Walking on the Boardwalk and Snoozing at the Grand!

[kaffinito]

The first day we we hung out at the room and in the lounge for a bit after Ben finally joined us. We also went swimming in the quiet pool. It's the first time I ever got the feeling I was undressed for a pool since I had no matching fancy cover up or a floppy hat and had no designer sunglasses with me.

John and I decided to skip dinner at the Garden Grove and just have some snacks in the lounge. We both wanted to go to MK and catch EMH that night since it’s a tradition of ours. There are two picture spots at WDW where it’s our tradition for me to take pics of John. One is with the pirate statue at World of Disney in DTD, and the other is after EMH at MK in front of the Castle while eating funnel cake. Ben's annual trip pics are taken while he looks disgruntled on a bus, since he’s too cool to be photographed. Teenagers!

So John and I were stoked! EMH at MK until 1:00 am! Yeah!

So we got there early enough to start riding rides. The usual, POTC and HM. Then I wanted to find a place for the parade, since it was going to be the MSEP. I haven’t seen that since I was 9 years old! I have a lot of very happy childhood memories of that parade, and was looking forward to it. I think that’s when my love of sparkly lights began.

I found us a good place in Frontierland right in front of the DSA and next to the Turkey Legs, which I was planning on eating for dinner with John. We started saving the spot at around 8:00 for the parade at 9:00. Quite a few folks showed up who also liked our vantage point.

Then it started to sprinkle.

Then it started to rain so I ran across to the store to buy some ponchos. I wasn’t going to let a little rain - rain on my parade!

Then it started to pour. Then the thunder and lightning started. But I wasn’t budging! I was going to see that parade if it killed me no matter how wet I got! (By the way, I owe John 10 bucks for sticking it out with me. He hates parades but the kid stuck it out with me anyway!)

The thunder and lightning got a lot worse. Then they made the announcement that the parade would be delayed. So I went and asked a CM if he thought the parade would start in a little while. He said, “You’re kidding, right?” but not entirely in a joking manner, and I knew, after another 15 minute wait and two more announcements that there would be no magical parade for me that night.

John just wanted to go back to the resort and get warm and dry at that point, and for some reason didn’t want to stay for EMH that night so we waited in line for an hour to catch the resort monorail back to the GF. Since the boats were not running that night. John was just a wee bit cranky when we got back.

We dried off and got comfy, when out of the blue there was a loud alarm and the announcement that we needed to evacuate the building.

Jeez!

The rain had stopped though, so it wasn’t too bad when Ben hustled us out of the room, to the nearest emergency exit, and outside to what he considered a “safe” place. Which just happened to be on the lawn. (Autism again – what normal teenager knows where the emergency exits are? ) I convinced him that maybe we could stay on the porch, since it didn’t seem to be a crisis type emergency, since not a lot of other people had left, and we waited to find out what had happened.

Turns out it was faulty wiring in a third floor fire alarm. We went back to the room and settled in for the night. That’s when I noticed that I had to fiddle with the wall charger to get my phone to charge. It finally looked like it was charging, so I went to bed.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

It really was sumptuous. Not very clean though.

Have you stayed here yet?

When we decided to do a split stay last month the first location we talked about was the Grand Floridian, however we decided not to because we would have already visited there a few times while we were at the Contemporary. So I then suggested the Boardwalk and the rest is history.

 

[ds/can/mom]

Enjoying your trip report, Looking forward to your next posts regarding GF.
Split stay WL club and GF Main building in January. We had originally booked BWI deluxe club, but chose GF with a split at WL.

 

[kaffinito]

Enjoying your trip report, Looking forward to your next posts regarding GF.
Split stay WL club and GF Main building in January. We had originally booked BWI deluxe club, but chose GF with a split at WL.

The GF RPC is very impressive IMO. WL CL and GF RPC sounds like a good split stay!

 

[kaffinito]

Went to AK the first morning at GF after a nice breakfast in the lounge. AK as usual was great – very lovely and not too hot for a change. We had an ADR for 11:00 at Yak and Yeti, and we were all looking forward to eating there again. We really like the food and the atmosphere there. For some reason, the night before my room charger didn’t charge up my cell phone all the way, so I figured I’d charge it up once we got back to the room, and then meet up with fellow DISboarder JanetB.

I figured we had plenty of time to see a few things before lunch, and we did manage to catch ITTBAB. I love the part at the end when everyone jumps up and yells when the bugs leave the audience. It’s too funny! Lunch was awesome, as I had the duck again. It’s really well prepared duck, and I’ve only had it once there when it was a little chewy. Ben had chicken and John had salmon with rice.

The boys wanted to see Flights of Wonder so they went and did that after lunch and I went to the YY store to see if they had anything cute to buy. They had this great dress that has a self bra, and I figured it would be great to wear to LaNouba that night.

I left the boys and went back to GF to meet up with Janet B. All I needed to do was put the phone on the charger so I could text her, and I would be all set. The battery was in the orange, and wouldn’t let me do squat, so it really needed a charge.

