Where do I begin? My fascination started in late January 2004 when I was in a frenzy planning for a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort (WDW) in Orlando FL for March Break of that year. My DH and I were actually trying to figure out a place to go for our first ever, non-cottage-up-north family vacation, and we were aware of the option of WDW, but started out not that keen on the idea. We considered a few destinations, even cruises, but could not find anything that was as family friendly and reasonably priced, with the promise of warmth and sunshine as WDW.
Well as I started researching, what can I say? Something in me apparently just snapped! I just went completely wild finding as much information as I could possibly find - I joined a couple of Yahoo groups about Disney, lurked in a few other Disney discussion forum sites, searched avidly through Disney information websites such as All Ears and the Mouse for Less. Oh, and I even joined the Disboards too - that's not always the most friendly place, but you can learn a lot there. Needless to say, I found an incredible amount of information - and after sifting through it, sharing my brilliant findings with my family - kind of drove my DH around the bend with it all - we managed to have a fabulous, and *yes* magical time. Eight nights, nine days, staying at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort (POR) on the Silver Wishes plan. Ooooh those Wishes were truly magical things - we redeemed them for amazing meals at places like California Grill (on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort), the Brown Derby at MGM (now Disney's Hollywood Studios, DHS), Flying Fish Café at Disney's Boardwalk Resort (BW), and so on. And we also redeemed those wishes for some amazing art pieces - a crystal Mickey sitting on some film canisters, a cute sculptural vignette of Walt's desk with Mickey in his various stages of development...and some gifts for family when we got home. We just fell in love with the four main theme parks - we had so much fun exploring them! And we were blown away by the level of service we experienced. We literally found that if we stood still and looked even slightly puzzled, in a moment a Cast Member (CM) - the name for employees at the Disney parks - would ask us if we needed help. That was unbelievable!
I had read a bit here and there about Disney's Vacation Club (DVC) prior to our trip - mostly that it was their version of a timeshare, and that DVC members (as they are referred to) qualified for lots of great discounts. Well, nearing the end of our trip, curiosity got the better of me and I wandered up to one of the (countless) DVC kiosks onsite - the next thing you know DH, our older son and I (we only had him at that point) are being picked up by a DVC van and brought to Disney's Beach Club Resort (BC) for a tour of the DVC models and an information session. We were assigned a very helpful and friendly 'Guide' - DVC's name for a salesperson. She could not have been less pushy as she showed us all about DVC. We learned that like most things Disney, DVC could be affordable - of course, also like Disney - you can spend almost limitless amounts on it too ;-) All of this certainly made sense if we planned to continue to visit WDW, or other Disney destinations in future years. So shortly after we returned home from that first historic WDW vacation we made the decision to commit to future Disney family vacations and purchased a DVC membership - at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa (SSR). We haven't really looked back. I do know that without the DVC membership we certainly wouldn't have been able to take family vacations with everything else that has been going on. It was a great decision.
The other thing that happened after we returned home, besides the DVC membership, is I got even more involved with online Disney groups. I researched every way I could to save money on future Disney vacations - and to squeeze more into our vacations too. I have learned a tremendous amount, but one thing that happened - that I wasn't expecting at all - was to meet entire communities of people online who are at least as passionate about Disney as I am - many even more so. Many of these people I have gotten to know over the past - gee, I guess it's now over *five* years!! - and am pleased and honoured to call them friends. That part is especially exciting to me. My Disney friends live all over the globe, and I have even managed to meet several of them in person. It is a lot of fun to do meets. I look forward to doing many more of them. Someday I hope to attend one of the huge Disney meets, such as the Magic Meets held in the summer in Pennsylvania, or Mousefest, usually held annually in December at WDW (but not this year), or maybe the RADP (Rec Arts Disney Parks - one of the original online Disney groups) meet - also in December at WDW.
