Aren't Graduations Grand! - May 2015 TR (New 10/30 - MK and California Grill)

[SimplyGoofy]

Relaxing in Grand Style
Day 6 – Part VI

We enjoyed our walk from Narcoossee’s back to the main building and I caught a few details along the way:

Isn’t the fountain pretty? I love when things are lit up at night!

The back of the Grand Floridian’s main building looked very pretty with all the lights:

I also loved the view of the side door. I love that Disney even brands their trash cans with the resort logo!

Even though this is Anika’s favorite resort, I do also love the Grand Floridian lobby. It’s so pretty!

The elevator is quite neat, as well:

I’m also a big fan of the grand staircase:

It’s certainly fitting for this resort!

We sat in the lobby for almost an hour so we were able to enjoy plenty of great music from the lobby. First we enjoyed the pianist:

And then some very snappy songs from the band!

It’s so nice to listen to good live music!

We really enjoyed relaxing in the splendor of the Grand Floridian:

Anika and I made sure to get some pictures to commemorate this portion of our trip:

Doesn’t Anika look so happy to be there?!

(And don’t I look much happier full of meds?)

Here are a final few pictures, such as the furniture grouping where we sat during our time in lobby (we were on the couch on the far left):

And this stunning skylight:

We had a full day ahead of us so we headed out a bit before 10:00.

On the way back to our room, I took a few more pictures of the interior of the Sago Cay building, including these two seating areas:

And another picture showcasing the multiple levels of the building:

Alas, it was our last night in room 5426. Other than this pesky illness (which wasn’t your fault, room!), you’ve been wonderful!

While Anika and Wade sat on the patio, I captured our turned down beds:

Anika and Wade got ready to turn in for the night, but the lure of Wishes was just too strong for me! It was hard to turn down seeing it again when it was just outside our door! I ran down to see the show and enjoyed every minute of it. (I’m especially glad I saw Wishes so many times on this trip now that it’s gone! )

I hurried back to the room post-Wishes and quickly got ready for bed. It had been a rough day and I hoped the next day would be better! Hopefully we would get a nice dusting of pixie dust… we need a good dose of it for Anika’s birthday!



Up Next: Magic Kingdom and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANIKA!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Happy birthday to your daughter! She’s adorable and the party looked great!

Glad you were feeling well enough to enjoy some pool time. Dinner at Narcoossee’s looked amazing- that’s on my list to try one day!

 

[Tracy161]

Hopefully she crossed paths with someone that was more her cup of tea.

unbelievably, our daughter is already a year old!

Wow! Happy birthday to her!

After such a cruddy morning and afternoon, it was fun to temporarily forget about my illness and just soak up the fun of the resort!

I'm so glad you were able to turn the day around at the pool. It's been years since I've made time for my resort pool - actually, I think the last time was this trip when we met! I'm so much a rope drop to park close kind of park person... I really need to slow down and enjoy other things sometimes I see what I'm missing!

A nearly perfect Magic Kingdom view and right next to the window! Wow!

(Perhaps my clogged sinuses were to my advantage tonight!)

A very small silver lining

I ordered a dessert as well, Narcoosse’s Candy Bar, which is a dark chocolate mocha bar with house-made chocolate gelato:

Oooooh this looks so yummy! Totally something I would have ordered.

We had a very nice (but not too friendly! ) server and a wonderful experience.

The perfect kind

Isn’t the fountain pretty? I love when things are lit up at night!

Yes! I think Disney is so pretty at night

And then some very snappy songs from the band!

What a fabulous way to end the evening. Also... can you imagine if THAT was your job?! Playing at the Grand Flo every night? Too bad I don't have any musical talent

Excited to hear more about your trip. And hopefully you felt better and better with every passing minute!

 

[pkondz]

I didn't even like good pizza! I certainly like it now, though! (That's a good thing, as my husband's family gets together every Sunday night for pizza. I would have many hungry evenings if I didn't eat pizza!)

Nah. It just would've been stops for a burger either before or after dinner.

Trust me. I have experience with this.

The most important part of any meal... dessert!

Actually, for a few years... me! For some reason I stopped enjoying donuts (not flaky pastries, but pretty much any kind of donut).

And you're from Earth, yes?

