Just Returned - 4-Day Impromptu Trip

[BigredNole]

On Saturday morning about 6AM, decided to go to Disney World for 4-days. Our travel agent found us a room at AS Movies that was not available on the Disney site. That was good news because it saved about $400. We hit the road at 10:30AM. From thinking of going, to booking, and to being on the road was 4.5 hours. We spent Saturday and Sunday at a friends for a visit. Up early on Monday morning to get to AS Movies to get our MagicBands and get ready to go.

The entire trip was great and details will follow. However, there was 1 major never ending negative and 1 unfortunate negative that was not too big of a deal.

Negatives (I have to get these away first):

1. Transportation: Disney is still the stupidest group when it comes to transportation. We used the buses 1-time and it was the last time. This was at MK on Wednesday. We were going to MK for the 7AM EMH. The app said the bus would be there at 6AM. So, we make out walk from the room at 5:45, get there a few minutes before 6AM, and then the app says the bus is expected at 6:26AM. Really!?!?!?!?! I can understand a few minutes, but this is ridiculously off. Worst part is, this was not the worst service. We had to leave the MK early to run to a store. Disney needs to put a transportation person somewhere at the stops that you can go to easily to get their attention. A physical person that can be yelled at for the overall stupidity of how transportation is managed. We get to the AS Movie stop at 10:30AM. The family there before us got there at 10:15AM. At 11AM and after no less than 15 buses stopping to drop off at AS Movies, Music, and Sports with no pickups, I called Guest Services. I got a nice lady name Ida who passed me on to Brittany. I explained to Brittany that we had been waiting 30 minutes and the other family has been there 45 minutes (there are now about 20 people waiting). Brittany puts me on hold and comes back to let us know the bus is turning into the lot to pick us up now. Well, Brittany lied to me. At 11:10AM, I call back and passed to Brittany again (Call #2). I told her the bus was not coming and that she just told me something to get off the call. She puts me on hold, then comes back, and says Transportation had an issue. How can you have an issue with a bus that is pulling into the lot right then to pick you up?!?!? She says the other bus was dispatched and just pulling under the waterway by CR. OK, maybe there was a problem. 11:30AM, I call Guest Services again and guess who I get...BRITTANY THE BRAINLESS IDIOT!!! Yes, for a 3rd time I get this liar on the phone. As I am on hold, a bus finally shows up to AS Sports (for a pickup. with ZERO people waiting and none have even been there!!! ***!!! About half of us run over to the bus and load on (easier to walk 2 resorts than wait for stupidity). While we board, Brittany gets back on and says a bus will be there in 15 minutes. I told her to get a pen and write the bus numbers down. There were 20 buses in the bus area with drivers, parked, and doing nothing. Any one of which could have been made to make a U-turn to pick us up. After #5, she said it was not worth her writing them down. I told her to continue writing them down as we read them to her because we were taking it straight to Guest Services when we got back to AS Movies. And yes, we wrote them down and it was 22 buses sitting doing nothing. The head of transportation calls me just as we got off and tried to give a dumb excuse. I asked him if he had the list of buses that were sitting doing nothing. He responded to say that there were no buses sitting at the MK loading area. I told him he can explain that from the video and list of bus numbers we took. He had no response. Complaints to Guest Services on transportation goes on deaf ears as expected. How can Disney World not have a simple level of ownership on transportation failures? It is very simple. #1 Put a MagicBand reader at each stop, scan your band, it locks the time, enters it on your MDE app, and it is documented. After 20 minutes of waiting TRANSPORTATION CALLS YOU!!! After 30 minutes, Minnie Vans are automatically dispatched to pick you up. It is not rocket science. It is very simple. An app could be written by the teams in India that they laid off US workers for. It would take about 3 days to develop. #2 Put a Transportation Manager at the bus terminals, central without having to walk a 1/4 mile. That person can be the one that gets yelled at and you have a physical person catering to your issue instead of Brittany!!!
2. This one is minor, but could have been a huge pain if we decided to stay at Epcot until closing the arrival day. We get back to AS Movies at 8PM and ask for our luggage to be dropped off in the room while we went to eat. About an hour later, we are going to our room and no luggage. Ugg!!! I Call Luggage Service and the phone rings about 15 times with no answer. I call 2 more times thinking it is a phone issue. Nothing. I call Guest Services and they say we are in room 3862...we are in 3863. I explain to her we are in room 3863. No big deal, they say they will call luggage services for me. About 5 minutes later, there is a knock at the door...yay, luggage. Nope, maintenance saying our door is broken and we can't get in. Well, we are in the room and there is no issue. She checks it and everything is fine. Call guest services again, they call luggage service, and they say they delivered our luggage....What?!?!?! We walk down to luggage service, see the lovely young lady that helped us initially, and apologized. They tried to deliver twice, but their access key would not open the room. I guess they get activation based on delivery for their keys so they can't randomly enter rooms. Well, it turns out the 3863/3862 mess up even went to their keys. They promptly delivered and the luggage was in our room. They could access room 3862, but not 3863. It wound up being a server issue that no one could have known about until it happened and it happened to me. It may seem like a long rant, but it was no big deal. It did take 2 hours to fix. If this was at 11PM when we got back, there would have been a different level of upset.

