DLH Cabana, F! Dessert, & More!

[LisaT91403]

We just got back from our Kindergarten Graduation Trip (yes, any excuse to go to DLR!) from Saturday, 6/7 through Monday, 6/9.

DLH Cabana

Since we are SoCal AP holders, our passes were blocked on Saturday. This was our cabana day at the DLH. We have rented cabanas at Aulani, but never at DLH. We had a full-day rental, in cabana #3 by the Monorail water slides. We really enjoyed our day! There were 6 of us (3 adults and 3 kids), and the adults were able to relax quite a bit while the kids played on the slides. The cabana had 2 lounge chairs under an umbrella, and then 2 couches and a table inside the cabana itself. We had a refrigerator (stocked with bottles of water), ceiling fan, flat-screen TV, and telephone. The service was excellent. Our cabana attendant and food server came by just often enough not to be intrusive. The only slight disappointment was that the fruit "platter" was really a fruit bowl (apples, pears & bananas)...not nearly as nice as at Aulani. Anyway, it was a fantastic day, and I would rent a cabana again in the future.

Crowds

We are used to Sunday crowds, and were expecting the worst on our first park day. However, we were very pleasantly surprised. We skipped early entry (7:00 is just too early for us), and arrived at around 8:30. We kept waiting for the crowds to hit -- we find they usually arrive around 10:00 - 11:00. Maybe it was our ride choices are just luck, but we felt like the parks never got crowded. On Monday, however, the crowds had definitely arrived!

Fantasmic Dessert

We have had AP's for about 3 years, and have never seen Fantasmic! Now that DS is 6, we decided to go see it. We took a rest in the hotel from 3:30 - 5:00, and that helped DS stay up for the show. Taking advice from the message boards here, I arrived at the churro cart across from Haunted Mansion at 6:10...and I looked for the "line". I didn't see anyone, so I chatted with a security guard. He said that I should come back in an hour or so, as it was silly to wait so long to pick seats. I ignored his advice, and became the first person in line. The second person to join the "line" arrived at 6:40pm. I was able to pick seats in the front row, all the way in the center...but I could have gotten the same or similar seats if I had arrived 45 minutes later.

We enjoyed the show, and liked having chairs to sit in. The dessert tray was ridiculously large, and nobody in our party made a dent in it. I am glad that we did the reserved seating, but would I do it again? I don't think so. I think it's just too expensive for what you get.

Stuff We Never Do

We are ride people, and never pay much attention to entertainment. This trip, we decided to do some things that we never do. Besides Fantasmic!, we also saw Mickey & the Magical Map and Aladdin. DS enjoyed both shows. I thought the former was just okay (something you might see on a Disney cruise?), but the latter was really entertaining! I would go see Aladdin again in the future -- it was that good.

We also went to the Animation Academy, where DS learned to draw Olaf. We had never set foot into this building before, and I am sure that we will be back in the future.

Best Magic Moments

DS(6) and I rode BTMRR with our fast passes. We exited the train, and stopped for a moment to chat with the CM on the loading platform (DS wanted to inform the CM that the smoke effect was not working). We were walking towards the exit, and were the last people from our train to still be on the platform. The train was loaded up with new passengers, and I noticed that row 4 was empty -- odd for them to leave an empty seat, I thought to myself. And just as I thought that, the CM on the other side of the platform asked DS and I if we wanted to ride again. Yes! We hurried into the empty seat, and off we went on our 2nd ride! DS was in heaven.

Another fun moment was when we were departing the DLH. We were waiting for the bellman to bring our luggage, and the CM working the bell desk saw DS and me hanging out and taking some pictures at the Mickey statue. He asked DS, who was wearing a Star Wars shirt, if he was a Star Wars fan. Upon DS's affirmative answer, the CM pulled a Goofy Jar Jar Binks Star Tours action figure out from behind his back. He gave it to DS -- totally made his night!

That's about it...feel free to ask any questions you may have!

