Trip Report **COMPLETED** A Grand Christmas Trip (in November!)

Hey all! We have been back for about a week now so I will slowly work on my Trip Report :) Not sure if anyone even knew I went on this trip aside from people who follow me on IG and snapchat :joyfull:

Who?
Who else...my Mom (Mary) and I (Megan)
PhotoPass_Visiting_WDWRESORTSANDMORE_404577842728.jpg


When?
November 16-19

Where?
The Grand Floridian :) First time stay for us....and won't be the last! We fell in love! :inlove:
DSC_7137.jpg


Why?
We wanted to see the Christmas decorations...and well, why not?

T-1 Day November 15, 2017
We had a very early morning flight so instead of making my Dad get up early to drive us we planned on staying at a hotel across the street from the airport the night before. For some reason this plan continued to morph and we decided we should eat at the Cracker Barrel before going to the hotel. I have no idea why but it felt like a thing people do before Disney trips and we had never been before so why not?
So, after a busy day at work I headed to my parents house and we packed up the car and drove off to dinner.
DSC_6960.jpg

My Mom and I both got the Southern Chicken biscuits
DSC_6963.jpg
DSC_6961.jpg

We both got Mac and Cheese and she got fries while I got hashbrown casserole (which had a bit too much onion for my taste).
My Dad got the chicken fried chicken (with mashed potatoes and hashbrown casserole) just because it seemed like a thing people eat in the South/at Cracker Barrel. I don't know...we are very Northern :)
DSC_6962.jpg

Yum!!! I have no idea why it took us so long to eat at Cracker Barrel but we really enjoyed it! It was way too much food though, my Mom and I should have shared. My Dad ate the rest of it over 2 meals the next day :joyfull:
Is it a visit to Cracker Barrel without a rocking chair picture?
IMG_5336.JPG

Anyway, after dinner my Dad drove us to the hotel and dropped us off. The worker was like "where are you visiting from?!" and we sheepishly said we were from here and just staying over for an early flight :p
We dropped our stuff off in our room and headed to the bar for a drink but it was full of business men who were sitting every other seat and we didn't feel like asking someone to move over or having to make awkward/polite small talk so we went back to the room. :p I talk to people all day long...sometimes I just don't want to talk anymore!
This is the only picture I have of the room because I thought it was funny that the phone was extra old :)
DSC_6964.jpg

We watched some TV then went off to bed early.....only we didn't. We were on the first floor and could hear everything outside including cars parking, backing up beeping, etc etc. :banghead:

Day 1 November 16, 2017
After a very eventful night of minimal sleep we both got up around 3:30 to get ready. We have an early flight coming up in a few months and we, after some discussion, decided it was not worth staying at the hotel the night before again. Too hard to sleep. If I am going to have to get up early I would rather it be from my own bed (because yes I still have a bed at my parents house...because I'm the baby child aka the most important :joyfull:) :hilarious:
I know you guys think these pictures are weird but its our tradition!
DSC_6967.jpg

DSC_6971.jpg


Next up: flight time
 

Skibum1970

Well-Known Member
Loved the trip report. I have never made it down for Christmas as things always get in the way (ex. Crown for tooth, car repairs, etc.). Great pictures all the way.
 

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing another great TR! LOVE the MVMCP shirts you and your mom were sporting! Super cute!
Glad you have another trip so soon.
Glad the Bills are in the playoffs! I am not a big football fan and I live in Cincinnati, but like the Bills way more than the Bengals.
 

KatieLVT

Well-Known Member
Love your reports, can't wait for the next one! My experience with the JBJB Dessert Party last year was definitely disappointing. Very crowded, unfriendly CMs, a very "put-out" Santa Goofy that barely spent any time at our table, despite having a young child with us, and a terrible viewing area. We also didn't have to share a table, but that would have been an improvement over the high-top table we got that was shoved in a dimly-lit area (seriously, the light on the wall over us was not working) that seemed to be right in the way of all the CMs hurrying around. That was the first year they offered the party, so sounds like they have listened to guest suggestions. Glad you had a good experience. Looking forward to more TRs in the near future :)
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Yep as @DisneyBound2017 said its an online TSA precheck application and then you just have to do a quick fingerprinting and interview. I think it was like 85 dollars for 5 years



Please say hi if you see us! So exciting !
So...you go through a whole process, AND pay for it, and it's still not guaranteed you'll get it every time you fly? That seems a bit shady, to be honest.
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Loved the trip report. I have never made it down for Christmas as things always get in the way (ex. Crown for tooth, car repairs, etc.). Great pictures all the way.

Sorry to split your responses! Christmas is a beautiful time! Hopefully someday you make it!

Great report. After our breakfast at1900 Park Fare I really want to stay at the Floridian. Mr brother is a Bills fan(we are from Ohio :confused:). So him and my dad are driving to Jacksonville to watch the game. Are you heading there as well? I will be cheering them on out of sisterly love:).

