"...We'll thank the little stars that shine..." A GRAND week in WDW *UPDATED 8/1

[Sweet Pea UK]

Can't wait to read more - we are staying at the Grand Floridian for 3 weeks next year so I am intrigued as to what its like.

 

[UncleOrville]

Beyonce also helped. One of these days, I'm going to learn the "Single Ladies" choreography. (VBsHustla? UncleOrville? We should get on that!)

Hahaha, yes, we'll have to get on that! One day we can perform it at the GF! It will be spectacular... err, a spectacle.

 

[Scott MC]

We're gonna stick with "Spectacular."

If only we could get Alice and the Mad Hatter to do it with us...

...or the Stepmother and Stepsisters.

 

[VBsHustla]

We're gonna stick with "Spectacular."

If only we could get Alice and the Mad Hatter to do it with us...

...or the Stepmother and Stepsisters.

That would be brilliant! I'd also need Joe Jonas to get in on this.

 

[DWGal210]

Great start so far! Sounds like you are off to a great start!

Can't wait to read more!

- Katie

 

[KatMark]

I'm here for the report.

 

[heaven2dc]

Love, love, love your TR! and even love your kitties even more (and I'm not even a cat person - I've inherited Meatball, my daughter's cat, and he is definitely a close cousin to your "people".).

Has anyone helped you with your Snapfish question? I'm def not computer/picture savvy or otherwise I would offer a suggestion. btw were you in the reclining position when you took that pic? J/K!!!!

 

[Scott MC]

Can't wait to read more - we are staying at the Grand Floridian for 3 weeks next year so I am intrigued as to what its like.

Welcome aboard! It lives up to it's expectations! If I may be so bold...how can you afford the GF for 3 weeks? I'm so jealous!

Great start so far! Sounds like you are off to a great start!

Can't wait to read more!

- Katie

The rest is coming soon....I promise! I'm getting more pictures from Mary Willowtree and DPIC this weekend, and I have Monday off, so there will be no excuse for not finishing at least 2 days worth of pictures and stories.

I'm here for the report.

KatMark! Welcome. You'll be pleased to know that about 2 months after our trip, I'm warming up a lot more to our brief stay at CSR, to the point where last night, I had dinner with some of my fellow Mousejunkies (for my belated birthday) who are coming on next year's trip and I was pushing for a stay at CSR!

Love, love, love your TR! and even love your kitties even more (and I'm not even a cat person - I've inherited Meatball, my daughter's cat, and he is definitely a close cousin to your "people".).

Has anyone helped you with your Snapfish question? I'm def not computer/picture savvy or otherwise I would offer a suggestion. btw were you in the reclining position when you took that pic? J/K!!!!

I don't even know Meatball, but I love him. Henry does too. Grace is a little more judgmental.....are you surprised? She'll have to have a sidecar and think it over.

 

[KatMark]

KatMark! Welcome. You'll be pleased to know that about 2 months after our trip, I'm warming up a lot more to our brief stay at CSR, to the point where last night, I had dinner with some of my besties (for my belated birthday) who are coming on next year's trip and I was pushing for a stay at CSR!

Be sure to check out my trip report about our stay at CSR a couple of weeks ago.

And Happy Belated Birthday to you!

 

[cindermomma]

I am in!! I LOVE your report! We also have a cat who hates when we go to the mouse! She won't even look at Grandma for the first few days of cat-sitting! Can't wait to read more!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Ooooh, I wish I could see all of your pictures. Looks like some are missing. Looking forward to reading all about your Disney adventures.

Sorry I can't help with the posting of Snapfish pictures. I have only used Photobucket.

Lisa

 

[Scott MC]

Ooooh, I wish I could see all of your pictures. Looks like some are missing. Looking forward to reading all about your Disney adventures.

Sorry I can't help with the posting of Snapfish pictures. I have only used Photobucket.

Lisa

Those links are fixed. Enjoy!

 

[Scott MC]

So, I'm up an hour earlier than expected this morning (sick kitty), and I figured it'd be a perfect time to update the TR. I finally have all the pictures up on Photobucket, so now my only excuse for not updating is my own laziness!

