Our 2011, 11 Nights of Magic Trip Report

Bare with me on this Trip Report, it's my first and I'm one busy momma so it might take some time to complete. This trip started out being booked as our usual 8 nighter at our 2nd home BLT. The DH got a bit pumped about that 30% off resort deal and sprinkled some pixie dust (the Disney Visa card) and we added 3 nights at The Polynesian. We had never stayed there, have always been fans and thought this was a great opp to check it out. Yes, we were a little nervous of how our family of 5 would manage the studio room but we were just going to go for it.
Our family of 5 includes, myself, Beth, the DH, Lucas, DD6 Alexa, DS4 Liam and our little princess (AKA monster) 18 months Brielle.

Here they are enjoying Brielle's little pool together earlier this summer.

Supporting cast would be my father and brother for the duration. My sister and her boyfriend would crash our party for a few nights too. We pretty much always welcome the helping hands on our trips.

I have always been the one quoted "Disney is for all ages". With a big cheesy magical smile. My new answer to the Disney age question is "maybe 18 months is not the best age for Disney". She kept us on our toes but once we had her needs and limits figured out we managed just fine and truly did have a magical trip.

We flew out of Bradley, I ordered a Vodka Tonic to ease the pain of keeping Bree busy. She did great the first hour, started getting a bit restless and then we were in the middle of a kicking and screaming (I may use that phrase again a little later) meltdown. It only lasted 20 minutes but felt like an hour. I got her calmed down and sleeping when the flight attendant came over to tell me to buckle up we would be landing soon. So my sweet baby's 20 minute power nap was over. But we were in Orlando, yay! :sohappy:

Funny, she's screaming at me right now for her nap. I'll be back!

 

[bmarkelon]

Okay, so yes Liam chickened out on Haunted Mansion only to ride Tower of Terror the next night. You really never know what they are going to do, my motto is always to just go with it. We are fortunate enough to take our WDW trips every year so whatever we don't get done this trip we can shoot for the next one.

Monday~We are off to Epcot. Lucas always goes on Spaceship Earth, he won't ever miss it. I do it every couple of trips. So, he takes Bree to get his ride on while my dad and I take Alexa and Liam to Test Track. The wait claim was 25 minutes but I knew it had to be slightly off because we walked in during a rush into the park, around 10AM. We waited 40 minutes. Oh well, the kids loved it and I had missed this one last trip so it's all good. Lucas and Bree also hit Living with the Land.

We were supposed to go to Rose and Crown for a lunch, I was looking forward to the Fish and Chips but Lucas just wasn't feeling it. He wanted to go on the Mexico and Norway rides. I gave in, we rode Gran Fiesta, which the kids liked with Donald. We had QuickService points so I called to cancel Rose and Crown and we ate at La Cantina. Which was another first...I had my favorite frozen lime margarita with nachos...yummy! Brielle was starting her wind-up into a meltdown while we were eating. I could tell Lucas was losing his patience so I took one for the team again. I hauled a kicking and screaming Bree out of Epcot. Bought her the glittery Mickey headband to keep her quiet on this monorail ride. It worked, even though we were both covered in sweat and glitter....sounds like a Kesha song.

Got our crazy baby down for her needed nap. I sat and enjoyed the quiet and did a little Facebooking, just keeping friends and family posted on our trip.

The gang came back and we split up pool time. Bree slept for 3 hours this nap. I had a Tropical Mojito by the pool, refreshing but I prefer the basic Mojito.

Dinner tonight was for just our family of 5 at Chef Mickey's. Grandpa and Uncle B went up to the California Grill. This picture gives you a little idea of how feisty Brielle is, trying to jump ship during a visit from Goofy.

And yes, here she is eating her ice cream cone from the bottom up. Anything goes in Disney!

And that was that for another day in Disney with us! Thank you for reading, I am trying to spit it out as quick as I can while it's still all fresh on this Mommy brain!

 

[bmarkelon]

What a wonderful TR. Loving the pics of the kiddies. I'm not sure why Stitch gets such a bad rap either. I like him myself.

Thanks! I think it's mainly all about Stitch's Great Escape but that's not his fault! Which Liam actually went on a little later in the trip and loved...he thought it was hysterical.

 

[fractal]

Adorable pictures of your kids! Cherish them, they grow up fast!

Lucas is like my oldest, Alex. She LOVES SSE. She was bummed that she only did it twice this trip.

