Trip Report The GRAND Birthday! *COMPLETED*

“Hey, Ma ~ you’re about to celebrate a BIG birthday. What are you going to do next?”
“I’m going to Disney World!”

If it were only as simple as it sounds in the commercial. But we all know that real life rarely aligns with what is portrayed on TV....or for that matter (dare I say?) social media. My mother was hitting a milestone on 2/1/2019 and I wanted to take her to her favorite vacation destination to celebrate. (The fact that it also happens to be mine was a bonus!) However when I presented the idea to her back in the fall, she was reluctant to accept my offer.

Ten years ago our extended family went to WDW to celebrate her last big birthday. During that trip, paramedics were called because my infant nephew was experiencing breathing difficulties; my sister-in-law got either food poisoning or a bad case of stomach flu which necessitated a doctor coming to her resort room (and an extended stay); and my dear Woody came down with similar symptoms which resulted in an ambulance ride to the ER on the night we arrived home.

Needless to say that was the end of our extended family vacations.

I had to clarify with Mom that I wasn’t planning a big gathering. Still, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go. My father was recovering from some recent health challenges and she was uncertain she’d feel comfortable leaving him. She asked for some time to think it over.

Meanwhile I jumped on some cheap airfare and booked the hotel, figuring it was worth the risk. Just before Thanksgiving, with my dad’s blessing, Mom decided she would like to go.

“Where will we stay?” she asked.
“It’s a big event. Where do you think we should stay?” I answered.
Mom paused and without waiting for her reply I continued: “It’s going to be a grand celebration, so we must stay at the Grand Floridian!”
Mom choked up and said, “I never thought I’d ever be able to stay there.”

Well now she has! And we had a wonderful time at the resort and in the parks. There was even a surprise or two.

As for this:

That's the interesting thing -- something new, fun, or outright bizarre happens on all your trips, and that's what keeps us coming back for more. It's kinda like a written version (with photos), of a Tuvalu WDW reality show. Looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Stay tuned for the bizarre!

I wish this trip could have been mother/daughter/granddaughter. Sadly, Em was unable to join us.

Who: Tuvalu and Mom
When: January 29 - February 2, 2019
Where: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa (the “and Spa” gets me every time!)

 

[NessNewt]

Legend of Sleepy Hollow!

You beat me to it! I was so excited to know it. Lol

 

[FlaggNL]

It does await ... or at least DLP does and I’ll be there in 48h

Have fun in DLP!!

 

[Swissmiss]

Have fun in DLP!!

Thanks! It will be our (DD13 and me) first time at an after hours event

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, con’t

As Mom was paying for her FARTS Spirit Jersey, I felt my phone buzz. Seeing a text from Em, I motioned that I was going stand on the other side of the Promenade away from the traffic pattern.

Which put me here.

The text conversation went like this:
Em: Are you on flight 1234?
Me: Yes
Em: It’s been delayed until 7:45 pm
Me: Are you sure?
Em: That’s what is says on Southwest’s website.

I was perplexed since I had not received any notification (text or email) from Southwest. I went to the website and sure enough, our flight had been delayed nearly three hours. I immediately called Woody (since he would be picking us up at the airport) but got his voicemail, so I left a message.

My next call was to Disney’s Magical Express. Surely we could get a later pick up time now that our flight time had changed, right?

As I waited on hold for DME, Mom and JB came over and I quickly filled them in about the flight delay. Our new departure time had us leaving MCO approximately the same time as JB, which meant we had more time to spend together.

“We’ll probably be on the same bus to the airport,” I said to JB.

Then my call was answered. And the not-so-friendly DME agent informed me that unless our flight NUMBER had changed (which it hadn’t), we would have to take the bus we’d been assigned. DME does not change pick up times for flight delays.

Well there was no way Mom and I were going to board a Tragical 6+ hours prior to take-off. Uber it would be!

My phone began to ring. Woody was calling. I sent Mom and JB on ahead to the American Adventure and said I would meet them there.

@MinnieM123 here comes this TR’s “bizarre.” And it is terribly sad.

