Royal Me This, Royal Me That ~ Disney in December, How About That? *Update 6-1* P26

[TarzansKat]

It's going on the souvenir list!!!

Where is the spa located at the Grand Floridian? Is it in the main building or somewhere else on the grounds?

Okay, you've just walked into the lobby.

As you get further in, you'll notice a staircase on the right hand side. Behind that staircase is a set of doors leading outside. There's the kiddie pool area with the big slide built into the rockface, very pretty. When you get outside, you'll see some signs pointing you toward the direction of the spa, which is also the same direction as the wedding pavilion. It's a short walk to get there, and fun to just soak in the Grand Flo.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Okay, you've just walked into the lobby.

As you get further in, you'll notice a staircase on the right hand side. Behind that staircase is a set of doors leading outside. There's the kiddie pool area with the big slide built into the rockface, very pretty. When you get outside, you'll see some signs pointing you toward the direction of the spa, which is also the same direction as the wedding pavilion. It's a short walk to get there, and fun to just soak in the Grand Flo.

Great -- thanks! I will print off these directions so I know how to find that wonderful lotion!

 

[TarzansKat]

Great -- thanks! I will print off these directions so I know how to find that wonderful lotion!

No problem, my dear. I know you'll love the scent, it's divine.

 

[MegansMom]

I am going to have to go and sniff out this lotion----sounds like it smells GREAT!!!!

Good girlfriends are hard to find at times---so glad you have been blessed with TINK!!!!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Your trip reports are so dangerous to me! Now I need to hunt down grapefruit lotion while I'm on my vacation.

I think you've pretty much swayed me too on which resort to hit for my possible spa treatment. The Grand Floridian sounds so nice.

 

[TarzansKat]

I am going to have to go and sniff out this lotion----sounds like it smells GREAT!!!!

Who knew I could single-handedly start a run on this lotion?

Good girlfriends are hard to find at times---so glad you have been blessed with TINK!!!!

I had a sad lack of them for a long time. I really do consider her a blessing, much like my DIS friends. I'm so grateful to have you all.

Your trip reports are so dangerous to me! Now I need to hunt down grapefruit lotion while I'm on my vacation.

I think you've pretty much swayed me too on which resort to hit for my possible spa treatment. The Grand Floridian sounds so nice.

If you're getting a spa treatment, I wouldn't do it anywhere but the Grand Flo. Pre-DS, I used to get them, and I LOVE it there. It's unbelievably relaxing. Seriously. I could spend a whole day in that spa.

 

[If U Had Wings]

If you're getting a spa treatment, I wouldn't do it anywhere but the Grand Flo. Pre-DS, I used to get them, and I LOVE it there. It's unbelievably relaxing. Seriously. I could spend a whole day in that spa.

I'm definitely leaning towards it. As of right now, I'll be there 7 days and only have 5 day passes. Lots and lots of free time which has me very excited. If I do it, it will be my treat to myself for sticking to my diet. I'm having fun just looking over the brochure and being tempted by the treatments. I've never been to any kind of a spa treatment other than a mani and pedi while on a cruise so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[TarzansKat]

I'm definitely leaning towards it. As of right now, I'll be there 7 days and only have 5 day passes. Lots and lots of free time which has me very excited. If I do it, it will be my treat to myself for sticking to my diet. I'm having fun just looking over the brochure and being tempted by the treatments. I've never been to any kind of a spa treatment other than a mani and pedi while on a cruise so I'm looking forward to it.

I've had a few different treatments there and really enjoyed them all.

Honestly, I know it's expensive, but it's TOTALLY worth it. You'll have such a relaxing day and feel so refreshed afterwards.

 

[TarzansKat]

In all honesty? I didn't want to go to dinner. I really didn't want to do anything, but that's a poopy mood to have in Disney World, so I had a couple of choices. I could try to figure out something else, or I could buck up and go to what I anticipated would be a long but probably enjoyable meal.

