All Work and No Play makes Smee Grumpy: an Oct.'19 "work" TR *New PTR link 4/8*

[ArielSRL]

about an hour ago Ricky texts me from his friends house that he wants a certain type of sneakers????

Both my kids did this! But it was pretty much too late so oh well. Next gift holiday...lol.

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm a v-neck lady

Seriously make me feel like I'm choking to death and I am SO uncomfortable in them.

This is so funny to me because my dad is the exact same way!

 

[ariane37]

You make an... ask... anyone and they'll tell you.

Our first time... Hmm... 10 years ago! 2nd parade... we pretty much were the only ones on Main St.

Yup same for us back then!

Quick check in!

I read your updates too and need to go back to comment! Just a crazy few weeks!

Well now I’m even happier we moved from Doubletree to the Waldorf in October!

We have done one night at the best western, Dillon 3 at the time liked it better then the beach club...

Ooh I haven't been to the Waldorf but heard it's gorgeous!
We did tour the BW and right now it's all broken up with TONS of construction - looks like Epcot! So it wasn't too appealing but I'm sure once it's done it'll be better than before so don't take Dillon back lol

but overall looked like a pretty good party overall, even if a bit crowded and busy!

It was, better since I didn't pay for that part of the trip! And I've heard horror stories about parties lately so definitely could have been worse.

love the Christmas shirts for you and Steve on Christmas! So fun hope your holiday was fabulous

Thank you! Our holiday was good I hope yours was too

We'll probably get in a little trouble in a few weeks. LOL!

The Cruella shirt is so cute! The 101 Dalmatians theme was really cute.

It was and it worked perfect. And most people looked great in their shirts lol

I’m glad you enjoyed the party. I agree about the new fireworks.
The parade is always so fun

For years the Boo to You! has been my favorite parade and I still love it but I have to say, after seeing the Christmas parade earlier this month for the 1st time in 7 years I think that might be my new favorite

I am late for a very important date!!!! But I am here now!

YAY! Glad you found me again!

Congrats again on Ricki getting into Scranton! At least you know he will be going to college! Man that is crazy!!!!

and yes lol we know he'll be going! I still haven't let it fully sink in though. Putting that off as long as I can......

 

[ariane37]

I saw my folks off today and now have my own routine and space again. Love them dearly, but am ready for some routine of my own again.

That's the good and not best part of having family/friends come help: you need them and are thankful for them, but the sooner you can start getting back to "normal" the better.

LOL! Tell us how you really feel, Lady!

no holding back anymore on the DIS!

That was a very busy Christmas! It must have been nice to have so many people show up, though.

It was, the day before when we're getting things ready I always wish we were going somewhere else but then the day comes and I'm happy we're all where we are How was your holiday?

our Dalmatian shirt looked passable, but your substitute was definitely superior.

This is so funny to me because my dad is the exact same way!

LMAO so what does he wear? Just no regular t-shirts I guess??

 

[ariane37]

Ugh guys! I started an update 2 days ago but work is kicking my butt and I haven't been able to get back to it Hope you all had a very HAPPY NEW YEAR and I'll be back asap!!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I wear a variety of shirt necklines, but I'm with you that men's shirts are not at all flattering on women! Give me my fitted shirt, please!

I'm sure the big group picture was crazy to organize but it's pretty cool to have a picture of ALL of you in front of the castle!

I'm glad you were able to learn a lot during the day and have fun at night!

 

[ariane37]

OK let's see if I can get this done! Taking a work break before I start knocking my head against the wall And since we leave for Disney again in TWO WEEKS I just need a DIS fix!

