Trip Report I ESCAPED!!! (part 1) - The Dream Girls

PART 1 OF 2​

Oh come on! Y'all didn't think I'd actually NOT post some sort of telling of the tale, did you?

#seriously?

Wait! I take that back! There was a rule about hashtags! Crap! @Ariel484 , you had the list of rules, right?

No notes to use. Just the pictures and the memories that stand out. For whatever reason there's holes here and there in my pictoral timeline. Oh well. Prob'ly better that way. ;)

Many of the girls said things like, "What happens on the girls' cruise stays on the girls' cruise." Um, yeah. No promises on whether or not what follows is strategically edited. Chances are it is. If you want to know what really happens on the unOfficial WDWMagic Girls Cruise you'll just have to book yourself a stateroom on the next one. Needless to say, 27 ladies + 1 cruise = a hellagood time.

Part 1 of 2. This was a 2-part runaway from home for me. I decided to do these recountings in 2 pieces then link them to each other accordingly. Part 1 contains the girls cruise experience. Part 2 contains the 20th anniversary escape for me & my Sweetness. Definitely 2 vastly different trips connected by time. You can see part 2 HERE.

Also, please forgive whatever crap I post for pictures. I got a new camera a few days before I left home. I played a lot with my shots and have been experimenting heavily with editing. Oftentimes you'll see pictures taken only seconds apart that look very different. That's because in editing I'm still playing with a range of settings to find what my mind's eye enjoys. K?

With that, lets get this thing rolling!
 
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Ariel484

Ariel484

Well-Known Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
Wait! I take that back! There was a rule about hashtags! Crap! @Ariel484 , you had the list of rules, right?
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:D

Behold, rule #2!
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Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
​
Many of the girls said things like, "What happens on the girls' cruise stays on the girls' cruise." Um, yeah.
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Um, yeah--that line got some hoots at my Monday morning staff meeting when someone asked me how good a time I had... ;)

sweetpee_1993 said:
If you want to know what really happens on the unOfficial WDWMagic Girls Cruise you'll just have to book yourself a stateroom on the next one. Needless to say, 27 ladies + 1 cruise = a hellagood time.
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Amen!! Can't wait for the next one!
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
September 7 - The adventure begins in a very Grand way!

Goodbyes to my "babies" (they're 15 & 17 now) and off I went. I escaped!

When you're used to traveling with someone else it's very odd to suddenly be alone. Very strange. Nice flight in my first class seat (last minute upgrade for $89 brought my cost for my cushy seat to $104 since my flight was originally booked on points). Made it to MCO just a few minutes late due to bad storms in the area. Christina (@Kerby626) found me as I was zipping past in the airport. We met Tammy (@Disneyfalcon) at DME and we were off.




Here we goooooooo!!!!




Stops before our resort. Tammy & I both agree, this is our idea of "roughing it" or "camping". Tents are for testosterone.




Nope, not our resort yet but always fun to see. It's quintessential Disney, after all.




Home for the night!




Missy (@polymissy ) met us at the DME bus. She had already checked-in but walked with us to the front desk to get our room keys. I'll admit, I was definitely one who always said the Grand Floridian was way too stuffy or way too frou-frou for me. I'm not a floraly, Victorian, busy design fan. I appreciate it but it's just not my deal. I always thought of the GF as in-your-face, gaudy florals that to me were the utmost in yuck. I am happy to report that I was completely wrong.

The beds.




Vanity area. It's more spacious in this area than what I could capture. It's really nice. We had 4 ladies in this room. At least a few times more than one of us stood in front of these sinks getting ready to go.




I think I did sorta capture the space in the potty/tub room. It's not like you have to squeeze out of the way to shut the door. Plenty of space.




The coffee corner on the vanity counter. Caught Tammy peeking around the corner, too. :happy: You can't really see it but the little topiaries in the wallpaper print were Disney characters. It was really a whimsical incorporation of the Disney details without making it childish or juvenile.




Nice size closet. Plenty of storage in this room for 4 ladies who all overpacked. None of us unpacked since we were here for just the 1 night but it was plenty of space to function with even if we were all co-habitating for a week.




Such a serene interpretation of Victorian. I really did feel calm and warm in the room.




Refridgerator in the cabinet seen here. Yes, the fridge was there and working.




Seating by the balcony door.




Of course Tammy was also photographing all these same things but probably much better than me since she has the photography skills. Here she is doing her thing out on the balcony along with Christina grabbing her shots, too.




Here's the view from our balcony.




Back inside, mirror shot for @HollyBelle !




But what fun is just sitting in our sweet room?! It's time to explore this grand lady!
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I forget which of the outer buildings we were in. Here's an overlook of the atrium area of our building, tho. Again, the decor was elegantly Victorian but in a very serene, calming tone. I really was enchanted by it.




What a pretty chandelier.




We walked out the back door to our building to see what was out that side. It's the Seven Seas Lagoon.




A look down the side of the building.




And the other side shows us a castle view.




Back out the front of our building we started to wander the sidewalks. I really love this next picture because of the range of colors in the sky.




Not sure but this might have been our building.




This resort is truly photogenic.




The sky even with the clouds quickly became my muse.






