Grand Floridian, P&PP, 7 Days!!! 4/3-4/10

[drinktomeonly]

...but YES, getting to the parks when we did DEFINATELY hampered our ability to get fast passes for things like Soarin,
but since we had park hopper passes and could just come and go when we wanted, we figured we'd get on it sooner or later and we didn't stress it.
The 50 minute wait seemed reasonable to us, the kids were in a good mood and their bellies were full so they were up to the wait.

 

[Mickdeb]

Hi
Enjoying your trip report, great job
We will be going to the P&P on May 2nd. Sounds like a great time

 

[drinktomeonly]

Wow, I am having serious trouble with photobucket the past couple of days. My pics are uploading really slow, and It's taking forever to log in. I'll have to insert more pics at the end of this report.

I have pics of the Hoop Dee Do revue to add, and more, so please stay tuned for more pics just as soon as I can get them in here!!

SO......

Back to the report. After having had such a great time the night before, we were looking forward to enjoying our last full day and evening and decided to head back to Epcot for the World Showcase before the Luau at Polynesian.

Looking for a little variety...we went to Kona Café for breakfast at the Polynesian. It was very nice. I like the Grand Floridian Cafe much better, although the coffee at Kona is top notch. I have no facts to back up why I like the cafe better, I just do.
I'm sure many people feel the opposite.


After, we made our way back to Epcot to hit the World Showcase. I have always wanted to see this part of the park.

The kids really enjoyed Epcot, and so did DH and I. I found the CM's to be exceptionally friendly and inviting here.

It was here, on Day 7, that we had our “Magical Moment”!!!!

We were making our way around the countries, and the kids were enjoying getting their masks stamped and seeing all of the different buildings.

I totally enjoyed a frozen Grey Goose Citron and Lemonade Slush from a cart in France. They served it in a martini “glass” and I carried it all around with me til it was gone. Absolutely delicious.

We saw the movie about France, and we all liked that.

I think that I would like to come back to Epcot World Showcase with my husband on a no-kids trip at some point so that we could really take our time, and eat and drink our way "around the world" there!

While waiting in line for Maelstrom at Norway, we were approached by a CM who asked us if we were enjoying our trip, and if we’d like to have a Magical Moment! SURE!!!!!!
She pulled us out of line, took us to the front of the pack, gave us our own private boat for Maelstrom, and was just really sweet. We were delighted to have something happen for us on our trip. She also gave us certificates to commemorate our moment. It was "just Maelstrom"....but hey, it really really made our day. It doesn't matter what happens, when you are noticed and surprised with a little treat, it means a lot.

I was happy that it happened in Norway because I've always had a passion for the history and culture of that country...and for Viking Lore, so it was especially fun for me.

The kids were blown away.

We continued to make our way around the countries, having a nice time, there were hardly any crowds, it was REALLY pleasant....until I suddenly realized that we would have to really move fast to make it back to the GF, change, and make it to the Luau Dinner Show at the Polynesian.
We quickly made our way out of Epcot, which was a bummer because I would have liked to have stayed there. I don't feel like we "finished it".



I should have gone with my gut and skipped the Luau so that we could keep on enjoying the World Showcase. The kids wanted the rest of the stamps and charms on their masks, and DH and I really didn't want to leave.

Next Up......

The Luau at the Polynesian


I WILL get more photos in here asap!

 

[drinktomeonly]

LUAU at Polynesian:


Well……after our week of great tables, great service, great luck and short lines, we were shocked to discover that there actually ARE bad tables at Disney Shows! I hadn't thought it was so!

Wow. Our table was TERRIBLE.
And I'm not being overly critical, I'm really not. It was just plain awful.

We could barely see the stage, the performers rarely turned our way, the food was blah, and we actually....(shhhhh!)...... left early!

We were in Section 41B.

Avoid that table, or anything near it. There were, unbelievably, even worse tables to be had behind us, and further off into the corner.

We were way off to the side, in back of other people, behind a wait stand and behind posts that all combined to block our view almost entirely. We weren’t all THAT upset, really, because the show was an after-thought that the concierge squeezed us into at the last minute to help us utilize credits, but I would have been bitterly disappointed if I had been waiting and looking forward to this show.

The woman who was the main “MC” of the show could barely be heard or understood from where we sat.

Let me make it clear that I'm NOT saying that the show itself was lousy, because frankly....we have no idea WHAT it was like. We couldn't see or hear it. It did look as though the people front and center were having a great time!!

