Day four: The Amazing, the Snooty and the Ridiculous portion of our program...
Cast: The usual suspects
Sunday, September 21st: 7am
When the customary dining sounds began to creep in under our door, I stirred and saw that the gang was definitely still lights-out and I didn't have to worry about waking them. My spa appointment wasn't for three hours, but I had desperately wanted a little alone time on this trip, something you don't easily get when you require a wheelchair to travel distances around the resort.
So just me and my crutch made our way as quietly as possible out of the room, after leaving the tip envelope for our housekeeper and a note for DH saying that I'd gone exploring and would be back directly after my appointment.
Got coffee and a danish, chatted with some of the now familiar faces in Sugar Loaf (guests and staff alike, that was one of the best parts about staying there!) one of my favorite families was introduced to me this way: a little girl aged about four with a sweet blonde bob and big blue eyes ran up to her mom shouting "Mom, guess what? Guess what? Guess WHAT?!!!" Her mom was next to me in line at the food table. "What, Hayley?" the mother said. Hayley's response?
"I FOUND A WORM!"
I laughed out loud. She was so happy about the worm!
"Out by the pool?" mom asked, and the girl nodded. "Did you name it?"
"MMM hmmm, I named her Sophie!"
That was when I just had to get into the conversation! "She must be a first day-er, she's at Disney world and she's excited about the worm she found by the pool! She has no idea what she's in for!" I said to the mom, and she laughed.
Seems worms are a fascination for the child wherever she goes lol. We talked over coffee and she told me that she had planned the trip (fairytale package) for her husband's 40th b-day...but the surprise was killed when WDTC called the house *groan* Her husband came to her red-faced and said "Disney called about our seven nights at the GRAND FLORIDIAN???!!!" She had to explain that she was bringing his and her moms along for his b-day celebration. Apparently, soon as they checked into SL he understood why concierge was worth the extra money and never said another word LOL.
I made my way out and walked around the grounds a bit, over to the main building. It was early and it was quiet and empty, the shops weren't open yet except for Sandy Cove and I stopped in to browse. I could've bought one of everything in there and been happy about it LOL but I just filed away a few choices for later and moved on.
I walked around the building just taking in the view, the smell of the flowers, the smiles on the faces of families headed for the Magic Kingdom or to breakfast with Mary Poppins. I had some great quiet time to reflect on the (very busy) last year of my life and reorganize my priorities in my head for the next one. Things become very clear as to what is important when you're away from the phone, the computer, and the everyday noise of life, with just the people you love most in the world by your side. Things get very clear and simple.
I got to peek into the Trellis salon as the lady was opening up for the morning, she let me just take a look and I wished I'd had time to get my hair done there, it looked lovely. Made a note of it for future reference. I asked her if they did a lot of brides there and she said that Weddings had their own hairdressers, so no, but that the day before she had done several guests for a large wedding there at the resort. I thanked her for letting me sneak in, and left her to her work.
I had heard it was a bit of a walk to the spa, and folks, it IS a bit of a walk. I was really glad I headed out there early because I was really wiped by the time I got there. It was already pretty hot (heat+MS=not good) and I was happy to get into the spa and into the cool, dimly lit rooms.
The reception staff was very efficient, they had a file with my name on it and they gave me a robe and slippers, took my room key to hold until I was finished there, and I was shown to the lounge. I was a little surprised how small the lounge was, there was only four comfy chairs and a loveseat sized couch, they had brought in a couple of other chairs which were just kind of hanging around in the room for extra folks and those drying their nails after pedicures/manicures. It could stand to be a bit larger with more seating.
The music was lovely and I immediately made a mental note to see if they had a cd, the room smelled so good, like ruby red grapefruits courtesy of the candles burning all around. There was coffee, tea, juice, and water along with oranges and bananas for people to snack on.
There are showers and saunas and a jacuzzi (I would guess have seperate ladies and mens saunas/jacuzzis apparently cause I didn't see any men in that jacuzzi) and I stopped to splash water on my face after the long walk and I very nearly ended up putting mouthwash on my face instead of soap LOL my eyes were closed, I felt a dispenser, I pumped and...hey, this isn't soap. I slowly open one eye and see the sign: Mouthwash. Well, at least my hands are minty fresh now!
I was a Spa Virgin: I'd never had any kind of spa treatment before so this was really exciting.
