Mom, Can You Quit Hanging on to Me and Just Hang on to Yourself? Update 11/2/16

[DopeyDonald]

I need to make it to Chef Mickey's someday.

Really, they let him have coffee at camp? Our camp would tell us it was only for the adults

Ouch. I can't believe that Donald would be so rude to you. I mean, come on. It doesn't matter if you're an adult or not, characters should show love to everyone.

At least Donald was good with the kids and Goofy was great with your husband.

Your kids are so fab on the structure. Little cuties.

Oh no. Not the camera. Poor Cassidy. I feel so bad. I dropped a camera out a car window once. I understand her pain.

Can't wait to hear all the stories from PL

I know, I was a little annoyed at the whole coffee thing, since now he claims that he LOVES it and wants to drink it all the time.

And yep, still smarting from the whole Donald thing - but yeah, Goofy and DH made up for it.

I know - she felt so bad for dropping it and mad - she wanted it back RIGHT NOW! I was pretty confident that we would get it back, I just hoped it still worked.

And you don't have long to wait for PL pics - I'm working on that update right now and will probably be up before you read this reply!

 

[DopeyDonald]

Alright – here we were at Pirate’s League - probably my most anticipated event of the whole trip! Yay!! We got all checked in, chose our faces and bought Wyatt a skeleton chest T-shirt to go under his vest. His costume is from our 2nd trip in 2011 and is getting a bit small. Got my money’s worth out of that thing!

We were taken back to the changing rooms – boys in one and girls in the other. After ditching our regular clothes for the Pirate variety, we were ready to ditch our names as well.

Here we are Pre-Make up

Next, we headed up front to consult with the Paradise Box. (I just love the CM’s who work at PL – they are always so good at staying in character.)

After becoming our Pirate Alter Egos, we were led to our make over chairs.

This was the only negative to mom getting made up too – no pics of everyone getting their make up done!!

Oh well, it was nice to have it all done at once.

The CM’s were delighted that we had all decided to all become pirates – we had decided to all become Jack – we figured it would be like that scene in one of the movies where there is a LOT of Jack’s running around.

I went for the multiple eye Jack, Wyatt and Larry were smoky eye jack, and Annie and Cassie were black eyed Jack (Cassie sans beard).

While talking with the CM doing my make up it was decided that I wouldn't be the Captain of the Ship (we were all bantering back and forth between CM’s, DH, I and Wyatt as to who the Captain should be). I told them I should be Captain - I'm the only one who could possibly get our Crew to where it needed to go but the boys quickly vetoed that.

So my CM made sure that they wanted to be the Captains and they whole heartedly agreed. She made sure to ask them multiple times if they wanted to be Captains– yep, yep they wanted to be Captains.

So then she made me Commodore of the Fleet!! It was AWESOME. We will definitely be doing the family Pirate thing next year also. Once we were all done, we were taken into the Secret room for loot and pics.

Without further adieu –

Cassidy (I’ll be honest – I don’t remember anyone’s names –I have the certificates somewhere)

Annie

Wyatt

DH

Myself – I was having SUCH a hard time with this pic – I think I was feeling self conscious and kept laughing.

I really wish they were able to take group shots in that room – but the CM told us they are not set up for it and the lighting never comes out right, so we opted for the group shot outside by where Pirate Goofy always stands. I really wish he had been out this day.

And just the kiddos

And what did we do next?! Rode Pirates of course – what else would you do??!

I tried to get some video, but my camera was having trouble focusing going from light to dark and a huge rush of people was heading down the entrance, so I put my cameras away and joined my family in singing Yo-Ho all through the cue.

Cassie was a bit nervous about Pirates, but we said she would love it and she did.

After Pirates, we debated on what to do. It was HOT and we knew we wanted to go back to rest before the party. It was about 1:30 by now. We decided to visit the Tiki room on the way out because as we passed it it had a 0 min wait and we’d never seen it before.

So we did and we liked it. Not loved, but definitely will be back. It was a nice place to cool off and relax a bit.

By now we were used to the looks and comments we were getting. The kids were eating it up. The Tiki Room was also the first of “paparazzi” wanting a pic of us – We didn’t know what to think of that, but went with it.

