We just returned from CSR and I have to say it's a pretty nice resort, but the nice-ness of it was ruined for us because of one major thing...the Grainger Trade Show going on there right now. We would not have been so annoyed if we had known about this mess. I know that CSR is a convention center as well as a resort but what is going on there right now is far beyond just a convention! We've been to Disney over well 100 times (including overnights and day trips) and we've stayed at many of the resorts (AKL, WL, Contemp, FW, POR, etc) but decided to try out CSR for the first time.
The thing we were most annoyed about was the fact that Disney didn't say anything at all and they had many chances to let the guests know that there would be such a major inconvenience. First of all Disney's booking system should alert you to a huge convention like this when booking, but also they could have told us through the numerous emails, mailings and also at the front desk at check in....but no we knew nothing until we tried to pull into the parking lot and were stopped and questioned on why we were trying to park there. When we arrived in our room we found a letter on the bed saying that there would be construction of tents, closures of pools and closures of parking lots from Feb 16 to March 12...all for this 1 week long convention. After we had been there for a few days we received another note in our room saying that 2 pools would be closed all day on Sunday and the Dig Site pool was closing at 1pm, all for events going on for Grainger...try telling that to little kids who were excited to finally get a chance to go in the pool.
Then we received a message on our room phone saying that we had to move our cars out of the parking lots to make way for more semi's and structures being built or they would tow us....This is the parking lot we were told to park in. This is Disney that we are visiting, right??? And paying a fortune for, right??? Surely did not seem like it, especially with the porta-potties mixed in with our cars.
The mess didn't just stop at the parking lots either. Strolling around the lake it was extremely evident that a major production was about to take place. They had paper taped all over the ground telling each station where to set up..DJ, baggo, cornhole, Grainger Land, etc...alllllll the way around that huge lake. And then there were the huge speakers set up on barges placed all around the lake. And then there was the cable line just set in the grass and weaved around trees and bridges that also went allllll the way around the lake. One of our sons ran down towards the water and tripped over the cable that none of us saw until it was too late. Oh and then there were shuttle stations set up around that lake, but guess who they were for?? Yup, Grainger conventioneers only.
Now, we are really not ones to complain...but this was just all too much, especially for not being warned! Had we known that this would all be present we would have changed our trip. We live about 2 hours away and stay on property about 5 times a year so we wouldn't have minded changing, if we had known. Finally my husband decided to say something. The front desk manager (a younger lady) laughed at him....excuse me?? Wow, how professional of you! She said that this was her first year experiencing this Grainger convention (which apparently happens the same time every year, so be warned!). She knew that it was a major inconvenience and the last thing she said was to be sure to move our cars to a different lot so we didn't get towed. She sure helped make Disney that magical place that people expect. She did say we could move resorts, but by then it would have just been more of a pain with 3 small children so we stayed where we were and just dealt with it for the rest of our stay.
It's really too bad, because CSR is a nice resort, even though it's huge, but we will not be back. I do not want to take the chance that another mess like this is what we will find when we show up. Don't get me wrong, I understand that conventions go on and business needs to be done...we just think that they either needed to close the hotel to families and people that weren't part of the convention or warn people.
I will say that there were some good things about CSR though! When we were able to go in the Dig site pool the kids loved it. Also, bus service was actually pretty good and easy. The grounds are really nice and well kept. The staff was great (minus the front desk manager!) and helpful. The Pepper Market was decent for both breakfast and dinner.
We will obviously go back to Disney since we are passholders, but we will stick to the Deluxe hotels from now on.
Almost forgot!! It seems as though karma was making an appearance as they were about to start their convention...the rain gods decided to inconvenience the Grainger folks by opening up the skies! Hope they weren't inconvenienced too much!
I have pictures as well but because I don't have enought posts the DisBoards won't let me post them..aahh!
The thing we were most annoyed about was the fact that Disney didn't say anything at all and they had many chances to let the guests know that there would be such a major inconvenience. First of all Disney's booking system should alert you to a huge convention like this when booking, but also they could have told us through the numerous emails, mailings and also at the front desk at check in....but no we knew nothing until we tried to pull into the parking lot and were stopped and questioned on why we were trying to park there. When we arrived in our room we found a letter on the bed saying that there would be construction of tents, closures of pools and closures of parking lots from Feb 16 to March 12...all for this 1 week long convention. After we had been there for a few days we received another note in our room saying that 2 pools would be closed all day on Sunday and the Dig Site pool was closing at 1pm, all for events going on for Grainger...try telling that to little kids who were excited to finally get a chance to go in the pool.
Then we received a message on our room phone saying that we had to move our cars out of the parking lots to make way for more semi's and structures being built or they would tow us....This is the parking lot we were told to park in. This is Disney that we are visiting, right??? And paying a fortune for, right??? Surely did not seem like it, especially with the porta-potties mixed in with our cars.
The mess didn't just stop at the parking lots either. Strolling around the lake it was extremely evident that a major production was about to take place. They had paper taped all over the ground telling each station where to set up..DJ, baggo, cornhole, Grainger Land, etc...alllllll the way around that huge lake. And then there were the huge speakers set up on barges placed all around the lake. And then there was the cable line just set in the grass and weaved around trees and bridges that also went allllll the way around the lake. One of our sons ran down towards the water and tripped over the cable that none of us saw until it was too late. Oh and then there were shuttle stations set up around that lake, but guess who they were for?? Yup, Grainger conventioneers only.
Now, we are really not ones to complain...but this was just all too much, especially for not being warned! Had we known that this would all be present we would have changed our trip. We live about 2 hours away and stay on property about 5 times a year so we wouldn't have minded changing, if we had known. Finally my husband decided to say something. The front desk manager (a younger lady) laughed at him....excuse me?? Wow, how professional of you! She said that this was her first year experiencing this Grainger convention (which apparently happens the same time every year, so be warned!). She knew that it was a major inconvenience and the last thing she said was to be sure to move our cars to a different lot so we didn't get towed. She sure helped make Disney that magical place that people expect. She did say we could move resorts, but by then it would have just been more of a pain with 3 small children so we stayed where we were and just dealt with it for the rest of our stay.
It's really too bad, because CSR is a nice resort, even though it's huge, but we will not be back. I do not want to take the chance that another mess like this is what we will find when we show up. Don't get me wrong, I understand that conventions go on and business needs to be done...we just think that they either needed to close the hotel to families and people that weren't part of the convention or warn people.
I will say that there were some good things about CSR though! When we were able to go in the Dig site pool the kids loved it. Also, bus service was actually pretty good and easy. The grounds are really nice and well kept. The staff was great (minus the front desk manager!) and helpful. The Pepper Market was decent for both breakfast and dinner.
We will obviously go back to Disney since we are passholders, but we will stick to the Deluxe hotels from now on.
Almost forgot!! It seems as though karma was making an appearance as they were about to start their convention...the rain gods decided to inconvenience the Grainger folks by opening up the skies! Hope they weren't inconvenienced too much!
I have pictures as well but because I don't have enought posts the DisBoards won't let me post them..aahh!
