Trip Report The Never-Ending Summer Of Disney *COMPLETED*

Seriously?!!

Can you believe it??

BC7AE996-5BB5-4770-9C10-F20CE1197633.jpeg

This is jaw-dropping news!!

If only.

Two things in life give me the blues ~ the end of summer and the end of a Disney vacation. A never-ending summer of Disney would be a dream come true! But I am certainly happy to “settle” for a WDW vacay in June....in July....and in August. 😊And rather than write three separate trip reports (and annoy @amjt660 when my *COMPLETED* report really isn’t 😉) I decided to take @Rista1313 ’s suggestion and post an ongoing travelogue, à la @blgauger style.

So let’s get started!

Vacation #1
June 16-24, 2018
Tuvalu, Woody and Em get pampered at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Was there rain? Any snarky Cast Members? Ridiculous guest behavior? A Magic meet-up? How many times did we watch Happily Ever After?

You’ll have to follow along to find out.
 
Click to expand...
disneyworlddad

disneyworlddad

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
Would this have been better? Cause she was the female choice. 😉
View attachment 321651

P.S. ~ I have that Nancy Drew book, along with about 50 others. She didn’t cross my mind. :facepalm:
Click to expand...

I got both the Columbo and Murder She Wrote references. I'm only 31 but people say I have an old soul.

Btw I got my fourth Big Thunder ride this weekend! And it was at night too! Would have been five but the wife wasn't feeling good after the first go round so we decided to leave. We rode Splash just before that and saw fireworks going off just as we hit splash down. Being back there at night I can see why that is one of your favorite places to watch fireworks from.
 
riverside

riverside

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
I have that Nancy Drew book, along with about 50 others.
Click to expand...
I have the whole set in boxes in my attic. When I was a kid I loved reading them. My great-aunt Sophie would buy them for me at flea markets. She had a list of all the books & would check them off as she got them. I loved those books!! For my sisters baby showers--when you bring a book for the baby--I would get them the starter set of the first 5 Nancy Drew books. I always hoped some of them would take an interest in reading them. I'm sure you figured out that so far none of them have since they are still in my attic.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
PacNWTigger said:
I was always more of a Trixie Belden fan.

51qEru1J17L._SX318_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
Click to expand...
This is the first I've heard of Trixie Belden.....obviously a Nancy Drew WANNABE. :joyfull:

PacNWTigger said:
I agree that Angela Lansbury is a more appropriate @Tuvalu reference. :cat:
Click to expand...
Because I'm an OLD LADY?? :jawdrop: :hilarious:

riverside said:
I have the whole set in boxes in my attic. When I was a kid I loved reading them. My great-aunt Sophie would buy them for me at flea markets. She had a list of all the books & would check them off as she got them. I loved those books!! For my sisters baby showers--when you bring a book for the baby--I would get them the starter set of the first 5 Nancy Drew books. I always hoped some of them would take an interest in reading them. I'm sure you figured out that so far none of them have since they are still in my attic.
Click to expand...
This makes me :cry:.
 
disneyworlddad

disneyworlddad

Well-Known Member
riverside said:
I have the whole set in boxes in my attic. When I was a kid I loved reading them. My great-aunt Sophie would buy them for me at flea markets. She had a list of all the books & would check them off as she got them. I loved those books!! For my sisters baby showers--when you bring a book for the baby--I would get them the starter set of the first 5 Nancy Drew books. I always hoped some of them would take an interest in reading them. I'm sure you figured out that so far none of them have since they are still in my attic.
Click to expand...

Not to hijack the thread but bringing a book instead of a card is a great idea for a baby shower. It costs about the same and you write a note to the new baby and parents inside about why you bought the book. We did this for my son and we loved it. The guests loved it too. Now we are reading him the notes as we read the books again and he knows who the people are.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
AND WE’RE BACK!!! :cat:

Wednesday, con’t

I admit I was a bit worried that the Emporium wouldn’t have the exact Minnie band that needed to be replaced. I really liked that white band! Could it be possible that the battery was dead? But I’d only purchased the band in April! Why had it suddenly stopped working? Was it just a lemon?

So many thoughts running through my mind.

It took a few moments for us to find the MagicBand display.

And there it was. :inlove:

ED413349-5507-4269-A999-1B6903141CA0.jpeg


Woody couldn’t believe the transaction was as simple as handing the CM my voucher. Since we were leaving the park, I decided keep the band in its original packaging and link it myself once we got home.

And now, for @MinnieM123 and any other sleuths out there, the REST OF THE STORY.

