Like a Bad Meal (V Keeps Coming Back) - THE END! 1/12/09

[PrincessAlways]

The July 4th trip....what will it be like??? Do tell! Do tell!!!

 

[princessjv]

Help...






I'm hangin here and need some help down...






It was Tuesday...




Yesterday, V!





Come'on and give Jen a lil'l sumpin sumpin.

 

[Goofyluver]

Yea...this Jen needs a lil'l (is that how you spell it other Jen?) sumpin' sumpin' too!

 

[talicskai]

Just what would our July 4th story be?????

I can't wait for the next update!!!!

 

[puggymom]

I REPEAT

Now get your Focker butt back here and tell us about Janet's Mom.

 

[PrincessV]

The July 4th trip....what will it be like??? Do tell! Do tell!!!

Help...






I'm hangin here and need some help down...






It was Tuesday...




Yesterday, V!





Come'on and give Jen a lil'l sumpin sumpin.

Yea...this Jen needs a lil'l (is that how you spell it other Jen?) sumpin' sumpin' too!

I can't wait for the next update!!!!

I REPEAT

Sorry guys - I'm really not trying to leave you hanging... but it's been an insanely busy week and school writing gets first priority. I'm hoping to get some work done today, though! Thanks for reading everyone!

 

[princessjv]

No pressure. We all just like to remind you how much we like you.



Back to work and school you go!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

school writing gets first priority.

Agree... no pressure. But I am very impressed with your self discipline. I don't always prioritize, ahem, correctly.... Good luck with your school work.

 

[Goofyluver]

Yea V...you're nice...and gosh darn it...people like you!

LY/MI!

 

[PrincessV]

Back to work and school you go!

Agree... no pressure. But I am very impressed with your self discipline. I don't always prioritize, ahem, correctly.... Good luck with your school work.

Thanks guys! I didn't actually get much school work done, but I did get some "work" done tonight! Keep scrolling....

Yea V...you're nice...and gosh darn it...people like you!

LY/MI!

Thanks Jen!

 

[PrincessV]

Our July 4th began with an early-ish wake-up for Leo and me. We ate breakfast. Talked some about what was waiting for us at Disney. Caught up on the morning’s news and weather reports. And, went swimming.



Uh-huh. Went swimming. Right here, at home.

No rushing around, trying to beat traffic or make rope drop for us. Gramma would be home in time for a planned 12pm departure lmao: ), so we had plenty of time to get our swim on before hitting the road.

I’ve unofficially – Fuzzily, as it were – proclaimed summer 2008 as the Summer of Swim. If you’ve followed along, or even just read my very first trip report, you’ll know that Leo has a history of swimming issues. To put it bluntly: he’s sunk like a stone.

But not this year! 2008 is Leo’s year to SWIM!! I finally bit the bullet and jumped through hoops to get him a couple private swim lessons at our local aquatic center and that’s all he needed. After one session, he knew how to float, how to use “big arms” and how to get to the side of a pool. After two sessions, he was working on side breathing, dolphin kicks and distance swimming underwater. On top of these sessions, we’d been in our own pool almost daily, perfecting techniques and mastering even more skills. Skills like Jump So Hard Your Knees Scrape the Bottom and Mommy Moves You Down to the Next Depth Marker. And Spend So Long Examining the Pool Floor Mommy Thinks You’re Drowning. Good stuff.


My point being, by the time we went to WDW for July 4th weekend, Leo was a swimming machine. We'd watched the Olympic team trials and admired Michael Phelps. He and I were both psyched about hitting The World’s pools and waterparks, thinking of all the new things he could do now that he could really SWIM!

Remember that.


So yeah, we spent departure morning swimming. At home. And we had some lunch. And waited for Gramma to get home from work.

We waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, around 12:45 she strolled in. I let her settle in a bit before pouncing…

“Ummm, mom? When do you think you’ll be ready to leave?”

