The ABCs of An EPIC Girls' Trip! May, 2019-Q is for: Quietly Sending this Trip Report off Into an Internet Sunset (8/25)

[Steppesister]

I feel like I have been living under a rock. How have I never read one of your trip reports before? I too am an Oregonian. (Eugene). The white PNW legs are very familiar to me. I am a 55 year old widow with three kids. I feel like we really need to meet. I was just telling my daughter I really need to find some like minded Disney people and low and behold you are only an hour away.

Well hello there! And...



It's always wonderful to have new friends join in! Especially ones with PNW white, pasty legs!

I'm a single mom with 5 kids most of whom are grown and gone. I think we'd have much to talk about and I'd love to meet you! Are you up in Salem very often? I adore DISMeets and would totally be up for meeting over a meal or having you over.

I"m so glad you're here and reading along. I wish I could post more often, but life is pretty busy these days with a lot going on. But please come often and chime in. We love to chatter it up here!

Liesa

 

[thumper*]

So did most of our great-aunts who passed along their glass luncheon sets. I have one; you probably do too in your attic.

LOL or in my case the basement.

Many other princesses from other kingdoms both near and far would be arriving and collectively called themselves EPIC- a quite fitting acronym for Entitled Princesses in Cahoots. There were many shenanigans that were cahooted, and those can be read in the published diaries of other cahooting princesses as well.

LOL so funny

 

[buzzrelly]

Forgive me, Princess, I had no idea I was in the presence of royalty for two days!

Love your GF digs! That was an amazing upgrade! Can't wait to see what the Queen thought of it!

 

[pkondz]

I've had experience with plenty of those. Including a few of my managers in the past.

I think everyone has.

It takes a lot of gall to charge $40 for a t-shirt.

$40? Where did you find the 75% off sale?

Canadians can be obnoxious?

So, when it's all, "Sorry, sorry, sorry..." how should I take that?

As the norm. Obnoxious is an aberration. As is our dollar being higher than yours.

 

[jsgrant5]

It's always wonderful to have new friends join in! Especially ones with PNW white, pasty legs!

I'm a single mom with 5 kids most of whom are grown and gone. I think we'd have much to talk about and I'd love to meet you! Are you up in Salem very often? I adore DISMeets and would totally be up for meeting over a meal or having you over.

I"m so glad you're here and reading along. I wish I could post more often, but life is pretty busy these days with a lot going on. But please come often and chime in. We love to chatter it up here!

I am actually going to be in Salem tomorrow but will be at my cousins. Not sure how we can pm each other to arrange another date when we can meet.

 

[docsoliday1]

Hmmm... Hmmm.... I'm having a bit of trouble with that. On the one hand (as you point out), he does have a job that he needs to do, but... how long would it take him to snap a photo? Was he actively helping a guest at the time? (obviously not) Were guests arriving just then that needed his attention? (yes. you.)

In hindsight, once I had told him that I was a resort guest and his attitude changed, I might have told him that I'd look for someone else to assist me.
"No, no. I'll find someone else to help me. Maybe your manager isn't too busy?"

Yeah, the CMs are usually "go out if my way to help guests" types, so when you find the not nice ones, it seems more pronounced

A discussion with the manager might very well have been appropriate

 

[docsoliday1]

That was what rubbed me the wrong way the most. It'd have taken (and did) about 30 seconds. That 30 seconds co

Yeah, there's no reason to be snobbish to people. Sometimes I think they ought to do undercover CMs as guests to see how they're treated. Take the stupid picture...how exactly is that a problem???

 

[Steppesister]

K is for: Keeping Things Weird!​

We last left off with Princess Steppe sweating bullets with only minutes to spare. She paid her check at the restaurant's check-in desk after a frantic search for the server, which left her on the edge of grumpy once more. She hurried across the marbled floor, but still found herself both amused and impressed over the handiwork of her trade laborers who did the inlays depicting some of her favorite literary characters.

