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3 Nights In Paradise / Kristen K.

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Sun, 04/14/2019 - 18:11
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Kristen K.
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3 Nights In Paradise / Kristen K.

My daughter Katie has been talking about taking a vacation for about 2 months now, finally she decided that she was going to go to WDW. She made a comment about staying off property, so I said to her "If you buy my plane ticket, I'll take care of the hotel room." She looked at me skeptically, and said "Run some numbers, see what you can get and we'll talk." I switched into vacation planning mode. I had 75 DVC points to cover three room nights on short notice. Good gravy it can be hard to find a DVC Studio on short notice. Plenty of the bigger rooms, but studios go fast. It took a bit of doing, but eventually I found a sweet spot in May where we could get a studio and wouldn't have to do a split stay. I matched that up with days that airfare wouldn't be horrible, and when she got home we talked.

Honestly, I thought I was going to really have to sell this to her. She was really hoping to have her first solo trip. We sat down after she got home from running errand, she looked pretty skeptical. I smiled brightly and explained to her how hard it was for me to find something that could work for us. Then I said "How would you feel about staying at the Polynesian?" Her face lit up. The next thing I knew I was booking our room, flights, and we're going to Disney next month!

I'm pretty excited! yay

Because I have saved no money for this trip I'm not doing Parks. There is going to be a LOT of pool time, and activities that I don't have to pay for. I'll be strictly counter service food, so I've been pouring through menus for interesting stuff. I'm looking forward to just relaxing and not having to worry about anyone else's pace.

I try to do at least 5 new things on every trip, I came up with a few new ones for May 2019

  1. Lunch at Geyser Point Bar & Grill, Wilderness Lodge
  2. Lunch at Pepe, Disney Springs
  3. Lunch at the 4R Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck, Disney Springs
  4. Wine Tasting at Wine Bar George, Disney Springs
  5. A Movie at the AMC, Disney Springs
  6. Dinner & Drinks at Trader Sam's Tiki Terrace, Polynesian
  7. Hula Lessons & Torch Lighting Ceremony, Polynesian
  8. and an iPhoneography Class at Wilderness Lodge (Maybe)

Now I'm counting down to May 21st and another Disney trip!

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Sun, 04/14/2019 - 18:37
JeffC
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Wow, that's an awesome deal and arrangement!! Congrats!!! I'd say "Let the planning begin!" but, well, I think your well into it ????????????

May is just around the corner!! I love starting a new countdown when it's so close awesome clapping

Sun, 04/14/2019 - 22:20
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Wow! With all you have planned you won't even miss the parks! Let me toss out another idea. It's possible to order the bread service in the lounge at Sanaa without a reservation. Then go outside and watch the animals on the Savannah while talking with the cast members from Africa. They have lots to say and are very interesting!

Sun, 04/14/2019 - 23:38
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That's awesome

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Sun, 04/14/2019 - 23:58
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Careful with the WBG wine tasting, it's easy to get carried away in there LOL... Not that I know from experience or anything LMAO

Sounds like a fantastic trip. I am trying to figure out some time for a quick weekend before July!

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Mon, 04/15/2019 - 02:55
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How exciting! What days are you there? We are going May 18-25

Mon, 04/15/2019 - 13:29
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Spook wrote:
How exciting! What days are you there? We are going May 18-25

May 21st - 24th awesome

oHIo wrote:
Wow! With all you have planned you won't even miss the parks! Let me toss out another idea.

Not one bit! In fact I think it's going to make for a much more relaxing trip for me because I won't be rushing for FastPass or dining reservations. I'll just get to move at my own pace. Plus, I can take my time getting as many pictures of things as I want without feeling guilty about holding up my group.

JMed wrote:
Careful with the WBG wine tasting, it's easy to get carried away in there LOL... Not that I know from experience or anything LMAO

I think I'm going to just stick with the Wine & Chocolate pairing. Though that new boozy Dole Whip might be necessary. Hahaha! Maybe I should write a post about all the pineapple inspired cocktails I will drink, there are at least 3 on my list already.

