*4/10*GF Cafe & final thoughts* Dead Lizards & Deluxe Dining: A December Trip Report

[All7OfUs]

Shannon,

I sent you a PM about the gift I sent you... did you get it??

L

 

[shannn]

Shannon,

I sent you a PM about the gift I sent you... did you get it??

L

Yes, I did!! I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you. It was awesome, and it led to a cool little lesson for my kids.

 

[shannn]

Thank y'all so much for the good thoughts. We're excited about the possibility.

I'm so sorry I haven't been around lately. Things are crazy here!! Both my kids have started soccer; one of my students had a parent die in a car accident; and lots of other things have taken my time away from my DISing. I'm really hoping to get this TR finished this weekend, and start a joint pretrip for the 2 trips I've got planned for the next year.

Thanks to everyone who hasn't given up on me!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Still here and waiting for you Shannon!

 

[Happydog]

Hope things quiet down eventually!

I will look forward to reading the rest of your TR!

 

[All7OfUs]

Shannon, I was thinking about you today, and wondered if life is settling down for you yet. I was so sad to see you had a crisis in your classroom with the parent dying. How incredibly sad!

Anxious to hear about your plans!!

Liesa

 

[Native NYer]

Hope everything is going well with you and your family

 

[shannn]

Y'all are too sweet to keep checking on me....

So, the bad news: I had a very unexpected and unplanned pregnancy last month. Just when we were all getting used to and excited about the possibilities, I had a miscarriage. it was very difficult, both physically and emotionally; and I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things and positive about life. But, I'm coming out of that situation and I have some great news to share too.

The good news: We passed ROFR today!!! Yes, we are new DVC members. I'm so excited and can't wait to officially be in the system. I have a reservation to make for next March too.

 

[Native NYer]

Oh I'm so sorry
I hope you're feeling well.

Congrats passing ROFR!!! And welcome to the DVC family. We bought at BLT in February and we're already looking to buy more points. Be careful you don't get bitten by the addonitis bug

 

[All7OfUs]

Y'all are too sweet to keep checking on me....

So, the bad news: I had a very unexpected and unplanned pregnancy last month. Just when we were all getting used to and excited about the possibilities, I had a miscarriage. it was very difficult, both physically and emotionally; and I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things and positive about life. But, I'm coming out of that situation and I have some great news to share too.

The good news: We passed ROFR today!!! Yes, we are new DVC members. I'm so excited and can't wait to officially be in the system. I have a reservation to make for next March too.

OH, my dear, dear, friend!!! I'm so, so sorry for the loss of that little life into your hands! It is sweet to know he or she is safe in the palm of our Father!!
If you want to talk, Shannon, let me know!! I've had 2 miscarriages and know the ache and hurt they cause!

I know it'll be an adjustment, so take the time you need to process and grieve it through.

On a more positive note, that's fun you are DVCers now!! How exciting!!

 

[Disneymoon09]

Y'all are too sweet to keep checking on me....

So, the bad news: I had a very unexpected and unplanned pregnancy last month. Just when we were all getting used to and excited about the possibilities, I had a miscarriage. it was very difficult, both physically and emotionally; and I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things and positive about life. But, I'm coming out of that situation and I have some great news to share too.

The good news: We passed ROFR today!!! Yes, we are new DVC members. I'm so excited and can't wait to officially be in the system. I have a reservation to make for next March too.

Sending lots of hugs your way. I hope your family can greive through this loss and come out better people for it. God bless your family.

Congratulations on DVC, I know you have been waiting on this for awhile!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

My thoughts have been with you through this Shannon and now I'm excited about the DVC! Welcome home sweetie!

 

[shannn]

I believe the universe is conspiring against me!!! Yesterday the kids and I were in an accident in my brand new (8 days old) minivan. We're fairly certain that it was totaled. Luckily, the kids were completely find beyond a few seatbelt burns. I'm pretty banged up- lots of bumps, bruises, cuts, and a really annoying twisted knee, but beyond that, I'm okay too.

