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It's embarrassing how long it's been since my last post, Disney World Part 1! My office job and mommy job take up a lot of time. Well that, and Pinterest, TV, books, and all the other things.
Beautifully manicured grounds of Disney's Grand Floridian
When I last left off, we were arriving at Disney's Grand Floridian. While researching this trip, my criteria for a Disney hotel were: 1) Close to Magic Kingdom. 2) On the monorail line 3) Upscale. I knew Disney wasn't going to be a yearly thing for us, so I wanted to really live it up. We also only stayed 3 nights, so I felt like splurging for those few nights was worth it. I really wanted us to all to have a wonderful Disney experience, and for Mom and Dad, sometimes those extra details at an upscale hotel can really make the difference. I was considering both the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian, which both fit my criteria and have great reviews. I finally decided on the Grand Floridian because of it's "Victorian elegance meets modern sophistication" style, the Alice and Wonderland-themed splash pad/pool area, and Alice-themed kids' afternoon tea. I kid you not - I picked a resort based on Alice and Wonderland.
I was very happy with the Grand Floridian, and so was our family. I think I speak for my entire family when I say we'd stay there again a heart beat. The hotel - with its grandeur and Southern charm - was right up our alley. I loved the details which added to our trip - from the great staff, to the Alice and Wonderland Tea (more on that later) and the live jazz orchestra playing after dinner. My girls loved this! These guys had a very intrigued audience in us. Speaking of the staff - I will note that our first night there, we had the loudest, worst neighbors EVER who kept my husband and I up all night. (I mean, whose 10-year old wakes up in the middle of the night just to have a tantrum?!) My husband even walked down to the front desk in the middle of the night to complain and they said they would contact us first thing in the morning to see about switching rooms. They called around 8:30 AM, and I told them that unless our neighbors were checking out that day, we did indeed need a new, much quieter room. They advised us to switch, and the bell boy was there within minutes to whisk us to another building entirely where we remained for the rest of our stay. And for the record, it was very quiet.
Back to check-in day. When we arrived early that Friday early, I discovered we only had 3-day park passes, and thus wouldn't be able to go to Magic Kingdom that day unless we bought an extra day pass. (We already had plans to hit the park Saturday-Monday and FastPasses reserved on Monday, including Elsa and Anna). The extra pass for a day would have been a significant additional expense for our family of four, and considering it was already afternoon, we decided to forgo them in favor of hanging around the hotel and hitting downtown Disney later. So, speaking of Alice and Wonderland, we immediately went to our room and changed into our swimsuits to hit the pool.
Here is where my one complaint with Disney lies. After changing the family into suits and heading down to the pool, we were there about 20-30 minutes before some clouds and light rain rolled in, and they promptly closed the pool. I never saw any lightening, and the weather moved through pretty quickly, yet the pool remained closed. I understand they were being cautious, but I don't see the harm in swimming in light rain if there's no lightening. And certainly closing the entire pool area seemed an overreaction to me. Sooo....after spending 30 minutes at the pool, we headed back to the room to get dressed for a night out at Downtown Disney.
After the kids' very brief swim at the Grand Floridian
Downtown Disney is exactly what it sounds like - a downtown-like shopping, dining and entertainment district which, just like everything else in town - is owned by Disney. You can even pay for goods and dining here with your Disney MagicBands. My daughters enjoyed shopping in LittleMissMatched, which is sort of like Justice but cooler and not as tacky, and I bought a beautiful blown glass ornament at the Christmas store. Since we didn't have dining reservations this night, we just strolled and shopped along downtown until we came to a restaurant that didn't appear too busy. We ended up at Bongo's Cuban Cafe, which I thought was great! And, by the way, Disney is a dream for picky eaters. I was worried about my #1 R, who is the pickiest of eaters, but thankfully she found macaroni and cheese at almost every restaurant.
Even though mac & cheese is not technically on the menu at Bongo's, you can get it. :)
The good eater at Bongo's
Many tasty options can be found in Downtown Disney
While at Disney, we also dined at 'Ohana, Disney's Hawaiian-themed restaurant located at the Polynesian Resort. I absolutely recommend making reservations at 'Ohana. I made ours as soon as I booked the vacation, for the Sunday evening we were there. And even though we had a reservation, we still had to wait. Here, servers bring around skewers and serve chicken and shrimp, as well as a few different sides. (And rest assured even though kid-friendly food may not seem available, it always is. Just ask!) There were kid games, good food, and a wonderful time was had by all.
Other than dining at Cinderella's Royal Table, I hadn't planned any other character dining experiences while at Magic Kingdom. As I mentioned in my first Disney post, I wanted to have a little freedom during the day. But, thanks to the new Disney app, you can secure dining reservations just minutes before you're ready to eat. My little one (barely 4 at the time), would start to get whiny each day between 11:00-12:00 pm. The good eater, she's very motivated by food. I would simply search on the app for a restaurant with an upcoming available time slot, and off we'd go. That's how we ended up dining at Magic Kingdom's Crystal Palace, which unknown to me at the time -is where you can have a character experience with the Winnie the Pooh characters. So, we got to visit with each of them and get their signatures, which a nice surprise. After resting and visiting with these guys, we were ready to hit the streets of Magic Kingdom again! And just an note about securing those last-minute dining reservations - even if the available dining reservations seem too far in the future, oftentimes the restaurant will take you when you arrive. In once instance, we were sat immediately when our reservation was 45 minutes later, over someone who had been waiting outside with no reservation.
Lunch with Pooh and the gang at Crystal Palace
Our 3.5 days at Magic Kingdom were fun and surprisingly low stress. I feel like we must have ridden every ride and seen almost every character, except maybe one or two. (A recap of rides I feel are important enough to pull FastPasses for can be found in my last blog post, here). On Saturday evening after dining at Cinderella's Royal Table, we stayed for the Main Street Electrical Parade and the fireworks show. People start jockeying for position in front of the castle early, so make friends with people nearby, so they'll save your spots while you hit the bathroom or take turns finishing up rides. This event is not to be missed at Magic Kingdom!
Main Street Electrical Parade
Alice makes her appearance at the Main Street Electrical Parade
One more thing I definitely want to mention is the Wonderland Tea Party at the Grand Floridian resort. I am so lucky a friend and Disney veteran turned me onto this fun event! The tea party is held at the 1900 Park Fare restaurant each afternoon, and is considered a character event. And it's a DROP-OFF event. Yes, you can drop off your lovely children for an hour and go have mommy and daddy time (albeit short that it is). My husband and I simply went to the pool bar and had an hour of quiet while the girls made crafts with Alice and the gang. As of now, you cannot book this online; you have to call. The girls had a wonderful time, and it capped off a great 3.5 days at Disney for us.
As previously mentioned, after our Disney escapades came to a close late Monday afternoon, we rented a car to drive to the Clearwater beach. A quick search prior to the trip showed that the closest Enterprise Rent-A Car was on-site at the B Resort and Spa (also a Disney property). I booked the car prior to arrival, so that everything would be seamless. Because Enterprise picks you up, we simply called when we were ready to depart, and they brought us to their site for paperwork. I do want to mention briefly that the B Resort wasn't even open yet at the time, yet the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. The hotel is very trendy and modern in a fun way. And, my co-worker told me she just snagged a great deal on this property for October 2015. So, check it out if you're looking for a budget-friendly Disney room!
And then...we were on our way to Clearwater Beach! My girls were so tired, they fell asleep in the car in their cute Disney shirts made by my Mom (Mimi's Bebes). Clearwater is so neat- I think I'll save that for a 3rd post.
