DISNEY if you don't want the average Joe to stay at the parks just say so...

[MolonLabe]

Oh, I bet that the phone CM did caution them, as did their friend.

I wasn't able to caution him before he did the package because I wasn't aware of it. When he told me, I did caution him to book asap, in fact I told him either him or his wife should it that night and not wait another day. I didn't want to rain on his parade as I knew he was pretty much screwed and me saying "your hosed" would have done more harm than good. He said the agent he spoke to on the phone most certainly did push the deluxe dining. To be fair, I have called WDW several times over the years, I've gotten agents who seemed clueless about certain certain things as well. It seems not all the phone agents are as good as they once were.

One problem woth some WDW guests is that they are not aware of what they do not know.

that's it entirely. Honestly, who in their right mind would ever think there is this much planning and how screwed you are if you don't plan every single detail? If it wasn't for Dis, and this was back in 2010 for my first major trip with children, I wouldn't have known I needed to book EVERY adr early, I would have only thought CRT was a must book early kind of thing. I would have been totally caught off guard.

It's only by chance that when researching the deluxe dining package we were getting, mostly to find out what was and wasn't a snack and what not, I stumbled across a link to Disboards and that's how I found this place. I would have wound up going to WDW back then with maybe 2 or 3 ADR's for the week, planning on booking the rest the night before when we has a plan for what park we were going to be in.

My brother just informed me that DLR and WDW are really the same. No....they are two entirely different animals. But he knows because he was there when his 41 YO DD was little, and he has since been to DLR several times with his now very much adult DD and his DGS. My brother knows that I go to WDW a lot, and have also been to DLR, so I know the difference between the two, but no dice. He knew what he knew.

Yeah, I did DL the first time this year. Completely and 100% different from what WDW is today. Nothing is the same. It was awesome being able to do walkups for just about anything we wanted, including TS meals. So nice being able to just do "whatever" and whenever. The only two adr's we had were carthy circle for a WOC package and then Blue Bayou for the showing of Fantasmic before it shut down.

I'm heading to WDW at the end of the month for a few hours on a Friday night and a few hours Saturday morning (conference in the area and flying out of MCO), it'd be nice to have some more options. Alas no. FP+'s of course are still a joke if you aren't staying on property. I did manage to get a 11pm FP for SDMT Friday night. Even trying to book at 12:01 for a SDMT on Saturday was a no go, I couldn't even get a midnight ride... not that I'd be there for it anyway, just pointing out there was nothing for the whole day 1 minute after midnight.

When our AP's run out this year we are done. Perhaps when Star Wars land is back up we'll go back for a day or two. Unless they fix everything they've screwed up in the past several years, I just can't take it anymore. You try and put on your happy ears but they keep coming up with new ways to make you angry and disappointed.

 

[Nancyg56]

I wasn't able to caution him before he did the package because I wasn't aware of it. When he told me, I did caution him to book asap, in fact I told him either him or his wife should it that night and not wait another day. I didn't want to rain on his parade as I knew he was pretty much screwed and me saying "your hosed" would have done more harm than good. He said the agent he spoke to on the phone most certainly did push the deluxe dining. To be fair, I have called WDW several times over the years, I've gotten agents who seemed clueless about certain certain things as well. It seems not all the phone agents are as good as they once were.

that's it entirely. Honestly, who in their right mind would ever think there is this much planning and how screwed you are if you don't plan every single detail? If it wasn't for Dis, and this was back in 2010 for my first major trip with children, I wouldn't have known I needed to book EVERY adr early, I would have only thought CRT was a must book early kind of thing. I would have been totally caught off guard.

It's only by chance that when researching the deluxe dining package we were getting, mostly to find out what was and wasn't a snack and what not, I stumbled across a link to Disboards and that's how I found this place. I would have wound up going to WDW back then with maybe 2 or 3 ADR's for the week, planning on booking the rest the night before when we has a plan for what park we were going to be in.



Yeah, I did DL the first time this year. Completely and 100% different from what WDW is today. Nothing is the same. It was awesome being able to do walkups for just about anything we wanted, including TS meals. So nice being able to just do "whatever" and whenever. The only two adr's we had were carthy circle for a WOC package and then Blue Bayou for the showing of Fantasmic before it shut down.

I'm heading to WDW at the end of the month for a few hours on a Friday night and a few hours Saturday morning (conference in the area and flying out of MCO), it'd be nice to have some more options. Alas no. FP+'s of course are still a joke if you aren't staying on property. I did manage to get a 11pm FP for SDMT Friday night. Even trying to book at 12:01 for a SDMT on Saturday was a no go, I couldn't even get a midnight ride... not that I'd be there for it anyway, just pointing out there was nothing for the whole day 1 minute after midnight.

When our AP's run out this year we are done. Perhaps when Star Wars land is back up we'll go back for a day or two. Unless they fix everything they've screwed up in the past several years, I just can't take it anymore. You try and put on your happy ears but they keep coming up with new ways to make you angry and disappointed.

