“Life is Grand, it Yacht to be, we are at Disney! 1/29 New TR link, a question, and this TR is complete!

[disneyAndi14]

Good advice!

This tip for Mousekeeping has worked well for us

Yeah, just another of the many ways we see Disney transition from "above and beyond" service to being all about the almighty dollar. Really it isn't too much to ask something that is complimentary at just about every other hotel.

I know! What a poor decision someone in corporate made!! I think the answer I got was not something a CM should have said either. “Go buy your own”. I don’t think that is taught in traditions

This could totally be me. It's not a ride I get super excited about and would be beaming. And if I'm not actively trying to smile, I usually look ticked off.

I never thought about that and maybe he was scared of heights! He just looked so bored with it all!

Love some Via Napoli! I'm glad you had a good meal there!

Yes, We keep going back because it works perfect for Andi and I!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Such a cute selfie

That was pretty rude of them to tell you to buy your own lotion! Especially at such a fancy resort!

I like the pics in Italy! Sounds like a nice dinner with your friends!

Ahhh Thank you! There are some fun filters out there!
I know! I am 100% sure this is not how a CM should respond!!
I always like different photo opportunities and the more props the better

 

[disneyAndi14]

What a great night!

It was really nice. I know Epcot is a mess but lately it is one of the least crowded parks and this is a plus for me!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I've heard about the lotion controversy. Thats crazy they told you to buy your own!

That dinner at Via Napoli looks delish tho.

I think it is terrible, I know there are much larger problems in the world but for a hotel to not offer such a staple toiletry is just dumb! We all know Disney keeps raising prices and they keep taking things away, ugh!!
Via Napoli was very nice!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Sounds like a great night! Glad the pizza and service did not disappoint. Is t it great being able to walk back to your hotel instead of fighting the crowds

I love the walk over to Epcot from this area! I would stay here all the time if I could! I wonder how much the IG will change with the skyliner? Probably much more crowded, bummer!

 

[disneyAndi14]

That stinks! That's a pretty rude response from the CM on the phone, and it's even worse that nobody wrote you back when you voiced your concerns!

I agree! I don’t think she was taught that response in her CM training

My family says the same thing about me!!! Andi and I would be such an efficient park touring team!!!

Andi, for being little, can really speed walk! I use to be the same way, now I like to take it slower and check everything out since we have been many times!

Love, love, love VN! Looks like another great meal!

It was so yummy!

Ooooh, I'm so excited to hear about EMM!!

Coming up soon!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Yay an upgrade

Yes this was wonderful

Love this pic of y'all

I had to work hard to get this one picture in my account. This is another problem I have noticed lately. Pictures not showing up and we had new magic bands!

RUDE RUDE RUDE

Great way to sum it up Glenda! So tru!

have a feeling that will all change once the Skyliner starts up.

Ugh, you are probably right!!

Yum

It was, we will probably return to Via Napoli in January!

 

[disneyAndi14]

That's a good tip about housekeeping!

Wow that response about the lotion seems dramatic! For such an expensive hotel, they could throw in some lotion.

I agree about entering Epcot through IG. I hope the skyliner opening doesn't change that too much.

It really has worked well for us and I haven’t been bothered at all with the security policy now!
The lotion thing is just dumb! I did buy some at Basin and really like it! It ticked me off, especially because I purposely didn’t bring any with!
I hope the skyliner doesn’t change it to much!

 

[disneyAndi14]

This would be the absolute best part to me about staying at an Epcot resort. I walk between Epcot and HS a lot and I just love going through IG

It really is, I love walking so the 2 parks within walking distance is such a plus!

I'm glad to hear that! I went last month and - while I had a great server - I wasn't overly impressed with my pizza. Happy to try it again in the future though!

Sounds like a great evening with your friends

I’m sorry your pizza wasn’t the best! We stay pretty simple here with pizza choices and have always been happy. One time we ordered the Quattro pizza, it was all white and it was our least favorite. Way to rich for us!

 

[ariane37]

I did ask about lotion when I called and was told to go buy my own in the gift shop!

I would have been so taken aback by this I don't know what I would have said. I was excited when we got one tube last week at the GF but of course no more the next couple days

Can I just say entering the park here is so nice! There is virtually no wait and never feels crowded!

It's the best! We haven't stayed at an Epcot resort for awhile other than a couple nights this past January because it's hard for me to pass up WL whenever that's available with my discount lol but Steve has been mentioning staying there so it's probably coming up in our future I think BW is my overall favorite of the 3 despite our truly negative experience there a few years back but really we enjoy all 3.

 

[MeghanEmily]

I call down to housekeeping on the first morning and request our room cleaning to occur mid morning each day! This has worked like a charm, our room has been cleaned 99% of the time before we get back mid afternoon. This also eliminates the surprise knocks in the afternoon when you are resting.

