Am I The Only One With SIMPLE Expectations?

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

It seems as though more and more posts for resort reviews are a long list of grievances spawned by high expectations. Everyone expects so much "magic" for their dollar that it clouds their everyday judgement...because its Disney..they are supposed to make my dreams come true.

I understand (BOY do I understand) how expensive a Disney vacation can be and we all want to get our moneys worth. Everyone wants to experience the magic of Disney.

I can't help but think this disappointment being experienced by many is nothing more than unrealistic high expectations.

My expectations are simple.

I expect to get a themed hotel of my choosing based on my budget and personal taste balanced with unique pros and cons that I am WELL aware of prior to my arrival. For Example, I understand that the CSR is a large, spread out resort and it will require more walking. If I choose this hotel and get tired of extra walking, then I understand its my fault for making such a choice and move on.

I expect my room rates are based on hotel location and amenities. Just like any piece of real estate...location, location, location. The closer you are to the Castle, the higher the price. That price gets me convenience, bigger rooms, bigger beds, nicer furniture, more food options, more entertainment options, more available services.

I expect a clean room, friendly service, reasonable safety, hot water, and the typical consumables and info materials found in most any hotel room.

I do not EXPECT towel animals. I do not expect every CM to say "hello" or "aloha" even if I initiate. They are busy doing their job. How can they expect to keep their "train of thought" if they have to stop and respond to every guest that passes by? I would rather have them quickly be on their way to...fix a toilet or deliver bed rails or check on pool chemicals or whatever. I do not expect to get special birthday wishes. I do not expect an upgrade. I APPRECIATE being on the receiving end of ANY of these but expecting all of this only sets one up for disappointment.

Being at Disney, seeing and experiencing the wonder of it all through the eyes of a child or "being a child"..reliving your childhood is what the magic is all about.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

[SereneOne]

I totally agree!

 

[KatMark]

It seems as though more and more posts for resort reviews are a long list of grievances spawned by high expectations. Everyone expects so much "magic" for their dollar that it clouds their everyday judgement...because its Disney..they are supposed to make my dreams come true.

I understand (BOY do I understand) how expensive a Disney vacation can be and we all want to get our moneys worth. Everyone wants to experience the magic of Disney.

I can't help but think this disappointment being experienced by many is nothing more than unrealistic high expectations.

My expectations are simple.

I expect to get a themed hotel of my choosing based on my budget and personal taste balanced with unique pros and cons that I am WELL aware of prior to my arrival. For Example, I understand that the CSR is a large, spread out resort and it will require more walking. If I choose this hotel and get tired of extra walking, then I understand its my fault for making such a choice and move on.

I expect my room rates are based on hotel location and amenities. Just like any piece of real estate...location, location, location. The closer you are to the Castle, the higher the price. That price gets me convenience, bigger rooms, bigger beds, nicer furniture, more food options, more entertainment options, more available services.

I expect a clean room, friendly service, reasonable safety, hot water, and the typical consumables and info materials found in most any hotel room.

I do not EXPECT towel animals. I do not expect every CM to say "hello" or "aloha" even if I initiate. They are busy doing their job. How can they expect to keep their "train of thought" if they have to stop and respond to every guest that passes by? I would rather have them quickly be on their way to...fix a toilet or deliver bed rails or check on pool chemicals or whatever. I do not expect to get special birthday wishes. I do not expect an upgrade. I APPRECIATE being on the receiving end of ANY of these but expecting all of this only sets one up for disappointment.

Being at Disney, seeing and experiencing the wonder of it all through the eyes of a child or "being a child"..reliving your childhood is what the magic is all about.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

I vote this post as "POST OF THE YEAR!" Very well said.

 

[Ashley Kees]

RIGHT ON LITTLE LADY!!!!! I second the nom for BEST POSTING OF THE YEAR!!! You're at Disney, count your blessings!

 

[pixie08]

I agree 100%

 

[Island Mouse]

I am with you on this one. Everyone has different expectations and the negative reviews really carry no weight with me. Some people like to pick apart every little detail at a resort to find all of the faults, but for me, I'm usually too busy enjoying my vacation to focus on the minute details like that. If there is a piece of trash on the ground, pick it up or notify a CM. Don't just stew about it for the rest of your trip and report back here when you get home that the resort is trashed. If the CM's don't greet you, or are exceptionally unfriendly, engage them in conversation and ask them why. I am sure they will realize they aren't giving a "good show" and will most likely change their attitude. If the bus service is really that slow or that inconsistent and it really affects your enjoyment of the resort, just rent a car. It's not a resort issue as much as it is a transportation issue anyway. Sometimes you need to take extra steps to ensure your vacation is magical, you can't just go with the expectation that all of the magic will be thrust on you. Keep your expectations reasonable or you are just setting yourself up for a let down. And remember that for every bad stay at any of the WDW resorts that is reported on here, there are a thousand good stays that go unreported.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I agree 100% with this thread.

