The $6,688.00 Disney World Trip - It's a wrap 6/30, Has it really been a year? 3/2 Link to new TR 4/18

I'm coming out of lurking to say hello. I always enjoy reading your adventures.

:welcome:

Glad to have you back reading along!

We have a ton of the disney shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion. I have them out in both guest bathrooms plus the extra in the vanity and the linen closet. I took them on my last royal caribbean cruise, but forgot to take the body lotion.

I have it in my guest bedroom/bath. My parents are about the only ones who stay on a regular basis. I don't think they use it.

I can't believe you got upgraded from SSR to Riviera. I can't wait to hear what else happened to you with the upgrade. The last 2 DVC room changes we had resulted in us calling members services to fix their screw ups. One was being charged for parking at VGF, other was at boardwalk. Our room got downgraded so the extra points that we had borrowed went into holding. We got them back in the correct use year.

Yeah, it wasn't as bad as the last time this happened. That time we ended up having a bunch of points in the wrong places and such. Next update it should all become clear. As mud. But clear.

We are staying in a tower studio over the summer. I can't wait to check out Riviera . Not sure if we have any plans for that trip yet.

I'd be interested in hearing about those. I hear they only sleep two.
 
All caught up

:welcome:

I'm glad you're caught up!

You always have the most delicious drinks!

I had to think about that, I had forgotten that we went to Jock Lindsey's and I was thinking, "the can of wine?" :scratchin :laughing:

The room is lovely!

Thanks! It was a very nice room.

We rode the Skyliner once just to try it. I can't imagine having to go it alone!

Eventually I got used to it, but it was very nerve wracking for the first few days.

Was the Brooke you met Brookelizabeth from the boards? I used to read her TRs years ago. She seemed like a very sweet and genuine person

I have no idea. I dont think she was on the DIS when I joined. I've seen her name, but it seems that when people become TAs for other agencies they aren't supposed to post on the DIS any longer.
 


Time for your daily security sweep!

That was way to early for West Coasters traveling east!

But she wanted to go because she didn't get to do the things she wanted with your parents! It's time to wake up, Fran!

Yeah but it's a fine line when it comes to sleep.

That's fantastic. I'm glad that you found someone so willing to be that helpful for you!

It sure beat going down the hall to the ice machine for the rest of the week!

While I like the speed and convenience of the Skyliner (AKA don't have to wait 20 minutes for a bus), I wasn't aware of the accessibility issues surrounding it. This doesn't sound like a great system. They really should still offer more regular bus service from the Skyliner resorts so that people have an option.

Just wait. It gets better.

That's some great service!

I was very impressed!

::yes:: I love Jock Lindsey's. Sorry you missed out on the diving bell.

Someday....

Awesome Dis meet!

::yes::

I'm glad that you were able to be there for that. Seems to be one of the highlights of that restaurant!

Yeah, it was pretty cool, even if the food was inconsistent.
 
We always unpack, we even unpack for our ski hill trips, which are generally only 2 nights...

Well we have a 2 night trip coming up and we'll see what I do!

How odd- I wonder if the old booking had different dates and some sort of list wasn't updated.

Next update will reveal a lot....

D's fav are Americano's..I like my Lattes

I like my coffee with a jolt. That shot of espresso does that.

That's adorable, and soo perfect for you!

::yes::

I want to go to 'Ohana so bad, it's always been so popular on here

We have a new "meal" that we learned about this trip. But that's several updates away.

We try to do this also, forward compliments with names.

Good for you.

I remember messaging with you about this- as I was reading about it almost live, and didn't know when you guys had got there

Still not totally on board with this as a preferred method of transportation.

Ohh only one per car- would it be a tight fit to have 2 in there?

I dont think two could fit. Especially the larger scooters.

Was it busy in the hub?

Not the times we went through there, but I imagine at open or closing it would be.

Glad you got it!

I'll be excited once it comes in. It's a frame for some pins we got last year.

We still love ST's, always been a fav for sure

I plan on going on it Monday while we wait for our BG on rise.

Agree agree agree! Loved the TOT at WDW but love love love Guardians, it's just sooo much fun!

I think we'll go on that as well!

Agreed, that's a big dog!

