It Smells Like Florida! A January 2012 Trip Report Updated, 1/8!

[yellowlabforever]

YLF and the Introductions
Hello there lovely Dis-ers!

I just returned home yesterday from a few days at Disney World. My mother and I stayed at Grand Floridian in a concierge room, and had the time of our lives :lovestruc

I decided to theme the chapter titles of this trip report off of Harry Potter, since it was the focus of this trip in a way. So without further to do, here is the introduction to the trip report.

How this trip came to be.
Flash back to October. My mother and I decided that it would be nice to have a getaway in January during my J-term break. We wanted to stay somewhere we haven't stayed before, and my mother picked the Grand Floridian RPC, thus completing our stay of the monorail resorts.

Here are the Cast of Characters
http://i42.tinypic.com/20zwl5t.jpg
Me: 20 years old. Disney lover, and future music educator. Thinking about applying for the college program this fall.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2zq94js.jpg
DM. Loves Disney World, and had a great time! I am her travel/dining companion, since we very much enjoy both of those. In her spare time she loves to cook, read, and garden. She got a Nook for Christmas, which she enjoyed very much on the plane.

And so, without furter to do, let this trip report begin :wizard:
P.S. If the pictures are too big, feel free to tell me and I will resize them!

[yellowlabforever]

Chapter Links
YLF and the Introductions (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43650927&postcount=1)
YLF and the Airport Adventure (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43651085&postcount=3)
YLF and the Surprise Upgrade (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43652185&postcount=4)
YLF and the Arrival at the Grand Floridian (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43654443&postcount=7)
YLF and the Problem at Toy Story Mania (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43664504&postcount=11)
YLF and the Return of the Cousins

[yellowlabforever]

Day 1: January 1st.

Happy New Year! party:

We woke up at 6:30 am, ready to head to Orlando! :goodvibes
Our bags were packed and ready to go
http://i39.tinypic.com/2gsg6di.jpg
And we were off to the airport at 8am!

Our first flight was to Salt Lake City, and it had the MOST beautiful views! The mountains peaking out over the clouds on our way were just devine. We usually fly into Minneapolis, but because of blackout dates we had to rearrange our travel schedule.
http://i41.tinypic.com/1621qox.jpg

Then we flew from SLC to Minneapolis, where we shared a pizza from California Pizza Kitchen ASAP, and this brings us to our first food picture!
http://i43.tinypic.com/141sj81.jpg

[yellowlabforever]

So as some of you may know, we got a surprise upgrade during the trip. The flight from SLC was super long, and we had another three hour flight to go.

On the airplane board, upgrades at a lower price were available if you had a certain type of plane ticket. Well, we had one of those types and my mother surprised me with an upgrade to first class for the both of us :dance3:

It was so fancy, they had mini hot towels before our dinner.

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My dinner

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DM's dinner

After what seemed like forever, we finally made it to Orlando, where we bunked in at the Hyatt airport hotel because we added an extra day at the last minute.
http://i44.tinypic.com/208bnt5.jpg
View from balcony
http://i43.tinypic.com/33ytmyx.jpg

[archdandy]

How exciting! I love the beginning of trips. I've seen quite a few pictures of that tree in MCO in other trip reports and it would be awesome to see it in person one day. I hope you had a wonderful time and I can't wait to hear all about it.

[yellowlabforever]

How exciting! I love the beginning of trips. I've seen quite a few pictures of that tree in MCO in other trip reports and it would be awesome to see it in person one day. I hope you had a wonderful time and I can't wait to hear all about it.

Thank you very much! We had a BLAST! More updates are on the way :goodvibes

[yellowlabforever]

Welcome back readers!

We exited the Hyatt and checked out, and then we were on our way to this little place
http://i44.tinypic.com/21n1e1w.jpg
Then to this sign
http://i42.tinypic.com/43rpc.jpg
And finally on the Magical Express bus, where we came up on this :banana:
http://i43.tinypic.com/2yo20xs.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2r4qv6t.jpg

Our room wasn't ready yet, so we decided to head over to DHS for the day. We had a little bit of breakfast and were on our way.

