10 Trips in 27 Months! WOO! HOO! COMPLETED 10/2018

[Jenny Sanders]

On the plane ready to leave Illinois and our first pic at the Don Cesar!!!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Day 2 started bright and early with a Starbucks and Panera run. We took our food and coffees down to the beach, because my sister, Julie had another surprise for us... She rented a beach bed, lounge chairs, and umbrellas for our beach day comfort. It was so sweet of her!!! We spent the day swimming, collecting shells, and building sandcastles with Gia. For lunch, we ordered drinks, fresh fruit, and a nacho platter.

After a full day in the sun, it was time to go back up to our rooms to shower and change for dinner. We were heading to downtown St Pete for a yummy meal...

 

[Jenny Sanders]

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Dinner was at Ruth Criss. We sat outside and enjoyed steak sandwiches, wine and other alcoholic beverages. Again, epic fail on my part...no pics. I promise I did better with Disney food photos...

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Day 3 meant massages for my mom, Julie and Ali, while Ash, Gia and I enjoyed more pool time.

After some pampering for half of us, we all met up for lunch and cocktails outside. I did manage to get a photo of the pool bar menu and my pina colada. Let’s face it, nothing says sun, beach and palm treats like a pina colada...

 

[Jenny Sanders]

For dinner Monday night, we ventured out to a place called Hacienda Grande. It was new to all of us, and I'm afraid not very good. Again, epic fail on the pictures...Sorry!!!! I ordered nachos with EXTRA queso, and I got nachos with no cheese whatsoever!!! Really????

After dinner, we sat outside on the beach for awhile. But, we had to get to sleep early, BECAUSE...We were headed to Disney the next morning.
I promise the last segment of the girl's trip will be much more detailed and contain a lot more food pics.

 

[ArielSRL]

Hi, Freinds! I'm back and ready to delight you with another TR...At least I hope you will all be delighted...This turned out to be an excellent girl's trip and I can't wait to tell you all about it!!!!

So, the limo picked my mom, Ali, Ash and I up at the ungodly hour of 3 am on Saturday, June 2nd. We arrived at the airport, checked our bags curbside and skipped through security. We were at the gate with TONS of time to spare, so we grabbed some Dunkin' and waited to board the plane. The plane ride was smooth and uneventful. We landed in Tampa a bit early and my sister and Gia were there waiting for us.

We picked up our bags, loaded the minivan and pulled out of our parking space, only to hear tons of horns beeping at us...HUH???? Yep, my sister forgot to close the hatch of the car, and we were seconds away from all of our luggage spilling out of the car... Can you imagine if we would have made it to the expressway???? Anyway, crisis averted and we were on our way to the Don Cesar Resort and Spa...Oh, I forgot to mention...My sister had gift bags for each of us with snacks, drinks, Disney tees (that we never wore) and Alex and Ani bracelets to commemorate the occasion. How sweet was that?!?!

We were at the Don a few minutes later, and heading poolside to enjoy lunch (where I didn't snap any pics), before a few hours at the pool...

After lunch and pool time, we went up to our rooms to unpack, freshen up and travel a few miles away to enjoy Pei Wei for dinner. Dinner was delicious, but I forgot to get any pics AGAIN!!! This would be a theme, sadly...

After dinner, we enjoyed some alcoholic beverages before turning in for the night. We were all VERY tired from waking up at the a** crack of dawn, and a good night's sleep was in order...

Wait until you hear the second surprise my sister had instore for us/...

Glad you were able to avoid the luggage disaster that could have been and I love the gift bags!

 

[ArielSRL]

She rented a beach bed, lounge chairs, and umbrellas for our beach day comfort.

That’s awesome!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Glad you were able to avoid the luggage disaster that could have been and I love the gift bags!

Can you imagine?????

 

[Jenny Sanders]

UPDATE:
Good morning! We all agreed to be up and out the door at 8:30 am, car packed, seat belts fastened and ready to go...We were actually a bit early. The plan was to drive for a half hour or so and make a Starbucks run before our brunch at Trattoria al Forno...We were literally a minute from I4 when Gia yells from the back seat that she has to go pee. OH NO!!!! Well, my sister managed to find a McDonalds, where I helped her get Gia out of the car and to the potty QUICK. We finish up our pit stop, get Gia strapped back into her car seat and she yells," Mom! I have to go poop." Are you kidding me???? I thought Julie was going to have a stroke...We were just in the bathroom 20 seconds ago...Back to the McDonalds bathroom we go, so Gia can finish her business...Remember when I told you we got out the door early????? Well, we were now 45 minutes behind schedule...The good thing about this side trip was that the McDonalds was right next to a Starbucks. Off to the drive-thru we go. After receiving our Mochas, muffins and banana breads, it was time to hit the road again...

An hour later we were pulling onto Disney property...

We pulled up to the Contemporary Resort, stored our bags with bell services and checked in. Our rooms weren't quite ready, so we got back into the car. It was time for brunch at the Boardwalk. Plus, Timmy was meeting us!!!!! My mom hadn't seen him since early December and she was foaming at the mouth to hug and kiss her youngest grandson...

The drive to Trattoria al Forno was quick and easy. We parked the car and walked over to the restaurant. This is where things went south and I was VERY disappointed in Disney for the first time in FOREVER (like how I did that)...

 

[Jenny Sanders]

 

[Jenny Sanders]

 

[suse66]

What happened????? Talk about a cliffhanger........

On another note, your beach pictures look amazing!

