collybird's Unfinished Business [a Fall 2019 Report] - COMPLETE

[collybird]

DAY 11

Today we were spending the night at the villas at the Grand Floridian. I was really looking forward to this as the GF is somewhere you think you'll never get the chance to stay.

1900 PARK FARE

We decided to make a day of it and booked breakfast at the resort. We ate here back in 2013 and enjoyed it but hadn't been back, largely because they don't start serving breakfast until 8am which is a bit late for us as we like to be able to catch rope drop.

The restaurant was much smaller than I remembered and I really liked this as it meant breakfast was a bit more relaxed than somewhere like Crystal Palace. The characters were on their way as soon as we sat down so we met them before we ate.

The interaction was fantastic, especially Mad Hatter and Alice (I always find them to be great) and it was nice to have the characters out of the way so we could enjoy our food.

Mickey waffles

Bread Pudding and Sticky Buns (loved these!)

Selection of pastries

Biscuits & Gravy and Breakfast Potatoes

Eggs, Tater Tots and Bacon - I believe this was the first appearance of tots this trip, what had become of me!?

Meat and Cheese

Cheese Blintz (I never got around to trying these!) and Cheesy Potato Casserole (so good!)

1900 Park Fare cemented itself as my favourite breakfast of the trip with the whipped cream and strawberry topping. This was my favourite thing at Crystal Palace in the past and the haven't had it for a few years.

Carved Ham - not a patch on Tusker House but very nice

Omelette Station

Smoked Salmon

Eggs Benedict

Corned Beef Hash

Create your own breakfast burrito!

The famous strawberry soup but no fresh strawberries

Kids Station!

The only negative was that the didn't have garlic cream cheese available, they it had last visit and I certainly missed it. I thought they put on an excellent spread with lots of choice and a great balance of sweet and savoury. I was very impressed.

Breakfast came to $93.72 and we left an $18 tip. Obviously OOP this is still eye-wateringly expensive but as a DDP option we thoroughly enjoyed it, far more than I expected to and it is now a strong contender for the future.

After breakfast we walked over to the Villas to check in. Our room wasn't ready yet, which we expected to be the case and we headed off to Magic Kingdom via the monorail.

As we were still checked in at Coronado Springs I had linked our GF stay to a separate 'dummy' MDE account to prevent any issues with our bookings. My two MDE accounts are not linked in any way and have nothing in common apart from both being assigned to someone with my name and date of birth, they even have different addresses as the dummy one still has my parents'. The CM mentioned when we were checking in that we only had grey Magic Bands for our room, I said that was right as I hadn't customised them as they were only to act as room keys. She said we wouldn't need them as we could use the bands we were wearing as room keys. I explained the situation and she said it didn't matter the bands would still work I had to push to get the grey bands as she didn't seem to understand what I was saying.

Anyway, at some point during our stay I accidentally used my CSR Magic Band when trying to open the door and it worked! A glitch in Disney's security that it automatically connects multiple accounts with the same name and date of birth!?

Next, lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern and some more unmagical Disney service.

[MrsSilverStar]

Ooh I nearly made myself sick on those cheesy breakfast potatoes a few times 🤣 so yummy!
Hmm, that’s quite worrying about your magic band and sad to see that more bad service is coming up 😞
(I got my magic bar at wilderness lodge so yes, you can get it there!)

[Dr.JumbaJookiba]

PF looks good, it's years since I've had breakfast there. What did you think of VGF?

[collybird]

Originally Posted by MrsSilverStar

Ooh I nearly made myself sick on those cheesy breakfast potatoes a few times 🤣 so yummy!
Hmm, that’s quite worrying about your magic band and sad to see that more bad service is coming up 😞
(I got my magic bar at wilderness lodge so yes, you can get it there!)

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The breakfast potatoes are such a holiday food, can you imagine eating something that unhealthy for breakfast at home!?

Originally Posted by Dr.JumbaJookiba

PF looks good, it's years since I've had breakfast there. What did you think of VGF?

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Sadly we weren't impressed by VGF. I felt the room was tired and dated despite it being a relatively new resort. It definitely felt like a come down after the excellent refurb at CSR and didn't compare well to Poly DVC we stayed in last year. Bathroom was fab though. We wouldn't stay again, but it's ticked off the list now.

