SusanEllen
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 24, 2004
- Messages
- 1,717
There were two messages waiting for me on the room phone, both from Josette at the All Star Music. She wanted to make sure Id gotten the message about the relay box being found. The second message was made just before her shift ended and she was trying one last time to get in touch. Obviously, the supervisor hadnt passed the word to her that I had gotten this mornings message and had called to commend her. So, I made one more call and this time left both a thank you message for Josette and a reminder for the supervisor about the praise note. I cannot think of a time that any other customer service person anywhere has ever tried to help me in such a determined manner. Its good to know the old Disney dedication to excellence is still around.
Cleaned, polished, and dressed for dinner I headed downstairs to Artist Point and was seated immediately. When I say dressed, I mean I was wearing a nice little school teacher-y dress made of a tasteful, if not subtle, Mickey and Friends print. The CM who made the reservation (or if you must, ADR) reminded me that Artist Point had a dress code that required . . . .blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I dont mean any disrespect by that, its just that though I assured her Id eaten there several times before she continued reading the policy statement. I imagine its required and that there might be some consequence for her if the call were monitored and it was discovered that she was skipping the instructions, still I found it a little annoying. But I was polite and thanked her for the information. Apparently, though, someone was skipping the instructionseither giving them or taking them, because as diners were shown to tables all around me I saw every manner of park dress except a bathing suit. There were lots of shorts (on both men and women) , Capri pants (on women only), torn jeans, bunches of those tops that dont quite cover about five inches of the midriff area, and dozens of pairs of flip flops. I had been better dressed straight out of the Animal Kingdom this afternoon than many of these people who were arriving for dinner. Guess that dress thing is more of a suggestion than a code. I was surprised though, as I dont remember ever seeing such casual dress in this restaurant. That could either be because 1) Id never before been seated here this early in the evening or 2) at my advanced age there are more and more things I dont remember correctly.
Service was excellent as I had two servers and so got lots of attention. The host announced this duet arrangement as he took me to my table. I assumed one of them was in training, until I recognized the male server from past trips and talked with the female server and found out she, too, had worked at Artist Point for years. Between them and the man who carried the food to my table and the host who dropped by to chat, I had company for most of the meal. And that much attention may have been quite intentional. Its happened to me before and I take it as a kindness when attentive restaurant staff, who see me dining alone, feel the need to offer me company. They dont know that Im ok dining by myself, so I play along and have had, as I did this time, some pleasant conversations with people I would otherwise have missed. What did I eat? Oh dear, Im very self conscious about this part after reading Dan and Jackies elegantly written review of BlueZoo, but here it is: I asked first for a glass of water and a cup of tea as I was feeling a little dehydrated from an afternoon in the sun. I can almost hear the collective moan from the Stringers and the Churchills as they wonder what else they could have done to teach me better than this. But I hasten to add that I did ask for a glass of wine to be served with my entrée although the only thing I remember about it is it was a white wine. Now its Dan I hear moaning. Starter was Crispy Venison Spring Rolls with a hot sweet and sour sauce. Entrée was Pan-seared scallops with fava bean nage (Nage? Beats me!), purple potatoes and shiitake shallot ragout. Dessert was raspberry sorbet served with a lemon tarragon broth, a smattering of berries, blue-,rasp-, black- and straw-, and a couple of small, tasty shortbreads. Im sure Dan is saying, Is that it? A mere recitation of the menu? Yes, sadly, thats pretty much it. I do want to add that, though the food was delicious, I thought about leaving a note for the chef about those hideous purple potatoes. Looking at those little mounds of grayish purple mashed potatoes on which the scallops were placed made it very difficult to fully enjoy those wonderful scallops(Debbie, youll be pleased to know, these were perfectly cooked). I never realized until that night, I have a prejudice against purple food unless its a bunch of grapes or an eggplant. I will email Debbie the photos and ask her to add them to this thread so you can judge for yourself. Ugly ____ or Really Ugly ____ I wasnt so put off that Id never eat there again. Ill just be sure to avoid the purple potatoes.
A quick walk to the dock and right on to a boat to Magic Kingdom, where I entered just in time to catch SpectroMagic on a very crowded Main Street, making the experience very much like the one that afternoon when watching the parade at Animal Kingdomonly the tops of the floats in sight. But that was ok. Ive seen Spectro enough times to fill in the gaps. I rode Pirates. I rode Big Thunder, one of my very favorite rides, but one Id never done at night before. The night sky really did add a dimension to the experience, as others have told me it would. So did glimpses of the Wishes fireworks as we went careening around Big Thunder Mountain. Next a visit to the Haunted Mansion. Then a leisurely walk through the shops on my way to the front of the park. Boarded a boat that took me home.
Yesterday, when I first got to my room after checking in, I found a note that had been slipped under the door informing me (and all other resort guests) that over the next few nights at the MK audio and fireworks tests would be conducted during the overnight hours in preparation for the holiday shows. This notice was to allay any fear we might have if we heard loud, unexpected noises or saw spectacular lights in the sky (Disneys quotation marks). It was just a few years ago, wasnt it, that any of us would have assumed loud noises and bright lights at a Disney park only meant fireworks? But now we have to be told thats all it is. Thats sad, isnt it? In any case, my room was on the side of the hotel furthest from MK, so I heard and saw nothing of the tests. I had no trouble at all falling asleep after a three park/two table service daymy personal best.
