Trip Report I'll stop the World and Melt with you.

It's been two years since my family and I visited WDW. Two long years. Thankfully, my son Sterg and I got a three day Disney fix last summer at Disneyland.

Curiously, this trip report is being written at a time when a lot of negative Disney vibe is emanating from other regions of WDWMagic - as it was two years ago. The Doom & Gloom is running free and wild. I'm just thankful I stayed clear of most of it before our trip because I may have cancelled what turned out to be an amazing time. It is also fortunate that we got this trip in because from the sound of things there may not be a WDW to go to in a few years.

To be truthful, some things that Disney has done has me scratching my head; but this is neither the time nor place to discuss it. Putting that aside - let's get on with the trip report!

We left on Sunday July 21st. Maybe the longest day of my life. The night before, my oldest daughter Alex went to see Taylor Swift in Philadelphia ( about 50 miles away ) and due to a long rain delay she didn't make it home until 2 am. This meant that she would not go to sleep since we were being picked up at 3 am for the drive to Philly airport for our 6 am flight. At least we were supposed to be picked up at 3am.

Here is my Mom ( Yia-Yia )and my youngest daughter Antonia ( Toni ) up and ready at 3 in the morning waiting for our ride. Yia-Yia ( grandmother in Greek ) is 77 years old and joining us for the first time on a Disney adventure. Toni is now almost 12 and the little Yorki-poo in the front is Prince. Prince is short for Prince Charming ( named by Toni ).

When the driver didn't show up by 3:15 I started to worry. I called the limo company at the same time he called me to tell me he was lost. I reeled him in and we were on our way by 3:30. The drive down was nerve wracking as I kept watching the clock and praying for no delays. That is until our driver eased my tension by telling us his son works for Disney and he goes down to the World 4 or 5 times a year. The resulting Disney conversation lasted until we hit the airport around 4:30.

More tension as we went through security. My carry on was stopped in the machine and I was pulled aside. I had put a container of Vitamin C powder in my bag that garnered some attention. Of course, my Mom came over as I was being held and my bag inspected.

"Why didn't you put that in your suitcase, Christo?" she said to me in her Greek accented voice.

"Mom, please go wait over there" I responded.

"No, I want to see what they are doing" Then she followed with this one for the TSA officer.

"It's not drugs, my son doesn't do cocaine!"

OK, I thought. I'm definitely going to be held in some prison cell for the next week.

After the chemical test proved my Mother correct, I was allowed to go on my way. We had time to grab coffee and some food and make it on the Southwest plane to Orlando. A plane full of smiling happy faces! Including these;

This is my wife Val ( not the biggest of Disney fans ), with Yia-Yia in the middle and Alex by the window.

On the other side was yours truly sporting a Hawaiian shirt ( since we were staying at the Poly ), Toni and Sterg.

Before we knew it we were up in the clouds...

 

[fractal]

Loving the WL pictures, your family so funny!

Thanks! there are some rough moments coming up.

Your ride photos are fantastic!

Thanks disneyfan!

Amazing trip report! Looks like you had a fabulous time! Your kids are gorgeous! Love that you aren't afraid to add the good and bad for all to read. I can only imagine how my 3 will be when they are teenagers with the way they tease us and push each others buttons already.

thank you thrupaytonseyes! Yeah, there is some bad stuff coming up. Good luck with the teen years!

OK, all caught up, again! Echoing the fantastiosity of it all!!!
Love it all, but gotta' chime in on WL and WCC...
We first visited both in July of '12. For us (I especially, because I used to do A LOT of backpacking, camping, etc., in the Rockies back in the day) WL was love at first site! AMAZING resort!!! Have yet to stay there, but soon hopefully!
As far as WCC goes, Like you said, the food is good, not great. And yes, the ribs are always the biggest disappointment. If we didn't have so many places around these parts to get awesome ribs, I'd definitely find some way to get Flame Tree ribs shipped to us...! But, the food is good enough and, the place is just so darn fun to eat at!!!

