Monthly Archives: April 2019

Walt Disney’s Grand Floridan Hotel and Spa

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By: MLB destinations

Disney’s Grand Floridian Property

By: Mlb destinations

The Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel and Spa is one vacation luxury you have to try at least once in your life. She is by far, my very favorite hotel resort that is on the Walt Disney property that I have stayed at so far. You will feel the luxury from the moment you pull into the Grand Floridian. She is rich with luxurious greenery and landscapes. As soon as you pull away from the guarded booth at the entrance, her Victorian elegance is a pleasant view to the eye. Your option for parking is either to pull up and have the Valet staff take your bags and park your car or you can choose to self park your car for a lesser daily fee. The Grand Floridian is in the Magic Kingdom area of Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. She is a deluxe resort and also has villas.

The Victorian Style buildings and lush greenery is a prince and princess dream! As you walk up the property you hear the sounds of the transportation Monorail up on the 2nd floor.When you get to the entrance you will have friendly guest service staff to welcome you to the hotel and a view of a Cinderella carriage is seen before walking in the Lobby. The black Carpet ground mat when you come in has a large gold scrolling of GF and the smell of the Floridian is so nice and clean! I love the smells of the deluxe resorts in Disney, they use a freshener system that is very lovely, inviting and not over powering. The lobby of the GF is so beautiful with her huge chandeliers and 5 levels of beauty. The Victorian architecture and crown moldings, beautiful greenery, a grand piano, a birdcage elevator, furniture that is luxurious, makes this a grand view!

For our visit at Christmas, the grand Christmas tree is present in the middle of the lobby along with drapes of garland on the upper levels. The huge gingerbread house is also set up and invites you for a closer look which is made out of real edible sweet goodness. Treats are available for purchase at the Gingerbread house. Christmas time is such a great time to visit the Grand Floridan. It is so beautiful and just has that rich Christmas spirit!

  • The Lobby of the Grand Floridian when we stayed at Christmas

The 5 levels in the Main building are the lobby with guest services, bell services, Disney shopping including a luxury soap store, elevators to Main building guest rooms, restrooms, restaurants, orchestra band, tea room etc. If you book a stateroom with a Main building description, your elevator to your room will be in this building. The other rooms are in surrounding buildings which surround the main building.

Our Room

We had a Garden View Room and it was located a couple buildings away from the Main building. It was a beautiful entry with lovely furniture and mirrors as you walk in, the welcome scents are amazing and inviting. Our room was very spacious, had 2 Queen beds with luxurious bedding, a couch that made into a night time bed, a large double sided closet, a laundry bag is available for laundry service at an additional charge if you wish, a mini fridge, tv with a lot of drawers for storage, a vanity with stool and a Keurig coffee maker and K cup coffee, a large double bathroom, the one part of the bathroom was a double sink area that had a large mirror and amenities of different Disney H20 Spa products. A blow dryer is provided in the bathroom dressing area as well. The other part of the bathroom was the private room of the toilet and shower. Below I have provided photos of our room. The balcony had a small table and 2 chairs.

  • Entrance to our building
  • lighting
  • doors to balcony
  • side table
  • tv console with drawers
  • in room light
  • bathroom
  • bathroom
  • Coffee

  • sitting chair
  • one of the beds
  • View from our room balcony

Transportation

Transportation is available at The Grand Floridian via Monorail, Bus or Boat. The Monorail will take you to the Magic Kingdom, Transportation Center, Polynesian Resort, Contemporary Resort, and back to the Grand Floridian. The Boat will take you to the Magic Kingdom, The Polynesian Resort and back to the Grand Floridian. If you would like to go to the Fort Wilderness Campground or the Wilderness Lodge by boat, you would need to catch that boat at the Magic Kingdom OR you can go the Monorail to the Contemporary and catch the boat there. The bus schedule is usually ran every 20 min, be sure to ask an associate for the exact locations and times. Transportation at the Walt Disney Resorts are complimentary.

Dining

Dining at The Grand Floridian is plentiful. You may choose to dine at the restaurants if you are a guest at the Grand Floridian or a guest at one of the other resorts. You may dine casual and fine. For specialty fine dining restaurants it is advised to make reservations prior.