However...I am DETERMINED to finish this report. My fingers are full of cuts from the broken window so I don't know how long I can type, but I'm going to try.

So, Courtney and I were on our final day at Disney. We were driving home that day, but we were spending 1/2 the day in the parks first. I left it up to Courtney where she wanted to go, and I know y'all are surprised that we were headed for the Magic Kingdom once again!!

Since we were eating lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe and then heading home we decided to park at the GF (I know...bad us!) and then take the monorail to the MK. We packed everything up and waved goodbye to our OKW home. It was sad to leave our perfect little hideaway from the world. When we got to the GF, I realized why people use valet parking there. For goodness sakes, the parking is in Georgia!! After our hike, we took the chance to look around the GF lobby before getting on the monorail.

(Courtney, I can't remember if we hit Basin then or later? I'm going to assume it was later.)

We had a couple of things that we hadn't gotten to in our other visits. First stop was Buzz Lightyear.

I hit something (?) that gave me a 999,999 in the second room so my score was maxed out. I have to admit that while I love Buzz I never feel like I have any idea what I'm aiming at. Any of those little red lights could be mine. I wish I could say that I earned that score, but I'll keep it just the same!

Then we headed off to Toon Town. While I completely understand why Toon Town has to be replaced and I'm excited about the Fantasyland expansion, I'm a little sad to be losing Mickey & Minnie's houses. I'm more of an old school (Big 5) Disney girl, so it makes me sad to see them go. Their Christmas decorations were awesome.

After our Toontown visit, I think (?Courtney, my memory is going!!) we rode the Haunted Mansion one more time. I *know* that we went to shop. Courtney had a few last things to get. I was going to buy some ornaments, but they were all sold out on Main Street and we didn't have time to go to the Christmas store. Next year I guess!

On our way out of the park, we ran into some Photopass photographers and got some last pictures taken.

Coming up next: The Grand Floridian Cafe and some final thoughts

 

[wigdoutdismom]

This needs to be in a frame. I love this picture of you both!
Can't wait to hear what you thought of the GF Cafe!

Are you pretty sore today? I really hurt my broke arm this morning and tried not to be Mrs. Crabapple with the kids today.

 

[All7OfUs]

Shannon!! How are you holding up through all these traumas?? Now a car wreck?!

So glad to hear you're relatively ok! What happened?

I've never been inside the GF and am so excited to finally drink in its grandeur!! AHHH!!

 

[shannn]

This needs to be in a frame. I love this picture of you both!
Can't wait to hear what you thought of the GF Cafe!

Are you pretty sore today? I really hurt my broke arm this morning and tried not to be Mrs. Crabapple with the kids today.

I love that picture too. It's probably my favorite of us.

Today is the worst day for soreness. My arms and my back are just aching. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to take a pain pill (which will knock me out) or try to power through so I can enjoy this day.

Shannon!! How are you holding up through all these traumas?? Now a car wreck?!

So glad to hear you're relatively ok! What happened?

I've never been inside the GF and am so excited to finally drink in its grandeur!! AHHH!!

I am trying to look at the bright side of all the trauma, Leisa. We are lucky that we weren't badly hurt. I have a lot of bruises and cuts, but nothing major. I was turning left onto a divided road that has a speed limit of 40mph. A kid (probably 19-20) was driving way faster than that and he ran into us. I know that it will be my fault because I turned in front of him, but honestly he must have been flying because I didn't even see him coming around the curve when I went to turn. Anyway, that's what we have insurance for, right?

It has been a rough month for SURE!! But I know that there have been a lot of bright spots too, so I have to focus on those.

 

[shannn]

I'm going to finish this today, I promise!

We took the monorail back over to the Grand Floridian and wandered around a bit in Basin. I love Basin- especially the bath bombs. They are truly amazing, and once you try them no other bath salts will do! I bought several bath bombs and Mickey soaps for both my kids.

