Trip Report ~ Free Day (day 4)

Oh my, here’s how pathetic I am --- I am so far behind in my trip reports that I’ll be back at Disney in 4 weeks and I’m not even 1/2 way done with reporting our last trip.  Boy, I really know how to make the fun last, huh?  In any case, I may be doubling up on my reports for the next few weeks – so you just never know what day they might appear on my blog! 

In planning for our last trip, I decided that I wanted to build a “free day” into our plans.  There are always so many extra things to see and do around the Walt Disney World complex and we often don’t have time to enjoy them because we have filled our days with plans for the parks.  This day was a HUGE success and I will definitely be planning more Disney “free days” on future family vacations.  I would highly recommend it.  So, here’s how we filled our day . . .

Gracie really wanted to try the  cane pole fishing at Port Orleans Riverside on our last trip, but it was a quick, 3-day trip and we just didn’t have the time to fit it in.  So, this time, we planned for it! 

Though they didn’t catch anything, it was still a fun experience for them – and Gracie got it out of her system now.  LOL 

While Brian and the kids were fishing, Ashley and I took some time to wander around the resort and take some pictures.  (Of course we did – we always have a camera strapped to our wrists!)

From there, we took the boat over to Downtown Disney so that Brian and the kids could do this:

Yes, Disney Quest was another  thing that had been on our “must try” list for a very long time.  A local friend dropped her daughter off to hang out with Gracie for the day.  (They had a great time!) Meanwhile, us girls headed to the bus stop to board a bus bound for the Grand Floridian . . .

We spent some time walking the sandy beaches – and relaxing.

Then we headed inside to meet up with some more friends for a ladies tea at the Garden View Tea Room.  This was something special that I wanted to do with Ashley in honor of her upcoming graduation – and we thought it would be even more fun to share this special time with friends.  Here you can see the lovely tea service and treats that we enjoyed:

I am blessed to have several friends who live near Disney – two of which were able to join us for our tea.  Another dear friend just happened to be vacationing at the same time us we were (for the 2nd time in a row!) and was able to take time out of her vacation schedule to visit with us as well.  It was a beautiful, wonderful time of friendship and bonding.  I wish we could do it more often!  (You can read a more detailed report of our tea at The Disney Moms.)

We said good-bye to our friends (sad!) and went to meet back up with Brian, Gracie, and Ian.  Thanks to MyPoints, we had a gift certificate to Steak & Shake – a restaurant that we don’t have locally – so we headed there for a late supper.  We all really enjoyed it and will definitely be eating there again sometime. 

Next up on the trip report will be a day at the Magic Kingdom, followed by dinner at 1900 Park Fare.  Stay tuned.