 

[cml1010]

Sounds like you packed a lot into those 3 days! Can you tell me how much your cabana cost? Just deciding if we should add one to our July trip. Thanks!

 

[Malcon10t]

Sounds like you packed a lot into those 3 days! Can you tell me how much your cabana cost? Just deciding if we should add one to our July trip. Thanks!

$149, plus tax and tips for 1/2 day, $249 plus tax and tips for full day.

 

[crystal1313]

Awesome! LOVE magic moments like you had....that's why we keep going back to DL. Thanks for sharing, sounds like you had a blast!

 

[rentayenta]

The cabana sounds perfect!

 

[LisaT91403]

The cabana sounds perfect!

Yes, it was pretty perfect for us It is not a "need to have", but an awesome "nice to have". I like having my own space, and the loungers on the pool deck are really close together. The cabana gave us our own space, and a "home base" for the kids and all of our stuff. Since we are locals, we brought lots of food/snacks with us as well. It was great having a refrigerator, as well as a table to spread out food and drinks. I also need shade. By renting a cabana, I always had shade and didn't have to worry about it.

I forgot to mention that the cabana attendant brought DS a signed picture of Mickey, as well as a "I Graduated" button to wear around the parks. Pretty cool!

 

[smiles33]

Wow, we could not have had more dramatically different cabana experiences! We had a 1/2 day rental on Sunday, as I figured the park and pool would be packed since APs were unblocked (compared to Saturday). DH and I will never rent a pool cabana at DLH again after our dismal experience on Sunday, June 8.

We showed up 5 minutes after 2 pm and couldn't find a sign with our name outside any of the 6 cabanas. Three of them had generic signs that said something like "Ask about renting me." We wandered around the entire pool area and finally found a guy in a Disney employee shirt chatting on his cell phone back by the far exit closest to Fantasy tower (we came in from the Frontier tower exit). When he got off his call a minute later (during which I kept looking around, sure that Disney would have SOMEONE manning the cabanas as I had been told when I made the reservation), I asked him if he knew where I was supposed to check in for my cabana.

He replied, in a rather nonchalant and NOT apologetic tone at all, "Oh, sorry, I haven't had a chance to put up your sign yet. You're way back over by the slides in cabana 1." He pointed generally in that far off direction and then turned the other way. Seriously. He didn't even lead us over. So we trekked back and settled in. The next 3 hours were spent waving down every Disney employee who walked by as our cocktail waiter never checked on us (we had to request someone find him for all 3 rounds of cocktails we ordered over the 3 hours). Around 5 pm, fed up with poor service, we left, especially since the girls were hungry and I wasn't about to wait another hour just to get our food order submitted.

DH wanted me to leave no tip at all for our waiter (we charged the drinks to our room so there was one final bill). However, I rarely tip less than 15% because I know folks will assume we are being stereotypically cheap Asians (plus so many Asian tourists don't tip, so maybe that's why the waiter was so neglectful). So I still left exactly 15% tip. Sigh.

Finally, since Lisa mentioned the CM was nice enough to bring her son a signed picture, I want to add that we were celebrating my DD5's 5th birthday. No one commented on it outside of the parks at DLH (the CM inside the parks were lovely and wished her a happy birthday when they saw her button). I made a point to tell the Hotel when I made the reservation but they didn't act on it at all. In fact, I even had to ask for a birthday button at check-in, at which point the CM said, "Oh really? Sure..." We had no special treatment at all for DD5's birthday, which is what I thought staying onsite would be helpful for given the past stories here of CMs wishing kids happy birthday, giving them signed photos at check-in, etc.

Thankfully, our time in the parks was mostly good but I am so dismayed at our DLH experience overall and the cabana rental was not worth even $20 to us. The next day on Monday we went back and just sat on the free chairs. We got EXCELLENT service from a lovely cocktail waitress who even came by twice on her own without us waving her over to check on us during the 2 hours we were there. I was shocked how different service could be on two different days. I saw our same waiter from the day before just standing around (the pool was much less crowded Monday 12-2 compared to 2-5). If we ever go back to DLH, we will just stay in the free section.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

smiles33----what a horrible experience for you!!!