In other exciting news (well for us) we booked a July trip! This will be our 2nd time visiting in July, we enjoyed being there for the 4th so much last year we're doing it again the 3-9th and both boys will be with us. Last vacation with Ricky before he goes off to college We'll be at the Contemporary the first 2 nights followed by the BWI for 4 nights and we're staying CL there! Super excited as that CL will be new to us. I get to book dining this Sunday and while I usually don't make ADR"s this far in advance when it's just Steve and I, I do want to have a couple in place with the boys. Trying for the dessert party in MK on the 4th this year but not sure it's bookable yet; and since we land around 6pm on the 3rd I want to do a nice dinner, no park. Last July on arrival night we did Narcoossee's which is a favorite for all of us but I'm thinking something different this time, something new to the boys:



Thanks Disney Daily Dime! LOL I have that pic but can't find it. Even though we'll hopefully see the fireworks the following night I think it'll be neat for them to see from up there and it'll be super convenient for us, so that's what I'm trying for. I think another night I may book this and since I'm not sure if it's hard to get or not at this point, gonna do that right away Sunday too:



At first the menu wasn't speaking to me but there are a few apps I think I'd like and the boys too. That's about all I know other than I'll be there with a few other DIS friends as well!

Let me get back to the actual update before I go and start working again...........................

DAY 3 OCTOBER 25
DAY 3 PART 1: FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD??

Today wasn't quite as early as yesterday but it was still early and we had to be at the Contemporary by 8:30 rather than 8. However we still need to eat first and we both wanted something solid so we arranged to get there early and go to Contempo Cafe. We ended up meeting a few other agents at the boat dock who had the same idea and found lots more when we arrived. Soon we had eaten and were inside for 7.5 hours of "classroom training"...............
I won't bore you with it all but it was basically on DL and ABD - Adventures By Disney. For those of you who aren't familiar and don't know much about ABD:



And what different types they offer:



ABD"s are NOT inexpensive but are truly amazing and they're offered on 6 continents! There are even "short escapes" that are like 3-4 nights, both domestic and international. Our presenter was an adventure guide who'd been on tons of these but primarily currently had been doing the Montana short escape as well as the Italy/Switzerland excursion and the pictures were breathtaking. We had some agents do the Austria/ Czech Republic Adventure the end of last year and those pictures just blew me away. Save your though lol because these will set you back A LOT of pretty pennies! When I first started this job, my very first booking was an ABD and it was for someone here on the DIS

We were getting HUNGRY and during a break between ABD and DL these were rolled in:




Little up close of Pluto for @Pluto0809 :



You may recognize these from Amorette's Patisserie in DS! If you've ever grabbed anything from there you MAY know, depending on your tastes, that often the more elaborate goodies have less taste than the more basic ones. This update could also be called "Fondant is not my Favorite" but I digress a bit.
These were wheeled in and we were able to get up and get some pictures and during this it was announced that lunch was ready. Music to my ears as it was 1:30 and the 8:30 QS breakfast had worn off around 11:30. I wasn't sure what it was but I had high hopes since I pretty much love Disney food.

Except when it seems to be from Chef Mickey's
No confirmation of this and no pics of the whole buffet set-up but it makes sense since it was the closest restaurant other than the Wave and CG and I had pretty high doubts we were being served lunch from there!

Here's my plate:



They had salad and rice and grilled "seasoned"?? chicken but I feel pasta is always safe when you aren't sure what you're getting and the chicken did not look appetizing. This was like a cold pasta salad with 0 taste. Bread was good! Here's Cathy's plate (she got used to me snapping pics of her food by like day 1)



Because I knew we were having cake I held off on the buffet desserts and had high hopes for the cake.......but first, we dance!




As we were eating a Disney CM announced "We have some visitors Marvelous Mouse!" We all looked up and saw these guys walking through the back double doors!

I was unsatisfied due to the food we'd been served but this did perk me up a bit! We all started snapping pics (hence the crappy one above as I was near the front of the room and they entered from the back) and then were told to form a line to meet them Not sure what that emoji is but I like it there. I have to say seeing 101 adults run to line up to meet M&M was funny and interesting, and created a huge line with what we knew would be a long wait, so a few of us decided to wait it out. The best shot I have is the one in my intro; luckily there were still like 25 agents after me and it was getting late so they were told to hurry up lol. When all 101 of us had met them like an hour later we did what we apparently do best:




If you find me let me know! I cannot remember at all where I stood and while I see Cathy I don't appear to be by her! By the time they left it was 3:15 and we were supposed to be done at 4; but we still had one thing to get through

UP NEXT: LET THERE BE CAKE! AND AT LEAST ONE DECENT DISH AT DINNER??

