Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho. It's off to the Grand Floridian We Go! June 2014 (Update: Video)

[MarbleBob]

Golly, Pickle looks so adorable as Minnie Mouse!!

I love that Orange Bird ceramic! Ever since your PTR its been on my radar and I know I will be bringing one home with me now from our trip. Its going to go on the kitchen windowsill!

Yay ice cream parlor! nomnonom

I love that Splash Mountain pic! Parents having a hoot and kids a little less so!! lol

Yeah, they had all kinds of cool Orange Bird stuff at the Marketplace Co-op in DTD. Hope you find some awesome stuff on your trip! And I agree that that the Splash Mtn photo is funny. Stephanie and I are totally into it, and the kids were mellow. It's usually the other way around. (And Pickle had ducked low between Buddy and Me, hoping to stay dry.)

And now I have the Splash Mountain song in my head. Which is actually an awesome way to start the workday!

Pickle looks so happy dancing! I've been to Disney many many times, and I have never seen that! I love that there are always new things to discover!

I hear you about there always being new things to discover. And too much to discover in general. Which is why we all keep coming back for more!

We were lucky enough to catch the hoedown once. Those photos of Pickle dancing are just precious! I love seeing the joy on kids' faces!

It's interesting that so many people haven't had much experience with the hoedown. (I was wondering if we were just weird to have only seen it twice.) I guess that makes it all the more special when you stumble upon it!

I've never seen the hoedown but it looks like something to try to find in the future. It looks like Pickle had a lot of fun!

You all look like you are having so much fun on Splash!

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor is really cute. We just always hope we don't get picked on. haha!

I hear you about not wanting to get picked for Monsters Inc., we sat towards the back!!! One of the ladies that they picked this time was totally clueless, which made the jokes and interactions all the more entertaining for everyone else. Poor lady...

Hi MarbleBob,

I'm new to Disboards and love reading Trip Reports. Of course I came across your current TR and just loved it. My family is going to WDW in December, but my extended family is planing a big family trip in 2015. I was wondering if you could tell me how the process worked for you to get get reservations for your large family meals (ie. Ohana, Be Our Guest) I've never had to make an ADR for more than 4 people. (2 of which are under 5years). In 2015 we will have 12 family members and would love to get a few family dinners all together. I wasn't even able to get a Be Our Guest ADR this trip for the 4 of us at 180 days. And the only Ohana times were way to late for our 2 year old. Any tips on how the process worked to getting your large family meals planned would be great. For instance, did each family make their immediate family reservations for the same time as each family and then link the reservation online? Or did one family make the large ADR online through linking accounts? I want to be prepared for 2015's trip. Thanks in advance! Sorry for the lengthy post. I'm sure I'm totally messing up your thread with this. I tried to private message you, but it wouldn't let me. Sorry!

Wow, first post! I'm honored to have it on this trip report! Welcome!!!!!

My mom was in charge of the group ADR's. I just spoke to her and here's the big tip... You can make ADR's for any day of your trip beginning 180 days from the first day of your trip. So if you arrive on a Saturday and want to dine on Wednesday, call for the Wednesday ADR 180 days before your arrival on Saturday, not 180 days before you planned meal on Wednesday.

So for example, we arrived on a Friday. My mom called 180 days from that Friday, and was unable to get ADR's for Be Our Guest or CRT until Sunday at the earliest. (Which wasn't a problem, because we wanted them for Monday anyway.) So she booked them more more like 183 days out. If she had waited until 180 days before that Monday, we wouldn't have got the ADR's. For things like Ohana, they aren't as hard to secure, so it didn't really matter.

With respect to the number of ADR's, it varied from location to location. For BOG, my mom called and they had to put us on 3 separate ADR's (but they seated us at two large tables.) Cinderella's Royal Table required 2 ADR's, and were were able to get everyone on a single ADR for 'Ohana. My mom just kept all the ADR's on her account. (There wasn't really any need for us to link them between all our various accounts.)

I hope that helps! If not, feel free to keep asking questions. No worries, we're all friends here


.

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 11 - Friday the 13th - Part 5 - Tomorrowland

After we exited the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, we still had a few more minutes before our date with Space Mountain, so we decided to visit Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. Sort of a dated ride, but a classic… with a catchy tune!

