Welcoming in the New Year (and a Wailulu Review)
So every year, instead of staying up and celebrating New Year’s Eve, we get up early and hit Magic Kingdom in New Year’s Day.
Why? Because you need a little magic for the new year.
We’re kicking off things with a little Tiana.
Goofy getting his groove.
We haven’t have a Fresh Fruit Nutella Waffle since they changed the recipe. This was a major downgrade. I don’t know how a waffle can be soggy and dry at the same time, but this one accomplished that.
There was also a rumor that Tortuga Tavern reopened… but everything was covered up.
Caught the tail end of the Festival of Fantasy.
No balloon float at the end. 2025 is not starting out too good.
We also had a Cast Member creating some water art. It’s a same that no one was paying attention and just walked through her creation.
We still love the Pluto!
Somehow, the new Country Bears has become a classic in our household, so off we went.
The crane is here! And it’s for the Big Thunder Railroad refurbishment; not Villains Land.
Another New Year tradition: taking a ride on the Liberty Belle. Will we get to do this next year? Only Evil Bob Iger knows.
Only Disney would remove the Native Americans and replace them with roads and cars. That tracks… 😒
I’m going to miss this view.
And of course, a stop on the Peoplemover…
By this time, it was getting super crowddd. We decided to leave and check out the Gingerbread House.
We took the long walkway from Magic Kingdom to Grand Floridian. That’s a hike!
I wanted to see the character trees, but last time there was too many people. Now I can finally see them!
Since the Poly Island Tower just opened, we wanted to check it out. Plus, we were going to try our luck at getting a Wailulu reservation.
The lobby was better in person, but still kinda bland. Disney just goes for the minimal amount of theming. Plus, it was super small. With everyone gawking around, you were tripping over people.
We did grab a walk-in reservation. It was stated at 55 minutes, but we were seated in 10 minutes.
So the little details and views of the restaurant were spectacular, but the service and food was subpar.
We ordered everything together. It took 15 minutes for two glasses of Coke and the water is missing.
Ten minutes later the sticky ribs appetizer comes out. This had a good flavor, but it was on the chewy side. As I’m gnawing down my first rib, the rest of the entrees are at the table.
Mom’s Wayfarer Burger comes out. It’s overcooked and the sweet potato fries were well done. Plus, the sauce was too spicy (but that’s more of a Mom problem).
I had the Loco Moco, and it was the same thing. The rice was almost inedible and the pork was super chewy. And since I had to quickly finish the ribs, half my plate was cold.
The only good thing was the Chocolate Cake dessert.
For a $100 lunch, I was expecting more from this place, especially when everyone is calling it the “next big thing.” I’m hoping that this was a few kinks they are working out. But the timing of everything was complete garbage. I could tell if it was the fault of the server, kitchen, or bar staff. And that’s a shame because it seems like a nice restaurant.
Maybe all the tourists were getting to the staff. As we left, there were at least three older people screaming at the Cast Members for whatever pissed them off for the day. One was made he had to wait, another was pissed because there was no room for a stroller, and I don’t know the third person’s problem.
Even though we had a crappy meal, I didn’t scream or yell. I paid, left a tip, and made a note to maybe try this place again in a year. Until then, it was a major disappointment.
Christmas decorations were put. They were pretty minimal.
This spot does have a good view of the Magic Kingdom.
And that concluded the grand tour of the Poly Island Tower. There wasn’t much to see, and the whole outside area seemed very cramped, even the walkways around the tower to the Poly Village bordered on claustrophobic.
Maybe when the newness wears off, it will not feel so packed.
Until next time…
