Halloween in August Trip Report

[wendinator 109]

Let's see if I can't get this wrapped up - the second week should be pretty quick since it was way less interesting, unfortunately.

We left off on a Friday night having been to MNSSHP.  Despite being up late Friday night, we still managed rope drop on Saturday  morning at Epcot. In the parking lot I spotted an Alaska license plate. That's a heck of a drive!

Here was this morning's parking reminder.

While the boys went off to do Test Track, I decided to swing by Starbucks for a sugar drink. When I opened up my app to pay it wished me a happy birthday.

When I got to the register the guy seemed to suggest he could redeem it - I didn't think that was possible since they aren't a "real" Starbucks. I thanked him and told him I wanted to save it for my real birthday. Spoiler alert: I should have taken him up  on the offer.

Did you know that a tall chai latte has more sugar than a Snickers bar? I forget where I heard that and it sounded crazy but I looked it up and sure enough it's true. I've tried to limit my consumption of these ever since. No more than one a week.

I took my drink to the exit area of Test Track and found a bench to sit on to wait for the  guys.  It turns out that they were stuck on Test Track not far from where they boarded and they were being evacuated. They were given paper fastpasses for their trouble.

From there we headed over to the Land so they could use their Soarin fastpasses. I loitered around while they did that, and once they were done we rode Living with the Land. While in line for the Land I saw someone with a Touring Plans button. My sister is in the Liners FB group so  I  took a  picture thinking my sister would know who  it was.

Apparently she's well known. Anyway, we did Living with the Land. I never get tired of that. I'm pretty sure we split up at this point - my BIL took one kid and I took the other.

The kid and I went and did Journey into Imagination and then the Pixar shorts in the same building. I think they'd added a new one or two since the last time I did it, so that was nice. I don't think the kid had done them before though he recognized some of them from the movies.

After this we met up with my BIL and the other kid. My sister had asked us to go to the DVC lounge that's inside the Imagination pavilion. I didn't even know there was such a thing but I guess that's not surprising since I'm not a DVC member. Here's the entrance to the DVC lounge.

My BIL checked us in with the CM (I forget what you need to do as proof - maybe a DVC member card?) and they said, "Welcome home!" Then the most interesting part... They said, "Although we say 'welcome home', please keep your shoes on and don't put your bare feet on the table." We assured them that wouldn't be a problem and went upstairs.

There's a nice little lounge up there with comfy seating and lots of places to charge your phone. There's also 3 Coke "freestyle" machines and a Keurig.

I somehow thought it would be a good idea to combine a drink with charging my phone and managed to do this:

There's an area for kids with a TV playing cartoons. There's also some video games. One of the kids partook.

Two CMs came through with a cart of snacks.

After cooling off and refueling we headed over to Spaceship Earth. I don't know how it happened but I managed to get my head there twice and whoever was with me on the ride (I think it was my BIL) didn't get his face at all.

Test Track was up and running again and the guys wanted to use their paper fastpasses so we went back there. Successful ride this time! When they got out it didn't take much work for me to convince them to go to Taste Track - the food truck-like thing not far from Test Track. The harder part was deciding whether to go for the apple pie sundae, or the chocolate churro sundae. We went for the churro one. One sundae with two churros and four spoons disappeared pretty quickly in the August heat.

The guys wanted to do Mission Space after this so they went to do that. I wandered around and checked out the recently closed Universe of Energy.

Yep, nothing to see there.

I went into Mouse Gears and saw a Small World shirt I liked... in the children's section.

Fortunately a children's XL fits me just fine...

I didn't buy it though. I will say there have been several children's shirt designs I've liked better than the adult designs, so it's nice to have that option if an XL size is available.

The guys regrouped with me at Mouse Gears and we headed over to Mexico by way of signing up for an Agent P adventure. We did the Gran Fiesta Tour first and then  the kids did their Agent P.

When Agent P took us to China, I got a photopass photographer to take my picture.

We must have wrapped up in France because it was time for more ice cream, this time at L'Artisan des Glaces.