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Congrats on the early July trip over the 4th!!!!!!! You all will have a blast (but not nearly as much fun as we will have in 2 weeks). LOL!!! I know. I know. Traveling with the family is always great BUT traveling with me and Joe will be greater!!!! LOL!!!

 

[ariane37]

Eh who wants to work on a Friday night: let's do another update!

DAY 3 PART 2:
LET THERE BE CAKE! AND AT LEAST ONE DECENT DISH AT DINNER???

As I was saying before, it was just about time for our classroom training to be over and we still had some CAKE to devour!

There were 2 types, chocolate and lemon. I obviously went for the chocolate and Mickey was being cut in to:



Verdict: nope. As I said in the last update I don't like the taste of fondant and this wasn't any better than usual. The actual cake part was ok but that jelly looking stuff in the middle was not and we weren't sure what flavor it was supposed to be. We did ask the CM's serving us and they weren't sure either; it kind of tasted chocolatey but there was something else too.

Nicole got the lemon and we shared:




That's a little slice of Goofy right there I don't usually like lemon but this was better than the chocolate and I liked the strawberry filling but still not anything I'd buy myself and when we walked out later I noticed lots of half-eaten pieces of cake on the tray in the hallway. But the gesture was nice and between this and the meet and great we were certainly treated well by Disney today!

There had been lots of downtime starting when M&M arrived followed by eating our dessert and we didn't end up having any DCL training as was scheduled but that was ok; 50 of us would be getting some DCL training soon ! We were dismissed at 4 and had some free time until our dinner reservation at 5:15 - yup, today was lunch 1:30, cake at 330 and dinner at 5:15! Let's say I knew I'd be starving by 9..............
We went back to our resort to freshen up and drop our stuff and around 4:45 took an Uber over to the GF. Does that give our dinner location away?




You're welcome for sharing this picture! My facial expressions got worse as Cathy kept snapping. Yes we were all 101 of us eating at 1900 Park Fare and we streamed in right in front of a few befuddled regular guests, not happy that we were basically sitting wherever we wanted. That's what we were told to do, grab a seat!
Was I happy to be here? that's another nope. Steve and I had dinner here in 2018 when we took my younger stepson to meet the girl he'd met online who lived in Orlando and we HATED it. We thought it was some of the worst food we'd ever had. Good to know some things don't change!

I'll spare you the details and I know some really like this but I did NOT AT ALL. I got a few things:




Cornbread was awesome, the caesar salad was good. The sausage and peppers was a nice change to see on a buffet but it was not good if you're used to Italians making you S&P. That leaves the beef While this rare piece probably would have been great for my friend Kari @kastoney I need it a bit more cooked and when I asked for well done was told this was the only option. I ate 4 pieces of cornbread and that helping of salad to balance out the cornbread and 2 rolls I'd had for lunch.
This part of the meal was ok:



The other 5 ladies I was sitting with were also very ready for an adult beverage at this time! I had the Riesling and I know Cathy had the strawberry daiquiri; the taller glass was a sangria and the purple drink is that star punch or something that's on like every menu -too lazy to look it up now.

We saw Lady Tremaine and both Cindy and her prince stopped by but the stepsisters were not in attendance this evening. Instead as we exited Perla was waiting for us in the hallway! This was really the best part (only good part) of the meal for me as I'd never met her or Susie before:




See I try to do that cute thing with my leg/knee that people do in pictures that makes them just look - well - cute - but I just end up looking like I have gas or something. Lucky for Perla I did not! Cathy met her too and I guess Perla liked Cathy better because she tried copping a little feel:




Hey @lvcourtneyy reminds me of your recent R-rated picture with Pooh! Maybe the bear and the mouse talked to each other lol. We left and went back to the WL again as we had time before our next required meet up. Speaking of this was a little off-putting for me to be honest and yes, wordy as it will be I'm going to share the details with you.