Another goal I have is to someday visit other Disney Parks. So far we've visited WDW six times and Disneyland Resort (DL) in Anaheim CA once. There is still a tremendous amount we have not done even at WDW, believe it or not, so I look forward to many future visits to WDW too. I think DL Tokyo and Disney Seas in Japan look very interesting, and then there is EuroDisney...oh, and now DL in HongKong. And don't even get me started about Disney Cruises - these look just completely awesome! Then there are these new Adventures by Disney too. I'm not quite convinced touring with AbD is a perfect match for us, but everything I have read about them makes them seem amazing....but they are $$$$$. So far there is no AbD for Less ;-) I think a cruise is in our future long before any AbD, but these are all something to dream about.
And this brings me back to something else I love about Disney. There are loads of things you can dream about with Disney vacations. We have many many treasured memories of wonderful family moments at both WDW and DL so far. We look forward to making many more of these in the years to come. I feel I can count on Disney vacations for the family friendly aspect of them and also for the quality. We have been truly impressed with our experiences at Disney with only a very few exceptions. And when our experiences have been less than stellar, as soon as we have let them know, Disney has done their very best to correct the issues. If it weren't really fun and full of new things to see and do, I don't think we would be visiting WDW repeatedly, that is for sure. It's just plain fun, and it gives us something to look forward to. Knowing we will be returning sure makes the end of our Disney vacations a *lot* less painful too.
There is an amazing variety of things to see and do at WDW - even after six visits I feel there is a tremendous amount that we haven't managed to fit in so far. And then there are our favourites - things we've seen or done that are just so much fun, we can't wait to do them again. I love Soarin' at Epcot - partly because I also happen to have a love for the places in California that are shown, but also for the experience of feeling like I'm flying through the air with the wind in my hair. Chocolate milkshakes and other treats at Ghirardelli's in Downtown Disney (DTD). Riding Dumbo and Peter Pan with our sons.. And so far, even It's a Small World - so many people say this is just awful - but I always come out of it smiling. Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear...and The Castle! And aside from Soarin' and the milkshakes, all of those are just in the Magic Kingdom at WDW...There are things we love in every single one of the four WDW main parks. We haven't even managed to visit one of the water parks yet - or see Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba at Downtown Disney. In fact I haven't even tried most of the big 'thrill' type rides so far - on our trips it was either too difficult to wait with little kiddos, or I was pregnant. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it ;-) There are quite a few restaurants we have not tried there yet either...there are well over 100 restaurants onsite. Dining at WDW is an adventure too, if you are into great dining - although some say the quality is not what it used to be - that darned Disney Dining Plan!!! And there is more - so much more...parasailing, golf, shopping, shows....So, I think, or at least *hope* you can start to see what I'm so fascinated with.
The other aspect of our Disney vacations I just have to mention is that we are there as a family, together, with nothing else going on...we get to spend all this fun time together, relaxing and (for the most part) enjoying each other's company. Every once in a while there are bumps - some of us tend not to get enough sleep while on vacation and it makes us grumpy after a few days 8-* ...but nothing so serious that some time at the resort pool and a good ol' nap can't cure.
So there it is...one of my passions. I don't expect anyone else to join me in my obsession, but maybe, just maybe you will understand it and tolerate it a little better.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
competence?
Where I live it is necessary to drive to get pretty much everywhere. The road we live on is very busy, so sometimes I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands just to get our mail out of the mailbox across the road. Thankfully, our driveway is a bit long, so the house is a bit out of the way of traffic. This means there is a lot to shovel after a snowstorm, and what it also means is it is a pain to get to the store. The very closest store to us is a convenience store, but it doesn't carry much of anything I need, so it's not really convenient - and therefore it doesn't really count. The closest real store is about a ten minute drive away.
As a result I keep an ongoing list of what I need, so when I do drive to the store I won't forget something. There is nothing quite like driving ten minutes to the store, walking around and picking stuff up, then ten minutes back home, only to discover that I didn't pick up X, Y or Z. Not to mention that my sons are not big fans of shopping - unless it involves toys.
Fortunately, it is less than ten minutes to drive to my local post office. Mail order is a very good thing! I have become extremely fond of shopping online. As long as the shipping charges are reasonable and I can get a good price for something I need, I will no longer drive any further than the post office to get it. Usually this works out extremely well.