JeffC wrote:
=I'd say "Let the planning begin!" but, well, I think your well into it ????????????

I'm so deep in my research right now! Planning is half the fun.

Mon, 04/15/2019 - 15:20
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Nice Job! Sounds like you will have a great time. The Poly is the best! I could just sit around lounging at the Poly all day long, listening to the music from the bushes. Smelling the food cooking at Ohana's and coming from the Luau. The boat horns and the Monorail wooshing by. The ukelele music from Trader Sams Terrace and sipping on a few tropical drinks. Yup, you will have a great time! awesome banana banana

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Mon, 04/15/2019 - 16:10
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Oh man, that's awesome! And the Poly is the perfect resort for a resort only trip! We LOVE Geyser Point and Wine Bar George and can't wait to hear what you think of Pepe!

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Mon, 04/15/2019 - 19:41
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MrHub wrote:
The ukelele music from Trader Sams Terrace and sipping on a few tropical drinks. Yup, you will have a great time! awesome banana banana

Do you know if they have live music every night?

Mon, 04/15/2019 - 20:02
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Hopefully we'll see you. We are staying at the Poly too mickey

Mon, 04/15/2019 - 20:10
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congrats I am sure you will not even miss the parks and when you head back home you will still have tons of things you wanted to do. clapping yay yeah

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Mon, 04/15/2019 - 22:08
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MrHub wrote:
Nice Job! Sounds like you will have a great time. The Poly is the best! I could just sit around lounging at the Poly all day long, listening to the music from the bushes. Smelling the food cooking at Ohana's and coming from the Luau. The boat horns and the Monorail wooshing by. The ukelele music from Trader Sams Terrace and sipping on a few tropical drinks. Yup, you will have a great time! awesome banana banana

Agree 100% with MrHub. The first time we stayed at The Poly, we commented on the fact that we could stay there and not go to the parks. The resort truly has a tropical feel and if you need a change, you can walk to the GF. Enjoy your stay!

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Mon, 04/15/2019 - 22:59
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Spook wrote:
Hopefully we'll see you. We are staying at the Poly too mickey

Oh fantastic! muchlove

Wed, 04/17/2019 - 17:46
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The Dole Whip Mimosa at WBG is a must! Had it last Sunday and quickly a favorite. I am a wine lover and if I had to choose between the two, I would take the Dole Whip Drink. We also had the wine country brunch, just fantastic as well. Highly recommend it!

Wed, 04/17/2019 - 18:07
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Mcheal wrote:
The Dole Whip Mimosa at WBG is a must! Had it last Sunday and quickly a favorite. I am a wine lover and if I had to choose between the two, I would take the Dole Whip Drink. We also had the wine country brunch, just fantastic as well. Highly recommend it!

Oh awesome! On my list!

Wed, 04/17/2019 - 22:21
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Yay that is exciting! Don't forget that they roast marshmallows at night!

Fri, 04/19/2019 - 19:13
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Mandy wrote:
Yay that is exciting! Don't forget that they roast marshmallows at night!

My daughter and I really wanted to do this, but according to the Poly's April activity sheet camp fires only happen on the weekends. We might wander over to the Grand Floridian to catch theirs.

Fri, 04/19/2019 - 22:44
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Kristen K. wrote:
Mandy wrote:
Yay that is exciting! Don't forget that they roast marshmallows at night!

My daughter and I really wanted to do this, but according to the Poly's April activity sheet camp fires only happen on the weekends. We might wander over to the Grand Floridian to catch theirs.

Wilderness Lodge also does this. You can look at coordinating this with Geyser Point.

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Thu, 04/25/2019 - 20:12
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yay just finished up a few things that I had to do for our trip. Magical Express is scheduled, took care of some fiddling with our airline tickets. I am so excited! I also tightened up some of my plan of attack.

I've added in a trip over to Fort Wilderness for P&J's Southern Take Out, and a new look at Crocket's Tavern. I'm going to do a double dip at Wine Bar George, because I need to try that Dole Whip Frozcotto in addition to the Wine Tasting. I'm going to swing by Saratoga Springs for the Orange Bird Cupcake. AND - I'll make both a breakfast and a late night snack stop at Kona Island.

