Trip Report A Total Eclipse of the Park *COMPLETED*

Not quite.

And apologies to Bonnie Tyler for parodying her hit song title from 1983 (although that was a very good year .)

So if you want to turn around and not read further I’ll understand. After 17 trip reports in less than four years you are probably sick of me. Heck, I am sick of me! But after a few requests from you kind people for another report I decided to forge ahead.

Unlike my last epistle, this will not take me four months to complete. First, this trip was shorter. Second, there is no live section which needs to be expanded later. Third, I’m heading back to the World in 2.5 weeks and then into the holiday season ~ so I’m giving myself a “Do or Die” deadline.

Let’s get started.

Who? Tuvalu and Woody
What? End of summer getaway
Where? Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
When? August 19-22, 2017
Why? There has to be a why?

It certainly wasn’t to witness the eclipse. In fact when I booked I didn’t even realize our dates coincided with the eclipse. We live within two hours of the path of totality and missed a viewing party with friends who delighted in watching the total phenomenon. Instead Woody and I got to experience.....

Well, you’ll have to wait to find out.

Here we are on arrival day. Can you tell the photographer was earning his ears?

I’m proudly wearing the dress that was instrumental in our free Pirate Cruise. (For context please see my July TR.)

Stay tuned for this trip’s shenanigans.

 

[krisri18]

My new obsession is taking pictures of Pool Rules signage
View attachment 244611

Um, who's drinking pool water in the first place?

 

[Tuvalu]

I noticed that they got rid of the runners on the beds which is a shame because I personally really liked them (at all resorts). Apparently people were stealing them which I just can't believe, you wouldn't steal a whole bed from a hotel but a runner that is ok to them? They should just do what DCL does with their fancy pillow, charge $200 if it disappears and leave a note in the room to deter people. It's always the honest guests that have to suffer with these types of things.

I agree that the runners were a nice decorative touch....the beds look so plain without them. I’ve also read that in addition to theft (which still stuns me!) that guests were complaining that the runners were unsanitary and were difficult to keep on the beds.

Loving your trip so far! And the chocolate croissants are my favorite Disney breakfast!

Have you had the croissant at Gaston’s?

Aw! Reminds me of the little ones who were born underneath my front bush this past MayView attachment 244642

Adorbs!

Used to be Gasparilla's Grill, but people used to refer to it simply as Gasparilla's. However, this Gasparilla's Island Grill is news to me--must be something new. Seeing as it's at the GF, they're probably trying to class up their on QS on property by giving it a fancier name--con people into thinking it's on its own island.

Thanks for confirming....I thought the “Island” was new!

Woot Woot!

Yay!!

I think I am about three @Tuvalu trip reports behind. Thanks for the tag!

Thanks for commenting! Trying to keep up with my reports is akin to an AP Lit class ~ a lot of reading.

Sorry I'm late to your report report, but I have a good excuse I was in WDW the last few days. I'm enjoying your report so far!

Can’t wait to read all about it!

I missed you too!!! I was there for EPCOT'S 35th. I was hoping that you were there too!!!

I really wanted to be there but the 35th was wedding weekend. Woody and I had a blast at the 30th!

Um, who's drinking pool water in the first place?

Right?!

 

[fractal]

Aqua vault? I could use one of those!

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

The Beach pool was certainly noisier than the Courtyard pool, thanks to the waterfall, slide and amount of children. Our family teases Woody about being a “kid magnet” and in the span of a half hour in the water he was kicked three times by three different kids! No matter how far he distances himself from children in a pool he still manages to get kicked, bumped or hit by a ball.

His patience was about to run out so I suggested having lunch at the Beachside Pool Bar.

We both ordered the Grilled Fresco Chicken Sandwich (provolone, avacado, lettuce and tomato). It was delicious! There was Mello Yello in the beverage dispenser ~ we drank Mello Yello in college and haven’t since ~ but for old times sake we gave it a try. It paired well with the chicken!

 

[Tuvalu]

To save Woody’s sanity I suggested moving to the quieter (and larger) Courtyard pool. A couple pics while on our way ~

The main building as seen from the Beach pool.

The Alice in Wonderland themed kids play area. Not a kid in sight....they were all in the Beach pool, waiting to kick Woody!

Now this is more to our liking.

 

[Tuvalu]

Don’t have a towel to save your lounger? Throw a sandal on the chair ~ one for you, one for your companion.

