These are NOT the rooms that I paid for! 3 Resorts in 10 days - Trivia Answers 9/3

[DisneyKid4Life]

I see how it is.... now you are mocking me with that gif!!! (j/k you know!)

Hey Rob, are you melting in that heat?? Wouldn't it be nice to be chilling at the Pop Century pool about now?? My rule is if you can see your breath outside you shouldn't be walking around in it!! Ok, so 51 isn't that cold yet but where I live if it is in the 40s there are practically weather alerts.

Hehe, of course I jest. I just needed an excuse to use that gif.

For Florida, yes, 51 is cold. We had similar temps in December 2009. Not fun.

Speaking of the "cold".... I did pick up a new hobby in Illinois some time ago.... I learned the art of scraping snow off the rental car! I wanted to hire myself out it was so fun!

May I present my finest skills here. Forgive the winter blah look with no hair/makeup.. I'm vain but not too vain to share here!

LOVED the snow scraping vid!!!!! Welcome to my life. Believe me, for those of us who do that often, our demeanour is no where near as charming.

Although yes, right now I am indeed melting.

 

[francis6306]

I'm caught up again! But I'm too sleepy for comments…

 

[KPSmithSr]

I finally got caught up too. DW and I are in our RV, traveling in Canada and Alaska. They don't have fast internet above the Arctic Cirlce!!!

 

[Linda67]

Speaking of the "cold".... I did pick up a new hobby in Illinois some time ago.... I learned the art of scraping snow off the rental car! I wanted to hire myself out it was so fun!

May I present my finest skills here. Forgive the winter blah look with no hair/makeup.. I'm vain but not too vain to share here!

Too funny!
You are clearly a natural at removing snow from a rental
And how the hell do you manage to still look so glamorous doing it!!!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

All caught up now! And I'm not sure if you're there yet, but have a great time at DL!

I also love the 'Painting the Roses Red' sign in front of the Mad Tea Party - and the New York shout out.

Glad the ooey gooey toffee cake was done right this time. I don't think I'll get the chance to try it anytime soon, but everyone raves about it when it's served correctly (warm and properly 'dressed').

Finally, WCC breakfast looks great! I remember seeing that banana bread french toast in your last DR when it was a specialty - it's nice that they kept such an awesome dish on the menu.

 

[MrsB1228]

Loved the update! Both of your breakfast choices at WCC looked yummy but I have to admit the Bananas Foster French Toast would have been calling my name, LOL.

I got a kick out of the captain of the boat that took you from CR to WL. He looked like he was wearing a winter coat and mittens, LOL. No doubt it gets pretty cold on the water, but seeing this guy all decked out for a blizzard in the background and your Em in the foreground in short sleeves and a denim vest just really made me chuckle. I imagine the poor thing must have been cold though, based on your description of the morning.

We were in the world the first week of December a few years ago, and the morning temps were always in the 50F - 55F range. My hubby went swimming every morning between 7 and 7:30, because those temps just don't feel that cold to him. There were always workers there cleaning the pool area, all of them wrapped up in heavy coats, hats and mitts. On the third day, one of them said to him "just curious, are you from Canada?" Yep, sure am! DH said the guy just smiled and walked away, no doubt muttering "crazy Canucks" under his breath.

Looking forward to the next update. Have a wonderful time at DL!

 

[emmysmommy]

Looks like Citro’s was at least somewhat tasty!? Lol the food at the GFlo just looks so yummy!

ACK! It was SO COLD on the 1st, and that’s coming from a Canadian!! I didn’t know that WCC did breakfast!!

Aw man, we park hopped everywhere but Epcot on the first, ahaha!!
​

Hi Katt! Well, the bread was tasty and the salad was good at Citricos.

I'm glad to get some validation from a Canadian for the cold weather! Thank you!!

I hang out on the dining boards enough to know most of the menus at most of the restaurants in WDW!! so yes... WCC has a fabulous breakfast.

With as many trips as you have we're bound to run into each other some day! My next trips are August for 2 weeks and December for 8 days... any chance you'll be there those months??

Loved the video!!

Here would be the opposite take on scraping ice/snow off a car from one of my favorite movies Fargo: http://youtu.be/5YD4OvBlO_M

Ahh brings back memories from my college years in Minneapolis. After four years, I had gotten very good and efficient in digging out my little Civic from the snow.

