Walking on Sunshine : Celebrating Spring at Universal & SeaWorld - an April/May 2016 PTR

[JaxDad]

You should look into Ferg's for your gameday meal when you go to the Trop...

http://www.fergssportsbar.com

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

1900 Park Fare is BY FAR my favorite breakfast buffet. I dream of the crepes, omelets and strawberry soup! When we last went we were able to meet Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and Mary Poppins. I think it's a great choice, despite the price. I don't think you'll be disappointed with your decision

That's so reassuring . Normally we do the Ohana breakfast (which has been a family favourite for years) but I think we need a change. Hopefully that brings a little of the "magic" back!

Ok, coworker just brought in a chocolate mouse cake from Carlos Bakery that's also local. All I can say is, we have a shop right closer, (that's just like a publix) and well, that cake went so fast, and was so tasty, I've never seen a grocery store one get eaten that fast. I am sure it's probably more expensive at the bakery, but you might be getting a much better cake.

Ahhh, the joys of where to we eat is always a big part of any vacation. I have an S&S gift card, I got at a nice discount that I carried with me last year and returned with it unused. I will remedy that this fall.

I checked out the Carlos Bakery website (we can order right online, which I really like!) and you know, many of the cake prices are really quite reasonable. The fondant ones are super expensive, but they've got some great birthday options which aren't much more than Publix. I think you may have convinced me to give the Cake Boss a try!

I agree, good choice on the GF character buffet. I think that is such a great hotel to visit too, so pretty.

I thought the kids might enjoy some photos on the beach after breakfast. Its a non-park, rest day for us......so we have the whole day to poke around and explore until our hearts' content!

The dining schedule is always important in our house. We went to 1900 Park Fare in July and my DD loved it, and my nephew tried just about everying and finished off with 6 croissants! A growing teenager The omelette station was also good, the chef was very talkative and originally from New York.

We all enjoyed the Mad Hatter, he was really funny.

Hopefully you will be able to get a couple of your 'better' choices in. Have you ever been to the Cheesecake Factory?

Well, ya'll are making me feel a ton better about my breakfast choice! I have heard the Mad Hatter is quite a card. It seems like an odd mix of characters (Pooh & Tigger mixed with the three face characters) but at least its a nice variety.

We've never been to the Cheesecake Factory yet....we tried once in Buffalo, but OMG, the lines . It snaked out the restaurant and through the mall, so we ended up dining elsewhere that night. I had forgotten that Orlando had one, too! Oh no, there's another one for my (endless) must do list .

We made it home from our trip and I was excited to see you started your PTR.

Looking at your snow pics I am so glad that's not us this year(at least not yet). We're having a very mild winter. It's actually supposed to be almost 60f here on Friday. It will feel just like it did in Florida last week.

Have you guys tried Perkins ever? I'd say it's similar to Friendly's. It's in the Crossroads area. Also in Crossroads is Chevys. I love Chevys! It's a tex-mex place. They make their own chips for the chips and salsa that you get for free when you eat there. They have excellent fajitas.

Welcome home!! So glad to have you back with us . How was the trip? Details, we want details!!

We have eaten at Perkins here in Canada (there's one in Niagara Falls) but never one in the States. Our Niagara experience was less than stellar, but that's not abnormal in the Falls.....you tend to be charged way higher prices for way lesser quality versus any other location of the same chain in the USA. IHOP is another good example of that, prices are 4 times higher than they are in the US and the portions are nowhere near the size.

You know, I've never had Mexican food in a restaurant. Not once. Other than homemade tacos at home, that's my Mexican experience. Spicy would be my biggest concern....I am rather bland, apparently .

I am slow. Just barely found this!

And, although it sounds like you have a lot of dining figured out already,
I have to suggest....

Rocco's Taco's.

Its in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando, right near Universal. If you like Guacomole, and good Mexican. I can't recommend it enough!

Anyway, look forward to perhaps running into you again!

Well, its about time you got here .

So Rocco's would be somewhere near First Watch, then? That's a great area there, so convenient to the tourist district but somehow still feels like its off the beaten path and away from the vacation hullaballo.