After the Tiki Room, we decided that we might as well cool off with a Citrus Swirl while we were right there.

Here are some pics from when we were eating our Citrus Swirls - a bit closer up of the face make up

I'm not sure how I feel about myself with a beard....

While the boys finished their treats up, I took the girls to raid and loot some booty at the Bazaar. The girls filled some pouches with the colored gems and were given some special attention by the CM working there – she was so nice to them

And what do you do with Pirates who have plundered? Put them in the stocks of course!

I had known that I wanted this pic of the kids so we walked out from Adventureland this way. However, while the kids were in the stocks, DH noticed that the HM had no wait, so off we went for yet another “last ride”

We hopped right on HM, picked up our hitchhiking ghost and REALLY decided we’d better get back if we were to have any chance of cooling off and resting before the party that night.

On our way back to WL, Annie and I decided we would stop at City Hall to get our MNSSHP tickets while DH took Wyatt and Cassie on the boat back to WL.

The line at City Hall was pretty long – I’m guessing with people who were doing the same thing as we were, so first we decided to check at the Main Street Station for Cassidy's camera.

We went up the ramp and talked with the CMs there who said they remembered a camera, but they had brought it to lost and found. So back down we went. We got in line (did I mention it was HOT – ) and waited.

We were quite entertained by the group of guys in front of us. They were 20ish and very excited to be in WDW. What really got us though was that they were sharing an ice cream.

Cone.

They were all just passing it around taking licks off it. I’m not too squeamish myself, but it really struck me as different that this young group of guys was doing this…(it was mint chocolate chip in case anyone was wondering...)

So after a fairly short wait, we were called up. And they had Cassie’s camera!!! Yay!! And it was just fine!

The tickets were another story. After a bit of fiddling around and switching computers etc. it was determined that they were already on our MB’s! *sigh. Which was fine, I just wish I would have known that and not had to go through the trouble of 2 different lines etc. Oh well, we needed to get the camera anyway.

As we were walking out, we were commenting how tired and hot we were etc. and how nice it would be to get back to the WL and cool off and rest.

And then we remembered that we had parked at the Contemporary. *sigh.

I definitely didn’t want to leave it there that long – so off we went on the hottest walk I’ve taken in a while. Those pirate pants of silky polyester were NOT my friend that day!

We made it back to the van and headed back to the WL to rest and cool off. I had wanted to make it to the party at 4-4:30, but considering it was about 3:30 I didn’t think that was going to happen……

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

NICE for getting the Commodore position!!!! You would think they would think there was something up when the CM kept asking "Are you SURE you want to be Captain?" Too funny.

That's all right Emily, you can laugh in the pics. You're the Commodore!

I love that you all got Pirated. So much fun.

Hmmmm, I don't think I have any friend close enough to share an ice cream cone. But, to each their own, lol.

Aww YAY for getting the camera back. I mean, I was sure you would, but nice to hear just the same.

 

[kittylady1972]

Wow what GREAT pirate photos! Your family pics make me totally want to do this for our group!

So glad the camera was retrieved as well! Very good news!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Oh my goodness! Jack Sparrow would be so proud of this crew! You guys looked amazing!

 

[amberg93]

You certainly did get your money's worth.

:rofl That CM making you commodore!

Your whole family looks fab as pirates. Like, what an awesome thing to do all together.

I like the Tiki Room too, though we haven't seen it since our first trip. Oops.

Hey, I've shared an ice cream cone with my friends before just like that. If you're all good friends... you know. And as you keep saying, it was hot

Aww man, waiting in the line for nothing, but at least you did get the camera back and it was fine! That's something to celebrate!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Sorry to hear that Donald Duck at Chef Mickey's was unfriendly to you. Gosh, you were wearing a Donald Duck shirt and were obviously a fan. It must have been hard for you to enjoy the photo you finally got, after having to go through all that. One of the best things about Disney is that no one is too old to get character photos. And, you were paying for the character meal so you were entitled to a visit with every character. It might have been worth speaking to the restaurant manager in the hope that he/she would give that Donald some better training in how to interact with guests.