So at first we were supposed to tour Disney resorts tonight. While most FAM's are planned out by our host this one was planned mostly by our owner and that meant she worked WITH Disney to get all the things we had, did, and saw. That also meant that if Disney decided they couldn't accommodate something it would change. Therefore after they cancelled the night tours our owner added a few hours at Jellyrolls to our itinerary. Yes that's cool! Fun! Here's what I didn't like; it was MANDATORY and while I am 100% fine drinking (you may know that about me) and Cathy and I have had lots of fun hanging out drinking together, remember one agent got offended at HDDR? Well, as I said then there are agents from all sorts of backgrounds in our agency and I didn't think it was right to mandate you go to a bar type situation as part of work. Maybe it's me; other than this I haven't "worked" in 18 years so maybe I'm out of the loop? Either way while I was fine going I just wasn't sure it was the right thing to make mandatory in this situation.

So we got back to WL around 6:30 and didn't have to report to Jellyrolls until 8 - we also had to stay until 10. Cathy, Annie and I met at Territory Lounge around 7:15 and had one glorious drink before leaving. I finally felt relaxed and in my element, in familiar "terry"tory @Jenny Sanders @kastoney @pepperandchips and all my other May friends who remember our TL buddy! Oh how I wish we could have stayed there! I also really wanted mushroom soup but knew I'd be hungry later and wanted to wait. TL stops serving food at 10 so right then and there I declared out loud that I would be back for my soup before 10, don't care who said what

We took an Uber to Jellrolls and arrived about 8:10; most of the group was already there but we grabbed 3 stools at the bar and were joined by Nicole.





The stage is on the right and we were like straight back so to the left in the picture. There are 2 bars, one on each side, and I got a few of their specialty drinks which I swore I took picture of but can't find. Around 8:30 the guys started playing:



They were fun! The way you do it if you don't know is that you write down your name and the song you want them to sing and bring it up to the piano (see the pile of paper on the piano) along with a little donation. They pick the ones they want and they were picking our agents requests left and right! Again I felt bad for other guests because we took up almost all the seats and they had to play like 20 of our songs in a row. But hey not my problem! They ended up singing "My Ding-a-Ling" by Chuck Berry which was not an agents request but I love that song so I was singing and dancing! If you've never heard it - give it a google However all the while I'm watching the clock and thinking about my stomach and that delicious warm soup......it had started pouring out and was really cold in Jellyrolls and OMG that soup would have hit the spot! I did notice a few agents leave around 9 and I told Cathy I was out there and getting an Uber at 9:20 but it was still pouring and I did not want to walk to the BW in the rain. On top of that Cathy was afraid we'd get in "trouble" if we left before 10. I will say that if I"d had decent food that day I wouldn't have even thought about leaving because music and alcohol is really usually enough for me, but um, I like my food. Alot. And I do not like being hungry. But what I really don't like is not feeling free to be me lol and do what I want to do - haven't worked for anyone in 18 years, hello?? And right about now it was starting to hit me. I wanted good food and I wanted someone to want good food with me, because whether I'm in Disney with family or friends I'm always with people who also WANT GOOD FOOD!

You see I'm getting cranky now; did I stay or did I go? And if I went where did I go, and was my stomach finally satisfied??? Tune in soon to find out!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Hey, is that you in the back row, 4 from the end (on the right side)???? If so, do I get a prize?????

 

[Wood Nymph]

The food looks very unappealing. Do they ever serve you good food at these lunches?

Have you been to Jellyrolls before this tour? It never looks like anyone is in there from the outside. It sounds like it would be fun to go there with a group of friends rather than just two of you.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

but I just end up looking like I have gas or something.

LMBO! You totally looked cute and not like you were blowing farts!!!

and in my element, in familiar "terry"tory @Jenny Sanders @kastoney @pepperandchips and all my other May friends who remember our TL buddy! Oh how I wish we could have stayed there!

Ahhh! Memories...

