spacemt354
Chili's
MCO's TSA has always been one of the worst linesOverall MCO is a nice airport and yes GF is expensive AF. I’ve looked at it for a vacation but I don’t wanna sell my left kidney.
But overall the airport is really clean.
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The Sorcerer's Apprentice Season 4: Homecoming Edition - Discussion Thread
- Thread starter MonorailRed
- Start date
But overall the airport is really clean.
Voxel
President of Progress City
Ahh TSA precheck almost never wait in line. (I should see if I’m still tsa precheck)MCO's TSA has always been one of the worst lines
The90skid
Well-Known Member
(Part 3 - The not so grand Floridian)
We rolled into our room around 1:45 AM.
Before I rant, I really have to convey that the Grand Floridian really is a gem of a resort. The architecture is gorgeous, and as we arrived at night, I can appreciate that the resort is not covered in lights. It really reflects the old resort in Michigan it is based on by doing this. The lobby is, of course, exquisite. Big fan of the old bird cage and the old mouse cage! There were also some sweet statues made out of chocolate in the lobby. The first impression is still strong despite the fact that cast members were doing a lot of maintenance at that time! (Waxing floors, repairing lights, etc).
I also later appreciated that the jazz band set up on the second floor of the atrium had a freaking Bass Saxophone!! (Saxophone nerd alert)
All this grandeur quickly faded when we got to the room to find our mom clearly upset. She showed us that our large sized room (2 queens and a couch fold out) didn't have sheets on one of the beds! This blew me away. I've stayed at scores of hotels, many pretty seedy, but even at the cheapest motel, I've never walked into a hotel room to find the bed without sheets!
If only that was the only problem. Our room was full of mosquitos! The room was just off the lagoon, and I'm from Louisiana, so trust me, im very familiar with how much a problem mosquitos can be. HOWEVER, there are many pesticides that you can spray on the exterior of a building that will both kill and repel mosquitoes. How do I know this, you may ask? Because I use it on my own house! And if I'm paying more than $500 a night for this, you better believe the least I expect is sheets on the bed and basic pest control. We didn't even bother enjoying out patios because you could visibly see tons of mosquitoes on the deck ceiling!
On top of this, the bathroom door Could not open all the way because the toilet was too close. To open it, you had to apply some force. Ridiculous design!
ON TOP OF THAT after we got back to our room Saturday night, housekeeping left a cup of cleaning solution with a toilet brush and cloth right on our table! Not only that, they left the patio/deck doors unlocked!!! Anyone could have waltzed right in and taken any of our things!!
Yea, that all sucked. Significantly. My mom called management Friday night and left a message. We were told a manager would contact us, but no one ever did all day Saturday. No messages were on out resort phone when we got back from the parks Saturday night.
Let the disaster continue with a small silver lining in Part 4.
We rolled into our room around 1:45 AM.
Before I rant, I really have to convey that the Grand Floridian really is a gem of a resort. The architecture is gorgeous, and as we arrived at night, I can appreciate that the resort is not covered in lights. It really reflects the old resort in Michigan it is based on by doing this. The lobby is, of course, exquisite. Big fan of the old bird cage and the old mouse cage! There were also some sweet statues made out of chocolate in the lobby. The first impression is still strong despite the fact that cast members were doing a lot of maintenance at that time! (Waxing floors, repairing lights, etc).
I also later appreciated that the jazz band set up on the second floor of the atrium had a freaking Bass Saxophone!! (Saxophone nerd alert)
All this grandeur quickly faded when we got to the room to find our mom clearly upset. She showed us that our large sized room (2 queens and a couch fold out) didn't have sheets on one of the beds! This blew me away. I've stayed at scores of hotels, many pretty seedy, but even at the cheapest motel, I've never walked into a hotel room to find the bed without sheets!
If only that was the only problem. Our room was full of mosquitos! The room was just off the lagoon, and I'm from Louisiana, so trust me, im very familiar with how much a problem mosquitos can be. HOWEVER, there are many pesticides that you can spray on the exterior of a building that will both kill and repel mosquitoes. How do I know this, you may ask? Because I use it on my own house! And if I'm paying more than $500 a night for this, you better believe the least I expect is sheets on the bed and basic pest control. We didn't even bother enjoying out patios because you could visibly see tons of mosquitoes on the deck ceiling!
