Illini4ever
Travel Bug
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Happy Birthday to the Little Prince! Do you have a big party planned?
17 Days of Wishes Come to Life- A Sept. 08 WDW and DCL Adventure 3/27 new link posted
- Thread starter jaycns
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jaycns
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DCL Day 3...A Snafu, The Captain's Reception and Dinner
By the time I got back to our room I had a little over 30 minutes to get ready for dinner. This night there was no surprise of the guys being ready. None of them were even back to the room yet. Dh was picking the boys up from their clubs. As I started to lay out our clothing, I saw that the clothing we had sent out for cleaning and/or pressing was back. Being the mom, I figured I would lay everyone else's clothes out for them before I got into getting ready myself. I figured, that way, I would be able to get myself ready with minimal interruption. As I started to lay the clothing out, I was NOT impressed with what I saw. First, dh's dark blue suit had white powder ground into the shoulders, front lapel and right sleeve. Ummm...it wasn't full of white powder when we turned it in. In fact, it was just in need of a basic dry cleaning (no stains of any sort). There was NO way he could wear it to the photos we were planning on taking in just 30 minutes. I picked up the phone right away and let them know that we had a problem and I needed them to pick his suit and brush it off and have it back within 20 minutes. I was not happy at all at that point and as I was waiting for them to come for the suit, I checked out the rest of the clothing we had sent down. All three of the boys shirts were still wrinkled (we had sent them down for pressing only) and worst of all, none of ties we had sent down for pressing were there at all. I picked up the phone and dialed again and got a very inappropriate response " We have no record of the ties ever being sent down (lucky for me, I had our copy of the laundry list receipt). We cannot get four pieces done within 20 minutes. So, do you want the suit or the shirts done?" WHAT THE FLIP?! They had two days (we left them out our first morning). Instead of three pressed shirts/ties and a laundered/pressed suit they had returned a laundered but dirty suit (I think it was cleaning powder all over it), three wrinkled shirts and no ties. I think I said some annoyed things at that point. I asked how in the world they thought it was okay to return terrible work (and not even return everything) and then ask me to chose which one they would make right in time for us to use it when we wanted. She told me I should have alerted them earlier.
The clothes had not been there a little before 2:00 when I left for my Alone Time at the spa. So when I called her at 4:30, the longest I could have 'missed anything' was about two and a half hours (even if they had delivered it two minutes after I walked out of the room).
Twenty-two minutes later, I picked up the phone and asked where the suit and missing ties were (we had chosen to just try and steam the wrinkles out of the boys shirts in the bathroom. I was told that 20 minute service was not an option (by a different CM). I tried to calmly explain what had happened but it made no difference. They acted as if they had taken the suit as a favor to us and would TRY and get it back as soon as they could. I was dressed and ready by then so I told dh to wait for his suit and I stomped off to guest services. I was so angry when I got there. Instead of us enjoying the captain's reception (free drinks, lots of formal picture taking, mingling) like I saw everyone else doing, I was trying to track down my husband's dirty suit and my son's missing ties. They had nothing else formal enough to wear on formal night. When I finally got to the front of the guest services line, I explained my predicament and they called down to the laundry services. I was told that the items were on the way to our room. I was also assured that the cost of our entire dry cleaning bill would be removed from our account along with a $20 shipboard credit for the hassle. Okay, at this point, that seemed okay. They had just told me our items were on the way to the room, so if I high tailed it back and helped dh get the boys the rest of the way dressed, we might just make it down for a few pictures and with the time to enjoy a drink or two. Not the leisurely way I had hoped, but I wasn't going to let a laundry snafu ruin my night...
Back to the room where dh has his suit and is now putting it on. No more white streaks.
However, the ties are no where to be seen. I call down again and I am told that they have not been found. I figure there is nothing more I can do before dinner (if I want any formal pictures at all) so I tell them to keep looking and we proceed down to dinner. At this point, I know another visit to guest services will be taking place. As we snapped our pictures I just kept hearing a little voice inside my head that said someone was going to find those ties or pay me for them. I really was trying to put my annoyance aside, but I hated the run around that I had been getting and the feeling that they thought they were doing us a favor by doing a job we had paid them to do (at least before we got our refund).
Here is the one and only picture we had time to take before dinner that evening. I am still bummed about not getting more. Note the lack of ties on the boys and the way their shirts are not perfectly pressed (sorry, I am still trying to overcome my bad attitude over the whole incident). Also note that I (in all of my annoyed haste) forgot to pull out their belts.