My BIL said he'd never done the American Adventure and was interested in doing it so we headed over there. We got in line for the next show and weren't there very long before a CM came walking down the ramp to let us know that the next show had been cancelled. I'm not positive but it sounded like there was a bodily output that needed to be cleaned up in the auditorium. We decided to cut our losses and leave. When we got back  outside we noticed the skies were NOT looking very nice at all. By the time we got to England the  skies opened up and we ducked inside a gift shop... and stayed there  probably for an hour just sitting on the floor by the fireplace (with no fire). There was quite a front going through. Of course we had nothing useful with us - no umbrella, no ponchos. You'd  think this was our first rodeo!

In the gift shop they had some nice Alice in Wonderland mugs. I regret not getting either the Cheshire Cat or the Queen of Hearts one. Maybe next time.

Eventually the rain tapered off enough that we were willing to go outside. Many of the sewer grates got clogged and there was ankle-deep water on the walkway. I took my shoes off and walked through the water in bare feet. We went into the Canada pavilion to watch O Canada. Kind of funny to be Canadian and go watch it, but the kids hadn't seen it before.

After the movie the guys decided they'd had enough. Since the Refreshment Port was on the way out, I couldn't resist stopping for a croissant donut.

Back at the condo we got to the important task of going through all the Halloween candy we'd received at MNSSHP.

Once that important task was complete we did some packing and got ready for bed. Tomorrow (Sunday) is check-out day from the condo and the kids think we're heading home.

Here was my last big park day step count. 12.56 km = 7.8 miles.

[wendinator 109]

Sunday morning we finished packing and loaded up my sister's minivan. We told the kids that I had to return the rental car, so they'd follow me. But of course we weren't going home! I drove to the Poly and my  sister told the kids, "She probably wants a Dole  Whip for breakfast."

When I got to  the security  booth  at  the Poly I told the guy, "We're checking in, but the kids don't know that, so please tell them I'm getting a  Dole Whip for breakfast." He said no problem and my sister got through no  problem. We both parked and went inside.

My sister had already done online check-in, which meant that our Magic Bands were already valid... for things like the pool. Remember when we were there earlier in the week for breakfast and one of the kids tried his band on the reader at the pool and it didn't work?

So we went outside to where the Pineapple Lanai is and my sister said to that kid,  "Why don't you show your brother how the magic band reader only opens the pool door if you're staying here?". Well you should have seen the look on his face when the magic band reader light turned green and he could open the door! That's when she fessed up that not only were we not going home, but we had 2 nights at the Poly, 2 nights at the Beach Club, and 1 night at the GF. Best parents ever, eh?

We went back inside to the front desk and did another check-in. We all got leis, and they had a birthday button waiting for me! That was a nice touch.

My sister didn't decline any of the magic bands for this week so we got a set here. I customized mine and wished there was room for one more letter...

Our room wasn't ready but we were, of course, welcome to use the facilities. We all got changed into our bathing suits and hit the pool. I'm not much for swimming, but I can happily sit outside under an umbrella and watch the world go by. After a while I got peckish and went inside and upstairs to Kona Island. I forget exactly what it was I ordered (California rolls maybe?) but I remember thinking it was kind of expensive for what I got.

And good thing I didn't want to use chopsticks because the package they gave me was a little short...

After this it seemed like a good time for a little poolside adult beverage. I went to the Barefoot Pool Bar and got the Lava Flow.

It was tasty (I like coconut) but again rather pricey.

This year my Dad taught my sister's kids that there's often money underneath vending machines. 

Eventually my sister got the notification that our room was ready. Since it was a DVC room we were in Pago Pago. The room was ridiculously nice.

There's a little kitchenette area.

Two showers/one tub, separated by a door, and a sink on each side.

There's a double bed with lots of storage space under the foot of the bed, and drawers on either side towards the head of the bed.

The sofa is a pull-out bed (this is where the kids slept) and I believe there's storage inside that little coffee table. 

As for me... this credenza looking thing...

Is a pull down bed.

