Our Spectacular FIRST Disney Vacation! August 2011 UK TR- OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY Mini TR
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meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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Welcome back to my TR. I'll get right back on track now! Sorry for the lack of updates, Rory's birthday party is coming up very soon and I've been very busy planning it. And it will no doubt be a DISNEY PARTY! 
So, back to reporting. We had a look round the Grand Floridian, and were taken in by its grandeur and beauty. What an amazing hotel. We never got a chance to look in all the shops, sob sob.
I was in seventh heaven looking around the GF- I've never been in a hotel like it before... nor had any of our family I think.
But, Rory was grouchy and hungry and William was not enjoying sightseeing or browsing the stores (what surprises you there?!) So we headed over to the GFC a little early.
Our Meal at the Grand Floridian Cafe
It was very quiet. We loved the restaurant and the atmosphere. It felt quite upmarket for 1TS credit, and very light and airy.
Because I'm a vegetarian, the Chef came out and asked me what I would like. This was the only restaurant in the trip that really did that, and it made me feel really special. Back at home, only very expensive restaurants do that.
I honestly didn't know what to ask for! I said "Do you have vegetarian sausages?" But he looked at me blankly and shook his head. I didn't know whether Americans call them something different. They aren't like frankfurters though. Eventually I just asked for what I KNEW vegetarian Americans ate, and settled for a veggie burger with fries and sugar-snap peas.
The veggie burger was burnt so not that nice, but the fries were delicious and crispy. The sugar-snap peas were one of my favourite foods of the trip strangely. They were coated in some sort of sauce that made them taste delicious. I had never tried sugar-snap peas before and so it was a nice surprise.
Some photos we took whilst waiting for our food: (My food came out before everyone elses)...
Then- the food came! Everyone loved this restaurant. (Well... almost everyone.)
My mum had a medium rare steak, and said it was delicious. All the other steaks she had in the holiday were too well done, so she was very pleased to have a nice one at GFC.
William had the same as Mummy, except his steak was well done. He also really liked his meal.
Rory had the child's meal, fries, broccoli and salmon I think, and... he didn't eat it. Honestly, the amount of food that child left on his plate this vacation could have fed a whole army!
Daddy had the burger, which he really liked. He claimed it was delicious. It was right up on the top 3 of his favourite restaurants, I think.
William showing how much he loved his meal:
Rory wanted a photo with his puffle pins: (And his food!)
Daddy enjoying his burger:
Mummy showing how much she liked her meal:
Willum being the rather strange boy that he is:
That's it for now! I have to go to bed now, but I will finish off our meal at GFC and our first visit to the GF in the next update. Thanks for reading!
So, back to reporting. We had a look round the Grand Floridian, and were taken in by its grandeur and beauty. What an amazing hotel. We never got a chance to look in all the shops, sob sob.
I was in seventh heaven looking around the GF- I've never been in a hotel like it before... nor had any of our family I think.
But, Rory was grouchy and hungry and William was not enjoying sightseeing or browsing the stores (what surprises you there?!) So we headed over to the GFC a little early.Our Meal at the Grand Floridian Cafe
It was very quiet. We loved the restaurant and the atmosphere. It felt quite upmarket for 1TS credit, and very light and airy.
Because I'm a vegetarian, the Chef came out and asked me what I would like. This was the only restaurant in the trip that really did that, and it made me feel really special. Back at home, only very expensive restaurants do that.
I honestly didn't know what to ask for! I said "Do you have vegetarian sausages?" But he looked at me blankly and shook his head. I didn't know whether Americans call them something different. They aren't like frankfurters though. Eventually I just asked for what I KNEW vegetarian Americans ate, and settled for a veggie burger with fries and sugar-snap peas.
The veggie burger was burnt so not that nice, but the fries were delicious and crispy. The sugar-snap peas were one of my favourite foods of the trip strangely. They were coated in some sort of sauce that made them taste delicious. I had never tried sugar-snap peas before and so it was a nice surprise.
