August 2009 Visit

We experienced typical August weather during this Disney trip, warm and humid with a late afternoon rain ( Always carry your Disney ponchos in your pocket even if the weatherman declares a clear day). We had a minor issue with our room, they gave us a King Size bed and we requested two doubles. After a short walk back to the lobby the slightly unfriendly Cast Member changed our room.

The 1st order of business was to have our evening meal and check out the Pin Trading Center at Downtown Disney. We made a few good trades with the local traders and a few other Guests after we had a nice meal at LeChef's in Epcot.

During our short four day visit we hit our favorite attractions such as The Pirated of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Soaring and others. Although the Parks had it's usual crowd we walked right on most of our favorites. We slipped onto the Test Track when the fireworks started and were lucky enough to get a fast past for Soaring. For those of you who may believe in some form of Karma or do unto others philosophy, it appeared to have worked a number of times for us during this trip. My wife wanted to ride the Dinosaur Ride in Animal Kingdom and found the wait to be almost an hour. As we approached the attraction a young woman offered us two fast passes they could not use. We found a last minute reservation at a restaurant that was not available the day before. We traded for a number of Limited Edition pins from Cast Members Lanyards. Could this have been from the Trading Pins we had given to young Park Guests or the Scotty Pin my wife gave to the Cast Member from Scotland for her personal collection? Perhaps it was informing the young Cast Member from France that she had given me back the 4 one hundred dollar bills back rather than 4 one dollar bills I was due. Not sure yet it could be.

I can finally say that I found a food offering at Disney world that is absolutely fantastic.

In fact, I would travel to Disney World just for the Coconut and Shrimp Curry soup at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian Resort. The soup is smooth with a little fiery aftertaste and the shrimp melts in your mouth. Fantastic! We both had the shrimp and scallops, all though the entrees were fine by themselves they paled after the soup. The scallops where done to perfection with no grit or rubbery texture. The only minor complaint is I prefer that both sides of my scallops to be seared. Dessert arrived and neither of us had room for much of the Crème Brulee or the Chocolate Molten cake with ice cream.

Just as in the real world not all Disney Cast members are as friendly as others. Before I continue, allow me to say that we do not expect a Cast Member to bend over and kiss our backside. However we would at least like for them to appear to appreciate that we are spending our vacation dollars at Disney World.  I do not make it a habit of mentioning names of Cast Members with "Attitude" unless they are really bad, however I will give the name of those who go out of their way to make our visit a pleasant one.

Bad Attitude - The lady at the concierge desk who was asked to move us to a new room per the earlier phone conversation had a frown and I could care less if I help you attitude. At first she acted as if we were putting her out to take care of our room change. The 1st room they assigned us was closer to the food court and busses however there was no 911 Defibrillator near by or smoking area for the Boss. As my wife tells them his the heart patient not me and she wants to smoke. Last but not least we need two beds because I snore like buzz saw. We had other incidents of poor attitudes and cast members more interested in discussing personal business with other cast members. However I do not remember specifics as the bad stuff usually just fades away.

Great Attitude - Our waitress at the Kona Cafe, Debbie. She was very positive, appeared happy to be their and serving her customers. In fact when I informed her that the Coconut and Shrimp Curry soup was the first memorable food item I've every had in Disney. She offered to bring me another bowl. Their was an older couple at the table next to us that when Debbie found out he was celebrating his 84th birthday she brought him a special Ice Cream treat. We ordered coffee and hot tea to have with our dessert. Debbie sat next to me to quietly ask me if other property restaurants charged us for our Tea and Coffee. I told her no, as I was mistakenly under the impression that it was included in the dining plan, which it is not if you had a soft drink with dinner. Debbie says she likes to take care of her customers regardless, however she did not want to make a mistake that could get her in trouble in case I was a hidden Disney shopper. (How do you get that job, Hint - Hint). The vast majority of the Cast Members young and old where friendly as well as attentive to the Parks guests.

We do find something new at Walt Disney World every time we visit the parks and Resorts. This time we spotted a "RAT" in the Hollywood Studios Park and an even larger one in the grass just outside our room at the Port Orleans Riverside Park. Not the cute little Disney Animation Rats, these were the live dirty, disease carrying "RATS".

On our final day we decided to use our last "Stand up Meal" at the Port Orleans Riverside food court, little did we know it could have been our last meal. We opted for the "create-you-own pasta" with Penne, Mushrooms, Alfredo sauce and Chicken.

My wife ate a 1/4th of her Chicken meal before discovering that the Chicken was "RAW", Yes "RAW"! 

  Attempted Murder At Disney World Resort

BY RAW CHICKEN!

While my wife ran to the bathroom to induce vomiting I took the offending RAW chicken back to the counter and showed it to the Chef with name tag Sylvester.  With a look of shock he asked " WHO COOKED THIS" and asked if we wanted another chicken meal. Of course I declined stating our appetite has been ruined, not to mention my wife may be ill. This is where he left it. I had to leave to check on my wife. When we went to pick up our luggage I told the cast member about the rats and the very recent raw chicken. One of them gave me a Disney Celebration button for my wife and no it did not make her feel better

Fortunately my wife did not get seriously ill only spent the balance of the day at Disney, the airport, on the plane and at home in the restroom.

Will return to Disney?

Yes until the rats get bigger or they attempt to Poison one of us again.

Will we stay at Port Orleans?

NO!

When you take your family to Disney World or any other family amusement center. Please remember that it is still the real world not fairy land where all is good. Evil can happen even at the happiest places and you need to protect your family. Do not allow our children to wander alone in the parks or resorts as Pedophiles are everywhere.  In fact it is our understanding that another young person was fondled or had a man expose themselves at one of the Disney water parks in July and August which brings the count to over 5 incidents for the summer of 2009. One can not blame Disney as they do the best they can with their part security and local sheriff's deputy on location in uniform and plain clothes. It is ultimately the child's guardians responsibility for their safety

We plan to bring the good and the not so good about our Disney adventures.