I bucked up.

Let's say I royally pirated up. That should cover it.

I was hungry, and it was dinner. Regardless. And I love Citrico's. I do. So despite being so done, I think...well, I was so done that I just wanted to eat there.

And eat there, we did.

And when they brought me this...I sure started to feel better...

Now let me state for the record. I am not a big drinker. I talk a big game, but it's all talk. I can't pound 'em down, I'm lucky if I can have a cocktail and champagne or wine afterwards, it usually doesn't work. Tonight, by some miracle, it did. And, I did not get drunk, which was nice. It's all in the pacing my friends, all in the pacing. Plus, I really wanted to try the YOMD cocktail before it was gone, and I just wanted the glow cube.

HRH had other ideas for it, which I thought were ADORABLE!!!!

For those of you who don't know, we are parking the cars in the garage.

For the most part, I have to say, this was a good meal. We had an early ressie and were seated by a window, with a great ledge were HRH could play with his cars during the meal. He was a little loud at times and I did have to hush him, but he wasn't obnoxious, just making noise playing with his cars. At which Mom and Nana would admonish me for telling him to be quiet because he was just being a little boy.

Well, he was just being a little boy in a very nice restaurant, and sometimes, we need to be quiet, people. I love my family, but honestly. The fairly continuous undermining of all my parenting was getting to me. A lot. Thank God for that cocktail.

I didn't get an appetizer, but I believe Mom and Nana did. HRH had the wonderful cheese plate they make for kids, and he really eats more of that than he does the "dinner" portion which is fine by me. It's healthy and it works. And he's happy.

So here's some food art for you.

HRH's Fruit, Cheese, and Cracker Plate - Sorry it's partially eaten, little boys do not wait for photos.

The Filet with Quattro Formaggi Potatoes

One word...NOM.

HRH's Fish with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Broccolini

He ate some of it, and that's high praise. Does't that look like a nice children's meal though? I so much prefer the options at signature restaurants for kids. At least there's some variety.

Mom's Special Order

No butter, no oil...hmm...there's some other things she doesn't like. I think we have pasta with capers in a white wine sauce. She loves it, and she's happy. And they're happy to do it for her.

Nana's Dinner

I'll be darned if I can remember what this is. I know she liked it. I think it's fish. I'll peruse an online menu and see if I can figure it out.

Now this was a LONG dinner. I'm proud of HRH. I'm a little scared to tell you that we had the earliest ressie and dinner was so long that we were able to see Wishes from our lovely table by the window.

And our waitress! Oh my goodness, how could I forget! She was so sweet. She was so wonderful. She called my son by name. She spoke directly to him and asked him how he liked his meal. She waited while we had him ask for more juice, HRH say please, and waited for him to say please, and when she brought it, he'd say thank you to hear and I was so proud! He was working on his manners, and she was with us on that, and she treated him like a lot of servers in restaurants don't...which is to say, a viable member of the dining party. And that is one of the reasons that I love Citrico's. Aside from the food, the decor, the ambience, the Citrico's of it all, the service is impeccable. Impeccable. I love it.

After dinner, we did opt for some dessert. HRH had a great time with the make your own sundae, I got my traditional sorbet.

Citrus Creme Brulee

Mom ordered this, but was not keen to it. I think Nana may have liked it, but Mom felt the citrus taste was just not for her. I think she's more a traditional creme brulee gal, like me.

Sorbet

My dessert, fantastic. I loved it in September, I loved it in December. I feel like Dr. Suess. I would eat it in a house, I would eat it with a mouse. I do so like sorbet, good friends, I do so like it, TK, I am.

HRH's Make Your Own Sundae

All in all, this was a great meal, even if I was initially, a reluctant participant. I'm really glad I chose to pirate up.




Up Next - Did Someone Say Extra Magic Hours?

 

[TarzansKat]

Hey, guys!

I updated this a couple of days ago.

