Oh It's A Jolly Holiday With Katie! - Beach Club / Grand Floridian

[SimplyGoofy]

How fun that you got a Fastpass for Anna and Elsa! I love the details you captured of your surroundings before the meet. What happened to Jamie? Did he not want a picture with royalty?

Galactic Heroes! How fabulous! I can pretty much guarantee that I will NEVER get that button... I'm pretty good at TSMM, but I'm HORRIBLE at Buzz!

The Carousel of Progress! I LOVE that attraction! Thank goodness I have Anika well-trained - she's willing to see it at least 2-3 times each trip!

Your photos of Splash Mountain turned out so well! My interior photos of that ride always look like a big blur.

What a great picture in front of the Partners statue! for the Photopass photographer!

It's GRAND FLORIDIAN TIME!!!

 

[mlegerto]

What a beautiful photo that they photopass CM took for you. I LOVE it when they take a little extra effort to make sure it is a really special photo and moment. Goes to show you that some CM still spread the magic. EEEK! SO cute !

 

[spanishbilly]

But I REALLY want to get hold of plush versions of the gang!!!
Like really bad.
It’s a problem.

But I REALLY want to get hold of plush versions of the gang!!!
Like really bad.
It’s a problem.


Hi Katie

Your wish could be my command!!

can you contact in a a pm (I cannot figure out how to do it otherwise i would have sent something to you)

kind regards

Bill

 

[blklotus]

Hahah I'm so glad you appreciated it!!! But he's actually much more likely to pull this kind of thing with someone we know.. So if (/WHEN) we get to hang out, you better watch out for him trying to get you...!!! Actually, coincidentally, I shared a story with Rob on his trip report yesterday about a time when one of Jamie's friends had a girlfriend, and both of their surnames were Thompson. Jamie actually managed to convince me that they were cousins. SERIOUSLY. Obviously I was like "Shut up, stop trying to fool me!" But he was adamant and SO convincing, and he told me that their families had even disowned them because of their relationship. And I ended up believing him for a few weeks.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I am THE most gullible person! I try to say I'm not, but I really am. I always start out with the, "Stop lying! That's not true!" and then ALWAYS end up like, "Really?! NO WAY!" at the end. And my boyfriend always laughs at me. He has a really amazing poker face and I clearly am just able to suspend disbelief so fully that I'll believe anything if you tell me, "No, it's true!" enough times!

 

[blklotus]

We made our way over to the Big Pine Key building…

And we were up on the 5th floor…

OH MY GOSH! I can't believe you're LEAVING ME IN THIS MUCH SUSPENSE!!!!!!!!! I'm dying. Next time I type a comment it's going to be as a ghost and I'm going to be all like "WooooOOoooOooooo..." but in a much more ghostly way than it looks typed out. Straight up ghastly. 1,000th happy haunt, right here, thanks to you.

 

[Leshaface]

Anna asked me if Jamie was my personal ice harvester!
I told her, “Yes! Isn’t it great to have them around when it’s so hot outside?!”
Then she asked me, “You didn’t just meet him today did you?”

Perfect! I love how in character they are, it's so amazing! I wonder how often they have to practice their 'conversations' in private.

Uh, why I never thought of this before, but please try out to be a princess You already got the pose down perfectly!

These are still excellent scores though!

But these are WAY better

And failing miserably.

Well you did get some greenery and Eeyore so i'd say it's a success!

"What year is it?
Oh, right around the turn of the century.
And things couldn’t be any better than they are today!
We can travel from New York to California in less than seven days!"

Is it sad that i've only seen this once but know many, many lines from listening to Live 365 all the time??

I've always loved this little garden. So cute!

He looks totally calm and collected for sure!

Like, does anyone else feel like they try to pass off Thumper as Br’er Rabbit in the Splash Mountain gift shop?!

Yes totally!!!

So in total we ended up riding it 8 times today!

Holy cannoli!

I don’t know why I videoed this. But I did.

Because it's a really cool part in the ride of course. The tunnel is trippy!

This looks amazing right now!

Definitely the perfect shot!

Oh my goodness such a beautiful day! The best day to check into the most perfect resort on property i'd say!

Oh how I miss this place! Still can't believe I was able to stay here

Your 'about to see my room and incredibly stoked about it' face!!!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Love all the photos!!! Your reports are truly such a delight to read I can not wait to see what that room looks like...and the view!!!!!