I agree that making you a commodore was a brilliant idea.

 

[MusicMicha]

Happy Holidays to you and your family Emily!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Hope all is well and you're enjoying the holiday season!

 

[DopeyDonald]

Oh my goodness - has it really been since 11-11 since I've updated!!!!???? Wow. I am so sorry. I really can't wait to finish this. It's just such a crazy time of year - On top of holiday things, I started my son in a new program (we homeschool in case I didn't mention that) and it's really intense.

It's also a weird time in regards to Disney - we miss it so much, but it's too far away to start really planning etc. So I just kind of drifted away from the boards for a bit. UNTIL.........

Annual passes are such a dangerous thing to be in possession of. My Annie turns 10 this April and it's her golden birthday. I know not everyone knows/celebrates golden birthdays but they are a big deal in my family. Couple that with the fact that my poor Annie is the middle kid and gets the shaft a lot, we really wanted to make it special. Like, Disney special.

So. We debated on a trip over her bday. Except it's coming off Easter week that week and prices are insane. Plus our AP's expire Feb 23rd. I have a problem with that. If we are going in this timeframe I really wanted to not pay for tickets, and I hate to renew our AP's because I want to get new ones in Sept to get back on track. So we can get our 2 long Sept trips out of them - plus we are going for a grand gathering in Jan 2016. So that really wouldn't work to renew them just for a bday trip.

So we thought some more. We entertained the idea of just the girls and I going in April to save some money - in fact I even booked a trip, but then was feeling sad at the idea of DH and Wy not being there. I had CRT booked for her bday night and everything.

Then we weighed crowds, prices and all that and decided that we should all go the week of Feb 9th! It's got good AP room discounts that week - we are staying at POR. And our AP's are still good so no ticket cost - and my DH signed up for a SW credit card awhile back when it was 50,000 pts and we basically only paid the transfer fees to transfer points to our accounts and ended up with 5 "free" tickets.

Best part is - the kids have NO idea and we are going to surprise them. We've told them that we are taking them to Minneapolis that week for a few nights to celebrate Annie's bday early. We said we are going then because DH has some work meetings to attend. We plan on going to the Mall of America, science museums etc. We weren't going to tell them at all and just wake them up that morning, but I knew that there was too much to handle to keep the surprise (dogs being dropped off, suitcases etc.)

Gah - I cannot believe we caved. No one else knows either and I'm not looking forward to telling anyone - Thank goodness for the DIS where no one thinks you are crazy or selfish for going to Disney as much as humanly possible....

Anyway - I am working on an update as I type this and hope to be regular about them again. I have a lot of great stuff left!!

 

[DopeyDonald]

So when I left off, we had all kind of crashed back at the lodge. No swimming since we were all dressed up with pirate make up. Some drifted off but mostly we just enjoyed the cool air.

We had some PB sandwiches to stave off the munchies and got ready to head back to the party at about 5:30. MUCH later than I wanted, but oh well.

I need to warn you straight off that there is NOT a lot of pics this update. It was drizzly, and I was having an epic battle with my pirate pants. I didn't like them and they didn't like me. I spend most of the night trying to hold them up AND push the stroller so didn't bring the camera out too much.

We had a 7DMT fp for 5:45-6-45, but it was raining out and they had closed the ride by the time we got over there.

We were so bummed since it was going to be our first ride, but went to ride Buzz Lightyear with a fp that they had given us that was good for anything since it was raining and 7D was closed.

After Buzz we headed in to see Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. This was an AMAZING show as Annie got picked!!! I don’t remember too much and I hadn’t brought my cameras in, but she got to answer some pirate riddles, one of which was “how much does it cost a pirate to get his ear pierced? – a buc-an-eer

After Laugh Floor we realized it had stopped raining and there was still time left for our 7DMT FP. This worked out AWESOME since they gave us a bonus fp and it stopped raining before our time was up. It was our first time on 7D and we loved it. Too short, but a great ride.

From the Mine Train we headed over to Splash and BTMRR. The rides were walk ons and we rode Splash twice in a row and then onto BTMRR. 1 is my limit on this, but the kids and DH rode it 3 more times!!

