In this week’s episode, Kelli takes us to a really cool restaurant at Disneyland Paris – Captain Jack’s! At Disneyland Paris, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride runs through a pirate-themed restaurant with a really unique menu. Chris tells us the history of and his favorite reasons to say at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.
Listen to us on your favorite podcast platform or at these links:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/supercalifragilistic-awesome-disney-podcast/id1519529786
IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-supercalifragilistic-aweso-68324055/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aEKXzO7tTCqZfnvJnzAPC
For show notes, transcript, and more details from this episode, please visit: https://scfadp.com/season-5/disney-news-1-23-captain-jacks-in-disneyland-paris-and-the-history-of-the-polynesian-resort/
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All music for this episode is available through a creative commons license. The background music for the News segment was created by Kevin Macleod: Fuzzball Parade by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5044-fuzzball-parade
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
For more things DISNEY (and Disney food reviews), check out our website: https://scfadp.com Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at @SCFADP!
Show Notes:
Chris and Kelli discuss updates and news in Disney parks, including the launch of ticket sales for D23 Expo and the controversy surrounding the limited edition Figment popcorn bucket. They also compare menu options at Disneyland Paris to those in American Disney parks, with Kelli highlighting unique and delicious items. The pair also shares personal experiences and memories of visiting Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, including its cultural significance and recent upgrades. They encourage listeners to visit the Super Seed for Cali website for more Disney-related content.
Outline
Disney podcast, including news and meet and greets.
- Chris and Kelli discuss Disney-related topics and welcome listeners from Magnolia, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona.
- Chris and Kelli discuss North Pole, Alaska, and its year-round Christmas decorations.
- D23 Expo tickets are available but not sold out, with add-on pricing options offered.
- Chris and Kelli discuss Meet and Greets returning to Walt Disney World, including Donald Duck’s return to the Mexican pavilion and the addition of PhotoPass photographers.
- Chris and Kelli also mention the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser rolls seeking actors and singers, with immersive experiences for employees and guests.
Disney theme park news, including new restaurant, hiring bonus, and refurbishments.
- Kelli and Chris discuss Disneyland’s new Guardians of the Galaxy ride and hiring bonuses, Raya’s debut, and menu changes at the park.
- Kelli and Chris discuss the price of a special popcorn bucket at Disney World, with Kelli pointing out that it’s $1,000 and made of plastic.
- Chris shares refurbishment news for Animal Kingdom’s dinosaur attraction and the Disneyland monorail, with the monorail refurb being pushed back to March 6.
Disney restaurants, including Italy booth review and French menu recommendations.
- Chris and Kelli discuss Jesse’s Trading Post at Hollywood Studios, including its menu items and prices.
- Chris and Kelli discuss Disneyland Paris restaurants, with a focus on the pirate-themed Captain Jack’s restaurant.
- Kelli praises the French menus at Disneyland Paris, finding them superior to those in US parks.
Caribbean-inspired menu options at a restaurant.
- Kelli and Chris discuss menu options at a Caribbean restaurant, including starter, main course, and dessert options.
- Kelli and Chris discuss menu options at a restaurant, including vegetarian options.
- Kelli and Chris discuss Caribbean-inspired dishes at a restaurant, including cod fritters and slow-roasted suckling pig.
Pirates of the Caribbean menu at Disney World.
- Kelli and Chris discuss Pirates of the Caribbean and desserts at a restaurant.
- Kelli and Chris discuss a French restaurant at Walt Disney World with a menu in both French and English.
Polynesian Resort history and culture.
- Chris and Kelli discuss the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World, highlighting its history and cultural significance.
- Kelli shares her experience working at the resort and hosting the Spirit of Aloha dinner show, which was considered one of the most authentic luaus outside of Hawaii.
- Chris and Kelli reminisce about their childhood visit to the Polynesian Village Resort and how it stood out from other Disney resorts.
- They discuss the history of the resort, including its original name change and recent name change back to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort history, amenities, and updates.
- Chris and Kelli discuss the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World, including its history, architecture, and amenities.
- The resort’s longhouses were constructed off-site and dropped into place, and the lobby features a three-story waterfall with Polynesian plant species.
- Polly’s Playhouse evolved from Mouseketeer Club to Lilo’s Playhouse, offering kids’ activities while parents relax.
- Chris and Kelli discuss Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, including its history, room rates, and bonus podcast episodes.
