HOT Princess filled July 4 Trip at the Grand!

dorospin

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 31, 2016
Hi All!

This is my 2nd trip report!! This report will be about our July 4 2019 trip! 🌭 Bret and I are parents to six kids. 😲 We take all of them once a year on our big annual WDW family vacation with my parents. However, throughout the year we take several smaller trips with 2-3 kids at a time (and they rotate).

Thanks so much for following along!!

For our July 4 2019 trip - Our oldest boy Alex (15 at the time) and youngest girl Grace (3 at the time) were along for the fun!!:love:

We were staying at the Grand Floridian in a water view room for 3 nights. On our to do list was reserved Fireworks viewing on the Poly beach, lots of princess meet and greets, and of course - plenty of pool time!!🎆
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Meet Grace. She has been to WDW more times than I can remember, with her first visit coming at six weeks old. She loves her Disney Princesses! Her favorite princess changes several times daily, but currently is Jasmine. She was ready for the trip in her Minnie skirt outfit and her baby dragon.

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Bret and I. Hopeless Disney addicts.

And Alex.. not a huge fan of mom taking pictures anymore. He still loves WDW and happily goes along to all of the princess meets. He loves Space Mountain and Rock Roller Coaster.
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We flew in on the morning of July 3. Our Fireworks meet and viewing was that evening. Our plan was to check into the Grand Floridian, spend some time at the pool -head to Magic Kingdom for a few hours, and back to the Poly beach for fireworks.

I was excited this trip to try the new "Artist Pointe" dinner with Snow White, dwarves, and Maleficent. I had read very mixed reviews on the food but wanted to see the characters!

Up next.. checking into the Grand and a sweet surprise!!
 
Following!
What a fun idea to spend time with just a few of the kids at a time! It must be nice for them to have all the attention for a little while!
 
Thanks to anyone who is reading!! 💓

We arrived in Orlando in the morning and, of course, had booked a Minnie Van for airport transfer to the Grand Floridian. We love the Minnie Van service. We have met so many interesting people, and heard lots of WDW stories! :hyper2:My favorite would be the driver who is a former "Disney on Ice" skater, and told us stories from traveling the country performing with Disney on Ice. ⛸ The Minnie Vans from the airport always seem to have the latest Coke product.. I think our last trip it was Orange Vanilla Coke maybe?? :drinking1

Anyways, we arrived at the Grand Floridian mid morning. I walked into the Grand, like most moms I think, like a pack mule. 🤣 Grace had decided she didn't want to carry ANY of her items, including tiny baby dragon, or her blankey we of course could not put in a suitcase!! That 6AM wake up was catching up to her fast. 😩

We had an ADR at the Grand Floridian, that thankfully was timed perfectly so that when we checked in, we had about 10 minutes until the ADR. I had also rented a stroller for Grace from Kingdom Strollers and it was already there waiting for us.

So, we are in line to check in at the Grand, me holding a plastic bag from the airport with our water from the plane and some half eaten snacks the kids wanted to eat, pulling a suitcase, blankey draped over my shoulder, purse on my shoulder, and managing to also hold baby dragon because although Grace didn't want to hold him, she wanted him visible at all times. ⁉

It was my turn to check in. The cast member pushed the stroller out for us and started to check us in. At this point, Bret had to run off to find a bathroom, and so I was in line with all of the luggage, bags, stroller etc. Alex had taken Grace for a walk to try to distract her from the impending melt down. I was trying to juggle everything and dig through my purse for my ID and card, when literally out of no where a manager came through the door behind the counter, saw me, and immediately came out and started taking things out of my hands. He called for a bell services cast member to load up all of our items. I explained to the manager that we were actually head to the Café. He said that he would personally escort our items to our room, that our Magic Bands were in our room, and he would bring them to the Café for us. I wish I could remember the manager's name because he was so kind to us. :thanks:

We met up with Bret at Grand Floridian Café for a brunch/early lunch. We LOVE the Café for brunch. I remember we got a few giant Mickey waffles, and Alex got the steak and eggs as usual. 😋 As promised, the manager showed up about 20 minutes later with our Magic Bands, and let us know that everything was in our room waiting for us.