 

[pmama]

Loving your TR. Haven't followed a TR in years but keep returning for yours! I didn't know about the "Gallactic Heros" pins. I will have to do some research on secret spots and tell my hubby about this. I can see him being exactly like your BF. My hubby also likes to make serious faces on rides and get our oldest involved. Makes for some hilarious pictures.

 

[pkondz]

Can you guess yet?!
(If not, you need to pay more attention, because it was in the title )

You were meeting Zurg?

No?

They were both so precious!

I've heard nothing but good things about them.

Anna asked me if Jamie was my personal ice harvester!
I told her, “Yes! Isn’t it great to have them around when it’s so hot outside?!”
Then she asked me, “You didn’t just meet him today did you?”

I LOVED meeting her!

And of the two, everyone seems to just adore Anna.

This is such a weird photo of me, but look how gorgeous Elsa looks!

Hmmmm... Not seeing anything weird in the photo?

She said she loved my backpack, and asked if it was a reindeer

What did you say?

When we got to Buzz, I was given the strenuous responsibility of safely delivering this to the front of the line.

This is a responsibility of immense proportions.

SERIOUSLY?
I already have the HUGE responsibility of saving the galaxy from the evil Emperor Zurg.
And now you’re throwing me this curveball??
The pressure was too much.
And it was reflected in my space ranger performance.

I totally understand.
Anyone would be rattled by that.

Also, it didn’t take long before I started to regret telling Jamie where to aim..

He beat me, BIG TIME!

Whoops! Well, that'll learn ya!

This time, the ride broke down briefly in the volcano room, and we had a great vantage point for a certain target…!

This meant we were able to build up our scores a little bit, and by the time we got to the final room…

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Woot! Way to go guys!

We so smug.

With good reason!

Of course, we HAD to claim our Galactic Hero buttons!

I didn't know they had those?
How do you get them (I mean apart from the obvious getting the top score part)?

When we got back down to Earth after saving the galaxy (no big deal)

That's our Katie. A model of modesty.

I looove to relax on the Peoplemover!

Hire me Disney.

Get in line!

He asked,
“What would you do if you came back into the daylight and I'd disappeared?”

and I started to sing,

“…Haaaalleluuuujah.. Haaaalleluuuujah..!”

He also pulled this great face for the camera.

Jamie perturbed.

And here I am, getting into the spirit of daft photos, whilst trying to capture some Tomorrowland scenery on the ground below…

And failing miserably.

Oh, I don't know. I think you did a fine job of looking daft.

I love when you accidentally stumble across things like this.
It just seems like there’s magic happening around every corner!

You're like: "Wow! This is going on too!"

I LOVE THIS RIDE.

Did I mention that yet…?!

Maybe once.

Maybe.

I love Jamie’s “cool guy” pose in the photo!

He's a man's man.

Like, does anyone else feel like they try to pass off Thumper as Br’er Rabbit in the Splash Mountain gift shop?!

Now that's just sad.

But I REALLY want to get hold of plush versions of the gang!!!
Like really bad.
It’s a problem.

Someone seems to be just a wee bit obsessed...

we played Buzz Lightyear another FOUR times.

whoa. I don't know what impresses me more.
Zero line or your dedication.

That's hysterical!

I don’t know why I videoed this. But I did.

And I'm glad you did!
Because of a sore neck, I chose not to ride it this time....
I think the last time I was on it... was possibly before you were born!

And I don’t know what is wrong with me in this photo.

But I look really tanned soooo..

Well as long as you look good, who cares if you look silly or strange or whatever.

I was screaming and laughing so much I forgot to breathe and almost choked.

we trekked back over to Adventureland to get a Dole Whip from Aloha Isle!

Yes!!!
Mmmmmm... Dole whip.

The plan was to grab our Dole Whips and eat them as we walked out of the park.
But we couldn’t really do that because they looked like THIS!

Looks like heaven.

I am in love with this photo!

You should be! It's a great photo!

YOU GUYS.

Just a little happy with GF are we?
I'm so happy for you guys!

She almost forgot to give us our new set of Magic bands so I had to remind her.

Did you have to get new ones?
Or you wanted new ones?

Up next: The Grand Floridian room 9513!!!!

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Looking forward to it!
Thanks for the updates!

 

[kirrrby]

Super late to the party but I love your TR!

Also, The Mighty Boosh Old Gregg skit somehow made it to my husbands workplace about a year ago and they quote it so much. I've only seen the video once, but they quote it so much that I know it word for word!

