Oh It's A Jolly Holiday With Katie! - Beach Club / Grand Floridian

TheLittleKatie

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 4, 2014
The Basics:

Who: Katie and Jamie :love2:
When: 2nd - 16th September 2014
Where: 1 week Beach Club, 1 week Grand Floridian!



Pre-trip hellos!


Welcome, foolish mortals, to my first trip report! I am your host, your Ghost Host... There's no turning back now!

Our tour begins here in this gallery, where you see paintings of some of our guests as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state.

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:scared1:

Oh, I didn't mean to frighten you prematurely. The real chills come later. Now, as they say, "look alive," and we'll continue our little tour...

OK, OK, so this is a Halloween-time trip report, but let's be honest. I am [hopefully] not THAT creepy in real life. So let's get rid of this aura of foreboding, and change the tune.


"To all who come to this happy place; welcome!"

This is me:

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I'm Katie :wave2:
I'm from England, I'm 22 years old and I'm a lover of all things Disney. The parks, the movies, the man himself. You name it, I love it!

You can usually find me looking far too excited about Disney desserts...


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...and walking around Disney with THIS look on my face:

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I work at a school, and I am just starting my Master's degree.

This is Jamie:


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Jamie is 24 and, although not quite the enthusiast that I am, he is certainly acquiring the Disney love..!

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(Only those who appreciate Tangled will get this!)

You'll usually find him sitting in 'the wet seat'..

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:rotfl:

We've been together for about 3.5 years.
You can watch a lot of Disney movies together in 3.5 years.

I visited Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris a bunch of times as a kid and I have so many amazing memories. I was SHOCKED to hear that before I came along, Jamie had NEVER, I repeat, NEVER visited a Disney park. Of course, every family has its own great memories and traditions, but I couldn't wait to introduce Jamie to the magic!

pixiedust:

We first visited Walt Disney World together in September 2012. Here are a few pictures from that trip.

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(Unfortunately I didn't write a trip report, but you can find the whole album here)

We had such a great time we just HAD to plan another magical getaway.

The Post-Disney-World blues make people do TERRIBLE THINGS!

Before this trip I had only ever stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. It is such a nostalgic place to me. We stayed there in 2012 and LOVED it, but this year, with a super deal of 40% off, we decided to go all out and stay at the Beach Club for one week, and the Grand Floridian for the second week.

I should mention now that I am a pretty organized Disney traveller (although not quite commando style planning!) I had a rough plan of what to do and when to do it based on touring plans and crowd calendars. I booked our ADRs 180 days out and fastpass + at 60 days out.

I should also mention that Jamie is the COMPLETE opposite of this.

He tends to "..go with the FLOWWWWWW" :fish:

Maybe that's why we work so well together? Who knows. All I know is that, 6 weeks before our trip, I had all my clothes spread out on the floor and I had made a list of what I needed to buy, with plenty of time to go out and buy it.

JAMIE on the other hand, does all of his shopping THE DAY BEFORE WE LEAVE.
YOU HEARD ME. THE DAY BEFORE. He is super chilled out about this kind of thing. Seriously. He is a Sloth in disguise.

This was me taking him on his last minute shopping trip:

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But anyway, I always like to show him the menus for our ADRs and I ask for his input for fastpass selections, but all he ever says is "I trust you to plan us a good time," which to be honest, is my ideal response!

(It means I don't have to make compromises)

Wait, what? Who said that? I didn't hear anything.. ANYWAY.

-

A couple of weeks before our trip, my friends and I went into central London for Notting Hill Carnival. I am mentioning this for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it reminded me of something I needed to buy that I had missed off my list...

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PONCHOS!!!!

As you can see, it rained ALL DAY.

When you're travelling to Florida during hurricane season, these are an absolute must! We didn't have them last time, and let's just say there were several incidents involving my white t-shirts and torrential rain. So yeah. PONCHOS.

Also, I always like to spend a day or two at Universal (sorry Universal haters!) And I was REALLY excited to see the new Diagon Alley expansion. So I headed over to Kings Cross Station to take a couple of photos to refer back to when I got to see the Universal remake!

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Oh, and we can't forget that THIS HAPPENED.

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I love my life.

And just one more thing.
Did an Alice face character go missing from Disney World recently?
Because I think she may have fallen down a rabbit hole and joined in with the wrong parade..