Gramma: “I just need five minutes to shower, eat and change.”







I swear, this is her standard response every time I ask when she’ll be ready to go somewhere. And it’s always hopelessly, ridiculously WRONG.

In this case, wrong by about 30 minutes.

Leo and I were getting antsy, as Gramma perused the newspaper whilst sipping her coffee and petting the cat. I finally said something about really needing to get on the road to avoid driving in the afternoon storms and we finally got this trip underway.

Oy.




Lucky for Gramma, we had an easy drive and made it to WDW in just over an hour and a half. As we passed through the Magic Kingdom toll center, I looked to my left to assess possible crowd conditions. See, the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) is right there, and the furthest parking lots can be seen from the roadway to the Magic Kingdom resorts. Sure enough, they were FULL. Every single spot taken up by cars.

The Wilderness Lodge (WL) was another story… the lobby was - dare I say it?! – quiet! Ish. There was no line for check-ins and only a few folks hanging around in chairs or on sofas.

Guess what this is:

It’s a Baby Bison. Not to be confused with a Daddy Bison, which has bigger “horns.”
Leo’s majorly into bison these days, so the WL was a perfect place for him.


With no waiting, I walked right up to check in, fully expecting to hear that our room was not yet ready, despite it being very near 3pm.

Wrong! It was ready and waiting! Keys in hand, we headed off to the right, up to the 5th floor and down, down, down the hall. I opened the door, peeked inside and saw…



Bunk beds!!!!!!

I didn’t book bunk beds.

I didn’t pay for bunk beds.

Know what that means?

FREE UPGRADE FOR V!!!!!!

Okay, the “courtyard” view was actually a view of the Villas and their pool, but when you consider that I usually have a stunning view of my own car, I didn’t care. Leo, however, was having conniptions he was so excited about the bed situation.

Shoot, I was pretty happy, too. Three beds would mean no sharing with Leo, the Squirmiest Sleeper Alive.

Leo was ready to climb all over the bunks and Gramma wanted to call bell services for our bags. But. I needed to do The Inspection first.

The Bed Bug Inspection.

I do it every trip, at every hotel. Religiously. In my 30+ years of hotel stays, not once have I turned up a bed bug, nor yet anything even suspiciously resembling a bed bug. Still, I look. Because you never know when that one time will be.




Wanna guess my one time???



Okay, to be fair, I didn’t know for certain that it was a bed bug. But there was a bug. On the wall. In very close proximity to the bed. I looked and looked and looked, trying to recollect every picture I’d seen of bed bugs. But the sucker was small – as are bed bugs – and I didn’t want to get too close. I took a picture, then zoomed in on it; still not able to tell for sure what it might be.

I had no choice by that time. It might have been a baby roach, or it might not. But none of us could have stayed in that room wondering. It was back to the front desk for us. All the while, explaining to Leo that we might not get a bunk bed in our new room, hoping he wouldn’t be too disappointed.

I wound up with the very same CM who’d checked me in. And I leaned over the counter to whisper, “We need another room please. I did my customary bed bug check and may have found one.” I also mentioned that I hated to cause any inconvenience, but living in Florida, where once bugs are installed, it’s nearly impossible to get them OUT of your home, I just could not take that chance.

She was great – she nodded and verbalized her understanding and seemed appreciative of my desire not to cause a scene. But. She had to call a manager for this.

He was less empathetic, though no less polite and professional. Really, he was very nice. He was also incorrect. When he stated that “bed bugs are too small to be seen by the naked eye.”

Uh, no. Wrong. Wrongity-wrong-wrong. Google is your friend Mr. Manager.

I didn’t really say that. What I did say was this: “Listen, as I said before, I’m no expert, and it may well be something else, but I’m not interested in being the Bite Test Dummy, if you catch my drift. I would like another room and I’ll leave it to you all to examine the bug and decide whether it poses any threat or not. To another guest. But we can’t sleep in there at this point.”

