Everything Old Is New Again! - A Dec 2010 Trip Report : THE FINAL ENTRY page 45

We had those same system-upgrade key issues while we were there. We went through so many KTTW! Locked out of the building, locked out of our room, couldn't charge things, etc. It got to be pretty ridiculous getting a new key almost every day!

The pony rides look like fun, though!

I can't wait to see the treehouse villa!
 
Barry that key ordeal made my blood pressure rise just reading it!:mad: I would have been fit to be tied!
 
The kids had a great time on the ponies. They always do. The kids have decided it is not a real trip to WDW without a pony ride. I don't know what we will do when they outgrow them. :confused3

The kids had to ride all three ponies. The poor things were starving by the end of the adventure.
 
Knowing Mark, he'd get the mail that day, throw out all of the packing material and wonder why and empty box came from Florida. :rotfl2:

I'd just assume you guys were pranking me.

Meanwhile, I arrived back at the Carriage House at Saratoga Springs and stood in line to get checked in. I had done online check-in a few days prior, so I was thinking that this should be a fairly quick task.

My Foreshadowing Detector is buzzing.

[I'll skip the 10 minutes of idle chit chat and awkward silence and get right to when the reservation was rebooked]

Big Gulps, huh?




...




Well, see ya later.

He didn't want me to get all the way over there, just to find a problem with the room and have to come back. Keep that little nugget of information in the front of your mind. It may be useful. :headache:

This Foreshadowing Detector is really lighting up like a Christmas tree now. And a real Christmas tree, not a Florida one.

I took my welcome packet and keys and headed over to the Treehouses...

Meanwhile, the kids were having a great time at the pony rides.

Oooh, cross-cutting between storylines to increase tension. That's a very sophisticated technique. :thumbsup2

The pony rides have become a tradition for us. The kids love them, and it's a (relatively) inexpensive way to spend our first Disney Day.

Looks like fun!

Finally, I pushed the "help" button. Instead of someone coming on the speaker and asking what was wrong, the gate just opened.

Good to know everything is safe and secure!

We drove back over to the Carriage House (you remember, where that nice man didn't want me to get all the way over there, just to find a problem with the room and have to come back) , where I was lucky enough to find a manager standing right in the middle of the lobby and I let her know exactly what happened and how it made me feel (hint: :mad:).

:mad:

You know, it's really hard to stay mad when someone essentially slips one of these in your hand:
New100front.jpg

:woohoo::thumbsup2


Miracle of Miracles, the gate worked! We found our villa - and the door didn't unlock. Look who's back ->:mad:

Well, you just told them you couldn't get in the gate. You didn't mention anything about the room. :rolleyes:

He made sure the $100 credit was still on my account. I was hoping he would do a little more, but by this time I really didn't care to hang around anymore and I just left.

He didn't get the hint when you were standing there with your hand out? :confused3
 


What a hassle you had to go through... I'm glad the kids weren't with you and were enjoying themselves. Maybe next time you should have Bambi check in- I bet she won't have ANY problems! :lmao::lmao:

It was nice of them to hook you up with a C-note.... you couldda treated a few of your friends (or enemies) to a Dole Whip or something.... :rolleyes1
 
Yay, nice to see another update. What a bummer though for you with all of that frustration. I had a similar problem with my check-in process when I got there the next day, over at AKV... due to that "upgrade".

Great pictures of the pony rides. They look very cool, and the kids look like they really enjoyed them. :thumbsup2 Nice.


Now that you've done your update, and I've read it, go check out my two updates.
I've been reading along, but just haven't had time to comment much.
I did see that there new system - called Lilo - is browser based. I'm not sure what their previous system was, but it took the CM at about 3 or 4 seconds each time she wanted to change screens. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it really adds up and gets frustrating - for the CM and the guest.

At least the kids got to have a good time riding the ponies and didn't have to see you with steam coming out of your ears.
I was really trying hard to keep my cool. I'm sure if I flew off the handle and started really making a scene I would regret it after I calmed down and thought about it. It's always the front line CMs that have to handle the angry guests, even though most of the time what happened wasn't their fault.


Just found your report today, and I can't wait for more!:goodvibes
:welcome:
Glad to have you along!