 

[lvcourtneyy]

In other exciting news (well for us) we booked a July trip!

Save your though lol because these will set you back A LOT of pretty pennies!

So true! I'm dying to go on one.

Except when it seems to be from Chef Mickey's

I have to say seeing 101 adults run to line up to meet M&M was funny and interesting, and created a huge line with what we knew would be a long wait, so a few of us decided to wait it out.

Seems they coulda planned that better lol.

Yes we were all 101 of us eating at 1900 Park Fare and we streamed in right in front of a few befuddled regular guests, not happy that we were basically sitting wherever we wanted. That's what we were told to do, grab a seat!

Wow! I have a picture in my head of you guys storming the place lol.

Hey @lvcourtneyy reminds me of your recent R-rated picture with Pooh! Maybe the bear and the mouse talked to each other lol.

Well, as I said then there are agents from all sorts of backgrounds in our agency and I didn't think it was right to mandate you go to a bar type situation as part of work.

I agree- especially since Jelly Rolls is probably the most bar-ish place on Disney property. Any other place you could order food and non-alcoholic drinks. Jelly Rolls is pretty much all alcohol and music. I love it but who knows what history people have. Seems weird for it to be mandatory.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Hello Ariane! Well it took me a while but I finally caught up. In case you haven't noticed my posts in a couple other TRs, I've been pretty busy in "real-life" lately with a new job (same company). It's a job that required a lot of training time over the last few weeks and I've now started working 12 hour shifts. Not an easy adjustment for my family especially with Christmas in the middle of it. But the good thing is that the job came with a pay raise so I may be able to get back to Disney sometime soon. Even though it's been a rough few weeks, I still consider myself lucky because there was a pretty big shake up at my company and the other option for me was no job. So I'm thankful to have survived. Several of my co-workers did not. Anyway, onwards and upwards.

As always I'm looking forward to your report. And I absolutely agree. Why drink fruit without alcohol! (You may remember I have no shame at drinking a girly cocktail!)

 

[ariane37]

'm sure the big group picture was crazy to organize but it's pretty cool to have a picture of ALL of you in front of the castle!

I had my doubts that we'd be able to pull it off especially if it was crowded but it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be!

Congrats on the early July trip over the 4th!!!!!!! You all will have a blast (but not nearly as much fun as we will have in 2 weeks). LOL!!! I know. I know. Traveling with the family is always great BUT traveling with me and Joe will be greater!!!! LOL!!!

Ha ha so true! It's way different being with family and I love when the kids come but I won't give up our adults only/friends trips for anything!

Hey, is that you in the back row, 4 from the end (on the right side)???? If so, do I get a prize?????

I think you might be right! And yes your prize is hanging out with me in 2 weeks
Wood Nymph, post: 61394295, member: 444989"]
The food looks very unappealing. Do they ever serve you good food at these lunches?
[/QUOTE]
Well Universal doesn't lol and this was my first time at a Disney work conference so I was hoping. And the answer is no. It's probably partly because I like good food? And am used to eating at the restaurants that are considered "better" at Disney? And of course they have to feed lots of us so inexpensive and easy to make in bulk work best but......yeah no.

Have you been to Jellyrolls before this tour? It never looks like anyone is in there from the outside. It sounds like it would be fun to go there with a group of friends rather than just two of you.

This was my first time and I definitely agree it's better with a group of friends rather than a group of co-workers, even though I consider some of them friends There were couples there but it looked mostly like groups of friends/large groups of people together.

LMBO! You totally looked cute and not like you were blowing farts!!!

Thanks! I can always count on you to say I look good when I look weird

So true! I'm dying to go on one.

We want to do a Rhine River Cruise soooooo bad!

Wow! I have a picture in my head of you guys storming the place lol.

We looked like a group of 15's moms' but knew how to speak English lol

agree- especially since Jelly Rolls is probably the most bar-ish place on Disney property. Any other place you could order food and non-alcoholic drinks. Jelly Rolls is pretty much all alcohol and music. I love it but who knows what history people have. Seems weird for it to be mandatory.

