Trip Report ** COMPLETED ** You left your babies at HOME? Heck yes we did!

SighI’ve been meaning to start this report for a while! It did happen almost 4 months ago, but with my last trip report dragging on, end of school and an early summer vacation, life had different plans!

Anyway, let’s gooo!

The quick deets:

Who: Me and my wife K

When: February 25 - March 3
Where: GF villas and Wilderness Lodge

As for the why and how we got here: The short story is that we were celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

There is a lot more to it than that though -

We knew for the last 2 years we wanted to go away for our 10 year, but could not figure out where. We toyed with everything from an all-inclusive beach vacation, to England, to our other favorite Cape May and everything in between. We realized though we are not just sit on the beach people anymore - we are busy, and like to be going and doing things. When the pictures of the Wish came out, it seemed perfect. Romantic and fancy, enough of a Disney touch, and we get to get to the beach too. All of our favorite things! So we booked a 4 day cruise, and since we were traveling to a Florida anyway, we booked a 2 night stay at Grand Floridian by renting DVC points (figuring we would never stay there in the near future with kids).

And then a wrench was thrown - the Wish actually sailed, and reviews were less than ideal.

We tried to ignore them, but so many of the negatives were focused on the adult side of things, with the positives being the kids areas. In the end, we just weren’t excited anymore and with the best parts being the kids areas, it did not seem to be a good way for us to spend our money. So we cancelled, but we still had that 2 night stay at GF, and with it being a point rental, we could not really cancel. Luckily, a Disney+ promotion had just came out, and we were able to score a great deal on a WL room! And so the trip was born!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Thanks for the JetBlue info. about luggage at the new terminal at MCO. We have relatives flying down in December and I hope it improves by then but I’m sharing this info. with them.

Great photos as usual!

 

[Spash007]

Thanks for the JetBlue info. about luggage at the new terminal at MCO. We have relatives flying down in December and I hope it improves by then but I’m sharing this info. with them.

Great photos as usual!

Happy to help! And I hope they got their act together now, that terminal was still only a couple months old when we went so they should have been able to figure out their stuff by now

 

[HerefortheFood]

How old are your kids just curious?

 

[Spash007]

Although the new DVC rooms at GF are gorgeous, we elected to stay in the original DVC building since all the new rooms have 2 beds, and we wanted a couch.

Still not a bad room!

We loved this artwork (what Mary Poppins has to do with a resort themed to Florida I still don’t know, but it’s pretty!)

We were hoping to get one of the rooms with a view of MK, but this still wasn’t bad!

After about 30 minutes of settling in, we made our way down to the pool, but it was extremely crowded and much smaller than we expected. But there was a lounger on the beach, so we just laid down for about an hour.

It was little things like this that we never do on our trips that really helped to separate this one from past ones.

While laying there, K noticed one of her college friends who live in the area walking by. Turns out his wife just ran the Princess 10K (I think), and they were meeting up with friends for dinner. They are huge Disney fans, so we talked all about adult fun at the parks, and then he asked a very good question - “how are you getting to DHS tomorrow with the marathon running in front of your hotel?”. We never even thought of that in all our planning, so we made a note to stop by the front desk later.

It was a fun and unexpected visit.

After a while of talking, we had to make it back upstairs to get ready for dinner. We caught a bus to DS right around 5, and were walking over to our night of food around 5:30.

First stop - Wine Bar George. A first for us (I think almost all of our dining was a first this trip).

We were sat upstairs at a high top, which was fine with us and we were glad to not be downstairs which seemed a lot busier.

K got the Dole Whip Frose which was delicious, and I got another Iced Tea (good, but I enjoyed the one at GF earlier better)

For food, we got the Burrata with seasonal tomatoes and olive oil, the Saganaki on Fire and the house made Meatballs with three cheese polenta.

Every single thing was delicious, but we took a video of the Saganaki so we don’t have any pictures.

For me, the Meatballs took first place, because that Polenta was pretty much straight cheese. The Saganaki was my main reason to go, and I liked it, but thought it was a bit too lemony for my taste. K on the other hand loved every inch of it (to the point where I tried to semi-successfully recreate it for her birthday).