You guys are making a good pitch for a Mexican meal. Perhaps I need to broaden my horizons and give it a whirl. A new favourite might be on the cusp of being discovered!

4 rivers is excellent but I love the atmosphere and service that we get a bubbalou's!

We adored Bubbalou's as well. Its also so much closer than 4 Rivers. Hmmm.......

Hi Gina!

Have you heard Chef Mickey's now offers brunch daily? Check out the online menu. For the price, I'd say Chef Mickey's offers more variety than 1900 Park Fare. Especially, if you go during brunch. BBQ ribs for your guys!!!

Chef Mickey's is my family's favorite non-park meal. Our favorite character breakfast of all is Tusker House in Animal Kingdom! Krispy Kreme donuts on the buffet!!!! The buffet is just massive, the most variety I have ever seen out of character meal. Cheese blitzes, carved ham, more unique items. And animal kingdom is not our favorite park but the breakfast is worth the shelp there for us!

My family is heading to WDW on 4/24. It's exciting counting down with you!

Mare

Mare! Thanks for joining in!

I saw that Chef Mickeys was now offering brunch....a smart move on their part . We did briefly consider it, but its even pricier than 1900 Park Fare ($40-something per person), which will be VERY pricey x 4 adults + the ridiculous exchange. I hate that our weak dollar is changing how we approach some parts of our trip, yet I can't be totally financially irresponsible either. Sometimes it sucks to be a sensible adult .

We did the character breakfast at Animal Kingdom on our first Orlando trip, way back in 2009. We all thought it was great as well! Definitely a must do the next time we're back at that park....probably when Avatarland is finally open.

You should look into Ferg's for your gameday meal when you go to the Trop...

http://www.fergssportsbar.com

Yep, you know EXACTLY the kind of place my guys would like!! I checked out the menu, and it would definitely be a home run with the boys (see what I did there? Baseball game....."home run"? ). But the question is....would they welcome four Canadians dressed from head to toe in Blue Jays fan wear?

I wonder how packed it gets? I am guessing you are speaking from experience on this one.....so feel free to give me all the need-to-knows .

 

[JaxDad]

But the question is....would they welcome four Canadians dressed from head to toe in Blue Jays fan wear?

Yes! Florida is very transient, and there are always lots of fans from the other teams at professional sporting events. In fact, I've only been to the Trop (and Ferg's) twice, both times with a rabid Oriole fan in full regalia. I'm sure there was good-natured ribbing, but no violence! Now, college football games on the other hand...

I wonder how packed it gets? I am guessing you are speaking from experience on this one.....so feel free to give me all the need-to-knows .

It's been a few years, but I recall Ferg's being very busy but manageable. I also remember the wings were good (or maybe it was just the beer)!

 

[dsmom]

Your food choices sound great Gina. I love Jake and Sunshine's
choices( but I have been told by certain people that I have the food tastes of a 10 year old).

We've done Chef Mickeys several time but I never really cared for it. We love Park Fare! We had to do it every trip for breakfast and dinner as it was my moms favorite restaurant in all of Disney. Y'all will have a blast and the food is great.

I've heard good things about Fergs. Don't worry, baseball fans down here are pretty mind mannered. But like JaxDad said, college football fans are a whole 'nother story!

Maybe you and Steve can get to try some of your other choices in October.

One of our favorite restaurants in Tampa is the Columbia.

 

[dsmom]

I just checked out the link to Carlos bakery. Oh my, I know where I'm ordering David's birthday cake from. But how on earth do you decide on one? Do you happen to see the tie dye cake or the minions one? Decisions....

 

[chicagoshannon]

I think your character buffet choice is good. We ate there several years ago and the Mad Hatter was awesome. We found the food choices very similar to the Crystal palace breakfast.

I would advise to NOT choose Cape May Cafe for breakfast. We ate there last week and it was tiny. It wasn't much better than a free hotel breakfast one would get. We paid $120 (2 kids, 2 adults). It was the firstbad buffet I've had at Disney. The characters were cute in their beach gear (Minnie, Donald, and Goofy), but not $120 cute.

