nwdisgal
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2002
- Messages
- 2,120
Well, what were those plans about getting up early and hitting Magic Kingdom? 
Today was going to be the day. Let me tell you something about those beds at SSR. They are very comfy. They give Heavenly Beds some competition. Plus, the master bedroom air conditioner worked great. You know what they say about snoozing and losing... So I think it's 9:30 by the time we drive to MK and make it on the boat. As we are heading on the boat over to MK, I look out toward the park, and there are not just tons, but hords of people. I mean the likes of this crowd I've never seen. Clearly, we missed the theme park window of opportunity at 7:00 am. I am beginning to realize if it isn't happening at this point in the trip, early entry probably isn't happening at all for us. DH and I are looking towards the massive crowds rolling into MK, and suddenly I am feeling a tension headache. At least something that needs to be revived with a strong cup of Kona. "Let's head over to the Poly" I suggest and go to the coffee bar and figure the day out.
We take the kids, who are complaining because we're not headed to MK. DD wants to head back to our resort and make our way to DQ. DS is determined to go to MK. I want to get in the rental car and cruise Orlando and go shopping. DH is hostage to all of it. We have to come to some decision. We are heading to the Poly for our coffee fix and suddenly the idea strikes me. "Let's rent the mouse boats" I suggest and suddenly, everyones spirits pick up. DD is old enough to drive a boat with a parent companion in the boat, but is she tall enough? She stands at the measuring stick and just makes it... Good, my lectures on eating her meat and drinking her milk are finally sinking in
So we have two causes for celebration. One is DD can drive the boat, and the second is that she grazed past the 5 ' mark. We happily put on our life jackets and the boys take their boat and the girls have ours. DD asks me to drive for the beginning, so I take control of the throttle. Those little boats go pretty fast, and there is no thrill like racing down Seven Seas Lagoon in a mini speed boat. The boys lose us in the dust, as I have our boat at only partial throttle and then finally figure out how to get it to full. Anyway, that keeps us amused for about an hour,and personally, I would have been happy out there all day long speeding around in that boat. However, DS had his boat fill, so we went back in. By the time we get off the boats, it is past 11:00 and the Kona Coffee Bar is closed. I've always wanted to try the Grand Floridian Cafe, so I suggest to the family that we head over there for some food. We take the monorail to the Grand Floridian. I will admit that I have been to WDW several times over the past five years and this is the first time that I have fully set foot in GF. I guess I was spooked away by the misconception that the place was populated by hauty people (which really bug me). Then I started reading about the GF alot and these boards and realized that all sorts of normal people stay there. So I finally mustered the courage this trip to go in there, explore a bit and try lunch. One word when I first walked into the place - I absolutely love the decor and the ambience. "I know where we're staying in the future," I tell DH. He smiles and agrees that yes it is a pretty cool place. We head down to the Grand Floridian Cafe as Walk-Ups and no problem getting right in. We are some of the first people in for the lunch seating. The place starts to pick up shortly after that, but until then we almost had it to ourselves. There are people who have posted on here that Grand Floridian Cafe is one of the most underappreciated places and I would heartily agree with them. I'm in Culinary and by far, this is one of the best meals we had on site. I have this theory that they send all the seasoned chefs and prep cooks to that resort since it is their flagship one. We had a wonderful lunch. DH and I ordered seafood. He had the Corvina Sandwich, which is like a grouper and I had Tilapia (I know, you can take the girl out of Hawaii, but you can't take Hawaii out of the girl). Both were excellent and cooked to perfection. They prepared a mushroom and cheese pizza for DD that was to die for. I can't remember what DS had. I was so entralled with DH and my entrees. We had the dessert sampler. Wow! Wonderful pastry. There was a key lime creme brulee with a chocolate crust, a light key lime cheesecake with a fondant, tiramisu and I can't remember the other dessert on the plate 
I would have just been happy with that key lime, it was so awesome. Then I finally had my coffee (the one I'd originally headed to the Poly for). I had a fresh ground cappucino. Yummie! They practically had to roll us out of the restaurant, but we were so happy at that point... We walked around the grounds of the GF, checking things out, before deciding to shelve MK entirely that day and head back to the resort. The kids and DH still had options on their park hoppers so they went to Typhoon Lagoon, then headed to DQ later in the evening. I used the time to be a pool lounge lizard and check out the SSR health club - again I have to say that DD seemed to prefer the water parks and DQ more than the other parks this trip. I'm not sure if it is her age or what. Anyway, the options were a good investment and a big hit for the kids. There would be only one day during the second half of our trip were would actually get a full shot at the parks. That would be the next day, Day 8 and our last full day, and soon the reason will be known....
