Land/Sea Trip Report - I *Promise* to Inform and *Hope* to Entertain!

[Crystal_27]

wow unbeliveable! That is the stuff (you try not to sweat the small stuff but come on!)that would drive me insane and probably ruin my day! However I unlike you (good for you) probably would have never said anything, then all day would have thought of Stuff I "should" have said! good for you, for holding your ground! ... I can't stand when people think the rules don't apply to them!

Well, despite my narration, I don't DO confrontation very well. My heart was pounding so hard and I had a TON of butterflies in my stomach. However, what made me so mad was that as a fellow woman and as a fellow MOTHER, how could she not understand that we just wanted to be closer to our kid?

You just addressed two of the potential problems I've been a little fretful over. Do we attempt to go into Nassau and what if we can't find deck chairs?
(Imagine fretting over things that aren't going to happen for over a year and a half from now... welcome to my world. )

Seriously though, was it hard to get chairs? I hate when I take the kids to the swim club in the summer and cannot find even one chair for all of our gear and me! I am so relieved to know that at least the whole "saving" thing is technically prohibited.

Well, honestly, that day at the pool was the only time that we ever had problems with the lounge chairs. Most times, people would just sit in them (moving aside any towels already in the chairs) and it was not a big deal at all. Heck, people moved our stuff a time or two when we weren't sitting in them - no biggie!! I mean, if my butt isn't in it, what do I care? And, each Navigator does specifically state that seat saving is "prohibited."

Crystal.....we just came off of the 7 day in January and I have to tell you that each moring I went for a walk as the sun started to rise, and there were already people scoping out the pool area placing towels down on chairs, that we would watch later and no one would ever sit in them. The day of the Patriot/chargers game, we (24 in all) grabbed a total of 7 chairs and we squished in, and at one point a person yelled over at one of our adult women, "hey, don't touch that stroller" as she moved it slightly out of her way. He was in the pool yelling at her!!! People just need to learn to relax....isn't that why we go on vacation????

cheryl

I agree with you totally, Cheryl. It's really sad that we ("we," collectively, as a society, I mean) are so hyper about making sure that no one gets the better of us.

Wallyb, I knew that you would come up with something uber-clever, but I am literally wiping Diet Coke off of my monitor. BAAAA-HAAAA-HAAAA - you NAILED it!

^^^I'm not sure I'd mess with her! ^^^

Indeed!!

Hurray for you! I would've fought for the seat, too. I actually fought over a chair with one guy. We just wanted one chair for our whole family. He was stacking chairs to save them for his family. I took one and sat down, cuz I had a sleepy child. He nearly hit me. I was looking for a CM, and I think he sensed it, cuz he back off. I just wanted to see the fireworks without dropping the baby!

Hurray right back 'atcha, DizzneyDAnn!

 

[solgent]

Good for you for politely and firmly asserting your rights.

I think saying "I'm sorry" is appropriate. It does not mean "I'm sorry about what I'm doing or saying." It means "I am not doing this just to be contrary, I would accommodate you (your unreasonableness) if I could, but in this instance I can not." Which is true.

As for Coach bags I have 2 words for you: Outlet Shops!

I got a beautiful Coach bag at an outlet store in Nov 2006. Originally $335; I got it for $135. Which is still a bit of a splurge but I use it nearly every day (I also have a rugged Timbuk2 bag that I sometimes use for traveling) and plan to for years.

 

[Haley Whippet]

You are very cool, I would have had to tell her to go jump off the deck.. I remember going to Fantasmic and having someone tell us a whole row was saved.. Sorry! I am here and they are not. Now this wasn't just a few spots saved, But a whole row.. Not gonna happen lady! A CM kindly told her she can't save the row.. We sat down
Deb

 

[Crystal_27]

Good for you for politely and firmly asserting your rights.

I think saying "I'm sorry" is appropriate. It does not mean "I'm sorry about what I'm doing or saying." It means "I am not doing this just to be contrary, I would accommodate you (your unreasonableness) if I could, but in this instance I can not." Which is true.

As for Coach bags I have 2 words for you: Outlet Shops!