- D23 Expo News
- Meet and Greets Returning and Along with Others
- https://blogmickey.com/2022/01/donald-duck-meet-and-greet-returns-to-mexico-pavilion-at-epcot/
- https://blogmickey.com/2022/01/vanellope-from-wreck-it-ralph-now-meeting-again-at-epcot/
- https://blogmickey.com/2022/01/joy-from-inside-out-returns-to-meet-and-greet-location-at-epcot/
- https://blogmickey.com/2022/01/new-character-sightings-include-photopass-photographers/
- https://blogmickey.com/2022/01/kevin-from-pixars-up-returning-to-disneys-animal-kingdom-next-week/
- https://blogmickey.com/2022/01/viva-gaia-street-band-returns-to-disneys-animal-kingdom/
- Celebration of Frestival of the Lion King showtimes have been reduced due to COVID outbreak
- Raya makes her Disneyland debut as part of the Lunar New Year celebrations
- Disney seeking actors and singers for Star Wars: Galactic Starcuiser roles
- Disney has begun recruiting cast members to be part of the GotG: Cosmic Rewind opening team
- Speaking of hiring: Disney offering up to $6k hiring bonus for cast members
- Figment Popcorn bucket has been removed from Pop Eats booth
- New Mickey and Minnie rental strollers made their WDW debut
- Refurbs:
- Openings/Closings
- Tornado Warning was issues for WDW area last week (1/16)
- I have to share a review of the Italy booth by BlogMickey:
Captain Jack’s Disneyland Paris: https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-us/dining/disneyland-park/captain-jacks-restaurant-pirates/
Episode Transcript:
Chris 0:28
Welcome aboard Disney fam. Hello out there Disney family. My name is Chris and I’m Kelly. We are so happy to have you on the show this week. You’re not actually all on the show. But that was an awkward turn of phrase. Kelly’s wearing her pirate ears yes
Kelli 0:46
and it they are foreshadowing I love these years I got them. Again this is an eBay purchase from Shanghai These are
Chris 0:54
truly creative mean these have got the pirate bandana polka dot pirate bandana I have with feather feather.
Kelli 1:00
I love it so much.
Chris 1:01
They are world class.
Kelli 1:03
Hey, honey, where do people listen to us this week?
Chris 1:05
What else is world class? All the wonderful people there download our podcast. Some really at least one really exciting location. So I’m gonna save it for last even though it’s domestic. Okay, let’s hear it. Magnolia Texas, not that magnolia. Texas
Kelli 1:24
magnolias in Waco.
Chris 1:25
That’s the company that did Chip and Joanna Gaines right
Kelli 1:30
you’re saying magnolia. Texas is the town of town of Magnolia. Yeah Waco,
Chris 1:36
right 1400 folks northeast of Houston Phoenix Arizona I can’t believe we haven’t named Phoenix Arizona before I don’t know let’s take a Phoenix alone to get on the bandwagon.
Kelli 1:46
Welcome aboard Phoenix Phoenix
Chris 1:47
is one of my favorite towns Yeah, it’s never called there which is wonderful. Not for saying that for no reason at all whatsoever. We’re gonna go and go international here. Name your Belgium name your name your name or Na Na m you are them your delta. Okay, here we go. Se to Brussels. You ready for this? Master last I really should have been a month ago. But okay. North Pole Alaska.
Kelli 2:19
Oh, really?
Chris 2:22
Yeah. So North Pole Alaska is a small Alaska city near Fairbanks. Known for its year round Christmas decorations including candy cane strike tree lights as Santa Claus house Santa Claus house which is a Christmas store with walls covered in children’s letters to Santa. I
Kelli 2:38
totally want to go there. So when people mail to the North Pole, is that where it
Chris 2:41
goes? Maybe hat on. But it’s a huge Santa’s statue outside the streets have names like Kris Kringle drive and mistletoe Lane How stinking cute is that is really cute and so North Pole and somebody there listens to our podcast
Kelli 2:57
well welcome North Pole
Chris 2:59
love it goodness and welcome to the folks in Magnolia Phoenix and name your Belgium. Yes. Seems like name your Belgium like you’re gonna name something else.
Kelli 3:07
Name your Belgium.
Chris 3:10
We’re sorry. We’re sorry. Great for some news. Yes, please. Okay. So D 23. Expo news the tickets launched but it is not sold out as of at least yesterday, Saturday afternoon. It was not sold out. tickets are still available. It’s a little bit I went into act like I was gonna buy tickets a little bit disappointed like all the add on pricing. So like, as a de 23 Gold member, I can get three day ticket pads for $209. But for just 100 extra dollars, I could buy this. This bundle which is effectively a swag bag that I sort of hope people would get anyway. $2 Yeah. Right. So there’s like a special lanyard for your past I guess. A couple of T shirts, some masks and a couple of hats and I think a water jug or a water bottle for an extra 100 bucks. Caesar and then and then they had pricing for each one of those things separately that you could add on
Kelli 4:10
okay. Just what one shirt or you just like
Chris 4:14
the hat or just the lanyard. Okay. You know,
Kelli 4:17
I’m interesting. Yeah.