And, of course, if I didn't remember, nobody did.
Right after this photograph, I grabbed a drink off of the tray of a passing CM (don't miss the free drinks at the Captain's Reception) and made myself reflect on the good things that had happened that afternoon instead of the annoying laundry snafu. A few sips later, I was in a better frame of mind as we were passing through the door of Lumiere's. I was about to have a nice dinner with great friends and my wonderful family. I wasn't going to let anything ruin that. And much to my happy surprise (I had forgotten about table pictures), a photographer made their way to our table and took some pictures of us in the dining room. This first one is of all of the kid's together (minus our Little Prince).
One of our family. Note that my smile is no longer fake.
And my favorite shot. Our entire party together. I have this one framed in our family room. I absolutely adore it. It reminds me of the wonderful vacation we had with amazing friends.
And once again, check out that great view from our table!
And although I remember being GREAT on this night, I cannot find my notes from this meal...so I cannot even begin to guess what it was. I do know this was the first night (but not the only, he would do it every other night of our cruise as well) that our server not only brought out the appetizers we had each ordered but a few more for the whole table to taste test with...and he did the same thing for desserts as well!
To be continued...
By the time I got back to our room I had a little over 30 minutes to get ready for dinner. This night there was no surprise of the guys being ready. None of them were even back to the room yet. Dh was picking the boys up from their clubs. As I started to lay out our clothing, I saw that the clothing we had sent out for cleaning and/or pressing was back. Being the mom, I figured I would lay everyone else's clothes out for them before I got into getting ready myself. I figured, that way, I would be able to get myself ready with minimal interruption. As I started to lay the clothing out, I was NOT impressed with what I saw. First, dh's dark blue suit had white powder ground into the shoulders, front lapel and right sleeve. Ummm...it wasn't full of white powder when we turned it in. In fact, it was just in need of a basic dry cleaning (no stains of any sort). There was NO way he could wear it to the photos we were planning on taking in just 30 minutes. I picked up the phone right away and let them know that we had a problem and I needed them to pick his suit and brush it off and have it back within 20 minutes. I was not happy at all at that point and as I was waiting for them to come for the suit, I checked out the rest of the clothing we had sent down. All three of the boys shirts were still wrinkled (we had sent them down for pressing only) and worst of all, none of ties we had sent down for pressing were there at all. I picked up the phone and dialed again and got a very inappropriate response " We have no record of the ties ever being sent down (lucky for me, I had our copy of the laundry list receipt). We cannot get four pieces done within 20 minutes. So, do you want the suit or the shirts done?" WHAT THE FLIP?! They had two days (we left them out our first morning). Instead of three pressed shirts/ties and a laundered/pressed suit they had returned a laundered but dirty suit (I think it was cleaning powder all over it), three wrinkled shirts and no ties. I think I said some annoyed things at that point. I asked how in the world they thought it was okay to return terrible work (and not even return everything) and then ask me to chose which one they would make right in time for us to use it when we wanted. She told me I should have alerted them earlier.
The clothes had not been there a little before 2:00 when I left for my Alone Time at the spa. So when I called her at 4:30, the longest I could have 'missed anything' was about two and a half hours (even if they had delivered it two minutes after I walked out of the room). Twenty-two minutes later, I picked up the phone and asked where the suit and missing ties were (we had chosen to just try and steam the wrinkles out of the boys shirts in the bathroom. I was told that 20 minute service was not an option (by a different CM). I tried to calmly explain what had happened but it made no difference. They acted as if they had taken the suit as a favor to us and would TRY and get it back as soon as they could. I was dressed and ready by then so I told dh to wait for his suit and I stomped off to guest services. I was so angry when I got there. Instead of us enjoying the captain's reception (free drinks, lots of formal picture taking, mingling) like I saw everyone else doing, I was trying to track down my husband's dirty suit and my son's missing ties. They had nothing else formal enough to wear on formal night. When I finally got to the front of the guest services line, I explained my predicament and they called down to the laundry services. I was told that the items were on the way to our room. I was also assured that the cost of our entire dry cleaning bill would be removed from our account along with a $20 shipboard credit for the hassle. Okay, at this point, that seemed okay. They had just told me our items were on the way to the room, so if I high tailed it back and helped dh get the boys the rest of the way dressed, we might just make it down for a few pictures and with the time to enjoy a drink or two. Not the leisurely way I had hoped, but I wasn't going to let a laundry snafu ruin my night...