One cool thing was that we saw a cocktail on the menu that comes in a carved coconut shell. My DD wanted it, but I told her that it had alcohol in it and wasn't for little girls. Our server said that we could have any beverage served in the souvenir coconut, so we ordered two of them for the kids.

The kids thought that was GREAT!! It wasn't cheap...but you DO get to take the coconuts home with you and it's actually a souvenir coin bank, so it was a memento that they'll keep. I think it was 14.50 each with the drink in them.
One note....they are HUGE. Give a thought to how you are going to get them home!!

The bread served was good, a sweet hawaiian style bread...but the chicken was blah and we weren't really hungry for ribs having just had them the night before. It's all served with rice and vegetables that was really sort of just....boring.

To be fair, this WAS our last night and we had had such a perfect trip that I could be being a little hard on the Luau experience...but I am not exaggerating at how bad the table was. Of course, it WAS a reservation that we picked up just a couple days prior so I wasn't expecting front row.


We finally just had enough of it and left. This is one show that I would make CERTAIN to get front and center seating on the main floor for, or I’d skip it.

Our kids didn't like it much either, so we just high-tailed it out of there to get more time to enjoy our pool, room and view.

We headed back to the hotel where the kids swam and enjoyed their last night in the pool.

Next, our last morning, hopefully more photos and the near-disaster trying to get home.

 

[drinktomeonly]

Our vacation really was everything that I had hoped that it would be, and all of the advanced planning that I did definitely helped to make it so. I appreciate all of the helpful info that I found on these boards that added so much value to our trip!!


LAST MORNING:
We headed out on the 10th to Orlando Airport, where we discovered that All Midwest Airlines flights had been grounded due to FAA checks, just like what happened with AA.We waited in line for 3 HOURS.

By the time we reached the front of the line, we had used our cell phones to rent a car and get ourselves booked on an AirTran flight out of TAMPA.

Turns out that we are lucky we did. Many of the other travelers had no choice but to stay one and two extra nights in an airport hotel. We were each given a voucher for free future travel and an offer to stay at a hotel and “POSSIBLY” fly out the next day. We took the vouchers, declined the hotel, drove to Tampa and waited for our evening flight out.

I was ok with the thought of one additional night, but we didn't want to risk having the next day or the day after that come and go and not get home. (This happened to a woman that we spoke with while we waited in line).

The AirTran Flight out of Tampa was on time, but EXTREMELY turbulent. My poor little DD got sick at the end of the flight, DS slept, DH and I just prayed for it all to end safely and quickly.

When we landed, it was an enormous relief.

It was a marvelous trip, and we’ll definitely be going back in a couple of years.


Final Thoughts:


We found the Deluxe Dining Plan to be a bit confusing, because every restaurant worked it differently.
At some restaurants you could substitute an appetizer for an entrée, at some you can’t.
We had lots of snack points left over and wound up taking a bag of snacks home with us.
I think that for our next trip, we’d skip the dining plan and just pay for our meals because we really didn’t need that many sit-down experiences.
We do love food, and love to eat, but I’m just as happy with one or two fabulous restaurants and just a casual bite to eat the rest of the time.

We also felt limited by the children’s choices and I often ordered something different for them.

My other recommendation is that you MUST MUST check your bill as you go along. In the beginning, we didn’t realize that if you don’t MENTION SPECIFICALLY that you are on the dining plan…..they might not ask and they might not subtract the credits and you might get charged. We did get over 300.00 removed from our final bill because of glitches like this. I’m not sure the staff is at all sure how to work the plan.

We had thought that it was “automatic”….not so. You DO have to tell them every single time you buy something….which I found a little tiresome. I am used to just ordering what I want, when I want, and I hated it when servers would helpfully say “You DO realize that this is not included, don’t you?” They were only trying to be nice, but I got tired of thinking about the darn Plan and reminded that every extra was not included. I finally resorted to saying this as soon as we were seated “We DO have the deluxe dining plan, and we do realize that everything that we might order may not be included…it’s ok”.

As far as our room, well it was perfect and I'd love to have that room again.

What a WONDERFUL WONDERFUL trip!!! I would definitely stay at the Grand Floridian again before trying any other resort.

Now, let me try loading those pics again!!

 

[Lives4Disney]

THANKS so much for taking the time to post this great report!

I am with you on the DDP. I would never do it. Too much fuss and complication and restriction for me - on vacation!!!!

I am looking forward to your pics.

Lives4Disney

 

[pooh'smate]

I enjoyed your tr. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

 

[princessesrule4]

Thanks for the great report! Glad you got home safely after the airline trouble.
We never do the DDP either - just don't like that many TS meals and kind of like to go whichever way the wind blows us sometimes!