Trip Report Makin' Memories....One More Time! *COMPLETED*

Makin' memories
Makin' memories
Takin' pictures is makin' memories
Catchin' little pieces of time
Makin' them yours and makin' them mine
Great vacations and celebrations we love to hold near and dear
And when we're makin' memories
Happy days can reappear!

@amjt660 it seemed a little presumptuous of me to include Three Peat in the title of this trip report. A more accurate term might be Repeat, considering this is my third TR in three months. I am fearful that my WDWMagic friends may be weary of me.

But for @Big Hair and anyone else who wants to follow along, Welcome! I truly love reliving our great (and not-so-great) vacation memories through writing these reports. As always, your comments and observations are much appreciated!

So c'mon everybody, here we go........

Cast: Tuvalu, Woody and Em
Dates: June 17-25, 2017
Resorts: Port Orleans Riverside and Polynesian Village ('cause let's be honest......you can take the girl out of the Poly, but you can't take the Poly out of the girl!)

(Does this picture make you woozy? It is an appropriate representation of my Pandora experience.)

Stick around to discover what memories we made!

 

[fractal]

@MinnieM123 we ended up spending a couple hours IN the Oasis pool. Literally IN ~ there were no open chairs and it was too hot to sit anyway.

And before you give me grief @fractal, Shirley's arrival did not clear the pool. I took this picture early in the morning.
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The balcony on the far left is ours, overlooking the Oasis pool.

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Sure you did.

Swim, showers and a stop in the lounge for Happy Hour was a great way to spend our afternoon. We also got an unexpected treat when we stumbled upon the torch lighting ceremony.

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Twirling fire in between torches
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Cool! We never had the luck to catch that.

 

[blreinsel]

I used to think I like you .... but BTMRR and ice cream in the same post - your killing me!
I've lost count of how many times you've ridden and eaten ice cream since I was last in the world.......I won't even match it in November . I really need someone who lives in America (better still Florida) to adopt me. I'd make a great sister, daughter, mum, nan - I'll take anything to spend more time there.

I'll adopt you as a grammy for Tink! We have a very comfy pull-out couch if that'll suit you.

 

[Longers]

I'll adopt you as a grammy for Tink! We have a very comfy pull-out couch if that'll suit you.

Ah, don't you just love WDW friends - I'd sleep in a cardboard box just to be near to the world! Thank you

 

[blreinsel]

Ah, don't you just love WDW friends - I'd sleep in a cardboard box just to be near to the world! Thank you

Anybody that loves Disney and supports daily ice cream will always be welcome in my house!

 

[Longers]

Anybody that loves Disney and supports daily ice cream will always be welcome in my house!

Thanks Brittany - really hope to meet you when I'm over in the fall. - hope all is going well now your in Florida - I see from insta you are getting out to the parks - hope your living the dream

 

[blreinsel]

Thanks Brittany - really hope to meet you when I'm over in the fall. - hope all is going well now your in Florida - I see from insta you are getting out to the parks - hope your living the dream

We can definitely make that happen! An ice cream date, perhaps? We're finally settling in and loving Florida life! Living the dream is an understatement.

 

[Longers]

We can definitely make that happen! An ice cream date, perhaps? We're finally settling in and loving Florida life! Living the dream is an understatement.

Ice cream date - I'm there! And so happy for you if not a little (ok a LOT) jealous.

 

[Doc Disney]

I just realized... A @TrolleyFollower91 on her phone looks just like a sad @Doc Disney!! Twins???
(I guess it could be the hat and glasses...)
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Maybe that means I get to go on even more Disney trips but with @Tuvalu

 

[Tuvalu]

Maybe that means I get to go on even more Disney trips but with @Tuvalu

I'd happily take you along with Em!

 

[Doc Disney]

I'd happily take you along with Em!

Horray! If only that pesky thing called work wouldn't get in the way...

 

[Longers]

I'd happily take you along with Em!

Now. Don't forget the rest of us!,,,

 

[Big Hair]

Yeah, I am with Longers, a Disney family affair. With your celebrity status you could get us our own longhouse.

 

[RyPat]

It was disappointing that we could no longer order two meats with the Potjie but must choose one meat and one vegetable. Our server told us we could order an additional meat for $11.

That's a serious black mark for one of our favorite restaurants...

 

[Tuvalu]

Now. Don't forget the rest of us!,,,

Yeah, I am with Longers, a Disney family affair. With your celebrity status you could get us our own longhouse.

Of course you both are welcome!

That's a serious black mark for one of our favorite restaurants...

It was for us, too!

 

[PrincessL]

Woody opened the show.

