It may be weird to say that one of our priorities in visiting our family was getting pictures of the cousins in matching Disney shirts. I purchased them for the Disney cruise that did not happen, and wanted to make sure to get the kids in a group picture before they outgrew the shirts. Since Keith isn’t the biggest Disney fan, we didn’t want to spend an expensive day at the parks, so we spent a fun day exploring the Magic Kingdom Resort’s hotels!
First up: the Grand Floridian. Modeled after the Victorian era grand hotels that popped up along the Florida coast, it may be the most opulent resort at Disney World. This means it makes for great photo opportunities almost everywhere. It also holds a special place for Scott and Amanda because they were married in the Wedding Pavilion next door. We took some fantastic pictures of the kids, then hopped on the monorail for a ride to the Polynesian Resort for lunch.
We wanted inexpensive, yet delicious food, and we definitely found it at Captain Cook’s at the Polynesian. Serving American and Asian food, Keith got a spicy hot pho noodle bowl, I got a Hawaiian pizza, and Henry got his regular chicken tenders, and my bro and nephew ate dairy and peanut allergy-friendly meals (Amanda ate yummy cheese covered nachos). For dessert, we ate one of my favorite things ever – a Dole whip – from the Pineapple Lanai. Oh my goodness, it just hits the spot on sunny days, with its pineapple and vanilla soft serve mixed together. Henry thought it was dreamy, too.
We would have stayed to swim at the Polynesian, but the large pool area is now locked off to all unless you are staying at the hotel and have a magic band to prove it. Instead, we took a monorail ride back to the Grand Floridian so the boys could swim at its Alice in Wonderland-themed splash pad. It was so fun – the boys really loved the poolside activities and games, even if Henry didn’t really understand them. They also enjoyed sliding down the water slides and splashing in the water. It was a cousin-fun-filled day!