All true and of course I agree. I thought it was out of place to require that even though I'm ok with it. But I got through! It's a different situation too since like I said usually the FAM's are all planned by the vendor but Disney is different and is all up to the owner to plan. At Universal we were pretty much free after 6 every night!

Hello Ariane!

Hey Jeff! Always good to see you and Happy New Year! I did not know about your new job but congrats! It sounds like it's definitely the best thing and working out well. I totally understand not having time for the DIS either! Best of luck as you continue your new venture.

As always I'm looking forward to your report. And I absolutely agree. Why drink fruit without alcohol! (You may remember I have no shame at drinking a girly cocktail!)

LOL THAT I remember

 

[pkondz]

we leave for Disney again in TWO WEEKS

Soon!

In other exciting news (well for us) we booked a July trip! This will be our 2nd time visiting in July, we enjoyed being there for the 4th so much last year we're doing it again the 3-9th and both boys will be with us.

Hey! That's great!

we're staying CL there!

Very nice!

ABD"s are NOT inexpensive but are truly amazing and they're offered on 6 continents!

I did know they were offered on at least 5.

There are even "short escapes" that are like 3-4 nights, both domestic and international.

Really! I wasn't aware of that.

You may recognize these from Amorette's Patisserie in DS!

This update could also be called "Fondant is not my Favorite" but I digress a bit.

Yeah... fondant makes cakes look pretty, but... doesn't really taste good.

As we were eating a Disney CM announced "We have some visitors Marvelous Mouse!" We all looked up and saw these guys walking through the back double doors!

Nice of Disney.

I have to say seeing 101 adults run to line up to meet M&M was funny and interesting,

There were 2 types, chocolate and lemon.

Hmmm... that'd be a tough call for me.

Mickey was being cut in to:

Good Lord! What did you do to Mickey!!!!!!

Verdict: nope. As I said in the last update I don't like the taste of fondant and this wasn't any better than usual

Yeah... not surprised.

when we walked out later I noticed lots of half-eaten pieces of cake on the tray in the hallway.

Not surprised by that either.

took an Uber over to the GF. Does that give our dinner location away?

You're welcome for sharing this picture! My facial expressions got worse as Cathy kept snapping.

we streamed in right in front of a few befuddled regular guests, not happy that we were basically sitting wherever we wanted.

Oh well, it's not like it was a private party.

Was I happy to be here? that's another nope.

Really! I'm surprised. I've heard nothing but good things about it. Huh!

we HATED it. We thought it was some of the worst food we'd ever had.

Wow! Really! I'm a bit... no, a lot surprised.

the stepsisters were not in attendance this evening.

Shame.

Instead as we exited Perla was waiting for us in the hallway! This was really the best part (only good part) of the meal for me as I'd never met her or Susie before:

See I try to do that cute thing with my leg/knee that people do in pictures that makes them just look - well - cute - but I just end up looking like I have gas or something.

I guess Perla liked Cathy better because she tried copping a little feel:

who remember our TL buddy!

Is that Mr. "Can I eat your leftovers"??

They ended up singing "My Ding-a-Ling" by Chuck Berry which was not an agents request but I love that song so I was singing and dancing!

Man, them snappers all around my feet.

You see I'm getting cranky now; did I stay or did I go?

Cranky? You go girl!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

That sounds like a really long day! It's a shame that you didn't enjoy most of your food that day. I was actually pleasantly surprised by our dinner at 1900 Park Fare back in 2015 - it was much better than I was anticipating. It's too bad you didn't find something more that you liked!

Mandatory time at Jellyrolls is a bit strange. I've been to a few required work dinners or happy hours (where there is food and drink), but Jellyrolls is definitely more "bar" than a brief happy hour. At least you enjoyed your time!

