faline
05-21-2010, 08:49 PM
(This is the first time I’ve taken computer with me on a trip. I’ve had a laptop for several years and, even though I’ve thought about bringing it several times, I just did not want to lug it with me. The netbook fit neatly into my carryon bag and is small enough that I expect to be able to store it in the room safe. Generally, I write notes during my trip in a small notebook and then need to transcribe them into trip reports when I return home. While I still expect to write notes along the way, this will give me the opportunity to transcribe them as I go and, also to write on the fly. For example, this morning, instead of writing this all down in my notebook, I’ve been able to write directly to my netbook while we fly.
Heaven help anyone who reads this, though, as I suspect it will also aid me in being even more wordy than I usually am. After all, I’m on page 3 already and we haven’t even landed in Orlando yet!)
As promised, we land about 20 minutes early in partly cloudy Orlando. Our bags arrive at the carousel in short order and we drag them over to National’s Emerald Isle. We select a silver Ford Fusion Flex. The car has a much larger trunk than I might have expected. Not a bad little car at all.
Along the way to the resort, we stop for water, OJ, and a few other items. No-one is waiting at the check-in desk at Port Orleans French Quarter and we’re told our room is ready. It’s in building 2 which is a great location overlooking the pool.
Here’s where things go a bit off track. When staying in moderates, we always book a king bed room which we did this time as well. Our room, however, is not a king bed room. Apparently, when our room switched from our first reservation to an annual passholder rate, we got a better price but the king bed part of our reservation was dropped. We call the desk to explain our dilemma. No dice. We’re told no king bed rooms are available during our stay. We call reservations. Is there a king bed at another moderate? The only thing they can offer is Caribbean. We had a less than stellar experience there several years back and that is the one resort I have no inclination to revisit. The woman can see the king bed on the initial reservation. She tells us she will contact a supervisor and call us back. Half an hour later we call again and are told she is working on it and will get back to us. By 2 o’clock, I’m starved. I leave a message on our in-room voice mail referring callers to my cell phone number and we head out.
We just miss the boat to Downtown Disney as we approach the boat dock. No matter. It is a pleasant afternoon – warm, but not too humid and another boat appears within 10 minutes. We have dinner reservations at 5:15 but need something to eat now so we stop in the lounge at Raglan Road for a calamari appetizer and beer. The calamari is a mixture of fried calamari and tempura vegetables. Seems like a strange combination but it is rather good. That hits the spot. We intend to get another annual pass and Tables in Wonderland card but hunger won out so we don’t have it available when we dine at this location.
Tummies satisfied, we locate Guest Relations to purchase an annual pass for Gene. While waiting on line, a couple joined the line behind us. Finally, they ask if we know how they can get to Whispering Canyon. We explain where the buses are and that they should just catch one for Wilderness Lodge. Goodness –they were going to wait in this line to get an answer to that question! We’re glad we could help.
I had ordered one annual pass already which was totally paid with Disney dollars. There were still some Disney dollars left on my card and many Intercotees had reported that Guest Relations would be able to quickly load additional balances onto my card. I ask about this and am told they are unable to do this. Okay, we have $100 in gift cards which we apply to Gene’s pass. When it comes to using the Disney dollars left on the card, I’m told I have to tell them how many dollars are left on the card. I don’t remember so am left guessing. Try $80 – nope. Try $70 – nope. When we get to try $50 – it accepts it so that, too, is applied to the card. I get my pass activated as well.
The family that was in front of us in line was apparently having some sort of problem with their park passes. I hear them explaining they could not possibly have used all the days on their passes and showing the receipt they had received for the purchase.
Leaving Guest Relations, we wander through a few shops including World of Disney. I make a small purchase there and while using my annual pass for a discount while checking out, I remember I did not purchase the Tables in Wonderland card. Back to Guest Relations. The couple with the park pass issues is still there! Oh dear! At least, it looks like they are coming to some resolution to their problem.
With our newly purchased Tables in Wonderland card in hand, we head back out. We slowly make our way over to the West Side, stopping in shops here and there. Meanwhile, big dark clouds are forming overhead and it’s beginning to look like we might get a rain shower. It never did rain.
House of Blues is not busy and when we check in early for our 5:15 reservation, we are asked if we are on the dining plan. I say we have Tables in Wonderland and am told they accept that. I then ask why they asked if we were on the Dining Plan as I thought they did not accept it. They confirm they do not but state many people assume they do and that is why they ask. We ask for a booth and are told we can have one but are led to a table. When we say we asked for a booth, we are led to an empty booth.
