Yes, I did say cottage cheese. I’m sorry if that offends you. Pretend I said cream cheese or cheese Danish because it’s critical to the trip report.
The South Beach Lifestyle eating plan (ahem) does not mix well with the continental breakfast served in the concierge lounges on Disney property. Excuse me for a moment. I need to digress. Yes, we stayed concierge, except now Disney calls it Club Level because every resort has a Concierge in the lobby. That’s terrific but I have to get used to calling the Concierge level Club level and I am not used to it and Shrek will never remember it. The grocery store in our hometown was called the M & J until he was 12. It has changed names four times but he still calls it the M & J. Some of you can relate. I will call it Concierge level here because that is what I call it.
Anyway, when we planned this trip I tried to talk Shrek out of staying there even after I had convinced him to stay at Beach Club. The value just isn’t there and I am all about value. Practical is one of my middle names. Shrek is all about feeling like he is really really on vacation once a year and he wants that once a year feeling to be at Disney. We do not live, vacation, travel, recreate, shop, or dine at that level of service on any sort of regular basis, but it is part of the Disney vacation experience to him so I grit my teeth, tried to ignore that extra expense (with no VALUE), and enjoy the Itinerary Planning Office before the trip.
The IPO, which is available to help you with ADRs, ground transportation, tickets, extras, questions, requests, etc, by phone, fax, and email before your trip for Yacht, Beach and Boardwalk had a very nice staff but were much more difficult to reach than the IPO at Contemporary or Poly had been. They also seemed to be unsure about answers to many of my questions. In short, they were very kind, but I did most of the planning.
As I have done on our last four trips, I let the IPO know I would like cottage cheese or hard boiled eggs for breakfast as I cannot have bear claws, Fruit Loops, or Krispy Kremes. Well, I could, but I needed some boundaries and breakfast seemed my only hope. This had always been a simple request. The IPO always took note for me, the concierge staff had it waiting, and I would ask for the breakfast in the lounge with no fanfare or question.
This year I received a voicemail (one of many voicemails we traded): Mrs. Fixer, I was informed, we no longer accommodate lifestyle dietary requests.
Well, now. This was a shocker. I was not just upset about the cottage cheese, though I questioned what and how I would get breakfast. I was most upset in this huge decline in Disney service, and told the CM in IPO when I phoned 3.2 minutes later.
She was very nice and understood my dilemma. I told her it was simply a broad drop in guest services and it made this repeat guest very unhappy. She suggested we utilize private dining (room service). Um, I don’t think so. When I told Shrek, he suggested we not stay concierge level, which I wanted all along but knew he didn’t.
The CM emailed me the phone number (I had asked) and email for the General Manager of the resort. I spoke to someone in that office. They were very helpful and insisted the IPO CM was incorrect. She was happy to accommodate my request!
Before we left, I called to confirm everything (day before) and the IPO again knew nothing about my request and gave the same answer. I went back the management and kindly asked for assistance.
I really didn’t and do not want to be a squeaky wheel. As I told her and later Shrek, I just didn’t want to be in bed in the resort the first night wondering if there would be a big confusing scene the next morning when I asked for breakfast! For these two weeks, for the first time, I thought, Disney doesn’t care. They ARE going the way of the corporate giant. I am not a guest. I am a number and they want my money. I was actually disappointed (a bit) in the Mouse.
She could not have been nicer. She assured me this was NOT Disney policy (but why would IPO say it was?) so it was fine that I asked! She put me at ease and seemed to hear my heart. She could tell, I think, that I love Disney and heard my excitement turning to concern about my Magical Gathering for sixteen. She asked about the families traveling with us. She asked about my room preference.
The day before we left for Orlando I received a call from another member of Beach Club management. He wanted to know about my room requests. I told him we had just requested a full balcony. He asked if we cared more about a balcony or a view. I told him we had requested a ‘real’ balcony (as Beach Club has tiny ones, too). He, too, asked for our friends’ last names.
You guessed it. They were upgraded. When the Coattails arrived on an earlier flight that day, Emeline called reported they were on the second floor but had access to the Concierge level with the Fixers and Gatelatches on floor five!!
I was so excited but didn’t tell the CookMaster lest something change. When we checked in the CM kept telling her she was on the fifth floor, right next door to the Fixer family. She kept saying, “But we aren’t on that floor.” She FINALLY got it!! It was so much fun.
Like I said, it was all because of cottage cheese: