All Work and No Play makes Smee Grumpy: an Oct.'19 "work" TR *New PTR link 4/8*

[ariane37]

I WORK at Hallmark, and I've never seen anything like it!! LOL

I KNEW that and forgot! OMG I'd be spending my whole check on all the adorable Disney stuff Hallmark has lol.

Your birthday cake looks great, 6 cans of frosting?!?!?

Yup Not being a baker he looked up how much frosting to use and since he used THREE boxes of cake mix and it said 2 cans of frosting her cake - 6 lol

Omg, worse than small children

Yes although there isn't a chance in h___ I'd ever travel with 30 small children!

YUM!!! now that is a birthday cake!!

I have to admit up until this point I was jealous of your work Disney trips...but....the travelling with 30 people and stopping every five minutes would drive me bonkers!!! That said..I do have to get my office going on a Disney FAM....though I don't think we sell enough of it to be eligible...

Keep in mind our owner planned all the details so your owner may do better/differently! But yeah I think traveling in large groups is way too hard to really enjoy - if you do enjoy it you're lucky!
Any agency can do a FAM but yeah if you aren't at a certain level it's basically just a work trip at Disney without much Disney input. It can always be done though. Speaking of always you're like always never home lol! When would you even fit in a work Disney trip?

Back, finally, and caught up, finally.

Yay Meghan! Glad to see you always

I don't intend to ever set foot on a cruise ship thanks to my brain-condition-induced-motion-sickness, but if I ever did it would definitely be a Disney cruise! So pretty! And some neat amenities.

I didn't think I'd ever go on a cruise but I did know that if I did, I'd go with Disney for a first. The ships are so freakin' gorgeous and all of us (except Chris) are really excited. Just over a month to go!

Your experiences with Angry Cathy

I keep picturing my friends' face on an angry bird character lol

I'm glad you got feeling better, though, and you managed to squeeze in some fun during the tour. I'm very much the same way that if I don't eat on a reasonable schedule, and especially if I do that and then ride rides, I'm gonna get queasy too.

I did enjoy parts of it in the beginning and after I ate. Still think that was a silly call not planning an eating/snack break

 

[MeghanEmily]

I did enjoy parts of it in the beginning and after I ate. Still think that was a silly call not planning an eating/snack break

Agreed! Especially since there was obviously enough time for it since you had all that wasted time at the end.

 

[KathyM2]

Keep in mind our owner planned all the details so your owner may do better/differently! But yeah I think traveling in large groups is way too hard to really enjoy - if you do enjoy it you're lucky!
Any agency can do a FAM but yeah if you aren't at a certain level it's basically just a work trip at Disney without much Disney input. It can always be done though. Speaking of always you're like always never home lol! When would you even fit in a work Disney trip?

Ha yeah, it's been a lot of travel this past couple of years for me, but sadly not near enough of it has been Disney. Funnily enough, I have sort of turned into the Disney expert at my office, no one else really wants anything to do with it, they think it's overwhelming, which I get, it totally would be if you don't know how it all works. So that's why I'm not sure there will ever be a FAM....but as I gain more experience booking it I will see what I can figure out lol

 

[ariane37]

How's everyone doing? We all hanging in there virus-free? Stocking up on hand sanitizer by the gallons?
All I have to say is we leave on our Disney cruise in 32 says and we're NOT cancelling and we're NOT nervous! Disney Dream here we come 🛳

DAY 6, OCTOBER 28TH
DAY 6 PART 3, IT'S MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY (AFTER THE SKYWAY) (OK LINER, TAKING SOME LITERARY LICENSE THERE)

Well our day was just about over but we had one more stop to make. I forgot to mention that while others who've done VIP tours report being given snacks and bottled water between parks, we were only offered water between AK and Epcot. Which was nice don't get me wrong! We were also given our tour pins on the way to Epcot:




For those of you who have never done a tour you do get a cool keepsake pin whenever you do one (minus the Rhino and I believe Caring for Giants tours). Here are the pins we got in January when we did the Destinations Discovered tour in Epcot:





By the time we got to Epcot it was just about 6 which was when the tour ended so we only had time for one ride, and it was decided it would be Soarin'. We had some issues scanning in as a few bands didn't work but finally we were in. Cathy was really not feeling well and didn't want to ride; I do like Soarin' but honestly - I was done. So we sat out the final ride of the tour and just chilled/relaxed on the benches there.

