Trip Report The No Rain, Red Card, Vanna White, July JOURNEY! *COMPLETED*

So my most recent trip report was 44 years in the making ~ this one has taken only a month . And for any of you keeping score, this is my 5th trip report. This year. I have been to WDW five times in 2016 and have plans to return in September. And October. And December. (Please don't hate me.)

Those of you who are tired of reading about my Disney escapades can exit now, no hard feelings. Those of you who have read any of my other reports know what you're in for and I hope I can keep your interest. I really appreciate your kind comments.

To that end I will start by playing tag ~ @TrolleyFollower91 @Doc Disney @TheMouseFan @MinnieM123 @Tiggerish @BWK05 @Gabe1 @samantha788 @coachwnh @Figment Forever @figmentfan423 @epcotisbest @Zipitidoda @MerMom1981 @LisaBelle @Matty30 @Courtney6682 @bee @lostpro9het @cgersic @sheriffwoody @blgauger @meganwdw @fractal @MississippiBelle @jrogue @ScarletBegonias @LadyBelle @disneypearl @Tony the Tigger @tcool123 @prfctlyximprct @Longers @gwhb75 @Beckett @Ciara @ajrwdwgirl @FlaggNL @mishel635 @myhappyplace

If I have omitted anyone, please forgive me and know it was not intentional! A great big thank you in advance to everyone who follows along .

"Now give me a little intro there, Gomer" (I clearly have seen the Country Bear Jamboree way too many times...)

Cast: Tuvalu and Em, a girls' summer getaway!
Date: July 23-27
Resort: Polynesian Village (surprised? Didn't think so...)

Did all our wishes come true? You'll have to wait and see.

 

[Tuvalu]

I got my first taste of Journey when my babysitters daughter was a mega fan and would crank Escape (I think that was the album) all the time.

The second set of the band story made me tear up. You two are sooo cute!

Awwww, thanks!

I rest my case! Excitement everywhere for you!

Yup, we've seen everything from make-out to break-up!

Can't get enough Poly pics - even the with the new lobby.

Thanks for following. There are probably more Poly pics to come.

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, July 24

I awakened a little past 6 a.m. ~ can't sleep in when the magic is right outside my door! Em, on the other hand, prefers to sleep until the latest possible moment before she needs to get ready for the day. So being the good mama, I will go and get breakfast for us.

Since our last Poly stays were club level, getting breakfast merely required walking down to the lounge. This morning I needed to walk over to Capt. Cooks, which really wasn't far. But distance wasn't the problem ~ the new logistics inside Cooks made the experience a nightmare!

The registers have been moved from the center to right under the menu board in front of the kitchen. This forces everyone to stand in the same line, even if not ordering hot food. Below is a picture I took at another time to show the change:

There were 20 (I counted) people ahead of me in line and only one cashier. People with grab-and-go items (like me with muffins and milk) had to wait while others mulled over the menu board, tried to figure out what they could get with the DDP, went over to the cold case to grab items they wanted to have with their hot food, etc. What should have taken me 5 minutes (grab muffins, milk and pay) took almost a half hour!! And anyone who just wanted a cup for water or coffee (or to purchase a mug) had to wait in that same ridiculous line! I decided then and there it would be our last Cooks breakfast.

(And to add insult to injury, our muffins were awful!)

Fortunately, there were no monorail issues this morning and we arrived at MK in time to see Smokey Miller welcome us!

(Don't be fooled by the clock...it was really 8:40 a.m.)

@epcotisbest, Em took this for you:

 

[epcotisbest]

Sunday, July 24

I awakened a little past 6 a.m. ~ can't sleep in when the magic is right outside my door! Em, on the other hand, prefers to sleep until the latest possible moment before she needs to get ready for the day. So being the good mama, I will go and get breakfast for us.

Since our last Poly stays were club level, getting breakfast merely required walking down to the lounge. This morning I needed to walk over to Capt. Cooks, which really wasn't far. But distance wasn't the problem ~ the new logistics inside Cooks made the experience a nightmare!

