Plan B rocks
We were exhausted, so we decided to skip Animal Kingdom altogether and just head to Downtown Disney in the afternoon. We slept in until 10 a.m.
I went to the concierge to see if we could get Rainforest Cafe reservations for lunch at Downtown Disney, but we couldn't.
Bill came up with the great idea to keep our original reservations at the Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom and just head over to Downtown Disney afterwards. So we headed to the Rainforest Cafe with our gift certificates.
We didn't have to wait long to get seated. Our waitress greeted us with a clumsy speech and said she was our "guide on our safari adventure." Oh boy. It took her 15 minutes to bring water. OK, they're busy. We ordered the crab dip and the kids split a meal. Bill ordered the coconut shrimp and I said I wanted that, too. I told her twice we each wanted our own, and Bill watched her write it down correctly.
She returned to see if we wanted the coconut shrimp appetizer on the menu as an entree. When we said no, she said OK. Bill said, "I think our safari is doomed."
She returned again to see if Bill wanted the coconut chicken, which we did not. We told her our order again.
Of course when the food came out a different waiter delivered it and they only brought out one coconut shrimp. I was unamused. We asked about the second order, and he said there was only one.
We told our Safari Leader about the mistake the next time she came by. Rather than wait for a second order to come out, I just told her to forget it and that we would split the entree. "So it all kinda worked out then, right?" "Whatever," I mumbled.
She did nothing to make the situation right. She didn't apologize except to say at the end, "I know you're unhappy right now and I'm sorry" and then she just walked away.
The fiasco with the gift cards was just that, and does not merit further discussion.
Bill offered to deal with the bill while I walked around the gift shop with the kids. On the way to the gift shop, our Doomed Safari Guide stopped me and tried to tell me that I had to sign something. I stopped her mid-sentence and told her my husband was dealing with her.
It was at that point that I decided to talk to the manager. I rather calmly told him the facts and told him everything would have been fine if she had done anything to remedy the situation (including a sincere apology or getting help). He was very nice and listened to me. He offered to give the kids each a t-shirt. I was grateful and told him as much. They each picked out a t-shirt. I thanked him profusely and told him we'd return, which we will.
We finally got out of there and caught a bus to Coronado Springs. When we got there, I asked the bus driver if we could catch a bus to Downtown Disney. "If you hurry, you can catch that one," he said, pointing to the bus in front of us.
We got to Downtown Disney just in time to see the 2:30 showing of "The Simpsons Movie." We laughed out loud and really enjoyed it.
We shopped around Downtown Disney and I picked up the Christmas lights that I had regretted not getting last time. I picked up some frames, some stuff for the kitchen and a new watch (my old one was getting scratched).
We got to the kids' last surprise, an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Hannah was thrilled, and Pippy was quite the good sport about it. The kids really had a nice time, and they looked adorable.
Next was Bill's favorite part of the trip, dinner at Fulton's Crab House. Dinner was delicious, all the way up to the part where Alex spilled water into my plate of filet mignon. By that time I was quite full and wasn't crazy about the steak (Le Cellier's was better). The waiter immediately said he'd tell the kitchen there was a mistake and get me another order. I just asked him to remove the plate and he did.
Then a manager came over and said she heard there was a water spill. I told her it was no problem and that we were happy with our meal.
I found it ironic that the people at Fulton's tried to fix a problem they hadn't caused. I told Bill the culinary Gods were smiling on him and crapping on me. We joked about this for quite some time.
We shopped a little more on the way back to the bus stop.
Back at the room, I discovered that instead of hanging up her bathing suit like I asked, Hannah had put her wet bathing suit on my pajamas. I yelled, "If you can hear my voice, I hate you!" and everyone just started laughing at me. Nobody listens to Mommy.
We all slept well, especially Bill who enjoyed his Alaskan King Crab Claws.
*I just realized I left the other 2 Curly Wurlys in the fridge in Wilderness Lodge. I could scream.
I went to the concierge to see if we could get Rainforest Cafe reservations for lunch at Downtown Disney, but we couldn't.
Bill came up with the great idea to keep our original reservations at the Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom and just head over to Downtown Disney afterwards. So we headed to the Rainforest Cafe with our gift certificates.
We didn't have to wait long to get seated. Our waitress greeted us with a clumsy speech and said she was our "guide on our safari adventure." Oh boy. It took her 15 minutes to bring water. OK, they're busy. We ordered the crab dip and the kids split a meal. Bill ordered the coconut shrimp and I said I wanted that, too. I told her twice we each wanted our own, and Bill watched her write it down correctly.
She returned to see if we wanted the coconut shrimp appetizer on the menu as an entree. When we said no, she said OK. Bill said, "I think our safari is doomed."
She returned again to see if Bill wanted the coconut chicken, which we did not. We told her our order again.
Of course when the food came out a different waiter delivered it and they only brought out one coconut shrimp. I was unamused. We asked about the second order, and he said there was only one.
We told our Safari Leader about the mistake the next time she came by. Rather than wait for a second order to come out, I just told her to forget it and that we would split the entree. "So it all kinda worked out then, right?" "Whatever," I mumbled.
She did nothing to make the situation right. She didn't apologize except to say at the end, "I know you're unhappy right now and I'm sorry" and then she just walked away.
The fiasco with the gift cards was just that, and does not merit further discussion.
Bill offered to deal with the bill while I walked around the gift shop with the kids. On the way to the gift shop, our Doomed Safari Guide stopped me and tried to tell me that I had to sign something. I stopped her mid-sentence and told her my husband was dealing with her.
It was at that point that I decided to talk to the manager. I rather calmly told him the facts and told him everything would have been fine if she had done anything to remedy the situation (including a sincere apology or getting help). He was very nice and listened to me. He offered to give the kids each a t-shirt. I was grateful and told him as much. They each picked out a t-shirt. I thanked him profusely and told him we'd return, which we will.
We finally got out of there and caught a bus to Coronado Springs. When we got there, I asked the bus driver if we could catch a bus to Downtown Disney. "If you hurry, you can catch that one," he said, pointing to the bus in front of us.
We got to Downtown Disney just in time to see the 2:30 showing of "The Simpsons Movie." We laughed out loud and really enjoyed it.
We shopped around Downtown Disney and I picked up the Christmas lights that I had regretted not getting last time. I picked up some frames, some stuff for the kitchen and a new watch (my old one was getting scratched).
We got to the kids' last surprise, an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Hannah was thrilled, and Pippy was quite the good sport about it. The kids really had a nice time, and they looked adorable.
Next was Bill's favorite part of the trip, dinner at Fulton's Crab House. Dinner was delicious, all the way up to the part where Alex spilled water into my plate of filet mignon. By that time I was quite full and wasn't crazy about the steak (Le Cellier's was better). The waiter immediately said he'd tell the kitchen there was a mistake and get me another order. I just asked him to remove the plate and he did.
Then a manager came over and said she heard there was a water spill. I told her it was no problem and that we were happy with our meal.
I found it ironic that the people at Fulton's tried to fix a problem they hadn't caused. I told Bill the culinary Gods were smiling on him and crapping on me. We joked about this for quite some time.
We shopped a little more on the way back to the bus stop.
Back at the room, I discovered that instead of hanging up her bathing suit like I asked, Hannah had put her wet bathing suit on my pajamas. I yelled, "If you can hear my voice, I hate you!" and everyone just started laughing at me. Nobody listens to Mommy.
We all slept well, especially Bill who enjoyed his Alaskan King Crab Claws.
*I just realized I left the other 2 Curly Wurlys in the fridge in Wilderness Lodge. I could scream.