Trip from Hell. thats us...

[crazymomof4]

Can't believe the nerve of THAT poster!
If a 2 yo falling is parental negligence then I'd have lost custody of my 4 kids a long time ago!
As to the bug problem, I don't think it an unreasonable expectation to want your living quarters to be insect-free while on vacation, even in Central Florida! Besides the skeeve factor, what if a member of your family was allergic to the bites and ended up in the hospital?
Our vacation/bug story: We checked into a condo on the Jersey Shore at 11:30pm July 4th weekend. As soon as we walked in everyone in the family started screaming. When my husband turned on the light we saw that our legs were COVERED in fleas! It literally looked like someone had thrown a handfull of coffee grounds at our lower legs. We were swating at them w/ our hands and they were jumping onto our arms! There were thousands of them. Thank goodness I'd put the baby (in her carseat) on the table and not the floor! We ran out of there so fast! We had fun trying to find a hotel room after midnight on July 4th weekend! Come to find out, 2 weeks before someone had broken the NO PETS rule and brought a kitten to the condo. It had been empty for 2 weeks until we came and boy were those fleas hungry!
I agree that after a while you will laugh at the memory of your vacation from hell, we do.

 

[CK1]

I give you credit for trying to make the best of it as you went along ... sometimes you have to, if for no other reason than to keep the spirits of the "crew" up! But after a while -- well, patience (and insecticide) wears thin! My dh and I spent our honeymoon in a delightful beachfront condo. After a day on the beach, I took a shower and jumped out to wrap myself in a towel... a towel loaded with fire ants! I must have made 3 or 4 orbits around the condo, naked with my arms flailing, before my newlywed hubby figured out it was nto some sort of mating dance and I was in dire straits! Turns out that the ants were EVERYWHERE... with each passing day they grew more bold. I can handle a bug, one-on-one, (wo)man against insect, but multitudes and masses totally creep me out. As soon as bait went out, I couldn't have stayed there. For starters, my kids would never have left the bait alone. econdly, it takes a while for bait to work. And third... the ants have to come and TAKE the bait, so that would still mean their antly presence amongst us -- I think not!!

As for your child's mishap, I think it's wise that you informed the management. No quality resort wants that sort of liability. I'd wager that the person you spoke to was a young fella without kids -- he probably just doesn't "get" the parental fear factor, how easily kids can get hurt, and what a child's injury does to a family (and to the business on whose property the injury occurred.)

Here's hoping for a better trip next time...

Cindy

 

[Laura24]

Originally posted by crazymomof4
Our vacation/bug story: We checked into a condo on the Jersey Shore at 11:30pm July 4th weekend. As soon as we walked in everyone in the family started screaming. When my husband turned on the light we saw that our legs were COVERED in fleas! It literally looked like someone had thrown a handfull of coffee grounds at our lower legs. We were swating at them w/ our hands and they were jumping onto our arms! There were thousands of them. Come to find out, 2 weeks before someone had broken the NO PETS rule and brought a kitten to the condo. It had been empty for 2 weeks until we came and boy were those fleas hungry!

Sounds like a case of the SAND FLEAS. Pets or no pets, they find you. I've been told there are two types of fleas, sand and pet fleas. I've never really looked into how true this is. Any one know?

 

[Regina]

There is a difference between sand and pet fleas. I found out about sand fleas at Castaway Cay. They're very tiny and just about invisible. Pet fleas are black.

I had a problem with itty bitty black ants at OKW this past Christmas. (I'm talking miniscule little buggers.)

They treated the room (BTW, third floor) and we never saw them again.

 

[crazymomof4]

Oh, these were definately pet fleas! I have 3 cats and am no stranger to fleas but NEVER in the massive quantities we experienced that night. The owner of the condo had it treated the next day and the exterminator said that he had never before seen such an infestation. Sand fleas are very tiny and you almost never see them, you only feel the bite.

 

[Laura24]

Originally posted by crazymomof4
Oh, these were definately pet fleas! I have 3 cats and am no stranger to fleas but NEVER in the massive quantities we experienced that night. The owner of the condo had it treated the next day and the exterminator said that he had never before seen such an infestation. Sand fleas are very tiny and you almost never see them, you only feel the bite.

They are nasty little things....especially if you are allergic. The population is divided into two categories, people that are allergic and react to the bites and those that don't and don't even know they have been bitten. I just can't imagine one kitten being infested with thousands of fleas. It just may have been an on going thing and the miracle of reproduction resulted in infestation.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I have no idea how you managed to put up with fire ants for even a day. Was this a first floor unit?

Oh and about the fleas...there are lots of stray cats at the Jersey Shore. People adopt them and then discard them. This might be the case that someone took in a stray. An indoor/outdoor cat could keep returning to a flea infested spot bringing them back "home" at night (as a kid I had a kitten like this for a very short time...my parents made me give him up after it was clear he was bringing lots of fleas into the house...even after I'd wash him, dried him & used flea powder...he would go out and find more fleas).

