"Excuse me, could you tell me what time it is please?" UPDATE! To DVC or not?

[TanzUnited99]

Yay for finally getting some food! I love them new refillable mugs and am looking forward to getting my hands on one! We do the same here...if we have bought park mugs we try to reuse them. The only problem is they now get changed every year and they know the difference (you can't refill them yourself)!

Wow...a cold pool! That's the thing...when your on vacation these things don't matter as much.

Am glad you finally managed to get into your room and love them flowers How sweet of Ferb to order them - didn't notice the Mickey heads until you mentioned them and they make them even more special

 

[DancingDiva]

I'm in! I love reading TRs from fellow Canadians!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Yay for finally getting some food! I love them new refillable mugs and am looking forward to getting my hands on one! We do the same here...if we have bought park mugs we try to reuse them. The only problem is they now get changed every year and they know the difference (you can't refill them yourself)!

Wow...a cold pool! That's the thing...when your on vacation these things don't matter as much.

Am glad you finally managed to get into your room and love them flowers How sweet of Ferb to order them - didn't notice the Mickey heads until you mentioned them and they make them even more special

Yeah, those flowers were pretty cool, not just because they were nice, but because of the thoughts and planning that went into them!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Day One continued:

We left off admiring the beautiful flowers that Ferb had sent to the room!! And now we needed to head out to DTD for some shopping and dinner at Raglan Road. This is a tradition for us, since our first visit with my cousin we have done DTD and Raglan Rd the first night. It's a nice way to slowly immerse yourself into the Disney culture. We made sure we had everything we needed and then headed to the boat launch to catch the boat to DTD. We figured we weren't in a hurry and it would make for a nice relaxing ride.

Waiting for the boat:

This was just before Rapunzel said she had to go to the bathroom...so much for that relaxing ride..

Pictures along the way:

I probably would have taken more if I wasn't so worried about Rapunzel peeing her pants!

We made it to DTD without incident , and hustled over to use the washroom. That taken care of we wandered slowly over to World of Disney and began to absorb all the ambiance that this store has! I really do love this store!! It's not like I love shopping so much as I love shopping here! It's got something for everyone..and of course Rapunzel and Stitch found lots to buy here. But we have a strict rule...you get one big present per trip and that's it. We usually end up picking up a couple of small things along the way if we think it's special, but we don't really go hog wild with our souvenir shopping. So what did the girls pick out? Rapunzel picked a stuffed Bolt (doesn't she realize this movie is soooo old and it wasn't even that good?!) and Stitch picked out a pink hoodie with a small Minnie wearing purple. We head up to the register to pay...and remember when I told you to keep in mind those new KTTW cards they gave us when trying to attach our tickets? Here is where the drama unfolds....
"I'm sorry ma'am but your card doesn't have charging privileges" "WHAT?! We gave them $300 in Traveler's Checks and they put them on our KTTW cards. " Nope, they gave Ferb and I KTTW cards with OUT charging privileges. Well, what can they do? NOTHING! So they held our items and we trudged over to Guest Services. After almost an hour and almost missing our dinner at Raglan Rd...and thanks to the WONDERFUL CM's that were working the desk that night...we got new cards printed at the GS desk across DTD from there and they walked (ran) them over to Raglan Rd so we would be able to pay for our dinner and then head back to WOD to finally buy the girls' things. But, in that almost hour long drama, they could see the credit we had on our acct but were trying to call POR because the kids at GS aren't allowed to cut new cards with charging privileges even though they can see the credit on the computer. POR never, and I mean NEVER answered the phone!!!! They tried over and over and over and waited and waited..by this time Stitch is in tears because we were upset and she was over tired and HUNGRY!!! I was livid!!! Not just because of the wrong keys being made, I mean mistakes happen..even if it was in response to your mistake in the first place with our reservation. But to not answer your phone when you are getting a call from Guest Services is BEYOND!!! So, the wonderful CM's broke the rules for us and provided the BEST service we have EVER gotten at Disney to date!!