Some photos we took whilst waiting for our food: (My food came out before everyone elses)...
Then- the food came! Everyone loved this restaurant. (Well... almost everyone.)
My mum had a medium rare steak, and said it was delicious. All the other steaks she had in the holiday were too well done, so she was very pleased to have a nice one at GFC.
William had the same as Mummy, except his steak was well done. He also really liked his meal.
Rory had the child's meal, fries, broccoli and salmon I think, and... he didn't eat it. Honestly, the amount of food that child left on his plate this vacation could have fed a whole army!
Daddy had the burger, which he really liked. He claimed it was delicious. It was right up on the top 3 of his favourite restaurants, I think.
William showing how much he loved his meal:
Rory wanted a photo with his puffle pins: (And his food!)
Daddy enjoying his burger:
Mummy showing how much she liked her meal:
Willum being the rather strange boy that he is:
That's it for now! I have to go to bed now, but I will finish off our meal at GFC and our first visit to the GF in the next update. Thanks for reading!
meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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Thanks! We loved Space Mountain. It was one of our favourite rides and we rode it a lot during our vacation. I would say it was probably my favourite ride out of everything, but I haven't decided yet. Rory loved it, and going at the front.
disneymd33
Real-life Pirate
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I'm glad you enjoyed your first trip! And I'm really envious that you were able to convert other members of your family! If only I had some of that magic... I'd be living down there again!
dismagiclover
Mrs. Darling: Mom to Wendy, John & Michael
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The Grand Floridian Cafe looks great! Now you've got me thinking about my ADRs for January.
meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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He didn't eat any of it.
Rory is getting very picky about what he eats and at home has pasta with gravy a lot. He wasted a lot of food this holiday- thank heavens we weren't paying for it, or it would bug us! He is a stubborn boy, and when he says no, he means no. 
It was great! I thought my parents would hate the Disney atmosphere, but I was pleasantly surprised. Don't yours like the Disney magic? I can't imagine that... But living there?! My, you were lucky! The Grand Floridian Cafe looks great! Now you've got me thinking about my ADRs for January.
You should definately consider it! It was probably my favourite 1 TS restaurant of all, I'm pretty sure my parents would agree. The food was great and it was a really pretty restaurant.
TheThomsLuvDisney
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Great Trip Report, Subbing In!!
I love seeing younger people writing TR's. My oldest is 14 and am hoping she will get the TR bug!
How long was your flight from England? Just curious as we are the state of Washington (west coast) and it takes us about 6 hours and that's if we are lucky enough to get a direct flight (we always have a layover somewhere because it's typically $250 cheaper per ticket).
Your family is super cute and I loved you little brother's update. I can't wait to read more!
I love seeing younger people writing TR's. My oldest is 14 and am hoping she will get the TR bug!
How long was your flight from England? Just curious as we are the state of Washington (west coast) and it takes us about 6 hours and that's if we are lucky enough to get a direct flight (we always have a layover somewhere because it's typically $250 cheaper per ticket).
Your family is super cute and I loved you little brother's update. I can't wait to read more!
meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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Hallo everyone! Sorry that I haven't updated in simply ages! 
I'm about to do another update hopefully!
Thankyou! And thanks for joining in too! I'm sure your daughter will love writing a TR. Especially if she loves English at school, and writing full stop!
Our flight was about 9 hours I believe. It was much more difficult than I was expecting. We were thinking about getting an indirect flight to save money but 9 hours is difficult as it is! We saved about $250 per ticket too, but that was by flying into Miami as apposed to Orlando. My father bumped into a colleugue on the plane (We were like 
) And they were flying into Miami BUT getting a connecting flight to Orlando?! I couldn't believe that. It's only a four hour drive. But it did suck to get off the plane, and know that there was a four hour drive ahead of us. Next time, we want to fly into Orlando. 
Better get a good price!
Thanks for reading! Rory is longing to write a bit more and use the smilies again. He also has his birthday party in about a week (Disney of course
) and wants to put up a photo of him and his friends in their Disney costumes.)