Cleaned, polished, and dressed for dinner I headed downstairs to Artist Point and was seated immediately. When I say dressed, I mean I was wearing a nice little school teacher-y dress made of a tasteful, if not subtle, Mickey and Friends print. The CM who made the reservation (or if you must, ADR) reminded me that Artist Point had a dress code that required . . . .blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I dont mean any disrespect by that, its just that though I assured her Id eaten there several times before she continued reading the policy statement. I imagine its required and that there might be some consequence for her if the call were monitored and it was discovered that she was skipping the instructions, still I found it a little annoying. But I was polite and thanked her for the information. Apparently, though, someone was skipping the instructionseither giving them or taking them, because as diners were shown to tables all around me I saw every manner of park dress except a bathing suit. There were lots of shorts (on both men and women) , Capri pants (on women only), torn jeans, bunches of those tops that dont quite cover about five inches of the midriff area, and dozens of pairs of flip flops. I had been better dressed straight out of the Animal Kingdom this afternoon than many of these people who were arriving for dinner. Guess that dress thing is more of a suggestion than a code. I was surprised though, as I dont remember ever seeing such casual dress in this restaurant. That could either be because 1) Id never before been seated here this early in the evening or 2) at my advanced age there are more and more things I dont remember correctly.
Service was excellent as I had two servers and so got lots of attention. The host announced this duet arrangement as he took me to my table. I assumed one of them was in training, until I recognized the male server from past trips and talked with the female server and found out she, too, had worked at Artist Point for years. Between them and the man who carried the food to my table and the host who dropped by to chat, I had company for most of the meal. And that much attention may have been quite intentional. Its happened to me before and I take it as a kindness when attentive restaurant staff, who see me dining alone, feel the need to offer me company. They dont know that Im ok dining by myself, so I play along and have had, as I did this time, some pleasant conversations with people I would otherwise have missed. What did I eat? Oh dear, Im very self conscious about this part after reading Dan and Jackies elegantly written review of BlueZoo, but here it is: I asked first for a glass of water and a cup of tea as I was feeling a little dehydrated from an afternoon in the sun. I can almost hear the collective moan from the Stringers and the Churchills as they wonder what else they could have done to teach me better than this. But I hasten to add that I did ask for a glass of wine to be served with my entrée although the only thing I remember about it is it was a white wine. Now its Dan I hear moaning. Starter was Crispy Venison Spring Rolls with a hot sweet and sour sauce. Entrée was Pan-seared scallops with fava bean nage (Nage? Beats me!), purple potatoes and shiitake shallot ragout. Dessert was raspberry sorbet served with a lemon tarragon broth, a smattering of berries, blue-,rasp-, black- and straw-, and a couple of small, tasty shortbreads. Im sure Dan is saying, Is that it? A mere recitation of the menu? Yes, sadly, thats pretty much it. I do want to add that, though the food was delicious, I thought about leaving a note for the chef about those hideous purple potatoes. Looking at those little mounds of grayish purple mashed potatoes on which the scallops were placed made it very difficult to fully enjoy those wonderful scallops(Debbie, youll be pleased to know, these were perfectly cooked). I never realized until that night, I have a prejudice against purple food unless its a bunch of grapes or an eggplant. I will email Debbie the photos and ask her to add them to this thread so you can judge for yourself. Ugly ____ or Really Ugly ____ I wasnt so put off that Id never eat there again. Ill just be sure to avoid the purple potatoes.
A quick walk to the dock and right on to a boat to Magic Kingdom, where I entered just in time to catch SpectroMagic on a very crowded Main Street, making the experience very much like the one that afternoon when watching the parade at Animal Kingdomonly the tops of the floats in sight. But that was ok. Ive seen Spectro enough times to fill in the gaps. I rode Pirates. I rode Big Thunder, one of my very favorite rides, but one Id never done at night before. The night sky really did add a dimension to the experience, as others have told me it would. So did glimpses of the Wishes fireworks as we went careening around Big Thunder Mountain. Next a visit to the Haunted Mansion. Then a leisurely walk through the shops on my way to the front of the park. Boarded a boat that took me home.
Yesterday, when I first got to my room after checking in, I found a note that had been slipped under the door informing me (and all other resort guests) that over the next few nights at the MK audio and fireworks tests would be conducted during the overnight hours in preparation for the holiday shows. This notice was to allay any fear we might have if we heard loud, unexpected noises or saw spectacular lights in the sky (Disneys quotation marks). It was just a few years ago, wasnt it, that any of us would have assumed loud noises and bright lights at a Disney park only meant fireworks? But now we have to be told thats all it is. Thats sad, isnt it? In any case, my room was on the side of the hotel furthest from MK, so I heard and saw nothing of the tests. I had no trouble at all falling asleep after a three park/two table service daymy personal best.