 

[BibbitybobityLu]

Jamie arrived and we checked out, we said goodbye to the resort, and left 6 bags with bell services.
SIX.
Thank you, bell services. And sorry.​

Only 6? That's nothing! I usually bring an empty bag with us for all our "essential" purchases! And I have also been know to buy another suitcase while on holiday...
DBF was not impressed when we went to Paris for a WEEKEND and I had four bags...just to myself...and bought another one...and a new handbag...

But I could tell Jamie was fighting the urge to tell her we were brother and sister...
You know, just to be an awkward jerk.

Thankfully he didn’t.

That is hilarious!!

On this ride through we had a good giggle at how much of an exhibitionist Br’er Bear is..!





Once we’d noticed it, THIS pose was just hilarious.




…And one more, for good measure.

I know what you mean....why is he the only one without any trousers on?? Way to keep it classy dude ​

To ride…

IT’S A SMALL WORLD.


​

Call me crazy but I LOVE its a Small World! I always get suck near the end of it and its just so funny to people watch everyone on the ride (mostly the dads) just mentally ripping off their own ears So funny!

(PARENTAL ADVISORY!)

So, there’s this really bizarre show here in the UK that’s usually showing in the dead of night, called The Mighty Boosh.

And THIS is part of a sketch...

(Yes, it is exactly how it looks…)



…So whilst riding It’s a Small World, I had a great laugh at THIS girl!!

My brother used to be OBSESSED with the Mighty Boosh. I never really liked it all that much (but Noel Fielding is just so bonkers its brillant) and he would always make me watch a part of it that had a character called Mr Susan who lived in the mirror world. Everytime I hear some one say "Look at them shine" I picture him...Now I will be picturing this whenever I go! Thanks!

This ride never gets any less weird, but, in the words of Queen Stacey, it’s a “Ca-las-sic”.
So you HAVE to ride it at least once.

All hair Queen Stacey the rightful ruler of all the Kingdom of Must-Doeia!
All her decrees must me answered! Its the law

Jamie was getting super irritated that I was hitting the big targets!
So I finally shared the very last one with him!

There was no line at all, so we rode again and I showed Jamie ALL of the big targets!

You have to help these boys out you know. They will never figure it out on their own!

Jamie loves to pose with the statues…

So I told him to whip his shirt off and pose with THIS one (below), you know, because that’s obviously the one who looks most similar to him

Taking a page out of Br’er Bear's book! Clothing optional!

We both had the turkey sandwich this time, and it was just as good as before!

I had mine with fries and Jamie had his with green beans (but still ate some of my fries )

I guess Jamie heard about that rule where fries don't count if you eat them off someone's plate! But lets be real hear Katie were not kind of expecting that when he ordered green beans?!
​

Anna asked me if Jamie was my personal ice harvester!
I told her, “Yes! Isn’t it great to have them around when it’s so hot outside?!”
Then she asked me, “You didn’t just meet him today did you?”



She was soooo cute and funny and bubbly!

I LOVED meeting her!


​

This picture is just perfect! You have nearly identical Princess poses!
I have to say that Anna has become my favourite princess (personality wise anyway). She just keeps it real and looks all jacked up first thing in the morning which I respect #NoFilter
She doesn't get the concept of Stranger danger though...its only expectable to go anyway with a stranger if they have ice cream. Everyone knows that

Of course, we HAD to claim our Galactic Hero buttons!

Nough said.

I always knew that Eeyore was the real Galactic Hero!

When we went through Space Mountain and into darkness, Jamie accidently set himself up for a running joke that we always throw at each other…

He asked,
“What would you do if you came back into the daylight and I'd disappeared?”

and I started to sing,

“…Haaaalleluuuujah.. Haaaalleluuuujah..!”



He also pulled this great face for the camera.

Aww poor Jamie! He looks genuinely saddened by that! Men are so fragile!

we darted over to see the Carousel of Progress and bask in the air conditioning!

"What year is it?
Oh, right around the turn of the century.
And things couldn’t be any better than they are today!
We can travel from New York to California in less than seven days!"

L.O.V.E!

That dude...What a legend. Never gets any older.... Its like he's a robot or something ​

So you know how I mentioned earlier that Jamie was now obsessed with the idea of maxing out his score on Buzz.
Well before we went to use our Space Mountain fastpasses, we played Buzz Lightyear another FOUR times.

There was nobody in line so every time we exited, we walked past the empty line and Jamie would say,

“ONE more go!”
Like an infant

So in total we ended up riding it 8 times today!

We kind of lost our touch on this round though, and we just couldn’t get it.

​

I was screaming and laughing so much I forgot to breathe and almost choked.

OMG we could be related!! I do that ALL the time. Breathing...who knew it was hard??

