[jking84772]

Valentine's Day we left home and arrived at the Grand Floridian gate a little before 3pm. The guard greeted us and told us they would be waiting for us at the main entrance. Sure enough just when the bell person asked if we had any bags along came a man in a suit who introduced himself as Frank and he would be escorting us to the private check in desk on the Concierge floor. Man is that hotel beautiful! We walked a short ways into the huge lobby and Frank directed us to the private elevator bank for concierge level guests. He informed us that we would have to use our room key to activate the elevator after we checked in. We arrived on the third floor and the door opened to a pair of desks where Joe introduced himself, congratulated us on our 10th anniversary and asked us if we would like a glass of champagne while we checked in. We declined and so on went the check in process, gave them a credit card, they gave us some little Valentines day cards and our check in packet. Joe asked if we had checked in any bags with the bell service so I gave him our ticket and he called down to have them delivered to our room. After he made sure there was nothing else we needed like dinner reservations or park tickets, Joe escorted us down a lovely hallway to our room, 4306. The bags were right behind us. While Joe and Rose (DW) talked, our bellman unloaded our bags and got us some ice. He had on a nametag with Tampa as his home town. He mentioned that Tony Dungy and his family had stayed there about a week ago and Tony had noticed that he was from Tampa. Now I felt a bit in over my head…LOL.

Rose and I went to the second floor and out to the monorail. Unlike the Contemporary, the monorail passes through the hotel parking lot above the main entrance. We rode the monorail to the Magic Kingdom with the intent of activating our annual passes. Since getting the passes only took a couple of minutes, we decided to take a leisurely stroll down Main Street to check out all of the shops you just don't seem to ever have time to see. I have to say, without the girls (5 year old twin DD's) and with that annual pass in my pocket, the sense of urgency faded away and I really enjoyed picking up stuff for the girls at the shops. We were probably there about an hour or so and then took the monorail back to the hotel, too cold to ride the water shuttle. We got dressed for our Narcoossee's dinner at 7 but arrived at the restaurant at 6 for a couple of beverages before dinner. On the way, we stopped at the concierge desk and asked about availability of any backstage tours for Thursday. It is something I had always wanted to do and Rose even expressed some interest. Thursday was pretty much booked but we managed to get in to the 8:30am Friday tour called Keys to the Kingdom, the one I have been wanting to take. They said we could drop off our bags at the bell desk on the way to the tour and then just pick up our bags and car after it was done. Sweet deal and unexpected.

When we got to the bar, the bartender handed us a menu to look over while we relaxed and since we both decided on the Filet Mignon, I ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and gave Rose her Anniversary present. We each had a couple of glasses of wine, spent a little time on their deck so Rose could light up a couple and ordered a second bottle just before our 7pm reservations. Our table had a great view of the castle so I was looking forward to the 8pm fireworks. We had an appetizer, Rose had five cheese onion soup and I had the crab cakes, very tasty. They brought us a special appetizer, reserved for Grand Floridian guests only, but I honestly can't remember what it was…something with lobster I believe, but it was tasty as well. Then our steaks arrived and they were excellent, given this was the hotel's signature seafood restaurant. After dinner, just before 8, Rose went back outside for a smoke and I stayed at the table, was getting really comfortable after that second bottle of wine. Sure enough, right at 8, the lights dimmed in the restaurant and they replaced the soft music that had been playing with the presentation that accompanies the fireworks. The view was awesome. I kept thinking how much fun that would be one year after the girls get a little older and could enjoy a slow meal. Right after the fireworks ended, Rose came back in and we ordered desert. I had the Key Lime Crème Brulee with a glass of recommended after dinner ice wine (the only yucky thing I had all trip was that glass of wine, not my bag I guess) and Rose had a cognac with her coffee. We finished and took a slow stroll back to the room. Our beds had been turned down, of course, with chocolates laid out on the pillows, but on the table was a chilling little bottle of champagne, two glasses, a long stemmed Rose and a card…an autographed picture of Prince Charming and Cinderella congratulating us on our 10th anniversary. Now I know why folks spend all that money for that level of service…LOL. We each had a glass then Rose raided the mini-bar for a mini-bottle of wine and went down to the patio for a night cap and smoke, I chilled in the bed watching old Disney cartoons.

Anniversary day next post....

