Joy to the World: an offsite Christmas extravaganza at Disney, Universal & SeaWorld – Dec. 2016 TR

[dalmatian7]

Ohhhh here we go!

Dang it all the pictures aren't loading for me today. I can't see the statue........ I will have to try another browser... inquiring minds want to know...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Saturday, December 17th (the conclusion)

Marriott’s Grande Vista is on a very well-travelled road (and in a superb location – an easy drive to all three major park families) but it sure is easy to miss as you drive by. In the dark, we nearly couldn’t find the entrance: any worries we had about the resort’s location on busy International Drive completely evaporated as we wound our way down the long, secluded entrance driveway to the security gate.


Heading into the Welcome Center, we walked straight to an open front desk clerk: the later hour must have meant that we missed the check-in rush, because the Welcome Center was virtually deserted . Check-in was ridiculously fast. Basically not much more than……


How many keys do you need? Here’s a map of the property. Your villa is located here (she draws a black circle around a specific spot on the map). Your villa has been recently remodeled, so you’re very lucky! Have a good stay.


Even though we had the map in hand, we still weren’t really sure (especially in the dark) how to get to our building. We headed back out to the SUV to study the map, and eventually found our way over to building 95 in Club Village.

(obviously neither of those photos were taken on our arrival night, but they still seemed to fit here best. So, just imagine them in the dark )

Before we left home, we had been contacted by an MGV concierge to inquire if we had any special requests as to villa location or other pre-arrival wishes. We had responded back promptly asking for a top floor villa close to one of the two main pools if at all possible. We were a bit disappointed, then, as we located our building and villa to find out that neither request was met.

Now, we paid a ridiculously low price for this week: $367.88 including taxes and fees for a two bedroom/two bath unit as a Getaway through Interval International, so we really couldn’t complain (nor could we be super surprised). Admittedly, we’ve been a bit spoiled by the Vistana as they have been able to accommodate every special request, every single stay regardless of the time of year or size of villa .


I’m hoping I didn’t just jinx us for our check-in this Saturday by making such a bold claim .


At any rate, we headed up to the third floor to check out our home sweet home for the next 7 nights. Opening the door, it was a good first impression.

It was definitely evident that the villa had undergone a very recent refresh. While some of the décor wasn’t necessarily our style (we’re not fans of the glass-topped tables and teal accent pieces) but the upgrades were all very nice quality. The room was spacious and it smelled fresh and clean .


What surprised us most is that our two-bedroom unit was not the standard layout, but rather a lock-out. We had two master suites, two living areas, a full kitchen and a kitchenette. Considering it was just the two of us (and two one-bedroom units in a lock-out would generally rent for far more separately than what we paid via II for the two bedroom) we were surprised to be assigned this specific configuration. For the entire week we were there, we wished that we had invited another couple to join us for the fun. Just by nature of the lock-out layout, we didn’t use any of the space of the second smaller half of the villa with the exception of the bathroom.


In addition to the dining room (shown above), the large half of the lock-out featured the following sections:


Kitchen:

Living room:

Master bedroom with king bed and desk:

Master ensuite with the most MASSIVE jet tub we’ve ever seen (it was like a small hot tub in the room):

Screened-in balcony:

The smaller side of the lock-out featured one large room with the living area on one end:

…..a king bed in the center:

…..and the kitchenette on the far end (near a second entrance door).

The smaller side of the lock-out also offered it’s own full bath with tub:

…..and an open balcony (no screen).

We had a view of the golf course, so it was very private and quiet.


We would definitely be comfy here for the next week .


We set to work unloading all of our luggage and setting up the bathrooms with all of our toiletries and personal items. Before we headed out to dinner with Kerry, Robert and David, we took a few moments for a quick peek at the general area around our building. The Christmas lights glowing brightly in the dark were absolutely stunning, and the Spanish influence was prevalent. We could not wait for a more thorough daytime tour when time permitted.

Hopping back in the car, we headed back to Universal to meet up with Kerry and the boys for dinner. They had suggested the pasta buffet at Trattoria del Porto Portofino Bay, and we were more than game. Unfortunately, this is one of those times during the report that I will need to make apologies: I took not one single photo of this dining experience . Seriously, not ONE . I have no excuse except……I was wrapped up in the good company of friends . We were eating, we were talking, and I didn’t even dig my camera out once. I will say it was a GREAT meal: we loved the personalized pasta dishes created made-to-order by the Trattoria chefs. As an admittedly picky gal, having something made fresh EXACTLY as I like it is my kind of dinner. The pasta buffet came with fresh breads, antipasto items, and as much pasta as you could stuff your belly with (made in smaller portions so you could switch up noodles and sauces and meats and other add-ins as you wished). The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful (the restaurant was remarkably empty…..maybe because of the later hour?), the food was delicious, and the company superb. We enjoyed the meal so much, we plan to return there on this upcoming trip for round two: and this time, I PROMISE to take lots and lots of pictures .


