PolyGirl40’s Escape From New York; The 2002 Sequel -- Day Five
Wednesday; February 13, 2002
Cast of Characters
Carol -- PolyGirl40 -- Disney Vacation Commander in Chief
Tony -- Dear Husband & Dad -- Advisor on Fiscal Affairs.
Jeremy -- #1 Son (15)
Shayne -- #2 Son (7)
Is this really Florida? Eeek - a Tiger and Lots and lots of CDs.
Another early wake up. Does anyone see a pattern? What can I say? My body wakes up at 5-ish regardless of being on vacation. I opened the drapes to find our window totally steamed up. It was much warmer inside of the room then outside. I slid the door open to find a cool 40 degree morning. Eeek - a bit chilly for Florida. Tony woke up shortly thereafter and offered to go to the laundry facility for me. I was thrilled. This way the boys could sleep in and the clothes would get done. I sorted the loads and sent him on his way. He did 4 loads of laundry - and returned by 7:30. Apparently 5:30 a.m. is a good time to find the laundry area empty. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
The kids slept until 8 o’clock. We had no morning PS’. I wanted to take the time to scope out the Concierge lounge. We made our way to the lounge by 9-ish. This is when it dawned on me the second floor of the Hawaii building is a great location. Not only is it nonsmoking but also on the same floor as the lounge. If you are willing to forego a balcony - the second floor is a great choice. Especially if you bring a tray back to your room like we often did. Breakfast in the lounge consists of oatmeal with all of the fixings, cold cereal choices, various danishes, assorted muffins, bagels, English muffins and fruit. There is milk, juices and coffee available. As well as hot water for tea and hot chocolate. A barrel is filled constantly - providing access to water and soda.
This worked out wonderfully. The lounge has a large screen television, a children’s area and at least a dozen or so tables for dining. The back wall overlooks the lagoon and beach area and is one large window. Very nice. I must also say, the staff that runs the lounge is fantastic.
After breakfast we gathered our belongings and went out front to meet the Animal Kingdom Lodge bus. Everyone sported long sleeves. However - as soon as the sun came out the temperatures rose to the upper 60’s. A great day for the Animal Kingdom.
We went right to the Kilimanjaro Safari to rescue Little Red. The animals were out in abundance. I always sit on the wrong side of the jeep for pictures. Ugh moment. It doesn’t matter which side. Oh well - we love this attraction.
We toured the Pangani Trial, saw the Flights of Wonder show and strolled through Maharajah Trek to see the tigers. Along the way we stopped at a station to have Shayne’s face painted. He decided he wanted to be a tiger. What fun. I highly recommend this. He received so many comments and remarks throughout the day. It was well worth the minimal fee and time needed for the process. I have pictures posted of the recreation. The entire thing was done within minutes. Very talented people.
We headed over to Dinoland for a trip back in time. Dinosaur seemed much bumper and rougher then last year. After completing that task we went to check out Tricera Top Spin. Tony and Shayne took a ride while Jer and I investigated the area. Primal Whirl is moving right along. I’m not quite sure how I feel about the new additions. The kids really seem to be enjoying it. I guess that is the important thing. I’ll voice more of an opinion when it’s complete.
Jeremy was in need of some pizza. We headed over to Pizzafari to fill that desire. We’ve never been in this little establishment. I’m not fond of counter service type food. However - if you are looking for a quick fix and something hot, give this a try. We ordered 4 individual pizzas. 3 pepperoni and one vegetable. I had the vegetable pizza. It was very fresh and tasty. The guys left nothing on their plates - so I assume the pepperoni pizza was just as good.
It was now 2 o’clock. We had seen everything we wanted to see except for the new parade. I really did not feel like waiting for 2 hours. We opted to return to the Polynesian and try to catch the parade another afternoon. Before leaving we stopped to purchase our family picture. It came out very good and has the Tree of Life in the background.
Upon returning to the resort - we peaked into the Lounge to see what options were available for midday. They do not serve anything hot. The items consist of cookies, cakes and drinks. Of course my kids enjoyed some cookies before returning to the room. We basically lounged around the resort for a couple of hours. It’s a very easy thing to do at the Polynesian.