Chris 4:19
Hey, some meet and greets are returning to Walt Disney World along with some other things. Donald Duck is returning to the Mexican pavilion
Kelli 4:26
that I love. I love Mexico Donald.
Chris 4:29
Yeah, absolutely. Van vanilla AP from WreckIt Ralph. Yes and joy are returning to Epcot at their normal Meet and Greet location. Okay, so not liking the grass. That’s what I think. Yeah. Okay. And Kevin from us. Excited about Kevin? Yeah. Viva Gaya st man is returning to the animal kingdom. And look for more meet and greets coming soon. Soon they’ve set up this PhotoPass situation where there are actual now PhotoPass photographer there to take your picture with the characters okay? It’s still distanced so you’re still not like right up with the characters but you can get a PhotoPass picture
Unknown Speaker 5:16
okay
Chris 5:18
here’s the thing that adds value to Genie plus yes because what Genie plus you get PhotoPass for that yeah so important to note that and and Scott Gustin on Twitter mentioned and he’s probably right likely to see Meet and Greet added to Genie plus in the near future of course so that you can get in a lightning lane line to get your picture made with your characters again adding value to Genie plus celebration of festival of the lion gang cannot wait for all this to be over so that we can at least change that name back
Kelli 5:53
to just festival regular festival
Chris 5:58
showtimes have been reduced due to COVID outbreak boo very responsible to some very responsible decision but as a bummer Disney is seeking actors and singers for Star Wars galactic starcruiser rolls
Kelli 6:14
okay
Chris 6:16
because again they’re all great it’s immersive right all of the employees are also characters but
Kelli 6:22
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody singing through Star Wars
Chris 6:25
what really?
Kelli 6:29
Listen like people just randomly burst into song
Chris 6:31
just stop if there are any you know files that are listening to this show please know like do not email us I’m sorry I’m apologizing for who does it there’s a whole band in Javas lair and somewhere there’s a Star Wars nerd that is like really upset at me because I can’t think of their name and the whole band in the cantina on most Eisley dude you got to stop with your shit anything you just still confused the star cruiser is going to have a lounge man you know it’s gonna have a lounge like any other cruise probably multiple lounges and you go there. What do you expect to see in the lounge? An Irishman who at 230 in the morning, they’re gonna buy his CD
Kelli 7:21
I really can’t believe you remember that?
Chris 7:26
Don’t know if Irishman is proper, I apologize. Anyway, what I thought was we’ve got a cool little restaurant here in town called screamers shout out to screamer screamer where the waitstaff are also performed cabaret singers. Yeah. And so they’ll go up on stage randomly and start singing and it’s wonderful. If I worked at screamers and I love Disney, I’m applying to one of these. Absolutely, so Disney has worked on recruiting cast members to be part of the Guardians of the Galaxy cosmic rewind opening team Okay, which is cool. suggests it released it it’s getting close. Also, speaking of hiring Disney’s offering up to $6,000 Hiring bonus for cast members right now. It turns my head I can’t lie to you.
Kelli 8:13
Seriously. Gosh, honey.
Chris 8:15
Raya has made her debut at Disneyland as part of the New Year Lunar New Year celebrate saw that she looks amazing real right real Ryan real Raya. She looks awesome. I would not say across word to her.
Kelli 8:29
No no no she totally kitschy would kick your way next week
Chris 8:33
wear me out for sure. figment popcorn bucket has been removed from the pop eats booth menu. This FYI
Kelli 8:46
well because they can’t sell any grilled cheese and tomato soup. If everybody’s just in line.
Chris 8:52
I think their stacks of wonderbread are really not moving as fast as they thought
Kelli 8:56
they expected. They said they expected the lines to be that long for the bucket. Well then why did you put it at the pop beats but you should have done that you should have special booth just for the bucket
Chris 9:07
valid, so they should have done this is the figment popcorn bucket booth.
Kelli 9:12
Think about popcorn bucket booth or put it like wherever you’re selling the other figment merch people are putting the popcorn in it anyway.
Chris 9:19
No, you know what they’re doing with it?
Kelli 9:21
They’re selling it on eBay for $500 Oh
Chris 9:23
no, it maxed out at over 1000 Now crap. It’s
Kelli 9:27
a popcorn bucket people it is a pop corn buckets. So
Chris 9:31
no not for somebody. For somebody it’s the next popcorn bucket that’s gonna fit perfectly in this spot for that I opened up for the popcorn bucket and I don’t have $1,000
Kelli 9:43
You know it’s plastic. And normally these things have like a lanyard with them and they tell you to be really careful. Those lanyard snap, they do not hold on. I mean you don’t see a lot of people like walking around with these things in the park just just banging up against their chest because those things will snap.