And after that Cassidy wanted to go again. Even the big kids were kinda done with it by now, so DH took just her on for one more ride. The big kids and I got in a quick ride on Splash while they were doing that.

Cassidy was LOVING all these rides. We spent more time than I would have liked riding rides during the party, but I knew we would be coming to another party later in the trip and I was just so happy that Cassidy was loving these rides.

Here are 2 of our Pirate Family Spash pics – we kept trying to do a theme, but had some trouble…

Now here is the big kids and I while DH and Cassie were on BTMRR for their 5th ride

By now it was getting later – probably around 8ish and I knew we needed to eat before the parade and Hallowishes. We decided on Cosmic Rays and made our way over there and had a yummy supper. The boys had chicken and the girls and I had burgers.

It had been fairly busy at Cosmic Rays and it was getting VERY close to Hallowishes. We have a spot that we usually go to on the bridge between Tomorrowland and the hub and were able to pretty much get "our" spot without any trouble.

HOWEVER, we were really disappointed this year because it seems with all the construction that they don’t have the speakers working and unless you are in the hub or on main street you can’t hear anything.

So in all honesty, it was kind of a bummer. I love the sound track to Hallowishes. Oh well, later in the trip right?

After Hallowishes we went to see the Villains Stage Show, but it ended up being cancelled because of the drizzle. I was bummed again but went with the rally cry of “later in the trip.”

Now, we decided to just go and get our parade spot. In the past we’ve watched it from the hub, but I wanted to try something new since it seems like whenever we watch it on a curved section, people lean out to see what’s coming and block the view so I wanted a strait shot.

We made our way to Frontierland and found spots. As usual we LOVED the parade. Hands down, best parade I’ve ever seen and ever will see. EVER. IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

Here’s DH waiting for the parade to start

After the parade we kind of meandered back through Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan – had to dressed as Pirates wouldn’t you say?

Then we walked over through Tomorrowland and all rode the Speedway. That ride cracks me up – I always let Cassidy drive and spend the whole ride trying not to get whiplash

After that we split up. Cassidy and I went to ride Buzz again, and the others went to Space. I got 266,000!!!!! Granted we stopped for a good 5 mins, but still.

Cassie and I on Buzz

Big Kids and DH on Space – I have NO idea what my family is doing in this pic… Wyatt looks like he’s been shot, DH looks out of it and Annie looks like her timing is off….

After Buzz we met up and all shopped for Halloween Party merchandise. We didn’t buy the T-shirts for the first time since we've been going since 2010, but Wyatt did get all the pins as well as the AP holder one.

Cassie and I were needing to sit down by now, so we headed for the boat. DH and the big kids were still shopping and decided to catch the bus. Even though they left 15 mins after us they still beat us back – Love the boat, but if I didn’t have the dumb stroller I’d take the bus after park closing – it’s always dead – people head for the boat every time.

Here’s Cassidy waiting in line for the boat – she was kinda tired….

All in all it was a good party. Not our best as we didn’t do a whole lot of Partyish things. I wish we would have gotten there earlier and gotten some character pics etc. but we were going to another party later in the trip…right??

 

[DopeyDonald]

NICE for getting the Commodore position!!!! You would think they would think there was something up when the CM kept asking "Are you SURE you want to be Captain?" Too funny.

That's all right Emily, you can laugh in the pics. You're the Commodore!

I love that you all got Pirated. So much fun.

Hmmmm, I don't think I have any friend close enough to share an ice cream cone. But, to each their own, lol.

Aww YAY for getting the camera back. I mean, I was sure you would, but nice to hear just the same.

I know, one would think they would have figured it out...but Pirates aren't the smartest bunch you know...

I was SOOOO glad to get the camera back. It wasn't worth much, but it was priceless to Cassidy. It made our night. And she hung onto it much tighter the rest of the trip!

Wow what GREAT pirate photos! Your family pics make me totally want to do this for our group!

So glad the camera was retrieved as well! Very good news!

