A Spoonful of Sugar Loaf Helps The Medicine Go Down! * Updated 06/07 page 13*

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

He looks so happy!!! I love it!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

awwwwwww...
I see he inherited his good looks from his mom...



and nothing from Hymie, thank goodness.




(Just kidding Jamie!
I actually see a great deal of Jamie in him.)

we've had mixed opinions on who he looks like, but we can't decide ourselves!

Yer darn tootin'!

Funny, that's a phrase we've been using a lot around here, with a gassy baby

She would complain that everyone was excited about Christmas coming up and not her birthday. She also didn't like Christmas decorations up, because we should decorate for her birthday first.

Oh yes it must be tough. We will be sure to make a huge deal about his birthday!

How did you react when you exited the tunnel??

How did he do?

Pretty well, lost his cool a couple of times and couldn't find a card he'd just turned (easily done with a crowd of people), but I think he did better than the average 5 year old who the game was intended for

Were those the droids you were looking for?

Those weren't the droids we were looking for.

Ew... Do not love that feeling.

My British genetics are not prepared for Florida heat........

You packed a spare shirt... and anticipated that???

..... but I can prepare by bringing a spare t shirt when the one I'm wearing is skin tight

Merely a suggestion.

Whoops! So much for the high road.

It doesn't seem very family friendly

I keep hearing about British curry. <sigh> Maybe some day.

British Indian is the finest! Apart from maybe..Indian Indian

(Jamie would also agree that British Indian is the finest... him being a British (half)-Indian )

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Great update! Your description of HS touring made me sigh and miss the good old days of fastpass+.

Me too! I've got a lot of catching up to do on how Disney even works now. After we'd all perfected our strategies they go and shake it all up! Not cool Disney!

Looking forward to reading about your stay at the Grand!

Eek I can't wait to post it, I love going through all my pictures again It will be up soon!

Hello from another Katie! I'm a longtime lurker who thinks you and Jamie would be SO much fun to travel with. Teddy is absolutely adorable!! Some days I really miss the baby days (my youngest is 9).

Hello also Katie! Aw thanks so much! Haha he is such a cutie, hard work though! 9 sounds like a great age, still young and precious and not a whole lot of backchat yet (I hope?!)

Just chiming in on the Tower of Terror discussion... on our 2011 trip, when my daughter was not quite 5, my sister convinced her to go on it by describing it as "just an elevator ride." I'd never ridden it, but even I knew that couldn't be true. I wish I had the ride photo, because it was absolutely hysterical. Thankfully my daughter has forgiven us. She hasn't forgotten, but she's forgiven!

Haha amazing! That must've been a shock, I don't think I'd be able to forgive that for a while something similar happened with Jamie and I the first time we rode it in 2012 - walking down Sunset Boulevard he somehow missed the windows opening and the hysterical screams coming from it...so when we boarded he just thought it was a slow dark ride like the Haunted Mansion! He got quite the shock much like your daughter!

He looks so happy!!! I love it!

He is super smily! Here's some at 10 weeks! (Yes I told you I'll show anyone who will look.. I'm that person )

Bonus bath time pic because it's too stinking cute not to share

 

[keh422]

Hello also Katie! Aw thanks so much! Haha he is such a cutie, hard work though! 9 sounds like a great age, still young and precious and not a whole lot of backchat yet (I hope?!)

Haha amazing! That must've been a shock, I don't think I'd be able to forgive that for a while something similar happened with Jamie and I the first time we rode it in 2012 - walking down Sunset Boulevard he somehow missed the windows opening and the hysterical screams coming from it...so when we boarded he just thought it was a slow dark ride like the Haunted Mansion! He got quite the shock much like your daughter!

Hard work but sooo worth it. I have truly loved every age and stage. Some are more challenging than others for sure, but each one brings new fun. 9 is a great age. At least for us, still super cuddly and sweet.

Oh man, poor Jamie! It seems like a lot of people are surprised by that ride. Almost as if the word "terror" isn't a clue. Nowadays, the kids have gotten smart. They know there are ride videos they can watch in advance. No surprises for anyone anymore.