Woody had done some research before calling me and learned there was a ground stop at MCO, which was the reason for our flight delay. The reason for the ground stop was a security breach, caused by the suicide of a TSA agent who had jumped from a hotel balcony into the atrium. Details were still breaking but waits to go through security were over 2 hours.

My heart was heavy over the tragedy that was unfolding. I was so grateful we weren’t at the airport and felt blessed we could spend more time at Epcot....but the situation was so, so sad.

Just a year ago Woody and I had to spend the night in that airport hotel due to another bizarre circumstance ~ an electrical fire at the Atlanta airport had caused a major blackout resulting in an 11-hour ground stop. Our flight was cancelled (which we did not learn until our arrival at MCO) and we couldn’t fly home until the next day.

I asked Woody to keep me updated on any developments and went to find Mom and JB.

 

[Tuvalu]

Mom and JB were exactly where I knew they would be.

Mom loves the Voices of Liberty. She has sat in that same spot on the floor each visit for 30 years.

I did not sit down beside them. I knew one of us would be needed to help the other two get up!

When the performance ended (VoL is excellent, BTW) I apprised Mom and JB of the airport situation. Then we joined the crowd waiting to enter the Hall of Flags.

I enjoy the American Adventure but often skip it since Woody is “meh” on the show. We found seats (which really need new padding!) and settled in.

Some of us settled in a little too comfortably. Only a few minutes later I thought I heard subtle snoring. I turned my head and saw this ~

Yes, JB was sound asleep! Even worse, Mom (who was sitting on the other side of JB) was sleeping too!

Remember all the teasing I endured after being stuck on LWTL for 22 minutes?
It was PAYBACK time, baby!

 

[sheriffwoody]

I remember reading about that day at the airport. So tragic . Especially thinking about how many kids go through that airport every day. I cannot imagine being in the atrium when that happened. I'm glad y'all weren't there!

 

[disneypearl]

I guessed right
I was at my airport that day ready to check in my bags when I noticed my Southwest flight to MCO had been canceled because of the TSA incident. I was so very lucky that I was able to reschedule for a next day departure & push my return flight back another day as well. Disney was also very helpful with the room situation. Many people in line with me at the Southwest counter weren’t as lucky in rescheduling.

 

[MinnieM123]

Mom loves the Voices of Liberty. She has sat in that same spot on the floor each visit for 30 years.

This is such a beautiful, classic attraction in World Showcase. The voices of the singers really pull me in, every time I have listened to their various songs. No wonder your mom always wants to experience the show.

And I absolutely love the dresses -- gorgeous! The men's attire is also attractive and perfectly tailored.

 

[Songbird76]

Mom and JB were exactly where I knew they would be.

View attachment 358409

Mom loves the Voices of Liberty. She has sat in that same spot on the floor each visit for 30 years.

Your mom has good taste!! I LOVE the Voices of Liberty. DD and I spent an afternoon on our last trip doing nothing but watching their performances. I follow several of them on facebook. Did you know that they have a group outside of Disney called Voctave? It's made up of current and former VoL members. If your mom ever wants to get her fix and can't make it to the World, she should look them up. I always dreamed of singing for Disney and VoL would have been an amazing job. I'd love to do what Kate Lott does...she's the one always singing in the rafters...so much fun, but my range has really decreased since I moved over here and haven't been using my voice like I did in college. VoL is one of my favorite things in Disney and one of the reasons why Epcot is my favorite park.

 

[dumbo67]

There are five outer buildings at the GF in addition to the main building (which houses only club level rooms.) I have stayed in three of them and each has pros and cons. I really don’t have a favorite.

This would be my second stay in Boca Chica.
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Mom was taken aback by the beautiful fresh floral arrangement in the lobby.

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Our room was on the first floor. Those of you who have read my prior reports know I favor height and balconies. But I wasn’t dismayed by this location. We wouldn’t have to wait on elevators. And as you’ll soon see, patios at the GF are enclosed just like a balcony.

Additionally, first floor rooms have higher ceilings than rooms on the upper floors which makes the ground floor rooms feel larger.