Yeah, it's a good time. I'm planning a trip for one of my best friends and her whole family as well as her parents and brother are going to do it! There are 9 of them! I can't wait to see pics. It's a lot of fun and not too expensive.

Oh my goodness! Jack Sparrow would be so proud of this crew! You guys looked amazing!

Thanks!

You certainly did get your money's worth.

:rofl That CM making you commodore!

Your whole family looks fab as pirates. Like, what an awesome thing to do all together.

I like the Tiki Room too, though we haven't seen it since our first trip. Oops.

Hey, I've shared an ice cream cone with my friends before just like that. If you're all good friends... you know. And as you keep saying, it was hot

Aww man, waiting in the line for nothing, but at least you did get the camera back and it was fine! That's something to celebrate!

Thanks - we had a lot of fun and I am planning on it next trip also, but will most definitely get better fitting pirate pants!!

I did enjoy the Tiki Room and plan to go back, maybe not every trip but it is a nice little show.

And I don't even like to share ice cream cones with my kids - but they were having a great time, so who am I to judge -

Sorry to hear that Donald Duck at Chef Mickey's was unfriendly to you. Gosh, you were wearing a Donald Duck shirt and were obviously a fan. It must have been hard for you to enjoy the photo you finally got, after having to go through all that. One of the best things about Disney is that no one is too old to get character photos. And, you were paying for the character meal so you were entitled to a visit with every character. It might have been worth speaking to the restaurant manager in the hope that he/she would give that Donald some better training in how to interact with guests.

I agree that making you a commodore was a brilliant idea.

Yeah, I'm still bitter to this day - I need to go visit Mexican Donald in February so I can get over it. I don't like being mad at Donald. I'm kind of nervous now though.

Happy Holidays to you and your family Emily!

Thanks - we had a great one - can't believe it's over already! Hope you had a good one also

Hope all is well and you're enjoying the holiday season!

All is wonderful - just busy. I posted above about what's been going on - new school work for my son, the holidays and some trip planning! I hope you had a wonderful holiday also

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

So awesome to get in another trip!! And what a special one indeed. Super glad you were able to have everyone too. Looks like I'll just miss you.

That's great that you got a bonus FP AND still got to ride Mine Train.

I could not agree more. BEST PARADE EVER!

 

[minnieprincess]

Great update! It sounds like a fun night. And so fun that you will be heading back soon for your surprise trip!

 

[DopeyDonald]

So awesome to get in another trip!! And what a special one indeed. Super glad you were able to have everyone too. Looks like I'll just miss you.

That's great that you got a bonus FP AND still got to ride Mine Train.

I could not agree more. BEST PARADE EVER!

Yeah, I was pretty happy with FP plus overall. We go during quiet times of the year, so we never used regular FP too much, but did have to give up some rides like TSM and TT and sometimes Soarin if we weren't willing to wait. But now we are able to ride this with our touring style.

Also, yep - we spontaneously break into "Boo. To You. And You and You and You" quite frequently at our house....

Great update! It sounds like a fun night. And so fun that you will be heading back soon for your surprise trip!

Thanks - it was a great night. We always have fun at the Halloween Party. And I am still in disbelief myself about the trip - I tell you those AP's are really dangerous things to have!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Yay for updates!!

And yay for another Disney trip in February! The kids are gonna be so surprised. I used to love it when my mama would surprise us with a Disney vacation, makes it extra special. And what a deal!?!? I wouldn't pass up that kind of deal either!!

I don't blame you for not taking too many photos, between ill-fitting pants, a stroller and rain, I wouldn't be taking pictures either. The few you got are really good though. I love the Splash photos! The first one especially; all you hook handed pirates, and sweet little Cassidy smiling ear to ear and holding on to her daddy ::

Sorry to hear that your fireworks spot was without sound. That's a bummer. I've never seen Hallowishes, but I hear it's an amazing show, with a great soundtrack, so I'm sorry you didn't get to hear it. But you're going to another party, right? Something tells me this is a bit of foreshadowing for some unplanned events! Can't wait!

Glad you all are well and enjoying the holidays!

 

[DopeyDonald]

Yay for updates!!