[francis6306]

What a great idea staying at the airport hotel and then using the ME to scoot over to Disney! I had friends that stayed at a DTD resort last year, because they could get a super cheap flight the day before we were suppose to arrive and it was still cheaper with the hotel/cab than the flight on the day of. But it was a PITA to get to their resort!

Can't wait to see pics from the CG!

[JanetMom]

Hello,

I love trip reports with big pictures, so I'm in!

:thumbsup2

[yellowlabforever]

What a great idea staying at the airport hotel and then using the ME to scoot over to Disney! I had friends that stayed at a DTD resort last year, because they could get a super cheap flight the day before we were suppose to arrive and it was still cheaper with the hotel/cab than the flight on the day of. But it was a PITA to get to their resort!

Can't wait to see pics from the CG!

Yes, it was very easy to get over to our resort. We left the Hyatt at 8 and we zoomed through the ME line, were all settled in at 9, and were at Hollywood Studios by 10! (We got in late, so we slept in an hour)

I think that this is a very good idea for anyone who has to add on a day at the last minute, or plans change, etc...

Hello,

I love trip reports with big pictures, so I'm in!

:thumbsup2

YAY! I love big picture trip reports as well, and they're just so much fun! (especially when you get to the food parts!) :cloud9: . Thanks for joining in! :woohoo:

[yellowlabforever]

We decided to head over to DHS as it is traditionally our first stop, and a lot of the touring suggestions I have read suggested it because Epcot had EMH that evening.

We headed to TSM to get fastpasses/ride, but knowing that we had not arrived at rope drop the line was already at 50 minutes :scared1: and fastpasses were already at 6:35 in the evening at 10 am! Which is why, if you want to ride TSM, get there EARLY!
http://i39.tinypic.com/25z3s6d.jpg

We grabbed fastpasses and decided to go in line. While we were in line, these little guys were marching around, entertaining guests :goodvibes remember these guys for later, as they play a fun part in the evening!
http://i39.tinypic.com/xliazk.jpg

The home state :cloud9:
http://i44.tinypic.com/e1fa1i.jpg

My score on the right, DM's on the left
http://i44.tinypic.com/2ui8boj.jpg

Up next, we decided to try our luck at getting lunch at 50s Prime Time Cafe, a favorite at our previous trip. Will we get in? Find out in the next installment!

[Kelliroo3]

I'm in! I've always wanted to stay at GF so I'm excited to read and see more about it! :)

[yellowlabforever]

I'm in! I've always wanted to stay at GF so I'm excited to read and see more about it! :)

I've always wanted to stay there as well, and it was BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to show you guys the room pictures :goodvibes

[yellowlabforever]

As I last left you, we were wondering if we could get in to 50s Prime Time Cafe. After all, we tried to get into Le Cellier and all the reservations were booked solid!

However, we were surprised to find that 50s Prime Time Cafe was wide open and we were able to be seated within 10 minutes.

I had the Chicken Pot Pie and the PB and J Milkshake
http://i44.tinypic.com/30hmufo.jpg

My mom had two of the appetizers, the lettuce leaves and the onion rings which we shared.
http://i40.tinypic.com/so5sog.jpg

After lunch we went to go to Star Tours, but it was mobbed because the LMA show just got out :scared1: We grabbed fastpasses and moved on.

We decided to go on the backlot tour, which surprised me because I did not know that they were not doing the audience actors anymore. I just want that attraction to get the love and attention it deserves, the coolest part was seeing all the stunt drivers of the LMA show
http://i44.tinypic.com/21do68p.jpg

While waiting for our fastpasses, we saw the American Idol show, and there were three performers. A British lady, a seventeen year old girl, and a late twenties man. The third guy was amazing, and I hope he won the finale! He seemed like he would have a good chance, so we both voted for him.
http://i43.tinypic.com/1z20do1.jpg

[Annal606]

so good pics.
http://www.primeaffiliate.com/track/images/20.creation.jpg

[Kelliroo3]

Haven't been to Prime Time in years; did you enjoy it?