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

[drinktomeonly]

We decided to take it easy on this morning, because we had a Chef Mickey's dinner AND Pirate and Princess party AGAIN in the evening.
It seemed like a good idea to have the kids rest up in the afternoon.

I had pre-reserved a rented a poolside cabana after reading about it on the GF thread. I got it from 10-2pm so that we could spend a relaxing morning swimming, and have a place to get out of the sun.

We woke up and ordered room service for the kids, waffles and pancakes, and then headed down to the front desk to get some clarification on our Dining Plan because we were getting confused . (more about this later).

The person who helped us happened to also be a concierge, and was nice enough to tell us that we had some valuable points as of yet unscheduled for meals. He asked us if we’d like to see Hoop Dee Do Review or the Luau.

I said that I had tried to get reservations for both, but was unable to get them in advance of our trip.

He smiled and said “No problem”.

We left his desk with reservations for both dinner shows.

Great guy, very helpful. I believe his name is Alex.

With that settled and straightened out, we headed out to our rented cabana. It was clean and neat, but there was a definite odor that seemed like a combination of the potted plants and maybe bleach used to clean the area. We turned on the fan provided for us and that took care of that issue.

There were no drinks stocked yet, so our Cabana server took it upon himself to bring us a basket of snacks and chips to make up for the fact that we had to wait for our fruit basket and beverages that were included. We didn’t ask for that, nor did we really care that we had to wait a little for our fruit and beverages, but we appreciated his gesture very much!

The idea of the cabana rental is really nice. It sprinkled a bit and we remained dry and warm til the sun came out again. When the sun DID come out, I was able to sit and relax in the shade. My DS got sick of swimming faster than his sister did, so he relaxed and watched a movie in the cabana while she scampered around in the pool.

When you rent a Cabana, you also get a menu of sandwiches and snacks to order from (at extra charge).
We used our dining plan and ordered a chicken sandwich for me, DH and the kids just weren't very hungry..they'd been enjoying the snacks.

At 2pm, it was time to wrap it up for the day, and the Cabana Server specifically told us to pack up whatever we wanted from the fridge to take a long with us as we had paid for it. We packed up all of the water bottles and juice boxes and put them in our room fridge. Very Nice. We took the fruit with us, too.

A note: The Cabana cost $60.00 to rent from 10-2pm. I had anticipated just putting the Cabana Server's tip on the bill...but it turns out that doesn't work for cabana services. We had to go to the cash machine in the hotel to bring back a cash tip...but the cash machine was out of order! Hubby was actually advised to "take the monorail to MK and use a machine there".....uh, NO.

He asked nicely to receive cash from the front desk and charge it to our room so that we could get the server his tip before he left for the day. That was approved by a manager. A hassle, but no big deal. It was a really nice server.

We rested in our room until it was time to head to the Contemporary Resort and CHEF MICKEY’S.

 

[drinktomeonly]

**I forgot to mention this when I described our room, and I think that it's important info: when I made our room reservation,
I booked a standard Magic Kingdom View room, I mentioned that we'd love to see the fireworks from our room because DD is afraid of them "up close".
I also requested the 2 Queen bed set-up.

There was also a fold-out sleeper couch in the room as well.



It was just much much more perfect than I had hoped for! Thank you, Room Assigners!!!!

 

[drinktomeonly]

CHEF MICKEY’S
Following our successful routine of arriving early to our reservations, we were seated almost immediately for dinner. This was a REALLY fun event for the kids.

DH and I had fun at the buffet, which was standard buffet fare but entirely suitable. I wish that there were more interesting options for little kids. There was pizza and mac & cheese and chicken nuggets.

My kids ate a bunch of mini-cornbread muffins because nothing else really appealed to them all that much. (Except Dessert, of course!)

Prior to our trip, our son had painstakenly drawn pictures for all of his favorite characters, intending to give them all to each of them at Disney. I worried about how that was going to work, but it turns out that it was all very simple and wonderful. I packed the pictures carefully and then pulled them out at dinner time and let him carry them. He handed them out one by one to each character as they approached our table, and they ALL acted totally delighted to receive them! (whew!) They then passed them off to a charming assistant who promised to “carry them” for the characters til later. My son just beamed. We met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and DS’s favorite….Donald Duck.