By this point, Grace was in my lap half asleep, and I was rethinking our afternoon plans. The original plan was to go straight to the Magic Kingdom for a little bit, then back to the Grand for quick rest before heading over the Poly for Fireworks.. which I think were scheduled for 9. I was thinking maybe we should just rest until Fireworks. Not to mention it was HOT!! It was in the high 90s and the real feel was over 100.

Up next.. we headed to our room to find a super cute surprise, afternoon activities, and July 4 Fireworks that evening!!
 




Back to this very hot July 3rd morning almost a year ago! We left the Grand Floridian Café to go find our room in one of the outer buildings. Finally.. we were in the beautiful (and cool) room!!


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Does she look ready for a nap or what?? As you can see, we were greeted by a super cute Mickey towel art 💓

By the balcony, we discovered this adorable treat!!

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A white chocolate Mickey, holding a July 4 star, and delicious chocolate dipped strawberries!! I guess the manager who helped us at the front desk when we checked in arranged to have these left for us, but will never know for sure!🍓

After trying some Mickey chocolate and strawberries, Grace's mood shifted dramatically and now all of the sudden she had no interest in a nap, but was ready to head to the Magic Kingdom! 🏰

Given that we were only there for two nights, we decided to go make the most of it! We jumped on the Monorail and one stop later were walking into the Magic Kingdom!

First up, meeting some princesses..
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Grace telling Ariel all the things..

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And she wanted a picture with everyone. Note Grace's new "Small World" Mickey ears! They are super cute.

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hugging it out with "Punzel"...

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and posing with Tiana

🤩



I am sad that the princess meet and greets will not be available for the foreseeable future because the interaction is always so customized and cute.. but hopefully will be back next year!!

And a staple of every WDW trip for us..

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"the ponies" as Grace calls it
:laughing:

After a few more stops in the Magic Kingdom, we took the boat back to the Grand Floridian to rest up for the fireworks that evening. There was only one problem.. major thunderstorms were projected to move into the area right in time for fireworks ⛈

We were assured that the event was still on. The plan - we were supposed to meet around 8:30 at the wedding pavillion, check in, and then walk to a reserved section of the Poly beach. As anyone else who was there last July 4 will recall, things did not go according to plan.

Up next - Fireworks - maybe ?!? Late night swimming?? And the next day, Akershus and Artist Pointe with Snow White!
Thanks for reading!!
 
Hi All!! Took a break from my trip report to register for the passholder preview and WE GOT IN!!! We will be in the AK for the preview on the 10th, and in Magic Kingdom on the 11th for opening day! Who else will be there?! We're ready to go 🤩 🏰
 
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Hi Again!!

Back to the night of July 3rd! Fireworks night!! We arrived at the Wedding area in between the Grand Floridian and the Poly around 8:30 to check in for Fireworks. We were told that there was going to be a weather delay, and to wait inside the wedding chapel for further instructions. At this point, Grace was in her stroller, and also in her bathing suit because the plan was to hit the pool after fireworks (weather permitting).

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So far, so good with the mood 😆 The weather delay kept delaying.. finally someone set up "Disney Trivia" inside the chapel. I had never been inside the chapel - it is beautiful!

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Thankfully I had packed some snacks and waters.. we chatted and tried some trivia until finally we were given the "go ahead" to head to the Poly beach just before 11pm.

The idea was that the music from the Fireworks was supposed to be played on the Poly beach where we were all sitting. Unfortunately, due to the weather issues, the barges that play the sound were not able to operate. So, we did see the beautiful July 4 fireworks, but to the soundtrack of the Poly instead of the July 4 music 🤷‍♀️

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Regardless of the music, the Poly beach was a great place to watch.

After the show, we headed back to the Grand Floridian and made good on the promise to spend a few minutes at the splash pad!
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As Alex had decided to head back up to the room, she had the place to herself! It was very relaxing just sitting in the pool area later at night listening to the music. It is a little sad that my baby is about to out grown the baby splash pads!

