We wanted to take a trip to Walt Disney World, and I had never stayed on the property (we stayed with family in Florida), so I reached out to my Father's travel agent, whom he had used explicitly for years and years for all of his travels with GE (A LOT). My Dad must have told her how I like the "finer things in life" but that I was very frugal. She explained why we must stay in a WDW resort, and I trusted her. She suggested that we stay in a deluxe property on the monorail, so back then, there were three: the Polynesian, The Contemporary, and The Grand Floridian. She felt the Polynesian was "tacky" (her words, not mine). I now know that the Polynesian is beautiful, and we will always eat at Ohana every visit.
She suggested the other two. I showed Jim (my husband) the two, and he said, "The Contemporary looks like a jail." LOL! We've stayed in the Contemporary twice now, and is NOT like a jail.
For the very first visit for our immediate family (we waited for our daughter, Denelle, to turn five so that she would remember the trip), we chose the Grand Floridian out of the process of elimination.
When we landed in Orlando, Denelle growled as she looked out of the airplane window, "I thought we were going to Disney World!" Oops! I forgot to explain that the plane lands at the airport, not IN the park. We still laugh about this to this day.
The travel agent had a limo company pick us up and take us directly to the resort (I don't think they had the Magical Express back then, and it has not been brought back even today). I will never forget pulling up to one of the most beautiful resorts I'd ever seen--it was simply breathtaking. We walked into the lobby in awe, and check-in was flawless. My husband, always the comedian, said, "There is a lot of butt-kissing going on in here," which was not what I was looking for, but it may have been somewhat true. However, it was never pretentious or stuffy in any way; just incredible customer service. From there, a cast member took us to our room in a golf cart and gave us a tour along the way calling attention to the different onsite restaruants etc, as the resort is very large (almost 900).
I am forever grateful for the travel agent's suggestion and every aspect of this resort was perfection! Character breakfast right at our hotel, every meal at all of the resort were subperb (we didn't do Victoria & Albert's since this was a family trip and is ages 10 and up), great pools, and steps away from the monorail which takes you right to the Magic Kingdom without having to go through security again at the park!
To summarize in their words, "Victorian elegance meets modern sophistication at this lavish Disney Resort hotel. Unwind outdoors, indulge in a luxurious massage and watch evening fireworks light up the sky over Cinderella Castle. Just one stop to Magic Kingdom park on the complimentary Resort Monorail, this timeless Victorian-style marvel evokes Palm Beach’s golden era".
I will write more in future blogs about how to choose which resort is right for you.