In fairness to the CMs they generally always advise to make ADR's and offer to transfer people to the dining line. WHile the DxDDP, especially booking it weeks instead of months out, may be a financial drain, it is an investment. So, when people who know try to tell someone to book ADRs then if folks refuse to listen, they are in for the "treat" they bought.

 

[MolonLabe]

In fairness to the CMs they generally always advise to make ADR's and offer to transfer people to the dining line. WHile the DxDDP, especially booking it weeks instead of months out, may be a financial drain, it is an investment. So, when people who know try to tell someone to book ADRs then if folks refuse to listen, they are in for the "treat" they bought.

As anyone who has tried booking an ADR 2 weeks before a busy week, let alone spring break period, can tell you, him trying to book a adr about 10 days out (when he booked the trip) vs the 5ish days out when he told me wasn't going to really make a difference. He was screwed either way.

About the only difference it might have made would have been him getting transferred back to reservations and complaining and having them remove the DDxP at no cost to modify, since it would have been the same day.

People are busy and have things to do. We can't always sit on the phone for all of this either. Very few people outside of this site spend the hours and time on planning a trip like we do. Again, no one would expect they would need to either. No rational person could expect this for a vacation.

 

[MammaMoe48]

DLR = Disneyland Resort, CA?

 

[Nancyg56]

As anyone who has tried booking an ADR 2 weeks before a busy week, let alone spring break period, can tell you, him trying to book a adr about 10 days out (when he booked the trip) vs the 5ish days out when he told me wasn't going to really make a difference. He was screwed either way.

About the only difference it might have made would have been him getting transferred back to reservations and complaining and having them remove the DDxP at no cost to modify, since it would have been the same day.

People are busy and have things to do. We can't always sit on the phone for all of this either. Very few people outside of this site spend the hours and time on planning a trip like we do. Again, no one would expect they would need to either. No rational person could expect this for a vacation.[/QUOTE

I don't deny that he was probably not going to gain much, but I do think that his refusal to listen when you told him was indicative to how his reaction may have been even if he booked 6 months out.

I have advised some people to book their dining ADR's months in advance and even though these folks know that my family are frequent visitors to WDW, they seem to think I am a lunatic with I tell them this. They are generally the same people who come back very upset.

I am not saying that your friend would have had great luck if he booked ADR's at the time he booked, or even a week before when you told him, but we both know that with DxDDP he woudl have had some luck with signature dining anyway, and perhaps a few openings. If nothing else, they would not be blindsided when they got there.

 

[Davey Jones II]

As anyone who has tried booking an ADR 2 weeks before a busy week, let alone spring break period, can tell you, him trying to book a adr about 10 days out (when he booked the trip) vs the 5ish days out when he told me wasn't going to really make a difference. He was screwed either way.

About the only difference it might have made would have been him getting transferred back to reservations and complaining and having them remove the DDxP at no cost to modify, since it would have been the same day.

People are busy and have things to do. We can't always sit on the phone for all of this either. Very few people outside of this site spend the hours and time on planning a trip like we do. Again, no one would expect they would need to either. No rational person could expect this for a vacation.

Very true. I spend countless hours planning our trips, and that's for two people, with no ADRs!

 

[Chasing Dopey]

I wish I had come to this thread earlier... I've only been able to skip around to catch up, so I've missed a lot, but I am AMAZED at how many people out there are experts on running amusement parks! I would have thought that would be a really niche industry.

 

[MolonLabe]

DLR = Disneyland Resort, CA?

Correct.

 

[Livvie]

Glad you find value in universal, its a great park. But kindly see yourself out of the thread and board if you no longer find disney worth it. No need to hate on it needlessly

She has no reason to leave. It is a discussion board. Good and bad will be discussed. If you don't like that, maybe this board isn't the place for you.

 

[Livvie]

Just felt someone was trying to hide this discussion....less people will find this to discuss

Yes, it was sent where threads go to die.

 

[pumpkinhead10a]

Yes, it was sent where threads go to die.

You are right Livvie anything negative gets moved anything positive or post about events stays..lol

 

[skyyhiflygirl]

OMG, all of this is crazy talk. So, I am a regular consumer of Disney. I will sleep in their hotels and partake of their parks. However, not so much as I did in the past. Pricing is killing the vacation side of me. My husband wants to do Italy. So I price an Italy vacation for 10 days vs 5 days at WDW and it is MUCH less to go to Italy. I am choosing Italy. It is definitely a different experience but my husband and I both grew up with a Disney park as our playground. . .his in Florida, mine in California. You all have your own experiences and decide what you like but the fact that my husband worked for Disney (WDW) for MANY years (more than most of you have been alive) and has never been to Disney in California and has no desire to go even though we live less than 6 driving hours from the park speaks VOLUMES to me. I will always love Disney. . .just not so much the parks anymore. I feel a bit betrayed.