Looking forward to more.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Loved your breakfast pics from 'Ohana...looks like you guys were there the day we arrived at WDW. We did this one on the 18th and also had a great time with Lilo. I'm wondering if it was the same person since I'd read some negative reviews and when looking at your experience and ours- she was a pretty awesome Lilo!!! :sohappy: Of course Stitch is also my husband's fave- so naturally this is a perfect choice for us. Cool how you guys get the same table.

That's a riot about splash pad expectations with drains. :lol:

Can't wait to read more! :wave:

 

[mamamouse]

cool, I love Stitch actually If I could I'd work at disney n be stitch,he's way fun!!!:animwink:

 

[margot2791]

Awesome TR! The poly is definitely my favorite resort. Haven't stayed there but just love the atmosphere, so relaxing and completely makes you feel like you are on vacation. The haunted mansion/TOT story with your son is too funny! He is braver than I am:lol: Love your DH's Husky shirt at T-Rex! I am a junior at UConn and always looking to earn some extra cash babysitting hint hint! :ROFLOL: cant wait to read about the rest of your trip!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Rise and Shine Mousketeers! It's time for our first ever Kona Cafe Breakfast.

Great report so far!

After seeing this picture, my wife and I immediately booked a breakfast at Kona during our upcoming trip!

 

[bmarkelon]

Adorable pictures of your kids! Cherish them, they grow up fast!

Lucas is like my oldest, Alex. She LOVES SSE. She was bummed that she only did it twice this trip.

Looking forward to more.

You can say that again, it feels like yesterday that I all emotional gearing up for Alexa's first day of Kindergarten last year and now we're already gearing up for the first grade next week!

Loved your breakfast pics from 'Ohana...looks like you guys were there the day we arrived at WDW. We did this one on the 18th and also had a great time with Lilo. I'm wondering if it was the same person since I'd read some negative reviews and when looking at your experience and ours- she was a pretty awesome Lilo!!! :sohappy: Of course Stitch is also my husband's fave- so naturally this is a perfect choice for us. Cool how you guys get the same table.

That's a riot about splash pad expectations with drains. :lol:

Can't wait to read more! :wave:

I have never had a negative experience at the Ohana breakfast, we do it every trip!

cool, I love Stitch actually If I could I'd work at disney n be stitch,he's way fun!!!:animwink:

Go team Stitch! :sohappy:

Awesome TR! The poly is definitely my favorite resort. Haven't stayed there but just love the atmosphere, so relaxing and completely makes you feel like you are on vacation. The haunted mansion/TOT story with your son is too funny! He is braver than I am:lol: Love your DH's Husky shirt at T-Rex! I am a junior at UConn and always looking to earn some extra cash babysitting hint hint! :ROFLOL: cant wait to read about the rest of your trip!

Hehe, I have a matching Huskies shirt, GO UCONN!! Funny story, I was exhausted one evening, forgot that I put my Huskies tee on and on the elevator at BLT a CM pretends to be all psychic and goes..."I bet I know where your from, Connecticut!" I had a nice blonde moment asking him how he did that. Nice. We are in Branford, kind of a hike from Storrs. :animwink:

Great report so far!

After seeing this picture, my wife and I immediately booked a breakfast at Kona during our upcoming trip!

You will not be disappointed, it will be hard not to put this one on every future itinerary. I will definitely be trying their Macadamia Nut Pineapple Pancakes next time....it was hard to choose but I went with the slightly more popular Tonga. :slurp: "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy!" A little Yo Gabba Gabba comes to mind.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

You will not be disappointed, it will be hard not to put this one on every future itinerary. I will definitely be trying their Macadamia Nut Pineapple Pancakes next time....it was hard to choose but I went with the slightly more popular Tonga. :slurp: "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy!" A little Yo Gabba Gabba comes to mind.

I'm pretty certain the Tonga Toast will be my wifes meal choice but I am leaning towards the Big Kahuna. Though the Macadamia Nut Pancakes are also very appetizing. It's definitely going to be a game time decision!

 

[bmarkelon]

So, Monday night my sister, Allison and her bf, Jeremiah joined our party. They had a great 3 nights, relaxing on the beach in Clearwater drinking Shark-bites. This was the only night that I watched TV the whole trip. Guity pleasure...Bachelor Pad...shhh, don't tell anybody, that's pretty embarrassing.

