Fantasyland Mom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 1,595
It was hot at this point. REALLY hot. And going through the jungles on a boat hadn't cooled us off very much. Being the nice mommy that I am, I sent my kids to the water tiki area and told them to get as soaked as they wanted to get. They had no problem taking me up on that!
SOAKED.
Obviously it was time for a change of clothes after that, so we made our way to the nearby Baby Care Center for some dry ones and a snack.
I have complained before and I will complain again: The chairs in the nursing room are HORRIBLE. I get that they are in keeping with the time period, but they are wooden and old and creaky and uncomfortable. End of rant.
I know it was a little after three o'clock when we left the Baby Care Center, as we stood outside and saw the tail end of the parade go by.
We decided that since we had some nice new clothes that we should go to a nice new area, Tomorrowland. Nice change of pace! We grabbed some FPs for Space Mountain (two, plus a baby swap that we never ended up using), and then did the best thing we've ever done.
MONSTERS, INC. LAUGH FLOOR!
We've never been in here before because I thought that my kids wouldn't understand the jokes and that we'd be wasting our time, but I was SO VERY WRONG! This would become our trip favorite and would spur a whole new love of the movie, toys, clothing, songs, etc. It's become an obsession.
It was late afternoon, and that means that Brynn's legs were getting clumsy and weak, so we pushed her in with her stroller as a wheelchair (we did have to point out the sticker to the CM, but that's understandable) and we did use the alternate entrance. That was the best use of the GAC EVER. As you can see a few posts above, the waiting area of that consists of cramming everyone in like sardines. The alternate entrance is right beside that, but it's chained off. That meant that we could give Brynn her space and sort of make a "family bubble" around her to make sure she wasn't getting too nervous seeing all the other people in one space. We made our way in after viewing the hilarious intro video that my kids now quote constantly ("Is this your favorite part? How about this one?"). As I was picking up Brynn and settling her onto a bench, I glanced up and realized I was on the camera!! Under my picture, it said "Loves all this attention." My kids thought that was pretty hilarious! Definitely a great start for this attraction!
After lots of laughs, even from the baby, we made our way back to Tomorrowland for a potty break and to use the Space Mtn. FPS. As we were leaving the restrooms, though, we followed right behind Stitch to his meeting area! It was our first time getting to meet him...actually, it was our first time WANTING to meet him, as we've just discovered his movie this past summer.
He was as funny as we'd hoped. He kept leaning the girls sideways, covering their faces, and making funny gestures! They've already requested 'Ohana breakfast for next trip so they can guarantee seeing him and also so they can see Lilo.
I have no pictures, but Julia and I rode Space next while the others played in the little sunken area next to the ride. I am pretty sure that's the designated area for all kids too short to ride.
I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of Space. I'm not scared of any roller coasters, but this one is especially jerky and hurts my neck. I do love the theming so much, though, especially when you're leaving up the ramp at the end.
After that, it was time to slow it down a bit. It was time for the PeopleMover.
We heard them paging Mr. Tom Morrow, but we don't know if he ever answered.
Although early, it was time for dinner. We made our way via the "secret" walkway from Tomorrowland to Storybook Circus and then to the castle. Tonight we would be dining with royalty!
Somewhere near the carousel, the girls put on their princess dresses.
Pushing the strollers up to the CM, we asked (along with another family) where we could park strollers used as wheelchairs for easy access after the meal. We were directed to an area near the podium at the beginning of the wall, and several wheelchairs/strollers were parked there. We were instructed to not park it at the wooden gate that was blocking off the tunnel through the castle, and we were nowhere near it. Foreshadowing? You bet.
Making our way inside, we were happy that the picture line for Cinderella went quickly, for once! We were meeting her pretty much immediately.
Oh, look, our sweet girls!
Okay, that sweet picture was a fluke. This is pretty much how our family REALLY is.
We're fun, though!
Unfortunately, that's pretty much where the fun stopped. I'm so disappointed to say that! We usually love CRT, but this experience is causing us to want to skip it next trip.