Those 10 week photos...

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

(Yes I told you I'll show anyone who will look.. I'm that person )

Don't worry, as a mom of 11 and 13 year old. I love pics of little babies! I barely remember them being that little! And I mean with a little guy with a smile like that, who wouldn't want to see all the pictures!

 

[HumblePie]

That smile!

 

[pkondz]

we've had mixed opinions on who he looks like, but we can't decide ourselves!

I think that changes over time. I've heard that babies most look like their fathers when they're born, but after a while, might take on traits of either parent.

Funny, that's a phrase we've been using a lot around here, with a gassy baby

We will be sure to make a huge deal about his birthday!

Good.

Pretty well, lost his cool a couple of times and couldn't find a card he'd just turned (easily done with a crowd of people), but I think he did better than the average 5 year old who the game was intended for

Those weren't the droids we were looking for.

Huh! Jedi mind trick worked!

My British genetics are not prepared for Florida heat........

Nor are mine. Cold? Sure. Heat... not so much.

It doesn't seem very family friendly

British Indian is the finest! Apart from maybe..Indian Indian

(Jamie would also agree that British Indian is the finest... him being a British (half)-Indian )

Well, then he should know.

Bonus bath time pic because it's too stinking cute not to share

Definitely cute! Look at that smile!!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Hard work but sooo worth it. I have truly loved every age and stage. Some are more challenging than others for sure, but each one brings new fun. 9 is a great age. At least for us, still super cuddly and sweet.

Oh man, poor Jamie! It seems like a lot of people are surprised by that ride. Almost as if the word "terror" isn't a clue. Nowadays, the kids have gotten smart. They know there are ride videos they can watch in advance. No surprises for anyone anymore.

Those 10 week photos...

So worth it! He can keep us up all night and it's such hard work, but as soon as we get up in the morning and see his big goofy smile all is forgiven!!!

Don't worry, as a mom of 11 and 13 year old. I love pics of little babies! I barely remember them being that little! And I mean with a little guy with a smile like that, who wouldn't want to see all the pictures!

Haha thank goodness, people say baby spam is annoying, and I'm a true baby spammer! Gosh I can't imagine him being 11, or 13!! I bet it flies by!

That smile!

I know

I think that changes over time. I've heard that babies most look like their fathers when they're born, but after a while, might take on traits of either parent.

Interesting, so he has time... I did carry him for 9 months so I think I deserve for him to resemble me a bit

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 10
Friday 21st February 2020
Part 1 – Moving To The Grand Floridian!


(First of all, why won't emojis load?! Please just imagine my excessive emoji use throughout this post [haha emoji])

Good morning!
It’s a sad day because Rob and Fran are flying home today.
But it’s also a GRAND day because Jamie and I are checking into the Grand Floridian!

We had breakfast downstairs with everyone, then went back up to our room to pack.
Bye cute purple room!

We were all done packing by about 12pm, so we had about an hour before Rob and Fran had to leave.
Lin and Ian made us a really tasty chicken salad that had Swiss cheese and boiled egg and peanuts and stuff in it.
We also had a lunchtime gin and tonic!

Then we loaded Rob and Fran’s luggage into their car and waved them off to the airport.
Then Lin and Ian kindly drove Jamie and I (and all of our luggage) to the Grand Floridian!

YAAAY!

They dropped us out front at 1:45pm and we dragged all our stuff into the lobby to check in!
The woman at the front desk called over a club level cast member who escorted us right to our room, woohoo!

She offered us a welcome drink, but we politely declined as we just wanted to drop our bags in the room and run over to Hollywood Studios to use our fastpass for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run!
We hadn’t ridden it yet and the lines had been soooo long.
This was the only fastpass we had for it so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity!

Our room was 6228, on the second floor of the Sugarloaf building, right at the end of the corridor!
I was very happy with this location because I had emailed prior to the trip asking if we could possibly have a room down the hall away from the club lounge.
The lounge is on the ground floor in this big open atrium area, so there are a lot of rooms surrounding it.
I bet they can be noisy at breakfast when all the young kids are getting psyched up for a day at Disney!
We are peace-lovers.
Or at least we were, before Ted was born.