Lots of people I talk to (not online ;-) still seem to be very hesitant to shop online - in fact my own mother still does not have internet at her house. I got over that hesitation quite a few years ago now. I bank online, browse online and have purchased everything from clothes to plane tickets online, and have researched and booked quite a few vacations online too. On the whole, I have had very few problems and even some very pleasant surprises along the way. The winter coat I got from Lands End a year or so ago had the zipper fail. I was so disappointed at first, but then I checked online and they still had the same style available. I contacted them through their website. Lands End guarantees their products - and they told me I could return it and have it replaced. All I had to do was pay for shipping. OK, so far so good, and I sent the coat back to them. Well, I am happy to say they replaced it no problem - within a couple of weeks. I was delighted...but the thing is the price for that particular coat actually went down - so get this: Lands End sent me a check for the difference between what I paid and the new lower price of the coat! I got the new coat and a refund! The refund was about $20 more than what I had paid for shipping the coat back to them. Is that great or what?!?!?! Needless to say I'm very impressed with Lands End customer service. I have also had excellent experiences with LL Bean - just in case you are wondering where I shop.
I have tried other shopping services with less successs. Just over a year ago I got a phone call from a company that delivers groceries - boxed stuff, canned goods, paper products, meat (frozen) and other frozen food. I figured if there is another way I can make even fewer trips to the store, I'm all for it, so I decided to give it a try. Last year it worked out reasonably well. The people we dealt with were very pleasant and the cost seemed OK, quality was very good - and we are very fussy about our meat. Ah, but sadly the good part of this story ends there. This year, ownership and management of the company have changed, and not for the better I might add. They called us repeatedly to place a new order for this year - I was annoyed with the number of calls we received. Needless to say we had to wait until we had enough room in our freezer to make room for a new order. When we did indicate we were ready we dealt with the same person who came to our place to put together our order, so that part was fine. Beyond that though, things have been a mess this time around. The delivery people brought the wrong order - I got such a creepy feeling when I realized that the boxes I was opening were someone else's food.... Then when the delivery guys finally showed up with the correct order a couple of hours later, I discovered that quite a few items were still wrong, some things were missing, and that they had also substituted lower quality items than what we ordered. They are supposed to fix any problems right away. After several phone calls back and forth with various people at this company, and about a months's time a delivery truck is supposed to show up this afternoon with 'part one' of the corrections to our order. Hopefully at some point this mess will get straightened out, but I am pretty sure I will not deal with this company again. It's not saving me any time, and after all this trouble I would be fine with going to the store and picking up the correct stuff myself! The current view seems to be that change is seen as a good thing - continuous improvement and all that. In this particular case though, change was not a good thing for this company.
Oh how I wish there was a Garden Grocer here! In Orlando, when we go to DisneyWorld there is this delightful online grocery service I have used numerous times to place grocery orders online. Their service is impeccable, and reasonably priced too.
I guess I'm also not as big a fan of shopping and dealing with things over the phone compared to dealing with things online.
Maybe it's too much to ask for everyone to be competent.
As a result I keep an ongoing list of what I need, so when I do drive to the store I won't forget something. There is nothing quite like driving ten minutes to the store, walking around and picking stuff up, then ten minutes back home, only to discover that I didn't pick up X, Y or Z. Not to mention that my sons are not big fans of shopping - unless it involves toys.
Fortunately, it is less than ten minutes to drive to my local post office. Mail order is a very good thing! I have become extremely fond of shopping online. As long as the shipping charges are reasonable and I can get a good price for something I need, I will no longer drive any further than the post office to get it. Usually this works out extremely well.