We were seated right away, alllllllllllll the way in the back of the restaurant, allllllllllllll the way in a dark corner. We were the very last table to see the princesses, and we were so far from the beautiful surroundings that our table was nothing special. It lost some magic with just our seating alone. It felt very claustrophobic and dark. Our server came over, and I could tell that she wouldn't be brightening up our experience at all, either. Did she even know how to smile?? Not sure.
Our food did come out very fast.
Brandon and I both got the Royal Tasting of Cheese for our appetizer. It looked pretty, but only the parmesan was edible. Brandon was especially disappointed, as he'd had this last year and it had been his favorite part of the meal!
Sawyer decided stacking his cheese was best.
Oh, and that cheese? We had to beg for it. Unlike last year, where the under three Sawyer was given cheese and apple appetizer and plain pasta for dinner at no charge, the mean waitress told us that things had changed and that he would be getting NOTHING. He would have to eat off our plate, and we were not allowed to pay for him to eat. And she also warned us not to even try and ask for seconds on the girls' food to try to give to him because she would not be giving them any more until they had cleaned their plates. WHAT THE WHAT WHAT!?!?! That's a coincidence, because I won't be giving you anything either. Say goodbye to your tip, lady who I can't curse at because my children are present...oh, wait. Tip is included here. GRRRRRR!
Our entrees came out fast, as well.
I had the Slow Roasted Pork Loin on goat cheese polenta.
Horrible! The meat tasted like turkey lunch meat, and the polenta was so dry that it was almost hard. I barely picked at it, but I gave some of my meat to Sawyer. He thought it was turkey, too.
Brandon had the Grilled Swordfish.
His was okay, but definitely not as delicious as swordfish should be.
Brynn got the pizza, and Julia got the chicken. After a couple of minutes, I hid Brynn's pizza under the table and asked for seconds. I should not have had to do that, but it worked and she brought her more...TWO PIECES. Half a pizza. Not a second pizza. It was all I could do not to give her the finger, but Snow White was coming, FINALLY.
She decided that Sawyer needed a kiss because he was such a sweet dwarf!
Yep, even with all that food on his face. That's brave.
It was dessert time after only one princess. The girls decorated their own cupcakes.
It was pretty much the highlight of the meal!
Aurora came by, and she loved Sawyer, as well!
He didn't mind the attention, and Julia was loving it that they were paying attention to her baby brother.
Oh, yes! She kissed him, too!
Ariel was next, and she kissed him, as well! She's Brynn's favorite princess, but she was so fast with her visit that we barely even managed a picture.
When Belle came, she did some wonderful princess spinning with the girls (it's on the video) and was gone quickly, as well.
So we were ready to go.
We carried Brynn and Sawyer down as Julia trailed behind us. We saw the man from earlier frantically looking for his son's wheelchair. Not there. Wait, that's not possible! And ours? Not there, either. Both families ran up to the desk, asking where our chairs were so we could sit our kids down...you know, the desk where the lady had just told both of us together to park them right next to it for easy access once we came out of the restaurant??
And they said they had no idea. They don't know who would have told us that. Go look for them in stroller parking...
OUT IN THE POURING RAIN.
So, both families, each carrying a child/children who couldn't walk at the moment, searched all of Fantasyland until we found our soaked wheelchairs and strollers as wheelchairs. To say we were mad is an understatement. We turned the strollers up to dump out as much water as we could and put some camp towels down so Sawyer could sit. The problem is that Brynn's was so soaked that she refused to sit in it.
As we walked towards Main Street, I got more and more livid thinking about the situation. I decided that someone needed to know about it, so with cheeks red hot and tears forming, I went into Guest Services right before the entrance. I walked up to the lady and told her that this was my fourth trip and I had never had a complaint before, but I wanted to let them know what happened. I told her the whole tale, and do you know what she said?
SHE SAID I COULD PAY TO RENT ONE OF THEIR STROLLERS.
Excuse me?!? First of all, I don't want a stroller, and I wouldn't even if you'd offered it for free (which you should have done instead of trying to make more money off your own CM's mistake). The whole point is that Brynn has a safe spot in her stroller/wheelchair. It's the whole reason we haven't gotten her an actual chair yet--it's familar and comfortable and she can pull down the shade and be in her own world. Did they so much as offer me a free plastic bag to cover her seat? Nope. Did they even offer an apology or a sympathetic look? Nope.