There's some lovely food art and a review of Citrico's. Just wanted to let you all know.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I don't know how I missed this earlier, TK.

Love that HRH made a garage out of a napkin and a glow cube -- too cute.

I am glad that you decided to go ahead and eat at Citrico's, but I can identify with the parental undermining -- it took a long time for my MIL to figure out that was a no-no. Although sometimes she lapses.

HRH's cheese plate looks delicious!

 

[maroo]

I was a lurker!!!!

AHHHHHHH!!!!

I have about decided that trying to keep up with planning 2 trips, doing the WISH journal and a trip report are too much!

I am DIStressed!


Your pictures were WONDERFUL!

I don't even drink and that blue think is looking quite inviting right now.

Your son parking his cars in the garage... Priceless.

Oh...that filet... I might just have to add Citrico's!

Do you think they will let adults have the make your own sundae??


Gosh...I am so sorry I lurked!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Thanks for the heads up. I don't know why it wasn't listed with the rest of my subscriptions.

Citricos sounds great. One of these days I'll get there. Those quatro fromaggi potatos are just calling out to me!

 

[TarzansKat]

I don't know how I missed this earlier, TK.

No problem! I just figured I'd bump it up because it looks like everyone missed it!

Love that HRH made a garage out of a napkin and a glow cube -- too cute.

I was impressed with the creativity.

I am glad that you decided to go ahead and eat at Citrico's, but I can identify with the parental undermining -- it took a long time for my MIL to figure out that was a no-no. Although sometimes she lapses.

Glad to know I'm not the only one. It can be quite daunting, you know?

HRH's cheese plate looks delicious!

He really enjoyed it, I'm glad they have such great options for kids. Honestly, if I could find him something like that at CS places, we'd be doing okay for meals. I swear he could live off of fruit and cheese.

I was a lurker!!!!

AHHHHHHH!!!!

I have about decided that trying to keep up with planning 2 trips, doing the WISH journal and a trip report are too much!

I am DIStressed!

You say it like it's a lot.

Well, I'm glad you're still lurking. Better than hitting unsubscribe!!!

Your pictures were WONDERFUL!

I don't even drink and that blue think is looking quite inviting right now.

Your son parking his cars in the garage... Priceless.

Oh...that filet... I might just have to add Citrico's!

Do you think they will let adults have the make your own sundae??

Now you know why I want you to go there. And honestly, I totally think they would let you have the make your own sundae if you wanted it. Why not?

Citricos sounds great. One of these days I'll get there. Those quatro fromaggi potatos are just calling out to me!

Tink's favorite. I like them a lot, but she's in love with them. They're just that good.

 

[maroo]

You say it like it's a lot.

Well, I'm glad you're still lurking. Better than hitting unsubscribe!!!



Now you know why I want you to go there. And honestly, I totally think they would let you have the make your own sundae if you wanted it. Why not?

Aw man...if you had any idea what the last 2 days have been like. OMGosh.

Just picture the last 15 minutes...I am at Laurens, we are trying to eat dinner (that I cooked...scary enough!), Lauren and her mother, both in wheelchairs are eating at the table. Rick's blood sugar is so low!! 30's low. William is cutting up. It is just crazy here!! And that was the past 15 minutes.

I would NEVER hit unsubscribe!!!!! I love my TK updates!! I just need to unsubscribe from about 50 of these over 100 threads I have going. That would help my sanity!!!

And Citrico's is now on THE LIST...

 

[TarzansKat]

Aw man...if you had any idea what the last 2 days have been like. OMGosh.

Just picture the last 15 minutes...I am at Laurens, we are trying to eat dinner (that I cooked...scary enough!), Lauren and her mother, both in wheelchairs are eating at the table. Rick's blood sugar is so low!! 30's low. William is cutting up. It is just crazy here!! And that was the past 15 minutes.

Aw, hon! It sounds like you need an extra pair of hands. If I lived closer, I would sooooooo be helping out.