As she exited the grand lobby into the porte cochere, she breathed a sigh of relief as the footman told her the motorcoach had not yet arrived. This gave her time to retrace her steps back to the concierge desk to return the phone cord that had indeed been delivered by a chambermaid during her afternoon repast. Alejandro, when he decided to finally tend to our esteemed princesses needs, gave exemplary service that went above and beyond what he apparently gave to other, more common, folk.

With a brief explanation leaving the attendant with a puzzled expression, she turned on her heels and fled to her coach which had now arrived. Thankfully, she boarded with both shoes in place, but wasn’t quite sure what to make of the portrait of a mouse on the side of it as she settled in her seat. She brushed off a few pumpkin seeds from the seat beside her that must have been left by a previous passenger. Curious, she mused…

The 30-minute journey was uneventful for our young(at heart) royal, and after waiting almost an hour for the Queen Mom to arrive, Princess Steppe thought in hindsight the next motorcoach would have been the smarter choice. Unfortunately, the Princess was now out of her realm so no footmen were able to retrieve their bags for them. It’s ok! Our princess has learned the valuable lessons in life that no work is beneath her, hard work pays off, and if you want something done right (or fast), you do it yourself. In no time at all, our intrepid, traveling sovereigns were happily marching along when Princess Steppe could not contain the happy news any longer. Like the fireworks that launched over her summer castle in the Magical Kingdom she burst forth the announcement that our little group was relocating to the much “grander” Floridian palaces. Proper exhuberances ensued as they made their way to where their royal transportation was waiting, and in no time at all were arriving at their residence.

Properly greeted, of course, by attendants, they made haste to their quarters where Princess Steppe found that her baggages had STILL not arrived! She was irritated! She had thought surely her belongings would have been delivered by now, so did not personally carry the gifts she’d brought for the other EPIC princesses with her. She mused to herself… good help is so hard to find these days. After not one but 2 calls, 30 minutes apart, and 2 corresponding assurances they’d “be there right away”, Princess Steppe took matters into her own hands and trudged back to the area the servants worked and inquired about the whereabouts of her luggage. She was directed to the porter’s area and noticed a man of very small stature standing beside her suitcases with a hand on one of them.

Bowing low, “Oh Princess! I deeply apologize for the delay; I was just loading them up now to bring to you!”

Sympathetic, yet increasingly anxious over whether her entourage would be on time for their very important welcome luau, Princess Steppe expressed her urgency with angst in her voice.

“Please Princess! Do not worry! I will make absolutely sure you are on time and give you personalized service to make sure of it. Follow me!”

Guiding our fair princess to a wee little cart, he loaded the bags and whisked them off with great efficiency to her chambers. With the strength of 10 men, Steppe’s personal *coachman (*a man with distinguished horsemanship knowledge) delivered her bags with a gracious air. Without one minute to dawdle, Steppe retrieved the things she needed, assembled her gifts for the EPIC princesses that she would soon meet, and met the others in her party who had already some minutes before went to wait at the coachman’s cart… for he had insisted that he personally escort them by inconspicuous pathway to the restaurant. This he explained would be discreet enough to keep the paparazzi at bay and ensure their speedy arrival. What a thoughtful, thorough, service-minded gesture! Steppe climbed in aside the manservant and enjoyed some idle conversation on their 5-minute journey to the Polynesian Estates where the long-awaited Welcome Feast was about to begin. At one point, this very petite man asked she how long she’d worked at Disney. Mind you, this was completely unprompted by herself, so she assumed that before she’d gotten to the cart, either Princess Jenn or the Queen Mother had told him the Princess had served on the foreign fields of California near her other castle. He continued the conversation by asking which restaurant it was that she’d spent time at her post. Again, totally unprompted or hinted at. Things were becoming weirder and weirder….

Highly perplexed, she brushed off the feeling and had a most wonderful time meeting many new EPIC princesses and celebrating her birthday. The crowds sang to her, delicious food was consumed in mass amounts, and the court jesters provided excellent entertainment on ukuleles. But all too soon when the skewers and Lapus were running low, it was time to part ways and head to their various nighttime destinations. I’ve already recounted the unfortunate circumstances of how the Queen Mother fell quite ill on the journey home, but Dear Reader, let us find ourselves a bit later after all was well again….