It is lovely! Thanks for joining in!
It was a lovely meal. I don't really like meat alternatives much anyway.
I never came across ANY Quorn in Florida. It left me wondering whether it exists in America. Lol. 
Thanks for reading!
I'm about to do another update hopefully!Thankyou! And thanks for joining in too! I'm sure your daughter will love writing a TR. Especially if she loves English at school, and writing full stop!
Our flight was about 9 hours I believe. It was much more difficult than I was expecting. We were thinking about getting an indirect flight to save money but 9 hours is difficult as it is!
We saved about $250 per ticket too, but that was by flying into Miami as apposed to Orlando. My father bumped into a colleugue on the plane (We were like ) And they were flying into Miami BUT getting a connecting flight to Orlando?! I couldn't believe that. It's only a four hour drive. But it did suck to get off the plane, and know that there was a four hour drive ahead of us. Next time, we want to fly into Orlando. Better get a good price!Thanks for reading! Rory is longing to write a bit more and use the smilies again. He also has his birthday party in about a week (Disney of course
) and wants to put up a photo of him and his friends in their Disney costumes.) It is lovely! Thanks for joining in!
Looks like a wonderful meal (sorry your veggie burger was burnt though)
It was a lovely meal. I don't really like meat alternatives much anyway.
I never came across ANY Quorn in Florida. It left me wondering whether it exists in America. Lol. Thanks for reading!meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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Ciao and welcome back! Sorry I haven't posted in a while... school has been really hectic! GCSEs now... and lots of coursework and things to think about. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was 5 or 6... as my mother tells me anyway.
I tried to take a photo of the restaurant... and failed miserably.
My list of things I want for Christmas:
1) A holiday to WDW in October/ November
2) £500 to buy a new camera!
Rory wanted some more puffle pin photographs:
We tried to take a photo of all of us with the timed snapshot function (or whatever it is called). The second one isn't as bad as the first... Haha.
Then Daddy took another one.
The next one he must've taken without my noticing. Or anyone noticing, apart from Willum! Mummy looks like she was telling me off for irritating Rory. Haha. It makes me laugh.
This one was meant to be a funny faced one of all of us (minus my dad) but it seemed he was actually focusing on one specific person. (Note mine and Willum's faces.)
Instead of a proper dessert, me, William and Rorsie caught sight of a tray of deserts. One of them was a chocolate Mickey- which looked delicious! So we asked for 3 instead of regular dessert. It was my only taste of American chocolate. I had heard so many stories before leaving about how disgusting American chocolate is; especially Hershey chocolate. So I wasn't too keen on trying any. This was nice chocolate however- quite dark and rich. We have Cadburys chocolate a lot in the UK, and we bought a bar in Florida to see how it compared. My dad tried it but not me. He said it wasn't anywhere near as nice as UK Cadburys. William bought a big bar of Hershey chocolate sometime in the trip and really liked it.
We said goodbye and left a tip (the FULL tip, after what we learned in DHS!) and walked back out into the GF, our bellies full, and looking forward to returning to MK.
The flooring is lovely in the GF, really pretty, smart and polished.
I saw this, and I had heard of the tea party before. It's the kind of thing I'd have loved to do when I was younger. It sounded really good- quite a price tag though!
After that we headed up to the monorail. I really wanted to look around the GF a bit more- but my family didn't want to. I told my parents other people like looking around the Disney Resorts- and they didn't seem convinced. Luckily the DDP meant that we could visit most of the Deluxe resorts.
We said au reviour to the Grand Floridian- happy with the knowledge that we WOULD return.
We passed the CR on the way to MK...
And we watched as we left our dream resort... to go to our dream park!
Honestly, if money was no option then we would stay at the Grand Floridian in a heartbeat. It is beautiful, and very central. You're on the monorail line too! Magic Kingdom was by far our favourite park, and so staying in our favourite hotel near our favourite park would be lovely. We could have stretched to stay in the GF but it would mean sharing a room- which would not go well in our family! At least in SSR we had a 2 bedroom villa.