Our first time there we had a party of 11 and it was a blast! Even I was gettin' in trouble for checkin' in on my phone...! We did the whole ketchup thing and our server was a hoot...
I'm kinda' a joker myself, so her and I just kept goin' back and forth...my DW just kept rollin' her eyes, but laughed a lot at us, too!
One of the sons of the couple we were with got in enough phone trouble to be put in "jail".
When our server went to put him in jail, the base of the wooden thing they put in front of you on the table to make it look like you're lookin' through jail cell bars accidentally (as far as we know, anyway ) caught the end of his straw and dumped an entire icy Coke right into his lap...! It just got more fun from there...!

On our trip this past June we had my MIL and niece with us. It was quite the hoot again, and they LOVED the place as much as we did! The whole water thing with Sterg is so darn funny, 'cause it's almost the exact same experience I had on this last trip...
For some reason, I was just so thirsty that day that all I ordered was water. As I kept askin' for refills, finally she brought out the big gun...yep, the ginormous mason jar. It's so darn big I decided to connect 3 of the 20 or so straws she threw at me when she brought it out...! Also got the bathroom pass, and at one point she pointed at me and told the whole place to look out for "this guy" if I started headin' towards the mens room...! Again, more fun with ketchup, niece participated in the horse race, and then our server invited our youngest DD, that had just graduated from HS, up to the front of the restaurant for a whole "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" routine where, not only her, but everyone in the place had to alternately sit and stand when they heard a "B" being sung in the song by the server. It was a hoot, and at the end DD cheered 'cause she was in the right position when it was all over...!
I could, obviously , go on about WCC and WL, but I've, obviously , gone on WAY long enough...!
Just such great memories!
Thanks, fractal!!!!!

thank you donaldtoo! What is up with disney ribs? It's great when you get a server that is into it. I didn't even know about the jail thing - Lol! thanks for the stories! looks like you may need another trip!

We went to MK for the day on August 7, and I agree, Splash looked great. I didn't notice anything broken either. It almost looked brand new. Although I didn't get to enjoy the ride much either, I wasn't taking pictures though, I was busy keeping our DS7 calm on his first "big ride" at Disney. He was pretty scared throughout the ride because he knew of the drop. After the drop though, he was laughing hysterically. So that made it worth while. Once again, your pictures are amazing.

ml123_9, Splash looked great!

That is just called "good parenting" and thanks for the compliment!

Seeing your WL pics make me excited to be staying there next week after the cruise! Can't wait to read the rest after I get back!

You lucky dog! Hope you are having a great time on the estrogen cruise!

Wilderness Lodge looks so nice in all of your pictures! I would love to stay there someday, but if we stay in that area it always gets overruled by a monorail resort.

thanks Basketcase! WL may be too tempting to pass up for me next time.

Just giving props to one of the better members, and one of my favorite posters, here... Take it... I don't dish that out often LOL...

and seeing your pictures from Whispering Canyon, I can see you really did have a good time there... As I said once before, I felt it was the worst meal I ever had at Disney... I can't explain why... Wasn't the atmosphere... But regardless, this was your trip, you had a blast that's what counts!

I stayed at Wilderness Lodge before... If you get the chance to, then stay there... it really is a beautiful resort...

Thanks dxer! WL is at the top of the list for next trip. thanks for reading along!

fractal...

Your photography is wonderful. I hope you enjoyed your trip as much as we enjoyed your pictures. You have a keen eye and obviously a good piece of equipment.

You have me fired up for my upcoming trip....!

*1023*

P.S. Thanks for sharing your family with us...!

thank you! I hope your have at least as much fun as we did!