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I know, I know, I'm hilarious. But not as hilarious as THIS GUY. What a hero.

So there you have it!! A little pre-trip insight into my life.

I'm really excited to relive my trip and to share it with you all.
I hope you enjoy it!

Please feel free to leave me comments and introduce yourselves or ask any questions.

So let's get started.

DISNEY!


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<3

 
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Contents

Day 1 (September 2nd 2014) - Travel day & The Boardwalk

Tell everybody I'm on my way! ..And there's nowhere else that I'd rather be!
Part 1 - Time to be movin' along!
Part 2 - Off to Neverland!
Part 3 - Disney's Beach Club room 4582
Part 4 - Under the Boardwalk.. Down by the seeeeaaa


Day 2 (September 3rd 2014) - Magic Kingdom & Epcot
This is gonna be the best day of my liiiife! My li-i-i-i-i-iiiife! (Ooo, oooo, oo, oo ooo.)
Part 1 - Casey Junior's coming down the track!
Part 2 - My, oh my, what a wonderful day!
Part 3 - My, what a guy!
Part 4 - Try the grey stuff, it's delicious. Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!
Part 5 - They'll get the point.. In the end..
Part 6 - Awaaay we gooo, it's a Festival of Fantasy!
Part 7 - Bella Notte


Day 3 (September 4th 2014) - Universal Studios & Magic Kingdom
You see, the most fantastic, MAGICAL things can happen, and it all *ENDS* with a WISH!
Part 1 - I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!
Part 2 - Travelling to Far Far Away, the Sahara Dessert, outer space, and into the future.
Part 3 - Saving the world from Sideshow Bob, aliens, Dementors, and natural disasters.
Part 4 - Thousands of sparkling lights, and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds!
Part 5 - Star light, star bright...


Day 4 (September 5th 2014) - Hollywood Studios & Epcot

Hoooraaay forrr HOLLYWOOD!
Part 1 - Love in an Elevator.. Goooiiing Dowwwn!
Part 2 - Bonjour!
Part 3 - "It was really all started by a man.. A man with a dream, and a mouse."
Part 4 - Weyyylaa, oh meeeylaa weyyylaa weyy heyyy yeah yeah oooh weeey yeahhhh!


Day 5 (September 6th 2014) - Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios

Two Worlds, One Family!
Part 1 - Africa!
Part 2 - Asia!
Part 3 - Dinosaurs alive and well!
Part 4 - Cows, pigs, goats and yetis.
Part 5 - Do you wanna build a snowman?

Day 6 (September 7th 2014) - Epcot & Downtown Disney

There's no use in grumbling when raindrops come tumbling!
Part 1 - The Land
Part 2 - The Seas
Part 3 - Drip drip drop, little September shower...
Part 4 - When you're at Disney and rain is making you grumpy, you can always go... DOWNTOWN.

Day 7 (September 8th 2014) - The Beach Club & Hollywood Studios
Beach Club Appreciation Day
Part 1 - Relaxing in the summer sun, just letting off steam.
Part 2 - Beaches and Cream!
Part 3 - Mysteries and magic, visions fantastic, leading to strange and wondrous dreams.
Part 4 - In which everyone was RUDE!


Day 8 (September 9th 2014) - Magic Kingdom & The Grand Floridian
Moving to the GRAND FLORIDIAN!
Part 1 - Goodbye Beach Club, Hello Magic Kingdom!
Part 2 - The dinner here is never second best.
Part 3 - Galactic Heroes meet Anna and Elsa!
Part 4 - Join the party, a castle party!
Part 5 - It's time to check in!
Part 6 - Disney’s Grand Floridian room 9513
Part 7 - The Grand Floridian Café (and more room pictures!)
Part 8 - In the big Grand world.. We're gonna go explore!


Day 9 (September 10th 2014) - Universal Studios & Magic Kingdom
Magic is everywhere, if you know where to look.

Part 1 - Accio Adventure!
Part 2 - That red button? Don’t even DREAM of pushing it…
Part 3 - In dreams, we enter a world that’s entirely our own.
Part 4 - An over-abundance of Main Street USA photos!
Part 5 - Galactic Hero VIPs.
Part 6 - Everything is satisfactual.


Day 10 (September 11th 2014) - Hollywood Studios & Downtown Disney
Yum and wow!

