Our Grand Floridian dream come true...Trip Report

[Tash87]

I have so many great memories from our holiday i thought each day I will add something extra.

Firstly the flight seemed to take FOREVER! And my little boy was ill 30 minutes from landing so the queue for customs etc was not a very happy place! We was chosen to use the electronic machines, can I ask....what is the point in them? Cause you have to do it all over again with the guy/lady behind he desk.

Anyway after 3 long hours we chose our car, it was suprisingly very spacious. We paid extra for an intermediate SUV but I was still worried about space.

When we arrived at the GF I was so overwhelmed and the children were very tired...it was now 2 am in the UK! Anyway a lovely bell 'boy' Eric took us and our luggage to our room on a golf buggy, giving us a tour of the resort....beautiful! Everyone was so helpful, even housekeeping came to our room with a bed guard for our little man within minutes!

This was the view from our room at 4 am before our first day to Universal​

 

[Tash87]

First up a few pics by the gingerbread house whilst it was so quiet. ​

 

[Tash87]

Next stop Denny's for breakfast, Lola was impressed with her pancake.
​

 

[Tash87]

Then on to Universal with our first stop being the Minions ride.

We went on a few other rides before leaving at lunchtime as we were all tired and very hot! So of course we had to stop off at Coldstone Creamery on our way out....

Yes, Lola chose a cone which was bigger than her head haha. Of course she didn't eat it all! I had the birthday cake remix and it was so good.​

 

[Tash87]

After getting back to our hotel and having a rest we had a reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe. I was a bit apprehensive about this reservation as i booked it not long before our holiday started due to gasparillas being closed but oh boy, how wrong was I!? It was one of our best meals and the service was excellent. It just felt so lovely and relaxed in there. Me and hubby had the herb crusted steak, which was the best steak we have ever eaten.

I couldn't even eat a dessert but as it was included with the Dining Plan I chose something and the kids had it between them. Lola didn't want a meal so her and Jenson had a fruit cup each ( eating patterns were well and truly messed up with the time difference ).
After our meal we had a wander around the resort, truly beautiful and smelt gorgeous!

And then when you arrive back to your room to this...

​

 

[Tash87]

After a good night sleep and hearing the Magic Kingdom fireworks and the water light parade ( whilst asleep ) we was finally off to Magic Kingdom.

We had some lunch from Casey's corner ( is that what it's called? ) and went back to our room. I gotta say it really is so convenient staying at the GF. We had a reservation for BoG later on that evening so we had plenty of time to go and have a rest before heading back to MK.

I have to admit, whilst it was beautiful and the theming is brilliant I do think that BoG is way to overrated. Me and hubby had the steak again and we think that the GF Cafe was much nicer. Then o pic with the Feast ( as little man calls him lol )

​

 

[Tash87]

For our 3rd park day we went back to Universal for our last time. We rode Minions again then made our way to Islands of adventure on the Hogwarts Express...amazing! Me and Lola rode The forbidden Journey ( is that what it's called ) I thought it was the best ride Ive ever been on, I loved it! I have to say this year is the first time Lola can ride on a lot of rides and she loved it! Adrenalin Junkie!

Al the rides this day were walk on. It was great, we got so much done! And a lot of shopping as this was our last Uni day.
On our way back we went to Walmart to pick up some bits...I love it in there! We didn't have a reservation booked for today so later we decided to order a pizza from the resort. OMG it was delicious.


​

 

[Tash87]

The following morning was EMH at Animal Kingdom, we took the resort bus and was surprised how easy and accurate the timing was on the board.

Hubby and J are missing from a few photos due to Jenson being grumpy.

We made our way straight to the Safari and it was the best one I've been on. All the animals were out and some of them having breakfast. After having a wander and Lola going on Expedition Everest 3 times ( 2 with me 1 with a scared daddy )

Then it was time for our Tusker House lunch Mmmmmm. It was nice to have range of food, instead or just burgers and fries. We have said we will definitely go on the dining plan again. All this talk of food is making wish I was back there right NoW!

Time for a cheeky viewing of It's Toigh to be a Bug!​

 

[Tash87]

That evening we had a walk around the resort.

We loved the ease of being able to go to the beach bar and grab drinks and especially hot chocolate in the evenings.
​

 

[Tash87]

The following day we had a relaxing morning before heading to Hollywood Studios.
The kids found it hard to avoid this place...

After a bit of chilled fun we made our way to Hollywood. Jenson was now 40" so was able to go on more rides, he loved Star Tours and TSMM. Lola loved ToT which surprised me. On our way to our reservation with Minnie for her Holday Dine we saw Santa. He was THE real deal, I swear!

Anyway onto our reservation. The food was nice but we only managed to meet Minnie and Daisy which was disappointing for the kids. We literally couldn't wait any longer, they was taking forever to come around and was still nowhere to be seen. This is when we noticed the parks getting extremely busy! They was happy they had a photo with Santa Goof though. Jenson literally didnt want to leave the characters, he loved them all!
​

 

[Tash87]

I managed to keep the kids entertained whilst waiting for Jingle Bell Jingle Bam. I'm glad we saw it but I wouldn't watch it again. I like the effect of the snow blowing with cold air, great effect.

