Trip report - "Dreams do come true" (video complete - pg 45)

[Mary626]

It was getting pretty close to ten and I was worried that we wouldn’t finish up our meal and pay in time to go see the fireworks. Finally our desserts came and they were really good, definitely the highlight of the meal.

Jim ordered a strawberry tart

my apple crisp tart thing, it was very good

We used our discount card again, and for the last time on this trip. It had saved us so much money on our trip and on this meal. We paid our bill and left a generous tip, the waiters were the best we had had on our trip. We had about 5 minutes left before the fireworks started.

While we enjoyed our meal at the California Grill, I think eating here once is enough. I would much rather try some of their other restaurants first before returning to this one. The food was good but nothing special (at least to us, maybe it’s cuz we live in California and eat sushi here all the time? I don’t know). The service was great, very friendly waiters. The meal took too long though – 2 hours for one meal was actually longer then I wanted to spend there. And I didn’t want to admit this, but I was a little disappointed that they didn’t do anything or say anything about it being our honeymoon. I remember when I was making the reservation, the cast member on the phone was so excited about us getting married,, and she said something like “do you mind if I make a note on your california grill reservation that it’s your honeymoon?” and I told her I didn’t mind at all.. so I was kind of wondering if they were going to do something special.. Guess not, oh well. The only restaurants that did anything for our honeymoon the entire trip were at the Magic Kingdom, not sure if that was coincidence or if that’s standard proceduare, but just thought I would mention it as a tip.

 

[Mary626]

We went out onto the viewing area outside next to the lounge. I was surprised there weren’t that many people out there. We were way up on the 15th floor so it was really really chilly out there that night, I was cooooold.

Our view from the viewing platform outside

I had read on the DIS boards that they pumped in the music in speakers outside, but was disappointed when the fireworks began and we couldn’t hear anything. We could hear the music in the distance, from the magic kingdom itself, but you kind of had to strain to hear it.

The fireworks were, as always, amazing to watch. It was kind of neat watching them from the 15th floor, so you’re looking towards them and not up at them, kind of a unique perspective. The kid next to us was so funny. He kept ranking which fireworks were his favorite “those are my fifteen favorite.. those are my seventh favorite! Those are my ninth favorite! Those are my 24th favorite” Me and Jim were cracking up.

After one of the fireworks that kind of looks like an explosion, I said to Jim “those kind of remind me of…” and jim says “the death star explosion?” and I was like “well kind of, but actually it reminds me of the third stage of mitosis, probably not what you were expecting was it?” Jim was making fun of me for being a dork, but I told him “just wait till we get home, I’ll show you a picture of the slide where the chromosomes are being pulled apart and you’ll see!” I don’t know which of us is dorkier sometimes.

The picture didn’t come out at all

The fireworks were fun, but I actually wished we had skipped dinner and gone back to the magic kingdom and watched them from main street. Though this is actually one of the VERY few things that I think are done better at Disneyland then at Walt Disney World. The “Wishes” fireworks at Disneyland are somewhat similar, but just so much more incredible. So not a big deal that we didn’t see them from Main Street since we’ve seen the ones in Disneyland so many times.

The fireworks over, a lot of people prepared to leave at once. We waited in line for an elevator and when we got in, it was jampacked with people. The elevator stopped at every floor, the doors would open, the people would see that they couldn’t fit in, and we would move on to the next floor, and that happened several times. Everyone in the elevator was either laughing at it or really annoyed by it. Finally we get to our stop. Jim suggested we take the monorail over to the magic kingdom and pick up the bus. It sounded like a great idea, but I thought since the Magic Kingdom was closed to the general public (open for extra midnight hours, but it wasn’t letting people in). I don’t know why, but I didn’t think they were taking people to the magic kingdom and thought we HAD to take a taxi home, I don’t know why I thought that. Either way, I had a LOT of packing to do and I was tired so I figured paying ten bucks for a taxi seemed like the best thing to do. On the way out, I was like “wasn’t that just the perfect ending to the perfect honeymoon?” We were both in a really good mood and really happy.

