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

[Scott MC]

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

Thank you! I can't take any credit for any of the pictures though. DS took most of them.

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

Welcome to your first thread! I'm touched, and jealous that you know the dance!

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!

DPIC said that he was pleasantly surprised with the room. He was expecting something much more floral and frilly, but instead found it tasteful and elegant.

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

Don't get too excited about that.....

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

It was an amazing start to the trip. I had a feeling that it was going to happen when we were met right off the bus, but I never would have dreamed main building with that view!

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..."

DS and DSBF are in fact Red Sox fans (we do live 15 minutes north of Boston). DPIC and I are not sports fanatics in any way, but feel it necessary, when asked to say that we support the local sports team. I heard that the Sox were out of the running this year. Hmm....I guess Tom Brady didn't score enough baskets to win the Stanley Cup.

 

[LMO429]

congrats om the upgrade i would be so xcited too!!!!! love the pics of the gf...i cant wait to get there already!!!!! only 54 days to go

 

[KatMark]

What a great upgrade Scott. Congratulations. Love the pictures.

 

[ILoveDisney-Angie]

Thank you for sharing your trip with all of us. I love the kittie pictures!

 

[UncleOrville]

DS and DSBF are in fact Red Sox fans (we do live 15 minutes north of Boston). DPIC and I are not sports fanatics in any way, but feel it necessary, when asked to say that we support the local sports team. I heard that the Sox were out of the running this year. Hmm....I guess Tom Brady didn't score enough baskets to win the Stanley Cup.

Good answer!

 

[Chironicus]

Here is our obligatory front gate shot.

Hmmm... for some reason I'm being forced to remove the photo from my reply. : However, I think it's clear which one I'm talking about by your description.

I've spent weeks perusing the many delightful shots of the Grand and of all the hundreds of pictures, no one seemed to remember to include the Sheer Thrill of arriving!! I'm taking my first trip to WDW, staying at the GF in December and I'm so excited I'm afraid I might just explode! *laughs*

Thanks for a great TR so far. Can't wait to read more!

--Chiron

 

[kittyprincess]

Love these photos and your insight into H&G's deepest feelings. : ) Can't wait for Dis 2010!!!!!!

 

[Scott MC]

congrats om the upgrade i would be so xcited too!!!!! love the pics of the gf...i cant wait to get there already!!!!! only 54 days to go

54 days? I'm so jealous! You will love it, and if my math is correct, that should put you there around Christmas time. I wish I could go during Christmas just once.

What a great upgrade Scott. Congratulations. Love the pictures.

Thank you! It might take me some time, but I have a bunch from CSR as well, but we're still days away from that!

Thank you for sharing your trip with all of us. I love the kittie pictures!

Henry and Grace are pleased that you enjoy their photogenic-ness.

Good answer!

I mean....it's how I feel.

Hmmm... for some reason I'm being forced to remove the photo from my reply. : However, I think it's clear which one I'm talking about by your description.

I've spent weeks perusing the many delightful shots of the Grand and of all the hundreds of pictures, no one seemed to remember to include the Sheer Thrill of arriving!! I'm taking my first trip to WDW, staying at the GF in December and I'm so excited I'm afraid I might just explode! *laughs*


Thanks for a great TR so far. Can't wait to read more!

--Chiron

Your first trip to WDW and you're staying at the Grand? Lucky you! You will love it.

Love these photos and your insight into H&G's deepest feelings. : ) Can't wait for Dis 2010!!!!!!

Wait a minute....do I know you?

 

[vettegirl]

whoo hoo! It's like you won the disney lottery. I would have fainted, that is so awesome

 

[DWGal210]

OMG - what an incredible upgrade! That deserves many dancing bananas!


Sorry to hear the CM wasn't as cheery about it, but maybe he was having a bad day. How you can have a bad day when it's your job to give people news like that is beyond me, but I digress.

Great TR so far, can't wait to read more!

 

[aspen37]

THE OFFICIAL TRIP REPORT

...TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE DISNEY...AND ALL THROUGH WAL-MART.....

I think I can safely say that for this trip, I was more prepared than I've ever been to go. The condo was clean, the bags were packed, the ticked-off kitties were fed. My plan for the day before was to depart my condo around 3 P.M., Head up to DPIC's apartment, drive down to the Boston area (about 30 min away) to check out his friend's wedding gown. That's right, we played "Say Yes to the Dress." My dreams were already coming true. The dress was stunning on the bride, though I couldn't help but wonder if she wouldn't have found a more perfect dress if Keisha were involved. (Does anyone else get that?)

