[Winston]

Dates: July 12 through July 18, 2002

Travelers: Winston Chapman (27) and his mom (66), both WDW veterans who were back for the first time in many years this past February

Resort: Disney's Polynesian Resort

Celebration: Summer vacation, and a surprise trip for my mom!

Day 1 - 07/12/2002 - Kissimmee, FL to Walt Disney World

Guess where I am right now! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

First of all, I apologize for not posting this last night. It was very late when we got back to the Poly from E-ride Night, and all I wanted to do was fall into bed. But better late than never, so here we go.

We woke up around 8am yesterday at the Comfort Inn Maingate West. I showered, got dressed, and ran my "errand" to Florida Orlando Tickets to pick up our 5-Day Park Hopper Passes. I went back to the motel and met mom for breakfast which was mediocre at best (the one thing that I found wrong with this motel). As we left the motel, I started whining to her about how hot Palm Beach would be and that I didn't want to drive all the way down there after having driven so far the day before. With that said, I tore up the bogus confirmation letter from The Breakers and told her, "Just get in the car and we'll head toward the interstate and see if we can't find someplace else to go." At this point, she got a very sly smile on her face, so I think she had a pretty solid idea of we were headed! As we neared the World Drive exit, I stayed in the left lane for as long as I could before switching over to the right and heading toward WDW. Mom started laughing and shaking her head and said "Something told me that we might be coming back here, but I really wasn't sure until now! Where are we staying?" Well, that was my last surprise, and I told her to wait and see, but I did say that I seriously considered the GF (of course), the Poly, the CR, and the AKL (even without the monorail) during the planning of this trip. I asked her to guess which one, but she said she couldn't imagine. As we got closer to the Poly, the AKL and CR were eliminated as possibilities, and I'm almost positive that she figured we were headed to the GF. As we turned onto Seven Seas Drive, I said, "You think we're staying at the GF, don't you?" Her response was (laughing), "Of course - you won't stay anywhere else!" It was perfect timing, since we were then at the Poly's entrance. I said, "The GF is a good guess, but this time you're wrong," as we swung into the resort entrance. She started laughing and talking about how nice this would be, and I won mucho points by explaining that I booked the Poly because of her fondness for it. So there's "the reaction." Not quite as dramatic as it maybe could have been, but a good surprise all the same!

After going through security, we had the bellman take our luggage and store it. It was about 9:15am, and very few people were checking in or out of the resort, so things went quickly and smoothly. I self-parked the car (the Poly's lot is too close to need to pay $6.00 per day for valet) and went inside to check in. I waited about ten minutes before a front desk agent (named Duane) was available, and he seemed a little surly at first. I found that all he needed was a little humor to come out of his shell, and things were good after that. Although I had requested a third floor room in either Tokelau or Tahiti, we ended up with a third floor room in Rarotonga. Since it's right next door to the Great Ceremonial House and has a great view of the grounds and quiet pool, I'm definitely not upset with where we are. Duane said the room wasn't clean yet but he'd request a rush on it. He set up our room charge, gave us key/charge cards, sold us E-ride tickets for that night, and provided us with maps and misc. information. After taking a few minutes to get organized and buy a refillable mug (gotta have my Coke fix!), it was time to decide what we should do next.

We settled on driving down to the AKL (which we had visited only at night) to take a look around. Most of the animals were resting in the shade, so it was difficult to see any from the overlook, but we were still able to spot a few zebra and pelicans. After waiting out a short rain shower, we drove to the All-Star Resorts for a quick peek at the grounds and a room and then headed to the CR for lunch at Concourse Steakhouse. The food at this place was nothing exceptional, but it's tasty and a good choice for a simple meal. I had a blue cheese hamburger with fries and key lime pie for dessert (delicious), and mom had the seafood pizza. Our server was excellent, and the bill came to $33.98 with tax and tip. Not a cheap lunch, but it was cool to be able to eat in the Grand Canyon Concourse with the monorails humming above us.

It was about 1:30pm, so we headed back to the Poly to see if the room was ready, and it was! The bellman brought our luggage up, and we got settled in. Mom wanted to take a nap, and I didn't want to disturb her, so I decided the best thing was for me to spend the rest of the afternoon at the MK! En route, I stopped by the GF spa to arrange for a massage and facial for Sunday morning. (If any of you guys are laughing about my getting a facial, then you've never had one - they're awesome!) From the GF it was on to the MK - just in time for the 3:00pm Share a Dream Come True Parade (what a show!). I bought a print in the Main Street Gallery that I had seen back in February but forgot to get. It's supposed to be delivered to the Poly tomorrow. After grabbing a Fastpass for Splash Mountain for 5:40pm, I went to the Haunted Mansion (10 minute wait), Carousel of Progress (10 minute wait), and Timekeeper (10 minute wait). Carousel is such a great attraction, and I really hope they keep it open. Timekeeper was so-so - sort of like Alien Encounter but not as good. Speaking of time, I had a little to kill, so I lingered along Main Street and in front of the castle for a while. I know many of you agree that THIS is really what WDW is all about. You can't get any more "ground-zero Disney" than enjoying the sight of the castle from Main Street. By this time, it was almost 5:40, so I got in the Fastpass line at Splash Mountain and waited (again) about 10 minutes. That last drop still puts all my internal organs into my throat!

So then it was back on the express monorail to the TTC and a quick walk over to the Poly where I showered and got dressed for dinner. We arrived at the California Grill promptly at 7:30pm and were seated immediately. Our server (Heidi) was excellent, and took my order for triple cheese/triple garlic flatbread, tilefish over shrimp risotto, and chocolate/banana bread pudding. Everything I had was super, especially the fish and the dessert. Mom shared some of my flatbread and had a chicken dish of some sort. She enjoyed it but thought its presentation was a bit lacking. I tasted it - good but not amazing. We enjoyed a bottle of white wine with dinner. Total came to $143.00 with tax and 20% tip.

After dinner, we walked to the MK for E-ride Night (our first ever!). We arrived right at 9:00pm - just in time to catch Spectromagic (and I've decided this is one of my favorite parades - looooove that music). From there we walked over to City Hall to get our E-ride wristbands. I had my first Dole Whip while waiting for the fireworks, and y'all are right: it's a darn good treat! Fireworks were great as always, and then the park started to clear out. We hit Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear, TTA, Splash, and BTMRR with almost NO waits. I've never seen the park so deserted! It would have been worth going just to be able to wander around and soak it all in without the crowds. We met Jennifer, Dave, Deb Koma, and Deb Wills in front of Buzz. I felt like falling on the ground and chanting, "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!" but I didn't. Also got to meet Tinksmom and filled her in on how mom's surprise went.

By then, we were tired and decided to catch a monorail home. We got our first cab ride of the trip, and the driver was friendly and answered some questions I had. Did y'all know that if the beams lose power, it's necessary for Disney to bring diesel-powered tow motors onto the track and tow the monorails into stations? I always thought the monorails had a reserve power source that could get them to the next station. I'd hate to be stuck on that train!

Back at the Poly, housekeeping had been and turned down our beds (I requested this for the duration of our stay, and they said no problem). After a Coke refill from Captain Cook's, I hit the pillow and was out like a light. Ah, that first night at WDW - there's nothing like it, especially when you know that "there's a great big beautiful tomorrow!"

Next Post: Day 2 - 07/13/2002