I am so sorry to hear that kind of report!

I know others have had a good experience with the Cabanas, but I think it's important to know that there is the possibility that it might go the other way as well!

That really stinks for all of you, and also for the lack of any Birthday fun for your DD on behalf of the DLH(seriously, not even a balloon, character picture, or Bday button, which we have ALWAYS gotten, as adults, when staying on Property---at least, when staying at the PPH!!!) I'll add that we never expected anything, but have always been pleasantly surprised that they would actually do special things like that for us adults!

 

[smiles33]

Thanks, Cheshirecatty. I'm literally aghast after having read Lisa's summary. I just chalked it up to a bad experience and a waste of some hard-earned money, but to hear that someone had a fabulous experience just 24 hours earlier makes me angry. Not at Lisa, mind you, I'm thrilled she and her family got to celebrate their special event in the way it SHOULD have been celebrated. I'm angry that my family was short-changed and I decided to send an email to Guest Services so they would be aware that they need to re-train that terrible cocktail waiter and the apathetic cabana host (who I only saw once after that cell phone encounter since I was often in the hot tub or by the slides with my girls).

As for the birthday-related disappointment, I know nothing in life is guaranteed, so I didn't expect a signed photo or balloon, but I sure was hoping for some special acknowledgment. I was even secretly hoping they could get a signed Elsa photo, as that would have made DD5's day. Thus, I was completely surprised to get nothing at all. After the check-in CM finished everything and I realized she wasn't going to offer a single thing, that's when I decided I just had to ask for a free birthday button.

Again, in the grand scheme of things, poor service isn't going to ruin my DDs' experiences at DLR. They didn't care that Mom and Dad were a bit cranky from poor service--they had a blast in the slides and the hot tub. DD5 didn't know that she was missing out on some special birthday acknowledgements other kids have received. At the end of the day, DLR trips for us are about our kids. DH was resigned to being cranky anyway (he hates crowds and amusement parks). I love DLR and was so excited to stay on-site so I think it's really just about my severe disappointment. And I'm a big girl who can move on. I'll just decide to spend my precious vacation dollars elsewhere and I won't be urging friends (or folks here) to stay on-site.

 

[LisaT91403]

Wow, we could not have had more dramatically different cabana experiences! We had a 1/2 day rental on Sunday, as I figured the park and pool would be packed since APs were unblocked (compared to Saturday). DH and I will never rent a pool cabana at DLH again after our dismal experience on Sunday, June 8.

We showed up 5 minutes after 2 pm and couldn't find a sign with our name outside any of the 6 cabanas. Three of them had generic signs that said something like "Ask about renting me." We wandered around the entire pool area and finally found a guy in a Disney employee shirt chatting on his cell phone back by the far exit closest to Fantasy tower (we came in from the Frontier tower exit). When he got off his call a minute later (during which I kept looking around, sure that Disney would have SOMEONE manning the cabanas as I had been told when I made the reservation), I asked him if he knew where I was supposed to check in for my cabana.

He replied, in a rather nonchalant and NOT apologetic tone at all, "Oh, sorry, I haven't had a chance to put up your sign yet. You're way back over by the slides in cabana 1." He pointed generally in that far off direction and then turned the other way. Seriously. He didn't even lead us over. So we trekked back and settled in. The next 3 hours were spent waving down every Disney employee who walked by as our cocktail waiter never checked on us (we had to request someone find him for all 3 rounds of cocktails we ordered over the 3 hours). Around 5 pm, fed up with poor service, we left, especially since the girls were hungry and I wasn't about to wait another hour just to get our food order submitted.