I also couldn't recommend Beaches and Cream unless you were going for just the ice cream. The food was not good and what is up with Disney using the whole wheat noodles for the kids Mac n cheese. Seriously kids don't like those noodles!

Maybe I'll do a trip report. Haven't done one of those in a while.

 

[pigletto]

Loving your plans so far Gina and chuckling a little at some of the kids meal choices. My kids keep begging to go back to CiCi's too. It's tolerable, but I keep thinking "All the places we've taken you over all these Florida trips and CiCi's is at the top of the list?!?" . Oh well, at least it isn't expensive! I bet there will be a new Groupon for it before the next trip. The current one expires before Spring Break season starts I think.

So far our offsite meal plans for April/May include Hash House a go go (your review pushed my curiosity into trying it), sweet tomatoes (we can't even picture a Florida trip without it), Miller's Ale House (new location for us) and a first trip to Bahama Breeze, which I am looking forward to.

Even if you don't love the character breakfast (and I think you will enjoy it.. the face character interaction is outstanding) the Grand Floridian is so pretty and themed so beautifully it really is nice to stroll around and take it all in. It's on my bucket list to go there at Christmas time and see the gingerbread displays and decorations. I was actually doing the monorail loop to look at decorations on our December 2014 trip, but was coming down with an awful cold and fever. We stopped at the Poly to look around and have lunch and that was it for me, I went back to the Wilderness lodge and slept all afternoon. To be that close and not even care to continue on indicates how nasty that virus was. So I will just have to go back. Dh always jokes that he has to spend another $6000 because I wasn't willing to go one more monorail stop.
Not true though.. I want to see all the Epcot resort decorations too.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Yes! Florida is very transient, and there are always lots of fans from the other teams at professional sporting events. In fact, I've only been to the Trop (and Ferg's) twice, both times with a rabid Oriole fan in full regalia. I'm sure there was good-natured ribbing, but no violence! Now, college football games on the other hand...

It's been a few years, but I recall Ferg's being very busy but manageable. I also remember the wings were good (or maybe it was just the beer)!

What a relief to know we won't be run out of town . It looks like Ferg's is super close to Tropicana Field....would you suggest parking at the stadium lot and then just walking over? How tricky will parking be in the vicinity of the restaurant on game day?

I mentioned your suggestion to Steve this morning (he was just coming home from a night shift as I was leaving for work, so like good Florida wannabes our 10 minutes of conversation time was allocated to trip planning ) and he is totally on board. I think we may have found a winner!

Your food choices sound great Gina. I love Jake and Sunshine's
choices( but I have been told by certain people that I have the food tastes of a 10 year old).

I love that comment. It very much describes my Jake....and Sunshine too, for that matter. And you know what? I think it speaks to the fact that you all have a certain "fun" and youthful nature......which is a wonderful, loveable quality to posses .

We've done Chef Mickeys several time but I never really cared for it. We love Park Fare! We had to do it every trip for breakfast and dinner as it was my moms favorite restaurant in all of Disney. Y'all will have a blast and the food is great.

We had the same experience with Chef Mickeys.....granted, not since 2009, but it was definitely a one-and-done type experience. Very hectic, and I know I might ruffle some feathers by saying this....but we are no fans of the Contemporary. Too stark, too modern, too impersonal feeling. The monorail running through the building was kind of novel, but that is the best we can say about the atmosphere.

We also visited 1900 Park Fare on our 2009 Disney trip, but for dinner (not breakfast). We really, really enjoyed it....which is one of the reasons why we decided to give breakfast here a go this time around. I am so, so happy to know you guys loved it too!!! I'm actually starting to get a little excited about it now, with all this great feedback!

I've heard good things about Fergs. Don't worry, baseball fans down here are pretty mind mannered. But like JaxDad said, college football fans are a whole 'nother story!

Maybe you and Steve can get to try some of your other choices in October.

One of our favorite restaurants in Tampa is the Columbia.

