Day 5...The Start of a Dream
We packed up the rest of what we would need for the day and headed out of the door. We went down to the valet stand and had our van brought around and then...FINALLY after MONTHS and MONTHS of waiting....we were off to live out our dreams!!
Dh had told our friends to meet us in the lobby of the Grand Floridian a little before 3:00 PM. They were taking the monorail over from the Polynesian where they had just arrived earlier this day. Our dear friends have been counted among our closest friends for the past almost 7 years. We really enjoy spending time with them and all of the kids get along fabulously (as do the parents). It was going to be great to have them join in our fun this day. They were part of the reason that I wanted to do something in the first place. While I was on bed rest and dh was stuck in bed due to a bulging disc in his back they really stepped up and helped us out. Without them, I shudder to think of what those months would have been like. Friends who not only offer words of help but actually follow through on giving it with a smile and don't want of any sort of thank yous are precious. We wanted to include them in our day to let them know just how much they meant/mean to us. Okay, now that we have that background out of the way...let me get back to what was then our present...
We pull up a few minutes before 3:00 PM and we are met by our event planner. She asks me to come with her for a minute so dh and the boys have the valet park our car and then they grab a bench and relax. While dh and the boys are doing this, our event planner tells me she has some news of a change.

Those smilies pretty much show you how I was feeling when I heard those words. I had NO idea what she was going to tell me, but looking at her face, I knew she thought it was going to make me very unhappy.
It turns out she was right.

Our special luncheon had been moved from the beautiful Summerhouse area that I had taken pictures of earlier that morning (the ones I posted in my last installment). Supposedly it was the rains fault.

The sky was bright blue with white puffy clouds and while I knew it had been raining about an hour and a half ago...the past hour at least had been clear. I was not the happiest person about the change, but at that point, our luncheon had already been set up elsewhere (I wish I would have heard about it sooner, I could have pushed to have it moved back outside). Instead of the wonderful patio area with a private beach area included, we were going to be in the convention center in a ballroom 'block off. That's not what she called it. She said "one of our ballroom areas". Really, it was pretty. It had an enormous crystal chandelier, beautiful fabric wall coverings, nice carpet and very tall ceilings. For an intimate wedding reception, I would have been happy with it. BUT, in all honesty, it was a disappointment when one is looking forward to a beautiful patio surrounded by roses, palm trees, sandy beaches and beautiful lake. I had purposefully not planned any sort of theme during our luncheon because I wanted to let the beachy bbq theme of the setting itself shine through. The setting was the theme of our luncheon. In a windowless ballroom (or a small part of one that has been blocked off) within the convention center, you have a totally different surroundings. So yes, I was disappointed, but I was paying too much

and had day dreamed about this day for too long to let a change of venue ruin my enjoyment. I did ask if it was at all possible to move the set up outside once again if we were willing to wait (I had seen them start it earlier) but was told that it was not.
SO...I sucked it up, smiled at our event planner and said we would make the best of it. She seemed relieved. I bet she has seen people throw big fits over less, but really, what would I have accomplished? If the luncheon couldn't be moved, it would have served no purpose to waste my enjoyment getting my panties in a wad

rotfl: I love that saying). SO...as Mickey says, on with the show!!
Along with delivering the news, she helped me find our dear friends in the lobby. She then led us all outside and over to the convention center and on to our 'mini ballroom'. Although the setting was not 'right'...the food that was awaiting us in there was! Here are some pictures I snapped before we started to devour our private luncheon feast!
In this picture you can see (from left to right) potato salad, pasta salad, fruit salad (in the blue dish) and cole slaw.
In this picture you can see the blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese steak topping, chipotle steak topping in the front and behind it you can see our grilled corn on the cob, veggie kabobs (mushrooms, onions, peppers and squash)and our grilled could-cut-with-a-fork-to-die-for steaks.
In this one you see the steaks, hot dog buns and grilled hot dogs.
And here you see the butter (ha ha ha, I had to list it cause it had a flower on it

