GeorgiaAristocat
<font color=purple> Côôl DIS Veteran <img src=htt
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 2,083
Whos involved (you notice I do not say who went!)
Me (GeorgiaAristocat), 35, obsessive planner who hasnt been to WDW since 1976 its a whole new world!
DH (for the first half of the day he was Slowpoke), 33, personality traits to be revealed later, hasnt been to WDW since @ 1988 and then for only a few hours
DD (FearlessOne), 3, rocks between being a fairy princess, drama queen, and tomboy, not afraid of anything (unless she feels like screaming).
DS (SnuggleBuddy), 15 mos old, umbilical cord is about 1 mm long total mamas boy, also likes to scream and doesnt require fright to do so.
Nana keeper of FearlessOne and SnuggleBuddy while Mom and Dad play at the world!
Prior to reaching the hotel, we made a quick grocery and liquor store stop. Despite our free dining, I wanted to have a few breakfast items in the room. Plus, were coffee snobs and require ½ and ½, that non-dairy stuff wont do. Winn-Dixie was certainly adequate as far as food items, the bathroom was a little less than stellar. I count this as the first of the many, many bathroom stops while at WDW. The liquor store had everything we needed, but guarded it behind the counter so my husband had to actually ASK for assistance in locating the magic elixir that he was counting on to make me mellow and inclined to **relax** in bed. Husband got confused by the signs to Downtown Disney and wanted to know why we werent taking that road, and instead got on the Interstate. Trust me, honey, I am the one who did all the research.
As we arrive at WDW, I direct my husband to Port Orleans, French Quarter. Most amazingly, we took no wrong turns and arrived without incident (this wouldnt last). The friendly guard checked us against his list, let us through, and told us where to park. I was jumping out of my skin in excitement.
We collected our stuff and went inside to check in. Hubby wanted to know why I was bringing the camera. This should have been what the FBI calls a clue about my feelings regarding pictures and this vacation. Eventually he would cotton on.
The lobby was beautiful. I did not attempt to take pictures since I knew that another member of the DIS board had beautiful pictures to share (Fantasia check out the resort board if youre interested). I then questioned myself about why I brought my camera. I just know that I wasnt willing to go anywhere all week without it. All the cast members were busy when we walked up, but there was no one else in line. The first open CM was a very nice young lady, Charis, who was obviously VERY new and Earning her Ears. She had another manager right behind her the whole time, prompting her even on what to say next. She confirmed who we were, where we were coming from, what our preferences were, etc. I casually mentioned that I would really like a corner room and a king sized bed, but had only reserved a standard room. They (Charis and the trainer), looked around in our requested building (Seven) and located a room. They passed on that they werent sure it was a corner room, but was on the third floor of building seven (which I had requested). She gave us our folder and keys and wrote down our room number. You did great! said I to young Charis, as I was feeling extremely charitable and in a divine mood. At this point, it was @ 5:00, and I thought we would have time to haul our stuff up to our room and catch transportation to MK and ride the monorail around before getting to Cali Grill. Foolish, foolish thoughts.
We arrived at Building seven, everything was lush and green. We hauled a few small things up the elevator and to the room. It was not a corner room, but did look out on a courtyard and Building Six across the way. Very peaceful. We tried my key. Nope, got a red light. Tried again (doesnt everyone?) Nope, still red. Tried husbands key. Same result. Twice. Peeked in the windows, unoccupied, but two beds. Sigh. Back to the lobby. PIA.
We haul our few small things, (which now seemed bigger), back to the car, went back to the lobby. Stood in line again, and were directed to the CM at the booth right next to Charis. Charis finished up with her person around then and knew that something was wrong. As no one else was waiting, she asked if she could be involved to solve the problem. We explained about the keys and the red lights. They looked us up in the system and said that our keys were properly coded for the room we had been assigned. (Hmmph, Im thinking, then whats the problem? Im not THAT big of an idiot.) What a minute, says the second CM, didnt you say room X? Yes, we reply, and show her the room number written down on our resort map. Well, thats the problem. Turns out, Charis wrote down the wrong room number. Her ears were a bit tarnished at this point, but I was still on cloud nine and willing to let bygones be bygones.