[jking84772]

Thursday we managed to sleep in almost to 8:30! Believe me, with the little ones getting up in time to wake up most roosters that 8:30 felt great! We got up and headed to the bus transportation for the trip to MGM. The bus driver was a riot, didn't stop talking the entire way to the park. We got in and headed right to the Tower of Terror. It was only about a 20 minute wait. That ride never gets dull. I believe I spent more time weightless, off of my seat, then ever before. I'm hoping that the girls can handle it soon. We might ask them if they want to try in May. After that we stopped for coffee (Rose) and a cookie and milk (Me) for breakfast. Again it is probably psychological, but with the annual pass things seemed to slow down for me at the park. I figure with it only being a two hour drive, we could pick up some Saturday morning, drive to one of the parks, ride a few rides, eat lunch and head home, getting back in time for dinner. Only cost would be gas and food. I even envision doing that some weekends when Mommy has to work, after the girls get bigger. (OK, so this trip report was actually written BEORE the last one). Anyway, after breakfast we went to the Rock and Roller Coaster. That line was a bit longer, but I doubt we were there longer than 30 - 40 minutes. Seemed longer since the ride shut down for a few minutes and our line came to a complete stop. The picture of us on the ride looked like a carbon copy of the one from years ago. Rose is still screaming. The side-by-side comparison is a riot. After that we decided to head to EPCOT so caught the bus over there.

At EPCOT, the wait time for Test Track was 80 minute…nope…the wait time for Mission Space was only 20, but after I described it to Rose she didn't sound very interested so we wandered over to the new Memo ride at the Living Seas. It's a really cute kids ride with a major adult surprise at the end. All during the ride you are seeing the characters play on screens that have been covered with facades to look like underwater stuff…yeah, cute…then you turn the final corner and are looking into the aquarium and someway they have managed to project the characters INTO the tank, not just against the glass. Nemo, Marlon, Dory, Crush, all your favorites are actually swimming in the aquarium. Disney never ceases to amaze me with new their technology. After Nemo, we decided to get a bite to eat, so it was cheeseburgers and fries. The wait for Test Track was back down to 40 minutes, but again with the annual passes, we decided to just do a little more shopping, this time for a long sleeve shirt for me for Friday, and we rode the two monorails back to the hotel.

Next post...the meal of a lifetime at Victoria and Albert's…:-))

[jking84772]

We start getting dressed for dinner and crisis #1 hits, Rose forgot a razor for her legs…but fortunately I had already finished and let her borrow mine…yuck…After that, she starts getting dressed and crisis #2 hits, there are many, many runs in her panty hose…so a quick call to the store in the lobby and sure enough, there is a store called Summer Lace, specializing in fine women's resort wear that sells panty hose…so off we go, Rose does a quick panty hose shuffle in the dressing room and we head to the bar near the restaurant. Again, not wanting to spoil the meal, we just order a couple of glasses of wine, I think it was a Cabernet. I finish mine, Rose does about 1/2 then heads outside for a quick smoke while I finish her glass. Then we head to Victoria and Albert's.

We give them our name and they say, welcome Mr.. and Mrs. King and congratulations on your anniversary. There is that expensive treatment again… We get seated in a very quiet room with about 10 other tables spaced just far enough apart so that you can't make out any conversations. The lighting is dim and there is a harpist playing quietly in the corner. Wow. The servers come over and pour us each a glass of champagne. I'm not much for champagne but as I said in part one, not a single thing I had at this dinner to eat or drink tasted bad, everything was just perfect. We told them that we would like to add the wine pairing and off we went. They brought us our personalized menus, something to be kept in the safe forever. It even said Happy 10th Anniversary at the top. The first course was only one item, I have it's name, but no clue what it really was. Then they came and asked us for our choices for the other courses. Each course had from three to six items and they recommended that each person order something different so that both could try them. The next course up was the cold appetizer. I won't bore you with the detailed descriptions since most of it made no sense to me, but here were the highlights. I had the Colorado Buffalo tenderloins and I talked Rose into splurging and ordering the Caspian Sea Caviar. They poured me a glass of Pinot Gris wine and Rose substituted champagne for the recommended shot of Skyy Vodka. Believe it or not, I even enjoyed trying the caviar. The pace of the meal was perfect. You had just enough time to really enjoy and savor the course before they cleared the table and started bringing out the next one. Next course, the hot appetizer. Rose got the Long Island Duck and I ordered the New Zealand Elk. Both came with red wines, Rose had the Beaujolais and I had one called Carmemere. With the wine pairing, if you finished your glass, they were always ready to pour more. I know that I finished a couple of glasses with several courses. Next up was a course of which I do not know the name, but it was seafood. Rose ordered a special French fish called Turbot and I ordered the crab, one a crab cake and the other a crab tempura. Rose's wine was a Vermentino and mine was a Viognier. Good thing they let you take the menus, whew.

Finally we arrived at the main course, Rose got the Veal and I splurged on the Japanese Kobe Beef Tenderloin. Oh My Goodness…everything I had read about Kobe beef was true, it was without a doubt the most tasty, tender slices of meat I have ever eaten. The wines were a Valpolicella for Rose and a red for me called Sarget de Graud-La Rose. Where do they come up with these names! After that came pallet cleansing time with a four cheese platter for Rose and a strawberry gelato for me. Wines were an Asti for me and a Sherry for Rose. After that, time for desert. I had my heart set on trying their Crème Brulee so went with that, but after we got home I realized I had missed out on the Pyramid of Tanzanie Dark Chocolate Mousse…not missing that badly enough to make another reservation any time soon, not unless we win the lottery. With desert came some more white wine for me, but it wasn't listed on the menu, Rose got the steam brewed coffee which was a dinner show all by itself. After all was done, I signed the check, didn’t even shake while doing it. Let's just say it was in the vicinity of one of my car payments! Our servers came out to say goodbye, presented Rose with another long stemmed rose and us with a gift bag with our menus and a banana nut bread for our anniversary gift. From start to end was a little over 2 1/2 hours and like I said, everything that came to our table tasted wonderful. I would highly recommend this to everyone once in their lives. Between the quality of the setting, the service and the meal, it was definitely worth every cent.

