MajorWoody
The View From My Office
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2002
- Messages
- 294
Major Woody's 10 Night May '03 TR
Who :
Bill, age 44, NYSP Investigator, AP Holder, and veteran of numerous WDW trips ( last one 12/02)
Jenn, my oldest daughter, age 20, AP holder, last trip 12/02
When :
May 19 thru May 29, 2003
Where :
Coronado Springs, my 3rd stay, Jenn's 2nd at CS
Day 7, Sunday, May 25,2003
Hello again all,
On Sunday we got up at 9:00am. After getting ready, I caught a bus to MGM for the first time this trip. The line to enter was all the way past the ticket booths, and it took 15 minutes to get into the park, finally entering at 10:30am. I got a FP for the Tower of Terror for 11:25, and subsequently got another one afterwards for 12:15. In the meantime, I checked out the big hat, looking for new pins, and updated my notes on a bench behind the big hat. I walked over to Millionaire, but the CM said it was a Star Wars themed show. Since I'm probably the only person in the universe who hasn't watched the Star Wars movies, and don't know the first thing about them, I figured it would be a waste to watch this show. I then went into One Mans Dream, and spent some time examining the exhibits. One of the advantages of being alone is you can take as long as you want to pore over each display, with no one pressuring you to hurry it up. I eventually made my way into the theater, and watched the movie about Walt. After the movie, I exited the theater, and met up with Jenn, who had arrived at the park. We then went to the Starring Rolls Bakery, and got a foccacia sandwich that we split. It was around $6, but I don't recall the exact amount.
We then walked to RnRC and got FP's for 1:35pm. After getting those, we used the FP's for TOT, and I lucked out and got the seatbelt seat. After TOT, we went and did the 12:35 Millionaire show, just making it inside in the nick of time. We got seated, and a woman made the hot seat in an incredible time on the fastest finger, something like 1.5 seconds. Usually when someone makes the Hot Seat on that quick of a time, it's because they did a random hit of the keypad and got lucky, but it turns out this woman was some sort of Millionaire buff, having been in the hot seat dozens of times, and being in the audience over 200 times. She got to the 32,000 question, something about a female self help author. She got it wrong, and I got it right, and I knew I was in the running for the Hot Seat, as I was in the top 5 at 1,000. Sure enough, when they showed the scoreboard, yours truly was at the top, and back in the Hot Seat once again. I bounced on down, and was soon engrossed in the questions. I made it to 32,000 without a hitch, and the question was about the female oscar winner for the movie, The Pianist. Well, yours truly had no clue, and had already used the audience poll lifeline, so I winged it. Unfortunately, I hit the wrong wing, and was reduced in rank to 1,000 points, and shown the door to the prize room. I collected my loot, consisting of the baseball cap, and pins and lanyard, and met Jenn outside.
After Millionaire, we got in line for the Animation tour, but when the line finally went inside, they cut it off right in front of us. We didn't want to wait for the next tour, so we left. We then caught the boat to Boardwalk, and from there walked to Epcot's International Gateway.Once in Epcot, we went to the Living Seas. I enjoy the jellyfish and coral reef exhibits in here, although this pavillion is in dire need of an upgrade. After that, we left the park, and caught a bus back to Coronado. At Coronado, we hit the quiet pool for awhile, to cool off before our dinner at Boma.
