5 Great Things About Disney's Grand Floridian Resort

By Lisa Green 

 

One of the best things about vacationing at Walt Disney World is the unbelievable selection of accommodations!  Where else on Earth can you visit Saratoga, Key West, Polynesia, New Orleans, the Caribbean, a National Park or an African savannah – all in a single location!  There is literally a place for every person’s taste and style from campsites to ultra-modern luxury.  How great is that?!?

If early 20th Century Victorian is your thing, you’ve got to love the Grand Floridian!  Romantic, charming, and brimming with delightful Disney details and whimsical touches, the Grand Floridian offers guests the perfect retreat from the busy and crowded parks – a place to relax in undeniably elegant style.

The Lobby – One of the most stunning to be found!  Soaring ceilings, intricate details, ornate birdcages, spectacular floral arrangements…and music!  The Grand Floridian Lobby Society Orchestra – Yes!  I said Orchestra!!!  The tunes they play are anything but ordinary – you’ll hear ragtime, jazz, Dixie melodies, and familiar Disney tunes.  This special detail is one of the very best reasons to visit the Grand Floridian.

The Shops – Stroll among the Grand Floridian’s shops and find both the familiar and unique.  The usual sundries and souvenirs are available (Sandy Cove Gift and Sundry Shop) and so much more!  There’s a Basin White store for bath and beauty, the Summer Lace shop for women’s apparel, Commander Porter’s for menswear, and M. Mouse Mercantile for children’s clothing, toys, and more.  Browsing or buying – I always enjoy the Grand Floridian’s shops!

The Restaurants – For a variety of dining experiences and flavors, the Grand Floridian cannot be beat!  Casual quick service, character meal, signature restaurants, and the very best in gourmet dining experiences can all be found at the Grand Flo!  Find the complete list here.  Most recently, our family enjoyed an evening with Cinderella, the Prince, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella at 1900 Park Fare.  Those details are here.

The Pools – I like space and the pool areas at the Grand Floridian feel extra-spacious to me.  The main pool (Beach Pool) boasts a 181-foot long water slide and adjacent children’s play area and lounge for beverages and snacks.  The Courtyard Pool offers a quiet, serene swimming area with a nearby whirlpool spa.

The Location – Yes, I love that it’s on the monorail loop!  Easy access to the Magic Kingdom and the other monorail resorts for shopping, dining, and FUN!  One new, very cool additional perk of staying at the Grand Floridian is the walking path between this resort and the Polynesian!  How fun would it be to take a leisurely stroll over to the Poly for some Tonga Toast?!?  Or a Dole Whip (if you like those).


Some people think the Grand Floridian is too formal or fancy or pink – I think it’s just right.  The perfect blend of relaxation (hello Senses Spa!), luxury, and amazing amenities – it’s also an absolute must-see during the holiday season!  The decorations will leave you speechless.

 Have you visited the Grand Floridian?  What did you enjoy there? 

 

Best Walt Disney World Dining Day

By Nick

Recently, my friend Dave Tupper suggested a show topic for The Disney Exchange Podcast, which I co-host with Lisa Green and Dave Hodges.

"Best Disney Dining Day"

There were some rules: Stay on property. No budget. All food from waking up to bed time. It has to be possible, the time between establishments has to make sense.

Okay. That seemed easy, but when I started to think about it... not as simple as I originally thought!

I decided breakfast would be at a resort I love, which is The Wilderness Lodge, at a restaurant I know has a pretty terrific breakfast, Whispering Canyon. The All-You-Care-to-Enjoy Breakfast Skillet consists of Scrambled Eggs, Western Home Fries, Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Sausage Gravy for $17. Coffee, well, couldn't find the price. With that, tax and tip, let's call this meal $27.

I'm going to get a boat over to the Magic Kingdom and waddle around the park digesting the large breakfast before having lunch at Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen.