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He was soon joined by Jessie.....
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.....and Buzz.
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Confession ~ The Up segment turned me into a HOT MESS. A sweaty, bawling Wanda. That song gets me every time!
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The one time watched The Incredibles I fell asleep. Therefore this segment didn't do much for me. (Apologies to @PrincessL and all other Incredibles fans.)
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I'm more of a Monsters gal.
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The finale was super cute.
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Finally catching up!! I'm glad you got a FP for the show. Looks like you had better seats and I can't believe you ran into friends! Agreed that you should def give the Incredibles another shot!

Other notes- love Woody's MPB shirt what a great gift.

Your pics of the Poly are making me miss it so much! Is club level worth it in your opinion?

I also loved HEA.

Your and Em's Minnie shirts are super cute!

 

[Tuvalu]

Finally catching up!! I'm glad you got a FP for the show. Looks like you had better seats and I can't believe you ran into friends! Agreed that you should def give the Incredibles another shot!

Other notes- love Woody's MPB shirt what a great gift.

Your pics of the Poly are making me miss it so much! Is club level worth it in your opinion?

I also loved HEA.

Your and Em's Minnie shirts are super cute!

Thanks for your kind comments!

My favorite thing about club level is the location of Hawaii ~ super convenient to both pools and the beach for watching the fireworks and Electrical Water Pageant. It is also nice not to have to walk to Cooks for breakfast and do I even need to mention Ku U Leis? It certainly becomes a better value when you have a larger family for breakfast, snacks and dessert. The club staff is friendly and helpful though I don't need to utilize the planning services. I consider it a splurge and will only stay club with a decent discount.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

How did you hide this TR from me for so long? Starting page one...

 

[Tuvalu]

Time to get this trip report back on track!
Thursday, June 24 (con't)

Quick recap ~ Woody, Em and I went to the MK; returned to the Poly to swim; enjoyed Happy Hour in the lounge; and then stumbled upon the torch lighting ceremony on our way to dinner.

Where did we dine?

Astute readers may have noticed we have not eaten our usual BOG lunch. This was intentional. Since we'd enjoyed dinner here last summer (the exception of the server taking away my still-full wineglass notwithstanding) we decided to forego lunch this trip and do dinner again.

Upon check in I requested a table in our favorite Rose Gallery. We were led to a lovely quiet table in the back of the room.

Our server, while personable, was SLOW AS MOLASSES. He disappeared after taking our beverage order and we sat there awkwardly for some time. He returned to drop the bread on the table but not our drinks. Since we had gone to Happy Hour, none of us felt like wine so we had ordered soft drinks. A soft drink dispenser is IN the Rose Gallery. I could have walked over, gotten our drinks and went back for refills in the time we waited for him. Finally he brought our Cokes....which tasted like Root Beer.

Em and I are not Root Beer fans.

Of course our server was long gone.

A runner brought out our entrees. At least we could eat!

Em and I both had the steak with fries and green beans jardiniere. The meal was very good.

Woody had the braised beef. He prefers the braised pork from the lunch menu.

Our server returned and I mentioned that the Coke tasted like Root Beer. (Em would have just suffered in silence with a drink she didn't want .) He brought new glasses. Still tasted like Root Beer. ("I guess they didn't flush the lines too well"....ya think?!) I suggested the novel idea of getting the Coke out of a different machine.

Shocker ~ it worked. The Coke tasted like Coke.

Our fave Master's cupcake is not offered at dinner. The dinner "Grey Stuff" used to be atop a hard brownie. (Brownies are never supposed to be hard!) I saw a picture of the new dinner "Grey Stuff" on cheesecake. Em and I decided to share it.

This was surprisingly good. Not Master's cupcake good, but better than we expected.

Woody passed on dessert until this showed up.

I'd forgotten that our anniversary was noted in our ADR, resulting in this "complimentary" Grey Stuff.

It should come as no surprise that slow server was slow bringing the check too.

Em and I were ready to have our picture taken with the Beast. The line wasn't too long, but it also wasn't moving. We stood in the same spot for almost ten minutes when we heard a CM say, "The wait to meet the Beast is 40 minutes."

SAY WHAT?????!!!!!

Seems the "quick picture" has turned into a full-fledged meet and greet.

We left the line. Enjoy this picture of a random stranger with the Beast.

 

[Tuvalu]

How did you hide this TR from me for so long? Starting page one...

TONY!!!
I thought you've been avoiding me. Didn't realize I was such a good hide and seeker!

 

[Tuvalu]

We walked through the masses to find a spot to watch Happily Ever After. It would be our first in-park viewing and Em wanted to take pictures. We ended up near the Crystal Palace.

The searchlights give me goosebumps!!

I'm a fireworks gal, so the projections don't add much for me. But I was glad to see it once.
Em, still mourning the loss of Wishes, said: "It's growing on me."

(Those who followed my recent live report know how much HEA grows on Em!)