Poly People Summer Trippin'! Day One!

**mouseketeer mom** · 07-17-2011, 09:01 AM

The Cast
Me-Lisa
DH-Steve
DD-Katie 17
DD-Khloe 15
DS-Kai 11

This is our first of three summer trips. The first is WDW and Vero, the second Vermont, the third, Disneyland!
Here goes...
We had some flight changes 3 days before we were to leave. It would've gotten us to WDW much later then we wished. We would've lost a whole day as travel. Soo..we bumped our flight up to the day before and added a day! So instead of heading straight to Vero, we would go to WDW for the night and head to Vero in the morning. We needed a place to stay, and we left it to the kids. We just said lets pick someplace other than the Poly since we'd be there later in our trip. The Grand Floridian won without any competition. It's always been KT's dream to stay there, so it was chosen. I booked it with our AP rate. Garden view, outside bldg. We learned before our arrival we were upgraded to SUGARLOAF! Club level! Whoo hoo and a bag of chips! This is amazing. We didn't tell KT we were club level. That would be a surprise.
After an uneventful flight, we were at MCO. We were renting a car for the first time ever this trip. It was easy peasy working with Alamo. We had our pick of SUV's, and within minutes we were on our way.
We loved this. We loved seeing Florida out of our car windows vs. the ME bus. We were on our way so quickly! We chattered on the whole way until we arrived at the Grand Flo. We announced to the guard our name and that we were staying club level. Katie screamed with delight!!! The surprise worked!!!
http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/p...o/100_3818.jpg
We were greeted and walked directly to our room in Sugarloaf. We had a view of the monorail and marina. Now, I'm not a fan of the decor at the Grand Flo, and Khloe felt it was super creepy in Sugarloaf, like a big dollhouse! But I have to say., this is, without a doubt, the cleanest, most immaculate room that we have ever stayed in. Ever. I loved the bathroom. Loved the shower, I could've stayed in there all night. Loved the big bright huge sinks and mirrors, loved the products., loved the super thick white towels. This was a GREAT bathroom. The room was much smaller than our Poly rooms that we are used to. I wouldn't imagine us lasting a week in this little room. But for the night, it was fantastic. We explored the grounds, then had a snack in the lounge. The lounge is much smaller than the Poly with no view to speak of, but the offerings were a notch up. Delicious and classy. Off to the monorail and loved that the MK was the first stop. We were back!!! I took the pic of the kids walking down Main Street and we were off to Pirates! The Blackbeard part is silly to us, we miss Davy Jones, but it was all good. Then a ride on Jungle Cruise with luckily, a good skipper. It was nighttime now, and the Jungle cruise is always most fun at night! I was excited to see the magic and memories castle show, we had missed it in April. We scored a table at Casey's, got some hot dogs and waited for the show. We loved it. Much better than I thought. Then Wishes, then back to the Grand Flo!! We were home!!! Loved this "bonus" night in the World. We sleep, and I feel so lucky to be there.

**Donald** · 07-17-2011, 10:03 AM

Disney Magic! I love how you surprised your daughter! It makes the vacation even more special.

Looking forward to the rest of the posts!

**wildernesslady** · 07-17-2011, 10:19 AM

Congrats on the upgrade!!!

I can't wait to hear about Vero Beach.

**buzznwoodysmom** · 07-17-2011, 12:01 PM

Lisa, I am a serious bathroom person, hahaha, and your description of the bathroom is enough to confirm that I HAVE to try GF at least once! That was my biggest complaint about the Poly, the bathroom. The bathrooms there were dark and in my opinion not nearly as clean and updated as they should be considering the price tag to stay there! So glad you guys enjoyed that added night. Isn't it always great to add on last minute? I'm glad you liked Memories and Magic show. I was bummed that you didn't see it in April. We love it and hope its here to stay!

**faline** · 07-17-2011, 04:50 PM

What a magical bonus night!

**brian2000boston** · 07-17-2011, 10:49 PM

I have to ask, what kind of snacks did they have in the lounge?

Sounds like a great start! I would love to try GF.

**Dsnygirl** · 07-18-2011, 02:07 AM

What a great start to your trip, and the added magic of an upgrade -- the BEST!!

So nice that you could a night to your trip and make the best of an airline mess -- and to start the Disney magic before you even hit Vero!! Perfect!!

**mouseketeer mom** · 07-18-2011, 07:19 AM

Originally Posted by brian2000boston

I have to ask, what kind of snacks did they have in the lounge?

Sounds like a great start! I would love to try GF.

We arrived in the evening. There were all sorts of pastries and cookies that were delicious. Along with a Keurig type of coffee machine with different coffees, also different teas and juices.
The afternoon snacks were grilled veggies with various dips, homemade potato chips, and cookies.
All really good!

**KatieDuck22** · 07-18-2011, 10:45 AM

staying at the grand flo was a dream come true! it was suprisingly really low key and comfortable regardless of it's fancy appearance! That day i was also suprised at how great the castle show is! what a great first day.

**Jennifer_and_Chris** · 07-18-2011, 11:30 AM

Lucky upgrade on the room!!!

how nice it is to have AP's so you don't have to worry about tickets!

One day, we'llbe AP holders!

**SBETigg** · 07-18-2011, 01:52 PM

Oh, very cool extra night and surprise upgrade for Katie! YAY! Too fun. Great start.

**gauvin4** · 07-19-2011, 08:20 AM

What a FABULOUS start to your trip!! I can't wait to read more.

**yjgirl32** · 07-19-2011, 12:28 PM

Wahoo a great bonus!!! We had to add an extra day also. Love reading your reports- helps get me in the mood for our upcoming Sept trip.

**MississippiDisneyFreak** · 07-19-2011, 01:18 PM

Well, I have to say GF theming just never appealed to me but your description of the bathroom peaked my interest, I love a really nice bathroom...did you take pics of the room and bathroom?

**January-2007** · 07-19-2011, 02:53 PM

Thanks for the trip report!

**Mackflava99** · 07-19-2011, 03:03 PM

Nice day-
My sister jodi always stays at GF, i always wonder why..

Jungle Cruise at night!!! Yes it is the best!

**Suz36** · 07-19-2011, 04:00 PM

What a great start! A little taste of WDW magic before your beach portion - what could be better! We also loved the Castle show, and were surprised at how impressive it was.

I was excited to see your reports up, and am off to read the next installment!