We wandered over towards the common areas. Near the lagoon & the feature pool there's a fire pit. There were CMs out handing out marshmallows on sticks to roast. It was this moment that the 3 of us became aware just how hungry we were. Appetizer!






The new Grand Floridian DVC building is really coming along.




Can't get enough of the scenery here.




Poolside bar & grill.




The feature pool. No idea what the name of it is.




Of course I had to stick my toes in!




The Mad Hatter water play area was really cute. I wish I could go down the little kiddie slides without getting in trouble. No, I'm not kidding.



 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tiggerish said:
Um, yeah--that line got some hoots at my Monday morning staff meeting when someone asked me how good a time I had... ;)

Amen!! Can't wait for the next one!
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Well, ya had to be there to understand. I can't wait for the next one, too. If a date gets announced I'll be booking right away.


Zipitidoda said:
I'm in...can't wait to hear about the girl's cruise.
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Good! I'm trying to throw my report up before people get tired of hearing about the same stinkin' cruise from a dozen different people. LOL! Actually, I'm kinda surprised I'm the first one..... ladies????


LuvsTheMouse said:
Yeah! A "Dream Girls" trip report started!!! I'll just hang out in the background and read everyone's....
It was soooooo much fun. I hope to meet up again someday!:cool:

Yep, I ain't saying nothing ..:rolleyes:
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Agreed. It was so much fun. I hope to meet up with everyone again, too.


Disneyfalcon said:
You started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be back to read...
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No problem. You do have a life. I almost titled my report "Too Many Words" in @polymissy 's honor. ;)


Ariel484 said:
Woohoo!

Oh, my beloved Grand...:inlove: I truly think almost everyone thinks it's stuffy until they actually stay there. Amazing view!! Love the Tammy photobomb in the bathroom. :D
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You are absolutely right. If you only ever go in the main building or even walk outside it would be easy to think this place is stuffy. But when you're a guest and in the rooms it's very different. I can't really put it to words. Honest, I think the GF might just be one of WDW's better-kept secrets.


WDWmazprty said:
Awesome so far!
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Thank you. :)
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Inside the main building we took time to appreciate the marble inlays in the floor.




And the beautiful trompe l'oiel work.




We're girls. We find shops.




I drooled over these Harvey's bags. I love them so much. If you've never seen a Harvey's bag I highly recommend checking them out in person. Yes, they can be pricey but they are extremely well made. I love the company's story and they're made in America, girls! FYI, I did end up buying one later in my trip. Heehee!




I soooo wanted to buy some of the gorgeous Lilly Pulitzer pieces in here. You have noooooo idea. But I was good. I refrained.

Looking back out into the main lobby area. It's just so mesmerizing.






We headed upstairs to check things out from up there. Captivating is a good word for this time & place.




Oh look! There's a band!




Our estrogen-fueled merch detectors drew us to more shopping.

 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
On to dinner. We had a small group of gals meet up for 1900 Park Fare. I bought the pre-dinner pic but haven't had time to scan it. I don't really want to stop here to go scan and upload it so we'll move right along. If any of the ladies want the pic please let me know. I'll scan & send it to you.

Cinderella came by to see us. @joanna71985




Cruise roomie! @plaz10




And Siobhan! @Tiggerish




Is it weird to see pics of yourself in someone else's trip report??? Curious....

Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, & Drizella truly are the stars of the show here. Seriously.




Here's Sherry! @Tiggerfanatic




Could you imagine having the job of being friends of one of these ladies? Walk around scowling and making faces at cameras. I could do that.




@joanna71985 was in the hot seat. She most accessible so she was the one who got to pose with everyone. Thanks for being such a great sport, Joanna!




Dinner was good. No complaints. Afterwards we all headed back to our room to rearrange our suitcases and get ready for the big day tomorrow. We thought we were being so good, all 4 of us in our beds before midnight. But then we started giggling and laughing, talking and having such fun. We didn't actually go to sleep until after 2 a.m. Not lying. Maybe we needed a mom there to tell us to knock it off. Oh wait, all 4 of us are moms..... hmmmm....

At 4:30 I heard our neighbor's wakeup call plain as day. It could've been our phone ringing. OMG. We were kinda loud with all our giggling just a few hours ago. I bet we kept whoever was next door awake. If you're out there, neighbor, I'm sorry if we kept you awake!
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
September 8, 2013 - After 2 years of planning, the Dream began!

Sooooo, we were up and at 'em at 5:30. Yes, that's with just 3 1/2 hours sleep. Yikes!

We were packed up and back out by 6:30. 4 ladies, 1 bathroom, everyone packed & out the door in an hour. We felt accomplished! Back to the main building...






Missy, Christina, and Tammy waiting for the doors to open to the monorail platform. Of course I caught Tammy doing what she does. LOL!




Yes, I just said "monorail platform". How many of you can say you've hauled your luggage on the monorail? We can!




I brightened up these early morning shots a lot. They were way more grey.




Buh-bye, Grand Floridian.




Toes shot for Tammy's Travelin' Toes blog!







Oooooh...I spy with my little eye....




Destination??? The Polynesian Resort!



 
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