"Hey, Mom, Dad, get on plane and go to Disney" Trip report - "Finding shelter from the fireworks" - **Updated 11/13** - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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"Hey, Mom, Dad, get on plane and go to Disney" Trip report - "Finding shelter from the fireworks" - **Updated 11/13**
I have struggled with the title of this trip report for some time. My initial thought was to call it the:
“I’m going for ten days like Jillybean, changed our plans a million times like iamgrumpy, eat like pigs and drink like fish at the F&W festival, stay at the resort I have dreamed about staying at for thirty six years, and Kiara finally gets to see Wishes without all the fear and drama that usually goes along with it, plus hopefully get to see some wonderful PassPorters again and go to MNSSHP not once, but twice.”
But that was way too long.
So I settled on what became Kiara’s catch phrase that came about as I finished up my last trip report and in doing so, reminded her that we were going again soon. Very soon.
So I guess I have to start off with the introductions of the key players in this trip report.
Nala: That would be me. It is no secret that I am a major Disney freak and have spent the last ten years converting my darling husband into one also. I think this is my thirty seventh trip to the world. It is also no secret that I took many of my trips to WDW with my parents in their motor home and our time was spent at Fort Wilderness. But what many of you may not know is that as a child, back in the very early 70’s, I begged my parents to spend one, just one, night at the Polynesian or Contemporary resort. Every time we went past these two resorts on a boat to the MK (the only park at that time) I longed to stay at either one of them. My begging never paid off, as my parents were die hard campers and would never consider spending a night outside of their home away from home. Little did they know that denying my childhood wish (and forcing me to camp almost every weekend) would turn me against camping and foster my love of fine hotels. However, their love of getting in the “home away from home” did grant me many, many trips to WDW and almost every other state in our great nation. The only state we didn’t take the motor home to was Hawaii. But trust me, if my father could have afforded to put it on a ship and sail it to Hawaii, he would have. Much to my delight, they sucked up leaving the Winnebago at home and had to deal with staying in a hotel.
As an adult and now with a family of my own, and with so many other hotels and parks that had come up over the years, I still hadn’t made my childhood dream happen. Until now.
Grumpy: my darling DH of ten years. Much like my parents, Grumpy could live in an RV. And also much like my parents, Grumpy’s greatest love for a resort at WDW is reserved for FW. While the past five (and soon to be sixth) trips to WDW have been spent at great hotels that he has come to love, I know the day is coming when we will have to venture back to the homeland. But to be honest, I look forward to that day as FW is the resort that started both of us down the path to becoming a WDW lover.
And to this day, I am not really sure if Grumpy really does love WDW as I do, or just loves it because I do.
Kiara: our little princess. Kiara is a ball of fire, at times more than a handful, but the absolute light of our lives. Kiara didn’t have a chance to do anything but grow up loving all things Disney thanks to her mother’s early corruption. And much like her mother, she is obsessed with all things Disney. Meeting princesses and the lipstick kisses they plant on her cheek are a favorite of hers. Due to her mental disability and sensory issues, Kiara is not a fan of loud noises (like fireworks) or dark rides (like so many rides at WDW). Most of our time is spent on rides like Cinderella’s Golden Carousel, the Magic Carpets or the Mad Tea Party. Something about going around and around in a circle makes our little girl happy as a pig in mud.
On to the planning and the decision of which resort to stay at. Sorry, lots of changes here and a very long post!
The planning of this trip came about a year ago when we took a short trip to the World in the fall and experienced the F&W festival for the second time and MNSSHP for the first time. Both Grumpy and I enjoyed these two events so much we decided to change our yearly, long trip to WDW from January to the early fall. At that point nothing was set in stone other than the time of year. And knowing that I had plenty of time to research and plan, it wasn’t until very early spring when I made arrangements.
Last December, I discovered Africam, the live web site of a watering hole in Africa. I spent most of my time off for Christmas vacation glued to my computer just watching the amazing wildlife coming and going. Both Grumpy and Kiara were intrigued by the web site and he reminded me that we could have almost the same thing (minus the pride of lions that moved in for a few days and created quite a bit of excitement) right outside our balcony if we spent our long trip at the AKL. At that point, our resort was decided and it looked like going back to the AKL was a sure thing. But as time marched on, things changed.
I actually booked our long weekend trip in May before I booked our fall trip. And while talking with my TA, she really talked the Poly up and thought we would enjoy it more than the BC. I couldn’t be swayed that trip, but did take her words to heart. I also discovered Tikiman2001’s web site shortly there after and it helped rekindle my childhood desire to stay at the Poly. When I had decided on resorts for our past trips, the Poly never came to mind. I guess I had forgotten about my childhood dream and for some reason looked at the Poly as a dinosaur in the Disney resort line up. But that all changed when I saw a picture of the view from the concierge lounge. It was a straight shot to Cinderella castle. And from that picture, the wheels began to turn. Kiara’s fear of fireworks, but love of seeing them from behind the protection of a window came to mind. We have had a few opportunities to watch Wishes from ‘Ohana on past trips and the fact that she could enjoy them from that vantage point brought me to tears each time.
So that is what I based our lodging on for this trip. Or at least part of it. For the first four nights of our stay, it would be a garden view room in concierge at the Poly. The rest of the trip (five nights) would have to be spent elsewhere to help offset the cost. And with MNSSHP in the picture, not once but twice (because we loved it so much last year) another MK resort would be the obvious choice. My love for the WL and Grumpy’s desire to not experience the GF or CR made it the winner for the balance of our stay (plus, it was the cheapest option). I was very excited to both experience my childhood dream resort and return to my all time favorite all in one trip. I contacted my TA, told her to book us and thought we were all set. While we had wanted a standard view room at the WL, none were available for our dates. A woods view would have been our next choice, but the AAA rate on a courtyard view was cheaper than the rack rate on the woods view. That was a no brainer, so that is what we booked. At the time of booking our trip, it was going to be a four night stay at the Poly, garden concierge, and five nights at the WL, courtyard view. And I couldn’t be happier with this combination. All we had to do now was sit back and wait for the AP rates to come out and hopefully grant us a discount.