::yes::

Is it good coffee?

Coming in the next update....

Oh do tell? I could google it I suppose

If you look at the picture you quoted with Fran and our drinks, you can see it in the background on the left side of the picture.

LOL too funny! Fran has a few to feed I suppose ;)

They've all died. :laughing:

I like this pic a lot! It's kinda artsy, but not over the top

This is the pic with the diving bell in the background.

I would want to sit by that machine! too cool!
💙 1901 💙

I don't think it really makes ice, but I could be wrong.

Awww! that's great

She's a sweetie!

Yum, I'm quite fond of these sort of soft cheeses

I would order something like this again.

Happy Disney folks!!

::yes::
 


They look good to me!

It's not that I wouldn't eat them, but at 5 bucks a pop, I was more looking forward to the pastry we had in the room.

Oh, this is gonna be a fun trip! What happened to Ms. WE HAVE TO GO TO WDW THIS YEAR?

There was a bad decision made in band that was handed down the day before we left. I was really hoping this trip would help her forget and move past it.

Huh. That's kind of annoying.

I guess they figure most people only have one ECV in their party....

I've never heard of a corn holder snob before.

I asked her why and she said those little ones are too hard to hold, but these were big enough that they would be easy to use.

Aw, man. That would be cool.

Next time we'll stalk it!

And his name is...?

The Monkey died.

Nice! Now I'm going to have to find it.

Next time I'm there I need to get up and look around.

This place sounds awesome. I really need to check it out someday.

Its definitely a cool place to hang out.

Someday I really want to know what that bus pass feels like.

We got a taste of it that day, and our luck was better than normal this trip, but we had some long waits too.

Oh, nice! I'm glad you got to catch up with Ellen!

And that wasn't the only time, so yay!

That looks like a nice spot to watch the show!

Actually my balcony was even better!

She shows up on my feed all the time, too. Never once spoken to her!

Well now you have at least three common friends, probably more, so she'll show up even more! :laughing:
 
I'm slowing down, myself... but... I suspect if I don't get back for a while (not counting any last minute whirlwind tours prior to AP expiring), that I'll be speeding up again.

Unless I start a gym regimen, I don't see myself speeding up anytime in the future

I put them in drawers. And hang stuff. But it has to be for more than one night.

We rarely do one night stays, although if we resume road trips that may be in the cards.

what shade was it? Umber? Puce?

Magenta

Okay, that I understand!

::yes::

Ah! Okay, I didn't know that. Good... Very good to know!

Yes. They take that stuff seriously.

Yeah, I should've thought of that. I did see them last I was there. They're not giant gondolas.

They have a limit of 6 with a scooter. 10 without.
 
I take a much larger carry-on and personal item than I really should, especially since it makes it difficult to shlep through the airport. But my suitcases always are barely under weight limit so I often need to redistribute to the large carry-on for the return trip. I keep a mini luggage scale with me to make sure I don’t have any trouble on the way home.

I'm not sure why but our suitcases have been coming in under 40lbs recently when they used to be just under 50lbs. I also carry a luggage scale for the same reason.

Oh that’s good to hear. I’ll make a note of that for when we are at the boardwalk again in August. I’d like to have a meal at Rivera at some point.

They slow it down plenty, but if you're really scared about it you could take it to CBR and take the path back to Riviera.
 
There has never been anything taken.
We leave them unlocked in case they want to search
and not ruin a zipper or a lock.

You're lucky! Although I don't think I've had anything stolen since we've been using the TSA locks.
 
Day 3


I woke around 7:30 but I was just so tired, I laid back down and fell asleep for another 90 minutes. This time change is hitting me hard! Yes 9AM is 6AM back home and I'm doing pretty good even getting up then, but if we’re going to try for RotR in a couple days I need to up my wake time!

I sat in bed for another hour catching up on my trip notes and reading FB. At 10 I told Fran, "You need to wake up. I am getting dressed, making coffee and breakfast."

The coffee I bought the day before was really good! I made us Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins. Sorry about the bites, it takes me a bit to get back into the TR picture taking mode!



We also had some V8 along with my coffee. We sat in bed while eating.



Fran asked for another half of muffin with some of the leftover Ricotta on it.