 

[Mary626]

We went to the bell services and put our name on the taxi list. We were third in line, she said, it would be just a few minutes. Two other taxis came and went taking their clients away without any problems, I’m sure. Then the bell hop calls our name and opens the door for us to get into the taxi van. Jim and I get in and sit in the seat behind the driver.

I looked at Jim and he looked upset and I could sense he was anxious about something, He said “you know what.. let’s take another taxi…”. I immediately knew that he thought we were in the same cab as before. Since they had told us this guy had been fired, I assumed Jim was being paranoid. I saw the back of the driver’s head when he was outside of the taxi, and thought he looked similar, but didn’t think it was the same guy. I told jim “no, I think you’re just being paranoid, it’s not the same guy”… I mean, that would have been just too bizarre.

The taxi driver gets in the driver seat and starts driving forward after I tell him what hotel to go to. All we could see was just the back of his head. As we’re about to pull out of the Contemporary parking lot, the guy says “just so I’m sure, will you be paying with credit card again?…..”

My heart sank and jim and I gave each other a look. Yep, he was the same guy. We were in cab number 353. I couldn’t believe it. Immediately I start imagining all sorts of scenarios where this guy takes us into a back alley somewhere and drops us off in the middle of nowhere, or who knows what. It was kind of scary. I figured okay, well it’s the same guy, and maybe it will be a really awkward trip, but we’re already in the taxi, we’re all adults, so let’s just deal with it. But then the guy starts talking..

“Yeah, I know you guys complained about me, said I wouldn’t accept your credit card or something….”

I think it was here that I cut him off and I said to him “look, is this going to be a problem? We just want to get back to our hotel!”

“no, it’s no problem, I just wanted you to know that I was willing to take your credit card…”

Jim interrupted here and said “we called to complain about the fact that you charged my card FOUR times!”

The cab driver maintained this really condescending tone of voice, like a “I’m arguing with you but pretending to be polite about it” and continued to say how he was going to accept our credit cards and there was really no reason to call and complain, and that he didn’t do anything wrong and blah blah blah…” Basically he just kept on being a jack*** about it and wouldn’t shut up.

Finally, I said “You know what? I don’t want to drive with you, take us back to the contemporary.”

“okay, that’s fine, I just wanted to explain my side of the story to you – “

“yeah well we all have our sides to the story..” I said.

As he drove us back the short distance to the contemporary (we hadn’t gone that far, but it certainly felt like it took us an eternity to get back), he continued to whine and complain and tell us “his side of the story”, it was really getting on my nerves. He wouldn’t shut up.

He drove up to the entrance to the contemporary, b***ching the entire time, even as we were getting out of the car, finally as I was getting out of the car, I got so angry about it that I argued back at him and was like “you know what? First of all you whined and complained so I wouldn’t use my credit card which was unprofessional enough, secondly you charged our credit card FOUR TIMES, and just now you wouldn’t shut up, you are completely unprofessional and – “ well I don’t really remember what I was saying, but it was something like that. Of course he wasn’t listening to what I was saying, as he kept trying to counter my arguments, and I just finished getting out of the car and was like “whatever”, I shouldn’t have even wasted my breath on him, really.

As we got out of the car, another family was coming up to the taxi to get in, and the mother in the family saw me yelling at the guy and looked really concerned and said “what’s wrong?” I’m sure getting into a taxi after seeing the previous client ranting at the guy didn’t exactly seem like the best idea to her. I don’t remember what I said, I think it was something like “just make sure he doesn’t charge your credit card four times” or something

Jim and I went back to the bell hop services. I was furious. I was just fuming. He had ruined my night. It had been such a beautiful ending to our time at WDW and he just completely ruined the night. I had to go back to the hotel and pack and all I could think about was how angry I was. First of all I couldn’t believe out of ALL the taxi drivers in the Walt Disney World area. What are the chances that we would end up in the same cab again!! And they had told us he had been fired, I was so angry. And Jim had been right, I should have listened to Jim, I thought he was being paranoid.