Part 1 - Goodbye Backlot Tour!
Part 2 - THE RED VELVET CUPCAKE
Part 3 - 'Ohana!
Part 4 - A family of 4 visits Downtown Disney


Day 11 (September 12th 2014) - Animal Kingdom & Epcot
Hakuna Matata

Part 1 - It’s gonna be King Simba’s finest flinggg!
Part 2 - Warning! Florida shower in range!
Part 3 - RIP MAELSTROM!


Day 12 (September 13th 2014) - Downtown Disney & Magic Kingdom
Make a wish and hold on tight, there's magic in the air tonight.
Part 1 - Downtown Disney and Citricos
Part 2 - Celebrate a world filled with magic
Part 3 - I am Marilyn Monroe.


Day 13 (September 14th 2014) - Magic Kingdom, Epcot & Hollywood Studios
Three parks, one day.
Part 1 - There’s a rumbly in my tumbly… Crystal Palace!
Part 2 - Start pumpin’ up the party now!
Part 3 - Put on your new fall hat, we're taking a stroll!
Part 4 - MAYO BOMB.


Day 14 (September 15th 2014) - Epcot & Magic Kingdom
Last day!
Part 1 - World Showcase
Part 2 - World Showcase and packing. BOO.
Part 3 - A magical last night

Day 15 (September 16th 2014) - Epcot, Magic Kingdom & Travel Home
Now it's time to say goodbye...
Part 1 - Last minute shopping and splashing
Part 2 - The Tragical Express

The End! (Wrap-up post)
 
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Hi Katie! I'm very happy to tag along on your trip report. Thanks so much for sharing.
 


I can't wait to read more-- I'm loving it so far!! The old guy dressed as Alice "What a hero" Hahahaha that seriously made my day!!
 


Thanks everyone! :flower3:

I haven't had a chance to chat to many DISers yet, so I'm so happy you introduced yourselves :wave2:

RDawn, cjhinch, TinkerKeeks - Thank you guys! We had an amazing time. I hope you enjoy :)

Aussie Wendy - one month, how exciting !! I'm not sure I'll be finished but I'll hopefully be part-way through. I hope you'll be writing a TR for me to read!

AlexLovesCats - Thank you! Hahah, he/she just looked so out of place! Everyone looked silly in that parade, but at least everyone else was matching!

DisneyKid4Life - ROB! From Enchanted Tales With Rob! I haven't been very active on DISboards (until now), but I have read some of your most recent trip report, it's fantastic! So cool of you to comment, lovely to 'meet' you :goodvibes

I'd love to take a look at all of your trip reports, so if you have one and it's not in your signature, link it in a comment and I'll take a look :thumbsup2
 
I'm subbing! We were there for part of the same time, I think, so it will be fun to see similarities/differences in our trips! I just started my own TR as well!
 
Hey guys! :wave2:

Clarf - I've just checked out the beginning of your trip report. Yep, we were there for part of the same time! Your TR looks great I'm looking forward to reading :)

PolkaDotLuggage - Haha, I know right?! If they forget anything, they have only themselves to blame! But at least we're not both 'battling for control' over the trip! :thumbsup2

HumblePie - Thank you! Nice to meet you! :wave2:
 
Day 1
(September 2nd 2014)

Tell everybody I’'m on my way! ..And there'’s nowhere else that I’'d rather be!
Part 1 - Time to be movin' along!


So I'’d just like to preface this by saying that, for the travel part of this day, I did not have my camera on me, only my phone. And sometimes, not even my phone. With all my valuables in my carry-on I didn'’t feel comfortable going in and out of my bag. So the travel part of today may not be very picture-heavy, but I ASSURE YOU, as soon as we touched down in Orlando my camera was NEVER out of my hand.

You can never take too many pictures at Disney!

I must say, I LOVE travel day! The excitement of heading to Disney, coupled with the anxiety that I’'ve forgotten my flight confirmations, or dropped my passport and won’t be let on the plane.
Well, it’s an emotional rollercoaster before we even set off.

BUT I LOVE IT.

Operation Packing commenced the evening before.

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And I think I was in bed by 11:30pm.

But I was wayyy too excited to sleep, I think I fell asleep at around 3:30am, only to wake up at 5:37am to get ready to go!

