Drinking the Kool-aid

[jupers]

Hi all, I am at Jambo now. We have been venturing off property a lot this trip. I thought us studios was great IOA not as much. However, we have had to go to different hotels to pick up the inlaws and I have to say I'm even more in love with WDW. They just do things so much better! It just makes me happy to be a dvc member!!

 

[DVC Sue]

I feel the same way! It's always great to read a post from a happy member! Enjoy!

 

[bgraham34]

I drink the Kool-Aid I just add more water to it.

 

[disneynutz]

We love WDW, like saving money using DVC accommodations, don't really care for what DVC has become, the resale restrictions, condition of some of the rooms, and decreased MS support.

Bill

 

[bonrea]

I drink the Kool-Aid I just add more water to it.

HERE'S TO THE KOOL-AID!!!

 

[WilsonFlyer]

We love WDW, like saving money using DVC accommodations, don't really care for what DVC has become, the resale restrictions, condition of some of the rooms, and decreased MS support.

Bill

Ditto and Amen.

 

[SuperRob]

Even if it has gone downhill, the quality of service from Disney is still best in class, and it only takes a single trip off property to remind you of that. I have to admit, if not for my love of Marvel and Harry Potter, Universal Studios would hold no sway over me. But we'll always take a day out of our stay to go over there (we're debating TWO when Diagon Alley opens). We just have to try to enjoy the rides (and theming of the Wizarding World) as much as we can, and try to ignore the poor interaction with the service people there. It's frequently a relief to get back on Disney property and the level of service we're accustomed to.

I do wish the maintenance standards were increased, and that Disney would speed up it's ride development schedule, and of course, I wish the prices were lower. But at this point, it would take some major problem (or lack of points/money) to keep us away for terribly long.

 

[bumbershoot]

Everyone is so different! For my family, if Universal opened a timeshare with the same benefits as a normal onsite stay there, we would dump DVC in a heartbeat. Especially if we were staying at Jambo...Jambo and Kidani have been our absolute worst stays, and that includes the SSR 2 bedroom riddled with mold/mildew that made me nearly catatonic for the horrible night we had to stay in that room.

And we absolutely adore the onsite resorts as well as the parks and policies over at Universal compared to experiences at WDW.

Everyone's different!

By the way, the kool aid thing is actually a really ghastly way of saying you're a believer in something. Nothing like referring back to a horrible religious mass murder/suicide (with babies and children included) when you're just trying to say you love something! Something to think about, at least.

 

[Andrew015]

I'll take a refill..........

 

[jupers]

Good point my apologies...

 

[loveswdw]

And we absolutely adore the onsite resorts as well as the parks and policies over at Universal compared to experiences at WDW. Everyone's different!

Right there with you! Stayed at Royal Pacific 2 nights before moving on to Kidani this past trip. We LOVED RPR! Thought it was as nice as any of the Disney deluxes and you get the unlimited Express Pass which is worth the price of the hotel (70 minute wait for Despicable Me was less than 5 minutes with Express Pass). Will definitely stay at USO's onsite resorts again.

But we LOVED Kidani, too! Probably our favorite resort now.

 

[nighttowll]

Even if it has gone downhill, the quality of service from Disney is still best in class, and it only takes a single trip off property to remind you of that.I have to admit, if not for my love of Marvel and Harry Potter, Universal Studios would hold no sway over me. But we'll always take a day out of our stay to go over there (we're debating TWO when Diagon Alley opens). We just have to try to enjoy the rides (and theming of the Wizarding World) as much as we can, and try to ignore the poor interaction with the service people there. It's frequently a relief to get back on Disney property and the level of service we're accustomed to. I do wish the maintenance standards were increased, and that Disney would speed up it's ride development schedule, and of course, I wish the prices were lower. But at this point, it would take some major problem (or lack of points/money) to keep us away for terribly long.

This just shows how customer service varies so much from person to person and trip to trip.

I actually found that service my last trip at Universal was worlds above service my last trip at Disney. I had much better interactions with the Universal staff both at the hotel and at the parks then I did at Disney. At disney last trip, we had constant issues, and encountered numerous rude employees. I'd say at Disney it was about half really wonderful CM interactions, 1/4 ok, and 1/4 horrible. I found overall the TMs at Universal were much nicer and much more helpful.