Ah yes, football.....I couldn't even tell you who won the Superbowl. While we follow basketball, baseball and hockey like groupies, football is totally off our radar. I guess we'll have to remedy that if we ever realize our dream of moving to the southern US. We want to fit in, after all!!

Definitely we will branch out a lot more in October . We were talking about "the plans" the other night, and Steve laughingly said "this trip we'll eat like teenagers, in the fall we'll dine like proper grown-up". We'll have to put Columbia on our list of must-do's....are they just in Tampa or elsewhere in Central Florida too?

I just checked out the link to Carlos bakery. Oh my, I know where I'm ordering David's birthday cake from. But how on earth do you decide on one? Do you happen to see the tie dye cake or the minions one? Decisions....

Okay, I have to admit....you know me soooooo well. I saw the minions one and almost flipped out . I showed it to Steve and he says, "You know this is Sunshine's birthday, right?". Sheesh, such a party pooper . So I went back to the drawing board and took another look....I think I like the one that's called Flower Power (it really suits her personality and is sooo cute). But then I get to thinking, my birthday is only 2.5 weeks after our October trip......and it wouldn't be too early to celebrate a little ahead of time, would it? .... with a minions cake, of course .

I think your character buffet choice is good. We ate there several years ago and the Mad Hatter was awesome. We found the food choices very similar to the Crystal palace breakfast.

I would advise to NOT choose Cape May Cafe for breakfast. We ate there last week and it was tiny. It wasn't much better than a free hotel breakfast one would get. We paid $120 (2 kids, 2 adults). It was the firstbad buffet I've had at Disney. The characters were cute in their beach gear (Minnie, Donald, and Goofy), but not $120 cute.

I also couldn't recommend Beaches and Cream unless you were going for just the ice cream. The food was not good and what is up with Disney using the whole wheat noodles for the kids Mac n cheese. Seriously kids don't like those noodles!

Maybe I'll do a trip report. Haven't done one of those in a while.

Funnily enough, Cape May was the other character meal that we short listed to....we had never been to the Beach Club and wondered if we should give it a try.. I am glad to hear that you think we made the right choice .

I would love to read along if you happen to do a trip report! Be sure to post a link here if you decide to get one started.

Loving your plans so far Gina and chuckling a little at some of the kids meal choices. My kids keep begging to go back to CiCi's too. It's tolerable, but I keep thinking "All the places we've taken you over all these Florida trips and CiCi's is at the top of the list?!?" . Oh well, at least it isn't expensive! I bet there will be a new Groupon for it before the next trip. The current one expires before Spring Break season starts I think.

So far our offsite meal plans for April/May include Hash House a go go (your review pushed my curiosity into trying it), sweet tomatoes (we can't even picture a Florida trip without it), Miller's Ale House (new location for us) and a first trip to Bahama Breeze, which I am looking forward to.

Even if you don't love the character breakfast (and I think you will enjoy it.. the face character interaction is outstanding) the Grand Floridian is so pretty and themed so beautifully it really is nice to stroll around and take it all in. It's on my bucket list to go there at Christmas time and see the gingerbread displays and decorations. I was actually doing the monorail loop to look at decorations on our December 2014 trip, but was coming down with an awful cold and fever. We stopped at the Poly to look around and have lunch and that was it for me, I went back to the Wilderness lodge and slept all afternoon. To be that close and not even care to continue on indicates how nasty that virus was. So I will just have to go back. Dh always jokes that he has to spend another $6000 because I wasn't willing to go one more monorail stop.
Not true though.. I want to see all the Epcot resort decorations too.

Sweet Tomatoes is a favourite of ours as well, but I know the lunch menu won't appeal much to Jake (he's not a big salad guy). We missed it at Christmas time, so you can bet your boots we'll be there the first day of our October trip . Of course, we've always wanted to try breakfast there, so maybe this vacation would be a good time to give it a whirl (we are big breakfast lovers, all of us!). Now there's an idea I hadn't considered before now .