The Gasparilla Island Grill is a casual, self service area with a variety of self serve items such as pizza, sandwiches, salads, grill items, snacks, bakery items, beverages, hot coffee, soda, tea and much more. It also has a large seating area to dine inside or you can choose to sit outside and eat at the tables provided outside.

Inside the Main building you will find 1900 Park Fare which offers breakfast buffet and dinner buffet that includes meat carving choices, a sushi selection, salads, veggies and so much more. The dinner is also dining with characters. The breakfast buffet will be the Alice in Wonderland characters and the dinner buffet is a Cinderella character buffet. The dinner also comes with a photo. You may reserve your reservations in advance to be sure to get a seat since seatings book up quickly.

If you are in the mood for some afternoon tea, you will find in the Garden View Tea Room of the Main building a variety of Hot Teas, small bites and treats.

  • Dinner at 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella
  • Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare with Alice

The Grand Floridian Cafe is also available for Breakfast Lunch and dinner and offers really good food. The restaurant is beautiful and elegant with the Victorian decor. It offers a mix of American favorites, seafood and pasta.

Citricos is a upscale Mediterranean Restaurant and American seafood restaurant that is a beautiful modern decor with a sit up bar.

Victoria & Alberts is a classically elegant fine dining restaurant that offers a fine dining experience. You will find fine china, sterling silverware and crystal stemware. The restaurant also offers the Chef’s table with a 10 course meal prepared specially designed and prepared by the chef. The meal is also paired with wine.

Outside on the water by the boat dock you will find Narcoossee’s Restaurant which is a upscale seafood restaurant. You will have great waterfront views for dining at this restaurant. Brunch and Dinner are available.

You will also find at the pool area Beaches Pool Bar and Grill. It offers a large variety of beverages, alcohol beverages, sandwiches etc.


Recreation

At the Grand Floridian you can rent a Pontoon boat at the marina. You will also find Basketball, Campfires, Arcade, swimming pools, movies under the stars, poolside cabanas for rent which include,( Ceiling fan, furniture, smart tv with cable, mini fridge with soda and water, snacks, towels, suntan lotions and a cast member that is designated to serve you. )The Cabana’s are for a extra charge. The Main pool will also have children’s activities and games during the day. You will also find a quiet pool with zero entry and plenty of loungers. Please note: Walt Disney World does not allow pool hoping from resort to resort, you must be a guest to use the amenities.

At the Grand Floridian, you can go out by the Marina at night and you will find a great view of the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom. You will have the music also that goes with the fireworks display. If you get a chance to stay at the Grand Floridian do not forget to watch them!

If you need any other additional information on the Grand Floridian resort please visit the Walt Disney World website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/

Please visit my youtube Channel and Consider subscribing to my channel for up coming vlogs of my trips.

Disney Wonder Cruise February 2019

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By: Mlb Destinations

Docked in Castaway Cay

Ship Stats: 84,000 GT 984 Ft Capacity is 2,713 passengers 11 passenger decks Disney Wonder ship is usually based out of Vancouver. This sailing we took was a 3 day sailing out of Port Canaveral. We took advantage of her visit here locally and sailed on her to the Bahama’s.

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My Youtube pictorial of Our Wonder Cruise

Embarkation:

Our Embarkation of the Disney Wonder was really easy. When we arrived at the terminal to check in they gave us a ticket with a boarding call number, it went by pretty fast, we had about a 10 minute wait. As we were boarding the ship, the crew announced our name as they do on all Disney ships. The Wonder ship’s Atrium was really beautiful. The ceiling had a cluster of red glass flowers which were really beautiful. The one thing about Disney ships, they shine! They really are so clean and shiny! The grand staircase was in blue and gold with Aerial, The little Mermaid as the Atrium statue. The restaurant Triton’s which is in tribute to The Little Mermaid film sits right behind her statue. We had our first meal in Triton’s as we boarded instead of our usual trip to Cabana’s lido buffet. We had a nice and relaxing lunch! I enjoyed a chicken caesar salad and Oreo brownie cheesecake, really good!

  • Atrium
  • Cascade of lights
  • Triton’s Restaurant in Atrium

Dining

Dining on the Disney Wonder includes various fast food areas near the Pool, 3 main dining areas, Cabana’s lido buffet, buffet bar food in one of the adult only lounges late night, and Room service!