So, when we left off, we'd just gotten off the plane,and I promised you some pictures that DS took from the plane.

After landing, we began to enjoy our first experience with Magical Express. We'd checked our luggage back in NH.

We sailed past the luggage pick-up and found our way to the ME terminal. It was here that we felt the need to make it crystal clear which resort we were headed to.

Excited much?

Once on board, we were delighted to find that in the ME video, the Disney characters were checking into the Grand Floridian! The tension began to mount. Would the construction affect our stay?
Here is our obligatory front gate shot.

After a brief stop at the (beautiful) Polynesian, we moved on to the Grand.

We really didn't have much time to soak up much atmosphere because of what had happened next. I got off the bus first and a woman with a clipboard asked me the name of my party. When I told her my name, she signaled to another man, saying, "The _____________ party is here." The male CM, stepped forward and welcomed me to the Grand Floridian and asked me to follow him. At this point my heart began racing, because I don't *think* this happens all the time. We walked through the main entrance and as soon as we were all in, he turned to us and said, "This is Disney's year of celebrations, and I'm pleased to let you know that your party has been upgraded to our Royal Palm Club, which is Club Level, and you will be staying with us here in the main building for the duration of our stay."



I don't know if the others in my party understood what this meant, or if they even heard him (the lobby was loud), but I heard and understood him clearly. It's a wonder I didn't pass out on the spot. My Disney Dream had truly come true. Once I was able to let my party know what this meant, they too shared in my excitement, but we didn't have much time to revel in it, as our CM had already taken off.

Here's where I'll go ahead and mention my one, tiny complaint about this experience. We had gotten the upgrade of the year (in our opinion), and the CM seemed to be in such a hurry, that no big deal was made of it, and we really didn't get time to celebrate and be excited. I've heard lots of stories on these boards of people getting magical upgrades and the celebrations they've had with CMs after, and in fact, I asked, (half jokingly), if I could hug our CM, and he quickly replied "No, I need to show you where your room is."

Well fine.

Hmmmph!

Anyways...that was my one tiny complaint, and don't worry, we celebrated plenty once he was gone and we had our room to ourselves.

And what a room it was!

After the CM left, we did have a mini-celebration that involved plugging in the Ipod and playing the latest dance beats.

I'm going to post views in the next post.....

 

[Scott MC]

I'm going to post nothing but views in this thread, but first, thanks to the magic of MS paint, I'll show you exactly where we were placed. The room number was 4323 and once out on the patio, it wasn't hard to figure out exactly where our room was located.

And now..
Drumroll please......

THE VIEW

Clearly, it was magnificent.

Now that I've rambled about the Gorgeous Grand, in my next post, I can actually talk about the activities of the trip, which started off with lunch at the Contemporary!

I'll try to get back to this soon. Enjoy the update!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh my goodness gracious! What a fantastic Disney surprise! The pictures are absolutely gorgeous.

 

[MmmmDisney.]

I'm in. I don't know whether it was your cat's, your love for Beyonce (and learning the dance...which last night me and my girlfriends perfected)...or your pure joy of Disney...BUT WHATEVER. I am now subbing to my first thead. Love it

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I'm so excited to hear more! Wow...the GF is so beautiful! I always thought it was a bit too fancy schancy to me...But I never realized how warm and homey the rooms are!

Can't wait for th next installment!

 

[minniebeth]

Congratulations on your amazing upgrade! I can't wait to hear about your lunch at the Wave!

 

[heaven2dc]

How exciting! What a fantastic way to start your trip with a fabulous upgrade

 

[UncleOrville]

Love it! That upgrade is just the best! Although I do think it's absurd that the CM wasn't more excited for you - if the GF is going to be giving away thousands of dollars on a magnificent upgrade, you'd think they'd take the time/ money to appoint their sunniest CM the job of bestowing that upgrade! But, whatever, private dance parties are always an appropriate way to celebrate!

But, oh no! I see your sis and her BF are Red Sox fans - are you? We're die-hard Yankees fans over here. "You should know we bleed blue..."