 

[Spash007]

How old are your kids just curious?

They were 9 and 4 during the trip

 

[mpaulam]

Your room has a lovely view. Sounds like you had a nice, relaxing start to your vacation...after the flight delay

 

[Spash007]

Our service at Wine Bar George was very quick, and we had over an hour before our next reservation, so we took a walk along the water over to the West Side (something else we have never done!)

It was an absolutely beautiful night to just enjoy.

There was a concert at House of Blues for someone who we had heard of in passing, but could not pinpoint any songs. We immediately felt older as we saw all the young ins in line and their clothing choices (or lack there of).

When we made the turn at House of Blues, I decided I was not a fan of this section of Disney Springs, just as I always assumed. It was crowded, loud, and did not have any real Disney feelings to it. We had thought about going to the rooftop at the Coke store, but we saw the long ramp and decided against it. Instead we stopped at Everglazed to pick up some over the top donuts for breakfast in the morning.

We then continued our slow walk back towards the Marketplace section, enjoying the night and window shopping a bit.

Our next stop - Boathouse!

It was a madhouse inside, and trying to find a place to wait was really tough. We ended up in the store for a bit, before finding a corner inside.

About 25 minutes after our reservation time, we finally were called. Our initial observation was it loud, very loud. To the point that we could hardly hear each other talk. Our waitress though was great, and very attentive.

And these rolls were absolutely delicious!

K started with the Lobster Bisque, and I had the firecracker shrimp.

The Bisque was good, but not the best she’s had. The firecracker shrimp was really really good, but did have quite a kick. I went through at least 3 diet cokes, and the waitress luckily kept them coming.

For our meal, we each got the Filet Mignon sliders.

These were unfortunately probably the biggest disappointment of the trip. The meat was good, but lacking a lot of flavor and also were a bit dry. They were just essentially plain burgers.

 

[Spash007]

After rolling ourselves out of here, we still had one more stop - Gideons!



Come on, you should know by now that I cannot stop at Disney Springs without a stop here. There was actually no virtual queue this time, and we got into the store after about 10 minutes.

Two very happy and full people! Those cookies would have to wait until later!

This cake looked great, until I saw there was chili inside of it. I’m all for salty and sweet, but can’t really get myself behind spicy and sweet.

Our loot in tow, we made our way over to the bus stop, which I believe came pretty quickly. The bus was mostly empty, except for a few families. One family though took over the middle of the bus, and felt the need to let all of us know their business. Including yelling pretty loudly at their kids.

One thing we noticed that Grand Floridian seemed to have a higher percentage of presumptious people. And, to not sound super judgy, but people that you would not expect at Grand Floridian. It seemed to be a “well I'm paying for this, so I’m going to do what I want.”

Anyway, when we got back to the hotel, we stopped into the lobby to ask about the next morning. We took it in, thinking this may be the last time we enjoy it in its current state.

I wonder if this car will survive the renovation. I hope so!

Oh look, it was the family from the bus. Who took forever, and spread out across the desk so we had to ask them to move multiple times for us to talk to someone.

The advice we got was to take something like Uber, because with the road closures, they could probably avoid it. Otherwise, a bus would still be running. Spoiler alert - let’s see how that goes!

With that advice and a map for the morning that we got, we took a long walk along the water back to our room. From here Tron is a great view at night, but it does take away a lot of the quaintness of the nighttime view.

When we got back to the room, I had a surprise waiting for K.

I would like to say I kept it a complete surprise, and almost did. But at dinner, my phone was on the table, and the person who decorated it texted me, saying “you’re in the villas correct?” And my phone came up with her name. And having a female ask me about my hotel room raised some eyebrows so I panicked and told the truth. But I at least did downplay it, and did not mention about inside the room.

Before turning in for the night we ate part of our cookies from Gideon’s out on the balcony and enjoyed a nice, cool evening.

 

[MickeyCB]

When we got back to the room, I had a surprise waiting for K.