(For the record no one came to these loungers for the two hours I was there. And there were only a handful of people in the pool, who seemed to be camped out in the opposite end. I suspect sandal-leaver was in a park and was “saving” the loungers for later in the day. )

Ahhh.....lots of kid-free space!

We relaxed in the water for an hour. Woody decided he had his fill and returned to the room. I wasn’t ready to leave and called Em so she could hang out with me virtually.

I stopped mid-sentence when I saw this.

Um, I’m pretty sure the complimentary in-room bathrobes are not to worn outside the room. And definitely not to the pool. (At least that would be one of MY pool rules!)

After my call was over I went back in the water until the sky looked like this ~

Yep, time to go.

 

[12in12]

Is it not common to wear your bathrobe to the pool in the US?
It seems logical to me but not sure about the etiquette in your country.

 

[Tuvalu]

Woody was on the balcony when I got back. He motioned me to join him. There was a squirrel running back and forth along the railing. Now I realize that squirrels climb trees, but they can climb a building four stories high?!! He was gone before I could take a picture. We settled on watching the monorail instead.

“I feel like Italian tonight,” Woody said.
Aha! I knew the perfect place we could try! @lostpro9het gushes about Il Mulino all the time. Let’s do this!

No availability. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Plan B

Trattoria al Forno would also be new for us. We ate in this location when it was Kouzzina and possibly Spoodles before that. It had started raining while Woody and I were on the bus to Boardwalk and we were glad to have our umbrellas.

Woody waited in the lobby for me while I made a pit stop.

@Zipitidoda you included similar pics in your September TR for me. What you didn’t know was that I had already visited here a month before you!

These restrooms are shared with Trattoria al Forno and AbracadaBar.

 

[lostpro9het]

“I feel like Italian tonight,” Woody said.
Aha! I knew the perfect place we could try! @lostpro9het gushes about Il Mulino all the time. Let’s do this!

No availability. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Dang! I'm sad that you two did not get to experience a real gem!

Trattoria al Forno would also be new for us.

I sure do hope you had an experience like our first one and not our second one!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Darn!! I thought I found a good bathroom!! Still no flowers though. I'm also sad you didn't get to try II Mulino. So good! Please try again when you go next month.

 

[MinnieM123]

Um, I’m pretty sure the complimentary in-room bathrobes are not to worn outside the room. And definitely not to the pool. (At least that would be one of MY pool rules!)

I hope (at least) he had a bathing suit on, underneath that IN-ROOM bathrobe!

 

[geebee721]

Have you had the croissant at Gaston’s?

No I have not! I didn’t see this last trip...I was too busy stuffing my face with a massive cinnamon roll. I hoped you like Trattoria...it’s one of our favorite restaurants. We’ve eaten here multiple times and have never had a bad experience!

 

[Tuvalu]

Is it not common to wear your bathrobe to the pool in the US?It seems logical to me but not sure about the etiquette in your country.

Not common in my experience.

Dang! I'm sad that you two did not get to experience a real gem! I sure do hope you had an experience like our first one and not our second one!

I'm also sad you didn't get to try II Mulino. So good! Please try again when you go next month.

Good things are worth waiting for, right? Woody and I have an ADR for May, booked exactly at 180 days.
Trattoria was like your first experience @lostpro9het. Details forthcoming.

I hope (at least) he had a bathing suit on, underneath that IN-ROOM bathrobe!

See, that was what scared me!! The robe never came off.

 

[mcstensrud]

I missed you too!!! I was there for EPCOT'S 35th. I was hoping that you were there too!!!

@Pirate Magic i was there that day! Did you see those fireworks after Iluminations?

 

[12in12]

Not common in my experience.

Good to know, my only experience of wearing a bathrobe to the pool is when I stay in spa hotels as that is the only time I go to a pool. In The Netherlands and many other countries, you are not allowed to wear a swim suit in the spa/ thermal area so everyone is naked underneath their robe but that would be very inappropriate at a family pool.

 

[Tuvalu]

My first impression of Trattoria al Forno was that it smelled divine ~ not quite as wonderfully aromatic as Boma, but a warm, doughy, make-you-salivate smell. I’m sure the open kitchen helped with that.

Though the restaurant was busy, Shirley had some breathing space.

Our server was friendly and attentive. She was also from a town near where Woody grew up so conversation was easy. We began our meal with drinks. Woody selected a Chardonnay from the wine list.

My choice is a standard on most Disney drink menus.

The Magical Star cocktail

I could do without the glow cube, as it takes up too much room in this yummy concoction!