That's Stitch sleeping in a hammock in the artwork. The light above is a nice touch. I knew I'd be in these pull-down beds for the week without a night side table so I planned ahead and got some of those 3M "command" removable hooks and a small hanging organizer. It worked perfectly to hold my glasses/cell phone/etc.

There's a little sitting area.

The lamp is super cute.

There's a big balcony with two chairs and a table.

And a nice view of the monorail... and parking lot.

After we checked in and got settled I discovered I'd lost a cable I needed for my computer so I popped over to Target to get a replacement. When I got back we ordered dinner... 'Ohana room service! I can't find it on Disney's site but it's called the 'Polynesian Twilight Feast" and it's basically 'Ohana brought to your room. I believe my sister ordered it as 2 adults, 1 gluten-free child and it was more than enough food for the 5 of us.

Salad.

Noodles, pot stickers, and veg.

Big ole plate of meat and rice.

Buns

Two kinds of sauce.

These are the gluten-free buns

And gluten-free dessert cookies.

I didn't get a picture of the bread pudding but rest assured they sent that too along with the sauce.

After dinner the kids went back to the pool. I went to Trader Sam's with my BIL. Based on a TCD trip report I  ordered a Heart of Te Fiti. Can't go wrong with a light up drink.

My BIL got the shrunken zombie head. After our drinks we went outside in time to catch the MK fireworks. And that was the end of that day.

[wendinator 109]

The nice thing about the Pago Pago building is it's a relatively short/easy walk to the TTC to catch the ferry over to MK, so that's what I did at lunch.

I went to the Starbucks on Main Street and the guy could not have been more disinterested in my birthday... despite wearing my birthday button (which I only wore on my actual birthday, not the rest of the trip) and asking about using my birthday reward. No little happy face on the cup or anything. No Starbucks magic for me. But I did get to be on Main St for my birthday so that's plenty good.

I had some fun with a PhotoPass photographer on my way out. I tried flirting shamelessly with him but I expect I just creeped him out. I should really start acting my age now that I'm well into my 40s...

When this trip was planned/booked I knew I'd be here for my birthday so I thought quite a bit about where I wanted to go for dinner... So I booked us Hoop Dee Doo!

Bucket of salad? Check.

Tasty corn bread? Check.

Beans, corn, and spuds? Check.

Sad because you've already gone through your first bucket of meat? Check!

My sister was thrilled to see Chef TJ who came around because we'd indicated gluten-free. My sister asked him for the gluten-free cornbread and TJ said, "Sorry  - we don't have any". My sister was pretty disappointed until he  reached into his chef coat pocket and produced the gluten-free cornbread he'd had all along. That was good for a laugh. And they were generous with the refills too.

Speaking of refills... I ordered the white sangria and a lemonade.

When I finished the white, I figured I should try the red. Our server brought that AND she brought along her own special blend. The blend was fantastic! It's mostly white, with a bit of red, and a bit of orange soda. Amazing! I didn't finish the red - I was ready to float away with all those liquids.

The show was as good as always. They seem to enjoy themselves and I think they're often genuinely cracking up.

My strawberry shortcake came with a candle. 🙂

When we got outside it was raining but this time we were prepared with ponchos! I wanted to check  out the Trading Post so we went there and browsed for a bit, then took the bus back to the parking lot and drove back to the Poly. Not a bad birthday!

[WannaBeImagineer 98]

Looks like a great trip!

I would love some Ohana right now or the Hoop!!!!

Thanks for continuing to share!

WBI

[slices 16]

Wow between the rooms and the food the Polynesian looks great.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Tony 27]

What a nice surprise! Just when your bummed because you think your heading home, your really checking in. That's a great moment when it hits you - love it!!

[Robin 48]

I also love frozen cokes and chai latte. Thanks for the trip report!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great updates!

I read them on my phone, and wanted to wait until I had access to a keyboard before commenting, because there is so much awesomeness in your updates.

- I've never seen that two head thing happen in Spaceship Earth.  Very odd.  And funny.

-The trip extension and the surprise for the kids is so awesome!

-I didn't know they had a Dole Whip drink at the Polynesian pool bar.  I know they serve one on the Trader Sam's outdoor terrace, but I didn't know they also served it at the pool bar.