I went back up to bell services and told the lady “can we have another taxi, the driver in the last cab was extremely rude to us!” the lady didn’t really seem to care about our ordeal and said it would be about ten more minutes. Right after that, another lady came up to the podium and said “the taxi you just told us to get into just drove off without an explanation!” or something like that. I asked her “was it cab number 353?” she seemed confused and said she didn’t know. I tried to explain that it was probably the same driver we had just had and she was better off not getting into the car, but the lady didn’t seem to care about what I was saying. Oh well.

I didn’t want to take another taxi, so Jim decided to ask if the monorails or buses were still running, and someone told him they were. Dammit, we should have just done that to begin with. Ugh out of all the chance encounters, I just could NOT believe we ended up in the same cab again! We had been third in line waiting for taxi’s. If we had been first or second or fourth, we would have gotten another taxi. If we had missed our elevator, we would have gotten another taxi. If Jim had to tie his friggin shoe laces at some point, we probably would have gotten another taxi. I just couldn’t believe it. I was so mad we had to be subjected to that, I couldn’t wait to get back to our hotel so I could call the cab company and complain to them.

I’m not sure if my description of the event really captures how frustrating it was, or what a jerk the guy was being, but it really upset me. Jim told me to try to not let it upset me. I didn’t want it to upset me. I wanted to go back to enjoying our lovely night, but of course I couldn’t. I tried really hard to just not think about it. I at least wanted to call the cab company and complain about it though. I decided once I did that I would put it out of my mind, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it until I had my “closure”.

 

[Mary626]

We went back up the elevators to the level with the monorail and got in line. I was still so angry. Maybe I shouldn’t have been, but I was. For some reason I thought we got out at the TTC to find a bus back to our hotel. We got off the monorail at the TTC and I wasn’t sure if that was right or not, so I asked a cast member about it, and she told me we had to pick up the bus at the magic kingdom, so we should wait there to get back on the monorail. We were the only ones in line so we struck up a conversation with the cast member as we waited for the monorail. I don’t remember what brought it up, but I mentioned to her what happened with the taxi driver. She was really nice about it and was upset about it for me. The cast member was from the Dominican Republic, I think she said, and she said something like “those boys were so nice when they were down there, then they come up here, and something happens to them, and they become jerks….” Actually I don’t think the taxi driver was from there, but I decided not to tell her that, she seemed like she was enjoying ranting about them It was nice to at least commiserate a little with someone about the guy. She was recovering a little bit of the “Disney magic” feeling that had been lost completely after the taxi driver experience.

We got back on the monorail and got off at the magic kingdom and headed to the bus stop. It was actually nice being that close to the magic kingdom one more time. I wish we had just done that to begin with. I tried to relax and soak up the “pixie dust” but a part of me was still pretty angry. I just needed to complain to the company about him and then I would put it behind me. Even though it ended up taking us more then an hour to get home from the time we got on the monorail, it was much better then getting in another taxi. I will never ever, no matter how late I am running or where I need to be, will take another taxi while on Walt Disney World property, or at the Orlando airport for that matter.






I was pretty stressed out. It was close to midnight when we got back to the hotel. I hadn’t started packing at ALL yet… I needed to pack.. plan for the morning.. and get some rest so we could enjoy Universal Studios the next day…

Jim still thought we were going home, so I think he mentioned something like “it’s kind of good that we’re going home tomorrow..” I was ready to scream inside of my head…

When we got to the Port Orleans front lobby, I went to the bell services person so I could get connected to the company to complain about the cab driver. There was noone there though. We were going to go to the front desk anyway to cash out our remaining Disney Dollars for real cash (we had about $150 left over). I had told jim that I thought the tab on our hotel room would be for about that much, I had been keeping track in my head, so we thought we would find out. The lady at the front desk told us our balance was about 40 dollars. I was surprised. I couldn’t’ remember what things we had bought, but I had thought it was around 150. Well anyway, ,we paid the balance and cashed out the leftover Disney dollars. We had done a really good job of staying in our budget.I also asked the lady if the person in bell services would be there soon, and told her I needed to cocmplain about our cab driver. The girl said “she will be back soon b ut you can call there number directly” and she wrote down the number to Mears. I thanked her and also asked her if there was a number to call or a person to talk to about how wonderful the service I had received at the Port Orleans hotel had been. I told her how everyone we had encountered at the hotel had been extremely helpful and friendly. The lady seemed really happy to hear me say that and gave me two numbers I could call to “complain” about the nice service!