 

[pumpkinhead10a]

Too Disney, Cast Members and to the family of the little boy I wish to say how sorry I feel for the loss of this little guy!!! Disney does all it can to prevent this kind of situation, it just something no one can predict. Everyone who have heard of the tragic event has lost a piece of their heart, I know I have! Combine with the other events that had happened Orland, all of you are in our hearts and the World is grieving with you!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Too Disney, Cast Members and to the family of the little boy I wish to say how sorry I feel for the loss of this little guy!!! Disney does all it can to prevent this kind of situation, it just something no one can predict. Everyone who have heard of the tragic event has lost a piece of their heart, I know I have! Combine with the other events that had happened Orland, all of you are in our hearts and the World is grieving with you!!

Apparently Disney does not do all they can to prevent this kind of situation or they wouldn't be putting fence up along the beach now, after the fact.

 

[Klayfish]

Apparently Disney does not do all they can to prevent this kind of situation or they wouldn't be putting fence up along the beach now, after the fact.

If you want to take that so literally, then they need to shut down the Ferry, because I could jump off...or they need to put up 15' glass walls so nobody can jump. They need to close down Jungle Safari because I could jump out of the truck. They need to close Splash Mountain for the same reason. Not trying to be sarcastic, but there's taking precautions and then there's being unreasonable. It's not possible for them to do EVERYTHING humanly possible to avoid EVERY possible hazard. I don't know, because I don't work for WDW, but I'd bet the fences are going up for PR reasons rather than actually them realizing they did something wrong.

 

[GPC0321]

If you want to take that so literally, then they need to shut down the Ferry, because I could jump off...or they need to put up 15' glass walls so nobody can jump. They need to close down Jungle Safari because I could jump out of the truck. They need to close Splash Mountain for the same reason. Not trying to be sarcastic, but there's taking precautions and then there's being unreasonable. It's not possible for them to do EVERYTHING humanly possible to avoid EVERY possible hazard. I don't know, because I don't work for WDW, but I'd bet the fences are going up for PR reasons rather than actually them realizing they did something wrong.

Agreed. And what's funny with the fence is it isn't meant to keep gators where they belong as much as it's meant to keep humans where they belong. The people are the ones that had to be fenced in, not the gators. And if some genius decides it'd be a hoot to climb the fence and go for a swim in the lagoon, I suppose there will be people claiming it's Disney's fault for not putting up signs that say, "NO climbing fence or going in the water, there are alligators and snakes and bacteria and you could drown and lots of other things could happen too!!" on them.

 

[Nancyg56]

Agreed. And what's funny with the fence is it isn't meant to keep gators where they belong as much as it's meant to keep humans where they belong. The people are the ones that had to be fenced in, not the gators. And if some genius decides it'd be a hoot to climb the fence and go for a swim in the lagoon, I suppose there will be people claiming it's Disney's fault for not putting up signs that say, "NO climbing fence or going in the water, there are alligators and snakes and bacteria and you could drown and lots of other things could happen too!!" on them.

I think that you are correct. Disney is responding to the public outcry. The fence is nothing but a visual to make people feel better. The problem is that gates have an excuse for wandering where we do not want tot go go....they cannot read. People can read, but many will disregard the warning.

 

[GPC0321]

I think that you are correct. Disney is responding to the public outcry. The fence is nothing but a visual to make people feel better. The problem is that gates have an excuse for wandering where we do not want tot go go....they cannot read. People can read, but many will disregard the warning.

So true. I don't want to continue this discussion here, as I know mods are trying to corral all of this into the one thread in the resort section, but I wanted to say I agree.

 

[Nancyg56]

So true. I don't want to continue this discussion here, as I know mods are trying to corral all of this into the one thread in the resort section, but I wanted to say I agree.

Years ago, when my kids wee young, we had a little lake that was open to the public. It was awesome! There was a nce beach, plenty of picnic tables in the shade (It was called Shady Lake) and had an area that was open of with a board for jumping into the water. Clear signage "No Diving" and lifegaurds were on duty. It was a effect summer respite fo the family...less than a 30 minute drive for most people so you could pack lunch and spend several hours letting the kids swim and stay cool.

Until the day when a teen decided that he wanted to dive in. And he broke his neck and died. The next day this little lake closed and has never reopened. There has always been that one person who bends a rule. Many times it has little consequence to the rest of us, but then the unthinkable occurs....and all bets are off. My own DH fed the birds, got scolded and has never shared his French fries again. But my Boy Scout of a DH thought one little fry would not hurt. He never looked at that as one times how many????? No. Because he had encapsulated that warning to just include himself, and I think that is the issue. Feeding a bird, wading on the shore, climbing a rock, sitting on a fence, it is all against the rules. But just this once?

 

[pumpkinhead10a]

I'm in shock on how much a trip cost now since my last trip..DAM......Attendance down revenue is up .....45 in control....dam