I was extra happy because when I emailed them I used 6227 as an example of a room we would like down a hall, so they nailed it by giving us 6228!
I wasn’t very hopeful because when we stayed at the Beach Club with our friends last year we requested adjoining rooms, literally any two rooms in the whole hotel, and they weren’t able to grant that, so it was a nice surprise today!

Our door was at the end on the right.

WOOO!
We’re here we’re here!

We stayed in these rooms at the Grand when they were first refurbed in 2014 and loved it!
I think I'll actually be sad when they refurbish these rooms.
I still think they're lovely.

]

Even though it was cloudy today, we had a really nice view.

]

(Yes, Jamie is doing exactly what it looks like in this picture...!)

STACEY!!!

After dropping our bags and having a mini freak-out about how great our room was, we dashed straight to the buses.
We couldn’t be late for our Smugglers Run fastpass!

RUN!

We got to the bus stop, but the board said there wasn’t going to be one for 10 whole minutes..!
GAH!
When that got pushed back by another 2 minutes we decided to just call an Uber.
That probably sounds dramatic but I was worried that once the bus finally arrived it would also have to make a stop at the Polynesian before heading to Hollywood Studios…
Deluxe resort problems.

Here's my new Magic Band (taken whilst waiting for our Uber)!

​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 10
Friday 21st February 2020
Part 2 – Smugglers Run!


Our Uber arrived right when the Hollywood Studios bus arrived, and I’m pretty sure we rode alongside it the whole way there.
OH WELL.
Better safe than sorry.

Our car dropped us off at Hollywood Studios at around 2:30pm, in plenty of time for our fastpass.
Even enough time to stop for a photopass.

Then we headed into Galaxy’s Edge!
It was nice to see it on a cooler day and feel more relaxed, yesterday was soooo hot.

We tried to get to Smugglers Run by cutting around the undercover marketplace bit, but we just ended up somewhere completely different and had to come back on ourselves, FAIL.
Thankfully we made it only 5 minutes late for our fastpass, and the tapstiles still flashed green to wave us through.

Even the queue to this ride was amazing!

We were given purple team pilot cards!
We were excited as we’d heard pilot was the best position to get!
We were talking to the rest of our purple team in the waiting area and they said,
“I think we just have to shoot everything” and Jamie was like,
“Shoot everyone and everything, and ask questions later” LOL.

The area where you’re loading into the ride and you go through like you’re boarding a plane is so cool and realistic!

Here we go, buckle up!

We thought this ride was so much fun, and it was hilarious to be a pilot!
When one of us crashed our ship the whole thing jolted and shook us around, it was quite jarring!
I was overcorrecting as I always do on the Tomorrowland Speedway and Jamie was yelling at me for it, then straight away he didn’t pull up when he needed to and we just smashed straight into an obstacle hahaha.
OMG we were laughing so much.

We left Galaxy’s Edge and headed out through Toy Story Land to go use our fastpass at Tower of Terror!

But when we got to Tower of Terror, even the fastpass line was out the door and round onto Sunset Boulevard!
So we got a photopass and had a look around a shop for a while.

Then we returned to Tower and the fastpass line was EVEN LONGER!
But we just joined it anyway, and it actually filtered through really quickly.
The same thing happened at Expedition Everest the other day.
Don’t be deceived by a long fastpass line, both times we were on the ride in about 15 minutes!

While we were in the preshow room my camera decided to have a huge meltdown, ugh it was so scary.
I hadn’t transferred ANY of my photos from this trip onto my laptop for some reason so I was super spooked that they were all going to be gone forever.
When we were in Norway a couple of weeks ago Jamie dropped it in the snow (within approximately 3 seconds of me handing it to him and saying “be careful”...).
It hadn’t been the same since then, so I blame him.
I took out the battery and SD card to give it a reboot, but I DROPPED the SD card on the floor, in this pitch black room that people were about to stampede through.
GAH.
Thankfully I did manage to spot it and grab it off the floor when the lights came back on. PHEW.
However I put my camera away in my bag because it wouldn’t let me turn it on without committing to ‘rewrite’ something or other.
So I wasn’t out of the woods yet.