:thumbsup2 great update barry!!! glad to see you back. i hate when you have check in problems. we have gotten lucky the last few times. kids look like they enjoyed the pony rides!:thumbsup2
I don't think I've ever had any trouble checking in or using keys in the past. I'll give them a pass this time because of the system upgrade. But if it happens again when we go to Kidani Village in June, I'll be forced to bring out....

Mr Angry Eyes!

Mr-potato-head-angry-eyes.jpg


We had those same system-upgrade key issues while we were there. We went through so many KTTW! Locked out of the building, locked out of our room, couldn't charge things, etc. It got to be pretty ridiculous getting a new key almost every day!

The pony rides look like fun, though!

I can't wait to see the treehouse villa!
Wow, my problems pale in comparison to that! At least it was fixed on the first day and worked for us the rest of the time. Where were you staying?

Barry that key ordeal made my blood pressure rise just reading it!:mad: I would have been fit to be tied!
It did get pretty hard to keep my voice down on that last trip. Let's just say the manager I spoke to got the message loud and clear that I wasn't pleased with how the day was going.
 
The kids had a great time on the ponies. They always do. The kids have decided it is not a real trip to WDW without a pony ride. I don't know what we will do when they outgrow them. :confused3

The kids had to ride all three ponies. The poor things were starving by the end of the adventure.
I'm sure by the time they outgrow them, they'll be big enough to do the trail rides at Fort Wilderness. Can you imagine the grin on Madison's face when she gets to ride her own horse, with no one leading her?:cloud9:

My Foreshadowing Detector is buzzing.
Good to know the batteries are working. Make sure you change them every time you change the clocks for Daylight Saving Time.

Big Gulps, huh?




...




Well, see ya later.
Just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself! (+1 :thumbsup2)

This Foreshadowing Detector is really lighting up like a Christmas tree now. And a real Christmas tree, not a Florida one.
I could never decide between saying "lighting up like a Christmas tree" and "lighting up like the 4th of July", so I usually go with "lighting up like a Christmas tree on the 4th of July." It really doesn't make any sense, but I'm not giving up on it.

Oooh, cross-cutting between storylines to increase tension. That's a very sophisticated technique. :thumbsup2
I'm hoping that sometime my little production company can be bought out by a big studio like Cinematic Recording Arts Productions. Yeah, I'll be stuck working for some nameless suit who will stifle my creative genius, but I'll have a boat load of cash to swim in, so I won't care.


Well, you just told them you couldn't get in the gate. You didn't mention anything about the room. :rolleyes:
I guess you're right. This was all my fault!:rolleyes1

What a hassle you had to go through... I'm glad the kids weren't with you and were enjoying themselves. Maybe next time you should have Bambi check in- I bet she won't have ANY problems! :lmao::lmao:
Nah, the CM was from Colombia, not Brazil. :rotfl2:

It was nice of them to hook you up with a C-note.... you couldda treated a few of your friends (or enemies) to a Dole Whip or something.... :rolleyes1
Yeah, it was all spent before we met up. Besides, it was like 40° degrees out when we met up for fireworks, who would want a Dole Whip then?

Oh, who am I kidding, I'd eat one even if my hand was frozen to the plastic cup and the ice cream was giving my lips frostbite.
 


Ugh what a frustrating check in procedure...at least they gave you something for all the hassle but it must have not been the greatest start to your vacation.

Can't wait to hear more:goodvibes
 
I did see that there new system - called Lilo - is browser based. I'm not sure what their previous system was, but it took the CM at about 3 or 4 seconds each time she wanted to change screens. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it really adds up and gets frustrating - for the CM and the guest.

Maybe it was stitch screwing up the system.:rotfl2:
 
What a hassle you had to go through... I'm glad the kids weren't with you and were enjoying themselves. Maybe next time you should have Bambi check in- I bet she won't have ANY problems! :lmao::lmao:


I am not sure if I should take offense to this or not. :confused:

I was innocent at this part of the trip. And only had one very small portion of the trip that I was not innocent. :littleangel:
 
I am not sure if I should take offense to this or not. :confused:

I was innocent at this part of the trip. And only had one very small portion of the trip that I was not innocent. :littleangel:
I just know that you can ...errrr.. HANDLE difficult situations and get RESULTS! :rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:


OHHHHHH.... I can't wait to see when you weren't innocent! popcorn::popcorn::


:rotfl2::rotfl2:
 
I work in a Hotel here in town. Our maint. dept. is pretty worthless. They dont check the batteries in the electronic door locks often enough.