You will have to let us now how you like Bahama Breeze. We have tried twice now to go there, and both times it was PACKED and we didn't bother to wait for a table. So its still on the to-do list.....clearly, I need to start making notes for October.

The GF is really kind of "overdone" for us (I guess we aren't very fancy people!!) but I think Sunshine, especially, will enjoy the chance to see it. Steve and Jake will be much more in their element at Ferg's . Perhaps we will take a little monorail tour while we're there, as well....I don't think Sunshine has ever been on it. Can you just get on at the GF, and ride it in a loop back to the GF without getting off?

 

[JaxDad]

It looks like Ferg's is super close to Tropicana Field....would you suggest parking at the stadium lot and then just walking over? How tricky will parking be in the vicinity of the restaurant on game day?

As I recall it was easiest to just park at the stadium and walk to Ferg's.

We'll have to put Columbia on our list of must-do's....are they just in Tampa or elsewhere in Central Florida too?

Columbia has a restaurant in St. Augustine, right in the middle of the historic district!

 

[dsmom]

The Columbia in St Augustine is good, they also have ones in Sarasota,Clearwater and Celebration. We haven't tried any of those. The original is in Tampa, Ybor City and is our favorite.

I never cared for the Contemporary either and GF was too fussy for us. Believe it or not our favorite of all Disney resorts(and we've stayed at all of them) were the cabins at fort wilderness. We loved the buffet there.

And I say go for the minions cake in October!

 

[chicagoshannon]

What a relief to know we won't be run out of town . It looks like Ferg's is super close to Tropicana Field....would you suggest parking at the stadium lot and then just walking over? How tricky will parking be in the vicinity of the restaurant on game day?

I mentioned your suggestion to Steve this morning (he was just coming home from a night shift as I was leaving for work, so like good Florida wannabes our 10 minutes of conversation time was allocated to trip planning ) and he is totally on board. I think we may have found a winner!



I love that comment. It very much describes my Jake....and Sunshine too, for that matter. And you know what? I think it speaks to the fact that you all have a certain "fun" and youthful nature......which is a wonderful, loveable quality to posses .



We had the same experience with Chef Mickeys.....granted, not since 2009, but it was definitely a one-and-done type experience. Very hectic, and I know I might ruffle some feathers by saying this....but we are no fans of the Contemporary. To stark, to modern, to impersonal feeling. The monorail running through the building was kind of novel, but that is the best we can say about the atmosphere.

We also visited 1900 Park Fare on our 2009 Disney trip, but for dinner (not breakfast). We really, really enjoyed it....which is one of the reasons why we decided to give breakfast here a go this time around. I am so, so happy to know you guys loved it too!!! I'm actually starting to get a little excited about it now, with all this great feedback!



Ah yes, football.....I couldn't even tell you who won the Superbowl. While we follow basketball, baseball and hockey like groupies, football is totally off our radar. I guess we'll have to remedy that if we ever realize our dream of moving to the southern US. We want to fit in, after all!!

Definitely we will branch out a lot more in October . We were talking about "the plans" the other night, and Steve laughingly said "this trip we'll eat like teenagers, in the fall we'll dine like proper grown-up". We'll have to put Columbia on our list of must-do's....are they just in Tampa or elsewhere in Central Florida too?



Okay, I have to admit....you know me soooooo well. I saw the minions one and almost flipped out . I showed it to Steve and he says, "You know this is Sunshine's birthday, right?". Sheesh, such a party pooper . So I went back to the drawing board and took another look....I think I like the one that's called Flower Power (it really suits her personality and is sooo cute). But then I get to thinking, my birthday is only 2.5 weeks after our October trip......and it wouldn't be too early to celebrate a little ahead of time, would it? .... with a minions cake, of course .



Funnily enough, Cape May was the other character meal that we short listed to....we had never been to the Beach Club and wondered if we should give it a try.. I am glad to hear that you think we made the right choice .

I would love to read along if you happen to do a trip report! Be sure to post a link here if you decide to get one started.



