Paradise to the Treasure-A Polynesian/Eastern Caribbean/Spring Adventure 2025...Updated 3/30/25

[buzzrelly]

Hello all! Remember me? (Don't answer that because I'm sure nobody does!)

I have been a long time Disboards member and used to write trip reports but somehow fell off that trip report wagon a couple years ago.
I thought I'd give it another shot, mostly because I still love reading trip reports and find they are my favorite part of these boards!
Plus, I've met so many amazing friends here and still keep in touch with many of them and once in a while, when I'm lucky,
I get to spend some time with them in WDW

Anyway, so here I am on my favorite ride (Guardians of the Galaxy), at my favorite park (EPCOT), at my favorite time of year at WDW, (Christmas-time),
which also happens to be my birthday month so it just makes sense that December is a must-do trip for me every year...



Here is a more realistic version of me and how I'll likely be writing most of this trip report...

My name is Kelly and my assistants shown above are Daisy, our 4 year-old Zu-Chon, and Gus our new 2 month-old Maltipoo
They are quite the handful and Daisy is still getting used to not being Queen of the house but as you can see, she's coming around.


I have been a NICU nurse for 23 years and love my job and the babies. I literally cannot imagine doing anything else.
I am also currently studying to become a Certified Lactation Counselor because I love helping new moms and their babies!
If all goes well I should be certified by this summer

Along on the trip with me is my favorite girl in the world, my daughter Allison (Allie).
Here she is on her 21st birthday trip this past October that was so rudely interrupted by Hurricane Milton...



At least she got to spend her 21st in EPCOT even though it was a soggy day...

and she got to eat her favorite pizza at Via Napoli...


and had a fun first (and sadly likely last) time at Jellyrolls that night...


That was a great trip (and would have made a fun trip report too so maybe I'll circle back to it after I finish this one)!
Allie graduated last May and is working full-time at an insurance company.
It's a great job and she can work remote when she wants to, so for the first two days she worked in the resort
while I went to the parks by myself just to get out of her hair.
Her AP expired back in December and it wasn't worth getting her a 2-day ticket when she had to work until 4pm anyway.

On this trip, Allie and I spent two nights at the new Poly tower,

followed by a 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the new, gorgeous Disney Treasure


After the cruise we spent two more nights at the Boardwalk Villas...or I should say, I did, since Allie just spent one night there.
I had to stay an extra night so I could visit my beloved Flower and Garden Festival at least once this year

We had such an amazing trip and I'm still missing it so much.
I actually cried on our last day because I was so sad it was ending

Our trip dates were February 27, 2025-March 10, 2025...seems like forever ago already!

Just for some other facts about us, we are DVC members and visit the parks multiple times per year.
I already told you my favorite time to visit is December, but Spring is a close second and we usually go in April
but with the way Easter fell this year and the fact that our home resort's pool (Beach Club Villas) is closed until June,
we decided to do the cruise in March this year instead.
I admit, I am now pretty keen on March and can see why it is such a popular month to visit!
This was also my 7th DCL cruise and I have been on all of the current 6 ships, whereas Allie has been on all of the ships except for the Wish.
I do love cruising and nothing beats a 7-night cruise to me...it is just the most relaxing thing ever!

I hope you'll all follow along with me as I re-live our adventures!



​

 

[buzzrelly]

Saved for if I ever remember to come back and do a table of contents

 

[Paulaparm]

I’m in! Sounds like a good time.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m here, so excited to hear all about it!
My 2 sisters and I are booked on the Treasure for December this year! I am really excited to read all about your cruise!
I have never been on a Disney cruise so the Treasure will be our first!
We did a Princess cruise on the Mediterranean some years ago and loved it.

 

[buzzrelly]

I’m in! Sounds like a good time.

Hello! Thanks for joining!

I’m here, so excited to hear all about it!
My 2 sisters and I are booked on the Treasure for December this year! I am really excited to read all about your cruise!
I have never been on a Disney cruise so the Treasure will be our first!
We did a Princess cruise on the Mediterranean some years ago and loved it.

Hi Caroline! You are going to LOVE the Treasure! Are you doing Eastern or Western?

 

[buzzrelly]

Travel Day!
February 27, 2025

Our travel day started as they almost always do for us, wayyyy too early and me regretting my choices in life as I drive to the airport at 3am! It always seems like such a great idea when I'm booking flights to have the whole day there but in reality, it stresses me out thinking I'm going to oversleep that I always have the WORST night's sleep the night before!


We are about 30 minutes south of Bradley airport and all things considered,
everything went really smoothly this morning.
We were sitting at our gate by 4:15am (thanks to TSA pre-check)
and boarded our Southwest flight 5:13am...

Our flight wasn't full so Allie took the window and I sat on the aisle and we left the middle open!
This almost never happens for us so it was a nice bonus!
By 6:07am we were well on our way...

It was a great flight and by 8:24 am...

IYKYK! Allie thought I was a weirdo for taking that pic but it seems the thing to do now!

So I guess when all was said and done I was glad to be in beautiful Orlando so early and yes,
I would sacrifice the night's sleep and do it again, sigh.

We were excited to board the fake-o-rail...


Then we priced out Uber and Lyft and went with whichever was cheaper and before long,
we saw this beautiful sign...

Nothing makes my heart happier than the first day of vacation
when you have so many days ahead of you!

Also, weird timing but my 11-month window had opened this morning for our January trip
so I made that reservation on the way to the Poly...

How fun! Mike (my DH) and I just went to F-Arts for the first time this year and we loved it
and want to make it a yearly thing!