Chris 10:00
Yep, you preach it. This is
Kelli 10:03
just adustable he’s adustable people $1,000 plastic ductable I love figma This is $1,000 plastic ductable
Chris 10:12
it’s what it’s one of their better popcorn buckets so the new Mickey and Minnie rental strollers have made their way to Walt Disney World. Just throwing that out there. I’m thrilled that I’ve never had to rent one.
Kelli 10:24
Seriously. I do think they look better than boring beige. I mean, it’s really they are even have had boring beige. In the beginning.
Chris 10:31
They are much much better. Some refurb news Animal Kingdom has dinosaur Attraction The exterior is getting a little TLC should have any impact on the ride operation or cueing. For those of you who want the chiropractor visits after that ride, go for it. And last week, we said that the Disneyland Monorail would be closing for refurb on January 24. It they push that back to February the 14th. We did not know how long that refurb would take but they’re saying now it’ll go from February 14 to march 6. Okay, so not a very long refurb I did do a little looking at say what sort of loop the monorail makes. It’s cute. Basically a ride. Well, no, it does take you places okay. And it’s a two and a half mile loop takes about 20 minutes. Good. Some openings and closings, so I don’t think we have any closings. Jesse’s trading posts in Roundup rodeo BBQ. Two things Jesse’s trading posters, one roundup radio barbecues opening this year, and Toy Story land at Hollywood studios and that’s a sit down restaurant. The roundup rodeo barbecue is a sit down restaurant family friendly dining experience. Barbecue wrestling, and then Jesse’s trading posts is full of the coolest toys and finest souvenirs hand picked by the retinas. Tunis cowgirl,
Kelli 11:52
okay, Jessie does a great job hand picking those heads
Chris 11:54
don’t have any doubt about it. She is rootin tootin excuse me, I’ve got some stuff in my throat here from all the weather. Total Pro. I had to read this review from blog Nikki, by the way, shout out to blog miki.com I get like almost all of our news items from there because they curate it so well. They do a wonderful job and I don’t give them enough credit blog mickey.com Go there they do a great job. They did a review of the Italy booth at festival the fantastic poetry and because I want people to know that it’s not just us
Kelli 12:33
not just this is a legit horrible but
Chris 12:37
Aaron cine which is $14 this is the fried risotto balls. One and a half out of five they gave it stars. Yeah, a two star dish gets half a star knocked off for the outrageous price point. That’s That’s it things will only get worse as you eat it. raviolo Allah bus Gala. One out of five $13 One out of five a terrible pasta dish. And even an even worse price point. One star because it’s edible. If only barely
Kelli 13:17
love like Biggie that’s fantastic baloney.
Chris 13:18
$11.03 and a half out of five oh, a rare ray of sunshine and then otherwise pointless outdoor kitchen is the Bible only again overpriced, but our donut was fresh and the coffee flavored sauce that comes in a in a chocolate coffee cup is more effort than maybe we’ve ever seen from the Italy look and I also went and checked three of their other reviews. I checked the review for Goshiki the Japanese with deconstructed dish and the tangerine cafe. And they all not one of them had anything less than four stars. Okay, so Italy legit sucks. It’s got to do better and it’s Italy Mandalay, you could do so much, much better. So a speaking of festival arts. Go check out our most recent bonus episode where we did our virtual tour of the food booths there that we so enjoy. Don’t we always want to your favorites. Yes. And so are you ready for your tomorrow? I’m
Kelli 14:15
totally ready for it. Okay. So I’m still dreaming daydreaming about Disneyland Paris. Okay. And so I decided I should just to go look around at some of their restaurants because I think it’s so cool that we don’t have the same restaurants in every park. Right parks are unique. So they have a restaurant called Captain Jack’s. Now this is a pirate themed restaurant that the Pirates of the Caribbean ride goes through currently under refurbishment, but I’m sure it’s gonna open up for the 30th Okay, so this is how they describe it. Dive into a pirates feast of exotic seafood and Creole cooking in this refurbished bustling Tavern on the shores of a torchlit lagoon. Nice scarper to the shores of a tropical lagoon for a tear terrific Time in a pirate’s paradise bedecked in flags banners and wanted posters from a lawless age. There’s something for the most seafaring of travelers as waiters in new pirates garb, serve up Hardy Creole cooking in this not so hidden treasure overlooking the Pirates of the Caribbean. So here’s cool, so I’m going to I’m gonna cover a couple of their restaurants eventually. But I just want to start by saying, first of all, the French menus are so much better than what we see in our parks. They’re amazing.
