DONE 7/28!! My Life on the DVC Blacklist - an August '09 Pre-Trip.

[jillyb]

“Michael” answered on the second ring.

(See that? No fancy fictitious names at good old Central Reservations. Only DVC Member Services gets the “Buffy’s” and “Cinnamon’s”!)

I would have told "Michael" that "I want Candy".

 

[askelton]

I would have told "Michael" that "I want Candy".

Thanks for putting that in my head.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

*Fuzzy math works in terms of relativity. You don’t compare apples to apples in Fuzzy Math; you compare apples to elephants. It matters not that the discounted Tower rate is heaps less than the non-discounted Tower rate. Everything is based off your original reservation amount in Fuzzy Disney Math. TFI.

OMG! You've captured FDM in one perfect paragraph. This should be our mission statement: "Everything is based of your original (insert word) amount in Fuzzy Disney Math!"

Now if only you talk Jim into letting me ad a day or 4 onto the beginning of our trip

I think you can do that with a few rounds on the trampoline, Janet!

 

[englishrose47]

OMG! You've captured FDM in one perfect paragraph. This should be our mission statement: "Everything is based of your original (insert word) amount in Fuzzy Disney Math!"


I think you can do that with a few rounds on the trampoline, Janet!

Trampolining works miracles
V I luv your Fuzzy Math!! I was "Fuzzy"when I saved $1700 with Free Dining !! Don't think it was fuzzy math but made me fuzzy!!!

 

[Trentmom]

WOO HOO on saving some MOO LAH $$$$$

 

[jcc0621]

I think you can do that with a few rounds on the trampoline, Janet!

I tried that

 

[PrincessAlways]

V saved some serious money!!​

 

[DisneyJo]

Wow fantastic V obviously the Focker curse is lifting

Janet really??? I think maybe you need to do a bit more trampolining

 

[jillyb]

Thanks for putting that in my head.

No problem...I'm a giver like that!

 

[debraW76]

V, that is Awesome!! But we all know that just because your rate was lowered doesn't mean you are actually saving that money. What are you going to do with it now?

I think you can do that with a few rounds on the trampoline, Janet!

I tried that

Janet really??? I think maybe you need to do a bit more trampolining

You ladies are killin me!

 

[lisalonglash]

Nice savings, V! Your plans seriously make my head hurt, but yet, I can't stop reading... I wonder what that means?!

 

[Lauralee131]

So just like that, with a five-minute phone call, I managed to keep Leo and I in our Standard View Garden Wing room for three nights for a savings of $300ish! Anyone else notice how easy things are moving now that I’m back at SSR for the rest of the trip? Like it was all meant to be.

See, if you'd have listened to your inner-Focker in the first place...

LY/MI!!

 

[lazydoxy66]

Very Good! !

 

[dlwharp]

Too cool, V! Fuzzy Disney math is awesome! I used some last year to extend our trip by 3 days and (fuzzily) saved $$$!!

 

[Sooze]

Hooray for the Chicago reference.. that was great!! (and I LOVE that song!!)

Congrats on the savings

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Happy day for V, there wound up being a D.!

Horray!

“Michael” answered on the second ring.

(See that? No fancy fictitious names at good old Central Reservations. Only DVC Member Services gets the “Buffy’s” and “Cinnamon’s”!).!

Too bad! Maybe he should have gone with Zippo or something.

“Michael: “Okay Ms. V, you’re all set.”
“Um, okay, is ‘all set’ Disney-speak for ‘we’re giving you a discount?”
Michael: “Yes ma’am, I’ve applied the discount to your reservation.”
“Oh wow! Okay. So um, can you tell me what that new rate is please?”

Totally cool!

But I was stunned. By my quick and Fuzzy mental calculations, I’d just saved nearly $100 per night!

That'll make you grin like a DIS'er on Dolewhip.

*Fuzzy math works in terms of relativity. You don’t compare apples to apples in Fuzzy Math; you compare apples to elephants. It matters not that the discounted Tower rate is heaps less than the non-discounted Tower rate. Everything is based off your original reservation amount in Fuzzy Disney Math. TFI.

Got it!

So just like that, with a five-minute phone call, I managed to keep Leo and I in our Standard View Garden Wing room for three nights for a savings of $300ish! Anyone else notice how easy things are moving now that I’m back at SSR for the rest of the trip? Like it was all meant to be.

Awesome update! Looking forward to hearing about your cullinary fuzzy math.

 

[PrincessV]

Apple to elephants" that made me giggle.

It's true, though - right?!

Ooh, can't wait!

I can. You'll see!

Did he not know you were a Focker

Let's hope not, or I'm likely to receive some Magical Upgrade... that places us in a room at the very end of a looooong Tower hallway!

I would have told "Michael" that "I want Candy".

OMG! You've captured FDM in one perfect paragraph. This should be our mission statement: "Everything is based of your original (insert word) amount in Fuzzy Disney Math!"

Notice how nicely it worked on your APs?!

