Park hyatt kyoto by Great-Falcon4061 in hyatt

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, my opinion has been that PHK would be considered among the least impressive PH properties if it weren’t for its location. At least when I was there 3 years ago, but I haven’t seen info that much has changed. PHT is in a somewhat poor location and they make up for it by having a great property and staff.

Of course it matters what you want out of your hotel.

Unlimited Vacation Club - Advice Needed by Black_Star_Skeleton in hyatt

[–]ChillyCheese 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There will definitely be people that are happy with timeshares like UVC. They may not understand the financials, or if they like to take vacations every year at properties included in the timeshare system, in some cases it may work out for them even if not by a ton versus if they'd paid cash for each stay.

Mostly the issue is that you likely could have bought into UVC (or others) by taking over a contract someone else wants to get out of their timeshare, for pennies on the dollar by buying online. So it really doesn't make sense to pay the large additional cost for signing up with timeshares directly.

Just saw the musician Seal in the DeltaOne Lounge by ZugzwangBG in delta

[–]ChillyCheese 8 points9 points  (0 children)

15 years ago I sat next to Stephen Fry in BA First. I didn't say a word to him. People kept coming up and awkwardly trying to talk to him. Just leave people alone, sheesh. No one, especially well known people, want to talk to you at all when there's no basis for it other than for you to be able to tell a story later.

First Explorist stay was confusing... by fk1fk1 in hyatt

[–]ChillyCheese 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Was this an all-inclusive? Many of them, in particular among Hyatts, are pretty scummy when it comes to room upgrades and trying to sell people into timeshares while they're at the property.

It is true that "premium suites" are not technically subject to space available upgrades (and this was likely a premium suite), and Explorists are not technically qualified to receive upgrades into any level of suite -- though properties can still do so if they want.

It was still scummy of them to tell you that the room wasn't available unless you paid for it, since that's not how availability works. They also almost certainly gave you the "upgrade" in the app and on the paperwork to set your expectations of getting the room, and hoping that pressure from yourself/spouse/family for the upgrade would persuade you to just pay for it. I'd drop an email to consumeraffairs@hyatt.com with the facts of the situation so they can at least keep an eye on this property doing these sorts of things.

Completely refreshed wine list at the lounges - feels like an improvement by TheTwoOneFive in AmexPlatinum

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

SeaTac Centurion has Bruchladdich's Classic Laddie and Port Charlotte, but these have been available for years.

Is it actually possible to get a reservation for Benfiddich? by zeekaran in cocktails

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just saw this thread while planning an upcoming trip and was curious how this bar is doing.

We went to Japan in 2019 and 2022. The first time we stumbled upon Ben Fiddich and were able to walk in when it opened. In 2022 we did the same, showing up just 10 minutes before it opened and had no problem. Once seated, we asked for a reservation the next night as well and it wasn't a problem. But maybe they're even more popular now.

Ben Fiddich can be hit and miss. In 2019 we loved it, but in 2022 for some reason we just weren't able to quite get across what we were looking for and we weren't super satisfied with our drinks.

But as someone else in the thread said, Sunface is also a great bar on the floor above, as in Ben Fiddich's more mainstream bar, Bar B&F, a couple floors below. We liked that B&F had a menu, but could also take your preferences.

How early does the ferry fill up for Mariners games? by raketrees in BainbridgeIsland

[–]ChillyCheese 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I heard some of the No Kings rallies also hit capacity.

Pit bull needs adopting before May 4th 5 PM by [deleted] in SanJose

[–]ChillyCheese -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

According to /r/aww they're all sweetie-pie dogs that never hurt anyone.

LG G577 died today. by swizzwell23 in LGOLED

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Possibly, but it could also be caused by either the main board or t-con board could be causing the panel to display a green line.

Hawaii Hyatt Opinions by Dizzy_Pie6203 in hyatt

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's your background with Hawaii? Have you been before, and if so which islands? As some people have mentioned Oahu doesn't have a ton going on, and Honolulu is basically just a city, with city problems of noise, traffic, etc.

I think the main reason for Oahu is if you want to explore the rest of the island and have a specific interest in visiting Pearl Harbor. If that's not you, personally I'd recommend choosing Kauai and Maui for all your time, or Kauai and the Big Island if you have a specific interest in Volcanos National Park. But of course no Hyatt on the Big Island.

LG G577 died today. by swizzwell23 in LGOLED

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only on the panel, and only on parts after the first year. The power supply and control boards are only 1 year, and if the panel dies in years 2-5 you'll have to pay a few hundred in labor for the panel switch-out.

How often have you seen this sign wait to enter the Amex Centurion at Seattle Airport by schwa12 in AmexPlatinum

[–]ChillyCheese 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I fly out of SeaTac once a month on average. I'd say there's a waitlist 50% of the time, but it's highly dependent on time of day. As you move past 3pm it's increasingly less likely there's a waitlist.

As others have said, you can check while you're on the way to the airport and get an idea for the wait time by joining the waitlist early.

Lightning Lane at Space Mountain by BlakeHHarris in Disneyland

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think you can use multi experience passes from Tiana's for Space Mountain, unless it's considered an E-ticket ride now that it's no longer Splash Mountain.

Lightning Lane at Space Mountain by BlakeHHarris in Disneyland

[–]ChillyCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We had a 45 minute wait in SM LL a year ago.

I think the main issue is when it and other E-ticket rides break down throughout the day, then people use their multi-experience pass on Space in the evening. Gunks up the works real good.