But, a funny thing happened between then and now. In May, we took a short trip to WDW and experienced the location and magic of the BC. Both Grumpy and I fell in love with this resort and hoped one day to return to it. But since we are on a mission to experience all the resorts, we knew it may be awhile before we would be back. Still, something about the BC and its location had crawled deep inside both our hearts and taken a very strong hold on them. As time wore on, it didn’t let up.
With our trip falling between seasons and the fact that we were splitting our stay, the AP rates for the first part of it were released sometime in June. Much to my dismay, no AP rates were available for a garden view room at the Poly. But, they were available for a lagoon view. Once I got over the shock of the fact that I was not going to be saving $75-$100 on our garden view, (just another cold, hard lesson of why not to count on an AP for a room discount) I began to think about upgrading to a lagoon view. If I wasn’t going to get a cost saving, why not spend a few dollars more per night to be able to see Cinderella castle right out our room window? By the time I thought this over and contacted my TA, the lagoon view rooms at the AP rate were gone. Oh well, back to square one. But a few days later, I got an email from her that she had found a lagoon view with the AP rate and had switched us over.
The days after that change wore on and as they did, I couldn’t stop thinking about the BC and its location. And knowing that the F&W festival was going on when we were there was not helping. Yes, we would be going to the MK for MNSSHP on two nights, but the thought of just being able to walk to Epoct kept chewing on my mind. Did I even dare ask Grumpy what he thought? How could I even think about straying away from my beloved WL? But then I figured that the Poly was going to be all about me and my childhood dream and all about Kiara being able to see Wishes without fear. I had to think about Grumpy. I presented him with the idea, stated that at rack rate it would cost us a bit more, but if he wanted to, I would move the second part of our stay from the WL to an Epcot resort. It came as no surprise that he was all for the idea.
The hard part of the decision was which resort to stay at. While we adored the BC, we still wanted to try something different. Our tour of the BWI our last trip made it an easy choice. So, I contacted my TA and asked her to switch our WL part of our trip to the BWI. And while we had hoped that our first stay at the BWI would be in a garden cottage, it was cost prohibited for this trip and I had to go with a standard view. My TA emailed me later that day and confirmed that we were now booked at the BWI in a standard view room. Part of me mourned the fact that I had given up our courtyard view room at the WL, but another part of me was very excited that we were staying in an Epcot resort and a new one for us.
About a month after I made the change to the BWI, I received a post card from Disney with a pin number on it. It was good for our dates, but was priced as a package. Not needing a package as we are AP holders, I was prepared to throw it away. But, I then took notice of the fine print. It said something about room only rates being available at select resorts. I then emailed the information and pin number to my TA to have her check it out. A few hours later, she called to tell me that she checked it out and nothing was available at the BWI. I was not surprised but took that moment to let her know that if and when AP rates came out for our dates and nothing was available at the BWI to watch for the YC first (as it would still be a new resort to us) or the BC second. She made note of it and assured me that if the AP rates came out for any of the Epcot resorts, she would make the switch.
And true to her word, a month later the AP rates did come out and she was able to switch us from the BWI to the YC with an AP discount. The discount wasn’t as great as I had hoped as Disney seemed to have closed the loop hole between checking in during value season and a stay running to regular season, but it was still something!
So, that is the very long story of how we went from booking the Poly garden concierge/WL courtyard to the Poly lagoon concierge/WL courtyard to the Poly concierge lagoon view/BWI standard view to the Poly concierge lagoon view/YC standard view.
After many changes and months of making them, I think we have a combination of the best of both worlds. Kiara will hopefully get to watch Wishes from the lounge or our room, Grumpy will have Epcot within walking distance, and I will have it all. I will be able to watch my darling daughter enjoy Wishes. I will get to see the joy on her face as the fireworks explode in the night sky and instead of cowering in fear, she will be able to marvel at the beauty of them. I will get to see my darling husband break out in a huge grin as we make the short walk from our resort to his favorite park’s back door. And as if all of those things were not enough, I will get to fulfill a thirty six year old childhood dream.
We are not even there yet and already I can see the magic happening!
Up next: The ADRs. While they went through a few changes, they are nothing compared to the resort changes!
Great start! I can't wait to hear how Kiara does while the fireworks. I have a DD who hates loud things too and this may be all I need to book our next trip there.
You are going to absolutely LOVE the Poly lagoon view! Our honeymoon was there and it was perfect! Every night we could see the Electric Water Parade from our balcony, which should thrill your DD if I remember correctly, as well as see the fireworks. The music is piped in to the beach so we were still able to hear it. There's nothing like waking up and having the Castle right there. I still get a lump in my throat when I think of it.
Awesome start Nala....I think you definitely have the best of both worlds in your resort choices! I hope Kiara can enjoy the FW from the peace and comfort of your room and Grumpy can enjoy the free beer!!!!
I am definitely hoping our paths can once again cross!
Keep them updates comin', please!
danielle
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Fantastic start, Nala!! I stayed at the Polynesian when there was only one park (MK) and two hotels, Polynesian & Contemporary. I would love to go back to this resort!! Can't wait to read all about it in your trip report.
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