We went back to our hotel room and I tried calling the number to Mears. I asked to speak to a supervisor or something, and they said that they were on break right now and to try again in a little while. Just great. I really wanted to get this off my chest so I could relax. In the meantime, I started packing like a crazy women. We had sooooooo much stuff, I didn’t even know how to start. I asked Jim to help me fold the clothes as tightly as possible so we could fit in as much as we could into our suitcases.

It took me quite a while to finish packing, but it was a good way to relieve the tension that I was feeling from earlier. I tried calling back once or twice to complain. I called once again and the lady who picked up to transfer me to someone asked what it was regarding, and I said cab driver 353, and she told me to hold a second, then got back on the phone and said the supervisor was out and could he call me back. I was a little skeptical so I asked “is he actually out or is he just trying to avoid me?” and the lady said he was actually out and that he would call me back. I really wanted my “closure” that night. I wanted to complain about him and then forget about him.

I finished up packing. I had set aside a few items to put in one small carryon suit case for the next day, so I wouldn’t have to unpack everything to find our stuff. I put our swimsuits and an extra clean outfit to wear on Tuesday, along with makeup, toothpaste, deoderant, etc.. everything we needed, and put it into our laptop carryon bag, and hoped Jim didn’t notice the odd way in which I was packing.

The next morning’s plan was to take our “happy limo” towncar to the Hard Rock Hotel. When making the reservation I had told the girl my plan and asked to have the driver pretend like we were going to the airport. I figured Jim would probably be tired while in the towncar and he wouldn’t really be paying attention anyway. I wasn’t sure when he would figure out exactly that we would be at Universal and not at the airport, but I figured I would wing it. I was really excited to see how the surprise would pan out and what his reaction would be.

Before we settled in for good, I called the cab company one more time, and finally got through to the supervisor. I politely explained the situation and just emphasized what a jerk the guy was being. I also mentioned that I was angry that the cab company had lied to us about it. The guy didn’t know anything about that. He honestly didn’t’ seem to care. He wrote it down and said he would forward it to his supervisor in the morning. Whatever, that was good enough for me. It kind of pissed me off that he didn’t apologize or seem to care in the least. It wasn’t like I called up yelling at the guy, I explained it very calmly and politely. Yeah I won’t be taking any Mears cabs anytime soon. But at least it was off my chest, that would have to do. I put it out of my mind and after that night, didn’t let it upset me again. I have no idea if anything ever came of it or if anything happened to that guy. It sucked that my last night in Walt Disney World had been tainted by that jerk, but at least nothing worse had happened.

We got ready for bed and fell asleep really quickly. I was exhausted and we had to be up in five hours. I was sad that we were leaving Walt Disney World, but I was so glad I had the next day in Universal to look forward to. If that had really been my last night in Orlando I would have been much more upset. I was so glad that we would have one more day to play in the theme parks, and one more night to relax in a nice hotel before heading back to California.

I was going to miss Walt Disney World. I had had so much fun. Such a beautiful wedding and a wonderful honeymoon. I hoped we would be returning sometime soon.

I fell asleep quickly. I couldn’t wait to see Jim’s reaction to his surprise in the morning, and hoped it would go off without a hitch. It was sad that it was the last night in Disney world, but I was really looking forward to the next day. I was so glad we still had one more day in Florida for our honeymoon, I was no where near being ready for the honeymoon to end!!


