Trip Report A salute to our whole vacation, but mostly the food *COMPLETED*

Hello all!! We've been home for a little over a week and its time to start this trip report! We had an amazing 9 night trip..lots of food and drinks as you can tell from the title. I did a pre-trip report :
We drank the Kool-aid; our first stay as DVC members!

Ok, so quick back story...On this trip was me and my husband Scott (MassScott84).

We bought into DVC this past January and planned this trip then. Plans changed about 20 times...at first we were going to spend our first few nights at Vero Beach, but in the end our first 7 nights were at Polynesian, and two weeks before we left, we were able to snag our last two nights in a one bedroom at the Grand Floridian!

Day 1 9/16:

So Scott had to work a half day, so our flight was not until 537pm. I was busy all day with last minute packing and bringing our fur children to various family members houses. Before we knew it, it was time to go! They built a new lounge at our airport, and they had a groupon deal, so we got some snacks and (most important) drinks before the flight.

It was a nice little quiet luxury to have before our flight. Next thing we know, we are boarding and off we go! The flight was smooth and 2.5 hours later we were at MCO! We grabbed our luggage, got our rental car, and were on the road by 9pm.

We were finally here!! Although I love having a car on property, I do miss driving under this on the Magical Express! So we had done online check in, and once we got to the Poly we went straight to room 2901, second floor, Tokelau. Our room was right by the elevators, which made me slightly nervous noise wise, but it ended up being fine.

Ahhhh this room!! We loved it!! It was a nice size for a studio...and two bathrooms! That rainfall shower was amazing!!

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

Great report so far! I'm full just looking at all the food...

 

[geebee721]

Day 7....Magic Kingdom and first time at Hoop De Doo!

I was up bright and early this morning!

I could wake up to this view every morning! When we booked this room, I was worried we would have a terrible view not having a lake view, but I really enjoyed our view! It really looks and feels like you are in a tropical paradise. So while Scott was getting ready, I ran over to Capt. Cook's to grab some breakfast sandwiches.

These were really good and EXTREMELY filling! After breakfast we stood in the very long security line to get onto the monorail. The line went pretty quick and next thing we knew we were at MK!

Hello beautiful! Our first fastpass was for Peter Pan so we walked through the castle and made our way over to Fantasyland.

After Peter Pan, we walked over to the Journey of the Little Mermaid and it had no wait.

Scott super excited to go under the sea! I love the details of this queue! I really enjoy this ride! Its fun, I sing the entire time, and the AC is great! Next up was a ride on Winnie the Pooh, then our next fastpass was for 7DMT.

This photo cracks me up! The look of terror on Scott's face! He's not a big roller coaster person at all,,,,this is the only coaster he will do. I think he enjoys this ride, or maybe he tolerates it for my sake! We head over to Frontierland to watch Scott's favorite show...The Country Bears Jamboree.

We walked towards the train station and decided to hop on for a loop around the park.

After a nice leisurely trip, we hopped off because it was lunch time at Be Our Guest! It had been a couple of years since we've eaten here, so I was excited!

 

[geebee721]

We checked in and I had pre-ordered our food, so there was no wait. We paid and got a table in the main ballroom. We've never eaten in the West Wing, and I tried hard to get a table there but it was way too crowded. The tables in the ballroom were REALLY close to each other. We had a table for two, but I felt that we were eating with the two other families on both sides of us.

Scott ordered the braised pork and I got the carved turkey sandwich, which I order every single time! I know, boring, but its so good!

The food was really good! We were too full for dessert, so we made our way back out into the heat! It was getting really, really hot.

We headed over toward Tomorrowland, since our next fastpass was for Buzz. We decided to watch COP and take a ride on the Peoplemover first.

So just as we were moving out of the first part of the first room of Buzz Lightyear, the ride stopped. We were probably stopped about 5 minutes or so, and we were able to do this:

HAHA....I know it doesn't count since we were stopped pretty much under a target that with a few hits gave us this. So once the ride started we kind of just sat back and relaxed lol.

Yes the humidity was doing wonders to my hair! We walked over and did Pirates next and after this we decided to head out of the park. The heat and the crowds were getting to be a little much, and we wanted to relax in the room before our night. We first decided to stop for a citrus swirl orange float. It tasted like a creamsicle, Scott really liked it, and I thought it was ok. I'm also not a huge creamsicle, but if you are this is the thing for you! As you can see, it was melting really fast.

On our way out Festival of Fantasy was starting, we watched it for a bit on Main Street.

After the parade, we were DEFINITELY done and needed to get back. We were hot before, but now after roasting a little more in the sun, we were super, super hot. We got back on the monorail and headed back over to the Poly.

