Trip Report So we went to Disney again... - an August/17 trip report

Intro

Hello again everyone, and welcome to the 2017 (part 1) Burnett family trip report. Hopefully you'll enjoy following us through another fun/crazy/childish humor filled trip report

If you want to see the pre-trip report :http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...riginal-title-so-you-get-this-instead.927386/

Or, if you don’t want to go to the PTR, a quick recap:


Who
Same group as all the other trips we've done in the past

There's Tammy and I

and Steph and Liam

Actually, this picture may capture them better...

When

We were down at WDW from August 19th to the 28th


Where

Back when we were planning this trip, we asked Steph and Liam where they wanted to stay. Steph wanted Boardwalk, and Liam wanted Poly (we’re DVC btw). We decided to give them both what they wanted, and did a split stay. We spent the first 5 days at a garden/pool view room at the Boardwalk, and the last 4 days at a lake view room at the Poly.


Well…let’s get started


Countdown – everything up to August 18th

Where to start… We were pretty busy right up until we were on the plane to head to Florida. We did most of the packing for the trip in the few days before the 19th, and were really looking forward to getting away.

We took our cat Zoey over to my parent’s house on the 17th (my Dad loves cats and loves it when the cats get to stay over),

and our dog Cooper was picked up on the morning of the 18th to go to his daycare/overnight place.

We’ll miss the animals.


We’re almost ready to go…


However, as I mentioned in the PTR, my Mom was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer back in May and I had been going with my Mom and Dad to all of her appointments (I was there to take notes and ask questions, as my parents are both 80 and tend to get things mixed up). The reason this plays into the trip report is because we found out during the first week of August that she was going to have surgery on August 18th.

So, after weeks and weeks of appointments, the 18th finally arrived. As you can imagine, it was a bit of a different day than what you normally expect on the day before a Disney trip. Yes, we were excited about the upcoming trip, but also anxious about Mom’s surgery (and also very well aware that if there were complications then the trip would be postponed).

Here's my Mom and I at the hospital waiting to get checked in

The good news is that everything went very well. Mom’s surgery was at 9am, and lasted about 2 hours. After a few hours in recovery we were able to see her. She was kind of groggy, but was doing well.

I brought my Dad back to our home after we saw her, so that he could take a nap (he didn’t sleep well the night before the surgery). He slept for about an hour and then headed back to the hospital.

At around 4ish we finished packing up the car, and then I drove Tammy and the kids down to the hospital to see my Mom. I was surprised at how well Mom was doing. She was wide awake and was already asking the Dr if she could just go home that day (I already though it was crazy that you only stay in less than 24 hours after a mastectomy). She is one tough lady. Everyone was happy to see her doing so well, and she kept telling us we should get going, so we did.

We jumped in the car and headed across the border to Buffalo. We made a few stops (Sam’s Club (picked up some more gift cards and some breakfast stuff), the hotel (the Sleep Inn by the airport), the airport (to weigh our bags so there would be no panicked repacking at the airport the next morning), and the Cracker Barrel (for dinner)). We were back in our room by around 9:30 and settled in for a few hours of sleep before our super early (3:15am) wake-up call.

see you tomorrow

 

[fractal]

Right or wrong, Ohana's justifies the prices by saying it "includes" appetizers and dessert. So if you go, bring a big appetite.

Your son really reminds me of my son at that age ( which likely means you and I were the same way ). Although I feel for you, I do find it very amusing!

 

[gwhb75]

Right or wrong, Ohana's justifies the prices by saying it "includes" appetizers and dessert. So if you go, bring a big appetite.

Your son really reminds me of my son at that age ( which likely means you and I were the same way ). Although I feel for you, I do find it very amusing!

There are times we find it amusing too, but other times.....

I have no doubt that years from now we'll look back and have a good laugh at some of these things.

 

[gwhb75]

The view from the Poly is pretty awesome! I can't believe Ohana cost that much!!! That's insane! I don't blame you for skipping it for awhile!

We loved the view. The fireworks at night were fantastic.

'Ohana is pretty steep now. The food is great, and the service is great, but i just don't feel we eat enough to justify that cost.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Tammy and I got coffee, while the kids wanted Coke (Liam) and Root Beer (Steph). I guess the kids are thinking “When in Rome” (I know that pop (or as most American’s call it, “soda”), could be considered a breakfast drink in the US, but it isn’t something that is normal in Canada).

Pop (I'm from Minnesota and that's what I call it) is always a breakfast drink. I'm not a huge coffee drinker though so that's how I get my caffeine.

 

[gwhb75]

Day 7 – August 25th – A morning stroll

Good Morning Poly. It’s another beautiful morning, which means it’s time for another early morning walk. Tammy and I went without the kids this time. We decided we’d walk the trail over to the Grand Floridian and back. It was nice being out without a whole lot of people being around.

We made our way past the volcano pool,

and continued on to the wedding pavilion.

We were surprised to find that the wedding pavilion was open, so we went in to sneak a quick peek at what the place was like. It’s very nice in there.

Look what you can see through the window

After the wedding pavilion we continued our walk along the lake front until we came to the memorial for Lane Graves.