After the pool, I changed, and we drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge, arriving at 5:40pm for our 6:00pm dinner. We went downstairs, and were seated quickly. Our server, JoAnn, turned out to be a horror story. She took our beverage order, with me asking for and receiving Frunch. Jenn got a coke, and we were served somewhat quickly. However, that was the last we saw of her. At 6:20pm, I began to wonder when she was going to come back, as our plates were piling up, and there was nothing left to drink, as our beverages and water were gone. I figured she was busy, and would eventually make it to our table. By 6:50pm, still having no sign of her, and noticing other tables wondering where she was, I sought out another server. He went in the back, and came out in a minute. He said she had run into a problem with another guests credit card, and that was what the delay was. After another 10 minutes passed, it was now 7:00pm, and we had no beverages, a stack of plates, and no bill. I went back to the service area, and found her inside. I told her I wanted my bill so I could leave, and she said that the system was down, and it wasn't her fault. I told her to give me my bill so I could pay, and after another 10 minutes, she finally brought it. It was now 7:15pm, and just under an hour since I had started to wonder where she was. She again told me that it wasn't her fault that the system was down, and when I asked what that had to do with our service, she again said it wasn't her fault. Well, as much as I hate to say it, it wasn't my fault either, and it was reflected in the tip she got, which was nothing. I hate to do that, but that type of service is inexcusable. If the system was down, she still should let her guests know , rather than stay in the service area for the better part of an hour. I then found the manager, named JoAnna, and told her, and she asked if I was coming back to Boma on this trip. I told her no, which was due to the fact that we only had three nights left and had dinner plans set for those nights. She then said that the system was down, and thats why the server ignored the tables for so long. I went upstairs, and was still upset, so I went to the front desk, to ask for a manager. The CM at the desk asked me to summarize what happened, and then she said she would call a manager. Well, can you guess which manager she called? I realized this while listening to her side of the conversation on the phone. When I asked if there was a hotel manager, she told me that Boma was separate from the hotel. She then told me that JoAnna told her that she had offered me a discounted return dinner, which I had declined. This was absolutely not true, and I was very upset at being called a liar. I then went downstairs, and sought out JoAnna. I found her in Boma, and told her that I did not appreciate being called a liar, and that she had never offered me anything for the shoddy service.I never raised my voice during this encounter, but I was seething inside. I have eaten at Boma numerous times, and have never had a problem. In fact, I can't recall ever having to seek out a manager at a WDW restaurant before. She then stated that when she asked me if I was returning, she had intended to offer me a discount on my next visit, but when I said I wasn't coming back, she never made the offer. She did apologize, and asked where I was eating in the next few nights. I told her 1900 Park Faire, and Le Cellier, as I had PS's for both. She told me she would call the manager of LeCellier and arrange for my PS to reflect free desserts for us. Unfortunately, it turned out this wasn't true, as when we went to Le Cellier several nights later, there was no record of this on my PS.
After that episode, we drove to Pleasure Island, and it took 25 minutes to find a parking spot. It was a zoo in there, we finally ended up down by the West Side area. Sue Holland was there, as was her friend Leeza. We got on line for the 8:15pm CW show. This show had Karl, Chris, John, Brian, and Joy. They opened with a phone call from Kathy and Megan, from Oneonta, NY. This was followed by fill in the blanks, which was set in a peanut factory, with John & Joy. Next up was Chris singing "I bought an urn for my dog, 'cause I put him to sleep", with Karl acting as a dog. After that was Up Your Alley, with Joy as the host. The topic was aviation, and Chris was a pilot, Karl was flight attendant Gregg ( after former CW CM Gregg), and Brian was a Klingon. As usual, Brian was absolutely hilarious. For the finale, they did a song on an audience story about David, who leaves his socks balled up on the floor.
We then got back in line for the 9:15pm show, and the cast this time was Brian, Chris, John, Phillip, and Karl. They opened with a poem, called Jump Me If You Can. This was followed by Ring The Bell, with John on the bell. It was set in a morgue, with Brian, Phillip, and Karl as a cop. It was pretty funny. This was followed by the CW AK parking lot bit, which I guess is sort of their funny public service announcement. Next up was torture the actor, with Phillip being tortured, and the line he had to guess was "A change is as good as a holiday". This went on for a while, and ended up being the last act of the show.
After that show, Jenn left, and I was going to stick around for the 10:30pm. Sue & Leeza let me join them in the back door line for that show, so I got to bypass the line. The cast for this show was Mary, Brian, Phillip, Joy , and Karl. They opened with a phone call to Dwayne & Lisa in the audience, who were from Nebraska. The next skit was the conducted story, with Joy as the MC. The topic was the stale bread went sour. Karl died first, by X-acto knife, with Mary going next, by a potato masher. Next up was Phillip, by a thong on Broadway. Brian was the winner after all that.Since that went so long, the finale was next, an embarassing story about beer spilled in the lap on an airplane. After the show, I left and returned to the hotel for a good nights sleep.
