"Even the Garbage Cans Have Flowers!"-A September 2016 Mother-Daughter TR!- NEW TR LINK 9/13!

Day 1: Part 2- "Unbelievable Sights, Indescribable Feeling!"


Where I last left off, we were just getting off the Disney’s Magical Express! Right at 12:45, we disembarked the DME and arrived at our resort home: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.






You could say that we were excited.


We walk up to the doors, and almost on cue, we see Richard!! If you guys don’t know who Richard is, he’s a greeter at the GF that has worked there since the day that it opened! He’s 91 now and still works as a greeter :) He is the sweetest, cutest man and is very friendly! If any of you see him sometime, you should definitely go up to him!


Sadly, a whole crowd of people was around him wanting to talk to him, so just a wave would suffice for now.


We walked in, and we were greeted by THIS:





Oh baby! I felt just like Michelle Tanner from Full House (one of my favorite episodes, too ;)). I couldn’t believe that we were actually, finally here!


There was no line, so we walked right up to a nice older lady to check in. She asked us if we were celebrating anything, and we told her that we were celebrating my college graduation! She made out two beautiful buttons for us to wear. We ended up only wearing them our first day!





Once she gave us the buttons, she asked us about our room preferences since I didn’t fax a room request. I thought that this was so sweet of her. Any other non-Disney hotel would just give you what they had, but she actually had the thoughtfulness to ask for our opinions! We requested to be on a higher floor and close to the pool. Then, she actually tilted her computer screen towards us and showed us the views we could have! Once I saw a particular room view, I knew it was the right choice. She mentioned that it wasn’t ready yet, but since we were off to Epcot, it was no problem at all!


After thanking our wonderful check-in lady, we headed over to bell services to drop off our carry-ons. A friendly gentleman took our bags and made some chit-chat with us. He congratulated me on my graduation and asked if I had applied for the Disney College Program before.


Well, I haven’t told anyone on the DIS this, but I actually did apply back in February and didn’t get in :( I was devastated, and that week was one of the hardest weeks of my life. It was sad, because I didn’t even have a chance to apply again since I am now out of college.


After sheepishly telling the bellman my story, he looked shocked. He said, “I can’t believe you didn’t get in, they made a mistake! You have the perfect Disney, girl-next-door look! We would have been lucky to have you.”


Well, that made my day! :cloud9: I thanked him profusely, and he offered to take a picture of Mom and I.





Wow! Two great cast-member interactions, and we’ve only been here 20 minutes! I could get used to this!


We said our goodbyes to the bellman, and made our way upstairs. We wanted to look in the gift shops to see if we could get some accessories for our Magic Bands! I knew exactly what I wanted: a Dumbo Magic Band Slider. Sadly, neither gift shop had it in stock, but we knew we would see it at Disney Springs tonight.


We decided to take a quick bathroom trip before heading to Epcot, and when I was washing my hands, I got a text! OUR ROOM WAS READY! :hyper:


Well, of course, we couldn’t leave for Epcot without exploring our room first! So, we headed out the back doors to see our new crib!


We were placed in Big Pine Key, room 9308 (third floor, pool side).






As soon as we got up to our room, I rushed over to the balcony to see our view!






:earseek::earseek::earseek:

It looked like a postcard! We were absolutely thrilled!


Then, we backtracked and took pictures of the actual room. You guys, it felt like you were sleeping in a castle. Everything was so pristine and elegant! I loved how the GF renovated their rooms; before, I thought the rooms were sort of dowdy. Now, they look Victorian but still modern as well!





THERE’S EVEN A CHANDELIER IN THE ROOM!
























We loved this Alice in Wonderland portrait!


After geeking out over our room, we decided that we should get going to our first park of the trip!


On our way, we of course had to snap a few pictures of the gorgeous GF.















Vacation Selfie!



Finally, we made our way over to the monorail. I was so tickled by this Mary Poppins topiary; it’s the little things that Disney does that makes everything so special :)





We waited about a minute for the monorail, and then we were off! Next stop: Epcot!! :mickeyjum


Coming Soon- Day 1: Part 3- “Don’t Just Fly, Soar!”
 
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We walked in, and we were greeted by THIS:


image_zpsjrauzy2d.jpeg
I've passed by the GF many times on the monorail, but sadly I have never stepped inside. It looks like a beautiful resort. I really need to try some resort hopping someday!
 
