Pre-Trip Report: Kim’s “Make That a Double” Polynesian Vacation (July 2026)

[00:00:11] Welcome to Where I Long To Be, a Magical Trip Report Podcast. My name is Virginia and I am your host. I hope everyone is doing well and you're enjoying whatever you have left of your summer. I cannot believe how fast the summer has flown by and while I'm not quite ready for it to be fall, I'm looking at you pumpkin spice latte, I'm not coming for you yet. I am starting to get there bit by bit. Today's episode is another July trip so hopefully it can help you extend your summer feeling just to get there.

[00:00:41] a little bit longer. And with that, let's get into it. Please welcome to the show, Kim. Welcome to the podcast, Kim. Thank you for having me, Virginia. I'm happy to be here. I am just going to acknowledge right now as we're starting our conversation that you are apparently under a tornado warning or you were up until about 20 minutes ago but it's lingering. Yes, we are. Lots of rain, lots of wind.

[00:01:11] The sun's kind of peaking out right now but we are under a tornado watch. Okay, so if there is some crackling or some things like that going on with our connection listeners, that's probably what it's related to because we've double checked everything and everything seems good but just in case, I'm just mentioning it. So where in the world are you that you are having a tornado warning? I am in New Hampshire. Okay, odd. Okay, odd. Do you get many tornado warnings there?

[00:01:41] No. So there's a tornado warning for Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine right now which is all part of New England. So yeah, okay. Well, that warning has not yet reached me here in New York City but I hope it doesn't. I think there's supposed to be rain later so I would not be surprised if it shifted. Yeah. I did get a high wind warning probably like an hour ago so. It's on its way. Yeah, yeah. All right. Well, you're from New Hampshire.

[00:02:11] What brings you to Disney because that's what we're about to talk about is your Disney trip. How many times have you been? Are you just a super Disney fan? What's your Disney background? Super Disney fan. I went once in first grade maybe as a kid. I did the college program back in 2001. Okay, pause. I know we haven't talked about it yet. That is amazing that you did the college program. How long did you do it for?

[00:02:40] Like one semester or longer? Yes. I did spring of 2001. Okay. And what was your role? I was a bellhop at the Tower of Terror. Kim. I know. Oh, that's amazing. I did crowd control for Fantasmic and I did crowd control for the Milan parade which obviously isn't there anymore. It was also when it was MGM which it's now Hollywood Studios. Yep. Back in 2001 I lived in Chatham Square.

[00:03:08] I was probably maybe the second or third group that lived there. Yeah. Oh, that's amazing. Anyway, so in 2001 I was a bellhop. I was part of the college program, blah, blah, blah. Fast forward. I went a handful of times since. I went with my mom maybe 15 years ago. We did just like a little girls trip. Mm-hmm. And then in 2019 I believe it was my sister-in-law asked, said, do you want to go?

[00:03:39] It was me and my sister-in-law, my niece who is now 18. She just graduated from high school. And my mother-in-law. The four of us went. We stayed at, um, Port Orleans. Mm-hmm. And then, um, I told my husband that we needed to plan a trip. He hadn't been since he was a kid. And he's not a Disney fan which you will learn through, through this. Um, but we went, uh, we stayed at the boardwalk. And then I did a solo trip for a flower and garden last year. I stayed at Saratoga. Mm-hmm.

[00:04:07] And our 10 year wedding anniversary is while we're away. And I said, I think we should go. And he said, I think we should go too. Um, and last time we went together, we, we did a lot of things while we were there. Just, I wanted him to see everything. Uh-huh. And one of the things we did was we just hopped over to the Polynesian. We sat at the tiki bar and we wandered the resort. And he said, next time we come, the next time we come, he said, I want to stay here.

[00:04:35] And I said, okay, let's plan it. So that, that's how this all came to be. So. Okay. All right. So it's a long way to tell you. Well, I mean, amazing. I love, I love this journey. And is your anniversary happening while you're going to be down in Disney? Yes. Our anniversary is the 10th of July, which is the Friday that we're gone. So we'll be there the 7th. We fly out of, um, Logan on the 7th, which is a Tuesday.

[00:05:03] We'll be in Orlando flying home on the 14th. Okay. All right. Fantastic. All right. Well, your husband is going with you. What is your husband's name? His name is Tom. Do you get the sense based on the fact that he said the next time we come that he has already been converted to some degree? He would tell you no. Uh huh.

[00:05:28] And he would tell you that I'm extreme because I like to watch YouTube and I listen to every single Disney podcast that has ever been created. Um, he would say no. Um, he would say no. However, I think he's understanding it more because when we went two years ago, uh, we stayed at the boardwalk and he thought the Epcot ball was, uh, yes, was, um, was basically

[00:05:58] world showcase. He just thought that you went inside and that's where all the food was. Oh, yes. Okay. Um, he's learned a lot since then. Um, but so his, his, um, motivation is food. So he wants to eat all the food at Epcot. So, so that, that's his understanding of Disney, but he understands my love of it. Um, I, I think at some point we may fully convert him, but not yet.

[00:06:28] We'll see. I, I am holding out hope that you will. And this is because I have proof of my own here in my household that it's possible because if you had asked Charles all these years we've been going, it was, it was all for me. It was for me and for Alex that he was doing it. I mean, he would actively say that, you know, uh, we just, you know, we go for you, you know, I don't really like it, whatever.

