Trip Report Hurricanes, Foot Pains and “What The Crocs Just Happened?” Anniversary Tale – A Sept/Irma 2017 TR (COMPLETED)

So here we are again… Another amazing trip is over.

My original title for the is report was:

The Best-Laid Plans Of The Mouse & Men… because so many of our carefully thought out schedules & plans were completely turned upside down by Irma and other “forces” along the way.

However, Ross and Julia who do not share my love for Robert Burns or John Steinbeck vetoed that and came up with their own title.

Before I begin our tale, I want to express and offer our thoughts and prayers to all who suffered in Hurricane Irma as well as Harvey & Maria. There are times when I joke about the fact that we were in Florida during the hurricane, but in no way do I not realize the devastation that was caused to so many.

That being said... Let the Trip Report begin! Who’s in?

 

[Figment Forever]

Day 2 September 9th Continued...

It was around 4:30 when we got back to our room and when we walked in…. NO LUGGAGE!! Are you serious??? I was mad. The guy had our stuff on a cart and say he was going right over to our new room – that was at 9:AM… what happened?

I tried to call Bell Services, but I couldn’t get through – they actually hung up on me - so I walked to the lobby leaving the girls to relax in the room. I got to Bell Services and asked what was going on. There were 2 young CM’s at the desk who checked on our stuff and told me that it was on a cart but they couldn’t tell me when it would be delivered because they sent home all of the Bell service CM’s except for one. I was really upset. I told them they had 7 ½ hours to get it to our new room and their answer was not good enough. Then I asked for a supervisor.

A woman walked out and I told her our luggage was on a cart heading to our room at 9:00AM this morning and it still didn’t get there. I told her there was medication in our luggage and I needed it delivered ASAP. Now, it may have been a little fib – I did have medication packed in case of colds, sore throats, fevers, etc… but none of us are on a daily dose of anything – except vitamins and supplements. But I knew that would give it more of a priority. However, by now, I had such a headache, I really needed an Ibuprofen. So maybe it wasn’t a fib.

The supervisor apologized and said it would delivered NOW. I went back to the room and sure enough, it was there within a few minutes.

Before I returned to the room, I checked with Boatwrights to see if they were still serving dinner. Well, the answer was yes and no. They would only serve a limited menu which consisted of this…

Julia and I were very disappointed. Probably as much as Hope with the Minnie Van. We were so looking forward to this dinner; we even had our meals and desserts picked out!

Since no one was thrilled with their limited choices, we discussed whether we should try to go eat at DS – which was closing at 9PM or just eat in the food court. Since we all wanted to take a quick swim, we decided on the food court. However, before we ate – since we no longer had an ADR, we wanted to cool off in the pool.

Hope really wanted to go to the playground before the pool but I needed to go back to the foodcourt so I could pick up a few more food items for the next 2 days. So I asked Julia to take her to the playground for a few minutes and I would meet them there.

In a corner area of the dining room, they had set up a “hurricane” food section.

They had bagged breakfasts and lunches for $6.00 each. The lunches consisted of a sandwich, full size bottle of water, a Kind Bar – (my favorite), a cookie and a bag of chips. There were several sandwich options and a sepreate table set up with each variety of bags. They also have a couple of displays of snacks and bakery items. They accepted the dining plan as well.

I picked up 3 of the Turkey Sandwich Bags because both the girls like Turkey. I quickly dropped them off in our room and headed back to the playground.

As I was walking over , I saw the girls in the pool so I went over to them so Julia could be “off duty”. The pool felt so good! It was so incredibly hot out!! We swam for about an hour and then returned to the room and changed.

 

[Figment Forever]

After we changed, we made our way to the food court for dinner. The entire food court had a limited menu tonight. Hope got Mac&Cheese, Julia got a flatbread and I got a burger.

I was glad I purchased our hurricane bags earlier, because they were PACKED! I saw some people buying up to 10 bags! The employees kept bringing out more – I never saw a short supply of anything!

We went to the gift shop and looked around a little bit. I wanted Hope to buy her autograph book so we could be prepared for our first character breakfast.

I was glad to see they finally had a new design for the princess autograph book, but I don't understand why Disney doesn't make a "boys" version - or just a non Princess version. I know Julia would love one with Mickey & Friends on the cover and I would think a pirate themed one would be a popular choice too. Just my ramblings...

 

[Figment Forever]

After we made our purchases, we went back to the food court for dessert.

Finally, we returned to our room.