DH wanted me to leave no tip at all for our waiter (we charged the drinks to our room so there was one final bill). However, I rarely tip less than 15% because I know folks will assume we are being stereotypically cheap Asians (plus so many Asian tourists don't tip, so maybe that's why the waiter was so neglectful). So I still left exactly 15% tip. Sigh.

Finally, since Lisa mentioned the CM was nice enough to bring her son a signed picture, I want to add that we were celebrating my DD5's 5th birthday. No one commented on it outside of the parks at DLH (the CM inside the parks were lovely and wished her a happy birthday when they saw her button). I made a point to tell the Hotel when I made the reservation but they didn't act on it at all. In fact, I even had to ask for a birthday button at check-in, at which point the CM said, "Oh really? Sure..." We had no special treatment at all for DD5's birthday, which is what I thought staying onsite would be helpful for given the past stories here of CMs wishing kids happy birthday, giving them signed photos at check-in, etc.

Thankfully, our time in the parks was mostly good but I am so dismayed at our DLH experience overall and the cabana rental was not worth even $20 to us. The next day on Monday we went back and just sat on the free chairs. We got EXCELLENT service from a lovely cocktail waitress who even came by twice on her own without us waving her over to check on us during the 2 hours we were there. I was shocked how different service could be on two different days. I saw our same waiter from the day before just standing around (the pool was much less crowded Monday 12-2 compared to 2-5). If we ever go back to DLH, we will just stay in the free section.

I'm so sorry your experience was not a positive one! I am so surprised that our experiences were vastly different, and just a day apart!

I will say that I never saw a cabana sign with a family name on it. All of the signs I saw had the generic "If you'd like to rent this cabana, please contact guest services" message. Once we checked in, they removed the sign altogether.

We had 2 cabana attendants and one server. At one point, the 3 adults in our cabana had a discussion about whether or not the service was intrusive. The server seemed to know when to walk by and smile (and not say anything to us) vs. when to ask if we needed anything. Of the two cabana attendants, one was pretty good at this and the other asked how we were doing literally every time he walked by. Ultimately, we decided that the service was right on the border of being intrusive and just right.

Another note is that the DLH hotel did not present my son with anything at check in. Both hotel reservations and cabana reservations had asked if we were celebrating anything, and I mentioned my son's graduation from Kinder. I thought the hotel might give us a button at check in, but they didn't. Then I was surprised that the cabana guys brought it by.

I wonder if maybe the 1/2 day rental throws the service off?

Anyway, sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[smiles33]

Good point. I bet the 1/2 day rentals just don't get as much attention. As for the signs, I saw 3 other signs welcoming families by name, and MalconT (can't remember his full user name) had posted a photo earlier in the week showing what it looked like so that is what I walked around looking for.

We had 1 cabana attendant, the guy on the cell phone, who I never saw again (though admittedly I was in the hot tub or near the slides at least half the time and not spending the entire 3 hours in the cabana like DH). I think we just had bad luck with the waiter and cabana attendant. The Monday waitress was so much better, though I wouldn't call it anything close to intrusive given that it was still only 2 times over 2 hours. I think we were just grateful DH didn't have to get off his lounger to flag someone down like he did on Sunday.

Anyhow, the more I think about this, the more I realize that I just had expectations that renting a cabana included good service. It's not like I expected a personal assigned waiter or anything for our cabana, but at least decent service where they check on you once/hour at least! I sent Disney a link to this thread and a request that they revisit training these two individuals specifically.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

So glad you sent an email about what happened---I think it is very important feedback!

Also, I think you had every right to expect good quality service at the Cabana, after paying the not so cheap price to rent one(and in my opinion, half day service shouldn't get one a lesser quality than a full day!

I'm puzzled that the CMs take note of a celebration in the reservation, and then ignore it! I think that's pretty poor service, and especially when it concerns a child---I know you weren't expecting anything, but the CM checking you in could have at least made a big fuss over your DD, even if they didn't want to give her something tangible!

I'm glad you didn't let this ruin your trip---that shows what a great attitude you have!!!