ready for the parade. So....we wandered around for a bit and saw the Muppet show. By then it was time for our lunch adr at Sci Fi.

After lunch we took my DD on Star Tours for her first (she was finally tall enough!:sohappy and last time (we won't be going back before the refurb). After that we rode the Great Movie Ride, and then decided we had enough of the heat and were ready to leave. Since we had been to Star Wars Weekends the previous year and had an AMAZING time, we were not too upset that our day had not gone as planned. However, I refused to leave without at least one picture with a Star Wars character, so we found some storm troopers. Here it is, proof that I did in fact attend a Star Wars Weekend this year:

 

[happymom52003]

Day Three: Finally Feeling the Disney Magic!

After getting a much needed long night of sleep, we woke up early and went to the MK. Today was Memorial Day, so I was a bit worried about what the crowds would be like. Turned out to be an awesome day to be at the MK! In fact, we experienced the shortest wait times of our trip on this day.

We rode Peter Pan, Pooh Bear, Haunted Mansion, Small World, and Goofy Barnstormer. While my DH and DS went to grab fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain, my DD and I went to meet Princess Tiana. She was not there, and the area was deserted except for a character attendant. He told me it would be about 40 minutes until Tiana was back.

While I stood there trying to decide what to do next, the character attendant told me to turn around. I did so, and I see Tiana and Prince Naveen walking our way on their way backstage. I'm not sure where they were coming from...are they in the castle show now? It has been so long since I have seen it. But they were coming from that direction. When my daughter saw them, she ran to Tiana and gave her a big hug. Then Tiana and Prince Naveen took her by her hands and walked her back over to me. It was so magical! We had our own personal meet and greet with them. It was one of the highlights of the trip for my DD.

Next we did Hall of Presidents and ate lunch at Columbia Harbor House. After lunch it was time for my DD’s first ride on Big Thunder Mountain. She had lots of firsts on this trip since she had reached the magical height! She said she liked it, but it was too fast and she did not want to ever ride it again!

Next we rode Pirates and the Tomorrow Land Transit Authority, and then went back to the Poly to escape the heat and get cleaned up for dinner. We went to Epcot for dinner at Garden Grill. This has always been one of my favorite restaurants, however this time we could hardly eat our food. I've always defended the Garden Grill against bad reviews, but in our opinion it has gone way down hill. The salad was really good, but the rest was just awful. We had to get the kids chicken nuggets from Captain Cooks when we got back to the Poly because they were starving.

However...in my experience, it still remains the BEST character interaction on property, hands down. All of the characters came to our table twice, they played with the kids, acted goofy with my DH, and every single one of them sat down in the spare chair that was at our table. The characters totally made up for the yucky food.

Not sure what Chip is doing :lookaroun:

 

[happymom52003]

Day Four: Bibbidi, Boppidi, Boo!

Another MK day. While my DH and DS rode rides, I took my daughter for her first ever appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I am not sure which one of us was more excited about this....we are both serious girly girls.:king:

We opted for the Crown Package that included hairstyling, shimmering makeup, and nail polish. We brought her Belle dress from home that Santa had given her last Christmas.

First, a "Fairy Godmother in Training" escorted us to a dressing room to change. Next it was time to pick a hairstyle....we chose the Fairy Tale Princess look. I was amazed how the lady was able to get the hair into such a perfect bun...I've tried to recreate it since then, but have failed miserably.

My daughter was given her choice of tiaras, and she picked the one with pink rhinestones. To complete the look, a special Mickey hair clip was put into place.

Next was makeup. I know many people do not like BBB because of the makeup, but our Fairy Godmother did a tasteful job with it, although I did have to wipe a little bit of the blush off afterwards once I saw it in the sun light. My daughter was thrilled that she got to keep the little makeup palette, as well as the bottle of fingernail polish. She was given the choice of light pink of light blue polish, and chose pink, of course.

The final step was the ever important Pixie Dust.

Next it was time for lunch at the Castle. We were very surprised and happy to see Ariel there, for it was the first time we had met her in her "human" form.

We also had Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Belle. Belle gave lots of extra attention to our own little Belle...another very magical experience!

After lunch, we took a bunch of pictures of of our little princess in front of the castle, wishing well, and fountain, then changed her back into normal clothes. It was just way too hot to stay in the Belle dress. We rode the carousel, then went back to the resort to get out of the heat. After eating dinner at Captain Cooks, we went back to the MK. We saw Philarmagic, then split up. The guys went to ride Space Mountain and Buzz, while my DD and I rode Pooh Bear, Goofy Barnstormer, and the Tea Cups. We met back up with the boys and rode Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and Magic Carpets.