I wish I was going but it would have cost me more than a Disney trip to get there :confused: Driving sadly wasn't an option for me since I would have to be back Monday 730 am for work! Bummer
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thanks for sharing another great TR! LOVE the MVMCP shirts you and your mom were sporting! Super cute!
Glad you have another trip so soon.
Glad the Bills are in the playoffs! I am not a big football fan and I live in Cincinnati, but like the Bills way more than the Bengals.

Thanks! They are actually a few years old but we bust them out every Christmas season :) Go Bills!

Love your reports, can't wait for the next one! My experience with the JBJB Dessert Party last year was definitely disappointing. Very crowded, unfriendly CMs, a very "put-out" Santa Goofy that barely spent any time at our table, despite having a young child with us, and a terrible viewing area. We also didn't have to share a table, but that would have been an improvement over the high-top table we got that was shoved in a dimly-lit area (seriously, the light on the wall over us was not working) that seemed to be right in the way of all the CMs hurrying around. That was the first year they offered the party, so sounds like they have listened to guest suggestions. Glad you had a good experience. Looking forward to more TRs in the near future :)

I have heard pretty much all negative reviews of last years party so I think they must have significantly changed things up. Its nice to think that they must listen to the surveys when they send them out because it seems like they made quite a few changes. Thanks for reading !
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
I missed this report entirely!! I haven't been good at keeping up on here, but of course I followed along on Instagram :D

Some comments....
Hallowishes could use an update
YOU TAKE THAT BACK! I know when they do replace it, it'll probably be awesome, but Hallowishes is currently my favorite, and I hope I get to see it at least a couple more times:inlove:. It's funny I feel like we have different opinions on so many things :cautious::hilarious:

The waitress was NOT thrilled that we were sharing :cautious:.
UGH. I hate that. It makes me feel so bad, but it shouldn't. They should treat you the same regardless. It's like with my clients, some clients spend double what others do, but that doesn't mean I treat them any differently! I may secretly like the ones that get higher packages more, but I don't show it. :p

Next up: 2 weeks and 1 day until we leave again :)
I read this and thought "Oh she's going again before the January trip!" Then I realized it is already January and my trip is also 2 weeks away!!!! AHHHHHH I can't wait!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So...you go through a whole process, AND pay for it, and it's still not guaranteed you'll get it every time you fly? That seems a bit shady, to be honest.

So they say you will most likely always have it but if you don't its usually on you ie you didn't enter the right known traveler number or the name you entered on the flight website isn't the same you used for precheck. The only other time I think they don't guarantee it is during high security times. The times in the past that we had TSA precheck on our boarding passes but didn't actually have it was before we paid for it. My Dad works for the government so he doesn't pay for it and his name was linked to ours so we would get it sporadically before we paid for it.
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I missed this report entirely!! I haven't been good at keeping up on here, but of course I followed along on Instagram :D

Some comments....

YOU TAKE THAT BACK! I know when they do replace it, it'll probably be awesome, but Hallowishes is currently my favorite, and I hope I get to see it at least a couple more times:inlove:. It's funny I feel like we have different opinions on so many things :cautious::hilarious:


UGH. I hate that. It makes me feel so bad, but it shouldn't. They should treat you the same regardless. It's like with my clients, some clients spend double what others do, but that doesn't mean I treat them any differently! I may secretly like the ones that get higher packages more, but I don't show it. :p


I read this and thought "Oh she's going again before the January trip!" Then I realized it is already January and my trip is also 2 weeks away!!!! AHHHHHH I can't wait!

As I was reading your TR and you were talking about Hallowishes I was like...uh oh...someone actually likes it :joyfull:
I agree...and its not like we weren't still spending a ton of money there! So annoying
Can't wait to see you soon!!!!!
 

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
So...you go through a whole process, AND pay for it, and it's still not guaranteed you'll get it every time you fly? That seems a bit shady, to be honest.

Think of it like a paid fastpass. You pay for it, yes, but if you travel a lot it's totally worth it because you get to skip the insane security lines and you don't have to take your shoes off. I don't have it, but my husband does, so I only get to enjoy the benefits when I fly with him.

Without the pre-check, the line is much longer, you have to remove your shoes and your belt and your jacket, you have to take your laptop out of your bag and put it into a separate container, you have to put all your liquids in one ziploc bag and put them in a separate container. It's just a hassle. And even though you know the rules and can prepare in line, you a guaranteed to have someone in front of you that either doesn't know the rules or thinks the rules don't apply to them.
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Ahhh I hope we run into each other!! My head is usually in the clouds as well... but I trust the fate of the wdw magic ;)

So excited for your Bills! My Cleveland Browns went 0-16. How could they not win one game is beyond me LOL :p Joes eagles were looking pretty good until Wentz got injured! I can’t have the eagles in super bowl!!!

Thanks for sharing another wonderful report! I love Disney for the holidays, Grnad Floridian for the holidays just seems like the ultimate dream come true!!!
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom