The Magician on Crescent Lake. A sister TR 4/28-5/4/24, Update 6/1**

[vamassey1]

Sounds like a good travel day. I really hope you get your room requests. It's a good thing you checked on that.

My son has eye issues and has to put a warm compress on his eyes. He uses the microwave too. I wonder if they suffer from the same problem.

You're doing great with the LL stacking. I'm sure you're sisters were impressed.

I haven't had lunch at Les Halles since 1999. I've had many snacks and even breakfast but not lunch. I need to remember they're still back there.

I hope you told Andy you got best in vehicle at TSM.

 

[disneyAndi14]

How were you making your requests?

I have done everything in the past, touring plans, call in at 30 day mark, and preferences during online check in. TP use to work really well and the last several trips the room couldn’t be further from what I request with TP and when I have asked at the front desk, I have been told we don’t look at faxes from TP anymore How do you request? Curious to know what others do.

I love the ham and cheese croissant. It is a great place to get food. The only bad thing is the lack of tables.

The food was so good, the place was swamped but luckily a small table was open!

You made really good use of your Genie+ choices. And your timing was spot on.

Genie+ was the way to go this trip! We all decided the cost was worth it to shorten our waits!

Maybe. I remember it from when I was in high school so the 1980's. You know...the 1900's as the kids say.

Haha same I graduated in the 80’s. My kids think I am vintage

Do you have a Touring Plans subscription? I highly recommend their room request service. I used it for the April trip and got the EXACT room number I requested.

Yes and I use to have really good luck with requesting from them not this time or the last few stays, not sure why? One time we got the exact room I requested but had to wait until after 5pm for the room ready text. I can’t win, lol

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hooray for a smooth travel day! We’re trying Comfort+ for our flight home from Orlando - I hope it doesn’t spoil me too much!

Always a plus when the flight is on time! You will like comfort+ take advantage of the free booze, lol

No. The answer is no.

I agree, MCO is always crowded and disorganized!

That’s too bad about your room requests - how strange they didn’t connect! I’m hopeful that ours went through as I did them both through David’s Vacation Club Rentals/DVC Member services (we rented points) and also a request through Touring Plans. Everything I’ve read indicates you can submit both of these requests without them cancelling each other out. I guess we’ll see!

I agree! H even asked me why I don’t get any special treatment like a VIP since I stay on property so much, haha I wish! I have to say not the case at all for me!

Great job stacking the lightning lanes! You had a great lineup. I’m glad Remy was cooperating and you were able to get right on.

Genie+ was the way to go this trip. D and H were so impressed with my skills

Your meal at Les Halles looks so good! I’ve never had a meal at Les Halles but have enjoyed plenty of tasty pastries there. They are always great!

So delicious and The Frose was an unexpected hit, Andi will love the Frose so definitely on the list for September

Oh dear.

Yes indeed

Uh oh…your trip is off to such a great start, I’m afraid to hear about the room!

Haha Thank you and yes such a disappointment with the room, thank goodness I was able to problem solve because honestly the CMs were not very helpful!

You’re off to a great start. I always have a boozy drink at the airport to start the holiday off right

Yes, 8am or not vacation is starting with that first cocktail!

You’re doing great stacking the ll rides. Love your choices so far. Les Halles is a favourite place of ours for breakfast or lunch. The food there is so good. There always comes a point in our holidays where the boys want plain food and get the full baguette with butter. It hits the spot perfectly, I on the other hand make it my mission to try all the tasty treats in the cabinet

Thank you, I think I did really good with Genie+ this trip. Las Halles delicious and I totally get the baguette with some butter simple and delicious! That would go perfect with the Frose drink

I’m beginning to wonder/worry just how bad your room was. Hope it didn’t spoil the first day.
H’s hair on the skyliner is hilarious

It was a big disappointment. It was really funny only H’s hair did this every time we rode the Skyliner

So awesome to do a sisters trip!

It really was! We had so much fun, laughed together all the time!

We tried Les Halle’s for the first time last trip for breakfast. The food truly is so good!! It is on our list from now on.

It really is! I think we avoid it because of the long lines but the line moves fast and really worth it!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Sounds like a good travel day. I really hope you get your room requests. It's a good thing you checked on that.

It was a really nice travel day and the time at the parks was really nice

My son has eye issues and has to put a warm compress on his eyes. He uses the microwave too. I wonder if they suffer from the same problem.

H has a dry eye condition and it really has been a pain for her, she has tried so many different things with minimal success. The warm compresses work the best and in Florida she said her eyes felt really good! Probably all the warm humid air!