After dinner, we were all tired. It had been a busy, delightful, exciting day. Kerry and her boys gave us a quick tour of their spectacular suite at the Portofino, then we made our apologies and headed back to collect the car from the lot. We were asleep within minutes of arriving back at the villa.


Coming up: we kick off day two back at Universal…..this time, at Islands of Adventure. Our breakfast with the Grinch, the Whos, and all our favourite Dr. Seuss friends is next!

 

[vrajewski10513]

I'm sorry you didn't get any of your requests at MGV but it looks like you guys lucked out on a great room! The grounds look beautiful at night all decked out for Christmas. The pasta bar sounds delicious! We may have to swing by for dinner one night on our upcoming trip!

 

[iona]

We're staying at Portofino this summer - I'm off to find out more information about the pasta buffet - I hadn't noticed it's existence before!

 

[bankr63]

Hi Gina,

Having a technical glitch with your Saturday 17th post. Looks like a bunch of the images are coming from another source outside of pbucket? Possibly facebook (the domain on the photos shows fbcdn.net; might be a facebook (fb) Canada (cdn) server)?

Anyway, none of them are loading here at work, but we do have filtering on firewalls to stop us from misbehaving. Will try again from home later, just curious where you are posting those from?

 

[Ruthie5671]

Now how can I leave you in charge for a week if its absolutely impossible for you to behave?

You're going back to sunny Florida while the rest of us are slaving away at our jobs - we need someone in charge who will allow us to behave like a bunch of silly kids!

 

[lauralynn0612]

Wasn't that just PERFECT weather last October? I am hoping for the same again this year.....we are booked for October 14th to 21st .

The weather was AWESOME! We are going to try Disneyland and Universal Hollywood in August, but now my parents want to go to Food & Wine so I may get to make another trip!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

She just has incredible attention to detail! She'll pay great attention to this thread and ensure we are in line with her high standards.
That probably didn't make you feel better

I take no responsibility for what happens after Friday of this week . Just please don't have TOO much fun while I'm gone, or else ya'll won't want to see me come home!!

Dang it all the pictures aren't loading for me today. I can't see the statue........ I will have to try another browser... inquiring minds want to know...

Did you get it to work? If not, here it is again:

@dancin Disney style .... try and keep control of yourself .

I'm sorry you didn't get any of your requests at MGV but it looks like you guys lucked out on a great room! The grounds look beautiful at night all decked out for Christmas. The pasta bar sounds delicious! We may have to swing by for dinner one night on our upcoming trip!

It was a lovely, lovely villa.....no complaints at all. So much space we almost felt wasteful.

On Friday nights, the Trattoria has characters visit, so that's when we are hoping/planning to go on this upcoming vacation. Two of my favourite things at one sitting: pasta and character meets!

We're staying at Portofino this summer - I'm off to find out more information about the pasta buffet - I hadn't noticed it's existence before!

If you haven't had a chance to Google it yourself yet, this link is a good place to start!

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/dining/trattoria-del-porto/index.html

Hi Gina,

Having a technical glitch with your Saturday 17th post. Looks like a bunch of the images are coming from another source outside of pbucket? Possibly facebook (the domain on the photos shows fbcdn.net; might be a facebook (fb) Canada (cdn) server)?

Anyway, none of them are loading here at work, but we do have filtering on firewalls to stop us from misbehaving. Will try again from home later, just curious where you are posting those from?

Most of my pictures are indeed from Facebook. A few are on photobucket, but that site seems to give me more problems that not so I usually just source tem all from Facebook now. Let me know if you have the same problem from your home computer...... 'cause if you're having difficulty, that means other people most likely are, too.

You're going back to sunny Florida while the rest of us are slaving away at our jobs - we need someone in charge who will allow us to behave like a bunch of silly kids!

Hey, are you sayin' that I'm too strict?!?!

The weather was AWESOME! We are going to try Disneyland and Universal Hollywood in August, but now my parents want to go to Food & Wine so I may get to make another trip!