As we waited for the next “show” to begin, we looked out across Tomorrowland. And were reminded about how much of a bummer it was to have the People Mover down for refurbishment. After all these years, it’s still one of my favorite rides in all of Disney. Oh well, we’ll get it next time!



As we waited, we were also treated to Walt and the Sherman brothers singing the theme song. So cool!





Not much to say about this one. It’s as corny as ever, but still relaxing and a fun experience. Personally, I think the “modern” scene at the end has become way out dated and is ready for an update. Give the kid an iPad or something instead of that old virtual reality game. LOL.




OK, it’s finally time for Space Mountain. Yahoo! Buddy and I had already ridden it twice, and I think Princess had ridden it with her cousins, but Pickle and Stephanie hadn’t yet on this trip. Actually, this was Pickle’s first time riding it ever!!! She was pretty excited and wasn’t the least bit intimidated. Such a brave little thrill seeker!



I tried to get a shot of Stephanie and Pickle through the “light tunnel” but it didn’t really turn out. Oh well.



And here are the ride photos...





Another successful mission! And Pickle loved it!!!

At that point, it was about 7:30pm. Princess and Buddy were feeling like they were pretty much finished and wanted to go back and swim at the hotel one last time. Stephanie, Pickle, and I were no where near being finished. We still have FP+ for Seven Dwarfs Mine Trail after all!!! So we gave them some cash for dinner, and sent them on their way!

And then we thought about heading over to Columbia Harbour House for our dinner. But a stop at the Winnie the Pooh ride first!



We have great memories of this ride, starting with Princess when it was new and she was about two and a half years old. It’s been a “must do” ever since. That being said, I really miss Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride… but happy that they kept it going in Disneyland!



Anyway, this was our first time riding it since they added the interactive queue. (We missed it by a couple of days on our last visit.) Totally cool!





Stephanie held our place in line, and then Pickle and I took the kids route!







Gross! I’m glad she was just pretending. Hahaha



The interactive “honey walls” were really cool!



But first, let us take a selfie!



After we exited Winnie the Pooh, we headed over towards Columbia Harbour House. This is another one of our favorite places to eat at WDW!



Stephanie went to place our order, and then Pickle and I headed upstairs to find a seat. We explored a bit, and found the area inside the overpass that you walk through as you pass from Fantasyland into Liberty Square.



I had no idea that you could actually eat in there. Too cool!!!





Actually, we’d pretty much always had our meals on the first floor until a few years ago. Never really venturing upstairs… Until we experienced a “Magical Moment” where we were called out by a cast member to have a special dining experience upstairs. We had participated in the “Give a Day, Get a Day” program, where they gave you a free one-day ticket for volunteering your time somewhere. (We made blankets as a family for Project Linus http://www.projectlinus.org) They gave us “VoluntEAR” buttons and the cast member noticed them. Anyway, he pulled us out of line and took us up stairs to a “reserved” table. They brought out our meals on china, gave us our drinks in glass mugs, brought us out refills/seconds, and finally brought "decorate your own cookie" treats for the kids when were were finished. The cast member was super cool and we felt like royalty!



Anyway, we had a blast eating upstairs that time, and will probably be doing so for now on!

And what did we have for dinner?

Stephanie and I both had Clam Chowder and then we shared a fish platter. Yum!! (The fish is OK, but the clam chowder is always really yummy!!) And Pickle had the kids fish meal.





I’ve you’ve never been upstairs before, and especially not in the “overpass” you should! It made for cozy meal!!!


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[Monykalyn]

Love love the ride photos-especially Splash mountain (my very tall DD had her hands in the air and blocked my face on our photo so I chuckled seeing your pic)

Upstairs at Columbia House is a "best kept" secret-even during the high crowd days (we went late June) upstairs is nearly empty! AC in June and it is empty

 

[KelleyK75]

The Pooh area is just too cute and fun for the kids.

I didn't know that secret about Columbia Harbour. Good to know.

 

[disney meema]

Loving all the pictures from your last MK day ... I've never seen that street show and pickle is darling dancing with the group : ) Love your splash mountain pictures and I'm with Stephanie it's my favorite ride as well, so happy, cute and yeah now that songs stuck in my head lol Yes COP is totally outdated but I like it since it reminds me of old school Disneyland, and now I have the COP Great big beautiful tomorrow song in my head ... Great start to my weekend with show tunes in my head lol Beautiful picture of you and Stephanie totally a keeper you'll treasure as years go by : )
I love the gift you got your mother by the way so beautiful and so thoughtful ... Your a wonderful family and I've really enjoyed reading along.