You're doing great with the LL stacking. I'm sure your sisters were impressed.

They were really impressed with my skills, haha

I haven't had lunch at Les Halles since 1999. I've had many snacks and even breakfast but not lunch. I need to remember they're still back there.

I can’t remember the last time we ate here, I think it was just pastries at breakfast 5=6 years ago, Go back, worth it

I hope you told Andy you got best in vehicle at TSM.

Haha I did but my score was still pretty dismal according to her. My two sisters were on the other side so likely the only reason I got best in vehicle

 

[Wood Nymph]

I have done everything in the past, touring plans, call in at 30 day mark, and preferences during online check in. TP use to work really well and the last several trips the room couldn’t be further from what I request with TP and when I have asked at the front desk, I have been told we don’t look at faxes from TP anymore How do you request? Curious to know what others do.

I usually call resort reservations and talk to a CM. Sometimes it is obvious that I got my request. Other times I don't. I always request a full balcony at the Beach Club but I only get it about 50% of the time. I used the chat feature on the website one time, which was not easier than talking to someone.

The more rooms that are available in that category, the better chances of success. For instance, everyone wants to be near the elevator, so that is not a good one. There aren't very many rooms near an elevator.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I usually call resort reservations and talk to a CM. Sometimes it is obvious that I got my request. Other times I don't. I always request a full balcony at the Beach Club but I only get it about 50% of the time. I used the chat feature on the website one time, which was not easier than talking to someone.

Very true! This is what I usually do and wow lately totally ignored. I have started to notice the total indifference and really don’t care much attitude more and more at Disney now and this makes me so sad Customer service was one of the reasons we kept going back, not near as good now.

The more rooms that are available in that category, the better chances of success. For instance, everyone wants to be near the elevator, so that is not a good one. There aren't very many rooms near an elevator

I never ask for a room by an elevator to noisy for us, we like a quiet area the most and of course a full balcony like 99.9% of everyone else. This is why I normally only book at YC because of the dumb balcony categories at BC.

 

[amazingact21]

It's always great when you have a smooth travel day and can jump right in to park touring. However, I'm waiting to hear what the room situation entailed. We all know I've still got my resort troubles fresh on my mind. Somebody was dropping the ball with rooms last month, it sounds like!

 

[disneyAndi14]

It's always great when you have a smooth travel day and can jump right in to park touring. However, I'm waiting to hear what the room situation entailed. We all know I've still got my resort troubles fresh on my mind. Somebody was dropping the ball with rooms last month, it sounds like!

It really was a good morning and afternoon. The evening required a drink or two
I think the lack of helping and disregard from the CMs this time around was really disappointing.

 

[disneyAndi14]

The room debacle which led to the need for a dirty martini extra dirty!!

When I left off, we were cruising on Crescent Lake back to our resort.

The boat captains, “awesome” this trip! We even met a captain, who is a magician. More on that later! He was on our boat travels several times and what a hoot! He made our trip! We laughed so much at and with this guy!

He reminded us of an actor but we just couldn’t put our finger on it. He is mature with light red hair. If he is your captain, enjoy!

On the boat, I was checking the room on TP and it did look like it had a full balcony. It also was a dumb rooftop room with a peek a boo view of the main pool area. Okay not anywhere I requested but okay. I requested wooded back of resort like room 4532.

This room was on third floor 3725 was the room number.

We arrived and went up to the room. It was a smaller room without the daybed which was fine. The deck looked okay, however, there was a huge air exchange, vent system? Directly to the left of our balcony. It was loud and the smell coming from it was awful, it was like day old deep fryer grease and it just penetrated the room, if you opened the balcony door.


Pictures are from Touring Plans, I was just trying to figure out the situation and didn’t take any pictures of the deck. The smell was really bad and we shut the door right away.

As you can see from the pictures, if we looked straight ahead it was decent but to the left was the mechanical air exchange system. I’m not sure what caused the yucky grease smell but it was bad.

It was very disgusting and disappointing. D loves a balcony and if we are in the room she is out on it. We knew this wasn’t going to work. We also did not have the microwave and none of our MBs worked on the door. My phone finally worked to open the door.

I called guest services to let them know our concerns. I asked if there was any possibility of changing rooms.

There weren’t any full balcony rooms available now. I had, on my own, looked online and YC had a resort view room open for our dates. When I had originally booked I picked BC over YC because YC didn’t have any discounts.

I asked the CM about moving to YC and it was doable, yay!