We searched a bit for the cafe and then found it on the left side of the lobby behind the gingerbread house. It is such a pretty place ~ very elegant.

Our waiter escorted us to our table personally and called us "his girls." He was ABSOLUTELY hilarious and made this meal for me. I loved him!! (I wish I could remember his name. I don't know why I didn't write it down. I have a picture with him a little later though.)

We both started off with soup. Courtney got the French Onion Soup.

This looked really good, but I had just had FO soup at Les Chefs so I went with the soup of the day.

It was a tomato bisque. It doesn't look like much, but oh my goodness it was yummy! Thick and creamy and perfect! If you like tomato soup, this was the best tomato soup I've ever eaten.

For a main dish we both had The Grand Sandwich - Open-faced hot ham, turkey, bacon, and tomato with a rich Boursin cheese sauce and fried onion straws

For me, this wasn't as good as it could have been. I thought it was awfully dry. It needed way more of the sauce. My favorite sandwich in the world is a Kentucky Hot Brown, and those are just drowning in cheese sauce, so maybe that's what I was expecting.

I don't see our dessert on the menu. It was a tray with small portions of all four of these:
Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake - Topped with more chocolate -
Key Lime Pie - Chocolate crust, topped with caramelized sugar. -
NY-style Lemon Cheesecake - Rich, New York Style -
Tiramisu - Lady Fingers and mascarpone

Bottom left is the mousse cake. It was very rich and delicious.
Top left is the tiramisu. I'm not a huge fan, but it was good.
Top right is the lemon cheesecake. Yummy! Tart and rich. I don't eat raspberries so I didn't try those, but I think Courtney said they were good.
Bottom right is the key lime. It was so good! I'm not a fan of lime & chocolate together, but the lime part of it was amazing.

I loved this dessert because we got to sample lots of different things without it being an overwhelming amount. It was a perfect thing to share!

When we finished eating, we went back to the front of the restaurant and took a picture with our adorable waiter.

This was a perfect place to end our trip~ it was beautiful and relaxing and gave us a chance to rest before getting back on the road. We headed back for our car (parked in Georgia...) and started on our drive. As we were leaving we were talking about what we wanted to do on our next trip~

 

[KathyRN137]

First off... glad that none of you were seriously hurt in that accident! Hope you feel back to normal soon!

I agree... your lunch at the Grand was a perfect way to end the trip. Your waiter sounds like he was so much fun and the desserts looked mouth-watering!

I truly enjoyed your report and hope that we will be hearing all about the plans for the next trip very soon!


Kathy

 

[shannn]

~It was really great to get to spend this time with my friend. We had a good time, and we got to talk about anything & everything together. She has been through a lot in the past few years, and I loved the chance to share this fun time with her! I wish we had planned some time to take it easy and just sit on the deck or in the hot tub, but it's hard when you only have a few days.

~I'm glad we did the deluxe dining. It does give some time away from the parks and I love trying new things. It will interesting how I'll feel about that once I have my surgery. I'm going to have to do a lot of accounting work to decide what to do for our next trip.

~Going on an adult Disney trip was fun. Although I missed my kids reactions to things, it was great to be able to skip some things! I loved getting to spend more time exploring WS and shopping on Main Street. There are even more things I'm hoping to get to see and do next time. There's never enough time to do everything you want to do.

~Christmastime is a magical time to go to Disney. Yes, there are crowds, but there are also decorations and lights and snow and costumes and lights and so much to revel in!! I'm so glad I got to experience this time of year at WDW, and I really hope I get to take my family some day.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

So glad that we have GF Cafe booked this summer! It looks like a fun place to eat.
I think you do need to take the family back for a Christmas trip, they would love to see the decorations!

So glad that you were able to spend some time there with Courtney, what a special memory to make with a great friend!