We troop back to Building seven with our fingers crossed. Turns out that we WERE assigned a corner room (as requested) on the third floor. The room still had two beds (not a king). This puzzled me somewhat as I thought I had read somewhere that ALL the corner rooms in POFQ had king beds, maybe its just all the corner rooms w/ a water view. Our corner room (as requested) had a lovely view of the parking lot. (Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!). No really, while one side did face the parking lot, it was actually a nice location. The other window faced a small courtyard, the parking lot was mostly blocked by trees, and we were directly next to the stairs. We only used the elevator to take stuff up to our room the first day. Thereafter, we used the stairs. We were two adults without children or strollers to worry about. That said, if we do stay here with kids someday, my preferences would be ground floor in building five! But nothing is very far away in French Quarter. It was lovely, lush, green, and quiet the whole time. We could catch part of Illuminations from the balcony right outside our door.
After hauling our stuff up to the room, and **relaxing** in bed for a few minutes (without even the need for the magic elixir!), it was time to get changed and on our way to California Grill. The whole wrong room number incident ate up at least an extra 30 minutes, and the **relaxing** a few minutes more (I wont say how many as I dont want to embarrass my husband, should he ever read this), so it was obvious that we wouldnt have time for a monorail tour prior to dinner.
I told my husband that this was the dressiest dinner we would be going to all week, and that he needed to wear dress shorts and a shirt with a collar. He complied, and looked quite handsome. He was already duly impressed with my planning and how nice the resort was, so was not going to complain. He did, however, state quite emphatically that he only brought tennis shoes and sandals and that tennies would have to do. Perfectly fine with me! Im wearing tennis shoes, too!
We changed and headed to the bus stop, and caught a MK bus in short order. When we arrived there, we got directions from the bus driver on how to get to the monorail (it really has been a long time since either of us was there.) We walked quickly to the monorail, almost went up the wrong ramp (to the parks monorail), but corrected ourselves and made it to the resort monorail. I told DH that it was possible, under the right circumstances, to ride in the front. The circumstances were not right for us, though, because there was a newlywed couple (complete with veil and tophat ears), who received that privilege. Nevermind, we were still excited. I pulled out my cell phone, and in a fit of meanness called my mother to let her know that we were on the monorail. She didnt answer, so I left a message on her machine. Mom loves trains. Mom remembers the monorail from our 76 visit and still talks about it. Mom was going to be jealous.
Short trip to the Contemporary. My impressions of the Contemporary? Not very pretty, kind of institutional (well, other than the monorail running through the middle). Husband and I decided that the only reason we would ever want to stay there was for the monorail, and that the kids would think the monorail was cool.
Checking in for California Grill was an experience. While on the bus to the MK I had passed on the tidbit to husband that you couldnt go up to the restaurant without reservations and had to check in somewhere below. Nevertheless, he tried to get into an elevator to go straight up. I knew it wouldnt work, but humored him anyway. What do you know? It didnt work. We figured this out without actually taking the elevator up (I think there was a sign in the elevator telling us where to go to check in.)
We checked in, and were called up in very short order, we had just enough time for DH to glance at the menu before being called to the elevator. Understand that I had done all the planning and picking of restaurants for this trip, knowing husband as I do and his food preferences. I knew Cali Grill had a good steak, so he would be happy.
When we got to the top: Wow. I mean, Wow. The view was breathtaking. Then we were walked to our table. We were seated and one of the few tables overlooking the roof of the Contemporary tower. Less than wow. Hmmmm. Thats okay. Were at WDW, eating at the top of the Contemporary, there is an observation deck for the fireworks, which are scheduled to start ½ hour after our check in time (between appetizer and entrée). [Restaurant reviews are being handled on the Restaurant Board.] Suffice it to say that dinner, all the way around, was delicious. We excused ourselves for the fireworks which were fabulous and magical, and a perfect way to start our stay.
After finishing dinner and paying for my glass of wine, we went downstairs to catch transportation back to the resort. It was @ 9:00 by this time. When we got to the monorail, we were told that if we took the resort monorail we wouldnt make it back to the MK in time for their last bus to our resort. But, if we hightailed it by foot, then we should make it. We opted for foot, since we needed to walk off some of our excellent dinner anyway. We made it with time to spare and were back in our room and in bed by 10:30.
Oh, about the others involved, we called home at some point and spoke w/ Nana. Kids were fine and so was she. I crossed my fingers that it would stay that way.
Tomorrow: Epcot!
Here are the links to the other portions of this report:
A Whole New World Dining Report
A Whole New World Trip Report (Short Version)
A Whole New World Trip Report, Long Version, Day 1 Part 1, Getting There . . .
A Whole New World Trip Report, Day 1 Part 2, Checking in and California Grill
Day 2, Part 1, Soarin' into our Trip!