I ate what was left with the bread they sent home with us. I know it looks kinda gross but it was still very tasty!



I had some business to take care of this morning. We were able to rent out one of the vacant apartments the Friday before we left. I deposited the check in the bank on Saturday, but they put a hold on the funds, so I wasn't able to pay off our Disney Visa before we left. I needed to do that as soon as I could. The payment due date was this Saturday and I hate waiting until the last moment.

So I logged into the website and they had released the hold on the funds, so I paid the card. And then I noticed that the balance was astronomically high, so high that I was over the credit limit. Even with not having paid off the card, I still should have had several thousand dollars left before maxing it out. February is a tough month cause lots of Disney bills come up for payment around the new year, but not that tough to put me over the credit limit. I scrolled through the charges and for the day we checked in, I see a charge for $6,688.00 by Disney Resort Services…..WHAT THE….???????

I immediately screen shot it and emailed it to myself so I could have it on my phone. My heart was pounding so hard I was afraid I might be having a heart attack. I went downstairs immediately and waited at the spot where they have their virtual queue for guest services. Luckily I didn't have to wait as long as I did the day before to get my Marie band activated. I knew that the gal who first acknowledged me wouldn't have the seniority to help so I gave a brief description and said that I needed someone who could really fix things and they got me a manager immediately. As I suspected it did have everything to do with my transfer from SSR. Short version, when they did the transfer, they gave my points back to my account. It was on Riviera to use them toward their accounting. In the meantime this charge would stay pending until I checked out and then it would just go away. They don't expect people to check stuff like this on vacation.

Getting ahead of myself: So upon checkout they sent me an “accounting” of the charges. For weeknights the room charge itself was $578, the OC Tourist Development Tax was $34.68, and the OC Accommodation Tax was $2.89. On Friday and Saturday the same respective fees were $616, $39.36, and $3.08

The day that I “discovered” the charge to my card, I’m guessing that they fixed everything because the statement shows several credits to my account, one for $5856 with the description “Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort - 1 Bedroom Villa - Prefered - SB-PKG CORR”, and several others for about $750 for the aforementioned taxes.

I didn’t check the credit card statement until about a week later, but I’m guessing that the charge disappeared later that day. From that time on, according to the statement provided at checkout, I had a credit balance on my hotel account and every day they whittled it down with another room charge and room taxes until the balance was zero on checkout day.

Well now we know. A room like this would cost around $600.00 per night on cash. DVC was one of the best investments we have ever made! Even the SSR room was up there in price!


Back in the room, I wrapped up a bit more business on the computer before we got it together enough to leave for Epcot. Luckily our only plan for today was to visit the kiosks and have lunch.

It was back down to the Skyliner boarding station although this was a different line than yesterday. Technically it was actually the same line we took yesterday, just going in a different direction.





It turns out that the line originates at CBR goes to the Riviera, makes a turn towards the Boardwalk and in front of the Boardwalk makes another turn towards Epcot. It took us about 10 minutes to get there.





When we approached security they had reorganized their system. There was an area for guests without bags. Two openings for regular guests and one line for guests in scooters, wheelchairs, or with strollers. The line was six people deep. There were no lines anywhere else. We tried to go to another line and the security guy at the line we approached must have been the one that used to work at Hoop de Doo when @pkondz was there, cause he rudely told us we couldn't go in his line and had to go back to the Scooter/stroller line and wait our turn.

The lady at the front of the line was trying to figure out world peace with the security guard, I mean that's what it had to be since he wasn't searching her bag and it was taking FOREVER.

Fran was pretty miffed by the time we got through the line and she went right to Guest Relations and calmly explained her frustrations.
Fran edit: She calls it a polite rant

As we were in line at Guest Relations, I reached in the basket of my scooter for my water bottle and it wasn't there. Dang. Now we would have to spring for a one use bottle of water!

Our first stop was France to see if they had any good Marie merchandise. I ended up getting two of the baseball caps that they had. One to use and one to lose as Fran says.

We stopped at the France kiosk.





We got one of everything food wise The melted Brie came in a little bread bowl and it was very tasty.





However, my favorite here was the tomato stuffed with braised beef. This was really tasty. The beef was so tender and the tomato was done just enough so it would hold the filling without being undercooked.





