Rob N Lyn Christmas Trip Report

8 posts / 0 new

Wed, 12/24/2014 - 00:19

RobNLyn2

Offline

Joined: 06/17/2012

Posts: 373

Rob N Lyn Christmas Trip Report

Day 1
Our trip started off a little rough. We were expecting snow/ice storm the night before we left. the weather man kept changing his mind was suppose to be all rain ( shocker ).We only live about an hour away from the airport. So about 7 pm we decided to find a hotel . Called a few places and found a Hotel 1/4 mile from the airport. Got up at 4:15 our flights was suppose to leave at 6:45. Roads were a little icy (glad we got the room). No Problem getting thru the airport grabbed a couple of coffee and was at our gate at 6 am. Surprisingly our flight left on time Flight was great no problem slept 2 out of the 3 hours Was at Magical express by 11:15 and got right on the bus (we was the last 3 people allowed on the bus). Although we were all separated on the bus we was still close by. Next stop Port Orleans French Quarters. This is our first time staying anywhere other than deluxe villa. Let me start off by saying i have read alot of your reviews and was persuaded to staying here. I want to Thank You All WE LOVED THIS PLACE . We was in building 5 3rd floor Had a beautiful view of the pool
We had a Quick lunch in the Sassagoula floatworks. Then we had a few Mai Tais down by the pool. Did some swimming
Did a little shopping some sight seeing .We had Dinner at Boatwrights all us thought it was just ok . Headed back to the room to change for another quick dip and a couple of Mai Tais. We was all so tired we decide to call it a night. Tomorrow we check in to the Grand Floridan Villa and catch n up with our other family members

__________________

Wed, 12/24/2014 - 00:34

RobNLyn2

Offline

Joined: 06/17/2012

Posts: 373

20141206_184313_1.jpg

20141206_162121_1.jpg

20141206_184353_0.jpg

20141206_162305_0.jpg

Preview	Attachment	Size
	20141206_154717.jpg	2.57 MB
	20141206_184313.jpg	2.23 MB
	20141206_162121.jpg	3.15 MB
	20141206_184353.jpg	2.67 MB
	20141206_162305.jpg	2.85 MB

__________________

Wed, 12/24/2014 - 00:45

RobNLyn2

Offline

Joined: 06/17/2012

Posts: 373

20141206_161955.jpg
20141206_192454.jpg
20141206_161929_0.jpg
20141206_162339_0.jpg
20141206_161955.jpg

Preview	Attachment	Size
	10857942_887557941263545_4334085979417175392_n1.jpg	74.8 KB
	20141206_192454.jpg	1.73 MB
	20141206_161929.jpg	3.47 MB
	20141206_162339.jpg	2.24 MB
	20141206_161955.jpg	3.26 MB

__________________

Fri, 12/26/2014 - 18:32

Kristen K.

Offline

Joined: 09/01/2011

Posts: 23803

POFQ is always so pretty

Fri, 01/02/2015 - 22:42

RobNLyn2

Offline

Joined: 06/17/2012

Posts: 373

Day 2

We got up early and checked out of Port Orleans French Quarter after a surprisingly nice stay. We headed over to the Grand Floridian Villas for our first stay there. A very special check-in process awaited us. In the beautiful lobby of the new Grand Floridian Villas are quaint desks where you check-in with a cast member. Very personal and simple. After a short check-in, we walked over to the Polynesian where we had an early breakfast reservation at Kona Cafe. We have read so much about their food, including the famous Tonga Toast. They have a very nice menu with alot of choices. As a result, noone ordered the Tonga Toast It was very crowded and we had to wait a bit with a reservation and once seated, service was just okay. Food was just average too. Not sure if we'll return for breakfast.

We then walked back to the Grand Floridian and had Bloody Mary's poolside. It was still fairly early and our room wouldn't be ready for a bit. We were very excited about other family members that were joining us for this vacation; however, their arrival wouldn't be until noon. So with a little time on our hands, we walked over to the main lobby of the Grand Floridan and checked the Christmas decorations, especially the Gingerbread house We decided to sit outside and wait for the magical express. We observed a lot of activity with people coming and going and a lot of cast members assisting the arrivals. We were fortunate to meet Richard, the grandfather of Disney greeters. After chatting with Richard, we found out that we're neighbors back home, just a few towns over. What an experience meeting this Disney treasure The atmosphere was filled with Holiday excitement. They even had chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Finally, our other family matters arrived, and we were all ready to officially start our Disney Vacation

Shortly after their arrival, we were paged that our room was ready. We checked our first time staying in a 2-bedroom villa at the Grand Floridian. All I can say is Wow. We have stayed at other properties in a 2-bedroom, and all have been very nice but these were exceptional. Very elegant, spacious and new! We had ADR at 3 pm at T-Rex in DTD, so we headed over and did a little shopping before our ADR. We had never been at T-Rex, we chose this place because we had our 3 year old nephew (first time at Disney) and knew that he loves dinosaurs !! Great menu, lots to choose from, and everyone enjoyed their meal.

We headed back to our room to catch a breather because we had purchased tickets for A Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom starting at 7pm. Lyn and I experienced this once before with another couple and did not have such a great experience, mainly because it poured the whole time we were there and could not enjoy any part of the Party. Well, we're glad we gave it another go because it was well worth every penny. The parade itself was remarkable and held everyone's (all 8 of us) attention and even a few tears of happiness. We let the two teenagers run wild because the lines were not so bad for the rides. We found the hot chocolate & cookie carts and enjoyed the fireworks. We used our photopass for pictures in front of the castle (our first time using the photopass option). The pictures caught the magic of the night. Whew, what a day!! With tired legs & feet and a little jet lag, we managed to find our boat for our ride back to the Grand Floridian !

__________________

Fri, 01/02/2015 - 22:49

Kristen K.

Offline

Joined: 09/01/2011

Posts: 23803

Sounds lovely.

So sorry that you didn't enjoy Kona Cafe. I'm often disappointed there at lunch or dinner, but I love the macadamia nut pancakes for breakfast. It used to be one of the only places on property you could get a decent cup of coffee, but that's not as much of an issue in the past two years since Joffery's and Starbucks have arrived.

What was the best party of the party for you? I haven't done the MVMCP yet.

Fri, 01/02/2015 - 23:00

RobNLyn2

Offline

Joined: 06/17/2012

Posts: 373

Some pictures from the second day

Preview	Attachment	Size
	20141207_081532_-_copy.jpg	2.47 MB
	20141207_075959.jpg	2.29 MB
	20141207_121851.jpg	1.44 MB
	20141207_122908.jpg	2.27 MB
	20141207_140726.jpg	1.61 MB
	20141207_122451.jpg	1.93 MB
	20141207_204045.jpg	1.35 MB
	20141207_204202.jpg	1.34 MB
	20141207_204757.jpg	2.23 MB
	20141207_215452.jpg	1.01 MB