The little group found themselves sitting in front of a magical view with Steppe’s Castle squarely in view. The nightly fireworks extravaganza was about to begin, but Princess Steppe was still pondering the short, but quite strange, trip from the Floridian to the Polynesian with the little man. She mentioned it to the other ladies and asked if they’d talked to him about her. They emphatically denied doing so which was both a bit alarming and also mystical and magical at the same time. How did this man know that she’d spent time in California, and not just that, but also that she worked in a restaurant there!?! To this day, she has no answer but wonders if his employer might possibly have read the tabloids of the distant past when they knew such a famous princess was arriving to be served in their midst!

The Queen Mother also shared her part of the conversation she had with this gentleman. It turns out, (remember when I told you he was chosen as a coachman for his superb knowledge of horses….?) he was a jockey in his youth and was intimately associated with Willie Shoemaker- the most famous racing jockey ever. Kind, gentle, yet strong and tenacious…. It all made sense.

And so ends the story of how Princess Steppe began her tenure at the grandest palaces of them all. Her stay was a short one of only 4 nights, but it was magical in every way. The memories that she and her entourage made will certainly last a lifetime and will most likely never be repeated. And that is okay. Most true princesses know they can be happy living modestly among the masses shrouded in an ordinary lifestyle but done with grace, humility, and kindness- the true marks of a princess.

​

 

[Steppesister]

LOL or in my case the basement.

Yep, everyone has 'em!

LOL so funny

Hey, it's my squad!!!

 

[Steppesister]

Forgive me, Princess, I had no idea I was in the presence of royalty for two days!

Love your GF digs! That was an amazing upgrade! Can't wait to see what the Queen thought of it!

Hey, Fellow Royal Roomie!! We're the EPIC Squad!! You did know you're a princess too, right?

It was sooooo amazing!

 

[Steppesister]

I think everyone has.

Sometimes I do wonder why they make the most incompetent or lazy in those positions. In our case, it's who's in "the club". Sigh...

$40? Where did you find the 75% off sale?

As the norm. Obnoxious is an aberration. As is our dollar being higher than yours.

Wouldn't it be nice if they were more even more of the time?

 

[Steppesister]

I am actually going to be in Salem tomorrow but will be at my cousins. Not sure how we can pm each other to arrange another date when we can meet.

Aw, nuts. Well, to be fair, I'm super busy with loads to do today, but I'm certain it'll work out soon and we can chat it up all things Disney and quite possibly more!

 

[Steppesister]

Yeah, the CMs are usually "go out if my way to help guests" types, so when you find the not nice ones, it seems more pronounced

A discussion with the manager might very well have been appropriate

Sadly, I think he WAS the (or at least one of the) manager(s).

Yeah, there's no reason to be snobbish to people. Sometimes I think they ought to do undercover CMs as guests to see how they're treated. Take the stupid picture...how exactly is that a problem???

Nope, there sure isn't. Like someone else pointed out, maybe they just get tons of people popping in to take photos and they get tired of it. Still no excuse. I just have no idea....

 

[Wood Nymph]

Were you able to arrange a ride to the airport on the Magical Express? Was that a special request, fit for a princess, of course.

That was nice of that CM to take you to the Polynesian. It really was a special day, wasn't it.

 

[Steppesister]

Were you able to arrange a ride to the airport on the Magical Express? Was that a special request, fit for a princess, of course.

I was able to talk to ME on the day I got the upgrade. They told me to talk to concierge at the GF when I got there and that it shouldn't be a problem at all. Especially since I already had an original reservation attached to my original arrival date that I moved up when I added days to my trip. So, as soon as I arrived, that was one of the things Alejandro arranged for me. He called ME for me and got me on the 1:00 bus which was practically empty.

That was nice of that CM to take you to the Polynesian. It really was a special day, wasn't it.

