I guess that would have to be the theme of our trip. I don't know why but I was kind of nervous about this trip going smoothly before we even left. I had my ADRs and other ressies written down in 3 different places AND programmed into my cell phone.
When we got to Orlando International Airport, the line for ME was pretty long. At first I couldn't believe my eyes, but in the end it was only about 15 mins. I was concerned about a huge line at the resort check in after seeing the crowd at the airport. When we got there, there were only a couple of people in line ahead of us. Lucky! It would have been, if we didn't arrive 8/15/06, the day all WDW computers crashed worldwide. So all they could do was manually check us in and give us tickets to get into the park. That took about 30 mins. The CM said the tickets were complimentary for the trouble. I said "ok that's nice but I bought park hoppers for every day of the trip so it really isn't compensation it's just breaking even". I told her I didn't care what room they gave us as long as it was non-smoking for health reasons it makes my allergies go crazy. She said no problem. Anyway after we "checked in" I realized we didn't have our dining plan AND we had and ADR for LeCellier in Canada, definitely didn't want to OOP for that. So I stopped and asked at the concierge desk what to do about it. She said put it on your credit card and we'll reimburse you and get the credits from the dining plan instead. So off we went to Epcot. As we stood in line, I saw the tickets we were given were supposed to be for 8/17 to 8/18, it was 8/15. I decided just to put them thru the machine and hope for the best. Whew, they went thru. Off to Epcot, of course it was too late to get FP for Soarin' and the stand by was over an hour and 30 mins so we ended up wandering into the character meet n greet area. Wow! Goofy, Mickey, Pluto, Donald, Minnie, Chip and Dale...all in one place AND it was Air conditioned! By the time we were done there it was time to get to Canada. I made sure our server, Natalie (btw she was wonderful) knew our problem with the dining plan. I told her to ring up the bill as if it were dining plan including her 18% tip because I planned to add my own tip to it. Our meals were wonderful, the experience was great and the service was fabulous. After our meal, we decided to go to World Showcase for Kidcots. I called to find out it we were given a room and the computers were fixed and we did get a room, 8619. They didn't know any more info, what bldg, etc.. We stayed for Illuminations so it was about 11pm when we got to the resort. I waited in line for 15 mins or so and then the CM started making our keys and giving me info. I asked her "this is a non smoking room, right?" "No it's smoking optional." I told her we had to be moved. It took awhile but she found us a non smoking room. Our bags however had been delivered to the smoking room. It was midnight before we were in our room with our bags. In the morning, it took about 30 mins to fix the dining credits and my credit card. Everything ended up fine in the end so...All's well that ends well.
After fixing the dining problems, we were of to Ohana Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. My DD8 said she was NOT going to eat at this meal, so I fed her before we left the room. I told the server and as she was setting the fruit plate down and saying "if she so much as takes a bite of anything, you'll be charged full price for her", my daughter is starting to swipe a grape. So I just had her added to the bill and gave her some bacon and potatoes to go with her grapes. The characters were lots of fun. We got a table overlooking the palm tree, overall it was a great experience. Then we were off to AK. Boy was it HOT there, my kids were cranky, I got cranky. We rode the safari, Kali River Rapids, saw Festival of the Lion King and left. We went back to the resort to swim and relax then headed to MGM just to catch Fantasmic. It was about 11pm when we got back to the resort. DD8 wanted to swim, DS12 wanted to relax in the room. I said ok, he had his cell phone, I had mine and the pool was just across from the stairway. I let DD8 swim for 20 mins, then went back to the room. I opened the door, but the security lock thing was on so I could only open it a few inches. I looked inside and he was sound asleep in bed! We yelled in the room, but I felt bad because I'm sure families were sleeping so I called the front deask and asked them to ring the room, 4 calls and he didn't budge. The CM said they may have to break the door. I'm thinking OMG I have to pay for a WDW door!!!! The CM said she'd send a security guard to get us in. Instead a very nice CM who said he was a "runner" came with a key to open the bolt. It wasn't bolted so he called an engineer to pry the mechanism. We sat outside our room til 12:30am and it took him 30 seconds to get in the room once he got there. (Btw, those two bars that go over the metal ball can be pried open with screwdrivers in about 30 seconds. He said they are a waste of time). My DS12 slept thru it all!
Day 3, 4 and 5 to come later....