Ooh, I meant to tell you! I remembered you saying this in a previous report so this past trip I finally tried it, and it worked perfectly! Great tip!

We headed down to Hurricane Hannah’s Grill only to find out the grilled cheese meal on the kids menu was gone I asked and the CM said they could make it for us! Andi was happy!

That's awesome! Nice little bit of extra service.

I got the waffle fries and these were really good!

Yum. Those waffle fries at Hurricane Hannah's are so good!

This looks delicious!

What a nice day <3

 

[disneyAndi14]

Oh wow. I know they have transitioned to the large bottles bolted to the wall in some of the resorts, but seriously it's a bit much to be refused a small bottle of lotion. Especially considering you were in a deluxe resort.

I agree! Surely with the $$$ of the room, a small bottle of lotion would be included. The more I think about it, the more irritated I get!

My family has also found Via Napoli good to. But always just get pizza, never mix pizza and pasta. It seems like that's the issue in some of the bad reviews.

We always get pizza, it has been a hit for us!

I really need to remember this tip. A couple times last year (at ASMu) we came back for an afternoon break and found the room not cleaned, or they were in the process of cleaning.

I really recommend trying this, it has worked great for us!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Glad Andi was in a better mood. And I think the trick is ordering only pizza at Via Napoli.

Yes she was in a lighter spirit and enjoying herself!
That is really dumb, how you can’t order pasta and pizza, and expect it to come out at the same time.

 

[disneyAndi14]

That's a great tip about the mousekeeping times. I tend to skip the cleaning for fear they will show up during the kids' nap time.

I always find it slightly amusing when other guests are very monotone on a ride. How do they do it? I have a hard enough time trying to compose a certain expression for the Photopass pictures on rides. No way could I not crack at least once!

Glad to hear Via Napoli was a successful dinner. I've read some not so great reviews of the restaurant lately and that's been a bummer. It's my favorite Disney eatery.

I just hate that afternoon knock because the majority of the time, we are relaxing at that time.
I thought it was just odd how statuesque the guy was
Our dinner was very good and the wait was not bad for our food!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I would have been so taken aback by this I don't know what I would have said. I was excited when we got one tube last week at the GF but of course no more the next couple days

I really was, I wanted to say something snarky but I reigned it in. The cost “even with a deal” surely is enough to throw a few little lotion tubes in, you would think!!

It's the best! We haven't stayed at an Epcot resort for awhile other than a couple nights this past January because it's hard for me to pass up WL whenever that's available with my discount lol but Steve has been mentioning staying there so it's probably coming up in our future I think BW is my overall favorite of the 3 despite our truly negative experience there a few years back but really we enjoy all 3.

The Boardwalk area is a wonderful area to stay at. I like all 3 resorts!

Ooh, I meant to tell you! I remembered you saying this in a previous report so this past trip I finally tried it, and it worked perfectly! Great tip!

I’m so glad it worked out for you! We really like our afternoon chill time in the room!

That's awesome! Nice little bit of extra service.

It really was, we were going to give up and look somewhere else. We decided to ask and it was nice!

Yum. Those waffle fries at Hurricane Hannah's are so good!

These were so good! Very popular, Insaw so many people eating these at the pool.

This looks delicious!

What a nice day <3

The pizza was very good and we both enjoyed it! I had another of my delicious macarons when I got back to the room, yum!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hello Everyone!
Andi came home this weekend and it was so nice to have both my kids under the same roof!
Andi and I went to Downton Abbey on Friday, we really enjoyed it! We both loved the series! We watched it together from the start!
We all went out to dinner on Saturday to our favorite Japanese place! This was delicious as always. We came home and my 2 adult children wanted to play Yahtzee with their mom! How nice was that.
We had a very nice weekend. Andi has headed back to school and Jack will be home for about 2 more weeks, before he moves on to his new job. He will be in the Minneapolis area so that is nice! It is only 2.5 hours from us. It has been 6 years since Jack lived at home and it has really been fun having him at home again! We will miss him! The empty nest life is a tad boring for me! Thank goodness I have the Dis and Disney planning to help!

It is time to continue with trip reporting!
Today was Monday 8/19/19.

We were up very early today. It was early morning magic at TSL. This is a hard ticket event. We paid separately for this. It gives you 1.5 hours in TSL with very low crowds and a buffet like breakfast. The event starts at 7:30, we wanted to be there by 7:20. We decided to walk from YC. I woke up with a scratchy feeling in my throat. I initially thought it was from the air conditioning. Unfortunately, it was not. I did take Ziacam and Airborne and hoped for the best.

