missangelalexis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
Glad the delay in the sky wasn't for too long and you were able to land safely!
The GF is sooo beautiful!!
The GF is sooo beautiful!!
A Grand Birthday! TR June 2018 *UPDATED x2 8/1 Breakfast at GFC and Incredible Expo*
- Thread starter mindylee847
- Start date
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
I'm so excited that we both have returned to the boards!! Thank you for following along!
Oh yeah, I know! I've seen some of the items on Etsy and I've always been tempted but since my cat has asthma, I cant have smelly things at home anyways. I'll just stick with the real thing!
I can't wait to write the rest! I hope you enjoy!
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
Yeah! I was a bit freaked about going back up. That's never happened before to me so I just tried to focus really hard on HGTV.
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
This is going to be a bit of a picture heavy post... and I had mentioned that we'd get to our first meal of the trip, but I was wrong! I have too many room pictures to share with you all. But I promise, there will soon be food!
Day 1 - Part 2: The Room
After getting checked in, we made our way to our room located in Boca Chica. We had requested a king size bed and foam pillows - we got neither of those things. But we did also request to be on an "upper" floor. We got the second. I guess technically, that is upper! It actually worked out best for us as we didn't need to take the elevator then and could easily run up one flight of stairs to our room. We were right on the end of the hallway so we had an easy escape.
And, here are all the pictures of the room!
Even the lights were pretty!
This couch was actually a bit dirty looking, so we just chose not to sit on it or bother with it the whole weekend. It didn't look very comfortable anyways.
We did receive a letter letting us know to reach out if there was anything we needed.
And most importantly... the view from our room. We were directly looking at the back of the pool bar, but here is what we saw if we turned our heads left or right!
Mike admiring our new digs.
Next up, I'll take you on over to Gasparilla Grill for our first meal of the trip!
After getting checked in, we made our way to our room located in Boca Chica. We had requested a king size bed and foam pillows - we got neither of those things. But we did also request to be on an "upper" floor. We got the second. I guess technically, that is upper! It actually worked out best for us as we didn't need to take the elevator then and could easily run up one flight of stairs to our room. We were right on the end of the hallway so we had an easy escape.
And, here are all the pictures of the room!
Even the lights were pretty!
This couch was actually a bit dirty looking, so we just chose not to sit on it or bother with it the whole weekend. It didn't look very comfortable anyways.
We did receive a letter letting us know to reach out if there was anything we needed.
And most importantly... the view from our room. We were directly looking at the back of the pool bar, but here is what we saw if we turned our heads left or right!
Mike admiring our new digs.
Next up, I'll take you on over to Gasparilla Grill for our first meal of the trip!
missangelalexis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
Your room looks really nice!!
disneyguy4life
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2015
I remember staying at Port Orleans Riverside and requested a room in a certain building, bed, and location in the building. They gave me the building I wanted but that was it. I feel your pain. Still, it is The Grand and it is awesome!! The room looks fantastic. I am very Jealous!!
A man truly content with his surroundings. That is awesome!! I like his style.
jchurch0409
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2014
Following!
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
Day 1 - Part 3: Gasparilla Island Grill
Sorry that I'm not coming up with any great titles! Some people are so creative when it comes to that but I don't really have it in me since I'm back at studying for the CPA and it's pretty busy at work. Please forgive me.
Next, we were FINALLY headed for some food! I always think that I should just eat at the airport because I get mighty hangry by the time I finally arrive at Disney World. On the way to Gasparilla, we started to count/spot lizards. There were so many at The Grand. Mike usually won at this game since he's much more observant than me.
The Grand is just so gorgeous. Even their trash cans are pretty!
We got over to the Gasparilla Island Grill, but we did have to weave our way around a lot of landscapers. There was quite some heavy duty equipment out there. It was all gone in the early mornings and at night while we were there but I'm assuming that keeping this place so pretty takes a lot of work.