The cost would be $25.00 less than BC, not sure how because online the rooms were not discounted so they must have gave me the AP discount??

We hadn’t called bell service yet so we didn’t have to move anything.

I got notified via text our room was 2128 at YC. We hoped and prayed it would be okay.

We walked over and the room was perfect. It was not too far from the lobby but not too close to be noisy. The microwave was there and our magic bands worked.

The YC ambiance was more to our liking! More chill and not as hectic, very few kids.

Somehow when we got to YC, the reservation changed to Donna LeMay. LeMay is our maiden name and we all have kept it in some form. It is my middle name now, same with H and D kept it as her last name even when she got married.

We called to get our luggage and groceries delivered to our room.

This did eat up a fair amount of time so going back to DHS was not going to happen.

Once our luggage and groceries arrived we settled in. We decided a drink was needed after all the changes.

Another nice thing about YC, the lounges and restaurants.

We went to check out the QS area and gift shop, I encouraged H to get a refillable mug. The QS has a freestyle Coke machine. She has never had one. She bought one. Our phrase this trip was “the magic band pays” . Our plan was to put everything on the room and split everything 3 ways at the end of the trip.

Once she had the mug, we headed over to Ale & Compass for some light bites and a drink.

The lounge was perfect. It was quiet and we found a nice table by the little fireplace. We didn’t feel any heat from it just the ambiance.

D and I ordered a dirty martini “extra dirty” with a higher end vodka. This was so good and smooth.

H got the Spicy Pomegranate Margarita

El Mayor Blanco Tequila, Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur, Pomegranate Juice, Simple Syrup, and fresh Lime Juice.

She really liked this. I thought it was good and a little spicy.

I wanted the Parker rolls but we had so much bread with our lunch we opted for Roasted "Buffalo-style" Cauliflower
with Hearts of Romaine and Herb Ranch

Roasted Garlic Shrimp
with House-made Focaccia.

Sorry for poor food pictures, I forgot my motto of the phone eats first, this evening.
Our food, drinks, and service were all really good.

This was the perfect way to start our vacation after the stressful room situation.

Spoiler, our room was very quiet and the wooded area around our balcony was perfect.

Stay tuned for our first full day. I learned a few things about touring with my sisters vs touring with Andi!

Rope drop was never going to happen and Genie+ and Fancy rides were a must! With Andi, it is almost a competition to do as much as we can, stack the LLs, rope drop, and stay out late. This trip was much slower paced but still loads of fun!

AK on a Monday, and yes we rode Dinosaur Does H like it? Coming up soon!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We arrived and went up to the room. It was a smaller room without the daybed which was fine. The deck looked okay, however, there was a huge air exchange, vent system? Directly to the left of our balcony. It was loud and the smell coming from it was awful, it was like day old deep fryer grease and it just penetrated the room, if you opened the balcony door.

These 3rd floor rooms at the Beach Club are the worst rooms. The flat roof is bad enough, but the addition of the vents and exhaust fans make it worse. I wish they would bring back the standard view category so that a resort view room doesn't get this view.

We walked over and the room was perfect. It was not too far from the lobby but not too close to be noisy. The microwave was there and our magic bands worked.

I'm glad that they were able to move you to a nice room at the YC.

Our food, drinks, and service were all really good.

This was the perfect way to start our vacation after the stressful room situation.

It looks like a perfect way to wind down from the stressful day.

Rope drop was never going to happen and Genie+ and Fancy rides were a must! With Andi, it is almost a competition to do as much as we can, stack the LLs, rope drop, and stay out late. This trip was much slower paced but still loads of fun!

We find that the less time we spend in a park, the more we enjoy the trip. But when we do a sisters' trip, we do more rides, not less.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

That looks like a lovely room at the Yacht Club! I agree that the view wasn’t too bad at the Beach Club, but the bad smell would’ve been a deal-breaker. I’m glad it worked out that you were able to switch resorts (and for less money, too!).

It’s too bad you missed out on your stacked lightning lanes at the Studios (did you get a refund for your Rise fancy ride?), but your dinner looked very tasty!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

So glad you got the room swapped out. I hate that you cannot differentiate between resort and standard views now when booking as I too love to sit on the balcony and would not want that smelly view.
YC is my favourite resort for all of the reasons you mentioned. Some of my fondest memories are from the A&C lounge. There was a great barmaid called Nicola the last few times we went and we always enjoyed the craic with her. You definitely deserved those drinks

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I'm so glad you got your room swapped!! And money back from the Mouse?? That just doesn't happen. I love the phrase "The magic band pays." However, I have found that gets me in trouble. I tend to lose sight of my budget that way. The one time I tried it, I about had a heart attack when I got my bill. Nope, I must pay out of my pocket right away. Or else, I'm not going back to Disney for a looooong time.