[Mexy02]

Originally Posted by collybird

After breakfast we drove to the Studios, the hold up with paying meant EEMH were over by the time we arrived. We had FPs booked but not until later in the morning and had no concrete plans for the start of the day. I checked the Wait Times on MDE and all the rides were already 40 minutes plus, Smuggler’s Run was only 55 minutes! We hadn’t planned on doing Galaxy’s Edge this trip as we thought the crowds would be crazy, but seeing the wait so low and so high everywhere else we decided just to go for it! We got in line at 9.37 to a 65 minutes wait and were off the ride 52 minutes later!

A poor show of snacks today as we never seemed to be in the right place for the ones I wanted. I did have a mixed slush from a Joffey’s stand, this was lemon, strawberry and passion fruit. I still think Joffrey’s slushes are the best Disney sell; they stay juicy and don’t just leave you with unflavoured ice like the Coca Cola branded ones do.

This was $6.38.

Hollywood Brown Derby

This is somewhere else that had sneaked onto the list once we had upgraded to DxDP. I was sceptical after having a bit of a disaster of a meal their last year but Nik was keen to go and I’ve always wanted to try their speciality lunch menus so we agreed to give it another go.

You can see their menu here: disneyworld.disney.go/en...n-derby/menus/

The restaurant is quite big and was very busy but it wasn’t noisy and had a lovely atmosphere. I didn’t feel like I was eating in a theme park whilst the previous day at Be Our Guest I felt like I was eating in a school lunch hall.

HBD are better than most when it comes to mocktails. I had a Shirley Temple Sprite and Grenadine

This is the first time I’ve had one of these, it was okay. Very sweet. I didn’t finish it and had to ask for a Coke.

Nik had Pink Palace Sprite and Watermelon

He loved this, but I think watermelon tastes like soap. This was no different. Both drinks are automatically served with glow cubes, is there anything better!?

Simple as it may be (Tesco Part Baked Baguettes ) we love the bread service here; warm and fluffy with gorgeous Hawaiian sea salted butter.

To start, Nik had Roasted Tomato Soup Fried Mozzarella, Basil Oil

I don’t really like soup. Growing up we didn’t have much money and in the school holidays we ate Heinz soup every single day, the thought of it turns my stomach now. Nik however loves it, and really enjoyed this one. I tried it but thought it was akin to Heinz Tomato Soup, this is a good thing as far as Nik is concerned.

I had Pan-seared New England Sea Scallops Sweet-and-Spicy Zellwood Creamed Corn, Salted Cod Fish Fritter

Oh wow, one of the dishes of the holiday! They need to serve this as a main. Two perfectly seared scallops, crispy fritter and a creamy buttery sauce. I cleared the plate.

Nik and I had made a pact that if we came here, we would each order one of the burgers they serve at lunch and split them. I nearly renegaded on this as so many other things appealed but in the end I stuck to my guns.

Grilled Wagyu Beef Burger Grueye, Pastrami, Heirloom Tomato, Avocado, Red Onion, Fried Egg, Toasted Brioche, Cognac-Mustard Aoilo, Steak Fries

There was just too much going on with this, so many different flavours, yet it didn’t seem to taste of anything. It was so difficult to eat as well and I am not sold regarding eggs on burgers. The fries were excellent, chunky with a hint of seasoning. I should have chosen something else! After the high of the starter I was so disappointed.

Andouille-crusted Chicken Breast Maple-glazed Nueske’s Bacon, White Cheddar Cheese, Arugula, House-made Pickles, Onion Kaiser Roll, Vegetable Slaw

Nik loved this, but I’m not sure if he’s ever met a chicken sandwich he didn’t like. I’m a bit fussier. I felt like this needed a sauce of some kind, all a bit dry for me. They had been too generous with the rocket too and I found that the overriding flavour.

Dessert had been a particular low at HBD last year as I didn’t even touch mine. I was pleased to see they have moved away from the trio and were serving ‘real’ desserts this time. I had Espresso Cheesecake Espresso-Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Cream, Caramel-Banana Sauce, Espresso Macaron, Hazelnut Powder, Milk Chocolate Twig

I wasn’t a fan of this. The cheesecake was super cheesy, I wasn’t getting any of the espresso. I imagined tiramisu but that wasn’t what I got. It was nicely presented and I was amused to see macarons make their comeback.