I got a beautiful Coach bag at an outlet store in Nov 2006. Originally $335; I got it for $135. Which is still a bit of a splurge but I use it nearly every day (I also have a rugged Timbuk2 bag that I sometimes use for traveling) and plan to for years.

Hmmm, a Coach outlet, huh? I'll definitely have to check that out. My purses that I have now look brand new, but I sooooo want the patchwork purse that came out a year or so ago!! Thank you very much for the information, Solgent!!

You are very cool, I would have had to tell her to go jump off the deck.. I remember going to Fantasmic and having someone tell us a whole row was saved.. Sorry! I am here and they are not. Now this wasn't just a few spots saved, But a whole row.. Not gonna happen lady! A CM kindly told her she can't save the row.. We sat down
Deb

I just don't understand it either - - an entire row for some non-existent people?!? Good for you for standing up for yourself as well!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Yeaaaa! Thanks for the update! Sorry that you didn't like Nassau...it is definitely different from what we are used to!!!
I can't believe the SSW at the pool! But kudos to you for standing up for yourself. I probably would have just said "okay" and moved. Good for you though!!

 

[kalel29]

So, we ate breakfast at Parrot Cay and headed off to Nassau for our fun-filled day of shopping. And, YIKES – let me tell you guys - Nassau is a freaking dump! It’s dirty, smelly, crazy-scary, crowded, and the Coach purses (et al.) are the same price as the ones in the States! I cannot to this day believe that I so enthusiastically braved the street peddlers, the craziness, and the general funk at Nassau just to encounter the same prices as are in my clean and bright shopping malls! UG and darn that luck!

The excursion that we did, "Discover Atlantis", I believe was the name was actually pretty good. It was a nice tour of the Atlantis resort and the aquarium. When we did go through "downtown" we actually were in the middle of the Anna Nicole Smith paternity hearing!!! For me and the DW this was exciting. Here's a few pics of the media circus that was going on outside the courthouse...

And of course I had to put in my two cents... Here's where I made my official announcement using a water bottle I found on the ground as my mic that I could possibly be the baby's daddy.

Me: Listen, why don’t you go (…jump off a bridge...) inform a Crew Member that I’m sitting in a seat you have “saved” and further inform said CM that you have 6 other seats “saved” and see what the CM says. I *promise* you that the rules are on my side. This really isn’t as big a deal as you’re making it. (I even did the quote things with my fingers when I said the word "saved" – I’m *such* a dork sometimes.)

Well done!! Sometimes a SSP (Seat Saving Person) needs to be put in there place!!

Sorry I used some of you TR to put up some pics, but since I never got around to doing a TR of my own (and by that I mean "too lazy"), I found a golden opportunity to describe a very minimal piece of my trip. J/K Hope I didn't steal too much of the thunder from your wonderful TR!!! It's still very entertaining.

 

[Haley Whippet]

The excursion that we did, "Discover Atlantis", I believe was the name was actually pretty good. It was a nice tour of the Atlantis resort and the aquarium. When we did go through "downtown" we actually were in the middle of the Anna Nicole Smith paternity hearing!!! For me and the DW this was exciting. Here's a few pics of the media circus that was going on outside the courthouse...

And of course I had to put in my two cents... Here's where I made my official announcement using a water bottle I found on the ground as my mic that I could possibly be the baby's daddy.

Well done!! Sometimes a SSP (Seat Saving Person) needs to be put in there place!!

Sorry I used some of you TR to put up some pics, but since I never got around to doing a TR of my own (and by that I mean "too lazy"), I found a golden opportunity to describe a very minimal piece of my trip. J/K Hope I didn't steal too much of the thunder from your wonderful TR!!! It's still very entertaining.

Everyone claimed to be that Baby's Daddy!

 

[Crystal_27]

Yeaaaa! Thanks for the update! Sorry that you didn't like Nassau...it is definitely different from what we are used to!!!
I can't believe the SSW at the pool! But kudos to you for standing up for yourself. I probably would have just said "okay" and moved. Good for you though!!

Totally agree with you that Nassau is different from what I expected. I had just convinced myself that that shopping would yield some great results - - I'm sure that my disappointment caused me to have not so warm feelings about Nassau. Next time - an excursion will be a must!