I would like to say I kept it a complete surprise, and almost did. But at dinner, my phone was on the table, and the person who decorated it texted me, saying “you’re in the villas correct?” And my phone came up with her name. And having a female ask me about my hotel room raised some eyebrows so I panicked and told the truth. But I at least did downplay it, and did not mention about inside the room.

That is ridiculously sweet!

 

[Spash007]

I completely forgot - the name of this report came from a flight attendant on the flight down! We had our Disney clothes on, and she asked if we had been before. We said yes, but this was our first time without the kids. She looked at us like we were crazy, and/or horrible parents. “You left your kids at home?! Do they know you’re going?” Yes, yes we did, and yes, they do know. We both realized at that time that we just don’t care what people think, especially because they were just there a few months earlier!

 

[Spash007]

Your room has a lovely view. Sounds like you had a nice, relaxing start to your vacation...after the flight delay

Yes, and even the flight delay was not that bad. We made the best of it so that in some ways, even that was relaxing!

 

[fractal]

After rolling ourselves out of here, we still had one more stop - Gideons!



Come on, you should know by now that I cannot stop at Disney Springs without a stop here. There was actually no virtual queue this time, and we got into the store after about 10 minutes.

View attachment 726930

Two very happy and full people! Those cookies would have to wait until later!

View attachment 726931

This cake looked great, until I saw there was chili inside of it. I’m all for salty and sweet, but can’t really get myself behind spicy and sweet.

View attachment 726932

Our loot in tow, we made our way over to the bus stop, which I believe came pretty quickly. The bus was mostly empty, except for a few families. One family though took over the middle of the bus, and felt the need to let all of us know their business. Including yelling pretty loudly at their kids.

One thing we noticed that Grand Floridian seemed to have a higher percentage of presumptious people. And, to not sound super judgy, but people that you would not expect at Grand Floridian. It seemed to be a “well I'm paying for this, so I’m going to do what I want.”

Anyway, when we got back to the hotel, we stopped into the lobby to ask about the next morning. We took it in, thinking this may be the last time we enjoy it in its current state.

View attachment 726934

I wonder if this car will survive the renovation. I hope so!

View attachment 726935

Oh look, it was the family from the bus. Who took forever, and spread out across the desk so we had to ask them to move multiple times for us to talk to someone.

View attachment 726937

The advice we got was to take something like Uber, because with the road closures, they could probably avoid it. Otherwise, a bus would still be running. Spoiler alert - let’s see how that goes!

With that advice and a map for the morning that we got, we took a long walk along the water back to our room. From here Tron is a great view at night, but it does take away a lot of the quaintness of the nighttime view.

View attachment 726941

When we got back to the room, I had a surprise waiting for K.

View attachment 726942

I would like to say I kept it a complete surprise, and almost did. But at dinner, my phone was on the table, and the person who decorated it texted me, saying “you’re in the villas correct?” And my phone came up with her name. And having a female ask me about my hotel room raised some eyebrows so I panicked and told the truth. But I at least did downplay it, and did not mention about inside the room.

View attachment 726943


Before turning in for the night we ate part of our cookies from Gideon’s out on the balcony and enjoyed a nice, cool evening.

View attachment 726944

So cool!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Enjoying the trip so far! Leaving the kids at home to go to Disney is a blast, honestly! I can't wait to do it again here soon.

I love that you had the room decorated. So sweet!

I can't wait to hear what else you all did!

 

[KingStefan]

who did those room decorations for you?

 

[Spash007]

Enjoying the trip so far! Leaving the kids at home to go to Disney is a blast, honestly! I can't wait to do it again here soon.

I love that you had the room decorated. So sweet!

I can't wait to hear what else you all did!

It really is such a different trip, even doing many of the same things. We can’t wait to do it again at some point!

who did those room decorations for you?

It was a CM who was laid off during COVID that I found on the Ear for Each Other Facebook group

 

[KingStefan]

It really is such a different trip, even doing many of the same things. We can’t wait to do it again at some point!

