Downton Disney: the Disney Snob and the Seven Seas Clubs-5/15 #PolynesianParadise

[AGPrincess]

Hey guys! I'm currently working on a trip report update, but in the meantime I thought I'd share a few pics from our January trip that I recently put on my blog...



Update tonight or tomorrow!

[AGPrincess]

The first thing, when I woke up the next morning, that I had to do, straight away, was say Good Morning to the Grand Floridian...



Why, GOOD MORNING darling!



It was looking most especially lovely that AM, with a wide blue sky dotted with pink puffs and the fresh, lacy white of the balcony.



So SO prettiful! Time seemed to kindly oblige that morning (a thing it doesn't always do) and slowed down a little bit for me to just sit in my mint green cupcake jammies (I found them at Kohl's and they're kinda my favorite thing ever ) and bask in the Grand-ness. The wonderful thing about Disney World - and life generally - is that after you've experienced a thing just once, that memory and that place always belongs to you. Staying at the Grand was pretty special for us - it's definitely not something we can afford to do every trip.

But now, whenever I'm back at the Grand Floridian, it's like I'm still staying there. And when I look up to that corner balcony, it seems like it's still mine; it winks at me in a friendly sort-of way. I mean, yes, I know other people borrow it sometimes , but I remember that morning I had on it, and it's like I get to have all the fun and loveliness of staying at the Grand all over again. It's magic.

I soaked in the quiet beauty of the Grand morning through every pore. Eventually a head poked itself onto the balcony and roused me from my reverie.

"Emma, want to come to breakfast?"

I blew a kiss goodbye to the morning and answered the brother with a resounding YES. I think the Grand Floridian morning understood. It knew this was what was waiting at breakfast:



MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.



Here's my plate.

LOL. That was only my FIRST plate. You guys know there was way too much healty stuff for that too be my only plate. Although that orange muffin was super delicious.



I mean, just look at all those perfectly golden, flaky croissants just BEGGING to be eaten!

(Confession: wonderful and satisfying as the mere memory of staying at the Grand is, I have to admit that when it comes to the food, the memory doesn’t taste quite as good as the real thing. lol. )



The amazing brioche bread made its appearance that morning.



My second plate. The brioche bread was best when it was just slightly toasted.



I call this princess yogurt. My own invention. Berry, plain, and strawberry yogurt with just a light sprinkling of granola over the top. I bet Cinderella has this for breakfast every day.

Speaking of princesses, we saw the pumpkin coach passing by down below!





SO fun. I love spying on weddings. If I ever got married at the Grand, I would totally send my photographer upstairs to get some cool paparazzi shots from above.



Obligatory shoe shot!

Continued...next post...

[AGPrincess]

We were heading to the MK that morning, but we didn’t rush too much, as we wanted to enjoy breakfast. But at last that time came, and we had to get packed up and check out of the room (but luckily not the club…you have access to the club until midnight on the day you check out).



A quick shot of the lounge in Sugarloaf.





I found myself taking approximately a billion photos (don’t you love hyperbole?) of random details before we left the room. Does anybody else do this? I feel like I take more photos when I’m leaving than when I arrive!



I love the writing desk and chair!



My floppy blue hat, all ready to go.



So many details…



“Wait! I haven’t fully appreciated the beauty of this dapper Mickey lamp! I have to take a photo of it!”



“I adore this bedspread…someday I want a bedroom in blue and yellow.”



“And the lovely embossed directory, I have to notice these things while I still have a chance!!!”



“I have to take a pic of the very Disney bookshelf painting for my DIS peoples!” Notice how the alphabet book has A for Alice, C for Cinderella and D for Dumbo. Also the titles on the shelf include Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, the Wind in the Willows, Anne of Green Gables, and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (WOOT WOOT - Jane Austen represent!).



“Wait Mom, I also have to take a picture of the wallpaper in the bathroom…it’s covered in topiary Disney characters!”



“And did I take a picture of the bathroom yet?”