Triton’s Restaurant

Dining on the Wonder ship is exactly like all the other Disney Ships with the Rotational Dining of 3 Main Restaurants. Your servers will follow you to each restaurant. On the Wonder Ship you have Triton’s Restaurant, Tiana’s Place Restaurant and Animator’s Palate. The Rotational dining allows guest to have a different dining experience along with different menu options and theme. You may share a table with other folks depending on your party size, if you want a private table, request one when you book your cruise and then when you board the ship go to the Maitre D and request it.

Each restaurant has it’s own unique theme. Triton’s Restaurant is dedicated to The Little Mermaid film with Triton being Aerial’s father. The ceilings have beautiful pale pink, baby blue glass with swirls of gold. It offers a French flair menu and a beautiful stain glass of blues, greens and baby pink on some of the windows. The artwork on the back wall of Triton is done in tiny pieces of glass. Below are some photos from Triton’s that I took.

  • Table setting Triton’s
  • Chicken Caesar Salad
    Lunch
  • Triton’s Restaurant
  • Oreo Brownie Cheesecake
  • Triton’s Lunch Menu
  • Triton’s Lunch Menu
  • Fried Brie
  • souffle and creme brûlée
  • The artwork is made of tiny glass

Tiana’s Place

Tiana’s place was another Main Dining Restaurant on board the beautiful Disney Wonder ship. The Restaurant is themed for The Princess and the Frog film. You will find live entertainmentCuisine with Tiana and her band playing allowing for those interested to shake a leg! The cuisine is creole and cajun, very good I must say. I had the cajun sea bass and mama oldies bread pudding. Man, it was good! It was a casual yet elegant restaurant with brick walls and elegant glass ceilings with metal scrolling. The kids and adults had a really nice time dancing and doing a train around the restaurant with the Bayou Alligator, Tiana, and wait staff. Below are some photos I took during our dining.

  • Tiana’s Place Menu
  • Entertainment
  • Tiana’s Place
  • Tiana’s Place
  • Cajun Sea Bass
  • Tiana’s Dessert Menu
  • Tiana’s Entrance
  • Mama Oldie’s White Choc Bread Pudding
  • Chocolate Doberge Gateau

Animator’s Palate

Animator’s Palate was the other Main Dining Restaurant. We did not eat at Animator’s during this sailing. Instead we had a, tired and lazy night, ordered a pizza at the pool to watch a movie on the big screen under the stars. However, we have been to Animator’s Palate on our other Disney sailings and it is awesome! It is a wonderful experience. The entertainment you get from listening to Crush talk to those in the room is really funny and interactive. The art that you draw actually comes to life in the restaurant. The decor of the restaurant is a black and white restaurant with animator drawings all over the walls, checkered floors and seats that are Mickey’s bottoms. It is an awesome time so be sure if you sail on Disney Cruise Line that you eat at Animator’s Palate. Oh and a little tip: The Black Truffle pasta for an appetizer is really good!!

Cabana’s Lido Buffet

Cabana’s Lido Buffet is amazing, honestly, the food is really good! I have been on 3 of Disney Cruise Line’s ships and all of the Lido’s were amazing. I will soon be traveling on Disney Fantasy so I will update you in my blog of that sailing of how it is on that ship, but the 3 I have been on was really good. The food is of different nationalities and lots of great comfort food. Salad bar is top notch and nobody has a seafood buffet like Disney Cruise Line that I have been on. ( I have been on Carnival, NCL, RC and Disney) Disney beats when it comes to Lido buffet food. The buffet is by far excellent. Below are some photos I took during some of our meals at Cabana’s. Also the outside seating at Cabana’s has amazing aft views. Its really nice in the morning to come out and have breakfast outside, feel the fresh breeze and look at the scenery no matter if it is the port you arrived at or the ship sailing, it will offer a nice view.

Things to Do

Buena Vista Theater offers up movie theater films at different times throughout the cruise. They will have a variety of Walt Disney films. The Walt Disney Theater has live broadway shows that are amazing! You have to check out a show in the Walt Disney Theater if you have never. They will have 2 evening times to fit in around your dining time. You will be in for a treat! They will have other shows sometimes during the day that are scheduled like the Magic show we went to. Next to the theater you will find a kiosk of treats and popcorn sold along with beverages and alcohol beverages for extra cost. The servers will come around and serve you if you prefer to be served from your seat instead.

