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!)

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

Stick around to discover what memories we made!
 
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myhappyplace

myhappyplace

Crazy Cat Lady
Tuvalu said:
Perhaps because Tuvalu was always the one TAKING the pictures!
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As the family photographer...I hear ya!!!

A little late but all caught up!!

DH and I have 2 more trips to the world coming up (September and December) during our AP year, and then sadly probably wont be back in 2018 (we have a 7 night cruise planned then, as well as another family vacation) so I'm holding out hope our paths might cross this year yet!!

I will most likely be taking my brother on a wdw trip in 2019, and am strongly leaning either POFQ or PORS.

Love seeing the throwback pics!
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
myhappyplace said:
As the family photographer...I hear ya!!!
A little late but all caught up!!
DH and I have 2 more trips to the world coming up (September and December) during our AP year, and then sadly probably wont be back in 2018 (we have a 7 night cruise planned then, as well as another family vacation) so I'm holding out hope our paths might cross this year yet!!
I will most likely be taking my brother on a wdw trip in 2019, and am strongly leaning either POFQ or PORS.
Love seeing the throwback pics!
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Possibly December :geek:

RedNoseMickey said:
"Mom snark" alert ;).
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It is my native tongue. :joyfull:

Vivian_apfm said:
A little late to the party, but I'm here :)
Already enjoying your TR!
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Happy you're here, Vivian!
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Saturday, con't

We did not linger in our room too long ~ we had not eaten since breakfast and were dangerously close to becoming hangry. The resort grounds were so pretty and peaceful that we were temporarily distracted from our biological need for food.

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I stopped to read a sign and nearly got run over by the horse and carriage!
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This would be the sign:
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"Oh I wish I'd packed my workout clothes cause I would totally do this!" Em said wistfully.
She was even sadder in the morning when I returned from getting us breakfast and reported that there were lifeguard CMs stationed in various spots with megaphones, pom-poms and balloons to cheer on the runners!

We make it a point to visit Disney Village Marketplace aka Downtown Disney aka Disney Springs whenever we stay at a Port Orleans resort. The water taxi is an attraction in itself.

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And here comes our ride......
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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
A breeze was blowing which made our cruise very pleasant. Foreshadowing ~ summer breezes in FL have been known to bring rain.

We've arrived.
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Before leaving our room we decided to have dinner in the Marketplace due to the convenience of the boat dock. I was about to try someplace new (though Woody and Em had dined there before.)

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We placed our order at the counter and found a table in the dining room.
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(@fractal Woody should have turned around and taken a picture of the empty room.....Shirley strikes again!)

Our sandwiches were tasty although mine was lacking in chicken.
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From left to right: Chicken Aioli, Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf and Rotisserie Turkey Club

Servers bring out the food and also periodically stop by to offer drink refills and clear plates. If my sandwich had more chicken WPE would get two thumbs up. But I would definitely give it another try.
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
A breeze was blowing which made our cruise very pleasant. Foreshadowing ~ summer breezes in FL have been known to bring rain.

We've arrived.
View attachment 213137

Before leaving our room we decided to have dinner in the Marketplace due to the convenience of the boat dock. I was about to try someplace new (though Woody and Em had dined there before.)

View attachment 213138

We placed our order at the counter and found a table in the dining room.
View attachment 213139
(@fractal Woody should have turned around and taken a picture of the empty room.....Shirley strikes again!)

Our sandwiches were tasty although mine was lacking in chicken.
View attachment 213140
From left to right: Chicken Aioli, Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf and Rotisserie Turkey Club

Servers bring out the food and also periodically stop by to offer drink refills and clear plates. If my sandwich had more chicken WPE would get two thumbs up. But I would definitely give it another try.
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I like it there, too. Usually, I get the roasted half chicken with potatoes--really tasty. (To balance it out for a full dinner, you'd probably need to order some salad on the side.) The servers are very attentive, as you noted. I think it's a nice sit-down place with good a/c, considering it's basically a QS--just ramped up a notch or two. :)
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
A breeze was still blowing when we left Wolfgang Puck Express and blue sky had been replaced by gray sky. Woody commented, "We may need to take the bus back because it doesn't look like the boats are operating."

However we were not yet ready to return to POR.

Did someone say dessert?