It was a CM who was laid off during COVID that I found on the Ear for Each Other Facebook group

Thanks!

 

[belledream]

I just LOLed at the room decoration text Happy Anniversary! Already shaping up to be such a special trip.

 

[k8einwdw]

One thing we noticed that Grand Floridian seemed to have a higher percentage of presumptious people. And, to not sound super judgy, but people that you would not expect at Grand Floridian. It seemed to be a “well I'm paying for this, so I’m going to do what I want.”

Unfortunately this behavior isn’t surprising, at any of the Disney resorts. Money can’t buy class.

 

[Spash007]

I just LOLed at the room decoration text Happy Anniversary! Already shaping up to be such a special trip.

So when I get nervous, or get caught in a white lie, I tend to turn real red and laugh uncontrollably. Which in a situation like this, only made it worse!

Unfortunately this behavior isn’t surprising, at any of the Disney resorts. Money can’t buy class.

how bad is it that that made me think of the Real Housewives song that I think was called the same thing?

 

[Spash007]

This morning I woke nice and early, around 6 am. There’s just that first Disney day feeling that gets you out of bed and excited to see the day start!

Versus today when one of the dogs woke me up at 6:15, and I begrudgingly got up, only to find that our elusive mouse was finally caught (yay), but I had to go drive it far, far away so she doesn’t come back (boo)

Anyway, I grabbed my sugary concoction from Everglazed (I think a salted caramel donut), made a coffee in the room and sat out on the balcony for a bit enjoying the view.

The sunrise was absolutely gorgeous!

The funny thing is that we brought our “fancy camera”, some sort of Nikon that we spent way too much money on back in 2013 for our first anniversary trip to Alaska. I had dreams of taking pictures like @fractal with it. But honestly it stunk! Our phone cameras now are so much better than it. I guess it really has edged that much! So all of these are from our iPhone 12s

With the marathon that morning, we looked at Uber times (like the CM suggested) and they were a bit crazy. The closest one said it would take 40 minutes. So around 6:30 I booked it. By 10 of 7, it still said it would take take another 40 minutes. The app said a bus would be coming at 7 for Hollywood Studios, so I quickly cancelled the Uber and we hightailed it to the bus stop. And I mean hightailed it.

And then what to our wondering eyes should appear at the bus stop? Not a miniature sleigh, not a bus, but a solitary CM standing there.

Uh oh

“The buses aren’t running today because of the marathon, so to get to Hollywood Studios, you’ll have to get on the monorail to TTC, then catch a bus from there.”

It makes complete sense because we could see the runners going by, but I really wish we would have gotten better direction the night before. After we got stuck on the Skyliner on our last trip on our way to rope-drop DHS, I think we’re just cursed!

So after our unnecessary run, we turned around and went into the lobby. We made it to the monorail, which was mostly empty, and one showed up pretty quick.

We made it over to TTC by 7:30, and it was like walking out into a new world covered in fog.

It definitely was cooling the air down, which must have been nice for the runners, but the lack of visibility must be real concerning!

We got off and assumed it would be easy to find the buses, but that was not the case at all. We just wandered down the ramp, found the nearest CM who told us to walk one way. There were no signs, and we pretty much just kept asking CM, after CM until we finally saw a sign where to line up. We were the first in line for DHS, which likely meant we just missed a bus. Sure enough, a bus for AK showed up, and then a second behind it. We asked the CM there when the next DHS bus would show up, as the line was growing behind us, and they said 40 more minutes. 40!!

At this point it was nearing 7:50, and EMH started at 8. We pretty much kissed those goodbye, and looked at the times for Uber again, which also showed 40 minutes. Of course there was a lot of grumbling and 4 letter words that would not have been appropriate had the kids been around, especially had we just known to go right to the monorail.

Luckily, a bus came in 10 minutes and our moods quickly improved.

After that it was smooth sailing, and by 8:15 we were walking in to DHS.

We had been worried about missing rope drop, but those quickly abated when this was our view.

DHS was completely empty!!

Like seriously empty!