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“I wonder what the poor people are doing today?” Mom murmured, overwhelmed by the lushness of the room.
My heart was happy ~ cause Mama was happy!

Our moms sounds so alike!

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, con’t

“Did you enjoy the show?” I innocently asked JB.

“Yeah, it was great!” he replied.

“How did it look through the back of your eyelids?” I grinned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” JB answered, thus beginning his denial. (I decided not to pick on Mom; her endurance over the last five days had been quite impressive and she’d earned a little cat nap.) JB was very dramatic in his explanation/excuse for what I’d witnessed in the theater. I let him rant a little, them showed him the photographic evidence. He tried to pass off his closed eyes as a “blink” but then began to chuckle, knowing he’d been caught.

More payback came when I made him pose with us in Washington’s boat.

Em was bummed that I had forgotten to tell Mom to pose as if she were seasick. A couple years ago Em and I had witnessed a woman Mom’s age bent over the side of the boat (while the other members of her family in the boat were unaware) and the result was hysterical!

Just beyond the photo op I caught a glimpse of a rare sight ~ a CHARACTER PALOOZA!

For the unaware, a Character Palooza is an unscheduled, surprise meet and greet. It is typically held in a location that is off the beaten path and may include vintage characters like Goofy’s son Max, shown above.

 

[Tuvalu]

Mom wanted to contact my dad with our flight delay information so she found a table outside the Liberty Inn and made her call. JB and I watched the antics of some birds, which were fighting over pieces of food that had been tossed to them by guests.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE! THIS CAN BE HARMFUL TO THEM!

We watched as one bird struggled to swallow a large piece of a soft pretzel. It stuck in his throat and he gagged several times trying to dislodge it.

JB had mentioned earlier that he was interested in watching the movie in France. I like that movie and also wanted to see it again before the arrival of the Beauty and the Beast singalong. We headed back towards France.

On the way we stopped to watch the trapeze artist. The sun was in our eyes so my pictures aren’t great but I am always amazed by this guy.

Oh my goodness golly!

No Way, Jose! (Or would No Way, Pierre! be better?)

We had to wait about 10 minutes until showtime.

Though this film is dated, the scenery is still gorgeous and many of the scenes are timeless. I made sure JB and Mom stayed awake! During the movie I received a text from Woody which said our flight time had been moved up a few minutes (though the time kept fluctuating over the course of the new few hours and ultimately we did not take off until after 8 pm) and security lines at the airport were still long. This made Mom and I a little nervous and we decided to wrap up our bonus time in Epcot.

 

[amjt660]

I too enjoy the France film and agree it is dated
I love the music though

I wish they had taken the Canadian route and chosen to update the film rather than the sing along
O Canada with Martin Short was a great update imho
They kept some of the older footage and added new and told a better story with the film

Max

 

[Tuvalu]

Though JB still had over an hour to play in Epcot before needing to leave for his Tragical, he decided to share our Uber to MCO. “We can keep each other company in the long TSA line,” he said.

I love this guy.

Once we got back to the Grand Floridian we stopped at Bell Services to retrieve our carry-on bags. As we were waiting for the CM to return, the 4 pm Tragical arrived. There were only a couple guests waiting to board. I pulled out our departure letter and told JB to do the same. I hoped the driver wouldn’t check the time. I figured there would be empty seats on the bus (there were plenty) and Mears would still get their money from us (since the letter is proof we rode back to the airport.)

The three of us boarded without incident and the bus went straight to the airport.

We had prepared ourselves for a lengthy TSA wait but we were through security in less than 20 minutes. We found comfy chairs in the food court and ate a light dinner and chatted for awhile before saying our goodbyes and heading for our respective gates.

I have one final picture to share. After we’d sat down on the Tragical, I told Mom to make a pouty face to show how sad we were to be leaving.

But Mom said no. “We need to have happy faces to show what a wonderful time we had!”

She was right ~ it WAS a fantastic trip!

 

[Songbird76]

Mom wanted to contact my dad with our flight delay information so she found a table outside the Liberty Inn and made her call. JB and I watched the antics of some birds, which were fighting over pieces of food that had been tossed to them by guests.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE! THIS CAN BE HARMFUL TO THEM!