Something odd...while going to Space Mountain, my DH and DS ran into someone dressed like Mario, who was posing with guests for pictures. He did not look official, because his costume was kind of goofy and there was no character attendant with him.:lookaroun

 

[happymom52003]

Day Five: The dreaded vacation nightmare comes true..someone gets sick.

We woke up bright and early to go to Epcot. My husband did not look so good...and said his throat was hurting. Bad. Like really bad. He toyed with the idea of staying in bed, but he knew that today would be my DD's first time ever on Soarin, and he did not want to miss it. He is such a great Disney Dad! Once through the gates, I high tailed it over to Soarin to get our fast passes while my husband moved at a snail's pace to Ellen's Energy Adventure. We needed a cool place for him to sit for a long time while waiting for our Soarin FP time, and Ellen's ride fit the bill.

After our adventure with Ellen, we headed to the Land Pavilon and rode Living With the Land. Afterwards, we had about 5 minutes to waste until our FP time, so we took some fun pics of my DD in front of the height measurement at Soarin. The CM played along.

By this time my poor hubby was about to pass out, so he left to go back to the resort. The kids and I rode Journey into Imagination and played with the jumping water fountains, then headed back to the Poly to check on my DH and eat lunch. He was much worse, so I took the kids swimming, and then to the MK for the evening while he tried to sleep.

The kids and I ate dinner at Columbia Harbor House, then rode POTC, did the tree house, the race cars, and the Tomorrow Land Transit Authority. We went to Toontown to check the wait for the fairies, which was 75 minutes so that was not happening. A big storm was approaching, so we hopped on the train and rode to the Main Street Station. We were not fast enough, and got caught in bad wind, rain and insane lightening…but the kids thought it was great fun.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sorry your trip got off to such a shaky start. I'd have been super nervous on the plane, too. The one time our flights got delayed because of weather we missed our connection and ended up on stand-by. When we got onto a flight I wasn't even able to sit near the rest of my family. I spent the first 30 minutes of the flight in tears. You know, best laid plans and all.

Your view at the Poly looks so peaceful. That was my overall feeling at that resort, too: tranquil.

The hairdo at BBB looked so pretty. Was the glitter hard to wash out? I've often wondered about that. Belle is my favorite princess. Her dress is just so beautiful.

The Mario guy most definitely looks scary. Were a lot of people taking pics with him? I bet they were all looking for 'People of the Parks'-type material. :lol: But seriously, sometimes ya gotta wonder what the heck are people thinking. :shrug:

Ugh! Hate that your DH got sick. I can sympathize. I've done Disney sick twice. It's brutal plus it's heartbreaking to be sick when you least want to be. So sad for all of you. And what a trooper for you to continue with the kiddos while he rested.

I'm enjoying your trip report lots. Good, bad, and everything in between...it's part of the adventure and I enjoy reading about everyone's adventures. Keep it coming! :sohappy:

 

[mouselvrmom]

I love that you saw Ariel in human form at the castle. We've never seen her there. Maybe this time!

 

[happymom52003]

Day Six: The big surprise is revealed!

Poor hubby is still feeling terrible.

This morning I took my DD to the Perfectly Princess Tea Party at the Grand Floridian. This was actually our second time to do this. We did it back in 2008, but my daughter had been sick, and was still not feeling 100% when we did it, so I wanted her to do it again while she was feeling good and was a bit older. It was fun, but not as special as the first time we did it. This is definitely one of those once in a lifetime kind of things.

While we were at the Tea Party, my poor husband loaded up on advil and rented a boat with our son, then they rode the monorail to the Contemporary to check out Bay Lake Tower. The only pics they took were of the pool:

We all met back at the Poly for lunch at Captain Cooks, then the kids and I spent the afternoon exploring the resort and shopping for souvenirs while my husband slept. We found a very cute family of ducks:

At this point, the kids were beginning to get sad because they knew this was our last day at Disney. Little did they know, we had a huge surprise in store for them.

It all started last year when son DVR'd the Disney Cruise Line special on the Travel Channel, and watched it nearly every day. Before this, I had played around with the idea of going on a Disney Cruise, but every time I priced them I changed my mind...lol. My husband and I went on many cruises before we had kids (but never on Disney Cruise Line), and we knew that someday we wanted to take our kids on a cruise.

