We surprised Brenna with a limo ride from the airport to Disney World!
We stayed at the Polynesian Resort in Magic Kingdom. It is my favorite Disney resort so far. We booked a Club Level room in the Hawaii Long House. The major benefit to Club Level is the convenience of the lounge. The lounge offered fantastics views of Cinderella's castle, especially at night during the fireworks. The lounge served breakfast in the mornings, a light lunch selection mid-day, snacks throughout the day, hot appetizers at dinner, and a dessert selection at night. It also had water, juices, and soda available 24 hours to grab for use in the lounge, in the parks, or in the room. Club Level also provides a Personal Itinerary Planner that takes care of all your resort and restaurant bookings, and assists with fast passes while in the parks. The grounds of the Polynesian were beautiful and we had access to the monorails, buses, and boat launch for transportation to the parks.
Polynesian Club Level Lounge
As always, I had the vacation scheduled and planned far in advance and along with the help of my Personal Itinerary Planner, we were able to get all the dining and fast pass reservations that we wanted at the times that we wanted. We kicked things off at EPCOT the afternoon we arrived. We had a fast pass planned for our most anticipated ride, Frozen Ever After, and dinner reservations at Via Napoli. Crowds were really low so we managed to ride The Seas with Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and Mission Space all before heading to the world showcase for our dinner reservations. The pizza at Via Napoli did not disappoint!
Frozen Ever After was great!
The sun setting on the World Showcase at ECOPT.
The next day we started early at Magic Kingdom. We gathered in front of the castle for the new Welcome Show and rope drop. After hearing from Mickey and the Princesses we headed to Fantasyland to catch the Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, and the Barnstormer. We took a short break for breakfast at Gaston's Tavern to enjoy a cinnamon roll that was the size of Brenna's head and then it was on to the Journey of the Little Mermaid, Buzz Lightyear, and the Astro Orbiter.
The Welcome Show with Mickey and friends and the princesses.
The Mad Tea Party
Dumbo!
Gaston's Cavern
Journey of the Little Mermaid
Buzz Lightyear and Astro Orbiter
The crowds were lights, so we made lots of stops along the way popping in on rides that we liked and taking second rides on our favorites. We headed back to the hub in time for lunch at Casey's Corner and to catch the Move It, Shake It, Dance and Play It Parade. Brenna had a great time dancing in the street.
After several more rides, we stopped off at a bench in Liberty Square for a popcorn snack and to decided what was next. A nice cast member walked up to us and struck up a conversation asking about where we were from and how we were enjoying our visit. We chatted for a while and he told us about himself. Before he left he bestowed some Disney magic and granted us three fast passes for any ride in the park. We thanked him repeatedly and then headed off to the Jungle Cruise to use our new gift.
We took an afternoon break back at the resort before our dinner reservations at Ohana. The food was average but Brenna really enjoyed racing pineapples across the restaurant with broom sticks. After dinner we headed back to Magic Kingdom for the Haunted Mansion and to enjoy the Once Upon a Time projection show and Wishes firework show.
Once Upon a Time
Wishes
Day three started at Animal Kingdom. We headed straight to Dinoland where we rode the Primevil Whirl three times in a row without getting off. It was Brenna's favorite ride of the entire trip. We even had the privilege of opening the Boneyard with Donald Duck. He gave us a hug and autographed shovel. Through the morning we caught all the favorites. We did Dinosaur, It's a Bugs Life, Kilimanjaro Safari, and Festival of the Lion King before taking our afternoon break at the resort.
The Tree of Life
Primevil Whirl
The Wuwu bird was a favorite!
Kilimanjaro Safari
Festival of the Lion King
That afternoon we had dinner reservations at Be Our Guest and we were excited to see the Beast's castle. The inside was grand with huge chandeliers and two-story windows that showed the snow falling outside. We ate in the Grand Ballroom, but we visited the West Wing to see the beast's portrait transform and Rose Gallery to see Beauty and the Beast waltz. After dinner and dessert (we had the grey stuff!) we visited with the Beast in his chambers for a family photo.