Holy cow okay i have alot of comments cause i'm late to the party but here i finally finished my TR last night meaning I can now go back n catch up on everyone elses's.
First off let me say Tucanes Chris!
Omg I would be mortified at your whole powder situation.
Haha sterg,the baby seal thing is too much lol.
oh the gates of heaven!
I love the bradybunchness of the poly,yup that's a word now.
I love kona so much I booked it for 2 meals on my upcoming trip.......Tonga toast = homer drool!!!
What was toni drinking at kona? that looks delish whatever it is.
All that by noon? look at you being all productive and stuff eh?
I love 80's music especially that song.
Hailey and i are huge big thunder fans ,but I don't think i'll ever get riley to agree to it.
Your pics are fabulous !
I don't understand all the camera term but whatever it is is working.
I haven't made it to TL yet only blizzard beach but hopefully soon.
Also haven't done the drawing class yet but planning to do that with riley on the next one.
Best splash pics i've ever seen.
AS always great report so far can't wait to see what's next and omg Toni is growing up too fast!!!

My trip report would not be complete without a word from you! You need to try TL and the drawing next trip! thanks for the comments!

Love the night pictures at Magic Kingdom. Incredible!

Thanks!

I must have missed an update for this TR. But all caught up now! Still loving it, and Toni seems to be quite the photographer herself!

Thanks PUSH! She's working on it.

Love the "good karma" story!!!
I believe in karma !!!

I wish I would have told the story better - but it really had Toni thinking.

 

[fractal]

Loving this TR!! Also, Figment is the best!!!

thanks ISTCPilot!

 

[Uncle Lupe]

Caught up again. I am surprised you didn't go full on protective dad mode and give the human torpedo a piece of your mind. All the teenage and family antics are great. The fact Sterg knows how to push your buttons and capture it on media is dangerous. I didn't know about the ketchup at WC, I'll have to keep that trick under wraps for our next trip. Don't be to hard on Toni, kids don't always see the big picture she'll understand someday. You couldn't write that karma story if you tried. Funny how things happen.

What gives with the Green side?

 

[fractal]

The last time we were in the Imagination pavilion was in 2007 to see Honey I shrunk the audience ( which I always enjoyed ). My kids had no idea who or what a "Figment" was. I know, bad parenting on my part, but Disney also has some responsibility. That pavilion needs major help.

Their first response was "What is this place?"

Now just try to imagine a couple of teenage "smart anses" on this ride feeding off each other and off their "nerdy" Dad trying to take pictures and enjoy the ride.

"Look Alex, Fractal is singing along, snicker,snicker"

I do wish I would have seen this ride in it's glory. I thought it was cute and had a great message but I'm sure it was amazing at one point. I was pleased as how well the NEX-3 took pictures without any "fast lens" (The new camera was back at the Poly, safe from any possible rain storm.)

After we got off "Figment" the kids didn't want to hang out inside so we started to make our way back to the Land. Bye-bye coolest looking ( and biggest tease )pavilion!

A nice lady agreed to take out picture. Val and the kids said my photopass+ lanyard made me look like a dork.

Speaking of Val, I did check in with her at this point. It was raining back at the Poly and the cabana was closed along with the pool. She was stressing a bit.

We saw dark clouds at Epcot but no rain. I asked the kids if they wanted to get some free soda. "Sure!" they replied. I know I took them into Club Cool during a previous trip, but they acted like they never did or they completely forgot.

OK - let's test to see if they really did forget. I used Beverly as my truth serum. I sold it as the best tasting soda and none of them blinked.
There you go! "Big Pops" using his crafty experience to get back at the young up and comers!

In order...Bang!

Bang!

wait for it...

BANG!

After my victory lap, it was soon back to reality as Toni used her "Pleassssssse Daddy" act to get me to buy her a $4.00 bottle of Coke.

While the other two quickly reverted back to their neck-straining Teenage persona. Unbeknownst to him, the tour group leader in the background was having his picture sent to everyone in my kids "social network".

 

[fractal]

We continued on to the Land...

and onto Soarin'.

Last summer Sterg and I were lucky enough to ride Soarin' over California at DCA. It's the same ride but the California version has a much better queue ( a history of flight mini museum ) and is kept in pristine condition. No hairs or fuzzies on the screen and all the smells worked. As somebody that always loved Soarin', it was almost a religious experience. I was adjusting my expectations for the Epcot version. Sterg was making good use of his camelback knockoff.