[00:06:54] But the more times that we would go, I would notice him mentioning things that he loved about it. And then it got to the point where he would start to say things like, oh, I really just wish we could go to Epcot right now or something. Or wouldn't it be great if we could have, you know, a drink at La Cava. So, um, yeah. And, and here we are.

[00:07:21] And now he really enjoys Disney for Disney. Um, but we also, I think what I have learned is that I have to build in some downtime for him and I have to just continue to reiterate and make it clear that should you not want to do what we're doing, if you want to go back to the resort and hang out at the pool while we're doing this other thing, then yes, it's your vacation. Go do it. That's fine.

[00:07:48] As long as you don't care that we're still like traipsing around the park, that is totally fine. The only asterisk, my caveat here is if we're doing something I paid extra for, no, you're staying with me. Yes. So, um, so Tom is, Tom is similar in the sense that he wants it to feel like a vacation. And the last time, not to keep talking about the last time, but the last time we went, my goal in planning was to make it perfect.

[00:08:17] I wanted him to love it. I wanted him to fall in love with every, everything about Disney. Mm-hmm. And I asked for input and he wasn't really interested in giving much input. Mm-hmm. Um, he didn't love staying at the boardwalk. Again, food is his motivation. And he was like, you know, there was no food in the hotel. Mm-hmm. And I was like, no, you had the whole boardwalk. And he was like, yeah, but I just wanted to go downstairs and get something to eat. So, uh, it's funny that that was what stood out to him.

[00:08:47] But when we went to the Polly, we sat at the Tiki Bar and he's like, oh my God, I could sit at this Tiki Bar all day and people watch and eat. You know, have a drink and whatever. So, it's just, it was, it was funny to hear his feedback after. Mm-hmm. So, um, you'll see through our plans that I have built in a lot of downtime. Mm-hmm. Because I want a vacation too. And I've been to Disney enough. I don't need to spend from the time I wake up till the time I go to bed in the park. Right.

[00:09:16] And you'll, you'll see that there's not a, there's not a ton of park time this trip. And that's fine with me. That's A-okay with me. So. Okay. How involved at all has he been in this particular trip's planning? Um, he said he wanted to stay at the Polly. And that was it? Um, we initially planned a triple split stay. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And he.

[00:09:45] Which I've done before and it's not for the faint of heart. Well, we're not doing that anymore. He just is not aware of that. Oh. So he picked. Yeah, that's the surprise. Okay. So he picked the resorts that he, that interested him. So we were gonna do one night initially at, um, Port Orleans and then I moved it to Coronado. Then I moved it to the Caribbean beach and then back to Coronado. And then I was like, I'm just gonna do the Polly the first night too. Like this is crazy. Mm-hmm.

[00:10:15] And then we were gonna do the Polly and then go over to Coronado. And maybe a week ago, I emailed my, um, travel agent. I said, can you just get me pricing for those last few nights at the Polly? So we're doing the Polly the whole time. He just does not know that yet. Okay. All right. All right. So that's, that is a surprise for him. So I said to him, do not come down when I'm there. That's gonna be a welcome surprise, I think, for somebody who really wants to feel like he's having a vacation.

[00:10:42] Um, we're staying at the tower for the first part. We couldn't get the tower for the second part. So we're moving over to the main building the second part. So it's a little bit of a split, but not... Not a real split. Yeah. Not a chaotic split that we... Okay. Initially planned. So he had some say in where he wanted to stay. And then I knew where I wanted to have dinner certain nights. Mm-hmm. So I sent him menus and said, can you pick between this and this? Mm-hmm. And he did.

[00:11:11] He knew Topolino's dinner was my only non-negotiable. That is where I wanted to have dinner. Um, I, I was trying to decide if we wanted to go to California Grill. Um, but he wants to do a monorail crawl. And I was like, perfect. So we'll, we'll do that. Um, he wants to go to Wine Bar George because we went there the last time for brunch and he is a breakfast guy. So he's like, I want to do that again. So it's Charles. They, they, they, they have friends.

[00:11:40] Um, so he, he definitely had some say in, um, where we were staying, where we were dining. Mm-hmm. And then initially we were only going to do one park day. We were only going to go to Epcot. Mm-hmm. And when I went down last year, I, Magic Kingdom has never been my favorite park. And I went and I fell in love with it. And I was like, can we go to Magic Kingdom too? And he was like, yeah, that's fine. He was like, but can we not rope drop? And I was like, totally fine with me.

[00:12:09] So, um, we definitely, we're definitely doing things a bit differently than we did last time, but that's pretty much what he had, had the say in. So, so. Okay. I mean, pretty, pretty involved. It sounds like it. Okay. So. All right. You mentioned your travel agent. So let's give them a shout out. Who did you use? I used Beth with Main Street Magic. Beth Johnson with Main Street Magic. Okay. Fantastic. We will get her information and put it in the show notes. Um, all right.