 

[crazymomof4]

The thing with pet fleas is that they really don't even need a pet as a host. If desperate, they will bite a human and get a "blood meal" (as my Vet put it). On just one blood meal they can live for a really long time, long enough to lay thousands of eggs. So even if you get them off of your pet, if they bite you they can continue to multiply. Very frustrating. They thrive in humid conditions and all of you Jerseyites know how humid it gets here in the summer, especially "down the shore".
My theory is that bc. the condo had been empty for 2 weeks before we arrived the adults had been multipying, still living off of the meals they had from the original host. All of the thousands of eggs that had hatched during the two wks time produced new fleas but they had nothing to bite and were starving. That is why they ATTACKED us as soon as we walked in. I've had fleas in my carpet from my cats and been bitten maybe once or twice a day but never attacked like that!

 

[cdorval]

Twinmom
I think they owe you more than just an apoligy. I'd write to management. Red ants biting small children is nothing to kid about, if anything I believe they owe you 2 nights stay and broken furniture that can harm a child is not good. They need to make amends, yes unforturnate things can happen, especially when small children are involved. They should have moved you at the first sign of ant infestation and after the furniture incident you deserved more than a Golly-Gee-Sorry, oops. Good luck. Hope your next trip home is less eventfull.

 

[DVC-LEROY]

Did I get that right - you were in room 417 at BCV? We had a problem with the seat cushions during our last visit (2/03)- we were on the 5th floor -#536 but the cushions on that bench kept popping off - especially when my 4 year old son was kneeling on them at the table. It was obvious that no one ever lifted one to clean - assuming that's why they were that way. It was pretty bad. No ants though. They should have moved you immediately.

 

[twinmomplus2]

Yes, that is correct, actually the first room number was 407. I made a mistake there. They were also broken in our 2 bedroom lock off, number 221 and 219. Did you see the space between? that is where his head got stuck. also. that brings to total number so far to 3. 3 units affected. DVc'ers any other rooms affected? We assumed it was like that to clean as well. But when I asked management they said. THOSE SHOULD NEVER COME OFF> THAT IN FACT THAT WAS BROKEN> he further said how weird both were broken in the same fashion. Now we have 3. Please report the problem with your unit as well.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

I am beginning to wonder if the benches installed at BCV were defective or installed incorrectly. I wonder how many others noticed and never said anything because they assumed that the cushions were meant to come off. I probably would have thought that too.

Perhaps someone that is going down in the next couple of weeks and staying at BCV could attend the weekly member update and mention the concern over this and ask what is being done to correct the problem. I will be there in July, but will only be at BCV for 1 night.

 

[anniet]

Is this the bench you are referring to??? I'm just trying to picture it, and it looks like this is built into the wall

http://www.wdwig.com/bcv24.jpg

Yuk about the bugs. We had lovebugs to deal with on our September trip in 2000 and 2001 and I thought they were bad. Sounds like they were nothing compared to what you were dealing with.

 

[twinmomplus2]

Yes, that is the bench. the green cushions are not attached in some of the Villas. So far 3 that room numbers are posted. PS... southeastern MA here to.....

 

[DVCPAM]

We had this same problem in our 1 bedroom- 557. We asked the porter about it, because as soon as we walked in you could see that the cushion/seat was tilted up about 3 inches without anyone sitting on it or putting anything on it. His reply was that they were designed that way. ??? I didn't push it since he was a porter and probably didn't know much about it.

It was certainly a hazzard for my 2 and 4 year olds who had a hard time maneuvering around without the cushions falling or tipping more. Once I glanced under the seat and it was an empty hole with sawdust, trash and other construction residue. Yuck!

I have a picture of the bench but I am not technical enough to be a ble insert it here, and its not on a webpage. Sorry!
~Pam

 

[twinmomplus2]

Please report that room number as well. So now we have 4 more broken. Any more?

 

[DVC-LEROY]

After discussing this bench thing again with my husband (he was the one who noticed it on our trip)- we're pretty convinced that it's more a case of cutting corners when they built the villas. Much cheaper not to take the time to screw the darn things on. I would bet that most of the benches are in the same condition. Our's really didn't look broken - just unfinished. We had commented to eachother about how someone could get hurt.

 

[anniet]

Originally posted by DVC-LEROY
After discussing this bench thing again with my husband (he was the one who noticed it on our trip)- we're pretty convinced that it's more a case of cutting corners when they built the villas. Much cheaper not to take the time to screw the darn things on.

I guess they really didn't cut any corners at all when Members start getting hurt and complaining and they have to replace the darn things. And I'm certain it will come out of BCV owners dues. If BCV was my home resort I wouldn't be too pleased!

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Would this be an appropriate place to report the problem or do others have any suggestions?

DVC Member Satisfaction Manager
Jackie Lueders, 800-800-9800,
members@disneyvactionclub.com (mailto:members@disneyvactionclub.com)
(subject: ATTN JACKIE LUEDERS),
Disney Vacation Club,
Attn: Jackie Lueders,
200 Celebration Place,
Celebration, FL 34747.

 

[twinmomplus2]

I fed exed a letter to Jackie Leuders the day I arrived home. as of yet, one week almost, I have not heard back. For all others That would be the correct address.