I've been on a new meal plan the past several weeks and I've been losing weight. Somehow I feel like I will be gaining it all back over this four days at Disney. laugh

Fri, 04/26/2019 - 11:32
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Kristen K. wrote:
I'm going to do a double dip at Wine Bar George, because I need to try that Dole Whip Frozcotto in addition to the Wine Tasting.

Seeeeeee, what did I tell you? You haven't even been yet and you are already planning another stop. WBG is addicting! biggrin biggrin

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Fri, 04/26/2019 - 13:32
JeffC
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This is such a fantastic trip plan! I have always been told Disney calories are magical and don't count.

Sun, 04/28/2019 - 16:24
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JMed wrote:
Kristen K. wrote:
I'm going to do a double dip at Wine Bar George, because I need to try that Dole Whip Frozcotto in addition to the Wine Tasting.

Seeeeeee, what did I tell you? You haven't even been yet and you are already planning another stop. WBG is addicting! biggrin biggrin

Right!?! I stopped in last October to take some pictures and pick up a picnic box from The Basket, I'm really looking forward to more time there. I really want that Dole Whip cocktail. mickey

Sun, 04/28/2019 - 16:25
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JeffC wrote:
This is such a fantastic trip plan! I have always been told Disney calories are magical and don't count.

If only that were true. However - I won't have an ECV on this trip, so if I am lucky the extra exercise will balance out all those calories.

Sat, 05/04/2019 - 00:09
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Whoo hoo! We've got our MagicBands and now our Magical Express tags!
18 days and counting... I am so ready to go.

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Sat, 05/04/2019 - 00:36
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Kristen K. wrote:
Whoo hoo! We've got our MagicBands and now our Magical Express tags!
18 days and counting... I am so ready to go.

yay yay yeah yay yay

Sat, 05/04/2019 - 13:20
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clapping clapping clapping clapping

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Fri, 05/10/2019 - 18:45
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10 more sleeps to go and things are continuing to come together here!

  • I met my budget goal for the trip this week. Yay! I'll be able to eat.
  • I bought a couple of new shirts, looks like blue and cream will be my colorway (shocker).
  • My new Wonder Woman swimsuit arrived, so I'll look super cute at the pool.
  • I bought in-room breakfasts to pack.
  • Pulled out my suitcase and started getting organized. I'm running way behind schedule on that one.
  • I can see the weather for our trip now and it looks like 40% chance of rain every day, so I added an extra pair of shoes and socks to my packing list. I will be way bummed if this spoils my pool time.

Apparently this is Polynesian Heritage Month so there will be some extra fun activities going on at the resort. I think I'm going to do the hula lessons and make a kukui nut lei. Though the ukelele lessons also sound fun.

I'm going back and forth on if I want to do a DVC class either the photography one I mentioned previously or a WBG Wine tasting. I just can't decided if I want to spend the $40 on them, or which one I would rather do. I have WBG on my list for the Chocolate Experience Tasting later in the anyhow. Would it be weird if I showed up there all four days of my vacation? George and I will be besties.

I'm also debating either going to see YeeHaa Bob -or- late night at The Edison on Thursday night. What is everyone's option about those two? I'll be solo so staying up late or dealing with kids isn't an issue. Which entertainment option would you rather see reviewed on the blog?

Fri, 05/10/2019 - 21:23
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YeeHaa Bob no cover charge, Edison cover charge ?$15 after 10pm. I would go for YHB purely as he is real and you never know how long he will be around, the Edison is more "static" and shouldn't change too much.

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Fri, 05/10/2019 - 21:28
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  • My new Wonder Woman swimsuit arrived, so I'll look super cute at the pool.

    • This sounds fun and fab, where did you find it and can you post a link?

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    Fri, 05/10/2019 - 21:55
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    Kristen K. wrote:
    . Would it be weird if I showed up there all four days of my vacation? George and I will be besties.

    ?

    Ummmm, me and the bar manager from WBG chat on Instagram all the time, no shame in going every day!!!!

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    "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

    "It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell."

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