After the dress try-on, we met with a co-worker of DPIC's for dinner and cocktails, which has become our habit the night before a Disney trip. Same co-worker, same restaurant. The cocktails were a good choice, as I'm a very nervous flier and get very anxious the night before I have to fly. Dinner was great, and the cocktails took the edge off. DPIC wanted to take a quick whirl around Walmart for last minute t-shirts. He didn't have much success, and I didn't find Walmart to be particularly magical. I kept telling myself, "You'll be at the Grand Floridian in 12 hours." That helped.

Remarkably, I feel asleep pretty easily and slept through the night.

DAY ONE 8/19/09
Our flight was out of Manchester NH at 8:15 A.M. and was a non-stop flight, scheduled to arrive in Orlando around 11:15. We all live closer to Boston's Logan Airport (DPIC goes to school in Boston...so he is quite close), but we'd had such a pleasurable experience at Manchester last year that we decided that whenever possible, we'd fly out of "Manch-Vegas."
Check-in was a breeze, security was a breeze, and the plane boarded right on time. Another beauty of Manchester, is that from the moment you take your seat until the plane is actually in the air, is usually less than 7 minutes. Those planes take off exactly when they're supposed to. A little something my doctor perscribed helped make the flight go by quickly. Beyonce also helped. One of these days, I'm going to learn the "Single Ladies" choreography. (VBsHustla? UncleOrville? We should get on that!) We actually landed 25 minutes early which would have been outstanding except that because we were so early, there was no gate for us, so in the end, we only got off the plane about 5-10 minutes before we were supposed to.
I'm going to try to post some pics that DS took from the plane, but they're from Snapfish....let's see if they work....
http://images2c.snapfish.com/232323232fp53666>nu=3345>677>27;>WSNRCG=33334;98<:336nu0mrj
Guess not.
Can anyone help me get Snapfish pictures into posts here? I'm going to halt progress at this point until we can figure this out.

Keisha is my favorite on the show!

I'm loving your TR so far.

OMG! What a great upgrade.

I stayed at GF in Dec 2007 for 6 nights then we moved to ASM for just one night and that was a bad idea. It was during Mousefest and Pop Werner and all the rooms were sold out, so we were stuck.

I will be staying at GF for one night this December, then moving over to AKL. I just love GF during the holidays.

I can't wait to read more. What a way to start off your trip!

 

[splashmountainjaxson]

What an upgrade!!! I would have fainted on the spot!!! Can't wait to read more. You've got me hooked!

 

[kittyprincess]

Wait a minute....do I know you?

Who else would have a screenname like mine? Its Snickers and Chip's mom!

 

[Sweet Pea UK]

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!

saving really really hard for almost 3 years. We normally go every other year but we missed 2 years this time. Hoping it will be worth it. Can't wait to read more by the way!!

 

[Scott MC]

whoo hoo! It's like you won the disney lottery. I would have fainted, that is so awesome

I really felt that way. In my wildest dreams, I thought we might be upgraded to a lagoon view or (gasp!) a MK view in one of the outer lodges. I never dreamed that we'd end up in the main building, and with such a view! I think I actually prefer the lagoon view!

OMG - what an incredible upgrade! That deserves many dancing bananas!


Sorry to hear the CM wasn't as cheery about it, but maybe he was having a bad day. How you can have a bad day when it's your job to give people news like that is beyond me, but I digress.

Great TR so far, can't wait to read more!

Thanks for the bananas. I hate to be picky, but never fear, we had a big dance party (VBsHustla aren't the only ones!) after he left. Having the IHome in the room made random, unplanned dance parties easy. It also allowed us to listen to "Bibbidi Bobbidi Bach" or "Heigh Ho Mozart" as we drifted off to sleep each night.

Keisha is my favorite on the show!

I'm loving your TR so far.

OMG! What a great upgrade.

I stayed at GF in Dec 2007 for 6 nights then we moved to ASM for just one night and that was a bad idea. It was during Mousefest and Pop Werner and all the rooms were sold out, so we were stuck.

I will be staying at GF for one night this December, then moving over to AKL. I just love GF during the holidays.

I can't wait to read more. What a way to start off your trip!

Thanks for the kind words, and for getting my Keisha joke! It's my life's ambition to meat Joan and become BFFs with her.

Have fun at the GF in December, I'm so jealous....and AKL too? That's DPIC's dream resort....we'll be so jealous!

What an upgrade!!! I would have fainted on the spot!!! Can't wait to read more. You've got me hooked!

I almost did. Seriously.

Who else would have a screenname like mine? Its Snickers and Chip's mom!