Chris 15:30
Disneyland Paris. Yes. Yeah, restaurant menus are just so
Kelli 15:34
much better. Okay. In general, okay. And so this is they have like a prefix menu, and then they have sort of an ala carte and so I’m gonna go I’m gonna go through both. So first is the pirate’s treasure menu. This is the prefix it’s 42 euros. I don’t know how that translates. You get a starter a main course and a dessert Your drink is not included because let me just say they do a better job with the drinks too. Okay, so in this prefix menu, you can select from three starters, chopped smoked chicken with green papaya and pickled vegetables Oh, or island style fish soup or the vegetarian option A keen while salad with a spicy cashew vinegar grit. Well, it’s all just sound lovely. Yeah,
Chris 16:17
you know I love fish but I’ve never been a huge fan of something called fish soup. Well
Kelli 16:23
then get the chumps milk chicken with green papaya and pickled vegetables. That sounds delightful poopoo on merits faced here. Cash Okay, the main courses in the prefix you get to pick from oven baked mahi mahi fish steak with a coconut sauce and bell peppers. Or that does sound good. Caribbean chicken with prawns and the captain’s rice or vegetable curry, plantain banana and the captain’s rice. Yes, that’s yours, right? Yes, it is. Okay, now of curry. Yes, you get to pick one of three desserts, an island style rice pudding, which is rice pudding with a mango puree or exotic fruit soup with muscavado one Oh, that sounds interesting. I don’t know what that is. Or shortbread roasted pineapple and a bourbon vanilla whipped cream.
Chris 17:18
There’s some lovely bourbon, vanilla whipped cream right?
Kelli 17:22
And so you pick one of those for 41 of each a starter, a main course and a dessert for 42 Euro. There are two different options for the kiddos. One is 20 euros and one is 37. I think the difference there is the option so for example in the $37 one your kids can get a mahi mahi fish fillet with red beans and rice and I’m saying is it a mac and cheese. It’s not mac and cheese. I mean even on the other one it’s not mac and cheese. The other one they they also can get a fruit minestrone and a Vitale which is which is a registered trademark. I don’t know what that is. I think it’s got to be some type of a drink. For the other one that 20 Euro they get a fruit smoothie and a vital and by the way, the 20 Euro one starts with a vegetable tar tar.
Chris 18:13
You see what I’m saying? Yeah,
Kelli 18:14
you see I’m saying like fries. We’re not talking about that? No, yeah, give them corndogs No. And so in the 20 Euro when the kids get to pick from a tuna rulide or a vegetable tar tar the main courses are a pan fried chicken breast with sweet potato mash and green vegetables or a pasta with tomato and vegetable sauce. And for dessert either an ice cream with a chocolate drizzle or fruit smoothie for the 37 Euro the kids get to pick from a savory wheat pancake with flaked to none. I don’t even know what that is. or tomato salad with keen wha This is an appetizer Yes, main course mahi mahi fish fillet with a choice with a side of sweet potato mash and green vegetables or a beef tenderloin. And their desserts are either a fruit minestrone or chocolate mousse.
Chris 19:03
Where so where’s the cheeseburger? Yet? Not. Wow.
Kelli 19:08
No Mark No mac and cheese no cheese burger. That’s what I’m saying? Like, like they’re not catering. Yeah, this isn’t chicken strips and mac and cheese. Okay, so that’s the pirate’s treasure menu, right? That’s the prefix. There are other things that you can get ala carte, you don’t have to do the prefix. Okay, so let’s look at a couple of the other starters. So they have vegetarian options in almost every category or in every category. They have more in some than others. So a couple of vegetarian options. First of all, you can get Caribbean guacamole with a root vegetable salad. This is a starter it’s a starter 18 euros. You can get a mixed salad with prawn and crunchy apples with a smoked paprika dressing. Gosh. You see I’m saying yeah, you see I’m saying this in the garden salad ranch. This is a mixed salad with prawns and crunchy apples with a smoked pepper Rika dress and
Chris 20:01
I just get a side house salad or Assad Caesar salad please.
Kelli 20:05
The next one is going to be your cod fritters with a fried cassava, tamarind sauce and a Creole cabbage salad. That’s a starter. Yeah, a cod fritter with a Creole cabbage salad and a fried cassava tamarind sauce like I don’t even know what any of that is.
Chris 20:24
I like a fritter though. Okay, I’m for fritters? I’m pro fritter. Okay,
Kelli 20:28
another starter, white tuna Savini che with coriander, lime and fried taco. Like a fried taco. I don’t know what that means. Like an entire taco that’s fried sure seems like more than a starter to me.
