Trip Report *COMPLETED* Once Upon a Christmas Time...A Very Merry Trip Report

Hello Everyone!

We just returned from yet another WDW visit this past weekend and with the holiday season quickly approaching I wanted to make sure I at least started our report before Christmas knowing that I would easily let this slip into January if I didn't.

Just to refresh your memory, this was the first trip we planned as DVC members having joined the club in March. Something we should have done years ago but better late than never, I guess! For those of you who may want to do some pre-reading, here is a link to the pre-trip report that started early this year and now seems so crazy to think the trip has already come and gone.

With that short preamble...let's start the show!

The Main Characters
My wife, Kelly, and I, along with our two Disney Princesses, Ella (7), and Lennon (5).

MK_MSCONFEC_20160808_7766697622_zpslcr5ylvk.jpeg

Here we are on our summer 2016 visit.

The Script
Once our DVC membership was completely finalized in March and we had access to the booking system we started thinking about our next visit. Kelly and I had spent Christmas in WDW way back in 2009 and we loved how the parks looked and felt decorated for the holidays. We figured this would be a great opportunity for us to head back around Christmas time and give the girls their first taste of a Disney Christmas.

Originally we booked accommodation for December 7-16 at our home resort, Saratoga Springs, and waited for the 7-month window to open to have access to other DVC options. Once the window hit we made our move. Our intention was to try and get the Grand Floridian knowing it would be next to impossible with a backup plan of either the Beach Club or Wilderness Lodge. Both BC and WL were available and we eventually decided on the BC because of the great Boardwalk location.

After we secured a one-bedroom villa at BC we decided to add another day to the trip because...well, why not! The 6th was not available at the time at BC so we ended up booking the additional night at AKL. I would periodically check back to see if the BC was open and one day, to my surprise, a one-bedroom lake view at the GF popped up. I quickly called the member line and made the switch from AKL to the Grand thinking this was likely the only chance we'd ever get to stay there so might as well take advantage.

Now we were all set and all that was left to do was wait out the remaining months and for once look forward to winter!

We planned and planned and planned as the days ticked by. Kelly and I escaped kid free to Denver in November to watch the GOAT, Tom Brady, crush the Broncos...something I have always wanted to do and finally was able to check it off the bucket list.


Untitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on Flickr
Untitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on Flickr

Once we returned it was all Disney, all the time as we were now less than a month away!
 
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DryerLintFan

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
Matty30 said:
Continuing on.

As I mentioned, we were at the front desk, checking in with a terrific CM named Stephen, who informed us that he had bad news about our reservation. Apparently, all the one-bedroom villas were occupied. Upon hearing this the smile on my face quickly disappeared but as Stephen continued, "I made the decision around 2 pm this afternoon to move you guys to a two-bedroom suite here at the hotel, not in the villas. I hope that's ok with you?"

I looked at Kelly and laughed. On the bus ride to the resort, Kelly mentioned something about how cool it would be to find out we were upgraded when we checked in. I said we are already in a lake view one-bedroom, what more could you want?! Well it turns out that she was prophetic and Stephen informed us that we would be spending our short time at the Grand in the Cape Coral Suite with full concierge access while we were there. He mentioned it was a $1,700/night upgrade on top of what a one-bedroom would cost so that right there gave me an indication we were in for something special.

We didn't quite know what this meant but he assured us that as soon as we walked in the room we would be more than pleased. I was happy to take his word for it as we finished the check-in process and he gave us a few suggestions on how to spend the evening. I had planned on making the trip over to the Poly to grab some pulled pork nachos for our first meal but he thought our time would be better spent by grabbing something from Gaspirilla's and watching the fireworks from our private patio!

As we left the front desk we were pretty anxious to see just where we would end up for the night. We walked through the lobby into the courtyard and made our way towards the room.

We figured any room that had its own sign had to be pretty great...
Disney World - 2017 by Matt Mandrusiak, on Flickr

Stephen was right. The room was unreal. I did take video of us entering the room for the first time which I'll soon upload to YouTube and share the link. I have no doubt the one-bedroom villa would have been fantastic but this place was something else.
Untitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on Flickr

Huge living space greeted us as we entered. Found out as we explored that there were four separate entrances from the hallway and four sliding door access to the patio area.

