Resort misconceptions you wish people would not make

[Sparrow624]

I have 2 based on my trips to Disney over the last 7 years:

1. People who think/loudly proclaim that everyone who stays in the Grand Floridian is "rich." Due to the fact that the GF is a monorail stop, I have heard this one frequently (last time, a loud "must be nice" from a dad as we got off) and in fact, I would argue that it is quite the oppposite. My wife and I are teachers and save, pinching pennies, for 2-3 years to make the trip. Last time we were there, we jokingly called our floor the "government employees floor" as we met a fireman, another teacher, and an EMS worker and their families. Weird that we were grouped together on the same floor. I have consistantly met many people like this who save up for these trips at each stay. We only get to take a trip once every 2-4 years, so when we do, we like to splurge.

2. People who refer/act like poeple staying at a non-deluxe resort are somehow of a lower class. Or give the whole "why does OUR bus have to stop here" complaint. I guess this shows that there are some people that #1 complains about, but not everyone.

Who else has some?

 

[Mariep26]

I have 2 based on my trips to Disney over the last 7 years:


2. People who refer/act like poeple staying at a non-deluxe resort are somehow of a lower class. Or give the whole "why does OUR bus have to stop here" complaint. I guess this shows that there are some people that #1 complains about, but not everyone.

Who else has some?

You pretty much nailed mine with the second item. We stay value because right now my kids are completely nuts over Toy Story/Cars etc.. and I want them to have the full experience. We are looking at moderates for certain upcoming trips but I am in no hurry to try a Deluxe resort. I definitely get the impression here on the boards and elsewhere that we are judged based on this choice regardless of my motivations for the choice. I don't really care, just don't understand why people have to turn a fun, family vacation into an opportunity to judge others.. blech.

 

[Sparrow624]

Completely agree with you. We are seriously considering staying at AofA next summer with our 1 year old. She loves bright colors. I have stayed in Deluxe and off sight, but we want to try other hotels. Will be interesting to see things from different perspectives.

 

[spiceycat]

some people think that values are awfully and they have never even stayed in a value resort.

don't judge something until you try it.

DVC use to be a good value - now resale still is - but with the prices going up - up with each new resort - it is no longer the value it was. (unless you go resale)

 

[Missytara]

I also think the biggest misconceptions are the bus services and other forms of transportation.

I love, love, love POR and often go solo, so I tend to travel at off-peak times during the day and a bit slower time.

I don't understand why people go at the busiest time of the year and the busiest time of day and don't expect the buses to be crowded.....

And I don't see why people would pick a resort solely on transportation. Some people will post with what resort has the best bus service. And that is such a subjective question.

I find a 15 minute wait not out of the ordinary, but people wait a few minutes are already getting ansty about the bus getting there.

 

[tofubeast]

-CSR is just a 'conference hotel'. That it lacks Disney theme'ing. etc..etc..

 

[gigi729]

Totally agree! We usually stay DLX but have stayed in values too! In fact after booking our trip for this Oct. at Bay Lake Tower we found out the Little Mermaid rooms at AoA were going to be opening earlier than originally anticipated. So we added 2 nts to our trip to stay there too! So I guess we are an anomoly to some people!!! Monorail loop and value all in one stay!!! And we are neither rich or white trash, we are on 1 income as I am a SAHM. We too save and pinch pennies for 2 + years so that when we do come to Disney we can stay where we choose!!!

 

[Raenstoirm]

Totally agree! We usually stay DLX but have stayed in values too! In fact after booking our trip for this Oct. at Bay Lake Tower we found out the Little Mermaid rooms at AoA were going to be opening earlier than originally anticipated. So we added 2 nts to our trip to stay there too! So I guess we are an anomoly to some people!!! Monorail loop and value all in one stay!!! And we are neither rich or white trash, we are on 1 income as I am a SAHM. We too save and pinch pennies for 2 + years so that when we do come to Disney we can stay where we choose!!!

You are just like us. We tend to stay deluxe, but I really want to try every resort! I will say though, we stayed at ASM a few years back and I was not impressed. I had originally considered each All Star it's own resort to stay at and I just cant do that again. The external themeing was awesome, but the rooms were just icky (run down- "hotel" themed verses the mods and deluxes with their all inclusive themes- small uncomfortable beds). So we made a point to visit the exterior of all three and I lumped them together to say we stayed at the "All Stars."

