[PrincessSharon]

A Craigslist Vacation
April 26 – 29, 2012
Polynesian Resort

I know what you’re saying. “A craigslist vacation? What the heck is that?” Well, last December, I took a trip to Disneyland to help my BFF Karen celebrate her 40th birthday. On my last day in the office before the trip, a friend at work asked me about my holiday plans. Of course my coworkers expect me to be heading to Disney whenever I have a bunch of days off in a row. Not sure how I got that reputation. In fact, they often don’t even ask me where I’m going on vacation anymore – they just assume it’s Disney.

“But that still doesn’t explain the craigslist thing,” you say? Well, if you’d quit interrupting, I’ll finish my story. This coworker of mine, who we’ll call Tony, because that’s totally his name told me he thinks I advertise on craigslist to help people celebrate their birthdays at Disney just to have an excuse to go so often. Of course I do not! I just happen to have a lot of friends who celebrate things at Disney.



And that’s what this is! This time the birthday boy is Bob, or UncleBob as he’s known here on the boards, half of the dynamic duo Bob &Larry. Bob and Larry had been planning this bash for some time, and I’d always maintained that I’d like to be there for at least part of the trip. Then, after mapping out my vacation schedule for 2012, I realized I had a few extra days to work with, so I was in!

I booked my airfare, and I’m happy to say I scored a pretty good deal on Southwest – round trip for $233, including taxes. I didn’t book a hotel room right away, but I did let Bob & Larry know to include me in any ADRs they’d made. Because, naturally, you want in on the Bob & Larry ADRs.

A week or so later, I happened to get an email from Disney. It wasn’t exactly a pin code, just an offer. I considered my resort options. I’d already booked upcoming stays at two of my favorite resorts, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the BC, so I thought the Polynesian would be a good choice. And for it being my second favorite resort behind AKL, I hadn’t stayed there in more than a year (in P-Sha terms, it was 8 WDW trips ago now ), so I was long overdue.

The Poly has a lot going for it: proximity to the MK, huge guest rooms, monorail access, and its lovely tropical atmosphere. On top of that, I think their club level lounge is the best on property (at least of the ones I’ve tried – cannot compare it to BW or Contemporary), so I decided to check the rate for a club level room. It was terrific, so I was sold! I sent a message to my ever-helpful TA, Megan (mcc0314) and after a little work on Megan’s part (the rate I got using the email link was different from what showed up online, so Megan had to call), I was booked.

Amid planning emails for a trip with fellow CLQ’ers this coming December, I invited Karen and/or Jill to join me. I was just throwing it out there, but I had my fingers crossed. Also, I knew Karen had a trip to Hawaii (actual Hawaii, not the Disney version) around the same time, so I knew she’d be a long shot. But to my delight, Jillybean took me up on my offer. I let Megan know and she took care of adding Jill to the ressie and booking her DME. I told Larry and he added Jill to the ADRs he’d booked, which hopefully was an easy task, considering we were going from an odd-numbered party to an even-numbered party: same table size. There really wasn’t much for me to do this trip.

So Larry and Bob did most of the planning for this trip. I have a very rough itinerary that’s really not even worth mentioning. But I know you’re wanting to hear about the fabulous ADRs. I’ll be landing early tomorrow (already checked in – boarding pass A35). I’m going to hang out in the lounge at the Poly until Jill arrives – I suspect she’ll be about an hour behind me. Then we’ll join the fellas at AK and celebrate Bob’s birthday (which is tomorrow) with a yak attack! Incidentally, Bob & Larry are already at WDW and have been for a few days now. Then we have a celebratory dinner (including PPers Rich & Kathy) at one of my very favorites – Flying Fish Café!

Friday is probably an Epcot day, with dinner at the Rose & Crown. I’m interested to sample some items from the new menu. I’ve dined at R&C twice before, and both times I ordered bangers and mash. It’s off the menu now, so that’ll force me to get something different! Saturday… probably MK (and finally getting a ride on POTC ). Dinner that night is at Narcoossee’s. Then we have an ADR for our farewell breakfast at The Wave on Sunday. Bob & Larry will be hitting the road after that, but Jill and I will have some time to play before our flights home. Speaking of flights, the other day, I got some mail from Southwest – drink coupons! I doubt I’ll indulge on my early flight tomorrow, but I know I’ll be using one on the way home!

I hope to do a little checking in during the trip again, so keep an eye on this. And in case you might be wondering, I haven’t told coworker Tony I’m going back to Disney to help another friend celebrate his birthday. He’d be convinced I’m advertising on craigslist.