I love all the Disney parks at night (well, all but AK which I haven't seen in the dark, but maybe someday!).

Pandora at night is sooooo cool!

I think World Showcase has an extra level of beauty with all the architecture and the lagoon.

I couldn't believe it when I woke up and realized my nose was stuffy! I was so bugged!

Calories don't count at Disney and you shouldn't get sick there, either.

I would hope if they thought I was close to death they would've at least recommended an Emergency Room instead!

You'd hope!!

Yes, I'm fine! I was born with a congenital heart condition called tetralogy of Fallot, which is a combination of different heart abnormalities. I had my first open hear surgery as a baby to correct most of the issues and have had four subsequent surgeries to put in and then replace my pulmonary valve. I have to be monitored by a cardiologist and will require future procedures to replace the valve, but it doesn't tend to disrupt my life too much. I don't run any marathons, but there are plenty of healthy folks who don't do that either!

So you and I are exactly the same.




I don't run marathons either.





Seriously, I had no idea and am glad you are getting the care you need.

I do have a tough time in hot, humid weather... so lucky me that one of my favorite places is Disney World in central Florida!

I'll see if they can move it to a more pleasant climate. Perhaps move it north for the summers and south for the winters.

Thankfully the attractions and restaurants pipe in so much A/C that I can make it work!

I absolutely understand why they had to put in the extra barriers (as people are terrible at reading signs), but I really liked the look of the open water.

Agreed.

I was just trying to do what was requested! Had I known what would happen I would've not said anything!

It was SO STRANGE. If I'd taken the cough syrup with codeine I would've thought I was hallucinating from the med!

Now that would've been fun.

 

[pkondz]

unbelievably, our daughter is already a year old! Where on earth did a year go?!

I'm sorry. You're mistaken. It's not possible.

Wow! 1 year already??? Happy birthday to little M!

Wonderful shot of you guys!

Very nice setting. I especially like the photos on the wall.

I also baked WAY TO MANY DESSERTS for a gathering of eleven people!

No. No you didn't bake too many. No such thing. Trust me on this.

This picture is simply... perfect.

We managed to visit on one of the hottest summer days thus far... lucky us!

Of course you did.

Since I was last there they've created two trails, the African Grasslands trail and the Asian Highlands trail. I'm sure you can all think of another place with similar trails!

Nope. Doesn't ring a bell

 

[pkondz]

We’d looked at the M. Mouse Mercantile,

It's okay. While I understand using just "M" for your DD, you can say Mickey here. People know him.

Summer Lace has a selection of ladies apparel and accessories,

Not Formula 1, Nascar or Indy car paraphernalia?

Oh! Lace! You said Lace! Thought I saw "Race"... Yeah, that makes sense, then.

This was the first place Anika saw a Disney-themed Vera Bradley wallet clutch that she really liked. She talked herself out of buying it as it was a bit spendy (I think $50-60?), but someone else may have bought it for her later in the trip… (Hey, it was a great investment! She used it in college until it fell apart and I loved her having something that reminded her of our fun trip!)

Very nice of you.

and take one of the sea racers for a spin on the Seven Seas Lagoon.

I'd like to do that. They look fun. Would be fun to explore a bit, too.

I didn’t let the fact that breathing was difficult stop me – I was going to enjoy that waterslide!

You go (sick) girl!

After such a cruddy morning and afternoon, it was fun to temporarily forget about my illness and just soak up the fun of the resort!

There was also an area of covered tables right behind Beaches. It would be a nice place to grab lunch if you had a pool day!

That looks very inviting. Nice place to sit and nosh.

We didn't try it out as we had no little kids along, but the Alice in Wonderland themed water play area looked really cool!

The use of the hat is so clever! Love that!

Wade’s friends were very impressed when they asked where he was staying and he answered with the Grand Floridian. It made us sound a lot more impressive than we are!

Yes. Yes it does make you sound very hoity toity.

And good for you!

 

[pkondz]

Boy, were we getting spoiled by simply walking to all these meals! It would be a rude awakening when we switched resorts the next day!

We checked in about ten minutes early and then waited on the balcony for our name to be called. It was lovely to stand by the water with such a great view!

What a pretty spot to wait at!

