missy28
<font color=purple>unnaturly obsessed with all thi
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2002
- Messages
- 258
Cast of Characters:
Melissa (Me): 30, prosecuting attorney, longtime Disney nut, lost count of how many trips after about 20, Annual Passholder usually, except for this trip (note to self: MUST renew ASAP!) Lives in Atlanta suburbs
Marie: early 20s, probation officer, hasnt been to WDW since she was 16; lives in Atlanta suburbs
Heather: early 20s, accountant, hasnt been to WDW since 8th grade; drove over from Tampa.
My goal: Show the semi-newbies as much as is possible in 2 short days, and get them hooked, so Ill have future travel partners.
Saturday, May 8, 2004 con't:
I had made the mistake of letting my AP expire in March, and the budget just wasnt going to let me renew it this trip, so we were getting UPH for 2 days, at a great rate of 129 each. I thought this was a great deal considering a 1 day pass is 56 bucks. So, for roughly 20 bucks more, you get hopping privileges, not to mention water parks, and all the other stuff (which we didnt have time to, nor intended to, use). So, I stepped up to the Disney ticket counter at the Swan and asked for the 2 day UPH, and this snippy little woman said, No. I said, What do you mean, no? No, you don't have them? No I cant buy them? No what? She said, The computer is offline and you cant buy that particular ticket. My question: Well, what am I supposed to do about tickets for the day then? Her reply: Go to a park, and buy a 1 day ticket. Me: Well, we wanted to park hop today, and we cant do that with a 1 day ticket. Her: Well, when you want to hop, come back here, and IF the system is online, we can upgrade you to a UPH. Me: IF? Her: Yes, IF. So, instead of going into lawyer-cross-examination mode, I just crossed my fingers that the powers of Magic would remedy the situation later. Then I had to explain the situation to the semi-newbies, who comprehended things very well. By this point, I wasnt feeling very magical. I wouldnt have been so upset by this if this CM had been apologetic or even just a teensy bit nice. She was just plain crabby.
So, we hop into the convertible (I was feeling more magical already) and drove to Animal Kingdom. It was about 11am by this point, and it was getting pretty sultry out. We hop onto the tram with no wait, and walk up to the ticket counter, where the line is about 40 PEOPLE long Now, as a Annual Passholder, I have a rule that I dont stand in lines that are longer than 20 minutes generally. I certainly dont stand in lines to buy tickets. How bourgeoisie me, an annual passholder, stooping to stand in lines with the masses to buy a ticket? Certainly not (Ok, for those of you who arent great at reading sarcasm, that was just it.) So, as Im standing there, in the heat, with all the masses, I look past the ticket counters and see that the Guest Relations windows are open and EMPTY. Now, I had previously told Marie and Heather that if they see me bolt quickly somewhere, there is a reason, and they should follow as quickly as possible. I jumped the rope, and booked it to the GR window. One day ticket please. No problem, and 5 seconds later, I had my little ticket in my hand. Marie and Heather followed suit. I asked the GR guy about what the chick at the Swan said about upgrading from the 1 day ticket to the UPH and if they could do that. He said hed never heard of it, but if they said it, then they must be able to do it, and since the system was offline, they must be making concessions. So, I told Marie and Heather to save their receipts to covers our you-know-whats in case we needed to show them to the ticket nazi at the Swan.
We headed into the lush greenscape of Animal Kingdom. The goal here was to give them a feel for the park, and then head to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. I looked at the tip board and couldnt figure out why there were no lines for anything but there were sooo many people everywhere! There was virtually no wait for Its Tough to be a Bug, so we meandered through the line and saw the show. I had told Marie and Heather nothing about the show, so they were surprised with the effects. There was the usual light interruption as a parent hauled a screaming toddler out of the theater. From there, we walked over the bridge to Asia (saw Everest in the distance) and walked over to Africa to get fastpasses for the Safari. Along the way, DeVine was lingering by a light pole. GRIPE: People, it is called a PATH for a reason. It was designed for people to WALK on. I know DeVine is cool, but there are many other cool things that I would like to show my friends while we are there. When you see us walking towards you, dont look at me as if I am the one being rude for gasp walking along a path. Move your sorry rear end and let me through. Ok, Im done. These people were amazing, really had the entire width of the path blocked and thats a pretty wide path along there. We got our fastpass for the Safari and headed over the bridge to see Festival of the Lion King, On the way there, I am telling Marie and Heather about the show, how much I love it, the fact that my mother thinks its better than the Broadway production, etc., and this sweet older janitorial services CM whos picking up trash, turns to me and says, Isnt it a great show? You know, they have it air conditioned now This is one of the reasons I love this place Heres this man whos job it is to clean up after other people who are too lazy to put their trash in the big boxy thing that says TRASH, and this cant be a very pleasant task. But yet, hes smiling, and happy, and telling me how much he loves the Lion King. What a sweet man. SO, we make it to the theater just in time, and sit in the Lion section. The CM picked a man from Australia to make our sample lion noise, and apparently, Down Under, Lions make a much different sound than they do in the rest of the world very funny.