Ha ha! loved that Dave! I'm sure snow in DC is nothing like MN?? I'm sure there's a big difference between sweeping snow off your car and having to dig it out!

10˚C - that is too cold for Florida!
What - you've never gone on the ferry? How is that possible? Does that include the little ones? Because that WL ferry is one of my favourite parts of the trip!

Hi Alysa! I've done the little boats on Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon but not the big ferry boat or even the River Belle. For shame! I'll have to do something about that next trip!

You did a very thorough job. Some people will give it a few swipes and then drive down the road with the snow blowing off of it.

That's so funny because that's what my DH said. It's good enough if you can see through the windshield is what he said.

Ill go easy on you and admit that even this cape bretoner here would find 51 chilly in Florida! On the other hand I'm with Rob, there have been some days this week I wished for that weather. We hit 104 the other day. Too hot for me! Yummy, breakfast looks really good! (Both dishes!)
Glad Em stopped for her jacket on your way to the park, nothing worse than freezing and trying to enjoy yourself.

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Ha! thanks Wendy! I know, I know... such a winter wimp I am!

Oh my gosh! 104 is like Death Valley temperature here. That's crazy!

Heck, the mom in me wouldn't let her leave it in the room after seeing her freeze on the boat to WL.

Tell me it's fun when you have this:

Oh nooooooooo!! That's crazy! I draw the line at sweeping snow off the car. If I had to pick up a shovel my car would go nowhere!

Ha! Love it!!!

Hehe, of course I jest. I just needed an excuse to use that gif.

For Florida, yes, 51 is cold. We had similar temps in December 2009. Not fun.

LOVED the snow scraping vid!!!!! Welcome to my life. Believe me, for those of us who do that often, our demeanour is no where near as charming.

Although yes, right now I am indeed melting.

Thanks Rob! You could see the novelty in my first ice scraping attempt! I need to reserve my whining because it did get colder as the trip progressed. Perhaps you will feel my complaining is well deserved when it dips below freezing.

I would imagine that you would be in shorts at 51 though. Me... 3 layers, scarf, gloves and wishing I could find a bon fire.

I'm caught up again! But I'm too sleepy for comments…

Hi Christen! Thanks for catching up! I hope all is well and that your Spring 2014 plans are progressing nicely. Still no booking for us yet so I'll see if I change my plans for my birthday trip!

I finally got caught up too. DW and I are in our RV, traveling in Canada and Alaska. They don't have fast internet above the Arctic Cirlce!!!

Hi there! Wow, you win the prize for the farthest North TR subscriber!! The farthest North I have been is Juneau, AK. Alaska is so lovely and I never knew it had vast rainforests until we visited a couple years ago. Enjoy your RV'ing!!

Too funny!
You are clearly a natural at removing snow from a rental
And how the hell do you manage to still look so glamorous doing it!!!

Ack! You're too nice Linda! I was having so much fun with it I should have been a Good Samaritan and kept going with all the cars in the parking lot!

All caught up now! And I'm not sure if you're there yet, but have a great time at DL!

I also love the 'Painting the Roses Red' sign in front of the Mad Tea Party - and the New York shout out.

Glad the ooey gooey toffee cake was done right this time. I don't think I'll get the chance to try it anytime soon, but everyone raves about it when it's served correctly (warm and properly 'dressed').

Finally, WCC breakfast looks great! I remember seeing that banana bread french toast in your last DR when it was a specialty - it's nice that they kept such an awesome dish on the menu.

Hi Mr. DDW! Nope, I leave on Tuesday so I'm here for another day or so. I haven't cracked open a suitcase yet so I have that ahead of me still.

Doesn't Disney do so good with the details. Someone (I think Rachel) pointed out that the 7 Dwarfs mural by the new mine ride in NFL has a nod to Ariel (dinglehopper) and B&tB (Lumiere). Nothing is ever an after thought and even though I don't know but a fraction of what is included for thematic elements, it is so cool to know that Disney does an awesome job!

You have a great memory! Yes, last summer we tried the banana foster French toast before it was put on the menu as a regular item. Quick what did we eat at Cosmic Rays?

I'm soooo looking forward to August!!