I changed into the robe and got a seat in the lounge. It was blissfully quiet, the ladies around me were reading magazines or just closing their eyes and soaking it all in (like I did).
All was blissful, then two ladies came in who were, you guessed it, from the wedding group the day before *groan*. Apparently they didn't care/notice that everyone was enjoying the quiet, because they very loudly, and I mean very loudly, gossipped about the events of the day before, about whose husband got sick on M:S and whose didn't, on and on and onnnnnnnn. Finally I got up from my chair and headed into the jacuzzi room. Ah, blissful quiet again.
I knew better than to get all the way in the jacuzzi (I'd never get back out and would probably pass out from the heat) but I sat on the side and let the jets hit my feet and legs, which was wonderful. After a few moments I knew I had to get out of the heat so I headed back to the other room, and thankfully chatty ladies headed off with their massage therapists and the room again was quiet. Apparently I wasn't the only one bugged by it cause everyone in the room kind of let out a collective sigh when they left LOL.
I had quite awhile to wait because I'd shown up so early, but I didn't care. More quiet reflection, which was definitely a blessing for a homeschooling mom
Someone came in the room who had just had a manicure, to use the nail dryer. I'm sitting there happy as a clam when I hear it. I couldn't believe it, but there it was.
A cellphone!
She at first, seemed only to check her voicemail, which I thought wasn't so bad, but then she hit redial and off she went. I was about to get up and leave the room again when Kim came looking for me, and finally I was off for my first massage.
I had signed up for the head and shoulders massage, 25 minutes. She took me to the room, asked if I had any allergies, (to ingredients in their products) and then left while I slid under the heated sheet. Wow. Sooooo comfy, I'm almost asleep before she even gets back in the room. Except for this one coil in the heating blanket that's hotter than the rest...
Finally I ask her if I can adjust the heating thingy, and it's better for a few minutes, but finally there's no way around it, as she pushes down on me, the coil is burrowing into my rib LOL she says "Is it still bothering you?" and I ask for a towel to put over it, which was what I should've done to begin with. All better now
She was a fabulous massage therapist, very, very gentle, but worked out knots I didn't even know were there. The time passed all too quickly (I wished at that point I'd booked the whole massage!) and she told me to get up slowly, I might be light headed. She brought me a glass of water and advised me to keep well hydrated for the rest of the day, and she also suggested that I really should look into massage therapy at home, with MS and the use of the crutch it's hard on my hips, she says, and massage therapy can really help pain management.
Boy, did I believe her, because I didn't feel any pain, anywhere, and that is a miraculous occurrance for me. On the way out of the spa, I treated myself to some shampoo, conditioner, and moisturizer so I could have a little bit of the spa feeling at home. Also found the cd of the music that I'd been listening to, note to self, must make time in schedule to go back to doing yoga, the music is perfect
I was so relaxed that I forgot to give them their locker key back and had to turn around a third of the way back to the resort *ugh*. Man, that is a LONG walk back. I was tempted to call bell services to ask if they'd haul this old bag back to her building LOL. If I had it to do over, though, I would've asked that since I am disabled, if there was a way to hitch a ride to and from the spa in a cart. I won't ever do that walk again: I looked up and realized I was halfway to the Poly!
So the spa is something I would definitely, definitely recommend. It was heavenly, and I think I shall have to do it again on our next trip, whether we stay at the GF or not!
Other side note in case anyone might find this useful: I didn't know till I got there that even hotel guests have to pay for use of the workout room!!! I think that is a bit extreme...I didn't use the room but I saw several folks who were not amused by this rule. So if you're planning to stay at the GF and want to use the treadmills, it's going to cost you extra, plan for it.
Day 4, Part two:
"The Snooty and the Ridiculous..."
After the spa I finally made it back to Sugar Loaf, and I was so happy and relaxed I said to my husband that if he wanted anything in the world to ask me now cause he'd most likely get it LOL. We went for some lunch at the Cafe, to be back before our 1 pm planned check out, hoping our room at RP would be ready so we could just go straight over.
The Cafe is very special to us because we had our wedding luncheon there in 1999. So going back was a joy, and the food was good as ever. LOVE their chicken soup, and they have fabulous burgers and fries. The strawberry shortcake is a work of art!
