Going on 4-5 hours sleep (kind of like now!) I was looking forward to that whole "resting" thing. I got comfy on the sofa - and then promptly remembered how hungry I was. So was Brian. (No breakfast.) Naturally, we did our customary welcome shot of Crown Royal Vanilla. We had the Disney info channels on in the background, and I took out my phone to find food at the resort, as Brian started to doze off while sitting up in a chair.
There were 2 or 3 (I think one was closed?) places to eat, but only one had mobile ordering - P & J's. Unfamiliar with the resort, I took my usual 365 days to pick out what to order (even though there was a pulled pork sandwich on the menu, and you knew I was going to get the pulled pork sandwich.) I placed the order and paid with my rewards card. It was a modest $20+ dollars total. Knowing I couldn't be far from the restaurant, wherever it was, I clicked to indicate I was already there, figuring by the time I get there, it would be ready. Easy peasy!
I'm not going to say everything I experienced and did in the next paragraphs was cool. OK, none of it was cool. But - little sleep, no food, a delicious shot of Crown Royal Vanilla (am I getting royalties yet?) on an empty stomach - and I was hangry with a twist and a shot. Have you ever noticed - getting stressed makes that worse? But why would I get stressed?
One of the first things someone on this site told me when I said I had booked the cabins was a kind of cryptic "rent a golf cart. It will be easier to get around." I had seen the golf cart lot on the way in. Didn't see a posted price (are they free? I still don't know.) But why would we need a golf cart? We were only here for two nights, we had Brian's car, which is only a little bigger than a golf cart, and that had done me just fine so far in getting to the cabin, checking in, and shopping. I figured they were mainly for people without cars who had flown in, etc.
I'm not the best with directions, but I used the WDW app map to guide me to the restaurant (quick serve?) Turns out it was kind of far - the complete opposite end of the resort. But the route kind of dead-ended. I saw where it should be, and it looked like it was there on the other end of a lot, but how do you get in? I saw a couple of golf carts go in via a space too small for the car, and got that sinking feeling. Could it be? No way - it's the only mobile order place...I started driving back and forth, and around in circles trying to find a way into the area where the food was. I got the update on my phone that our food was ready. I was starving now. Could I park in one of these empty spaces and walk over to get it? Didn't seem right. They were trailer lots. What if someone came back or checked in? Could I park on the side of the road? Didn't seem prudent. What were these people thinking of me as they saw me drive back and forth, stubbornly, about 10 times?
Not knowing what else to do, I called the resort from the car. I figured I must be missing the entrance. There had to be an entrance - it's the only place with mobile ordering. A gentleman answered the phone, and I explained I had placed an order for food but didn't know how to get it, and how silly that must sound. He asked if the delivery driver was at the check-in building. What? No, I ordered using your mobile app. P & J's.
"Oh, you can't bring your car there."
What? But my food is ready and I'm right here. What am I supposed to do?
"Go back to your cabin and take a bus back."
Seriously? But my food is ready now. That will take ten minutes to drive back if I don't get lost, fifteen to twenty more to wait for a bus, ten to fifteen to get back, and my food will be old by then. Pulled pork, where are you?! I'm coming, baby!!
But I wasn't coming. I knew that wouldn't work after doing the math. Reluctantly, I asked how to just get a refund instead, and I'd have to figure out something else.
"Oh, I can't give you a refund." OK, how do I get a refund? "From the venue." OK, how do I contact P&J's? "You can't." OK, how do I let them know I need a refund? "You tell them." HOW DO I TELL THEM IF I CAN'T PARK AND CAN'T CALL?
"You drive back to your cabin and take a bus back."
!
!!!
Just for the refund? "Yes."
I'm sorry, I need a supervisor. "Blah blah blah..." No, I need a supervisor. Supervisor comes on the phone. I explain what is going on, I constructively suggest if there was any messaging anywhere - in the app, on the info flyer, anywhere - to say this venue was inaccessible by car, that would have worked and I would have ordered elsewhere. I said I could not believe what I was experiencing right now lol. We just wanted lunch, I thought this would have been simple. I said I was sorry for sounding "like this." She said she could do the refund. (Woo hoo!) Not my preferred resolution (pulled pork!) but thank you, I'll take it! Turned out she over-refunded on purpose. So that covered most of our parking fees. I actually told her, no really, it was in the $20 range, there was no reason to do any more than an exact refund - but I took too long fumbling in the app while driving to find the exact amount, and in the meantime, she had already credited me $50.
I found my way back to the room, walked in and told Brian, "Well, I have no food. But I have a story. But first, I'm pouring."