Jan- Trader Sam opens at 4?
I love the walk between Poly and GF. I wish that walk continued to MK.
I've read mixed reviews of Narcoose's. How do you think someone with a seafood allergy would enjoy it? Did you have any view?
See my Disney Photography at...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rt_images/
DVC owner since 2002 BCV/BWV/BLT/VGC
Jan- Trader Sam opens at 4?
I love the walk between Poly and GF. I wish that walk continued to MK.
I've read mixed reviews of Narcoose's. How do you think someone with a seafood allergy would enjoy it? Did you have any view?
Colonel, they have really good steak there. The filet was excellent. They also serve a sirloin strip which I would imagine is just as good. I don't think you'd have any problem finding something you'd like as their menu contains many non-seafood options.
Jan- Trader Sam opens at 4?
I love the walk between Poly and GF. I wish that walk continued to MK.
Yes, Trader Sam's is open 4pm to midnight.
I also wish you could continue right over to MK with the walk. Maybe someday?
And, at dinner, we had a window seat so had a view of the boat launch at the GF and views of MK. It was quite nice.
I love the walk between Poly and GF. I wish that walk continued to MK.
I would like to see this too. All they need to do is put a bridge over that canal where those floats are stored for the Electric Water Pageant.
The Colonel wrote:
I love the walk between Poly and GF. I wish that walk continued to MK.
I would like to see this too. All they need to do is put a bridge over that canal where those floats are stored for the Electric Water Pageant.
Yeah - that would put me over the top to buy some GF or Poly points. I'm not super crazy about the BLT layout or theme (or lack thereof).
What are you shooting on this trip?
See my Disney Photography at...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rt_images/
DVC owner since 2002 BCV/BWV/BLT/VGC
Bummer about the camera, Ken! Loving the trip report so far, though. That food looks incredible!
January 2020 Trip Report - Riviera Resort
June 2019 Trip Report - Caribbean Beach & Saratoga Springs
October 2018 Trip Report - Contemporary Resort
July 2018 - All Star Movies
April 2018 Trip Report - Art of Animation
Jan 2018 Trip Report - Port Orleans Riverside and Animal Kingdom Lodge
Nov 2017 Trip Report - Boardwalk Villas
Feb 2017 Trip Report - Port Orleans French Quarter
Apr 2016 Trip Report - Pop Century
Dec 2015 Trip Report - All Star Sports & Saratoga Springs
Sept 2014 Trip Report - Coronado Springs
Oct 2012 Trip Report - Caribbean Beach Resort
What are you shooting on this trip?
I brought my GH4 and GX7 along with all my lenses. It's the GH4 that is having the issue. Technically it's still working, but when the flash fires in the closed position, it burns the plastic housing. I think its a defect in the flash position sensor and the camera suddenly thinks the flash is in the up position when it really isn't. I'll send it in to the repair shop when I get back, but I'm a bit disappointed about it.
Bummer about the camera, Ken! Loving the trip report so far, though. That food looks incredible!
Thanks, Allie! Yeah, the camera situation sucks. I really wanted to use the GH4 on this trip.
On a side note, we went to MK after our dinner last night and my camera had an issue which will prevent me from using it further on this trip. It's an issue that I had read about that a few owners have experienced and I was hoping I wouldn't have it, but no such luck. Took a shot of the castle and then a loud "pop" sound and burning plastic smell. So my main camera is now out of commission and will have to go in for repair when I return home. I'm really bummed about this and I'm not happy with Panasonic right now.
But...
I brought my other smaller camera with me too and am sure glad I did so the photos can continue. Hopefully nothing will happen to THAT camera.
I hope it can be fixed!
Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch
Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
We're at the gate right now and had an interesting check in at MIA. We checked our bags at AA counter and the attendant put the AA tags on our luggage then casually ripped off the Magical Express tags!!! I immediately told him to stop and we need those tags. He said AA policy is to remove all other tags from luggage.
I explained the importance of the Disney tags and he then put them back on. I was very surprised that he had no idea what the Disney tags were. I asked him if anyone "downstream" would potentially remove them and he said that shouldn't happen. Of course we will have no way of knowing unless our bags don't show up at the Poly.
Anyway, we'll see what happens.
We had to stop an agent from doing just that a few years back. Flying out of Chicago on Delta, and she had no ideas what they were?