After a wonderful lunch, we checked and found out that our room at Royal Palm was ready! I was so excited, the concierge called for bell services and they came to get our bags. I hugged Norma (our favorite concierge) goodbye, she was sorry to see us go to the main building, and she said she hoped we'd come back again soon. We were taken to the side elevator, the closest to our room (which was 4309). We were surprised to see it was the first room down the corridor from the Roy E Disney Suite, would have loved to look around in there a bit!!!
Our room was identical to the one at Sugar Loaf, save a little bit wider, and mirrors on the closet doors. We also had a heat lamp in the bathroom. We didn't have a refrigerator in either room, though we were told at Sugar Loaf we could request one if we wanted to. The bellman at SL had filled our ice bucket before leaving, the one for RP just said the "ice was down the hall" and left.
All settled in, we checked out the view, it was very pretty, but you could only see the castle from the balcony, not inside the room due to the angle. We sat for a little while on the balcony just taking it all in.
Then, we left a tip envelope for the turndown housekeeper and headed off to check out the lounge area, and then go to the Magic Kingdom.
MK turned out to be a real zoo though, and we decided not to stay long. We headed for the Contemporary early, let DD have some more time in the game room, while I did some shopping. Dad bought me some cool monorail stuff as a present
We headed up to the California Grill and waited to be seated. A family came in with a really adorable 15 month old baby, who immediately started making eyes at me and so we played peek-a- boo for awhile. We were seated next to their table and she continued to want to play with me through dinner, and I was happy to play too, she was just precious and reminded me of my daughter when she was that age. The mother apologized and asked if she were disturbing my meal and I said "Are you kidding, you can't buy entertainment like this!" She had this wayward curl that would go over her forehead between her eyes and she'd kind of cross her eyes looking at it, I was just in love with this child.
I couldn't wait for the grill on this trip, loved it last time. When I got my steak, which I'd ordered medium, though, it was incinerated, and so I had to send it back. It took so long to get the second one that my family was finished eating by the time my food finally came. Still, I found the steak to be over done and not nearly as good as the last time we'd eaten there. The restaurant was packed or I would've asked for them to try it one more time, but I wanted to see the fireworks at Epcot too and knew that we wouldn't make it if I sent it back again, so I ate it. Dads steak was also overdone but he was starving so he ate it, DH's steak was okay, and dd was happy with her mac and cheese, I think it's the best thing on the menu there!
We had dessert (I had the apple brown betty I believe, it was delicious!) and right before dessert came, I decided to run down to the gift shop and get a little minnie for the baby at the other table. I hurried and when I got back and gave it to her, her mother said "Oh, I can't let you!" and I said "Please, everyone should get to play fairy godmother once in awhile." I got so much joy seeing that baby hug that minnie, she kissed her nose and held her so tight I thought her stuffing would come out! That was a highlight of the trip for me, no doubt. We all enjoyed just watching that baby's joy. What a sweetheart! She had a 4 year old brother too and so I'd given him a mickey, but the baby took to them so much that the mom promised him a bigger one if he let her have the small ones LOL. When they left, she had one 'baby' under each arm, and was going back and forth from one to the other kissing them!
I enjoyed the meal but felt that the food really slipped in the rankings this trip, Ohana had them beat hands down. We headed to Epcot, and made it to a reserved for handicapped guests seating area at about 8:30. We waited for the show and it was the closest I'd ever been to it, WOW! We were so close my dad was actually a little nervous LOL. It was phenomenal, and emotional for me, because Illuminations is my Dad's favorite music and I used to hum it to him when he was in the hospital after his surgery, restless late at night. So it always makes me cry.
I also cried because it was Sunday night already, we only had one full day left and I just didn't feel ready to go home. It was different than on other trips where I just didn't want to go home, I felt like we NEEDED a longer vacation. Oh well, I thought, we have two nights at Royal Palm to enjoy!
We went back to the hotel, and...this is where it took a turn I didn't expect.
Please know that I am not posting the following to complain publicly or make the staff look bad, I feel that to give a truthful and accurate trip report, I have to tell the bad with the good. And what happened to us when we got back to RP was not good, at all.
We made it to the lounge at about 9:45, and when we got there, thirsty, munchy, and wanted to try out the world class desserts we'd heard about, the coffee and tea machines were already loaded onto rolling trollies. The staff was dismantling the food tables, and it wasn't 10 yet.