Days activities to follow.

 

[BigredNole]

Day 1 - Epcot
As stated in the title, this was a completely impromptu trip. I did not even know F&WF was going on. It was an added bonus. We drive to the park around 8AM with plans to stay until closing because it is a short trip. FP were booked on the drive down. We were able to do everything we wanted in Future World about the time WS was opening. Seeing all of the kiosks and countries was a blast. Knowing we would miss something here and there, we went around once, then did some of the sit down shows in FW to relax from the heat, then we did the countries a second time taking in the things we overlooked.

There is so much you can learn while interacting with the CMs at the countries and kiosks. I didn't know snack credits could be used at the kiosks and that was a treat. I am glad we used a few because we had a ton left over when we were leaving (18 Mickey Ear Rice Crispy Treats). There was very little adult drinking at the parks. First, it gets expensive. Second, I was driving. Third, I can't drink beer in that type of heat. No big deal, I was not planning on drinking at the parks except HS. I can truly say Epcot was the second best park this trip and that was due to F&WF.

We wanted to stay until close, but being up at 4AM for the morning drive and walking about 16 miles put an end to that decision. We have seen Illuminations many times and it was not horrible to miss it knowing it ends at the end of the month. Also with a 4AM wake up for DHS the next morning, being smart was more important.

 

[BigredNole]

Day 2 - DHS Star Wars Galaxy Edge

This is my boyhood fantasies coming true. I grew up a Star Wars fan. The only problem was that I was not prepared for being there. No big deal though. Go with the flow, interact, and enjoy the attractions. About 5:30AM they let us in the gates and we were up front. We got to talk to a few CMs who gave us a few inside tips. The about 5:50AM, the Empire March song starts to blare out from the area, several Storm Troopers com out and we are escorted slowly, and I mean slowly, through the park to the Black Spire Entrance. When I say slowly, imagine a step where your heels does not go past your other foot's toes. It was painfully slow.

What an amazing concept and rendering. It as if you are truly transported into a new galaxy. Chewie with R2-D2 waving and beeping to greet us by an X-Wing next to Rise of the Resistance, Storm Troopers out near Oga's Cantina, and then rounding into view the Falcon!!!! It looks amazing in the dark and how it is lit up. Chills are going down my back in amazement of childhood fantasies. Absolutely incredible. We are encountered to become smugglers on the Falcon for a run on coaxium. We were the Engineers having to fix the damage to the Falcon from the new recruit that was flying and the defenses protecting the shipment. We were able to retrieve one in the end with a decent profit on our side. Not a bad trip and being in the cockpit of the Falcon is absolutely incredible.

After our return to Baatu, we head to Oga's to see the scene. What a fun place to be. It was almost empty. There were 2 Jedi there that were too pre-occupied to communicate. They seemed to be keeping their cover hidden while there. We had our taste of Blue Milk and it was pretty good. An early morning Bespin Fizz for a job well done was worth it. After experiencing what we could for our time allotment, we headed to the Antiquities store. The display of Lightsabers, Kiber Crystals, and other trinkets was incredible. Lots to see and interact with the resident keepers. You gain a lot of knowledge of the area while talking with them. Inquiring about the lightsabers, they had a wealth of information. However, my Galactic Yoda Credit Card carries little wait of benefits in this weird planet. They all have heard rumors of a Great Yoda, but little knowledge of him or is there a secret? I was referred to head to the Droid station and see if I could learn more about droids and maybe get additional information. At the Droid Depot, we learned a lot about droids, how to build them, and why you should have one. Unfortunately, my Yoda cred stick didn't have the necessary funds. When asking about lightsabers, we were told we should inquire at the scrap metal place around the corner. They may have a little more information or be willing to talk to me.

 

[BigredNole]

Day 3

 

[BigredNole]

Day 4