Lots of people I talk to (not online ;-) still seem to be very hesitant to shop online - in fact my own mother still does not have internet at her house. I got over that hesitation quite a few years ago now. I bank online, browse online and have purchased everything from clothes to plane tickets online, and have researched and booked quite a few vacations online too. On the whole, I have had very few problems and even some very pleasant surprises along the way. The winter coat I got from Lands End a year or so ago had the zipper fail. I was so disappointed at first, but then I checked online and they still had the same style available. I contacted them through their website. Lands End guarantees their products - and they told me I could return it and have it replaced. All I had to do was pay for shipping. OK, so far so good, and I sent the coat back to them. Well, I am happy to say they replaced it no problem - within a couple of weeks. I was delighted...but the thing is the price for that particular coat actually went down - so get this: Lands End sent me a check for the difference between what I paid and the new lower price of the coat! I got the new coat and a refund! The refund was about $20 more than what I had paid for shipping the coat back to them. Is that great or what?!?!?! Needless to say I'm very impressed with Lands End customer service. I have also had excellent experiences with LL Bean - just in case you are wondering where I shop.
I have tried other shopping services with less successs. Just over a year ago I got a phone call from a company that delivers groceries - boxed stuff, canned goods, paper products, meat (frozen) and other frozen food. I figured if there is another way I can make even fewer trips to the store, I'm all for it, so I decided to give it a try. Last year it worked out reasonably well. The people we dealt with were very pleasant and the cost seemed OK, quality was very good - and we are very fussy about our meat. Ah, but sadly the good part of this story ends there. This year, ownership and management of the company have changed, and not for the better I might add. They called us repeatedly to place a new order for this year - I was annoyed with the number of calls we received. Needless to say we had to wait until we had enough room in our freezer to make room for a new order. When we did indicate we were ready we dealt with the same person who came to our place to put together our order, so that part was fine. Beyond that though, things have been a mess this time around. The delivery people brought the wrong order - I got such a creepy feeling when I realized that the boxes I was opening were someone else's food.... Then when the delivery guys finally showed up with the correct order a couple of hours later, I discovered that quite a few items were still wrong, some things were missing, and that they had also substituted lower quality items than what we ordered. They are supposed to fix any problems right away. After several phone calls back and forth with various people at this company, and about a months's time a delivery truck is supposed to show up this afternoon with 'part one' of the corrections to our order. Hopefully at some point this mess will get straightened out, but I am pretty sure I will not deal with this company again. It's not saving me any time, and after all this trouble I would be fine with going to the store and picking up the correct stuff myself! The current view seems to be that change is seen as a good thing - continuous improvement and all that. In this particular case though, change was not a good thing for this company.
Oh how I wish there was a Garden Grocer here! In Orlando, when we go to DisneyWorld there is this delightful online grocery service I have used numerous times to place grocery orders online. Their service is impeccable, and reasonably priced too.
I guess I'm also not as big a fan of shopping and dealing with things over the phone compared to dealing with things online.
Maybe it's too much to ask for everyone to be competent.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Oh crud...
Thankfully I don't get sick very often. Oh, of course I feel tired, lack energy and feel kind of crummy sometimes, but I don't end up really under the weather to the point where I can't function properly very much at all. With that in mind this past couple of days I have had a doozy of a cold. Sinuses blocked up, headache, runny nose, sneezing, coughing up a lung, frog in the throat, just totally exhausted - the whole nine yards. When I am like this it is totally frustrating. I'm reminded over and over again that there are none of those fairies here that I discussed previously...lots of work just piles up and doesn't get done.
On the bright side, I was smart enough to marry a man who can put together a decent meal when he has to. The laundry might pile up to the ceiling, the floors quickly start to look like a tornado flew through the place, but nobody will go hungry. Oh, and he does dishes too!
I know how to pick 'em.
I am now hoping for a very swift end to this nasty cold. We are planning to drive to St. Jacob's tomorrow morning very early and go to the Farmer's Market - see some fun stuff and get some yummy things.
http://www.stjacobs.com/html/shopping-farmersmarkets.html
On the bright side, I was smart enough to marry a man who can put together a decent meal when he has to. The laundry might pile up to the ceiling, the floors quickly start to look like a tornado flew through the place, but nobody will go hungry. Oh, and he does dishes too!
I know how to pick 'em.
I am now hoping for a very swift end to this nasty cold. We are planning to drive to St. Jacob's tomorrow morning very early and go to the Farmer's Market - see some fun stuff and get some yummy things.
http://www.stjacobs.com/html/shopping-farmersmarkets.html
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