I threw away my “broken” band when I unpacked. A few days later I opened my new band and logged into my MDE account....where I discovered that every MagicBand from 2017 and 2018 was missing from my account. (Bands from 2013-2016 were still there, listed as Inactive since I had previously deactivated them.) A few of the “missing” bands were decorated with stickers that I planned to wear again. I decided to stay calm and fetched my decorative bands from the drawer.

I’ll just re-link them to my account, I thought smugly.

First I linked my new Minnie band....no problem! Then I linked my Christmas-stickered band....success! But when I attempted to link the others I kept getting an error message. Rather than become exasperated, I decided to “let it go” and simply order new stickers for future bands.

The following week these forums began to blow up with complaints of messed up resort reservations, friends and family members no longer linked, the inability to make fastpasses, missing fastpasses, missing ADRs ~ all due to “Magical Enhancements” to My Disney Experience. People were infuriated....and rightly so! I was reading of hours-long waits on the phone to Disney IT to get issues resolved ~ and sometimes it took more than one phone call.

I remember having a conversation with Woody about the MDE mess and smugly saying, “But everything is fine in my account.”

Until I went in to renew my AP.

In the past when I have renewed my AP, the new AP immediately appeared in my MDE account alongside the other ticket media (current AP, MVMCP ticket, Em’s AP). The renewal was automatically linked and I only had to stop by Guest Relations to pick up the yellow discount card.

However, this time I got a message saying I needed to go to Guest Relations in order to activate my AP.

Weird.

Em’s AP is on the same renewal schedule as mine. When she renewed her AP, the new pass appeared in MDE linked and ready to go. No message to stop at Guest Relations to activate it.

I had a BIG problem. Without an “active” AP, I would not be able to make 60 Day fastpasses.

And my 60 days was less than a week away.

So I picked up the phone and dialed Disney. My estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Thirty minutes later my call was answered. I explained that I had renewed my AP but it wasn’t listed. My call was transferred....and the connection was lost. 😡

I redialed. Once again my estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Twenty-five minutes later my call was answered. I explained my issue again and added that this was my SECOND call as the first call had been disconnected. The CM was very empathetic and promised to stay on the line with me. He could see that an AP had been purchased but (as I suspected) was not “active.”

He asked if there was a reference number on my receipt and I gave it to him. “Weird,” he said. “I cannot get that code to link.”

Tuvalu broke My Disney Experience. Again!!

Over the course of the next two hours (most of it “on hold”) the CM and someone in IT worked on my account without success. The CM said my problem was now “escalated” and it could take as long as 72 hours before someone would get back to me.

In the meantime the clock was ticking down to FP day.
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
AND WE’RE BACK!!! :cat:

Wednesday, con’t

I admit I was a bit worried that the Emporium wouldn’t have the exact Minnie band that needed to be replaced. I really liked that white band! Could it be possible that the battery was dead? But I’d only purchased the band in April! Why had it suddenly stopped working? Was it just a lemon?

So many thoughts running through my mind.

It took a few moments for us to find the MagicBand display.

And there it was. :inlove:

View attachment 321849

Woody couldn’t believe the transaction was as simple as handing the CM my voucher. Since we were leaving the park, I decided keep the band in its original packaging and link it myself once we got home.

And now, for @MinnieM123 and any other sleuths out there, the REST OF THE STORY.

I threw away my “broken” band when I unpacked. A few days later I opened my new band and logged into my MDE account....where I discovered that every MagicBand from 2017 and 2018 was missing from my account. (Bands from 2013-2016 were still there, listed as Inactive since I had previously deactivated them.) A few of the “missing” bands were decorated with stickers that I planned to wear again. I decided to stay calm and fetched my decorative bands from the drawer.

I’ll just re-link them to my account, I thought smugly.

First I linked my new Minnie band....no problem! Then I linked my Christmas-stickered band....success! But when I attempted to link the others I kept getting an error message. Rather than become exasperated, I decided to “let it go” and simply order new stickers for future bands.

The following week these forums began to blow up with complaints of messed up resort reservations, friends and family members no longer linked, the inability to make fastpasses, missing fastpasses, missing ADRs ~ all due to “Magical Enhancements” to My Disney Experience. People were infuriated....and rightly so! I was reading of hours-long waits on the phone to Disney IT to get issues resolved ~ and sometimes it took more than one phone call.

I remember having a conversation with Woody about the MDE mess and smugly saying, “But everything is fine in my account.”

Until I went in to renew my AP.