It’s very tastefully done.

It was kind of hard standing there looking over the area where the attack happened. I kept thinking of how horrible it must have been that night for the family. I’m not much of a crier, but I started to get a lump in my throat thinking about it.

We quietly made our way back towards the Poly after that.

When we got back we woke the kids up and asked what they wanted to do today. They decided they wanted to hang around the pool a bit this morning, so we headed back to the Oasis pool again.

We stayed for a few hours, and had a good time.

Still to come - an animated lunch

 

[gwhb75]

Day 7 continued - an animated lunch

Soon it was lunch time and we decided to do something different. We had heard how good Landscape of Flavors was over at the Art of Animation, so we thought it would be fun to go there….that and Steph wanted tie-dye cheesecake and POP is the only place I know of that you can get it.

So the travel plan was to take the monorail to the MK, and then a bus to AoA. Kind of a funny thing happened on the way to the monorail…

So we head out to the monorail station at the Poly, and first we had to clear security (I like how they do that the resort now). Anyways…Tammy and the kids are going through, and I wanted to take a picture of the new security set-up, so I pull out my phone and take a picture. As I’m passing through security one of the guards on duty (there were three), says

“Did you just take a picture”

Me: “yes”

Guard: “I’m going to have to ask you to delete it…security reasons.”

Really? The Poly bag-check is now a high risk security area. Should I tell him about all the pictures of the security checkpoints that are ALL OVER THE INTERNET. Nah…there are some hills worth dying on, but this isn’t one of them. I showed him the picture and then deleted it in front of him (of course I could have recovered it the second I walked away but, you know…whatever). Me thinks someone is letting their faux-police uniform go to their head a bit.

So we make our way over to the MK, and head to the bus stop for AoA. We get to the bus stop and are met by two women, one of whom is on her phone. She informs us that we better not be in a rush because she’s been waiting for a bus for 45 minutes, and that she’s trying to call the hotel now to let them know (I didn’t have the heart to tell her she’s probably going to get a help centre in India somewhere). Maybe we’re just good luck charms, because about a minute after we arrived at the bus stop, a bus arrived. We had a quick bus ride to AoA, and soon we were there.

It’s nice to see this place up close. We stayed at POP our first two trips back in 2008 and 2009, and I remember when these buildings were just the unfinished expansion of POP Century.

We headed in and made our way in to Landscape of Flavors.

We were really impressed with this place. For lunch Tammy got a chicken salad (they put it together in front of you),

Steph got the bowtie pasta alfredo (made fresh),

Liam got the bacon cheeseburger with house-made chips,

and I got the surf-and-surf burger (it’s a crab cake with shrimp on top) with fries.

All were fantastic.

After lunch we wandered the AoA grounds a bit, and then made our way over to POP via the Generation Gap bridge. I noticed they had started work on the gondolas.

Still to come - POP goes the cheesecake

 

[gwhb75]

August 27th - POP goes the cheesecake

Soon we were at the POP food court.

Tammy, Steph and Liam all got the cheesecakes,

while I decided on an ice cream sundae.

Not bad at all

After lunch we had to decide what to do next. The kids decided they wanted to go back to Hollywood Studios, so that’s where we headed.

Really, we only had one thing we wanted to do this time, which was the Frozen sing-along thing. Steph had asked to do this a few times before, we just couldn’t find a time that worked until now. Soon the Arendelle historians were regaling us with tales of winter, and all things cold.

It’s still a good show.

That show was really all we wanted to do here, so after that we headed out.

March of the First Order again...

We had reservations at Raglan Road a bit later today, so we decided to head over to Disney Springs and wander around a bit.

Still to come - the Springs

 

[gwhb75]

Day 7 - Dinner at the Springs

We arrive at the Springs, and I made a quick stop in the restroom. Why is this sign needed???

So, since I’m not a CM, I guess I can save a few seconds then… kidding…kidding.

We wandered some of the stores and soon It was time for dinner (do you like how I compressed a few hours of wandering down to 1 sentence like that), so we headed over to Raglan.

We checked in and were seated quickly. We had a table close to the stage, so we were happy (the last time we were here we were at a table behind the stage so we couldn’t see anything, and it was way too loud).

Not long after we were seated the soda bread and dip arrived.

For dinner Tammy got the fish and chips,

Steph got the shrimp and risotto,

Liam got a rack of ribs (it’s on the appetizer section of the menu)

and I got the bangers and booze.

We all really enjoyed our meal (although Tammy’s fish was a bit tough (almost like they had fried it earlier and it had been sitting a bit longer than it should have)). For dessert we shared a bread pudding

and a trifle sinful.

Everything was delicious.

Still to come - an evening at AK

 

[gwhb75]

Day 7 continued - an evening at AK

After dinner we headed over to AK. I had planned to be at AK tonight, because Tammy and I wanted to see Rivers of Light. Back when I was planning this day I had asked the kids if they wanted to see Rivers of Light, but they weren’t really interested. I won some Dad points, however, when I managed to get Steph and Li another fastpass for Flight of Passage about two weeks before we arrived for the start of our trip, for the same time that Tammy and I were in RoL.