*Proud Disney Nut*
Ken that totally sucks about the camera but glad you had a backup. Glad you liked your meal at Narcoossee's. Every now and then we get that "rushed" feeling too! It's happened at the Cali, Flying Fish and Narcoossee's. The kitchen didn't have time to get backed up yet. You can always ask your server to wait a few minutes between courses if you want to take it a bit slower. Most will not mind.
KenJ wrote:The Colonel wrote:
I love the walk between Poly and GF. I wish that walk continued to MK.
I would like to see this too. All they need to do is put a bridge over that canal where those floats are stored for the Electric Water Pageant.
Yeah - that would put me over the top to buy some GF or Poly points. I'm not super crazy about the BLT layout or theme (or lack thereof).
What are you shooting on this trip?
Hey Colonel, I saw on your Jedi post that May will be your first stay at BLT. I hope you like it as much as we do. While the theming is not very Disney like, the location and the views are fabulous! Are you in a studio or a 1 bedroom? They are very different. If you are in a studio and would like to see a 1 bedroom let me know and we can get together. Maybe after dinner at California Grill on Sat the 23rd.
We have a home resort on the monorail (BLT) and another by EPCOT (Beach Club) We have the best of both worlds, a MK DVC and an EPCOT DVC. How lucky can one person be? 
The Colonel wrote:KenJ wrote:The Colonel wrote:
I love the walk between Poly and GF. I wish that walk continued to MK.
I would like to see this too. All they need to do is put a bridge over that canal where those floats are stored for the Electric Water Pageant.
Yeah - that would put me over the top to buy some GF or Poly points. I'm not super crazy about the BLT layout or theme (or lack thereof).
What are you shooting on this trip?
Hey Colonel, I saw on your Jedi post that May will be your first stay at BLT. I hope you like it as much as we do. While the theming is not very Disney like, the location and the views are fabulous! Are you in a studio or a 1 bedroom? They are very different. If you are in a studio and would like to see a 1 bedroom let me know and we can get together. Maybe after dinner at California Grill on Sat the 23rd.
We have a home resort on the monorail (BLT) and another by EPCOT (Beach Club) We have the best of both worlds, a MK DVC and an EPCOT DVC. How lucky can one person be?
Yeah we have BC and BW. I'm thinking of adding a monorail resort. We liked GF but I would prefer the walk to MK. So we are trying BLT now and Poly in the spring. Of course I can always stay there with points from somewhere else if there is availability.
When it's just me and Mrs. Col, we usually get a studio. So we do have a studio at BLT. I heard that the 1BRs are much nicer (with 2 bathrooms) but I am fresh out of points till next year. In fact, I have to stay at POP for a couple of days I'm so points poor. 
(
Maybe we'll see you there. You can recognize me by my uniform. 
See my Disney Photography at...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rt_images/
DVC owner since 2002 BCV/BWV/BLT/VGC
Starbucks Epcot mugs are available again. As of yesterday. The monorail is gray, picture to follow.
Wow, those food pictures look amazing. That might be the fanciest strawberry shortcake i've ever seen!
Fish are friends, not food!
We're just back to the resort after having breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe and then we went to Epcot and walked around. Now we're heading to the quiet pool to float around and cool down. It's HOT here, but feels great!
Tonight, we have reservations as Via Napoli so we'll be back in Epcot later on. I'll post more pics later once I have time to process them.
So glad you and Jan are having a great time!! The weather sounds nice today. Wow the Poly really looks nice!! Love your room. That one is going on the bucket list! Love your pictures so far! So sorry about your camera but at least you have a backup. Continue having a grand time!!
Here's the new Epcot mug....
Some photos from today.
We headed over to Epcot to see what the garden festival looks like...
The butterfly tent was really cool.
These are baby butterflies.
This little guy is waiting to open his wings for the first time.
The colors are incredible. It looks so different than in January!
We saw these newly born Disney ducks!
We had to stop for a cronut of course. There weren't any of those flying thieves around either... er I mean seagulls.
Another Disney duck taking a break.
Time for the traditional Oktoberfest beer!
We headed back to our resort and walked around the new bungalow area...
Maybe we'll see you there. You can recognize me by my uniform.
Will you be wearing the white gloves and pith helmet? Still have your muttonchops? 
Loving the pictures! Staying in one of those bunglows is now at the top of my Disney bucket list.