That’s all it took. Lickity-split, I had a new set of keys in hand and we headed off to the opposite wing, in search of our new room.

I was prepared for the worst, fearing that I’d now been branded a “troublesome guest”…

…so I was more than pleasantly surprised when I opened the door, walked across to the windows, and saw this:

And this:

WOO HOOOTY!!!!! I got me a VIEW!!!!


But wait, what was that I’d passed on my way to the window? And why was Leo hootin’ and hollerin’ so much? Why, because this room, too, had a bunk bed!!! Oh yeah, we got a VIEW and an UPGRADE, with NO BUGS!!!!



Actually, the no bugs part hadn’t been confirmed. Time for my inspection. Bunk beds – clear. Queen bed – clear.

Except.

For a whole bunch of crumbs in the blanket. And some hairs of dubious nature. Between the sheets.


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

Also, our predecessors left their room keys on the table. Somehow, having a name to place with the hairs made it that much worse.


I looked at Gramma. Gramma looked at me. We both looked at Leo, living it up on the top bunk. We wanted this room, by golly. So I called housekeeping, explained the problem and was assured someone would be right up to make things right. In the meantime, I also called Bell Services and asked for our luggage.

Much to my surprise, the housekeeping manager showed up within five minutes, with a housekeeper, and the two of them changed all the sheets and vacuumed the carpet. The bathroom was clearly freshly cleaned, so that didn’t need anything done. While they worked their magic, we three lounged on the porch, watching the activities by the pool and taking some pics.

Housekeeping was done within 10 minutes and I thanked them profusely for their promptness. And then I got the surprise of my life: the manager apologized again, and aaked if I’d authorized my room keys for charging. Yes, I did, but…

Suzy-Best-Manager-Ever: “I’m going to place a $20 credit on your account for the invonvenience. Please enjoy it for whatever you might like – snacks, gifts, drinks – with my sincere apologies.”

I was stunned. STUNNED!

Seriously, I was just happy they’d rectified the problem with so little hassle, I didn’t need anything monetary. And I said so. But Suzy-Best-Manager-Ever insisted, so I accepted with many thanks.

Our sweet room mojo only continued when Arnie the luggage guy appeared a few minutes later with commendations for my employer (I’m in marketing, right? We have luggage tags we use as a promotional item and they’re attached to all my bags) and lovely things to say about my region of Florida. He also wished us a very happy holiday, and said he was an expert on many things Disney, so we shouldn’t hesitate to ring up Bell Services and ask for Arnie if we had any perplexing questions. Such a nice man!

So. Wow. Just wow. Despite some issues, this trip was off to a great start.

Could our luck continue? Next stop: the WL pool and dinner with Janet’s mom!


More room pics:

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

Great room mojo without Char??

 

[ncsjodi]

So the Focker curse only happens when you're at BWV??

I had it happen at AKV in December.....

 

[jordanyosh]

MOJO......

Well the start of the vacation seems to be going good.....hmmm is that a good sign or a bad.....?

And after working in the Service Industry for 17 years, we appreciated people who voiced concern w/o throwing a fit....

 

[ArielSRL]

Great update! And what great room mojo. Char must be rubbing off on you!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

I’ve unofficially – Fuzzily, as it were – proclaimed summer 2008 as the Summer of Swim. If you’ve followed along, or even just read my very first trip report, you’ll know that Leo has a history of swimming issues. To put it bluntly: he’s sunk like a stone.

WTG, Leo!

My point being, by the time we went to WDW for July 4th weekend, Leo was a swimming machine. We'd watched the Olympic team trials and admired Michael Phelps. He and I were both psyched about hitting The World’s pools and waterparks, thinking of all the new things he could do now that he could really SWIM!

Remember that.

Uh-oh....

Finally, around 12:45 she strolled in. I let her settle in a bit before pouncing…

I have 3 little letters for you. A. I. S. Gramma needs an AIS time.

