The Mouse part 4... The Upgrade

I tend to think of myself as a pretty doggone lucky girl. I actually rarely ever even use the word lucky, so how about we call it blessed. A few years ago, I used to have what I referred to as a Barbie phone. It was Barbie pink, small, collapsible, and a radio-contest-winning-machine. I kid you not, I won more concert tickets and movie passes from radio stations with that Barbie phone than at any other time in my life.

My BFF has the best "luck" (or whatever you want to call it), when it comes to getting vacay deals. A few days before her family had planned to leave for Disney last year, she saw a friend's Facebook post that said to "be sure to ask for a complementary resort upgrade." My friend's family had reservations at a moderate resort (because she loves her family... I punish mine and make them stay in the value rooms), but on a whim, she decided to give it a go. The cast member behind the counter (of course) said, "let me check."

You know when you're that person who holds up the line and you can feel the people behind you leering at you and mentally promising to cut line in front of you, when they see you waiting for a ride? You know the kind... they give you a beady eyed stare and point to their own eyes, then yours... The lady waiting on her is gone for a full 5 minutes and my friend is feeling terrible that she's holding up the line. That said, exactly 10.5 seconds later, when the cast member returned & announced, "we were able to work our magic and you are getting a complementary upgrade to stay at The Contemporary", (which is a deluxe resort, if you're keeping score) she turned around and yelled "Boo-yah!" to beady eyes and the line now snaking it's way half-way across Orlando.

Another good friend of mine tried this same trick when she checked in at The Grand Floridian... I mean, where do you upgrade to from there? Heaven? :) She too got the complementary upgrade to the concierge level and got breakfasts every morning for free. So I decided it was now my turn to try that famous line on for size while on our most recent trip.

The unfortunate part is, we didn't get upgraded, probably in part because we were in the cheap seats. 'Tis easier to upgrade from pretty good to really good, than from "surely you jest". I'm convinced, however, that it has little to do with the fact that the resorts were very full of families taking a fall vacation and had everything to do with the fact that I no longer have my beloved lucky Barbie phone. R.I.P. Barbie phone... Doggone you, blue blunder!

So the next time you travel to Disney (or anywhere for that matter), ask if they have any complementary upgrades. who knows, you just might get lucky and feel blessed. :)  Save on, friends!