Part 7- December 7, 2001
I woke up at 8:15 today, and had the treat of cheesecake for breakfast again. Of course, after thinking I was so cool to buy it the night before and keep it on ice so I could have "breakfast" without having to leave my room, I had forgotten a fork. So, I ate cheesecake with my fingers!
I sat out on my balcony to animal watch while I ate, but a really loud kid on a nearby balcony kind of killed the relaxing aspect of it. He was making lots of comments about everything, and finally said a loud "There's people outside!" to which I wanted to reply "Yes, and they can HEAR you!" There should be some kind of "Quiet Savannah" where everyone promises to be quiet when they're on their balconies. A group of exotic-looking birds was milling around just below my balcony, and it was neat to see anything that close. Of course, Loud Kids decided to try to make loud noises to try to scare the bird away. The parents obviously thought it was funny, and started making goose noises, and screaming "Catch the goose!" It's 8:30am, and I haven't had coffee. SHUT UP! I have no problem with people having fun, especially kids getting a little noisy, but really, all 100 rooms around you do not want to hear you trying to be funny.
I think that if I do stay here again, I'd probably request the 2nd floor. Although being up higher gives you a broader view, you don't get that closeness that being down lower would offer.
I'm usually "out the door" 15 minutes after waking up, but on this trip I've started to really appreciate taking a couple of hours to get ready at a leisurely pace, eat, and enjoy the resort.
I caught the 10:30 bus to Epcot, where my first stop was Ice Station Cool (free soda at WDW? Visit often!) and then Food Rocks! Nate called to tell me he was monorailing to Epcot, and to call him after I was finished futureworlding. (Don't you love how WDW is an English teacher's nightmare- every noun becomes a verb!) I waited at the rope drop to get into Canada. I tried calling Nate, but couldn't get a hold of him, so I decided I'd just do some World Showcasing solo for a while. After entering Canada, I decided I was more in the mood to go the opposite direction, so I walked over to Mexico. Of course, as soon as I got there, Nate called me to say he was in Canada, so I walked BACK to Canada to meet him! We wandered around saying Eeh a lot, and decided to make it our goal to find the most attractive men in the "World". In the UK, we decided this would be facilitated by buying passports, which would give us an excuse to talk to hunky cm's. In France, I drooled over all of the Van Gogh stuff in the gift shop, and then we went out and drooled over the CM working the ice cream cart.
Nate looking across the WS lagoon.
We stopped in Japan to watch the drummers (very cool!) and China to watch the Acrobats (even cooler!) and then do some shopping. When we asked in China where to get our passports signed, the CM told us "Behind the Buddha". Well, of course there are about a zillion Buddhas in China! We discovered that in the outdoor part of the shop, there is a giant golden Buddha with his arms raised over his head, as if he's saying "WOOHOO!" We named him Party Buddha, and he became a running joke. To commemorate our love of it, Nate bought me a mini purple glow-in-the-dark Party Buddha as an early birthday present. Woohoo!
We finally grabbed a spot to watch Tapestry of Dreams, putting the stickers in our Passports as we waited.
Nate shows off his completed passport.
We had a great time singing and dancing along with the Tapestry parade. I wish it still existed!
It was time for me to go check into the Polynesian now, and what a surprise I got when I got there! I stepped into my room...
and as I was setting down my stuff, I thought I saw water out my window. I looked out, and not only was there water, but a castle view!
It's kind of hard to see in this photo, but the castle is right in the center.
This is my favorite place in the whole world! I sat on my balcony, eating chocolate cake and going through the pictures on my digital camera, waiting for the fireworks at MK when the Electrical Water Pageant music started- Bonus! Then the fireworks started, and they were just as wonderful as seeing them at MK. Absolutely beautiful! Example of why I love the Polynesian: while I was waiting for everything to start, a CM went by on a golf cart, and the people on the balcony next to me yelled down and asked him where laundry was. He actually stopped his cart and got out to talk to them (keep in mind we were on the 3rd floor) and explained how to get there. He then asked when they were going, and they said right then. He told them to come on down and he would drive them over! What service! From now on I'd love to stay in the lagoon view at the Polynesian whenever I can afford it- this is where the Magic is!