PDA

View Full Version : August All Star Sports Adventure Part 7 Will this rain ever stop



Beach Club Babe
09-11-2012, 12:27 PM
Sunday, August 19th, 2012 continued

As a side note here, I do believe this is the rainiest vacation we have ever had. Each day would start off beautiful and sunny and very hot, but almost always ended with rain.

After our swim back at the resort we returned to Magic Kingdom for our dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. Now ever since we've been coming to WDW since Hallie was born, she would never ever fall asleep in a stroller or on the bus. She kept going and going and going. After yesterday when she fell asleep on the way to dinner, she must have figured she had been missing out on something, because once again she fell asleep on the way to this dinner as well and slept through it as well. Dinner was enjoyed by all. Our plan had been to stay for EMH tonight, but did I mention that EMH was just not our friend?

We wanted to ride BTMR again because Jeff really like it and was proud of himself for conquering his fears. We were just able to get on and ride before the skies opened up again. We also really wanted to ride Splash Mt. and we had gotten fastpasses before riding BTMR, but by the time they had come due, the storms had returned and Splash was closed down. They did tell us the would honor the fastpasses anytime before 9:00 PM as long as the radar was clear. However, it was not to be and my kids were getting super anxious as this was already the fifth day of the trip and we had not even ridden once!

We tried to keep dry as much as possible and settled in on the Laugh Floor, which was an extremely funny performance tonight. It really just was too rainy to continue. The rain had cooled the temps down again, and we were just not comfortable. So we decided to call it a night. I really tried to hold out, but even I the die hard, just had to give in.

Now as I mentioned in part one that I was not going to dwell on the problems we encountered with the CM's, but I just cannot get my mind off of this one. After riding BTMR we noticed a woman having trouble with her ECV. It kept stalling out on her. It was not one of Disney's, she had rented it from a local company. Clearly she could not make it out of the park on her own. her husband asked a CM if he could help in anyway and said that he couldn't touch it, it wasn't Disney's. He did tell him he could go to City Hall to see if they could possibly help him. The man was elderly and was going to attempt to push the ECV all the way from Frontierland to City Hall. No way was Ron going to let that happen. He pushed the woman and ECV to City Hall. I went inside to explain there was a problem with the woman's ECV and ask if they could give her assistance to which the CM replied, "Nothing I can do about it. I suggest you go rent one of ours!" I was so taken aback by this attitude, I can't even describe it. I came out and told the woman what she said then I suggested that she go to the ECV rental desk and see if they could be more helpful. We went over and while waiting in line the woman began to cry. I felt so bad for her. She couldn't even speak when they asked if they could help her. The CM, McKenzie from Ohio was so sweet to her. She tried to see if she could figure out what the problem was and if she could fix it. While she was looking at it, a manager came out to see what was going on and I explained again that her scooter was stalling and the woman at City Hall had made her cry. He told her that he would comp her one of theirs as long as she paid the $20.00 refundable deposit and she could leave hers with them and a claim check. The woman was thrilled and she and her husband thanked them repeatedly. It dawned on me then about how she would get to the bus. McKenzie offered to push the ECV to the bus stop and the bus driver should be able to help her get it on the bus. McKenzie would also give her a wheelchair to get her to the bus. I am so happy that she finally got to deal with some nice CM's, but I was so upset by what the one in City Hall said, and the woman crying, I was about to cry myself.

Monday, August 20th, 2012

I know this is really getting old, but it was EMH at Animal Kingdom this morning, and yet again only managed to arrive by 8:30 or thereafter. This time we only had ourselves to blame. No one had set an alarm and we all overslept!

Once again we got fastpasses for the Safari when we arrived, but this time took the train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Jeff and Ashleigh had an overwhelming need to see some goats as part of an inside joke amongst themselves. We also watched some sort of large bird get a check-up before being sent to its new home. We then returned to Harambe and boarded our Safari. Next we grabbed some fastpasses for Kali River Rapids, and returned to Africa to check in for our lunch at Tusker House. This was a nice surprise to us on last years vacation, when we still had one ts credit to use on the dining plan. The kids requested it again this year and were pleasantly surprised by the addition of characters. The food did not disappoint and we left stuffed.

After lunch it was time for our fastpasses at Kali River Rapids and Hallie barely measured up to be able to ride with the safety bar. Once again she was thrilled to be able to ride. As it turned out she and I were the two to get the most soaked! She had the most enormous grin on her face as opposed to mine! Next we took in a showing of Festival of The Lion King and then went back to the resort to clean up and in my case dry off!

Rest of the day to come in Part 8

Dopey's Girl
09-11-2012, 01:58 PM
Oh my goodness, that ECV story is horrible. That is so not that Disney that we all know and love. I'm so glad that you finally found her a sympathetic person to help out!

faline
09-11-2012, 06:45 PM
Leaving an elderly woman stranded in a malfunctioning ECV is NOT the Disney way and I don't care where the rental occurred!! Perhaps Disney needs to offer a course on sensitivity to those who are elderly and/or disabled?

I'm so glad there were other cast members who proved that the callous response that occurred at City Hall does not hold true for all Disney World cast members.

faline
09-11-2012, 06:52 PM
Heather, it's no wonder you were so upset. I just read that section of your report to my husband and found myself getting teary eyed while reading it!

Dsnygirl
09-11-2012, 08:02 PM
So glad to hear the rain didn't get in the way TOO much, and that you guys enjoyed your time at AK & MK, even with the EMH issues. Sometimes there comes a time where you just have to give up and head "home" to your resort! :thumbsup:

I don't even know what to say on the CM issues... I can't imagine anyone anywhere turning a blind eye to someone having issues like that, but even more so at Disney, where it's supposedly their job to help create magic for everyone! I'm so glad you finally found a sympathetic and helpful CM, I hope this woman had a better trip b/c of it! She and her husband definitely had some guardian angels in you and your family! :)

princessgirls
09-12-2012, 09:11 AM
Heather,

What an awful experience for those elderly people. That sort of treatment is not the Disney we all love! I am encouraging you to send them a letter. Thankfully those poor people found you and Ron. You helped, and that's what they needed, a kind soul to help them get out of the park.

Glad you were able to make the most of your night, in spite of the rain.

Julie:mickey:

mydisneygirls
09-13-2012, 11:31 AM
It's people like you that make this world a better place. I would have done the same thing. Shame on Disney!!!!!!!

January-2007
09-13-2012, 08:30 PM
Thanks for reporting.

DisneyorBust
09-13-2012, 08:37 PM
It was so nice for you and your husband to help those folks out, this world would be so much better off if people would follow your example.

Beach Club Babe
09-14-2012, 11:44 PM
That one episode has just stuck with me. It made me so sad and my husband remarked how this was not the way the situation should have been handled. He reminded me of how differently I was treated in City Hall many years ago when I had an issue and was very hormonal from being pregnant with Emily. We could not have asked for anything more and made our trip so magical especially for Ashleigh who was 9 at the time. We think of it often when reminiscing about past trips.