After our appetizer, I’m no longer overly hungry but do order a shrimp poor boy sandwich with fries. Gene has a steak and fries. Our waitress is pleasant and we chat with her a bit about our room woes as well as Disney’s vacation club. By time we exit the restaurant, the dark clouds have blown over.
While we are both quite tired, we decide to head over to Epcot. We head to the Pleasure Island bus stop and wait for a Beach Club bus. The wait is around 10 minutes and we are on our way. After stops at the Swan, Dolphin, and Yacht club we disembark at the Beach club and walk to the International gate entrance.
Just inside the gate, we run into a photopass photographer. Before we left, I pre-purchased the photo pass. I was going to skip it, but thought about my parents’ pictures and changed my mind. Since my parents passed away, I’ve been going through their pictures. In their later years, as they began to travel more, and before they got sick, there were lots and lots of pictures of scenery but not a lot of them. With this in mind, I made the pre-purchase!
We wait while he takes a few photos of a young family. The dad has a beer in hand and announces he’s completed drinking around the world. While talking with the photographer, he learns he has two countries left – United Kingdom and Canada. He’s already looking pretty shaky. I wonder if he’ll make it.
We run into another photographer in France and stop for more pictures. The sun has not yet set. It’s still warm but not humid and there is a fairly stiff breeze. There are quite of few folks around and more are entering the park to claim spots for Illuminations. It’s not mobbed but not deserted either. We walk around World Showcase but do not enter any of the shops or attractions as we walk. Occasionally, we stop to take a picture here or there. I am disappointed to find that there aren’t any floating flowers this year. As we exit Epcot, we stop for a few more pics with another photopass photographer in front of Spaceship Earth.
We find the bus stop for Port Orleans. There is quite a long line and a bus pulls up before we actually reach the end of the line. Surprisingly, we even find seats on board. We are the first stop which is nice.
While we were out, no-one ever called us in response to our call about our accommodations. We’ve decided that, whatever the outcome, we will not allow this to ruin our vacation. We will make do and we will have a good time.
When we return to our room, the message light is flashing on the phone. I hit the button to retrieve the message. Ironically, it’s from a staff member welcoming us to Port Orleans French Quarter and suggesting we call if anything can be done to make our visit better! There is no message from the woman who was calling a supervisor and “working on it” in response to the room mix-up – not even a message saying that, sorry, but the room we have is the room we have.
I do not unpack as Gene says we will call again about the room but will wait until morning. I suspect we will not be going anywhere and would like to settle in but, I’ll go with the flow, and see what tomorrow might bring!
All in all, it was a wonderful day. I was happy to be here and felt myself smiling a lot! People seemed to respond to my general good mood. A number of cast members acknowledged us as we wandered and I found guests smiling in return. It’s really true – happiness is contagious!
Heaven help anyone who reads this, though, as I suspect it will also aid me in being even more wordy than I usually am. After all, I’m on page 3 already and we haven’t even landed in Orlando yet!)
As promised, we land about 20 minutes early in partly cloudy Orlando. Our bags arrive at the carousel in short order and we drag them over to National’s Emerald Isle. We select a silver Ford Fusion Flex. The car has a much larger trunk than I might have expected. Not a bad little car at all.
Along the way to the resort, we stop for water, OJ, and a few other items. No-one is waiting at the check-in desk at Port Orleans French Quarter and we’re told our room is ready. It’s in building 2 which is a great location overlooking the pool.
Here’s where things go a bit off track. When staying in moderates, we always book a king bed room which we did this time as well. Our room, however, is not a king bed room. Apparently, when our room switched from our first reservation to an annual passholder rate, we got a better price but the king bed part of our reservation was dropped. We call the desk to explain our dilemma. No dice. We’re told no king bed rooms are available during our stay. We call reservations. Is there a king bed at another moderate? The only thing they can offer is Caribbean. We had a less than stellar experience there several years back and that is the one resort I have no inclination to revisit. The woman can see the king bed on the initial reservation. She tells us she will contact a supervisor and call us back. Half an hour later we call again and are told she is working on it and will get back to us. By 2 o’clock, I’m starved. I leave a message on our in-room voice mail referring callers to my cell phone number and we head out.
We just miss the boat to Downtown Disney as we approach the boat dock. No matter. It is a pleasant afternoon – warm, but not too humid and another boat appears within 10 minutes. We have dinner reservations at 5:15 but need something to eat now so we stop in the lounge at Raglan Road for a calamari appetizer and beer. The calamari is a mixture of fried calamari and tempura vegetables. Seems like a strange combination but it is rather good. That hits the spot. We intend to get another annual pass and Tables in Wonderland card but hunger won out so we don’t have it available when we dine at this location.
