Trip Report The Stalker Surfaces - A First Report for a Long Time Creeper Feb 2019!

Hello everyone!

My name is Annie and I am your friendly undercover WDW Magic Trip Report Stalker. I feel as though I know so many of you personally, as I have read SO MANY trip reports over the years. I travel for work, and often on these travels I find myself passing the time on the boards.

In my childhood, my family was of the "yearly vacation at Disney" sort until I went away for college:
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(some things never change!)

I spent a lot of time during my college years and early professional life dreaming of my return to the World. In 2015, I finally became an annual passholder when I started a new job at a medical school here in Maine and began to travel the country (and Central Florida) quit a bit for conferences, events, etc. I have had MANY Disney World trips paid for by the University over the past few years, as well as fun ones with my friends and family!

I was prompted to write this report by my fiance, who suggested that I repay the favor of all you fine folks sharing your Disney adventures. So.. here we go!

When: February 1, 2019 - February 9, 2019

Who: Me (Annie) and my fiance (Ian)
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Where: Polynesian Village Resort (renting DVC)

Why: Celebrating our ENGAGEMENT! Ian proposed one month prior to our trip after 6.5 years! We survived long distance, civilian service for the Navy separating us, and much more that made us feel deserving of a treat!
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I went to get my nails done with my future sister-in-law this night directly after work. I waited until the very last minute because I wanted my nails looking as fresh as possible the following Tuesday for our engagement photo session on the grounds of the Poly-Grand :inlove: Fun fact: Ian has a twin brother and his wife is who I went with. People like to joke about how I know what my future children will look like based on his and his wife's (she favors me and I her).

This brings us to our next stop. Before I headed home post nail appointment, I had an important question to ask my nephew:
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(he said YES! lol.. the dollar helped :hilarious:)

Once I had solidified my ring security for the big day, I headed home to my future hubby who had only just started packing UGH. I had been packed for nearly two weeks, but that is beside the point. My annoyance with his lack of packing motivation quickly turned to thoughts of "I can't believe I get to marry this man" when he handed me these upon my arrival:
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Day 1: Friday, February 1, 2019
We live on the southern seacoast of Maine, so we are fortunate to live near a decent sized airport in Portland BUT I wanted a flight that would get us to Orlando ASAP. So naturally, I got us up on our first day of vacation at 2 AM to get to the bus station for our ride into Boston for our 6 AM flight. WORTH IT. Or.. not? We ended up delayed nearly two hours. How will we deal with the disappointment?

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BREAKFAST PIZZA! And not pizza that has eggs and sausage.. actual pizza just eaten in the morning :hilarious:

Ian is NOT hugely a morning person, mostly because most days at home he either wakes up for work at 3 AM or works overnights. I told him I found the perfect snack for him:
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Luckily, after almost 7 years he knows to expect this kind of behavior from me! As a side note: during this delay we were dealing with some drama back home. My older sister is getting married in the same year as me which is THIS ONE 2019 (her in June in Colorado and me in October in Maine). Isn't it interesting how some fun aspects of our loved ones personalities shine through during wedding planning? Ian had to keep reminding that we were on vacation and to deal with the drama upon our return but not a minute sooner!

We finally boarded around 8:30 AM and no sooner had we sat down, then Ian had already fallen asleep
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That's right fella, rest up for the mouse!!

We had a very uneventful ride down, and soon we were taking a fonorail ride to our next destination and hopping on the DME!
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(my sister made me the Future Mrs ears for the trip and I got so many compliments on them!)

To be continued...
 

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krisri18

Well-Known Member
Day 7 continued..

At this point, we were ready for our afternoon break. BUT not before getting the pulled pork mac n cheese from Flame Tree BBQ again. SO GOOD!

We headed for the buses, and decided to hop on whichever monorail resort bus came first. Contemporary it was!

I showed Ian, and he was .. less than impressed. I think he was happy I chose the Poly for our trip!

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Once we made it back to the Poly and our room, I headed for the pool and Ian for a nap. These breaks did two things for us typically. 1 - they allowed us to rest and 2 - usually afforded us some time apart.

I knew I wanted something cold to enjoy with my book

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Did somebody say Spikey Pineapple?

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This was SO good and super refreshing. A Disney first for me, but certainly not a last!

Soon it was time to head back to the room to get ready for our first After Hours event! I returned to find a refreshed Ian ready to go, and so I quickly changed and we headed for the monorail!