Before we headed up to our room, we stopped at the front desk to talk to a manager. I absolutely loved our room, but there were a couple of things that surprised me. In the closet, one of the wooden shelves was really banged up and the wood was splintering. In our bathroom, it looked like paint was splattered on the wall, and whatever cleaner they used on the tiles was not wiped up properly. No big deal, nothing that would make us freak out. But....that morning I had been looking for a towel on one of the shelves in the bathroom. So the shelves, are open and under the sink. When I looked back to grab the towel, behind the clean towel was a a dirty towel that did not belong to us! It was covered with very dark makeup and bright pink lipstick, both of which I do not wear. It was pretty gross. Also, on the night stand there is an opening you can put your phone cord through to plug it in underneath. In the area where that opening is, was a punch of trash. Magic bands, wrappers, crumpled up receipts...we were amazed that something like that was overlooked! We've never had a stay in a room that was not really clean. So, we stopped by just to bring it to the attention of management. We actually weren't going to say anything, but once I found the dirty towel I was over it lol. I had taken some pictures of the stuff to show them also. The manager was awesome (can't remember his name), but he asked me to text him all the pictures so he could show the housekeeping manager. He also refunded a nights of points back to our account and was sending housekeeping up to totally clean the room. He thanked us and told us if you see something wrong with your room to tell a manager at the front desk, because if people don't say something how will they know. A few minutes after we got into our room, the housekeeping manager came by to look at what we had told them about. He also apologized non stop and said someone would be up to clean the room. I hate complaining on vacation, but this just showed if you aren't happy or if something is not right with your room....say something(nicely)!

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Before we headed up to our room, we stopped at the front desk to talk to a manager. I absolutely loved our room, but there were a couple of things that surprised me. In the closet, one of the wooden shelves was really banged up and the wood was splintering. In our bathroom, it looked like paint was splattered on the wall, and whatever cleaner they used on the tiles was not wiped up properly. No big deal, nothing that would make us freak out. But....that morning I had been looking for a towel on one of the shelves in the bathroom. So the shelves, are open and under the sink. When I looked back to grab the towel, behind the clean towel was a a dirty towel that did not belong to us! It was covered with very dark makeup and bright pink lipstick, both of which I do not wear. It was pretty gross. Also, on the night stand there is an opening you can put your phone cord through to plug it in underneath. In the area where that opening is, was a punch of trash. Magic bands, wrappers, crumpled up receipts...we were amazed that something like that was overlooked! We've never had a stay in a room that was not really clean. So, we stopped by just to bring it to the attention of management. We actually weren't going to say anything, but once I found the dirty towel I was over it lol. I had taken some pictures of the stuff to show them also. The manager was awesome (can't remember his name), but he asked me to text him all the pictures so he could show the housekeeping manager. He also refunded a nights of points back to our account and was sending housekeeping up to totally clean the room. He thanked us and told us if you see something wrong with your room to tell a manager at the front desk, because if people don't say something how will they know. A few minutes after we got into our room, the housekeeping manager came by to look at what we had told them about. He also apologized non stop and said someone would be up to clean the room. I hate complaining on vacation, but this just showed if you aren't happy or if something is not right with your room....say something(nicely)!

I'm also one to not complain but what you found is just gross. I wouldn't be very happy if I found a dirty towel and garbage in my room!

 

[Stacey LeDuc]

Yea...there is no way to feel clean in your rom after that. You can’t help but think....what else got missed. Glad you said something or it would have been on your mind the whole time.

 

[geebee721]

So we quickly showered and got ready to head out for the night! So, this entire trip we have not had a drop of rain, which was surprising since last time we went in September it rained almost every night. So I decided to straighten my hair, and the minute we walked outside it started to pour! So my sleek hair quickly turned into a wet, humid mess!

It was actually super sunny, and pouring. Oh well. We had Hoop de Doo tonight, but that wasn't until 8:30, so to Trader Sams we went!

It was super fun as usual! Scott had a Shrunken Zombie, and I had a few krakatoa punches. The crowd inside the bar tonight was really getting into the different songs for the drinks.

The straw game was strong! I clearly enjoyed my multiple drinks. We decided to head over to Wilderness Lodge to take the boat over to Fort Wilderness. It was such a beautiful night out and we were really excited to see Hoop de Doo.

This was actually the first time either of us had been to Fort Wilderness. It was a bit early to check in, so we walked around, went into the trading post.

So, we were finally able to check in! We were both starving since we hadn't eaten since Be Our Guest at lunch time. We took some TERRIBLE photopass pictures. They had us pose in a few, and it was beyond terrible. lol

 

[geebee721]

After our awful photo session it was time to go in! We were seated in the middle section, near the stage. Once we got to our table we had salad and cornbread which was so good! We dug in and our waitress brought us over some drinks.

I swear the minute the drink was low, another one appeared.

The show was really good! My favorite part was when they walked around, asking some people where they were from, and made a song about it. It was really funny.

Next, the main meal came out!