The night was peaceful & beautiful - I guess this is what they mean by the calm before the storm.

Once back at the room, Hope settled in to watching Duffy – over and over again! Julia relaxed and listened to her I-Pod and I started to get all our stuff unpacked.

It was around 10PM when the girls drifted off to sleep. I stayed up and finished unpacking and setting up the room. I moved the table & chairs by the bathroom area and away from the windows and pushed the bench over to where the table was.

I messaged my friend down in Tampa. I texted back and forth with all my “worried” friends. I also spoke to Ross and of course my parents.

I went to sleep feeling bad about worrying all my family & friends and hoping I didn't make the wrong decision to come down to WDW early.

Tomorrow Irma would strike Florida.

 

[Tuvalu]

I think I know the reason behind your undelivered luggage. Only DME bags with the yellow tags are allowed to be placed in guest rooms when the owners are not in the room. With any other luggage delivery from Bell Services someone must be present in the room when the luggage arrives. This is for security purposes and ensures that the valet has the opportunity to receive a gratuity.

As I was reading the part where you mentioned going off to the park without stopping in your room first (when the valet had your luggage on a cart) I thought, “Uh-Oh.” Unfortunately what I suspected would happen with your luggage did. Bell Services should have told you that if you weren’t in your room, your luggage would not be delivered. You had every right to be angry since you had no way of knowing otherwise. I am glad you did not have to wait too long once the mix-up was corrected. My family wasn’t so fortunate when it happened to us.

I also wish the CM you spoke to about the Minnie vans had told you which resorts were participating in the pilot program....because you could have ridden in a Minnie Van from Beach Club back to POR.

 

[Figment Forever]

I think I know the reason behind your undelivered luggage. Only DME bags with the yellow tags are allowed to be placed in guest rooms when the owners are not in the room. With any other luggage delivery from Bell Services someone must be present in the room when the luggage arrives. This is for security purposes and ensures that the valet has the opportunity to receive a gratuity.

As I was reading the part where you mentioned going off to the park without stopping in your room first (when the valet had your luggage on a cart) I thought, “Uh-Oh.” Unfortunately what I suspected would happen with your luggage did. Bell Services should have told you that if you weren’t in your room, your luggage would not be delivered. You had every right to be angry since you had no way of knowing otherwise. I am glad you did not have to wait too long once the mix-up was corrected. My family wasn’t so fortunate when it happened to us.

I also wish the CM you spoke to about the Minnie vans had told you which resorts were participating in the pilot program....because you could have ridden in a Minnie Van from Beach Club back to POR.

Oh man.... - I wish I would have known that about Bell Services! Thanks for the info - at least I know for next time.

And a double about the Minnie Van. The CM on the phone actually told me I had to be "staying" at one of the participating resorts.

Next time I need to send an emergency message to @Tuvalu when I'm having WDW issues!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Wow!! That's awesome that Disney was so prepared for their guests with this hurricane!! I'm so sorry about your luggage! @Tuvalu all your experience pays off! That's a really interesting fact about luggage delivery!

I'm so sorry both you and @Figment Forever both had a rough time with the luggage!

Eager to hear how you rode out the hurricane!

 

[Bullseye1967]

Now I am not going to be able to sleep in anticipation of whats to come

 

[krisri18]

Late to the party but following along! Love your trip report so far, your girls look so happy! I work at a group home for teens with special needs, it's nice to see your daughter enjoying herself!

 

[fractal]

great pics in front of DHS.

Glad you got to do Fantasia Gardens - still on my to do list.

Hope and Julia look like they were having a blast!

I'm sure that was a nervous night for you.

 

[DisneyJeff]

It looks like Hope is ready to buy DVC!!!

 

[PacNWTigger]

I'm late to the party, but I am all caught up. Hope is really blossoming, and Julia is growing up so dang fast! Sorry for the "like" overload.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I loved Tiana's letter, but I thought it would be a "real" letter - not something painted on the table. lol

View attachment 236641

I stayed in the royal rooms once and we did get a real letter from Tiana. That's too bad that they changed that. I guess it just cost too much giving people a piece of paper

 

[Figment Forever]

Wow!! That's awesome that Disney was so prepared for their guests with this hurricane!! I'm so sorry about your luggage! @Tuvalu all your experience pays off! That's a really interesting fact about luggage delivery!

I'm so sorry both you and @Figment Forever both had a rough time with the luggage!

Eager to hear how you rode out the hurricane!