 

[annegirl]

I will remember those tips for Columbia Harbour House! What a cool experience you had there the first time. Cool!

 

[DisneyJade]

Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your trip report.
I'm sad to see the trip come to an end. If only we could all live at WDW.

 

[kgoodb00]

Still enjoying reading your TR! Sad that it is coming to an end. We are heading down to your neck of the woods to visit my brother in Dardenne Prairie next weekend!

 

[Mia Kylie and Co]

Yeah, they had all kinds of cool Orange Bird stuff at the Marketplace Co-op in DTD. Hope you find some awesome stuff on your trip! And I agree that that the Splash Mtn photo is funny. Stephanie and I are totally into it, and the kids were mellow. It's usually the other way around. (And Pickle had ducked low between Buddy and Me, hoping to stay dry.)



I hear you about there always being new things to discover. And too much to discover in general. Which is why we all keep coming back for more!



It's interesting that so many people haven't had much experience with the hoedown. (I was wondering if we were just weird to have only seen it twice.) I guess that makes it all the more special when you stumble upon it!



I hear you about not wanting to get picked for Monsters Inc., we sat towards the back!!! One of the ladies that they picked this time was totally clueless, which made the jokes and interactions all the more entertaining for everyone else. Poor lady...



Wow, first post! I'm honored to have it on this trip report! Welcome!!!!!

My mom was in charge of the group ADR's. I just spoke to her and here's the big tip... You can make ADR's for any day of your trip beginning 180 days from the first day of your trip. So if you arrive on a Saturday and want to dine on Wednesday, call for the Wednesday ADR 180 days before your arrival on Saturday, not 180 days before you planned meal on Wednesday.

So for example, we arrived on a Friday. My mom called 180 days from that Friday, and was unable to get ADR's for Be Our Guest or CRT until Sunday at the earliest. (Which wasn't a problem, because we wanted them for Monday anyway.) So she booked them more more like 183 days out. If she had waited until 180 days before that Monday, we wouldn't have got the ADR's. For things like Ohana, they aren't as hard to secure, so it didn't really matter.

With respect to the number of ADR's, it varied from location to location. For BOG, my mom called and they had to put us on 3 separate ADR's (but they seated us at two large tables.) Cinderella's Royal Table required 2 ADR's, and were were able to get everyone on a single ADR for 'Ohana. My mom just kept all the ADR's on her account. (There wasn't really any need for us to link them between all our various accounts.)

I hope that helps! If not, feel free to keep asking questions. No worries, we're all friends here


.

Thanks SO much!! I'll use all these tips when it comes time. It sounds like making all ADR's by phone is the way to go as well. Really appreciate your advice. I may be back with more questions for you down the road.

 

[MarbleBob]

Love love the ride photos-especially Splash mountain (my very tall DD had her hands in the air and blocked my face on our photo so I chuckled seeing your pic)

Upstairs at Columbia House is a "best kept" secret-even during the high crowd days (we went late June) upstairs is nearly empty! AC in June and it is empty

Yes, a great secret indeed!

The Pooh area is just too cute and fun for the kids.

I didn't know that secret about Columbia Harbour. Good to know.

Yeah, the Pooh area is really cool!!! I wish I had one a "tree playhouse" like that in my backyard

Loving all the pictures from your last MK day ... I've never seen that street show and pickle is darling dancing with the group : ) Love your splash mountain pictures and I'm with Stephanie it's my favorite ride as well, so happy, cute and yeah now that songs stuck in my head lol Yes COP is totally outdated but I like it since it reminds me of old school Disneyland, and now I have the COP Great big beautiful tomorrow song in my head ... Great start to my weekend with show tunes in my head lol Beautiful picture of you and Stephanie totally a keeper you'll treasure as years go by : )
I love the gift you got your mother by the way so beautiful and so thoughtful ... Your a wonderful family and I've really enjoyed reading along.

As always, thanks for the thoughtful comments

I will remember those tips for Columbia Harbour House! What a cool experience you had there the first time. Cool!