And yay for another Disney trip in February! The kids are gonna be so surprised. I used to love it when my mama would surprise us with a Disney vacation, makes it extra special. And what a deal!?!? I wouldn't pass up that kind of deal either!!

I don't blame you for not taking too many photos, between ill-fitting pants, a stroller and rain, I wouldn't be taking pictures either. The few you got are really good though. I love the Splash photos! The first one especially; all you hook handed pirates, and sweet little Cassidy smiling ear to ear and holding on to her daddy ::

Sorry to hear that your fireworks spot was without sound. That's a bummer. I've never seen Hallowishes, but I hear it's an amazing show, with a great soundtrack, so I'm sorry you didn't get to hear it. But you're going to another party, right? Something tells me this is a bit of foreshadowing for some unplanned events! Can't wait!

Glad you all are well and enjoying the holidays!

I know - it feels so good to type up some updates! I love to relive our trips. Disney is such a part of our everyday lives - it gets mentioned at least once a day at our house...

I am beyond excited about the surprise. We've never surprised the kids before. We've just never been able to make it that long. I feel confident that I can hold out for 41 more days though. Especially since there is the tiniest of tiny chances if DH's annual raise and bonus is small or taxes suck, that we won't all go. That is motivation enough to keep it quiet

Yeah, gotta love the Memory Maker and the ability to take pics for you - I especially love that you dont' have to stop after the rides. I'm struggling with whether or not to get it for Feb. As of right now, I'm at a no - I'd rather spend the bucks on renting a car. But this trip is gonna be so special! Arg!

Yes, Hallowishes ranks right up there for us. I know we are forever bound to going in Sept just because of the MNSSHP - between the parade and fireworks it just is that awesome. Cassidy's Birthday helps too.

 

[DopeyDonald]

Before I continue with my trip report I need to explain what happened on Wednesday morning. It's long, drawn out and rambling because that is how I get when I have mixed emotions about something.

I have such mixed emotions about what happened this day. So here is a little backstory. We have stayed at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge 5 times previous to this trip. All stays have been amazing. We LOVE it there.

We’ve never had a complaint about the smallest thing. I am not normally one to complain period. That being said, I was having a real issue with the construction.

Now being a good Diser, I knew about the construction ahead of time. We had rented the points for our villa before the construction was announced so we were definitely “stuck” there, but let’s be honest, we would have stayed there anyway.

I was a bit upset when I read about people getting room credits for $50 a night etc and the room rates ended up being less than what we paid for point rental, but we were even OK with that.

We knew about the main pool closure and that the quiet pool was going to be the new “main pool”. I had actually even received a phone call from Disney in regards to the pool closure, so I was definitely prepared for it.

What I wasn’t prepared for (and it may not seem like a big deal to most people) was the walkway being closed between the Villas and the boat dock. We use this path almost exclusively. Besides being a shortcut – it eliminates 2very large ramps (that as I type this out, I feel like a wuss – ) But after a LONG day in the parks, toting bags and pushing a 40lb 6 year old in a large stroller those ramps get old. We also encountered them every time we wanted to get to Roaring Forks.

So Tuesday evening after the Halloween Party, I had returned to the lodge by myself with Cassie, as the big kids and DH had taken the bus. I was tired, hot and really sick of trying to keep my pants up. I had a mini pity party for myself on the walk back. I had also heard some people on the boat talking about how they were going to Blizzard Beach the next day on “Free tickets” that they received at check in.

I made up my mind right then that I was going to talk to the front desk the next day. I wasn’t angry or anything, nor did I feel like I was owed anything (except maybe some Blizzard Beach passes since a lot of people had gotten them –)

So when Wednesday morning rolled around I went down to the quiet front desk. Truly, my intention was to just ask about the Blizzard Beach passes and just let them know that I was a bit disappointed about the fact that the walkway was closed wasn’t really published. I honestly just wanted them to know how I felt and why. I very nicely told them that we loved the lodge and had never had one complaint and that we’d stay here even if they put us out on the lawn with a tent!

We had a nice talk and I just wanted her to know I would have liked to have been aware that the walkway was closed as that may have impacted where we stayed – we probably still would have stayed at the lodge, but may have chosen the main lodge itself and not the villas.