Yes - I can't say enough how well Disney handled Irma. The luggage issue was annoying, but I'm glad I know what to do from now on.

Now I am not going to be able to sleep in anticipation of whats to come

Sorry to keep you hanging @Bullseye1967 - I'm hoping to post day 3 tonight!

Late to the party but following along! Love your trip report so far, your girls look so happy! I work at a group home for teens with special needs, it's nice to see your daughter enjoying herself!

We all had a great time - it's a great break from reality. Thanks for following along!

great pics in front of DHS.

Glad you got to do Fantasia Gardens - still on my to do list.

Hope and Julia look like they were having a blast!

I'm sure that was a nervous night for you.

I would defiantly recommend Fantasia Gardens. I was really nervous - the most being the night of the 10th as it was hitting.

It looks like Hope is ready to buy DVC!!!

Well, she has made the announcement that she is moving to Florida in 10 years! And she also has asked if we can do "the DVC tour" on our next trip! lol

I'm late to the party, but I am all caught up. Hope is really blossoming, and Julia is growing up so dang fast! Sorry for the "like" overload.

Thanks for following! I enjoy the "like" overload. It's fun to see so many alerts. lol

I stayed in the royal rooms once and we did get a real letter from Tiana. That's too bad that they changed that. I guess it just cost too much giving people a piece of paper

Oh... what a shame. I think a "real" letter would have been so cool in her scrapbook.

 

[Figment Forever]

Day 3: Sunday, September 10th

I didn’t really set any alarm today since I knew we weren’t going anywhere. I woke up probably around 8AM and the girls woke up soon after me. We all took our time getting ready for the day. The Resort Channel 3 was saying that there was limited dining available until 1PM then later, it would change until 3PM. Even though, we had enough food in our room, I figured we should go down and be out of our room as long as possible.

The rain had started so we threw on our ponchos and walked to the main building.

We took some of the food we had with us so I didn’t have to purchase too much. When we got there, it was INSANE – so busy! But I guess that makes sense - there was no where else to go!

I assigned Julia at finding a table, which she was getting very good at! Lol Hope and I took a look at what they had. We got a bounty platter to split between us along with the other stuff we brought from the room.

The make-shift bagged meals section was still crazy busy! We took our time and then decided to go check out the gift shop before heading back to our room. The pool was open, but it had started to rain so we had decided against that.

Just as we were ready to head back to our room, we head music coming from the lobby area. Sure enough, Chip & Dale were there dancing with everyone.

Hope loved dancing with Chip & Dale.

 

[Figment Forever]

CM’s set up tables with kids activities and other CM’s were doing games with the kids. After a while of doing craft activities, the CM’s set up in the lounge/bar area and ran bingo & Disney music trivia.

We also found out that the arcade was on FREE play. So we headed there for a while too.

 

[Figment Forever]

The Resort had signs up with the latest info.

A parade through the lobby.

The Cm's were just awesome! Some people were saying that they were the lifegaurds and the CM's who run all the pool games.

Julia decided to color a mask.

We made our rounds and did the circuit (games / gift shop/ activities) a couple of times before filing up our mugs and heading back to our room – it was about 2:00PM.

 

[Figment Forever]

We looked around the gift shop, but didn't buy anything.

It was still odd to see dogs in the resort.

It was POURING when we left and the wind was starting to pick up.

There were a whole bunch of utility workers hanging around.

 

[WallyWorld]

"Fibbing" about medication necessity....hope it didn't detract from guests who weren't "fibbing" about problems and really needed help

 

[A.D.D. Boy]

"Fibbing" about medication necessity....hope it didn't detract from guests who weren't "fibbing" about problems and really needed help

"Lighten up, Francis..."

 

[Gabe1]

Well I am in and caught up. We were at WDW too for Irma. Family wanted us to leave. I kept telling them we were fine. By Monday I was annoyed with the constant texts of panic. My Mom informed me WDW didn't have power. Yeah we did. Riding rides on Tuesday and Wednesday I was still receiving panic texts if we were okay and when were we getting out. Nobody liked my reply of in a week. Lol. We normally stay at POR but we were at the WL this time. We didn't get sent to our room until 930 pm Sunday and when I woke on Monday the Sun was out I slept through Irma!!! Frankly it was so pretty Monday and resort suffered only minor stuff I got stir crazy as pools needed cleaning. When the curfew was lifted at 6pm we caught an Uber and resort hopped for dinner at Contemporary Drinking at Sams at Poly and shopping at GF. A break from Irma

Can't wait to read more