Day 12...Relaxing at the Grand Floridian and a special surprise!!
We spent the morning hanging out in the lounge (still pretty crowded, but we did find a table). We ate breakfast and then we broke out a deck of cards and played Go Fish.
Yep, we are the family who at WDW sat down and played Go Fish. A bit cheesy but we had fun. After our late light breakfast and card game we were up for some exploring. So we headed out to prowl the beautiful grounds of the Grand Floridian.
First stop was the marina. The views were amazing!!
The boys enjoyed the telescopes. We fed a few quarters into the slots and kept them busy for a good long time.
After about a half an hour of taking in the view, we got a bit hungry, lucky for us, Gasperilla's was right behind us! So we turned and walked (or in my case gimped) in.
Dh and "Aladdin" each enjoyed a pizza plate while I dined on a grilled chicken sandwich with fries. I chose a blueberry muffin for dessert while dh and "Aladdin" had soft serve ice cream (which they loved). **TIP, pay for your meal and tell them you will come back up after your meal to get your ice cream...they didn't mind a bit and dessert was still frozen by the time they got around to enjoying it.**
Of course my two most diverse eating sons went with something totally off the wall and each of them ordered a hot dog with fries and a cookie.
After our meal, we played games of a different sort. We loaded some arcade cards for the boys and dh and I watched them go crazy with happiness. We let them each have $10 on a card and they had a great time spending it. If we would have been up for it, they would have gone through at least double that amount. But after a few rounds of games it was time to head back outside.
We stopped at the sundries shop and I picked up a few paperbacks and a bottle of water. Then dh and the boys walked me over to the beach area and helped me settle down on to a very comfy shaded lounge chair and then they left to get pool ready (change and do some pool ball shopping).
As I sat on the beach, I didn't even crack a book. I just enjoyed taking it all in. I was surrounded by beauty on every side. As I sat there, I snapped a few pictures so that I would have something to remember that perfectly sunny, breezy, amazing moment in time.
Just as I started to get a bit warm (read overheated) my men showed up. And we were off again. This time we headed over to the pool, the quiet pool that is. We had a surprise for the boys the next day at waterfall pool so we didn't want to make use of that one this day. As the boys and dh took the plunge I put me feet up at a table in the shade of the pool bar's overhang. I ordered a soft pretzel and a lava smoothie and sat munching and sipping while reading my book.
We spent hours out by the courtyard pool that afternoon. It was such a fun and relaxing way to spend an afternoon. Of course, I took some pictures to commemorate that portion of our day as well.
The pool was so empty!
I passed the camera to dh and he snapped a few underwater shots of our little fish.
The boys really made good use of the water balls they bought at the poolside stand. They had a great time playing catch. They threw those little soggy spheres back and forth and back and forth. Who knew cheapy pool toys could be so much fun?!
As the afternoon wore on, it was time to head back to our room for a special surprise for my little "Goof".
As I gimped the short way back to Sugarloaf (it's right across from the courtyard pool, the perfect location actually) I was so excited I thought I might burst. For MONTHS I had been talking with one of the private dining planners about getting a special cake for our little snorkeling fool, "Goofy". Not only would it feature his favorite pastime but also his favorite character, Pluto. As we made our way upstairs we stopped to grab a few drinks and then we opened the door.
As that door opened I held my breath...would the cake be there as planned? Would it be everything I had hoped for? Would "Goofy" like it? Would dh go looking for a divorce lawyer if he found out how much it cost?! HA!
I rushed into the room ahead of the rest of the family and there it was...in all of it's glory...the coolest snorkeling Pluto cake this side of out of this world!!
Every single decoration on the cake was edible! The sea horses, the starfish, the shells, the seaweed, the ocean creatures, the coral, even the sand!! The detail on the decorations was flat out amazing!! **Ignore the nasty little fly perched on the edge of the Pluto picture...ICK, I am glad I didn't see that then!!**
"Goofy" LOVED the cake! He was happier then I had ever seen him before!! He was beaming...glowing...floating on air! I think that every penny we spent on that cake was worth it! To see his smile shine and his eyes grow big as saucers in amazement was one of the best things that has ever happened to dh and I! It was a priceless moment...to help your son have his dreams come true. That cake was everything he loved rolled into one. Snorkeling, sugary sweets, ocean creatures, Pluto and chocolaty goodness.
All of the boys thought this cake was out of this world!!
We carved that thing into gigantic pieces and sat around smiling at each other and stuffing our faces with sweet cake goodness.
That surprise was everything I had hoped for and more. I didn't think that he would be "that" happy. It was such a great moment for our entire family! Especially the birthday boy himself...our little 8 year old ray of sunshine...."Goofy"!!
Up next dinner at the California Grill.
To be continued...
. So glad you've backed up my idea about the Wishes Birthday cruise as long as we can get if booked it's now a definate.
rotfl: I almost forgot the word "card"! 
) Good thing it was a new card, but as a PP mentioned, those things are spendy! 
). 
Thanks for the VERY HANDY clue!!
But we all still love him anyway!! 
I will definitely use the 
Coming up the next installment with PLENTY of photos! 
. I've shown it to DH, who's response was "Wow, I didn't know they could make cakes like THAT!". I then casualy directed him to the Birthday cake thread and pointed out Prices, Sizes, Flavours, my personal preferences and telephone numbers for ordering.....yes I even amaze myself with my subtlety at times