[00:12:39] Let us walk through all of the details. Okay. What kind of park tickets do you have? You said you're not going in very much. How many days did you settle on? Just single, two single days. Oh, you got two single days instead of a two day ticket. Oh, maybe I did get a two day ticket. I have like four days to, or three days to use it or four days to use it. Yeah. That sounds right. So two day ticket, four days to use it. Yeah. And FYI, just in case you change your mind when you're down there, as long as like you

[00:13:06] haven't used all your park days, you can upgrade for third and fourth day or whatever if you need to. Okay. So two day tickets and are they single park tickets or hopper? Okay. Nope. Single park. Okay. Have you opted for any extras? Like, are you planning to do multi-pass? Are you planning to do a dessert party or anything like that? I mean, we're going to do lightning lanes. Okay. I don't think that's what you're asking.

[00:13:36] No, that's part of it. Just like anything that you're like doing extra, like anything you pay extra for like that. We did that and then I bought the photo pass. Okay. Good. Good to know. All right. New Hampshire to Orlando. Yes. How are you getting there? We are flying out of Logan. Mm hmm. Um, we're taking a one o'clock flight. We should be there by four or four thirty and then we'll either Uber or Lyft to the Poly. Okay.

[00:14:04] And this is Tuesday, July 7th. We're talking about. Yes. Are you planning anything for this arrival night as far as dinner is concerned? I don't have anything planned. Um, my thought is we would maybe do the walk up at Wailulu. Um, or go to Captain Cook's. I would like to watch the water pageant from the beach and that starts at 845. So I was thinking maybe we could get a drink at the Tiki bar also.

[00:14:31] Um, for the Tiki bar. Mm hmm. Um, are you just going to do like the walk up? Are you trying to actually get on the list to go inside? Not, um, not the garage, not the one, not, um, Trader Sam's. Oh, are you just talking about the, like the pool bar? Uh, whatever's in the lobby. Um, Tambu Lounge. Oh, yes. Right outside of Ohana. Yes.

[00:14:59] That's what we, that's what I meant when I said Tiki bar. Sorry. Oh, okay. All right. No, that's fine. All right. He keeps calling it a Tiki bar. So I have Tiki bar in my head. That's okay. That's okay. So that's pretty much the first evening. That sounds like a good way to, to start your trip without having any necessarily concrete plans because then you can just sort of wing it based on what you're feeling like, or like if you let's, I'm going to knock on some more just in case you have delays or anything like that. Um, all right.

[00:15:29] Wednesday, July the 8th. Okay. Okay. So this is our magic kingdom day. Um, I have an eight 30 breakfast scheduled at the grand Floridian cafe. Um, so we'll either walk over there or take them on a rail. And then my hope is that we'll be at magic kingdom by 10 30.

[00:15:54] Um, probably stay there till around four and then take a break. Um, I have a dinner reservation at why Lulu that night or that afternoon. I think it's at like five and Wednesday. Um, they have extended evening hours for deluxe guests at my, at, um, the magic kingdom. So there'll be open till midnight. And are you going to take advantage of that? Yes.

[00:16:24] So that break is going to allow us to probably get into the park around seven or eight. Um, my only concern with that is happily ever after starts at nine. And I know the hub's going to be really busy. So I'm trying to manage that just with the crowds. And if this is going to be a vacation, I would like to not start it off with lots of crowds trying to, you know, fight through it.

[00:16:53] So I'm, I need to, I need to figure that out still. Uh, what I'm going to say is that if you're getting there around seven. Yep. And happily ever after is at nine. I don't know that the hub is going to be that crazy. Okay. And even if it is, let's say it is. Yep.

[00:17:13] I would recommend just when you get down main street and you're trying to make your way to whatever you're trying to do, just peel off there either at your first opportunity to turn right after the ice cream parlor. Yeah. And cut like cutler you're going through tomorrow and terrace. Yeah. Um, and past the purple wall in that direction to get to tomorrow land or make a left at Casey's or even like walk through the Emporium the entire way. Yep.

[00:17:43] Out the door through Casey's and then just jet past, um, everything over there to get over into adventure land. Okay. You can avoid the hub pretty well if you, if you try hard enough. Okay. All right. I just, I know that I don't care. I mean, I don't love crowds, right? We're going to Disney.

[00:18:03] There's going to be some, I just don't want him to get frustrated and overwhelmed just because he's not, he doesn't know how packed that area gets. So that's why I said to him, like, we need to be mindful of when we head back just to avoid that. So that's good to know that that's a good piece of advice. So thank you for that. And if you're trying to avoid the crowds, it sounds like maybe you're not planning to watch Happily Ever After while you're in the park. Okay. Which is the perfect time to get other things done. Yes.

[00:18:30] I wouldn't mind getting on the people mover and, you know, swing it that way. Yeah. That's kind of my thought. So many rides you can ride during the fireworks and it just makes it even more magical. I mean, we're talking like Tiana's if you're coming out over the drop, Big Thunder, People Mover. So many good opportunities for that. Yeah. And I don't want to watch it at Magic Kingdom, just in that area. But you'll see, you know, I have things I want to accomplish and, you know, I want to see the fireworks and I want to see things.

[00:19:00] But from the beach or from California Grill or, you know, from, you know, different areas. So. Yeah. Makes sense. All right. You said you're getting lightning lanes. Yes. So I assume you're doing it for both days. No. Oh, okay. Just for this first day or for the second part? Yes. Just for this first day. Okay. So I know it's too early for you to book them yet. But what are your priorities for what you're planning to pick for your three?