I was actually surprised. I had never been to Universal before and wasn't expecting to really like it, but the amazing service was part of what helped win me over. I never planned on going back to Royal Pacific and had no desire to stay there again because of the costs, but now I really want to. The staff were just so amazing to us at every level that it changed my mind, and now I'm really excited about going back there.

 

[DeeCee735]

Agree, everyone is different and each experience unique. I really really really really dislike US & IOA. I'm a ride person and I like Spiderman, Harry Potter and the coasters, but that's not even enough to draw me back there.
Last time I was there, a few years ago, it was crowded, noisy, dirty and there were very few staff around cleaning or helping. There are not alot of trees, and I found that the sun was overbearing (this was in October), with little shade to find. Food options were plenty but not really good food.

I also find the park tickets just as expensive considering it's only two parks, especially for those that are not ride people. The level of service and cleanliness leave much to be desired. I haven't been back and have absolutely no desire to go back. I also wouldn't pay for their hotels with the way I feel about the parks as a whole and being a DVC owner I see no reason to stay anywhere else than in my timeshare.

I totally agree that wait times with MS have become unreasonable, and DVC needs to improve the quality of refurbishments. That being said, we've been happy with every room, every stay since 2000 and we love our DVC just as much now as when we bought in (with our brains as much as with our hearts)

JMHO

 

[lovin'fl]

We stayed at US Hard Rock Hotel for 2 nights and it was a beautiful resort with wonderful staff. I was impressed. And it was a quick walk to the US and IoA and City Walk. Loved it! But it was different than our DVC resort stays. I did not like paying for parking and the use of the Gym. Also did not like cramming all 5 of us in a regular hotel room and any other option was just too expensive. But at the WDW resorts I find the CMs to not always be good or friendly. DH got a key card, Jan 2013, at BCV that had the name Christine on it. Clearly he's not a Christine nor are any of our family members . While we are not overly picky and have found the DVC rooms to be decently clean and in sufficient working condition, I do see where others may feel differently (my SIL won't go back to BCV as she felt her room was so run down and they won't try BLT since they toured the BLT model and found the quality of the furnishings to be sub-par and not their style ).

 

[nighttowll]

Agree, everyone is different and each experience unique. I really really really really dislike US & IOA. I'm a ride person and I like Spiderman, Harry Potter and the coasters, but that's not even enough to draw me back there. Last time I was there, a few years ago, it was crowded, noisy, dirty and there were very few staff around cleaning or helping. There are not alot of trees, and I found that the sun was overbearing (this was in October), with little shade to find. Food options were plenty but not really good food. I also find the park tickets just as expensive considering it's only two parks, especially for those that are not ride people. The level of service and cleanliness leave much to be desired. I haven't been back and have absolutely no desire to go back. I also wouldn't pay for their hotels with the way I feel about the parks as a whole and being a DVC owner I see no reason to stay anywhere else than in my timeshare. I totally agree that wait times with MS have become unreasonable, and DVC needs to improve the quality of refurbishments. That being said, we've been happy with every room, every stay since 2000 and we love our DVC just as much now as when we bought in (with our brains as much as with our hearts) JMHO

I wonder if they've made a lot of improvements in the last few years, or we just timed it right. We just went last month. I didn't find anything noisy or dirty. Definitely not any worse than Disney. I actually thought somethings were better taken care of, and I thought the food was much better as well. I will say the one thing I was disappointed in was the lack of quick service places with soda machines, as this made it very difficult to get free water like we always do at Disney. I actually fell in love with the Universal bakeries, and thought they were much better than anything I've gotten at Disney in the past. Maybe I just never tried the right stuff at Disney.

Do I like Universal better? No. I'm just not as into the characters and theming as I am the Disney characters. But, I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would and was surprised to find I felt that certain aspects were handled better than at Disney. I know I liked it enough that we will go back at some point.

I also really like that it is much smaller than Disney. I feel like I can more easily take a trip there and do everything I want to without needing to leave stuff out. It's hard for me to justify Disney because it requires so much time to see all the parks in one trip. But with Universal, I can see both parks, and still have days left to visit other Orlando attractions. That appeals to me. I know we could just go to one or two Disney parks and do the same thing. Sometimes we do, but then I always feel like I'm missing out on the Disney parks we skipped. I like that Universal gives me an excuse to take a separate non Disney vacation.