10,000th post - with a Trip Report and a full Disney Dining Plan Analysis

[ClearScreen]

Um, don't you mean "today" is a park day?

Canadian Time Warp...

 

[twokids0204]

Sunday August 19th

I woke up at around 7:30, stoked to get the day started.

So if you recall earlier I mentioned we had a continuing reservation. Reason was DDP started on Sunday, and we were arriving on Saturday. You may also recall I mentioned something about a $40 credit on the room, as we originally booked rack rate (on the Saturday night) and once room discounts were announced, I changed the reservation to a discounted room.

So I went to check out of reservation #1, and pickup the package, tickets, dining etc. for reservation #2.

So there was still the matter of the $40 credit to settle. Being that it was linked to the first reservation, and we arrived after midnight, and clearly did no charging to the room, I asked if we can transfer the credit to the new reservation. The CM wasn't sure how, and said he had to speak to a manager. No problem...

So he comes out a few minutes later and says "You aren't entitled to the credit."

"Pardon?"

He went on to explain "You aren't entitled to the credit, as you booked a standard room, and you got a preferred room."

So I calmly explained to him "I requested a room on the lower level, close to the main building, you didn't have to give it to me. But I booked a standard room.". This was done with the WDW reservation line, and you have no right to take back a quoted rate, simply because someone neglected to charge it back to my credit card." Then I asked to speak with the manager directly.

He went to get him, and the manager understood my side, and agreed that I was entitled to the $40 credit, as I booked it.

Then I went on to further emphasize to the manager that "I simply requested a better room... kinda like if I were to ask you if you had a Royal Room available"

He said he understood, and was sorry for the inconvenience.

I said "I don't think you understand... It's kinda like if I asked you if there was a Royal Room avaialble." Pause.... "Well let me put it this way... Is there a Royal Room available?"

Well, he finally clued in... and said "You're right sir, let me see what I can do."

10 Minutes later, I returned to our room, and told DW to pack up... we are moving to the Royal Room!



She was amazed... and excited, and so was I.

The building is called Parterre Place, the room is 9515

The layout of the room is identical to the Standard Rooms, but what makes it Royal is this:

Story is Tiana left a note, saying that her and her friends have had a wonderful time in this very room, and she invites you to enjoy your stay and search the room for some of the gifts her friends left her.

Notice the Coat Rack was a gift from Cinderella, as it features her carriage.

Faucet's courtesy of Jasmine

Photo's of Tiana and all her princess friends scattered throughout the room

The crests of the Princes on banners (notice the hidden Mickey's on the light fixture as well)

Snow White left a nice piece of framed art (notice the SW on the bottom)

You can even ride Aladdin and Jasmine's magic carpet

But the ultimate piece - is the headboards on the bed (I can't believe I didn't get any better pics of it), but they have a fireworks show that lights up at the press of a button.

OK... Next update we go to a Park - and our Dining Analysis begins.

 

[GoHerd1028]

well...now that was pretty cool to get your room upgraded!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

good job brian!!!!

 

[Wherem I Now]

UPGRADE! Very Nice.

 

[middlepat]

Nice subtlety there Brian, unfortunately with the American behind the desk you had to hit him with a frying pan to figure out what you were saying.

 

[afwdwfan]

So... did you get your 40 bucks back?


Nice job on the upgrade.

 

[scott2997]

I think the manager had a little issue understanding you....after all....you do have a pretty thick Canadian accent eh?

So glad he finally came around and agreed to hook you up with a room upgrade. Seeing the pictures makes me want to stay in one too! My girls would love it!

 

[declansdad]

I can relate to those long travel days!

Nice pictures, we have never stayed at POR but have been at POFQ twice and have looked around over there a bit.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

I said "I don't think you understand... It's kinda like if I asked you if there was a Royal Room avaialble." Pause.... "Well let me put it this way... Is there a Royal Room available?"

Wow, so much for this "Canadian Nice" I always hear about. You strong-armed that poor guy!

Story is Tiana left a note, saying that her and her friends have had a wonderful time in this very room

Princess Slumber Party! Pillow Fight!

Sweet score on the room, Brian!

 

[scholastica]

Great pictures! I can't wait for the rest of the TR.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

So I went to check out of reservation #1, and pickup the package, tickets, dining etc. for reservation #2.

Quite the complex arrangement.
Looks like there are many things that could go wrong here.

So he comes out a few minutes later and says "You aren't entitled to the credit."