I want to stop for a minute and say that if you have the funds this tour can be amazing! We had 3 tour guides and really they were all very nice and extremely knowledgeable, throwing out trivia here and there. You really can do whatever you want (you know, within Disney reason lol) and you can get A LOT done. The thing here is that if YOU aren't planning the tour - what you want to do, where you want to go, how you want to spend your time- you need to be a super flexible and easy going person to go with someone else's flow especially if you're a regular WDW-goer. So was the tour disappointing? Yes. Did it have a lot to do with my personality? Yes. I do not "go with the flow" easily if you haven't picked up on that by now so while I know lots of you agree that you wouldn't have appreciated certain things (no FOOD!!!) it's ok if you're also going, "yeah but Ariane...I think I would have had fun"

So anyway while we were sitting there waiting for the group to finish Cathy decided she just wasn't up for our initial plans to tour the F&W festival after the tour finished. She was feeling quite sick to her stomach and dizzy so once the group came back and we said our good-bye's she took the skyliner back to our room while I walked around a bit. A few other agents asked me to join them and I said I may meet up with them later but I knew I needed some alone time.
But then once I got to WS.....it hit me just how much I wanted to be home. This was day 6 of being without the boys AND Steve and it was time to end this trip. I did stop for nachos in Mexico and then picked up some treats for Cathy and I for later at Kringla Og in Norway, school bread for me and for Cathy to try for the first time and this cute seasonal cheesecake to share:



I was NOT riding the skyliner in the dark so I made my way to the front of the park again, stopping in Mousegears to look at the Xmas merch that is now old news but had just been put out. I pretty much wanted to buy everything but managed to keep my wallet closed; really wanted to get this for Chris but I think it was just for girls:



And with that, I left! Here's a picture of our CBR building from the other side of the bridge we had to cross:




My thoughts on the resort? Pretty. Big. Too big. The walk was so freakin' long from our room to the food court and while the bus stop wasn't far it wasn't close. I also wasn't thrilled when we walked in the room and Cathy immediately pointed out the layer of dust on EVERYTHING and the rooms should have been refurbed along with the rest of the resort. On the other hand I know lots who enjoy this resort and with the skyliner I think it's become even more popular.

Cathy was feeling a little better so we walked over to the food court where she got a grilled cheese that she loved. After that it was packing and bed and then the next morning a 10:00 ME to the airport where I waited more impatiently than I ever had before for a flight back to NY from Florida.

Time for me to go spew a little bit more guys. I want to say that I LOVE my job and I realize I'm so very lucky to have the type of job I do! I am able to work from home and pretty much set my own hours, I get to travel with HUGE discounts, and a bulk of my job does revolve around what we all love, Disney. And I've been lucky enough to have not worked for 14 years before starting this so it was a choice to do this not a need. Being treated so well by Disney at their trainings, in ways I did talk about and in ways I didn't, as well as by other vendors who host us is amazing. I've done trainings at and with Universal, SeaWorld, DCL, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean so far and we have very close personal relationships with our connections there and they take excellent care not only of us but of our clients as well. So this in no way is dissing Disney or the way they do FAM's since in this case the bulk of the schedule was determined by our agency owner. I do need to acknowledge once again how hard it was to be there and not do what I wanted or eat what I wanted lol as stupid as it sounds! At Universal and other trainings it's not such a big deal since I don't have my own "ways" about those destinations and it makes such a difference. I just don't want you to think my job is horrible or Disney is bad at hosting in any way but yeah you can all rethink ever traveling in a group that big to Disney or even with a smaller group you can't control I'm also giving a shoutout here to all my DIS friends I've traveled with; we travel well together. We make plans and are OK if someone bows out; we make plans and are OK if we change them. Or we don't make plans, but we understand and are OK with not everyone wanting to do the same things all the time

So that's the end of my story! Thank you all for following along on this a-typical TR! Since I have some room left for pics and this was so word heavy I'll share a few pics from my December Universal FAM that was followed by Steve meeting me and us doing 2 days in Disney.

The Grinch and some Who's visited us one day at training and we took a - surprise! - group shot in more matching shirts:



We toured resorts of course and the only new ones to me were Aventura and Surfside Inn as I've toured the rest on other FAM's; but I never get tired of seeing the view from the volcano view rooms at Cabana Bay:



Yup that's from the window! Good way to get guest to upgrade their 2 park tickets to 3 park tickets when their kids won't stop staring out the window at the big volcano and they get tired of telling them they can't go play in it lol

At Disney we stayed for the first time in the GDT. I mentioned in this report when we toured this resort that the TV's are "new" and show the guests name when they arrive, like this:



Pretty neat and our guide said he *thought* all resorts would eventually have these TV's. No promises though he's just a guide!