I hope you went back to get your soup!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Andi and I had dinner at 1900 PF in 2017 and it was awful. The food was just bad and the place was a chaotic mess. No hurry to go back

The cakes are so pretty, sorry not the best tasting, we tried one once and in no rush to get another

I hope you got your soup, I want to try that soup one of these days. I think we are going to try Territory Lounge this trip! I think it is weird the night entertainment was mandatory, was she hoping you all would meet some potential clients

 

[suse66]

Ugh guys! I started an update 2 days ago but work is kicking my butt and I haven't been able to get back to it Hope you all had a very HAPPY NEW YEAR and I'll be back asap!!

Yay for being busy with work as a growing business is a good thing but boo to not enough time for the Dis!

In other exciting news (well for us) we booked a July trip! This will be our 2nd time visiting in July, we enjoyed being there for the 4th so much last year we're doing it again the 3-9th and both boys will be with us. Last vacation with Ricky before he goes off to college We'll be at the Contemporary the first 2 nights followed by the BWI for 4 nights and we're staying CL there! Super excited as that CL will be new to us. I get to book dining this Sunday and while I usually don't make ADR"s this far in advance when it's just Steve and I, I do want to have a couple in place with the boys. Trying for the dessert party in MK on the 4th this year but not sure it's bookable yet; and since we land around 6pm on the 3rd I want to do a nice dinner, no park. Last July on arrival night we did Narcoossee's which is a favorite for all of us but I'm thinking something different this time, something new to the boys:

Awesome!! I am hoping for a mother/son trip in August as Jack is interested in Galaxy's Edge. Of course, being me I have the whole trip booked and planned while he is like "mom, I only said I might go....."

ABD"s are NOT inexpensive but are truly amazing and they're offered on 6 continents! There are even "short escapes" that are like 3-4 nights, both domestic and international. Our presenter was an adventure guide who'd been on tons of these but primarily currently had been doing the Montana short escape as well as the Italy/Switzerland excursion and the pictures were breathtaking. We had some agents do the Austria/ Czech Republic Adventure the end of last year and those pictures just blew me away. Save your though lol because these will set you back A LOT of pretty pennies! When I first started this job, my very first booking was an ABD and it was for someone here on the DIS

I would LOVE to do one of their adult only river cruises!

Verdict: nope. As I said in the last update I don't like the taste of fondant and this wasn't any better than usual. The actual cake part was ok but that jelly looking stuff in the middle was not and we weren't sure what flavor it was supposed to be. We did ask the CM's serving us and they weren't sure either; it kind of tasted chocolatey but there was something else too.

Those cakes look pretty but I have never heard great things about the taste.

Was I happy to be here? that's another nope. Steve and I had dinner here in 2018 when we took my younger stepson to meet the girl he'd met online who lived in Orlando and we HATED it. We thought it was some of the worst food we'd ever had. Good to know some things don't change!

I tried it for breakfast and was not a fan either. An once and done for me.

We saw Lady Tremaine and both Cindy and her prince stopped by but the stepsisters were not in attendance this evening. Instead as we exited Perla was waiting for us in the hallway! This was really the best part (only good part) of the meal for me as I'd never met her or Susie before:

What a cute meet!

Yes that's cool! Fun! Here's what I didn't like; it was MANDATORY and while I am 100% fine drinking (you may know that about me) and Cathy and I have had lots of fun hanging out drinking together, remember one agent got offended at HDDR? Well, as I said then there are agents from all sorts of backgrounds in our agency and I didn't think it was right to mandate you go to a bar type situation as part of work. Maybe it's me; other than this I haven't "worked" in 18 years so maybe I'm out of the loop? Either way while I was fine going I just wasn't sure it was the right thing to make mandatory in this situation.

I get super annoyed when I am told I "have" to do something. I would have totally sneaked out and headed back to Territory!

You see I'm getting cranky now; did I stay or did I go? And if I went where did I go, and was my stomach finally satisfied??? Tune in soon to find out!

Hmmmm.......you left and got ice cream at Ample Hills!

 

[kastoney]

Me and my pirate eye are all caught up. I'll pick back up with my usual snark once normal programming resumes but for now I must say I am appalled by your disdain for the rules. I may have to find another travel Agent who completely embraces rare meat and matching shirts