We arrived at the Polynesian around lunchtime. We have visited the hotel before, but never stayed there and as this was Winnie’s birthday treat, she was really excited (oh, who am I kidding? We were all really excited!)
One of the reasons we’ve always avoided this hotel, aside from the cost, is that it always feels a bit chaotic, and today was no different. We had already checked in online but went to the desk to double check a few details with the intention of then leaving our bags with bell services. However, it was utter chaos with a huge queue of people outside waiting to store luggage, so Steve took the cases back to the car. Just as we’d finished helping him to pile them onto a trolley, a Cast Member came past in a golf cart and told us that there were some characters out on the balcony to the side of the lobby. The girls rushed to see who it was and were so excited when they saw Donald and Goofy!
Donald had a chat with Winnie and asked how old she was, then sang a silent ‘happy Birthday’ which made her day (even though, yet again, it still wasn’t her actual birthday!!) I have to say, that aside from the lack of hugs which the girls do miss a bit, we really enjoy the distanced character meets. They are more spontaneous, and the character interaction is just as good. There’s also less embarrassment when my two turns into complete mutes, which is the standard!!
We said goodbye to Donald and Goofy before setting off on the monorail for the Magic Kingdom until our room was ready. Because this was our second trip in a very short time, we had only very loose plans which consisted of park day reservations and a few meals. We knew we wanted some time to explore the resorts, so had decided that any days that were warm enough, we’d spend time around the pools, and any days that weren’t we’d hit the parks. This particular afternoon would have been great for pool time, but it was definitely not warm enough for me to get my swimsuit on and the fact that the monorail loop makes it so quick to get in and out of the parks meant that Magic Kingdom was a great option for us.
We didn’t have a set plan and planned to head back to the hotel as soon as the room was ready. We entered Main Street to see some of the characters heading up to the train station, so were about to stay and wave to them when the lady who drives the Disney car asked if we’d like a lift to the castle. The girls were really keen, so we set off through the crowds (it gave me flashbacks to trying to drive away from Pride Park after a football match without taking out any unsuspecting fans!) to the castle. It was a fun way to start the trip for the girls, but I’d much rather have preferred to not have the attention created by a car with the loudest horn I’ve ever heard!
Anyway, we said goodbye and headed for the People Mover which was the girls’ first choice. We then did a few rides with small queues such as the carousel, grabbed a couple of 50th anniversary 7 dwarf ice creams of the day for the girls (Polly wasn’t keen on the coffee flavour!!) and then sat down for a quick lunch at Pinocchio’s Village House.
We shared 2 kids meals as we weren’t that hungry. With the kids meal you get two sides and a drink, so we had 2 flatbreads, 4 fries and 2 drinks which was plenty enough for us. We also decided to try and do the DVC selfie challenge where you have to take selfies at set places in exchange for a pin (you can do them at each park). Whilst in Frontierland we saw Chip & Dale on a float which was nice as we hadn’t seen them on there before.
We got a message to say our room was ready so decided to head back to the hotel and give ourselves plenty of time to settle in and get changed for our meal at Ohana. The room was lovely (the subtle Moana refurbishments are very cute) and there was plenty of space for all our cases. Obviously, even though it was freezing, and we had hardly any time, the girls decided they wanted to go in the pool, so off we set (with Steve and I wrapped up to keep warm!) The girls had fun testing out the slide and the main pool, and Steve and I tested out the beverages, before we had to head back to get ready. A quick hairbrush and clothing change and we were ready to walk across for our tea. The resort is quite spread out, but it doesn’t take long at all to get anywhere.
We’ve never eaten at Ohana for tea before (and the two breakfasts we had there were less than impressive) but I have to say we really enjoyed the meal. There was so much food and all of it was tasty (especially the pudding!) We asked for some kid friendly options as our two aren’t keen on some more unusual flavours, and they bought Mac Cheese and tenders, which was nice, but after the meal I heard the table next door asking for the meat without the sauces/ spices for their children, which is what I would do next time as I think that would have been better.
After tea we debated watching the fireworks, but the girls decided they were too tired, so we headed to the room, and they were both asleep within minutes ready for a day at Animal Kingdom tomorrow.
Doodle & Peg Do Disney 