We were really surprised after visiting both the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian, that they are similar prices to stay in both places. The Poly doesn't really have a 'feel' as nice as the GF- although it it nice to feel like you are in a tropical paradise. The GF just felt more impressive and luxurious to us.
Thankyou for reading! I hope to update real soon! It's just so nice reliving vacation memories. I drive my parents nuts when I talk about WDW the whole time. They do love talking about it but not every minute of every day, like me! They think I'm the only person in the world who has an obsession with Disney. I think visiting WDW makes you love the characters, the movies and the Disney ethos even more, and of course, feel more appreciative of what Disney actually IS.
See you soon!
I tried to take a photo of the restaurant... and failed miserably.
My list of things I want for Christmas:
1) A holiday to WDW in October/ November
2) £500 to buy a new camera!
Rory wanted some more puffle pin photographs:
We tried to take a photo of all of us with the timed snapshot function (or whatever it is called). The second one isn't as bad as the first... Haha.
Then Daddy took another one.
The next one he must've taken without my noticing. Or anyone noticing, apart from Willum! Mummy looks like she was telling me off for irritating Rory. Haha. It makes me laugh.
This one was meant to be a funny faced one of all of us (minus my dad) but it seemed he was actually focusing on one specific person. (Note mine and Willum's faces.)
Instead of a proper dessert, me, William and Rorsie caught sight of a tray of deserts. One of them was a chocolate Mickey- which looked delicious! So we asked for 3 instead of regular dessert. It was my only taste of American chocolate. I had heard so many stories before leaving about how disgusting American chocolate is; especially Hershey chocolate. So I wasn't too keen on trying any. This was nice chocolate however- quite dark and rich. We have Cadburys chocolate a lot in the UK, and we bought a bar in Florida to see how it compared. My dad tried it but not me. He said it wasn't anywhere near as nice as UK Cadburys. William bought a big bar of Hershey chocolate sometime in the trip and really liked it.
We said goodbye and left a tip (the FULL tip, after what we learned in DHS!) and walked back out into the GF, our bellies full, and looking forward to returning to MK.
The flooring is lovely in the GF, really pretty, smart and polished.
I saw this, and I had heard of the tea party before. It's the kind of thing I'd have loved to do when I was younger. It sounded really good- quite a price tag though!
After that we headed up to the monorail. I really wanted to look around the GF a bit more- but my family didn't want to. I told my parents other people like looking around the Disney Resorts- and they didn't seem convinced. Luckily the DDP meant that we could visit most of the Deluxe resorts.
We said au reviour to the Grand Floridian- happy with the knowledge that we WOULD return.
We passed the CR on the way to MK...
And we watched as we left our dream resort... to go to our dream park!
Honestly, if money was no option then we would stay at the Grand Floridian in a heartbeat. It is beautiful, and very central. You're on the monorail line too! Magic Kingdom was by far our favourite park, and so staying in our favourite hotel near our favourite park would be lovely. We could have stretched to stay in the GF but it would mean sharing a room- which would not go well in our family!
At least in SSR we had a 2 bedroom villa.We were really surprised after visiting both the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian, that they are similar prices to stay in both places. The Poly doesn't really have a 'feel' as nice as the GF- although it it nice to feel like you are in a tropical paradise. The GF just felt more impressive and luxurious to us.
Thankyou for reading! I hope to update real soon! It's just so nice reliving vacation memories. I drive my parents nuts when I talk about WDW the whole time. They do love talking about it but not every minute of every day, like me! They think I'm the only person in the world who has an obsession with Disney. I think visiting WDW makes you love the characters, the movies and the Disney ethos even more, and of course, feel more appreciative of what Disney actually IS.