The next day, Tuesday, was another Magic Kingdom day with no ADRs until dinner. Kind of a nice break. This is where I start forgetting the order of events. But I'm pretty sure it went something like this....

We headed straight to Splash Mountain. Grabbed a Rider Swap pass, Allison, Jeremiah, Liam and I went into line which was only about 15-20 minutes. Alexa had her taste of Splash last year and was all set. She really did not like the prickers at the bottom of the drop. Daddy took his girls and my dad over to Pirates. My brother was sleeping in again, whatev! So we meet back up off Splash, success, Liam loved it! Lucas, Jeremiah and my dad get in line with the swap pass. Alexa, Brielle, Liam, my sister and I head over to Pirates, the girls did it twice back to back. Then we all meet up for lunch at Pecos Bills. Another first and I was quite happy with my burger and all those fixins! Lucas and my sister had chicken sandwiches from the Golden Oak.

Off to the Teacups, yup, right after lunch. We had never gone to that Mad Hatter's tea party. It was closed for refurbishment a couple trips and another time Alexa chickened out while in line, the mouse in the tea kettle freaked her out. My sister, Alexa and I got in a pretty pink cup. Jeremiah, my brother (he joined us at lunch), and Liam got in another. Lucas took Brielle to the People Mover I think.

Auntie did not like the teacups. We really had that thing spinning but the boys had theirs whipping around. It was fun, Alexa and I were cracking up.

We met back up with dad and had to do some quick planning. Of course Brielle was ready for that nap. Liam wanted more rides so...it went like this...Lucas and I left the park with Bree. Everyone else stayed to do Buzz Lightyear, People Mover and Monster's Inc. They grabbed a Fast Pass for the Buzz, watched the show, People Mover and then FP for Buzz time.

I put Bree down for her nap and Lucas went down to the pool.

Somehow, the guys (Lucas and Jeremiah, Ben had lost his drinking priviledges) decided they were going to have a guys night. So my sister and I had Long Island Iced Teas at the pool and they had a couple Bud Lights. And then we were off to Ohana for dinner. Another first for us! We all ordered Shirley Temples and then began the feast. I wish I had taken more food pictures, because I loved this meal. I was definitely super hungry but that salad was one of the best I've had at Disney. Pork Dumplings were delicious! The only meat I didn't care for was actually the shrimp, too much work peeling them and they were a little too spicy. Loved the chicken and steak!! And those noodles were so yummy too! This will be another repeater on future itineraries for sure.

Coconut Races!!! The stuff they did with the kids during dinner was pretty fun.

We got back to the room and got the kids to bed. The guys went and did the Monorail bar-hopping loop. They had a blast together and Lucas promised that my sister and I could go out the next night. Oh and he had decided that he was going to stay home from Epcot the next day with Brielle. I kinda could use that break at this point in the trip!

They had so much fun in fact that they both slept through our Chef Mickey's breakfast the next morning. No harm done, we had fun...but I didn't get to eat much since Lucas and I usually take turns keeping Bree busy at meals.

We got back to the room at the same time as Lucas' room service was arriving. :lol:

I'll stop here for now....I should probably be preparing for Irene. I am so mad at Irene right now by the way, my Dave Matthews Band concert has been postponed tomorrow due to her impending arrival. :fork: GRRRRR!

 

[silver1113]

I'm so sorry about your concert cancellation. They are one of my favorite bands. The tea cups are my kind of ride. Thinking of Ohana for dd's 21st bday next year.

 

[bmarkelon]

I'm so sorry about your concert cancellation. They are one of my favorite bands. The tea cups are my kind of ride. Thinking of Ohana for dd's 21st bday next year.

Thanks! They are definitely my favorite band, I try to see them at least once a year. They put on such a great show! I'm super bummed but they'll reschedule so I've got that to look forward to. Definitely check out Ohana's! I think that would be a great choice for a birthday dinner. Those pineapple drinks in my avatar pictures are made there, Lapu Lapus, and they are lots of fun.

 

[bmarkelon]

Who can concentrate at a time like this? And what else can I really do to prepare for the hurricane? Flashlights and candles are out on the counter, laundry is caught up, car is tanked up, bought plenty of water, check check check. Sort of wish we owned a generator but shoulda, coulda woulda.

Back to Disney....