We had fried chicken, ribs, baked beans, and corn. The ribs were really good and my favorite thing we ate that night. After a little more show, was dessert! I was so full, but found a way to eat more! The strawberry shortcake was soooooo delicious!

They handed out washboards and I gave Scott the honor of playing it. He was obviously having a lot more fun than the girl at the table next to us!

It was a really fun show, and we would definitely go back. We rolled ourselves to the boat launch and headed back over to the Wilderness Lodge, grabbed our car, made it back to the Poly for our last night! It was bittersweet because we were sad to be leaving the Poly, but would be checking into the Grand Floridian!

Scott was rocking our glow cube collection from the night! Once we got to the room, we packed everything up and went right to bed.

 

[geebee721]

I'm also one to not complain but what you found is just gross. I wouldn't be very happy if I found a dirty towel and garbage in my room!

Yeah the dirty towel was the final straw!

Yea...there is no way to feel clean in your rom after that. You can’t help but think....what else got missed. Glad you said something or it would have been on your mind the whole time.

I thought the same thing!

 

[geebee721]

Day 8....Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs and moving to the Grand!

We were up early this morning, because it was moving day! Instead of calling for help from bell services, we decided to struggle and make it in one trip to the car with all our stuff. After we got the car all packed up, we were on our way to Animal Kingdom! Our first fastpass was for Na'vi River Journey, so we made our way over to Pandora.

This animatronic is amazing! I'll agree with the majority of people that this ride is way too short and not worth the wait time. If we didn't have a fast pass for this, we probably would had skipped it because the wait time, even first thing in the morning, was over an hour. We said good bye to Pandora and its beautiful floating mountains.

By the time we were out of Pandora, if was after 10 am and the park was really, really getting crowded. We decided to head out of the park...we were done! The crowds, plus the heat, mixed with how exhausted we were from going non stop for the past 8 days was not a good mixture! We decided to head over to Disney Springs to shop some and get some lunch.

A beautiful, hot day in the Springs! We walked around for a while, shopped, and called back home to check in on our fur children. Everyone was good! It was nearing lunch time, and we decided to go to Blaze Pizza.

This was my pizza...chicken, meatball, cheese, garlic, and yellow peppers. It was so good! Scott got his own, since we can never agree on the same pizza...and I forgot what he got! The food was good, but the staff was not very friendly this day. The guy making Scott's pizza actually rolled his eyes at him. After the delicious pizza we definitely needed dessert and what else but Ghirardelli! We split the brownie sundae and it was oh so good.

After lunch we were anxiously awaiting the room is ready text! So originally we had planned to stay at the Poly our whole trip. A few weeks before our trip, Scott said that they had a one bedroom at the Grand Floridian for the last two nights of our trip and that we should take it. And of course I agreed! Some time after 2 o'clock Scott got the text and we were off!

This was the fountain in the lobby and it was adorable! Our room was up on the fifth floor and we had a lake view,

Mirror selfie! This was Scott's face after I told him three times to smile.

 

[geebee721]

Our room was so beautiful! We knew the room would be really nice, but when we walked in we both said wow!

This king sized bed was so comfortable! It was a nice change from the uncomfortable queen at the Poly.

I loved our view!

The balcony ran the whole length of the room. We sat out here for a while, enjoying the view and soaking it all in. Another great feature of the the one bedroom was a washer and dryer! I put in some laundry while we hung out in the room. It was so nice to just sit and relax after being non stop the entire week. We had a 530 reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe, so we got ready and headed down to the main lobby. We had to wait about 15 minutes past our reservation, they were super busy that night. Soon, we sat down and ordered some drinks! I got the Pimm's Punch which was good and refreshing.

We both ended up ordering the New York strip and it was delicious! It came with a side of house made steak sauce and it was so, so good. We decided to pass on dessert and headed over to Mizner's Lounge for some after dinner drinks and to listen to the band.

It was really crowded here, but managed to snag two seats at the bar. Our bartender was Tammy and she was so great! We wanted to hang around a little longer, but we were getting tired and wanted to watch fireworks from our balcony.

 

[geebee721]

Before we headed back, we had to get some dessert, because you cannot end a meal without dessert in Disney! We stopped in Gasparilla to grab a few treats. It was such a nice night and we had a nice walk back to the room.

For dessert I had some sort of chocolate mousse cake and Scott had a lemon cupcake. Mine was not that great, I only had a few bites, but Scott's cupcake was really good.

We got settled on our balcony and watched the water pageant.

Tonight Hallowishes was going on, and we tried to coordinate the soundtrack on Youtube to it, but we were way off. lol

After the fireworks we hung out a little more, I finished up some laundry and then it was time for bed. Let me just say, this bed was so comfortable! I usually have a hard time sleeping on vacation because I can never get comfortable in hotel beds, but this bed was amazing!