The shops offer up some great duty free Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney World souvenirs, jewelry, high end jewelry, clothing, toys, treats, collectibles and more. The shops will also have the Captain’s signing usually the last night but check with the staff to see what date and time for your sailing. The Captain will sign something if you want him to and also take a photo with you. I collect ship models of sailings that I cruise on, so I have the Captain’s sign those. I have put the photo below of my daughter with her signing on the Disney Dream with Captain Henry.

Miranda with Captain Henry

The activities are endless and will be printed on your Personal Navigator that your stateroom host will leave in your stateroom during turn down service. You can also download the Disney Cruise Line app to get all the information right at your phone along with dining information and menu’s. Below I posted photos of our Navigator we had on this cruise.

Personal Navigator
Back of the Personal Navigator

Sports Deck

The Disney Wonder ship had various things to do on the Sports Deck. They have a running/walking track on I believe it was Deck 4. The Sports Deck on the top had Basketball, Foosball, ping pong. There is no putt putt on the Disney Wonder ship. The ship also has a video arcade. The Pool deck offers a larger pool for adults and teens and the Mickey pool is perfect for your younger kids. Life vests are provided if needed and the lifeguard is always on duty. You can take a dip and watch a movie at the same time with the kids which is nice!

Our stateroom

Our stateroom on board the Disney Wonder was a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom. Room 2568. It was a nice cozy room. The room had a queen size bed, a sofa that turned into a bed, a coffee table, a vanity desk with drawers and a stool, a refrigerator, tv, closet with storage shelves and hanging sections with lots of hangers. The split bath has a tub shower and sink in the one bathroom and the other has a sink and toilet along with some shelves for storage. Our stateroom host was truly amazing, he really was very attentive and kept us stocked with everything that we needed throughout our cruise!

  • Messy bed
  • drawers for storage
  • couch turndown bed
  • drink glasses
  • bathroom 1
  • bathroom 2
  • turn down animal with chocolate
  • porthole

Be sure to check out my youtube video for a complete room tour!

Disembark

Disembarking was super easy on the Wonder ship as it is with the other Disney sailings I have went on. Our family does the express check out which you walk your luggage off. It was quick and painless. We had a great time on board the Disney Wonder cruise ship. It was a nice weekend.

My trip to the Brevard Zoo

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By: MLB Destinations April 5, 2019

This was a trip to the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne Florida that I took with my brother and his family. I am new to Youtube and I plan to vlog up coming trips. If you are interested in watching my future travel consider subscribing to my Youtube channel. You may also follow my website to know when I post new travel blogs or information. :o)

Im also on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/mlbdestinations

Im also on Facebook too https://www.facebook.com/MLB-Destinations-313240699392596/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas Cruise Oct 2018

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By: Mlb Destinations

In Port at Coco Cay Private Island

Enchantment of the Seas was a bitter sweet sailing for our family. We had booked this trip for my mother’s birthday who was turning 70 years old on the sailing date of October 26, 2018. Unfortunately my mother passed away suddenly just weeks prior to this sailing. We tossed on possibly cancelling the trip, however we knew that a lot of money would be lost and when it came down to it, she would never want us to cancel it! So we went on with the trip. It was an amazing cruise. This sailing was in memory of her!

We sailed out of Port Canaveral Cruise Port and the embarkation was very smooth! We parked and got right into line which went very fast. Before we knew it we were on the ship. She was a beautiful ship. Below are her stats.

Enchantment of the Seas is now 82,910 GT since her 2005 refurbishment, she is 988.71 length and holds a capacity of 2,446 passengers.

  • Lido View
  • Lido Pool and Hot Tub
  • Kiddie Splash Area

Activities

The ship had a very relaxing and fun feel to it. The Atrium had live entertainment and the ship activities were plentiful with theater shows in the Orpheum Theater, game shows, pool activities and an outdoor movie screen for movies under the stars. The cruise director was very good about keeping the ship packed with activities and entertainment. The Pool area had loungers that were plentiful and hot tubs. Kiddie splash area was also available. Fitness center had free weights, ellipticals, treadmills and classes. The spa offered services for nails, hair, massage and other relaxing services. The sports deck offered rock climbing, a jogging track, bungee trampoline etc. The ship also had a video arcade and library that offered books and board games. Casino Royale had several slot machines, table for poker and other card games and tournaments.