I don’t know if it was because I’d included Anika’s birthday on the reservation, because we were staying at the resort, or just because of great luck, but this was the view from our table:

Great view!

While I enjoyed my cocktail, Anika and Wade dove into the bread basket:

mmm... bread...

Wade was especially excited with the bread basket. He loves anything that’s a vehicle for more butter!

Wade is smart.

Man, those both look so good!

It was soon onto our favorite part of a meal… dessert!

Final Thoughts – Narcoossee’s
My goodness, what a great dinner!

I'd love to eat there. It's been on my list for quite some time, but haven't had the chance yet.

We had a very nice (but not too friendly! ) server

 

[pkondz]

Isn’t the fountain pretty? I love when things are lit up at night!

I do also love the Grand Floridian lobby. It’s so pretty!

Yes it definitely is. I love just sitting (like you did) and listening to the music. Great place to pause and relax.

Doesn’t Anika look so happy to be there?!

She does!

(And don’t I look much happier full of meds?)

You both look very nice and very happy.

And this stunning skylight:

Stunning... Now there's a good word.

the lure of Wishes was just too strong for me! It was hard to turn down seeing it again when it was just outside our door!

Kinda hard to resist!

(I’m especially glad I saw Wishes so many times on this trip now that it’s gone! )

Yeah... Wish they hadn't done that. Ah well.

 

[cindianne320]

Happy Birthday to your sweet M!

What a fun night at the Grand! It looked like you all had a great time, just enjoying the ambiance!

 

[ashw100]

I’m so sorry you weren’t feeling 100% but that you at least got to enjoy some of the resort. Your dinner and evening in the lobby sounded wonderful. I hope your rest allowed you to enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[afwdwfan]

I think I've found the one person in the world who likes sprinkles more than DD.

It looks like a lovely birthday party and you can never have too many desserts. I like the weekly picture thing you did for her. We did monthly but never thought to do weekly.

I wouldn't worry too much about making anyone sick by swimming. Like you said there's lots of chlorine and they'd be more likely to catch it by touching a door handle or something like that. Looks like you had a perfect dinner with a view!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Happy birthday to your daughter! She’s adorable and the party looked great!

Thank you, Courtney! The party was so much fun - there was enough whimsey and décor that it was great for a child's birthday but no so much that it drove the party organizer (me) crazy!

Glad you were feeling well enough to enjoy some pool time. Dinner at Narcoossee’s looked amazing- that’s on my list to try one day!

The fun at the pool made me temporarily forget about how crummy I felt, which was nice.

I was so impressed with Narcoossee's! I chose it for it's location (and because I'd always wanted to try it myself), but it surpassed my expectations. We had the extra perks of the great table and the birthday cheesecake, but it was an overall excellent experience. I'd love to go there again!

Wow! Happy birthday to her!

Thank you, Tracy! I can't believe she's already a year old (and at this point, nearly 14-months old!).

I'm so glad you were able to turn the day around at the pool. It's been years since I've made time for my resort pool - actually, I think the last time was this trip when we met! I'm so much a rope drop to park close kind of park person... I really need to slow down and enjoy other things sometimes I see what I'm missing!

I've gotten better at it the more I've gone to Disney World. My MO for my 2016 trip became going to the park early, taking an afternoon break at the pool, and going to dinner and back to the park in the evening. I really enjoyed the pace of that trip as I experienced plenty of park time but had some lovely downtime as well!

I couldn't believe our view - the table was perfect! We felt like high rollers at the Grand Floridian.

My mom and I were seated on the upper level the following year, which wasn't nearly as impressive a spot (although our experience was just as good!).

A very small silver lining

Absolutely! You have to look for them anywhere you can.

Oooooh this looks so yummy! Totally something I would have ordered.

It was DELICIOUS but so rich! I needed my husband around to help me finish it (never mind the fact that I hadn't met him yet! )

The perfect kind

Indeed.

Yes! I think Disney is so pretty at night

It truly is! Sometimes I think I like the parks and resorts better at night than during the day!

What a fabulous way to end the evening. Also... can you imagine if THAT was your job?! Playing at the Grand Flo every night? Too bad I don't have any musical talent

I know! It would be such a fun job! (And don't worry about your lack of musical talent - I'm sure you have many other talents!)