How fun!!! Food & Wine sounds like a good reason for a trip to me!!

 

[Joanna71985]

I am loving your Universal photos! They are making me want to renew my AP soon (I had one for almost 6 years, but I had to let it expire last year, and I really miss Universal).

Oh- that Italian place sounds awesome!! I love pasta, and would love to give it a try

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I am loving your Universal photos! They are making me want to renew my AP soon (I had one for almost 6 years, but I had to let it expire last year, and I really miss Universal).

Oh- that Italian place sounds awesome!! I love pasta, and would love to give it a try

Will you renew with the Volcano Bay add-on? I so wish they had been able to get that park open a few weeks earlier. I'm kind of bummed that we miss opening day by just a scant 19 days!!

 

[Heluvsme]

I am so impressed with the MGV! Very nice! For the past 5 years we have rented a condo in Windsor Hills, this year we are renting a house near Celebration.....but that MGV looks nice, we may have to try it next year.

Look so like everyone was having a great time!
Dawn

 

[chicagoshannon]

We stayed at Grande Vista once. It wasn't our favorite Marriott but we'd stay there again if needed. I remember the looooong driveway into the place. Harbour Lakes used to be our favorite Marriott but last year we stayed at the one behind the World Center and it was really nice. I can't remember if it was Imperial Palms or Sabal Palms but it was one of the Palms. The shower was the biggest I'd ever seen. We're hoping to stay in the complex again next time we go.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sunday, December 18th

We were all up bright and early to make our pre-park-opening breakfast reservation at Circus McGurkus Café Stupendous. Before we left the Marriott Grande Vista, we donned the special personalized t-shirts that Kerry had had made for each of us by a wonderfully creative Esty crafter:

These shirts were PERFECT for our Grinchmas breakfast, and had us receiving a plethora of compliments and inquiries (where do you guys get those awesome t-shirts?) throughout the day. Also, take note of our custom jingle bell headbands: they too were ordered from Esty for our trip!


Heading into Citywalk at that early hour, it was virtually deserted and unbelievably peaceful. The resort boats were up and running, but that was pretty much the only activity of the morning.

We made our way to the entrance to Island of Adventure, where Kerry and the boys were already there and waiting for us within the small group of other folks who also had reservations for breakfast with the Christmas-hating Mr. Grinch. It was a bit hazy and overcast, but the clouds wouldn't linger long.

Within a few minutes, TM’s began verifying tickets and ushering small groups from the Port of Entry to Circus McGurkus. It was almost eerie to be in Port of Entry with no one else around. How often do you get to see the park like this?

It was a great time for photo ops, though! And yeah, because we’re both a little bit picture-obsessed, Kerry and I took full advantage of that awesome opportunity .

We chatted away with the TM and each other as we made our way to the big circus tent in Seuss Landing. Like Barney, Dr. Seuss was a big part of Jake’s childhood (and for that matter, Steve and I’s as well) so we can’t help but love this section of IOA. It’s big and bright and colourful and so over-the-top.

We admired some of the special holiday décor that was displayed for the Grinchmas season. Admit it: you’re singing the song in your head now too, aren’t you?

The crazy, colourful Christmas decorations that covered every square inch of Seuss Landing carried on into Circus McGurkus and set the perfect festive tone .

Christmas music was playing, bright stars twinkled on the floor, and the whole building virtually oozed holiday cheer.

We were greeted by a group of Whos (from Whoville, of course!) who gushed and squealed over our personalized T’s. They didn’t look so bad themselves: the skillful makeup artists had them looking as if they stepped straight out of a Seuss book or movie.

We were ushered to a booth that had been designed in Seuss style.
We were invited to sit, have a meal, meet the Grinch, and stay a while!

(sorry, but this entry was just BEGGING for at least one Seuss-inspired rhyme )


It was decently spacious and accommodated our five sizeable bodies quite nicely, indeed .


Large cardstock menus were handed out to each of us by our very friendly server, who explained that breakfast was all-you-care-to-eat, so the menu was really just a guide as to what was available at the dual-sided serving station. We could mix and match from the available options, and return to the buffet as many times as we liked. Beverages were included and unlimited (non-alcoholic only, of course…..it was BREAKFAST after all) and were brought to our table within scant minutes of us giving our selections to our server.

