Trip Report - August 31, 2014 - Part One

Happy Saturday! And welcome to another installment of the Trip Report. This past weekend I was in the Chicago area, celebrating my niece's 3rd birthday, which was a blast. In fact, today is her actual birthday; so in light of that:

Happy Birthday Faith! Aunt Katie Loves You! :)

Thank you for indulging me that moment. Now onto the Trip Report!

Sunday, August 31st was the first full day at Disney World. I woke up, packed the few items I'd taken out of the suitcase and called Bell Services to transfer my luggage to Coronado Springs. I wasn't meeting my cousins at Splittsville (located at Downtown Disney) until 10:30, so it was a pretty leisurely morning.

Everything Pop, however, was a ZOO! It was pretty crazy in there. This was Sunday of Labor Day weekend and although the crowds were predicted to be light during the week, you could tell it was still holiday crowd time. I attempted a picture of the breakfast rush, just to give you an idea.

After grabbing a quick muffin and Diet Coke, I made my way to the bus stop to catch a Downtown Disney bus.

As I waited at the bus stop, I was reminded why I have not been to Disney World / Orlando in late August / September for quite some time.  It is HOT.  Not like your normal heat, or even summer-level heat at Disney.  It was center of the sun, we're hotter than Mars, HOT and HUMID which just made it worse. Luckily, the bus came in about 5 minutes and I entered into its air-conditioned goodness!

After a quick ride to Downtown Disney, we were dropped off at the Marketplace area, where the shops are located. Most of them open at 10:00AM on Sunday and it was about 9:45 at this point, so I had a little time to kill.

I then witnessed one of my favorite "Aww!" Disney moments. You know those, when you witness something super-cute and sweet between guests, cast members, etc? One of the best parts about Downtown Disney is that they pipe in Disney music, so as you're walking along you're really immersed in the magic. There was a family with two young boys, and as they were walking by, "Kiss The Girl" from Little Mermaid was playing. The husband remarked to his wife, "Well, the song DOES say to kiss the girl", and he leaned over to his wife and gave her a smooch. The looks on the boys faces were PRICELESS, a mixture of disgust and embarrassment. So cute!

I had about 20 minutes to kill before I had to make my way over to Splittsville, so I wandered in and out of the shops. I was on a mission to see TrenD and the newly redesigned Marketplace Co-op area.

WOW! It looks amazing. The Co-op is styled after a series of boutiques, and so you have one area for clothes, another for housewares, one for purses, etc. Very, Very well done.

I knew my big souvenir purchase this trip was going to be a Disney Dooney and Bourke purse. You can buy them online at the DisneyStore.com, but I wanted to see it in person, the placement of the characters on the bag, etc. A very nice cast member helped me look at the bags and inspect each one, and then I made my selection!

I was SO happy; I have been looking at this particular pattern for a few years, and was very happy with my choice.

Giant purse bag in hand, I made my way through the construction are, and to Splittsville. It was a gorgeous day and even though, as mentioned, it was hotter than you-know-where, the sky was very blue and pretty.

I saw my cousins, we greeted each other, and then made our way in for bowling and lunch!

Coming up next - my review of Splittsville, both our bowling and dining experiences.

Have a magical day!

Trip Report Day Three: Downtown Disney & New Years Eve at OHana!

After I did some walking around, I spoke with Katie and we decided to meet at Downtown Disney. Noah and I had another quick bus ride (again, had GREAT bus karma) and were at Downtown Disney in no time.

And OH I almost forgot this little beauty; while I was taking a stroll around Pop, I decided to get this little piece of heaven, and sit by the pool for a few minutes.  Spoiler alert, it was awesome.

We went in a few stores before we met up with Katie and her family; I was so engrossed, I took no pictures.

I know.  I know.

I did manage to get one of this entrance to World of Disney.

Noah wasn't feeling the greatest (he ended up being just fine) and so he wanted to go back to the room and rest before dinner.  I met with Katie and her family, and we walked around the Lego store and World of Disney for a bit.  

I then headed back to Pop, grabbed a snack as we weren't having dinner until 9PM and Noah and I watched TV until it was time to catch the cab for dinner.

We chose to get a cab to the Polynesian, because there isn't resort-to-resort bus service at Disney.  We could have taken a bus to Magic Kingdom, and then rode the monorail over to the Poly, but I figured with it being New Years Eve the transportation would be a madhouse, so we opted for a cab.

We got to Pop with about 1/2 hour to spare, so Noah and I looked around their store for a bit, and I bought a very cute shirt. and a Polynesian window cling for my car (they are making more resort-specific merchandise, which the fan community has been asking for for a while.  Hopefully they add more.)

We then sat down in the lounge/bar area to wait for Katie and her family.  It was at this point that I discovered my mistake.

When Noah and I were hanging out in the room until our cab came, I thought "You'd better charge that camera battery, because you've been using it for 2 days.  You don't want to be running out of juice before the fireworks."

So I schlepped the camera bag and assorted accouterments to the Poly, and got out the camera so I could get the settings just right for fireworks.

And then (you probably guessed it) I realized that the camera and lenses were with me, but the battery was back in the room at Pop.

GRRRRRR.

It was too late to go back and get it, so instead of having semi-decent good camera pictures of fireworks, you're going to see semi-not-great iPhone pictures of fireworks.

The meal was delicious, and the company was great.   Katie's youngest was getting tired, so he and Katie's husband went back to their room.  Noah was pretty tired as well, and knowing we'd have a long day tomorrow he went back to the room, to sleep.

Katie, her oldest son and I went down the beach at the Polynesian to stake out our spots for the fireworks.  The music was going, the pool bar was serving, and it was a very festive atmosphere.

The beach at the Poly is one of the BEST ways to see the fireworks.  They pipe in the music from the Magic Kingdom, and you can see the fireworks over the castle.  It's magical, AND you don't have to deal with 75,000 other people at Magic Kingdom.   You can get to the Poly via the monorail, but if you're driving, you need a dining reservation in order to park in their lot on New Years Eve, 4th of July, or any other major holiday where they do fireworks.

(No, that 75,000 number isn't an exaggeration. It's a sea of humanity over there on New Years!)

So prepare to be dazzled by these iPhone pictures......:)

The fireworks really were spectacular.  A Disney fireworks show will ruin you on all others; they are just fabulous.

Katie was very sweet and since she had her car, gave me a ride back to Pop.  That cut the commute back to the hotel by about an hour and a half.  Not kidding.

Katie and I said our goodbyes, and then I went back to the room and sleep.  Noah and I were getting up the next morning to head to Ft Myers to surprise our cousins for the 2nd leg of our trip, the cruise on the Magic!

Shopping at Disney World - World of Disney

A stop that I always make while at Downtown Disney is World of Disney, one of the largest Disney stores in the world.  Simply put, if you can't find it there, they probably don't make it.  There are so many items to choose from, it's a great place to shop for your Disney merchandise and souvenirs.

What is your favorite souvenir to pick up at Disney?

Yay time for shopping!!