Guess what this is:

It’s a Baby Bison. Not to be confused with a Daddy Bison, which has bigger “horns.”
Leo’s majorly into bison these days, so the WL was a perfect place for him.

Of course I knew that.

FREE UPGRADE FOR V!!!!!!

Yay, V!

I do it every trip, at every hotel. Religiously. In my 30+ years of hotel stays, not once have I turned up a bed bug, nor yet anything even suspiciously resembling a bed bug. Still, I look. Because you never know when that one time will be.

Really? I never thought of looking for bed bugs.... but now you've got me thinking....

Wanna guess my one time???

He was less empathetic, though no less polite and professional. Really, he was very nice. He was also incorrect. When he stated that “bed bugs are too small to be seen by the naked eye.”

Seriously?

Uh, no. Wrong. Wrongity-wrong-wrong. Google is your friend Mr. Manager.

Yup, that Google'll bite you in the butt everytime. No pun intended.

But wait, what was that I’d passed on my way to the window? And why was Leo hootin’ and hollerin’ so much? Why, because this room, too, had a bunk bed!!! Oh yeah, we got a VIEW and an UPGRADE, with NO BUGS!!!!

Muy excellente!

For a whole bunch of crumbs in the blanket. And some hairs of dubious nature. Between the sheets.

DUDE!! I think I just threw up a little bit!! GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!

Suzy-Best-Manager-Ever: “I’m going to place a $20 credit on your account for the invonvenience. Please enjoy it for whatever you might like – snacks, gifts, drinks – with my sincere apologies.”

I was stunned. STUNNED!

Wow! I'm stunned!

Could our luck continue? Next stop: the WL pool and dinner with Janet’s mom!

 

[scottny]

glad you got an upgrade and money and bunk beds.

the pics are nice of the room

 

[DisneyJo]

Woooohoooo V, what great room mojo And to be paid for your inconvenience too

BTW you see you've now worried T about bedbugs

 

[jcc0621]

Skills like Jump So Hard Your Knees Scrape the Bottom and Mommy Moves You Down to the Next Depth Marker. And Spend So Long Examining the Pool Floor Mommy Thinks You’re Drowning. Good stuff.

point being, by the time we went to WDW for July 4th weekend, Leo was a swimming machine. We'd watched the Olympic team trials and admired Michael Phelps. He and I were both psyched about hitting The World’s pools and waterparks, thinking of all the new things he could do now that he could really SWIM!

Remember that.

Uh oh

Gramma: “I just need five minutes to shower, eat and change.”

FREE UPGRADE FOR V!!!!!!

Wanna guess my one time???

so I was more than pleasantly surprised when I opened the door, walked across to the windows, and saw this:

And this:

WOO HOOOTY!!!!! I got me a VIEW!!!!


But wait, what was that I’d passed on my way to the window? And why was Leo hootin’ and hollerin’ so much? Why, because this room, too, had a bunk bed!!! Oh yeah, we got a VIEW and an UPGRADE, with NO BUGS!!!!

Housekeeping was done within 10 minutes and I thanked them profusely for their promptness. And then I got the surprise of my life: the manager apologized again, and aaked if I’d authorized my room keys for charging. Yes, I did, but…

Suzy-Best-Manager-Ever: “I’m going to place a $20 credit on your account for the invonvenience. Please enjoy it for whatever you might like – snacks, gifts, drinks – with my sincere apologies.”

AWESOME

Could our luck continue? Next stop: the WL pool and dinner with Janet’s mom!

(Gosh, I hope she didn't embarrass me)

More room pics:

I am staying here some day . Beautiful!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Hooray! A surprise update!

WL looks gorgeous. And baby bison is too cute! Ewww on the bug, crumbs and hairs of a dubious nature but yeah for the room upgrade, prompt response and $20!!!!!

So I have to know... who got the top bunk??

Looking forward to more... when you can.