Although I don't know how much help I'd be, what with a rambunctious four year old, but given the crazy mix you already have going on, I'm sure it would just be the more, the merrier!

I would NEVER hit unsubscribe!!!!! I love my TK updates!! I just need to unsubscribe from about 50 of these over 100 threads I have going. That would help my sanity!!!

Aw, shucks! Well, thank you.

I had a rather large list of subscribed threads, and I keep it pretty low now. I love the DIS, but some days, I just don't....:::gasp:::...have the time.

And Citrico's is now on THE LIST...

 

[maroo]

Aw, hon! It sounds like you need an extra pair of hands. If I lived closer, I would sooooooo be helping out.

Although I don't know how much help I'd be, what with a rambunctious four year old, but given the crazy mix you already have going on, I'm sure it would just be the more, the merrier!

You can come join the sitcom anytime!

 

[TarzansKat]

You can come join the sitcom anytime!

Oh, sure! I'd be your crazy, artsy friend, TK.

 

[TarzansKat]

Let's start off this chapter with a HEARTY thanks to Nana.

The Royal Nana. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't thank Nana enough for what transpired after dinner. I really can't. There's just no way.

Let's start at the beginning shall we? We had a lovely dinner at Citrico's, got to see Wishes from our table, and when we were done, it was late enough that it was time to change HRH into his jams. Mom and I headed into the royal loo just off of Citrico's. By the by, I love the bathrooms in the Grand Floridian. They are so posh. Seriously. Don't laugh. Try one next time. You'll see.

So once I got HRH changed, overnight diaper on, all bundled up, we all made the command decision that we had one round left in us.

You see, we plan things well in our family. Well, we try to. And this particular night, we planned our dinner at Citrico's because we knew that the Magic Kingdom had extra magic hours in the evening, and we really wanted to see the castle all lit up.

I won't lie. I was wary. Wary of the Magic Kingdom and wary of the extra magic hours. The last time I'd attended such a thing was two years ago, it was crazy crowded, and the line for the Pop bus after...oh my word. We took the monorail to the Contemporary and took a cab. Let's leave it at that.

Let me say, that in this case, I had some major pixie dust. Major Disney magic. I was blessed that night.

For not only did we have park access limited to resort guests (and not a lot of them, yipee), we had a beautiful sight to behold.

Let me tell you how much fun it was to take the pictures of the castle without a tripod. I actually held my breath, and I believe one of these is with my elbows propped up on a wall along the...where the noodle station in Tomorrowland is? You know that terrace that you can sneak through to get from Main Street to Tomorrowland without having to go with the masses?

Anyway, we got these two beautiful shots. And some more as well.

A little out of sequence, but I wanted you to see the castle first.

It's really something that you should see at least once. Much like the Osbourne Lights. I had a moment with the Osbourne Lights, and I had a moment with the castle. Not now, my moment with the castle was later on, but you'll hear all about it.

Oh...do I even need to add that almost upon entering the park, HRH fell asleep in his stroller?

SCORE!!!!!

I almost did a happy dance right then and there. But I kept it all inside.

Now given that HRH was asleep, and there had been a sad lack of rides on this trip, a little something happened that made me sooooo happy.

Nana basically offered to watch him while Mom and I went on rides.

You heard me right. God. Bless. Her.

So what did Mom and I do?

Um, we went a little commando. With utmost consideration for the fact that Nana couldn't walk quickly, and that if she had to wait for us on rides, we were going to make sure she was dang comfortable.

Guys, I don't even remember everything I went on. I know it was a lot.

But I have two distinct memories that stick out, and that's probably because they're my two favorites.

The Haunted Mansion.

And Pirates.

Obviously. ; )

And I'm pretty sure we went on Buzz Lightyear, that's my mom's favorite.

Going on the Haunted Mansion with my mom was so nice. I don't really remember the last time mom and I went on a ride alone together. We'd gotten Nana a nice spot on the rocking chairs by that store in the square, and we'd hauled the stroller up right next to her so she could easily see HRH.