We had a great time in our 2 days there seeing all the holiday decor and entertainment. And Steve had fun looking for a new jacket in DS:



Which he did NOT get! Finally because I love food I'll end with some food porn. We tried the Edison for the first time for lunch and liked it enough that we'll definitely go back! Steve had a great burger, I loved the deviled eggs app and then I had this cheesy and tomatoey goodness for my meal:



And I am officially out of picture space! Thank you again for following my friends, I'm still doing my January dining report over on the restaurant board if you feel like following along (link is in my signature) and I plan to be back here in July after our family 4th of July trip!

 

[pkondz]

We all hanging in there virus-free?

Well, both my DDs have colds, so... technically... no.

All I have to say is we leave on our Disney cruise in 32 says and we're NOT cancelling and we're NOT nervous! Disney Dream here we come 🛳

Good to hear.
I'm cruising in May. While I'm not really all that concerned... I must admit I'm concerned for my (almost) 90 year old mother.

We were also given our tour pins on the way to Epcot:

Love that the background is plaid.

Cathy was really not feeling well and didn't want to ride; I do like Soarin' but honestly - I was done. So we sat out the final ride of the tour and just chilled/relaxed on the benches there.

And that's totally okay.

The thing here is that if YOU aren't planning the tour - what you want to do, where you want to go, how you want to spend your time- you need to be a super flexible and easy going person to go with someone else's flow especially if you're a regular WDW-goer. So was the tour disappointing? Yes. Did it have a lot to do with my personality? Yes.

I can see that too. More on that, later...

Cathy decided she just wasn't up for our initial plans to tour the F&W festival after the tour finished. She was feeling quite sick to her stomach and dizzy

Poor thing.

But then once I got to WS.....it hit me just how much I wanted to be home. This was day 6 of being without the boys AND Steve and it was time to end this trip.

Awww...

I was NOT riding the skyliner in the dark

Why?

My thoughts on the resort? Pretty. Big. Too big.

Mine too. Never stayed there... don't wanna.

I also wasn't thrilled when we walked in the room and Cathy immediately pointed out the layer of dust on EVERYTHING

Ew! Nope!

you can all rethink ever traveling in a group that big to Disney or even with a smaller group you can't control

Now you know why I enjoy solo traveling so much.

So that's the end of my story! Thank you all for following along on this a-typical TR!

Thanks for writing it! It was different... and different is good!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Great report as always!!!!!

We are safe from flu and viruses so far...No protective gear, or hard sanitizer packed. Joe and I are hoping for the best. Lol!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

LOVELY ending of the report. Sounds pretty fun despite some of the not-so-fun stuff. If only we had the cash I'd totally do that private tour!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I've had a cold for a week, but no Coronavirus so far!! Lysol-ing, bleaching and cleaning everything in my classroom, including the children to try to stay healthy!! (Ok, maybe not the children, but I do flip open their pencil boxes and soak them with lysol spray every day before I leave the building. FIgure it can't hurt!)

I'm also giving a shoutout here to all my DIS friends I've traveled with; we travel well together. We make plans and are OK if someone bows out; we make plans and are OK if we change them. Or we don't make plans, but we understand and are OK with not everyone wanting to do the same things all the time

I kept thinking about our EPIC trip the whole time I was reading this report thinking the very same thing!! I had been really nervous going into the trip wondering how it would be to travel with such a big group, but DIS-people are just the greatest. I loved that we all popped in and out of events and plans throughout the days and everyone was happy as could be!

I never get tired of seeing the view from the volcano view rooms at Cabana Bay:

I love how those are always the pictures used to advertise Cabana Bay. Our first trip, we had a nice view of a parking garage and the construction of Aventura. This trip, we had a lovely view of the parking lot behind our building LOL That's fine by me though. I love the theming of the resort and the rooms are more than comfortable; it's just funny to me!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

How's everyone doing? We all hanging in there virus-free? Stocking up on hand sanitizer by the gallons?

Virus free and not stocking up on anything here lol. I know it's a real issue but I'm over the hysteria lol.

All I have to say is we leave on our Disney cruise in 32 says and we're NOT cancelling and we're NOT nervous!

Good!!

This is adorable! How'd it taste?

