asthmatic kids and smoking

[Sugardimples]

Right now I'm trying to stay away from the Art of Animation and other value resorts. They seem to be the furthest from the parks and have the most unreliable bus service over all. If we need to beat a hasty retreat to an airconditioned room for a neb treatment, I don't want to have to wait half an hour for a bus, if that makes sense.

It's just not true that the values have unreliable bus service. I've stayed in every level if resort and have not been able to discern any difference in bus service.

 

[stargazertechie]

It's just not true that the values have unreliable bus service. I've stayed in every level if resort and have not been able to discern any difference in bus service.

I'll agree. The other nice thing about Pop Century in particular is that it has it's own dedicated bus, and only one stop so it is actually *quicker* than some of the other buses which share between two resorts, or for a resort which has multiple internal stops

 

[Trish.Glenn]

I would bring extra cash for a cab if you need to get back to any resort extra quick. The values have great bus service most if the time and I would not count the new AOA out. A family suite may be perfect for your family and it is a brand new resort. Most of the smoking sections are down by the lake and NOT near the pools.

One more thing a taxi ride on property anywhere is usually less than $25 and can be way less depending on where you are.

My husband smokes and I do not and I just looked up the smoking areas before we left. You could do it to avoid them...I do it to tell him where to go....lol!

 

[ThreeBeans]

Thank you everyone...I really should just have come here first rather than reading reviews on trip advisor

 

[smidgy]

you should check out the DSA thread (a stickey near the top of the resorts board) you will probably want to check out where the DSAs are at the parks, too. so you can avoid them. you can also see where they are on the park maps you pick up on your way into each park.

 

[disnut8]

Right now I'm trying to stay away from the Art of Animation and other value resorts. They seem to be the furthest from the parks and have the most unreliable bus service over all. If we need to beat a hasty retreat to an airconditioned room for a neb treatment, I don't want to have to wait half an hour for a bus, if that makes sense.

While I haven't stayed at Arts of Animation, I have stayed at all three All Stars and Pop Century - the latter most of the time. I have waited twenty minutes for a bus ONCE in about 10 trips to those resorts. And that bus was just because one had just pulled out in the morning. Most of the time, it's ten minutes or less. If that.

If your child has an attack while in a park, make sure you know where the First Aid Stations are and head there immediately. Don't try and get yourself back to your resort on your own. Grab a Cast Member and tell them you have a medical emergency. They will get you the help you need right away.

 

[dawnball]

First aid doesn't have nebulizers you can use. They will store yours, and give you a place to use it.

Also, one advantage that Pop/AoA have in terms of bus service - the bus stops at parks tend to be adjacent to each other, but they don't have combined bus service. We would occasionally take an AoA bus if it came first, then walk to Pop, because our room was near the bridge.

 

[SmallWorld71]

It's just not true that the values have unreliable bus service. I've stayed in every level if resort and have not been able to discern any difference in bus service.

I agree! I've stayed at all levels as well and have found that the bus service you get solely depends on your luck or bus "mojo" that day/ trip then it does on what level you are staying. I would never base my decision on where to stay based on what somebody says their bus service was on their trip as yours will probably be completely different.

As someone whose daughter ended up visiting the ER (not at WDW) because of her asthma, I would definitely bring the neb with you.
If you want more info. about the best way to go about it, you may want to ask over at the disABIILITIES board.

 

[smidgy]

same thing with ALl stars, Music is in the middle. If you are staying at sports or movies, you can catch a Music bus if it comes first. or vice versa.

 

[wdw4rfam]

It's just not true that the values have unreliable bus service. I've stayed in every level if resort and have not been able to discern any difference in bus service.

Agree...I think out of as many stays that we have stayed, POR had the worst busing of ANY. Now we have only been there once, so dont know if its the norm. But can say the values had fine busing for us, and we have stayed in them over 15X. Waited for a HS bus at POR for almost an hour in April (not easter week either).
On another note, the one thing I notice every trip is the CM's DO NOT enforce smoking areas. You will have to complain for them to do anything. We just get a map and circle the smoking areas so we are aware. Now we have memorized where they are and avoid them. The most annoying is when they smoke as they are walking, you will pass 3 CM's who say nothing.