Excited to hear more about your trip. And hopefully you felt better and better with every passing minute!

More will be coming in a day or two (it's been a busy summer!).

I managed to muscle through the next few park days and finally felt much better by the end of the weekend. Thankfully since it was my sinuses rather than my stomach it was possible to take some Mucinex and bring some Kleenex and make it work. I was happy when it finally cleared up, though!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Nah. It just would've been stops for a burger either before or after dinner.

Trust me. I have experience with this.

That's probably true. Still, it makes it easier that I now enjoy pizza!

And you're from Earth, yes?

I believe so! Yes, I didn't understand it either, but it allowed me to move my calories for other important things... like cake.

Pandora at night is sooooo cool!

It certainly looks amazing in pictures! I hope to see it one day!

Calories don't count at Disney and you shouldn't get sick there, either.

True and true.

I think it's so much easier to get sick at Disney as you're exposed to so many things, plus you're doing so much more activity and probably not getting as much rest.

So you and I are exactly the same.

I don't run marathons either.

Seriously, I had no idea and am glad you are getting the care you need.

Thank you! I'm very thankful that with a few minor modifications I can do anything I'd like to do.

I'm also thankful that the "don't ride this attraction if you have a heart condition" notices didn't deter my parents from allowing me to try things - I can't imagine my life without roller coasters and thrill rides! They checked in frequently to make sure experiences didn't bother me or make me feel bad, but they figured as long as I felt okay the experience was probably fine. Now being a parent myself I'm impressed that they were able to allow me that freedom! I think it did a lot to make me a well-adjusted kid (and adult). My parents are amazing!

I'll see if they can move it to a more pleasant climate. Perhaps move it north for the summers and south for the winters.

Now that would be great! And not expensive at all!

I'm sorry. You're mistaken. It's not possible.

Wow! 1 year already??? Happy birthday to little M!

I know! I couldn't believe how fast the first year went!

Thank you for the birthday wishes!

Wonderful shot of you guys!

Thank you! We don't take nearly enough family photos (especially out of selfie-mode) so it's great to get a good one.

Very nice setting. I especially like the photos on the wall.

Thank you! It was fun to show her growth through the year with those weekly photographs. There were weeks where I was cursing my decision to do those weekly photographs (especially when she started to roll over!), but now I'm thrilled to have them.

I liked that the rest of the décor was fun and festive and colorful, but was easy to pull together. A win-win!

No. No you didn't bake too many. No such thing. Trust me on this.

Thankfully I sent everyone home with pieces of cake, sent some of the cake ball pops with Anika, and we enjoyed the cookies for the next month (hooray for the freezer!). I was thrilled that nothing went to waste. Plus, it was all very tasty!

This picture is simply... perfect.

Thank you! I was thrilled how many great pictures we captured that day.

Of course you did.

It figures doesn't it? Still, we made the best of it and had a great day!

Nope. Doesn't ring a bell

I think you need to put in more time at Animal Kingdom.

Seriously, though, I was quite impressed!

It's okay. While I understand using just "M" for your DD, you can say Mickey here. People know him.

Duly noted.

Not Formula 1, Nascar or Indy car paraphernalia?

Oh! Lace! You said Lace! Thought I saw "Race"... Yeah, that makes sense, then.

Very nice of you.

It was a great souvenir choice for her - every time she looked at it in the next few years she could be reminded of our fun trip! It was also a very useful souvenir so I felt it was a good choice.

I'd like to do that. They look fun. Would be fun to explore a bit, too.

Absolutely! If I ever get a chance to stay in the MK area again I'd love to give them a try.

You go (sick) girl!

The waterslide was so fun! I'm so glad I tried it and I'd love to try more of them at other resorts.

I was so happy to enjoy some of the perks of the Grand Floridian! It would've been better to feel well the whole day, but I was happy to enjoy it for at least a bit.

That looks very inviting. Nice place to sit and nosh.

Yes! As we'd just eaten and were about to eat again we didn't get a chance to try it, but it would be great for a pool day.

The use of the hat is so clever! Love that!

The whole children's water play area was so neat! I was rather impressed.

Yes. Yes it does make you sound very hoity toity.

And good for you!