The excursion that we did, "Discover Atlantis", I believe was the name was actually pretty good. It was a nice tour of the Atlantis resort and the aquarium. When we did go through "downtown" we actually were in the middle of the Anna Nicole Smith paternity hearing!!! For me and the DW this was exciting. Here's a few pics of the media circus that was going on outside the courthouse...

And of course I had to put in my two cents... Here's where I made my official announcement using a water bottle I found on the ground as my mic that I could possibly be the baby's daddy.

Well done!! Sometimes a SSP (Seat Saving Person) needs to be put in there place!!

Sorry I used some of you TR to put up some pics, but since I never got around to doing a TR of my own (and by that I mean "too lazy"), I found a golden opportunity to describe a very minimal piece of my trip. J/K Hope I didn't steal too much of the thunder from your wonderful TR!!! It's still very entertaining.

WOW - Kalel - I'm jealous of your very unique Nassau experience - I'm sure it was a circus, but at least you will always get to say that you were THERE. You made me laugh out loud with your "full disclosure" picture - absolutely hysterical!!! Please feel free to add anything you want to this TR - you ROCK!!!

 

[wallyb]

I remember going to Fantasmic and having someone tell us a whole row was saved.. Sorry! I am here and they are not. Now this wasn't just a few spots saved, But a whole row.. Not gonna happen lady! A CM kindly told her she can't save the row.. We sat down
Deb

 

[jtlund]

I just found it and am LOVING it - thank you!~ The Big is TOO cute! One thing - I'd NEVER get my dh into the Xmas outfit. LOVE it though and wish he'd take one for the team and wear matching outfits one year!

Couple quick questions - hope they aren't premature... (BTW - I'm a family law paralegal for large law firm in Mpls).

Question No. 1: What would you say would be the amount whole trip cost you? Air Fare for my family from Mpls would be $800 so I don't need that portion. Just booked trip plus spending money. I'm horrible at trying to guess stuff like this. It sounds like you picked all the stuff I would enjoy doing and am curious if $5-6K would be enough to have a great time (trip, spending money, etc.)

Question No. 2: Could yuo have picked Fort Wilderness Lodge instead of Poly as part of the Land/Sea package w/catagory 5?

 

[monkeygirl]

wow unbeliveable! That is the stuff (you try not to sweat the small stuff but come on!)that would drive me insane and probably ruin my day! However I unlike you (good for you) probably would have never said anything, then all day would have thought of Stuff I "should" have said! good for you, for holding your ground! ... I can't stand when people think the rules don't apply to them!

I am the same as you! Except I would have thrown in "The Evil Eye" look every time I saw the lady. I know, so scary huh?

I wish they had more CM patrolling the chairs letting people know this.

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

You are too much!

 

[Crystal_27]

(And the hilarity ensues!) Thank you for the pick-me-up, WallyB. I had the most horrible, soggy, scary, hour-and-a-half commute this morning - - another picture of our "dear" SSW was just what I needed.

I just found it and am LOVING it - thank you!~ The Big is TOO cute! One thing - I'd NEVER get my dh into the Xmas outfit. LOVE it though and wish he'd take one for the team and wear matching outfits one year!

Couple quick questions - hope they aren't premature... (BTW - I'm a family law paralegal for large law firm in Mpls).

Question No. 1: What would you say would be the amount whole trip cost you? Air Fare for my family from Mpls would be $800 so I don't need that portion. Just booked trip plus spending money. I'm horrible at trying to guess stuff like this. It sounds like you picked all the stuff I would enjoy doing and am curious if $5-6K would be enough to have a great time (trip, spending money, etc.)

Question No. 2: Could yuo have picked Fort Wilderness Lodge instead of Poly as part of the Land/Sea package w/catagory 5?

First of all, welcome to my TR, JTLund! *Sigh* - I *really* miss domestic work - it's all corporate litigation for me now!

