CeciliaKy

14 hours ago, rtguy007 said:

Went to book a week in August this morning and couldn't. There was a message on the reservation page saying reservations were unavailable due to a system update. No big deal. Got home tonight and went to book my week and got to the page you have to pay. Put everything in and got an error that my payment couldn't be processed with no error on the top. Scrolled down and under my credit card expiration date was a message saying I needed to put in my 3 or 4 digit secure code. Funny part was that there was no box to do it. Called the reservation line and the lady on the other end was able to process it through with no problems.

Has anyone else experienced this yet? Seems like a missing credit card security code input box would be a pretty big thing for Disney to screw up.

I was on property Sat-Mon ... IT was a hot mess all weekend. Couldn't use my band in some places, when I could it read it from a prior reservation, etc. It was supposed to be just Friday, but I guess it's lingering. 

On 7/12/2016 at 9:16 PM, bhall said:

The bank I work for recommends a 3-4 business day notice.  All financial institutions have different parameters though.

and it's sound advice. if you remember. calling on the last day of the month (Friday) before a long holiday weekend might not have been the best time.  

that Publix is the only place I had trouble with my card, which is interesting. the cashier said that store is a massive fraud target ... so, in the end, lesson learned & I'm glad the parameters are in place. 

14 hours ago, pama0721 said:

I also have a convection oven and the one in the Cabins was terrible.  Tried to bake cinnamon rolls and after 18 minutes they were still raw!  Don't think we will be back anytime in the future.

I don't think it will keep us from going back ... but I did find it hysterical that I had more confidence cooking on the public park style grill  

4 hours ago, ftwildernessguy said:

I make a habit of notifying my credit card companies of where and when I will be traveling to an area, including where I will be making an overnight stop.

I did that, but I guess that it hadn't gone through since I traveled over the July 4 holiday weekend. 

On 7/7/2016 at 8:33 PM, Travisma said:

It still wasn't back last night.

wasn't there Thursday night ... and we noticed cast members walking back and forth along the water's edge with flashights. Assume they were looking for gators? 

FYI about the Publix near the Mary Queen Shrine/Lake Bryan (not sure what the street address is offhand) ... it is not uncommon to have a credit card decline there. It's happened to me twice, once with a Chase card & once with a Cap One card. It's due to the high level of fraud in the area & according to the cashiers, happens ALL the time. Thankfully, I had no trouble with my PIN-enabled debit card, or we would have been key lime pie less last week  

and I'll cast my vote for Publix. I love that store. 

just got back from 3 nights (Tues - Fri) at the cabins ... thanks to the fiends, we knew of the changes in the cabins. (especially the kitchen) I grabbed a couple of things at Publix, thinking I'd just use the convection oven because I have one at home & surely they couldn't be that different. 

our hot & spicy wings from the Publix deli cooked on our GRILL were delicious. I was too overwhelmed by the directions on the microwave/oven to try. LOLOLOL

On 6/3/2016 at 0:42 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

 

Yup, all of the things you see there in that display, including the hammock, are promotional gifts that are awarded with different levels of purchase.  You need to spend $3000 to get the hammock.  That's not a typo.  I thought that was outrageous and impossible, but then I saw some of the prices.  So, I think you get a free hammock if you buy like 3 dresses.  J/K, it's not quite that bad.  But, still, it looks like I'll be sticking with the old TCD hammock for a while longer.

 

 

 

 

TCD

 

so .. my 14-year old has the Lilly store first on her list of places to go when we visit Disney Springs .... I'm curious if they carry any sort of Disney-exclusive merch? Or am I shelling out the bucks for her school agenda, simply so we can say we bought something there? LOLOLOLOL 

I need to respond to this comment separately.

 

I forgot to mention the lighting!

 

There was a lot of lightning the night of the 3rd.

 

In fact, photos of it began to circulate on social media.

 

We even got a call from Mrs. TCD as we were waiting there for the fireworks as she had caught wind of it, and saw a report somewhere that the castle had been struck by lightning.  Of course, we were standing right out in the open, not far from the castle, waiting for the fireworks to start.

 

Here is one of the many photos that were flying through cyberspace that night:

 

 

There are more posted here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/05/travel/disney-world-lightning-storm-feat/

 

 

(CNN)Visitors waiting for a fireworks show at Disney World's Magic Kingdom Park experienced a different kind of light show.

An incoming thunderstorm delayed Friday night fireworks at the Disney theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The storm also brought lightning strikes directly above Cinderella's Castle, leading to striking pictures taken by visitors.

Kelsey Carragher, a visitor to the park who took one of the photos, said guests didn't seem to be frightened by the close bolts of lightning.

"The crowd seemed to be enjoying the lighting as much as they would have the fireworks," Carragher said.

Shortly after the storm, Disney World was able to continue with the special Fourth of July fireworks show, which was on Friday and Saturday.