“Good Morning! Good Morrrning!
Sunbeams will soon shine through!
Good Morning! Good Morning!
To you!
And you, and you, and you!”

I left the house at 6:30am, bright eyed and bushy tailed.
(Maybe a little more bushy tailed, and a little less bright eyed.)

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My Momma is a saint and drove us to the station for our 7:08am train to the airport.
It was only when I got my case out of the car and stumbled through the doors of the station that I realized just how HEAVY it was!

This case hit the Virgin Atlantic weight limit at EXACTLY 23kg.
We were lucky enough to be able to upgrade to Premium Economy which allows double luggage, so I actually had a second soft case rolled up inside this one, to fill up with Disney goodies!

But since I’m an incredibly heavy packer, and Jamie is an incredibly light packer, it made sense to swap cases.

I know, I know, I’'m pathetic. But he is much stronger than me.

Jamie got himself a sausage sandwich and we waited excitedly on the platform.

:jumping1:

Another great find - When we booked these train tickets, First Class was only £5 more each!
We really lucked out on all the offers and discounts we found for this trip.

The First Class compartment was real small, so we got ourselves a luggage rack and a nice table right next to it.

The journey was pretty quick, and nice and smooth.
We enjoyed free cups of tea and flapjack.
(How fabulously British!)


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I listened to my Frank Sinatra / Dean Martin playlist, primarily “Come Fly With Me” as it got me super excited for my flight!

“In Llama land there’s a one-man band and he’ll toot his flute for you!”

And as you can see, weather-wise it was such a lovely day :)

We arrived at Manchester Airport at 8:26am for our flight at 11am.

We took the moving walkways across to Terminal 2 and found the Virgin Atlantic desks.

There was no queue at all (a little insight into our entire Disney trip!) so we walked straight up to the Premium Economy desk (after being stopped by two different members of staff asking if we were in the right place at Premium Economy.. I realized we looked as if we didn’t belong there!)

Once we'’d got rid of our bags and had our boarding passes in hand, all the worry disappeared and I was full of excitement!

Next stop: Security.

Up the escalator we met a fairly busy security line.

And here’s where organization and research come in handy.

For any of you UK travellers:
Manchester Airport provides a security ‘FastTrack’ that you can purchase in advance.
Think FastPass+ but at the airport.
And for £3.50 (just over $5.)
So we breeeeeezed through security.

We got some chicken caesar wraps from Boots, and had a look around the duty free. Jamie bought himself some more underwear, probably because he was so excited about Disney, and anticipated a couple of little accidents.

:lmao:

Before we knew it, we were sat deliriously tired and giggling, waiting to board at Gate 206!

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At 10:20am we got that magical announcement…

BOARDING TIME!

Our plane was GINORMOUS. I don’t know the exact type of plane, but I believe this was the layout. The only difference being that there was a bathroom right behind our seats (18H and 18K).

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Our seats were perfect!

I’'ve had plenty of bad flight experiences involving the person behind me kicking my seat.
I CAN'’T DEAL WITH THAT FOR AN 8 HOUR FLIGHT.
So I reserved early, and having no one behind us was great.

The seats were purple leather and very spacious!
Even with the bathroom behind us, there was enough room for us to recline just as much as everyone else.

Just to note, when we went to Disney in 2012, Jamie asked for the window seat “just for a little nap”…..

8 HOURS LATER..

SLEEPING BEAUTY AWAKENS FROM HIS DEATH-LIKE SLEEP.

So guess who got the window seat this time :wave2:

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We were greeted with this little treat!

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If you're wondering about that interesting looking hand in the background, that was Jamie’'s take on drinking with sophistication.

He needs to keep practicing.

But still, we like to pretend we have class.

(Emphasis on the word ‘'pretend'’.)

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Before we knew it, we were off!

“Think of all the joy you'’ll find,
When you leave the world behind,
And bid your cares goodbye!
…
There's a Never Land waiting for you
Where all your happy dreams come true!”


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Click for Day 1, Part 2!

 
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Loving it so far!

By the way, my husband and I love traveling to the UK - he studied in London and considers it a second home. :thumbsup2.

Lissette
 
Hello,

Great report so far! I am enjoying it! I like taking alot of pics too. You are making me excited for my trip in Oct!

Waiting for more....

:hyper:
 

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