The girls' room was amazing...
Untitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on Flickr

and so was the master...Untitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on FlickrUntitled by Matt Mandrusiak, on Flickr

But the view, and the private patio with the unobstructed Magic Kingdom view from across the lake was the best feature...
Disney World - 2017 by Matt Mandrusiak, on Flickr

I guess if we didn't have access to the villa that this would make for sufficient accommodation for our brief stay. We were so pumped up to start the trip like this. We did another quick FaceTime tour for our parents before finally leaving the room to look for something to eat before returning to watch the fireworks.
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HOLY SCHNIKIES!! THAT'S AMAZING!!!
 
kaitertot5249

kaitertot5249

Well-Known Member
First of all, your upgrade at the GF :eek::eek::eek: Talk about a great way to start your trip. I can only imagine how awesome it would be to wake up and see the castle through the door. Unreal!

Secondly:
Matty30 said:
Kelly and I escaped kid free to Denver in November to watch the GOAT, Tom Brady, crush the Broncos...something I have always wanted to do and finally was able to check it off the bucket list.
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GO PATS!!!
Story time: I work for a small MA based nonprofit and Tom has been the special guest at a few of our events. This past spring he attended one of our biggest events as the special guest. That night he helped us raise over $200,000 in less than 20 minutes. Say what you want about Tom, but he's a pretty solid guy. We're also pretty much BFFs now - I helped him spot the donors in the room and directed him to them as they pledged their support, he thanked me on multiple occasions.

I can't wait to hear more about your trip!
 
Matt and Kelly

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Balki228 said:
What an amazing truckload of pixie dust for your first night! Enjoying the report
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Thanks for reading. It was definitely a magical way to start the trip.

kaitertot5249 said:
First of all, your upgrade at the GF :eek::eek::eek: Talk about a great way to start your trip. I can only imagine how awesome it would be to wake up and see the castle through the door. Unreal!

Secondly:

GO PATS!!!
Story time: I work for a small MA based nonprofit and Tom has been the special guest at a few of our events. This past spring he attended one of our biggest events as the special guest. That night he helped us raise over $200,000 in less than 20 minutes. Say what you want about Tom, but he's a pretty solid guy. We're also pretty much BFFs now - I helped him spot the donors in the room and directed him to them as they pledged their support, he thanked me on multiple occasions.

I can't wait to hear more about your trip!
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Thanks for reading and for such a great story! That's so cool!

I was pumped to be on the field pregame and knowing how Brady comes out of the tunnel and jogs the length of the field before warmup to do the "LET'S GO" fist pump I made sure I positioned myself to get as close as possible. I took a great video of the routine and got within a few yards but definitely not as close as you! Very cool.

A few years back my dad, who works for the CFL team here in Edmonton, was able to use some connections in NE to get me an autographed Brady jersey for Christmas. This was the year after winning his 4th ring and he signed it "Tom Brady 4X Champ!". One of my prized possessions.
 
kaitertot5249

kaitertot5249

Well-Known Member
Matty30 said:
I was pumped to be on the field pregame and knowing how Brady comes out of the tunnel and jogs the length of the field before warmup to do the "LET'S GO" fist pump I made sure I positioned myself to get as close as possible.
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I was wondering how you got such great pictures of the field, that's awesome!
 
dclfan

dclfan

Well-Known Member
It was so great running into you and the family at Disney Springs. I am dying over the photos of your room at the GF. What a magical start to your vacation. Looking forward to reading about the rest. I am feeling the Disney blues hard today. It was my first day back at work and it was snowy and unpleasant lol.
 
Matt and Kelly

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
dclfan said:
It was so great running into you and the family at Disney Springs. I am dying over the photos of your room at the GF. What a magical start to your vacation. Looking forward to reading about the rest. I am feeling the Disney blues hard today. It was my first day back at work and it was snowy and unpleasant lol.
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Great running into you as well! Crazy how the timing worked out to allow us to cross paths.

Having watched the "Decorating Disney" special last night it really made me miss it. Amazingly no snow to come home to which is very weird for this time of year. Almost doesn't quite feel like Christmas without the snow.
 
Matt and Kelly

Matt and Kelly

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
LeighM said:
I'm totally amazed at that upgrade at the GF!! What a great start to the trip:) Looking forward to reading more.
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We were stunned. Couldn't ask for a better start.

riverside said:
That suite is something else!! That's so cool that you got to stay there!!
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We were trying to figure out how to stay longer but figured one night there was better than nothing.

mlegerto said:
Amazing bit of magic for your first night, unreal!

I hope the rest of your trip lived up to your arrival night.
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While the rest of the trip may not have been quite as lavish and unexpected it was definitely magical.

DisneyJeff said:
Following along. I have my first trip as a DVC member coming up in March. Can't wait to read about how yours went. (Although, the start of your trip was pretty freakin' fantastic!!)

Go EAGLES!!! :D
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Awesome news! Looking forward to hearing about your first trip as a DVC member. Thanks for reading along.
 

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