 

TCD

there was a fire at an apartment complex not far from the MK ... reports said it was caused by a lightning strike. my husband works a lot with OSHA on safety issues (he works on a job along the Ohio River) and his lightning alert app was going nuts. He would've told you to get out of the open Main Street

Yeah, all of that did stink.  But, all of it was worth it to see those fireworks from inside the MK.  It ended up being one of those really fun nights that we will all remember since it was so different.  The kids did a good job entertaining themselves while waiting for the fireworks to start.

 

 

TCD

it wasn't just the rain ... there was so. much. lightning. holy cow. maybe it wasn't a lot by Florida standards, but we kept waiting and waiting to go to Trail's End to get a snack and watch the fireworks, but that lightning was never ending. Well, until it ended and we could go. LOL 

we followed someone on Twitter who was in the MK & tweeted there was an announcement that said the fireworks would start at 10:30, so we were pretty surprised that they started sooner. Thankfully we were already at the marina, LOLOLOL

What time of day/night did you park there on the 4th?  I parked there for breakfast at Trail's End, but that evening, they had all of the cones set up and CM's directing guests where to park.  It looked to me that they were saving that lot for the latest guests to arrive, and were directing everyone else to the field area around the Settlement playground.

 

 

early/breakfast time. we filled our mugs and ske-daddled  

So even during the July 4th weekend the new cart parking was unused? 

we used it. we may have been the only ones ... but we used it! 

 

 

I didn't notice the Legacy nametag.  I'm going to stop and listen to this fellow a bit longer the next time I see him.  He's definitely got talent.

 

 

 

TCD

we started paying attention to the blue tags after meeting Barbara on Main Street ... Jamie Holton of Off Kilter was also a legacy cast member. (and that's all I have to say about that. LOL)  Piano dude was the 3rd we'd ever seen. 

duplicate post. whoops. LOL

 

 

 

I've noticed this piano player here quite a few times of late. He's very good, and obviously loves his job:

 

 

TCD

he's one of those blue tag legacy CM's ... we noticed that last week. he can also tell what people are celebrating by looking in the mirror on the piano as people walked behind him. it was impressive to see.

I have a few. But I'm still at the Fort.

TCD

you mean I was at the Fort at the same time as TCD and I missed it?! booooo! 

Any fiends on the scene that could get ahold of the rental agreement guest have to sign?

Also any other official posted rules about golf cart usage?

I'm not sure if I still have my copy I signed last weekend or not ... but, I can tell you that they only focused on two things when I signed it: no open containers & no talking on the phone or texting while driving. They made barely any mention of the age of the driver. 

Pretty much.  If the lightening was really bad and close, I'd probably head for the nearest comfort station - especially if I was in a tent.

yeah ... there's no way we would've been in a tent during that storm on Friday. the lightning was CLOSE. 

Pouring lots of lightning at the fort tonight

what happens in the event of lots of lightning ... especially with tent campers? are you there at your own risk, regardless of the weather? we were at the Fort from Friday - Tuesday and there was a storm on Friday night that was especially intense. Many nearby strikes, delayed fireworks shows, etc. It wasn't safe to be outside for a while. 

Most definitely for Holiday weekends, Halloween, Spring Break weekends, Thanksgiving, Chirstmas and New Years weeks.

from what I gathered on Sunday, it wouldn't have mattered for us this time .... we booked our cabin about 2 weeks before the 4th, which would've put us on the waitlist anyway. 

made lemons out of lemonade on Friday & Saturday. got a cart on Sunday. it was all good :D

While I totally agree with this, something has to happen to wake Disney up and have them start doing something to control people.  Last night we watched the July 4th fireworks at Epcot.  They were absolutely outstanding.  However, when leaving, the parking lot was a mess, and there was not a single Disney security guard, parking attendant or other cast member in sight.  It was literally a free for all.  There were three lanes merging into one, and nobody seemed to be willing to take turns.  Finally a guy who was behind me (and very nicely let me out of my spot) parked his car, got out and ran into the road to stop traffic.  He then proceeded to direct traffic and cleared the mess.  When a single guest has to get out of his car and handle the situation easily, that doesn't make Disney look good at all.  I do believe this guy, who was my hero for the day, was a policeman at home; because he sure knew how to direct traffic.  

OMG. We were in the Epcot mess. I wasn't sure we were getting out of there without an incident. It was awful. 

When we were there week before last I think I saw more kids driving carts then ever and every one was a Disney cart. One of them had 5 to 6 kids on it age range 5 to 10.

seemed to be a theme over the weekend, as well. there was one group of boys that stood out to us ... they were older than 5-10, but definitely tween/early teen age .... but, wow, they were all over the place on Sunday. loud kids. disney cart. 

Times guide says 9pm

That's what I'm hoping -- I called earlier, they said to check back again later. Never for a second considered I'd need to call ahead and reserve. :/

Anyone know how the Fort cart wait list works? Or .... Does anyone have any suggestions for last minute cart rental for today - Tuesday? Message if appropriate .... thanks!