V I luv your Fuzzy Math!! I was "Fuzzy"when I saved $1700 with Free Dining !! Don't think it was fuzzy math but made me fuzzy!!!

And THAT is the root of Fuzzy Math - it's the user who winds up Fuzziest!

V saved some serious money!!:

Wow fantastic V obviously the Focker curse is lifting

Let us not be hasty, now...

V, that is Awesome!! But we all know that just because your rate was lowered doesn't mean you are actually saving that money. What are you going to do with it now?

Nope, it legitimately is just a savings. I've already got everything else budgeted and we almost never exceed the trip budget. (Of course, the trip budget is calculated using Fuzzy Math, so make of that what you will. )

Your plans seriously make my head hurt, but yet, I can't stop reading... I wonder what that means?!

You might be a Fuzzy Mathematician, too!

See, if you'd have listened to your inner-Focker in the first place...

So true, so true!

]Very Good!

Thank you!

Fuzzy Disney math is awesome! I used some last year to extend our trip by 3 days and (fuzzily) saved $$$!!

Well done!

Hooray for the Chicago reference.. that was great!! (and I LOVE that song!!)

Me too, me too! "And then, he ran into my knife. He ran into my knife ten times!"

Too bad! Maybe he should have gone with Zippo or something.

SO help me, the day I wind up with "Zippo" on the other end of the line, I will die of laughter!

 

[PrincessV]

Let’s talk food.



I’m going to level with you right now – eating at Disney is not my favorite thing to do. Planning where to eat at Disney, three months in advance, is something akin to waterboarding for me (NO Sean Hannity). There’s some history here, so let’s take a look back…



Once upon a time, V went to WDW with her dad in the late ‘70s. We ate greasy, utterly-lacking-in-any-vegetable-content counter service whenever we got hungry. Our main meal was breakfast, taken at the local Howard Johnson.

In my college years, living in Tampa, I visited WDW a few times and shared with a friend the occasional greasy, utterly-lacking-in-any-vegetable-content kids’ meal. Mostly we smoked, which cut back on the appetite.

When I moved permanently to FL, my then-husband and I began spending a lot of time at Disney World. I was vegetarian at that time and it was hard to find much I could (or would want to) eat in counter service offerings. I remember a vegetarian chili at Columbia Harbor House (meh), a Vegetable Lo Mein from Lotus Blossom (eww), and a Gardenburger from Cosmic Ray’s (not completely awful.)


So, for a large span of time, food was not something I actively sought at Disney. Rather, it was something one suffered so as not to have to leave the parks. Such was the prevalent understanding in the greater Central-West Florida region, too.




One day, however, things began to change. There were rumblings around town that the Eisner Regime was turning over a new food leaf: re-working menus, unveiling newly-themed restaurants and bringing in talented new chefs. With an anniversary trip in the works, I made my very first dining reservation – at the new California Grill.


We went in with very, very low expectations.


And were shocked by one of the most phenomenal meals ever. EVER!!! The goat cheese ravioli… a perfectly prepared fish… stellar and attentive service… exquisite wine pairings… divine!


In the ten-ish years after that first reservation, we sampled more delectable meals around The World: Artist’s Point; Narcoossees; Portobello Yacht Club; Flying Fish; Yachtsman Steakhouse; Jiko. It was bliss to end a day of park touring with any one of these wonderful meals!




Sadly, all that has changed - for me anyway. In recent years, I’ve seen the quality of many old favorites decline. Experimentation and innovation seem to have fallen by the wayside as menus become more homogenized. Service is spotty, yet reservations have become ever harder to grab. Disney Dining just isn’t much fun anymore.


Still, there are some notable exceptions to my dining disappointment. The Magical Tuna Sandwich at Columbia Harbor House is still fabulous, and Tangierine Café has never let me down. Boma was a delightful surprise and my last Le Cellier Filet was better than expected.


But it’s hard to get excited about making dining plans when the place in which I’ll be held captive (dining off-site still isn’t a consideration – I’m much too lazy for that!) has let me down before.



And that’s where I’ve been for the lat few weeks.



Okay, months.


Trying to choose eating establishments that won’t break the bank, will provide better-than-passable menu choices, and that fit in with the daily plans. It’s HARD!


For some added fun, let’s add Leo into the mix. Leo enjoys dining out. Which is really pretty funny, considering we nearly got thrown out of both Le Cellier and San Angel when he was a baby. Yes, Leo was that baby – the screaming started and wouldn’t stop. Gramma and I ate both those meals taking turns with Leo outside the restaurants. Good times.


But he’s reformed his maniacal ways and really likes having dinner out, especially with his mama. So I thought it would be good to involve him in the selecting of possible restaurants.





My bad.




Eight or so months ago, Leo put the kibosh on character meals. He didn’t give a reason, but it mattered not to me; I’m not a fan, so that was one less thing to think about.