I am so curious to hear about what happened!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

UPDATE:
Good morning. So, we walk into Trattoria al Forno and I go up to the counter to check us in. I apologize for being late (10 Mins) and ask if we can add a chair for my son at our table. I explain that he's in the college program, and he'd like to sit with us, but won't be eating. I said he only found out his schedule a few days ago, and since he's off, we'd like to sit and visit with him. Well, the first girl says it's not a problem and sure she can do that. Then, out of nowhere, this other woman says nope, not unless you pay the $35 price tag. So, I interject and repeat that he won't be eating and she tells me it's for the entertainment. Hello? What???? You want us to pay $35 to sit at the table, not eat, but he can take pics with the characters (which he wasn't going to do anyway)...So, I explain again that he's in the college program, my mom (his grandma) hasn't seen him since December, and can he just sit with us???? She says nope again, THEN tells me if he'd like to sit next door where the characters don't visit, he can and just have a glass of water. AGAIN, I said,"WHAT?" I said,"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of us getting to sit and visit with him?" She then shrugs her shoulders and walks away!!!!!! Ok, am I just a moron? Was that like the worst Disney display of a cast member EVER???? I don't get it...We were all VERY disappointed. So, poor Tim walks in, hugs and kisses all around, and we have to tell him for the next hour or so he has to walk around the Boardwalk and wait for us to eat. I told him I would pay the $35 for him to sit with us, but he graciously said he would meet us in an hour. Does that entire situation suck, or what??????? I thought about canceling the reservation, but Gia was so excited to see Ariel...Unfortunately, I don't think we will be coming back. It's disappointing because the food and character interaction were top notch. The cast member encounter, NOT SO MUCH!!!!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

After the whole check in fiasco, it was time to sit down at our table. We were seated in the first room next to a window.
I won’t bore you with everyone’s meals, but just share mine. We all enjoyed the basket of delicious pastries. We each received a bowl of fruit and I ordered the steak and eggs with a glass of oj. Everything was just as good as it was in March. No one had anything but positive reviews for their meals as well. The food came out hot and fresh and we didn’t wait long between courses. As we started to eat, the characters started their procession...

 

[suse66]

Oh my goodness!!! What was wrong with that CM???? That is is the worst example of customer service I have ever heard. Poor Tim! And how unpleasant for everyone else. Are you sending an email to guest services?

 

[Raeven]

UPDATE:
Good morning. So, we walk into Trattoria al Forno and I go up to the counter to check us in. I apologize for being late (10 Mins) and ask if we can add a chair for my son at our table. I explain that he's in the college program, and he'd like to sit with us, but won't be eating. I said he only found out his schedule a few days ago, and since he's off, we'd like to sit and visit with him. Well, the first girl says it's not a problem and sure she can do that. Then, out of nowhere, this other woman says nope, not unless you pay the $35 price tag. So, I interject and repeat that he won't be eating and she tells me it's for the entertainment. Hello? What???? You want us to pay $35 to sit at the table, not eat, but he can take pics with the characters (which he wasn't going to do anyway)...So, I explain again that he's in the college program, my mom (his grandma) hasn't seen him since December, and can he just sit with us???? She says nope again, THEN tells me if he'd like to sit next door where the characters don't visit, he can and just have a glass of water. AGAIN, I said,"WHAT?" I said,"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of us getting to sit and visit with him?" She then shrugs her shoulders and walks away!!!!!! Ok, am I just a moron? Was that like the worst Disney display of a cast member EVER???? I don't get it...We were all VERY disappointed. So, poor Tim walks in, hugs and kisses all around, and we have to tell him for the next hour or so he has to walk around the Boardwalk and wait for us to eat. I told him I would pay the $35 for him to sit with us, but he graciously said he would meet us in an hour. Does that entire situation suck, or what??????? I thought about canceling the reservation, but Gia was so excited to see Ariel...Unfortunately, I don't think we will be coming back. It's disappointing because the food and character interaction were top notch. The cast member encounter, NOT SO MUCH!!!!

That's really ridiculous! I can't believe they wouldn't even let him sit in the restaurant with you

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Oh my goodness!!! What was wrong with that CM???? That is is the worst example of customer service I have ever heard. Poor Tim! And how unpleasant for everyone else. Are you sending an email to guest services?

I haven't thought about sending an email to guest services ONLY because we have NEVER experienced anything like this in all the years we have been coming to Disney...I just felt so bad for Tim. He honestly walked around the Boardwalk for an hour and a half waiting for us. AND, it was not a good way to start the Disney portion of our trip. However, it did get better with only a few snags (transportation-related).

That's really ridiculous! I can't believe they wouldn't even let him sit in the restaurant with you

I honestly tried arguing with them (politely), but they weren't having it. The ONLY reason I stayed was because Gia had already seen the characters walking by while we were waiting to be seated and was VERY excited.

Backstory-----When Joe and I were at Trattoria in March, Ariel recorded a small video for Gia saying she couldn't wait to meet her in June. Gia had been obsessing over it since then...I couldn't let her down, because she would have been soooooo upset...

 

[Raeven]

I honestly tried arguing with them (politely), but they weren't having it. The ONLY reason I stayed was because Gia had already seen the characters walking by while we were waiting to be seated and was VERY excited.

Backstory-----When Joe and I were at Trattoria in March, Ariel recorded a small video for Gia saying she couldn't wait to meet her in June. Gia had been obsessing over it since then...I couldn't let her down, because she would have been soooooo upset...

That's so rude of them. I completely understand why you stayed though, it just sucks they couldn't even accommodate someone who works for the company and is only trying to see their family.