We were about an hour early (you could begin to enter at 7PM for this particular event), but luckily they gave us our wristbands and since we had park admission we were allowed in!

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We decided to get some rides in as the crowd was finding spots/watching HEA. Up first: Haunted Mansion!

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Next, I wanted to show Ian the Tangled bathroom area at night!

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I was hopeful we would be able to get a lantern picture, but the line was out of control. While Ian was using the facilities, I spotted a FP CM in the area standing by himself. I asked for my picture, and I got this one! With no line!

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Up next (still pre event) Pooh! A first for Ian

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Ian likes to call me a mixture of Pooh and Eeyore .. the whole spectrum I guess 😂

To be continued...
Spiky Pineapple is my Favorite!
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 continued..

Next up: BTRM! our favorite! We rode the wildest ride in the wilderness 3 times before heading to Splash, for Ian's first ride after regretting not joining me earlier in the week!

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We got SOAKED! Luckily it was a warm night!

We decided we needed to do better with our Pirates photo, so we made a beeline there! Of course.. we got row 1 again LOL

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(much more cheerful than day 1 :hilarious:)

We decided our last ride would be magic carpets because - why not?!

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We made our way back to the hub for more treats and some photos in front of the castle. I knew these were doomed to be not the GREATEST photos because we were still soaked, but I wanted the photos for the memories!

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(a little damp)

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We slowly made our way down Main Street

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I got myself a new sweatshirt I had been eyeing all week

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Ian could tell that I was dragging my feet and not wanting to leave, but we wanted to enjoy our last full day so eventually we made our way out of the park.

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We waited in a 5 person line for the ferry and quickly were back to the Poly.

I know this has been said many times and in many ways.. I HIGHLY recommend the after hours events. We got so much done and with so few people around. We truly got to enjoy the park at a slow pace. The treats were plentiful and it was easy to find carts everywhere. I cannot wait to go to the Villains themed After Hours event in just over one week!

Day 8 coming soon..
 
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tabby1222

Active Member
You guys are so cute! All caught up!! We will be there next week as well, maybe our paths will cross!!!! I want to do an after hours so bad, but with three kids and my mom in tow this trip, just not gonna happen!!!! They are soooo expensive!
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You guys are so cute! All caught up!! We will be there next week as well, maybe our paths will cross!!!! I want to do an after hours so bad, but with three kids and my mom in tow this trip, just not gonna happen!!!! They are soooo expensive!
Thank you!! Hopefully we cross paths :)

And you’re not kidding about the price! I doubt it’s something we will be able to do once kids come around!
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sorry for blowing up your alerts, but I'm all caught up. First of all, welcome to the forums! Second, I'm enjoying your TR! You're doing great for your first one so keep up the good work! And thirdly, congrats to you and Ian! I thought the engagement photos looked amazing. Once again, welcome, and I'm looking forward to the rest of your TR! :)

P.S.
Good call by Ian with the pontoon rental. Did y'all go over to Bay Lake any or just stay in Seven Seas Lagoon?
Thank you so much! I was nervous about keeping up with the TR pros!

And we did go over to Bay Lake as well! It was a perfect cruise. Ian just wished he could go faster 😂
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
🤣 for sure!! And I'll probably just need to go ahead and stay at the Poly or the Grand Floridian so it's convenient 🤑. Definitely doing evening next time though cause that intense morning humidity was getting on my nerves.

It was getting on my hair’s nerves too. 😂 You let me know when and we’ll be there. 😉
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
I have that same sweatshirt! I wear it all the time.. well, “all the time” is relative because Florida doesn’t provide a ton of opportunities for sweatshirts 😂 but I wear it frequently when given the opportunity!

Your After Hours experience really has me wanting to go. 😫 Gotta give our bank accounts some time to replenish after the wedding and then it’s on! 😬
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have that same sweatshirt! I wear it all the time.. well, “all the time” is relative because Florida doesn’t provide a ton of opportunities for sweatshirts 😂 but I wear it frequently when given the opportunity!