Sweet Tomatoes is a favourite of ours as well, but I know the lunch menu won't appeal much to Jake (he's not a big salad guy). We missed it at Christmas time, so you can bet your boots we'll be there the first day of our October trip . Of course, we've always wanted to try breakfast there, so maybe this vacation would be a good time to give it a whirl (we are big breakfast lovers, all of us!). Now there's an idea I hadn't considered before now .

You will have to let us now how you like Bahama Breeze. We have tried twice now to go there, and both times it was PACKED and we didn't bother to wait for a table. So its still on the to-do list.....clearly, I need to start making notes for October.

The GF is really kind of "overdone" for us (I guess we aren't very fancy people!!) but I think Sunshine, especially, will enjoy the chance to see it. Steve and Jake will be much more in their element at Ferg's . Perhaps we will take a little monorail tour while we're there, as well....I don't think Sunshine has ever been on it. Can you just get on at the GF, and ride it in a loop back to the GF without getting off?

The Monorail station is upstairs on the GF. You can just ride it in a loop but it might be nice to get off and look around the Contemporary and/or Polynesian if she hasn't been there. You could also take the monorail to the MK get off and take a boat back to the GF. That might be fun.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

As I recall it was easiest to just park at the stadium and walk to Ferg's.

Columbia has a restaurant in St. Augustine, right in the middle of the historic district!

Awesome....that's what we will plan to do!

Sadly, I've been unable to convince Steve to visit St. Augustine in April. My big guy doesn't want to leave Orlando for that second week.....and while I'm sad a little, I'm happy too. We do love it there, and two weeks near all the fun has its own certain appeal. So its no St. Augustine for 2016, but after that? Hey, ya never know!

The Columbia in St Augustine is good, they also have ones in Sarasota,Clearwater and Celebration. We haven't tried any of those. The original is in Tampa, Ybor City and is our favorite.

I never cared for the Contemporary either and GF was too fussy for us. Believe it or not our favorite of all Disney resorts(and we've stayed at all of them) were the cabins at fort wilderness. We loved the buffet there.

And I say go for the minions cake in October!

Fort Wilderness (and the Wilderness Lodge) are exactly the styles of decor that warm my heart. Rustic and comfortable. Like and old sweater .

If the Carlos cake for Sunshine is as good as we hope, then I'm thinking a minions cake in October might be a nice splurge. You and your boys can help us eat it . You'll have to let me know if you like chocolate or vanilla! (Steve love chocolate best, I love vanilla more ... but there's no such thing as a bad cake in my book unless you make it with veggies like carrot or zucchini )

The Monorail station is upstairs on the GF. You can just ride it in a loop but it might be nice to get off and look around the Contemporary and/or Polynesian if she hasn't been there. You could also take the monorail to the MK get off and take a boat back to the GF. That might be fun.

That's a great idea. If we're all not too full from breakfast, perhaps we will go on tour!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Never say never.


Otherwise, you may eating your words…..like me .


Most of you have been around for my last two trip reports, and have already heard the gory details about our less than stellar Park & Fly stays at the Days Hotel Buffalo Airport. We gave them the benefit of the doubt after our October disaster, and then repeated the disappointment (and in fact, exceeded it on the Awful Scale) again at Christmas. After escaping the marijuana haze in our room and making the fourth pilgrimage to the front desk, I cancelled our April park and fly package right there on the spot. Through clenched teeth at 2 am, I passionately told the boys: I WOULD NOT STAY HERE AGAIN IF IT WERE FREE!


Oh, famous last words .


I am firm believer in customer feedback: I think it’s what helps make businesses better. They need to hear the bad. They need to hear the good. People need to make suggestions, constructively criticize, and be helpfully honest. It’s an approach that we encourage with our own clientele, and one I try to live by personally. After returning home from our Christmas vacation, then, I opted to delay my TripAdvisor review and contact one of the managers at the property to provide some of that very valuable feedback. While I didn’t expect anything in return (they had already comped our stay in its entirety, and rightfully so) I did expect that the management would reply with something that assured me the issues had been handled in such a way that other guests would be spared a similar experience. Instead, I got a very bland and terse “whoopsee, that’s not a typical experience, sorry for you luck”. Really?