-'Ohana room service?  Wow!  What a treat.

-Nice job ordering the secret menu drink at Trader Sam's.

-HDDR for your birthday was the perfect choice.  What kind of meat do they serve for guests who request gluten free?

I'm looking forward to reading more about the trip.

TCD

[wendinator 109]

19 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

-HDDR for your birthday was the perfect choice.  What kind of meat do they serve for guests who request gluten free?

The only thing that's problematic is the fried chicken. They offered to bring grilled chicken instead, but my sister was content to just chow down on the ribs.

For dessert instead of strawberry shortcake they bring an "OMG" brownie with strawberry sauce. You also have the option to get cookies or fruit. Since they share a kitchen with Trail's End you have lots of options, including gluten free mac & cheese.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Happy belated birthday!

[wendinator 109]

Oy - it's almost 2018 and I'm still chipping away at this trip report. 

We left off at the end of Monday August 28 - which was my birthday. Tuesday morning was a check out day - we had to leave the Poly and check into the Beach Club. My sister and her family packed up their stuff and left fairly early since the kids were eager to hit the Beach Club pool.

I don't have a lot of pictures of the room but I grabbed these ones that my sister took.

That table folds down and the chairs move out of the way and that's where my pull down bed was.

Little kitchenette.

My sister made something like 3 reservations for Beaches & Cream (!) the first of which was around 2:30.

I'd read good things about the "frozen sunshine" so I ordered one of those.

I wish I'd remembered to ask them to leave off the whipped cream (I'm not a fan). I gave most of it to one of the kids.

It looks like I enjoyed it!

I'd order that again. 

I had a burger... with thick fries!

One of the kids got a sundae that was super cute!

They use the cherry stem for a tail!

After lunch the kids went back to the pool. They had another Beaches & Cream reservation for 7 that night, but I decided to give that one a pass. I went to DHS instead. One of the guys working security saw my MNSSHP shirt and had a few questions so we had a nice chat about how much fun the party is. He'd never been and I like to think I convinced him to go.

I didn't manage to get in one last ride on GMR - it closed a week or so before we arrived.

Interestingly there was a PhotoPass photographer out front. They had a fish eye lens.

I'd managed to get a same-day TSM FastPass so I did that.

I'm not very good.

It was still quite toasty at 8:20 pm. 27°C is 80°F.

I did the Muppets (because why not) and also stopped for one more PhotoPass picture.

See that piston trophy on the right? Interestingly enough my car club has trophies that look quite a bit like that. Only smaller. We give them out each year for things like best car, greatest act of spirit, and member of the year.

I stopped by Sweet Spells to grab myself a carrot cake cookie. I love those things.

Having done all I wanted to do at DHS I headed back to the hotel because I wanted to wander around the Boardwalk.

I went to the Abracadabar, which you can read about here.

There was a magician gathering quite a crowd. I didn't stay and watch though.

There was a photo booth I went into. Wow, it sure trapped the heat of the day in there. But the good news is that if you can zap your Magic Band and get the pictures added to your PhotoPass account. Which I did.

After that I called it a night and walked back to the hotel.

[wendinator 109]

Wednesday was the last park day for my BIL and the two kids.

At lunch I went over to the Boardwalk area and decided on the Big River Grille & Brewing Works. They had a patio out front but it was just too hot for that. I was hoping for a nice wheat beer. They brought me a little sample of a beer I thought I might like.

Not so much. A glass of sangria would have to do. It's a tough life, eh?

All that fruit on the glass reminded me of a time I ordered a Blue Moon at home and said, "hold the fruit". Well the server guy heard "all the fruit" so my beer showed up with a slice each of lemon, lime, and orange. I was in stitches. It still cracks me up to this day.

For lunch I ordered the quesadilla. It was really salty! Not sure I'd order that again.

Around 5 pm I drove to the TTC to hop the ferry and join the guys.

Parking reminder!

I met up with the guys and they were hungry, so off we went back to Cosmic Ray's. I'm a sucker for their chicken nuggets... and their mobile ordering.