I'm starting with House-made Arepas, "a trip down the Amazon with Slow-cooked Beef, Black Beans, Tostones, and Queso Fresco" for $9.50, followed by the Grilled Lamb Chops seasoned with a North African Berber Spice Blend served with Green Lentil Stew for $25. For my drink, I'm going to have a Coca Cola product from Brazil which I know to be tasty called Guarana Kuat. Like the coffee at breakfast, the price is elusive. Let's say it's $4 since it's exotic.
 For dessert I'm going with the Kungaloosh! Fans of the late great Adventurers Club at the also late great Pleasure Island will get the reference. The Kungaloosh! is an African-inspired Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Bananas served with Cashew-Caramel Ice Cream topped with Coffee Dust. $8.00.
And a coffee, why not. With tax and tip, $60.
Please don't check the math. I'm really bad at math.

So, I clearly need to walk this off, so I'm going to lap the Magic Kingdom before hopping the monorail to Epcot. I'll take a walk through World Showcase, stopping at the United Kingdom Pavilion on the way for a refreshing Innis & Gunn Draft for $9.75.

I'm continuing on through the International Gateway and heading for dinner at a restaurant I've never eaten at, but always wanted to try, Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club.
Starting with the Artisanal Cheeses, $15, and a Scotch. What Scotch? Not sure what they have, but it's a good one, so $27.
My 10oz Black Angus Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Cabernet Wine Sauce is $54, and I will need another $27 Scotch to go with. And a side of Sauteed Mushrooms please. $9.
Desert. I just couldn't. Okay. I'll look. The Yachtsman Sundae, Trio of Gelato and Amarena Cherries sounds great though, soooo, why not?! $10. And a water. Tax and tip, and, $190.

Wow. Please charge that to Dave Tupper. Thank you.

To hear me, Lisa Green and Dave Hodges discuss this topic in full detail, please check out Episode 70 of The Disney Exchange.

Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty C-3PO Planting

By Barbie and Nick

Speaking of plants and Star Wars...

A few months ago I shared this Smuggler's Bounty C-3PO coffee mug. Well, as you can see, Barbie made a planter out of it!

Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty : The Cantina

By Nick

Well, you can't win them all.

After being pleased with my first share of Funko Pop Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty and very happy with the second shipment, I was underwhelmed by the latest collection themed around The Cantina from Star Wars: A New Hope.

I had been very excited when I'd initially heard this was to be the next shipment, envisioning Han and Greedo pop figures perhaps! And what awesome tee shirt would there be?!

When my booty arrived, I quickly opened it to find this Greedo patch and a Figrin D'an pin. I sold the patch on eBay and kept the pin.

Then there is the tee shirt. Yea, I don't care for it. As of this writing, this still has not sold in eBay. I'm not overly surprised.

Ponda Baba is the alien that had his arm severed by Obi Wan Kenobi for getting crabby with Luke. I don't think it's a great likeness.

Speaking of Obi Wan, "Ben" Kenobi, he is one of the exclusive Pop figures included.

Red Snaggletooth...I don't particularly have an interest. I sold him. Surprisingly, he was bought moments after being listed!

Ben, I was very happy to keep!

The final item, a Chewbacca pen, I'm also keeping.

So, a mixed bag for sure. Next up, Bounty Hunters!

The Nautilus From Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

By Barbie & Nick

Back in January when I went on my first solo trip to Walt Disney World I went to Trader Sam's Grog Grotto at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and bought the somewhat pricey Nautilus cocktail, intending to bring it home as a planter for Barbie.

And it is indeed now a planter!

A wonderful use for a wonderful souvenir.

Episode 70 of The Disney Exchange Podcast: Best Disney Dining Day

By Nick

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Disney Exchange is Lisa, Dave, and me, Nick!

Listener / reader poll;
Who would like Disney etiquette expert Miss Pixie to return and cover your Disney etiquette questions?

We bring back the rickety wheel for Tony V. Enjoy!

After some shout outs and a call for you 3 - 4 dozen listeners to request your listener number and recommend show ideas and Wheel of Distiny topics we launch into our main topic, which was suggested by friend of the show and past guest host, Dave Tupper.

"Best Disney Dining Day."

There were some rules: Stay on property. No budget. All food from waking up to bed time. It has to be possible, the time between establishments has to make sense.