One day this summer we had a group of 6 rooms for a wedding on the college campus we are located on. The mother of the groom had just left her room to check on her son and other children about 20 mins before the wedding. When she went to get back to her room to change into her dress for the ceremony, he door would not open. No key would work, not even the masters that we carry. We had to call in our maint worker that is a college student to literally drill out the door knob and take the entire knob apart to get her into her room. It was a disaster. I felt awful for this woman who was panicked about her dress. She had all of her belongings in the car except the dress she was going to put on at the last minute. At least she got a good story, but I doubt they will ever be coming back!
 
I just know that you can ...errrr.. HANDLE difficult situations and get RESULTS! :rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:


OHHHHHH.... I can't wait to see when you weren't innocent! popcorn::popcorn::


:rotfl2::rotfl2:

I believe you know about the not so innocent part and there is no need to explain myself. (I need a smiley that stomps and walks out the door in a tantrum)
 
What a tedious check-in procedure! :scared1: I hope you did something nice with the credit you got, or did it just go into the general vacation pot? I hope there aren't any more problems in your future. I remember reading a few posts from people who constantly had problems with their room keys during this system change over time...

I think it is so cute that the ponies have CM name tags!! :love: And they even have their home town on them. :thumbsup2
 
By the way, your mention of my highly professional production company reminded me to go back and find this shout-out. This makes me proud. :goodvibes
:thumbsup2
Ugh what a frustrating check in procedure...at least they gave you something for all the hassle but it must have not been the greatest start to your vacation.

Can't wait to hear more:goodvibes
It certainly was unexpected and much appreciated. Before the manager came back with the new cards and the $100 credit, I noticed they were handing out balloons to the kids. I asked a CM if I could get 3 of them for my kids. I was pretty stoked to get some free balloons, then she came back with the credit. I still took the balloons.:)

Maybe it was stitch screwing up the system.:rotfl2:
So that why I couldn't find any of my left shoes!

I am not sure if I should take offense to this or not. :confused:
I would. Tim is my arch-nemesis. And since we're married, I guess that makes him your nemesis-in-law.

OHHHHHH.... I can't wait to see when you weren't innocent! popcorn::popcorn::
Me neither! There's no way she's getting out of telling that part of the story now.

I work in a Hotel here in town. Our maint. dept. is pretty worthless. They dont check the batteries in the electronic door locks often enough.

One day this summer we had a group of 6 rooms for a wedding on the college campus we are located on. The mother of the groom had just left her room to check on her son and other children about 20 mins before the wedding. When she went to get back to her room to change into her dress for the ceremony, he door would not open. No key would work, not even the masters that we carry. We had to call in our maint worker that is a college student to literally drill out the door knob and take the entire knob apart to get her into her room. It was a disaster. I felt awful for this woman who was panicked about her dress. She had all of her belongings in the car except the dress she was going to put on at the last minute. At least she got a good story, but I doubt they will ever be coming back!
Yikes! That reminds me of the hotel we stayed at during our wedding. While we were busy at the reception, some friends conned the front desk worker at the hotel into letting them into our room. They trashed the place! Soaked all the towels in water, then put them in the fridge. Flipped over all of the furniture. Put the box spring on top of the mattress, then made the bed so you couldn't even tell. Filled the hot tub with rice. And several other pranks that I don't think I can even describe on a family friendly message board!


What a tedious check-in procedure! :scared1: I hope you did something nice with the credit you got, or did it just go into the general vacation pot? I hope there aren't any more problems in your future. I remember reading a few posts from people who constantly had problems with their room keys during this system change over time...

I think it is so cute that the ponies have CM name tags!! :love: And they even have their home town on them. :thumbsup2

I think we just used it as general vacation funds, but I really don't recall what it was all used on. I know I bought a couple of pins with it.
I'm sure Bambi will assist me with remembering. :hug:
 
Just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself! (+1 :thumbsup2)

:woohoo: Woohoo! I'm on the board! Is there a board?

I'm hoping that sometime my little production company can be bought out by a big studio like Cinematic Recording Arts Productions. Yeah, I'll be stuck working for some nameless suit who will stifle my creative genius, but I'll have a boat load of cash to swim in, so I won't care.

Yes, well... Um, you've haven't seen our productions or their budgets, have you?

I have no idea what you're talking about, but I agree. Now that it has been brought up you can't leave us hanging.:lmao:

::yes::
 

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