I was so excited to eat here because this is one of the only places on property that has a dedicated vegan menu. The other place I know of is at Blizzard Beach. There is always at least one vegetarian item on every menu now in Disney, but it's still kind of difficult eating vegan. Staying somewhere I knew I'd have a few actual choices - CHOICES, GUYS! - really got me hyped. Here is the menu for breakfast and lunch/dinner.
We ordered at the grill and received a number to take to our table. It took maybe, 10 minutes or so for us to get our food. We ended up sitting in a back booth right outside the arcade though. A few booths were closed for renovations and it seemed a lot of people just liked to sit and enjoy the AC and their sodas here so space was limited.
Mike ordered the "Beefless Burger with French Fries" which was actually the Beyond Meat burger. There are a few vegan patties available around Disney World - Beyond Meat, Impossible, and the Malibu veggie.
He enjoyed this but we usually cook Beyond Meat ourselves at home on the grill. He definitely cooks them better but it was nice that it wasn't charred to a crisp like a lot of veg patties end up being. (I believe the fries are from a shared fryer if anyone is wondering.)
I ordered the Vegan Chicken Sandwich. For some reason they forgot to put the vegan cheese on my sandwich but I didn't really miss it. I never really liked dairy before anyways so things that mimic the taste doesn't matter to me. I'm pretty badly lactose intolerant. This did also come with a raspberry mustard sauce.
I did enjoy this. The chicken was a Gardein chicken scallopini "breast" which I've had a few times before in Disney and at home. The raspberry mustard was unusual and not something I would personally go out of my way for, but I didn't mind it.
Coming up, it is finally time to RELAX and head to Senses Spa!
Sorry that I'm not coming up with any great titles! Some people are so creative when it comes to that but I don't really have it in me since I'm back at studying for the CPA and it's pretty busy at work. Please forgive me.
Next, we were FINALLY headed for some food! I always think that I should just eat at the airport because I get mighty hangry by the time I finally arrive at Disney World. On the way to Gasparilla, we started to count/spot lizards. There were so many at The Grand. Mike usually won at this game since he's much more observant than me.
The Grand is just so gorgeous. Even their trash cans are pretty!
We got over to the Gasparilla Island Grill, but we did have to weave our way around a lot of landscapers. There was quite some heavy duty equipment out there. It was all gone in the early mornings and at night while we were there but I'm assuming that keeping this place so pretty takes a lot of work.
I was so excited to eat here because this is one of the only places on property that has a dedicated vegan menu. The other place I know of is at Blizzard Beach. There is always at least one vegetarian item on every menu now in Disney, but it's still kind of difficult eating vegan. Staying somewhere I knew I'd have a few actual choices - CHOICES, GUYS! - really got me hyped. Here is the menu for breakfast and lunch/dinner.
We ordered at the grill and received a number to take to our table. It took maybe, 10 minutes or so for us to get our food. We ended up sitting in a back booth right outside the arcade though. A few booths were closed for renovations and it seemed a lot of people just liked to sit and enjoy the AC and their sodas here so space was limited.
Mike ordered the "Beefless Burger with French Fries" which was actually the Beyond Meat burger. There are a few vegan patties available around Disney World - Beyond Meat, Impossible, and the Malibu veggie.
He enjoyed this but we usually cook Beyond Meat ourselves at home on the grill. He definitely cooks them better but it was nice that it wasn't charred to a crisp like a lot of veg patties end up being. (I believe the fries are from a shared fryer if anyone is wondering.)
I ordered the Vegan Chicken Sandwich. For some reason they forgot to put the vegan cheese on my sandwich but I didn't really miss it. I never really liked dairy before anyways so things that mimic the taste doesn't matter to me. I'm pretty badly lactose intolerant. This did also come with a raspberry mustard sauce.
I did enjoy this. The chicken was a Gardein chicken scallopini "breast" which I've had a few times before in Disney and at home. The raspberry mustard was unusual and not something I would personally go out of my way for, but I didn't mind it.
Coming up, it is finally time to RELAX and head to Senses Spa!
bluejasmine
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
Loving it so far!
missangelalexis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
Glad you were able to go to a place that served several options for you to choose from!
disneyguy4life
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2015
DAAAAANG! Those are nice! I'm just going to say it... if I could find reproduction WDW or Disneyland garbage cans on Etsy or something... I WOULD BUY IT!! If you can't tell I am enjoying Etsy a little too much lately.