Other than the initial little bump, it was a perfectly wonderful day!

 

[pkondz]

We last left off with Princess Steppe sweating bullets with only minutes to spare.

Yes, it was very hot in may. I sweated bullets too. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

which left her on the edge of grumpy once more.

Hey! Hey! Hey!
This is a family board, lady. What you and grumpy do should be kept behind closed doors!

but still found herself both amused and impressed over the handiwork of her trade laborers

who did the inlays depicting some of her favorite literary characters.

You mean like...

Tolstoy...


Jane Austen...


F. Scott Fitzgerald...


SpongeBob SquarePants...


Charles Dickens...

Like that?

As she exited the grand lobby into the porte cochere, she breathed a sigh of relief as the footman told her the motorcoach had not yet arrived.

wait...

Shouldn't the motorcoach wait for you??

the phone cord that had indeed been delivered by a chambermaid during her afternoon repast.

So it did arrive. Were you able to use it though? There was a plug near your table?

Alejandro, when he decided to finally tend to our esteemed princesses needs, gave exemplary service that went above and beyond what he apparently gave to other, more common, folk.

Probably hoping you wouldn't tell anyone about his poor performance earlier.
Joke's on you Alejandro!

Thankfully, she boarded with both shoes in place,

Next time we meet up, you need to show me these glass shoes. I wanna see how you can walk in them with out shattering them.

She brushed off a few pumpkin seeds from the seat beside her that must have been left by a previous passenger. Curious, she mused…

Curiouser and curiouser!
Whoops! wrong character.

The 30-minute journey was uneventful for our young(at heart) royal,

You can takt the (at heart) part out. You're young.

no work is beneath her, hard work pays off, and if you want something done right (or fast), you do it yourself.

Like the fireworks that launched over her summer castle in the Magical Kingdom she burst forth the announcement that our little group was relocating to the much “grander” Floridian palaces.

And???? How did she react???

After not one but 2 calls, 30 minutes apart, and 2 corresponding assurances they’d “be there right away”,

Hardly fitting treatment of a guest, let alone a royal one.

Bowing low, “Oh Princess! I deeply apologize for the delay; I was just loading them up now to bring to you!”

Uh, huh. Why didn't you "just load" them about an hour ago?

(*a man with distinguished horsemanship knowledge)

Gotta rein in those golf carts, you know.

Steppe climbed in aside the manservant and enjoyed some idle conversation on their 5-minute journey to the Polynesian Estates

Oh! He drove you guys over to the Poly? Nice!!

Mind you, this was completely unprompted by herself, so she assumed that before she’d gotten to the cart, either Princess Jenn or the Queen Mother had told him the Princess had served on the foreign fields of California near her other castle. He continued the conversation by asking which restaurant it was that she’d spent time at her post. Again, totally unprompted or hinted at. Things were becoming weirder and weirder….

That... Disney has a file on you.
Not anyone else... just you.


You're very important, you know.

The crowds sang to her,

I saw that on another TR.

delicious food was consumed in mass amounts, and the court jesters provided excellent entertainment on ukuleles.

<sigh> Some day...

Ah, who am I kidding. I doubt I'll ever get there. I just don't see that as a place to go by myself.

I’ve already recounted the unfortunate circumstances of how the Queen Mother fell quite ill on the journey home,

Yes, I remember.
How's your mom now?

How did this man know that she’d spent time in California, and not just that, but also that she worked in a restaurant there!?! To this day, she has no answer but wonders if his employer might possibly have read the tabloids of the distant past when they knew such a famous princess was arriving to be served in their midst!

Yep. Definitely a file on you.

Or stalker.

Amounts to the same thing.

he was a jockey in his youth and was intimately associated with Willie Shoemaker

No way!
I know zero about horses, horse racing, or jockeys... but I know that name!

Wouldn't it be nice if they were more even more of the time?

YES!!!!

 

[buzzrelly]

You did know you're a princess too, right?

I didn't realize it, but I sure felt like royalty that day!