Next: A Boy named Mindy?
Melissa (Me): 30, prosecuting attorney, longtime Disney nut, lost count of how many trips after about 20, Annual Passholder usually, except for this trip (note to self: MUST renew ASAP!) Lives in Atlanta suburbs
Marie: early 20s, probation officer, hasnt been to WDW since she was 16; lives in Atlanta suburbs
Heather: early 20s, accountant, hasnt been to WDW since 8th grade; drove over from Tampa.
My goal: Show the semi-newbies as much as is possible in 2 short days, and get them hooked, so Ill have future travel partners.
Saturday, May 8, 2004 con't:
I had made the mistake of letting my AP expire in March, and the budget just wasnt going to let me renew it this trip, so we were getting UPH for 2 days, at a great rate of 129 each. I thought this was a great deal considering a 1 day pass is 56 bucks. So, for roughly 20 bucks more, you get hopping privileges, not to mention water parks, and all the other stuff (which we didnt have time to, nor intended to, use). So, I stepped up to the Disney ticket counter at the Swan and asked for the 2 day UPH, and this snippy little woman said, No. I said, What do you mean, no? No, you don't have them? No I cant buy them? No what? She said, The computer is offline and you cant buy that particular ticket. My question: Well, what am I supposed to do about tickets for the day then? Her reply: Go to a park, and buy a 1 day ticket. Me: Well, we wanted to park hop today, and we cant do that with a 1 day ticket. Her: Well, when you want to hop, come back here, and IF the system is online, we can upgrade you to a UPH. Me: IF? Her: Yes, IF. So, instead of going into lawyer-cross-examination mode, I just crossed my fingers that the powers of Magic would remedy the situation later. Then I had to explain the situation to the semi-newbies, who comprehended things very well. By this point, I wasnt feeling very magical. I wouldnt have been so upset by this if this CM had been apologetic or even just a teensy bit nice. She was just plain crabby.
So, we hop into the convertible (I was feeling more magical already) and drove to Animal Kingdom. It was about 11am by this point, and it was getting pretty sultry out. We hop onto the tram with no wait, and walk up to the ticket counter, where the line is about 40 PEOPLE long Now, as a Annual Passholder, I have a rule that I dont stand in lines that are longer than 20 minutes generally. I certainly dont stand in lines to buy tickets. How bourgeoisie me, an annual passholder, stooping to stand in lines with the masses to buy a ticket? Certainly not (Ok, for those of you who arent great at reading sarcasm, that was just it.) So, as Im standing there, in the heat, with all the masses, I look past the ticket counters and see that the Guest Relations windows are open and EMPTY. Now, I had previously told Marie and Heather that if they see me bolt quickly somewhere, there is a reason, and they should follow as quickly as possible. I jumped the rope, and booked it to the GR window. One day ticket please. No problem, and 5 seconds later, I had my little ticket in my hand. Marie and Heather followed suit. I asked the GR guy about what the chick at the Swan said about upgrading from the 1 day ticket to the UPH and if they could do that. He said hed never heard of it, but if they said it, then they must be able to do it, and since the system was offline, they must be making concessions. So, I told Marie and Heather to save their receipts to covers our you-know-whats in case we needed to show them to the ticket nazi at the Swan.
We headed into the lush greenscape of Animal Kingdom. The goal here was to give them a feel for the park, and then head to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. I looked at the tip board and couldnt figure out why there were no lines for anything but there were sooo many people everywhere! There was virtually no wait for Its Tough to be a Bug, so we meandered through the line and saw the show. I had told Marie and Heather nothing about the show, so they were surprised with the effects. There was the usual light interruption as a parent hauled a screaming toddler out of the theater. From there, we walked over the bridge to Asia (saw Everest in the distance) and walked over to Africa to get fastpasses for the Safari. Along the way, DeVine was lingering by a light pole. GRIPE: People, it is called a PATH for a reason. It was designed for people to WALK on. I know DeVine is cool, but there are many other cool things that I would like to show my friends while we are there. When you see us walking towards you, dont look at me as if I am the one being rude for gasp walking along a path. Move your sorry rear end and let me through. Ok, Im done. These people were amazing, really had the entire width of the path blocked and thats a pretty wide path along there. We got our fastpass for the Safari and headed over the bridge to see Festival of the Lion King, On the way there, I am telling Marie and Heather about the show, how much I love it, the fact that my mother thinks its better than the Broadway production, etc., and this sweet older janitorial services CM whos picking up trash, turns to me and says, Isnt it a great show? You know, they have it air conditioned now This is one of the reasons I love this place Heres this man whos job it is to clean up after other people who are too lazy to put their trash in the big boxy thing that says TRASH, and this cant be a very pleasant task. But yet, hes smiling, and happy, and telling me how much he loves the Lion King. What a sweet man. SO, we make it to the theater just in time, and sit in the Lion section. The CM picked a man from Australia to make our sample lion noise, and apparently, Down Under, Lions make a much different sound than they do in the rest of the world very funny.
Next: A Boy named Mindy?