I agree, there has to be so much work that goes into it. But if I worked in the greens department anywhere it would be WDW or DLR.
I would love to have a nice long vacation there. So long that drinking a soda and enjoying the AC wouldn't interrupt my overall time in the parks. If wishes could be fishes.
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
Thank you, bluejasmine!
Yes!! It's so weird when I actually have a choice, haha. I pretty much take what I can get!
So I believe they still have them, but there are ornaments and salt/pepper shakers that are replicas of the trash cans! I really want to buy them all but haven't splurged for any of them yet. But also, I bought some trash can highlighters this trip!! I'll have to take a pic when I get home and share it with you.
disneyguy4life
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2015
Yeah! you do! Trish really wants all the ornaments to hang on our tree. We only have the one from small world. Our Christmas tree already has a ton of Disney ornaments. I blame the Disney Store.
oceanmarina
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2004
Joining in here! Great pictures! We only stayed at GF once, back in 2007, we also stayed in Boca Chica. Loved being close to the quiet pool. (But you guys had a better view.) Yes I agree that couch looks like it has seen better days 
Looking forward to reading more
Looking forward to reading more
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
Hey, readers. So sorry for the delay in another post. I began restudying for my Audit exam as I failed by a few points. 
We also put down our family cat of 19 years old this morning so that has taken a lot out of me emotionally on top of being busy with studying and working. I'll be working on another post right now for you guys, but it will be pretty word heavy as I didn't take a lot of pictures when we went to the spa.
We also put down our family cat of 19 years old this morning so that has taken a lot out of me emotionally on top of being busy with studying and working. I'll be working on another post right now for you guys, but it will be pretty word heavy as I didn't take a lot of pictures when we went to the spa.
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
Joining in here! Great pictures! We only stayed at GF once, back in 2007, we also stayed in Boca Chica. Loved being close to the quiet pool. (But you guys had a better view.) Yes I agree that couch looks like it has seen better days
Looking forward to reading more
Thank you for following along! The Grand was really such a dream... which is whyyy I kind of upgraded our stay in October to The Grand.
mindylee847
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
Day 1 - Part 4: A Relaxing Afternoon at The Grand
After having our lunch at Gasparilla, we decided to wander for a bit before heading to Senses Spa for our couple's massage.
I couldn't believe the views when you walk around this resort. It truly is such a magical place.
We found the memorial for Lane Graves and just took a moment there to think of him and his family.
We made our way back over to the lobby and they still had some of the chocolate eggs on display from Easter.
Around 1:15, we made our way back towards Senses Spa to check in for our 2 PM massage. I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures here. I really wanted to focus on unplugging and relaxing.
When we checked in, we were both taken to separate lounges - one for women and one for men. I was shown around and were told that we would have access to this area for the full day until they closed at 6 PM. We could have gone earlier to enjoy the area as well.
In the women's lounge there is a sitting area, locker room, shower area, and wet room that has a sauna and a hot tub. (You must bring your bathing suit if you want to use the hot tub.) We were provided robes and sandals. The locker was very easy to use. You created your own key code and it was electronic. I changed and wanted to take a shower before getting the massage but both stalls were taken and I didn't have more than maybe 10 minutes or so before I would have been called back.
They had a snack bar that had pretzels, trail mix, and some granola bars. There were also some cupcakes. I believe the only vegan option was the pretzels. They also had some fruit infused water so I took a cup of that. The flavor that day was orange and it tasted more like orange peel than actual orange.
I was called in timely and met back up with Mike in the massage room. We chose the option to use lavender oil for an additional charge. It's one of our favorite scents and I find it so relaxing. The massage itself was fantastic. It went far too quickly so next time I think I'll get the 80 minute instead of the 50. (Not sure when the next time will be, but I can dream!)