I, of course, needed to take some ambience type photos on my out of the ride.

And Pirates. What can I say about Pirates?

Guys....

I got stuck on the ride. At the very end. So not only did I get the glory of staring at all that is Jack Sparrow for about five minutes, I got to hear his WHOLE dialogue. I can't even remember all of it right now, but not only does he sing, he talks to the parrot, and it is absolutely hilarious. I was in heaven. Honestly, that moment was fantastic.

And while Mom and I were strolling in, because there were little to no lines this evening, I totally made her do a goofy pirate pose. Unfortunately, we don't do face shots on the internet, and it really doesn't make sense to show this headless, so you'll just have to picture it. Suffice it to say I had my mother in stitches, and myself, in stitches. "Mom, do a pirate pose! ARRRRRR! Ahoy matey!!!!"

Now, believe you me. Part of me felt very, very guilty for walking Nana all over that park and leaving HRH with her. And part of me was just very, very grateful that someone was giving me a break. And allowing me to enjoy something that I didn't realize was upsetting me so much during the whole trip.

Rides at the Magic Kingdom.

If I learned anything from this trip...and I learned a lot, but let's just roll with this one, it's that I need to do the rides at the Magic Kingdom. I get frustrated when I can't go on the rides in Fantasyland, or when the lines get too long for us to manage with HRH.

Which is why on our September trip, I've changed our itinerary to make the Magic Kingdom the first park we visit on our first full day, and if we don't make rope drop, we are so going to be there shortly after. I'm making a bee line for Fantsayland and getting my fairy tale on. I love sharing those rides with HRH, and I love going on them myself. And leaving them to last sometimes means they don't get done.

So thank you, Nana. Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me have that time.

Now, we really pushed ourselves, and I swear, I was running on pure Disney adrenalin at that point, but we knew it was really time to head back to the room since we were :::sniff, sniff::: leaving the next day.

But no without one last look, my friends.

One last look at that beautiful castle.

I'll throw it in here one more time so you can share this moment with me.

I stood there, on the terrace right off of the Crystal Palace, and I just took it in. That beautiful castle, that gorgeous lighting, so pretty, so magical, so Disney. So hopeful. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true. That castle.

And I had a moment. It was a moment of relaxation, and a moment of relief. This trip, for all intensive purposes, was over. We had a half day left, and despite many, many bumps in the road, I had survived it. And although I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I should, I did enjoy parts of it. I did have some stolen moments with my son that I'll never forget.

Getting stuck on Spaceship Earth.

HRH waking up to have Goofy, Mickey, and Minnie staring at him.

Oh my goodness, those priceless moments.

Mom taking me to the spa for a little break to buy the lotion I like.

Nana watching HRH so I could have some ride time at the MK.

There were bad moments to this trip. Moments of complete and total frustration, exhaustion, hunger. But there were moments that we live for. Moments that make a trip to Disney unlike anything else you'll ever do in your life.

And that's what I thought of while I looked at the castle. That most likely I'd never see it lit like that again, and that it was a beautiful sight. Something I'll never forget.

When we finally got back to our room it was 1245am. I was in bed at 100, and I'm sure, completely out shortly thereafter.



Up Next - Just How Early Was HRH's Last Day Wake Up Call?

 

[If U Had Wings]

The pics of the castle are just stunning!!!

You really were due a better night after some of the day's more trying moments. I've never actually done any of the extra magic hours because I've been so afraid of the crowds. My plan is usually to avoid the extra hours park at all costs. Maybe I'll try it this year when I'm by myself.

Fantasyland is wonderful first thing in the morning. My past two trips I've gone there right after rope drop and made it on to nearly every ride in an hour without even putting an effort in. That's with leisurely walking from ride to ride. Soooo much better than later in the day when Peter Pan has a 2 hour wait, which much as I love it, I refuse to wait that long.