On to dinner, Stitch was still upset, but we got our KTTW as we waited for our table. We like the entertainment they have at Raglan Road and we were sat back in the farthest corner away from the stage..bad luck, but oh well. We got a new waiter in training and he was really nice but messed up Ferbs dinner, no biggie, he probably didn't realize that what he actually ordered was a salad and he would have been disappointed when it was served. So instead of the salad that had salmon he got a full warm Salmon dish which he really liked. We didn't even know it was wrong until the bill came and it was priced higher than he thought. They offered to remove it, but that wouldn't have been fair..he ate it, he really liked it and therefore it was meant to be! Here is some REAL food porn...FINALLY!!

Ferb's Salmon:

My steak:

We ordered extra veggies and I shared my steak with the girls, Rapunzel insisted on taking a pic of the veggies she had on her plate:

We went to WOD and grabbed the girls' things, then took a bus back to POR. We were tired and needed to get to bed, big day tomorrow!! When we arrived I headed into the lobby to the Concierge desk and needed to talk about what had happened to us with the KTTW cards. The guy was like, yeah you must have had a student check you in and they got it wrong. Well, no it wasn't a student, but what are you gonna do about it? Oh well we can comp your dinner to Raglan Rd. OKAY!! I was thinking that maybe they would send a card to the room with balloons or something, but a free meal is just fine with me. I told him that I thought he was going over and above and thank you. I just didn't want this to happen to anyone else either, that's all.
When we got back to the room we got the girls settled in bed. I made sure we had everything ready for the morning, it was going to be an early one...MK opened at 8 and we wanted to make it for Rope Drop!! Off to sleep we went waiting for our wake up call.
All in all, it was a long stressful day, but we did a lot at the resort and at DTD. So it was a good day as well!! We had been up from 3:30 AM until about 9:30 ish and I'm not sure we will do that next trip...

Up next: Day TWO and Magic Kingdom!! And a little pirate fun!!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

I'm in! I love reading TRs from fellow Canadians!

G'day, eh! And to our TR !! Hope you enjoy the ride!!!

 

[teachermommy78]

What ups and downs!!! Ugh! I suppose it all worked out in the end! And it was good that Ferb got the more expensive dish! If you don't mind me asking, what is your budget for the "big gift" for the girls? My kids are going to have some of their own money, but we'll probably get them each a souvenir as well. I would like to share your idea with my husband.

 

[jenseib]

Oh my. I can't beleive they never even asnwered their phone. What a pain. Well at least you got a fre dinner out of the whole ordeal. You deserved that!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

What ups and downs!!! Ugh! I suppose it all worked out in the end! And it was good that Ferb got the more expensive dish! If you don't mind me asking, what is your budget for the "big gift" for the girls? My kids are going to have some of their own money, but we'll probably get them each a souvenir as well. I would like to share your idea with my husband.

Well, I don't know if I will be of much help..because we don't really set a budget for that gift. We basically do it to stop the inevitable "gimmies" that happen when almost every ride exits into a gift shop! This way they know ahead of time that it's one gift a trip and that's all! Like I said, all Rapunzel wanted was a stuffed bolt and according to the receipt that cost $13.95 and Stitch wanted a hoodie badly and that cost $44.95. As far as I see it, it's not the price that's important to the kids, it's the emotional attachment to that item. And I am not going to do anything to change that..let's hope that lasts for a long time!

Oh my. I can't beleive they never even asnwered their phone. What a pain. Well at least you got a fre dinner out of the whole ordeal. You deserved that!

I know, right? How frustrating!!
Hey, one week I see!! Yay for you!!!!
Hope all goes well with your parents tagging along!!

 

[BMC423]

Ferb good job with the flowers very sweet!


I can't believe what happened with your kttw cards... I can only imagine how frustrating that could be especially after a whole day of traveling...glad they got it working for you and you were able to enjoy your dinner and the rest of the night.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Sounds like you had a stressful evening

Am glad you managed to find a fantastic CM at GS that resolved the situation and you were able to enjoy your meal and collect all your purchases

 

[Kurby]

ohhhh a TR - Love TR's with loads of pictures.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Ferb good job with the flowers very sweet!

I can't believe what happened with your kttw cards... I can only imagine how frustrating that could be especially after a whole day of traveling...glad they got it working for you and you were able to enjoy your dinner and the rest of the night.

I know, well done!!! Our bad for being up that long, but their bad for messing up the reservation in the first place and not printing the correct cards..I think what it comes down to in this instance is not asking the right questions..like the kids ages at check in..she's a kid to us but an adult to Disney, I knew to get her an adult park ticket, but not that it needed to match her info on her card to attach it? Then when they reissued the cards they should have asked if there were any charging abilities with it, and seriously to hand over all four cards and none of them with charging privileges should have been a red flag to her..but lesson learned..sleep more and check EVERYTHING!!!

Sounds like you had a stressful evening

Am glad you managed to find a fantastic CM at GS that resolved the situation and you were able to enjoy your meal and collect all your purchases

They were AMAZING...Disney will be hearing from us about how wonderful they were!!

ohhhh a TR - Love TR's with loads of pictures.

Thanks for joining us!! Looks like you guys have been cruising before? We are taking an adult only 3 night cruise on the Dream in Oct..it's our first time...might have to pick your brain a bit!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Day TWO! Our first park day and of course it's Magic Kingdom!!

MK was set to open at 8 AM and we were set to do ROPE DROP!! We love doing RD, we love the opening show and having time to get some important rides or experiences done while the park is relatively quiet. We had such a stressful day the day before, but we were determined to make it for RD this morning. I had set up a wake up for 6:30 to give me time to shower and wake everyone up, then have breakfast in the room. We ordered from Garden Grocer and had cereal and milk and yogurt and some juice in the fridge. We brought along bowls, spoons and napkins from the dollar store.
So the call came and I couldn't see what button was speaker in the dark, so I just answered it..."Yo ho, yo ho..." A new message and the kids were missing it?!! And it was our day to do the Pirates and Pals cruise how appropriate..except that it was followed by a VERY loud announcement by Mike and Mike for ESPN the weekend...blah, blah, blah..I hung up.
Up and at 'em...I showered, Ferb showered..everyone got dressed and had some breakfast and off we headed to the main bus stop. Most of the week we used this one instead of the one closer to our room. We didn't know where it was at this point, but it was a good thing as the buses were loaded and leaving directly from that stop instead of going around the resort. It seemed as if everyone was loading here and the buses filled up right away. Keep that in mind for future planning!

The first bus was indeed full before we could even get on and just left. Not too long before another showed, though. It was getting close to RD time, though and I thought our drive would be long. I couldn't figure out where we were in relation to MK...but not far at all!!! So we got through security and the turnstiles just as the Mayor started talking!! Whew!!!!

As you can see it's a beautiful day at Disney..sun is shining and we had on light clothing..shorts and short sleeves!! Gotta love that!!


I have to go get the girls off the bus, and then it's homework, dinner, packing for their weekend at my cousin's and then I need to nap before work..it's my Monday. I hope to be back on here tomorrow night before work! TTFN!!

 

[jenseib]

Looks like a fabulous day is about to start!

 

[luckylady]

Just found you and am all caught up. So glad you made RD on your first morning. Can't wait for more.

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

You Canadians are definitely tougher than this Ohioan - I went in the pool one time with the kids and froze! Once was enough for me!

I love taking the boat to DTD from there - so pretty, especially around sunset.

What an incredibly annoying ordeal with your cards!! Sheesh! I can NOT believe they didn't answer the phone...talk about dropping the ball. Glad you got a free meal - you certainly deserved it after all that. And I'm sure they were glad you were gracious about it - you know some people would have gone completely off the rails ballistic!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Day Two Continued:

The sun was shining and we were off to a good start by making it to Rope Drop..JUST IN TIME!! After the swarms of people entered the park we finally made it in and who did we see with only 3 people in line?

The CM there was from Buffalo so we had a chat while we waited..the one think I distinctly remember from this encounter was the PP CM questioning whether Ferb was with us..I thought how strange, until he explained that he needed to be aware of strangers taking pictures of our kids..that made sense!

After meeting Pluto we headed down Main Street trying to ignore all the construction..don't get me wrong, Disney does a fab job trying to hide their work, but we all know it's there! So, the plan was to try to knock off some FL rides before getting in line for Rapunzel..I thought we had time to do this, Ferb on the other hand wanted to get in line right away thinking that it would fill up quickly. We walked over there to check it out and sure enough there was already a line!! Ferb says about half a dozen!
So he and Rapunzel decided to stay and wait while Stitch and I headed out to see about some rides!! I didn't like this splitting up business so early in our vacation, but all parties agreed with the plan.