After dinner we split up, BIL and I each taking a kid. I forget which kid I got but he must have drawn the short straw because we did headline attractions like.. Carousel of Progress, and CBJ. We regrouped to do Pirates.

We saw some fireworks from Tomorrowland.

And we all did MILF. My BIL got picked to be the guy who has gotta boogie!

We were hoping he'd be "That Guy", but dancing guy was good too.

We split up again and I think we swapped kids. This kid got a better deal because we went for Dole Whips.

And then we did BTMRR. I think maybe I should have done those activities in the opposite order...

We regrouped at Mickey's Philharmagic, then I took a kid to the Haunted Mansion, which turned out to be a bad decision. He wanted to do some shopping and by the time we got to Main Street, the Emporium was closed. What's up with that?! I felt really bad.

Our last activity was to conduct a science experiment. Which is faster to get back to the Beach Club - driving or Disney transportation? One kid came with me and we took the ferry to the TTC and grabbed the car, and the other kid went with my BIL and took a Disney bus.

My sister watched the race via the iPhone's "Find My Friends". By time I arrived at the TTC lot, my BIL was still waiting for a bus.

Kid and I were back in the room by the time my BIL and the other kid arrived at the Beach Club bus stop.

Got in a decent number of steps considering I wasn't at the park all day. (10.64 km = 6.6 miles)

And that was Wednesday!

[wendinator 109]

Thursday morning was another check out day. All these different hotels were great for the kids who got to try lots of different pools, but they were no fun for all the packing and unpacking. The kids wanted to spend more time in the Beach Club pool - and you can use the facilities for the whole day you check out. So the kids went to the pool.

This was also another Beaches & Cream day (remember I said there were 3 reservations?). I got the kids grilled chicken... with maybe 12 fries?

The kids meal comes with the cute little mouse ice cream. I got strawberry.

My BIL tried the grilled banana bread with peanut butter. I'd heard good things about it but in the end I'm glad I didn't order it - it was too heavy for me.

Next up it was time to check into the Grand Floridian for our last night. We weren't able to get in the room yet, so the kids went to the pool.

They have a neat Mary Poppins penguin fountain in the lobby of the DVC building.

The room was similar to the others we'd stayed in.

The pull down bed here.

I love the artwork you can see when you pull down the bed!

Little kitchette.

Big shower.

Hard to see in this picture but there's a TV screen in the bottom right corner of the mirror. Can people really not be away from TV that long?!

Not hidden Mickey.

Our balcony had a monorail view.

We didn't decline any of the Magic Bands so I added another one to my collection.

In the afternoon I went to MK. Sure was nice to be so close again.

I did a few of my favorites. Started with the Jungle Cruise, then off to iasw. I always take a picture at the beginning in case I get suck on the ride. The time stamp on the beginning photo lets me know how long I've been there.

At the end I finally got to see my name on the Goodbye screen! It's cool and creepy at the same time!

I did the Haunted Mansion and got stopped here for a short bit. It reminded me that we didn't see the gravekeeper and his dog in the MNSSHP party this year. (Sorry for the bad photo quality - I won't use flash in a dark ride.)

After HM I went into Memento Mori. These socks looked cool but they felt really scratchy! Fail.

I got to do my faves and had other things to tend to, so I left the park after this and took the boat from MK back to the GF.  When I got back to the GF parking lot there was a very cool bird on top of a light standard in the parking lot. I wish I had my binoculars to get a better look.

 

I hopped in the car and stopped at the Speedway gas station to fuel up, knowing that I had to return the car the next day and not wanting to have to get gas when I had too many other things to do.

I managed to convince my BIL to do our last dinner at Sanaa so that's where I met up with them after my exciting trip to the gas station. You can read about the food here.

Beer pouring action shot.

 

After dinner we went up to the gift shop and I got myself some Zebra Domes to go.

We all headed back to the GF after this, and that was the end of Thursday.

[wendinator 109]

Looks like I'll wrap this up within the same year! Yay!

Friday morning was check out day and the beginning of our long journey home.

My sister packed up the room, dropped the guys off at Blizzard Beach and then went to Target.