Loving the pictures! Staying in one of those bunglows is now at the top of my Disney bucket list.
Thanks scrappy (on Ken's behalf ). The bungalows do look beautiful and the setting is gorgeous - you better get working on MrHub!
Today is AK day. We're enjoying our morning coffee on the balcony and then will be headed out soon. Not sure what the rest of the day will bring.
I'll be in Epcot for the afternoon/evening of the 16th! I'm in Orlando for a work meeting but found a way to squeeze one night in at WDW! I'll keep an eye out for you!
We were in Epcot yesterday early afternoon and went back for dinner at Via Napoli. I was watching out for you, too bad we never crossed paths. Hope you had a fabulous day. 
Thanks scrappy!
We had a really relaxing swim in the quiet pool yesterday afternoon. I'd never been in a pool at Disney until then! The water was so warm that there was absolutely no shock factor when jumping in.
While floating around in the pool, I said to Jan that you could take this whole setting and drop it on an island in the south pacific and you wouldn't notice the difference! I'm now seeing why people like the Poly so much. The atmosphere and surroundings are decidedly different than any other resort. This just might become our favourite resort yet. 
We overheard a woman at the pool talking to another guest and she said that the pool was "being ripped apart" tomorrow (today). Well, the pool is still there but I understand it could close at any time. I jokingly said to Jan that we might wake up and find the pool completely gone! I said wouldn't it be funny to have a video camera rolling and at 3 am Tinker Bell shows up with a smile and with a wave of the wand, the pool is gone.
Anyway, we came back from dinner at Via Napoli (very good as usual) and saw this in our room:
Another beautiful morning at the Poly.
Just enjoying a coffee on our rather large and private balcony.
See, the pool is still there!
There is construction going on and these guys are out early but don't make any noise until just after 8 am.
Regarding the construction, I may be an oddball, but I actually don't mind it one bit. In fact, I quite enjoy watching Disney construction happen. It's very interesting to see them work and how much attention to detail they have. They are very careful in what they disturb and always make sure the landscaping is pristine before leaving at the end of the day.
I heard another person yesterday stating that she was not pleased with all the construction going on and that "they should just close the entire resort" while it's going on. Really? Did she not know about this ahead of time? We received not 1, but 2 letters in advance reminding us that construction is going on. There is really no excuse for people to show up here and then complain about construction.
Beautiful photos! So excited looking at them - we arrive in 2 days! Sorry about your trouble with the airline trying to remove the ME tags and your camera going on the fritz, but glad to hear you're having a good time, nonetheless!
oHIo wrote:The Colonel wrote:KenJ wrote:The Colonel wrote:
I love the walk between Poly and GF. I wish that walk continued to MK.
I would like to see this too. All they need to do is put a bridge over that canal where those floats are stored for the Electric Water Pageant.
Yeah - that would put me over the top to buy some GF or Poly points. I'm not super crazy about the BLT layout or theme (or lack thereof).
What are you shooting on this trip?
Hey Colonel, I saw on your Jedi post that May will be your first stay at BLT. I hope you like it as much as we do. While the theming is not very Disney like, the location and the views are fabulous! Are you in a studio or a 1 bedroom? They are very different. If you are in a studio and would like to see a 1 bedroom let me know and we can get together. Maybe after dinner at California Grill on Sat the 23rd.
We have a home resort on the monorail (BLT) and another by EPCOT (Beach Club) We have the best of both worlds, a MK DVC and an EPCOT DVC. How lucky can one person be?
Yeah we have BC and BW. I'm thinking of adding a monorail resort. We liked GF but I would prefer the walk to MK. So we are trying BLT now and Poly in the spring. Of course I can always stay there with points from somewhere else if there is availability.
When it's just me and Mrs. Col, we usually get a studio. So we do have a studio at BLT. I heard that the 1BRs are much nicer (with 2 bathrooms) but I am fresh out of points till next year. In fact, I have to stay at POP for a couple of days I'm so points poor. (
Maybe we'll see you there. You can recognize me by my uniform.
I hear ya, Colonel. Feeling pretty points-poor myself these days!
We stayed at BLT last fall and I really didn't like it at all the first day, especially because we had a split stay and had just transferred form WL, but the views and the convenience won me over. I would happily stay there again and I might at some point seriously consider adding on points there.
Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch
Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