Back to the room where dh has his suit and is now putting it on. No more white streaks.
However, the ties are no where to be seen. I call down again and I am told that they have not been found. I figure there is nothing more I can do before dinner (if I want any formal pictures at all) so I tell them to keep looking and we proceed down to dinner. At this point, I know another visit to guest services will be taking place. As we snapped our pictures I just kept hearing a little voice inside my head that said someone was going to find those ties or pay me for them. I really was trying to put my annoyance aside, but I hated the run around that I had been getting and the feeling that they thought they were doing us a favor by doing a job we had paid them to do (at least before we got our refund).Here is the one and only picture we had time to take before dinner that evening. I am still bummed about not getting more. Note the lack of ties on the boys and the way their shirts are not perfectly pressed (sorry, I am still trying to overcome my bad attitude over the whole incident). Also note that I (in all of my annoyed haste) forgot to pull out their belts.
And, of course, if I didn't remember, nobody did.
Right after this photograph, I grabbed a drink off of the tray of a passing CM (don't miss the free drinks at the Captain's Reception) and made myself reflect on the good things that had happened that afternoon instead of the annoying laundry snafu. A few sips later, I was in a better frame of mind as we were passing through the door of Lumiere's. I was about to have a nice dinner with great friends and my wonderful family. I wasn't going to let anything ruin that. And much to my happy surprise (I had forgotten about table pictures), a photographer made their way to our table and took some pictures of us in the dining room. This first one is of all of the kid's together (minus our Little Prince).
One of our family. Note that my smile is no longer fake.
And my favorite shot. Our entire party together. I have this one framed in our family room. I absolutely adore it. It reminds me of the wonderful vacation we had with amazing friends.
And once again, check out that great view from our table!
And although I remember being GREAT on this night, I cannot find my notes from this meal...so I cannot even begin to guess what it was.
I do know this was the first night (but not the only, he would do it every other night of our cruise as well) that our server not only brought out the appetizers we had each ordered but a few more for the whole table to taste test with...and he did the same thing for desserts as well!To be continued...
disneydusted
DIS Veteran
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OOO Jay, I am SO sorry you had to go through that run-around! Not fun at all! 
It's so hard when you have everything just right and then a big stink bomb gets set off! I am wondering if the ties ever showed up??? 
I'm glad you were able to have a great evening with everyone and still soak up the magic!
It's so hard when you have everything just right and then a big stink bomb gets set off! I am wondering if the ties ever showed up??? I'm glad you were able to have a great evening with everyone and still soak up the magic!
29apr00
Momma to a Princess and a little Prince!
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- Nov 4, 2005
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- 4,312
Thank you, i will now definatly NOT be having DCL steam and press my dress before the VR. 
I was a little uncertain before, not even hearing of any problems, but now i'm definately not letting the dress out of my sight!
I hope you were able to eventually relax and enjoy teh eveing! You couldn't even tell the shirts were wrinkled.
I was a little uncertain before, not even hearing of any problems, but now i'm definately not letting the dress out of my sight!I hope you were able to eventually relax and enjoy teh eveing! You couldn't even tell the shirts were wrinkled.
SoonerGirl
DIS Veteran
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That just stinks about the laundry - I'd have been fuming! I too am wondering - did they ever find the ties????
On the bright side, your skin looks absolutely radiant in your pictures after your glorious spa day!
ETA: I almost forgot to say
to the Little Prince!! I can't believe he's one already!
On the bright side, your skin looks absolutely radiant in your pictures after your glorious spa day!
ETA: I almost forgot to say
to the Little Prince!! I can't believe he's one already!
Lifelong_Dreamer
DIS Legend
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Wow I am so sorry you had to go through all that stress, talk about bad service!
TinkyCheeks
Mouseketeer
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Wow! I'm not going to admit how much time I've spent reading your whole TR today, but it's been worth every second. What a vacation! From your special, thoughtful surprised to the vivid descriptions, I really feel like I've been there with you. You've made me laugh, tear up and smile. Thank you SO much for writing this.
I just have to comment on LP. Oh my goodness! I just want to give him a huge cuddle! I love how happy he is. I seriously teared up at his fascination at one of the parades. He's such a special little prince!