After much debate, we finally booked our first Disney Cruise. And since we had so much fun surprising the kids last year with a Star Wars Weekend following our trip to Vero Beach (follow the link in my signature to my trip reports if you are interested), we decided to keep the cruise a secret. I had wanted to keep it a secret until the very last minute and make them think we were going to the airport to go home, but my husband talked me into telling them at dinner tonight.

The hubby loaded up on advil, and walked to the TTC to get on the Epcot monorail. One of my favorite things about staying at the Poly is being able to do this. The kids were excited that we finally got to ride the "Tron-orail".

We had our first ever adr at Le Cellier. I was very excited, seeing how much hype the place gets. Sadly, I am one of the few who was not impressed. I know I probably ordered wrong. I did not get the filet migon, and really regretted it. My DH and I both ordered the New York Strip Steak, and they were awful. The steaks we've had at Artist Point and Narcoose's were a hundred times better. I also ordered the cheddar soup that everyone raves about, but it was way too salty for my taste. However, the potatoes that came with our steak were very yummy, and the service was great. I got the chocolate "moose" for dessert, and while it was very cute the taste was just so so. I will be willing to give the place another try on our next trip (and order the filet mignon), but for the life of me I can't understand how it can become a signature restaurant.

While eating our dessert, we decided it was time to reveal the big surprise. We started talking to my son about his boat ride earlier that day, and we asked him how he would like to go on a much bigger boat. He took the bait, and said he wanted to go on a Disney Cruise someday. We said that sounded like a great idea, how about tomorrow? He looked kind of stunned, so I told him we were not going home tomorrow like he thought...we were going on the Disney Wonder! Both kids totally flipped out. They were so happy and excited that I seriously thought they were going to start crying.

After dinner we rode Spaceship Earth one last time, then headed back to the Poly to pack up for our next adventure!

 

[happymom52003]

Sorry your trip got off to such a shaky start. I'd have been super nervous on the plane, too. The one time our flights got delayed because of weather we missed our connection and ended up on stand-by. When we got onto a flight I wasn't even able to sit near the rest of my family. I spent the first 30 minutes of the flight in tears. You know, best laid plans and all.

Your view at the Poly looks so peaceful. That was my overall feeling at that resort, too: tranquil.

The hairdo at BBB looked so pretty. Was the glitter hard to wash out? I've often wondered about that. Belle is my favorite princess. Her dress is just so beautiful.

The Mario guy most definitely looks scary. Were a lot of people taking pics with him? I bet they were all looking for 'People of the Parks'-type material. :lol: But seriously, sometimes ya gotta wonder what the heck are people thinking. :shrug:

Ugh! Hate that your DH got sick. I can sympathize. I've done Disney sick twice. It's brutal plus it's heartbreaking to be sick when you least want to be. So sad for all of you. And what a trooper for you to continue with the kiddos while he rested.

I'm enjoying your trip report lots. Good, bad, and everything in between...it's part of the adventure and I enjoy reading about everyone's adventures. Keep it coming! :sohappy:

Thanks! Being sick for a WDW trip is truly one of our worst nightmares. Starting at least a week before our trips, I basically quarantine all of us as much as I can, especially if it is cold and flu season. And I worry about the flight over...which is where we think my husband probably caught whatever he had. We've lucked out before and have only had one time when a kid was sick during a trip, but we've had LOTS of times where we get sick once we are home!

Oh...and the pixie dust stayed in her hair for days! They put SO much gel in her hair, but the gel washed out easily. But she sparkled for several days!

I love that you saw Ariel in human form at the castle. We've never seen her there. Maybe this time!

I think she is at the castle more often now since her Grotto has closed down for the Fantasyland refurb. I hope you get to see her! When are you going?

 

[mouselvrmom]

I think she is at the castle more often now since her Grotto has closed down for the Fantasyland refurb. I hope you get to see her! When are you going?

Oh, that totally makes sense! We will be there on August 11 for breakfast.

I love that you surprised your kids like that! What a special memory! Hopefully you took some shots of their faces when they got the news! :lol: I'm not sure I could keep a secret like that. I get too excited! :lookaroun

 

[happymom52003]

Day Seven: Embarkation Day!