Loved the update! Both of your breakfast choices at WCC looked yummy but I have to admit the Bananas Foster French Toast would have been calling my name, LOL.

I got a kick out of the captain of the boat that took you from CR to WL. He looked like he was wearing a winter coat and mittens, LOL. No doubt it gets pretty cold on the water, but seeing this guy all decked out for a blizzard in the background and your Em in the foreground in short sleeves and a denim vest just really made me chuckle. I imagine the poor thing must have been cold though, based on your description of the morning.

We were in the world the first week of December a few years ago, and the morning temps were always in the 50F - 55F range. My hubby went swimming every morning between 7 and 7:30, because those temps just don't feel that cold to him. There were always workers there cleaning the pool area, all of them wrapped up in heavy coats, hats and mitts. On the third day, one of them said to him "just curious, are you from Canada?" Yep, sure am! DH said the guy just smiled and walked away, no doubt muttering "crazy Canucks" under his breath.

Looking forward to the next update. Have a wonderful time at DL!

Hi Carol! I wish Em would have been in a sharing kinda mood for that French toast!!

I'm glad you caught that funny dichotomy between Em being a So Cal gal and that boat Captain in FL. It was COLD on the lake though so the coat and gloves were a smart choice!

That is a GREAT story! Crazy Canuck! I would be even more impressed if the pool was not heated but even so, my gosh, I can't imagine wearing shorts let alone a bathing suit.

Thanks and I look forward to a few days of fun once I have the conference behind me. Ahhhh actually, it doesn't matter if I'm working, I've never stayed on-site at DLR so this should be fun!

Take care and thanks for getting caught up!

 

[emmysmommy]

Friday March 1, 2013: Day 6, Part 2

We arrived for a day of fun at Epcot, yes, with our winter coats! We made quick work of hopping in line for Spaceship Earth. We wanted to partake in this slow moving journey into the past. But first to say where we lived Dublin Ireland of course. I like to see my face sail across the Atlantic to the UK. What can I say? It's the small things that amuse me.

My ride photos are pretty bad since Im no Teekathepony or DaveinFallsChurch but I did get an almost recognizable photo of Foxy Cleopatra!

In building my future at the end, I can't recall what I selected but I do know that it appears that I grew long skinny legs and acquired a fondness for sweater vests. For Project Tomorrow I had the joy of seeing my face sail across the ocean to my home in Dublin. Well done Brenda!

Next we wandered over to Innoventions. It had been awhile since we had designed our own virtual roller coaster at Sum of all Thrills. (You have a choice of a jet or bobsled as well.) But first, hey I recognized a sign that I posed with. It's my employer. What do you know? They are a sponsor of Habit Heroes.

If you have never tried this attraction, YOU MUST DO THIS! Especially if you are a thrill ride junkie! You will feel such pride birthing your very own roller coaster design and virtually testing it in a simulator. There are three segments of the roller coaster that you design using engineering tools and they say math; however, I didn't need to pull out an abacus so I let them do all the calculations for me. Be careful to design a coaster that has sufficient velocity to complete the loops and turns otherwise your ride will plummet to the ground and you'll hear the desperate screams of impending doom rising from the cockpit. Oh wait, its not that bad but you dont want to build a roller coaster that will fail the test phase. And another fun twist, you get to name your coaster. (Spoiler alert: There are default designs so no fear if you can't get through the design phases, you'll still have a coaster to test ride.)

After a 15 minute wait we were briefed by Spencer and his gal side kick and reminded that they were stumping for future generations of math and engineering geeks. And I use the term geek endearingly! (I'm secretly jealous of all you mathematicians out there since I've exhausted my math abilities when I've run through all my times tables.)

I left the engineering of our roller coaster to Em. She designed our super sleek Lightening Eagle coaster that apparently passed the engineering test. The design was loaded onto our card for our virtual experience. After heading up the stairs to the launch station, stowing your gear in a locker, you then enter the simulator and they load the design from your card. Be warned that if you are claustrophobic it may be an issue since there is a hood that descends and encloses you for the ride. (The ride is only 90 seconds I believe.) There is an image of your ride partner if there are two of you that displays in the upper right part of the screen. The video image of the ride experience is rather cartoonish but I suppose you cant be picky since it's not that real. However, you really do feel like you are doing inversions and sharp bank turns. It truly is thrilling!