Lucas held to his promise so I handed Bree over to him and the rest of our crew headed to Epcot. I actually had a nice friendly chat with a couple on the monorail. They saw me looking at the TouringPlans app on the iPhone and thought I was too cool for school. So I shared the wealth and helped them come up with their game plan. I have to say that the majority of visitors during this trip did not seem to friendly, cranky in the heat maybe? I just feel like I usually have a lot more fun chats with people on our trips. Maybe they were just afraid of Brielle, hehe.

Again, I digress. I will start this Epcot day by saying it definitely was not our best Epcot day, not all that much to say for it but my sister and I had a lot of laughs which really makes up for it. We had already decided that this was a Soarin or bust day. We walked in with a wave of a crowd again. But headed straight to Soarin which was claiming a 50 minute wait. I usually would not take the kids in a line this long but just went for it. Little did I know that it was actually going to be a 90 minute wait. :hammer:

But we did have me, my dad, sister and brother to distract the kids and they really weren't too bad. After a little bit Liam didn't want to stand anymore so we took turns holding him. We definitely had a few giggles about a certain aroma that kept creeping in on us....you know all about Disney gas right?! I overheard a young man confess to his mother that he was guilty. Alexa at one point blurts out, "it smells like yogurt". :hurl: Gross, but hysterical. It was around this same time that I took a Magic Kingdom map out of my pack and my sister snatched it out of my hands and announced her love for Jack Sparrow (he's on the cover) and then I go, "I'd love to get on his boat". My sister is the only one that heard it and we both couldn't believe what a dirty thing that was to say. But again so hysterical...we had a case of the sillies at this point, it was a looooong wait. When we are finally next to be assigned to A, B or C Alexa says...."this is boring" More laughing. Then I laugh when Puddy makes that comment about finding the exit if you are scared of heights I laugh again. Like I am really not going to get on this ride after waiting an hour and a half?! I should not have laughed. Remember that foreshadowing I mentioned earlier....here we are. For some crazy reason that I still cannot explain Liam freaks out when we walk in to get on the ride. Like totally freaks out. And here was my Disney mom meltdown. As I am escorting him out the exit I seriously said "I am not buying anything for you today Liam". Haha, I guess we can all be guilty of these Disney meltdowns from time to time. I am usually pretty strong and can keep it together but this was a doozy! I grab the rider swap card so that I can go on when they get off. They get off and all of the sudden Liam wants to get on! Just go with it. Liam, Alexa and I go on Soarin together. :shrug:

We finally get out of the building to discover that it's pouring rain. Off to Nemo! Turtle Talk was closed, Crush needed a lunch break or something. Over to Mouseworks for a little shopping....I did buy my little guy some Pirates Legos. I bought Bree the little doggy from Pirates with the keys in his mouth, she loved him. And Alexa got that little itty bitty dress up Minnie set. My brother decides he wants to go back to the hotel for the pool and Liam wants out with him. I was starving and still had those Fish and Chips on my mind. So our group split again. Down to my sister, dad, Alexa and me in Epcot. We head straight to Yorkshire County Fish Shop for lunch and a pint of Harp. So delicious!! My sister starts talking about those margaritas and becomes determined to get one. I tell her how to find them and send her on her way. Alexa was still eating so we told her we would meet her over there. Of course we somehow miss each other on our walks to meet each other. All of the sudden I see my sister holding up 2 Margaritas in the air and running towards us. Such a beautiful sight, wish I had a picture. Actually I don't know if I took any pictures that day. It was rainy and just too crazy. We sipped those margaritas on our walk out of the park.

We were supposed to go have dinner at 1900 Park Fare, one that I was really looking forward to. Lucas had other ideas, like the delivery menu that had been slipped under our door the day before. Just go with it I guess right? We were all kind of tired at this point in the trip and it didn't sound like a bad idea to stay in. So we called in an order to dine on Orlando's NY style pizza. Haha, very funny Orlando. Of course the pizza and wings were pretty bad. I do not have access to NY style pizza here but we do have New Haven style pizza and that's pretty fabulous.

Oh, and I forgot....my sister and I popped into the Wave for a Mojito right off the monorail. I had my dad take Alexa back to the room so they could all discuss the order.

I take that back, here was my only picture of the day.

After dinner my sister and I were out! Funny thing is Brielle goes right to sleep for Lucas where she puts up a big stinking fight with me...in Disney that is. She's an angel at home!

We are waiting for the monorail when we observe a mom dad each pushing a stroller getting off, the mom is slamming her daughter's ankles with the stroller as the girl is trying to hop in, the dad sees us watching and looks at us smiling and says, "happiness". We then hear his wife snap at him for talking to us. Nice. We head straight over to Grand Floridian to Mizner's Lounge for Cosmos. So classy, we were real cozy in there and really enjoying the live band playing Disney classics. We were laughing some more about an exchange we had had earlier in the gift shop. I am slowly working on the Alphabet pin collection and this CM had the P but we had no idea who was on it. Another guy comes over and says with confidence "that's Penny from the Rescuers". So we were laughing about how it took forever for my sister to know which movie he was talking about. She was stuck on the Rescue Rangers. I had to google it to show her the picture and spark her memory. Funny, silly sister times, with many more to come that night! I am going to stop again for now. That silly sister of mine just got here and wants to make chocolate chip cookies with the kids. Bring it on!!

 

[silver1113]

And what a picture it is. This will be our first time at the world where we are all legal. Think there maybe some drinks involved. LOL

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Mmmm... Lapu Lapus and mojitos!! Two of my favorite "adults sodas" as I call them.
Never been to Mizner's @ the GF. Will have to check it out in November!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I too adored those pork dumplings at 'Ohana- absolutely divine! Glad you guys got to do the tea party this trip...DH was crushed that he didn't get to spin us until we nearly :hurl: this time- I on the other hand was quite happy. Too funny about the yogurt. :lol: I was trying to figure out the date of your breakfast at Chef Mickey's and rain in Epcot, but I think it might have been our down day. Sounds like you guys had a blast that day though! And the drinks- super yum!:slurp:

Best of luck with everything with the storm!!! Oh how we hate hurricanes, but man could we use the rain. If the stores still have them, you might look into battery operated fans and candles. Also think about nightly bbqs w/neighbors if you're w/o power for a while and have frozen meat you can put on ice. We were w/o power for about 3 weeks after Hurricane Ike- Kendall had just turned 2 and I was expecting Sammie. It's no fun- but it's doable without a generator. Hope all turns out well!

 

[mamamouse]

awe that's awesome,cookies sound good I think i'll break out the mickey cutter tomorrow as a countdown activity,thanks for the plan lol

 

[switts]

I do not have access to NY style pizza here but we do have New Haven style pizza and that's pretty fabulous.

I have had some new haven pizza and i can say it is pretty good...especially at 2 am :ROFLOL:

 

[jhoff3405]

Your family is beautiful!
I love the kids picture with Lilo at O'Hana.
It is so fantastic that you take the "down time" to stop and have some adult beverages. I bet that makes the trip all the more enjoyable!

 

[bmarkelon]

Mmmm... Lapu Lapus and mojitos!! Two of my favorite "adults sodas" as I call them.
Never been to Mizner's @ the GF. Will have to check it out in November!!

Definitely a must! I also recommend the Pina Colavas at the resort pool bars. A Pina Colada with Rasberry liquor swirled in.

I too adored those pork dumplings at 'Ohana- absolutely divine! Glad you guys got to do the tea party this trip...DH was crushed that he didn't get to spin us until we nearly :hurl: this time- I on the other hand was quite happy. Too funny about the yogurt. :lol: I was trying to figure out the date of your breakfast at Chef Mickey's and rain in Epcot, but I think it might have been our down day. Sounds like you guys had a blast that day though! And the drinks- super yum!:slurp:

Best of luck with everything with the storm!!! Oh how we hate hurricanes, but man could we use the rain. If the stores still have them, you might look into battery operated fans and candles. Also think about nightly bbqs w/neighbors if you're w/o power for a while and have frozen meat you can put on ice. We were w/o power for about 3 weeks after Hurricane Ike- Kendall had just turned 2 and I was expecting Sammie. It's no fun- but it's doable without a generator. Hope all turns out well!

Thank you so much for the tips. Sounds like this is going to be the biggest storm we've experienced. I'm definitely nervous about what tomorrow brings, we practically live in the woods...trees everywhere!

awe that's awesome,cookies sound good I think i'll break out the mickey cutter tomorrow as a countdown activity,thanks for the plan lol

We still have a couple dozen left to get through the storm!

Your family is beautiful!
I love the kids picture with Lilo at O'Hana.
It is so fantastic that you take the "down time" to stop and have some adult beverages. I bet that makes the trip all the more enjoyable!

Aww, thanks so much! An adult beverage here and there on our Disney trips definitely makes the vacation feel like a vacation. :goodnevil