The cast: the usual suspects
Day 8: Early to Rise, (for me) and one last trip to the MK...
I was up again at seven again, not wanting to lose a single moment of GF time that was left.
I made sure that all our last minute items were packed up and ready to go *sigh* and went to get my morning coffee and apple danish.
Norma was at the concierge desk when I went out to the lounge, and she said "Good morning, this is your last day isn't it?" I nodded. She made a big frowny face. It was nice to know that they were sorry to see us go as we were to go!
We had planned to be up and in the MK by eight, but by seven thirty with no sound coming from the crew, I knew that wasn't going to happen. We had a long day ahead with flying home so I didn't want to wake my daughter too soon, she needed to sleep. Dad wasn't coming with us this morning, he just wanted to stay at the resort and read his paper in the lounge, so the night before we told him we'd be back shortly after noon.
I lingered in the lounge, taking in every taste, every scent, every sight, every sound. The classical music they play in the morning is so soothing, I thought back on our stay and was truly amazed at how wonderful our experience at the Loaf had been and was already scheming ways to save up so we could stay there again in the future.
Before we left, we had some small gifts for some of the concierge staff (we gave them mugs with chocolate bars tucked in them) and I left one big box of candy for everyone else with a card saying thank you.
I got the address to send Norma a special cd when we got home (by my favorite artist, Josh Groban. She had heard of him but didn' t have the cd, so I thought it would be a perfect lasting thank you gift.)
I went back into the room about quarter to eight and DH and DD were stirring. We got dressed, they grabbed a quick snack and we headed to the MK.
It was then that I made a huge decision: To try to walk the park instead of using the chair. Since I knew we wouldn't be there long, and I had been off my feet all week in the chair, I thought I could do it. Just once this trip I wanted to hold hands with my daughter, or husband as we walked down Main Street. Also to snap some quick pics without the chair.
I can't stress enough how different your perspective is of the parks and all when you're on your own feet as opposed to in a chair. It makes me grateful for the moments I was able to do it, because most of the time, I am in the chair and my vision is often limited to the posterior region of the person directly in front of me, or kids in strollers. Which is why I make friends with so many babies, I guess
We snapped some pictures as we walked, got some gorgeous ones of the building that look like postcards. They were replanting the flowerbeds behind the main building this morning, and it was a sight to behold. The new flowers were so bright and alive, and really made the landscaping stand out. I don't know why anyone would say this resort wasn't kept up, while we were there, we saw them working on it and it looked incredible all around.
When we got to the monorail station, it occurred to me to ask if we could ride in the cab, since we hadn't been able to with the chair this trip. We were able to, and we rode to the MK in style in the front of the train. DD loved that, and we had such a great view of everything. Simply magical.
We got to the MK and headed for Buzz. We were amazed, we were able to walk on the ride four times in a row with maybe a five minute wait between. A couple of times there was no wait. The FP machines were all covered up! Then we took a last ride on the TTA, and headed for Adventureland for one more POTC and a last whirl through the Agribah shop and POTC shop too.
After we finished those things, the MK was really getting crowded and so we realized, sadly, we had better start back for mainstreet. I walk slowly so we knew it'd take awhile. By the time we got there we realized we were hungry, so we grabbed a couple dogs at Caseys, oh my goodness! I do not ever remember having eaten there before, but it was SO GOOD! And DH loved the baseball theme, we didn't see the game round the back will have to look for it next time, definitely going to go back there!
So Dh, dd and I took a long last look at the Castle, made a promise out loud to each other to return as soon as we can, and we walked out of the gates one last time, hand in hand.
We decided to take the ferry back to the GF since it was 'faster' but what we didn't know was there was only one ferry that morning so we probably would have gotten back faster taking the monorail. But it was a lovely day, and since we were soaking in the atmosphere, we sat on a bench and happily waited for the boat.
Two ducks (man, I love ducks!) approached us on the other side of the fence behind our bench. One in particular, a little white one, looked right at me and quacked. I said "Hello, little duckie. I wish I had something to feed you, but there is no feed machine here, I'm sorry." It blinked and looked at me again, then at my DD. She said the same thing, "Sorry Duckie! You're cute but I have no food!"
Duck moved on to DH, and he laughed and said "Sorry cute little dude, I've got nothing for you!" The duck waited a few more moments, seemingly certain that if it could charm us, it would get a treat. Finally, it turned around and waddled away.
A few moments later, I heard a quack and I look down, and right at my feet is the duck! It had gone around the side, past the fence and walked up the walkway into the boat dock area! It stood at my feet, quacked again, as if to say "See how cute I am? Now that I'm up close and you know how adorable I truly am, surely you must have something good for me to eat."