The chocolate cake was tasty, but there wasn't a whole lot of the molten center. But we weren't going to toss it in the trash! So we still finished it! :laughing:





We saved the macarons for later since they were already packaged.



We also got the French Martini. This was very good!



We went for a photo op in one of the portraits, Luncheon of the Boating Party.









Unfortunately this turned out to be the only picture photo op we ended up doing. I guess we will have to go back!

She wanted to visit the restroom and the closest one was in Morocco, so we headed there and that’s when I realized what a mistake it was to visit during the Festival of the Arts. In all the TRs that I’ve read, people showed pictures of the food, they posted pictures of them posing in the works of the Masters, but no one mentioned that there were dozens of Art Galleries throughout the park! Just about every artist you find in the Disneyana store at DL, or the other fine art stores throughout WDW had a tent or a part of a tent showcasing their paintings. Doh! I was able to keep her from buying an actual piece of artwork,
Fran edit: She says that it was her own self who showed restraint. She did buy a poster at the first booth we came upon. It was for Greg McCullough.



They actually had one of the paintings that we have on our wall at home in that booth. The artist was at DTD (back when they called it that) and actually signed the back of it for her. It's called "One Man Band"



This is the piece that she ended up buying in a poster version.



After the potty stop in Morocco, she had learned that if anywhere was going to have the special Passholder T-shirts for the Festival, it was going to be the new Mousegears. So we decided to head over there, but first we stopped at The Masterpiece Kitchen.





The only thing that I wanted here was the Risotto. I thought it was really good, but Fran didn’t seem to care for it at all.



She got the Salmon Gateau, and thought it was just fabulous.



We are always amused by the white birds at Disney. Usually they each get their own pond or body of water, but today they were congregating at WS.



This one was particularly bold.



I'm going to wrap this up here since I'm about at my photo limit and it's a good place to break up the day
 
Fran was pretty miffed by the time we got through the line and she went right to Guest Relations and calmly explained her frustrations. Fran edit: She calls it a polite rant
Well this really seals the deal...Fran is definitely one of my new favorite people...I have been known to do a few polite rants. Lol :rolleyes1
 
We don't lock our suitcases either; I thought to lock them is against the rules? :upsidedow

Great updated! I spy Reedy Creek fire from the skyway thing!

The food looks good! Can't wait for our F&W though it looks almost identical to last year's.

When I think of Fran and a polite rant, I think of velcro tape. ;)
 
Love your Tigger mug!

Your Renoir pics are very sweet!

When we went for my 60th birthday we took lots of those types of pics. I had two of them made into mugs.
 
We also got the French Martini. This was very good!
I was scrolling and reading at the same time and I first read this is, "We also got the Fran Martini." :rotfl2: I had to reread it. What does it taste like? I usually like cosmos and lemon drops (all the sweet martinis).
 
When we approached security they had reorganized their system. There was an area for guests without bags. Two openings for regular guests and one line for guests in scooters, wheelchairs, or with strollers. The line was six people deep. There were no lines anywhere else. We tried to go to another line and the security guy at the line we approached must have been the one that used to work at Hoop de Doo when @pkondz was there, cause he rudely told us we couldn't go in his line and had to go back to the Scooter/stroller line and wait our turn.
So, is this the way of the future for scooters? Personally I normally try to avoid a security line with multiple strollers, because there is so much to go through. Moms/Dads need a lot of gear. We don't carry much except what can fit in the scooter basket (water bottles, rain gear) and my mini purse. Not loving the prospect of this, especially for HS mornings trying for a ROTR BG... ugh.
 
Thanks for pm-ing me your new TR link! I'm rarely on the DVC boards. Just so used to the regular Trip Report boards!

On that trip, she didn’t get to do exactly what she wanted to do, you might remember that she feigned illness to go back to the room, and then I GPS tracked her all over Epcot shopping and “doing her thing.”
That is just too funny!!


