Pixie Dust, or Pixie MOUNTAIN? A Grand (Roy) Disney TR *NEW TR LINK 8/11!*

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed the read!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Pixie Dust AND Pixie Mountain!

 

[ariane37]

I can't stand the anticipation of seeing your room!

I'm trying to get there Every time I sit down to do an update I end up doing work and I'm so excited to write it all out it's all I want to do lol!

And yes, I hope I'll have a new trip to plan very soon This one would have been SO good too, if not for getting the Disney plague. Blah.

I think I gave a brief rundown of this, but over Thanksgiving 2015 we had what I fondly call the Disney trip from he$$. Bad issues with our room at BWV followed by me waking up in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving with a horrific stomach bug. Whole day was shot, Steve did some stuff with the boys early then Chris hung back with me in the room b/c he felt bad, Ricky and Steve went to AK, Chris and I laid in bed. We went to our late dinner ADR at Beaches and Cream but after taking a spoonful of my soup I had to hightail it back to our room..............was good most of Friday until dinner when I lost it again. SUCKED. But at least we had some good days whereas your trip was mostly so I cannot wait to see that you have another one planned!

That would be so cool but also creepy if they knew who I was! Though I guess they would probably see you had boarded DME or if you drove, you would have used your MB and checked in with the security guard!

I still think it's creepy that they can tell what you're doing, but I'll take it in this case! I think they do get some type of alert once you've checked in with ME.

Can't wait to hear more. We are checking into GF the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week!

Hi and we'll be there Thanksgiving week, too! But at Saratoga Springs unless something better opens up with my discount.....we're checking in on the 17th through the 25th. Hope maybe you get some GF too!

Do they have Club Level at Coronado Springs? I just assumed they didn't.

No, just hoping maybe you get upgraded somewhere or get some pixie dust in another form The CL upgrade wasn't our only pixie dust, it comes in many forms!

They must know you were on that particular ME when you scan your band. That's amazing they can greet you by name though, Maybe you were the only couple to get off at the GF?

I don't know if they just get alerts when CL guests check in for ME or what, but I'm sure that's what triggers it. Actually pretty much the whole bus got off there, we stopped at the Poly first but only a couple people got off. So anyone could have said they were the DeVizio's if they knew what was in store for them!

OOOH so fancy! I have never been upgraded once to any level so this seems like a real treat! Can't wait to hear more!

Other than one upgrade at BW once from standard to garden, this was our only time. And boy was it worth the wait!

Even though I know what it is, it's still exciting!!

It was exciting starting to write about it

Loving all the detail! So exciting!!

Thanks! I know everyone is waiting for the suite pictures but writing out what led up to it is making me relive the anticipation of having to wait to see where we'd be staying

Following along and looking forward to all the details!

thanks for joining!

Hey just joining in. You got yourself some major pixie dust here. I can't wait to see the suite.

Hi, so nice to see you again Thanks for following along on another adventure with me, we did get a rather large amount of pixie dust on this trip

 

[ariane37]

I'm here for the trip where we were there at the same time but, despite being on the lookout for you everywhere, I never got a sighting. Can't wait to here how your trip went and compare it with mine.

I hope you had a wonderful trip! I'm sorry we didn't meet up It was SO hot, SO crazy with the way things changed for us and trying to fit in meets, but hopefully we can meet up on a future trip!
Are you doing a trip report?

I’m a little late to the party but wanted to say how glad I am that we were able to meet up with you in Epcot. And I am extra glad that I asked the question, “how do you like the Grand Floridian?” We enjoyed hearing all about it.

Hi Sue!!! Yes, I'm so very happy we got to say hello again and Steve was also glad to see you and Dana. I wish we had more time, but even our little meet by the IG was nice! My gosh was it hot though lol! I'm hopeful we can meet up again in the future

Well I guess now we know what the surprise is, LOL

Well I kind of alluded to it anyway in my title

I'm here! What an awesome start to your trip!

Hi Katie, thanks for coming along again! Glad you're here

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed the read!

I'm glad you're enjoying!

 

[ariane37]

I know you're all waiting with baited breath for some suite pictures BUT,

But First, We Eat
Arrival Day Part 2
​

As excited as we were to see our room, our concierge CM friend wasn't exactly sure when it would be ready and despite the fine looking Afternoon Tea tidbits in the lounge, Steve was hungry and I was approaching HANGRY status. Our plan which I believe I've mentioned was originally Epcot for some eats followed by HS for some FP's followed by an 8pm ADR at Artist Point. As it was already almost 3, we were heading to Epcot and were going to skip HS.
Two monorails and a long, long late afternoon bag check line later, we were walking in to our first park of the trip:



Our goal here was not riding rides, but eating the food! I had made a list and besides being too hungry to walk all the way to WS, there was plenty we wanted to try closer to us.
Our first stop was for Steve and it was the Coastal Eats booth. He saw scallops on the menu and couldn't resist:​

Seared Scallops- with Roasted Corn and Butterbean Succotash and Chili-Chipotle Butter Sauce

He loved this, the scallops were tender and the roasted corn, which he normally doesn't eat (he likes green veggies WHAT?? Too healthy for me) complimented them. Now that Steve had something in his stomach he was so ready to move on, but I needed to eat, too man!
We went to the nearest booth that had something on my list, Active Eats.