Look at how happy Pluto was to get DS's picture! (it says "Plootow and Me" )

When dinner ended, we realized that we had forgotten our Pirate and Princess Party Tickets back at the room, so we went back on the monorail to get them.

 

[drinktomeonly]

 

[drinktomeonly]

On this night, it rained a bit harder.

We donned our ponchos and headed straight to Tomorrowland where we enjoyed Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, where Mike chose me out of the audience to talk to and coerced me into making funny noises with my fingers in my ears....the kids got a kick out of that, so did DH. .

We hopped right on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and the Tomorrowland Speedway. The Speedway was pretty interesting in the rain, but the kids had a blast "driving".

We walked on everything with little to no lines. DD wanted to go back on It’s A Small World, so we did that again.

Then, we coasted back to Adventureland and went back on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, met Captain Hook and Smee, collected beads and treasures all over the park.

Yet another fun night!! Wet and soggy, we left the park and headed back to the hotel as the fireworks were starting.

Next up, Hollywood Studios!!

 

[PrincessPaczki]

Thank you for a wonderful trip report. I am so enjoying it. Your kids are so adorable and your room at the GF is unbelievable. I will be staying at the GF for the first time in August, and the reviews on the restaurants help me out alot. I can't wait to read more!

 

[drinktomeonly]

Thank you, Princess!
I love reading other trip reports, they really helped me with my planning, too!
You will have a wonderful time at the GF!!
I appreciate you stopping by to read about our very first trip!

 

[drinktomeonly]

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the Grand Floridian Café again. Once again a great meal. When we were good and ready, we began the journey to Hollywood Studios.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS:
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the studios we received an unpleasant shock when we went to rent a double stroller. The price had gone up from 18.00 to 31.00 a day for double stroller rental, OVERNIGHT!!!!! Of course we kicked ourselves for not having rented it for the whole week at once, but as our kids are older we just weren’t sure we’d need it that much. Turns out we DID and the price nearly DOUBLED.
OUCH. We decided not to get it on this day because we didn't intend to stay at Hollywood Studios all evening....we decided the kids could just walk.

We got there just as the High School Musical Float was heading down the main drag to the stage. We watched that for a little bit then we went straight into "Playhouse Disney Live" show. On our way to the show, we saw "Jo Jo" and "Goliath" signing autographs, and also the Little Einsteins characters.

The High School Musical Float:

Playhouse Disney "Live" (view from where we were sitting on the floor, that little puppet is Mickey Mouse standing next to the MC.)

This show was ok, but definitely geared toward younger kids than ours. The characters are NOT “live”….they are puppets with just one "live" person as “MC”. You should also know that you have to sit on the FLOOR in this one. Just thought folks with back issues might want to know this. The kids did like it, but weren’t blown away. We didn't get any "wow!"s out of them. It was definately cute for little bitty ones, though!!

Following the show, we walked to Star Tours and waited about 20 minutes for that ride, which didn't seem like a very long time at all. We liked that one a lot! They both asked to go on it again, but by then the line had gotten pretty long.


The kids then declared that they were hungry, so we went to the Sci Fi Drive In at the height of lunch time with no ADR and were seated immediately because we agreed to sit at a “flying saucer table” instead of in a Car. Frankly, none of us cared about sitting in the cars. We had plenty of room at the table, and we could see all of the cars which was still really fun.

Lunch was unmemorable food-wise. I had a reuben, DH had a Turkey Club and the kids had the usual stuff. It was definately good, but not a "stand-out" meal.

After lunch, we walked to the “Honey I shrunk the Kids” play area and let the kids go nuts running around for a while to burn off some energy. It got reeeeeeaaaaallllllly crowded in there, so eventually we pulled them out and we walked around some more. The kids were declaring that all they wanted to do was go swimming….so we made our way out just prior to the block party bash and headed back to the resort. DH took the kids swimming again while I had a nap.

Next Up, 1900 Park Faire Character Dinner.

Thanks for staying with me!

