I got back late Sunday night from a eight night/nine day stay at CSR. I had a great trip, but ran into a few minor problems at CSR. When I checked in, I found I had been placed in Ranchos 7A. Because of the way the bounceback dates fell last year, I had to do the first night under the AP discount and the subsequent nights under the bounceback, so had already decided to not say a single word if I had a bad location for that first night, knowing I could change rooms the next morning. However, the CM must have saw the disappointment on my face, because she asked what was wrong, then immediately said, 'Oh it says here you wanted in the Cabanas. Let me see what I can do". She wasn't able to get me in my beloved 8A, but did get me a great first floor room in Cabanas 9A and told me she'd made sure I'd be in that room for the second stay also. I just had to recheck back in the next morning. It round up being a great location, because I was about half way between bus stop 1 and bus stop 4 and just around the corner from the Cabanas quiet pool. However, as I left registration, I stepped out and immediately got hit by a soccer ball.
Apparently there was a soccer tournament going on that weekend and the soccer teams were at CSR. There were some boys kicking a soccer ball around right outside the doors at the registration area. They seemed to be gone by the second day though and never caused a problem (other than startling me that first day as I walked out of registration)
. Then on Thursday the NCA cheerleaders checked in. They had a 5:00pm meeting in the convention center Thurday evening, so getting back to my room I felt like a salmon swimming upstream.
There were 500 of them and most were staying at CSR. That night I had teenage girls running up and down outside my room, yelling, until about 1:00am. That was the only night I heard them though. They did overrun Cafe Rix every morning and evening though, but were very polite. I always request first floor rooms and have never had a problem with overhead noise, until this trip. There was a man, who apparently worked night shift, because every night about midnight, he came out onto the walkway just above my room, called his job, and then yelled about how he knew he shouldn't have went on vacation and how everything always fell apart if he wasn't there. He also spent alot of time in the mornings screaming at his kids about how they were ruining the vacation for everyone and if they didn't straighten out and walk the line, they were all going home. This was a daily rampage he went on early every morning about 7:00am.
Then the neighbors to the left of me were also very loud, which didn't help any. Added to that, someone kept stealing the Do Not Disturb signs out of the doors. My door didn't close all the way when it was released. You had to pull it closed. The second day I came back to find housekeeping had not pulled it closed and it had not closed all the way. All I had to do was push the door to make it open. I didn't even use my key. After that, I decided not to use housekeeping and put the Do Not Disturb sign in the door each morning. Twice it disappeared out of my door and I found housekeeping had done my room. The first time, I just left a note in the door asking for another Do Not Disturb sign. One was in my door when I got back that afternoon. The second time, I walked over to guest services and told them it was the second time in four days that the Do Not Disturb sign had disappeared. The CM immediately asked if I was in 9A and said there had been several complaints of the Do Not Disturb signs disappearing out of the doors in that building. On the last day, despite the Do Not Disturb sign being in the door, housekeeping knocked on the door right at 8:00am, asking when I was going to be out, as they needed to get the room ready for the next guest. I politely reminded her that check out was 11:00am, not 8:00am but I'd be out in about an hour. My other issue was how so many smokers were just ignoring the smoking areas and wandering around the resort smoking. I was reading a book at the quiet pool when a couple next to me just lit up. I politely told them the pool was not a smoking area and they rudely told me to move if I didn't like it and that they'd been smoking wherever they wanted to all week and no one had said a word to them. The very next morning two men sitting at the bus stop also lit up, while waiting for the bus. The lady sitting next to them told them Disney had designated smoking areas and the benches at the bus stop was not one of them. They also refused to put out their cigarettes and said Disney didn't care. I saw alot of people just walking around the resort and parks smoking also.
Oh a couple other things: I had to call for another TV remote that first day as the one in the room was broken and the cabinet door where the refrigerator is wouldn't stay closed. Apparently the latch on it was broken. Also I had to call maintenance that first day because the commode wouldn't flush. Apparently the chain that raises the flapper was broken.
Other than those minor issues I had a great trip though. The room was spotless when I arrived and I had a really cute towel animal sitting on the dresser. It was a bear toilet paper roll cover. Bus service was great as usual and the resort was decorated really well for Christmas. CMs were all friendly and the weather was great. I didn't know about the PM becoming a buffet Dec 4th. Saturday I got lunch to go and ate beside the quiet pool while I was reading a book.. Then on Sunday not knowing it had changed, I tried to get lunch to go again and was told they were no longer doing To Go orders. She didn't explain about the buffet, just said they no longer did To Go orders, so I went to Cafe Rix. I also did a walk up at Maya Grill one night and had a very good meal.
Oh! Guess I'd better get busy with that new trip banner...
We made it by 7 one night, and maybe by 6:30 on another evening. 