[00:19:33] This is my list of what I want to do. I want to do Winnie the Pooh. I want to do Peter Pan's Flight. I want to do The Little Mermaid. I love that ride. People Mover. Country Bears. I want to do Buzz. I want to do Tiana's. I don't care about Pirates. I don't care about Haunted Mansion. But I'll do them. And I've ridden Tron. I don't need to do it again. But I will if it's not like 30 bucks to ride it.

[00:20:01] My hope is that my tier one is going to be Peter Pan's Flight just because we're not getting there at Rope Drop. However, I know that I want to spend the second part of the day to the right. So in the direction of Fantasyland. The second star to the right? Yes. I could probably ride Peter Pan's later in the day.

[00:20:28] And I don't know yet. That is something I need to figure out. But if I don't end my day to the right, Peter Pan's Flight, Winnie the Pooh, and probably Buzz would be my top three. If I start in Frontierland, I'm hoping Tiana's is a tier one. Right? I think it is a tier two. Oh.

[00:20:58] Yeah. Hold on. Okay. Please let me check. Lightning, Lane, Tears, Magic Kingdom. Tier one. Oh, it is a tier one now. Why did I think it was a tier two? Ew. I feel like it was at first. Hmm. Maybe I'm misremembering. Okay. So, yes. Tiana's and Peter Pan's are both tier one. Okay. So one of those will be my tier one.

[00:21:26] I will say, I think if it were me, I would aim for Peter Pan because I think Tiana's you can pretty easily pick it up after you've scanned into another one. All right. Well, that's good to know, too. Okay. Yeah. Because with Peter Pan, you're competing with people who want to write it for nostalgia. You're competing with families with young kids. Like, Tiana, there's a group of people who are not going to write it because they don't want to do a big drop. And they don't want to get wet. That's true. That's true. Although, it's going to be hot. Yes.

[00:21:56] It's going to be so hot. I'll probably get Peter Pan's flight. So when I went down last year, I don't remember what I got for my first lightning lane. Mm-hmm. I do remember rope dropping Peter Pan's flight. Mm-hmm. So I just don't remember what I got as my tier one. So anyway, but I like that ride. And I love Winnie the Pooh. I love that ride. I think it's so fun. I realize that that's probably an unpopular opinion.

[00:22:26] But I really enjoy it. So I'm going to get that. And then Buzz. Because I want to try the redone ride. Right, right, right. All right. That sounds good. So we'll see what you actually end up getting. And you said already you don't care about riding Tron again. Do you care about Seven Dwarfs? I don't care about it. I rode it last time. I don't need to ride it again. I don't need to pay extra to ride it. But with that... Extended evening hours. Yes. Yeah. So that's an option. Tom has some issues with motion sickness.

[00:22:56] So I don't know that he would be able to do that. I know he cannot do Tron. Which is fine. I just don't... I don't want to leave him just hanging out. You know what I mean? Which he'd probably welcome the break. But I don't want to, you know, just have him sit on a park bench and wait. So we'll see what happens. Okay. Yeah. Play it by ear. Or play it by ears. Yes. If you're wearing your ears. Okay.

[00:23:26] I almost wore mine. Oh, for this interview? I was like, she's going to think I'm a big nerd. No, no, no. You would be surprised. Well, maybe you wouldn't be surprised. How many people are wearing like a Disney shirt when they talk to me? Or are sitting in a place in their home where I can see their Disney stuff behind them? Or whatever. All right. Thursday, July the 9th. What's the plan there?

[00:23:49] So because we'll be at Magic Kingdom late, my hope is that we will sleep in. But Tom and I both work odd hours. We're up at 3, 3.30 every morning. So sleeping in for us is never past four, really. Like even on a Saturday, it's awful.

[00:24:14] But if we don't get back till midnight, I'm hoping that we sleep in. So we're just going to have kind of a chill day. I want to go to the gym that morning. He probably will want to at some point. I don't have anything planned as far as breakfast goes. I just wrote Captain Cooks maybe. I'd like to have a pool day. And we want to do a monorail crawl that night. Two follow-up questions.

[00:24:44] One is you mentioned that you're moving from Polytower to the older section of Polynesian. What day do you switch again? Saturday. Okay. Okay. Second question. For your monorail crawl, have you set any rules that like, okay, we're going to get a drink and a snack at every place? Or like any kind of like parameters you're trying to set up for yourself? Not really.

[00:25:10] So I just wrote monorail crawl progressive dinner start at California Grill. Oh, okay. So are you going to go to California Grill to the bar and get an appetizer to start? Yes. Okay. I've been on a dirty martini kick. And I heard they have a really good one. Okay. So we'll see what happens. Are you going to go down to Steakhouse 71 while you're there?

[00:25:39] Is that part of this crawl? I don't know yet. Because I have a breakfast on Friday morning at Steakhouse 71. Mm-hmm. I'm just going to say, their lounge is amazing. They have really good drinks. Okay. That's good to know. And they have some other bites and stuff there too. So if you go have an appetizer at California Grill, you could go down and maybe have a second drink at Steakhouse 71 if you wanted.

[00:26:09] And I can personally recommend the crab cake appetizer there. Okay. I had it recently. And their drinks are amazing. And the cast members there are so good. So are you saying that we should do Steakhouse 71 instead of California Grill or in addition to? No. Okay. I think you could do it in addition to. Okay. You also, I wonder, so I don't know the answer to this. I'm just going to throw this out there.