I also told her that we were there on points so that once we found out about the construction we were kind of stuck. I closed by saying that we were not unhappy, just wanted to give them some feedback.

The lady was super nice. She gave us BB passes without batting an eyelash- she said anyone who asks about them was welcome to them (which bugged me just a bit, but that’s another story. I think they should have automatically just given them out at check in as most people were probably not aware to ask.)

She also thanked me for my comments and said she was going to get the day manager. I assured her that it wasn’t necessary, but she thought she might want to hear what I had to say.

Once the day manager came out, I repeated my thoughts and she immediately offered to switch us to the main lodge. I said thanks, but no thanks as we are a family of 5 and we need to stay in the villas since we wouldn't fit in a room at the lodge.

She thanked me for the feedback and let me know that if the walkway became more of an issue to let her know and she would see what she could do. So we left it at that.

Here is where I am so conflicted with myself as to what happened. We went on about our day (which I will get to shortly ) which was a rest day/laundry day etc. Annie and I had tea at 3pm and then we were going to meet the rest of the fam for an evening at EPCOT.

For the purposes of making a long story short (too late - sorry) a few things happened that caused me to go back to the front desk and talk with the manager again. I wanted to see what she could do for us.

A few things were: After a morning of schlepping laundry to the main lodge since the washers were not working in the villas wash room – they were working on some plumbing, Annie and I came back to the room to get ready for our tea. We had NO water at all. Toilets or shower.

There were some workers in the hallway who we were able to talk with to find out they had shut our water off on purpose since they were working on the villa next to ours. Not a huge deal, just wish they had let us know. At least we knew it wasn’t going to be a long term issue. However, it did make me reconsider the offer from the manager to see what she could do for us.

I went to the front desk and again was able to speak with Gina, the manager. I told her about the new issue with the water and how I was really hating the ramps now that I'd walked them about 10 times that morning going to laundry.

She again offered us a room at the main lodge. Now that I was thinking straight I told her how my mom was flying in the next day and we had a room booked for her at the main lodge anyway, so we would fit into a room the next day since some of us could just stay with her.

She was able to get us a room in the main lodge – no trouble at all. I still feel so guilty over the whole thing – I never intended to ask to be moved, but she offered and we took it.

On top of that she said since we were a family of 5 she would give us 2 rooms for no charge and also would cancel the room we had paid for for my mother since we would have plenty of room for her. I was BLOWN away. I started crying on the spot.

I thanked her profusely and we made plans to switch rooms. At that point we just decided to move in the morning, since we had to get to our tea and then to EPCOT.

After we got home I definitely wrote a letter describing the amazing customer service we received at the Wilderness Lodge. TOP NOTCH.

I am so sorry this turned into a novel, but I have such mixed emotions about it. I feel guilty for “complaining” in the first place since I knew ahead of time that the lodge would be under construction.

I thought long and hard about taking her up on the offer, making sure I wasn’t taking advantage of the situation – I felt like the walkway maybe wasn’t that big of a deal, but when I really thought about it, it WAS a big deal to us. It did impact our vacation. As petty as it now seems typing it out. We paid a LOT of money and it wasn’t what we were used to or expecting. SO. There you have it. We were going to be moving to connecting rooms in the main lodge the very next day- Thursday.

Now back to our regular trip report. (which I am still working on the next update, I just had to get that off my chest before I continued as my room pics will soon change…)

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Haha, when I first started reading and you said "I need to explain what happened on Wednesday morning." I thought you meant Christmas Eve.

Emily, I think you can file away your mixed emotions completely. I read nothing here that I would ever consider to be complaining. I've seen complaining, and this wasn't it. I think you did everything exactly right. You just simply gave feedback and you did it the right way. Rest assured, you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about AT ALL. And super kudos to Disney for coming through like they did. That is so awesome. That's simply a great story of customer service and pixie dust, and I loved hearing it. It's what a Disney vacation is all about.

 

[minnieprincess]

It sounds like you handled it really well. I'm glad they were able to make it right for you.