The ship also had duty free shopping of souvenirs, clothing and jewelry. A photo gallery is also available for viewing your photos and option of purchase.

  • Bungee Jumper
  • Spa Entrance
  • Inside Spa
  • Lido Bar
  • Running Track

Dining and Bars

  • Main Dining Room
  • Outside tables
  • Room Service Dining
  • From left: Jennifer, Myself, My father and My Brother Jerry dressed in purple my mothers favorite color!

The ship offered several options for dining. The Windjammer Lido Buffet area was a casual dining option that offered all kinds of different foods. The My Fair Lady dining room was the Main dining area. Specialty dining is at Chops Dining where we had an amazing steak dinner for an up charge. The food was really good and our server was excellent. It was certainly worth the up charge. There is also Room service available and soft serve ice cream. The ship offered several bars including a pool bar and a bar in the solarium. A Ben and Jerrys coffee shop is also located on the ship to offer up Ice Cream or specialty coffee and snacks.

The quiet area

  • Solarium
  • Solarium Pool and Lifeguard
  • Plenty of Loungers
  • Solarium eatery
  • Solarium Bar

The Solarium area was a nice quiet area to grab a book or take a dip in the pool. With a large number of loungers and table and chairs, you could also grab a bite to eat at the small cafe in the Solarium and eat at a quiet table. The pool area in the Solarium is indoors and has a life guard on duty. There is also the Solarium bar nearby if you would like to order a drink. You could find late night snacks at the Solarium too which would include pizza, sandwiches and salads to name a few.

Our Stateroom

Our Stateroom was a 2 bedroom Grand Suite Room 8552. It was a spacious stateroom that offered a large walk in closet when you came in the room. The Closet had a lot of storage area with a furniture piece that had several drawers, life jackets and enough area to store your suitcases. To the right when you walk in is the main hall bath that had a sink, toilet and shower with no tub. All toiletries were available. Then you come to the first bedroom which offered a king size bed which could separate into 2 twins and 2 upper berths, a small bedside table and a window that had a curtain that could be opened to see the living area of the stateroom. There was a small furniture piece of drawers.

Next you come to the living area which provided a sofa that turned into a double sleeper, a large entertainment center that had shelves, tv, refrigerator, room safe and wet bar. There were plenty of electric plugs. There was also a coffee table and a sitting chair. Off the living room was the patio balcony that had a large table with 4 chairs. The balcony could be opened from the living area and the master bedroom. The last room was the master bedroom which had glass opening doors with a curtain for privacy and offered a king size bed that turned into two twins, a large double closet, a vanity dresser with drawers and a stool, electrical outlets and a bathroom with a toilet, sink and tub with shower. A blow dryer is also available.

The room was really nice and clean. It offered us access to Concierge Club. Our Concierge host was amazing at calling us and making sure to check in and see if we needed reservations or any other service. She was also very informative on any port information we had. The Concierge area had food and beverages at certain times and allowed for quiet seating. We were very happy with our stateroom. Here are some photos of it. Our stateroom host was excellent on this sailing, he made sure all our requests were filled and was very attentive.

  • living area chair
  • bedroom 1
  • towel animal
  • hallway window to the right is bedroom 1 window
  • master bedroom entrance
  • towel animal
  • living area daytime
  • sofa bed turn down
  • bedroom 2
  • hallway bath with shower
  • bathroom with tub shower in bedroom 2

Flag ceremony

One thing that stands out that I really enjoyed about this sailing was the last evening. There was a flag ceremony that the Captain hosted in the Atrium. It was all of the crew broken up to groups that were from the same country. Each group would come out and dance with the flag from their country. It was a fun time. It was amazing to see how many countries actually work on one ship.

Captain’s Flag Ceremony

We had a great cruise on board the Enchantment of the Seas. It was a fun time! I would certainly sail her again. I hope that you and your family may be able to sail on the Enchantment of the Seas.