On top of this, the bathroom door Could not open all the way because the toilet was too close. To open it, you had to apply some force. Ridiculous design!
ON TOP OF THAT after we got back to our room Saturday night, housekeeping left a cup of cleaning solution with a toilet brush and cloth right on our table! Not only that, they left the patio/deck doors unlocked!!! Anyone could have waltzed right in and taken any of our things!!
Yea, that all sucked. Significantly. My mom called management Friday night and left a message. We were told a manager would contact us, but no one ever did all day Saturday. No messages were on out resort phone when we got back from the parks Saturday night.
Let the disaster continue with a small silver lining in Part 4.
Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
Disneyland, CA
To the route. What stations would you add to the route from Animal Kingdom to one of the nearby current stations?
Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
Disneyland, CA
To the route. What stations would you add to the route from Animal Kingdom to one of the nearby current stations?
The90skid
Well-Known Member
(Part 4 - Derek to the rescue)
I work in a client service industry. As such, I have a lot of empathy for customer service jobs. When I have legitimate complaints, I always do my best to clearly communicate the issue without getting overly angry or emotional.
Further, I can appreciate good customer service. Derek the PM housekeeping manager for the Grand Floridian was both accommodating and understanding. We called management for the second time Saturday night, expressing our disappointment when Management had neglected to contact us at all, despite out call Friday confirming that management would contact us. The manager who answered compensated us by refunding a part of our nightly rate as well as giving us three complimentary fastpasses for Sunday that were good for any ride in any park (these were in addition to our fastpass+ we had already reserved). He also said that Derek would come to our room to address the problems.
Derek came by quite late, past 10:00 PM. He physically came in the room, and my mom explained to him all of the issues I talked about above. He was visibly upset, and assured us that we were quite justified to be upset. He was particularly upset about the mosquitoes and the missing sheet. He asked us for the date and time we noticed all of the issues, saying he would discuss them with whoever was tasked to service our room at that time. Also, he personally killed the last of the mosquitoes that we had in our room and said that he would make note to monitor the issue more closely in the future
Now, of course, as someone who works in client service, I know as well as the next person that customer service reps are often guilty of, "Fluff" to make you feel better. To me, Derek seemed quite genuine. He deeply hoped that we would come back to the resort for a better experience, and said he would have offered us a different room if we were on a longer stay. Call me naive, but I believed his response. Despite all the bad housekeeping, I really do want to come back to this resort to give it a second chance. For at least a week long stay!
After so much negativity on the boards about the decline in old-school Disney quality service, it was refreshing to have a cast member who actually cared about our experience and apologized for it.
Final notes on the GF, we ate at the Grand Floridian Cafe on Saturday night, and it was divine! It was also quite possibly the most expensive meal I have personally ever paid for (yea, I splurged and got an appetizer, New York Strip, dessert, and a specialty drink so I knew what I was signing up for lol). Other than that, we grabbed breakfast at the Gasparilla Island grill (standard Disney breakfast fare, I was pleased!)
Now on to the parks! Part 5 is inbound!
I work in a client service industry. As such, I have a lot of empathy for customer service jobs. When I have legitimate complaints, I always do my best to clearly communicate the issue without getting overly angry or emotional.
Further, I can appreciate good customer service. Derek the PM housekeeping manager for the Grand Floridian was both accommodating and understanding. We called management for the second time Saturday night, expressing our disappointment when Management had neglected to contact us at all, despite out call Friday confirming that management would contact us. The manager who answered compensated us by refunding a part of our nightly rate as well as giving us three complimentary fastpasses for Sunday that were good for any ride in any park (these were in addition to our fastpass+ we had already reserved). He also said that Derek would come to our room to address the problems.