I don't know if I'll get the chance to stay there again, but it was a wonderful experience to have once!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

It was so nice to have a short walk to every ADR that day! I was even happier about it considering how I felt that day!

I wish I had an unlimited budget for my family trip next year - I would pick a MK resort in a heartbeat! (Alas, I do NOT have an unlimited budget, so we'll have to figure out a different plan!)

What a pretty spot to wait at!

It was lovely to stand on that deck. What a view!

Great view!

I couldn't believe our great luck! It was a wonderful perk to celebrate Anika's time at the resort.

mmm... bread...

I know the Narcoossee's bread basket is not as impressive as other signatures, but we found it quite tasty.

Wade is smart.

Man, those both look so good!

Both entrees were excellent! I loved my salmon and my small piece of Anika's scallop was delicious.

Dessert is ALWAYS the best part of a meal!

I'd love to eat there. It's been on my list for quite some time, but haven't had the chance yet.

I highly recommend it! The location and the food were both excellent. It would be a nice spot to have dinner and then to go to Magic Kingdom for the evening!

It was a much better server experience! Thank goodness!

I really love the parks and the resorts at night. They do a great job of making everything look just as appealing as during the day (and in some cases, I think more appealing!).

Yes it definitely is. I love just sitting (like you did) and listening to the music. Great place to pause and relax.

It was so lovely.

She does!

She was so happy to be there!

You both look very nice and very happy.

Meds are wonderful! Thank goodness for them!

It was a wonderful evening. Our dinner was great and it was fun to enjoy some time in the lobby!

Stunning... Now there's a good word.

So much of the Grand Floridian is stunning.

Kinda hard to resist!

Yes, especially when it's just steps away from your door! I'm so glad I saw it again!

Yeah... Wish they hadn't done that. Ah well.

I know. I'm interested to finally see HEA, but as so many people seem to see it and miss Wishes I'm only mildly excited about it. I'm glad I had so many trips to experience Wishes in-person!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Happy Birthday to your sweet M!

Thank you, Cindi! It was a lovely party and I can't believe that she's already a year old!

What a fun night at the Grand! It looked like you all had a great time, just enjoying the ambiance!

It was such a wonderful evening after a not-so-wonderful day! I'm glad we had time to enjoy the resort.

I’m so sorry you weren’t feeling 100% but that you at least got to enjoy some of the resort. Your dinner and evening in the lobby sounded wonderful. I hope your rest allowed you to enjoy the rest of your trip.

It was a bummer for sure, but at least I got to enjoy some of the perks of the Grand Floridian.

Our dinner was excellent and our time in the lobby was great! I did my best for the next few days (hooray for Mucinex and Kleenex!), but thankfully it cleared up by the end of the weekend.

I think I've found the one person in the world who likes sprinkles more than DD.

It was the easiest theme I could come up with that would tie everything together. It turned out fun and colorful - plus, sprinkles are cheap!

It looks like a lovely birthday party and you can never have too many desserts. I like the weekly picture thing you did for her. We did monthly but never thought to do weekly.

It was a wonderful party and I was so happy with how everything turned out. M seems to love dessert as much as her parents (smart girl!) so it was fitting that her party had so many things to choose from.

Some weeks I was cursing myself for coming up with this weekly picture plan (it was especially challenging once she learned to turn over!), but I love having them now. I'm crazy enough that I did both weekly AND monthly pictures - both were on different backgrounds and some of the monthly ones included a message board with her current stats and milestones. It was a lot of work but it created some great mementos!

I wouldn't worry too much about making anyone sick by swimming. Like you said there's lots of chlorine and they'd be more likely to catch it by touching a door handle or something like that. Looks like you had a perfect dinner with a view!

I certainly hope I didn't pass anything along - although I agree it's much more likely that I would do so while out of the pool or while at the parks the next few days.

Our dinner was excellent and our view was amazing. It was a wonderful evening after a pretty yucky day!

 

[pkondz]

I believe so! Yes, I didn't understand it either, but it allowed me to move my calories for other important things... like cake.

Cake calories are very important.

I think it's so much easier to get sick at Disney as you're exposed to so many things, plus you're doing so much more activity and probably not getting as much rest.

You could be right. Hmmm... Maybe?