Yeah, it's pretty darn cool upstairs. There are several unique areas, but I thought the "overpass" was pretty cool, as we were able to look out and watch people as they passed from Fantasyland on one side over to Liberty Square on the other.

Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your trip report.
I'm sad to see the trip come to an end. If only we could all live at WDW.

Thanks DisneyJade. Yeah, it's sort of weird to be finishing up. I have a post or two left. I hear you about living at WDW. Stephanie and I sometimes dream about picking up and moving to Orlando. Maybe some day, when we are old and retired, we can move down and work at pin trading booths or something

Still enjoying reading your TR! Sad that it is coming to an end. We are heading down to your neck of the woods to visit my brother in Dardenne Prairie next weekend!

Thanks! Welcome back to Missouri. If you like BBQ make sure he takes you to the new SugarFire Smokehouse at the corner of Winghaven and HWY N. My co-workers and I have been eating there at least once or twice a week for lunch. AMAZING!!!!!

Thanks SO much!! I'll use all these tips when it comes time. It sounds like making all ADR's by phone is the way to go as well. Really appreciate your advice. I may be back with more questions for you down the road.

You are welcome

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 11 - Friday the 13th - Part 7 - A Magical Evening

After dinner, we headed over to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to use our last FP+ of the trip. It was getting fairly dark by now. I've always loved Fantasyland at night, but with the new expansion, it's even better!!! So cool.







And we made it!



Love the colors and glow at night. Such a cozy atmosphere!



This was our third time riding 7DMT this trip. No issues with the line or the ride all week. We were in and out fairly quickly this time too!





The ride at night was pretty cool. Glad we did it one last time!

After that, we decided to head over towards the Little Mermaid Ride... by way of Belle's Village.



We stopped inside the "Bonjour! Village Gifts" to look around.





I REALLY wanted this Lumiere statue (the candle flames light up and flickered), but ultimately decided to pass on it.



And then we made our way over to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. But first a look back at Beast's Castle! It's hard to see in the photo, but the starts were bright. (I think one of them may have been a planet it was so bright.) After so many rainy evenings, it was truly awesome to see the open sky at night!!!



And our final PhotoPass picture of the trip.



So this was my first time on the WDW version of this ride. As Stephanie mentioned earlier, we rode it in Disneyland last fall and the insides were practically identical, but the WDW version's queuing area was incredibly amazing! Especially at night!



Stephanie and Pickle rode together, so I decided to take a few photos while I was in my own clamshell...







At this point, it was bout 9:30pm. Pickle was starting to get tired, so we decided to make our way back to the resort. Thinking that we could catch Wishes from the GF boat dock.

Boy, was it crowded as we headed down Main Street! This may have been the most crowded that I've ever seen it.

Looking back towards the castle...



And then straight ahead to the train station.



Pickle had passed out at this point and had no idea. So cute!



And then we waited for the next boat. Pickle came to, but she was still a bit groggy.



We made it back just as the fireworks had started. It was pretty cool to see the first couple bursts from the boat, and then we watched it sail back for its next load of passengers.



Watching the fireworks from the edge of the boat dock was amazing!





After the fireworks, we headed back to the room to find Princess and Buddy and touch base with everyone else. It was about 10:45pm. We chatted for a little while and decided to call it a night... as we wanted to get up fairly early to pack up before the drive back home. Ah, one last night at the Grand Floridian. Sleep tight everyone!


So there we go... the last day of an AMAZING trip! Stay tuned for a short post about our departure the next morning, a video touching on some of the highlights from the trip, a summary of our thoughts, and finally what we have planned for our next Disney adventure!!



.

 

[Volkswagenphreak]

I can't remember if I already posted this or not, but I just love your trip report. You have a beautiful family and you take lots of great photos. I can't wait to write my own after we come home! Thanks for sharing your vacation with everyone!

 

[DaeHyFoog]

I forgot how crowded it was!! Your pictures brought the memories all back. Pickle's getting way too big for me to carry, so I'm glad you got some pictures of me carrying her on this trip. Those days are quickly passing.

Thanks for doing the bulk of the work on this trip report! I've had a lot of fun re-living the vacation, and I can't believe how quickly time flies. The kids might have gotten tired of all the pictures, but I'm grateful you took them! Here's to our major road trip to California next summer.