My husband wanted lemonade, but the drinks except coffee and milk were already gone. He gave up and went to the room to get some water. Dad, DD and I wanted some dessert and fruit, so we got a plate. I swear, as fast as we were trying to take food from the platters, someone was behind us, over our shoulder, just waiting to snatch it away. And after we took our items, they did!
I was getting really annoyed by this point, and that's when I really got mad. DD very, and I stress VERY politely, asked the concierge who was dismantling the drinks if there was "Anything else to drink, please, besides coffee?" He sighed, looked at her, gestured to the milk and water and said very gruffly "There is milk, there is water, and that is it." and walked away!
She looked at me like "Mom, what did I do wrong?" and I said "You didn't do anything wrong, honey. I'll get you a drink from Gasparillas."
Dad was rushing to eat his eclair and drink his drink and I told him to slow down, we could take it to the room with us. The food services staff was much more tactful, waiting nearby to take our plates, but the conceirge guy was just tearing around, every obviously wanting to go home, and I was not happy at all. This was not what I was paying 130 dollars a night extra for!
I convinced dad to take his drink back to the room (he never did finish his dessert, and he felt obligated to tip the food service lady for staying late at which point she said "No, no, we're here till 10:30, it's okay." but he insisted.)
DD was still puzzled and thinking she'd done something wrong and I was not happy to have to trudge to Gasparillas to get her a drink. I left them all in the room and headed down to the lobby, I was going to talk to someone about what had just happened.
I requested to speak to the manager on duty, but instead of getting to talk to the "suit" I wanted, after waiting about 15 minutes, the concierge manager came down to speak to me. I'd seen him from afar while we were in the lounge and knew he had seen them taking down the food early.
I told him what had happened between the particular cast member and my daughter, and that's when the BIGGEST surprise came, he was very, very condescending towards me. His smile was phonier than a three dollar bill and he said "Well, Mrs ****** it's easy to lose track of time in the parks, food service is only until 10, blah blah..." and then he said "I saw you in the lounge and everyone was all smiles, your husband even tipped the waitstaff."
I replied that I was in shock over what had just occurred, didn't realize he was a manager or I would've flagged him then, and that my Dad tipped because he felt we were overstaying our welcome in the lounge, and it wasn't even 10 yet! He continued to patronize me, didn't offer any apology or other explanation for why they were taking it down early, and implied it was our fault for showing up at the last minute! I was so humiliated by the way he spoke to me that I actually cried as I walked to Gasparillas to get my daughter's drink, and then finally back to the room.
Be advised; when they say food available until 10, they mean UNTIL and not a moment later! You show up at 10:00 and 10 seconds and you're out of luck! We showed up at quarter to and still got treated badly! At SL they always had at least lemonade and cookies out well past 10.
I was really surprised, more by the manager's attitude than anything else. This was world class service? This was what Royal Palm was supposed to be? My illusions were blown. I had dreamed of staying in the main building since I was 17, and I wasn't prepared for what I got. I was bummed beyond belief and wishing we had just stayed at Sugar Loaf, where everything had been perfect from the moment we checked in.
I growled at myself for being curious, and wished we could just go back. But tomorrow was our last day, I didn't want to spend any time moving the bags again...I went back to the room and DH looked at me and saw how upset I was, and I said "The manager blew me off."
DD said "I wish we were back at Sugar loaf." she was really humiliated by the way that the concierge had acted, and I kept telling her that she didn't do anything wrong. It was such a shock too, because we'd seen this particular guy earlier in the week at SL and he'd been helpful (if not friendly). But this night, he was just nasty.
We went for a late swim before bed, and we had fun, dd played with some other kids in the pool and I tried to let the negative feelings I had wash away.
As I showered and went to bed, I told myself at least I'd learned a valuable lesson: more expensive does not always mean better service. I imagined that the staff in the main building had to be more 'formal' (read: snooty) because they were used to dealing with the very rich and famous all the time. A handful of the concierge staff in the main building were nice, but the majority were either really cold, indifferent or completely insincere. I just didn't feel like we belonged there at all.
With a heavy heart, I told myself tomorrow would be better, that we would enjoy our last full day to the utmost, and that everything would look better in the morning.
I had no idea just how much better things would turn out to be the next day...Stay tuned!!! It all goes up from here!