The registers have been moved from the center to right under the menu board in front of the kitchen. This forces everyone to stand in the same line, even if not ordering hot food. Below is a picture I took at another time to show the change:

View attachment 158030

There were 20 (I counted) people ahead of me in line and only one cashier. People with grab-and-go items (like me with muffins and milk) had to wait while others mulled over the menu board, tried to figure out what they could get with the DDP, went over to the cold case to grab items they wanted to have with their hot food, etc. What should have taken me 5 minutes (grab muffins, milk and pay) took almost a half hour!! And anyone who just wanted a cup for water or coffee (or to purchase a mug) had to wait in that same ridiculous line! I decided then and there it would be our last Cooks breakfast.

(And to add insult to injury, our muffins were awful!)

Fortunately, there were no monorail issues this morning and we arrived at MK in time to see Smokey Miller welcome us!

View attachment 158031
(Don't be fooled by the clock...it was really 8:40 a.m.)

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@epcotisbest, Em took this for you:
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Now that is perfect timing. I keep missing it by a half second. Thanks Em!

 

[lostpro9het]

I decided then and there it would be our last Cooks breakfast.
(And to add insult to injury, our muffins were awful!)

Just sayin...

 

[epcotisbest]

Just sayin...
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Or, for about the price of one Cooks breakfast:

 

[Tuvalu]

Just sayin...
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Oh for heaven's sake you stole my picture for tomorrow's breakfast!

 

[Tuvalu]

Or, for about the price of one Cooks breakfast:

View attachment 158048

Indeed!

 

[MinnieM123]

That's crazy about the long line at Capt. Cooks, and just one register open?! Good grief. Makes you wonder if the people who make these "decisions" ever eat there?! (And, not to mention, at a "deluxe" resort like the Poly, couldn't they at least have added an additional CM to work at the cash register?)

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con't

We were pleasantly surprised that Main Street was not wall-to-wall guests racing to get to 7DMT. In fact, we thought the crowds were remarkably light for a day in July.

We walked through the castle to get to Fantasyland. A flight to Neverland was first on our agenda.

Then we had an urge for a smackeral of honey.

Believe it or not, 7DMT had only a 30 minute wait so we joined the standby line.

The window for our first FP was now open and we stopped at the Tangled restroom on the way. I was tickled to observe a little girl in wide-eyed wonder comment to her mother, "This is BEAUTIFUL!" (Good thing the bathrooms were completed before the #blameShanghai cuts were instituted .)

 

[gwhb75]

Saturday, con't

Em was selected to go through the metal detector upon our arrival at Epcot. This "randomness" and the stress of "will I or won't I get picked to walk through" could be easily solved by making everyone walk through. Yes, it's a pain, but it is the reality of the world we now live in. We already do it at airports, sports stadiums and government buildings.

I'm just back from WDW this evening. The whole "random" thing is "randomly" applied. What I observed was that during the day only some people were selected to go through, but in the evening everyone was put through. This happened on multiple days. That is a bit concerning because if someone wants to do something, apparently they have a better chance of getting away with it in the morning? I agree that everyone should go through.

 

[gwhb75]

Oh for heaven's sake you stole my picture for tomorrow's breakfast!

View attachment 158059

untag him from the opening....

 

[Tiggerish]

View attachment 158029


Awwww, thanks!


Yup, we've seen everything from make-out to break-up!


Thanks for following. There are probably more Poly pics to come.

I had that album. In fact, it's likely still at my dad's house. Listened to it frequently back in the day. So many good Journey songs!! They don't get enough airplay nowadays. I really enjoyed your retelling of your concert experience! We've seen many great shows during F&G and F&W festivals.

 

[Tuvalu]

The Haunted Mansion was under wraps.

We had a FP which proved worthless, as the FP merge point was moved back to the entrance of the graveyard and we had to queue through the graveyard with everyone else.

Our FP wait ended up being 15 minutes.

Em took these pictures on our walk to Frontierland. We were behind 4 teen girls who were discussing various attractions. One asked, "Is the Haunted Mansion a rollercoaster inside?" (Can't make this stuff up, folks! )

Our next FP was for Big Thunder Mountain. There was a private tour...a Disney guide with 3 children in the 8-12 age range...who entered the FP queue behind us. Due to the guide, they did not have fastpasses. There was no adult with the children which we found a little curious. The FP line was long and we were stopped, so we were privy to the conversation taking place between the guide and the children. The CM gets props for engaging with the kids, and for not gasping or prying further when the middle boy said, "My dad owns 7 businesses." (Well that explains the private tour...)