"I'm so sorry Duckie, if I had anything I'd feed you, you're so cute. Honestly. I'm sorry!"
Again Duck turned to DD, and DH. After getting the same story, Duck then proceeded to the couple on the bench next to us, who didn't have anything for it, either.
Finally, Duck came back, stood in front of me, and really glared at me for a long moment. I was trying not to laugh, it was so cute,I felt so bad I didn't save the rest of my hot dog bun for the duck. I said "I love you duckie, I wish I had food for you." one more time.
Then...duck decided to let us know how it really felt about the situation, and it 'did its business' as DH would say right there at my feet! ROFLMBO!!!
I was so happy that he didn't do it on my shoe! We roared with laughter (I guess you had to be there) we all loved the little duckie with 'tude and I wished I could stick a lil duckie diaper on it and bring it home with me!
We had gotten a picture of Duck a minute or so before it did it's thing, and it is our favorite picture from the trip. That little persistant Duck who was just sure if we saw how cute it really was, treats would be produced. I learned to always carry a little thing of duck treats in my purse next trip!
The ferry finally arrived. We said goodbye to Duck and his friends, and after a short ride we arrived at the GF dock.
I realized how loud the boat horn was, and was sure glad we hadn't stayed in one of the buildings down by the dock! Hearing that loud noise every 20 minutes throughout the day would have driven me mad!
The time had come to call bell services and have our bags stored. Norma had made us promise not to leave before she got back from lunch, and when she saw our bags going out, she gave each one of us a big hug and said she was going to miss us and wanted us to hurry back again! We posed for a picture together and then, for the last time this trip we left our beloved Loaf. I was so grateful that we'd been able to stay the extra days, we had truly had a magical trip made even better because of the extra time. We really made it count!
We went to the Cafe so Dad could get lunch (we had one last bowl of that great chicken soup!) and then made one last trip through the shops. DD took a spill on the tile (she was skipping and slipped) which brought some tears, but the My Disney Girl doll that Grandpa had bought her to take home with us helped dry those quickly enough.
We left my wheelchair with bell services for CARE to pick up (they were great) and found our Towncar driver waiting as scheduled out front. Soon our bags were loaded, and so were we, and we said goodbye to our first, and hopefully not last, stay at the magical Grand Floridian.
Reality of leaving WDW property hit quickly when we got stuck in a bad accident on the highway on the way to the airport (our driver was not in the best mood, either, and I wanted to slap him when we finally got past the accident scene and he says (more than once) "Yep, I bet there are some dead people down there from that!" right in front of my daughter! Sheesh!)
There was a violent lightning storm and I was really worried we weren't going to be able to take off. They were circling planes and not letting them land, and that did delay our flight a little. But we made up the time in the air and after a very pleasant and uneventful flight home (most of which we slept through.) we were back at Detroit Metro Airport, and 20 minutes from home.
Overall I must say that the experience of staying at the GF, with the exception of the one event at Royal Palm, did not disappoint at ALL. In fact, I believe that I was completely successful in my goal of spoiling my guys on this trip because they both said they have never had a better time!
So how does this trip end? With the planning of the next trip, of course! Nothing is set in stone yet, but we are already talking about going back next September and maybe my in-laws might fly out from New England and meet us there. Might have a 'magical gathering' of our own! We didn't renew our annual passes (dad did though) so it'll be interesting to see how everything works out in terms of any discounts they might have next year, I know my in laws wouldn't want to stay at the GF (too pricey for their taste) so we'll see where we go.
I know where Dad wants to go. I was talking about staying at the CR next time and Dad's reply was "Great! You'll only be two monorail stops away from me at the Loaf!" LOL
I was so happy, I did it. I managed to plan a trip that topped my dad's every other Disney resort experience so far. Not easy after 42 other trips! He hasn't stopped talking about it since we got back, tells everyone about how amazing it was. And that made every cent we spent even more worth it
It was the fulfillment of a 15 year old dream for me as well, and an experience I will always treasure.
I did send Norma that cd, she just got it and e mailed me to tell me how much she is enjoying it. She made me smile, she said she put the picture of us I sent on her refrigerator. A picture of her is on mine, too
I will try to upload some pics onto the web soon. We found the perfect picture album for them all, on clearance at Target. Just the right size, it holds all 100 prints we took. Know what's on the cover?
The embroidered image of a small white duck!
As they say in Hollywood, that's a wrap!
If you have any questions ask away and I'll do my best to answer.
Day 8: Early to Rise, (for me) and one last trip to the MK...