I know...I know! Let me be funny! Geesh!
(KittyPrincess will be joining me on my 2010 trip...I should tell y'all the Kitty Princess story some time.)

saving really really hard for almost 3 years. We normally go every other year but we missed 2 years this time. Hoping it will be worth it. Can't wait to read more by the way!!

So jealous....sooooo soooooo jealous!

 

[Scott MC]

Ok, a brief update.

We were euphoric about our magical upgrade, and after a mini in-room dance party, we headed out to our first official event of the trip. We had a lunch booked at The Wave over at the Contemporary. I had been VERY excited to try this place because the entrance looked so cool, plus I plan on staying at the CR soon. Because I'm lazy, I'm going to just cut and paste the review that I wrote for Yelp.com, and follow it up with pictures.

** out of *****

We arrived here for our first official meal on a truly magical Disney trip. Only 30 minutes earlier, we'd been given the upgrade of the century at our resort, the Grand Floridian and I was so excited to try the new restaurant at the Contemporary, which was the resort we almost stayed at, and would like to stay at sometime soon.

Boy, I wanted to like this place, but I just didn't.

Let's start with the atmosphere. The entrance was awesome. So chic. Its chic-ness was only matched by the bar and bar area. In hindsight, we should have asked to eat in there. The actual dining room itself was boring. The walls were beige, there were dark wood beams and if I recall correctly, there were flashes of red, attempting an Asian feel. I'll rate that attempt as a fail.
The service was also mediocre at best. Our server was friendly enough, but she was pretty useless otherwise. We were on the Disney Dining Plan for the first time, and were admittedly a bit confused as to how it worked, but she didn't seem to know how it worked either. It took forever to get the bill settled. Speaking of taking forever, she disappeared a lot. This would have been acceptable, had there been more than 5 people in the restaurant.

Here's a heads-up to Disney Diners.....THERE ARE PLENTY OF TABLES AT THE WAVE! IF LE CELLIER DOESN'T WORK OUT FOR YA....HEAD OVER TO THE CONTEMPORARY.

Back to our server. She was pretty useless, but nice. I don't think there's much more to say.

For dinner, I had the Angus Chuck Bacon Cheeseburger on a multi-grain roll with roasted potato wedges The bread tasted like cardboard and my burger, which I had asked for medium, was cooked completely through and bordered dangerously on overcooked. Another fail. The potato wedges were exactly that. Not fries-cooked potatoes cut into wedges. Healthier than fries? Yes. What I was looking for? No.

The alcohol and dessert fared better. I had the Antioxidant Cocktail and it was delicious. The trio of sorbets for dessert were also wonderful and our server, noting that I enjoyed the tea I ordered, gave me several extra tea bags to return to my room with. That was appreciated.

I would actually like to try it here again and see if perhaps this lunch was a fluke. At the very least, I plan on drinking here again in the future.


Kinda harsh huh?
Here are some pictures of the food.

(The following is my meal and my drink)

I love the Fantasia Gift Shop!
(Though there wasn't much CR merchandise.)

 

[burly]

Great Trip Report so far, really enjoying it. And while i would rank the Poly as my number one destination, the upgrade at GF!
Great pics, thanks for sharing.

 

[UncleOrville]

I feel like in theory I should like the Wave - looks cool from the pics I've seen (though now I realize it is probably only the entrance and the bar that I've seen) and I like the idea of a healthier/ fancy menu, but nothing in particular jumps out at me from the menu. I think I'd end up with the same review you had - I want to/ should like it, but probably wouldn't. Maybe I'll just hit up the bar sometime instead!

 

[Scott MC]

Great Trip Report so far, really enjoying it. And while i would rank the Poly as my number one destination, the upgrade at GF!
Great pics, thanks for sharing.

Don't worry, the Polynesian is on my "To Do" list.

I feel like in theory I should like the Wave - looks cool from the pics I've seen (though now I realize it is probably only the entrance and the bar that I've seen) and I like the idea of a healthier/ fancy menu, but nothing in particular jumps out at me from the menu. I think I'd end up with the same review you had - I want to/ should like it, but probably wouldn't. Maybe I'll just hit up the bar sometime instead!

Yes, I really thought I would love it. I hesitate to say that it was the meal I was most looking forward to, and it ended up being the biggest dissapointment. Meh.
I'll see you at the bar!

 

[Scott MC]

BIG NEWS!

We interrupt this TR already in progress to make an official announcement.

Our 2010 Disney trip has been booked.

We have booked 2 (!) 2BR villas at Bay Lake Tower from August 15-21 for 9 adults in a Grand Gathering!

How magical!