Just a quick update for anyone curious or interested in the Gaylord Palms Holiday experiences!
Thank you, to Gina and others, for not only piquing our interest with this, but for great trip reports and information to know how to plan, what to do and expect. So helpful!
A little background: Our family does Disney for the Marathon Weekend each year (now becoming more like Marathon Week with more races being added!).
We also do Disney once or twice a year in addition. We are die-hard Disney fans.
But, we do like to do different and unique things each time we go. We still have a long way to go, but we've definitely done a lot. So, looking for something new, I ventured out to the Orlando board.
My DD11 and I usually head down to Orlando for a few days before the rest of the family, for some girl time. I'm *not* an out of the box kind of person. I like using Magical Express and Disney transportation, I'm familiar and comfortable with it. When I found the Gaylord Palms is now part of the Marriott franchise, my mind said point stay!! (DH travels a lot, so we have a nice little stash of points.) But my heart said "yikes! out of the comfort zone!"
Lol...
When I read about and saw Gina's posts on the Gaylord Holiday Experiences, I just knew my DD would love it, so I started to plan my out of the box stay.
We stayed at the Gaylord Palms for two nights, on Marriott points. I did chicken out with Mear's transportation, we probably would have been great with it, but DH had a business associate pick us up from MCO and bring us to the Gaylord. I was so appreciative!
We had a parking lot facing room (they did ask us if we wanted to upgrade to an atrium view for $$, no thanks...) which was fine and *perfectly* located.
We explored the resort, taking lots of photos inside and out. It was great fun. What a BEAUTIFUL property! Just watching the alligators alone was really cool. We had some alligator excitement when a young boy threw a water bottle into the water.
It did create quite an amazing frenzy. All the alligators jumped into the water trying to get the water bottle. One of them actually got it! The animal keepers were called in to get it from him.
Out of this, my DD decided she really likes the alligators and wants to now go to Gatorland on our pre-cruise trip in the summer. Go figure!
While we were outside at the pool bar getting some lunch, it starting pouring, and never let up for the rest of the day. The food was great but service was agonizingly slow. Everyone wanted out of the rain and to eat at the same time!
For the rest of our stay, the weather was either rainy or too cold for the pool, or anything outside, but it was all good. Plenty of time to just hang out in the atrium!
We were able to see all the characters, Shrek, Puss in Boots, Prince Julian (Madagascar) and Po (Kung Fu Panda) with no waits. They took pictures like photopass, but mine came out just as good. We didn't buy any.
We did ICE! Which was fun and incredible! The artistry is amazing and just a very unique experience. It was cold. Definitely very cold
Thanks to reading here, we were dressed appropriately, but DD complained that her face was cold, and well, there's just not much you can do about that. The pictures they took here were awesome, and we did buy a set.
Since it was after Christmas and the last weekend of the display, they were having a 75% off sale on all their ICE and Christmas merchandise. There were a ton of great deals to be had there, as there was a lot of stuff to still buy.
We turned in early to relax and enjoy our night, and the next morning, we
did cookie decorating with Gingy. This was a blast, as Gingy walked around the tables as we decorated taking pictures, having fun with us. Some of the best character interaction we've ever had. So funny! Perhaps it was because it was less busy, it was so fun and low-key, but definitely recommended!
DD and I went to Downtown Disney afterwards. The Gaylord does not have taxis available (you can call for them though), but towncars. We took a towncar to DTD for $27 with tip included. Way more pricey than I wanted, but we were spending the day, so I went with it.
Coming back, we took a bus from DTD to Art of Animation, which we passed on the way there, and quite close to the Gaylord. From AoA, we took a cab to the Gaylord for $11 including tip.
On our last morning, before checkout, we did the Shrek character breakfast, on Gina's recommendation. Like she said, it was a very extensive buffet, and the food was really good. I love Mickey waffles, but sorry, Disney, Shrek waffles blew Mickey waffles away! They were sooo light and airy and delicious!
DD loved the green swamp juice and green chocolate fountain. She really enjoyed the look of the green chocolate fountain more than eating from it, it was more fun than tasty.
We were checking into AoA, so once again, we took a town car. Yes, more expensive, but it was nice to travel in style.
It was a great experience and I'm sooo glad I pushed myself to get out of my comfort zone. It was great fun!
I did have some gripes comparing staying at the Gaylord vs. Disney, but they were somewhat worked out.
My biggest take away that I wish I could have planned for better, was that I felt the Gaylord just didn't have many dining options other than table service, that was expensive and slow. Wishing it had more of a deli and or pizza or even burger place. We did bring Earl of Sandwich back for dinner after our DTD day and glad we did.
So go! I recommend doing something different by staying at the Gaylord Palms, doing ICE! Characters, exploring the atrium, Gingy, etc.!
There IS life outside of Disney...
(shh, I didn't just say that, did I?)
You're awesome 
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