 

[KartersMimi]

My daughter (22) & I just returned from a long weekend at Disney. We stayed at the AoA in a standard Ariel room. While the room was nice & well appointed, it was just a little too cartoony for my taste. I suppose that if I had a little girl with me, she would have loved it. There was a mimi fridge, integrated into one side of the dresser. A clever way to hide it, but then reduced our drawer space to just 3. There was no coffee maker, a disappointment since I like a warm cup of coffee while I get ready in the mornings. Mousekeeping was only average, sometimes less than. Our beds were never made completely, only thrown together rather sloppily. Towels left on the floor for pickup, as instructed, were hung on the back of the door - apparently they decided we needed to reuse them after all. We never saw any of those special little touches, like the towel characters, etc. I know it seems petty but we feel it's all a part of the overall experience. The worst part was the location of our room. We were in building 7. A VERY long walk from the bus stop. On two of the 3 nights that we were there, we witnessed children who were too big to carry but still young cry & sob all the way to their rooms. These children & parents had enjoyed a long, full day in the parks, rode the ridiculously overcrowded bus for what seems like forever & now have to hike for quite a distance to their room. We heard several parents comment that they won't be returning to this resort. There is plenty of space for a secondary bus stop - I think they should consider it. The suites are much closer, it's the standard Little Mermaid rooms that are to far away. I dreaded the walk anytime I had to make it & it prevented us from making those "quick" refresh trips to our room throughout the day. Overall it's a nice place but they definately appear to have some training issues & bugs to work out. Maybe my expectation of Disney is unreasonable but my first impression of the first value resort I've ever stayed at was not a good one. In the future I will likely stick with no less than moderate. I think those resorts provide more of the atmosphere & accomodations that our family prefers. I guess the same is true at Disney as anywhere else - you get what you pay for.

 

[maxiesmom]

My daughter (22) & I just returned from a long weekend at Disney. We stayed at the AoA in a standard Ariel room. While the room was nice & well appointed, it was just a little too cartoony for my taste. I suppose that if I had a little girl with me, she would have loved it. There was a mimi fridge, integrated into one side of the dresser. A clever way to hide it, but then reduced our drawer space to just 3. There was no coffee maker, a disappointment since I like a warm cup of coffee while I get ready in the mornings. Mousekeeping was only average, sometimes less than. Our beds were never made completely, only thrown together rather sloppily. Towels left on the floor for pickup, as instructed, were hung on the back of the door - apparently they decided we needed to reuse them after all. We never saw any of those special little touches, like the towel characters, etc. I know it seems petty but we feel it's all a part of the overall experience. The worst part was the location of our room. We were in building 7. A VERY long walk from the bus stop. On two of the 3 nights that we were there, we witnessed children who were too big to carry but still young cry & sob all the way to their rooms. These children & parents had enjoyed a long, full day in the parks, rode the ridiculously overcrowded bus for what seems like forever & now have to hike for quite a distance to their room. We heard several parents comment that they won't be returning to this resort. There is plenty of space for a secondary bus stop - I think they should consider it. The suites are much closer, it's the standard Little Mermaid rooms that are to far away. I dreaded the walk anytime I had to make it & it prevented us from making those "quick" refresh trips to our room throughout the day. Overall it's a nice place but they definately appear to have some training issues & bugs to work out. Maybe my expectation of Disney is unreasonable but my first impression of the first value resort I've ever stayed at was not a good one. In the future I will likely stick with no less than moderate. I think those resorts provide more of the atmosphere & accomodations that our family prefers. I guess the same is true at Disney as anywhere else - you get what you pay for.

Except for the lousy housekeeping (minus the towel animal complaint, they are a nice perk but should not be expected), you could have been aware of everything else if you had did a bit of research ahead of time. AoA is in your face characters, and it is large, and it does have only one bus stop. None of that is kept secret. Neither is the fact that no Value resorts have coffee pots in the rooms.