But it’s OK,

BECAUSE IT’S 3PM.

IT’S CHECK IN TIME!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! So excited!!!!!

Confession time: I have never had a Dole Whip.... I know what is wrong with me?!?!?! I wish I knew...I wish I knew
​

So he stood us in a VERY precise spot (“Shuffle half a step to the left!”) and waited for people to move out of the shot, saying,​

“Wait for it….. WAIT FOR IT….”

And he snapped this GREAT shot of us!!!!

Cinderella Castle: Check.
Partners Statue: Check.
No prominent people stood close by: Check.
FESTIVAL OF FANTASY’S TANGLED FLOAT: CHECK.
Blue skies and sunshine: Check.

I am in love with this photo!


​

Ah this is just PERFECT!! Photo Pixie Dust

YOU GUYS.



YOU GUYSSSS.

This resort is soooo beautifullllll.

I felt like royalty as soon as I set foot in there.

Oh my goodness I am just too too too jazzed for this!!! That place is just the most beautiful thing ever!! Please can I just live there for ever and ever?? Please?? ​

 

[DisneyJo]

Wooohooo you're checking in at the GF, I've stayed there a couple of times and it's so gorgeous isn't it!

 

[tdashgirl]

All caught up. I adored Anna & Elsa at our meet n greet, especially Anna. She's my sister from another mister

 

[steph0808]

Stumbled upon your trip report, and I love it.

Two things - I studied in London for a few months when I was in college - love it there! Funnel cake - awesome, but just get powdered sugar on it next time. I feel like it would be terrible with chocolate sauce!

 

[amberama76]

I'm with you on funnel cake....HATE IT!

 

[ursalita]

Hi Katie!

So sad you had to leave the Beach Club but the Grand Floridian looks beautiful. I can't wait to see more of it!

What a beautiful day at MK. I'm kicking myself that we didn't stop and get some Sorcerer cards when we were there. I skipped it because I didn't think the boys would do well with the game and I think I was right based on what you said about it. But the cards would have been a nice souvenir. We did Pirates League instead which was kind of a disappointment but I'll write more about it on my TR.

I love the photo with Tiana. It's great you got to meet Barbara. I looked around for her but didn't spot her. I love Splash Mountain, I'm surprised they don't sell more merchandise. We had trouble finding a kids shirt with Stitch on it. So weird.

I laughed about Jamie telling the person that you guys are brother and sister.

You guys really lucked out with Photo Pass photographers. We were not so lucky. We got a couple good ones but the vast majority were not great.

 

[Glittercat]

Love every bit of your TR and eager to see MOAR!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 8
(September 9th 2014)
Grand Floridian moving day!
Part 6 – Disney’s Grand Floridian room 9513

(This song was playing from outside our window, so I’m including it for atmosphere!)

We had taken the elevator up to the 5th floor of the Big Pine Key building and I was SO excited to see our room!!

We were staying on the top floor of the building, so I knew we would have a dormer style room with a smaller balcony, but to be honest, I hate having loud people stomping around above me, so I was more than happy to be on the top floor!

It turned out we had a corner room that was next to a two-bedroom suite, so it was VERY peaceful for the entire week.

We loved it!

Here’s where our little lagoon-view dormer room was.

We found room 9513, booped our magic bands to the sensor, and VOILA!

MEEEEP I LOVE IT

Who ever did the Grand Floridian room refurbishment deserves some serious claps.
Everything is high quality and it had a really special feel to it!

(Here I just want to point out the hardwood floor outside the bathroom, because I don’t think I got another picture of it

Chair number 1:

Chair number 2:

Chair number 3:

Even the carpet was super soft and fancy.

Here’s our beautiful bathroom!

How very grand.

And yes, they did have personalised tissues..!!

I was SO excited to see our view!

(Notice the little Mickeys on the curtain!)

OMG..

We had such a beautiful view!!!

We could see the Polynesian and the Wedding Pavilion:

The Grand Floridian Villas, the beach, and the beach pool:

As well as the kid’s splash zone and the monorail line!

I LOVED our little room!!!

And I think Jamie approved too…

Click for Day 8, Part 7!​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 8
(September 9th 2014)
Grand Floridian moving day!
Part 7 – The Grand Floridian Café (And more room pictures!)

After I had obsessively taken photos of EVERYTHING, we realised there was a note on the dresser, telling us to call bell services to have our luggage delivered.

So that’s what we did!

Oh, our luggage will be delivered in a few minutes?
I’d better take some more photos in the meantime.