Fresh baked ciabatta. It came out warm accompanied by olive oil and pepper. Delicious.

Woody was very pleased with his lasagna. Made with braised beef, it was a generous portion that he was unable to finish.

(Geesh, I am such a lightweight....a few sips of a cocktail and I couldn’t take a focused picture! Even @BuddyThomas takes clear shots when he clearly isn’t sober! )

I made a mistake with my selection, pasta carbonara.

I have only ever had pasta carbonara without eggs. The only way I can eat eggs is scrambled....I don’t care for runny yolks at all and the thought of consuming raw eggs makes me gag. Somehow I totally missed the “organic egg” listed in the dish description. I was too embarrassed to send it back so I tried my best to eat around the egg but I just didn’t enjoy this. However, I have no one to blame but myself.

Woody let me have a few bites of his lasagna and it was quite good.

In spite of my entree fail, I would return to Trattoria al Forno. But not until I experience Il Mulino first ~ and then my opinion may change......

 

[Songbird76]

Well, I'm a little bit late, but hopefully I'll actually have time to follow it now!! I love a good Tuvalu TR!!

 

[Songbird76]

Saturday, August 19

This was another last-minute trip of sorts. (Not gonna blame @Doc Disney this time though.) Woody and I needed a weekend away from work and wedding stress and our plan was to go somewhere within a few hours driving distance. Somewhere that had a nice pool. And restaurants. And comfy surroundings. A place to come and go as we pleased.

When we started researching our options we were surprised that most places that fit our criteria were more expensive than Disney. Yes, you read that correctly....more expensive.

“We should just go to Disney,” Woody suggested. “Fares are cheap so we can fly.”

See why I married him, ladies?

We had an early morning flight which meant breakfast at the airport. I should have taken a picture of the “Piano Bar” dining area on Concourse A. It was an interesting place to eat our Chick-Fil-A biscuits, considering loud rap music was playing rather than soft piano tunes. We couldn’t even carry on a conversation ~ it was THAT loud. At seven o’clock in the morning.

The gate area in Concourse A is also under construction and if you have ever seen The Terminal (with Tom Hanks) you can picture what it looks like. No ceiling and exposed ductwork creates such a welcoming atmosphere. Add in microphones at the check-in counters with such a low volume you cannot hear announcements (which were vital for us since we received a last-minute change in our seat assignments.)

Thus far the “relaxing getaway” was not off to a great start. Especially when we discovered that our new seats were an aisle and a window, not side-by-side as we had selected.

The good news was that no one sat in the middle seat so Woody was able to move over. And we learned that we were flying in a brand new aircraft that had just been delivered the day before. It even had that new plane smell!

Though we departed late we managed to land on time (pad the schedule much, Delta?) and soon we were on the fonorail.
View attachment 244026

We headed for DME and although I did not take a picture of airport Mickey (too many people crowded around him) I did take a picture of the former escalator to the lower level for @Doc Disney.
View attachment 244022

Woody riding the new escalator.
View attachment 244023

For once there was no line at DME....
View attachment 244024
....but we still had to wait 20 minutes for our bus to arrive.

MagicBands?
View attachment 244025

We sat on the bus for ten additional minutes though no one else boarded. We still had plenty of time until our lunch ADR and we even had a FP scheduled beforehand, should we encounter no glitches along the way.

You know what they say about best laid plans?

Our first clue should have been when the bus driver turned on the GPS....which Woody calls “Mrs. Google”....and her instructions on how to leave the airport were louder than the DME video.

This can’t be good. A DME bus driver that needs to use an audible GPS?

Just wait. The story gets better.

Wait....why did they assign you different seats if the flight wasn't even full? That makes no sense!! Also, love your magic bands. Are those "magic your band" stickers or did you order the bands like that?

 

[Tuvalu]

Wait....why did they assign you different seats if the flight wasn't even full? That makes no sense!! Also, love your magic bands. Are those "magic your band" stickers or did you order the bands like that?

Our flight was changed to a different (larger) plane. I am guessing the larger plane was needed in Orlando as yes it was not a full flight. Not sure what the reason was for our seat assignments.

Woody’s band is an official MK 45th anniversary band which features his favorite MPB (the train.) Mine has stickers.

 

[Rista1313]

Woody’s band is an official MK 45th anniversary band which features his favorite MPB (the train.) Mine has stickers.

Do you have a favorite seller of stickers for your bands? I heard stories about people getting suntan lotion on them, and smearing all to heck. Wondered if you have experienced that?