Remember those zebra domes I bought the night before? They were my breakfast on Friday. If having zebra domes for breakfast is wrong, I don't ever want to be right.

First order of business after checking out was returning my rental car. My sister met me there to pick me up since I was now without wheels. We talked about lunch options and settled on the new-to-us Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge. I talked about the experience here, but the highlights were: no functioning fans, and outdoor seating in August = hot. I wasn't a happy camper.

You can see it wasn't terribly busy.

Found a picture of my sister's bison burger with gluten free bun.

After lunch we went back to the GF. My sister went to the pool. She had a furry companion come to visit. 

I saw a sign in the lobby that helped explain why I couldn't get a tea reservation for this past week.

I saw them doing some work in there so I'll be curious to see if I notice any changes when I'm back in January.

I left my stuff in my sister's minivan and tried to head to MK for one last visit. I stood in line at the GF monorail station security and promptly went nowhere. The line wasn't moving, and neither was the monorail. It turned out the fire alarm was going off at the Contemporary and all monorails were stopped. And because of weather (lightning in the area), the boats weren't running either. And it was a MNSSHP night. This all added up to a lot of unhappy campers. I threw in the towel and met up with my sister again instead, which was probably a better choice.

She had to get some stuff she'd checked with bell services, so we went to the main building front desk to ask whether we could get our stuff there or whether we had to go back to the DVC building. Turns out we had to go back to the DVC building but they had someone who was looking for something to do, so he told us to come with him and hop on the golf cart for a ride back to the DVC building. This was way more fun than standing in line to get into the MK on a MNSSHP night! Golf cart selfie! Poor driver didn't make it into the photo.

My sister got her stuff, and then the guy drove us right out into the parking lot directly to the van. How's THAT for service? He did mention he was bored and looking for something to do, and we were happy to help him out in that regard. We loaded up the last of the stuff into the van and then headed over to Blizzard Beach to pick up the guys. After retrieving them, we went to Disney Springs for some last minute shopping/browsing and a bite to eat. Each parent took a kid and I ventured out on my own.

Would you pay $2000 for a chair?

I wouldn't... but I wish I knew somebody who would wear this shirt!

We regrouped for dinner at Blaze. This was my first time there. What a zoo! The ordering process, and find a place to sit, and the buzzers... I found it all a bit much. Maybe I was just burned out by this point. And I dropped something on the floor and hit my head on the table when I tried to pick it up. Ugh. Time to go home!

Here's my farewell meal. And yes, I ate the whole thing by myself.

I took the first shift of driving heading back to the Great White North. The remnants of Harvey were making their way north and east, which determined our route. No going up 75 this time, even though that's my sister's preferred way.

This was the time stamp when we pulled out of parking garage Lime.

We drove straight through the night, alternating between 3 drivers, and in less than 24 hours we were home. My husband picked me up at my sister's and that was the end of my two week Disney adventure. Thanks for reading!

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

Sounds like you had a great trip! All the room changes sound both fun and annoying all at the same time. It would be nice to get to stay in different resorts and experience the different aspects of each, but I do like to just settle in one place myself. Hmm guess that's why I prefer going places I can take my travel trailer. 

Working on vacation is never fun but if you have to there's no better place then Disney. Sangria should be mandatory for every conference call!

That drive home! Ugh that's all I have to say about that. 

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

Oops forgot to add thanks for the great trip report. It's always nice seeing how others spend their time in the resorts and parks. A good way to get new ideas, learn tricks and tips. 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

This was a fun trip report.  You did so much even with having to work. 

Bet the kids like getting the one on one attention and much easier to cater to that child's wants/needs.

Thanks for a well written report.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Oh gosh... lost track of your report, so glad I found it and was able to hear/see the rest!  LOVED this!  Your pictures are awesome.  What a fun trip!

Loved the bed pull-down things.  I've never seen those type of "murphy beds" beds before.  What a great idea.  I could see that working nicely, in an RV or even a house!

The dessert (with the cherry as the tail), too cute!

Thank you so much for writing this...you did a great job!