While the character meets were the true appeal of this event, I have to say, the food was really (and surprisingly!) good. The bacon was cooked perfectly, the star-shaped hash browns were hot and crisp, and the Grinch-green donuts were as fresh as the Big Pinks at Lard Lad (I would even guess, based on the taste, that they were made by the same bakery). And the pancakes? Well, they had Grinch faces dusted on them in powdered sugar by the bubbly, friendly serving staff: and that made them just about the “funnest” pancakes I’d ever eaten .

We no more than sat down at the table with our food when the character fun was kicked into high gear…..if we were looking for a quiet and relaxing morning meal, this surely wasn’t going to be it . We sure were getting things started off on the right foot, though, because first up was the star of the show:

I cannot say it enough: Mr. Grinch was AH-MAZING . Had we not known better, we would have thought that Jim Carrey himself was wearing that suit.

Mr. Grinch was straight out of the movie: he sounded like him, moved like him, and played the part better than I could have ever thought possible. He was probably the most “in-character” character we’ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with. He was so.....cheeky .


He joked with us and harassed us (in true Grinch style!), even poking fun at our matching t-shirts. But you know what impressed me most? How gently and tenderly (while somehow STILL in Grinch-mode) he interacted with David .

You know how the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes on Christmas Day? Well, I think mine swelled three sizes watching him slide right into our booth and make David his sole focus. Bless his heart, dear David thought he was a frog (and you know, once he mentioned it, I could kind of see the resemblance! ) but Mr. Grinch took it all in stride.


All of the characters were great about devoting whatever time was necessary to each table when they visited. We had plenty of time to take whatever photos we wanted before they moved onward to the next group. Even nicer was that some of the characters had Photoconnect photographers travelling throughout the restaurant with them, so we could get all the professional pictures on our annual photo card .

Stay tuned! We’ve just scratched the surface. More on Breakfast with the Grinch is coming up in the next post.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I am so impressed with the MGV! Very nice! For the past 5 years we have rented a condo in Windsor Hills, this year we are renting a house near Celebration.....but that MGV looks nice, we may have to try it next year.

Look so like everyone was having a great time!
Dawn

Wait until you see some of the other photos of the resort....the two main pool areas, especially, were quite lovely . I just wish we had had the time to enjoy a swim or two on our stay. We had so many fun activities planned at the parks that we largely missed out on enjoying any of the resort amenities.

We stayed at Grande Vista once. It wasn't our favorite Marriott but we'd stay there again if needed. I remember the looooong driveway into the place. Harbour Lakes used to be our favorite Marriott but last year we stayed at the one behind the World Center and it was really nice. I can't remember if it was Imperial Palms or Sabal Palms but it was one of the Palms. The shower was the biggest I'd ever seen. We're hoping to stay in the complex again next time we go.

Ah, I love me a big shower!! I couldn't care less if there's a tub in the villa (I'm not a hot bath kind of gal) but a good shower is a must .

MGV was a very pretty resort. I enjoyed a nice walk through the grounds later in the trip and took a bunch of photos. It's a meticulously maintained property and was very, very peaceful.

 

[I-4Bound]

Oh, that looks like so much fun! We took our kids to see the Grinch in the park when they were really small, and he was a hoot! He left the meet-and-greet, saying he had to go walk Max, and told the kids that Max peed in his shoe! it was hilarious

 

[Monykalyn]

Grinchmas looks like so much fun! What awesome pictures.

 

[dancin Disney style]

There are worse things to be addicted to. At least it wasn't Caillou or the Teletubbies .

No...had to deal with them as well. Your soon to be daughter in law was interested in Caillou and very briefly the Teletubbies. My nephew who is 10 months older than DD#2 was crazy for the Teletubbies. My brother freaked out when we bought a Po doll for his son. My nephew looked EXACTLY like Caillou.

DD's big one was Blue's Clues.

Now how can I leave you in charge for a week if its absolutely impossible for you to behave?

Excuse me....who took and posted that picture? Hmm...who?

 

[dancin Disney style]

She just has incredible attention to detail! She'll pay great attention to this thread and ensure we are in line with her high standards.
That probably didn't make you feel better

Your check is in the mail

 

[dancin Disney style]

I take no responsibility for what happens after Friday of this week . Just please don't have TOO much fun while I'm gone, or else ya'll won't want to see me come home!!




@dancin Disney style .... try and keep control of yourself .

 

[3cmom]

How fun Grinchmas looks!! Maybe one day we will get over to the "Dark Side" and Enjoy what Universal has to offer! My youngest son is already looking forward to Volcano Bay!

Hope you guys have a wonderful vacation next week!!