Nik had Chocolate Mousse Cake Dark Chocolate Sponge Cake, Dark Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Sauce, Amarena Black Cherries

This was much better. Again, nicely presented. The cherries were very sharp and a few more of them wouldn’t have gone amiss!

I think I’ve mellowed a bit towards Brown Derby after this experience. Last time the food and service were poor, but this time the service was good and my choice of main spoiled things for me. We will probably be back as Nik in particular enjoys the restaurant. Next year we will be OOP for part of our trip and I’d like to try the HBD Lounge then.

Lunch cost $113.94 which is very good value for three courses in a Signature if you are OOP. We left a $22 tip.

Now for a tale of two extremes of Disney service. After lunch we headed back to the resort as tonight we were going to Animal Kingdom After Hours and we wanted to have a nice long nap before it. We stopped by the front desk to chase up our missing Magic Bands and we had also been having issues accessing our room, our bands worked sporadically and the Unlock feature on MDE took huge time and perseverance to get to work.

I left Nik in the car outside El Destino Tower whilst I took our bands in to the front desk. Forty minutes later I am still waiting for some resolution and have no idea what is happening, the CM kept disappearing and reappearing with my bands. She then told me she was going to have to reset my reservation which would take another 20 minutes. I said I wasn’t happy with that as Nik had already been waiting out in the car for 40 minutes, with nothing to drink, no phone to amuse himself with and he couldn’t even go back to the room because we couldn’t get in! I told her not to do that, I didn’t care about using the MBs as room keys as they worked fine for tickets, FP, dining and charging so if she could just give me a card to use as a room key, I would be happy with that. At this point I mention our missing MB and how we were told a note had been placed on the account, ‘I can see that’. Well that’s grand, but what are you going to do about it?! I have paid for these Bands

It really, really annoyed me that everyone we encountered acted like they had never come across an issue with missing MBs before when I am sure it is a very common occurrence. She wasn’t going to refund me as I didn’t have my original order email, I ordered them the very day the custom bands launched online months ago, why would I have kept that?! Finally, she asked what I had paid. Shouldn’t she have known that?! I said $10 each. Bizarrely instead of applying credit to my room bill she had to get a supervisor to get me cash from the mysterious place she kept disappearing to. It was only afterwards I realised that I had only requested a refund for the Custom upgrade on the MBs, I arguably should have been entitled to another $14.99 each as we had no MBs from our stay at all.

Another 30 minutes passes, I am getting agitated now, at the next desk a manager has intervened because as woman is ranting and raving about the fact, she’s paid for a Standard room but wants one in a Preferred building. He’s bending over backwards to please her. Meanwhile, because I am behaving like a rational human being I just get left to stew. I am sure he noticed how long I was standing at the desk for.

The CMs announces she has reset my reservation, which I had specifically asked her not to do. It’s all sorted now and all I have to do is enter my credit card again to set up room charging…

At this point I burst into tears.

I discovered the day before we left for our trip that I had lost my Clarity card pin. I didn’t think I’d be able to use room charging this year but when we checked in the card was still on the system from last year so it wasn’t a problem. I had a room bill I couldn’t settle and no way to pay for future purchases.

At this moment Nik finally comes to look for me and I have to explain to him why I am standing in Disney World crying.

I tell the CMs I can’t use my card, she brings the supervisor back again, who tells me not to cry. I was thinking to myself ‘I’d better get some free FPs out of this’. I tell her I have been here for 75 minutes because of an issue that is not my fault. She asks me to give her a minute.

Then she comes back to tell me that she has CLEARED my room charges so far, all three days of them! And that I don’t need my PIN, all I have to do is pop my card in the reader. Bingo! Room charging set up again. Well now I feel a bit silly

Nik really enjoyed our time at CSR this year but this incident is always what I think of when I think of the resort now, and unless the price was too good to turn down, we won’t stay there again. It was an amazing gesture to clear my room bill but it shouldn’t have taken tears to see some action.

And guess what?

The Bands weren’t even fixed

The time we wasted at the front desk had a knock-on effect for the rest of the day. We cancelled our Restaurantosaurus ADR, this was also partly due to the fact we had had burgers for lunch, poor planning on my part, and decided that we would go to AK later than planned. We had hoped to arrive in time for one of the last safaris for the day but Nik was still feeling poorly so the rest was needed.