Yah… stuff like that…

10 Minutes later, I returned to our room, and told DW to pack up... we are moving to the Royal Room!

But then again, your “diplomatic” skills seem to have carried the day quite nicely.
Congrats on the successful negotiations.
POR is a fine resort, but Royal Rooms just make it that much better.

OK... Next update we go to a Park - and our Dining Analysis begins.

Now we’re talkin’

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Nice upgrade! Way to pour on the charm with the manager. Did you give him the ol' $40 handshake? Maybe that's what happened to the room credit.

 

[ChelleyB]

Nice upgrade! Way to pour on the charm with the manager. Did you give him the ol' $40 handshake? Maybe that's what happened to the room credit.

 

[Disney Commando]

Sunday August 19th

I woke up at around 7:30, stoked to get the day started.

So if you recall earlier I mentioned we had a continuing reservation. Reason was DDP started on Sunday, and we were arriving on Saturday. You may also recall I mentioned something about a $40 credit on the room, as we originally booked rack rate (on the Saturday night) and once room discounts were announced, I changed the reservation to a discounted room.

So I went to check out of reservation #1, and pickup the package, tickets, dining etc. for reservation #2.

So there was still the matter of the $40 credit to settle. Being that it was linked to the first reservation, and we arrived after midnight, and clearly did no charging to the room, I asked if we can transfer the credit to the new reservation. The CM wasn't sure how, and said he had to speak to a manager. No problem...

So he comes out a few minutes later and says "You aren't entitled to the credit."

"Pardon?"

He went on to explain "You aren't entitled to the credit, as you booked a standard room, and you got a preferred room."

So I calmly explained to him "I requested a room on the lower level, close to the main building, you didn't have to give it to me. But I booked a standard room.". This was done with the WDW reservation line, and you have no right to take back a quoted rate, simply because someone neglected to charge it back to my credit card." Then I asked to speak with the manager directly.

He went to get him, and the manager understood my side, and agreed that I was entitled to the $40 credit, as I booked it.

Then I went on to further emphasize to the manager that "I simply requested a better room... kinda like if I were to ask you if you had a Royal Room available"

He said he understood, and was sorry for the inconvenience.

I said "I don't think you understand... It's kinda like if I asked you if there was a Royal Room avaialble." Pause.... "Well let me put it this way... Is there a Royal Room available?"

Well, he finally clued in... and said "You're right sir, let me see what I can do."

10 Minutes later, I returned to our room, and told DW to pack up... we are moving to the Royal Room!



She was amazed... and excited, and so was I.

The building is called Parterre Place, the room is 9515

The layout of the room is identical to the Standard Rooms, but what makes it Royal is this:

Story is Tiana left a note, saying that her and her friends have had a wonderful time in this very room, and she invites you to enjoy your stay and search the room for some of the gifts her friends left her.

Notice the Coat Rack was a gift from Cinderella, as it features her carriage.

Faucet's courtesy of Jasmine

Photo's of Tiana and all her princess friends scattered throughout the room

The crests of the Princes on banners (notice the hidden Mickey's on the light fixture as well)

Snow White left a nice piece of framed art (notice the SW on the bottom)

You can even ride Aladdin and Jasmine's magic carpet

But the ultimate piece - is the headboards on the bed (I can't believe I didn't get any better pics of it), but they have a fireworks show that lights up at the press of a button.

OK... Next update we go to a Park - and our Dining Analysis begins.

Nice job on the upgrade, see what happens when you walk into a lobby wearing a toque and demanding a upgrade in 95 degree weather

 

[twokids0204]

Off to our first park. We don't have park hoppers, so we planned our parks based on touring plans recommend parks, with some slight variations on my own insane logic.

And today's park is:

First on the Agenda is getting a Fastpass for Soarin'. Soarin' is about the extent of my DD's thrills.

After picking up the FP, we head over to Living with the Land, every body loves that. The kids love trying to find hidden Mickey's in there. I think they have identified close to 10.

After Living with the Land, we head over to The Seas, ride Nemo, check out some the other features of the Sea pavilion. We got to see the diver in the lockout chamber. Then we headed over to Turtle Talk with Crush. Epcot was really crowded this day, it was probably our busiest day all trip. It was the first time I've seen Turtle Talk with crush filled to capacity. My kids had a couple of questions they wanted to ask Crush but unfortunately didn't get chosen.

After Nemo we headed over to

After all what's a trip to Disney without trying some Beverly.

My DD took 1 sip, made a sour face, and poured the rest out.

My DS on the other hand, tried to be the champ, and drank the whole thing. Visibly I can tell he was struggling a bit, but he did it.