 

[dbarker]

Us too.

I expect (and receive) a clean room, a comfy bed, a hot shower. Anything else that comes our way is extra magic. The most magical thing at WDW is the friendliness of all the CMs. That is the #1 reason we keep going back.

Sure, all the CMs are not going to be Mr. Happy CM 100% of the time. I chalk that up to the probability that they just had to deal w/ Mr. Grumpy Guest right before me. So, I try to do my part and spread as much magical kindness to the CMs that I can.

 

[SereneOne]

I am with you on this one. Everyone has different expectations and the negative reviews really carry no weight with me. Some people like to pick apart every little detail at a resort to find all of the faults, but for me, I'm usually too busy enjoying my vacation to focus on the minute details like that. If there is a piece of trash on the ground, pick it up or notify a CM. Don't just stew about it for the rest of your trip and report back here when you get home that the resort is trashed. If the CM's don't greet you, or are exceptionally unfriendly, engage them in conversation and ask them why. I am sure they will realize they aren't giving a "good show" and will most likely change their attitude. If the bus service is really that slow or that inconsistent and it really affects your enjoyment of the resort, just rent a car. It's not a resort issue as much as it is a transportation issue anyway. Sometimes you need to take extra steps to ensure your vacation is magical, you can't just go with the expectation that all of the magic will be thrust on you. Keep your expectations reasonable or you are just setting yourself up for a let down. And remember that for every bad stay at any of the WDW resorts that is reported on here, there are a thousand good stays that go unreported.

So true! Sometimes there ARE legitimate complaints, but I see so many nitpicky posts on here, for goodness sake! You are in DISNEY! You are not in Kosovo or Iraq or some third world country. I am so thankful to get to go to Disney and take my children. We went second week of December, 2007 and had a wonderful time, so many sweet CMs, so many workers cleaning and painting, etc. I could go on and on...not that I have never had an encounter with a nasty CM or two, however, it is more the pompous you-owe-me-guests that spoil Disney, not the castmembers!

 

[Cinderella21]

I completely agree!!! My only wish when I am there is that my family and I are having a good time. Very well said!!!

 

[Stittsville]

So true! Sometimes there ARE legitimate complaints, but I see so many nitpicky posts on here, for goodness sake! You are in DISNEY! You are not in Kosovo or Iraq or some third world country.

So true. I have a rough rule of thumb -- the more time a reviewer uses the word horrible the less I pay attention to it. I have never had a horrible stay anywhere in my life. I have certainly had interesting stays...

Arrived in Paris for honeymoon, check into downtown hotel... two single beds! Oh well, just crowd into one -- after all, it is our honeymoon. Next morning, room service knocks once on door, then walks in. I am standing there stark naked! A couple of days later, when we walk back to the hotel, there is a police officer frantically searching under a car in front of the hotel, which our room overlooked. Other officers send us behind a corner, then we hear a large BANG that scares the crap out of us and the officers! I guess it was some kind of joke bomb because nothing really blew up! Now can you imagine what some posters would make of that stay? It wasn't cheap either, over $100 a night in 1984 dollars. But it was still a nice hotel and great trip.

The worst thing about it? I was young and that was my "practice" wife, so I cannot even reminisce about it with my real wife of 16 years!

 

[vicki_c]

I totally agree as well! I know I posted in some of these other threads that I have never had 1 complaint about any Disney hotel room ever and we have stayed at the Poly, AKL, WL, POR, YC, and CBR (I think that's all). I never ever had to call for anything that was wrong with my room or mousekeeping or anything.

In one post, I said maybe I was lucky or just didn't have that high of expectations. It's probably more the latter, like you said. There's definitely resorts I like more than others, but it's more personal preference, not because there was anything "bad" about any of them.

 

[Carlyzmom]

What a great post! I guess I am an optomist too! It has to be REALLY bad for me to complain on a VACATION!! For goodness sakes - you are on VACATION! It's better than being at work or at home doing laundry and cleaning potties!
I have found the similar situation on a cruise forum. Some people would find something to complain about in any situation! Why be a whiner? Just have fun. That's my feeling on it!

 

[Tink888]

I'm with you 100%!!!

I can honestly say I've never had anything less than a great vacation at Disney. Sometimes the less you expect, the more magical the vacation.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Amen, sister!