We got to AK around 7:30, and made our way over to EE for our first FP. Tammy opted out this time.

Assuming the crash position

After EE, the kids took off on their own.

I had booked a Dinosaur FP for them before their FoP FP, so they went there first (but not before a quick picture)

Tammy and I made a quick stop for a frozen chai latte, and then got in line for RoL

A quick picture on the way back to the RoL theatre

Not long after lining up they started to let us into the theatre. I really like what they’ve done with the theatre.

We had about a half hour to wait before the show started, but there was lots of stuff going on to keep us occupied (they do a lot of projection stuff in the trees around the lake).

Soon the lights dim, and the show starts. I decided I would limit how many pictures I would take as I really wanted to enjoy the show, but I did take a couple.

My review…I thought it was a really good show. There isn’t much of a plot that I could tell, but I thought it was a very relaxing and colorful show. I’d see it again.

Still to come - a wallet emptying stop in Pandora.

 

[gwhb75]

Day 7 continued - Pandora again

While we were in the theatre we started getting messages from the kids. First they tell us that they were thirsty, so they bought a drink.

Then they tell us to come find them in Pandora once we’re done. Once the show is over we head over to Pandora, and find the kids in the Rookery.

Liam has decided he wants to get a banshee. He had saved some money to spend, so we told him it was up to him. He was happy with his purchase.

After that we made our way out of AK, and headed back to the Poly for the night.

See you tomorrow

 

[DisneyJeff]

After the wedding pavilion we continued our walk along the lake front until we came to the memorial for Lane Graves.

It’s very tastefully done.

Thanks for sharing these pics of the Lane Graves memorial. I had heard about this but I hadn't seen any photos. Very Nice.

 

[Jim Buck]

Day 4 continued - the end to a great day

We really didn’t have a destination in mind, and just ended up wandering around a bit. We went to the World of Disney first, but that place is just crazy busy. After that we went to Amorettes. We had thought of picking something up for dessert there, but we were still so full from dinner that nothing really appealed to us. The stuff in there did look amazing though.
View attachment 230473

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Lastly we headed over to the Coke store. Our first stop was on the second floor, where we got pictures with the Coke polar bear. I guess this is a fairly new thing (within the last year). Not bad.
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Next we headed up to the top floor where the open-air bar is. We had been up here last year and did the Coke flight which was interesting. Liam was the only one who really felt like anything, so he got an Inca Kola and lime.
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We placed the order, and then waited…and waited…and waited…Finally, someone behind the counter figured out that our order had been missed. One of the CMs behind the counter came over and was very apologetic for the oversight. He then asked if we wanted something else “on the house”. That was a nice gesture, and completely unexpected. Steph took him up on the offer and got a banana icee. She was happy.
View attachment 230481
and notice the "If you can read this you're in my roundhouse kick range" shirt...I worry for my own safety sometimes.

Liam's drink arrived soon after
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With drinks in hand, we headed back to the busses. We made the decision to head back to Boardwalk tonight, instead of going to a park. We spent some time at the pool and also watching the entertainment.

High School Musical was the movie tonight
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We finished th night off with a stop Ample Hills again for dessert (which is a great way to end any day).
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Overall I’d say Tammy and I had a great anniversary day.

That it for today – Tomorrow: The last day at Boardwalk.

I have a very similar shirt myself that my wife got for me. It can be a conversation starter or stopper depending on where you are.
Excellent report as usual!

 

[gwhb75]

Thanks for sharing these pics of the Lane Graves memorial. I had heard about this but I hadn't seen any photos. Very Nice.

No problem. It is very well done, it's just sad that it's needed.

 

[gwhb75]

I have a very similar shirt myself that my wife got for me. It can be a conversation starter or stopper depending on where you are.
Excellent report as usual!

I view it as a warning...

Glad you're enjoying the report so far

 

[gwhb75]

Pop (I'm from Minnesota and that's what I call it) is always a breakfast drink. I'm not a huge coffee drinker though so that's how I get my caffeine.

That's something most Canadians don't understand. I remember when I was taking marketing at school (back in the late 90's), we were discussing a new product that Pepsi was testing in the US called Pepsi AM. It was a warm pop.
It's funny how different our cultures are on certain things, when we're so geographically close to each other.

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Thank you for the review of Landscape of Flavors! We are staying at Pop for our trip, and I was hoping to eat there.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

That's something most Canadians don't understand. I remember when I was taking marketing at school (back in the late 90's), we were discussing a new product that Pepsi was testing in the US called Pepsi AM. It was a warm pop.
It's funny how different our cultures are on certain things, when we're so geographically close to each other.

I can tell you I would not drink warm pop.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Awww. The memorial got me choked up too. Somehow I missed that they did this. Very well done.

 

[gwhb75]

Thank you for the review of Landscape of Flavors! We are staying at Pop for our trip, and I was hoping to eat there.

No problem. It is worth the walk across the generation gap bridge. Definitely check it out.

 

[gwhb75]

Awww. The memorial got me choked up too. Somehow I missed that they did this. Very well done.

It is a nice memorial, it's just a terrible circumstance that lead to it.