She went on to say that the first CM was wrong to tell us that, but that it was our fault for listening to her and parking it there. Uhm, HUH!? Sorry for following directions, lady.
I asked if she would let them know that someone had wrongly instructed several families and that those families were paying the price. Mmmmhmmm, she said, and motioned for the next person in line. She didn't write it down, and she didn't make a move to call them or anything. And that pretty much means nothing was done about it at all. I didn't want her to give me anything; I just wanted her to understand and let someone know, and she just didn't care.
I went out of there crying, and we pushed the wet strollers up the monorail ramp to get to the TTC so we could get back to the hotel. The ferry wasn't running. The express monorail was down. The resort monorail was slow. It took us an hour and a half (AND WE WERE HOLDING A HEAVY BRYNN) to make it back to our van at the TTC.
When we arrived back at CBR, we gave hot baths to our cold, wet children.
We set up our computer with some Baby Einstein movies and Dinosaur Versus shorts and let them laugh for a while.
We all needed those laughs.
While we were relaxing, I realized that somehow Brynn's Key to the World was missing. Sigh. I think it must have been left in the payment booklet at CRT or something.
Brandon wanted a pineapple upside down cake and I wanted my Citrus White Tea, so I took the mugs and drove (because I was smart now, remember?) to Centretown. As I walked in, I noticed that there was a desk with CMs right there. Hmmm, how I had not seen that before? In my bad mood and doubtfully, I walked up and asked if they could issue Brynn a new card. They could! And less than one minute after I joined the line, I had her new card with no need to go back to the front desk! The CM was earning his ears and taking direction from another CM, and both chatted nicely with me and complimented my shirt. Disney was trying really hard to make me forget tonight's incidents, and it was sort of working.
We wanted to just go to sleep and start over new the next day, and that's exactly what we did.
A new day, new dreams to fulfill...
SOAKED.
Obviously it was time for a change of clothes after that, so we made our way to the nearby Baby Care Center for some dry ones and a snack.
I have complained before and I will complain again: The chairs in the nursing room are HORRIBLE. I get that they are in keeping with the time period, but they are wooden and old and creaky and uncomfortable. End of rant.
I know it was a little after three o'clock when we left the Baby Care Center, as we stood outside and saw the tail end of the parade go by.
We decided that since we had some nice new clothes that we should go to a nice new area, Tomorrowland. Nice change of pace! We grabbed some FPs for Space Mountain (two, plus a baby swap that we never ended up using), and then did the best thing we've ever done.
MONSTERS, INC. LAUGH FLOOR!
We've never been in here before because I thought that my kids wouldn't understand the jokes and that we'd be wasting our time, but I was SO VERY WRONG! This would become our trip favorite and would spur a whole new love of the movie, toys, clothing, songs, etc. It's become an obsession.
It was late afternoon, and that means that Brynn's legs were getting clumsy and weak, so we pushed her in with her stroller as a wheelchair (we did have to point out the sticker to the CM, but that's understandable) and we did use the alternate entrance. That was the best use of the GAC EVER. As you can see a few posts above, the waiting area of that consists of cramming everyone in like sardines. The alternate entrance is right beside that, but it's chained off. That meant that we could give Brynn her space and sort of make a "family bubble" around her to make sure she wasn't getting too nervous seeing all the other people in one space. We made our way in after viewing the hilarious intro video that my kids now quote constantly ("Is this your favorite part? How about this one?"). As I was picking up Brynn and settling her onto a bench, I glanced up and realized I was on the camera!! Under my picture, it said "Loves all this attention." My kids thought that was pretty hilarious! Definitely a great start for this attraction!
After lots of laughs, even from the baby, we made our way back to Tomorrowland for a potty break and to use the Space Mtn. FPS. As we were leaving the restrooms, though, we followed right behind Stitch to his meeting area! It was our first time getting to meet him...actually, it was our first time WANTING to meet him, as we've just discovered his movie this past summer.
He was as funny as we'd hoped. He kept leaning the girls sideways, covering their faces, and making funny gestures! They've already requested 'Ohana breakfast for next trip so they can guarantee seeing him and also so they can see Lilo.
