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Published: November 21st 2016
Coronado Springs Resort during the holidays
There were so many white poinsettias, and, inside, they had pots with miniature Christmas trees hung through the halls.It's the week before Thanksgiving, and all of the resorts are getting decorated for the holidays! One of the resorts I wanted to check out, if we had the time, was the Grand Floridian. I'd heard that they build a life-size gingerbread house every year, and they run it as a candy shop!
We took Friday off from the parks as a day to rest. I'm so glad we did because I woke up feeling sick. I was feverish and felt chilled to the bone, and it felt as if all the lymph nodes in my head were swollen, making it difficult to breathe and swallow. It also felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing the inside of my ears with a pin. Miserable. I took a couple ibuprofen and a hot bath, and then I felt almost completely better. Weird, huh? We had reservations for brunch at a restaurant called 'Ohana, located at the Polynesian Resort. Currently, there's no direct transportation between most resorts at Walt Disney World. We would need to take a bus to one of the parks and then make a transfer to go to the Polynesian. We decided to take an Uber, since it had worked
out so well on Tuesday for us. It worked well this time, too, and we got to the Polynesian in no time!
The Polynesian was decorated beautifully. They had tucked orchids and hibiscus flowers into the trees, creating a tropical Christmas. It was lovely! We went up to check into Ohana, and it took a bit for our table to be ready. It was worth the wait because we were given a table with a view! We carried sweet bread to our table, which was really tasty. Then, almost immediately, they brought out an enormous breakfast platter, so we could dine family style. Unfortunately, there was pork sausage and bacon throughout the platter, so I asked if there was a way to get a separate platter that was meat-free. They did us one better. They brought out a meat-free platter
and some tofu skillets that were delicious! The platters had biscuits, waffles (Mickey waffles and Stitch waffles), and scrambled eggs. We were also given trays of fruit, which were mostly melon but also had some pineapple and a few raspberries. Jo ate up all the pineapple and requested more, and they brought her a dish of just pineapple (she
Trees at Polynesian Resort
I love the tropical Christmas tree! loved it). We also had coffee and juice. I'd read great reviews about the juice, but that was the only thing I wasn't impressed with. It was sweeter than most juice, and so I assumed it was either sweetened with sugar or some sort of fruit concentrate. It also had no pulp at all. It was kind of like drinking Kool-Aid. I decided to stick with my coffee!
Then, the parade started. Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch came out and led the kids in a parade around the restaurant. All of the kids were given maracas, which Andrew was appalled to discover. The kids had a noisy, fun-filled time! After the parade, the characters proceeded to make their way around the restaurant, greeting all of the tables. Pluto was a load of fun. Jo barked at him, and Pluto pretended to be eating Oliver's head for the picture. We loved it! It was actually Mickey's 80th birthday that day, and so we wished him a happy birthday when he came around. I realized that we had the pleasure of meeting Mickey in his regular outfit, his holiday outfit, and, now, his tropical outfit!
After brunch, Jo kept complaining
about pineapple stuck in her teeth. We found a shop near the monorail entrance and got some dental floss and also some chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. They had all sorts of goods from Hawaii! After we successfully extracted the pineapple piece from Jo's tooth, we hopped on the monorail to head to the Grand Floridian. The monorail goes to a few of the deluxe resorts, like the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary. They're connected to the Magic Kingdom and the ticket and transportation center. I believe it's a separate monorail that connects the ticket and transportation center to Epcot. Anyway, we hopped on the monorail not knowing how long it would take to go to the Grand Floridian, but it was literally the next stop after the Polynesian. I didn't time how long it took, but it felt like we'd just left the Polynesian when we arrived at the Grand Floridian. It was the easiest, fastest travel experience!
The Grand Floridian is beautiful. It's not heavily decorated, but the gingerbread house was definitely worth the few minutes it took to hop on the monorail and see it. It's just stunning! The shop even sold individually wrapped shingles, just
Orchids and Hibiscus
They're tucked into the Christmas tree at the Polynesian Resort. like the ones used on the roof of the house. One side was dipped in Belgian chocolate. Yum! Oliver chose a gingerbread man, and Jo chose a gingerbread Mickey with ears that were dipped in chocolate.
We used Disney transportation to head back to our resort at Coronado Springs. We took the monorail from the Grand Floridian to the Magic Kingdom, and then we hopped on a bus to Coronado Springs. Making the transfer wasn't too bad! At that point, my fever had started to return, so we went back to our room for naps and relaxation. Based on our experience, I definitely recommend taking a day off from the parks to rest, swim, or see other resorts. We needed the break and were glad to have it!
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