I got back to the room, put the phone on the charger and ….. nothing. I fiddled with outlet, moved it around the room a bit, and still nothing. So then I was getting a little freaked out. One phone and two dead chargers in one trip? Impossible! So I figured I go through the luggage, since I always bring an extra charger since the trip when I forgot to bring any, and still nothing. There was a charger for John’s phone which was a good thing, and one for Ben’s phone, the charger for something I don’t know what, but no extra charger for me.

Ok, so then I thought I would go to the desk and ask to borrow a charger. My kind was really easy to find, and they should have one extra that I could borrow, shouldn’t they? Well, no – they didn’t. It was suggested I could go buy a charger, but since it was already past one o’clock at this point, and JanetB and I were supposed to meet around 12:30, I thought well, I will go out later and get one.

My knee was really killing me at this point, and I had to ice it and rest it or I’d never make it to LaNouba that night. I felt badly about missing out on a mini DIS meet, but had no way to contact her.

But – then I bumped into a nice CM Maryjo who was bringing a crying John up in the elevator. Seems John had forgotten his key card again and was stuck in the lobby for a while. Seems John had been trying to call me but he couldn’t. Ben was only a few minutes behind him. So I wandered around a bit with John and we took some pics.

When John and I got back to the room - there was a large white chocolate Mickey for Ben! Holey cow was it ever cool looking!

Ben loved his Mickey and immediately began biting off body parts. He had wanted to go to DTD, so after John and I rested a bit and swam a bit we went to DTD to meet up with Ben for LaNouba. I told him before he left to meet us by the Will Call window since I didn’t have a working phone.

The show was great (my third time) and they had changed some of the acts. I liked it better than I did the first time. Of course I still love “the flying man” It was Johns first time seeing the show, and he was over the moon with it. He thought it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen.

We had a nice dinner at RR in DTD. I had the Shepard’s Pie, which was good, John had the Chowder which he loved, and Ben had a burger that he raved about.

Then off to bed. My knee by this time was really suffering, so I wanted to really rest it up for the next day. Funny thing, on my way up in the elevator with a nice CL CM named Maggie, the front part of my self-bra dress broke, which made things a little, shall we say, exposed? The quick thinking Maggie pulled a safety pin off of her keychain, and gave it to me to fix my dress. Then at the desk she gave me a sewing kit so I could fix it. How nice was that?

So far ALL of the CM's I had met at GF were as nice as the ones at BWI. Just goes to show you not to believe all of the reports you read on the DIS. I was at this point hugely impressed with GF CL.

 

[ClareH37]

That room is amazing! Absolutely beautiful.

I love the chocolate Mickey too - guess he didn't last too long

 

[kaffinito]

That room is amazing! Absolutely beautiful.

I love the chocolate Mickey too - guess he didn't last too long

Nope! It was funny to watch the boys divvy up the various body parts. Ben got the head, since it was his.

 

[Janet B]

HI Karen
You know I never thought to go to the front desk and ask them to call your room and check if you were in!! We were in the lobby at the time you were up in the room messing with the phone!! To think, Sam and I didn’t leave until around 1:45pm. Darn!!!

Love the chocolate Mickey – what a nice surprise for Ben.

I have always wanted to see LaNouba. After we returned from our 2006 visit, my hubby had seen a special on the show – and is definitely interested in seeing it – my selling point for getting him back to Disney.

Your dress mishap would be something that would to me! What a nice CM!

 

[kaffinito]

HI Karen
You know I never thought to go to the front desk and ask them to call your room and check if you were in!! We were in the lobby at the time you were up in the room messing with the phone!! To think, Sam and I didn’t leave until around 1:45pm. Darn!!!

Love the chocolate Mickey – what a nice surprise for Ben.

I have always wanted to see LaNouba. After we returned from our 2006 visit, my hubby had seen a special on the show – and is definitely interested in seeing it – my selling point for getting him back to Disney.

Your dress mishap would be something that would to me! What a nice CM!

And I was there too! I could have just gone around the lobby too looking for you, but didn't think you would still be there. That really ticks me off.

The Mickey was a Grand surprise! What a nice thing to do for him!

Do try for LaNouba if you get the chance - it's well worth the money. But go for cat 2 or 3 seats. You won't get neck strain and you'll have better views for less $$$.

Oh and the dress! There I was in the elevator, when there was a small ripping sound and my umheh just sort of well, you can imagine. It was so horribly embarrassing! I'm just so glad it didn't happen in the lobby or at LaNouba! Can you imagine?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I bet that Chocolate Mickey tasted great.

 

[kaffinito]

Here a few lounge pics!

Bread and bagels

Muffins, croissants and such

Fruit and yogurt

Beverages

Oatmeal

The oatmeal looked good, but I didn't have any at GF.

 

[kaffinito]

Some pics of Tea

The Tea was very nice. They had Devonshire Cream, butter, marmalade, breads, and some nice tea cookies. Our first day they had some strawberry tarts that were very good!

 

[kaffinito]

My favorite chair in the lobby.

Grand Floridian Cafe

 

[kaffinito]

Just a few more.