At least I managed to enjoy the ride!

Afterwards we headed out of the park.
We did have a fastpass for Rock n Rollercoaster, but it wasn’t for another 2 hours and the park was real busy.
We had another fastpass for it on another day so it was all good!

On the way out we spotted a precious DOG!

We got another photopass with a photographer on Hollywood Boulevard who was earning her ears.
She had two trainers with her who were giving her a hard time (in a funny, lighthearted way)
They told the guests in front of us to sing Happy Birthday to her so they did super enthusiastically, and this CM was like “Aw thank youuu!”
Then as the group walked up to the photo spot she turned to the two trainers and went,
“It’s not my birthday, but thank you…” LOL.
While she was taking their pictures the trainers turned to us and told us to head up to the photo spot and start taking selfies of ourselves, so we did, and the poor trainee photographer didn’t know what to do with herself.
We heard her say to the trainers, “oh, they’re just taking selfies…” haha.

She took some pictures of us, then when we went up to scan our magic band I had to tell her the trainers put us up to that.
Then the trainers made us take selfies with them all.
Gah it was all hilarious.

We headed to the bus stops and enjoyed the new area music.
It’s recently changed to big band renditions of Disney songs!

​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 10
Friday 21st February 2020
Part 3 – Grand Floridian Spam


The bus came in about 5 mins and I rushed us back to the room to try to fix my camera!
Although I did stop to take a couple of photos of this beautiful resort on my phone.

We got back to the room and I plugged my SD card into my laptop…
For a few moments I thought this was going to be THE FORGOTTEN TRIP with no trip report.
But since you’re reading it, it’s no surprise that all of my photos popped up, woohoo!
And I got my camera working again, thank goodness.

Then we headed back out to the lobby to explore the shops, and we took a peak at the new Enchanted Rose bar.

It was super busy in there, there wasn’t a single free seat!
It looked very popular.
I don’t know if that was because it was new or because it’s genuinely good!

I loved this book in one of the stores!

Then we went back to the room for a bit…

Happy boy

About 20 minutes later we realised that the club lounge would be serving up the evening offerings so we went to check it out!

It was currently about 5:15pm and we had a dinner reservation at Trail’s End at 8:15pm.
We didn’t plan on getting much from the lounge, but it all looked so good!
We even went back up for seconds of the mac and cheese balls.

There was also a cool little pop up bar!
We got a glass of red wine each and took them back to our room.

We had a couple of hours to kill so we relaxed, then I unpacked and tidied up a bit.
Jamie wanted to wear the complimentary slippers, but wasn’t impressed with the sizing...!

​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 10
Friday 21st February 2020
Part 4 - Trail's End!


At one point I went out onto the balcony and it was suddenly FREEZING!
As a Brit, I NEVER thought I would say such a thing about Florida.
But alas, people were out walking below our balcony in big padded coats with furry hoods!
It was so strange after I’d had to change my shirt at Hollywood Studios yesterday because I was sweating!
So when we got ready to head over to Fort Wilderness I had to dress accordingly!

I wore a sweater and jacket with jeans and a hat and gloves!
Jamie hadn’t really packed anything appropriate for this weather so he wore two sweaters!

We got the monorail to Magic Kingdom, and the boat to Fort Wilderness was right there waiting for us when we arrived.

(Not our boat, but a cute boat nonetheless!)

Our boat was one that had an indoors to it, but unfortunately there were no seats at all inside!
So we sat outside, like the lunatic we are.

I felt ok apart from my face being cold, but Jamie was freeeezing!
I sat with my arm around his neck like a scarf!

We arrived at Fort Wilderness with lots of time to spare before our reservation, so we had a look in the Settlement Post shop for a hat or something for Jamie.
This was all we could find, and sadly he did not make the purchase!

Cute merch.

Soon it was time to go check in at Trail’s End.
We were quickly seated, in the exact same spot we were seated when we ate here in 2018!

