Day 6: The Morning After and Florida Gentility
September 28, 2008
It was the wee hour of 4am when I finally dragged myself to bed with a Gungaloosh slumber. By 8am when the sun had risen I remembered why I’ll never be a world class drinker. So while I rolled over to bury my head in the pillow, Grandpa Mohawk slipped off to the pool. Usually he complains I never give him enough pool time but this trip he’s had almost every day. And with the low September crowds (the resort is at half capacity) he ended up with an entire sun pier to himself.
By noon I managed to roll myself out of bed for a late breakfast of hard boiled egg and juice. We have no early plans for the day, so I take my time checking e-mail and blogs, shower and spend a little time just enjoying myself on my private deck (each of our bedrooms has a screened in porch big enough for a table and 4 chairs). Grandpa Mohawk finally wanders back from his pool day, a little more tanned and a lot more relaxed.
Our itinerary calls for afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian. As we drive into the resort I remember a rumor I read about this being a future home to DVC. Grandpa Mohawk and I agree that would definitely be something we’d like to do. The gentile Victorian styling of the resort reminds me a little of Saratoga Springs and all those bed & breakfasts we’d visit at home for tea.
It’s mid-afternoon at this point and a jazz band is serading the lobby from their second floor perch.
We proceed directly to the Garden View Tea Room where another old friend is awaiting us… Heather Lynn. We even get our regular table overlooking the garden.
The last time we came, I purchased a couple tins of my favorite brew (Nobo Whole Fruit) so today I decide it’s time to try a different blend. I go with the Mad Hatter, a sweet blend of camomile and orange, and GM picks the Eros, ceylon, mandarin orange and vanilla. He gets the Buckingham Tea and I go for the full Grand Tea (replacing the champagne with sparkling cider, my liver cheers). We proceed to savor our meal of tea sandwiches, scones & tarts, and dessert. Meanwhile Grandpa Mohawk strikes up a conversation with the lady guest next to us and we rave about how this is one of those special little treats Disney offers. Just a quiet little place to come, relax and feel like royalty. To accentuate that, the head waiter comes over to hand us ladies a freshly cut long-stemmed pink rose. How can you not feel special after that?
We take our time exploring Grand Floridian, browsing the more expensive boutiques ($80 for a tshirt?!) and the lesser expensive alternatives. In our minds we compare the feel of the Grand Floridian versus all the other resorts.
It has a large central lobby like Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. When the jazz band takes a break a pianist picks up on the baby grand playing such sweet tunes as “Some Day My Prince Will Come” and “Smile”. I find myself pulling up a spot next to the kids watching classic Disney cartoons (Mickey, Donald and Goofy as firefighters who use fly paper to catch the animated flames and keep them from spreading).
Grandpa Mohawk studies the hotel map and finds another restaurant he’d like to try (the Grand Floridian Cafe). We pass by 1900 Park Fare just as Prince Charming and Cinderella begin their rounds as if the dinner guests are part of their wedding reception.
There in a corner of the lobby I spot a cast member setting up her chalk artwork for display. Her name is Svetlana and she’s from the Ukraine. Her work is exquisite making children look like angels. She tells me she’s been drawing for 15 years and can do a sketch in minutes but labors for weeks to complete the finished artwork. All the while we talk, I can’t help but stare at the blonde angel gracing her display portrait. The little girl’s eyes just sparkle.
Our meandering takes us outside to the central courtyard and around the corner to the marina and dock. We see an even closer spot to view the Castle and Space Mountain.
Monorails zoom overhead, ferries toot their horns and the Magic Kingdom train answers with a very loud whistle. Grandpa Mohawk jokes it sounds like Hudson Harbor. In the distance we begin to hear the howling sounds of ghosts. It seems Magic Kingdom has come alive with another Halloween party.
At the ferry dock, we meet Terry, the bellman, taking his break outside in the night air. As we talk a bevy of pirates, princesses, gypsies and Lost Boys parade over to catch the ferry to the Kingdom, treat bags in hand. Their excitement fills the air. I’m tempted to join them but discover the ferries are not wheelchair accessible.
Instead we walk back through the courtyard, stopping to visit with the three tamest wild bunnies we’d ever seen.
Past the zero entry beach pool, out to the Wedding Pavilion and beyond to the Polynesian. The sun has set so everything is getting dark now. We briefly debate heading home to catch the Presidential Debate but decide we’ve had enough politics for one week.
I’m anxious to check out the progress of BLT, so we hop the monorail at the Ticket and Transportation Center and proceed to backtrack our entire route to the Contemporary. I can never keep the routes straight in my head. Contemporary first for the Express Monorail and Polynesian first for the resort monorail. One of the monorail conductors updates me on the status of those wheelchair-friendly cars. Last April only the Express line cars had the center columns removed inc ars 4 & 6. Now all 12 monorail trains have been updated. No more cramped spaces for us wheelies!
We get off on the Contemporary platform and take the special elevator down half a flight to the 4th floor concourse. It’s been updated with new carpeting (using the same colors as BLT), the new Fantasia giftshop, and the exit nearest the new walkway cordoned off.
The MNSSHP fireworks are scheduled to begin in a few minutes so we head outside to the viewing area. It’s already half full but GM finds a seat in the back. Meanwhile I slide over to the western side to study the BLT construction. Last year at this time, there was just a giant dirt hole behind privacy screens. In April 10-12 floors were framed and a few pilons for the walkway standing. Now the entire building has been framed, I can see drywall and blue walls on the lower floors. The lights are on and the walkway is completely framed. I doubt Disney will have any trouble opening this building in another year.
The music begins and I come back to catch the special Halloween fireworks. It’s a somewhat strange viewing angle. You have the close-up fireworks on the castle and the large overhead fireworks over Space Mountain. Everyone seems to enjoy the show, even this gentlemen who excitedly walked up front to show off the fireworks to his daughter (appraently unaware he blocked a dozen people in the process). Oh well, I just wanted to see how those panoramic fireworks look from this place. And here they are:
Stunning but I have to admit my enthusiasm for BLT has dimmed incredibly. Grandpa Mohawk and I vow to catch the show from Grand Floridian’s special spot later in our trip. It’s near 11pm by the time we head home. We do a summary of our trip in the car ride back. Shockingly we’ve only seen two theme parks and eaten out a handful of times. Where did the week go? We decide we absolutely must extend our trip so we can say we did something instead of lazing about all week in Disney.