Our driver brought us to the main Poly and the security guard asked if we wanted to be dropped at the tower. We declined because we needed to leave our bags with Bell Services, but if you had your own car you might want to do that instead. After dropping our bags off, we had one thing on our minds...

Mickey waffles!

We each got the kid's breakfast and they were delicious, as always

Our room wasn't ready yet obviously but Allie needed to find somewhere quiet with a plug so she could sign in to work for the day. We thought maybe we could find somewhere over at the new tower so we headed that way, plus we were excited to see it...

I wasn't sure what I would think about the new tower but she's a beaut! I thought the lobby was well done and very pretty...I'm not sure what all the criticism was about. I think it's a great addition to the Seven Seas Lagoon resort area and I'm not mad about it. The Beach Club is still my favorite but I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again and would actually prefer it to the other Poly DVC villas. We actually had a small Poly contract and sold it some years back to buy more BCV but now I kind of wish we still had some points here.

Anyway, we were on a mission because Allie had to get to work! ​

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hi Caroline! You are going to LOVE the Treasure! Are you doing Eastern or Western?

Hi Kelly! We are doing the Eastern Cruise, same as you!

Our travel day started as they almost always do for us, wayyyy too early and me regretting my choices in life as I drive to the airport at 3am! It always seems like such a great idea when I'm booking flights to have the whole day there but in reality, it stresses me out thinking I'm going to oversleep that I always have the WORST night's sleep the night before!

This is me! I always book the flight that leaves our city at 5:15am. I have been trying the later flight arriving around midnight and I don’t really like that any better because I am an early riser!

I wasn't sure what I would think about the new tower but she's a beaut! I thought the lobby was well done and very pretty.

It looks gorgeous. D and I planned to go check it out but we never made it over there! I hope to check it out in May.

 

[buzzrelly]

February 27, 2025
No Popcorn on The People Mover

After wandering a bit and admiring the new tower,
Allie and I went up to one of the new terraces that are the "holes" cut out from the tower...

It was really pretty and peaceful up there with nobody around so Allie decided to sit there and work. There was a plug that was in kind of a weird spot but she made it work.

When she was settled, I headed out on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom...




Now let me just say, I do love the Magic Kingdom, but it was super crowded and I didn't have any LLs booked so I kind of just walked around a bit and decided I would go on the People Mover. On the way I got a popcorn and then got in line which was about 15 minutes or so. But when I got to the front the CM told me I had to finish my popcorn before I got on. I had been snacking on it while I waited but my box was still more than half-full so there was no way I could do that. I was kind of annoyed and ended up just getting out of line and walking back to Main Street to look in the shops before heading out. I guess I just wasn't feeling it this day and strangely enough, when Mike and I were here in January we did almost the same thing and only spent about 2 hours in MK before we were just done with the crowds and headed out. For me, MK has to be started at rope drop and I think LLs are a must, which is kind of sad and annoying at the same time.

While I was in the Emporium I spotted the cutest light pink Crocs that I decided I MUST have. Unfortunately, they didn't have my size so I thought I would walk over to the CR and see if they had them in the shop there...


Sadly, they didn't have the crocs I wanted but while I was there I got the text that the room was ready! I was so surprised since it was only 12:30 and I hadn't expected it to be ready for a couple more hours!




I texted Allie right away since she was still sitting at that look-out terrace and she was super excited!
I told her to go ahead and I would meet her there shortly!​

 

[buzzrelly]

We are doing the Eastern Cruise, same as you!

Nice! I've done that same itinerary twice now and would do it again! It's the perfect amount of sea days and I love Tortola and St. Thomas!

This is me! I always book the flight that leaves our city at 5:15am. I have been trying the later flight arriving around midnight and I don’t really like that any better because I am an early riser!

Ugh, yes, that sounds much worse! My ideal flight is at like 2-3pm but that doesn't seem to be available much anymore so I guess I'll stick to the early mornings!

 

[rdkeim]

Following!

 

[summerlvr]

Yes, I remember you! Fellow NICU nurse here (retired now though). Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Following! I love the way you take the scenery pictures

 

[suse66]

Hi Kelly! So excited to read along. Got to get my Disney fix through my friends for the next little while.

 

[buzzrelly]

Following!

Thanks for reading!!

Following! I love the way you take the scenery pictures

Thanks! I take a LOT of pictures!!

Hi Kelly! So excited to read along. Got to get my Disney fix through my friends for the next little while.

Hi Susan!! Thanks for following! I know, and I am so sorry but I'm jealous of you going to DLP!

 

[buzzrelly]

Yes, I remember you! Fellow NICU nurse here (retired now though). Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks for reading! Congratulations on your retirement! Do you miss the babies?

 

[buzzrelly]

February 27, 2025
Room Tour


Allie was in the room when I arrived so forgive the "stuff" around. We had Room 8703 which is a Duo studio. It was tiny as it's literally meant for two people and the only bed was a pull down.
It was fine but I was glad we only had two nights here as we enjoy having a little space to spread out, as well as our own beds.

The weirdest thing about this room was that it came with real dishes and glassware and yet had no dishwasher or real place to wash them aside from the sink outside the bathroom. Maybe I'm the weird one but I can't see myself using them because I wouldn't trust they were cleaned properly.







Allie was still working so I left her alone and went outside to read. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, especially coming from CT where it was still in the 30s! I just sat and enjoyed the sunshine until she was done. I also walked over to Trader Sam's around 3:30 and put our name on the wait list which surprisingly was already a couple hours long at that point, but ended up working out perfectly because we wanted to eat dinner first anyway!

That's next!​

 

[disneyAndi14]

I feel the same way, weird to have real dishes and not even a kitchen sink or dishwasher. Looks like a nice room. I love when everything is new and fresh!