I'm not sure if you have stayed at a Moderate resort before, but 3 out of the 4 of them are large resorts as well. If you want to be close to the food court and bus stop at a Moderate, make sure you pay for a preferred room. Or else you may find yourself with another long walk.

I'm sorry you had a bad stay, but it sounds like you expected AoA to be other than what it is. A large Value resort. If you find you want to try another Value stay, at least now you will know to pay for a preferred room. And to pack your coffee pot!

 

[spiceycat]

some smokers are selfish - have asthma too. first they walk into the non-smoking area - secondly they just don't care and if they want a smoke they are taking it.

disney unless you complaint will NOT enforce their policy.

what I do (in between coughs) is ask for the driver license of the person who is smoking in a non-smoking spot and tell him will sue because he (always a man) is endangering my health - then really start coughing. Most of the time they will leave. It takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to recover.

heck even the CM at Disney will smoke.

plus there is nurse station at each park - at the MK it is at the front near the city hall.

at Epcot it is in the between area - near Mexico - but not in WS but FW.

since don't stay enough at AK or Studios to need it - can't help with them.

go to them immediately if your child has any problems.

now not all smokers are bad people - some are very consider and would never endanger another person for their own addiction - but other will.

at the swimming pools so far have not had a problem - at some pools at OKW and SSR there is no lifeguard - the community pools you will have to say something to any smokers there.

at OKW my big problem was some of the exit of the building - were the only exit and that was where they were having smokers.

think the CM's who smoked got to plan where to put the smokers.

but if you ask to see the smokers area before you get a room - that should not be a problem. - look to see where your exit is located and where the smoking area is located. if you have to change rooms do it before you accept a room. explain your problem to the front desk - most of the time they will try to find you another room.

at Pop there has always been near the lake a smoking area - well now they have included just about all the resting area around the lake. most of it I did enjoy at one point can't now - too many smokers.

now there are not that many smokers at WDW - the new policy does help some - but some people think they are too good for the rules - or they have family and don't want them to be in the smoking areas - so they smoke in non-smoking area.

be very carefully at seating area - most of them are for smokers. This includes the area around it - as say some smokers can't be still.

 

[kaytieeldr]

plus there is nurse station at each park - at the MK it is at the front near the city hall.

First Aid at Magic Kingdom is much more centrally located than this. It's near Crystal Palace, the Baby Care Center, and Advendureland.

since don't stay enough at AK or Studios to need it - can't help with them.

AK is between PizzaFari and Africa, also near the Baby Center; DHS is near the entrance next to Guest Services.

at the swimming pools so far have not had a problem - at some pools at OKW and SSR there is no lifeguard - the community pools you will have to say something to any smokers there.

You mean 'politely indicate the DSA at each pool which is clearly marked on the map and which you're avoiding by a wide margin, right?

at OKW my big problem was some of the exit of the building - were the only exit and that was where they were having smokers.

Right. The OKW map clearly states smoking is permitted at the entrance to every guest building. Another clue is the ashtray on top of one of the trash barrels by the benches. Nonsmokers can use another path to the building - there are several - to avoid this area on the off-chance someone is smoking there. Same at SSR.

think the CM's who smoked got to plan where to put the smokers.

Confused why you'd think that. DVC is home-away-from-home. It's not unreasonable for smokers [who can't/won't smoke in the house] to expect to step outside for a cigarette.

[QUOTEspiceycat]at Pop there has always been near the lake a smoking area - well now they have included just about all the resting area around the lake. most of it I did enjoy at one point can't now - too many smokers.[/QUOTE]
Most of the DSAs at Pop have always been at various points around the lake/walkway, since WDW restricted smoking.

 

[olive]

I didn't read through this whole thread, but just wanted to share that we were at the Swan about 10 days ago and there was a group of folks smoking cigars at the pool. I don't know if they were allowed to do so or not, but I didn't notice a sign nearby saying not to smoke so I didn't know if I had a leg to stand on asking them to stop. I was with my children at the time. I am asthmatic, but my kids are not. We just left.

 

[Lynne M]

Folks, just a reminder that DSA's and smoking policy at the resorts is only to be discussed our Smoking FAQ thread at the top of this board.