“What about this painting near the sinks?”



“And this painting…my readers will want to see these things!”

Yes, I admit it - I partially use you guys as an excuse. Probably I’m just temporizing to get a few extra minutes in the room.



“Just a minute Dad, I need to take a picture of this potted plant for my DISers.”



“…and this lamp…”



“…and the coffee maker…”



“…and the phone!”

Eventually they just dragged me out of there. But I hope you guys enjoyed all the pics!

[marDgreen88]

I have a feeling I'll feel the same way when I see my good old BLT! Disney resorts just have a way of making you feel right at home! It's wonderful!

I really like your princess yogurt. I mean, it's exactly the right color combination for a princess!

Oh my goodness, yes, I did the EXACT same thing at the Contemporary! I took so many random pictures to remember everything. It's hilarious. We are the same.

I loved the pictures. Thank you oh so much for thinking of us.

[jennyjinx3]

Oh your love for the Grand Floridian...I can feel it!! No really, thank you for sharing all the little details. Lovely place.

[Wanna be Ariel]

WOW I just got up-to-date. I have stalking this TR for a long time and I just finished. I just love hearing about the CL's. I REALLY can not wait to hear all about the Poly and the secret you found there. We are staying at the Poly for the first time in September and I just booked CL.

Loving it all so far

[Mommy2BnB]

Great update. Love all of the food pics. yum!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That orange muffin looks really good!

So cool that you saw Cinderella's coach!

Hahaha I liked your GF room pics!

[AGPrincess]

Originally Posted by marDgreen88

I have a feeling I'll feel the same way when I see my good old BLT! Disney resorts just have a way of making you feel right at home! It's wonderful!

I really like your princess yogurt. I mean, it's exactly the right color combination for a princess!

Oh my goodness, yes, I did the EXACT same thing at the Contemporary! I took so many random pictures to remember everything. It's hilarious. We are the same.

I loved the pictures. Thank you oh so much for thinking of us.

You're so right - somehow you always feel at home at a Disney Resort, whether you're staing there or not! LOL - I love that we posted unintentionally matching comments on our unintentionally matching updates! Can't wait to see all your Contemporary pics!

Originally Posted by jennyjinx3

Oh your love for the Grand Floridian...I can feel it!! No really, thank you for sharing all the little details. Lovely place.

Awww, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Nothing could ever surpass the Polynesian in my heart, but I was suprised at how much I reeally loved the Grand by the end!

Originally Posted by Wanna be Ariel

WOW I just got up-to-date. I have stalking this TR for a long time and I just finished. I just love hearing about the CL's. I REALLY can not wait to hear all about the Poly and the secret you found there. We are staying at the Poly for the first time in September and I just booked CL.

Loving it all so far

WELCOME!! And thanks for posting!! SO excited for you -- the Polynesian in itself is the best, and then when you add the King Kamehameha Club, it's just sublime. We don't even go to the parks when we're staying there; we don't want to miss a minute of it! Definitely stay tuned for the secret Poly club lounge!

[scrapbookersdis]

Loved all the photos -- every resort detail is pretty! It's so easy to miss them when you get caught up in the rush and hurry of getting to the parks.

[AGPrincess]

Originally Posted by Mommy2BnB

Great update. Love all of the food pics. yum!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Stringbean&Wingnut

That orange muffin looks really good!

So cool that you saw Cinderella's coach!

Hahaha I liked your GF room pics!

I looove orange muffins, so tasty! LOL, glad you enjoyed them!

Originally Posted by scrapbookersdis

Loved all the photos -- every resort detail is pretty! It's so easy to miss them when you get caught up in the rush and hurry of getting to the parks.

It is! There's a lot to see in the parks, but there's a lot to see at the resorts too!

[AGPrincess]

After we had bid our adieu to our room at the Grand Floridian and stowed away the luggage (we actually stored it at bell services, which we NEVER do, but staying at the Grand makes us feel fancy ), we headed up to the monorail platform. We were Magic Kingdom bound!