Finally we got to board the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!

As you can tell, we didn't have any fun!!

This next picture is for @imahistorygeek and @MinnieM123 ~

 

[Tuvalu]

untag him from the opening....

Now behave....I know how competitive you boys are .

 

[Tuvalu]

After our bust of a breakfast, we were glad we had an early lunch ADR.

Yellow rose = pre-ordered meal. See the long line on the right? This special rose allows us to bypass that line and go right inside the restaurant.

Our favorite dining room, the Rose Gallery, had plenty of empty tables (probably because everyone was still waiting outside!) Em and I shared the roast beef sandwich with green beans jardiniere and a side of pommes frites. There was NO WAY we were sharing a Master's cupcake, so we ordered two.

We did linger quite awhile at lunch, hoping to run into @Zipitidoda and her family. But alas, our paths did not cross.

We had a final FP to use before our afternoon pool break. Due to the high humidity, we opted to ride the MPB back to Frontierland. Here we are stopped at the Main Street Station.

 

[Scoppin]

I'll be there before you. I'll make sure everything is spotless for when you get back..

I would appreciate that as well. Will be there between Sept 15-23.

 

[Scoppin]

Next we thought we would take the path from Storybook Circus to Tomorrowland. We did not expect to have to fight our way through the smokers.....YUCK!

We earned our pleasant ride on the PeopleMover. I can't remember if we were in the first car or last car, LOL.

View attachment 157407

"Now is the time, now is the best time, now is the best time of your life..." Whoops, wrong decade! Trying again:
"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day..."

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It was a full theater show. When the theme song started and the theater began to rotate, Em leaned over to me and whispered, "I can't hear the song over the teen girls sighing next to me!"

View attachment 157406
(I took this picture surreptitiously. Em read on several photography forums that pictures of ANY kind...not just with a flash...are prohibited on Carousel of Progress. Yeah, I'm bad! )

We experienced a first when the show was over ~ everyone clapped! (Well except for the teenage girls who were still busy rolling their eyes!)

That was rude of them. I am not sure if I would be able to stop myself from asking them to quiet as others were trying to listen.

 

[Scoppin]

Saturday, con't

After COP, we left Tomorrowland for an important ADR. "ADR?" you say. "Didn't you guys already eat your lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus?"

But we didn't have dessert!

We checked in at The Plaza a few minutes early and ended up having to wait a half hour before our pager buzzed. It was pretty hot and humid (right, @Zipitidoda? ) and Em and I were more than ready for a/c and ice cream!

View attachment 157565

We were seated at a corner table with a great people-watching view. I was dismayed to see the new menu ~ not only had prices increased significantly since our visit last month, but instead of a stiff laminate the menu was now printed on a flimsy piece of paper. (Should Shanghai get blamed for this too?)

View attachment 157566

As frequent Plaza diners, we know most of the servers but today we had one that was new to us. She was obviously having a bad day and did not even smile or react to our friendly greeting. Then, when she found out we were only ordering shakes, she became downright surly. What she didn't know is that when we only order shakes or sundaes, I leave at least a 50% tip to make up for the "lost revenue" of not ordering food.

View attachment 157567

Though we practically had to beg surly server to refill our water glasses, she still got her $10 tip.

It was nearing 3 p.m. and I still had not received our "room ready" text. It was too hot to wait for the Festival of Fantasy parade to reach Main Street, so we decided to return to the Poly and hang out in the lobby until our room was ready.

We boarded a monorail car that was empty except for a 20-something man who was seated directly across from us.

View attachment 157568

Just as the "we'll be waiting here for further traffic clearance" announcement was made, the man suddenly leapt out of the open door and violently vomited over the railing into the grass. Not just once....multiple times. A monorail CM was calling 911 as our train departed.

Em and I were able to cool off during our ride and upon our Poly arrival I suggested a walk down to the beach to check out the new safety fence. We liked it and agreed the shoreline will look even nicer once the rock barrier is complete.

View attachment 157569

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At this moment I received our room text. Rarotonga, here we come!