Derek came by quite late, past 10:00 PM. He physically came in the room, and my mom explained to him all of the issues I talked about above. He was visibly upset, and assured us that we were quite justified to be upset. He was particularly upset about the mosquitoes and the missing sheet. He asked us for the date and time we noticed all of the issues, saying he would discuss them with whoever was tasked to service our room at that time. Also, he personally killed the last of the mosquitoes that we had in our room and said that he would make note to monitor the issue more closely in the future
Now, of course, as someone who works in client service, I know as well as the next person that customer service reps are often guilty of, "Fluff" to make you feel better. To me, Derek seemed quite genuine. He deeply hoped that we would come back to the resort for a better experience, and said he would have offered us a different room if we were on a longer stay. Call me naive, but I believed his response. Despite all the bad housekeeping, I really do want to come back to this resort to give it a second chance. For at least a week long stay!
After so much negativity on the boards about the decline in old-school Disney quality service, it was refreshing to have a cast member who actually cared about our experience and apologized for it.
Final notes on the GF, we ate at the Grand Floridian Cafe on Saturday night, and it was divine! It was also quite possibly the most expensive meal I have personally ever paid for (yea, I splurged and got an appetizer, New York Strip, dessert, and a specialty drink so I knew what I was signing up for lol). Other than that, we grabbed breakfast at the Gasparilla Island grill (standard Disney breakfast fare, I was pleased!)
Now on to the parks! Part 5 is inbound!
TwilightZone
Well-Known Member
Some sort of hotel. Kinda like the monorail in floridian, but a skyliner.
To the route. What stations would you add to the route from Animal Kingdom to one of the nearby current stations?
tcool123
Well-Known Member
Well @The90skid you weren't the only one vising the world as I had driven up on Friday to my Disney Vacation! 
Day 1: Pathelic Cilantro
I had woken up at 5:55 AM to do one thing, go to school for my education. I was ready for school, and off I went. I arrived at school at 7:19 AM, and rushed upstairs sneaking into my homeroom. I was marked present, and preceded to my classes for the day; all I know is that I survived and waited to be picked up by father and brother. However due to traffic I had to wait an extra 30 minutes before being whisked away to the magical Florida Turnpike. Soon my brother and I were singing Disney songs, but mainly Coco, for the first hour and a half. From then on we played a road trip game my family plays called The Animal Game in which you say a letter of the animal your thinking of, and everyone else has to guess what s is based on a limited amount of hints they request. Eventually we stopped along the way for Lunch/Dinner around 4 at Port St.Lucie/Fort Worth which has finally been refurbished!
It is a very sleek building with various fast food restaurant available such as Auntie Anne's, Wendy's, Earl of Sandwich, Villa Pizza, and Chicken Kitchen. I was enthusiastic about Chicken Kitchen as it's menu was similar to Pollo Tropical, and as such I ordered their version of a TropiChop, the Chop Chop. It had brown rice, grilled chicken, and to my excitement Garlic Cilantro! However to my dismay it tasted like nothing losing all flavour of the garlic and cilantro. I felt robbed of something that on paper sounded delicious, but was a bit too Americanized for my tastes. However the rice and chicken were okay, and maybe next time I'll see if they any lime instead to add some flavour. The sauce in my book was disappointing enough to be the main title of the day as it was a Pathe-lic Cilantro
We reached the Magic Kingdom entrance gate around 7:15 PM, and found parking in the handicapped area pretty quickly. We were on our way to the Magic Kingdom, and arrived at 7:55 PM by this time Happily Ever After had already started. However that didn't stop us! We stopped in the Town Square as we watched the fireworks. Upon the finishing fireworks we went through the Main Street bypass, and headed towards Peter Pan's Flight which we had a FP for! We were quickly escorted onto the flying ships, and as soon as our journey started it ended. We soon crossed the street, and boarded the happiest cruise that ever sailed the seven seas!