 

[spiceycat]

You are just like us. We tend to stay deluxe, but I really want to try every resort! I will say though, we stayed at ASM a few years back and I was not impressed. I had originally considered each All Star it's own resort to stay at and I just cant do that again. The external themeing was awesome, but the rooms were just icky (run down- "hotel" themed verses the mods and deluxes with their all inclusive themes- small uncomfortable beds). So we made a point to visit the exterior of all three and I lumped them together to say we stayed at the "All Stars."

think you would be surprised - the all stars have changed. all have been updates in the last few years.

Pop is different from the values - it to me is a more fun resort. besides love lakes - Pop has one - the all stars do not.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

The misconception I laugh about every year is that All Stars share buses so Pop is better.
Every morning and night each resort has dedicated buses. Midday they share but even stopping at 3 resorts you have a shorter wait for a bus at the park so I think you are back quicker.

I don't judge income/status by where people stay. We live comfortably but choose to stay value or DVC and vacation 3-4 weeks a year. Others scrape to spend several hundred dollars a night once every couple years. Of course there are the truly well off who stay at the GF and the paycheck to paycheck who stay value.
I could care less where someone stays and don't understand why some are so interested.

 

[HM]

The transportation thing gets to me too.

All Stars "share" buses say so many. I've hardly ever been on a shared bus when staying in the AS Resorts (seven stays). The only time they seem to share is midday when demand is down. Mornings and end of park days, your resort gets it's own bus.

Our best bus experience was our recent All Star Sports stay. We were never on a full bus, never had to stand, and we almost always got on a waiting us or waited less than five minutes. It was great.

Worst bus experiences were at during our stays at GF and the Poly. We had to wait ages at the resort for buses to come and when they did, we had to stand because they picked up other resorts first. There was never a time a bus was waiting to pick us up and generally we waited about 15 minutes and sometimes much more. Sure it's easy to get to MK or Epcot on monorail, but the other parks are not so easy.

And I agree with OP about GF. By the time we got to stay there, we'd already stayed at ASMu, CBR, WL, AKL, Poly, and BWI. We found that the very same types of people stayed at all of them, people from every walk of life. It didn't seem rich or stuck up at all.

 

[uagirl]

I have 2 based on my trips to Disney over the last 7 years:

1. People who think/loudly proclaim that everyone who stays in the Grand Floridian is "rich." Due to the fact that the GF is a monorail stop, I have heard this one frequently (last time, a loud "must be nice" from a dad as we got off) and in fact, I would argue that it is quite the oppposite. My wife and I are teachers and save, pinching pennies, for 2-3 years to make the trip. Last time we were there, we jokingly called our floor the "government employees floor" as we met a fireman, another teacher, and an EMS worker and their families. Weird that we were grouped together on the same floor. I have consistantly met many people like this who save up for these trips at each stay. We only get to take a trip once every 2-4 years, so when we do, we like to splurge.

This drives me crazy. I have only stayed in deluxe resorts. Twice as a child and both times my parents spent years saving up for the trip. Both times as an adult, my husband and I have saved like crazy to make it happen. We're doing it again this time. Could we go more often if we stayed value? Sure, but it's not what we choose to do. We are planning our next trip for 2014, and I've already started saving so we can hopefully give the Contemporary a try.

Oh, and we are both government employees as well.

 

[LisaTC]

When we booked our first trip, I had to take our TA's observations with a grain of salt because I didn't want to be unduly influenced and did my own research. She told me not to stay at any resort that was deemed conference center because they would always be so busy and crowded. She didn't like the Poly and thought the rooms at GF were too small for the $.

Thinking back, I think I chose based on the grounds to be frank. I thought POR looked beautiful, relaxing, tranquil...and how bad could the rooms be when we would only be sleeping there. Well, it was beautiful inside and out. I priced GF (my dream resort, 2nd is AKL) and for the price we opted for POR because we wanted to do some other things with the $ we saved. It was a close call and we are work-day-Joes...he's in the construction arena (and we all know how that's been these past couple of years) and I work at a Univ. We probably will stay at GF one day or AKL because we'll save for it, which is what I think most people do.

The people I saw at the POLY and GF looked like normal, average ( GASP!) hardworking humans to me! What do I know? (I do work in HR and have a fairly good sense of humans)...they still looked like people I'd have a cup of coffee with! We ate at Narcoosee's and got to see some of the grounds/lobby, etc of the GF. Very pretty. I understand from some posts the rooms are "dated?" Don't know if that's true.

I heard the horrors of the POR buses. Never experienced it. Heard the horrors of the "huge-ness" of POR. Never had a problem.

I think with young ones the Values would be more attractive to them because they are colorful, animated places.

Ask any self-made millionaire...a value, is a value, is a value. Conversely, you work hard, you save hard, you stay Deluxe, you deserve it. You work hard, you save hard, you stay Moderate or Value, just as good! It's a choice. I never felt the need to bemoan anybody that got on at GF or the Poly or whatever. Kudos to them I say.

