Lisa, that chair was so hard & uncomfortable, too. I think a nice, comfy armchair would be a good addition to the room, but this one did not fit the bill.
I'm about to post the anniversary surprises, but I wanted to mention something that I thought was odd. At the end of the trip, I went to the concierge desk to tell the CM on duty (Dan) how much we'd appreciated what they'd done for us on our trip, and to ask who to thank. He said that this is just standard operating procedure, and that they do this for any couple celebrating an anniversary or honeymoon at the GF. I found this so odd, since in all the years we've been staying at the GF, even including our Disney wedding trip, we've never had such royal treatment. I just didn't know why it got brushed aside as nothing special, when it really was, and we were deeply appreciative.
I also forgot to add the different room number plaques:
And without further ado, on to the anniversary goodies.
When we got to our room, we were surprised by all of the balloons and Happy Anniversary signs around the room. There was also the Mickey floral arrangement and a signed card from Mickey and Minnie, wishing us a happy anniversary. We were just thrilled, but then it got better.
On August 4th, the night before our anniversary, we came back from dinner to find this in our room:
A signed card from Cinderella & the prince, along with a red rose and a half bottle of Korbel sparkling wine.
The concierge manager who took over with helping us plan our trip had cancelled our California Grill dinner reservations and had arranged a surprise anniversary dinner for us. We didn't know when/where/what, but we just trusted her judgment.
On our anniversary, August 5th, we got a card in our room that morning telling us to be out on the marina at 9 pm (Wishes fireworks were at 10). When we got there, they had set up the pontoon boat with a white tablecloth over the table, a blue light, and rose petals leading to the table. Here is the rose petal trail:
And here is a blurry photo of the dinner set up on the boat:
They'd arranged with Private Dining for us to have dinner on the pontoon boat! Our boat driver was Rex, who was absolutely awesome. He was obviously a huge Disney fan, and he told us lots of interesting factoids and would use his light to point out signs of interest as he drove us around the lagoon. When Rex greeted us, he handed me an orchid corsage that he'd made himself. He said that he grows orchids for a hobby, and he'd wanted to make me an anniversary corsage. Isn't that just wonderfully nice? I would highly recommend requesting Rex as the driver, for anyone who is booking a fireworks cruise.
Here is a photo of the orchid corsage:
Our server from Private Dining was Ruth, and she was also very nice. We started with a salad course, then had a lovely salmon with tomatoes over polenta. It was really delicious. Our dessert was a miniature wedding cake, which was great. The inside was filled with pudding, so it was moist and wonderful. We were big fans
We cruised around the lagoon from 9:00 until 11:00, and then we returned back to our room. I didn't know it, but my gift from my husband was an oil painting of our dog Molly, who'd been killed last year at the kennel where we boarded here. We'd had Molly for 5 years, and she was our baby, so we were devastated when she died. My sneaky husband had driven out to the GF a few days before our trip and had given the painting to the concierge staff with a request for them to set it up in the room on our anniversary night.
When we got back to the room, this is what we saw:
There were rose petals everywhere! They'd spread them in a heart shape on the floor around the couch, on the bed, on the table, on the desk - everywhere! Here is the bed with the rose petals and one red rose:
On the desk, they'd sent us yet another bottle of sparkling wine, with rose petals all around it:
And on the coffee table, they'd set up a white chocolate Mickey & Minnie figure, along with chocolate covered strawberries, on a plate that said, "Happy Anniversary," in chocolate. Throughout the room, there were several brandy snifters filled with red rose petals and glowing ice cubes, and you can kind of see one in this photo:
Here is a closeup of the Mickey & Minnie figure:
The whole set up was just extremely decadent and luxurious. We've never in our whole lives been treated so fabulously! We were extremely impressed with the Grand Floridian staff for pulling this together; the surprises just kept coming. We had a lovely trip, and I would definitely arrange for some of these surprises in the future, for our anniversary trips. I know that I can order the strawberries and the room decoration in rose petals, so those are definitely possibilities for future celebrations
We felt like they went above & beyond to make up to us for the mistakes in planning, and we truly felt the Grand Floridian magic.
Oh, and I wrote a review of our BWI experience and posted it on the Resorts board, if anyone is interested.
Cheers!
Heather W
Somebody can help I am sure!
, I wasn't aware that the water was gross or that there were critters in it....when you say critters do you mean alligators???? 'Cause we were thinking about doing parasailing or some form of watersport....but if there is alligators....I totally won't get in the water 
.
They're the same to me.
this time around ...