So I took to the computer and submitted a very honest and very detailed review to TripAdvisor that covered not just December, but October’s debacle as well. While I was harsh (and left almost nothing out) I was 100% honest. I felt no guilt when I hit the submit button, as my recounting of the facts was completely (though brutally) factual. Then I booked the Aloft for April in the Day’s Hotel’s place, albeit at a higher price and with no included breakfast.


Well, it turns out that the Days Hotel was listening. Or, more specifically, reading (the TripAdvisor reviews, that is) . Their Vice President, Kevin V., reached out to me with a sincere and genuine apology:


Thank you for your feedback as all feedback good or bad is a gift to any business and like all reputable businesses we will learn and do a much better job handling these unfortunate situations when they do in arise.

I personally apologize and take full responsibility for the inadequate response by our team and I assure you that I have taken corrective action.

I understand why you cancelled your April 2016 reservation and frankly do not blame you. I can tell you that the situations you encountered were isolated as our hotel serves more people on park and fly packages than any other hotel in the Buffalo area. We continue to uphold our position in providing the "Best Value Under the Sun" and our repeat business is second to none. Again, I assure you these situations are out of the ordinary and if you contact General Manager Jennifer Taylor at 716-631-0800 she will make arrangements for you to be my guest complimentary in April to regain your trust and goodwill.

Again, thank you and I do hope you will stay in April.


Well, that was unexpected.


Steve was in Michigan at the time, and I texted him for his input. Do we take them up on the offer? My gut reaction was RUN!, yet it was hard to turn it down…..not only would be saving us nearly $200 Canadian after exchange, but most importantly, it was the spirit of the reply that was exactly what we had been seeking. We care. We goofed. We are making sure this doesn’t happen again.


I decided to talk to the GM as he suggested, before deciding what to do…..and you know, it was an excellent experience . Just as genuine and understanding as the VP, she was sincerely apologetic and had obviously done her homework before my call: she knew the circumstances and the staff involved, even additional details which I hadn’t included on TripAdvisor. She was flabbergasted (and dismayed) that we were not allocated to one of the floors designated for park and fly guests: it is supposed to be their practice to group those travellers together, since all have early morning flights and therefore those floors tend to be quieter (no late night partying when there’s a 4 am wake-up call pending). She assured me (and I believe her) that corrective training for the staff has resulted from our dual experiences. She actually seemed appreciative of the feedback, negative as it was, as it will hopefully yield good things for future guests. And she assured me that she would be hand picking our room herself prior to our arrival in April, if we would be willing to give them another shot.


We cancelled the Aloft.


So, we take another leap of faith and will return to the Days again in April.....wish us luck. I suppose, other than a bed bug encounter, it can’t be any worse than the last two stays .


And ya’ll know that will be the first thing I check, just because I’ve said it out loud and well…..there’s that little thing called Murphy’s Law …. .

 

[dsmom]

Oh Gina, I can't WAIT to see how this goes! But you know what they say, third times a charm! I would have taken them up on the offer also.

And as far as cake goes, my husband LOVES chocolate but I am a vanilla person, but I'm sure you're not surprised.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Days Inn again????? You're a brave woman. Although, I'm sure I would take them up on a free room as well. I bet they will put you in one of the business suites which are very large. If you change your mind and go back to the Aloft...make sure you join SPG prior to making your ressie. You will get a room rate of about $105 and parking is then only $5/day excluding the night you are in the hotel. I might have already told you that...I'm getting old and can't remember or maybe it's just the Grey Goose.

You should have a nice breakfast at 1900 PF. We've dined there several times. Cape May we have also dined at several times and it is also excellent, probably ranks a little higher with me that 1900. Chef Mickey's....don't waste your money. The food is consistently terrible as is the service and character interaction. Not to mention that the noise level is deafening in the main room. People that like CM's are usually first timers. You should also check out the Garden Grove at the Dolphin(might be in the Swan, I forget) it gets great reviews and also is much less expensive. I haven't dined there but some very picky friends of mine have and they were pleased.