We queued up for the Haunted Mansion which was a short 20 minute wait, and upon exiting we found out that Pirates of the Caribbean, our next FP, was temporarily closed. Which means we could experience whatever we wanted within the original timeframe, and we choose the duo of Frontierland mountains to ride. We first rode Thunder Mountain requesting the last row, and we were off on the wildest ride in the wilderness! We tried to fastpass Splash Mountain, and the cast member allowed us to go through the fastpass line with only one fastpass for the two of us! Upon exiting we found my dad chit chatting with a family, and we found out a cast member gave my dad and the family free Mickey Ice Creams! So while my dad can't ride any of the mountains due to not being able to bend his knee more than a certain angle he still had a fun night! We definitely felt the magic tonight!
On our way to our final destination we entered Frontierland Mercantile, and I spotted an actual Home on the Range reference as the sign that explains pin trading feature the characters from that film. Love that they were included, and in the end I purchased a bottlecap mystery pin, and traded it away. As we were making our way to Tomorrowland I found a Jose Carioca pin just laying on the floor. Unfortunately the mickey back was missing, and the pointy part of the pin was now flattened. Nonetheless I pocketed it as a free pin as my brother went on to ride Space Mountain on his own as me and my father explored the Tomorrowland Power Planet and the restroom. When my brother exited the ride we went on to ride Buzz Lightyear, and the ride actually broke down as we were riding! The lights went on; safety fences went up, and out came my camera.
Our final ride for the night was the Peoplemover, and if you head over to the Trip Report forum may I suggest reading anything by @Tuvalu , her trip reports are always a fun read, and it feels like you're really there! I bring her up as she gets something she likes to call "Shirley Status" in which she and her party typically have something all to themselves rather it be a restaurant, ride vehicle, etc. Well this tip I hit that status as my father and I were the only ones on the Peoplemover, and were in fact the last people on it for the day. My brother was off riding Astro Orbiter which is another ride my father can't ride.
We ended our magical night with A Kiss Goodnight, and boarded the last ferry leaving Magic Kingdom. Due to the singing earlier my throat was pretty sore, and we went off to Walgreens to buy some medicine. We arrived at Hawthorne Suites by Wyndham around 2 AM, and we died in our beds waiting for the next day.
Day 2 to come soon!
Day 1: Pathelic Cilantro
I had woken up at 5:55 AM to do one thing, go to school for my education. I was ready for school, and off I went. I arrived at school at 7:19 AM, and rushed upstairs sneaking into my homeroom. I was marked present, and preceded to my classes for the day; all I know is that I survived and waited to be picked up by father and brother. However due to traffic I had to wait an extra 30 minutes before being whisked away to the magical Florida Turnpike. Soon my brother and I were singing Disney songs, but mainly Coco, for the first hour and a half. From then on we played a road trip game my family plays called The Animal Game in which you say a letter of the animal your thinking of, and everyone else has to guess what s is based on a limited amount of hints they request. Eventually we stopped along the way for Lunch/Dinner around 4 at Port St.Lucie/Fort Worth which has finally been refurbished!
It is a very sleek building with various fast food restaurant available such as Auntie Anne's, Wendy's, Earl of Sandwich, Villa Pizza, and Chicken Kitchen. I was enthusiastic about Chicken Kitchen as it's menu was similar to Pollo Tropical, and as such I ordered their version of a TropiChop, the Chop Chop. It had brown rice, grilled chicken, and to my excitement Garlic Cilantro! However to my dismay it tasted like nothing losing all flavour of the garlic and cilantro. I felt robbed of something that on paper sounded delicious, but was a bit too Americanized for my tastes. However the rice and chicken were okay, and maybe next time I'll see if they any lime instead to add some flavour. The sauce in my book was disappointing enough to be the main title of the day as it was a Pathe-lic Cilantro
We reached the Magic Kingdom entrance gate around 7:15 PM, and found parking in the handicapped area pretty quickly. We were on our way to the Magic Kingdom, and arrived at 7:55 PM by this time Happily Ever After had already started. However that didn't stop us! We stopped in the Town Square as we watched the fireworks. Upon the finishing fireworks we went through the Main Street bypass, and headed towards Peter Pan's Flight which we had a FP for! We were quickly escorted onto the flying ships, and as soon as our journey started it ended. We soon crossed the street, and boarded the happiest cruise that ever sailed the seven seas!