Chris 20:44
I think that that was an extra word because the taco shell is fried as it is. So I think they just
Kelli 20:48
still you gotta savich a starter that’s tell me in which restaurant in that state has a savich a starter on Disney property. Okay, main courses other than those that were listed. You could also buy the ones listed out cards, okay, but I’m just talking about the ones that are not part of the prefix menu. Main courses, a grilled fillet of Oahu. Sweet potato mash and tangy multicolored carrots. Wha hoo. I grilled fillet of wha hoo.
Chris 21:20
Because when you eat it was
Kelli 21:23
fantastic. I think it’s because you also get the know the Caribbean chicken was already on there. Okay, the slow roasted smoked suckling pig, with grilled aubergine and squash. aubergine, grilled aubergine and squash. I don’t know what that is. And if that pig comes to the table with a head for 38 euros, they’re gonna bring you baby pig that they’ve roasted
Chris 21:55
that Apple in its mouth. Oh, gosh, I would just die. You
Kelli 22:00
can also get a tender beef with tamarind sauce, jalapeno salsa and sweet potatoes. The suckling pig Do you really think it’s like no, I do not think it’s a baby pig. I don’t know. suckling pig. Oh no, that’s a baby pig. That’s an infant pig that they murdered. I’m sure you slow roasted with a 10
Chris 22:19
I think you’ve got other restaurants you wanted to talk about? We’re
Kelli 22:23
not doing that today. Oh, doing it today. I’m just going through the pirate This is oh this is just Captain Jack’s. This is all just Captain Jack’s gosh.
Chris 22:30
Well look, I had to say Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride through a restaurant I’m really starting to feel gypped
Kelli 22:38
totally is too short. We don’t get to go through a restaurant and we don’t have a captain Jack’s I feel completely gypped
Chris 22:45
and on the opposite side we don’t have a restaurant where we get to see Pirates of the Caribbean going through it exactly say I’m now that under there’s two other Disney parks like that at least.
Kelli 22:55
Okay, so desserts some other desserts that weren’t in the prefix menu. A tonka bean flavored chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream and a spice infused syrup goodness. An island style rum Baba with lime and mint and then in parentheses it says Mojito style Baba.
Chris 23:19
Well,
Kelli 23:20
so is it a Baba or is it a Mohit? Is it an island style rum Baba or is it a mojito style bubble? I don’t even know what a Baba is
and know what it is. Okay, so they also have gourmet coffee and tea and then underneath in tiny print it says we suggest you enjoy your dessert accompanied by a glass of shrub, often called Christmas punch shrub is a rum based liqueur with natural orange flavors, St. James shrub Creel. Odd that
Chris 24:06
sometimes I wish we had the video back where we actually do these on video so that people can see what I’m seeing in your face like you were saying the words and you have no clue
Kelli 24:15
no idea. You can celebrate your birthday with them for 35 euros and they will bring out a birthday dessert for up to eight people. So we’re not talking about a cupcake. We’re not talking about a slice or the candle in it. We’re talking about a dessert for eight people for 35 euros and naturally their wine selections Sure, but it appears to be just by the bottle, a Chablis Cote de province a Bordeaux and board go
bore Morgagni salts cuts de PUE it’s one of the that’s not cheapest what is the cheaper was the more does the
Chris 25:01
cheap man if we if we make this trip happen I’m not I’ll do all the work I’m not opening my mouth in a restaurant I it’s just gonna be you and it’s gonna be glorious. Yeah,
Kelli 25:13
I think so. So in any case, though, this is great. The pirates menu. I would just say y’all. You’re welcome. They also provide this entire menu in French. And I didn’t read that to you. They have the French menu and an English menu and you’re welcome. Thanks.
Chris 25:32
I can’t wait. I think it’s a must do if we if we make it there this year. It’s a monster. Yeah, me too. But it’s not like even though it’s not this is not a cheat meal.
Kelli 25:42
No, no, no, no, no.
Chris 25:43
This is a nice spicy,
Kelli 25:45
it’s a nice place to eat. I mean, I don’t know what 42 euros is but it’s significant. It’s as much as a bottle of their wine whatever it is. Maybe it’s a really good deal for the menu and a really crappy price on
Chris 26:04
the one but you know the the French are gonna do that while they’re gonna serve and
Kelli 26:08
you did Wine Disney’s not gonna serve subpar wine. The bottle they got 27 year French
Chris 26:13
wouldn’t let it happen. Oh, gosh. All right, so I guess I’ll just just Mosey on into the world show you had to
Kelli 26:20
trim your world che crisis a bit because we’ve gone over the first few segments before tight 35
Chris 26:27
So I was at that I’ve got my title written here top five things and they probably one of the best resorts at Walt Disney World. But turns out that’s not what we’re gonna do. Right. Okay, we’re just talking about the poly the history of the poly what they had to offer today today, yesterday versus today and all that kind of stuff so
Kelli 26:43
the Polynesian general Polynesian
Chris 26:44
in general. We we absolutely love this place. Uh, as per usual, we want to thank W dW magazine because they did an article on the poly in their most recent magazine that provided lots of wonderful information for this site and great
Kelli 27:02
pictures. That’s what I love about W dW magazine. Their pictures are amazing Mays like you don’t want to throw the magazines away. They’re so pretty. No, absolutely.