We secured the top row and had a blast on Soarin' despite the quality of the screen and film. I look forward to a new version.

At this point we started to get hungry so we headed back out and over to World Showcase. As much as I love pubs, it's amazing I never stepped foot in Rose and Crown.

I could spend an entire day here.

but it wasn't going to be that day. We headed to Japan for some sushi.

and then some pictures. Lookin' back at our time in World Showcase, I feel like we missed so much. We never seem to make a commitment to explore.

Wow! They all smiled (sort of)!

Japan pavilion is beautiful. I tried to imagine the daily work that was needed to allow it to look this impressive.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I know I give WDW crap, basically because I don't like the way management has treated the property lately, but seeing Frac's pictures makes me want to be there like now.. LOL...

 

[fractal]

I was determined not to leave WS until we experienced something new. Last trip it was American Adventure, so this time I wanted to see the film about our neighbors up north. We made our way to Canada.

Love this act!

This is when I said to Sterg. ""I hate when I tell people that I'm going to Disney World and they respond with; "OH you're going to see Mickey Mouse" in a condescending way"" They really have no idea all the things you can do and see. All the acts in WS, or the fireworks or the Street Actors at DHS, etc, etc. We've been there 5 times and haven't seen it all. So yeah, I will probably see Mickey Mouse but much,much more - you ignoramus.

We made a wrong turn looking for a short cut and we almost got run over by strollers despite an otherwise empty street. Slow down lady!

We made it safely to Canada and watched Martin Short on Circle Vision. We were standing next to a couple that literally know every word to the movie and sang along loudly at the end. A bit strange and fuel for the giggles and banter among my children. Well, I can now check off O'Canada from my list. Canada is another beautiful pavilion that is immaculately kept.

Val called us at this point to tell us the cabana was open ( and was nice! ), so we started to make our way out of the park...

But first some photo ops.

I love how Alex is holding on to her mug as if her life depended on it.

and this time, the monorail was working!

and we had it all to ourselves. It would have been a perfect time to ask to ride up front if they still allowed it. Oh well.

 

[mamamouse]

How could you not introduce Figment??? *cough* somebody needs to put a quarter in the swear jar *cough cough*
I love that the kids razz you n call you fractal haha!
Bahaha the good ol beverly trick tried it on hubby but he didn't even flinch mind you he is half italian n some of the things that man will drink are just wrong!
Soarin for the win!! woot woot!
Canada-Now you get brownie points for that one! Eventhough epcot assumes we are all lumberjacks i assure you we are not
Aew i love that SSE pic of you n the kids thats gotta go in a frame for sure,it's just too bad Val wasn't it too.

 

[PRNCSAurora]

I love your trip report and pictures. It is making our trip next August seem so far away!

 

[fractal]

At the Polynesian you can rent a cabana by the pool. They actually sit a level up from the pool deck and are partially secluded by palm trees and plants. To access the cabana area you have to walk up a few steps and there is a sign stating it is for cabanas. There is also a sign in front of your Cabana stating it is reserved in your name. We rented a standard cabana for the day ( there is one larger sized cabana as well ). It cost about $200 and we had it from 10am to 7pm. You will have your own attendant to bring you towels, and refills of the water, soda, and snacks that come with the rental. You also get a very nice fruit tray. The attendant will also fetch you food and drinks from the bar if you so desire. Because of the rain that morning, Disney only charged us for half of a day. There is also a ceiling fan in the cabana and a flat screen TV. A sofa,a table with chairs and two soft comfy lounge chairs. I thought it was well worth the price and would do it again if we ever made it back to the Poly.

Some pictures of the cabana. We found Val and Yia-Yia already there and relaxing.

Our view of the pool...

You also got a resort phone and Ipod docking station. Wise cracker teenager was not included.

For only being a few feet from the pool deck, it was amazingly private. You could easily walk right in front of them all day and never notice.