Ahhhhhhh...this is a beautiful sight.

It was still drizzling a bit, but the sun was shining and Main Street looked so clean and spruce after the rain.



This was my desktop background for awhile!



I often seem to walk right by the landscaping at Disney, but the brightly colored flowers and the perfectly manicured grounds and the PALM TREES really enhance your day!

Porthos was going to get his haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop. Porthos is the quiet college brother who likes Disney but isn't as super excited about it as Mama Snob and I are. BUT he loves to get his hair cut at Harmony. I think that's just adorable.

While he did that, Aramis, Athos, and I slipped through the crowds (Disney in July!) over to Jungle Cruise to snag some fastpasses. Amazingly Porthos got right into the barbershop, and he and Mom and Dad and Dart were waiting for us at the hub by the time we got back!

The clouds were still inclined to be tearful (I don't know what they were sad for, they get to hang out above Disney World all day! ), so to escape the rain we went back into Adventureland and journeyed to Polynesia with the Tiki Birds.



And the tiki gods as well of course. I love these guys. Although I *still* miss Iago, and I especially miss Pele - she was so cool and so scary all at once! I kept expecting her to pop up from the island in the center and be like, "When is MY number going to start???"



We were entertained more tamely but still charmingly by tropical flowers and Jose and Michael and Pierre and Fritz and Colette and Gigi and all their friends.

Our fastpasses were ready, so we continued the tropical theme of the day and ventured onto the wild rivers of the world!



AHH!! ATTACK!!

Somehow we survived. The native attack and all the cheesy puns.

On our return from the Nile, it was hot and humid and crowded. The line for Pirates was 40 minutes. OUCH!

We strolled back across the park towards Storybook Circus. We kind of wanted to go back to see Merida again (since the one we met earlier in the week had been so awesome!), but the line was crazy that day.



I do love the gates leading into Merida's meet-n-greet!







A glimpse of the Ariel's castle - New Fantasyland wasn't open yet then!



Look at how pretty and enticing Belles Castle looks over the wall there! Now this is not a complaint, exactly, because I do love the New Fantasyland; but I was a little bit disappointing with Belles castle close-up. It looks SO intriguing and elegant from afar, I think I expected to more once I got up close  but it looks pretty much the same when youre right under it, and the entrance to the castle itself is set in the rock, almost like a cave, not as princess-y as I had hoped. Ariels castle is full of the details and prettiness I was expecting, and the inside of Belles is awesome, I just wish theyd done a little bit more with the outside.



Storybook Circus this-a-way!



Big Top Treats wasnt open yet then, but the new water play area was&



But as it was raining, there wasnt really anybody playing there!



Was that mist from the rain or the sprinklers?? lol!



Spitting camels are taking over the Magic Kingdom, land by land!



I LOVE the new Storybook Circus train station  it is so pretty. We decided to hop on the train for a Grand Circle Tour!



Its rather relaxing to ride the train all the way round!



Ridin past Big Thunder!



We rode all the way, past Storybook Circus, and at last got off at Main Street station. I snapped a pic of this painting because I thought it was cute. Look at the lady in her elegant skirt with her bicycle waiting to board the train! Why don't we wear outfits like that to go biking anymore??

The combination of wet and humidity and crowds and heat was making the Royal Palm Club look more and more appealing. So we decided to head back for some jam tarts and tea!

[Mndisneygirl]

I would like some jam tarts and tea right about now! Why don't they serve those at my workplace?

[CandleontheWater]

I love the idea of hopping back from a crowded park to the comfort of a club lounge! I've pretty much told my DH that all I want for my 40th birthday is a trip to Disney where we stay at the GF, now I might have to add club level to the request. Well, we have a few years to save up!

[jwwi]

Fun day, even with the rain, you can't beat spending time at the MK. And to be able to head over to the GF for snacks makes the day even more special. Yum. I love the GF, not sure when or if I will ever stay there, but a trip to WDW is not complete without a visit to the resort.