Disney World Trip Report June 4 - 10, 2014 at the Grand Floridian - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Disney World Trip Report June 4 - 10, 2014 at the Grand Floridian
We had a wonderful trip to Disney World this year. I am planning our upcoming trip to Disneyland and realized I should post a trip report in case it would help anyone. We went for the Annual Gay Days event and booked the Hard Ticket parties RipTide at Typhoon Lagoon as well as Epcot's Retro T party and also did Harambe Nights. We have found that it is worth the extra to buy the VIP tickets at RipTide since all the alcohol is included and you have a nice area to relax and your own bar. The added advantage this year is we were able to get the discounted Convention rate room at the Grand Floridian and that made all the difference. I would never pay the full rate there but I couldn't refuse at the discounted rate.
We arrived Wednesday night and took Disney's Magical Express from the Airport to the Grand Floridian. I love this service. It is much better than a taxi and it's included when staying at a Disney hotel. We got in late so we couldn't go to the parks but we went to the Gasparilla Island Grill and got our Refillable Mugs and headed to our room. We chose a Dormer room and a King bed so they upgraded us to a Lagoon view. I am guessing there are not many King Bed rooms. The room was nice and very well kept up. We did have a problem with the refrigerator leaking so they brought us a new one but it didn't have a freezer which would have been nice.
Thursday one of my College buddies and his son came to visit us. We decided to stop by the ABC Store since he had his car and purchased some Adult beverages to save money. Their prices are the best we have found and it was nice to not have to pay Disney prices for drinks by the pool. We were really happy that our Magic Bands had worked as they were supposed to and we had no issues the entire trip. We picked the Magic Kingdom since his son wanted to ride the new Seven Dwarf's Mine train as it had just opened. We had already booked our Fast Passes and it was nice not to have to wait in line. In addition to 7DMT we booked Big Thunder & Space Mountain. We got to ride most all the rides we wanted to with the new FP+. That evening we came back to the hotel where we relaxed and caught up while his son swam. We had a treat in being able to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from our balcony.
Friday we did Hollywood Studios but didn't spend much time there. We got drinks at the Tune In Lounge which is always fun and rode Rock n Roller Coaster which is a favorite and took the Studio Backlot tour which was better than I had expected. We came back to the room early to take a nap prior to going to the RipTide Party at Typhoon Lagoon. We arrived at the party an hour after it started. Partly because we were not in a big hurry and partly because the traffic at the Disney Springs area is insane. We had a great time. The party was packed and our favorite bartender Leslie was there. She is such a nice lady and works Disney Special Events. We stayed at the party till it ended at 3am then took a cab back to the hotel since there was no bus transportation that late.
Saturday we decided to skip a day in the parks and sleep in. We had lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe. It was really nice. The food and service was exceptional. We had tickets for Harambe Nights this night with Viola Davis as Narrator so we hung out at the pool until then. We didn't know what to expect with Harambe nights but it exceeded our expectations. We thought the food would be limited and boy was that wrong. There was more than you could ever want to eat and unlimited drinks. The food and alcohol was similar to Boma or The Tusker House which I love. We bought the premium VIP seats and luckily we were quick to get in line because Disney had the first two rows reserved for the real VIP's and Management. We were third row center so we had a great view. The performance was very good and the experience was worth the money in my opinion as a special treat. After the show there was a really nice Buffet with similar themed food as Tusker House and Boma and again unlimited drinks. The food was laid out in various buffet stations all in the Harambe Village area and it was all hot and fresh. The deserts were my favorite but all of it was restaurant quality. After a bit we noticed several of the Characters were making the rounds so I got my picture with Africa Mickey as well as Goofy and Pluto. In addition to all the food and deserts the ice cream and fruit carts were open and everything was complimentary so I got a frozen banana to go since I have wanted to try them but didn't think they were worth their price. I liked it but I think I will try and make them at home some time.
Sunday we did the Epcot Retro T party so our admission to the park started at 2pm. It was nice to sleep in and spend some time at the pool. We had FP+ reservations for Test Track and rode most of the rides we wanted. I could have spent more time at EPCOT but it was raining so we had dinner at Chefs de France which is always good. The party was in the EPCOT World Showplace Pavilion which is larger than Odyssey. It was raining out so there were more people in the club and the Illuminations was shorter than usual but the VIP viewing area made it nice.
Monday We had dinner at Be Our Guest and it was quite a nice place and the food was very good. We managed to get FP+ again to 7DMT as well as Peter Pan and Big Thunder and rode all the other Mountain rides as well as many of our must do rides. It was a great day at the park.
Tuesday we had to leave but we decided to use another day since we flew out late and chose Animal Kingdom. We had FP+ for Expedition Everest, Kali River and Kilimanjaro Safari's. I really like the Grizzly River better than Kali but they have very different theming.
Overall I think this was one of our best trips to WDW and I attribute that to staying at a Monorail resort where we spent less time getting to the parks and more time relaxing. I think I want to try an EPCOT resort next.
Our trip for 5 days and 6 nights ended up being $4.616.93 for two adults for everything combined. We always charge everything to our room so we can keep up with expenses and buy $500 Disney Gift Cards (bought throughout the year) using our Delta AMEX to get both Gas Rewards and Delta Miles.
Here is the breakdown:
Lodging: (6 nights at The Grand Floridian) $1,343.28 29%
Airfare: $618.00 13%
Dining: $683.00 15%
Pet Boarding/Airport Parking $587.46 13% (We also got them groomed)
Hard Ticket Events: (VIP RipTide, Retro T & VIP Harambe Nights) $683.46 15%
Park Admission Tickets (5 days): $701.73 15%
Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for sharing with us! And good to hear about Harambe nights - I was bummed we had to miss out on it during our trip - it didn't work with our schedule.
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Thanks yes Harambe was really nice but you can always do the Lion King in their new theater on a future trip and save the $$$. I am glad Disney is experimenting with things like this and EPCOT After hours (which we decided wasn't worth it this time) for people like me that have been several times. I don't mind paying more for something special that is done well.
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