I was up again at seven again, not wanting to lose a single moment of GF time that was left.
I made sure that all our last minute items were packed up and ready to go *sigh* and went to get my morning coffee and apple danish.
Norma was at the concierge desk when I went out to the lounge, and she said "Good morning, this is your last day isn't it?" I nodded. She made a big frowny face. It was nice to know that they were sorry to see us go as we were to go!
We had planned to be up and in the MK by eight, but by seven thirty with no sound coming from the crew, I knew that wasn't going to happen. We had a long day ahead with flying home so I didn't want to wake my daughter too soon, she needed to sleep. Dad wasn't coming with us this morning, he just wanted to stay at the resort and read his paper in the lounge, so the night before we told him we'd be back shortly after noon.
I lingered in the lounge, taking in every taste, every scent, every sight, every sound. The classical music they play in the morning is so soothing, I thought back on our stay and was truly amazed at how wonderful our experience at the Loaf had been and was already scheming ways to save up so we could stay there again in the future.
Before we left, we had some small gifts for some of the concierge staff (we gave them mugs with chocolate bars tucked in them) and I left one big box of candy for everyone else with a card saying thank you.
I got the address to send Norma a special cd when we got home (by my favorite artist, Josh Groban. She had heard of him but didn' t have the cd, so I thought it would be a perfect lasting thank you gift.)
I went back into the room about quarter to eight and DH and DD were stirring. We got dressed, they grabbed a quick snack and we headed to the MK.
It was then that I made a huge decision: To try to walk the park instead of using the chair. Since I knew we wouldn't be there long, and I had been off my feet all week in the chair, I thought I could do it. Just once this trip I wanted to hold hands with my daughter, or husband as we walked down Main Street. Also to snap some quick pics without the chair.
I can't stress enough how different your perspective is of the parks and all when you're on your own feet as opposed to in a chair. It makes me grateful for the moments I was able to do it, because most of the time, I am in the chair and my vision is often limited to the posterior region of the person directly in front of me, or kids in strollers. Which is why I make friends with so many babies, I guess
We snapped some pictures as we walked, got some gorgeous ones of the building that look like postcards. They were replanting the flowerbeds behind the main building this morning, and it was a sight to behold. The new flowers were so bright and alive, and really made the landscaping stand out. I don't know why anyone would say this resort wasn't kept up, while we were there, we saw them working on it and it looked incredible all around.
When we got to the monorail station, it occurred to me to ask if we could ride in the cab, since we hadn't been able to with the chair this trip. We were able to, and we rode to the MK in style in the front of the train. DD loved that, and we had such a great view of everything. Simply magical.
We got to the MK and headed for Buzz. We were amazed, we were able to walk on the ride four times in a row with maybe a five minute wait between. A couple of times there was no wait. The FP machines were all covered up! Then we took a last ride on the TTA, and headed for Adventureland for one more POTC and a last whirl through the Agribah shop and POTC shop too.
After we finished those things, the MK was really getting crowded and so we realized, sadly, we had better start back for mainstreet. I walk slowly so we knew it'd take awhile. By the time we got there we realized we were hungry, so we grabbed a couple dogs at Caseys, oh my goodness! I do not ever remember having eaten there before, but it was SO GOOD! And DH loved the baseball theme, we didn't see the game round the back will have to look for it next time, definitely going to go back there!
So Dh, dd and I took a long last look at the Castle, made a promise out loud to each other to return as soon as we can, and we walked out of the gates one last time, hand in hand.
We decided to take the ferry back to the GF since it was 'faster' but what we didn't know was there was only one ferry that morning so we probably would have gotten back faster taking the monorail. But it was a lovely day, and since we were soaking in the atmosphere, we sat on a bench and happily waited for the boat.
Two ducks (man, I love ducks!) approached us on the other side of the fence behind our bench. One in particular, a little white one, looked right at me and quacked. I said "Hello, little duckie. I wish I had something to feed you, but there is no feed machine here, I'm sorry." It blinked and looked at me again, then at my DD. She said the same thing, "Sorry Duckie! You're cute but I have no food!"
Duck moved on to DH, and he laughed and said "Sorry cute little dude, I've got nothing for you!" The duck waited a few more moments, seemingly certain that if it could charm us, it would get a treat. Finally, it turned around and waddled away.
A few moments later, I heard a quack and I look down, and right at my feet is the duck! It had gone around the side, past the fence and walked up the walkway into the boat dock area! It stood at my feet, quacked again, as if to say "See how cute I am? Now that I'm up close and you know how adorable I truly am, surely you must have something good for me to eat."