Can I just say that I LOVE that you used a "LUCY" Gif?! Perfect! ::yes::

Awesome pixie dust on your room view. Just beautiful! And 2 very nice CMs! pixiedust:

Looking forward to hearing about Epcot! :flower:
 
oh my goodness that room :lovestruc:lovestruc
GF definitely has top notch guest service, love that you had two great CM interactions before you even left the resort!
 


Joining in! I love your trip report so far! My daughter and I are already planning our mother/daughter trip for when she graduates high school (in 5.5 years!). I'm hoping by then she'll still want to go with me. I would love for it to become a tradition like you have with your mom. I'm sorry you didn't get into the DCP, that must be an awful blow. And like the CM, I'm surprised your didn't get in too! You look like you're perfect for the job! I'm sure they have times when they may be looking for a specific person and through no fault of your own, you didn't fit it. But I'm a real believer in "everything happens for a reason," and I'm sure bigger and better things are in store for you :hug:

I've never stayed at the Grand…we've stayed at the CR and the Poly so someday I need to complete the (monorail) circle and stay there.

Looking forward to reading more!
 
Sounds like you got a wonderful CM at check in!

Love that first photo of you 2, you guys are so ready for your Disney vacay!

That's awesome that your room was ready so fast. What a great view! The GF really is a gorgeous hotel.
 


I love that Full House episode too! We actually have the complete series on DVD :). And the pictures of your room are fabulous and make me want to stay there even more than I already did!
 
We met Richard, he was so nice! Great view from your room, we were on the other side in Conch Keys. We overlooked the lake with a view of the monorail. Sorry you didn't get in CP, my daughter is hoping when she is in college she can do it! Glad you had some nice CM interactions right away, makes the trip start out on a good note.
 
Hi :wave: joining in. I'm absolutely loving your trip report. I think it's so special the memories you're making with your mom. Can't wait to read more.
 
Such cute selfies with your mom!

Your room is beautiful! I love the Grand Floridian. It's on my bucket list.
 
I've passed by the GF many times on the monorail, but sadly I have never stepped inside. It looks like a beautiful resort. I really need to try some resort hopping someday!

The GF is gorgeous!! It gets kind of mixed reviews for being "stuffy", but we did not feel that way at all! Plus, to add to your resort-hopping fun, Mizner's Lounge while the band is playing is my personal version of heaven :lovestruc

Can I just say that I LOVE that you used a "LUCY" Gif?! Perfect! ::yes::

Awesome pixie dust on your room view. Just beautiful! And 2 very nice CMs! pixiedust:

Looking forward to hearing about Epcot! :flower:

Haha thank you!! Lucille Ball's facial expressions are just priceless :) We really lucked out with our room, not only was our view perfect, but our location was prime; we were right in the middle of the action!

oh my goodness that room :lovestruc:lovestruc
GF definitely has top notch guest service, love that you had two great CM interactions before you even left the resort!

Thank you! Ahhh how I miss waking up in that room... :cloud9: We definitely noticed that as well... All of the cast members at the GF were SO polite and helpful!!

Joining in! I love your trip report so far! My daughter and I are already planning our mother/daughter trip for when she graduates high school (in 5.5 years!). I'm hoping by then she'll still want to go with me. I would love for it to become a tradition like you have with your mom. I'm sorry you didn't get into the DCP, that must be an awful blow. And like the CM, I'm surprised your didn't get in too! You look like you're perfect for the job! I'm sure they have times when they may be looking for a specific person and through no fault of your own, you didn't fit it. But I'm a real believer in "everything happens for a reason," and I'm sure bigger and better things are in store for you :hug:

I've never stayed at the Grand…we've stayed at the CR and the Poly so someday I need to complete the (monorail) circle and stay there.

Looking forward to reading more!

:welcome: And thank you!! I totally lurked on your last TR and I loved reading along! That is so awesome that you are already planning a mother-daughter trip, it will be the experience of a lifetime!

Thank you so much for your kind words :hug: It was tough at the time, but I have come to learn that it absolutely did happen for a reason, and that maybe it is best to enjoy WDW as a guest :)

Oooooh, you'd love the GF!! I've never stayed at the Contemporary, but the Poly and GF are my top 2 resorts (with a slight edge to Poly)!!

Sounds like you got a wonderful CM at check in!

Love that first photo of you 2, you guys are so ready for your Disney vacay!

That's awesome that your room was ready so fast. What a great view! The GF really is a gorgeous hotel.

We really lucked out with our check in lady, she was awesome! And thank you!! :)

We were so surprised that our room was ready so soon, it turned out absolutely perfect because we would have been thinking about it all night had we not seen it, lol!