 

[jelona]

I have done everything in the past, touring plans, call in at 30 day mark, and preferences during online check in. TP use to work really well and the last several trips the room couldn’t be further from what I request with TP and when I have asked at the front desk, I have been told we don’t look at faxes from TP anymore How do you request? Curious to know what others do.

Oh No! i was really banking on TP for my request on my upcoming trip! It was the main reason i purchased it!
I've heard where others have said they request it on the app personally and it never worked, so i was hoping theirs would.

 

[vamassey1]

H has a dry eye condition and it really has been a pain for her, she has tried so many different things with minimal success. The warm compresses work the best and in Florida she said her eyes felt really good! Probably all the warm humid air!

My son has a different issue and has had surgery before. It really helps him to use the warm compress too.

I'm sure all the humidity in the air was great for H's eyes.

It was loud and the smell coming from it was awful, it was like day old deep fryer grease and it just penetrated the room, if you opened the balcony door.

That's just horrible.

The cost would be $25.00 less than BC, not sure how because online the rooms were not discounted so they must have gave me the AP discount??

I love when I can save money.

We walked over and the room was perfect. It was not too far from the lobby but not too close to be noisy. The microwave was there and our magic bands worked.

So happy to hear this.

This was the perfect way to start our vacation after the stressful room situation.

Now you're really ready to "do Disney".

 

[pkondz]

Sunday 4/28/24, Disney Trip commences!

Woot!!

bought Genie+ for us. It cost $27.00 per person for a total of $86.28 with tax.

Why is this extra? Remember paper FPs? Free! Remember????

Skycaps curbside check in was open so we used this service and it was super quick!

Nice little perk.

Next was security with TSA precheck and again nice and quick.

Always wish I could arrange for TSA precheck, but... not a thing here, I guess

I don’t know if it is Minnesota nice or what but TSA agents in Minnesota are so much nicer than the crabby ones at the Orlando airport!

Soon it was time to board the plane. We had comfort plus, yay! We had a row to ourselves with ample leg room.

Love flying "plus"... don't often get to do it, but when I do...

We ordered a morning cocktail, what says I’m on vacation then a boozy drink in the early morning,

Helen wanted to sleep so I drank her screw berry!

Wheee!!! Tipsy Caroline!

I watched Disney’s Wish movie. I thought it was okay, not great but enjoyable. I also fell asleep through some of it.

I haven't seen it... need to!

We landed at 1145 in Orlando, a few minutes early.

Early is always good.

In all my trips, I find this airport incredibly busy and somewhat disorganized compared to MSP.

That's a good description. I mean... it seems to work, but always feels like a bit of a mad house.

We got a Lyft XL with all our luggage. Our driver was Julio and with tip the cost was $56.09.

<sigh> Remember Disney Magical Express?

H has an eye condition and it requires a microwave for her treatment

H microwaves her eye?!?!?!?!?




Yes, I'm kidding.

This has been the case my last several resort stays. My requests are never noted.

Not cool.
Disney's customer service is just slipping more... and more... and...

We were really happy to be here.

I want to live in Epcot, can I? Security says no! Boo

Don't listen! Just move in! No one will notice.

We decided on
Les Halles.

I haven't eaten there in forever... and like you, I don't know why!

The drink was so good. I liked it better than the Frose at WBG. This is a must for our September trip.

Must remember this.

check out H’s Skyliner hair!

TSM was next. I got best in vehicle!

Good for you! Always nice to have bragging rights.

I got an immediate LL for Aliens SS. This ride makes me giggle

Coming up, the room debacle which led to the need for a dirty martini extra dirty!!

Oh, no...

 

[pkondz]

We even met a captain, who is a magician. More on that later!

He was on our boat travels several times and what a hoot! He made our trip! We laughed so much at and with this guy!

Great!

The deck looked okay, however, there was a huge air exchange, vent system? Directly to the left of our balcony. It was loud and the smell coming from it was awful, it was like day old deep fryer grease and it just penetrated the room, if you opened the balcony door.

Ew...
Nope!

We also did not have the microwave and none of our MBs worked on the door.

I asked the CM about moving to YC and it was doable, yay!

Phew! And, yay!

The cost would be $25.00 less than BC, not sure how because online the rooms were not discounted so they must have gave me the AP discount??

Less $$$? Yes, please!

