DeterminedOne
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2004
- Messages
- 4,341
Who:
Me (32 years young)
DH (43 years young)
Where/What:
Grand Floridian Lagoon View
Dream Maker Silver
$86 Visa Rewards
$75 WDW Guest Inconvenience Credit
November 11-18
The Night Before
Quite the day! The plan was arrive to work at 7:00, leave at 4:00. Couldnt find my keys, many problems and interruptions at work. Left the office at 5:30 and headed to the ATM. It was difficult to wind down from the workday and complete the final packing. The plane was to depart at 7:05 AM, and I wanted to be up by 3:00. By 11:30 PM I was still awake and in shock that the time had arrived.
Thursday, November 11
Made it to the airport in plenty of time and YAY, they didn't have to open the bags. The flight was oversold, but we didn't volunteer our seats. Had a little scare thinking I'd left my toiletry bag at home. Whew! That would have been a mess! Sat in seats 14 A& B - the last seats on the plane right next to the lavatory. (Funny considering my issues with public restrooms.) We made it to ATL in less than 2 hrs and decided to walk to the concourse. It was a longer walk than expected. I was in the mood for eggs so we stopped at the airport Bistro. They were serving all sorts of breakfast items. I got the ham/egg/cheese croissant with a cup of decaf. DH got the breakfast special of bacon/eggs/hash brown, no drink .
The flight to Orlando was also oversold but nope, didn't volunteer. Made it there in 59 minutes. We were surprised to see it raining really hard. Proceeded to the Mears counter. Long line, but handled efficiently. Chatted with two young ladies in town for SSW while DH stood with the bags. Mears was on a 40 min wait (so we were told), but the bus pulled up 15 minutes later. YAY again! Stopped at PO, CO and Poly before heading off to the GRAND.
Check-in took approx. 30 minutes. 'Ray' went over EVERYTHING; from hotel layout/entertainment to park hours to magical wishes. He was a talker but very pleasant. The reservation said nothing about the $75 we were told to request. Ray said he would look into it and give us a call. He assigned us 9342 and I immediatley asked if it was a MK view. Yes, he smiled! And what a pleasant surprise to see the hotel decorated for Christmas. (Thought wed miss that.) The Christmas tree is beautiful and they were putting together the life-sized gingerbread house. Funny thing happened when we got to room 9342 in Big Pine Key. The card didn't work. Just as we were about to haul the bags back to the main bldg. we ran into 'Debra' from housekeeping. She tried the card and confirmed it didn't work. She apologized that we would have to go back to the front desk. We started to walk away when she asked for the card back, deciding to try it on 9343 instead. Voila!
The beauty of the room would have made up for hauling it back to the main bldg, if it had come to that. King poster bed with Alice theme beautiful! Stepped onto the balcony to see a near perfect view of the lagoon, the Castle, SpMtn., AstroO, CO and Poly. I was in awe and near tears! It was raining pretty hard at the airport but it appeared that not a single drop of rain had fallen in the World. (I couldnt believe I was there- still can't.) Ray called within the hour to let us know the $75 had been credited to the room. Head of housekeeping stopped by to make sure things were okay.
We headed down to the marina to rent a speed racer. (1 Magical Wish) DH drove ...what fun! Jetted around Seven Seas and Bay Lake. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! 30 minutes goes by fast but we made the most of it. DH was a great navigator! Stopped at the pool bar for a couple Miller Lites each. Sat on a bench and admired the GRANDs beauty. Pointed out the hidden Mickey on the weather vain to DH. Laughed at the ducks in the pool. I was still in awe! Next it was time to get ready for 6:00 PS at Narcoosee's. Night was falling as we left for dinner. It was absolutely beautiful!
Unfortunately, Narcoosees was not a good experience. There will be a separate report on that in the Dining Forum. Something I didn't realize (even after all my research) is the meals on the Silver no longer include appetizer AND salad. It's either or these days. 'Maureen' didn't seem to appreciate my asking if she was sure about that. It was down hill from there! 4 Magical Wishes spent on a not so magical meal.
Left Narcoosee's and decided to tour the main bldg. We weren't going to let Maureen steal the magic. DH took a couple snapshots of me on the GRAND staircase. The atmosphere was wonderful, orchestra played Christmas music in the background. Made it back to the room just in time for the start of Wishes. I could not believe the view, the show, everything! When Tink flew to Never Never Land I thought I would die of happiness and excitement. And just when I thought Wishes was over the fireworks got bigger and better! We could even hear the music. What a perfect day!