Tummies satisfied, we locate Guest Relations to purchase an annual pass for Gene. While waiting on line, a couple joined the line behind us. Finally, they ask if we know how they can get to Whispering Canyon. We explain where the buses are and that they should just catch one for Wilderness Lodge. Goodness –they were going to wait in this line to get an answer to that question! We’re glad we could help.
I had ordered one annual pass already which was totally paid with Disney dollars. There were still some Disney dollars left on my card and many Intercotees had reported that Guest Relations would be able to quickly load additional balances onto my card. I ask about this and am told they are unable to do this. Okay, we have $100 in gift cards which we apply to Gene’s pass. When it comes to using the Disney dollars left on the card, I’m told I have to tell them how many dollars are left on the card. I don’t remember so am left guessing. Try $80 – nope. Try $70 – nope. When we get to try $50 – it accepts it so that, too, is applied to the card. I get my pass activated as well.
The family that was in front of us in line was apparently having some sort of problem with their park passes. I hear them explaining they could not possibly have used all the days on their passes and showing the receipt they had received for the purchase.
Leaving Guest Relations, we wander through a few shops including World of Disney. I make a small purchase there and while using my annual pass for a discount while checking out, I remember I did not purchase the Tables in Wonderland card. Back to Guest Relations. The couple with the park pass issues is still there! Oh dear! At least, it looks like they are coming to some resolution to their problem.
With our newly purchased Tables in Wonderland card in hand, we head back out. We slowly make our way over to the West Side, stopping in shops here and there. Meanwhile, big dark clouds are forming overhead and it’s beginning to look like we might get a rain shower. It never did rain.
House of Blues is not busy and when we check in early for our 5:15 reservation, we are asked if we are on the dining plan. I say we have Tables in Wonderland and am told they accept that. I then ask why they asked if we were on the Dining Plan as I thought they did not accept it. They confirm they do not but state many people assume they do and that is why they ask. We ask for a booth and are told we can have one but are led to a table. When we say we asked for a booth, we are led to an empty booth.
After our appetizer, I’m no longer overly hungry but do order a shrimp poor boy sandwich with fries. Gene has a steak and fries. Our waitress is pleasant and we chat with her a bit about our room woes as well as Disney’s vacation club. By time we exit the restaurant, the dark clouds have blown over.
While we are both quite tired, we decide to head over to Epcot. We head to the Pleasure Island bus stop and wait for a Beach Club bus. The wait is around 10 minutes and we are on our way. After stops at the Swan, Dolphin, and Yacht club we disembark at the Beach club and walk to the International gate entrance.
Just inside the gate, we run into a photopass photographer. Before we left, I pre-purchased the photo pass. I was going to skip it, but thought about my parents’ pictures and changed my mind. Since my parents passed away, I’ve been going through their pictures. In their later years, as they began to travel more, and before they got sick, there were lots and lots of pictures of scenery but not a lot of them. With this in mind, I made the pre-purchase!
We wait while he takes a few photos of a young family. The dad has a beer in hand and announces he’s completed drinking around the world. While talking with the photographer, he learns he has two countries left – United Kingdom and Canada. He’s already looking pretty shaky. I wonder if he’ll make it.
We run into another photographer in France and stop for more pictures. The sun has not yet set. It’s still warm but not humid and there is a fairly stiff breeze. There are quite of few folks around and more are entering the park to claim spots for Illuminations. It’s not mobbed but not deserted either. We walk around World Showcase but do not enter any of the shops or attractions as we walk. Occasionally, we stop to take a picture here or there. I am disappointed to find that there aren’t any floating flowers this year. As we exit Epcot, we stop for a few more pics with another photopass photographer in front of Spaceship Earth.
We find the bus stop for Port Orleans. There is quite a long line and a bus pulls up before we actually reach the end of the line. Surprisingly, we even find seats on board. We are the first stop which is nice.
While we were out, no-one ever called us in response to our call about our accommodations. We’ve decided that, whatever the outcome, we will not allow this to ruin our vacation. We will make do and we will have a good time.
When we return to our room, the message light is flashing on the phone. I hit the button to retrieve the message. Ironically, it’s from a staff member welcoming us to Port Orleans French Quarter and suggesting we call if anything can be done to make our visit better! There is no message from the woman who was calling a supervisor and “working on it” in response to the room mix-up – not even a message saying that, sorry, but the room we have is the room we have.
I do not unpack as Gene says we will call again about the room but will wait until morning. I suspect we will not be going anywhere and would like to settle in but, I’ll go with the flow, and see what tomorrow might bring!
All in all, it was a wonderful day. I was happy to be here and felt myself smiling a lot! People seemed to respond to my general good mood. A number of cast members acknowledged us as we wandered and I found guests smiling in return. It’s really true – happiness is contagious!