Today was going to be the day. Let me tell you something about those beds at SSR. They are very comfy. They give Heavenly Beds some competition. Plus, the master bedroom air conditioner worked great. You know what they say about snoozing and losing... So I think it's 9:30 by the time we drive to MK and make it on the boat. As we are heading on the boat over to MK, I look out toward the park, and there are not just tons, but hords of people. I mean the likes of this crowd I've never seen. Clearly, we missed the theme park window of opportunity at 7:00 am. I am beginning to realize if it isn't happening at this point in the trip, early entry probably isn't happening at all for us. DH and I are looking towards the massive crowds rolling into MK, and suddenly I am feeling a tension headache. At least something that needs to be revived with a strong cup of Kona. "Let's head over to the Poly" I suggest and go to the coffee bar and figure the day out. We take the kids, who are complaining because we're not headed to MK. DD wants to head back to our resort and make our way to DQ. DS is determined to go to MK. I want to get in the rental car and cruise Orlando and go shopping. DH is hostage to all of it. We have to come to some decision. We are heading to the Poly for our coffee fix and suddenly the idea strikes me. "Let's rent the mouse boats" I suggest and suddenly, everyones spirits pick up. DD is old enough to drive a boat with a parent companion in the boat, but is she tall enough? She stands at the measuring stick and just makes it... Good, my lectures on eating her meat and drinking her milk are finally sinking in
So we have two causes for celebration. One is DD can drive the boat, and the second is that she grazed past the 5 ' mark. We happily put on our life jackets and the boys take their boat and the girls have ours. DD asks me to drive for the beginning, so I take control of the throttle. Those little boats go pretty fast, and there is no thrill like racing down Seven Seas Lagoon in a mini speed boat. The boys lose us in the dust, as I have our boat at only partial throttle and then finally figure out how to get it to full. Anyway, that keeps us amused for about an hour,and personally, I would have been happy out there all day long speeding around in that boat. However, DS had his boat fill, so we went back in. By the time we get off the boats, it is past 11:00 and the Kona Coffee Bar is closed. I've always wanted to try the Grand Floridian Cafe, so I suggest to the family that we head over there for some food. We take the monorail to the Grand Floridian. I will admit that I have been to WDW several times over the past five years and this is the first time that I have fully set foot in GF. I guess I was spooked away by the misconception that the place was populated by hauty people (which really bug me). Then I started reading about the GF alot and these boards and realized that all sorts of normal people stay there. So I finally mustered the courage this trip to go in there, explore a bit and try lunch. One word when I first walked into the place - I absolutely love the decor and the ambience. "I know where we're staying in the future," I tell DH. He smiles and agrees that yes it is a pretty cool place. We head down to the Grand Floridian Cafe as Walk-Ups and no problem getting right in. We are some of the first people in for the lunch seating. The place starts to pick up shortly after that, but until then we almost had it to ourselves. There are people who have posted on here that Grand Floridian Cafe is one of the most underappreciated places and I would heartily agree with them. I'm in Culinary and by far, this is one of the best meals we had on site. I have this theory that they send all the seasoned chefs and prep cooks to that resort since it is their flagship one. We had a wonderful lunch. DH and I ordered seafood. He had the Corvina Sandwich, which is like a grouper and I had Tilapia (I know, you can take the girl out of Hawaii, but you can't take Hawaii out of the girl). Both were excellent and cooked to perfection. They prepared a mushroom and cheese pizza for DD that was to die for. I can't remember what DS had. I was so entralled with DH and my entrees. We had the dessert sampler. Wow! Wonderful pastry. There was a key lime creme brulee with a chocolate crust, a light key lime cheesecake with a fondant, tiramisu and I can't remember the other dessert on the plate I would have just been happy with that key lime, it was so awesome. Then I finally had my coffee (the one I'd originally headed to the Poly for). I had a fresh ground cappucino. Yummie! They practically had to roll us out of the restaurant, but we were so happy at that point... We walked around the grounds of the GF, checking things out, before deciding to shelve MK entirely that day and head back to the resort. The kids and DH still had options on their park hoppers so they went to Typhoon Lagoon, then headed to DQ later in the evening. I used the time to be a pool lounge lizard and check out the SSR health club - again I have to say that DD seemed to prefer the water parks and DQ more than the other parks this trip. I'm not sure if it is her age or what. Anyway, the options were a good investment and a big hit for the kids. There would be only one day during the second half of our trip were would actually get a full shot at the parks. That would be the next day, Day 8 and our last full day, and soon the reason will be known....