Or so I thought…

Recently, Leo decided that he does want some character dining. Specifically with Mickey. And Pluto. And Chip & Dale. “Next to the veggable ride.” Oh yes, he wanted some quality time at Garden Grill (GG). Now, I happen to like the food at GG – good, hearty stuff and fresh vegetables. But I do not like characters. I’m no good at suspending reality and believing the Magic. I’ve never believed in Santa, the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny, and I have a very hard time communicating with real live people walking around in giant dog and duck suits.



Told you I’m a cynic.


But I got out of this one – remember we’ve got a Memorial Day weekend trip coming up? Gramma’s coming on that. By booking GG for that trip, I can leave character interaction in her hands and just play photographer. PHEW!


Think I’m off the character meal hook for August? Not by a long-shot. You’ll see.




Meanwhile, back in November 2008, I’d planned a lunch at Sci Fi Dine-In, a place which Leo had thoroughly enjoyed on a 2006 trip:

”Never mind that ginormous car-eating lizard – just eat your crappy pizza Leo.”

Okay, so it freaked him out a little. But he said he had fun!



Anyway, last November, he balked at the idea. No way, no how, nuh-uh – he was not setting foot in that place. “Too scary.”


So Sci-Fi was off my radar. We recently talked about trying some new places – maybe the Plaza? Perhaps the new AKV restaurant Sanaa? – and revisiting some old haunts – Nine Dragons!, Kona! And then Leo shocked the heck out of me…

“What about that place – you know – with the scary monster movies and car-tables?”

Seriously – Sci Fi? “But you said it was ‘too scary’ before…”

“Are my Disney friends going there?”


AAAAAHHHHHH, and the other shoe drops. Peer pressure! Indeed, Maddie and Evan, Leo’s buddies in the Waldo clan, are planning a lunch there. Apparently, either there’s strength in numbers or Leo doesn’t want to seem a wimp. In any case, Sci Fi went on the list, and we roped the Mominators in, too. Watch out Sci Fi – here we come!




Just the other night, Leo and I had another food discussion. And I brought up the idea of returning to the scene of the crime – San Angel Inn.

V: “What about the Mexican place, next to the volcano and boat ride?”
Leo: “Yeah, that’s good!”

And it went on the list.

V: “What else – is there any other place you’d really, really like to try?”
Leo: “How ‘bout the Chinese place? You know – where I can use chopsticks?”

And so Nine Dragons was added.

V: “You know what we haven’t tried – Coral Reef, where you eat next to the Nemo aquarium.”
Leo: “Ooo, I wanna eat in the Nemo ride!”
V: “Okay, we’ve got a few Epcot places here – would you rather eat at the Chinese place or the Nemo place?”
Leo: “The Nemo place.”
V: “Great, so we’ve got the Nemo restaurant and the Mexican restaurant inside the pyramid.”

Leo: “WHAT??? Oh no, no, no, no, no. No WAY am I eating in the pyramid.”
V: “???????”


I never got a good answer as to why, but Leo most certainly does not want to eat at San Angel. Could there be a lingering memory of someone busting out with “Please just be quiet and let Mommy drink her big, fat margarita!” at play here? Who knows. But San Angel’s back off the list.




With Leo’s dining needs met, it was time for me to assess my own needs for a special meal with my boy. Namely:

~ Relaxed atmosphere.
~ Excellent service; I want my water glass filled frequently enough that I never notice it going down, yet unobtrusively enough that I never notice the actual filling.
~ Interesting menu choices paired with perfect cooking technique.
~ Some aesthetic feature that will keep Leo’s attention occupied long enough for me to slowly savor each sip and bite.


I know; it’s quite a challenge. I did manage to narrow it down a bit, throwing the following places into the ring: California Grill, Citricos, Flying Fish, Narcoossees, Portobello Yacht Club.


As for just which of these was selected for our special Mother/Son “nice” dinner… well, you’ll just have to wait and see. That and all other food picks will be revealed in the actual Trip Report.

But I’ll leave you with this: I got all of my ADRs on the first try. Every single one.



Sort of.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

As a side note, we're headed to The World Saturday morning. As of now, the forecast is for a whole buncha rain... which rather wreaks havoc with my Plan of relaxing poolside at the Poly for hours at a time. Gah.

I won't bog down this here PTR with a full-scale report on the weekend getaway, but I'm certain it'll be worth at least a post. I am bringing the Good Camera for one thing, hoping to get some nice shots. And for another... well, Gramma's coming. That's always good for a few laughs, right?!

 

[Sooze]

Once again, your writing style just captivates me... and then cracks me up!!

So glad Leo got a say in where you will be eating. Wouldn't you just love to know the rationale behind some of their opinions?! Not in the pyramid?!

Sorry to hear about the rain down there... we have had perfectly gorgeous weather up here in Indy... makes me want to be at Disney... but not when it won't stop raining!

Take good pictures... we'll be ready to hear about your little getaway!!

 

[DisneyJo]

OMG V you and Leo are just hilarious together I'm so pleased you got all your ADR's whatever they may be