southerngirl
12-28-2010, 08:49 PM
Hi everyone:
My DH, DS(2) and I just returned from a wonderful trip to WDW. We were there December 18-23rd and stayed on the club level at the Poly. Without further ado, here is the report on Day 1:
We left Atlanta around 8 a.m. and after a couple of stops for gas and lunch in Valdosta at Cracker Barrel, we pulled into the Poly just before 4 p.m. There were a couple of bumps in the check-in process, apparently because the club staff were slammed with check-ins at that time. So, we didn't get a personal escort to the Hawaii building, but since we knew where we were headed, and we were up for a little stroll after our drive, we walked ourselves back to the building and received a nice warm "Aloha" from the staff. We were assigned room 3534 (third floor, two doors down from the lounge, on the garden side), and we were pleasantly surprised to be greated by a personalized card from Chip and Dale for our DS and several towel creations from Pham, our excellent Mousekeeper.
Since our luggage hadn't arrived yet (another bump in the check-in road), we strolled down to the lounge and enjoyed some lemonade. A few minutes later, they put out the evening's appetizers. The night's offerings were Hawaiian pulled pork and pineapple bread, spinach and cheese samosas, pineapple gazpacho, cheese and fruit, hummus and pita and PBJ uncrustable sandwiches for the little ones. They also had out beer, wine and other beverages. We sampled and enjoyed it all. Those were probably our favorite appetizer offerings all week. Everyone behaved themselves that night (which would not be the case every night of our trip), so there was enough food to go around without there being a mob scene at the bar.
We had a 6:05 ADR at Kona, so we strolled up to the GCH. I have to say, we weren't all that impressed with Kona. The place was mobbed, so that sort of detracted from the ambiance. We also felt very rushed by our waitress. We were not on the dining plan, so we didn't order appetizers. I ordered the shrimp and scallops, DH had the Citrus Hamachi sushi roll, and DS had the grilled chicken and Mickeyroni meal. My DS's and my dinner arrived literally less than ten minutes after we ordered it, which made me think that everything was pre-made and just reheated when we ordered--not exactly what you want when you order seafood. DH's sushi came about ten minutes later. It was delicious. DS seemed to enjoy his dinner, too. He ate every bite. Mine was, eh, just okay. It was cool when it arrived, and for the price, I felt that the portion was small. I had heard a lot about the desserts at Kona, and even though I knew we'd be having something in the lounge later, I ordered the Kona Kone. It was fun, but the best part was the cone. That was delicious! The ice cream was just okay, and the rest of the toppings were fun but average. I think our bill, with tip, was just about $60, and overall, I'd rate Kona a B-.
After dinner, we went back to the room and gave our DS a bath. I wandered down to the lounge around 9, right as the EWP was ending. They piped the music into the building, so that was fun. The desserts that night were raspberry mousse, one bit apple tarts and oatmeal raisin cookies. I took a couple to my DH in the room, but I didn't really care for them, so I was glad we'd had a little dessert at Kona. After I dropped those off, I went back and grabbed a decaf latte from the machine, added a shot of Kahlua and then went back upstairs. Around 10, I heard the fireworks start, so I walked back to the lounge to see them. However, a really weird fog rolled in, and you couldn't see a thing. I heard that even the people at the MK couldn't see anything. So, I went back to the room and hopped into bed, so that I could get a good night's sleep before our big day in the MK the next day!
My DH, DS(2) and I just returned from a wonderful trip to WDW. We were there December 18-23rd and stayed on the club level at the Poly. Without further ado, here is the report on Day 1:
We left Atlanta around 8 a.m. and after a couple of stops for gas and lunch in Valdosta at Cracker Barrel, we pulled into the Poly just before 4 p.m. There were a couple of bumps in the check-in process, apparently because the club staff were slammed with check-ins at that time. So, we didn't get a personal escort to the Hawaii building, but since we knew where we were headed, and we were up for a little stroll after our drive, we walked ourselves back to the building and received a nice warm "Aloha" from the staff. We were assigned room 3534 (third floor, two doors down from the lounge, on the garden side), and we were pleasantly surprised to be greated by a personalized card from Chip and Dale for our DS and several towel creations from Pham, our excellent Mousekeeper.
Since our luggage hadn't arrived yet (another bump in the check-in road), we strolled down to the lounge and enjoyed some lemonade. A few minutes later, they put out the evening's appetizers. The night's offerings were Hawaiian pulled pork and pineapple bread, spinach and cheese samosas, pineapple gazpacho, cheese and fruit, hummus and pita and PBJ uncrustable sandwiches for the little ones. They also had out beer, wine and other beverages. We sampled and enjoyed it all. Those were probably our favorite appetizer offerings all week. Everyone behaved themselves that night (which would not be the case every night of our trip), so there was enough food to go around without there being a mob scene at the bar.
We had a 6:05 ADR at Kona, so we strolled up to the GCH. I have to say, we weren't all that impressed with Kona. The place was mobbed, so that sort of detracted from the ambiance. We also felt very rushed by our waitress. We were not on the dining plan, so we didn't order appetizers. I ordered the shrimp and scallops, DH had the Citrus Hamachi sushi roll, and DS had the grilled chicken and Mickeyroni meal. My DS's and my dinner arrived literally less than ten minutes after we ordered it, which made me think that everything was pre-made and just reheated when we ordered--not exactly what you want when you order seafood. DH's sushi came about ten minutes later. It was delicious. DS seemed to enjoy his dinner, too. He ate every bite. Mine was, eh, just okay. It was cool when it arrived, and for the price, I felt that the portion was small. I had heard a lot about the desserts at Kona, and even though I knew we'd be having something in the lounge later, I ordered the Kona Kone. It was fun, but the best part was the cone. That was delicious! The ice cream was just okay, and the rest of the toppings were fun but average. I think our bill, with tip, was just about $60, and overall, I'd rate Kona a B-.
After dinner, we went back to the room and gave our DS a bath. I wandered down to the lounge around 9, right as the EWP was ending. They piped the music into the building, so that was fun. The desserts that night were raspberry mousse, one bit apple tarts and oatmeal raisin cookies. I took a couple to my DH in the room, but I didn't really care for them, so I was glad we'd had a little dessert at Kona. After I dropped those off, I went back and grabbed a decaf latte from the machine, added a shot of Kahlua and then went back upstairs. Around 10, I heard the fireworks start, so I walked back to the lounge to see them. However, a really weird fog rolled in, and you couldn't see a thing. I heard that even the people at the MK couldn't see anything. So, I went back to the room and hopped into bed, so that I could get a good night's sleep before our big day in the MK the next day!