I know Em and I did!

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Woody had the Ocean Beach (Sea Salt Caramel) sundae and Em and I shared the decadent Midnight Reverie, a chocoholics dream!

We could hear some rumbles of thunder in the distance which confirmed that Woody was indeed correct ~ we would not be riding the water taxi again tonight. We were also not equipped for rain ~ no umbrellas, ponchos or jackets. And it was a decent hike to the buses from Ghirardelli's.

"Let's get a move on," I said.

And so began our 90 minute odyssey back to POR.

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It began to rain the moment I snapped this pic.

We picked up the pace (which wasn't easy thanks to our ice cream bellies) and dodged around folks coming towards us who were also looking to get out of the rain. Thankfully it was a light shower and not a downpour (otherwise we would have sought shelter in a store.)

We were surprised by the number of people in the queue but also hopeful that a bus would arrive at any minute, since clearly there had not been one in awhile.
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This was our view for the next half hour.
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(Lady with the red bag could be my "backside" clone :jawdrop:)

When the POR bus finally arrived there was an audible cheer from our line. Passengers got off the bus but no one was allowed to board for several minutes. A transport CM walked over to the bus and had a conversation with the driver and then we were able to climb aboard. Ten minutes passed and the bus did not move. A few people in the front of the bus (we were in back) got off. We began to hear murmurings of "wrong bus." Then more people got off.

Wrong bus? The bus signage said POR and it was at the correct gate.

The transport CM called out, "Wrong bus! Everyone needs to get off."

Are you kidding me? :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Once everyone was off, the bus pulled away. And our wait began anew.

Fortunately another bus arrived in a few minutes. When it filled we immediately left the gate. When the bus did not exit the usual way we overheard there had been an accident near the entrance to Disney Springs. The detour took us past the damage and our hearts went out to those involved. Suddenly all the time we'd spent waiting didn't seem so important any more.

It was still raining....and now dark....when our bus arrived at the first stop, the South Depot. Woody said he was getting off to pick up some water and would meet us in the room. Em and I knew there was a closer bus stop to our building and since it was raining we'd get off there.

We should have gotten off at the South Depot.

Before leaving the stop, our driver had to load an ECV. The next stop was the West Depot, followed by the North Depot. "I think this is the one we want," Em said and we got off.

Now remember we rode the water taxi to DS and so did not know which Depot was closest to our building.

It wasn't the North Depot. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Em and I had a long, wet walk back to our room. In the dark. To add insult to injury, Em's Fitbit strap broke along the way and I was in dire need of a bathroom.

We weren't exactly bundles of joy when we opened the door and Woody asked, "What took you so long?"

A couple of hot showers and some dry clothes put us gals in a better mood. Em ordered a replacement strap for her Fitbit and shipped it to the Poly, where we were checking in tomorrow.

For those who may be interested, this is the current bounce back offer in resort rooms:
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Up next ~ Father's Day in the MK
 
TheMouseFan

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
blgauger said:
Hmmm.. well, no biggie since we're moving anyway. ;) But I feel bad for others who may have jumped on the offer had it been in the room!
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Ours was actually easy to find this time, it was laying out right by the TV in the living area, but the last two years when I took trips specifically to book the bouncebacks, I had to really look for it to find them. They certainly don't make it obvious for those not in the know!!
 
fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
A breeze was blowing which made our cruise very pleasant. Foreshadowing ~ summer breezes in FL have been known to bring rain.

We've arrived.
View attachment 213137

Before leaving our room we decided to have dinner in the Marketplace due to the convenience of the boat dock. I was about to try someplace new (though Woody and Em had dined there before.)

View attachment 213138

We placed our order at the counter and found a table in the dining room.
View attachment 213139
(@fractal Woody should have turned around and taken a picture of the empty room.....Shirley strikes again!)

Our sandwiches were tasty although mine was lacking in chicken.
View attachment 213140
From left to right: Chicken Aioli, Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf and Rotisserie Turkey Club

Servers bring out the food and also periodically stop by to offer drink refills and clear plates. If my sandwich had more chicken WPE would get two thumbs up. But I would definitely give it another try.
Click to expand...

Celebrity status remains strong!


Sorry about the rain and bus mishaps.

We stayed at PORS in 2007 and loved it!
 

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