Resort Upgrades, Roses, No Rain & LOTS OF FOOD! NEW 11/23 Food & Wine AND PhotoPass!

[DisneyCrafter]

We just got back from a trip to Disney World that I don’t think we will ever top. It was a trip full of pixie dust that began before we even left with a resort upgrade from CSR to GF (due to overbooking) and included roses, very special fireworks viewing, and no rain (nope, not one drop!). We got to experience the food and wine festival as well. Get ready, I have A LOT of pictures (including lots of food pictures) and I will be ordering my PhotoPass CD hopefully sometime in the next couple weeks and will post those pictures when it arrives!

Links:
Arrival Day: Part 1
Arrival Day: Part 2
Our First Full Day
Day 3 in Disney World!
Day 4: Let's Rest!
Day 5: It's halfway done!
Day 6: Lunch in Mexico, a trip to Hollywood, and a stroll through the other countries...
Day 7: Back to AK & Dessert Party!
Our last day in WDW!
Food & Wine Festival Pictures
PhotoPass Pictures!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Before I begin the report here’s a little information about us, in case you weren't following along on my PTR here.

(This picture was taken our first night on our way to The Wave.)

Rachael:
I am a full-time babysitter and I love my job. The family that I sit for is great. In my free time (that I’m not cleaning that is), I love to sew, scrapbook, read, and plan vacations. I also enjoy cooking, baking, and watching movies.

Greg:
He works as a Design Analyst for a insurance software company. He is also going to school part-time for his MBA and will graduate in December of this year! Greg’s favortie hobby is playing video games. He doesn’t have much free time between working, going to class, and doing schoolwork but when he does, he is usually playing the Wii.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'm here!!! But I'm running out the door so I'll read later!

 

[KatMark]

I am present!

 

[pinkxray]

Joining in...sounds like you had a magical trip.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I'm here! Love the picture, very cute.

 

[weswife]

I'm in!

What a wonderful upgrade!!!!

 

[Serein]

Sounds like fun!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm in! Yay!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I'm here!!! But I'm running out the door so I'll read later!

You're here and you're first! Double Awesome!

I am present!

Here and accounted for!

Joining in...sounds like you had a magical trip.

It was definitely magical!

I'm here! Love the picture, very cute.

Thanks. My cousin was frustrated with me by this point b/c I had to give my approval after each picture to make sure it looked just right.

I'm in!

What a wonderful upgrade!!!!

We were spoiled, most definitely!!!

Sounds like fun!

Welcome!

I'm in! Yay!

Yay! How many days is it now until you're trip? 7? Wow!

 

[EpcotIsMyFave]

Here! I am anxiously awaiting your TR! We just got back Monday night and I'm already having the post-Disney blues. We had a little taste of the GF one evening, as we dropped the kiddies off with my cousin (they were eating at the GF Cafe) before hopping the monorail over to the Wave for date night! It's so beautiful and fancy! Can't wait to hear all about it!
Sara

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Here! I am anxiously awaiting your TR! We just got back Monday night and I'm already having the post-Disney blues. We had a little taste of the GF one evening, as we dropped the kiddies off with my cousin (they were eating at the GF Cafe) before hopping the monorail over to the Wave for date night! It's so beautiful and fancy! Can't wait to hear all about it!
Sara

You're just in time! I am about to post most of our first day plans!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

Yay! How many days is it now until you're trip? 7? Wow!

Yup! Sevn days from today and I'll be at Downtown Disny! can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Day One aka Arrival Day​

We awoke around 430am (Yikes!) and I got ready first, which isn’t normal but I was excited! Just a little side note: I remember waking up about 20 minutes after I had first fallen asleep hoping it was time to get up! Ha! Ha!

We were awakened further once we stepped outside whether we liked it or not due to the cold, early morning air. We got to the airport right on schedule, even after being stopped by a freight train! When we walked inside the airport, I was amazed at the number of people in the check-in line, most of who were going to Disney World and would be on our flight with us-those yellow tags I tell you! We went over to the express check-in and hoped that we wouldn’t be told to go over to the other line because we didn’t have printed boarding passes (our printer wasn’t working but we did check-in online and even paid for our baggage online as well). All was well and before we knew it, we had our boarding passes in hand and were heading through security. As soon as we got to our gate-my eyes began to tear up, not because we were finally going to Disney after all these months of planning but because there were Make A Wish families who were having their wish to go to Disney World granted. I believe there were 3 MAW families on our flight.

Our flight was uneventful and very smooth. We arrived and were off the plane 20 minutes earlier than anticipated! We went right away to get Starbucks and headed to baggage claim. Our luggage was the first off! Woo Hoo! A lady heard our excitement and said “Isn’t it the best when your luggage comes off first? You are so lucky!” I just laughed and shook my head yes. Ha Ha! We were actually on the B Side so we didn’t have to walk across the entire airport like the times before. We waited in a small line to check-in with ME. It actually was the fullest I’ve seen it. We had to tell the CM’s that we were not going to CSR like our ME “tickets” said but that we were going to the GF! That made me feel special. Ha! Ha! We waited in line about 10 minutes or so and were lucky enough to be the last of the people that fit on the next bus. Unfortunately we had a yellow Mears transportation bus and not a Disney themed one, Cruise Line or otherwise. (Actually, this was the first trip that I noticed multiple of these yellow buses around.) I was hoping to be toward the front of the bus to get a picture of us passing the arches but with being in the back of the line, it wasn’t going to happen. Little did I know that when we stepped onto the bus the first two seats on the left side were open! Score!