I just have to comment on LP. Oh my goodness! I just want to give him a huge cuddle! I love how happy he is. I seriously teared up at his fascination at one of the parades. He's such a special little prince!
retiredkid
<font color=blue>Your shots make me want to try ag
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Methinks the laundry staff was lucky that you were major-ly relaxed earlier in the day.....otherwise. hooooo-weeeee !! What we could be reading now!!
Seriously, you handled the situation great. I would not have been a lady if I got that service and attitude.
Seriously, you handled the situation great. I would not have been a lady if I got that service and attitude.
momoftriplets
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 24, 2005
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Happy Birthday, Little Prince!!! 
Can't wait to hear about the celebration!
OMG! I would have been majorly ticked. First having to call the laundry services, then getting the "we are doing you a favor" attitude, then having to walk all over that ship - just to get your clean clothes! Girlfriend - you handled things much better than I would have! I would have been spitting nails. Maybe you were. You're just more polite about it than I would be!
Did they find the ties?
So, Stitch was hungry in that first picture again, huh?
Can't wait to hear about the celebration!
OMG! I would have been majorly ticked. First having to call the laundry services, then getting the "we are doing you a favor" attitude, then having to walk all over that ship - just to get your clean clothes! Girlfriend - you handled things much better than I would have! I would have been spitting nails. Maybe you were. You're just more polite about it than I would be!
Did they find the ties?So, Stitch was hungry in that first picture again, huh?
jaycns
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The ties will make an appearance (or non appearance) in the next installment. Our night (despite the laundry issues) was one of my favorites.OOO Jay, I am SO sorry you had to go through that run-around! Not fun at all! It's so hard when you have everything just right and then a big stink bomb gets set off! I am wondering if the ties ever showed up???
I am thinking our service was a fluke. We have used the laundry services on our two other cruises and never had an issue. However, as annoyed as I was, I would have been a zillion times more upset if it had anything to do with my wedding gown. Then again, they couldn't possibly lose something so big (an entire gown) and I am sure they would be extra careful in pressing something so important (or at least I would hope!). I am glad you couldn't see the wrinkles. The quick 'insta-steam' we tried in the shower seemed to have the worst of the wrinkles fall out.
Thanks for the birthday wishes.That just stinks about the laundry - I'd have been fuming! I too am wondering - did they ever find the ties????
On the bright side, your skin looks absolutely radiant in your pictures after your glorious spa day!
ETA: I almost forgot to say
to the Little Prince!! I can't believe he's one already!
I cannot believe that my baby is one! Even though I have made a point of taking the time to appreciate every stage of his childhood this time around....it has flown by so fast! When I was younger, a year seemed to last almost a decade but now it seems to fly by in, what feels like, the span of a very few months. I think it was less radiance from the spa and more 'shine' from all of the running around over the suit/ties/shirts.
It gets even better.
Welcome Tinkycheeks! Thanks for reading...all in one day...you deserve a medal for that!
And thank you for the very sweet things you wrote as well. Comments like yours help me keep writing (even when I get "writer's block". I hope you stick around. Dh says I am the worst kind of customer to upset. While I won't ever start screaming at you or being 'in your face'....I won't let an issue go until it's rectified either. He laughs at me cause he says when I call places to correct a mistake I say things like, "I know that this is not your personal fault but xyz is totally unacceptable..." and while I am saying that, he hears, "While I know it's not your personal fault, you are going to fix my problem or else."
The nail spitting comes later.Happy Birthday, Little Prince!!!
Can't wait to hear about the celebration!
OMG! I would have been majorly ticked. First having to call the laundry services, then getting the "we are doing you a favor" attitude, then having to walk all over that ship - just to get your clean clothes! Girlfriend - you handled things much better than I would have! I would have been spitting nails. Maybe you were. You're just more polite about it than I would be!
So, Stitch was hungry in that first picture again, huh?
Stay tuned for the next installment. 
His actual birthday (today) is going to be very low key. He is recovering from the stomach flu so no big excursions. I am still debating if we let him enjoy the cake today (or not). It's been almost 10 hours since he last "lost it" but I have stuck to electrolyte water, Cheerios and a small bit of formula since then. I am hoping he does okay with oatmeal in a little bit so that he can dig into his cake tonight.
And Stitch is ALWAYS hungry!