We had to move along to WS since we had lunch in France shortly. We took the friendship boat to Morocco and walked next door to France for our Chefs de France reservation. With hardly a wait we were seated in the main dining room, a first for us since we've always been seated by the front windows.

Our server was Kevin and as quiet and bashful as he appeared to be he did his job well....until... We'll get to that in a bit. I love lunch here because I can order an appetizer or two and call it a meal. In this case, Em ordered the prix fixe menu option of quiche with a mixed green salad and French onion soup but donated the soup to me! I ordered the onion and bacon flatbread and we shared the crème brulee. Always delicious even if by the end of the meal we are completely stuffed. I will always make room for at least a few bites of this creamy goodness.

French Onion Soup

Quiche

Onion/Bacon flatbread:

Crème Brulee

We were practically sharing a table with the party next to us!

After handing over my credit card and my TiW card, I received back the credit folio and noticed that something was obviously amiss. Our bill was only $60 with the 18% auto gratuity but the final receipt they returned had charged my card $115! Uhhh... This wasn't my meal but rather the receipt was for a party of SIX which had one soul who had indulged in a nice glass of burgandy in addition to some fine French cuisine. I called this error to Kevin's attention and he seemed unable to immediately respond. Not even an oops escaped his lips. He said that he would send a Manager over to address the problem.

Phillipe, assuming he is the Manager, came over and grabbed the folio and started to walk away without even so much as a were sorry ma'am. That just annoyed me! I said something to him about that type of mistake could impact someones vacation since even though they were reversing the charge the credit was already sent through and now they had to send a second transaction through for the correct amount. No biggie for me but someone else may be traveling on a tight budget. Phillipe apparently wasn't into customer service based on his attitude and tone which just annoyed me further.

I just asked for his business card so I could deal with guest relations later and be a big tattle tale.

How very nice of me to pick up the tab for another party!

Phillipe fixed the issue by removing the automatic TiW gratuity for Kevin and told me that I could tip whatever I felt appropriate, if anything. So... you want me to stiff the waiter for this mistake? Poor Kevin was silently standing with his head hung to avoid eye contact and I felt so bad for him at that point that I just scribbled in a tip amount that probably confused him. I walked away quoting My Blue Heaven... I don't believe in tipping, I believe in over-tipping!

In one last attempt to get some satisfaction, I stopped at the hostess podium and asked for Phillipe's last name since his card didn't have a name on it. At that point Phillipe came out front and started to argue with me. Really?? He said, what do you want me to do? I responded, not be so rude to start with. After a brief exchange that I'm sure any customer checking in for lunch this day may have found amusing he told me that he wanted to buy me glass of champagne. Ohhhh now you want to liqueur me up? I declined. I'm bitter and not into peace offerings. He drug me over to the kiosk and told the dude to pour me a glass of champagne. I accepted and made him pose for a photo with me because gosh darn it this was a story to tell all my Dis friends and I needed the picture to prove it!

While sipping the champagne, we asked the server dude if Phillipe buys people champagne often. He said every day followed by the best response, "after all this is France!" So perfect!

Ok, so the champagne was good and it almost made up for my frustration but I was wondering how I had gone from wanting justice to accepting the glass of bubbly to hush me up! One of lifes mysteries.

Champagne makes it all better!

Cheers Morocco!

Sorry for the looong update. I'm trying to get this moving along since I may not update this week while I'm at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa!!

Continued Next Post
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[chattadisser]

"I accepted and made him pose for a photo with me because gosh darn it this was a story to tell all my Dis friends and I needed the picture to prove it!"

How frustrating about the credit card! But too funny about wanting the proof to tell the story.

You also make snow scraping look like fun! Hope you are having fun this week.

Christine

 

[SAT887]

So, after a the responses in ice scraping... I have to say between your video and Dave's Fargo clip - I resemble the Fargo clip

I haven't made it into innoventions in ages. Although I think in September it may be a good AC break! A the poor response from your experience in France - ugh - people forget that sometimes all you want is an apology.... : /

 

[peachmermaid]

I've got to get my husband to do sum of all thrills next time we visit! He loves roller coasters and is an engineer, so he'd probably love it. Thanks for including that. We've always spent little time in that area...mostly because I want to book it to living with the land because I'm a nerd.