I looove this buffet, it’s such a cool environment. I love the western theme.
Plus the food is great.
They actually share a kitchen with the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review!
So they have a lot of the same stuff.

I got a salad, prawns, salmon, mac and cheese, cheese and tomato pasta, mash, cowboy beans and beef brisket.

Jamie had similar but he also had some fried chicken.
Then he went up for more mac and cheese and brisket!

For dessert I got strawberry shortcake, a brownie, and a chocolate cupcake!

We really enjoyed Trail’s End!
This was one of my favourite buffets.

We went to get the boat back to the Magic Kingdom, and it was sooo freezing out by the water!
We were shivering!
We had to retreat into this little fishing hut, and another couple followed us there.
We had a fun chat with them while we waited!

The boat soon appeared THANK GOD.
As we were getting on the Captain said, “Animal Kingdom?” Lols.
We headed back to the Magic Kingdom, then for the resort monorail around to the Grand Floridian.

It was Villains after hours night at Magic Kingdom so the Grand Floridian band were out playing Grim Grinning Ghosts!
That’s when I got this clip of Jamie doing a spooky dance, which still makes me laugh.

The desserts were out in the club lounge but we were so full from our meal!
So we just got some hot chocolate powder to make back at the room.

Turndown service!

I was happy because I’d heard they’d stop doing turndown service unless you called and asked for it.
How cheeky!
I think that defeats the point of returning to your room and being greeted by a nice surprise turndown service!

I had a boiling hot shower as I had a major chill from waiting out for that boat!
Then we made our hot chocolates, ate our Ghirardellis, watched some Stacy, and went to bed!

Goodnight!​

 

[pkondz]

Interesting, so he has time... I did carry him for 9 months so I think I deserve for him to resemble me a bit

That seems fair... and Hymie is probably thinking... not.

(First of all, why won't emojis load?! Please just imagine my excessive emoji use throughout this post [haha emoji])

Because they "upgraded" the DIS and switched to a different server. The good news is that you can now load all your emojis from your phone. The bad news is... you don't post TRs from your phone.
They also did not fix all the broken things that got broken on the last server upgrade and several more things are broken now.

It’s a sad day because Rob and Fran are flying home today.
But it’s also a GRAND day because Jamie and I are checking into the Grand Floridian!

Woot! (to the 2nd part only. I'm not a monster.)

Lin and Ian made us a really tasty chicken salad that had Swiss cheese and boiled egg and peanuts and stuff in it.

That sounds really interesting. How was it?

We also had a lunchtime gin and tonic!

Our room was 6228, on the second floor of the Sugarloaf building,

And now I finally understand your TR title.

We are peace-lovers.
Or at least we were, before Ted was born.

I was extra happy because when I emailed them I used 6227 as an example of a room we would like down a hall, so they nailed it by giving us 6228!

Whoa. That's pretty darn close! I once got the exact room I requested. Great when it happens.

Nice view indeed.

Huge balcony!

(Yes, Jamie is doing exactly what it looks like in this picture...!)

Careful. Behaviour like that can lead to other things and the next thing you know, you have children.



Oh.

Nevermind.

RUN!

We got to the bus stop, but the board said there wasn’t going to be one for 10 whole minutes..!
GAH!
When that got pushed back by another 2 minutes we decided to just call an Uber.
That probably sounds dramatic but I was worried that once the bus finally arrived it would also have to make a stop at the Polynesian before heading to Hollywood Studios…
Deluxe resort problems.

Here's my new Magic Band (taken whilst waiting for our Uber)!

I like it. Clean with a touch of class and nostalgia to it.

Our Uber arrived right when the Hollywood Studios bus arrived, and I’m pretty sure we rode alongside it the whole way there.
OH WELL.
Better safe than sorry.

Whoops!

Nice shot of you two.

We tried to get to Smugglers Run by cutting around the undercover marketplace bit, but we just ended up somewhere completely different and had to come back on ourselves, FAIL.

And you call yourselves Disney pros.

(Okay... you don't. But you think of yourselves that way, don't you? Hmmmm???? )

Thankfully we made it only 5 minutes late for our fastpass, and the tapstiles still flashed green to wave us through.

Cutting it close!
Glad you made it.

We were given purple team pilot cards!
We were excited as we’d heard pilot was the best position to get!

Lucky. I've ridden... twice?
And both times I've been engineer. So... technically, I feel like I haven't ridden it yet.

We were talking to the rest of our purple team in the waiting area and they said,
“I think we just have to shoot everything” and Jamie was like,
“Shoot everyone and everything, and ask questions later” LOL.

Wise advice!

But when we got to Tower of Terror, even the fastpass line was out the door and round onto Sunset Boulevard!

Whoa! I've never seen that!
I wonder if it was down, earlier.

Fun shot.

Awwwww...

Then we returned to Tower and the fastpass line was EVEN LONGER!

How????

I like this close-up shot.

While we were in the preshow room my camera decided to have a huge meltdown, ugh it was so scary.
I hadn’t transferred ANY of my photos from this trip onto my laptop for some reason so I was super spooked that they were all going to be gone forever.

Oh, no!
And... you don't say, but did your camera work again?

I took out the battery and SD card to give it a reboot, but I DROPPED the SD card on the floor, in this pitch black room that people were about to stampede through.
GAH.

Awww...

On the way out we spotted a precious DOG!

Nice looking one too.

They told the guests in front of us to sing Happy Birthday to her so they did super enthusiastically, and this CM was like “Aw thank youuu!”
Then as the group walked up to the photo spot she turned to the two trainers and went,
“It’s not my birthday, but thank you…” LOL.

While she was taking their pictures the trainers turned to us and told us to head up to the photo spot and start taking selfies of ourselves, so we did, and the poor trainee photographer didn’t know what to do with herself.
We heard her say to the trainers, “oh, they’re just taking selfies…” haha.

I guess they were training her on how to react to any situation.

I love this photo, given the backstory.

For a few moments I thought this was going to be THE FORGOTTEN TRIP with no trip report.
But since you’re reading it, it’s no surprise that all of my photos popped up, woohoo!

It was super busy in there, there wasn’t a single free seat!
It looked very popular.
I don’t know if that was because it was new or because it’s genuinely good!

I suspect the former... although I've also heard that it is indeed quite good.

I loved this book in one of the stores!

It's also a series on Disney+... but I haven't had the time to watch yet.

Go Hymie! Dive! Dive! Dive!

About 20 minutes later we realised that the club lounge would be serving up the evening offerings so we went to check it out!

Some day I'll do this... some day...

We even went back up for seconds of the mac and cheese balls.

I noticed those. They sure sounded good.

As a Brit, I NEVER thought I would say such a thing about Florida.

As a Canadian... I never have said that.
And yes... I've worn shorts there in January when it was only 2-3 degrees.

We got the monorail to Magic Kingdom, and the boat to Fort Wilderness was right there waiting for us when we arrived.

Good timing!

So we sat outside, like the lunatic we are.

I sat with my arm around his neck like a scarf!

"...and slowly choked him to death. I then needed to find a new (alive) boyfriend as this one was only good for the Haunted Mansion now."

We arrived at Fort Wilderness with lots of time to spare before our reservation, so we had a look in the Settlement Post shop for a hat or something for Jamie.
This was all we could find, and sadly he did not make the purchase!​

Shame. It totally suits him.

I looove this buffet, it’s such a cool environment. I love the western theme.
Plus the food is great.
They actually share a kitchen with the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review!
So they have a lot of the same stuff.

I will have to keep that one in mind!

As we were getting on the Captain said, “Animal Kingdom?” Lols.

It was Villains after hours night at Magic Kingdom so the Grand Floridian band were out playing Grim Grinning Ghosts!

oooohhh... I love that!

That’s when I got this clip of Jamie doing a spooky dance, which still makes me laugh.

I love your "Oh no! Oh no!"

So we just got some hot chocolate powder to make back at the room.

Nice touch.

I had a boiling hot shower as I had a major chill from waiting out for that boat!

Bet that felt wonderful.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Your updates are so fun to read!