[00:26:38] When you have a reservation at California Grill for dinner, even if you're not there, when it's fireworks time, you can come back. I wonder if the same is true if you just go eat at the bar. It is. Okay. That's why I wanted to start there. Okay. So I had said earlier that I'm not interested in watching the fireworks from Magic Kingdom, but there's different ways to watch them. And this is why I was trying to decide if we wanted to have dinner here.

[00:27:05] And I was like, oh, we could just go to the bar and have a drink or an appetizer or whatever and then come back. So that's my thought. Okay. All right. Well, I'm just putting it. Steakhouse 71 for the lounge is also an option to hop down to if you're just trying to think through. All right. Where do you think you'll head after you've wrapped up your contemporary time? Because that will put you back at the Polynesian next, I believe.

[00:27:31] So I truly haven't given this that much thought, believe it or not, because you should see my spreadsheets. I really don't know. I think that this particular part of the plan is what's most up in the air. And I say that because I know that I would like to start at California Grill.

[00:27:55] I, I, we went to Narcoozi's when we were there two years ago for our anniversary dinner and we loved it. It's just beautiful there. So I know I want to go there, but then, um, I'm drawing a blank on the other restaurant. Um, Citrico's? Yes. We haven't been there. So I'm like, well, do we go to Citrico's just because we haven't been there?

[00:28:18] And then I'm like, do we, do we find a different time during our trip because we're right on the monorail so we can go to Citrico's then? Maybe we go to both. I can have, I can have two drinks tops. So I'm saying we're doing this. Oh, okay. Yeah. Like I, I can't hold my liquor and we're, we're not huge drinkers. Like we'll have a, like a drink or two on a Saturday.

[00:28:42] So it's not like it, I'm talking a big game right now, but so what I, what I have on my spreadsheet, I was looking for it. It says monorail crawl need to figure out. Um, I put start at California grill, go back for fireworks. And then I put dirty martini and then I put stayco 71 and then I put poly next. I said after poly, we can go to the grand Floridian, hit Narcooosie's and Citrico's.

[00:29:07] And then I put end at Tambu lounge, but I don't know that I want to end there if we're going to go back to the California grill for fireworks. So. Yeah. I'm going to say like, because you're staying at the poly. We don't need to. I might consider skipping it for your monorail crawl. And then just come back for the fireworks. And so you kind of, you just do like, would I call it a crawl or would I call it like a boomerang?

[00:29:31] So you go contemporary and then over to Grand Floridian, do whatever you're going to do over there. Maybe that's where you have your entree. Yeah. And then come back over to contemporary for the fireworks and maybe dessert at one of those places. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know. And then under it, I put monorail crawl thoughts. Territory lounge at Geyser Point. I know that's not on the monorail.

[00:30:00] But I put, you can boat from the Magic Kingdom or the contemporary. So I was like, oh, that's a thought. And then I was like, Enchanted Rose looks like it opens at noon. Citrico is probably better than Enchanted Rose. Narcusi opens at five. I love their wild mushroom risotto. And I was like, oh, that would be a good way to, you know, get some food in your stomach. And then I put Steakhouse 71 and then I put California Grill.

[00:30:24] So I have a lot of thoughts on it, but I haven't, I mean, I have some time to finalize it. And I may not finalize it till that morning, really. Like, oh, okay. Like, what are we going to do? So. Well, and maybe you don't finalize it at all. Like, maybe it's one of those things where, like, you know where you're starting. And then as you are wrapping up your dirty martini and your appetizer at California Grill, you say, these are the next two choices.

[00:30:53] Do you want to go to Steakhouse 71 lounge? Or do you want to head on over to the Grand Floridian and show him a menu? And then he picks between, and then it's a game. Like, he's like a choose your own adventure. Yep. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. All right. We'll figure it out. It's going to be fun either way. Yeah. Even if we end up at the California Grill the whole time, it's still going to be fun. But I don't, he's very excited about this crawl. So, again, he is food motivated.

[00:31:26] All right. So that brings us to Friday, July the 10th, which is your 10-year anniversary. So how are you celebrating your big day? Um, so I have breakfast plans at Steakhouse 71 around 930 that morning. Um, I would like to do more pool time. Um, that day. My breakfast and my dinner plans are set.

[00:31:56] So we're going to Topolino's for dinner, which I'm very excited about. Um, that is my number one restaurant that I've been to at Disney on just, I love it there. And I think a lot of people do. Um, so I just put, should we go to the boardwalk after dinner, walk around? Um, I wouldn't mind watching the fireworks from Epcot. Um, whether we're on the Skyliner or if we're out on the terrace.

[00:32:24] Kind of have a low-key day, but with breakfast and dinner planned. Okay. Well, that sounds lovely. Yeah. I also love Topolino's dinner. And I think I love it at breakfast too, but that's where it gets all the love. Everybody always talks about that. But the dinner is superb. So. Yes. Um, what do you like there? Uh, I like to get the filet. Okay. And I am not somebody who gets a steak every time a steak is available to me. I have to be in the mood for it.

[00:32:54] But the, the filet there is so good. Okay. That I, I can't, I'm, I don't know. Can I order something else? I don't know. I love it so much. So. I've only been there one time. So me saying, oh my God, it's my favorite restaurant on property is, is probably extreme. But, um. But it must have made a real impression for you. Yeah. So I, for my solo trip, I went and I had a dirty martini and it was excellent. The service was excellent.

