This was the first time the boys - and the first time in many, many years that either Daddy or Mommy have stayed at the Grand Floridian. The last time Mommy was here, I think I was 14...! This time we are staying in the new Villas too - the Vacation Club section of the resort which was built just a few years ago. Some of the more notable things about the Vacation Club rooms here are that there are TV screens built into the bathroom mirrors - and the Studios can sleep 5 (with a secret bed which is quite exciting). Our room also has two showers which is pretty funny for the boys, and a little kitchenette which is more extensive than I thought it would be. Could still get the garden grocer to deliver yogurt and bagels and such as we still had a toaster oven, and microwave too. It is a nice set-up.
One thing we never do on any Disney vacation (ironically) - is spend that much time in the hotel. Each hotel has their own little world that people should explore. And, since we are probably not going to get back to the Grand Floridian again anytime soon (we are Beach Clubbers, and are having a hard time with the distance of the GF from Epcot and Hollywood Studios. It's a breeze to the MK! But, not back from the MK - if the monorail is not running). So, if we aren't going to come back anytime soon, we need to be sure to enjoy it.
Daddy and the boys are enjoying the pool, which is a pretty good one. (Still Beach Club is the best). The initial reports from the boys are that the slide here is better than the slide at Animal Kingdom. There is a sandy beach (though who wants to go in the lagoon?) - and a really cool splash pad too with a Mad Hatter hat that fills with water and dumps all over any of the poor unsuspecting toddlers (or completely excited preschoolers) below. There is a pool bar and place to eat, but it has frankly been so hot that we have just completely ignored it.
If you like penguins and are in awe with Disney design, and you are staying here - make sure you take a walk over to the Villas lobby and see the penguin water fountain which is awesome.
One of the things that we did this trip - is we split up, the Joels went to the MK and James and I decided that we would enjoy all of the amenities of the Resort. So, we got all duded up in our resort wear best, and went to the Lobby of the Hotel. We found a couch upstairs, near the Mezner's Bar, and ordered drinks. We sat and listened to the live music, which was impressive, Disney themed - and entertaining for both James and myself.
When I was a little kid my parents would take me to these things (only child) - all the time. It was nice to take James to this experience and teach him the ways of the fancy. You can't beat the one on one time either. James ordered us drinks and took pictures and danced, danced to the music.
The Lobby has live music almost continuously from about 2-3pm to 9:45 at night each day. It usually switches off between a piano player on the bottom floor, and a small orchestra on the top playing to the entire Lobby. The orchestra is amazing - and if you are not staying here, but are eating here - come early and bill in time for a drink and to listen to the music. We listened to them play the Muppet Show song and I could have never left. But we needed to eat dinner!
The other thing we did was order room service and watch a movie. If you stay in a Villa you can get a movie from the Concierge, just sign it out. I would highly recommend going through the book ahead of time and only offering your child a three to choose from, as James and I ended up looking at the book for 10 minutes and arguing over which movie to watch. It took me a while to convince him that it was not the right time of year for Prep and Landing.
We got a delicious room service, with tons and tons of food which I then salvaged as much as possible into a breakfast for this morning too. Mommy fell asleep before the movie was over and little boy was in bed thirty seconds later.
Who spends all the money to come to Disney to watch a Disney movie in the room? We do, because we spent the morning at Hollywood Studios, the afternoon at Epcot and the evening in the pool and doing super cool things. We needed a snuggle night in and it was awesome.
Other cool thing about our hotel - is we can see the monorail from our room. (standard villa view, actually not so bad to offer that fun view). I can tell you that the monorails seem to run really well when you are in an air conditioned room with your happy child and a glass of wine!
We also enjoyed a brunch at 1900 Park Fare - which you do not have to stay here to enjoy. The characters were great - Mad Hatter, Alice, Pooh, Tigger and Mary Poppins. Delicious food and just off the monorail. First buffet with gummy bears, which the boys found. See photos in later blog posts.
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