Check in area

Near Lobby elevator

Third floor seating area with chess and checkers

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Hi Karen,
On our last night we went to the Grand Floridian and I noticed that part of the walkway to towards Gasparilla's was closed off for some renovations, so I am wondering were they still doing that when you were there?

 

[kaffinito]

Hi Karen,
On our last night we went to the Grand Floridian and I noticed that part of the walkway to towards Gasparilla's was closed off for some renovations, so I am wondering were they still doing that when you were there?

Hi yourself - and yes they were. They were repainting the exterior, and had a lot of areas closed off and a lot of large cranes around for the workmen. It didn't really bother me too much, although it didn't exactly add much to some of my photos.

 

[kaffinito]

Got up the next morning and wow – now both knees were killing me! I was not a happy camper. I sent Ben and John off to DTD to the movies, after reminding them that dinner was at Teppan Edo in WS at 6:50.

Did some laundry, went along the monorail to do some shopping, and as I went along my knees were getting worse and worse. I only had one elastic knew brace with me, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why I didn’t take the really good heavy duty one!

Anyhow, I figured I’d rest up a bit and headed for the themed pool. It’s beyond me why they put in the rock formation though. I can’t recall seeing rocks like that in Florida. I sunbathed, read, and swam a bit – carefully though, and then hobbled my way back to the room.

I soaked in the tub for a bit and then went to the front desk to ask about renting a scooter. I really didn’t want too, but with the way both knees were acting up, I knew I would never be able to get from the GF all the way to Japan in WS, and then to MK for EMH without one.

I found out about scooter rental in the parks, and prayed that there would be one left when I got to EPCOT. I’m a fast walker who hates walking slowly, so the need to move slowly and hold myself up with a railing was a little frustrating for me. Two EPCOT monorails went by before I got up to the loading platform.

I lucked out in that there were two scooters left to rent, and then learned how to drive one. I’m telling you, when you’re on a scooter you are invisible to everybody. People were walking out in front of me, one girl ran out in front of me, it was like I no longer existed.

So when I was going along I passed by Club Cool. Now I am a huge Beverly junkie. I love that stuff! I even bought some for home. So I had to get my Beverly fix before dinner, right? So I hobbled in, and chugged one cup and took another one “for the road”

It was no problem to get to Japan through WS, the crowds weren’t that bad. I parked in front of Japan and waited for the boys. Then it started to rain. Of course. So I found a covered spot for the scooter and tied my poncho around it and then went upstairs to wait. No one told me there was an elevator until I got to the top.

The boys were late of course, and didn’t arrive until 7:30. We only had a short wait for our table though, and really enjoyed the show and the food.

It’s a superb restaurant, and we will be eating there again for sure!

After dinner I had John on the back of the scooter and we maneuvered through the Illuminations crowds to get back to the front gate. Ben ditched us again, so we were on our own for MK. We made it to the front gate and up the ramp before the crowds came out from the fireworks.

 

[kaffinito]

We got to MK and I went to the scooter rental and rented another scooter. This one didn’t have a light in front, and the horn (such as it is) didn’t work, So John had to be my horn for the night.

As traditional for us, we went straight for POTC. After that we did JC. That ride is so awesome at night! Much better than during the day IMO. I sat right next to the Guide, and he was a little hyper, and smashed the glass globe on his light. I got a long cut on my leg, and had glass in my shoes.

We rode the usual rides and then went to get our funnel cake. We always do the funnel cake last, and we sit by the Castle to watch the Kiss Goodnight. It's another tradition to take a pic of John with the Castle in the background. I think his camera on his phone is better than mine!

I did take a poll to find out which Deluxe resort was everyone’s favorite.

John voted for BWI followed by the Poly, Ben voted for AKL, and I voted for the Poly with AKL, BWI and GF tied for second. Which might explain why I have so much trouble picking a resort for a trip!

We all agreed that the best CL is at GF. It really was a lovely experience staying there! I would pay full price for a stay at RPC, and the only other resort I can say that about would be AKL.

The room wasn’t very clean, but the staff and the food make up for that. We all still love POR and John and I still like POP a lot! Our April trip might be a POP/Poly split, since John and I are jonesing for the POP again, and I can’t imagine an April without a stay at the Poly. But for a CL stay I might have to go with GF again. It really was an over the top spoiling pampering experience there!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Sorry to see the TR end, Karen.

Such a nice trip - love the pics of the boys (none of you though ).

Now on to the next PTR for when???

 

[kaffinito]

Sorry to see the TR end, Karen.

Such a nice trip - love the pics of the boys (none of you though ).

Now on to the next PTR for when???

Thank you! Well, I just have to post one more time. I don't know what my next PTR will be. I might go over NYE again, but I might just do one for April.

If I do one for NYE it will be a little complicated, since I have 6 resort choices. April would be a boring TR (even for me) since we will be staying "somewhere" either POR, POP, or AKL again. Followed by Poly natch. Unless we do Universal this April, then it would a PBH/Poly trip.

Sorry you asked?