Stitch and I wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, I hated this feeling..not knowing what to do?! It's not like me to deviate from the TP and Stitch didn't want to do any of the FL rides...I think she may be getting too old and too cool for them. So we headed over to TL and rode SM..with NO wait!! Sadly, this was the only ride on SM this year..Stitch doesn't really like this one..too jerky I think. I had fun and I thought it was a great first ride of the trip!! Then we headed back towards the Rapunzel area grabbing FP's for Peter Pan's Flight along the way,we also stopped here:

Back at the line up I grabbed the girls to wander up the line while Ferb waited and grabbed a couple shots of this:

Finally we made it into Rapunzel and Flynn's waiting area and got our Rapunzel to go down to the table where the kids could color. Stitch refused! That's okay, I get it. So here are our pics of our Rapunzel's
experience with Rapunzel and Flynn:

The table where they color and PP CM's take their pics..can't wait for our CD to come!!

The CM that was keeping the kids entertained while they waited was cute! Finally the stars arrived!!

They liked the girls autograph books, having their own page was fun for them, plus they liked our Rapunzel's t-shirt!

Gotta love the smolder!! All in all, if it wasn't for Ferb's insight we would have been disappointed with the long wait and it would have thrown our plans for the day right off. But, I am sooo glad we did this!! Our Rapunzel really enjoyed herself. Next up, the morning continues with a little painful pampering for the girls!!

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

Yay for characters 1st thing! That always starts the day off right, especially the first day.

Love the Rapunzel and Flynn pictures - that table is really cute. We didn't make it to meet them this trip - DD hasn't seen the movie yet and Tiana was our big #1 priority this time, lol.

I so know what you mean about getting thrown off your TP and it being hard to get back on! And it's not like I'm even some crazy scheduler and have our TP down the minute or anything. But man, our 1st night at MK, I can't even remember what threw us off but I felt like you said the rest of the night - wandering around aimlessly!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay on meeting Goofy and being able to ride SM first thing!

Love all the MK and Rapunzel and Flynn photos - the weather looks gorgeous

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Looks like a fabulous day is about to start!

Oh it was!! Have a great trip Jen!!!

Just found you and am all caught up. So glad you made RD on your first morning. Can't wait for more.

So were we!! It was perfect timing, too..just in time to enjoy the show, but not so early that the kids got antsy!

You Canadians are definitely tougher than this Ohioan - I went in the pool one time with the kids and froze! Once was enough for me!

I love taking the boat to DTD from there - so pretty, especially around sunset.

What an incredibly annoying ordeal with your cards!! Sheesh! I can NOT believe they didn't answer the phone...talk about dropping the ball. Glad you got a free meal - you certainly deserved it after all that. And I'm sure they were glad you were gracious about it - you know some people would have gone completely off the rails ballistic!

HAHA!! Yeah, when you're from "The Great White North" I guess your perspective on cold water changes!! The boat was nice, but the drama around the potty was scary, let me tell you! I am glad that they comped the dinner, I really just wish that stuff like that was easier to fix, I got the impression that this new computer system has made their jobs a bit more complicated.

Yay for characters 1st thing! That always starts the day off right, especially the first day.

Love the Rapunzel and Flynn pictures - that table is really cute. We didn't make it to meet them this trip - DD hasn't seen the movie yet and Tiana was our big #1 priority this time, lol.

I so know what you mean about getting thrown off your TP and it being hard to get back on! And it's not like I'm even some crazy scheduler and have our TP down the minute or anything. But man, our 1st night at MK, I can't even remember what threw us off but I felt like you said the rest of the night - wandering around aimlessly!

Can't wait to read more!

Rapunzel and Flynn were great, from a wait perspective, though, I don't agree with how they are handling it. It would be better if it were more like the Tiana wait, wait in line..meet the characters get pic taken..off you go. I am not as organized as it reads..I just felt out of sorts on the first morning and thought, great now what do we do? And it didn't help that Stitch wanted to head across the park to Frontierland..that was too far to roam in my mind.

Yay on meeting Goofy and being able to ride SM first thing!

Love all the MK and Rapunzel and Flynn photos - the weather looks gorgeous

The weather was great!! You can see that the girls were in skorts and t's and flip flops too!!