I have no pictures, but Julia and I rode Space next while the others played in the little sunken area next to the ride. I am pretty sure that's the designated area for all kids too short to ride.
I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of Space. I'm not scared of any roller coasters, but this one is especially jerky and hurts my neck. I do love the theming so much, though, especially when you're leaving up the ramp at the end.
After that, it was time to slow it down a bit. It was time for the PeopleMover.
We heard them paging Mr. Tom Morrow, but we don't know if he ever answered.
Although early, it was time for dinner. We made our way via the "secret" walkway from Tomorrowland to Storybook Circus and then to the castle. Tonight we would be dining with royalty!
Somewhere near the carousel, the girls put on their princess dresses.
Pushing the strollers up to the CM, we asked (along with another family) where we could park strollers used as wheelchairs for easy access after the meal. We were directed to an area near the podium at the beginning of the wall, and several wheelchairs/strollers were parked there. We were instructed to not park it at the wooden gate that was blocking off the tunnel through the castle, and we were nowhere near it. Foreshadowing? You bet.
Making our way inside, we were happy that the picture line for Cinderella went quickly, for once! We were meeting her pretty much immediately.
Oh, look, our sweet girls!
Okay, that sweet picture was a fluke. This is pretty much how our family REALLY is.
We're fun, though!
Unfortunately, that's pretty much where the fun stopped. I'm so disappointed to say that! We usually love CRT, but this experience is causing us to want to skip it next trip.
We were seated right away, alllllllllllll the way in the back of the restaurant, allllllllllllll the way in a dark corner. We were the very last table to see the princesses, and we were so far from the beautiful surroundings that our table was nothing special. It lost some magic with just our seating alone. It felt very claustrophobic and dark. Our server came over, and I could tell that she wouldn't be brightening up our experience at all, either. Did she even know how to smile?? Not sure.
Our food did come out very fast.
Brandon and I both got the Royal Tasting of Cheese for our appetizer. It looked pretty, but only the parmesan was edible. Brandon was especially disappointed, as he'd had this last year and it had been his favorite part of the meal!
Sawyer decided stacking his cheese was best.
Oh, and that cheese? We had to beg for it. Unlike last year, where the under three Sawyer was given cheese and apple appetizer and plain pasta for dinner at no charge, the mean waitress told us that things had changed and that he would be getting NOTHING. He would have to eat off our plate, and we were not allowed to pay for him to eat. And she also warned us not to even try and ask for seconds on the girls' food to try to give to him because she would not be giving them any more until they had cleaned their plates. WHAT THE WHAT WHAT!?!?! That's a coincidence, because I won't be giving you anything either. Say goodbye to your tip, lady who I can't curse at because my children are present...oh, wait. Tip is included here. GRRRRRR!
Our entrees came out fast, as well.
I had the Slow Roasted Pork Loin on goat cheese polenta.
Horrible! The meat tasted like turkey lunch meat, and the polenta was so dry that it was almost hard. I barely picked at it, but I gave some of my meat to Sawyer. He thought it was turkey, too.
Brandon had the Grilled Swordfish.
His was okay, but definitely not as delicious as swordfish should be.
Brynn got the pizza, and Julia got the chicken. After a couple of minutes, I hid Brynn's pizza under the table and asked for seconds. I should not have had to do that, but it worked and she brought her more...TWO PIECES. Half a pizza. Not a second pizza. It was all I could do not to give her the finger, but Snow White was coming, FINALLY.
She decided that Sawyer needed a kiss because he was such a sweet dwarf!
Yep, even with all that food on his face. That's brave.
It was dessert time after only one princess. The girls decorated their own cupcakes.
It was pretty much the highlight of the meal!
Aurora came by, and she loved Sawyer, as well!
He didn't mind the attention, and Julia was loving it that they were paying attention to her baby brother.
Oh, yes! She kissed him, too!
Ariel was next, and she kissed him, as well! She's Brynn's favorite princess, but she was so fast with her visit that we barely even managed a picture.
When Belle came, she did some wonderful princess spinning with the girls (it's on the video) and was gone quickly, as well.