We stopped at the Poly first and then headed over to GF. They have CMs standing there to greet you and lead you in to the lobby but the CM that greeted us got preoccupied helping a large party that stepped off the bus with us so Greg and I just went ahead by ourselves. We had NO wait at check-in and our room was ready despite being switched just a few days prior! Wow! Everything was going fantastically! We decided to wait for my cousin in the lobby instead of going right to our room b/c I had just talked to her and she was on the monorail. After giving each other a big hug, we all headed over to check out the room.

We didn’t have a king bed, which was a bit of a disappointment and an adjustment for Greg and I as we have a king bed here at home but we didn’t let it affect us in anyway. We had lofted ceilings and our own private balcony that overlooked the marina! I’ll let the pictures do the talking as far as the detail and the beauty of the room go. While we’re at it. I’ll just go ahead and post all of the pictures I took of the resort throughout the week here as well.

We pretty muched just checked out the room and dropped off our bags before heading over to the Contempo Café at the CR for lunch. For those of you who haven’t tried it before, you don’t know what you’re missing. Everything there is delicious. Here are the pictures I took!

Pepperoni Flatbread (This totally blows the flatbread from Gasparillas @ GF out of the water!)

Chicken Caesar Salad (I had the dressing tossed in. I believe the topping was crunched up croutons-whatever it was, it was delicious! I had another Chicken Caesar Salad later in the week from Sunshine Seasons which just wasn’t as good.)

Honey-Lime Chicken Sandwich (Wow! I only had one bite but it was delicious and Greg obviously loved it because it was gone right away! I want to recreate this sandwich at home at some point.)

Dulche De Leche Cupcake (aka the BEST cupcake I have had on property! Seriously, you need to stop at Contempo Café JUST to have one of these! I wish we would have gotten a picture of our faces when I cut the cupcake in half and the carmel began oozing out-my cousin and I’s jaws were hanging open-no joke! If heaven was in a cupcake-it would be THIS cupcake!)

After filling up on that deliciousness we went back to the room and I unpacked before we headed out to the pool for a while. It was difficult to find open lounge chairs (that happened more than once during the week) but we managed to score some a little after we got there. I was pretty exhausted at this point and I just wanted to lay on the lounger and soak up the sun. I even fell asleep for 15 minutes or so. After cooling off and relaxing for a bit we got ready and headed out for our first ADR of the trip: The Wave! We arrived about an hour early and were seated right away (P.S. The waiting area/lounge is decorated very tastefully, it was really neat in there!)

Wow! The food is amazing. You need to eat here. I just went on AllEars to try to get the description for these dishes but the menu has changed since they last updated it-I think I remember everything, though. The meat is the same but some of the sides have changed. For example, Greg’s Chili-Rubbed Flat Iron Steak came with Boniato Puree and a Beet Salad (which was actually quite delicious!) My Tenderloin came with Potato & Onion Gratin (which was amazing) and spinach. The desserts also changed-although the name stayed the same. We had the Gelato and Creamy Indulgence. Greg’s Gelato was Rocky Road, Popcorn, and Peanut Butter & Jelly. My Creamy Indulgence was New York Cheesecake, Coffee Crème Brulee, and Chocolate Moose (with a small flake of edible gold!!). Greg and I swapped my Coffee Crème Brulee for his Popcorn Gelato and we both had our top 3 desserts out of the 6. Yay!

The only complaint I have about this place (and about many of our servers during our trip) is that we waited FOREVER for the check to be settled. We had fantastic service up until the very end. It took nearly 15 minutes to get our check after we finished dessert and it probably took another 15 minutes after that before we were finally done!

Since it was so early we thought about going over to MK for the evening but after seeing how full the monorail was, we decided to just watch the fireworks from the area in front of Gasparilla’s at the GF (it was probably one of the only nights that area was open-there were many private parties throughout the week that used that area). We got bottled cocktails from Gasparilla’s which weren’t very good and a big waste of money-oh well, live and learn. I passed the time by writing in my trip journal.

That’s when IT happened. Something we will never forget…

 

[DisneyFirefly]

Your first day sounds awesome so far! Can't wait to read more!

 

[dizneeat]

I am late, but I am here!

Your first day sounds wonderful! I LOVE the room upgrade ....... the view is awesome!
Your food from Contempo Cafe looks so yummy and so does your dinner at The Wave! You are so right, it does take "some" time until they come around with the bill at some places!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Wow - the reort & your room are gorgeous!!!

Sounds like a really nice first day! Can't wait to hear what happened next...

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

I'm subbing. Congrats on the upgrade. I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I made it finally! Sorry it took me so long! I'm going back to read about your arrival day now. I'm so excited to hear about your stay at the GF!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Your first day sounds awesome so far! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks, I have most of my next post set to go, I just need to add some pictures.

I am late, but I am here!

Your first day sounds wonderful! I LOVE the room upgrade ....... the view is awesome!
Your food from Contempo Cafe looks so yummy and so does your dinner at The Wave! You are so right, it does take "some" time until they come around with the bill at some places!

No problem, I'm not sure I'll be busting out these updates all that quickly. I'm just glad you're here!

Wow - the reort & your room are gorgeous!!!

Sounds like a really nice first day! Can't wait to hear what happened next...

Thanks, it definitely was weird staying on property at Disney and having an inside hallway to get to our room!

Update coming soon!

I'm subbing. Congrats on the upgrade. I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

Glad you have you here!! I think I've seen you on a few of the threads I frequent!

I made it finally! Sorry it took me so long! I'm going back to read about your arrival day now. I'm so excited to hear about your stay at the GF!

We really had a fantastic trip!