My thoughts on the resort? Pretty. Big. Too big.

We felt the same

I just don't want you to think my job is horrible or Disney is bad at hosting in any way but yeah you can all rethink ever traveling in a group that big to Disney or even with a smaller group you can't control

100% understood and I'm glad you told it how it really was instead of sugar coating!

Good way to get guest to upgrade their 2 park tickets to 3 park tickets when their kids won't stop staring out the window at the big volcano and they get tired of telling them they can't go play in it lol

I never thought of that but super smart lol

 

[disneyAndi14]

This is the only Corona I want to see lol!
We are still planning to go to WDW in a little over 2 weeks unless they close Florida
Enjoyed your review of your work trip
I agree the epic trip and Dis get togethers have all really worked well and I hope there are more in the future!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Knock on wood, still virus free here! Though I'm doing an internship in a school, so the likelihood of that staying the case when I'm surrounded by little germ monsters seems unlikely...

Here are the pins we got in January when we did the Destinations Discovered tour in Epcot:

I love these pins from the EPCOT tours! We have this one and the Future World one. So cool

I do not "go with the flow" easily if you haven't picked up on that by now

But then once I got to WS.....it hit me just how much I wanted to be home. This was day 6 of being without the boys AND Steve and it was time to end this trip.

Aw, that's hard being away from your boys for so long. I'm sure you were glad to get home to them.

I am able to work from home and pretty much set my own hours, I get to travel with HUGE discounts, and a bulk of my job does revolve around what we all love, Disney.

For these reasons alone, it's a pretty sweet gig! Pros and cons to all jobs, and this trip definitely had its cons, but you're right that you're definitely fortunate to mostly love the job you do!

The Grinch and some Who's visited us one day at training and we took a - surprise! - group shot in more matching shirts:

This is so cool!

Which he did NOT get!

Oh my goodness, he definitely should have bought this!!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us! Keeping my eyes peeled for the next one

 

[ariane37]

I'm cruising in May. While I'm not really all that concerned... I must admit I'm concerned for my (almost) 90 year old mother.

I saw that you're cruising And I get the concern about your mom. Hopefully things will ease up before you go -are you going on Royal? I know as of now the cruise lines aren't offering full refunds but things have been changing. And if you have insurance it's *possible* you'd be covered to cancel (not that you want to but.....). We'll just keep our fingers crossed!

Love that the background is plaid.

Thanks for writing it! It was different... and different is good!

That's why I wrote it! I figured even though it wasn't 100% positive it was a different spin on visiting WDW

Great report as always!!!!!

We are safe from flu and viruses so far...No protective gear, or hard sanitizer packed. Joe and I are hoping for the best. Lol!!!

LOL! And today you're starting your WDW trip! Enjoy!

LOVELY ending of the report. Sounds pretty fun despite some of the not-so-fun stuff. If only we had the cash I'd totally do that private tour!

Overall I'm glad I went I would love to do the tour again with all friends or family but yeah it's not usually in the budget lol.

Lysol-ing, bleaching and cleaning everything in my classroom, including the children to try to stay healthy!! (

well at least you're saving the parents time and sending them home clean

I kept thinking about our EPIC trip the whole time I was reading this report thinking the very same thing!! I had been really nervous going into the trip wondering how it would be to travel with such a big group, but DIS-people are just the greatest. I loved that we all popped in and out of events and plans throughout the days and everyone was happy as could be!

And that's how it was in January with our group ♥ It was fine if someone said they were going to do something and change their mind and it was fine if we did something last minute. I didn't worry if we wanted to bow out that anyone was going to be mad and that's what you need when traveling. We'll have more EPIC trips for sure!!

I love how those are always the pictures used to advertise Cabana Bay.

I know it's funny! You can't argue the view is awesome but yes the rest of the resort is too; it's where I'd choose to stay if I wasn't doing a premier but I think my favorite theme of all of the Uni resorts And FYI when we stayed there for work our view was the parking lot too, no special treatment there!

 

[ariane37]

Virus free and not stocking up on anything here lol. I know it's a real issue but I'm over the hysteria lol.

I totally agree! Steve turns the news on whenever he sits down and I get right up lol

This is adorable! How'd it taste?

Well as with many WDW treats it looked cuter than it tasted. A bit too spongy?? And a little too citrusy for me. But it photographed well

I never thought of that but super smart lol

Yup and it works!

We are still planning to go to WDW in a little over 2 weeks unless they close Florida

I hope not because that would mess up my business a bit lol!
Where are you staying this time?