We queued up for the Haunted Mansion which was a short 20 minute wait, and upon exiting we found out that Pirates of the Caribbean, our next FP, was temporarily closed. Which means we could experience whatever we wanted within the original timeframe, and we choose the duo of Frontierland mountains to ride. We first rode Thunder Mountain requesting the last row, and we were off on the wildest ride in the wilderness! We tried to fastpass Splash Mountain, and the cast member allowed us to go through the fastpass line with only one fastpass for the two of us! Upon exiting we found my dad chit chatting with a family, and we found out a cast member gave my dad and the family free Mickey Ice Creams! So while my dad can't ride any of the mountains due to not being able to bend his knee more than a certain angle he still had a fun night! We definitely felt the magic tonight!
On our way to our final destination we entered Frontierland Mercantile, and I spotted an actual Home on the Range reference as the sign that explains pin trading feature the characters from that film. Love that they were included, and in the end I purchased a bottlecap mystery pin, and traded it away. As we were making our way to Tomorrowland I found a Jose Carioca pin just laying on the floor. Unfortunately the mickey back was missing, and the pointy part of the pin was now flattened. Nonetheless I pocketed it as a free pin as my brother went on to ride Space Mountain on his own as me and my father explored the Tomorrowland Power Planet and the restroom. When my brother exited the ride we went on to ride Buzz Lightyear, and the ride actually broke down as we were riding! The lights went on; safety fences went up, and out came my camera.
Our final ride for the night was the Peoplemover, and if you head over to the Trip Report forum may I suggest reading anything by @Tuvalu , her trip reports are always a fun read, and it feels like you're really there! I bring her up as she gets something she likes to call "Shirley Status" in which she and her party typically have something all to themselves rather it be a restaurant, ride vehicle, etc. Well this tip I hit that status as my father and I were the only ones on the Peoplemover, and were in fact the last people on it for the day. My brother was off riding Astro Orbiter which is another ride my father can't ride.
We ended our magical night with A Kiss Goodnight, and boarded the last ferry leaving Magic Kingdom. Due to the singing earlier my throat was pretty sore, and we went off to Walgreens to buy some medicine. We arrived at Hawthorne Suites by Wyndham around 2 AM, and we died in our beds waiting for the next day.
Day 2 to come soon!
The90skid
Well-Known Member
That's awesome!! I haven't written up my park experience yet, but it looks like you already smoked me in presentation lolWell @The90skid you weren't the only one vising the world as I had driven up on Friday to my Disney Vacation!
Day 1: Pathelic Cilantro
View attachment 265631
I had woken up at 5:55 AM to do one thing, go to school for my education. I was ready for school, and off I went. I arrived at school at 7:19 AM, and rushed upstairs sneaking into my homeroom. I was marked present, and preceded to my classes for the day; all I know is that I survived and waited to be picked up by father and brother. However due to traffic I had to wait an extra 30 minutes before being whisked away to the magical Florida Turnpike. Soon my brother and I were singing Disney songs, but mainly Coco, for the first hour and a half. From then on we played a road trip game my family plays called The Animal Game in which you say a letter of the animal your thinking of, and everyone else has to guess what s is based on a limited amount of hints they request. Eventually we stopped along the way for Lunch/Dinner around 4 at Port St.Lucie/Fort Worth which has finally been refurbished!
It is a very sleek building with various fast food restaurant available such as Auntie Anne's, Wendy's, Earl of Sandwich, Villa Pizza, and Chicken Kitchen. I was enthusiastic about Chicken Kitchen as it's menu was similar to Pollo Tropical, and as such I ordered their version of a TropiChop, the Chop Chop. It had brown rice, grilled chicken, and to my excitement Garlic Cilantro! However to my dismay it tasted like nothing losing all flavour of the garlic and cilantro. I felt robbed of something that on paper sounded delicious, but was a bit too Americanized for my tastes. However the rice and chicken were okay, and maybe next time I'll see if they any lime instead to add some flavour. The sauce in my book was disappointing enough to be the main title of the day as it was a Pathe-lic Cilantro
We reached the Magic Kingdom entrance gate around 7:15 PM, and found parking in the handicapped area pretty quickly. We were on our way to the Magic Kingdom, and arrived at 7:55 PM by this time Happily Ever After had already started. However that didn't stop us! We stopped in the Town Square as we watched the fireworks. Upon the finishing fireworks we went through the Main Street bypass, and headed towards Peter Pan's Flight which we had a FP for! We were quickly escorted onto the flying ships, and as soon as our journey started it ended. We soon crossed the street, and boarded the happiest cruise that ever sailed the seven seas!