I ventured up to the second deck along the monorail platform to get a closer look at the work being done below. I could see that old cast iron pipes were being removed and replaced by new. The entire filtration and pump system for the waterfalls and ponds should be back up and running soon, if their progress during our stay was any indication. It’s amazing how quickly things change in a weeks time. I’ll go into more details as the days go on.
Our evening plans were very lax. Dinner at the Concourse Steakhouse and off to Downtown Disney. Knowing dinner was set for 6:30 we hopped onto the monorail for the Contemporary by 5 o’clock. This would allow the kids ample time to play in the arcade as I looked around. What a wonderful time they had in the arcade. The time just flew by.
Thanks to everyone that helped me decide on trying the Concourse Steakhouse. We had yet, another wonderful meal. We checked into the podium and were seated immediately. Once again - outstanding service. For appetizers Tony ordered the fried crab cakes - while I decided on the Steakhouse five cheese soup. [img]graemlins/tasty.gif[/img] The soup had a tad too much garlic in it for my taste but - was still wonderful. Bread and drinks were brought to the table as we savored our starters. Tony and I both ordered specialty drinks (Pina Colada & Ravin’ Raspberry) - as the kids sipped shakes.
For entrees; Tony decided on the Cowboy special. What a hunk of steak! [img]graemlins/doubleeek.gif[/img] It came with roasted red potatoes and grilled onions. I chose the filet mignon. It was very good. Not as good as the one I had at Le Cellier - but good nonetheless. It was accompanied by smashed garlic potatoes, grilled vegetables and red wine butter. The boys both ordered from the children’s menu. Jeremy having Pinocchio's Pizza - while Shayne selected Goofy's Grilled Cheese.
Everything was splendid. We ordered coffee and dessert. The kids split a brownie. It was huge and served with gummy worms. Wonderful boy food. Tony and I both had cappuccino mousse. [img]graemlins/tasty.gif[/img] Oooh - goodness! Yum.
After another successful dining experience we headed downstairs to catch a bus for Downtown Disney. We waited for about 10 minutes. A bus marked “Special” passed by us twice. Jeremy could not understand why it did not stop for us - as we are very “Special”. [img]graemlins/laughing.gif[/img] Finally one marked Downtown decided to let us board. Our main goal was to see the show at the Comedy Warehouse and hit the Westside. Our timing stunk tonight. [img]graemlins/shakehead.gif[/img] We missed the first show at the Club by 5 minutes. I did not want to stand in line for the next show as it was not until 9:00. The weather had turned cold again and to add to that - it was drizzling slightly. Not pleasant conditions for idle waiting.
We opted to head to the Westside. This was one of the few things Jeremy had requested. We had a great time! We spent an amazing amount of time going through Staribilias and the Guitar Gallery. Both Jer’s choices. He simply loves that type of stuff - as do we. Off to Virgin Megastore. By the time we finished our Westside excursion it was nearly 10 p.m.. Ooops. We missed the Comedy show again. I was a bit disappointed. We had such a blast last year. However - my teenager had an outstanding evening. That readily made up for any disappointment I felt. We did not want to wait for another show. It was getting very late and I knew the shows become a bit more *adult* as the evening progresses.
We boarded a bus back to the resort and called it a day. Looking back - it seems like a very relaxing day. We did not rush and enjoyed things off from the beaten path.
Today’s Spending;
Laundry: $16
Garden Gate Gifts; Photo $13.73
Face Painting: $10
Pizzafari Lunch: $27.08
Arcade: $10
Contemporary Fantasia Gift Shop: $29.72
Concourse Steakhouse Dinner: $123.00 w/tip
Virgin Megastore: $187.42
Day Five Total: $416.95
Next Up; Day Six -- It Cost How Much? Shamu and Flying Fish
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You are a good mom to stick around there so long - I guess I will have to bite the bullet and visit the store. We "ran out of time" in December and I don't think Bryan will accept that excuse again. [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img]
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