Florida flowers and Caribbean cruising - the trip report! THIS SECTION COMPLETED 4/12 - Page 56 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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Great early morning pictures from the resort. How great that you were able to meet up with friends! Sounds like the outlets were a little disappointing, but glad you were able to find some good buys in the end!
That was a fun morning with your gathering at The Wave! So I guess, that was basically two breakfasts for you this day? I haven't seen Sheri and Cindy since about 2010 for some gatherings we had in May, 2010! One of them that Sheri and I organized...I think there were about 30 of us over in Epcot for a Sake meet in Epcot Japan! Good times and been too long for me for a gathering!
Too bad with the traffic and outlet problems but good that you got some shopping done!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Sunday 22 February – part four: one of the best desserts at Disney!
We made our way over to the Polynesian, and wow, I had no idea how much work was still going on outside the lobby…
However, I have to say the second we walked in, we were both blown away by how beautiful it looked. I’d seen photos, and it looked wonderful, and it was even better in person. It’s just so much more light and airy now, and I love it.
We headed upstairs to get some photos of the outside of the Polynesian…
… and of course a lot more of the new look lobby!
We checked in at the Kona Café, and I was very glad we had a reservation, as it looked like it was busy in there. Mark held on to the pager, while I wandered round and took a few more photos…
We were quickly summonsed and the person who took us through asked if we wanted to have a look at the sushi offerings. Er, of course we do! Wow, they were amazing…
The desserts looked pretty neat as well…
We were seated right by the front of the Polynesian, which meant I could get some neat shots of the monorails passing by, and we certainly saw plenty of them…
Our server, whose name I do not remember now, was very good, but my goodness, she was also insistent on keeping us moving through the meal too. She persuaded us to give our drinks order almost as soon as we were seated. As it was included with the Deluxe Dining Plan (after much consideration, we decided to use our credits here, rather than Tables in Wonderland), we both had a coconut elixir, made with Zico coconut water, with pineapple and cranberry juices, and it was very nice, plus it looked pretty cool too.
Our server then insisted when she brought our drinks over that we order our appetisers, and in fairness, we were hungry, so we agreed. I had the lump crab cakes with Jalapeno-lime cream. I wasn’t sure about the cream, so I asked for it on the side, but our server was spot on when she said it wasn’t spicy at all. All too often, they say it’s not spicy, then I try it and discover it is, but not here.
Mark had the sticky wings, glazed chicken wings with tangy mustard drizzle and toasted sesame seeds. How on earth he ate it all without getting anything on his top, I do not know.
For entrée, we both knew what we were going to have – sushi, having seen it earlier, and having seen so many great reviews of it previously. Mark went up to have another look at the display, and when he came back, he knew what he wanted – the volcano roll, spicy tuna seafood lau’ai with tempura crunch, and after saying the first few bites were fine and not spicy, he then found the spicy.
I opted for the California luau roll, made up of jumbo lump crab, pineapple and avocado, and that was a perfect combination of flavours for me, as they’re some of my favourite foods. I have to say I actually preferred this sushi to what we had last night at the California Grill, as to me, it felt lighter.
For dessert, Mark actually mis-read the menu and went for what he thought was chocolate fondant, so he got a bit of a shock when this turned up…
It was in fact chocolate fondue with tropical fruit and home-made cookies. I know he would have preferred a fondant, and said the chocolate was very rich.
As for me, I was in heaven, as I had one of the best desserts I’d had in a long time, the pineapple upside down cake with lemon grass and caramel sauces. It was just so light and easy to eat. I said to Mark if I was on the cruise, I’d have had a second one of those, it was so good.
I’m really pleased we came back here, as I don’t remember when we last had lunch here – maybe 2000 or 2002 and it’s changed a heck of a lot since then and is now a very impressive offering.
Kona Café
Appetiser 9 8½
Entrée 9½ 9½
Dessert 10 9½
Service 8½ 9
Atmosphere 9 9
Value for money 9 8½
I always found the Poly lobby musty smelling, so the refurb looks good to me! Glad you enjoyed your meal at Kona. I don't think I've ever had dessert there, but if I'm ever there again will remedy that! Your teaser is really a teaser! Have you been misbehaving again?
That pineapple dessert looks really yummy--much better than the bowl of plain oatmeal that's sitting in front of me right now. *Sigh*
Thanks for the pictures of the lobby. From the perspectives that you've shown, the fountain doesn't look quite so lost in that big lobby.
Your teaser makes me wonder if you were taking pictures on CoP again
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All caught up!. How fun to spend time with friends! That makes everything better!! Your meal at the Kona cafe looks delicious! We almost booked the Poly this Summer. It looks like it's commg along beautifully!!maybe in December!
I also liked the new look of the lobby, but I am also so glad that the centerpiece is now sporting the tiki since our trip.
I love Kona, but it's also been years since I had lunch there. I mainly get there for breakfast these days, sort of splitting my time between there and The Wave.
The new lobby at the Poly looks beautiful! I have to admit, at first, I was sad to see the big fountain go. But now, seeing what they've done, I have to say it looks so much better. It looks brighter and less cluttered. I love the light fixtures too!
Great meal! I thought Mark's dessert looked delicious - I love fresh fruit with some chocolate (but then again, doesn't chocolate make just about anything better?!).
I agree about it looking so much lighter in the Poly now, after the refurb.
Hope you're not on the path of getting ejected from the World!!! You get in trouble too many times, and you're on "the list"!
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