So we were ready to go.
We carried Brynn and Sawyer down as Julia trailed behind us. We saw the man from earlier frantically looking for his son's wheelchair. Not there. Wait, that's not possible! And ours? Not there, either. Both families ran up to the desk, asking where our chairs were so we could sit our kids down...you know, the desk where the lady had just told both of us together to park them right next to it for easy access once we came out of the restaurant??
And they said they had no idea. They don't know who would have told us that. Go look for them in stroller parking...
OUT IN THE POURING RAIN.
So, both families, each carrying a child/children who couldn't walk at the moment, searched all of Fantasyland until we found our soaked wheelchairs and strollers as wheelchairs. To say we were mad is an understatement. We turned the strollers up to dump out as much water as we could and put some camp towels down so Sawyer could sit. The problem is that Brynn's was so soaked that she refused to sit in it.
As we walked towards Main Street, I got more and more livid thinking about the situation. I decided that someone needed to know about it, so with cheeks red hot and tears forming, I went into Guest Services right before the entrance. I walked up to the lady and told her that this was my fourth trip and I had never had a complaint before, but I wanted to let them know what happened. I told her the whole tale, and do you know what she said?
SHE SAID I COULD PAY TO RENT ONE OF THEIR STROLLERS.
Excuse me?!? First of all, I don't want a stroller, and I wouldn't even if you'd offered it for free (which you should have done instead of trying to make more money off your own CM's mistake). The whole point is that Brynn has a safe spot in her stroller/wheelchair. It's the whole reason we haven't gotten her an actual chair yet--it's familar and comfortable and she can pull down the shade and be in her own world. Did they so much as offer me a free plastic bag to cover her seat? Nope. Did they even offer an apology or a sympathetic look? Nope.
She went on to say that the first CM was wrong to tell us that, but that it was our fault for listening to her and parking it there. Uhm, HUH!? Sorry for following directions, lady.
I asked if she would let them know that someone had wrongly instructed several families and that those families were paying the price. Mmmmhmmm, she said, and motioned for the next person in line. She didn't write it down, and she didn't make a move to call them or anything. And that pretty much means nothing was done about it at all. I didn't want her to give me anything; I just wanted her to understand and let someone know, and she just didn't care.
I went out of there crying, and we pushed the wet strollers up the monorail ramp to get to the TTC so we could get back to the hotel. The ferry wasn't running. The express monorail was down. The resort monorail was slow. It took us an hour and a half (AND WE WERE HOLDING A HEAVY BRYNN) to make it back to our van at the TTC.
When we arrived back at CBR, we gave hot baths to our cold, wet children.
We set up our computer with some Baby Einstein movies and Dinosaur Versus shorts and let them laugh for a while.
We all needed those laughs.
While we were relaxing, I realized that somehow Brynn's Key to the World was missing. Sigh. I think it must have been left in the payment booklet at CRT or something.
Brandon wanted a pineapple upside down cake and I wanted my Citrus White Tea, so I took the mugs and drove (because I was smart now, remember?) to Centretown. As I walked in, I noticed that there was a desk with CMs right there. Hmmm, how I had not seen that before? In my bad mood and doubtfully, I walked up and asked if they could issue Brynn a new card. They could! And less than one minute after I joined the line, I had her new card with no need to go back to the front desk! The CM was earning his ears and taking direction from another CM, and both chatted nicely with me and complimented my shirt. Disney was trying really hard to make me forget tonight's incidents, and it was sort of working.
We wanted to just go to sleep and start over new the next day, and that's exactly what we did.
A new day, new dreams to fulfill...
Or just run around like a crazy lady in front of those water tikis while children's parents stare at me.
Have you thought about contacting Guest Services via mail/email? It might not hurt to report about your experience!
You'd think they'd be apologizing to no end. 
) since I was 16 and I have NEVER, EVER heard any server threaten a guest (which is what I feel happened to you). Most servers are bright enough to know that if the babies are happy, then their parents are happy. Restaurants go to great lengths to keep the children smiling. I really wish that you had said something to the manager of CRT before you left. At the very least, I hope that you'll send an email detailing the poor service that you received overall that night. 