Coming up soon: Jim's "reaction" to the surprise.. Islands of Adventure, the spiderman ride, jim discovers the water blasters.. and our night at the Hard Rock Hotel while enjoying the perks of the concierge level..

 

[jackdis]

I can't wait to hear about Jim's reaction to his surprise!!! I would have told him by now......you're good about keeping the secret!!! I'm angry about that cab driver, too, and I wasn't even there!! I wish your trip report had another 2 weeks to go!!!

 

[StitchBride]

Hello! SOOOO enjoying the TR! Your pictures are so beautiful! And your trip is well-documented
Quick questions, side note, which discount card were you using for the dining? And is it available to everyone or just bride and groom? (am wondering for family from out of town)
Thanks

 

[Philadisney]

you are such a good storyteller - the cab driver story had me on the edge of my seat! SO sorry that happened to you on your last night - i understand what you mean about getting tense & frustrated. i ended up in tears on one of the last nights of our trip in may because i kept giving my flight info to magical express and they kept losing it. NOT fun to be frustrated on your magical vacation - cab #353 sounds horrific!
I LOVED your review of cali grill with all the pictures - i'm taking my parents there in two weeks and you've got me sure excited for it now! what a great view!

 

[Beana9802]

I totally know what you mean about mitosis..hehe Sorry about that fricken cab! BOO CABS!

 

[ZPT1022]

ZPT1022 That's so funny, my roomate experience was kind of the opposite! I liked partying a little bit, but that's all these girls did, it felt like. I could tell they didn't really like me all that much, but I didn't really care. They were a little too to the opposite extreme for me! I think I was still far too naive and innocent back then I had some friends at Mousegears that were really nice, but unfortunately everyone had such different schedules it was hard to hang out with any of them when not working. It was definitely a learning experience!

also, like honeybun mentioned, I also made a reservation for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and didn't make like 3 reservations for dinner on the same day. I learned from the restaurant forum here that that is a no-no! I tried cancelling the ones I thought I wouldn't be able to make it to.

Oh gosh, I wasn't a rowdy drunk partier like some of the people, but if MK was open til midnight and I was off work I saw no reason not to go ride rides until late at night. I just didn't think my nights were only for pj's and sitcoms, not at 18 and turned loose in WDW! LOL! I certainly wasn't like one of my co-workers who kept a tally of how many days straight he'd been drunk for. I agree that it was a learning experience, if I had it to do over again knowing then what I know now I would do it in a heartbeat and it would be such a different experience. I've heard they've improved the living quarters a ton too, so that certainly helps!

As for the reservation thing, I just wanted to make sure no one here was trying to make like 5 dinner reservations or something, since I've heard they've really cracked down on that quite a bit. I totally agree that you definitely have to have them though, especially with the new dining plan. You really can't walk up to anywhere anymore.

Okay, gotta go read the new TR's you posted- I'm captivated!

 

[Mary626]

StitchBride - Thank you The Disney Dining Experience card is available to anybody with an Annual Pass or is a resident of Florida. It costs sixty dollars but then is good for 20% off all food and beverages at almost every restaurant in Disney, and is good for a year. There is more info here if you are interested http://allearsnet.com/din/dde.htm I ordered mine a week before I got there, and picked it up at guest relations at the front entrance to epcot the first day we got in. If you qualify for it, it is so worth the money!!

Philadisney - thank you again!! I've heard such mixed reviews of Disney's Magical Express, I'm sorry you had a hard time with them!! I hope you and your parents have a great time at the California Grill and enjoy the view!!

Beana - thank you for the support, Jim thought I was crazy! I'm glad I'm not completely insane.. maybe just a little insane, but not completely

 

[littleladykaty]

Wonderful!!! I love your Trip Report...and sure enough, this morning my little soon 2 be stepson wandered past me and said "Oh it's the lady with the blue marbles in her eyeballs..." He makes the most random observations...most four year olds wouldn't even notice or recall that he'd seen a different picture of the same person a few days before...little smarty pants he is!!!