Still no luck with your monorail rides. At least this time they were running.

and finally a room text. Sounds like this trip is starting on the right foot.

 

[Scoppin]

Saturday, con't

Em was selected to go through the metal detector upon our arrival at Epcot. This "randomness" and the stress of "will I or won't I get picked to walk through" could be easily solved by making everyone walk through. Yes, it's a pain, but it is the reality of the world we now live in. We already do it at airports, sports stadiums and government buildings.

We had a long, hot walk to our destination. (@Zipitidoda, I noticed a comment in my notes after our last day: "This was definitely the hottest vacation we have experienced in a long time." So you weren't crazy!! ) As we neared the World Showcase Promenade, we overheard a young couple in the throes of breaking up. Lots of anger, tears and drama. Hopefully they were locals, otherwise the rest of their vacation would be awkwardly awful!

We made it! Norway....or should I say Arendelle?
View attachment 157845

@Doc Disney, I had to check out our favorite attraction first ~

View attachment 157850
Love the scalloped edge trim on the counter!

Standby wait was 120 minutes. We had a FP . Now you know why we did not have any fastpasses at the MK!

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We scanned our bands....and guess what I got?

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Our FP wait clocked in at 20 minutes. Better than two hours, yes, but we decided this trip that Disney seems to be pushing the limits of a FP wait ~ testing to see how long guests are willing to wait in a FP line before complaining. We had several FP waits at 15-20 minutes, which we think are too long.

We did not take any pictures during our first ride, as we wanted to just enjoy the experience. Clearly, we did not expect a picture to be taken of US!!!

View attachment 157849
(Whenever we need a good laugh, we now pull up this beauty! )

Frozen Ever After gets a thumbs up. Olaf is terrific and the Imagineers worked magic using the limited parameters of an existing ride. But a FP is a must for us as we wouldn't wait more than 30 minutes to ride again.

This was the first FP I booked when our timeline came up due to hearing about the wait times and how quickly they get swallowed up.

I have to ask a question though. I know to most this may sound like a 'dumb' question but I have come to grips in the fact there are no dumb questions if you don't know the answer. What is the red tag for?

I know the pains of walking through a metal detector each and every day going to work. The up side is that we also have an xray machine we can put our bags/coats through and not have to worry about emptying our bags. This would save WDW visitors a lot of time, not to mention work for security.

 

[Scoppin]

Time to grab some dinner! We were close to one of our fave spots ~ Tangierine Cafe .

View attachment 157880
Em had the Mediterranean Chicken Wrap (right) and I had the Shawarma Chicken Platter.

After enjoying the yumminess, I casually asked Em if she wouldn't mind walking back past the America Gardens Theatre on our way to Future World. (We had a FP for Spaceship Earth.) DSB was just beginning their second show as we approached the theater.

As we heard the opening riff for Only The Young (one of my favorites), Em looked at me and said, "We're going to have to go back inside aren't we?" I grinned.

View attachment 157881

As you can see, our seats weren't as close and we were not in the shade. But Em was indulging me (and hoping she might get to hear her favorite Journey song.) After each song concluded, she would chant: "Separate Ways! Separate Ways! Separate Ways!"

View attachment 157882

But this was the set list:
Only The Young
Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'
Lights
Escape
(Medley) Foolish Heart/Patiently/Open Arms

"We have time for one more song," Doppelgänger announced.
I turned to Em and said, "Well, since they are DSB, you know they'll end with Don't Stop Believin' again."
"Yeah, you're probably right," she replied.

And then it happened. The opening chords for Separate Ways.

Em. Went. NUTS!!

There was screaming. (Her? Me? Both?) Embarassment was no longer a factor as we both sang along at the top of our lungs. It was by far the most magical moment of our trip!!

This time exiting the theater, there were TWO happy campers! We briefly discussed hanging around for the final show, but we both wanted to see Wishes at 9 p.m. and agreed it was good to leave on a "high note."

We made it back to the Poly in time to watch Wishes from the beach. There was some lightning in the area so Tink didn't fly. But the fireworks were awesome as always.

Coming up ~ will we get to see the MK opening show?

glad to hear you were able to hear your favourite song. a very nice moment.