[00:33:23] Um, I got a couple appetizers. So good. Um, I wanted to get the beef cheeks the last time. Um, my server was like, the beef cheeks are amazing. I was just me at a table. I had this lovely couple next to me. My server was great. It, the views are just beautiful. But I heard him say, oh, you know, the beef cheeks, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, next time I'm going to get the beef cheeks. Will I? I don't know. That might be a little too adventurous for me.

[00:33:50] But, um, I am, I just, I love it there. It's just, it's, it's nice. So, yeah, it's really good. They also, um, have really good desserts. So recommend that you, um, give a dessert a try. My favorite is the, um, uh, what is it? It is, oh God, the creme brulee. Okay. Is what I love. And I just pulled up the menu to like see exactly what it's called.

[00:34:19] And I'm not seeing it on the menu anymore. I feel like it was scaring me. Was it like an espresso? Um, no. Okay. Oh wait, no, it is. I'm sorry. I was thrown off by the fact that it has more tiramisu in front of it. It's a tiramisu creme brulee. Oh, okay. Yes. All right. I was thinking espresso, but okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, so good. Yeah. Okay. All right. Good to know. We'll have to see what we get. But I'm also like looking at these other choices. These other choices look amazing too.

[00:34:48] So, um, all right, let's see. Let's move on to the next day. So Saturday, July the 11th is the day that you switch to the regular rooms at Polynesian. I requested a king bed on a high floor. I didn't request a building. Um, we'll get what we get. And you won't get upset. Exactly. Yes. All right. What's the plan for Saturday?

[00:35:17] We're going to Epcot. Okay. Um, so I don't have, I don't have breakfast plans. We're on Epcot. We don't need them. Um, he, he said he wanted Mexican. So we're going to go to San Angel Inn. We're not going to rope drop. Um, I would, I am definitely riding Guardians that day. It's the best. How can you not? I'm assuming that Tom won't ride it because there's no friction sickness. Okay.

[00:35:47] No. Um. So you're doing a lightning lane for that? Yes. So we probably won't ride any other rides that day. Um, he got sick on Remy's and he got sick on Soarin' last, last time we went. Um, I mean, maybe we'll do living with the land or something like that, but the last time we went, we didn't spend any time at the front of the park. And in planning this, I was realizing that because we, we came from, we walked from the

[00:36:16] boardwalk, um, through International Gateway and we just, we, that's pretty much where we hung out and it was raining so bad that day. Um, so it was, it was rainy, right? So what are you doing when it's raining? You have, you know, lily padding in between stores and things like that. Right. So I, I realized that we did not spend a ton of time at the front of the park. So I just, I wrote things I wanted to do.

[00:36:43] Um, I put living with the land club cool. Um, I would like to have some champagne in France. I know Donald is his favorite. So I know he wants to, to ride, um, three caballeros. Mm-hmm. Um, I'd like to go to the French bakery cause who doesn't want some of that deliciousness? Um, but if we need a break, I wrote, maybe we'll just head over to Topolino's, you know,

[00:37:10] later in the day after dinner and, um, you know, hang out there and have a drink and then go back. I don't know. So we'll spend, um, the day there. Or maybe, maybe not like if you've already been to Topolino's the night before, maybe if you wanted to take that break over at the Riviera, you go to Bar Riva. That's actually a really good thought too. Yeah. I hear, I've never been to Bar Riva. Um, but everybody loves it. Yeah.

[00:37:36] Um, I listened to another podcast and they, they always talk about Bar Riva. The main street dish. Yes. I didn't know if I could say that or not. No, it's fine. Bethany talks about it all the time. I'm a fangirl of a lot of podcasts. And so I'm, I'm happy to always mention other, other podcasts. I mean, they're, they're really fun to listen to and, you know, I see her Instagram and stuff, but they're always talking about Bar Riva. So. Yeah. And if you're a foodie, like that, that's really what I like about that show is it like,

[00:38:05] it has a focus like that. It's focused on food, which is kind of what I try to do here. I'm focused on trip reports and occasionally I do like non-trip reports stuff, but, but not as often. I prefer, I think a focused podcast rather than a smorgasbord. Yes. Um, but yeah, Bar Riva is, is really, really good. Um, and so if you're just wanting to go over there and just have a drink or even have a

[00:38:31] dessert or a little snackaroo or something, you're in a good place. Yeah. Or even like, let's say you're like, I couldn't eat or drink another thing. Yeah. I would be happy just sitting at Riviera in a chair outside or hanging in the lobby and watching the world go past. So I love to people watch me too. All right. So Sunday, July the 12th.

[00:38:57] Um, I have a wine bar George reservation at 10 45. Okay. For brunch. When we went down two years ago, he loved it. Um, he was actually a big fan of Disney Springs when we went, he was like, I like this place. But we also went, it was a very hot day in July. Um, there were not many people there. It wasn't like a Saturday night. Um, but he, he liked it and I was like, oh, maybe we'll spend some more time just at Disney Springs.

[00:39:27] Cause we really stayed in, you know, just like one area. Um, and it's so big. So I was like, oh, I bet, you know, maybe we'll head over to Splitsville. Maybe we won't. I don't know. Um, but I, I would like him to see more of it. Um, I also wouldn't mind taking the boat over, um, to another resort and just looking around with him and all of that. He's never had a beignet. So maybe take over there and have a beignet. So Disney Springs is the perfect place to sort of play it by ear.