View attachment 265630
We queued up for the Haunted Mansion which was a short 20 minute wait, and upon exiting we found out that Pirates of the Caribbean, our next FP, was temporarily closed. Which means we could experience whatever we wanted within the original timeframe, and we choose the duo of Frontierland mountains to ride. We first rode Thunder Mountain requesting the last row, and we were off on the wildest ride in the wilderness! We tried to fastpass Splash Mountain, and the cast member allowed us to go through the fastpass line with only one fastpass for the two of us! Upon exiting we found my dad chit chatting with a family, and we found out a cast member gave my dad and the family free Mickey Ice Creams! So while my dad can't ride any of the mountains due to not being able to bend his knee more than a certain angle he still had a fun night! We definitely felt the magic tonight!
View attachment 265634
View attachment 265635
View attachment 265633
On our way to our final destination we entered Frontierland Mercantile, and I spotted an actual Home on the Range reference as the sign that explains pin trading feature the characters from that film. Love that they were included, and in the end I purchased a bottlecap mystery pin, and traded it away. As we were making our way to Tomorrowland I found a Jose Carioca pin just laying on the floor. Unfortunately the mickey back was missing, and the pointy part of the pin was now flattened. Nonetheless I pocketed it as a free pin as my brother went on to ride Space Mountain on his own as me and my father explored the Tomorrowland Power Planet and the restroom. When my brother exited the ride we went on to ride Buzz Lightyear, and the ride actually broke down as we were riding! The lights went on; safety fences went up, and out came my camera.
View attachment 265638
View attachment 265639
Our final ride for the night was the Peoplemover, and if you head over to the Trip Report forum may I suggest reading anything by @Tuvalu , her trip reports are always a fun read, and it feels like you're really there! I bring her up as she gets something she likes to call "Shirley Status" in which she and her party typically have something all to themselves rather it be a restaurant, ride vehicle, etc. Well this tip I hit that status as my father and I were the only ones on the Peoplemover, and were in fact the last people on it for the day. My brother was off riding Astro Orbiter which is another ride my father can't ride.
View attachment 265643
View attachment 265648
We ended our magical night with A Kiss Goodnight, and boarded the last ferry leaving Magic Kingdom. Due to the singing earlier my throat was pretty sore, and we went off to Walgreens to buy some medicine. We arrived at Hawthorne Suites by Wyndham around 2 AM, and we died in our beds waiting for the next day.
Day 2 to come soon!
Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
Indiana Jones Adventure, which would take part of Rivers of Adventure. This version would take place in the jungles of Africa; instead of India or Mesoamerica; with a new facade, interior, and layout.
Pi on my Cake
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Ya know, I've been wanting to go to Shanghai. Maybe add a station there!
In all seriousness, I could be wrong on the exact Disney world map layout of everything, but Blizzard Beach is, I believe, on the route to Animal Kingdom. Including the water parks more would be nice. Especially if they expand Blizzard Beach and/or add a new slide or two to coincide with the station being added.
spacemt354
Chili's
Glad to see you back - hope you're doing well!
Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
Voxel
President of Progress City
No your required to read it Zwei! I missed you, glad to see your around.
spacemt354
Chili's
I must have 'liked' over this haha But now that makes sense. Regular line has been 25-30 minutes each time regardless of time of day.
spacemt354
Chili's
Pi on my Cake
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Thanks!! I was really happy with how that turned out and I'm glad you liked it! I think I'm gonna start focusing on scripted content like that and probably do less of the let's play stuff I was doing.