As to your questions, I'm winging the figures, but I think I'll get close. For the package itself, the cost was approximately $3,800. I recall our room charges being approximately $600, which included table service meals at Ohanas, Crystal Palace, and Kona (breakfast), as well as BBB for The Big. That also included a $100 green's fee for DH's golfing. We prepaid Cinderella's Royal Table which was $100. I think that the cruise portion (including our stateboard credit) cost approximately $375, and that included tips, the rasul at the spa, a few drinks, and a couple of souveniers. We also paid for one night at the HoJo ($30) and we spent about $100 at Downtown Disney that night as well. So, unless I'm forgetting anything, our grand total was approximately $5,005 for the entire trip, plus a few tanks of gas to drive down and back (~$120). It's funny - it didn't seem that expensive at the time, but I guess that's what happens when you are required to pre-pay your trip - LOL! Anyway, I hope that helps!

As to Fort Wilderness, I don't believe it is an offered choice. I think that the Deluxe choices are: Beach Club, Polynesian, Animal Kingdom, and Swan/Dolphin. However, it never hurts to ask, and I'm sure that once you book your trip you could very easily ask if FW is available. Anyway, feel free to ask anything else along the way. Thanks again for reading!

 

[pammyjsb]

Hey Crystal,

Still with you here enjoying your report. You listing out your expenditures made me think of a question for you. Can't remember if you addressed this already, but did you buy a meal plan for your land portion? Kinda sounds like you did but I was just wondering. I just booked the meal plan for our land portion. For our family of 5 it was $408 for the three days. I hope it was the right move but I won't know until we actually see how we utilize it.

You are such an expert I just want your opinion

Pam

 

[Crystal_27]

Hey Crystal,

Still with you here enjoying your report. You listing out your expenditures made me think of a question for you. Can't remember if you addressed this already, but did you buy a meal plan for your land portion? Kinda sounds like you did but I was just wondering. I just booked the meal plan for our land portion. For our family of 5 it was $408 for the three days. I hope it was the right move but I won't know until we actually see how we utilize it.

You are such an expert I just want your opinion

Pam

Hey, Pammy Girl! An expert I definitely am not (but thank you for the warm fuzzies anyway ), but I can answer your question. We would have added the DDP to our Land/Sea, but Disney, until 2008, did not allow people to add the dining plan to Land/Sea packages. When Disney made the "wonderful" changes to the existing dining plan, the ability to add the DDP to Land/Sea packages was one of the things that was added (probably really the only positive that came out of the DDP changes - LOLOLOLOLOL).

As a sidebar, I firmly believe that if you maximize the DDP by doing a little menu research beforehand that, even with the loss of appetizers and tips, the DDP can be a very good deal for families. We are actually on the DDP for our upcoming September, 2008 trip simply because, when we did the math, it worked out in our favor. I estimate that we will save approximately $250 for the duration of our trip, and we have the option of eating the most expensive thing on the menu every night without worrying about cost. YAY, right?

 

[pammyjsb]

Good, that's what I was thinking too. I "guessed" that we'd save $100 for our little 3-day gig. The only bad thing is because I decided to do this so late, I probably didn't get the best ADR times. Oh well. I'll let you know after our trip how it went.

Still waiting to see your pirate night pics (hint, hint)........Just kidding, you are doing a great job.

Pam

 

[kaysmommie]

Good job putting that SSW in her place. Sounds like the lady I fought with over a bench at MGM (HS now). She had a bench put decided she was saving 2 benches when the nice lady who was sitting there let me have her the before she left. It wasn't saved for her to begin with. I can't stand people like this who think they are more entitiled than others. I hope I don't encounter one of these on the ship because it makes my blood boil and who needs that on vacation. Your DD is adorable BTW and your trippie is great!

 

[Crystal_27]

Still waiting to see your pirate night pics (hint, hint)........Just kidding, you are doing a great job.

Pam

I know, I know - - I'm being a slacker. The girl that I job share with asked me to flip days with her, so I've had to work 6 10-hour days in a row! However, today is my last day of that and then I'll be off for 6 days. I promise I'll get my next installment up tomorrow or Friday.

Good job putting that SSW in her place. Sounds like the lady I fought with over a bench at MGM (HS now). She had a bench put decided she was saving 2 benches when the nice lady who was sitting there let me have her the before she left. It wasn't saved for her to begin with. I can't stand people like this who think they are more entitiled than others. I hope I don't encounter one of these on the ship because it makes my blood boil and who needs that on vacation. Your DD is adorable BTW and your trippie is great!