Your room looks beautiful, so much more elegant than when I stayed there :)

Thank you!! I totally agree with you about the renovations, they definitely brighten up the room and make it look more posh :)

I love that Full House episode too! We actually have the complete series on DVD :). And the pictures of your room are fabulous and make me want to stay there even more than I already did!

Wow, that's awesome!! Full House is such a classic, I love the wholesomeness about it :) And thank you, it certainly was the stay of a lifetime!!

That view from your balcony is awesome! The GF is such a beautiful resort!

Thanks! :) It is so stunning, pictures don't even do it justice!

We met Richard, he was so nice! Great view from your room, we were on the other side in Conch Keys. We overlooked the lake with a view of the monorail. Sorry you didn't get in CP, my daughter is hoping when she is in college she can do it! Glad you had some nice CM interactions right away, makes the trip start out on a good note.

We ended up getting to meet Richard later in the trip :) Wow, a monorail view sounds awesome as well!

Not getting into CP was a blow, but life has a way of working itself out and I believe it happened for a reason :) Thanks for following along!!

Hi :wave: joining in. I'm absolutely loving your trip report. I think it's so special the memories you're making with your mom. Can't wait to read more.

:welcome:And hi!! :) thank you so much for the nice words! I'm lucky that I not only have a mother but a built in BFF as well :cutie:

Such cute selfies with your mom!

Your room is beautiful! I love the Grand Floridian. It's on my bucket list.

Thank you! My mom is the selfie queen, haha! The GF was on our bucket list as well, and I'm so glad we were lucky enough to stay there :)
 
I am loving your TR so far! I actually went back and read your last one too :blush: lol

Your room at GF looks amazing! I would love to stay there one day, especially after the renovations. I also used to think it was too "Victorian" looking...AKA stuffy :rotfl: But I think it looks really beautiful and elegant now!

Looking forward to reading more about your first day!
 
I am loving your TR so far! I actually went back and read your last one too :blush: lol

Your room at GF looks amazing! I would love to stay there one day, especially after the renovations. I also used to think it was too "Victorian" looking...AKA stuffy :rotfl: But I think it looks really beautiful and elegant now!

Looking forward to reading more about your first day!

:welcome: and thank you so much!! :) Before we visited last trip, my mom also had this vision that the GF was pompous. But, once we walked into the lobby on our monorail tour, that all melted away!!

So far it sounds like a great adventure! I can't wait to read more.

:welcome: and thanks!! Glad to have you :)


Thank you so much for reading, friends!! All of your nice comments and thoughts mean the world :) I should have another update up either tomorrow or Friday!
 
Hi! I love mom and daughter trips. I've had them where it was my mom and me and where it was my daughter and me. That one on one time is great and so much easier touring with just a couple of people. The last trip I went on had 7 people and was 3 generations for 15 days :scared1: we actually broke into smaller groups at times which made it a little more manageable.
I can't wait to read more about your trip.
 
Following along! The GF looks AHMAZING!!!! I'm so jealous. It's on my Disney bucket list for sure, but I'm afraid I won't be able to stay anywhere else after experiencing that. You and your mom are so cute. I hope you had a great time. I can't wait to read the rest!
 
Joining in! I'm also from Wisconsin! :) LOVE your pics of the Grand Floridian. I really want to stay there one day!

:welcome: and yay fellow Wisconsinite! And thank you! It was a dream come true :)

Hi! I love mom and daughter trips. I've had them where it was my mom and me and where it was my daughter and me. That one on one time is great and so much easier touring with just a couple of people. The last trip I went on had 7 people and was 3 generations for 15 days :scared1: we actually broke into smaller groups at times which made it a little more manageable.
I can't wait to read more about your trip.

:welcome: Glad to have you :) You're absolutely right; 2 people is the perfect amount I feel like, especially if you gel well! I even feel like going with my whole family (only 4 people) can be overwhelming at times :rotfl:Thanks for following along :)

Following along! The GF looks AHMAZING!!!! I'm so jealous. It's on my Disney bucket list for sure, but I'm afraid I won't be able to stay anywhere else after experiencing that. You and your mom are so cute. I hope you had a great time. I can't wait to read the rest!

:welcome: and thank you!! :) The GF was also on our bucket list and we were so excited to get the opportunity to stay there! You hit the nail right on the head though; we felt so spoiled and we are unsure if anything besides our beloved Poly will ever compare :rotfl2:
 

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