I agree the epic trip and Dis get togethers have all really worked well and I hope there are more in the future!

There will be ❤

nock on wood, still virus free here! Though I'm doing an internship in a school, so the likelihood of that staying the case when I'm surrounded by little germ monsters seems unlikely...

Do you have any cases in Canada yet? I don't think I've heard of any! I think you're safe from the virus - boogers and vomit and flying phlegm no lol but hopefully nothing serious!

For these reasons alone, it's a pretty sweet gig! Pros and cons to all jobs, and this trip definitely had its cons, but you're right that you're definitely fortunate to mostly love the job you do!

All true! My dad used to hate his commute to the city and it took him away for about 13 hours a day. He complained all the time but it was good $$. Being able to support yourself and your family without a doubt is first and foremost but if you can enjoy what you do while doing that, bonus!

 

[Tracy161]

I do need to acknowledge once again how hard it was to be there and not do what I wanted or eat what I wanted lol as stupid as it sounds!

This statement is 100% NOT stupid. As someone who is used to Disney solo, having to adjust to a group this size would probably have me in the fetal position by day 2!

Are you doing a TR for the cruise?!

 

[pkondz]

I saw that you're cruising And I get the concern about your mom. Hopefully things will ease up before you go -are you going on Royal? I know as of now the cruise lines aren't offering full refunds but things have been changing. And if you have insurance it's *possible* you'd be covered to cancel (not that you want to but.....). We'll just keep our fingers crossed!

Holland America. My mom does have insurance, but... not sure if that would be covered by it. Thinking... not.

That's why I wrote it! I figured even though it wasn't 100% positive it was a different spin on visiting WDW

 

[MeghanEmily]

Do you have any cases in Canada yet? I don't think I've heard of any! I think you're safe from the virus - boogers and vomit and flying phlegm no lol but hopefully nothing serious!

We've got somewhere around 50 or so cases in Canada so far, but at this point there haven't been any on the east coast yet *knock on wood!* None in my province, just Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Alberta. But yes, lots of all those other yucky germy things happening at school! I went to get a kid in their classroom the other day to do some speech therapy with them, and they were sitting away from their class in their coat and hat with a big garbage can parked in front of them. Needless to say, I did NOT take them out for speech! LOL And the other day a kid literally sneezed on my face, then wiped their nose with their hand, grabbed my pen, and starting using it to draw a picture.

 

[ariane37]

Are you doing a TR for the cruise?!

I'm not sure I've only ever even read one cruise TR and never think to go there but maybe if I peruse it a bit I'll be comfortable dipping my toe (ha ha) in the cruise forum. But only if we have a good time so it's not another negative TR like this lol

Holland America. My mom does have insurance, but... not sure if that would be covered by it. Thinking... not.

Mmm yeah probably not since it's pre-existing unless their insurance is CFAR but I don't know any cruise lines that have that. All the major cruise lines have begun such rigorous screenings of guests now that I think it will be near impossible for anyone who is sick to board; I feel like a cruise might be the safest place to be now in regards to avoiding the virus!

other day to do some speech therapy with them, and they were sitting away from their class in their coat and hat with a big garbage can parked in front of them. Needless to say, I did NOT take them out for speech! LOL And the other day a kid literally sneezed on my face, then wiped their nose with their hand, grabbed my pen, and starting using it to draw a picture.

I have so many teacher friends including my 2 besties and the stories they tell about sick kids are downright revolting sometimes lol. But great respect for you all because I would need to leave and shower if I had a kids booger anywhere near me!

 

[pkondz]

Mmm yeah probably not since it's pre-existing unless their insurance is CFAR but I don't know any cruise lines that have that. All the major cruise lines have begun such rigorous screenings of guests now that I think it will be near impossible for anyone who is sick to board; I feel like a cruise might be the safest place to be now in regards to avoiding the virus!

We actually just got an email from Holland America last night saying if people booked on cruises up to end of May wish to, they can re-schedule for a later cruise in 2020/2021. I'll have to see what Mom wants to do. We'll lose out on our flights, but...

 

[LeiaIsAPrincess2]

I hope your cruise goes perfectly!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We all hanging in there virus-free? Stocking up on hand sanitizer by the gallons?
All I have to say is we leave on our Disney cruise in 32 says and we're NOT cancelling and we're NOT nervous! Disney Dream here we come 🛳

Are people cancelling trip because of it?