I'm also thankful that the "don't ride this attraction if you have a heart condition" notices didn't deter my parents from allowing me to try things - I can't imagine my life without roller coasters and thrill rides! They checked in frequently to make sure experiences didn't bother me or make me feel bad, but they figured as long as I felt okay the experience was probably fine. Now being a parent myself I'm impressed that they were able to allow me that freedom! I think it did a lot to make me a well-adjusted kid (and adult). My parents are amazing!

Good for them! Letting go like that is not easy.

I think you need to put in more time at Animal Kingdom.

Deal!!!

The waterslide was so fun! I'm so glad I tried it and I'd love to try more of them at other resorts.

Then you can skip all the Values! I just made your life simpler.

I wish I had an unlimited budget for my family trip next year - I would pick a MK resort in a heartbeat! (Alas, I do NOT have an unlimited budget, so we'll have to figure out a different plan!)

Yeah.. there's a reason I stay at ASMu all the time.

I highly recommend it! The location and the food were both excellent. It would be a nice spot to have dinner and then to go to Magic Kingdom for the evening!

oooohhh… yeah, that'd be nice.

I really love the parks and the resorts at night. They do a great job of making everything look just as appealing as during the day (and in some cases, I think more appealing!).

I think the parks at night are better.

I know. I'm interested to finally see HEA, but as so many people seem to see it and miss Wishes I'm only mildly excited about it. I'm glad I had so many trips to experience Wishes in-person!

And now I've been hearing that the new fireworks show at MNSSHP isn't as good.

 

[glennbo123]

I discovered that I was quite a ways behind. You guys all go so fast with these trip reports!

Since this TR is 4 years old, and considering I just took a couple of kids back to college (Marlene for year 5 and James for year 2), I was curious what Anika is up to? Still educating or starting adulting?

Happy Birthday to your daughter! She's at a fun age.

Thank you for the Narcoossee's review. I haven't seen many reviews on it, good to hear how you enjoyed it.

Doesn’t Anika look so happy to be there?!

(And don’t I look much happier full of meds?)

Great picture of you two! Oh, and yes and yes.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Cake calories are very important.

Absolutely!

You could be right. Hmmm... Maybe?

I've gotten sick on half of my trips there (including one as a small child). Wherever there are lots of people there will be lots of germs!

Good for them! Letting go like that is not easy.

I'm so impressed they were able to do that. It's hard to let go as a parent (and I only have a one-year-old!).

Deal!!!

I love Animal Kingdom more each time I visit. I think we'll plan two days there on our family trip as there are many things (namely the animals) that M will like!

Then you can skip all the Values! I just made your life simpler.

I think the values are great as well, even without the slide. I'll just be sure to take advantage of any slides I'm able to try!

Yeah.. there's a reason I stay at ASMu all the time.

The values definitely have value!

oooohhh… yeah, that'd be nice.

Nothing sets up a great evening in Magic Kingdom like a great meal!

I think the parks at night are better.

I think they are in many ways, but it's still pretty magical to see the castle first thing in the morning!

And now I've been hearing that the new fireworks show at MNSSHP isn't as good.

That's a shame! I never saw Hallowishes as I've never visited in the fall, but I always read raves about them.

I discovered that I was quite a ways behind. You guys all go so fast with these trip reports!

Bless you for saying I'm fast! I feel like I need to move faster than my usual snail's pace as it's a four-year-old trip report!

Since this TR is 4 years old, and considering I just took a couple of kids back to college (Marlene for year 5 and James for year 2), I was curious what Anika is up to? Still educating or starting adulting?

Anika graduated from college and is planning to work for a year and apply to law school. I can't believe she has already graduated from college- didn't we just take this trip?!

Happy Birthday to your daughter! She's at a fun age.

Thank you! It's a really fun age. She started walking about a month ago (and is getting better at going longer distances, but still does more walking at home than out and about). She also is starting to pick up more words than "Mom Mom" and "Dada." Last night she asked for banana (her first food request)… and we were happy to give it to her!

Thank you for the Narcoossee's review. I haven't seen many reviews on it, good to hear how you enjoyed it.

You're welcome! It was a lovely meal and I'd love to return!

Great picture of you two! Oh, and yes and yes.