​

 

[Tash87]

The next day we had a brunch reservation at Chef Mickey's and it was Mickeys birthday. Whilst waiting for our table a huge birthday cake came out and all the characters to sing happy birthday to Mickey ( and Minnie ) it was a lovely rare moment and we felt lucky to be there.

The food was nice and Lola enjoyed her Mickey waffle.

We did have a ressie for Sci-Fi dine at HS but I cancelled it to give us a bit of free time to enjoy MK.
We went on the people mover and got stuck in the dark for 30 mins before being escorted out down a emergency exit with a lady handing out a free FP for everyone.
We used the FP for Pirates of the Carribean and already had FP for Jingle Cruise, It's a small world and the Speedway. The parks really were busy to the point of it being too busy to move!

​

 

[Tash87]

The following day we had another quiet morning where we went to Walmart again so Lola could spend some of her money buying Shopkins. This was a very special day as Lola had BBB booked and dining in the Castle.
Me and Lola made our way to MK whilst hubby stayed with Jenson so he could sleep as we was hoping to catch the fireworks that night. Me and Lola had time to do a bit of shopping before going to the boutique. The whole experience of the boutique was so special, I am so glad we did this now before she gets too old.

She truly felt like a real princess and couldn't not stop smiling the whole evening. We had bought Jenson a Captain Jack Sparrow costume to wear so he didn't feel left out but he refused to wear it!
Now onto our meal with the princesses in the Castle. It was very nice, the food and service! They even gave Jenson a miniature portion of food for 'free' cause he wasn't on the DP.


​

 

[Tash87]

After our meal we went on a few rides before our FP for SDMT. Adam decided to go back with Jenson and meet us on the boat dock to watch the fireworks ( we thought SDMT might be too rough for Jenson ) with a hot choc.
Me and Lola had time to kill before our FP at 9pm so we thought we would try a few other rides but the queues were just too long so we just sat and waited. The queue for SD was 130 minutes and the FP queue looked huge but we was through in 10 minutes. We loved it but it was too short! Then we made our way back through the crowds to the resort boats.

Lola loved this boat but I wasn't too keen, it seemed really eerie in the dark, going across that HUGE lagoon.
Adam and Jenson were waiting for us at the busy boat dock. It was lovely watching the fireworks from there and avoiding being amongst the crowds!​

 

[Tash87]

The next day was Adams birthday and we had breakfast booked for the GF Cafe. The food was nice but it took forever to be served, the lady even took 20% off the bill cause we had to wait so long. Lola and Jenson loved their pancakes.

Later in the afternoon we was heading to Epcot as Adam loves their fireworks and light show. I had a FP booked for FEA which we all enjoyed.

Lola wore her Elsa dress again as we was meeting her and Anna. Me and Lola waited in queue for 35 minutes and when we finally got to the girls they was having a private joke with the photopass people which was a bit awkward but it didn't spoil Lola's experience. She even froze Anna and had to hug her to get her back again.


We had a few other FP booked but we didn't make them by the time we walked around world showcase. We managed to get on the Nemo ride though before our reservation at Garden Grill. This was our best character meal by far! The characters kept coming round and making fuss out the kids and the food was just soooo nice!
We did have one bad experience when Chip poked Jenson in the eye and he was crying his eyes out. Chip made such a fuss out of him trying to stop him from crying. I felt sorry for Chip in the end cause Jenson just wasn't stopping crying! Lol funny really.

When we came out of Garden Grill it was really cold so we decided not to watch Illuminations and make our way back to our room. It was just too busy, I knew it would be busy this week but it was starting to put a dampener on our holiday. We have sai we will to go again this time of year.​

 

[Tash87]

The next day was our last day at AK and we had a reservation booked for Rainforest Cafe with a few FP. In the end it was so busy we only used one FP for Dinosaur. Even Jenson went on it so it was nice that we could all go on together, we all enjoyed it.

Then it was time for our food at Rainforest Cafe. Yum! It was our first time in here and we loved it. Adam said his steak wasn't the best.

​

 

[Tash87]

When we got back to our room we had to start packing to move onto our next hotel

It was so hard trying to pack cases that didn't need to be opened again and cases that had enough clothes in for our last few days. In the end we had to open all the cases and repack anyway!

We had kept asking at GF when the Christmas tree and decorations would be going up up and it was tomorrow. Our last day! So after check out the following morning we had to have photos in the lobby.
​

 

[Tash87]

We then had a cheeky, quick trip into MK. We stopped and got an ice-cream sandwich from the parlour on Main Street. We had so many snacks and quick serve meals left that on our way out of MK we stopped in the confectionary to stock up on gifts. The total should have been over $100 ( I didn't see the receipt properly ) Again it was so busy we decided to leave and go to Disney springs for our final reservation at T.Rex and get our remaining quick service meals changed into snacks. We had over $200 worth of snacks in there. We couldn't believe how many meals and snacks we had left cause we love our food but just couldn't deal with the amount of food. It was nice though.
When we checked in to Wyndham Bonnet Creek we really inked it but had been spoilt coming from GF.

​

 

[Jon84]

Sounds like you had an amazing trip!!

The passport control machines only really work if you've been within a Year or so on your current passport.

We sailed through, just getting the slips stamped