And I got this:​

Loaded Mac 'n' Cheese-Served with Neuske's Pepper Bacon, Cheddar, Peppers, and Green Onions

I'd heard good things about this last year. I'm not a mac and cheese eater but I do like cheese, and bacon, and onions, so I thought this might be for me. Eh. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good enough that I wanted more than a couple bites. The pepper bacon was kind of overpowering too and while I like spicy and hot, this was more "peppery" than spicy.
I now needed a drink really bad. There wasn't anything I wanted right around this "circle of booths" as I like to call it, so I ran (and by ran I mean walked slowly with a purpose because it was 200 degrees outside) into the Light Lab to get a little something I'd had my eye on. However once inside I realized it wasn't actually IN the Light Lab, but outside the Light Lab. No matter, I got my cider flight!



If you aren't aware, I love me some cider and I developed this love while in Disney, and pretty much in Epcot. This particular trio of ciders wasn't necessarily my favorite but one did stand out, the Ciderboys Zen Berry Hard Cider (WI). My second favorite was the 3 Daughters Brewing Blueberry Peppercorn Hard Cider (FL) and the third, the Original Sin Dry Rose Hard Cider (NY), I didn't really like. Oh but I drank it. You really can't NOT drink it, it's against Epcot cider laws.

Because my stomach was still fairly empty I took my cute little flight over to our next booth, Flavors of Fire. My hands were too full to take a picture of the sign but my goal here was to get a dessert that I'd had last year and loved. They changed the presentation but not the wonderful taste:
​

Chocolate Picante-Dark Chocolate Mousse with Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder, and Mango:

Mmmm, dark chili chocolate! Yes this is "spicy", and the mango compliments the heat perfectly. After trying this last year I discovered the Lindt dark chocolate chili bar and OMG I just wish I'd discovered it years ago!
So at this point I'm savory -1, sweet +1, and adult beverages +3 even though they're the size of dixie cups (raise your hand if you remember dixie cups ). Steve was doing good on savory and added to it at this booth with the
​

Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak on a Smoked Corn Cake- with pickled vegetable slaw and cilantro aioli:

He thought this was fantastic and it ended up being one of his favorite festival dishes. Sweet corn cake, tender meat, great slaw. He enjoyed the beer, too. He debated getting another one but instead chose to move on down the road......
to a booth we visited last year and enjoyed, the Cheese Studio. Because CHEESE!

Here he got a favorite from last year, the ​

Braised Beef "Stroganoff"- served with tiny egg noodles, wild mushrooms, and Boursin, Garlic, and Fine Herbs Cheese Sauce

Last year I tried a bit of his and wished I'd gotten my own, it's sooo good! And who can resist spaetzle which is what these egg noodles are? I resisted getting my own because that cider and chocolate had filled me up for the time being. It was also still 200 degrees outside which kind of kills my appetite believe it or not, so after this we walked over to WS. We tried catching the band in the U.K., actually sat down to watch them after Steve looked at the schedule. However after I grabbed the schedule I noticed they do not play on Thursdays, and indeed it was a Thursday . Move onwards, my man. At this point my good friend and fellow travel agent Cathy and her youngest son Brandon were in the park and we were trying to meet up quick to say hello. Cathy and I live about 50 minutes from each other and met when we were fatefully thrown together as roommates on the first Universal FAM I went to after becoming an agent, and a wonderful friendship wa born We are two peas in a pod. Steve had only met her briefly though at about 3:30 in the morning when he dropped me at her house once for an early flight we were catching together, so it was kind of their first time meeting. He'd never met Brandon (7) and I'd only met him quickly once.
We went over to Morocco to look at the exhibit inside, watched the again new band there, and then met Cathy and Brandon as they got off the boat from across the seas from FW. We went to the Outpost so Brandon could practice his drumming and chatted for a bit, before we had to get going to freshen up for our dinner reservation and of course check out our SUITE
We knew we'd catch up with them again so said our good-byes and walked back towards FW. On our way out we saw Chef Daisy meeting where Duffy used to meet, such a cute outfit! I have a better pictures but I have to share this one. I feel bad posting kids I don't know but look at the moms face. She's looking at me like "why the #@* are you taking a picture of my kids????" Which I know in this day and age isn't funny......but I sort of think this picture is



Nice lady in the picture - and you look fabulous btw considering I had sweat dripping everywhere sweat can possibly drip on a woman - if you're reading this Your kids are also adorable

We did the 2 monorail thing and arrived back at the GF about 6:15. We were both hungry again and dying to see our room! However we hadn't gotten a room ready text so we stopped by the concierge desk to ask. This was a different CM than our check in friend who looked on the computer and went "I'm sorry you didn't OH, we DID text you at 3:40, and I SO apologize for any inconvenience. Mr. and Mrs. DeVizio you are in suite 4311, the
ROY DISNEY SUITE
Okay I tried to add a gif here and it didn't work so have to work on that but you can imagine our shock! I'll be honest, I didn't even know the names of the suites here, how many there were, anything about them. And how and WHY were WE getting one??? It was a tad harder for us to keep our cool, we looked at each other and Steve asked the CM to repeat the name of the suite lol. Then he told us it was right down this hallway to our left so we were on the same floor as concierge, one level above the lounge.