It had been a long day.. but we had gotten there safely, gotten into our room, had some fun at the Magic Kingdom, seen the July 4 fireworks, and managed to hit the pool. It was around midnight and ready for bed!

Up next.. two character meals in one day!!!
 

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We started our July 4 at Epcot! And it was HOT!! I mean, like three minutes after stepping outside you are melting! Our first stop was Akershus for a princess breakfast! I remember the trek from the gates of Epcot back to Norway being very hot and long. But - we arrived.

The Akershus breakfast was a mix of a buffet with pastries, cold cuts, fruit, and other standard buffet fare, and then a warm plate delivered to the table family style with eggs, bacon, hash browns. There was a very cute "Princess Parade" for the kids to join in, and several princesses stopped by our table. There was also a photo meet and greet with Belle when you first enter the restaurant.

On the dining plan, this feels like a good deal, paying out of pocket, not so much. You are really paying for the princess interaction.

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Grace and Aurora

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princess parade

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Cinderella twins :)

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Belle
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Finally Alex allowed a photo.. here with Ariel..

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I am wondering how Disney will handle these former character dining experiences - with the price decrease when there are no characters? Will these restaurants remain closed until characters return? I guess we will see.

After a nice respite from the heat, we were back in the sun. We rode "Frozen Ever After" immediately after eating. Despite being a HUGE Frozen fan, Grace remains scared of the ride because of Marshmellow (the big snowman). We keep explaining that he turns into a nice guy, etc., but still - she keeps her eyes closed during the entire ride 😆

We headed back to the resort for a pool break. We had an ADR that evening for Storybook Dining at Artist Pointe. I was very excited to try this experience as we had not been since Artiste Pointe was re-imagined into Storybook Dining with Snow White! Bret was less enthused, especially after our Minnie Van driver told us that "at least half the people I pick up from that dining experience are still hungry"... I had checked the menu, and yes it looked a little different.. but that could be a good thing!
 
We arrived July 4 evening - wow a year ago today! - at Storybook Dining at the Wilderness Lodge. We took a Minnie Van from the Grand over to the Lodge. Our driver on the way was not the most reassuring about our upcoming meal. He reported that the reviews for Storybook Dining were "very mixed" - with most people loving the characters, and not loving the food.

I had been to Artist Pointe before it became Storybook Dining several times. I remembered it as a very peaceful atmosphere and good food.

We checked in at the podium and received a pager. We were right on time for our ADR, and ended up waiting about 30 minutes for a table. While waiting, we checked out the Wilderness Lodge lobby. It is a cool place to just look around. Right as the little one's patience for looking around was about to end, we were called.

I thought the overlay inside the restaurant - to give it the "magical forest" feel - was very cute.

I honestly do not remember much about the food other than, it was not good. There are not a lot of options - and the shared appetizers especially we did not enjoy. The desserts were cute though!

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Bret picked up quick service after the meal. I found the food to be "fine" as opposed to "good" - I liked the presentation of the food. The kids' platter especially was very cute - if we could've ordered 4 kids' platters we would've!

On to the stars of this meal.. the characters! The interactions with Grumpy and Dopey were very quick, however Snow White visited for a little while! We also met the Queen of course. I've read a lot about the great interactions with her.. we caught her right before a break so was basically just a quick picture.

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This was a fun experience (to me and the kids at least) - but its probably a one and done for us. I think its worth checking out once - but, be sure to review the menu in advance (especially if you have picky eaters).

The next morning, July 5 - we flew home. This was one of our quicker WDW trips but was definitely worth it!

We were back in WDW at the Beach Club Villas just two weeks later for our annual large family trip.. lots of cool stuff to report back on during that trip, including Mermaid School, kids' Pirate Voyage, Dolphin interactions at the Seas, and lots more!

Thanks so much for reading along!
 

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Following along. Looks like you got a lot done considering how short the trip was . Looking forward to reading about the next part of your adventures.
 
Following along. Looks like you got a lot done considering how short the trip was . Looking forward to reading about the next part of your adventures.
Thanks for reading!! And yes its amazing what you can get done in a long weekend!
 
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