Chris 27:09
It’s worth the money to get WW magazine just for the pictures honestly. Like a center section. It’s fantastic. We love it. Yes. And full disclosure, Polynesian is our DVC home resort. So whereby we are legitimately biased, and we do love it. My first exposure to Polynesian was as a little boy on one of my many trips to Disney with my grandparents. Excuse me. We weren’t staying there. We never stayed there. We used to stand out at one of the old Disney village resorts like royal Plaza or the vai count or Grove inn or one of those old places. If anybody out there remembers those. And then we would visit my grandma would love to visit the resorts around the Magic Kingdom. Right. And we would visit this one specifically to go to the old luau dinner show back then it was called the Polynesian review. You would have never been there. We’ve never done it today. It’s called the spirit of aloha dinner show. And it’s in it’s not open right now. Because of COVID but it was steeped in tradition. I mean, there was anti kawaii Kelly was the they literally hired her she was born and raised in Hawaii. She was a just a cultural phenomenon from Hawaii, an expert who dancer and and an expert in the history and traditions of Hawaiian Polynesian culture. They hired her she turned down their offer like two or three times Wow eventually joined the resort and established all these wonderful things in the Polynesian review was one of them. That’s fantastic. And she hosted it for a long time because the whole idea was to teach about Polynesian culture, right? And was for years considered one of the most authentic luaus in the world outside of the Hawaiian Islands. Okay, Wow, that’s impressive. It was it was a really good time and my grandparents just loved it. But even without that, it was always a treat, and still is to just walk around the Polynesian resort. It’s not like any other resort on property. And at that time, I had never been anywhere that actually looked and felt Polynesian, other than the Polynesian resort. Okay. Right. Today, having been to Hawaii a few times. We go back there. You can’t recreate the blue waters of the South Pacific. But other than that, it truly feels like you’re walking around a resort on the customer alley. Yeah. They do a wonderful job with they’re always lit Tiki lamps and they’re in the Polynesian foliage. It’s
Kelli 30:02
very Oh Lonnie. I mean, it is like the Polynesian on steroids. It is so much bigger. It is similar similar vibe. Yeah, but
Chris 30:10
I was thinking back to some of the a couple of the resorts we stayed on in in Maui and how walking around those resorts it feels the same as walk around the Polynesian village resort. Yeah, absolutely. It’s
Kelli 30:21
very opposite. They’re
Chris 30:22
constantly playing. It’s great. So here’s a some history of the Polynesian. It is an original like a legit original. The Magic Kingdom the contemporaries or an Polynesians are all opened on the same day, October the first 1971 I think the official grand opening was like October 24, or 27th. You know, it was an out of town preview, right. But it opened up on the same day as the other two. It was originally called the Polynesian village resort. The name changed in 1985 to Disney’s Polynesian resort. And then in 2015, the name changed back to the original Disney’s Polynesian village resort.
Kelli 31:02
Because it is a very it’s very village.
Chris 31:03
It’s very much a village yum. And you’ll hear us and a lot of other people affectionately today call it the poly the poly. Walt’s original vision was for a 12 storey high rise resort, like those you would see all along the Hawaiian coastline. Like, like, you know, Jack Lloyd Lord standing on top of it Hawaii fava, one of those Waikiki type resorts. Happily, in my opinion, at least the design change to be more of a village of Hawaiian longhouse, right? Yeah, yep. This thing was fully constructed in eight months. Wow. Yeah, it didn’t have quite as many houses as it has today. But it did start out with eight original long houses.
Kelli 31:48
And I mean, they took longer than that to do the recent refurb as seriously,
Chris 31:53
Valley. And if you don’t know, each of the long houses have a name of their own. And I think some of these names have changed over the years. But they originally had Valley High Bora Bora, Hawaii, which is still there, Fiji, Maui, Samoa, Tahiti, and Tonga. And then, of course, they have the great ceremonial house, which is effectively the lobby and a lot of the resorts, the restaurants and things like that. Right. The rooms this was sort of visionary, I guess the rooms were all constructed off site, and then dropped into place like as as individual units, and then dropped into place by cranes. They built the contemporary resort the same way. Wow. Really cool.