Dave, Lisa and I get to breakfast before we lose Lisa due to internet issues, but fear not! She shares her lunch and dinner selections via instant messaging.

 The Tonga Toast at Kona Cafe at The Polynesian Village Resort

We somehow manage to squeeze in snacks and adult beverages like an Innis & Gunn from the United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot.

 Raymond (Lisa's husband), me, and Lisa enjoying adult beverages at Epcot

This week's Wheel of Distiny topic submitted by listener Shendl: What is a good restaurant at Walt Disney World for an Anniversary Dinner under $60?

The Wave at The Contemporary Resort

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Jiminy Cricket

I've got several Jiminy Cricket figures around the house, and so does my Diseny Exchange co-host Lisa Green,. Let's take a look!

By Lisa Green 

As a Disney side-kick, you can’t find one much better than Jiminy Cricket.  Sure, he’s a bug, but thanks to the Blue Fairy, he magically becomes an important part of Pinocchio’s life – acting as his conscience, attempting to keep his charge safe from trouble.  If you didn’t love Jiminy in Pinocchio, you have got to at least admit that he’s an incredible narrator for the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular (Magic Kingdom), right?  You think so, don’t you?  GOOD!  Me too!

There are a couple of precious Jiminy Cricket Disneyana items at our house (in the Joseph Green collection).  One is a modern figurine, picked up not that long ago on a Disney vacation. 

The other is much older and, I think, pretty unique and interesting.  A 1957 Dell Comic (Four Color #795) featuring the man (insect?) himself, Jiminy Cricket.  He stars in several separate comics alongside some very famous co-stars like Goofy, Captain Hook, Donald Duck and his playful nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.  All the fun and excitement covered by the Dell Comic pledge.

Dell Comics – “A pledge to parents:  The Dell Trademark is, and always has been, a positive guarantee that the comic magazine bearing it contains only clean and wholesome entertainment.  The Dell code eliminates entirely, rather than regulates, objectionable material.  That’s why when your child buys a Dell Comic you can be sure it contains only good fun.  ‘Dell Comics are Good Comics’ is our only credo and constant goal.” 
You’ve got to hand it to the 1950’s – there was no better decade for wholesomeness!

When Jiminy Cricket first appeared in 1940, he was drawn by Ward Kimball (one of Disney’s “Nine Old Men”) and voiced by Cliff Edwards.  When he sang “When You Wish Upon a Star”, Jiminy entered the collective hearts of America and has remained there ever since.

Movies, television, comics, video games, books, and in Disney parks – the character of Jiminy Cricket as a symbol of doing what’s right has endured for more than half a century and I, for one, believe his image will continue to live on for quite a long time to come.

How about you?  Are you a Jiminy Cricket fan?   

This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at @life_of_green

Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!

The BOATHOUSE at Disney Springs

By Lisa and Nick

Recently Nick and Lisa and a group of friends enjoyed lunch at one of the newest restaurants in Disney Springs, The Boathouse.  Dave and his wife, Anne, were supposed to be part of the party, but Dave came down with a horrible flu-like disease (from which he eventually, thankfully recovered), so Nick and Lisa were forced to reluctantly carry on without him…our Disney Exchange Podcast fans were counting on them!

Nick and Lisa on The Boathouse

Nick’s thoughts:

It was a pleasure to eat with Lisa and her husband Raymond at The Boathouse, and not just because they shared their clam strips with me, though they were delicious. Let’s back up to the beginning though.

As Lisa mentioned, Dave and his wife couldn’t join us, and my wife was also not with me as she was home with our seemingly endlessly ailing beloved dog, Shnelly. However, my family Jill and Zach, and our friends Amber and Ryan were in Disney Springs at the time. Lisa had made an ADR for 6, so suggested we invite the rest of the gang along. I’ll let Lisa tell you the part where she tells The Boathouse staff that I was a homeless person.

We all started off by having drinks at Jock Lindsey’s next door, so when we arrived we were already feeling pretty good.



While Raymond and Lisa checked us in, I walked around taking photos while the rest of our party perused the shop. The atmosphere is open and airy. It didn’t hurt that it was an absolutely gorgeous day!