), the cornbread and the toppings in front. In the back was my favorite...grilled SHRIMP skewered on sugar cane! OH MY GOODNESS! These were so tasty!
Last but not least, you see our basket of watermelon.
Here are a few closer looks at some of the special touches! Our watermelon pieces were sliced into big and little Mickey heads!
And our pasta had Mickey Mouse head noodles! Doesn't it look good?! And it tasted even better than it looked. I think it was my favorite part of the meal (I had fourths!). It was an Italian pasta salad with salami, artichoke, olives, fresh herbs/spices and mini balls of fresh mozzerla! I am drooling just typing this!
Here is our beverage area. Nothing like being outside with real palm trees...but they had tried.
We had sweet tea (fresh brewed and made southern style -adding the sugar while the tea was still hot) and fresh squeezed lemonade. There was also water, milk and coffee available.
I was surprised that they had worked in a theme for us...but diving/nautical stuff was strewn around the room. I was appreciative they had tried to make the very formal room a bit more casual.
Here you see our dear family friend,
Cinderella with
Goofy and
Stitch.
Notice how the boys are dressed...they are wearing there new Indiana Jones shirts. And boy oh boy...they were happy to see their friends! They knew that our dear family friends were going to be at WDW the same time that we were (we had planned the cruise part of the trip together) and they knew that we would try to get together with them on this day 'if time allowed'. I was initially planning on telling the boys that we were going to meet them at the GF for lunch...but we figured it was more fun to surprise them with even that! So when we pulled up at the Grand Floridian, the boys had NO CLUE that they were going to have a private luncheon full of all of their favorite foods, be able to enjoy it with their favorite friends or any clue of what they were going to be doing the rest of the day! It was great to see their reactions!
Our dear family friends were likewise surprised. We told them that we would like to treat them to lunch. The way they found out where and when (although I did tell them to make sure they arrived by lunchtime because we had a special meal planned) upon arrival. As they checked in at the Polynesian, a CM approached behind them and tapped on their shoulders. As they turned around they must have smiled. The CM was holding a silver tray with a beautiful real flower lei and the same type of invitation that had been left in our room the day before. The CM put the lei around the neck of the mom and handed the dad the invitation. I really wish I could have been there to see that happen! They said they felt really special and all of them got super excited!
Back to the luncheon. When we walked into the private room, everyone but dh and myself was stunned. They had no idea that it was to have ever been outside so they had nothing to be disappointed in. They were all hyper and excited and amazed by the spread of food that lay before them and the thought of having a private meal at the Grand Floridian. They also loved having two servers who kept our dishes cleared off, ran to get us anything we wanted, refilled our drinks and in general, just totally pampered us.
Here are
Abu (the only son in our dear friend's family and one of our
Aladdin's very best friends) and
Aladdin. They were so happy to see each other! And both of them said the food was the best ever!
Something about eating in your own private ballroom with your best friends and your favorite foods made this luncheon a real dream of a day...even when the location moved at the last minute!

I was so happy to see that the months of planning. I had to work out a time, fix a budget, talk to the chef (every item on the menu was a favorite of someone who was sharing in the meal) and work out the details. It was SO MUCH FUN!

I am sure you uber planners of the DIS understand the joy I got out of going over every single detail over and over again.

Planning a private luncheon at the Grand Floridian with a wonderful event planner helping you is an experience I WILL enjoy again! I had so much fun planning this event and then enjoying it that I would not be able to stop myself from doing it again even if I wanted to!
Even with the change of venue, I would say that this surprise was one of the best ones I had ever planned for our family. It was priceless to see the faces on our boys' and our friends' faces when they realized that a private luncheon had been prepared just for them. It was great to see our boys surprised with their very best friends. And although our luncheon was not filled with warm breezes and sunshine, it was filled with cool air conditioning and great conversation. It wasn't just the way I had dreamt it, but it was still a dream come true!
TO BE CONTINUED...