 

[dsmom]

Days Inn again????? You're a brave woman. Although, I'm sure I would take them up on a free room as well. I bet they will put you in one of the business suites which are very large. If you change your mind and go back to the Aloft...make sure you join SPG prior to making your ressie. You will get a room rate of about $105 and parking is then only $5/day excluding the night you are in the hotel. I might have already told you that...I'm getting old and can't remember or maybe it's just the Grey Goose.

You should have a nice breakfast at 1900 PF. We've dined there several times. Cape May we have also dined at several times and it is also excellent, probably ranks a little higher with me that 1900. Chef Mickey's....don't waste your money. The food is consistently terrible as is the service and character interaction. Not to mention that the noise level is deafening in the main room. People that like CM's are usually first timers. You should also check out the Garden Grove at the Dolphin(might be in the Swan, I forget) it gets great reviews and also is much less expensive. I haven't dined there but some very picky friends of mine have and they were pleased.

Yep, the Garden Grove is in the Swan. It's been awhile since we ate there but every time we did it was great, very fresh
And don't forget to stop at the poly for your dole whip!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Well the room at the Days Inn is worth trying for the saving. I hope you will post another report on Tripadvisor, hopefully a good one this time (fingers crossed). If they address a problem right then is should never get to the situation you were left in.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I bet they'll have the room soundproofed and filled with flowers and chocolate for ya so you don't go back on Tripadvisor

 

[shalom]

Joining in on the title love. Our anniversary is May 30th, and it'll be our 30th anniversary in 2017, which we plan to spend in Orlando, so we'll be missing you by about a year. How keen that Sunshine's birthday matches up so well -- my brother's birthday, anniversary, and his daughter's birthday are all in July, but of course some of that was planned.

You know, I've never had Mexican food in a restaurant. Not once. Other than homemade tacos at home, that's my Mexican experience. Spicy would be my biggest concern....

I used to like spicy Mexican, but I married a spice wimp and have lost my tolerance -- however, we still eat Mexican food right regular, and most restaurants have plenty of mild stuff, in my experience. It's often even marked in the menu. Also, Super Sekrit Tip -- water won't cut the burn, but milk or cream will, so your tolerance for spicy can be much higher if you're drinking milk with some fat in it or having a shake at the same time. Wasn't paying attention once when out with the in-laws, and got something WAY too spicy -- got a glass of 2% milk to go with it and I was good.

I'm shattered over your lack of love for the Contemporary. Shattered. For me the Mary Blair mural warms the place up, and I love the monorail. Plus the Contempo Cafe regularly has the best cupcakes on site. But I admittedly avoid the place when Chef Mickeys is in full swing; it's my quiet place for Magic Kingdom afternoons. I sit there with my cupcake and milk and appreciate the cool and the quiet as I watch the monorail run by.

Crossing my fingers that your Days Hotel experience goes right this time. Free is good. And blessings on your friend for the gift of game tickets! I'm glad you're taking them, because I know from experience that sometimes the people we most want to give something to can be the hardest to convince to take it.

 

[Monykalyn]

Oh yay! Dining!
Well we love Chili's so can't fault ya there Last time we were at 1900 Park Fare was for a Princess Dinner when the girls were little (My oldest was into cinderella at age 5 &6 & 7-actually she still is-she has an "adult coloring book" of Disney princesses)-but we did love the place. For a really special adult Dinner Victoria and Albert's cannot be beat. Grand Floridian beach was my hangout during my CP so I have a special love for the place Spent a few hours on that beach... We did Cape May last year (dinner)-good - but for the price I think we prefer Joes' Crab shack. We were very close to a Cici's at our old house in Arkansas-think we ate there at least once a week-loved that they would make any pizza you want for the buffett-plus the coupons-cheap eats!

Sounds like you really got someones attention with the TA review-that kind of customer service is really a dying breed so heck ya-try it again. If they follow through for April (AND October if you chance it) then maybe you really did just have some bad luck with poor training of staff. 3rd times the charm?