Flame Tree Barbecue

I had more ADRs planned than we had credits for so decided just to share some snack credits for dinner. Somehow, despite not having eaten much today, we weren’t that hungry. Looking back now I am wondering why on earth did we didn't have a proper dinner, but I think maybe we just needed a bit of a break from DxDP.

We had Onion Ring Basket

Despite the fact it was almost closing time these were hot, crispy and very tasty. A great portion for a snack credit. $4.78

And French Fries with Pulled Pork and Cheese

Still don’t like pork. Fries and cheese sauce were great though. $7.44

What I didn’t realise until later was that the front desk had essentially cancelled our room reservation and re-booked us for the remaining 10 days, so we now had 6 extra TS credits and 4 extra snacks. I felt a bit silly after penny pinching on dinner when I found that out!

DxDP Daily Cost: $232.50
Actual Daily Spend: $227.86
DxDP Cost to Date: $679.50
Actual Cost to Date: $740.57
Table Service Credits: 18/78
Snack Credits: 11/52
Unfinished Business: 4/12
Tips: $95

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I’m still reading but that’s exactly how I felt in the yacht . I sat reduced to tears ! Over very similar problems with the magic bands and the room etc. I will never stay there again . The front desk ruined it for me . It’s sounds dramatic but when you’ve saved hard you never dream in a million years you will stand in a resort you’ve dreamed of crying! Disney have come right but they really spoilt the beginning of our holiday which I cannot relive and my mum won’t travel again.
Crt looks like a right disappointment yet dinner was fabulous . The scallops were perfect . Bog just needs a rocket up it . I’d like to try HBD , looks a lovely restaurant.
Who doesnt love flame tree and mr kamals , they should make a TS just for them

Some absolutely crap food and some outstanding food , don’t you find the less expensive, less popular is so much better . Disney springs is definitely becoming a go to choice .

We found Crystal Palace good this time , slightly better than Tusker but dues t touch the wave . I know no characters but the food choice is excellent. I’d like to do lunch/dinner next time.
I felt the same about vgf . The room was tired but I can say we had stayed there . The resort is beautiful and it’s a shame the rooms don’t reflect the resort anymore but I’m sure they did originally . That’s why I’m torn as to where to pick . WL is still top for Glyn at the moment . Contemporary still does it for me although the poly was up there . Still no idea how the yacht get the deluxe tag at all !

Glyn seems to be a dining plan convert though which amazed me if I’m honest . We are trying to look at 2021 to add some dining as he mentioned it 1 day too late for me to secure next year but this was before Disney came through.
Libertytree lunch was great for us so the next bit will be interesting . great report and it’s takes dedication so hats offf to you

[Tassiriki]

1900 park fare back on the list! Agree with Mexy that it is such a shame when a holiday you have saved hard for doesn’t live up to scratch. Hope you both had overall positive experiences.
Mexy- sorry to hear that your Mum’s holiday wasn’t what you expected and anticipated. My parents won’t come with us/ grandkids, even with my sister and her family coming too this time. Can’t imagine if I convinced them and then the t wasn’t up to scratch. X

[Goldia]

You did well to take some buffet photos at 1900. I'm still too shy for that! It doesn't help that Dave and the kids tell me I look like a weirdo taking photos of the plates...anyway...

The characters sound like great fun and the food at breakfast does seem great. We really enjoyed our dinner there back in 2016. Must add it back into the rotation some time.

[ShezMcQ]

Originally Posted by collybird

I might be wrong but I think they also have the magic cookie bars at Wilderness Lodge. I agree they are worth a trip to POR solely for those though, maybe you could take the boat from Disney Springs one day? It is a really nice trip.

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Wilderness Lodge as well? I'll have to look into this as I really fancy visiting there as well--love all the resorts!

[dixonsontour]

Park fare looks lovely have only done it for dinner before. Agree cheesy potates are delish.

[dixonsontour]

Originally Posted by Goldia

You did well to take some buffet photos at 1900. I'm still too shy for that! It doesn't help that Dave and the kids tell me I look like a weirdo taking photos of the plates...anyway...

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Ignore them they give in and accept it eventually

Mine hate me taking photos in supermarkets but it's got to be done.