They dropped us out front at 1:45pm and we dragged all our stuff into the lobby to check in!
The woman at the front desk called over a club level cast member who escorted us right to our room, woohoo!

What good luck that your room was already ready!

RUN!

Hehe. I feel like running to catch the bus is necessary at least once a trip. It's like a tradition. The best is when you run to get there and then the bus proceeds to sit there for another 5 minutes.

I was happy because I’d heard they’d stop doing turndown service unless you called and asked for it.

Yey for the chocolates! Somehow they taste better when you eat them in your room at Disney.

 

[bamaslp]

Ya'll are just THE cutest!! <3

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Because they "upgraded" the DIS and switched to a different server. The good news is that you can now load all your emojis from your phone. The bad news is... you don't post TRs from your phone.
They also did not fix all the broken things that got broken on the last server upgrade and several more things are broken now.

Oh dear! Thanks, good to know it's not just me.

That sounds really interesting. How was it?

Great! I love when you discover that weird combinations of food actually work well together.

Whoa. That's pretty darn close! I once got the exact room I requested. Great when it happens.

Nice! our Beach Club trip in 2019 is the only time we've not had it granted (adjoining rooms). Makes me nervous if we take Ted and my parents, I really hope we'd get adjoining rooms then! That's how we did it growing up at Port Orleans Riverside, we always had the door open with my Auntie and Uncle's room, it was like having one giant room!

Huge balcony!

It was! Last time we stayed here we had a dormer balcony on the top floor so this was a nice change!

Careful. Behaviour like that can lead to other things and the next thing you know, you have children.



Oh.

Nevermind.

Haha! I laughed!

And you call yourselves Disney pros.

(Okay... you don't. But you think of yourselves that way, don't you? Hmmmm???? )

Absolutely! Until things change and new systems come along. I have a LOT of Genie/Lightning Lane studying to do, I haven't a clue what's going on...! It's such a shame, I really felt I'd mastered fastpass+!

Lucky. I've ridden... twice?
And both times I've been engineer. So... technically, I feel like I haven't ridden it yet.

Oh no, you should ask to be pilot next time!

I like this close-up shot.

Thanks! My old little camera is surprisingly good!

Oh, no!
And... you don't say, but did your camera work again?

It did! And thanks for pointing that out, I've added it in.

I guess they were training her on how to react to any situation.

Oh yes you might be right! I hadn't thought about that. Although I'm not sure she would need training on the previous guests to us singing happy birthday to her when it wasn't her birthday, haha!

As a Canadian... I never have said that.
And yes... I've worn shorts there in January when it was only 2-3 degrees.

Haha, my dad does this. He's Scottish so all temperatures are warm to him, he's always in shorts!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Your updates are so fun to read!

Thank you!! When I actually get around to posting them haha!

What good luck that your room was already ready!

I know, I might have just left our luggage there in the lobby so that we could make our Smugglers Run fastpass if our room hadn't been ready!

Hehe. I feel like running to catch the bus is necessary at least once a trip. It's like a tradition. The best is when you run to get there and then the bus proceeds to sit there for another 5 minutes.

Oh definitely, I love that adrenaline hit! Then sitting there a sweaty mess when it sits there for 5 minutes haha!

Yey for the chocolates! Somehow they taste better when you eat them in your room at Disney.

I was so sad when I read they weren't doing it anymore, but it made it even better when they appeared on our pillows!

Ya'll are just THE cutest!! <3

Aw thank you!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 11
Saturday 22nd February 2020
Part 1 – A Relaxing Morning



Good morning!
Today was Saturday, so we decided to avoid the weekend/marathon day crowds and take it easy around the hotel, before heading to Magic Kingdom tonight!

Jamie woke up early at 6:30am because there was football (soccer) on back home that he wanted to watch!
I snoozed until about 9am, then I went to get us some breakfast from the club lounge.
I got us a bagel with cream cheese and ham, a boiled egg, a devilled egg, some mortadella, a blueberry muffin and some bread pudding!