You can just bet that I have WRITTEN DOWN in my passporter to AVOID Mears Cab #353!!! Oh man, my DF would have had totally lost it in that situation. He'd have wanted the guys job and if he'd found out that he was lied to...oh my we'd have an arrested new husband in Walt Disney World! (we are working on deep breathing!!!)

I hope your trip to Universal was great...but don't tell Mickey, he'd be very insulted!!!

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

thanks for the much needed update :O) i am looking forward to h earing more!

 

[Tinker74]

Can't wait to hear more.
Mary I honestly don't know what Iam going to do when this report ends.
You are such a fantastic writer...I have never read such a detailed ..amazing trip report before.
It is almost as if iam right there with you.
How about not ever ending the report! ..It can just carry on...like a soap opera of your lives..

 

[Beana9802]

Can't wait to hear more.
Mary I honestly don't know what Iam going to do when this report ends.
You are such a fantastic writer...I have never read such a detailed ..amazing trip report before.
It is almost as if iam right there with you.
How about not ever ending the report! ..It can just carry on...like a soap opera of your lives..

HA HA HA... Yes, Please?!

 

[JJClemson]

Mary, I am so sad that your WDW TR is over! You need to go back again soon, and write about it, so all of us here have something to do

What a terrible experience with that cab driver! I cannot believe your bad luck in getting him again! I really could not believe that the supervisor did not care. What kind of company are they running? I will definitely not be supporting Mears on my upcoming trips to Disney. You did a very good job of keeping your cool, Jim too. I would have totally lost it!

I cannot wait to see how Jim reacted to the surprise. That's so sweet that you planned that for him!

 

[anewvance]

Mary, I stumbled across your trip report... I don't even belong on the Wedding & Honeymoon board. But i'm so glad I found it. I really enjoyed your trip report, and congratulations! I haven't been to Disney since Jan and not going until Sept (a record length for me!) but reading your report has made me want to go right this second. Thanks again for such entertainment, I tried to read it all in one night but my dh was waiting on me to go to bed so I had to finish the next morning... but even my dh liked hearing about it. I'd love to hear about your night in Universal... we just got back last weekend from our first stay in Universal.

 

[Chrissie-riel]

Pg 29, #431 "You can see Cinderella dancing with the swamp monster to the right of this pic"

I read this and thought "WHAT?" Then I re-read it, looked closer at the pic and almost fell off the chair I was laughing so hard! Some day my swamp monster will come!

Thank you Mary for such an enjoyable trip report!! I'm a wedding addict and loved experiencing yours....

 

[daisy_77]

Mary,
I just discovered your trip report! Thank you so much for taking the time to right it! What a lovely bride you made and what a beautiful wedding! You inspired me to have our vows renewed at Disney for our 5 year anniversary!
Also, thank you for sharing your pictures!
Congratulations!

 

[dee slack]

Wow! What a great read - it's taken me most of this afternoon and evening in between making dinner and a few trip to the 'little girl's room' but sooo worth it! Thanks for sharing,
Dee

 

[Mary626]

littleladykaty - your stepson sounds like such a sweety! Too bad your DF wasn't with us at in the cab situation- who says having a temper is always a bad thing!

a*lil*bit*goofy - thank you again, I am glad you are continuing to enjoy the TR

Tinker74 - Thank you so much for the compliments! I hope you continue to enjoy the TR!

JJClemson - I'm working on my husband trying to convince him that 'since we have annual passes we really should go again..." , we're thinking maybe in December, but unfortunately moving is really expensive and is eating up all of our money at the moment . We'll see though!!! Keep your fingers crossed for us that we can go again

deeslack - thank you, I am glad you are enjoying the TR!


anewvance - Thank you, I'm really glad you are enjoying the TR! How cool that you get to visit WDW so often!! Thanks for reading

Chrissiereiss - Thank you for reading, I'm glad you are enjoying the TR!

daisy_77 - thank you so much for the kind words and that is so cool, I really hope you get to have your 5 year vow renewal in Disney!! If you do you will have to tell us all about it as well!