See you soon!
dismagiclover
Mrs. Darling: Mom to Wendy, John & Michael
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- Aug 23, 2007
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- 3,074
Love all of your GF photos. I've never actually visited this resort. Just seen it from the monorail and boats. In January I have 2 meals scheduled there so I'm excited to explore
meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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Love all of your GF photos. I've never actually visited this resort. Just seen it from the monorail and boats. In January I have 2 meals scheduled there so I'm excited to explore
Thanks! It's a great resort- it was one of my highlights of the holiday. What meals do you have scheduled there? I'm sure you'll love the GF and your meals!
meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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So, welcome back! After hopping off the monorail, we went back into MK. I had completely forgotten that the parade would be on- but the streets were lined with people. We surprisingly found a space on Main Street, a really good space.
We passed these guys on the way up Main Street.
And we were facing these buildings here:
Then... finally!
5 minutes passed... then 10... then... well it seemed like ages- you get the picture. My parents wanted to ride Splash Mountain. It had been broken down all day and was apparently open again. I was annoyed. All first timers have GOT to see the parade, right?! My parents literally dragged us all up, and we left our lovely spot on Main Street. They insisted we would bump into the parade on the way to SM. Yeah- we did... but would we get a good view? I wanted to get some decent photos too.
Of course, we did run into the parade- but there were masses of people watching and me, William and Rory had no chance of seeing over the adults. I was shoved to the front, where I could at least see. William had no interest in the parade, and Rory was influenced by his older brother and said he had no interest in it either. So they walked on to find a better viewing spot, while I stayed where I was. Joy of joys, although I could see, the photos I took had lovely views of peoples heads, hands, and cameras. If only my parents would have let us stay on Main Street.
Thanks for reading! I hope to get another update up REALLY soon. Bye!
We passed these guys on the way up Main Street.
And we were facing these buildings here:
Then... finally!
5 minutes passed... then 10... then... well it seemed like ages- you get the picture. My parents wanted to ride Splash Mountain. It had been broken down all day and was apparently open again. I was annoyed. All first timers have GOT to see the parade, right?! My parents literally dragged us all up, and we left our lovely spot on Main Street. They insisted we would bump into the parade on the way to SM. Yeah- we did... but would we get a good view? I wanted to get some decent photos too.
Of course, we did run into the parade- but there were masses of people watching and me, William and Rory had no chance of seeing over the adults. I was shoved to the front, where I could at least see. William had no interest in the parade, and Rory was influenced by his older brother and said he had no interest in it either. So they walked on to find a better viewing spot, while I stayed where I was. Joy of joys, although I could see, the photos I took had lovely views of peoples heads, hands, and cameras. If only my parents would have let us stay on Main Street.
Thanks for reading! I hope to get another update up REALLY soon. Bye!
ZFamily5
DIS Veteran
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- Jul 13, 2010
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- 888
Love love love that parade! Great pictures!! Out of curiosity, what time is it in England right now? It's 11:40 AM here (almost lunchtime) and we got out of school early today, so I was just wondering what time it was there...sorry for the odd question!
meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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It's nearly 6pm here- time for dinner! So you're six hours behind us? That's really cool! I finished school at 3:30. When you normally finish? I'm always curious about what life is like in America.
ZFamily5
DIS Veteran
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It's nearly 6pm here- time for dinner! So you're six hours behind us? That's really cool! I finished school at 3:30. When you normally finish? I'm always curious about what life is like in America.
Wow! Yeah, a six hour time difference! I usually finish school at 2:30, but our teachers had meetings this afternoon, so we only had school for 3 and a half hours. What time does your school start? I'm in high school this year, so school starts at 7:30 and goes until 2:30. I don't like how early it starts, since my bus comes at 6:40! Thing2's school (the junior high) starts at 8 and goes until 3. Thing3's school (the elementary school) goes from 8:40-3:30. Funny, I'm always curious about life in England! Maybe we should each do a "day in the life" type thing!
meggiebeth
WDW, DLR & DLP enthusiast
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They were really funny- yeah! The parade was awesome- and great to see some of the 'rarer' characters!
Thanks for reading- you have a great day too! -
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