I don't get being criticized for staying on property..I guess that would be mine.

 

[KonaKaiTom]

If people couldn't judge others based on appearance, we would have no reality television. What would the Kardashians do for a living then? LOL!!!!

Make the best of what you can afford is my motto. I've been fortunate to have stayed in Ritz Carltons and Motel 6s and everything in between. As long as they are clean and relatively quiet, I can adapt.

As OP have stated, some people might have saved for years for a trip of a lifetime, others, like me, choose to make and bring my own lunch to work each day so I can pick where and how long I stay on vacation. If someone wants to judge me for that, have fun, I've got better things to do.

Tom

 

[Alexsandra]

There are always people who are jealous of what others have and the saddest part is that they feel justified in judging others. Even if I had millions (which I don't by the way) it doesn't make me any happier than the next. I think it is more validating to work hard to save up the pennies to pay ourselves something nice once in a while. If I always had the cash to get what I wanted all the time, I would not appreciate it as much.

I prefer going to Disney more often and staying in a moderate than paying for a deluxe. Also, a deluxe resort is lost on my kids which now are 5 and 2. They are just happy to be at WDW. When I go on vacation I am just happy to be there with my family and feel blessed to be able to take such a trip. I think people loose sight of what is important, especially when they spend their time comparing themselves to others! (The grass is greener on his side...)

The misconception I hate is that just because my kids are having a fit because their tired or their hungry or because they have been in the sun too long, does not mean they are bad kids or I am a bad mom. I hate when they give you that look, like you or your kids are aliens. At least, WDW is a place where most people understand that. I just don't get why some couples go to WDW when they hate kids!

 

[GreenCntryGirl]

I'm not a fan of the presumption of income regardless of where one is staying.

Just because I can afford something more expensive doesn't necessarily mean I want to pay for it.

 

[LisaTC]

The misconception I hate is that just because my kids are having a fit because their tired or their hungry or because they have been in the sun too long, does not mean they are bad kids or I am a bad mom. I hate when they give you that look, like you or your kids are aliens. At least, WDW is a place where most people understand that. I just don't get why some couples go to WDW when they hate kids!

I give a look...a look of empathy! The look of... I've been in your shoes, they must be so tired...that poor mother could use a spa day!

My husband gives a look, too..."boy I remember those day, thank heaven they are over!"

OT, but I deliberately try to make a comment to that effect when I see some people giving a parent the 'stink-eye' when their child is overtired and melting down to bring them back to reality that WDW makes kids tired and cranky. Deal with it!

 

[KonaKaiTom]

The misconception I hate is that just because my kids are having a fit because their tired or their hungry or because they have been in the sun too long, does not mean they are bad kids or I am a bad mom. I hate when they give you that look, like you or your kids are aliens. At least, WDW is a place where most people understand that. I just don't get why some couples go to WDW when they hate kids!

I watched a father berate his 3-4 year old son who was crying and screaming while we were in line for a ride - I think it was Pirates of the Caribbean - "Do you think everyone likes to wait in line, do you think they all want to hear you scream like a little baby...." I couldn't stand it and turned to him and said "sir, I don't think your son is having a meltdown because he is waiting in line -- he is having a meltdown because it is 10:45pm and he is exhausted!, so please stop yelling at him and put him to bed!" If it was morning, afternoon or early evening, I would have given the sympathetic, yep, been there, done that, thank God I'm not in you shoes -- but EMH at that late, what are you thinking?

Tom

 

[ellie05]

I think when it comes to Disney hotels is all about the theming. Dh and I want to try all the resorts because of the theming regardless of the categories. Actually DH liked POR more than WL it was so nice to walk out to a beautiful garden vs a hallway.
The reason we haven't stay at the values yet is because we weren't so appeal to the certain theme (we also are not big fan od the polynisian theme), but we do want to go to AoA maybe our next trip because this trip we couldn't pass the free dining.

 

[tennessee]

I agree people are resort snobbs. I never judge a person by the resort they stay while at disney. My hubby and I travel alot and stay at nice hotels and base our trip around the hotel, but when we come to disney twice a year, we stay value, we stay most of our time at the parks and as long as the hotel is clean we could care less. Now if we were spending most of our time at the hotel then it would be differnt.I just love it when people on here say if you can afford why would u stay value, I love the values, it is so disney to me. So people dont judge, if u want to spend the money on the hotel and only go every 2 or 3 years than do it, we have to have a least one or two trips a year to get our disney fix. staying value means we can do this and still be able to go other vacations throughout the year.