Up next, I will begin to bombard you with our suite pictures!

​

 

[chunkymonkey]

He loved this, the scallops were tender and the roasted corn, which he normally doesn't eat (he likes green veggies WHAT?? Too healthy for me) complimented them. Now that Steve had something in his stomach he was so ready to move on, but I needed to eat, too man!

We had those too and they were pretty good!

I'd heard good things about this last year. I'm not a mac and cheese eater but I do like cheese, and bacon, and onions, so I thought this might be for me. Eh. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good enough that I wanted more than a couple bites. The pepper bacon was kind of overpowering too and while I like spicy and hot, this was more "peppery" than spicy.

I had this last year and it was not that good. I didn't like the bell pepper in it.

Braised Beef "Stroganoff"- served with tiny egg noodles, wild mushrooms, and Boursin, Garlic, and Fine Herbs Cheese Sauce

​

I thought this was delicious except that it was 100 degrees out and is not exactly hot weather food.

She's looking at me like "why the #@* are you taking a picture of my kids????" Which I know in this day and age isn't funny......but I sort of think this picture is

Haha cute outfit Daisy! This is one of the two characters my sister didn't get to see.
And to the other people in the picture...SMILE! You're on the DISboards!

ROY DISNEY SUITE
Okay I tried to add a gif here and it didn't work so have to work on that but you can imagine our shock! I'll be honest, I didn't even know the names of the suites here, how many there were, anything about them. And how and WHY were WE getting one??? It was a tad harder for us to keep our cool, we looked at each other and Steve asked the CM to repeat the name of the suite lol. Then he told us it was right down this hallway to our left so we were on the same floor as concierge, one level above the lounge.

Eeek can't wait!!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Now you're just teasing us. LOL!

The scallops and the chimichurri steak are both on our list for next week. But, if it's going to be 90, like the forecast is predicting, I may have to rethink the scallops...But, I do see a lot of cider flights and girly alcoholic beverages in my sight...

 

[Cloe Colton]

Chills! I can't even imagine how exciting it was to get that suite! Talk about pixie dust!!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

(he likes green veggies WHAT?? Too healthy for me)

Nope, not gonna eat the green stuff either. I always think that stuff is there for decoration anyway

After trying this last year I discovered the Lindt dark chocolate chili bar and OMG I just wish I'd discovered it years ago!

I have seen this type of thing, but never had the nerve to try it. Maybe I should, just once.

Okay I tried to add a gif here and it didn't work so have to work on that but you can imagine our shock!

There you go

I don't add many gifs, so I don't know if I do it the "best" way, but I just search for the gif and try to download the image. The trick is to make sure the file size is less than 1 MB or you can't attach it.

hen he told us it was right down this hallway to our left so we were on the same floor as concierge, one level above the lounge.

It's awesome you got that suite.
I wonder if it's the one from an episode of "The Middle"? I can't remember enough about that show to tell.

 

[kclark9830]

All the foods!!!

 

[Disneycampfan]

Holy CRAP! Can't wait to see more!!!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I hope you had a wonderful trip! I'm sorry we didn't meet up It was SO hot, SO crazy with the way things changed for us and trying to fit in meets, but hopefully we can meet up on a future trip!
Are you doing a trip report?

It was CRAZY hot. Our first night, as we were walking out of Epcot, I got my crazy leg cramps that I first encountered while training for the half marathon. It took over a half hour before I could keep walking. And with the heat, I just couldn't really get into Food and Wine (one of the main reasons for the trip) because it was too hot to eat and the alcohol added to the dehydration which caused the leg cramps. Boo. Alas, no trip report for me. I"m just not entertaining enough for that. But I can't wait to keep reading yours. AN upgrade to a SUITE at club level???? So jealous!!!!

 

[dnllmz]

What???? Where's the suite???? Tease!

 

[Lesley Wake]

And who can resist spaetzle which is what these egg noodles are?

Mmmmm spaetzle! I have the little spaetzle maker (it's like a cheese grater but bigger holes and you put it over a pot of boiling water), and I love to make them!

 

[cinderaimee]

Such a tease!

 

[tammy]

This is so exciting!!!!

 

[MrPTato]

Joining in! How cool and can't wait to see more!

 

[suse66]

Ariane!!!!!! I want pictures.....I am dying of suspense!

Love your Epcot F&W pics too, it looks like some pretty generous servings on the food. I am going to get there one day!

 

[Wayland10]

Oooh, a cliffhanger!

 

[Smilelea]

You sure know how to leave a girl hanging!