[00:39:55] It will be a Sunday, so it might be a little bit busier. So something to think about, um, not necessarily for this trip, but I'm only mentioning it just for future trips because I know that Tom is going to be like, when are we going again? Um, I have not done this personally, but I have friends who have done it before, which is you can take a wine tasting at wine bar George with George. I have heard about that. And I don't, I don't think it's that expensive. Like you would think it'd be like this amazingly expensive thing.

[00:40:26] And I think it's fairly affordable and that he's just amazing. So just putting it out there. When we went down last time, George was, and he was there and he was just, you know, he was working and it seems to be pretty common. And he was so, I mean, he's just a regular person. We're all regular people, but he was so nice. So yeah, yeah, it was kind of cool. So anyway, we'll spend time at, um, Disney Springs.

[00:40:53] I'm very envious because if I recall, you're staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I am, but on, by this day I will be over at Boardwalk. So we are, we're doing a triple split stay because we're adding on Universal. Hard Rock Hotel over at Universal for two nights. Then we're doing five nights, I think at Animal Kingdom Lodge and then two nights at Boardwalk. Um, I put, maybe take a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Just, I love it there.

[00:41:24] Oh, it's so beautiful. My dream is to stay there one day, one day I will win. Um, but I knew what is, what's the trade-off, right? You go and he says, oh, I want to stay here. And it's like, okay, I'm trying to get you to understand the love and wanting to go. So that's the trade-off. Um, but one day I will stay there. So anyway, I have maybe bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge and then I wrote pool time.

[00:41:50] Um, I, I don't think it's very far from Disney Springs to Animal Kingdom Lodge. So maybe this is one where if you decide you want to do it, just Uber or Lyft over. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm not, uh, that's fine with me. And we may not, but we may, who knows? Um, and then because we're staying at Coronado on Sunday, um, for listeners, she's doing air quotes because that's the original plan that Tom does not know is no longer happening. Yes.

[00:42:19] Um, we are going to Toledo for dinner. Oh, okay. Um, which when I showed him menus, this was the one he was like, we should go there. And I was like, we should go there. So, um, when he realizes that we're not staying at Coronado, I may say, do you still want to do that? Or would you prefer something else? So that may change.

[00:42:47] Um, I don't mind if it, it does. I don't mind if it doesn't. Uh, but that may change. I've never been over to Coronado. I've had three or four separate times that I've planned to stay there and that I've changed it every time. Um, nothing against Coronado, just for some reason, it just, it hasn't happened yet. So, um, but we'll see. I wouldn't mind doing another, you know, type of crawl, whether it's a Skyliner crawl or,

[00:43:16] you know, hop on the monorail loop. We're so close to so many places. So we'll see. All right. Monday, July 13th, which is the day that I leave Orlando. Um, I, I don't have a ton planned. Um, I did last weekend find a Topolino's breakfast reservation at like 930 and I booked it and I don't know if I'll keep it, but it's nice to have the option. Um, for sure.

[00:43:48] I, I also wrote dinner at Topolino's. We don't have a reservation for dinner there. Um, because we were trying to figure out if we were going to go there Friday or Monday because we were deciding between California grill and Topolino's. And then where he said Toledo interested him, we were trying to figure that out. And I know Toledo's closed on Monday, but we were trying to figure that out. So, um, that day is just up in the air. I wrote pool day. Um, I've never been a big, let's go to the pool on vacation person ever.

[00:44:18] I've never been to a Disney pool ever. Um, but where he is, where is he, where he's more interested in a, can we slow this down? Can we have a vacation? Um, so he's a teacher. He got out of school yesterday. He also coaches football. So he is very busy, um, year round.

[00:44:42] So when he can shut down and shut things off, he's like, Hey, can we like just relax? I have to give in also. So, um, so I, I, I know I have pool day a lot written in my notes, but we'll see. I mean, just because we're going to do a pool day doesn't mean it's going to be 12 hours at the pool. It could be two hours. Oh no, no, no. Let's go here and this and that. So, um, sure. A lot of this will change.

[00:45:09] Any other dining plans for Monday besides, uh, the breakfast? No, no. I, I wrote, you should eat your leftovers from, um, Toledo. That's what I wrote. Okay. So yeah. All right. All right. So that brings us to Tuesday, July 14th, which is your departure day. Our flights at eight. What time do you get back into Boston? 11 15 AM.

[00:45:39] All right. Seeing that you have an 8 AM flight, which is an early flight. And with how much time you have to get there ahead of time, how are you getting over to the airport? Are you doing a car service? Are you going to do the pre-scheduled Uber or Lyft because of the hour that you will need one? My thought is if our flights at 8 10, I don't have TSA pre-check or anything, but they offer like the seven day in advance, skip the line.

[00:46:09] I can't think of what it's called. Um, I will schedule, I will schedule that. And my thought is I will probably Uber or Lyft, maybe make the request at 5 30 for a pickup by six. Mm hmm. Okay. You can also, if you are, uh, I always use Lyft and you can pre-schedule a, uh, pickup to the airport and you just tell it like what time you want to make it to the airport.