We got back to the room, beds turned down again with chocolates, but this time no other presents…:-((. Rose didn't even go downstairs, I believe we just sat on the balcony, all bundled up in whatever could keep us warm and we called it a night…had to get up early to check out and head for our tour.

[jking84772]

Up at 6:30am, back to reality…we got dressed, picked up our bill and dropped off our bags at the bell desk. Hopped a very uncrowded monorail to a very cold Magic Kingdom and checked in at the tour desk on Main Street. We made our lunch choices and waited for our tour guide. His name was Jerred and we had 18 in our group. We all looked pretty dorky with our little ear pieces on so that he could give us the tour without shouting. Found out why the tour is restricted to 16 years and older and it made so much sense, it was too simple. Parts of the backstage area could spoil the magic. DUH…why didn't I think of that before…Jerred told us early on that there may be questions he gets asked while "on stage" that he may be giving us some pretty strange answers, but to rest assured that the real answers would be provided when we were "off stage". Preserving the magic is rule #1 one, and rightly so... I won't go into too many details, most of the stuff you could find out by reading Disney World "behind the scenes" books and by watching shows like Modern Marvels on A&E, but being there as you heard the things made it all very personal. We started down Main Street, before the gates opened at 9, then we watched the "running of the bulls" as he called it when the rope dropped. Pretty funny stuff. We made our way through Advertureland, went backstage in Frontierland, saw where they park the parade floats and work on the attraction parts. Got many personal stories about his experiences working for Disney and others he knows. We worked our way back to Liberty Square and stopped for lunch at a restaurant that I must confess, I did not even know was there. See what I mean about sense of urgency when you only have limited time in the parks. The lunch was just sandwich and chips, but was very good and it was good to get inside out of the cold wind for a bit. After that he stopped at the Haunted Mansion, my favorite, and we got priority loading so had a wait of about 2 minutes. Since he was in the lead "Doombuggie", he kept pointing out things in the attraction through our headsets, hidden Mickey's, etc. that made the ride very interesting. After that we worked our way back over to the Crystal Palace restaurant and got to go into the "Holy Inner Sanctum" of Walt Disney World, the Utilidors! Now for those of you in the know, The Magic Kingdom is build over a basement if you will, of offices, services and storage. Believe me when I say that what you envision in your imagination is probably way more interesting than the actual thing, but 99% of the folks that take that tour, take it for the express purpose of getting to see this area. Even though it was not the vast expanse of roads and corridors with golf carts rushing by from "land" to "land" that I had imagined, it still was fun to get to see it in person. They had one wall with pictures from the park's history, it being built, Walt in his hip waders standing in the middle of a swamp telling folks where everything would be laid out, it made the journey worthwhile. We emerged back topside into the executive parking lot, on the other side of Main Street, headed to the Town Square and sadly ended the tour. After 5 hours of almost non-stop walking and standing, I was really ready for a break. We caught the monorail back to the hotel, collected our bags and car and headed home.

I can't wait until May 19th and our next trip with the girls this time!

[timon71]

Great TR!!!!!!!! Congrats on 10 years and may you have another 100.


The Angoffs

[Dopey]

gosh that was a nice trip. I have to "run" right over to allearsnet to check out the menu for V&A.

Happy Anniversary.

The girls got to go sooner to WDW than you thought

[Dana]

Excellent report. Thanks for sharing it with us. I am so happy that you two go to have some alone time at WDW....very special. Happy anniversary too!

[Daisee]

Great TR! Rlander & I celebrated our 10 year anniversary at WDW. It makes a magical time even better!

Best wishes for many more!!

[emamasa]

that is so awesome! V & A sounds amazing! what a wonderful anniversary!

[jking84772]

Thanks for all the kind remarks, gang. This whole trip report thing is a great idea. While posting this one, remembered that my mom used to keep a "diary" of our annual trips from NY to FL. I still have them somewhere. Re-reading then again and again helped to remind me of the great times we had together. Hopefully I can start putting together similar info for my girls. Maybe someday they will be able to read them to their DD's and DS's and think fondly of times spent with mommy and daddy.

You guys Rock!

[Erin]

Great report! 10 years is beautiful!

[MissDisney]

I have always wanted to eat at V&A's, but we usually end up with a burger somewhere LOL!

What a great place to spend your anniversary!