In the past when I have renewed my AP, the new AP immediately appeared in my MDE account alongside the other ticket media (current AP, MVMCP ticket, Em’s AP). The renewal was automatically linked and I only had to stop by Guest Relations to pick up the yellow discount card.

However, this time I got a message saying I needed to go to Guest Relations in order to activate my AP.

Weird.

Em’s AP is on the same renewal schedule as mine. When she renewed her AP, the new pass appeared in MDE linked and ready to go. No message to stop at Guest Relations to activate it.

I had a BIG problem. Without an “active” AP, I would not be able to make 60 Day fastpasses.

And my 60 days was less than a week away.

So I picked up the phone and dialed Disney. My estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Thirty minutes later my call was answered. I explained that I had renewed my AP but it wasn’t listed. My call was transferred....and the connection was lost. 😡

I redialed. Once again my estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Twenty-five minutes later my call was answered. I explained my issue again and added that this was my SECOND call as the first call had been disconnected. The CM was very empathetic and promised to stay on the line with me. He could see that an AP had been purchased but (as I suspected) was not “active.”

He asked if there was a reference number on my receipt and I gave it to him. “Weird,” he said. “I cannot get that code to link.”

Tuvalu broke My Disney Experience. Again!!

Over the course of the next two hours (most of it “on hold”) the CM and someone in IT worked on my account without success. The CM said my problem was now “escalated” and it could take as long as 72 hours before someone would get back to me.

In the meantime the clock was ticking down to FP day.
Click to expand...

Ugh! I can't "like" that post!!!! :facepalm: :banghead: What a nightmare. Call me a dinosaur, but I seriously wish they'd do away with all these "enhancements" and just let people buy park tickets, and give them keys or cards to access their hotel rooms. Sorry you had to deal with this mess--NOT a fun way to spend a vacation!!
 
ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
AND WE’RE BACK!!! :cat:

Wednesday, con’t

I admit I was a bit worried that the Emporium wouldn’t have the exact Minnie band that needed to be replaced. I really liked that white band! Could it be possible that the battery was dead? But I’d only purchased the band in April! Why had it suddenly stopped working? Was it just a lemon?

So many thoughts running through my mind.

It took a few moments for us to find the MagicBand display.

And there it was. :inlove:

View attachment 321849

Woody couldn’t believe the transaction was as simple as handing the CM my voucher. Since we were leaving the park, I decided keep the band in its original packaging and link it myself once we got home.

And now, for @MinnieM123 and any other sleuths out there, the REST OF THE STORY.

I threw away my “broken” band when I unpacked. A few days later I opened my new band and logged into my MDE account....where I discovered that every MagicBand from 2017 and 2018 was missing from my account. (Bands from 2013-2016 were still there, listed as Inactive since I had previously deactivated them.) A few of the “missing” bands were decorated with stickers that I planned to wear again. I decided to stay calm and fetched my decorative bands from the drawer.

I’ll just re-link them to my account, I thought smugly.

First I linked my new Minnie band....no problem! Then I linked my Christmas-stickered band....success! But when I attempted to link the others I kept getting an error message. Rather than become exasperated, I decided to “let it go” and simply order new stickers for future bands.

The following week these forums began to blow up with complaints of messed up resort reservations, friends and family members no longer linked, the inability to make fastpasses, missing fastpasses, missing ADRs ~ all due to “Magical Enhancements” to My Disney Experience. People were infuriated....and rightly so! I was reading of hours-long waits on the phone to Disney IT to get issues resolved ~ and sometimes it took more than one phone call.

I remember having a conversation with Woody about the MDE mess and smugly saying, “But everything is fine in my account.”

Until I went in to renew my AP.

In the past when I have renewed my AP, the new AP immediately appeared in my MDE account alongside the other ticket media (current AP, MVMCP ticket, Em’s AP). The renewal was automatically linked and I only had to stop by Guest Relations to pick up the yellow discount card.

However, this time I got a message saying I needed to go to Guest Relations in order to activate my AP.

Weird.

Em’s AP is on the same renewal schedule as mine. When she renewed her AP, the new pass appeared in MDE linked and ready to go. No message to stop at Guest Relations to activate it.

I had a BIG problem. Without an “active” AP, I would not be able to make 60 Day fastpasses.

And my 60 days was less than a week away.

So I picked up the phone and dialed Disney. My estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Thirty minutes later my call was answered. I explained that I had renewed my AP but it wasn’t listed. My call was transferred....and the connection was lost. 😡

I redialed. Once again my estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Twenty-five minutes later my call was answered. I explained my issue again and added that this was my SECOND call as the first call had been disconnected. The CM was very empathetic and promised to stay on the line with me. He could see that an AP had been purchased but (as I suspected) was not “active.”