Every single time we fly the TSA searches my luggage and they never relock the locks. There are thieves out there, and I don't want them stealing my stuff! I carry my jewelry and meds in my carry on, but still there is stuff in there I like!
Haha that is a good idea! Is there something that makes them search your bag each time?
They likely are using the SSR renovations as a handy excuse to move Guests they feel are most likely to spend on Riviera." Well, we will see. I have my 1000 points and don't really need anymore, but it will be nice to experience this brand new resort at SSR point prices.
Haha that would be my reasoning too! But what a nice upgrade! I saw a one bedroom at the Riviera last time because Molly got upgraded to a 1-BR and it was so nice. Much nicer than the room we were in at CBR.

The soup was the clear winner here. It was hot and tasty. I might have been happier with a large bowl of that and some crusty bread. The real loser here was the fries. They were cold, needed salt and just generally disappointing. We weren't going to complain though. We rarely do over stuff like this, sometimes it's just too much work to complain. It takes too long for them to make the food all over. And we were tired, but at least we weren't hungry anymore.
We got the Croque monsieur there too once. I think it was actually the croque madame with the egg on top. We really liked it! I got fries with my burger one day and luckily it wasn't cold. Cold fries are no good!

While many of you might think this is cool. I'm still a little traumatized that it's first accident happened the first day on my arrival of the last trip. Plus the fact that Fran and I have to ride in separate cars and several cars apart. Only one scooter can travel in the gondola. I have separation anxiety and the fact that I could be stuck alone in a car is a little disconcerting.
It sucks you guys have to ride separately! I really like the skyliner though, it gets us to those two parks really quickly. Although really only good when you're staying at the Skyliner resorts.
Business taken care of we headed to our first FP which was Star Tours. They had all new scenes, at least to me! It was very cool!
It was really cool!
We did a little shopping. I found some Dark Roast coffee in one of the shops, and we found Mickey hand corn holders. Fran won't use those little yellow corn ear holders that we have at home, but she said she would use these.
Haha because these are Mickey corn ear holders!

We took the elevator two floors up, and Fran asked, "Where do we go?" And as soon as we got out of the elevator she said, "Oh, it's just like the Fantasy." Tell me if you understand that reference cause I had the exact same thought!
Is it like walking from forward to aft and taking the elevators to Palo/Remy?
It was a huge portion. This picture is after we split it in half. The sauce and pasta were very tasty. The shrimp were overcooked. It was a little disappointing. Last October, for half the price, we had a lovely scampi at Tony's with perfectly cooked shrimp. This dish was rather unfortunate. We ate it anyways because I think for somewhere around $40 we weren't going to let it go to waste. As I said the sauce and pasta were very good.
Your food looked good! Too bad the shrimp were over cooked. We really enjoyed Topolino for brunch.

Fran asked for another half of muffin with some of the leftover Ricotta on it.

Yum! I would really like fresh ricotta on a raisin muffin now!
Well now we know. A room like this would cost around $600.00 per night on cash. DVC was one of the best investments we have ever made! Even the SSR room was up there in price!
I agree!! Even just a studio at the Poly is up there in price!
z20MU0205EP11.jpg
Yum I loved this!
However, my favorite here was the tomato stuffed with braised beef. This was really tasty. The beef was so tender and the tomato was done just enough so it would hold the filling without being undercooked.

We also got this and found it really good as well!!
We also got the French Martini. This was very good!

This too! France is a winner during this festival!
She wanted to visit the restroom and the closest one was in Morocco, so we headed there and that’s when I realized what a mistake it was to visit during the Festival of the Arts. In all the TRs that I’ve read, people showed pictures of the food, they posted pictures of them posing in the works of the Masters, but no one mentioned that there were dozens of Art Galleries throughout the park! Just about every artist you find in the Disneyana store at DL, or the other fine art stores throughout WDW had a tent or a part of a tent showcasing their paintings. Doh! I was able to keep her from buying an actual piece of artwork, Fran edit: She says that it was her own self who showed restraint. She did buy a poster at the first booth we came upon. It was for Greg McCullough.
LOL I guess I don't really buy that much art and when I do I get in online so I didn't do any art buying. We did browse and admire though!
The only thing that I wanted here was the Risotto. I thought it was really good, but Fran didn’t seem to care for it at all.

I enjoyed this a lot!
She got the Salmon Gateau, and thought it was just fabulous.

Oooh this looks fancy! Is it smoked salmon?
 

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