The microwave was there and our magic bands worked.

Huh... interesting that the microwave was there and you didn't have to wait for it. Good, though!

Somehow when we got to YC, the reservation changed to Donna LeMay.

That's weird? Wonder why?

The QS has a freestyle Coke machine

Oh really! Nice!

Our phrase this trip was “the magic band pays”

Good plan!

we headed over to Ale & Compass

Heard so much about this place. Really need to get there.

we opted for Roasted "Buffalo-style" Cauliflower
with Hearts of Romaine and Herb Ranch

That sounds really interesting.

I forgot my motto of the phone eats first, this evening.

I learned a few things about touring with my sisters vs touring with Andi!

 

[Paulaparm]

Sorry to hear that you had to change resorts, but looks like it was worth it!

 

[disneyAndi14]

These 3rd floor rooms at the Beach Club are the worst rooms. The flat roof is bad enough, but the addition of the vents and exhaust fans make it worse. I wish they would bring back the standard view category so that a resort view room doesn't get this view.

We got the exact area I was dreading and hoping we wouldn’t get, ugh! The smell was the biggest downside yuck We might as well had a Juliet balcony because we were not using this one. My sister H said don’t you get upgrades or any VIP treatment for staying here so much? Haha I wish!

I'm glad that they were able to move you to a nice room at the YC.

I really had to do all the work and tell them I found a resort view room for our dates at YC, they really weren’t offering any help.

It looks like a perfect way to wind down from the stressful day.

It was nice to end the day with a good drink and light bites!

We find that the less time we spend in a park, the more we enjoy the trip. But when we do a sisters' trip, we do more rides, not less.

I didn’t mind the shorter park hours this trip. It was a nice mix of everything

That looks like a lovely room at the Yacht Club! I agree that the view wasn’t too bad at the Beach Club, but the bad smell would’ve been a deal-breaker. I’m glad it worked out that you were able to switch resorts (and for less money, too!).

Thank you I was happy to switch! It was just not going to work for us! YC worked out perfectly

It’s too bad you missed out on your stacked lightning lanes at the Studios (did you get a refund for your Rise fancy ride?), but your dinner looked very tasty!

I didn’t pay for a Rise LL, my strategy was to get in the SB line at the end of the night after our ToT LL. So we didn’t lose any money for the fancy ride!
The Ale lounge is a very nice laid back place to enjoy a drink at the end of the day!

 

[disneyAndi14]

So glad you got the room swapped out. I hate that you cannot differentiate between resort and standard views now when booking as I too love to sit on the balcony and would not want that smelly view.

I agree we use to always pick the garden/woods section and now if you don’t pay the $$$ bucks for water view some resorts have terrible view “standard rooms” We love a balcony we can use!

YC is my favourite resort for all of the reasons you mentioned. Some of my fondest memories are from the A&C lounge. There was a great barmaid called Nicola the last few times we went and we always enjoyed the craic with her. You definitely deserved those drinks

Andi and I have always loved YC, YC and GF are still my two favorites. I didn’t catch the name of our server but she was a gem! The drinks and food were a perfect way to end the night

I'm so glad you got your room swapped!! And money back from the Mouse?? That just doesn't happen. I love the phrase "The magic band pays." However, I have found that gets me in trouble.

Haha I have always put everything on the MB and pay at the end with my Gift Cards. It works fine for us, we really don’t spend more than we would buying separately. Plus I keep a running total checking my balance every night!

tend to lose sight of my budget that way. The one time I tried it, I about had a heart attack when I got my bill. Nope, I must pay out of my pocket right away. Or else, I'm not going back to Disney for a looooong time.

I always set a rough budget with my gift cards and stay within that. It has been more expensive the last few years with Andi drinking alcohol

Oh No! i was really banking on TP for my request on my upcoming trip! It was the main reason i purchased it!

Hopefully it works for you! It seems the deluxe resorts don’t even look at TP requests anymore per my experience. It sounds like the chat feature on the Disney website is working for people? I have never tried that, may need to

I've heard where others have said they request it on the app personally and it never worked, so i was hoping theirs would.

App, TP, and calling all for the same area and requests still haven’t worked for me lately ugh

My son has a different issue and has had surgery before. It really helps him to use the warm compress too.

H has had several different procedures done and the compresses work the best.

I'm sure all the humidity in the air was great for H's eyes.

I told her she needs to move down there

That's just horrible.

The room was not good! Smell horrible

I love when I can save money.

Same!

Now you're really ready to "do Disney".

We were ready and happy with the change to the YC!