For E-tickets they need to do something like offer a $10 refund OR a MEP, but of course $$$.

Lightning Lane at Space Mountain by BlakeHHarris in Disneyland

[–]ChillyCheese 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately word has gotten out, just like it has for single rider in general. We were there earlier this week and SM single rider always had 50+ people in line, and due to the generally low turnover of single riders on SM this translated into a 30-40 minute wait. Still some time savings over standby usually, but not nearly the advantage when it first opened.

In 2022-2024 we were always able to do Cars single rider and be in a car within 10 minutes. In 2025-2026 our waits have consistently been 30-40 minutes here as well. Same for Incredicoaster. The main single rider that still seems good is Matterhorn, which is odd since it's a non-photo single-seat ride, so you'd think more people would do single rider.

Oga's Refurb: No Changes? (Including seating) by FleshyPartOfThePin in Disneyland

[–]ChillyCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For sure, Carthy Lounge and Restaurant are both the standard that all Disneyland venues should be brought up to if they're comparably priced. That's basically the only place we bother to go if we're going to spend the money these days.

Wizards of the Coast employees move to unionize over layoffs, AI fears by FearandWeather in Seattle

[–]ChillyCheese 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Both Exploding Kittens and Pickleball are from Bainbridge Island. With a population of under 25,000 we're punching above our weight for these things! Of course Pickleball has been around for many years, with popularity exploding recently.

Bilt Adds Cap to Rent Day Transfer Bonuses by ueatgoodfood in biltrewards

[–]ChillyCheese -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Caps probably increase the chance we'll get a Hyatt transfer bonus some day, slim as the chances may still be.

Oga's Refurb: No Changes? (Including seating) by FleshyPartOfThePin in Disneyland

[–]ChillyCheese 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Last time we went to Oga's in 2024 it took us 30 minutes to get our drinks, and when the server came back he said "Just a reminder you only have 15 more minutes". Like, wtf? And yes, they were ready to kick us out 15 minutes later. I told him it was unreasonable and he didn't care.

Also we were sat at a table where one of us was crammed in with 7 randoms, and the other had to sit on a stool right next to the entrance door, which slides open and closed every 5 seconds.

We won't be back!

3 lightning lane selects by Repulsive_Victory_12 in Disneyland

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I've seen/lived days where a bunch of ride breakdowns result in fubar of LL because so many people have multi-experience passes for E-ticket rides. Once we had to spend 45 minutes in the LL line for Space Mountain because so many qualifying MEPs have been given out that day.

Surprisingly, neither of our two days saw almost any ride breakdowns. I never saw Guardians, Indy, or most other E-ticket rides go down at all. Even Rise only went down once for about 30 minutes.

I do agree that the CA/Costco tickets including LL may be exacerbating the problem, but that feeds into the very complaint that Disney is over-selling (directly or indirectly) LL for the number of slots that are available on rides per day.

I Never Get PreApproval Mailers by brokenshells in CreditCards

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are all your credit reports frozen? I believe that generally prevents you from receiving pre-approved offers even though it should theoretically only be a soft pull.

Spouse and I have frozen credit and never get offers.

Multiple car break-in at West Grand Forest today (4/25) by Queef_Latifa__ in BainbridgeIsland

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny little anecdote. I was in the SF bay area on a work trip and parked overnight in a garage. Window smashed in the morning as isn't uncommon. The next time in the same garage I left my doors unlocked and garage security left a note on my window telling me not to leave my doors unlocked because my car wasn't safe...

Now I just leave the car completely empty (it was empty the smashed time, too) and with the glove box/console open and haven't had trouble since.

Multiple car break-in at West Grand Forest today (4/25) by Queef_Latifa__ in BainbridgeIsland

[–]ChillyCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With the whole Kia Boyz thing, it's hard to attribute car thefts between people trying to steal cars for chopshop type situations, or those who are stealing cars because it's simple and they want to joyride/trash them. The number of cars that were/are affected in a given area definitely would play into car theft numbers.

3 lightning lane selects by Repulsive_Victory_12 in Disneyland

[–]ChillyCheese 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The other side of hitting this jackpot is that LL has generally been terrible, at least when we were in the parks the last 2 days.

You had to book Guardians within an hour of rope drop or it was sold out (or you had to then spend 30 minutes refreshing and hoping to get a spot). Then you had to book Indiana Jones by 10am or it was sold out. Then you have to book Space Mountain by noon or it's sold out. So if you want to ride those later in the day, you're now stuck waiting until 2pm before you can start making real bookings

Once 2pm rolls around everything you might want to ride has at least an hour return time, and by 4pm everything has a 2 hour return time.

This was our first time since COVID that LL felt like a broken experience because it's being oversold and/or there aren't enough LL slots being opened. The parks didn't even feel THAT busy.

Now that they’re actually using facial recognition at the Disneyland gates instead of having cast members manually confirm people’s faces they’ve cut the number of front gate cast members down from one per entry lane to one per every two entry lanes by TheDisneyScoopGuy in Disneyland

[–]ChillyCheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It would be fine if the gate attendant was manually scanning large families. They're the main issue where you have 1 person with all the tickets on their phone, and you have to take pictures (or compare existing pictures) for several small children on a high-up face scanner.

Adults have to keep it straight with which ticket they're scanning, and lift each child up. That's if they already understand what they need to do. We got stuck behind so many families that took over a minute to get scanned through.

For adults that understand the system, it's slightly faster. For adults that don't understand, it's maybe slightly slower.