Your After Hours experience really has me wanting to go. 😫 Gotta give our bank accounts some time to replenish after the wedding and then it’s on! 😬
things I should be saving for: my wedding
things I'm spending money on: Disney

SMH I should follow your lead 😂
 
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LeighM

Well-Known Member
I'm looking forward to our next trip (whenever that is) so we can hopefully do After Hours at MK. I don't even like HS and loved that event so I know MK will be off the charts for me! In hindsight, I wish I had done one less park day in April and did the MK After Hours instead.
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm looking forward to our next trip (whenever that is) so we can hopefully do After Hours at MK. I don't even like HS and loved that event so I know MK will be off the charts for me! In hindsight, I wish I had done one less park day in April and did the MK After Hours instead.
10/10 would recommend!! I considered doing an After Hours at AK or HS this upcoming trip but the pull for MK was too strong!!
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Y'all.. I think I've been dragging my feet on writing more because I'm not ready to move on from this trip 😭

Day 8: Friday February, 8th 2019

Our last full day!!! I had left this day completely up to Ian. This was his first trip and I wanted him to get as much of the things he enjoyed. He really noticed how sad I was leaving the MK the night before, so he said "how about after our afternoon break today we end our day at MK with HEA?!" I AM MARRYING THE RIGHT MAN FOR SURE!

We took a lazy approach to this day. We had later FPs at HS and a later lunch ADR as well. We needed extra sleep particularly after our late night at the After Hours event.

We made our way to HS sometime after 9 AM.

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It was really nice to just slowly make our way through the park, enjoy the weather and each other's company. Luckily, even with this lazy meandering, we made it in time for our first FP.

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Ian had become a big fan of ToT. He loved the Twilight Zone video and to this day repeats it to me 😂

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(Ian asleep AGAIN lol)

Time for FP #2 at RNR! Another new fave of Ian's. While exiting the recording studio he turned to me and said "the CM didn't say the part along with them this time!" I really felt proud of him in that moment.

When we got off, we just had to have one more thrill so we got in single rider! Apparently.. Ian's sleepiness wore off on me.. :hilarious:

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(such a blissful sleeper)

After this, we decided it was high time for one of our favorite Disney snacks before Ian experienced the BatB show for the very first time.

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My mouth is watering right now as I sit at my desk with broccoli!

I enjoyed the show as always, but what would Ian think?!

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Well.. he turned to me at the end with tears filling up his eyes and him shaking his head laughing at himself! WIN!

We recently had a discussion about why this always happens to us with Disney because we saw the live action Aladdin and the same thing happened. We have decided that it is because these movies, songs and characters bring us back to our childhoods which were happy and full of good memories. That's our best guess anyway!

It was time to head to Epcot for lunch, and a boat sounded like a great way to get there to us!

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to be continued..
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 8 continued..

We enjoyed our ride over to Epcot, as we had planned plenty of time and were likely still going to be early for our ADR. Ian caught sight of some other resort options along the way as well :)

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We made it through the International Gateway and started heading toward our destination.

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Any guesses where we were headed?

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Le Cellier! I was excited to be back and Ian was excited for a steak in general LOL

We were a bit early, so we decided to join in and do our part to complete the mural


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After this, we were VERY happy it was time to eat because it had warmed up quite a bit.

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To be continued...
 

annienevells

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 8 continued..

Walking into Le Cellier was like breathing a big sigh of relief. Away from the crowds, away from the heat.. we were happy. Ian even said "I don't even care what the food is like anymore, the AC is amazing" LOL

We were sat quickly, but I cannot remember what section! I DO remember talking to our server about how we are from Maine, and how Ian is from WAY UP NORTH and not too far from Canada.

I asked for just pretzel bread and she kindly obliged

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Oh.. and the cheese soup NATURALLY. I tried to slow down to be able to enjoy my meal but it was difficult to resist.

Ian and I had a great time talking about what our favorite memories of the trip had been. Before long our entrees were arriving!


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Poor quality photo of a high quality guy! Ian was absolutely blown away by his meal and was in HEAVEN

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My filet mignon with risotto was fantastic as always!

We were SO FULL but decided we couldn't leave without the chocolate MOOSE (we are Mainers after all)

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Our server was kind enough to add a little something to it for us

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We eventually rolled ourselves out of Le Cellier to accomplish one more thing before our afternoon break. I wanted to us to meet Mickey and Minnie together and show off our engagement! Off we went.

We started off with Goofy, who was unusually business about the matter of picture taking

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Mickey was very excited for us, and had to show off the bling

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Minnie was the best interaction of all! She was so excited for us and I almost cried LOL

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After a really fun meet up with the gang, we made our way to the monorail and back to the Poly for a rest.

To be continued..
 

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