Mountains, Zombies & Disney Roadtrip - Day 8 - The Grove Resort & Magic Kingdom

[miss_mouse]

https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1106672

US ROADTRIP – TENNESEE – ALABAMA – GEORGIA & FLORIDA
Day 8 – Friday 13th July – The Grove Resort & An Evening in Magic Kingdom



Just to start, I'm Lisa - the planner and reporter. Ade is my hubby and he's our driver and there's Hollie who turns 19 on this trip and Louis is 16.

So, after moaning about the issues we had with The Grove Resort when we arrived, we all agreed that the beds were super comfy.
We were up showered and having breakie at 7am.
The kids and Ade like to choose a crappy cereal.



But this is always my favourite start to the day on our trips.

At 8am, we all headed downstairs to explore the resort.



It was not easy. The signage was awful, there just wasn’t any and we just seemed so far away.











The grounds are really lovely.



We went back to the lobby area which leads in to the store and the food areas.



A lovely display of gelato.







Ade and I got a latte each and the kids got gelatos.
There’s a decent amount of choice and prices were reasonable too.



Here’s a photo of the store area looking in to the foodie bit.




Lots of things on offer and an ATM too.



We went out the back and sat in the courtyard with our treats.





We really really struggled to find our way back.
But the problem was that it was so hot. There were no signs to our tower at all.
(I do have a YouTube channel – Lollipop Box Club – where you can see more of the Grove Resort and also see us lost!).



By 9.45am we were in the car and on our way to Target.



And at 9.57am we were pulling up outside Target at Rolling Oaks on the 192.
We love Target!

We’d had a discussion before about only buying Starbucks mugs that we didn’t have. So although there were new editions of Florida and Orlando mugs we said we wouldn’t get them……that lasted for all of like 5 seconds….until we walked in to Target and there’s a Starbucks immediately and we spotted the mugs….straight in our trolley!



I thought these pool bombs would be fun!



Louis had just broken his sunglasses, so these were on the shopping list.
First ones he tried on and he got them. Such a man thing!



And we whatsapped a photo to my brother to see if he wanted anything from this rainbow section.

We got a lovely haul, most of which we didn’t plan on getting. The joys of Target.

We stopped for fuel at WaWa on the way back and by 1.30pm we were back at The Grove making lunch.





The kids love trying new flavours.



Here’s a mini haul…
Those mugs!
The boys love the $12 tshirts from Target. They got one each.
And those ceramic soup pot with lids $3!



We got ready for Magic Kingdom.



And got out the new Magic Bands for the first time that we’d had shipped to my Dad’s address.



It was raining a little but we were still smiling.
It was Disney time finally!



But by 4pm we were going through the Disney gates and the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to come out.


For the first time we experienced no CM’s in the car park to assist with parking. It felt so odd just driving in and find a parking space on our own.
Parking was now $22, so happy to be annual passholders and not have to pay.


Cont ...

[miss_mouse]

Cont...




We parked in Zurg 403 and got straight on the tram.
We always take a photo of where we are parked, incase we forget.





We had the funniest tram driver ever. He was hilarious.



And we got straight on a monorail.
Both the tram and the monorail were empty.

It was so good to be back in Magic Kingdom again.





And it didn’t feel too busy either.



We grabbed free iced water in Starbucks on our way down Main Street.



And stopped for our first Photo Pass of the trip.





We headed straight for our favourite ride and what seems to have become the first ride of the trip tradition.





The People Mover.
This was also empty.

We wandered past the Dance Party in Tomorrowland, watched for a bit and then on to our first fast pass of the trip.







Hollie carried on with her pressed penny collection.
We’d bought her the Disney pressed penny book/folder when we were here the previous Summer so she was wanting to collect as many as she could.



We walked through the smoking area to get from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland.
We love this walkway. It’s so quiet and almost hidden away, just a shame it’s got smokers!



It was 5.20pm and we wanted to have dinner at the Columbia Harbour House for the first time. We’ve heard such great things about this place.



It’s a quick service, so we ordered, took our food and headed upstairs. Apart from one other family it was empty. We had this beautiful view of Rapunzel’s tower.



I was trying to take an Instagram worthy photo….bloody teenager!


The food was amazing.



Ade and Hollie shared a tuna sandwich and a lobster roll. Both came with homemade chips
(crisps) which were so good.



I had a tuna sandwich.



Louis had the mixed platter which was chicken, shrimp and fish with fries.



Look how quiet!
I mentioned when we were paying how quiet it was to the CM and she said give it 30 minutes and it would start to get busier. And sure enough as we were leaving more started to come in.



We loved this meal and can’t wait to go back this year.
We had ice tap water and it came to around $50.

On to Splash Mountain for our next fast pass.





I bought a hoodie as we came off.



As we went by there was just a 10 min wait for Pirates, so we went on.
It’s been a few years since we’ve been on this one and we hadn’t seen the changes.

We wanted to watch the presidents show, but it would mean that we missed the start of the Happily Ever After fireworks, so we wandered around inside, looking at all the bits and pieces on display instead.
Now Louis talks a lot. Friends with teenage boys always complain about their son’s being so quiet and them never know what’s going on with their boys. Louis could not be more different. He doesn’t stop talking…ever!
We always know everything that’s going on with him. But it always amazes me how much he knows. We were walking around the Halls of Presidents and he was just telling me everything about all these presidents but the old ones too, some of which I had never heard of.
Where does it all come from? He does love American history though!

We popped over in to the Christmas store just opposite.
I bought myself a new pair of ears. These are the first Disney ones I’ve owned that don’t pinch!
I’ve been on the look for a new tree topper but couldn’t find one I liked.

Walking through Fantasyland we were surprised how quiet it was for a Friday night in July.
A 5 min wait for Small World and 30 for Peter Pan, but we wanted to watch Happily Ever After, but for the first time in Fantasyland behind the castle.



We bought a Peter Pan Float to share.
Sprite with Keylime Ice Cream. Between the 4 of us we didn’t finish it, but it was fun to try.






The fireworks from behind the castle were amazing.
You didn’t know where to look. They were everywhere.





And it was so nice watching and having so much space and not being crammed in and having people stood right in front of you.



There was no queue for Winnie the Pooh so we got straight on.
It had also been a while since we’d been on this one too.





We now found out where everyone had been hiding.

We left the park slowly. It had been such a perfect first park visit to get us back in to Disney.
We just love it here so much.
We had an easy drive back. The Grove was only 20 mins away.
Showers and bed.

It had been a brilliant first day back in Orlando.

Thanks for reading x

[Ivegottadream]

Such a lovely day! I love your Minnie ears with the bow, classic.

[miss_mouse]

Originally Posted by Ivegottadream

Such a lovely day! I love your Minnie ears with the bow, classic.

See more...

Thanks.
They were just cheapies £3 from Primark but the comfiest I've ever had

[Melbatb]

You managed to pack a lot in! Glad the beds were comfy!

[Palm trees]

What a great day. You all look like you're having a ball.

[Zomax25]

Oh wow! Yay to Disney and Target. I love both so much 😂 Thanks for sharing.

[Mamie Baldwin]

A fab day, shame about the Grove teething issues though, glad you got them sorted. I love your t-shirt Lisa, is that a Primark one?

[miss_mouse]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

You managed to pack a lot in! Glad the beds were comfy!

See more...

Thanks.
They were really comfy

[miss_mouse]

Originally Posted by Palm trees

What a great day. You all look like you're having a ball.

See more...

It was the perfect first day back.
Thanks for reading