I think that face was more from being hustled so quickly down to the picture line after all of the drama over the laundry. ha ha haOn a happy note, we have been having fun playing with him today. I think he is loving the attention and hopefully, he will be able to enjoy his cake tonight (along with some of his current favorite food, rice).
Thanks!!
momrek06
DIS Veteran
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HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!!
Wow, Jay, I cannot believe LP is already a year old!!! Jay, I am sooooo jealous of all those SPA treatments!!! One word comes to my mind "HEAVENLY"!!!!
Well if LP is feeling up to it and you do indeed have a party for him, be sure a post a pic of LP and his
!!!! Just one more thing, Jay, I think you have an absolutely beautiful family.
You have been blessed!! 
starrzone
<font color=purple>Quirky with snack cakes<br><fon
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Dh says I am the worst kind of customer to upset. While I won't ever start screaming at you or being 'in your face'....I won't let an issue go until it's rectified either. He laughs at me cause he says when I call places to correct a mistake I say things like, "I know that this is not your personal fault but xyz is totally unacceptable..." and while I am saying that, he hears, "While I know it's not your personal fault, you are going to fix my problem or else."
I think this sums up your whole post perfectly! Seriously, though, I think that if anyone takes your money with the promise of delivering a service, then you should expect to get what was implied and/ or promised. The whole ordeal just seems so "UnDisneylike"! I must add a
to LP as well! It's hard to believe that this time last year you were holding an itty-bitty baby and now you have a drooling, teething, getting-into-everything real-life little action figure!
May every year be as good as the past one and may LP and the rest of your family enjoy time with the ones nearest and dearest to you.
jaycns
DIS Veteran
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DCL Day 3, The Evening
Upon the completion of a very tasty meal, we hustled back to our stateroom. I should mention that we were already less one child at this point. Aladdin (who is never a fan of desserts in the first place) had left before the dessert course. I guess the thought of spending an entire meal with his family was too hard on him. While I didn't have him with us when I opened the door, signs of him were hard to miss. We found his pants in the doorway, his shirt laying across the towel elephant on the bed and his shoes on the couch. I guess you could say that he was very much at home aboard the Disney Magic.
We all quickly changed and then dh was off to take Goofy to the Oceaneer's Lab. He had no interest in attending tonight's show if it meant missing time in the lab. As dh ran him up there, I marveled at the fact that Stitch had chosen to stay with us this evening. I wasn't being daft, I knew the reason he had chosen to attend the Golden Mickeys show with his parents had more to do with Cinderella attending with her parents than any sort of desire to hang out with his mom and dad for the evening. We had also chosen to keep our Little Prince with us this particular evening. So, I was lucky, tonight I would get to spend some time with half of my boys.
As I started to straighten up the room, I came across the invoice they had sent back with dh's suit. Not only had they messed it up the first time, made us late for the captain's reception and had an attitude while doing it...they had now CHARGED US for the second cleaning. I actually laughed out loud. Stitch came from the other cabin to check on me I was laughing so loud. What was Disney thinking? That I was going to pay them more to fix their mistake than I had for the original service? I guess that is what they thought since we were being charged for same day cleaning (initially we had not been charged the same day charges since we had left enough time not to have to use that service). 
I guess someone had inhaled too much dry cleaning powder and thought charging us not only for the same service twice but also adding a premium surcharge for doing it the 'same day' was appropriate but we would NOT be paying to fix their mistake.
I folded up that ticket along with our original invoice and tucked them into my purse. Although I was going to get to the bottom of this issue, I wasn't going to miss the Golden Mickeys to do so.
The Golden Mickeys is one of the very best shows EVER to be preformed on the ocean. It's dazzling. Everything is all glitzy, glamorous, shiny and has that 'wow' factor sprinkled all over it. The basic premise of the show is that a shy stagehand has ended up having to host a prime time awards show because the host was unable to be there. The reluctant fill in starts out like a very shy caterpillar who is lacking confidence big time. As the show progresses, she learns a little something from the Disney movies/characters that are being honored with the awards. By the end of the show, she is transformed and becomes more like a self confident butterfly.
That is the backbone of the show, the 'meat' is really what dazzles though. Oodles and oodles of characters take to the stage along with flamboyant dancers. The show is packed with action, sparkle and song. And much to my surprise, our Little Prince stayed awake during the entire thing. He didn't fuss...he didn't have time to fuss, he was way to enthralled in the show itself. I think the only noise I heard from him was his little hands smacking together in applause. He loved the show! Two baby thumbs way up for the Golden Mickeys! His favorite part was the Toy Story short. He was practically flinging himself out of our arms trying to get closer to the stage.