[00:46:39] And it will, uh, at least, I think this is the same everywhere, but like if you do the pre-schedule a Lyft to an airport and they are late to pick you up, they owe you a hundred dollars. Oh, that's good. So I always do that. The only, the only catch is that because it's pre-scheduled, they, they will not wait maybe as long as like they would, if you just did like a normal pickup. Like if they come, they expect you to be there and you pretty much have like five minutes. And that's fine.

[00:47:08] I'm not that. That's fine. I'm very rigid. Yeah. So that would be good for me, but all right, that's good too. And when you schedule it in the app, you can choose whether you want to tell it like, like, let's say pick me up at 5 AM versus make sure I'm to the airport by whatever time you can pick. Okay. Um, so yeah, that's what I would do if I were. All right. That's good to know. Thank you. All right. And so that brings you back home.

[00:47:38] And, uh, you mentioned that Tom is a teacher. I'm imagining perhaps he has his summer off, but maybe not if he has football coaching responsibilities and that sort of thing. Yeah. What is, what is your world like right after this vacation is over? Um, I will see him on Thanksgiving is what I always say to him. Um, so, which is true, but it's not, um, he has weight room at 6 AM three days a week. Mm-hmm.

[00:48:02] He has an evening once a week, but he also has several meetings mixed in. So he's, he's out a lot, um, which is lovely. I love it so much. Um, but he, um, he, so he's been coaching for 30 years. Well, he's been in education for 30 years. He's been coaching most of it. Um, and he had been with the same team forever.

[00:48:27] And then he left there two years ago and he assisted a really big school in, in our state. And he just got another head coaching position. So this is year one of that again. So he's trying to just, you know, get established himself. And build the relationship with the kids and all of that. So it's busy. And then with my job, I go into budget season basically around the same time. So we are very busy. So, but it's okay.

[00:48:57] It's all right. All right. Well, this is going to be such a fun trip. You have a lot of stuff to look forward to, but you also have a lot of free time and flexibility to look forward to, which is what will make it feel like a vacation for the two of you. Yes. Um, and I, I'm, I'm so type a and I'm so rigid. So like when he said, could we not rope drop? I was like, can we not rope drop? What does that even look like?

[00:49:26] And then I was like, that's okay. We don't have to rope drop. And then the trade-off is, Hey, if we're not going to rope drop that day, I want to stay later. Okay. That's fine. We'll take a little bit of a break and then we'll go back and be there probably till midnight. I don't know that I'll make till midnight, but I'm going to try. So yeah, things like that. So yeah, it'll be good. And then it's going to be interesting only doing two park days because we're there for a full week. And am I going to get bored?

[00:49:54] I doubt it, but it'll be nice to relax. Yeah, I, for sure. And if you can allow yourself to plan for some spontaneity, that way you get the best of both worlds. Your type A is satisfied with like this particular afternoon is going to be spontaneous. And then when you get to that afternoon, you allow yourself to go more with the flow because I am, I don't want to call myself a recovering type A. Like once type A, always type A. Yes.

[00:50:24] But I have definitely learned to go with the flow a little bit more when it comes to Disney and not get so wrapped up in if something didn't go according to my plan or if we didn't get to everything. And part of that, I think, is the privilege of how often I get to go. So I will acknowledge that. But I think the other part of it, as I have gotten older, it's like I have to just like

[00:50:52] really admit to myself that it's not that much fun to be so rigid that you just, you spend your whole time being like frustrated, right? And when you can let yourself go a little bit, even within, you know, a little bit of like guardrails of this is my plan spot any time, then you have a much better time. I know you're right. I recognize that and I acknowledge that.

[00:51:20] I'm going to try because I want it to be fun and I don't want to come home. And like last time, the day we rope dropped Epcot and it was pouring. Why did we need to rope drop? You know what I mean? Like there was no need. We got everything done we wanted to. It wasn't necessary. And then we were frustrated because we were soaked all day. You know what I mean? Like what's the trade off?

[00:51:50] So I realized that. So yeah, it'll be fine. It'll be fun. So I'm excited. I'm excited for you. And like we said before, I will be down there at the same time. I'm just going to take a quick look. Let me see what days you're in the parks. Wednesday, the 8th, you're in Magic Kingdom. Saturday, the 11th, you're in Epcot. Let me see if that aligns at all.

[00:52:20] Wednesday, the 8th, I am in Animal Kingdom. But I think I am going to hop over to Magic Kingdom for extended evening hours myself. So I might actually see you there. Okay. And it looks like on the 11th, we are planning to do Hollywood Studios in the morning and hop to Epcot later in the day. So I might see you. Okay.

[00:52:45] So I will definitely, I think I have your phone number if you entered it in when you submitted your trip report. So I'll shoot you a text just so that you have my number. And if you on one of those days are like, hey, are you here? I want to say hi. Then I can just be like, oh, no, I'll be there in two hours or whatever. Okay. Sounds good to me. Okay. All right. All right. Well, it was very nice to talk to you. And I will talk to you after this magical trip has concluded. Sounds good.

[00:53:15] Thanks, Virginia. Thank you. Thank you so much to Kim for joining me on the podcast. You can find the link to Kim's travel agent, Beth, in the show notes if you're looking for your own travel agent. After dreaming of a stay at the Polynesian, was it all that it was hyped up to be? You'll have to tune in to Kim's post-trip interview to find out. So until you get the chance to listen to that, keep daydreaming about where you long to be.