Our walk was nice, we saw a few joggers otherwise a nice quiet walk. It already was very hot and humid. Once we arrived at DHS, we checked in for the event. You do need a park ticket for this extra ticketed event. We got a wrist band and went into the park.


It was very empty yay! We were directed to a scenic walk around the park. The CM’s were directing people to the breakfast at Backlot. We just walked around and got in line for the event.
We were let into TSL right at 7:30. Andi and I decided to do TSM first. I had read to do this first and let SDD line lessen some before heading there. I love TSM. We walked on and had a rootin tootin fun time. We had so much fun we did it again!




We decided to check out SDD. The wait was maybe 10 minutes at the most. This bouncy rollercoaster is so much fun!




We decided to check out AS2 next. This was a walk on. Wow this is a bumpy little ride, especially when the track changes. I do like the aliens and the quirky music.


I used the restrooms and we went back to SDD and rode 2 more times. I was feeling a little queasy, I know I am a wimp. We had some time left before 9am and hit up TSM 2 more times. This was really a fun event for us even though I felt like ! I thought it was worth the price. I paid very far in advance and used a gift card. I think it was 79.99 a person but don’t quote me It is now on hold because of Star Wars Land opening. We did TSMx4, SDDx3, AS2x1. I do believe we could have done SDD several more times if I would have been up to it.
It was time for breakfast. We walked over to Backlot Express. There was an entree menu and a buffet. Andi decided on the Mexican egg bowl and I got the avocado toast with a salad and egg. We didn’t realize the bowl had chorizo sausage in it. I was able to pick it out and put it on my salad. The Mexican bowl was very good, it had beans, eggs, guacamole, cheese, and fresh salsa. It was yummy!
My avocado toast was really good and I loved the salad. The egg was awful, it shouldn’t have been served. It was like rubber and the yolk was like powder, yuck! I could have went up and ordered another entree except I liked everything else and I didn’t feel the need. We also shared the sweet potato tater tots and these were delicious! Crunch on the outside and soft and tasty on the inside.



Sad egg!


We both went up and got some danish and croissants from the buffet. There was cereal, fruit, yogurt, granola, pastries and drinks. I used my ziploc bag from Splash to pack up several chocolate croissants! I knew that bag would come in handy!


We both had cokes and water to drink. I was feeling more and more like by this time. It was 10am and I knew my sore throat wasn’t from the air conditioning.
I was ready to go back to the resort and take a rest. We left the park and took the boat back to the YC. It was so hot today. I was dreading the heat and feeling ill for our 1pm SWGE preview! I knew I wasn’t going to miss this for anything!
We got back to the room and it was already cleaned, yay! I took more Ziacam, Airborne and Ibuprofen. I rested and Andi went looking around the resort for awhile.

Stay tuned for SWGE preview!! Do I make it there? Do I survive the heat? Do I ride SR? Do I have a drink with an alien? Does Andi get a coke bomb? All these questions will be answered soon!

 

[kastoney]

These Snapchat pictures with the filters are awesome!

Adorable!!! Love it!

Lotion is given out at The Holiday Express and I don’t believe it costs $400-500 dollars a night. I did write an email to the manager at the YC and the GF! I hope they read my email because I didn’t get any type of acknowledgement!

Good for you. Their "cost cutting measures" really are ridiculous. No lotion, shampoo and condoner in vats, maybe the Holiday Inn Express is the better option

Andi and I shared a cheese pizza with mushrooms on it. This was great and we ate it all. We have really been lucky with our pizza and service here. I have read some reviews which are not as good!

Mushrooms aside, we've always had amazing pizza and good service here too. In fact on our August trip the service was probably the best of the entire trip, which is definitely an anomaly for them.

Andi and I went to Downton Abbey on Friday, we really enjoyed it! We both loved the series! We watched it together from the start!

Oh I'm so jealous. Jason won't go with me and none of my friends watch it. I'll be waiting for a vacation and an iTunes rental at this point

We all went out to dinner on Saturday to our favorite Japanese place! This was delicious as always. We came home and my 2 adult children wanted to play Yahtzee with their mom! How nice was that.

What a fun night!

I used the restrooms and we went back to SDD and rode 2 more times. I was feeling a little queasy, I know I am a wimp.

I'm in the wimpy club with ya. I used to be able to handle these things, but really struggled on our august trip. Think I'm going to have to get something for motion sickness on any future trips.

I used my ziploc bag from Splash to pack up several chocolate croissants! I knew that bag would come in handy!

Love this!!!! Sounds likes something I'd do.

I paid very far in advance and used a gift card. I think it was 79.99 a person but don’t quote me It is now on hold because of Star Wars Land opening. We did TSMx4, SDDx3, AS2x1. I do believe we could have done SDD several more times if I would have been up to it.