 

[amazingact21]

The GF sounds like a beautiful, elegant resort, but perhaps not one someone should stay if they are on a time crunch. Seems like every time you turned around you were waiting on somebody to do something!
Glad you were able to (eventually) get your bags in time to gather your gifts for the dinner.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Her stay was a short one of only 4 nights, but it was magical in every way

I would totally take 4 nights at the Grand ANY day!!!

 

[Steppesister]

L is for: Little Faces and Learning Lots!​

Admittedly I took very few photos compared to other trips I have gone on. And as mentioned before, I chose to leave my camera behind on 2 ½ days as my neck isn’t what it used to be. The camera is heavy and is a pain in that neck. Literally. Little did I know that I would pull a colossal boo boo and take my phone for a swim losing the photos altogether from those 2 days. So, instead of a normally mediocre TR, you will have to suffice with a less-than-mediocre one with fewer photos. Sorry, Folks, I’m doing the best I can with the little material I have. Photos woes aside, I do have stories yet to tell, but will begin to wrap this TR up in post haste as I’d like to start my PTR/TR for the Big Kahuna September trip soon. So…. Onward and upward….

I was lucky enough to make 3 journeys into AK in May and each one brought new adventures and fresh sights. When I arrived, I had no idea that there had been a brand new baby gorilla born in the troop only 2 days old!! Hello!!! This shot way up on my must-do list and I was not disappointed. Baby Grace, named after the conservation effort group called "Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center" located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was a perfect joy to get to see. Her mommy kept gentle, protective watch over her every single moment making it difficult to get even a fleeting glimpse. What made it doubly so were the insane crowds who also wanted to steal a minute or two with the duo. It was stifling in the covered viewing area and tempers were edgy at times. The increasingly common entitled, rude behavior prevailed.

I saw her first with Kelly after patiently (sort of) waiting for almost 20 minutes to even get up to the glass. Then, we edged our way closer to the side she held her baby in, inch by slow inch. It soon became apparent that Kashata, Grace’s mama, was not going to cooperate with the paparazzi. So, forgive the extremely bad photos. I’d have loved to have camped all day, but had other things I wanted to see and do.

(NOT my photo, but one taken from another EPIC DISser. Possibly @paradesintherain )​

Eventually, Kashata got tired of the craziness that was on the other side of the glass and took a short stroll. On another visit a few days later, the CM who was there explained that one of the very first things that baby learns/mother teaches is to hang on for dear life. Grace did. At first, mama will walk holding on to the baby using her other 3 limbs, but eventually as the mother needs to increase calorie intake and forage more, baby will need to do the work of holding on.

​

On a 3rd visit, while Mom and Jenn got a closer look, I went up on the 2nd tier of the viewing area and watched some kids interacting with a CM getting a badge for their Wilderness Explorer Handbook. The big kid in me couldn’t resist! I asked for a handbook and did the first activity to work my way to earning my Senior Wilderness Explorer status.

​

Look at me go!! I mean, makes sense, right? I am almost a senior citizen. At least that’s what the cashier at Ace Hardware thought when she asked if wanted the Senior Discount. You know what? It was fun and something completely different to do. In fact, I’m thinking of getting in line for a pretzel with some slutty shorts on and ask if there’s a Childless Traveler’s Badge yet. I'm not a Millennial, but I do travel childless most of the time. Please, for your safety, do not try to stand in front of me in the spot I've stood in for an hour to see the fireworks. Ask nicely, we'll see... meantime, I'll make sure to keep my snacking to a minimum. not.

All kidding aside (or was I?), I learned a lot and it made for some pretty awesome CM interactions. I mean, the CMs who “man” the stations don’t get a ton of traffic so you can get some nice conversation in and it totally makes their day to have someone talk to them who is genuinely interested in their knowledge. Yes, I’m taking my book back to get some more badges in a few weeks. Yes, my kids will have to put up with me. Yes, I’m a dingus.

************* For more information on G.R.A.C.E., see: ****************

https://gracegorillas.org/grace-about-the-organization/​