 

[kgoodb00]

Thanks! Welcome back to Missouri. If you like BBQ make sure he takes you to the new SugarFire Smokehouse at the corner of Winghaven and HWY N. My co-workers and I have been eating there at least once or twice a week for lunch. AMAZING!!!!!

We love some BBQ! I will definitely check that place out. I know exactly where it is at!! Thanks for the suggestion

 

[annegirl]

OOhhhh I want that Lumiere! So cool. Great pictures as usual. Sounds like a great night.

 

[KelleyK75]

Great pictures in the dark.

Love the Lumiere statue!

Wow, those crowds!

Great view of the fireworks!

 

[MarbleBob]

I can't remember if I already posted this or not, but I just love your trip report. You have a beautiful family and you take lots of great photos. I can't wait to write my own after we come home! Thanks for sharing your vacation with everyone!

Thanks Volkswagenphreak. Nice to have you reading along. I'll keep a lookout for your TR!

I forgot how crowded it was!! Your pictures brought the memories all back. Pickle's getting way too big for me to carry, so I'm glad you got some pictures of me carrying her on this trip. Those days are quickly passing.

Thanks for doing the bulk of the work on this trip report! I've had a lot of fun re-living the vacation, and I can't believe how quickly time flies. The kids might have gotten tired of all the pictures, but I'm grateful you took them! Here's to our major road trip to California next summer.

Thanks for helping out Stephanie! It was great having you help out and getting your feedback along the way. The TR ended up taking a lot more effort than I had anticipated and it was nice to have a break whenever you chimed in with an update Thanks for being the best DW that a guy could ever hope for

We love some BBQ! I will definitely check that place out. I know exactly where it is at!! Thanks for the suggestion

Cool! Sugarfire is "that good". You won't be disappointed

OOhhhh I want that Lumiere! So cool. Great pictures as usual. Sounds like a great night.

Thanks Cheryl!

Great pictures in the dark.

Love the Lumiere statue!

Wow, those crowds!

Great view of the fireworks!

Yeah, the crowds were crazy. I'm really pleased with how the evening turned out. Watching the fireworks from the boat dock was a nice way to finish off the trip!

 

[MarbleBob]

Day 12 - Saturday the 14th - Time to Say Goodbye

We woke up fairly early on our last morning to get up and pack. It was a bummer to see the vacation coming to an end, but we had been going non-stop for 12 days now. We were fairly worn out, so it wasn't as much of a downer as some of our shorter trips. We got up, packed up all our stuff and called the bell hop to have them help transport all our luggage back to our car.

One last look out the windows! Looks like we have decent driving weather ahead of us.





And a few minutes later, we were getting our luggage all loaded up! (So nice that we didn't have to trek it back to the parking lot all by ourselves!)



And then the challenge of getting everything arranged just right in the trunk! I'm one of those weird people who has fun rearranging everything until it fits "just right".



We said goodbye to Randy, as he was catching a flight back to Milwaukee later that afternoon. (And we had already said our goodbyes to Denise and her gang the day before, as they flew back to Philly on Friday.) So, the rest of us caravaned back to St. Louis together. Swap between the cars to keep them engaged throughout the drive home.



It was a fairly uneventful drive home, which is a good thing!! We spent the night around the Nashville area on Saturday night, and then made the final push for St. Louis on Sunday.

Although, we live a little west of the city, we always feel like we've made it home when we pass the Arch!



And then were home a little while later! Wow, what a trip!


.

 

[MarbleBob]

Highlight Video

So between my camera, Stephanie's camera, my phone, and PhotoPass, we ended up with over 6,000 photos. I shared only a fraction of them on this TR, but it was a LOT of fun picking out some of my favorites.

In addition to the photos, we also took two or three hours of video throughout the week. I put together a quick "highlight reel" showcasing some of more interesting moments from the TR. It's nothing fancy, no music, just a series of short clips using the "Bulletin Board" template in iMovie. It's about 7 minutes long.

I took a screen shot to make it look like a "player" but, you'll just need to click on the photo to open the YouTube video in a new window.

I hope you enjoy it!





And stay tuned for a final "thoughts" update and a few notes about our next Disney vacation plans.



.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Oh, I'm so sad your trip is over, as I'm sure you are too! What a wonderful trip report! So when's your next trip, lol?