When we got to Orlando International Airport, the line for ME was pretty long. At first I couldn't believe my eyes, but in the end it was only about 15 mins. I was concerned about a huge line at the resort check in after seeing the crowd at the airport. When we got there, there were only a couple of people in line ahead of us. Lucky! It would have been, if we didn't arrive 8/15/06, the day all WDW computers crashed worldwide. So all they could do was manually check us in and give us tickets to get into the park. That took about 30 mins. The CM said the tickets were complimentary for the trouble. I said "ok that's nice but I bought park hoppers for every day of the trip so it really isn't compensation it's just breaking even". I told her I didn't care what room they gave us as long as it was non-smoking for health reasons it makes my allergies go crazy. She said no problem. Anyway after we "checked in" I realized we didn't have our dining plan AND we had and ADR for LeCellier in Canada, definitely didn't want to OOP for that. So I stopped and asked at the concierge desk what to do about it. She said put it on your credit card and we'll reimburse you and get the credits from the dining plan instead. So off we went to Epcot. As we stood in line, I saw the tickets we were given were supposed to be for 8/17 to 8/18, it was 8/15. I decided just to put them thru the machine and hope for the best. Whew, they went thru. Off to Epcot, of course it was too late to get FP for Soarin' and the stand by was over an hour and 30 mins so we ended up wandering into the character meet n greet area. Wow! Goofy, Mickey, Pluto, Donald, Minnie, Chip and Dale...all in one place AND it was Air conditioned! By the time we were done there it was time to get to Canada. I made sure our server, Natalie (btw she was wonderful) knew our problem with the dining plan. I told her to ring up the bill as if it were dining plan including her 18% tip because I planned to add my own tip to it. Our meals were wonderful, the experience was great and the service was fabulous. After our meal, we decided to go to World Showcase for Kidcots. I called to find out it we were given a room and the computers were fixed and we did get a room, 8619. They didn't know any more info, what bldg, etc.. We stayed for Illuminations so it was about 11pm when we got to the resort. I waited in line for 15 mins or so and then the CM started making our keys and giving me info. I asked her "this is a non smoking room, right?" "No it's smoking optional." I told her we had to be moved. It took awhile but she found us a non smoking room. Our bags however had been delivered to the smoking room. It was midnight before we were in our room with our bags. In the morning, it took about 30 mins to fix the dining credits and my credit card. Everything ended up fine in the end so...All's well that ends well.
After fixing the dining problems, we were of to Ohana Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. My DD8 said she was NOT going to eat at this meal, so I fed her before we left the room. I told the server and as she was setting the fruit plate down and saying "if she so much as takes a bite of anything, you'll be charged full price for her", my daughter is starting to swipe a grape. So I just had her added to the bill and gave her some bacon and potatoes to go with her grapes. The characters were lots of fun. We got a table overlooking the palm tree, overall it was a great experience. Then we were off to AK. Boy was it HOT there, my kids were cranky, I got cranky. We rode the safari, Kali River Rapids, saw Festival of the Lion King and left. We went back to the resort to swim and relax then headed to MGM just to catch Fantasmic. It was about 11pm when we got back to the resort. DD8 wanted to swim, DS12 wanted to relax in the room. I said ok, he had his cell phone, I had mine and the pool was just across from the stairway. I let DD8 swim for 20 mins, then went back to the room. I opened the door, but the security lock thing was on so I could only open it a few inches. I looked inside and he was sound asleep in bed! We yelled in the room, but I felt bad because I'm sure families were sleeping so I called the front deask and asked them to ring the room, 4 calls and he didn't budge. The CM said they may have to break the door. I'm thinking OMG I have to pay for a WDW door!!!! The CM said she'd send a security guard to get us in. Instead a very nice CM who said he was a "runner" came with a key to open the bolt. It wasn't bolted so he called an engineer to pry the mechanism. We sat outside our room til 12:30am and it took him 30 seconds to get in the room once he got there. (Btw, those two bars that go over the metal ball can be pried open with screwdrivers in about 30 seconds. He said they are a waste of time). My DS12 slept thru it all!
Day 3, 4 and 5 to come later....
As for Ohana's we LOVED it! The food was pretty good, I mean it's breakfast after all. I did love the fresh pineapple and the pinapple bread. The coffee was also pretty good (ya know it's hard to find a decent cup of joe in the World). The "main course" of this meal was the character interaction. Stitch was a riot, picking boogers and wiping them on me, trying to steal coffee and syrup, pretending to run off with my DD8's purse, and greeting both kids with a lick on the head. The other characters were Lilo, Mickey, and Pluto. They also have a parade with maracas around the restaurant to "Hawiian Roller Coster Ride". It was a great character experience. I'd definitely recommended it.