Day 2, Part 2, Bathrooms Around the World
Me (GeorgiaAristocat), 35, obsessive planner who hasnt been to WDW since 1976 its a whole new world!
DH (for the first half of the day he was Slowpoke), 33, personality traits to be revealed later, hasnt been to WDW since @ 1988 and then for only a few hours
DD (FearlessOne), 3, rocks between being a fairy princess, drama queen, and tomboy, not afraid of anything (unless she feels like screaming).
DS (SnuggleBuddy), 15 mos old, umbilical cord is about 1 mm long total mamas boy, also likes to scream and doesnt require fright to do so.
Nana keeper of FearlessOne and SnuggleBuddy while Mom and Dad play at the world!
Prior to reaching the hotel, we made a quick grocery and liquor store stop. Despite our free dining, I wanted to have a few breakfast items in the room. Plus, were coffee snobs and require ½ and ½, that non-dairy stuff wont do. Winn-Dixie was certainly adequate as far as food items, the bathroom was a little less than stellar. I count this as the first of the many, many bathroom stops while at WDW. The liquor store had everything we needed, but guarded it behind the counter so my husband had to actually ASK for assistance in locating the magic elixir that he was counting on to make me mellow and inclined to **relax** in bed. Husband got confused by the signs to Downtown Disney and wanted to know why we werent taking that road, and instead got on the Interstate. Trust me, honey, I am the one who did all the research.
As we arrive at WDW, I direct my husband to Port Orleans, French Quarter. Most amazingly, we took no wrong turns and arrived without incident (this wouldnt last). The friendly guard checked us against his list, let us through, and told us where to park. I was jumping out of my skin in excitement.
We collected our stuff and went inside to check in. Hubby wanted to know why I was bringing the camera. This should have been what the FBI calls a clue about my feelings regarding pictures and this vacation. Eventually he would cotton on.
The lobby was beautiful. I did not attempt to take pictures since I knew that another member of the DIS board had beautiful pictures to share (Fantasia check out the resort board if youre interested). I then questioned myself about why I brought my camera. I just know that I wasnt willing to go anywhere all week without it. All the cast members were busy when we walked up, but there was no one else in line. The first open CM was a very nice young lady, Charis, who was obviously VERY new and Earning her Ears. She had another manager right behind her the whole time, prompting her even on what to say next. She confirmed who we were, where we were coming from, what our preferences were, etc. I casually mentioned that I would really like a corner room and a king sized bed, but had only reserved a standard room. They (Charis and the trainer), looked around in our requested building (Seven) and located a room. They passed on that they werent sure it was a corner room, but was on the third floor of building seven (which I had requested). She gave us our folder and keys and wrote down our room number. You did great! said I to young Charis, as I was feeling extremely charitable and in a divine mood. At this point, it was @ 5:00, and I thought we would have time to haul our stuff up to our room and catch transportation to MK and ride the monorail around before getting to Cali Grill. Foolish, foolish thoughts.
We arrived at Building seven, everything was lush and green. We hauled a few small things up the elevator and to the room. It was not a corner room, but did look out on a courtyard and Building Six across the way. Very peaceful. We tried my key. Nope, got a red light. Tried again (doesnt everyone?) Nope, still red. Tried husbands key. Same result. Twice. Peeked in the windows, unoccupied, but two beds. Sigh. Back to the lobby. PIA.
We haul our few small things, (which now seemed bigger), back to the car, went back to the lobby. Stood in line again, and were directed to the CM at the booth right next to Charis. Charis finished up with her person around then and knew that something was wrong. As no one else was waiting, she asked if she could be involved to solve the problem. We explained about the keys and the red lights. They looked us up in the system and said that our keys were properly coded for the room we had been assigned. (Hmmph, Im thinking, then whats the problem? Im not THAT big of an idiot.) What a minute, says the second CM, didnt you say room X? Yes, we reply, and show her the room number written down on our resort map. Well, thats the problem. Turns out, Charis wrote down the wrong room number. Her ears were a bit tarnished at this point, but I was still on cloud nine and willing to let bygones be bygones.