The Beast's Castle and Be Our Guest Restaurant.
The next day we were back at Magic Kingdom for Breakfast at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. We enjoyed mickey waffles outdoors in the plaza while we watched the Welcome Show and then leisurely enjoyed the morning revisiting all our Magic Kingdom favorites like Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and It's a Small World. We headed back to the resort early to enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing and playing at the pool and splash pad.
The Polynesian Resort pool and splash pad.
I knew it would be a long day so we slept in and then headed to a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Mickey waffles are always the best and its so easy to see all the characters. About mid-day we headed to Hollywood Studios where we planned to spend the rest of the day and night. We caught all the live shows; Voyage of the Little Mermaid, March of the First Order, Indian Jones Stunt Show, The Muppets, and Beauty and the Beast. We booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package and had an early dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby. It was a nice break in the day to enjoy a great meal and get off of our feet for a little while. We also managed to fit in Toy Story Mania three times, The Great Movie Ride, and toured the Star Wars Launch Bay. Jacob and Brenna were arrested by Storm Troopers and we got to meet the Jawas.
After a stop at Sweet Spells for some delicious chocolate covered strawberries, the three of us rested on a bench along Sunset Blvd to enjoy our treats. While we were there another family of three approached us and said they were headed out of the park, but still had three magic fast passes for any ride in the park. They were so kind and gifted them to us! We continued our day using the fast passes we already had lined up. By the time we finished with those, it was nearly time for Fantasmic. So, as we headed down Sunset Blvd Brenna spotted another family of three with a boy about 12 years old. We introduced ourselves and gifted the fast passes to them. The boy was so excited that he'd get one more ride on Rock'n Roller Coaster. It was nice to spread some Disney magic of our own!
We ended our day at Fantasmic. It's one of my favorite night-time production shows in Disney and it was Brenna's first time to see it. She really liked the Sorcerer Mickey and his disappearing act at the end.
After a stop at Sweet Spells for some delicious chocolate covered strawberries, the three of us rested on a bench along Sunset Blvd to enjoy our treats. While we were there another family of three approached us and said they were headed out of the park, but still had three magic fast passes for any ride in the park. They were so kind and gifted them to us! We continued our day using the fast passes we already had lined up. By the time we finished with those, it was nearly time for Fantasmic. So, as we headed down Sunset Blvd Brenna spotted another family of three with a boy about 12 years old. We introduced ourselves and gifted the fast passes to them. The boy was so excited that he'd get one more ride on Rock'n Roller Coaster. It was nice to spread some Disney magic of our own!
We ended our day at Fantasmic. It's one of my favorite night-time production shows in Disney and it was Brenna's first time to see it. She really liked the Sorcerer Mickey and his disappearing act at the end.
Chef Mickey's
Hollywood Studios!
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular!
The Great Movie Ride
Beauty and the Beast
Face paint for Brenna!
The villains of Fantastmic!
We spent our final day at EPCOT. We went back to catch the big rides that we missed the first day. It was the first time for all of us to ride Soarin'. We also made time for the Journey into the Imagination of Figment and Brenna loved playing in the imagination stations after the ride. She also really enjoyed building her very own car at Test Track.
We headed to the World Showcase for breakfast in France, but Brenna insisted we stop off by Canada on the way.
We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the pool at the Polynesian.
Goodbye Disney! Sunrise at the Polynesian.
It was another great Disney trip. This was a completely different experience since Brenna was a little older and a little more willing to try more things. While she still didn't buy into Tower of Terror, Rockn' Roller Coaster, or Expedition Everest, she absolutely loved the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Big Thunder Mountain. We loved the resort. The weather was great. The crowds were low. In fact, we enjoyed the whole experience so much, that I have an itch to try out Disneyland next!
I always love Disney posts! We loved Poly too! We agreed that Ohana was just average food - I don't understand why everyone raves so much about that place!
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