 

[drinktomeonly]

On this night we had reservations for the character dinner at 1900 Park Faire with Cinderella, the Stepsisters, Stepmother and Prince Charming.

It was quite nice, the food was good, especially the salad choices. They had a really nice Asian salad, and some other excellent Asian style noodle dishes that I loved. After all of the big meals we'd been eating, it was really great to be able to fill my plate with new options and a variety of lighter stuff. Make no mistake, though, I still managed to over-eat.

I also liked that they had a pasta option other than mac and cheese for the kids.

The Characters were pleasant, the highlight of this one for my kids was meeting Prince Charming, who was very nice to them both.

After dinner, we decided that we would head back to the Magic Kingdom since none of us were very tired. Once there, we went to Carousel of Progress which surprisingly enough my little DD LOVED. The rest of us thought it was a yawner, but she still breaks out in the theme song every now and then. It makes me smile when she does. "THERE'S A GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL TOMORRRRRRROW.....SHINING AT THE END OF EVERY DAY".
So cute.

We thought we’d head over to Liberty Square and check out the Haunted Mansion. The wait was 20 minutes and the weather was lovely so all in all it was really a pleasant wait.

The kids really enjoyed that one! It was just spooky enough to entertain them, and not enough to terrify. Perfect.

We went back on the Pirates of the Caribbean yet again, (a family favorite by this point in the trip) and climbed up into the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. We also went on the Jungle Cruise ride after dark, which was silly and fun. Our “skipper” was utterly hilarious. He said “If you thought this ride was boring, head on over to the Hall of Presidents and THEN come back and talk to me!”. Hee hee. I really thought that his jokes made the whole cruise.

As we were heading toward the exit, Light Parade Started!!!!!!!! WOW WOW WOW that was the COOLEST parade!
The best part was being able to see ALL OF THE SEVEN DWARFS covered in lights dancing and walking the parade. It was just really really neat and magical.

The crowds were pretty big after the parade so it took a bit to get to the entrance, but we made it out and jumped on the boat to the Grand Floridian. Our captain was charming and funny, with goofy pirate jokes that made the kids giggle.


My DH then took DD for a late night swim while DS and I snuggled and watched t.v. He was starting to suffer from a cough so I wanted him to stay out of the pool that night.

Next Up, Animal Kingdom, and Hoop Dee Do Review.

 

[s&k'smom]

Great trip report, I'm really enjoying it. I totally agree with you about being spoiled after staying on a monorail resort especially GF. Looking forward to more chapters.

 

[acellison]

Great update! Keep them coming

 

[drinktomeonly]

(photos to follow this section later, uploading slooooowww to the host this morning!)

We woke up late, ate breakfast at Gasparilla’s and headed off to Animal Kingdom via bus from the GF.
At Animal Kingdom, we went immediately to Dinoland and rode a couple of rides there and looked around. My son seemed to be slowing down, not feeling really great, so we took it easy. We used some snack credits and got some McDonald's Fries....useful in these situations for cheering kids up.

We went to Finding Nemo---The Musical and enjoyed it, but both of our children were a little cranky and out of sorts. I do recommend that musical very much, it's another show where there really aren't any "bad seats".
It's bright and colorful and the music is fabulous. I think that our show was at 1:20 and we walked up to the line at 1:15 and still got in.

We wandered around Animal Kingdom for a little while longer but it was sort of an “off” day emotionally for the kids. The crowds started to gather and it got warmer.

I'd like to see Animal Kingdom again to do it justice next visit. We watched a documentary on the History Channel on the construction of the Tree of Life and Dino Land and it was fascinating. I'd like to really take my time there and enjoy it next time.

Eventually, we left via bus to head straight to Fort Wilderness for the Hoop Dee Do review at 5:15.

Here, my daughter had a full fledged snotty meltdown while waiting to enter Hoop Dee Do. It was going to be “a BABY show!!!” It was going to be “STUPID!” She just crumbled and ranted and raved.
On and on and on and on ad nauseum………until we entered.

I was really happy to see that there really aren’t ANY bad seats at the Hoop Dee Do Review. We were up on the balcony but the seats spun so that we could look straight down at the stage. It was a great view for the kids to see ALL the action.