As we head into the World Showcase we say a really cool Topiary.

Where's Perry?

Continuing our quest around, we got a picture of one of Disney's most wonderful details. You can find this hint along with others in The Hidden Magic of Disney World, if you haven't read it, or don't know about it. When you look across the World Showcase lagoon towards Morocco just before you reach Mexico, there was a building out of place in the skyline of Morocco. It was originally off colour, and clearly didn't belong. So Disney rethemed the back of this building to fit in with the view of Morocco, including the pillars on the top of the roofs. That building... is Hollywood Tower of Terror.

Lunch Break (see next post)

After lunch, I got a text from a fellow DISDad. "I am in Epcot, about to leave and head to Magic Kingdom.".
I texted him back right away, and told him we just finished lunch and are heading to Mission:Space.

So he quickly changed his plans, headed over to M:S and the first DISDad meet of the trip took place.

We introduced ourselves, our families, and hit it of great.

This is Chris aka ClearScreen around these neck of the woods.

We rode Mission:Space together. As I mentioned we just finished lunch so it was the Green Side. My son had not ridden M:S yet, so he was going to take it easy his first time out. Both our son's sat together, and became good friends for the brief time together.

After the Ride, we said good bye and then we headed over to Ride Soarin'. Gotta love the smell of pine and oranges when you are locked in in Imax theatre 25 feet above the ground.

After Soarin we headed back to World Showcase, where my kids joined the OWCA (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) and did their first Agent P's World Showcase Adventure.

We headed to France

Tried not to fight over the F.O.N.E. (Field Operative Notifications Equipment) to much

And then look... Oh there you are Perry!

And the world is safe once again.

Next, What's a visit to Epcot with catching up with an old friend.

The rest of the afternoon was spent leisurely around World Showcase, watching some street entertainment, and enjoying the different cultures.

One notable event, we were at the Miniature Village in Germany, when a kid climbed the fence, and was standing on a rock. First off she looked like a GIANT, but that's not the important part of the story.
We are standing on the far end opposite this kid, and there is a guy beside us who was clearly "drinking around the world" and was likely on his second trip, if you know what I mean. Well he starts mumbling to himself, and says "Hey there's a girl there who climbed into the display." He pauses... and says "Wait a minute, that's my daughter!"

Scary thing is, he kept mumbling about how her mother should be watching her more closely. He NEVER went to get her out, or say anything to her. And I did not see a mother anywhere.

Dinner in next post as well.

After Dinner we slowly made our way out of the park and back to the resort, we didn't stay for Illuminations, as it started to pour rain. I am not even sure that it was played that night.

 

[dvczerfs]

UPDATE!!!!!
great update brian. glad you were able to meet up with clearscreen!!!!
you managed to get alot in for how crowded it was.
ill have to do the wheres perry when briana goes down with us in may. look cool with the 47 and 20 year old doing it.
great pics and update!!!!
we want more!!!!

 

[twokids0204]

As promised here is my first installment of the Disney Dining Plan Analysis.

I will keep these separate from the Park Day Report.

In the Dining Analysis, I will go through day by day where we used our DDP credits, and the value (tax included) that the DDP covered.

Any Alcohol, Appetizers, or Tip has been backed out of the final bill to give a true reflection of what we would have spent if not on the DDP.

Le Cantina de San Angel
Chicken and Brisket Tacos, and Churros

3 x Counter Serves = $58.16

Snacks
Karamel Kuch - Carmel Corn
1 x Snack = $4.25

Boulangerie Patisserie (Bakery in France) - Lemon Tart
1 x Snack = $3.41

Via Napolli

DW and I both had the Veal Parmigiana

DD had Spaghetti and Meatballs

DS had 4 Cheese Pizza

Tired after a long day in the park

But always room for dessert

Mine (Ricotta cheese fritters, served with whipped cream and chocolate sauce)

DW (Pistachio Gelato)

DS (Chocolate Gelato)

DD (Some kinds of fancy sundae)

4 x Table Serve = $161.88

And the Resort Refillable Mugs

4 x Mugs = $61.73

 

[twokids0204]

Great pictures! I can't wait for the rest of the TR.

 

[BigTikiDaddy]

A very good first park day, got a lot packed into it. Great pics too.

Are you going to do a running tally of each day's totals? Like Barbie once said "Math is hard!"

Was going to comment about avoiding the rain, but I re-read it and saw the end of the report. All and all though, you got the whole day in dry, very good.