Afterwards we were offered an adult beverage and a piece of chocolate. I passed on the chocolate but chose to order champagne that I was able to enjoy back in the sitting area of the women's lounge. It was kind of weird not being able to actually be with Mike for that part as we had chosen the couple's experience but I guess at Saratoga's Spa, the lounges are connected so that's something to keep in mind.
Afterwards, we had some time before our dinner at Victoria and Albert's so we made our way over to the pool for another drink and a snack.
I chose to get the coco-jito. I'm not really a big fan of coconut things but I find I order a LOT of coconut. It's like I forget I don't like it and then taste it and think it's gross.
No food was served over at the quiet pool so Mike made his way over to Gasparilla to order us the vegan tomato basil flatbread.
This was very tasty and definitely something I would order again.
We enjoyed our time at the pool for about two hours until it was time to start getting ready to go to Victoria and Albert's for dinner that night.
After having our lunch at Gasparilla, we decided to wander for a bit before heading to Senses Spa for our couple's massage.
I couldn't believe the views when you walk around this resort. It truly is such a magical place.
We found the memorial for Lane Graves and just took a moment there to think of him and his family.
We made our way back over to the lobby and they still had some of the chocolate eggs on display from Easter.
Around 1:15, we made our way back towards Senses Spa to check in for our 2 PM massage. I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures here. I really wanted to focus on unplugging and relaxing.
When we checked in, we were both taken to separate lounges - one for women and one for men. I was shown around and were told that we would have access to this area for the full day until they closed at 6 PM. We could have gone earlier to enjoy the area as well.
In the women's lounge there is a sitting area, locker room, shower area, and wet room that has a sauna and a hot tub. (You must bring your bathing suit if you want to use the hot tub.) We were provided robes and sandals. The locker was very easy to use. You created your own key code and it was electronic. I changed and wanted to take a shower before getting the massage but both stalls were taken and I didn't have more than maybe 10 minutes or so before I would have been called back.
They had a snack bar that had pretzels, trail mix, and some granola bars. There were also some cupcakes. I believe the only vegan option was the pretzels. They also had some fruit infused water so I took a cup of that. The flavor that day was orange and it tasted more like orange peel than actual orange.
I was called in timely and met back up with Mike in the massage room. We chose the option to use lavender oil for an additional charge. It's one of our favorite scents and I find it so relaxing. The massage itself was fantastic. It went far too quickly so next time I think I'll get the 80 minute instead of the 50. (Not sure when the next time will be, but I can dream!)
Afterwards we were offered an adult beverage and a piece of chocolate. I passed on the chocolate but chose to order champagne that I was able to enjoy back in the sitting area of the women's lounge. It was kind of weird not being able to actually be with Mike for that part as we had chosen the couple's experience but I guess at Saratoga's Spa, the lounges are connected so that's something to keep in mind.
Afterwards, we had some time before our dinner at Victoria and Albert's so we made our way over to the pool for another drink and a snack.
I chose to get the coco-jito. I'm not really a big fan of coconut things but I find I order a LOT of coconut. It's like I forget I don't like it and then taste it and think it's gross.
No food was served over at the quiet pool so Mike made his way over to Gasparilla to order us the vegan tomato basil flatbread.
This was very tasty and definitely something I would order again.
We enjoyed our time at the pool for about two hours until it was time to start getting ready to go to Victoria and Albert's for dinner that night.
oceanmarina
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2004
Great update! The coco-jito looks cute - if you want a drink that has a hint of coconut but doesn't have an overpowering coconut flavor - try the Malibu Baybreeze (it's a splash of Malibu coconut rum, cranberry and pineapple juice , it's amazing.)
The flatbread looked yummy - my favorite flatbreads used to be over at Roaring Forks, the quick service at WL, but after they refurbished it, they changed the flatbreads and they were not the same
. It was a case of so not broken, why try to fix it!
Looking forward to hearing about Victoria & Alberts!
The flatbread looked yummy - my favorite flatbreads used to be over at Roaring Forks, the quick service at WL, but after they refurbished it, they changed the flatbreads and they were not the same
. It was a case of so not broken, why try to fix it!Looking forward to hearing about Victoria & Alberts!
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