Day 9...Last day!

I was up early this morning because I wanted to get some pictures of the sun rising over Bay Lake.

The sun was not even rising yet! It was such a beautiful view, and so quiet! You can see the Orlando Eye way all lit up.

Scott was sound asleep so I got dressed and took a walk around the resort. It was so quiet and relaxing.

I had brought my mug with me and stopped at Gasparilla to grab a drink and I got a multi grain croissant. I sat by the dock, ate and took pictures. After a while, I headed back to the room to get ready for the day.

.

 

[12in12]

I love your sunrise pictures, what a great way to start the day.

 

[geebee721]

I love your sunrise pictures, what a great way to start the day.

Thank you!

 

[Gurt]

That room looks so lovely and what a balcony view I think we all need to have that morning view on our bucket lists.

 

[geebee721]

So once I was back in the room, we hung out for a bit enjoying our last day in the beautiful Grand! I seriously want to move into this room! After we got ready we were both hungry( 630 am croissant was not doing it for me anymore!) and decided to head back down to Grand Floridian Cafe since they had both breakfast and lunch. We decided to start with the house-breaded fried mozzarella.

This was really good. I'm glad we had ordered an appetizer, because our entrees took a very long time to come out. It was about 45 minutes from when our app came out until our main entrees. The chef actually came out to apologize. Scott ordered the lobster benedict and loved it.

I ordered the cafe sandwich, which is an open faced sandwich with ham, turkey, bacon, tomato, and boursin sauce.The first bite was good, but after that I had serious order regret! The cheese sauce was not very good, and the waitress highly recommended this sandwich!

The only plans we had for the day was Fantasmic at night, we actually were doing the dessert party for this. So we decided to head over to Epcot first, and take one last trip on Spaceship Earth before heading over to Hollywood. I was able to snag a fastpass the night before for SSE, so we went right on as soon as we got there.

So not sure why I had no eyes or no mouth, but we could not stop laughing over our video. We walked towards the the imagination pavilion and rode Figment and watched the Disney and Pixar shorts. If you have never seen these shorts, you have to! They are so good.

We stopped in the DVC lounge and grabbed some drinks. I love the view looking up!

Our next fastpass was for Soarin', and then we headed over to single rider Test Track. Because of the low crowds that day we were able to conquer most of Future World! We decided to head towards the Friendship boat to take to Hollywood Studios.

Future World was empty because everyone was at Food and Wine! It was so crowded, and we were happy to be heading out! So all day, the Disney app was not working, so we could not look for anymore fastpasses. While waiting for the boat it began to work, so I was able to get a Toy Story Mania fastpass for when we got to the park. Yeah!!

Hello beautiful Boardwalk!

 

[geebee721]

We walked right over to Toy Story Mania as soon as we got into Hollywood. I lost...of course!

We walked over to Walt Disney Presents to look at the models of Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land. Scott was disappointed in the Star Wars model since it was only a small part.

So we wanted to get something to eat before Fantasmic and I wanted to see the inside of Pizzerizzo so we headed that way.

But once we got there, we discovered that close at 4 pm! The quick service meals at DHS is seriously lacking! Nothing else really appealed to us, so we decided to try Fairfax Fare. We split the empanadas platter and each got a drink.

This was just okay. The beans weren't that bad, but the empanadas didn't have a lot of flavor. After our not so delicious dinner, we walked through the shops on Sunset grabbing some last minute things to bring home.

But it was now time for Fantasmic and to check into our dessert party!

 

[geebee721]

So for the dessert party they give you a tray of desserts, one alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink and a glowing lanyard.

It was the perfect amount of desserts. The cheesecake was my favorite part, and we brought the trail mix home.

Scott sporting our glowing lanyard and the very sweet alcoholic drink. You could get this or beer...and they gave you a bottle of water. Our seats were close to the front, so overall I think it was a good value. We ended up playing heads up with a few people behind us to pass the time.

I loved the glowing cups! I use it at home all the time! The show started and it was great as always. It was the perfect ending to an amazing trip!

We headed back towards the GF to pack up and get ready to leave the next day. I couldn't believe the trip was already over! We were able to catch the last of Mk fireworks once we got back to our room. And I would be lying if I said that there were not tears while watching these!

We finished packing and went to bed, we had to be up at 5 am for an early flight back home. It was a great trip and very memorable as our first trip as DVC members. We loved every single minute of our trip. We actually just booked to go back January 20-26, 2018, so we've been busy this past week planning! Thank you all for reading and responding to my trip report!

 

[12in12]

Thank you for taking the time to write your trip report, I enjoyed reading it! And you already have a new countdown, where are you staying?
I will be there in January as well, if I see you I will be sure to say Hi.

 

[Tuvalu]

Great report thanks for sharing!

 

[Gurt]

wonderful report, I loved all the pictures especially the food ones