We troop back to Building seven with our fingers crossed. Turns out that we WERE assigned a corner room (as requested) on the third floor. The room still had two beds (not a king). This puzzled me somewhat as I thought I had read somewhere that ALL the corner rooms in POFQ had king beds, maybe its just all the corner rooms w/ a water view. Our corner room (as requested) had a lovely view of the parking lot. (Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!). No really, while one side did face the parking lot, it was actually a nice location. The other window faced a small courtyard, the parking lot was mostly blocked by trees, and we were directly next to the stairs. We only used the elevator to take stuff up to our room the first day. Thereafter, we used the stairs. We were two adults without children or strollers to worry about. That said, if we do stay here with kids someday, my preferences would be ground floor in building five! But nothing is very far away in French Quarter. It was lovely, lush, green, and quiet the whole time. We could catch part of Illuminations from the balcony right outside our door.
After hauling our stuff up to the room, and **relaxing** in bed for a few minutes (without even the need for the magic elixir!), it was time to get changed and on our way to California Grill. The whole wrong room number incident ate up at least an extra 30 minutes, and the **relaxing** a few minutes more (I wont say how many as I dont want to embarrass my husband, should he ever read this), so it was obvious that we wouldnt have time for a monorail tour prior to dinner.
I told my husband that this was the dressiest dinner we would be going to all week, and that he needed to wear dress shorts and a shirt with a collar. He complied, and looked quite handsome. He was already duly impressed with my planning and how nice the resort was, so was not going to complain. He did, however, state quite emphatically that he only brought tennis shoes and sandals and that tennies would have to do. Perfectly fine with me! Im wearing tennis shoes, too!
We changed and headed to the bus stop, and caught a MK bus in short order. When we arrived there, we got directions from the bus driver on how to get to the monorail (it really has been a long time since either of us was there.) We walked quickly to the monorail, almost went up the wrong ramp (to the parks monorail), but corrected ourselves and made it to the resort monorail. I told DH that it was possible, under the right circumstances, to ride in the front. The circumstances were not right for us, though, because there was a newlywed couple (complete with veil and tophat ears), who received that privilege. Nevermind, we were still excited. I pulled out my cell phone, and in a fit of meanness called my mother to let her know that we were on the monorail. She didnt answer, so I left a message on her machine. Mom loves trains. Mom remembers the monorail from our 76 visit and still talks about it. Mom was going to be jealous.
Short trip to the Contemporary. My impressions of the Contemporary? Not very pretty, kind of institutional (well, other than the monorail running through the middle). Husband and I decided that the only reason we would ever want to stay there was for the monorail, and that the kids would think the monorail was cool.
Checking in for California Grill was an experience. While on the bus to the MK I had passed on the tidbit to husband that you couldnt go up to the restaurant without reservations and had to check in somewhere below. Nevertheless, he tried to get into an elevator to go straight up. I knew it wouldnt work, but humored him anyway. What do you know? It didnt work. We figured this out without actually taking the elevator up (I think there was a sign in the elevator telling us where to go to check in.)
We checked in, and were called up in very short order, we had just enough time for DH to glance at the menu before being called to the elevator. Understand that I had done all the planning and picking of restaurants for this trip, knowing husband as I do and his food preferences. I knew Cali Grill had a good steak, so he would be happy.
When we got to the top: Wow. I mean, Wow. The view was breathtaking. Then we were walked to our table. We were seated and one of the few tables overlooking the roof of the Contemporary tower. Less than wow. Hmmmm. Thats okay. Were at WDW, eating at the top of the Contemporary, there is an observation deck for the fireworks, which are scheduled to start ½ hour after our check in time (between appetizer and entrée). [Restaurant reviews are being handled on the Restaurant Board.] Suffice it to say that dinner, all the way around, was delicious. We excused ourselves for the fireworks which were fabulous and magical, and a perfect way to start our stay.
After finishing dinner and paying for my glass of wine, we went downstairs to catch transportation back to the resort. It was @ 9:00 by this time. When we got to the monorail, we were told that if we took the resort monorail we wouldnt make it back to the MK in time for their last bus to our resort. But, if we hightailed it by foot, then we should make it. We opted for foot, since we needed to walk off some of our excellent dinner anyway. We made it with time to spare and were back in our room and in bed by 10:30.
Oh, about the others involved, we called home at some point and spoke w/ Nana. Kids were fine and so was she. I crossed my fingers that it would stay that way.
Tomorrow: Epcot!
Here are the links to the other portions of this report:
A Whole New World Dining Report
A Whole New World Trip Report (Short Version)
A Whole New World Trip Report, Long Version, Day 1 Part 1, Getting There . . .
A Whole New World Trip Report, Day 1 Part 2, Checking in and California Grill
Day 2, Part 1, Soarin' into our Trip!
Day 2, Part 2, Bathrooms Around the World