Thank you very much for reading, Kaysmommie! About the ship and seat saving, my experience with SSW was really the only time I ever encountered any issues. Most times, people just moved items off of the chairs or lounges and sat down - it really was no big deal. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't hesitate to move towels, etc. off of a lounge chair - - that's what everyone (except SSW) was doing during our cruise.

 

[wallyb]

Will someone wake me when Crystal puts up her next installment?

 

[Crystal_27]

Will someone wake me when Crystal puts up her next installment?

I'm a slacker no more - here it comes!!!

I was actually grateful that my dear Big wanted to go back to the room because that meant it was naptime. This is almost embarrassing to admit (but, hey, after my whole Coach purse disclosure, I’ve probably lost everyone’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T anyway) but both DH and I take naps at every available opportunity (meaning every day off from work, including both weekend days). I think there is nothing more luxurious than sleeping in the middle of the day when you probably should be doing something else. Anyway, we got back to our room, turned on the television (which landed right in the middle of the movie Transformers) and we drifted into sweet, sweet slumber.

After we woke up, we started watching Transformers again (which must have been on a loop because we began watching it in almost exactly the same spot it had been on when we went to sleep) and The Big hung out and played with her bucket sand toys from “Ariel.” After a few minutes of hanging out, we noticed that The Big was starting to get a runny nose and cough. Uh oh! Since The Big is a “daycare” kid, getting sick really doesn’t really faze her anymore and, since the kids just seem to swap their germs back and forth, she seems to get some sort of cough/cold thing every other month or so. Her energy was fine, though, and she didn’t have a fever, but I knew that we still needed to be proactive and get something for her cough. So, off we went in search of some medicine for our child. Unfortunately, both gift shops were closed until later on that night so The Big just had to “deal” until we could get her some medicine. To anyone who is doubting our parenting skills right now, I assure you that The Big was fine in her own mind. Nothing stops our kiddo.

Tonight was also our eagerly anticipated dinner at Animator’s Palate and our first show – Hercules The Muse-Ical. Since our dinner-mates were no shows the previous night, I was totally preparing myself to be sat at another big ‘ol table all by our lonesomes. However, much to my surprise, when we were shown to our table at Animator’s Palate, we had 3 tablemates – a husband, wife, and their adorable 4 year old son from New York! I’m not very good at small talk, so I was a bit worried at first, but we all really clicked and there weren’t any awkward moments at all. DH and I both had the Chef’s Recommended beef of the evening and The Big ordered a pork chop (which looked bizarrely thin but which she gobbled up so it must have tasted all right). I think DH had the strawberry shortcake and I had the cheesecake for dessert. We also got a factoid about Animator’s Palate which I found incredible. That room is the most expensive room aboard the ship, with a pricetag of $4.3 Million! DH was manning the camera that night, but we were able to get a before and after picture of Simba.

Since the Herc show was starting at 6:15 p.m., we had plenty of time to swing into a gift shop and buy The Big some Children’s Tylenol (at a whopping $9.50 - - and worth every penny) before getting our seats. We actually sat close to or in the same seats for every show because they were so great - on the second tier, maybe 5 rows up, right in the middle. I had my camera with me, but I was enjoying the show so much that I didn’t take any pictures. Sorry, guys! After the show, I had promised The Big that she could pick out one treat, so we went back to the gift shops to find something for her. She surprised both DH and I by picking out a Stitch stuffed animal. Before our Character Connection at Epcot, The Big had never even heard of Stitch, so I know that he must have really made a positive impression on her. We also spent a few minutes browsing through Shutters and finding (and laughing at) our pictures, before finally deciding to call it a night. Since The Big was (technically) sick, I wanted to make sure that she got a good night’s sleep. Also, my hard day of eating, swimming, and napping had really taken its toll, and I was ready to relax as well. So, we got back to our room, turned on the television (Transformers – again), talked about our wonderful day, and, eventually, the boat rocked us all to sleep.