Me (32 years young)
DH (43 years young)
Where/What:
Grand Floridian Lagoon View
Dream Maker Silver
$86 Visa Rewards
$75 WDW Guest Inconvenience Credit
November 11-18
The Night Before
Quite the day! The plan was arrive to work at 7:00, leave at 4:00. Couldnt find my keys, many problems and interruptions at work. Left the office at 5:30 and headed to the ATM. It was difficult to wind down from the workday and complete the final packing. The plane was to depart at 7:05 AM, and I wanted to be up by 3:00. By 11:30 PM I was still awake and in shock that the time had arrived.
Thursday, November 11
Made it to the airport in plenty of time and YAY, they didn't have to open the bags. The flight was oversold, but we didn't volunteer our seats. Had a little scare thinking I'd left my toiletry bag at home. Whew! That would have been a mess! Sat in seats 14 A& B - the last seats on the plane right next to the lavatory. (Funny considering my issues with public restrooms.) We made it to ATL in less than 2 hrs and decided to walk to the concourse. It was a longer walk than expected. I was in the mood for eggs so we stopped at the airport Bistro. They were serving all sorts of breakfast items. I got the ham/egg/cheese croissant with a cup of decaf. DH got the breakfast special of bacon/eggs/hash brown, no drink .
The flight to Orlando was also oversold but nope, didn't volunteer. Made it there in 59 minutes. We were surprised to see it raining really hard. Proceeded to the Mears counter. Long line, but handled efficiently. Chatted with two young ladies in town for SSW while DH stood with the bags. Mears was on a 40 min wait (so we were told), but the bus pulled up 15 minutes later. YAY again! Stopped at PO, CO and Poly before heading off to the GRAND.
Check-in took approx. 30 minutes. 'Ray' went over EVERYTHING; from hotel layout/entertainment to park hours to magical wishes. He was a talker but very pleasant. The reservation said nothing about the $75 we were told to request. Ray said he would look into it and give us a call. He assigned us 9342 and I immediatley asked if it was a MK view. Yes, he smiled! And what a pleasant surprise to see the hotel decorated for Christmas. (Thought wed miss that.) The Christmas tree is beautiful and they were putting together the life-sized gingerbread house. Funny thing happened when we got to room 9342 in Big Pine Key. The card didn't work. Just as we were about to haul the bags back to the main bldg. we ran into 'Debra' from housekeeping. She tried the card and confirmed it didn't work. She apologized that we would have to go back to the front desk. We started to walk away when she asked for the card back, deciding to try it on 9343 instead. Voila!
The beauty of the room would have made up for hauling it back to the main bldg, if it had come to that. King poster bed with Alice theme beautiful! Stepped onto the balcony to see a near perfect view of the lagoon, the Castle, SpMtn., AstroO, CO and Poly. I was in awe and near tears! It was raining pretty hard at the airport but it appeared that not a single drop of rain had fallen in the World. (I couldnt believe I was there- still can't.) Ray called within the hour to let us know the $75 had been credited to the room. Head of housekeeping stopped by to make sure things were okay.
We headed down to the marina to rent a speed racer. (1 Magical Wish) DH drove ...what fun! Jetted around Seven Seas and Bay Lake. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! 30 minutes goes by fast but we made the most of it. DH was a great navigator! Stopped at the pool bar for a couple Miller Lites each. Sat on a bench and admired the GRANDs beauty. Pointed out the hidden Mickey on the weather vain to DH. Laughed at the ducks in the pool. I was still in awe! Next it was time to get ready for 6:00 PS at Narcoosee's. Night was falling as we left for dinner. It was absolutely beautiful!
Unfortunately, Narcoosees was not a good experience. There will be a separate report on that in the Dining Forum. Something I didn't realize (even after all my research) is the meals on the Silver no longer include appetizer AND salad. It's either or these days. 'Maureen' didn't seem to appreciate my asking if she was sure about that. It was down hill from there! 4 Magical Wishes spent on a not so magical meal.
Left Narcoosee's and decided to tour the main bldg. We weren't going to let Maureen steal the magic. DH took a couple snapshots of me on the GRAND staircase. The atmosphere was wonderful, orchestra played Christmas music in the background. Made it back to the room just in time for the start of Wishes. I could not believe the view, the show, everything! When Tink flew to Never Never Land I thought I would die of happiness and excitement. And just when I thought Wishes was over the fireworks got bigger and better! We could even hear the music. What a perfect day!