Jamie decided he wanted the bagel all to himself haha!
So I went back down and got another for me, and another devilled egg because they were sooo good.
I like making devilled eggs so I need this recipe!

I sat out on the balcony all morning and caught up on trip notes as I’d been really bad at it this year!
It was lovely and warm with blue skies today, and our balcony had the morning sun so I was very content!

In the early afternoon I went down to the club lounge to get two bottles of water, and this is what I returned with...!

It’s easily done!

Pics from while I was hoarding…

I sat back out on the balcony and munched my way through both plates!
Sorry Jamie!

At one point we got an invitation under the door inviting us to view the brand new Riviera Resort, which had just opened a couple of months ago!

These invites are such a big win for me.
I looove Disney hotels so I love getting to look around the rooms!
We toured Copper Creek a couple of years ago too and loved it.
You also get some anytime fastpasses as a thank you, and with the parks being so busy right now that was definitely worth it.
Plus last time we got a $100 gift card thrown in!
This wasn’t advertised on the invite, but maybe we’d still get it....?!
There really isn’t a downside to doing these tours in my opinion!

​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 11
Saturday 22nd February 2020
Part 2 – More Grand Floridian Spam



Jamie was sleepy after waking up early for football so he had a nap, and at around 3pm I headed out to explore, and book in our DVC tour!

Off I go!

Our balcony on the end there!

I searched on both floors of the lobby for the DVC kiosk but couldn’t find it anywhere!
So I strolled over to the villas to see if anyone there could help.

When I got there the CM apologetically told me they couldn’t help me there, but the kiosk was located next to 1900 Park Fare!
Noted!
(I have probably walked past it about 10 times haha!)

But as I said before, I love the resorts, so this trip to the villas wasn’t wasted!
I took the opportunity to have a look around!

Soon I headed back over to the main building.
The DVC kiosk was busy so I explored for a while.

I love stationary.

And I love these pens!
I always take these pictures so that I can review at the end of the trip and make any purchases I want to, but I always forget ugh!
I really wish I had these pens.

Basin!

I also took a quick trip to the pool and kid’s splash zone!
The splash zone was closed and it looked…weird…

This has seen better days!

I wonder what they were doing to it?!

Soon I went to sit by the DVC kiosk, and I waited for the CM to be done with his guest.

Then I went up and got our Riviera tour booked in for the next morning!
I told the guy that tomorrow we had a lunch reservation at Animal Kingdom Lodge and then we’d be going to Animal Kingdom afterwards, and he said that on top of the 3 additional fastpasses that came with the tour (which come with some restrictions such as no Pandora rides…), he’d include a 4th pass that we could use at either of the Avatar rides!

Plus, remember I said we got a $100 gift card last time?
He also said we’d receive a $150 Disney gift card for doing this tour!
I am such a fan of these tours.
I wonder if one day I’ll be so excited that I use my life savings to buy a big fat DVC contract!

​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 11
Saturday 22nd February 2020
Part 3 – A Walk to the Polynesian


After that was all confirmed I decided to let Jamie catch up on sleep for a bit longer, so I walked over to the Polynesian!

I love the Victorian atmosphere music they play around the Grand Floridian!

In contrast to loving the Grand Floridian atmosphere music, I find the Polynesian music kinda creepy!
It sounds like it should be played at Tower of Terror or something!

The lobby was super busy!
I remember thinking that when we stayed at the Polynesian a few years ago.
I loooved the resort but it doesn’t really feel like home because everyone and there mother is mingling around the lobby for ‘Ohana and Kona!

I had a look through the stores and they had a bunch of Poly-specific merch!
I don’t think there’s much like that at the Grand Floridian.
They were also playing Disney Mania over the stereo there, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Kilimanjaro Katie

Jungle Jamie

Check out the vintage rooms!

After my brief visit to the Polynesian I headed back to the Grand.

I saw a bridal party outside Gasparilla!
Imagine getting married at the Grand Floridian, what a dream!

The bird cage elevator!

A cute Grand Floridian keyring I found in the store.

The walkway between the Grand and Magic Kingdom is coming along!

Gasparilla Island Grill!

​