Thank you! I was thrilled I finally felt somewhat human-like again and Anika was SO happy to be spending the evening in the lobby. It was a nice end to a somewhat rough day.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

The Birthday of Yesteryear
2013 Trip Throwback

Our graduation celebration trip was not the first time we celebrated Anika’s birthday at Disney World. Our 2013 trip (with its never-to-be-finished trip report) also included a day at Magic Kingdom for Anika’s birthday.

I’d carefully planned our day but it didn’t unfold in the way I’d imagined. I’ve decided to take you back two additional years to understand her current birthday in the right context.

Her birthday in 2013 started as planned with an early entry to Magic Kingdom for a pre-park opening breakfast. It was a beautiful day!

On our way in Anika spotted some sparkly silver ears that she was interested in. Since it was her birthday I was happy to purchase them for her!

Look at EMPTY Main Street! I know you can still enter before most of the masses for some early reservations, but I don’t think you can see it this empty anymore!

There were several Photopass photographers that looked awfully bored. We can fix that!

After our pictures on Main Street we checked in for one of my favorite breakfasts in Disney World – breakfast at Crystal Palace. I adore the characters and LOVE the food! The early entry into Magic Kingdom makes it even better.

We didn’t wait long for our table. They added some fun curly streamer to the table as I’d included Anika’s birthday to our reservation. Anika, the anti-character lady, was even pleased to get a birthday card signed by the characters. This was the first trip where I added her birthday so this was a fun surprise!

We enjoyed our breakfast (Pooh French toast! Breakfast pizza! Mickey waffles!) and I tried the custom omelet station for the first time. What a great find! I’ve now ordered a custom omelet every time since.

Anika was in such a good mood she was even willing to pose with some of the Pooh characters:

Of course, I was happy to pose with them as well:

Tigger was on the other end of the restaurant so we chose to wrap up our meal without waiting for him. Anika did enjoy her birthday cupcake:

We made it back to Peter Pan before the masses and were climbing into our pirate ship just one minute after park-opening. We were off to a great start!

Less than ten minutes later we were climbing into our honey pot with Winnie the Pooh. The honey wall was new to us on this trip and we were quite entertained!

It's not my favorite dark ride, but Pooh is always a delight:

Once we finished with Pooh, the birthday girl wanted to take a spin on the teacups. Sounds great to me!

We were back in Adventureland shortly before 9:30 and were soon enjoying the wildest ride in the wilderness:

We hopped right next door to enjoy less than a 10-minute wait for Splash Mountain:

I was feeling pretty smug at this point. We were on our fifth ride in less than 45 minutes, three of which were headliners that would have huge waits later in the day. The day couldn’t be going better!

This, of course, is where Mother Nature decided to inform us who was in charge.

We were about halfway through our ride when we realized it had started to sprinkle. It was very light so we weren’t worried about it and I didn’t pull the ponchos from my bag when we went through the next interior section of the ride.

This was a mistake.

When we reached the next outdoor section it was POURING. Even better, for some reason the boats were backed up and we were outside for several minutes stopped between a line of boats.

Well, isn’t this great?!

We finally shivered our way through the rest of the ride (those interior sections are COLD if you’re wet!) and made it into the gift shop. It was still absolutely pouring so we had no interest in leaving the gift shop. I checked my bag for our ponchos… and realized I didn’t have them. Great planning that morning! Well, at least not pulling them earlier wasn’t something I could’ve fixed!

We joined a line of pretty much everyone else coming off the ride and bought two Disney ponchos. We also decided to buy a beach towel for sale in the gift shop in order to try and dry ourselves off.

It didn't help much:

I’m telling you, that gift shop made bank that morning as they had an unending line of poncho buyers. Also, every single beach towel (or any towel) for out for sale was gone within ten minutes. As much as it was a little painful to drop nearly $50 on rain supplies in that Splash Mountain gift shop, it was one of my better Disney decisions to date. It continued to rain on-and-off for the next hour (and we didn’t want to spend all morning in that crowded gift shop) and I LOVE that beach towel. It’s one of my favorite Disney purchases to date and I use it all the time!

The rain started to let up a bit so we left the gift shop and Frontierland. We only made it to Adventureland when the skies completely opened again. We found refuge in an overhang walkway near the bathrooms.