We've been to DW three times so far, all at POR. And all three trips were pure magic! Magic! Some of the most precious memories I have are from those trips. Was everything absolutely perfect with our resort stay? Nope. We didn't get the king bed we reserved for our 10 year anniversary trip, had ants in our room on our second trip, and had a bit of a check-in issue on our third trip. But it was ALLLLLL GOOD -- we were at Disney World!!!

We've met the nicest CMs on our trips, especially mousekeeping staff who have gone above and beyond for our family. So many CMs are working their buns off trying to make things nice for the guests -- can you even imagine how difficult it must be dealing with some of the guests day in and day out??? Oh man, I know I could not do it!

I mean, how happy can you be going to a room in the middle of the night with fresh bedding because a child woke up vomiting? The duo that came to our room to help us tried their darndest to come in and change the bedding themselves, and I wouldn't hear of it. Too nasty of a task for those sweet CMs.

Sorry to ramble, but I could go on and on! I appreciate you posting. You stated very well the feelings of many. Thank you!

 

[Clotho]

I would hate to discourage anyone from giving an honest assessment of their experiences, however good or bad. But I agree that some seem overly focused on the negative, and just venting about the nit picky details, and don't balance it with other perspectives. And the more one-sided anything is, the less I trust it. Really good reviews are balanced ones, IMO.

 

[smidgy]

I can't help but think this disappointment being experienced by many is nothing more than unrealistic high expectations.

My expectations are simple.

I expect to get a themed hotel of my choosing based on my budget and personal taste balanced with unique pros and cons that I am WELL aware of prior to my arrival. For Example, I understand that the CSR is a large, spread out resort and it will require more walking. If I choose this hotel and get tired of extra walking, then I understand its my fault for making such a choice and move on.

I expect my room rates are based on hotel location and amenities. Just like any piece of real estate...location, location, location. The closer you are to the Castle, the higher the price. That price gets me convenience, bigger rooms, bigger beds, nicer furniture, more food options, more entertainment options, more available services.

I expect a clean room, friendly service, reasonable safety, hot water, and the typical consumables and info materials found in most any hotel room.

I
Being at Disney, seeing and experiencing the wonder of it all through the eyes of a child or "being a child"..reliving your childhood is what the magic is all about.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

I am responding BEFORE reading all the other posts, so I apologize if I am repetitive.

every resort has its pros and cons! WE prefer the moderate resorts, to each their own. but we are a couple going without kids. If we go with out grandkids, we probably would choose a value (pop) jsut because of the cute icons. but we like it too, if we are short on money.,
oI would have to say my fav. moderate is CSR. yes, it's spread out, but it is so romantic, and we don't have little ones to drag around., however, the fod court is VERY expensive! (but worth it, if you're on the DDP)
POR and PFQ are great if you want to take the boat to downtown disney!
the convenience of the monorail resorts are not worth the price, in my opinion. but the dolphin is a great alternative, esp. if youlike epcot, and are pressed for cas. or the WL is a cheaper deluxe.
It all depends on your tastes. I wouldn't expect THAT much from the Poly. CSR is prettier, esp. the casitas section, for a much cheaper price. you ar epaying for the monorail access.. those of you with little kids would be just as happy at a value resort.
It depends how much time will you spend at the resort? consider that. we like to spend a lot of off time at the resort, so we like it to be pretty. that's why we like the mods. we like to walk out our room, and see the sun rising.
' to us, it isn't worth the extra money to be at a deluxe, and walk out into a dreary interior hallway.... just to be on the monorail..
I agree with the OP. research your choice well; see if the amenities are worth the price to you.

 

[PlainJane]

I do get frustrated when people complain about things that they knew about the resort when they booked it i.e. the Poly doesn't have a jacuzzi, Insert Name is a large resort, Pop doesn't have monorail access.

I've given an opinion on resorts when posters have asked for one, and I do sometimes have negative things to say, but the positives always out way the negatives for me at least.

 

[smidgy]

Sure, all the CMs are not going to be Mr. Happy CM 100% of the time. I chalk that up to the probability that they just had to deal w/ Mr. Grumpy Guest right before me. .

or:MR. GRUMPY GILLS!!!

not EVERYTHING is going to go EXACTLY as planned! nothing is perfect! after 13 trips, we have found, if you make your compaints known in a friendly manner, disney goes above and beyond to make sure you are happy!

 

[~Fisharefriends~]

competely agree with this post, I have stayed offsite and onsite, yes they may have been little things that could have been done better, but you know what for the life of me i cant remember them. instead i remember the smile on my sons face when he met micky mouse and the laughter taking him on is first rollacoaster ride.