This was the first time I did not cry when leaving Disney World. Why? Because we were on our way to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Wonder! We all started screaming when we caught the first glimpse of the ship. My DH dropped us off and I took the kids inside to start checking in while he parked. Out of all of the cruises I've been on, this was by far the easiest and quickest check in. And what a beautiful cruise terminal! We had some time before our boarding group was going to be called, so we got in line to get our pic with Captain Mickey.

I love how they announce your family when you board the ship! The only thing on our minds at this point was FOOD so we immediately headed to Parrot Cay for the buffet lunch. Chip and Dale were there handing out sanitizing wipes for everyone's hands...something a germ-a-phobe like me really appreciates!

After a very yummy lunch, we were off to find our room. But we had to stop along the way to admire some of the Disney details in this beautiful ship.

 

[happymom52003]

Our cabin was on Deck 6.

This was waiting for us in the room. We were celebrating our anniversary on the cruise, so a family member had ordered it for us.

 

[happymom52003]

After the life boat drill (which was another thing that was quicker and better organized than other cruise lines I've been on), we headed up to Deck 10 to watch the Sail Away Party. It had been raining, but the skies cleared just in time for the party. However, not long after the characters came out it started pouring.

We were getting soaked, so we went back to our cabin and sat on our balcony to watch the ship sail away...and we heard the ship's horn for the first time! I LOVED it! For those who don't know, the horn on the Disney ships plays the tune "When You Wish Upon a Star". Here is the view of the terminal as we left.

Our dinner tonight was at Parrot Cay. I had the rib eye...and it was soooo good.

After dinner, we went to see the Golden Mickey's show. The shows on DCL are AMAZING!!

This little fella was waiting for us when we returned to our cabin.

 

[happymom52003]

Day 8: Enjoying the ship

The ship docked in Nassau this morning, but I had been there several times before having kids, so we opted to stay on the boat. We got to the Mickey Pool nice and early, and were pleasantly surprised to see it was empty. Well, there was a reason it was empty...it was closed for cleaning and would not be open for two more hours. So instead we dropped the kids off at the Oceanear's Club/Lab. DH and I did laundry...I know, so romantic...but necessary after 6 days at Disney World. I LOVE how the laundry machines on the cruise use your room card instead of quarters. I wish all of the WDW resorts would convert their machines to this system.

We explored the ship a bit, and enjoyed lunch together out on deck...by ourselves. Did I mention yet how much I loved the kids club? Here was our view while we ate.

After lunch we got a text from the kids club that our daughter would like to be picked up. Oh yeah...we forgot the kids might be getting hungry. Actually, for a moment I think we forgot we had kids...lol.

We picked them up and got them lunch by the pool, and then they finally got to swim.

My younger one was getting worn out and had a melt down, so I took her back to the cabin to rest. DH and DS stayed at the pool a bit longer and ended up meeting Goofy, then my DH dropped our son back off at the kids club for the Mario Cart Wii Challenge. DD had no interest in going back to the kids club, so my husband stayed in the room with her while I went to the Cove Cafe for some coffee.

Our dinner tonight was at Triton's. It was also our dressy night. Mickey was in the lobby in his tux, so we could not resist stopping for a picture. Here you go...the first ever picture of happymom posted in a trip report.

I had a shrimp appetizer, french onion soup, beef tenderloin, and chocolate mousse. Yes, I ate that much food. Every last bit of it.

After dinner we met the captain of the ship and my DD took pictures with Cinderella. Tonight's show was Toy Story the Musical. Another fabulous performance!

When we got back to our cabin, we saw this little guy hanging around.

 

[happymom52003]

Sorry for the vertical pics that are supposed to be horizontal...they are right on photobucket, but aren't showing up correctly on here.:brick:

 

[maggiegrace1]

Loving this!...Getting me even more excited for our cruise in may on Disney Dream...

You are so pretty!..

 

[happymom52003]

Loving this!...Getting me even more excited for our cruise in may on Disney Dream...

You are so pretty!..

Thank you....you are very sweet.

So exciting that you get to go on the Disney Dream! Looks like it is going to be an amazing ship!

 

[maggiegrace1]

Thank you....you are very sweet.

So exciting that you get to go on the Disney Dream! Looks like it is going to be an amazing ship!

You are welcome and it is true..

We are soo excited...it looks beautiful!...

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Thanks so much for sharing your trip! Wonderful pictures-especially of the Cruise Line! I've never been so I always love to see photos of it.