Cast: The usual suspects
Sunday, September 21st: 7am
When the customary dining sounds began to creep in under our door, I stirred and saw that the gang was definitely still lights-out and I didn't have to worry about waking them. My spa appointment wasn't for three hours, but I had desperately wanted a little alone time on this trip, something you don't easily get when you require a wheelchair to travel distances around the resort.
So just me and my crutch made our way as quietly as possible out of the room, after leaving the tip envelope for our housekeeper and a note for DH saying that I'd gone exploring and would be back directly after my appointment.
Got coffee and a danish, chatted with some of the now familiar faces in Sugar Loaf (guests and staff alike, that was one of the best parts about staying there!) one of my favorite families was introduced to me this way: a little girl aged about four with a sweet blonde bob and big blue eyes ran up to her mom shouting "Mom, guess what? Guess what? Guess WHAT?!!!" Her mom was next to me in line at the food table. "What, Hayley?" the mother said. Hayley's response?
"I FOUND A WORM!"
I laughed out loud. She was so happy about the worm!
"Out by the pool?" mom asked, and the girl nodded. "Did you name it?"
"MMM hmmm, I named her Sophie!"
That was when I just had to get into the conversation! "She must be a first day-er, she's at Disney world and she's excited about the worm she found by the pool! She has no idea what she's in for!" I said to the mom, and she laughed.
Seems worms are a fascination for the child wherever she goes lol. We talked over coffee and she told me that she had planned the trip (fairytale package) for her husband's 40th b-day...but the surprise was killed when WDTC called the house *groan* Her husband came to her red-faced and said "Disney called about our seven nights at the GRAND FLORIDIAN???!!!" She had to explain that she was bringing his and her moms along for his b-day celebration. Apparently, soon as they checked into SL he understood why concierge was worth the extra money and never said another word LOL.
I made my way out and walked around the grounds a bit, over to the main building. It was early and it was quiet and empty, the shops weren't open yet except for Sandy Cove and I stopped in to browse. I could've bought one of everything in there and been happy about it LOL but I just filed away a few choices for later and moved on.
I walked around the building just taking in the view, the smell of the flowers, the smiles on the faces of families headed for the Magic Kingdom or to breakfast with Mary Poppins. I had some great quiet time to reflect on the (very busy) last year of my life and reorganize my priorities in my head for the next one. Things become very clear as to what is important when you're away from the phone, the computer, and the everyday noise of life, with just the people you love most in the world by your side. Things get very clear and simple.
I got to peek into the Trellis salon as the lady was opening up for the morning, she let me just take a look and I wished I'd had time to get my hair done there, it looked lovely. Made a note of it for future reference. I asked her if they did a lot of brides there and she said that Weddings had their own hairdressers, so no, but that the day before she had done several guests for a large wedding there at the resort. I thanked her for letting me sneak in, and left her to her work.
I had heard it was a bit of a walk to the spa, and folks, it IS a bit of a walk. I was really glad I headed out there early because I was really wiped by the time I got there. It was already pretty hot (heat+MS=not good) and I was happy to get into the spa and into the cool, dimly lit rooms.
The reception staff was very efficient, they had a file with my name on it and they gave me a robe and slippers, took my room key to hold until I was finished there, and I was shown to the lounge. I was a little surprised how small the lounge was, there was only four comfy chairs and a loveseat sized couch, they had brought in a couple of other chairs which were just kind of hanging around in the room for extra folks and those drying their nails after pedicures/manicures. It could stand to be a bit larger with more seating.
The music was lovely and I immediately made a mental note to see if they had a cd, the room smelled so good, like ruby red grapefruits courtesy of the candles burning all around. There was coffee, tea, juice, and water along with oranges and bananas for people to snack on.
There are showers and saunas and a jacuzzi (I would guess have seperate ladies and mens saunas/jacuzzis apparently cause I didn't see any men in that jacuzzi) and I stopped to splash water on my face after the long walk and I very nearly ended up putting mouthwash on my face instead of soap LOL my eyes were closed, I felt a dispenser, I pumped and...hey, this isn't soap. I slowly open one eye and see the sign: Mouthwash. Well, at least my hands are minty fresh now!
I was a Spa Virgin: I'd never had any kind of spa treatment before so this was really exciting.