Really not bad at all considering you get breakfast too. Between you and Kelly think we may finally try this sometime

We both had cokes and water to drink. I was feeling more and more like by this time. It was 10am and I knew my sore throat wasn’t from the air conditioning.

Oh no, hope it clears quickly

 

[buzzrelly]

I have found a new way to pass time when I am a passenger in the car I hate regular selfies, I look blah!! These Snapchat pictures with the filters are awesome!

Adorable! But then, you're always adorable, Caroline!

I did ask about lotion when I called and was told to go buy my own in the gift shop! That did rub me the wrong way!

No pun intended?

Lotion is given out at The Holiday Express and I don’t believe it costs $400-500 dollars a night. I did write an email to the manager at the YC and the GF! I hope they read my email because I didn’t get any type of acknowledgement!

Ugh…I HATE that they stopped giving out lotion. Maybe we should all write emails…and no, buying it in the gift shop is NOT the right answer.

We came home and my 2 adult children wanted to play Yahtzee with their mom! How nice was that.

Sweet

It has been 6 years since Jack lived at home and it has really been fun having him at home again! We will miss him! The empty nest life is a tad boring for me! Thank goodness I have the Dis and Disney planning to help!

I'm getting close to that and it already makes me sad. My Nicholas is in college but he still lives home…for now. My Allie is a Junior and is already looking at colleges far, far away…like Florida. I guess if she does go there, I'd have more excuses to go down but I'd miss her terribly all the other times

I loved EMM at TSL…worth every penny! I hope they bring it back…or something like it

 

[suse66]

I did ask about lotion when I called and was told to go buy my own in the gift shop! That did rub me the wrong way! Lotion is given out at The Holiday Express and I don’t believe it costs $400-500 dollars a night. I did write an email to the manager at the YC and the GF! I hope they read my email because I didn’t get any type of acknowledgement!

They didn't have body lotion at the YC??? Seriously??? And then they were so snarky to you.....yikes!!!

We made our way to Soarin and had a fun ride. The guy next to me was just way to cool for the ride. He never cracked a smile and just sat there like a statue! We exited the ride, and Andi was apparently walking away from a fire, man, that girl can walk fast. I am not sure why she was in such a hurry. She was less sassy thank goodness! We looked in Mousegears for a little while. We did see some cute shirts and made a mental note about these for later! It was time to head out to Italy and meet our Minnesota friends.

I always love Soarin'!

Our friends showed up and we checked in at Via Napoli. We did not have to wait long, maybe 10 minutes. We had a nice table in the main dining area. We had a decent waiter. C and I had the white sangria. I really enjoyed this, it had fresh apple and pineapple in it. Andi and I shared a cheese pizza with mushrooms on it. This was great and we ate it all. We have really been lucky with our pizza and service here. I have read some reviews which are not as good!

I had that sangria in March and really loved it! How did your friends manage that enormous pizza?

Hello Everyone!
Andi came home this weekend and it was so nice to have both my kids under the same roof!
Andi and I went to Downton Abbey on Friday, we really enjoyed it! We both loved the series! We watched it together from the start!
We all went out to dinner on Saturday to our favorite Japanese place! This was delicious as always. We came home and my 2 adult children wanted to play Yahtzee with their mom! How nice was that.
We had a very nice weekend. Andi has headed back to school and Jack will be home for about 2 more weeks, before he moves on to his new job. He will be in the Minneapolis area so that is nice! It is only 2.5 hours from us. It has been 6 years since Jack lived at home and it has really been fun having him at home again! We will miss him! The empty nest life is a tad boring for me! Thank goodness I have the Dis and Disney planning to help!

Isn't that the best?? My Jack was home this weekend too and it was wonderful to be a family of five again. Congratulations to your Jack on landing a job! And how nice that he is not too far from home!

We were let into TSL right at 7:30. Andi and I decided to do TSM first. I had read to do this first and let SDD line lessen some before heading there. I love TSM. We walked on and had a rootin tootin fun time. We had so much fun we did it again!

So fun!

We both went up and got some danish and croissants from the buffet. There was cereal, fruit, yogurt, granola, pastries and drinks. I used my ziploc bag from Splash to pack up several chocolate croissants! I knew that bag would come in handy!

Great looking breakfast! I am really mad at myself for cancelling our TSL EMM in favour of HS AH.....the EMM looks so much better!

Stay tuned for SWGE preview!! Do I make it there? Do I survive the heat? Do I ride SR? Do I have a drink with an alien? Does Andi get a coke bomb? All these questions will be answered soon!

Hope you felt better, being sick at Disney is the worst!

 

[emily nicole]

Following! You and your daughter are so cute! I'm enjoying reading about your adventures. Sorry you came down with something!!! My son gets sick almost every time we go to Disney.