Our plan was to stick around the resort all day. My cousin and her family were also doing Disney that week. They were staying offsite but planned on MK that day and maybe stopping by the Poly to see us. In the meantime, I allowed the kids to take out the SeaRacers.

off they go!

They really enjoyed those little boats. Sterg especially.

I spent most of the day, in and out of the pool and taking pictures of the resort. The Poly does have beautiful grounds and how can you complain about this view?

Some photos from the boat docking area. This is located beyond the pool on the left from the above view.

looking back into the marina.

View of the pool from the dock.

This corner of the longhouse on the left was a large 2 ( or 3?) floor suite. You can tell by the windows. I'm sure it's an awesome spot to watch Wishes!

Looking back down the dock...

Whoops, somebody forgot their card.

 

[fractal]

Here is the pool viewed from the beach.

The transport leaving for MK.

They took their lifeguard coverage seriously.

Another view from inside the cabana. Even from a mile away, it was nearly impossible to stop taking pictures of the castle.

I spent some time walking the grounds towards the Great Ceremonial House.

and then inside.

Kona Island had funny hours. Every time I was in the mood for sushi they were closed.

Conveniently placed sofa to pass out on after you've had too many...

These guys.

There's that castle again.

 

[mamamouse]

Beautiful pics again and "these guys" look like droids sorta!

 

[lbrad]

NICE pictures!!! What a beautiful rseort

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

The two story windows in the longhouse you talked about is not actually a suite but the Club Level Lounge. All the suites are located in the building next to the GCH at the back of the marina. I'm glad to see what the cabanas are like, I've always been curious. It was nice that poly only charged you half a day!

 

[Billy6]

Awesome update, Chris! Photos are great!
I wish they had those cabanas at AKL-Kidani Village(home base for DVC). Looks worth the money!

I getting ready for my trip tomorrow, 4 days of WDW! Can't wait to see "that castle"!!

 

[fractal]

Awesome update, Chris! Photos are great!
I wish they had those cabanas at AKL-Kidani Village(home base for DVC). Looks worth the money!

I getting ready for my trip tomorrow, 4 days of WDW! Can't wait to see "that castle"!!

Billy,

Thanks and have a great trip!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The cabana looks wonderful! Man...if we ever stay at the Poly and work in a break day or two, I think a cabana is in order.

Oh, and you can earn back some Figment points if you have the kids watch this ...


Love the kids' Fractal based comments...nothing wrong with singing along

 

[disneygirl1]

Chris, what an amazing report! Your pictures are AWESOME!!! I didn't realize "youse" guys lived outside of Philly. Where abouts at? We are right in the suburbs outside the city. I'm about a 10 minute ride to the airport. Can't wait to head back to the world in May! We were just there in June, but didn't do the waterparks this trip, but we are in May! The pics of TL got be so excited to go back. Can't wait to be in that wave pool! I absolutely love it! Could stay in there all day!

 

[fractal]

Here is Toni at the top of the slide. Let me tell you, that slide is anything but a "kiddie" slide. It's fast and whips you around. It was also a lot of fun!

More shots over the pool...

As nice and scenic as the pool is; it is not very big. It is also lacking a deep part (I think the deepest area is 4 feet) and there are no hot tubs. The volcano is nice and the slide is great but I found the pool a bit disappointing. The kids agreed with me. We may have been spoiled by Storm-along-Bay at the Beach Club, but except for the slide it felt like an overgrown kiddie pool. We all would have rather been at the BC pool - no comparison.

Back at the cabana, it was relaxation time for Yia-Yia, Val and Alex.

Toni made a new friend...

She wanted to have her hair tied, but we never got to it. The wait was always too long.

The fruit tray was yummy and didn't last long!

Some more pictures around the pool area...

This guy was chillin' by the water.

 

[Meredith]

I agree with the fact that Stormalong bay is better than this pool. I think the fact that Stormalong bay is huge, has a big slide, sand, a kiddy area, a whirlpool, and hot tubs makes it outshine most Disney pools. Loving the trip report can't wait to read more.