The food was fun, the fried chicken was really good, the ribs were a little dry but still good, the cornbread was a BIG hit with the kids. Strawberry shortcake for dessert. The server had informed us that there is no separate children's menu at this event, but came back a few minutes later and said "would your kids like something else?" Very nice. They DID eat the fried chicken and liked it. My son asked for it again when we got back to Wisconsin.

The best part, of course, was the show. It was just really a blast. The kids LOVED it. Much more than I expected them to. They had a really really good time and it snapped my daughter out of her bad mood immediately. It wound up being one of her favorite Disney experiences.

I thought that the campground was really beautiful, very clean. DH was just a wee bit irritated while we were there because we had time to wait before entering the Revue so we took the kids to the game room and the machine to purchase the game cards was out of order. You can't use quarters or tokens at the arcades at Disney, you have to purchase "Arcade Cards" that you swipe at each game, and the only machine at that location was broken. I'll bet there were some frustrated kids at the campsite. Yipes! He wanted me to mention that.

I'd stay at Fort Wilderness if I wanted to camp, it's very nice. We met some lovely people while waiting for the Revue who were really enjoying their trip staying there. They have pony rides, trail rides, a petting "zoo" area...it's a nice set-up.

We were able to travel back to the GF from Fort Wilderness via boat to Magic Kingdom, then boat from MK to GF.

 

[Lives4Disney]

THANKS for the great report!! I am really enjoying reading it. I love your pics, too and your kids are so cute.

I laughed....Carousel of Progress is one of both of my DDs must dos! It has grown on me...I used to just space out, but I am starting to learn to love it at this point.

Don't ya love it when the melt down kid finds out what they were spazzing over is really a fun thing? DD8 used to do that a LOT. Luckily she is kind of getting past it, but we had our share of those problems over our Easter trip. I need to start taking "before and after" pics....haha and show her how she was while waiting, and then how much she appeared to be enjoying herself.

It is so nice reading a report from a first time visitor.

Keep it coming,

Lives4Disney

 

[FeeFeeWhite]

I am so happy that you had a wonderful trip. Also you did a great job on your trip report. More great pictures please!

 

[n3rf]

wow this is an excellent trip review..... more stories w/pics would be awesome...ill be leaving in 3days for my trip and hope we have about the same fun you just did....

 

[vbarry]

I love your trip report and your photos. You room view was AWESOME! We are planning our first trip to the GF in December and I have been going back and forth on whether we should try Hoop Dee Doo on Xmas night. After reading your review....I am going to go for it!

I am glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[OhMari]

I know you said sometimes you got to the parks later in the mornings, did this prevent you from getting Fast passes. I just caught your entry when you went to Epcot and you said Soarin had a long wait and you left, but when you went back, it still had a long wait. I just thought you should have gotten Fast Passes for this ride since you went back anyway.

Wow, I can't believe the babysitter club at the Grand Floridian-I would definately write to Disney and say something-to me the Grand Floridian is the most prestigous resort and you wouldn't expect that kind of service, not just there, but at any of the other resorts that have the babysitting club.

 

[DisneyFairy66]

I am a subscriber, loving your trip report...I love the Grand, its a great Resort!

 

[drinktomeonly]

Wow, thank you so much for the nice comments, it makes me feel so good!!

Lives4disney, I'm SO glad to hear that it's possible my daughter might just grow out of this stage!!! Oy. She's UP She's DOWN She's UP AGAIN! lol.

I too was wishing that we had "before" and "after" pics!!
I'm going to post pics here of that night shortly...and I only have the "AFTERS" where she's looking all sweet and angelic.

I'm just sitting down to upload more pics!

Thanks for the really nice comments, everybody!

 

[drinktomeonly]

Oh, and one more thing...

in answer to the "fast pass" question, Soarin fast passes had long been distributed for the day by the time we got there, so it wasn't an option.

Since I'd read that if the line is 30 minutes or less you should just stand in line, we never used fast pass because we never waited in another line longer than 30 minutes except for Soarin.