A last look at the Poly’s Volcano pool!

Our luggage was delivered promptly, but we realised Jamie’s backpack was missing.
Being the classic Brits that we are, we turned to the bellhop guy and said something along the lines of,

“Oh, we’re just missing a rucksack.”

The guy looked completely confused, and we thought he just couldn’t hear what we were saying.

So we repeated the word “rucksack” about 5 times to him, before realising that it was probably one of those words that Americans don’t use?!
Either that, or he had some seriously bad selective hearing.
He hurried off and brought our last bag up within minutes and we did some unpacking!

At 6:45pm we had reservations at the Grand Floridian Café! So we freshened up and headed over to the main building.

In the picture below we are stood with our backs to the elevators, so our room was in the top left hand corner.

This pretty much sums up how we feel about being here

We made the short walk over to the main building and checked into the Grand Floridian Café! It was really cute and elegant, and really quiet!

Our waiter was lovely too, his name was Roni and he was from Peru!

Jamie got the pan-seared scallops to start. He said they were really good.

Then he had the Grand Floridian burger for his main course.
This burger has lobster in it, which Jamie had never tried before!
Lobster seems to be really popular at Disney, but you don’t really get it anywhere in England.
He said that the burger and seafood was a weird combination, but he enjoyed it!

I had ordered the salmon off the specials menu, because I looooove salmon.
But unfortunately it didn’t really float my boat.
I didn’t like the dressing, so it was just a personal preference thing.
I’ve just briefly looked it up online. Being from the specials menu it’s not easy to find out about, but I think it was miso salmon.
Other than my picky appetite, the portion was really big, and if you’re into Japanese food (and salmon) you will probably enjoy this!

Oh well, you live, you learn!

For dessert we shared a delicious chocolate fondue!
I’m a sucker for a fondue, I make white chocolate with raspberries all the time at home!

I had the bananas, Jamie had the marshmallows, we shared the strawberries, and for some reason we left the pineapple.
I think we had such a good taste in our mouths, and we didn’t want to ruin it with bitter pineapple!

This fondue was so good! And we caught the giggles because everything kept falling off the fork and into the chocolate pot . So overall, a very enjoyable dessert!

I’d actually like to go back to the Grand Floridian café just for the fondue!

We left the main building to go back to our room, and we were greeted with this delightful sky!

We got back to the room at around 7:50pm and we unpacked a little more, then tried to decide how we wanted to spend the evening.
We thought about going to Downtown Disney or Epcot, but while I was on the balcony I noticed that they were closing the pool due to a nearby storm.

So we decided to just stick around and explore the hotel!

I saw some people toasting marshmallows on the fire which was precious!

Jamie decided he was done unpacking…
Obviously to him, piling up his clothes on the chair and leaving his suitcase in the middle of the floor was sufficient enough

Luckily for him, I am Mary Poppins, and I had an intense need for my Grand room to be tidy.

OH WAIT WHAT’S THIS.

The Electrical Water Pageant from our balcony?

BEST DAY EVER.

Click for Day 8, Part 8!​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 8
(September 9th 2014)
Grand Floridian moving day!
Part 8 - In the big Grand world.. We're gonna go explore!

After the Electrical Water Pageant we put on our new magic bands (mine was pink and Jamie’s was red) and we went off to explore!

There’s not a lot to report here, but we saw some lovely sights!

This is the kid’s splash zone, the big green hat at the top fills with water and tips over to soak everyone!

We wandered over to the villas!

I HAD to see the Jolly Holiday penguin fountain in the lobby!!

It was SO precious!!!!!!

The villas building is beautiful.
It’s difficult to describe. I think the villas only opened a couple of years ago in 2013, so the building feels really modern, whilst keeping that beautiful, elegant Grand Floridian feel to it.

It’s practically perfect in every way!

Then we walked back to the main building.

This corridor leads down to Citricos and Victoria and Albert’s!

(We had a great meal at Citricos later in the week!)

Does anyone know anything about this huge piece of framed fabric in the picture below?!

I love the characters in the flooring!

We headed back outside and checked out the pool area.

Then we went back up to the room!
It was about 10:15pm so we were getting kinda tired.

And we had decided to go back to Universal in the morning!

So an early night was definitely in order.

Oh and before I end this post, I obviously HAVE to include this short footage of Jamie doing his It’s A Small World dance.
This is what he was doing during the entire ride earlier in the day!
(And yes, the face is a totally necessary part of the dance.)

*End of Day 8*


Click for Day 9, Part 1!​