He asked if there was a reference number on my receipt and I gave it to him. “Weird,” he said. “I cannot get that code to link.”

Tuvalu broke My Disney Experience. Again!!

Over the course of the next two hours (most of it “on hold”) the CM and someone in IT worked on my account without success. The CM said my problem was now “escalated” and it could take as long as 72 hours before someone would get back to me.

In the meantime the clock was ticking down to FP day.
Click to expand...

Sorry can't give you a like for this, it sounds like an exhausting hassle.
 
krisri18

krisri18

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
AND WE’RE BACK!!! :cat:

Wednesday, con’t

I admit I was a bit worried that the Emporium wouldn’t have the exact Minnie band that needed to be replaced. I really liked that white band! Could it be possible that the battery was dead? But I’d only purchased the band in April! Why had it suddenly stopped working? Was it just a lemon?

So many thoughts running through my mind.

It took a few moments for us to find the MagicBand display.

And there it was. :inlove:

View attachment 321849

Woody couldn’t believe the transaction was as simple as handing the CM my voucher. Since we were leaving the park, I decided keep the band in its original packaging and link it myself once we got home.

And now, for @MinnieM123 and any other sleuths out there, the REST OF THE STORY.

I threw away my “broken” band when I unpacked. A few days later I opened my new band and logged into my MDE account....where I discovered that every MagicBand from 2017 and 2018 was missing from my account. (Bands from 2013-2016 were still there, listed as Inactive since I had previously deactivated them.) A few of the “missing” bands were decorated with stickers that I planned to wear again. I decided to stay calm and fetched my decorative bands from the drawer.

I’ll just re-link them to my account, I thought smugly.

First I linked my new Minnie band....no problem! Then I linked my Christmas-stickered band....success! But when I attempted to link the others I kept getting an error message. Rather than become exasperated, I decided to “let it go” and simply order new stickers for future bands.

The following week these forums began to blow up with complaints of messed up resort reservations, friends and family members no longer linked, the inability to make fastpasses, missing fastpasses, missing ADRs ~ all due to “Magical Enhancements” to My Disney Experience. People were infuriated....and rightly so! I was reading of hours-long waits on the phone to Disney IT to get issues resolved ~ and sometimes it took more than one phone call.

I remember having a conversation with Woody about the MDE mess and smugly saying, “But everything is fine in my account.”

Until I went in to renew my AP.

In the past when I have renewed my AP, the new AP immediately appeared in my MDE account alongside the other ticket media (current AP, MVMCP ticket, Em’s AP). The renewal was automatically linked and I only had to stop by Guest Relations to pick up the yellow discount card.

However, this time I got a message saying I needed to go to Guest Relations in order to activate my AP.

Weird.

Em’s AP is on the same renewal schedule as mine. When she renewed her AP, the new pass appeared in MDE linked and ready to go. No message to stop at Guest Relations to activate it.

I had a BIG problem. Without an “active” AP, I would not be able to make 60 Day fastpasses.

And my 60 days was less than a week away.

So I picked up the phone and dialed Disney. My estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Thirty minutes later my call was answered. I explained that I had renewed my AP but it wasn’t listed. My call was transferred....and the connection was lost. 😡

I redialed. Once again my estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Twenty-five minutes later my call was answered. I explained my issue again and added that this was my SECOND call as the first call had been disconnected. The CM was very empathetic and promised to stay on the line with me. He could see that an AP had been purchased but (as I suspected) was not “active.”

He asked if there was a reference number on my receipt and I gave it to him. “Weird,” he said. “I cannot get that code to link.”

Tuvalu broke My Disney Experience. Again!!

Over the course of the next two hours (most of it “on hold”) the CM and someone in IT worked on my account without success. The CM said my problem was now “escalated” and it could take as long as 72 hours before someone would get back to me.

In the meantime the clock was ticking down to FP day.
Click to expand...
Just want to clarify that I Liked that you got a new Minnie Band, NOT that MDE broke.
 
93boomer

93boomer

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
AND WE’RE BACK!!! :cat:

Wednesday, con’t

I admit I was a bit worried that the Emporium wouldn’t have the exact Minnie band that needed to be replaced. I really liked that white band! Could it be possible that the battery was dead? But I’d only purchased the band in April! Why had it suddenly stopped working? Was it just a lemon?

So many thoughts running through my mind.

It took a few moments for us to find the MagicBand display.