Upon the show's end, Mrs. Friend and I bid our dhs and kids farewell. We promised to meet them up near the pool area to watch the rest of the Monday night football game as soon as we were done shopping.
I purchased quite a few things, but my favorite purchase was the Disney Magic in all of her blown glass glory. This ornament was one of my favorite finds of the entire trip. Not only is it beautiful, but it will never cease to remind me of the great entertainment, servers, ports of call, wonderful dinners spent with friends and so much more that this sailing was. This year, when I nestled the blown glass ornament on to our Christmas tree, it all came flooding back to me. I think that buying Christmas (or any holiday really) ornaments and decorations is a double bonus, you get a great decoration while at the same time getting a trigger for all of your precious vacation memories.
As we exited the store, a not so precious vacation memory was about to be made. It was now my turn to promise Mrs. Friend that I would be catching up with her shortly, I had a stop before making my way to the football game. My stop was guest services. I didn't want to let the laundry issue fester any longer.
Upon my arrival, I was not met with the answer I wanted. I felt like I was again getting the run around. Lucky for me (or the guest services CM ) an officer saw that something was amiss and came over. She listened to me recount our laundry experiences and then instantly agreed that we should not be paying a penny for that sort of service. She also made right for the three missing ties and added an additional stateroom credit to compensate for their loss. She said that it was a good will gesture and that even if the ties were later found, we should consider it as such. She also did the one thing I had wanted just as much as a refund. She apologized and said that our experiences were not up to Disney's standards. That one gesture made me feel much better. Instead of feeling as if Disney was doing me a favor in correcting their own mistake, she made me feel as if Disney was making a poor experience better because they wanted to provide good service.
Recently, I read a book called, The Last Lecture. It's a wonderful read if anyone is looking for one...but more to the point, the author shares a story of him being a child and while at WDW, breaking a toy that he had purchased. He said it was his own fault, NOT Disney's fault. But that he and his sister (also a child) went in to the store to see if an exchange was possible. He said they gave him a new one, no questions asked, even after he admitted that he had dropped the bag himself. He goes on to say that by Disney replacing one $10 snow globe (I think that's what it was) they earned thousands and thousands of dollars of his, and his family's, future vacation money. It really made me stop and think. And it reminded me of the very few times when poor service has been a part of our Disney vacations. Their willingness to rectify the problems (once you find the right person) has turned what could be sour memories into satisfied ones. I wonder how many thousands of future dollars that officer earned Disney when she treated us fairly?
As I walked to meet up with my family and friends, the tension slowly eased out of my shoulders and I was once again happy-go-lucky when I pulled up a chair to join them. Pittsburgh was playing Baltimore and the game was being shown on the ariel view television above the family pool.
I didn't really have a stick in the fire, as I am a die hard Packers fan, but it was a lot of fun to sit out on deck, in the middle of the Caribbean watching Monday night football. I have a lovely pony tail in because it was actually quite windy. Without it, I couldn't keep my hair out of my face. While you see Snow White and I all bundled up, it should be noted that nobody else was cold. I guess we have thin blood.
As we watched the game and listened to a few very enthusiastic Steelers fans cheer the night away we snacked on pizza, french fries, sodas and tea. Our families get together to watch the Superbowl every year. I know that this year, I, for one, will be wishing we were not in my family room, but back on the deck of the Disney Magic, sailing along as the first downs occur and the touchdowns add up.
Stitch and Cinderella alternated between watching the game and playing some games of their own. They are foosball maniacs.
Even after the game ended (and I have no clue who did end up winning), we all hung out together until very late into the night. Actually, I should say until very early in the morning. I know that we did one more pizza run at almost midnight (cleaning out the pizza stand) and that Mrs. Friend and I ran to pick up Goofy at midnight (and also tell our Ocean Quester's that they should go straight back to the room at 1:00 AM). It's one of life's greatest blessings to have such good friends. Friends who you can share a two hour meal with, a show and a football game and STILL want to sit and spend time with.
Aladdin beat us to the room by a few minutes. He was in his pajamas with his teeth brushed by the time the rest of us walked in. We all quickly caught up with him and drifted off to sleep. We had too much to look forward to the next day...we were going to arrive at our first port of call (other than Castaway Cay). Grand Cayman here we come!