I changed into the robe and got a seat in the lounge. It was blissfully quiet, the ladies around me were reading magazines or just closing their eyes and soaking it all in (like I did).
All was blissful, then two ladies came in who were, you guessed it, from the wedding group the day before *groan*. Apparently they didn't care/notice that everyone was enjoying the quiet, because they very loudly, and I mean very loudly, gossipped about the events of the day before, about whose husband got sick on M:S and whose didn't, on and on and onnnnnnnn. Finally I got up from my chair and headed into the jacuzzi room. Ah, blissful quiet again.
I knew better than to get all the way in the jacuzzi (I'd never get back out and would probably pass out from the heat) but I sat on the side and let the jets hit my feet and legs, which was wonderful. After a few moments I knew I had to get out of the heat so I headed back to the other room, and thankfully chatty ladies headed off with their massage therapists and the room again was quiet. Apparently I wasn't the only one bugged by it cause everyone in the room kind of let out a collective sigh when they left LOL.
I had quite awhile to wait because I'd shown up so early, but I didn't care. More quiet reflection, which was definitely a blessing for a homeschooling mom
Someone came in the room who had just had a manicure, to use the nail dryer. I'm sitting there happy as a clam when I hear it. I couldn't believe it, but there it was.
A cellphone!
She at first, seemed only to check her voicemail, which I thought wasn't so bad, but then she hit redial and off she went. I was about to get up and leave the room again when Kim came looking for me, and finally I was off for my first massage.
I had signed up for the head and shoulders massage, 25 minutes. She took me to the room, asked if I had any allergies, (to ingredients in their products) and then left while I slid under the heated sheet. Wow. Sooooo comfy, I'm almost asleep before she even gets back in the room. Except for this one coil in the heating blanket that's hotter than the rest...
Finally I ask her if I can adjust the heating thingy, and it's better for a few minutes, but finally there's no way around it, as she pushes down on me, the coil is burrowing into my rib LOL she says "Is it still bothering you?" and I ask for a towel to put over it, which was what I should've done to begin with. All better now
She was a fabulous massage therapist, very, very gentle, but worked out knots I didn't even know were there. The time passed all too quickly (I wished at that point I'd booked the whole massage!) and she told me to get up slowly, I might be light headed. She brought me a glass of water and advised me to keep well hydrated for the rest of the day, and she also suggested that I really should look into massage therapy at home, with MS and the use of the crutch it's hard on my hips, she says, and massage therapy can really help pain management.
Boy, did I believe her, because I didn't feel any pain, anywhere, and that is a miraculous occurrance for me. On the way out of the spa, I treated myself to some shampoo, conditioner, and moisturizer so I could have a little bit of the spa feeling at home. Also found the cd of the music that I'd been listening to, note to self, must make time in schedule to go back to doing yoga, the music is perfect
I was so relaxed that I forgot to give them their locker key back and had to turn around a third of the way back to the resort *ugh*. Man, that is a LONG walk back. I was tempted to call bell services to ask if they'd haul this old bag back to her building LOL. If I had it to do over, though, I would've asked that since I am disabled, if there was a way to hitch a ride to and from the spa in a cart. I won't ever do that walk again: I looked up and realized I was halfway to the Poly!
So the spa is something I would definitely, definitely recommend. It was heavenly, and I think I shall have to do it again on our next trip, whether we stay at the GF or not!
Other side note in case anyone might find this useful: I didn't know till I got there that even hotel guests have to pay for use of the workout room!!! I think that is a bit extreme...I didn't use the room but I saw several folks who were not amused by this rule. So if you're planning to stay at the GF and want to use the treadmills, it's going to cost you extra, plan for it.
Day 4, Part two:
"The Snooty and the Ridiculous..."
After the spa I finally made it back to Sugar Loaf, and I was so happy and relaxed I said to my husband that if he wanted anything in the world to ask me now cause he'd most likely get it LOL. We went for some lunch at the Cafe, to be back before our 1 pm planned check out, hoping our room at RP would be ready so we could just go straight over.
The Cafe is very special to us because we had our wedding luncheon there in 1999. So going back was a joy, and the food was good as ever. LOVE their chicken soup, and they have fabulous burgers and fries. The strawberry shortcake is a work of art!