Those are some close quarters in France!! As for Phillipe... It always boggles my mind when I meet or come across a less than magically happy cast member. That comment, "after all, this is France" is pure gold. Now that kind of happy snark I can go for!

Enjoy your time at the Grand Californian!! What a beautiful place. Take lots of pictures. Also, can't wait to hear about your stay in WL in August. Have fun!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I've only done Sum Of All Thrills once, back in 2010 I think, and to be honest I found it really lacking. I think simulators just don't work for me for some reason. I did thoroughly enjoy the fact that you have a monitor of the other person in front of you though. We had a LOT of fun with that. They need to record it because I for sure would have bought that one.

Gosh you are such a sweetie for paying for someone else's meal.

Seriously though, what awful awful service. I can't even fathom the response you got (or lack thereof).

AHHHHH GRAND CALIFORNIAN!!!!! I am so jealous. Have a blast. I'll be watching FB for updates!!

 

[teekathepony]

I am far too claustrophobic to even watch those tiny little pods enclose my DH while he rides. It gives me the shivers! I have done the simulator in DisneyQuest and that one was awesome!
Too bad about your bill, but really too bad about the service surrounding what should have been a very small issue! I don't blame you for wanting Phillipes last name to complain. But I will admit to laughing at him trying to bribe you with champaign! After all miss, this is France! Too funny!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[MrsDrewsky]

This update had me laughing out loud so much. Oh my goodness, after a morning with a fussy baby it really made my day.

The photo of you and Phillippe is priceless.

Enjoy your stay at the Grand Californian.

 

[KatMark]

Why do all these things always happen to you, Brenda? I'm not sure I would have been so forgiving (probably because I don't like champagne ).

Loved the photos, and love Chefs de France (although I will be sure to try NOT to get that CM when we are there next month).

Hope you are having a great time at DL.

 

[Linda67]

Just caught up with your Chefs story. I just love that you got the manager to pose for a photo with you and the champagne!!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I also really like the Sum of All Thrills! The fact that it can actually turn you upside down (up to 4-5 times!) is what makes it for me. And your France experience sounds like a nightmare, but at least you got that picture out of it.

You have a great memory! Yes, last summer we tried the banana foster French toast before it was put on the menu as a regular item. Quick what did we eat at Cosmic Rays?

I'm soooo looking forward to August!!

Well we definitely split some chili cheese fries, and I believe we also had burgers because the chicken bay was closed. When it comes to food, I never forget.

And me too! Just about a month to go.

 

[rachel09985]

Wow, I got majorly behind!

first of all, I dyed of laughter at the crime scene thing. I can't believe they just stole that candy! My boyfriend's dad witnessed someone steal a hoodie before in Epcot! He told the CMs and they didn't even care!! They didn't do anything.

I love that Alice in Wonderland New Fantasyland sign. I just posted pics of that actually, but of different signs.

Nice food reviews! MM LTT!! I tried it for the first time this trip and I loved the ooey gooey cake! I loved the pot roast too, especially the veggies. I honestly could have triple the amount of veggie and three times less pot roast. The veggies were awesome!

Nice photos from your hotel room! So pretty!!

Just read more- WOW about that story about Chefs de France. I can NOT Believe he made you take champagne from him! I can't believe you didn't get a sorry either. Sadly, I had my first complaint this trip too

Also regarding the complaining monorail operator- I have had an incident with a monorail operator who literally complained to us 5 minutes about Disney. He said he would never step foot in Disney with his family and that is so overpriced! Something about monorail workers, i guess!

 

[katt789]

So close!! I won’t be there in August but Paige and her DBF will be for the last week or so, Mom a friend of hers and I head back down Sept 11!!

Hmm…maybe Dec? Either that or Jan for the next big trip, I STILL want to hit up food and wine, but don’t know how much money I’ll haave left after Sept haha! Hopefully by Dec I'll just be a cast member ahaha

I have never done Sum of Thrills and I think the only time I’ve been in Innoventions was to cut through, but not being a big rollercoaster person, I’m not sure if I’d want to do it haha.

Wow, Chefs was…interesting, the food looks great, but that manager seems like a poo head! Mom did say something about the CM’s just being not as friendly in the France area versus any other area…hmm