"I'm so sorry Duckie, if I had anything I'd feed you, you're so cute. Honestly. I'm sorry!"
Again Duck turned to DD, and DH. After getting the same story, Duck then proceeded to the couple on the bench next to us, who didn't have anything for it, either.
Finally, Duck came back, stood in front of me, and really glared at me for a long moment. I was trying not to laugh, it was so cute,I felt so bad I didn't save the rest of my hot dog bun for the duck. I said "I love you duckie, I wish I had food for you." one more time.
Then...duck decided to let us know how it really felt about the situation, and it 'did its business' as DH would say right there at my feet! ROFLMBO!!!
I was so happy that he didn't do it on my shoe! We roared with laughter (I guess you had to be there) we all loved the little duckie with 'tude and I wished I could stick a lil duckie diaper on it and bring it home with me!
We had gotten a picture of Duck a minute or so before it did it's thing, and it is our favorite picture from the trip. That little persistant Duck who was just sure if we saw how cute it really was, treats would be produced. I learned to always carry a little thing of duck treats in my purse next trip!
The ferry finally arrived. We said goodbye to Duck and his friends, and after a short ride we arrived at the GF dock.
I realized how loud the boat horn was, and was sure glad we hadn't stayed in one of the buildings down by the dock! Hearing that loud noise every 20 minutes throughout the day would have driven me mad!
The time had come to call bell services and have our bags stored. Norma had made us promise not to leave before she got back from lunch, and when she saw our bags going out, she gave each one of us a big hug and said she was going to miss us and wanted us to hurry back again! We posed for a picture together and then, for the last time this trip we left our beloved Loaf. I was so grateful that we'd been able to stay the extra days, we had truly had a magical trip made even better because of the extra time. We really made it count!
We went to the Cafe so Dad could get lunch (we had one last bowl of that great chicken soup!) and then made one last trip through the shops. DD took a spill on the tile (she was skipping and slipped) which brought some tears, but the My Disney Girl doll that Grandpa had bought her to take home with us helped dry those quickly enough.
We left my wheelchair with bell services for CARE to pick up (they were great) and found our Towncar driver waiting as scheduled out front. Soon our bags were loaded, and so were we, and we said goodbye to our first, and hopefully not last, stay at the magical Grand Floridian.
Reality of leaving WDW property hit quickly when we got stuck in a bad accident on the highway on the way to the airport (our driver was not in the best mood, either, and I wanted to slap him when we finally got past the accident scene and he says (more than once) "Yep, I bet there are some dead people down there from that!" right in front of my daughter! Sheesh!)
There was a violent lightning storm and I was really worried we weren't going to be able to take off. They were circling planes and not letting them land, and that did delay our flight a little. But we made up the time in the air and after a very pleasant and uneventful flight home (most of which we slept through.) we were back at Detroit Metro Airport, and 20 minutes from home.
Overall I must say that the experience of staying at the GF, with the exception of the one event at Royal Palm, did not disappoint at ALL. In fact, I believe that I was completely successful in my goal of spoiling my guys on this trip because they both said they have never had a better time!
So how does this trip end? With the planning of the next trip, of course! Nothing is set in stone yet, but we are already talking about going back next September and maybe my in-laws might fly out from New England and meet us there. Might have a 'magical gathering' of our own! We didn't renew our annual passes (dad did though) so it'll be interesting to see how everything works out in terms of any discounts they might have next year, I know my in laws wouldn't want to stay at the GF (too pricey for their taste) so we'll see where we go.
I know where Dad wants to go. I was talking about staying at the CR next time and Dad's reply was "Great! You'll only be two monorail stops away from me at the Loaf!" LOL
I was so happy, I did it. I managed to plan a trip that topped my dad's every other Disney resort experience so far. Not easy after 42 other trips! He hasn't stopped talking about it since we got back, tells everyone about how amazing it was. And that made every cent we spent even more worth it
It was the fulfillment of a 15 year old dream for me as well, and an experience I will always treasure.
I did send Norma that cd, she just got it and e mailed me to tell me how much she is enjoying it. She made me smile, she said she put the picture of us I sent on her refrigerator. A picture of her is on mine, too
I will try to upload some pics onto the web soon. We found the perfect picture album for them all, on clearance at Target. Just the right size, it holds all 100 prints we took. Know what's on the cover?
The embroidered image of a small white duck!
As they say in Hollywood, that's a wrap!
If you have any questions ask away and I'll do my best to answer.
I am sorry that your reports are ending.... you have brought every sentimental thought I could have. I have really enjoyed taking a trip to DW with you and yours. I hope you do get to return soon and have tons more magic and memories. Thanks for sharing