After a wonderful lunch, we checked and found out that our room at Royal Palm was ready! I was so excited, the concierge called for bell services and they came to get our bags. I hugged Norma (our favorite concierge) goodbye, she was sorry to see us go to the main building, and she said she hoped we'd come back again soon. We were taken to the side elevator, the closest to our room (which was 4309). We were surprised to see it was the first room down the corridor from the Roy E Disney Suite, would have loved to look around in there a bit!!!
Our room was identical to the one at Sugar Loaf, save a little bit wider, and mirrors on the closet doors. We also had a heat lamp in the bathroom. We didn't have a refrigerator in either room, though we were told at Sugar Loaf we could request one if we wanted to. The bellman at SL had filled our ice bucket before leaving, the one for RP just said the "ice was down the hall" and left.
All settled in, we checked out the view, it was very pretty, but you could only see the castle from the balcony, not inside the room due to the angle. We sat for a little while on the balcony just taking it all in.
Then, we left a tip envelope for the turndown housekeeper and headed off to check out the lounge area, and then go to the Magic Kingdom.
MK turned out to be a real zoo though, and we decided not to stay long. We headed for the Contemporary early, let DD have some more time in the game room, while I did some shopping. Dad bought me some cool monorail stuff as a present
We headed up to the California Grill and waited to be seated. A family came in with a really adorable 15 month old baby, who immediately started making eyes at me and so we played peek-a- boo for awhile. We were seated next to their table and she continued to want to play with me through dinner, and I was happy to play too, she was just precious and reminded me of my daughter when she was that age. The mother apologized and asked if she were disturbing my meal and I said "Are you kidding, you can't buy entertainment like this!" She had this wayward curl that would go over her forehead between her eyes and she'd kind of cross her eyes looking at it, I was just in love with this child.
I couldn't wait for the grill on this trip, loved it last time. When I got my steak, which I'd ordered medium, though, it was incinerated, and so I had to send it back. It took so long to get the second one that my family was finished eating by the time my food finally came. Still, I found the steak to be over done and not nearly as good as the last time we'd eaten there. The restaurant was packed or I would've asked for them to try it one more time, but I wanted to see the fireworks at Epcot too and knew that we wouldn't make it if I sent it back again, so I ate it. Dads steak was also overdone but he was starving so he ate it, DH's steak was okay, and dd was happy with her mac and cheese, I think it's the best thing on the menu there!
We had dessert (I had the apple brown betty I believe, it was delicious!) and right before dessert came, I decided to run down to the gift shop and get a little minnie for the baby at the other table. I hurried and when I got back and gave it to her, her mother said "Oh, I can't let you!" and I said "Please, everyone should get to play fairy godmother once in awhile." I got so much joy seeing that baby hug that minnie, she kissed her nose and held her so tight I thought her stuffing would come out! That was a highlight of the trip for me, no doubt. We all enjoyed just watching that baby's joy. What a sweetheart! She had a 4 year old brother too and so I'd given him a mickey, but the baby took to them so much that the mom promised him a bigger one if he let her have the small ones LOL. When they left, she had one 'baby' under each arm, and was going back and forth from one to the other kissing them!
I enjoyed the meal but felt that the food really slipped in the rankings this trip, Ohana had them beat hands down. We headed to Epcot, and made it to a reserved for handicapped guests seating area at about 8:30. We waited for the show and it was the closest I'd ever been to it, WOW! We were so close my dad was actually a little nervous LOL. It was phenomenal, and emotional for me, because Illuminations is my Dad's favorite music and I used to hum it to him when he was in the hospital after his surgery, restless late at night. So it always makes me cry.
I also cried because it was Sunday night already, we only had one full day left and I just didn't feel ready to go home. It was different than on other trips where I just didn't want to go home, I felt like we NEEDED a longer vacation. Oh well, I thought, we have two nights at Royal Palm to enjoy!
We went back to the hotel, and...this is where it took a turn I didn't expect.
Please know that I am not posting the following to complain publicly or make the staff look bad, I feel that to give a truthful and accurate trip report, I have to tell the bad with the good. And what happened to us when we got back to RP was not good, at all.
We made it to the lounge at about 9:45, and when we got there, thirsty, munchy, and wanted to try out the world class desserts we'd heard about, the coffee and tea machines were already loaded onto rolling trollies. The staff was dismantling the food tables, and it wasn't 10 yet.