Stay tuned for day 8....
Take care,
Bill
Who :
Bill, age 44, NYSP Investigator, AP Holder, and veteran of numerous WDW trips ( last one 12/02)
Jenn, my oldest daughter, age 20, AP holder, last trip 12/02
When :
May 19 thru May 29, 2003
Where :
Coronado Springs, my 3rd stay, Jenn's 2nd at CS
Day 7, Sunday, May 25,2003
Hello again all,
On Sunday we got up at 9:00am. After getting ready, I caught a bus to MGM for the first time this trip. The line to enter was all the way past the ticket booths, and it took 15 minutes to get into the park, finally entering at 10:30am. I got a FP for the Tower of Terror for 11:25, and subsequently got another one afterwards for 12:15. In the meantime, I checked out the big hat, looking for new pins, and updated my notes on a bench behind the big hat. I walked over to Millionaire, but the CM said it was a Star Wars themed show. Since I'm probably the only person in the universe who hasn't watched the Star Wars movies, and don't know the first thing about them, I figured it would be a waste to watch this show. I then went into One Mans Dream, and spent some time examining the exhibits. One of the advantages of being alone is you can take as long as you want to pore over each display, with no one pressuring you to hurry it up. I eventually made my way into the theater, and watched the movie about Walt. After the movie, I exited the theater, and met up with Jenn, who had arrived at the park. We then went to the Starring Rolls Bakery, and got a foccacia sandwich that we split. It was around $6, but I don't recall the exact amount.
We then walked to RnRC and got FP's for 1:35pm. After getting those, we used the FP's for TOT, and I lucked out and got the seatbelt seat. After TOT, we went and did the 12:35 Millionaire show, just making it inside in the nick of time. We got seated, and a woman made the hot seat in an incredible time on the fastest finger, something like 1.5 seconds. Usually when someone makes the Hot Seat on that quick of a time, it's because they did a random hit of the keypad and got lucky, but it turns out this woman was some sort of Millionaire buff, having been in the hot seat dozens of times, and being in the audience over 200 times. She got to the 32,000 question, something about a female self help author. She got it wrong, and I got it right, and I knew I was in the running for the Hot Seat, as I was in the top 5 at 1,000. Sure enough, when they showed the scoreboard, yours truly was at the top, and back in the Hot Seat once again. I bounced on down, and was soon engrossed in the questions. I made it to 32,000 without a hitch, and the question was about the female oscar winner for the movie, The Pianist. Well, yours truly had no clue, and had already used the audience poll lifeline, so I winged it. Unfortunately, I hit the wrong wing, and was reduced in rank to 1,000 points, and shown the door to the prize room. I collected my loot, consisting of the baseball cap, and pins and lanyard, and met Jenn outside.
After Millionaire, we got in line for the Animation tour, but when the line finally went inside, they cut it off right in front of us. We didn't want to wait for the next tour, so we left. We then caught the boat to Boardwalk, and from there walked to Epcot's International Gateway.Once in Epcot, we went to the Living Seas. I enjoy the jellyfish and coral reef exhibits in here, although this pavillion is in dire need of an upgrade. After that, we left the park, and caught a bus back to Coronado. At Coronado, we hit the quiet pool for awhile, to cool off before our dinner at Boma.