 

 



When we met at the check in area, I asked Lisa if we could be seated inside the boat that is converted into a table that sits prominently in the front of the restaurant, and she said that she had been told it was first come first serve.

 

 

Well, guess where we were seated?! I Thought Lisa had planned this! Maybe told someone that they were playing host to 2/3 of The Disney Exchange Podcast which literally has 10s of listeners, but nope!

 


Nick, Zach, Jill, Lisa, Raymond, Amber and Ryan

Our server Jon took our drink orders almost immediately, and I immediately questioned him on a Scotch I could see from the table, as I had a very clear view of the bar, Laphroaig 10. Jon explained he thought it one of the smokiest of Scotchs, very heavy on the peat. He then offered to get me a sample, and came back a moment later with one. So, this started off extremely well for me. I actually wound up just getting a beer, however, a Big Storm Brewing Wavemaker Amber, which was okay, nothing to write a blog post about.

 



For my meal I ordered the Broiled Atlantic Swordfish Steak, Sweet Corn, Fennel, Andouille and Potato Hash, Creole Butter Sauce, which was a very dense piece of fish, so very filling. The taste combination was delicious.



I also had a bite of Zach’s Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos, and highly recommend these as well.



But, maybe my favorite thing was the Clam Strips, which, as I mentioned, were part of Lisa and Raymond’s meal.

Overall, my experience at The Boathouse was fantastic, and I plan on making this a regular stop on future trips, even if it’s just to sit at the bar, have a cocktail, and enjoy the atmosphere.


Lisa’s Thoughts:

How fortuitous that Raymond and I had made our lunch reservation for six!  We loved hanging out with Nick’s friends and family, but felt it would be rude if I uninvited Nick simply because he would have been a seventh person at our lunch for six.  (I am joking!)  I did mention that we’d tell the hostess at check-in that Nick was a homeless guy we’d found and wanted him to have a nice lunch.  All of the above happened just as Nick described and I absolutely had nothing to do with scoring the awesome boat table.

I walked up to the podium, provided the information for our reservation and asked if we could please add one more person to our party.  The hostess said that was no problem and asked if our entire party was present – I answered that we were all there, but some were presently spending money in the gift shop.  She said it would be just a minute for our table.  THEN the next lady in line asked for the boat table.

 

 



The hostess politely told her that the boat table was not available (even though it was empty) and that it could not be reserved, available only on a first come, first served basis….well guess who got there first?!?!  Yep, US and that’s how we came to find ourselves being escorted to the much coveted and absolutely adorable boat table.  I don’t know about everyone else, but I felt like a rock star.



You should know that if you sit at the boat table, people will stare at you (or maybe they were just staring at Nick?), people will take pictures of you eating at the boat table, and people will come up to the boat and touch it while you are eating.  If you’re looking for privacy, avoid the boat table.



So what did we eat?  First we ordered a bottle of wine.  We chose white because we thought it would be cool and refreshing and would go with the fish we were determined to order – it’s The Boathouse and we were sitting in a boat – we felt like consuming seafood was pretty much mandatory.  We’d just split a flatbread over at Jock Lindsey’s, so we weren’t too hungry.  We opted to order a couple of items from the appetizer menu to share.



First the clam strips aka the Dock Side Bucket – Wild Caught Surf Clam Strips with Fresh Cut Fries.  Nick was right, these were very tasty.  Normally we don’t eat much fried food, but made an exception and were happy with this dish.  We also ordered BOATHOUSE Lobster Cocktail “Half Chilled 1 1/4 lb. Lobster, Creamy, Brandied Cocktail Sauce” which was pricy for the size, but had a nice flavor and was certainly not going to leave us overly full.  I loved the presentation.



This restaurant is fun and the food is great.  The server, Jon, was professional and knowledgeable about the menu and beverage selections and had our meal paced just right.  Will we visit the Boathouse again?  Absolutely!  What a great addition to the restaurant selection at Disney Springs!

Have you dined at the Boathouse?  How was your experience compared to ours?

This article was originally posted on the Disney Exchange Blog.