Big difference between 2000 and 2004!

[llggood]

I have to say we went 2000 and 2004, I am disappointed. If this had been our first trip I probably would have thought it was great but comparing it to our 2000 trip it was a let down. What happened to good old Disney service with a smile? I don't know but it doesn't exist alot anymore! We booked back in March. We sent Dec 8 thru 12th. We requested the Toy Story or Dalmation building with a king bed in one room. They told me they couldn't guarantee anything but I figured with that much warning we would at least get one of the two buildings. WRONG!! We got the farthest building from the bus stop we could Herbie the Lovebug which my kids had never even heard of.

The bus system has really gone downhill. The last time we went we were like what is everyone griping about? Well this time we found out! It was AWFUL. We spent half our time waiting for buses.

The crowds however were great and so were the X-mas decorations. We usually did stand by and the stand by time was usually 10 to 15 minutes. We did fastpass on a few attractions but only if the standby line was greater than 1/2 hour or so.

MVMCP was great as usual. So worth the money. I did like it this year that you got a pic for everyone in your party. When we went in 2000 it was one pic for your whole family.

The character meals were also diminished. It seemed like the minute they got to your table which took awhile believe me, they were just grabbing your kids autograph books to get them signed without even addressing the kids. You were suppossed to snap the picture fast and they were gone in a flash. The only exception at Cindy's was Wendy from Peter Pan. She talked about kids ears off. Hubby and I agreed this would probably be the last trip for a very long time. The cast members were not near as friendly and if we asked to take a family pic or something they sure seemed put out. One lady as the Primivil wheel (sp?) at the Animal Kingdom was great. Logan was the only one who wasn't tall enough to ride so she gave him a card to play some free games at the Arcade. All of our sit down meals were GREAT. We ate at Hollywood and Vine, Crystal Palace and Cindy's. The service at Cindy's is always so wonderful! It was the first time at Hollywood and Vine and it was GREAT. It was the Fantastmic dinner package and I thought it was so worth it.

The kids did get the wake up Tink one morning and that was the HIT of the trip! Anyway that is it. Any questions I would be happy to answer.

 

[OhMari]

You seemed to switch back and forth. Sometimes it is hard to recapture something really great that you experienced once before.

I am really wary with the bus service, I hear some really bad things and then the next person praises the bus service. I think some people just have better luck, and I am one of those people that end up waiting or being in the wrong place and waiting forever.

Don't give up on WDW, my kids enjoyed being there when they were older, my youngest was 10 at the time and we had a great time.

 

[llggood]

Oh we had a relatively good time but we are a middle class family and can only afford to go every 5 years or so. This will probably be it with the kids. They will be 17, 16, 14 and 14 in 5 years so I can't seem them wanting to go back. Hubby and I are planning a trip on our own after they are all older and gone and can do the adult side of Disney. I just expected the great magic we had the first time and the great service etc and was just disappointed. It seems Disney just keeps cutting things and cutting them to see how much their paying customers will take. I heard two employees talking about their raise that starts Dec. 26th and I thought for what?

 

[prince&princessmom]

We were at the All Star Movies checking in on the 4th for two nights and the staff was not friendly at all, we requested Toy Story too and ended up in Love Bug-- how funny it happened to you too! My kids are too little to care so it was OK but I was with my in-laws and they thought we were confirmed-- bummer! To top it off we requested connecting rooms and they said we had them- after hauling all our luggage up we found the rooms were NOT connecting and that they only gave us keys to one room. After calling Guest Services in tears they told me they did not have any other connecting rooms available in all of the All Star properties!! I was trying to impress my in-laws with this trip- and this was NOT the way I wanted to start things off!

It is funny you were disappointed in comparison to 2000 - we went with my in-laws who had not been since 1999 (and that year they went three times) and all they kept saying was how different everything seemed by comparison. From the crowd level (very light) to the lack of Disney attire on the vacationers, to the lack of Disney spirit in the staff.(FYI- we transferred tot he Wildreness Lodge for the next two nights- MUCH better service and magic all around!)