After the pool, I changed, and we drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge, arriving at 5:40pm for our 6:00pm dinner. We went downstairs, and were seated quickly. Our server, JoAnn, turned out to be a horror story. She took our beverage order, with me asking for and receiving Frunch. Jenn got a coke, and we were served somewhat quickly. However, that was the last we saw of her. At 6:20pm, I began to wonder when she was going to come back, as our plates were piling up, and there was nothing left to drink, as our beverages and water were gone. I figured she was busy, and would eventually make it to our table. By 6:50pm, still having no sign of her, and noticing other tables wondering where she was, I sought out another server. He went in the back, and came out in a minute. He said she had run into a problem with another guests credit card, and that was what the delay was. After another 10 minutes passed, it was now 7:00pm, and we had no beverages, a stack of plates, and no bill. I went back to the service area, and found her inside. I told her I wanted my bill so I could leave, and she said that the system was down, and it wasn't her fault. I told her to give me my bill so I could pay, and after another 10 minutes, she finally brought it. It was now 7:15pm, and just under an hour since I had started to wonder where she was. She again told me that it wasn't her fault that the system was down, and when I asked what that had to do with our service, she again said it wasn't her fault. Well, as much as I hate to say it, it wasn't my fault either, and it was reflected in the tip she got, which was nothing. I hate to do that, but that type of service is inexcusable. If the system was down, she still should let her guests know , rather than stay in the service area for the better part of an hour. I then found the manager, named JoAnna, and told her, and she asked if I was coming back to Boma on this trip. I told her no, which was due to the fact that we only had three nights left and had dinner plans set for those nights. She then said that the system was down, and thats why the server ignored the tables for so long. I went upstairs, and was still upset, so I went to the front desk, to ask for a manager. The CM at the desk asked me to summarize what happened, and then she said she would call a manager. Well, can you guess which manager she called? I realized this while listening to her side of the conversation on the phone. When I asked if there was a hotel manager, she told me that Boma was separate from the hotel. She then told me that JoAnna told her that she had offered me a discounted return dinner, which I had declined. This was absolutely not true, and I was very upset at being called a liar. I then went downstairs, and sought out JoAnna. I found her in Boma, and told her that I did not appreciate being called a liar, and that she had never offered me anything for the shoddy service.I never raised my voice during this encounter, but I was seething inside. I have eaten at Boma numerous times, and have never had a problem. In fact, I can't recall ever having to seek out a manager at a WDW restaurant before. She then stated that when she asked me if I was returning, she had intended to offer me a discount on my next visit, but when I said I wasn't coming back, she never made the offer. She did apologize, and asked where I was eating in the next few nights. I told her 1900 Park Faire, and Le Cellier, as I had PS's for both. She told me she would call the manager of LeCellier and arrange for my PS to reflect free desserts for us. Unfortunately, it turned out this wasn't true, as when we went to Le Cellier several nights later, there was no record of this on my PS.
After that episode, we drove to Pleasure Island, and it took 25 minutes to find a parking spot. It was a zoo in there, we finally ended up down by the West Side area. Sue Holland was there, as was her friend Leeza. We got on line for the 8:15pm CW show. This show had Karl, Chris, John, Brian, and Joy. They opened with a phone call from Kathy and Megan, from Oneonta, NY. This was followed by fill in the blanks, which was set in a peanut factory, with John & Joy. Next up was Chris singing "I bought an urn for my dog, 'cause I put him to sleep", with Karl acting as a dog. After that was Up Your Alley, with Joy as the host. The topic was aviation, and Chris was a pilot, Karl was flight attendant Gregg ( after former CW CM Gregg), and Brian was a Klingon. As usual, Brian was absolutely hilarious. For the finale, they did a song on an audience story about David, who leaves his socks balled up on the floor.
We then got back in line for the 9:15pm show, and the cast this time was Brian, Chris, John, Phillip, and Karl. They opened with a poem, called Jump Me If You Can. This was followed by Ring The Bell, with John on the bell. It was set in a morgue, with Brian, Phillip, and Karl as a cop. It was pretty funny. This was followed by the CW AK parking lot bit, which I guess is sort of their funny public service announcement. Next up was torture the actor, with Phillip being tortured, and the line he had to guess was "A change is as good as a holiday". This went on for a while, and ended up being the last act of the show.
After that show, Jenn left, and I was going to stick around for the 10:30pm. Sue & Leeza let me join them in the back door line for that show, so I got to bypass the line. The cast for this show was Mary, Brian, Phillip, Joy , and Karl. They opened with a phone call to Dwayne & Lisa in the audience, who were from Nebraska. The next skit was the conducted story, with Joy as the MC. The topic was the stale bread went sour. Karl died first, by X-acto knife, with Mary going next, by a potato masher. Next up was Phillip, by a thong on Broadway. Brian was the winner after all that.Since that went so long, the finale was next, an embarassing story about beer spilled in the lap on an airplane. After the show, I left and returned to the hotel for a good nights sleep.
Stay tuned for day 8....
Take care,
Bill