Kelli 32:32
That is cool.
Chris 32:35
I think they’re three stories is that right? The each longhouse is three stories. So yeah, until 2014, you would be met in the lobby. By the way, when you arrived, you’ll often get a traditional Hawaiian Lei and you’d be met in the lobby with a lush three story waterfall filled with over 75 Different Polynesian plant species all the way up until 2014. Yes, that’s a fairly new change. Today, it’s a much more open concept. They’ve taken all that out and it’s much more space and you can take your picture with the little
Kelli 33:10
TIKI TIKI man, I love to take him out as a souvenir mug.
Chris 33:13
We’ve got him a souvenir lots of things in here lots of things. The original quick service and buffet or dine in restaurants which could only be described as groovy tropical. This thing did open up in the 70s. They’ve been replaced by the Kona cafe in 1998. And in 1995, by blue Tiki and Ohana now blue Tiki is their gift is their gift shop their huge win. Dude, we never walk into that place without it’s like it’s like Target. You walk in there and you drop 100 bucks. Come out with as much as you do at Target, but I’ll be taking it’s wonderful,
Kelli 33:50
especially now that Zach has closed mouse gear.
Chris 33:54
They didn’t tell you that stuff at Mouseketeer. Anyway, I’m just saying. From the start poly nightlife was always geared towards adults, so they’ve always had a place for kids to hang out. Originally it was called the Mouseketeer Club. After spending some time being called the Neverland club. It finally became Lilo’s Playhouse in recent years. So it’s a place where just the kids can go and the parents can go out to the pool the Tiki Bar have a little downtime, a little peace and quiet. The first guests to Polly were would be lucky to remember that the beach front actually had waves, which were created by an underwater wave machine under the Seven Seas Lagoon surface. So they literally could feel that Polly vibe of waves on the ocean, right? That was eliminated because they pretty quickly saw that that was destroying their beach, as as ocean waves do. But you could explore the water by renting a sailboat a number of different kinds of sail boats. They had Hoby cats they had 14 foot Capri sailboats, they had sunfish sailboats. paddle boats, small speed boats and this thing called a bob around I don’t have time to get into it but go go Google bob around it’s hilariously bopped around. Yes. The first expansion happened in 1978 with the Tokelau lounge, longhouse, along with the leisure pool that sits outside of it. Okay, that’s where we stay oftentimes today with DVC. At the same time, they opened marijuana Mickey’s arcade for the kids. In 2014 Mallanna Mikis was closed. The following year, the space became home to Trader Sam’s grog grotto.
Kelli 35:37
Oh, that’s the best decision I’ve
Chris 35:38
made is a huge, wonderful decision. Screw the arcade. Exactly. The iconic volcano pool was originally not much more than lava rocks. But in 2000, the pool closed reopened in 2001 as the huge play area that it is today. The splash pad was added in 2014. And lastly
Kelli 35:59
did a lot of upgrades in 2014 2015. Yeah, yeah.
Chris 36:02
And then last year, you know, they overhauled all the rooms, all the non DVC rooms as marijuana themed to go along with the new great ceremonial house stuff that they did write some fun facts. Original room rates were 29 to $49. And i Wow, gosh, busy season today can run from 600 to $1,500 a night. That’s one of the main reasons in our decision to join DVC frankly, otherwise, how would we stay we’d never stay at Poly. Yeah, in 1997, Disney planted a Kukui tree if you’ve been to Hawaii, you know the importance of that state tree of Hawaii behind the great ceremonial house with a time capsule buried underneath. Oh, and one time you get your hair cut and Polly at the Lee Nui barber shop anymore. I was also going to talk about my top three things about staying at Poly but I think maybe now we tagged this with a bonus episode I think about that. I think because you won’t let me go any further. And with that, that was today’s show, folks. We hope you enjoyed it. We absolutely love doing this and we are so appreciative of all you that join along with us. Yes,
Kelli 37:10
and if you’re looking for more things Disney please visit scfad.com That’s s for superseed for Cali and for prejudiced ik eight for awesome D for Disney P for podcast. Last week we had the bonus pod on the for tour the virtual tour and this will have a bonus pot on Genie plus Jeanne Jeanne plus slidingly.
Chris 37:28
Yep, that’s right. So check that out this week. If you’ve got any questions about Genie Genie plus, or individual lightning line, check out that podcast and then shoot us any questions you might have because I’m sure that someone was confusing or we didn’t answer something. Check us out on all the social medias at SCF ADP. We’ve done really good about being active out there. We’re having such a good time interacting with people. So thank you for that. So join us for the conversation. And with that we will see
Kelli 37:56
you real soon.