To be continued...
Upon the completion of a very tasty meal, we hustled back to our stateroom. I should mention that we were already less one child at this point. Aladdin (who is never a fan of desserts in the first place) had left before the dessert course. I guess the thought of spending an entire meal with his family was too hard on him.
While I didn't have him with us when I opened the door, signs of him were hard to miss. We found his pants in the doorway, his shirt laying across the towel elephant on the bed and his shoes on the couch. I guess you could say that he was very much at home aboard the Disney Magic. We all quickly changed and then dh was off to take Goofy to the Oceaneer's Lab. He had no interest in attending tonight's show if it meant missing time in the lab. As dh ran him up there, I marveled at the fact that Stitch had chosen to stay with us this evening. I wasn't being daft, I knew the reason he had chosen to attend the Golden Mickeys show with his parents had more to do with Cinderella attending with her parents than any sort of desire to hang out with his mom and dad for the evening.
We had also chosen to keep our Little Prince with us this particular evening. So, I was lucky, tonight I would get to spend some time with half of my boys. As I started to straighten up the room, I came across the invoice they had sent back with dh's suit.
Not only had they messed it up the first time, made us late for the captain's reception and had an attitude while doing it...they had now CHARGED US for the second cleaning. I actually laughed out loud. Stitch came from the other cabin to check on me I was laughing so loud. What was Disney thinking? That I was going to pay them more to fix their mistake than I had for the original service? I guess that is what they thought since we were being charged for same day cleaning (initially we had not been charged the same day charges since we had left enough time not to have to use that service). I guess someone had inhaled too much dry cleaning powder and thought charging us not only for the same service twice but also adding a premium surcharge for doing it the 'same day' was appropriate but we would NOT be paying to fix their mistake.
I folded up that ticket along with our original invoice and tucked them into my purse. Although I was going to get to the bottom of this issue, I wasn't going to miss the Golden Mickeys to do so.
The Golden Mickeys is one of the very best shows EVER to be preformed on the ocean. It's dazzling. Everything is all glitzy, glamorous, shiny and has that 'wow' factor sprinkled all over it. The basic premise of the show is that a shy stagehand has ended up having to host a prime time awards show because the host was unable to be there. The reluctant fill in starts out like a very shy caterpillar who is lacking confidence big time. As the show progresses, she learns a little something from the Disney movies/characters that are being honored with the awards. By the end of the show, she is transformed and becomes more like a self confident butterfly.
That is the backbone of the show, the 'meat' is really what dazzles though. Oodles and oodles of characters take to the stage along with flamboyant dancers. The show is packed with action, sparkle and song. And much to my surprise, our Little Prince stayed awake during the entire thing. He didn't fuss...he didn't have time to fuss, he was way to enthralled in the show itself. I think the only noise I heard from him was his little hands smacking together in applause. He loved the show! Two baby thumbs way up for the Golden Mickeys! His favorite part was the Toy Story short. He was practically flinging himself out of our arms trying to get closer to the stage.
Upon the show's end, Mrs. Friend and I bid our dhs and kids farewell. We promised to meet them up near the pool area to watch the rest of the Monday night football game as soon as we were done shopping.
I purchased quite a few things, but my favorite purchase was the Disney Magic in all of her blown glass glory. This ornament was one of my favorite finds of the entire trip. Not only is it beautiful, but it will never cease to remind me of the great entertainment, servers, ports of call, wonderful dinners spent with friends and so much more that this sailing was. This year, when I nestled the blown glass ornament on to our Christmas tree, it all came flooding back to me. I think that buying Christmas (or any holiday really) ornaments and decorations is a double bonus, you get a great decoration while at the same time getting a trigger for all of your precious vacation memories.
As we exited the store, a not so precious vacation memory was about to be made. It was now my turn to promise Mrs. Friend that I would be catching up with her shortly, I had a stop before making my way to the football game. My stop was guest services. I didn't want to let the laundry issue fester any longer.