During this time we decided to take advantage of our location by using the bathrooms. We both went in at the same time, but I finished first. And then I waited. And waited. And kept waiting.

It is a HUGE bathroom and I wasn’t sure which stall Anika had entered. I was getting quite concerned as she hadn’t mentioned that she didn’t feel well! That turned out to be exactly the case. She felt a bit better now, but that was a bummer. Anika also realized when she removed her poncho that her new purple bag had left large purple stains on her new tee shirt and white shorts. She’s purchased that bag in the Morocco pavilion at the beginning of our trip.

Now drenched, feeling unwell, and covered in stains, Anika’s birthday was no longer going very well. The rain FINALLY stopped so we tried to move forward and turn the day around. We thought a ride on the Peoplemover was just the ticket:

The ride itself was great as always. Our experience on the ride? It would’ve gone a whole lot better had Anika not gotten a bloody nose in the middle of the ride. In our theme of being unprepared that day, I had nary a Kleenex on me. Our solution was to use the very waxy Disney poncho, which unsurprisingly didn’t do the best job.

Yeesh.

We had time for one more ride before lunch and chose to try the (then new) Under the Sea attraction:

I was relieved to experience a calm and surprise-free ride. Thank goodness.

We made it to our lunch reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern. At this point Anika was just done with our day and her birthday in general. I think we may have skipped the reservation had we not been hungry. Our food was good and our waitress was lovely, but Anika just wasn’t in the mood for a celebratory lunch. After watching the wait staff sing a song for several birthday folks, I realized Anika would not take it well right now. When Anika took a bathroom break I told the waitress that we’d had a really rough morning and would appreciate it if we could forgo the birthday song.

We did not forgo the birthday dessert, though. When you’re at Liberty Tree Tavern you MUST get the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake:

YUM!

(Just because our day wasn't going well doesn't mean we don't finish dessert. In fact, maybe we should've ordered two.

)

Our sweet and lovely waitress brought our check along with a gift bag. She said she was sorry Anika had a tough morning on her birthday and wanted her to take this gift on behalf of the waitstaff. We didn’t open it until we returned to the resort and this is what we found:

(Image from Google)

This beautiful Snow White ornament! What a lovely bit of pixie dust! Although I always tip well I didn’t give our wonderful waitress nearly enough for this kind gesture.

We decided to cut our losses and head back to the resort for the afternoon. We were more dry than gotten much drier, but were still a bit damp from being poured on this morning. Anika also wanted clothes that weren’t covered in purple stains.

We returned to the Coronado Springs Resort and took a nice long nap.

After our break I had a much cheerier birthday girl on my hands. I left it up to her on what we should do for the rest of the day and she chose to go back to Magic Kingdom followed by our original dinner plans.

We headed straight for Tomorrowland and got things started on the right foot with a Mickey pretzel:

How can you not be happy with that deliciousness?

We followed that by enjoying a spin on the Carousel of Progress, a nosebleed-free trip on the Peoplemover, and a ride through space on Space Mountain. We also decided to give this attraction a try:

What a surprise delight this was! I highly recommend the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. It was just the perfect thing to further improve our moods.

We called it a day at the park and headed to our dinner reservation at ‘Ohana at the Polynesian.

I do really miss the waterfall in the Poly:

It was so tranquil and pretty!

We were seated at a great table with a view of the Poly grounds and Cinderella castle in the distance:

Thank you, pixie dust.

We ended the day full of delicious shrimp and noodles and pot stickers and bread pudding. Anika also received another birthday cupcake:

She’s smiling! It’s a Disney miracle.



Overall, this was a rough day. It started out SO WELL and the middle was such a disaster. Thankfully we ended her day on a good note.

I was very hopeful that her second birthday in Disney World would be better than her first. I figured as long as we ended the day blood and stain-free it could be counted as a win. I certainly didn’t feel my best going into it, but I would tough it out so Anika had a great day.

So, how do you think it went? Was the second time a charm?

Up Next: Breakfast at Crystal Palace, a Re-Do

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Sorry to hear the first time you celebrated Anika's birthday in WDW it wasn't perfect. At least you could end the night well! I hope it went better the 2nd time.