My husband wanted lemonade, but the drinks except coffee and milk were already gone. He gave up and went to the room to get some water. Dad, DD and I wanted some dessert and fruit, so we got a plate. I swear, as fast as we were trying to take food from the platters, someone was behind us, over our shoulder, just waiting to snatch it away. And after we took our items, they did!
I was getting really annoyed by this point, and that's when I really got mad. DD very, and I stress VERY politely, asked the concierge who was dismantling the drinks if there was "Anything else to drink, please, besides coffee?" He sighed, looked at her, gestured to the milk and water and said very gruffly "There is milk, there is water, and that is it." and walked away!
She looked at me like "Mom, what did I do wrong?" and I said "You didn't do anything wrong, honey. I'll get you a drink from Gasparillas."
Dad was rushing to eat his eclair and drink his drink and I told him to slow down, we could take it to the room with us. The food services staff was much more tactful, waiting nearby to take our plates, but the conceirge guy was just tearing around, every obviously wanting to go home, and I was not happy at all. This was not what I was paying 130 dollars a night extra for!
I convinced dad to take his drink back to the room (he never did finish his dessert, and he felt obligated to tip the food service lady for staying late at which point she said "No, no, we're here till 10:30, it's okay." but he insisted.)
DD was still puzzled and thinking she'd done something wrong and I was not happy to have to trudge to Gasparillas to get her a drink. I left them all in the room and headed down to the lobby, I was going to talk to someone about what had just happened.
I requested to speak to the manager on duty, but instead of getting to talk to the "suit" I wanted, after waiting about 15 minutes, the concierge manager came down to speak to me. I'd seen him from afar while we were in the lounge and knew he had seen them taking down the food early.
I told him what had happened between the particular cast member and my daughter, and that's when the BIGGEST surprise came, he was very, very condescending towards me. His smile was phonier than a three dollar bill and he said "Well, Mrs ****** it's easy to lose track of time in the parks, food service is only until 10, blah blah..." and then he said "I saw you in the lounge and everyone was all smiles, your husband even tipped the waitstaff."
I replied that I was in shock over what had just occurred, didn't realize he was a manager or I would've flagged him then, and that my Dad tipped because he felt we were overstaying our welcome in the lounge, and it wasn't even 10 yet! He continued to patronize me, didn't offer any apology or other explanation for why they were taking it down early, and implied it was our fault for showing up at the last minute! I was so humiliated by the way he spoke to me that I actually cried as I walked to Gasparillas to get my daughter's drink, and then finally back to the room.
Be advised; when they say food available until 10, they mean UNTIL and not a moment later! You show up at 10:00 and 10 seconds and you're out of luck! We showed up at quarter to and still got treated badly! At SL they always had at least lemonade and cookies out well past 10.
I was really surprised, more by the manager's attitude than anything else. This was world class service? This was what Royal Palm was supposed to be? My illusions were blown. I had dreamed of staying in the main building since I was 17, and I wasn't prepared for what I got. I was bummed beyond belief and wishing we had just stayed at Sugar Loaf, where everything had been perfect from the moment we checked in.
I growled at myself for being curious, and wished we could just go back. But tomorrow was our last day, I didn't want to spend any time moving the bags again...I went back to the room and DH looked at me and saw how upset I was, and I said "The manager blew me off."
DD said "I wish we were back at Sugar loaf." she was really humiliated by the way that the concierge had acted, and I kept telling her that she didn't do anything wrong. It was such a shock too, because we'd seen this particular guy earlier in the week at SL and he'd been helpful (if not friendly). But this night, he was just nasty.
We went for a late swim before bed, and we had fun, dd played with some other kids in the pool and I tried to let the negative feelings I had wash away.
As I showered and went to bed, I told myself at least I'd learned a valuable lesson: more expensive does not always mean better service. I imagined that the staff in the main building had to be more 'formal' (read: snooty) because they were used to dealing with the very rich and famous all the time. A handful of the concierge staff in the main building were nice, but the majority were either really cold, indifferent or completely insincere. I just didn't feel like we belonged there at all.
With a heavy heart, I told myself tomorrow would be better, that we would enjoy our last full day to the utmost, and that everything would look better in the morning.
I had no idea just how much better things would turn out to be the next day...Stay tuned!!! It all goes up from here!
Thanks for the laugh this morning