View attachment 358608

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We watched as one bird struggled to swallow a large piece of a soft pretzel. It stuck in his throat and he gagged several times trying to dislodge it.

JB had mentioned earlier that he was interested in watching the movie in France. I like that movie and also wanted to see it again before the arrival of the Beauty and the Beast singalong. We headed back towards France.

On the way we stopped to watch the trapeze artist. The sun was in our eyes so my pictures aren’t great but I am always amazed by this guy.

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Oh my goodness golly!
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No Way, Jose! (Or would No Way, Pierre! be better?)
View attachment 358612

We had to wait about 10 minutes until showtime.

View attachment 358613

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Though this film is dated, the scenery is still gorgeous and many of the scenes are timeless. I made sure JB and Mom stayed awake! During the movie I received a text from Woody which said our flight time had been moved up a few minutes (though the time kept fluctuating over the course of the new few hours and ultimately we did not take off until after 8 pm) and security lines at the airport were still long. This made Mom and I a little nervous and we decided to wrap up our bonus time in Epcot.

I read that the Beauty and the Beast sing along will not replace Impressions de France, but rather they will trade off with each other. But I don'tknow whether it will be every other show, or how they will work that.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Though JB still had over an hour to play in Epcot before needing to leave for his Tragical, he decided to share our Uber to MCO. “We can keep each other company in the long TSA line,” he said.

I love this guy.

Once we got back to the Grand Floridian we stopped at Bell Services to retrieve our carry-on bags. As we were waiting for the CM to return, the 4 pm Tragical arrived. There were only a couple guests waiting to board. I pulled out our departure letter and told JB to do the same. I hoped the driver wouldn’t check the time. I figured there would be empty seats on the bus (there were plenty) and Mears would still get their money from us (since the letter is proof we rode back to the airport.)

The three of us boarded without incident and the bus went straight to the airport.

We had prepared ourselves for a lengthy TSA wait but we were through security in less than 20 minutes. We found comfy chairs in the food court and ate a light dinner and chatted for awhile before saying our goodbyes and heading for our respective gates.

I have one final picture to share. After we’d sat down on the Tragical, I told Mom to make a pouty face to show how sad we were to be leaving.

But Mom said no. “We need to have happy faces to show what a wonderful time we had!”

View attachment 358635

She was right ~ it WAS a fantastic trip!

“Don’t be sad that it is over, be happy that it happened” is my favorite saying when leaving Disney! (Or anything really)

 

[Megbutnotmegan]

Another great Tuvalu report! Thanks for sharing!

 

[susan lees]

Though JB still had over an hour to play in Epcot before needing to leave for his Tragical, he decided to share our Uber to MCO. “We can keep each other company in the long TSA line,” he said.

I love this guy.

Once we got back to the Grand Floridian we stopped at Bell Services to retrieve our carry-on bags. As we were waiting for the CM to return, the 4 pm Tragical arrived. There were only a couple guests waiting to board. I pulled out our departure letter and told JB to do the same. I hoped the driver wouldn’t check the time. I figured there would be empty seats on the bus (there were plenty) and Mears would still get their money from us (since the letter is proof we rode back to the airport.)

The three of us boarded without incident and the bus went straight to the airport.

We had prepared ourselves for a lengthy TSA wait but we were through security in less than 20 minutes. We found comfy chairs in the food court and ate a light dinner and chatted for awhile before saying our goodbyes and heading for our respective gates.

I have one final picture to share. After we’d sat down on the Tragical, I told Mom to make a pouty face to show how sad we were to be leaving.

But Mom said no. “We need to have happy faces to show what a wonderful time we had!”

View attachment 358635

She was right ~ it WAS a fantastic trip!

Great report as usual. Thank you

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

So glad you and your mom had a great trip. Thanks for the TR!

 

[Swissmiss]

I love your mom’s leaving attitude. Thanks for sharing all your fun . My DD and I just walked in the door after our very quick trip to DLP for an after hours event - I thought of you because our first and last rides of the night were on BTMRR, creating great bookends for a very fun night