Upon my arrival, I was not met with the answer I wanted. I felt like I was again getting the run around. Lucky for me (or the guest services CM
) an officer saw that something was amiss and came over. She listened to me recount our laundry experiences and then instantly agreed that we should not be paying a penny for that sort of service. She also made right for the three missing ties and added an additional stateroom credit to compensate for their loss. She said that it was a good will gesture and that even if the ties were later found, we should consider it as such. She also did the one thing I had wanted just as much as a refund. She apologized and said that our experiences were not up to Disney's standards. That one gesture made me feel much better. Instead of feeling as if Disney was doing me a favor in correcting their own mistake, she made me feel as if Disney was making a poor experience better because they wanted to provide good service. Recently, I read a book called, The Last Lecture. It's a wonderful read if anyone is looking for one...but more to the point, the author shares a story of him being a child and while at WDW, breaking a toy that he had purchased. He said it was his own fault, NOT Disney's fault. But that he and his sister (also a child) went in to the store to see if an exchange was possible. He said they gave him a new one, no questions asked, even after he admitted that he had dropped the bag himself. He goes on to say that by Disney replacing one $10 snow globe (I think that's what it was) they earned thousands and thousands of dollars of his, and his family's, future vacation money. It really made me stop and think. And it reminded me of the very few times when poor service has been a part of our Disney vacations. Their willingness to rectify the problems (once you find the right person) has turned what could be sour memories into satisfied ones. I wonder how many thousands of future dollars that officer earned Disney when she treated us fairly?
As I walked to meet up with my family and friends, the tension slowly eased out of my shoulders and I was once again happy-go-lucky when I pulled up a chair to join them. Pittsburgh was playing Baltimore and the game was being shown on the ariel view television above the family pool.
I didn't really have a stick in the fire, as I am a die hard Packers fan, but it was a lot of fun to sit out on deck, in the middle of the Caribbean watching Monday night football. I have a lovely pony tail in because it was actually quite windy. Without it, I couldn't keep my hair out of my face. While you see Snow White and I all bundled up, it should be noted that nobody else was cold. I guess we have thin blood.
As we watched the game and listened to a few very enthusiastic Steelers fans cheer the night away we snacked on pizza, french fries, sodas and tea. Our families get together to watch the Superbowl every year. I know that this year, I, for one, will be wishing we were not in my family room, but back on the deck of the Disney Magic, sailing along as the first downs occur and the touchdowns add up.
Stitch and Cinderella alternated between watching the game and playing some games of their own. They are foosball maniacs.
Even after the game ended (and I have no clue who did end up winning), we all hung out together until very late into the night. Actually, I should say until very early in the morning. I know that we did one more pizza run at almost midnight (cleaning out the pizza stand) and that Mrs. Friend and I ran to pick up Goofy at midnight (and also tell our Ocean Quester's that they should go straight back to the room at 1:00 AM). It's one of life's greatest blessings to have such good friends. Friends who you can share a two hour meal with, a show and a football game and STILL want to sit and spend time with.
Aladdin beat us to the room by a few minutes. He was in his pajamas with his teeth brushed by the time the rest of us walked in. We all quickly caught up with him and drifted off to sleep. We had too much to look forward to the next day...we were going to arrive at our first port of call (other than Castaway Cay). Grand Cayman here we come!
To be continued...
SoonerGirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2006
- Messages
- 4,850
SERIOUSLY???!!! They tried to charge you for same day service, after they were the ones in the wrong in the first place?! 
Thank goodness you finally found someone with some sense and it was taken care of!
I'm looking forward to hearing all about Grand Cayman!
Thank goodness you finally found someone with some sense and it was taken care of!I'm looking forward to hearing all about Grand Cayman!
KittyKat08
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2008
- Messages
- 281
Good grief!!! I'm glad to hear that the laundry issue was finally handled in an acceptable manner but how crazy that you even had to go through all that. So un disney like. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures in Grand Cayman.
29apr00
Momma to a Princess and a little Prince!
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2005
- Messages
- 4,312
I can't believe they tried to charge you!! But i am soooo sooo soo glad the officer did appologize. you're right, the refunds and credit don't meananything if they don't own up to the fact that they screwd up and that is not what Disney stands for.
SkyGirl
Survivor
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2007
- Messages
- 830
After all the ridiculous laundry drama that Disney inflicted on you, I got the warm fuzzies reading the rest!! How wonderful to have special friends like that, great kids, and to be on a cruise ship making incredible memories. I am just loving this, Jay! 
retiredkid
<font color=blue>Your shots make me want to try ag
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2007
- Messages
- 784
happy to hear the laundry issue was taken care of.
great update and pics.
great update and pics.
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