And there it was. :inlove:

View attachment 321849

Woody couldn’t believe the transaction was as simple as handing the CM my voucher. Since we were leaving the park, I decided keep the band in its original packaging and link it myself once we got home.

And now, for @MinnieM123 and any other sleuths out there, the REST OF THE STORY.

I threw away my “broken” band when I unpacked. A few days later I opened my new band and logged into my MDE account....where I discovered that every MagicBand from 2017 and 2018 was missing from my account. (Bands from 2013-2016 were still there, listed as Inactive since I had previously deactivated them.) A few of the “missing” bands were decorated with stickers that I planned to wear again. I decided to stay calm and fetched my decorative bands from the drawer.

I’ll just re-link them to my account, I thought smugly.

First I linked my new Minnie band....no problem! Then I linked my Christmas-stickered band....success! But when I attempted to link the others I kept getting an error message. Rather than become exasperated, I decided to “let it go” and simply order new stickers for future bands.

The following week these forums began to blow up with complaints of messed up resort reservations, friends and family members no longer linked, the inability to make fastpasses, missing fastpasses, missing ADRs ~ all due to “Magical Enhancements” to My Disney Experience. People were infuriated....and rightly so! I was reading of hours-long waits on the phone to Disney IT to get issues resolved ~ and sometimes it took more than one phone call.

I remember having a conversation with Woody about the MDE mess and smugly saying, “But everything is fine in my account.”

Until I went in to renew my AP.

In the past when I have renewed my AP, the new AP immediately appeared in my MDE account alongside the other ticket media (current AP, MVMCP ticket, Em’s AP). The renewal was automatically linked and I only had to stop by Guest Relations to pick up the yellow discount card.

However, this time I got a message saying I needed to go to Guest Relations in order to activate my AP.

Weird.

Em’s AP is on the same renewal schedule as mine. When she renewed her AP, the new pass appeared in MDE linked and ready to go. No message to stop at Guest Relations to activate it.

I had a BIG problem. Without an “active” AP, I would not be able to make 60 Day fastpasses.

And my 60 days was less than a week away.

So I picked up the phone and dialed Disney. My estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Thirty minutes later my call was answered. I explained that I had renewed my AP but it wasn’t listed. My call was transferred....and the connection was lost. 😡

I redialed. Once again my estimated wait time was 20 minutes. Twenty-five minutes later my call was answered. I explained my issue again and added that this was my SECOND call as the first call had been disconnected. The CM was very empathetic and promised to stay on the line with me. He could see that an AP had been purchased but (as I suspected) was not “active.”

He asked if there was a reference number on my receipt and I gave it to him. “Weird,” he said. “I cannot get that code to link.”

Tuvalu broke My Disney Experience. Again!!

Over the course of the next two hours (most of it “on hold”) the CM and someone in IT worked on my account without success. The CM said my problem was now “escalated” and it could take as long as 72 hours before someone would get back to me.

In the meantime the clock was ticking down to FP day.
Click to expand...
Oh nooo the suspense is killing me!!!!
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
Wednesday, con’t

As we walked out of the Emporium I turned to Woody and asked, “Can we stop by City Hall? Maybe someone can tell me why my Minnie band stopped working.”

“As long as you’re willing to take the risk of getting rained on,” he replied.

I gave a quick glance into the sky and decided the rain threat was not imminent. “If the line is long we won’t wait,” I declared.

View attachment 321571

The folks milling around the entrance were doing just that.....milling. There were only a couple of people inside waiting to speak to a Guest Services CM.

View attachment 321559

Soon it was our turn for assistance. Cast Member Jim motioned us over to his station.

“My MagicBand isn’t working,” I announced.

Jim took my band and held it against his iPad. He smiled at me and said, “Are you sure? Looks like it is working to me.”

For a brief moment I felt a great sense of relief. Perhaps the workers in IT had finally corrected the problems in my MDE account?

“Mickey turned blue when I tried to enter the park this morning,” I explained to Jim. I then told him about our ordeal at Guest Services last night and having to use a comp ticket for my admission and fastpasses today.

Jim pressed my band against his iPad again. Then he furrowed his brow. He looked at his screen for a long time. “I’ll be right back,” he said before disappearing behind a private door.

This can’t be good. I’ve seen that perplexed furrowed-brow look before.

Jim returned several minutes later and handed me this ~
View attachment 321560
It was a voucher for a replacement Minnie MagicBand.

“Take this to the Emporium next door and get a new band. The cashier can link it for you.”

So back to the Emporium we went.
Click to expand...
Why bother to cover up the name? We all know it says "Shirley" under there. "The name's Status.....Shirley Status."
 

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