Griping about the cutbacks

[dunnhorn]

I'm totally fine with the smaller mickey bars. Who needs to eat THAT much ice cream? I don't want my kids eating that much, and if Disney can save a buck and save me calories, I'm fine with that.

I heard about the "unimpressive" food on the Wonder after the menu changes, but we just got back and we were really pleased with the meals. They weren't out-of-the-ballpark WOW BEST FOOD EVER, but you know they were very good and we were pleased. It's kinda hard to compare when we haven't had the "before" though.

No bandanas at Pirate night? Never went to pirate night before, so we didn't notice. One thing we were VERY disappointed about is that the pirate party was so late. We were very unhappy about how they kept plugging it in front of the kids - but really, what kids can stay up to 10:00 on a Castaway Cay day? Not many. We went back to the room after dinner to take a small nap, but the kids were so tired we COULDN'T wake them for the party. We even got our inability to wake them on video so the next morning we could show it to our 7 year old. He was devastated that he missed the party. What are they thinking? Why can't they have a "Jr. Swashbuckler" party earlier and a more adult one later? Why tout a party that most kids cannot stay awake for? This is something that would cost very little and get a big payoff from a guest satisfaction standpoint!!!

The other comment I have that I noticed that wouldn't cost Disney anything is to CHANGE the age at Serenity Bay to 21. Adult should be just that - ADULT, not a bunch of college students. Although I loved Serenity, I was not jazzed to see a gaggle of 19 year olds there. My opinion - they can take over the Teen Beach (aren't they teens anyway?) and leave Serenity Bay to the people who work to PAY for these cruises!!!

Leslie Ann

 

[DMMarla07860]

The other comment I have that I noticed that wouldn't cost Disney anything is to CHANGE the age at Serenity Bay to 21. Adult should be just that - ADULT, not a bunch of college students. Although I loved Serenity, I was not jazzed to see a gaggle of 19 year olds there. My opinion - they can take over the Teen Beach (aren't they teens anyway?) and leave Serenity Bay to the people who work to PAY for these cruises!!!

Leslie Ann

Why don't you think 19 year olds should be at Serenity Bay? Just wondering.

 

[lbgraves]

The parents of the 13 & 14 yos would not be at all happy with all 18 and 19 yos being at the teen beach or at the teen club. DCL has already created OQ to address the issue of 13 yos and 17 yos being together on the Magic. Then what do the 20 yos do? They aren't a teen and they aren't 21. The age guidelines probably are related to the voting age and military service requirements. There is little enough for the 18-21 yos to do on the ship. If they were excluded from the clubs after 9, quiet cove and SB then there would be nothing for them to do on the ship IMO. Someone paid for their cruise too and they were just staying within the guidelines set up by DCL. Honestly, on our last cruise I saw more adults acting like college kids than the actual college kids on the ship. Having the pirate party on the same day as CC would be rough for anyone but DCL is trying to fit so much into the 3 and 4 day cruises. There wouldn't be any way for them to have CMs available to do an earlier party. They wait until after both dinners have finished to allow everyone to attend. Late diners already have to rush or miss the beginning so I would imagine more would be upset about missing the entire party or having to miss their dinner if the party was earlier, whether it was for kids or not since there are kids in late dining.

The fact is that DCL tries its best to fit in as much activity for everyone to enjoy and unfortunately the shorter cruises seem to feel more rushed. Sometimes the 7 day cruises feel rushed too. Back on our first cruise the kids were 3 and 5 and they stayed awake and alert through the entire Tropicalifragilisticexpialidosious deck party [what was there before the pirate party started in 2004]. They were doing great until around 10:50 when the characters stopped and we were in line for some deserts. it was like a switch was turned on or off. LOL! What was really bad before this year was having to get up for early morning checkin on the Eastern cruise the next day after staying up so late for the deck party. Thank goodness that has stopped now!!!

 

[DisneyGirl2005]

The parents of the 13 & 14 yos would not be at all happy with all 18 and 19 yos being at the teen beach or at the teen club. DCL has already created OQ to address the issue of 13 yos and 17 yos being together on the Magic. Then what do the 20 yos do? They aren't a teen and they aren't 21. The age guidelines probably are related to the voting age and military service requirements. There is little enough for the 18-21 yos to do on the ship. If they were excluded from the clubs after 9, quiet cove and SB then there would be nothing for them to do on the ship IMO. Someone paid for their cruise too and they were just staying within the guidelines set up by DCL. Honestly, on our last cruise I saw more adults acting like college kids than the actual college kids on the ship. Having the pirate party on the same day as CC would be rough for anyone but DCL is trying to fit so much into the 3 and 4 day cruises. There wouldn't be any way for them to have CMs available to do an earlier party. They wait until after both dinners have finished to allow everyone to attend. Late diners already have to rush or miss the beginning so I would imagine more would be upset about missing the entire party or having to miss their dinner if the party was earlier, whether it was for kids or not since there are kids in late dining.

The fact is that DCL tries its best to fit in as much activity for everyone to enjoy and unfortunately the shorter cruises seem to feel more rushed. Sometimes the 7 day cruises feel rushed too. Back on our first cruise the kids were 3 and 5 and they stayed awake and alert through the entire Tropicalifragilisticexpialidosious deck party [what was there before the pirate party started in 2004]. They were doing great until around 10:50 when the characters stopped and we were in line for some deserts. it was like a switch was turned on or off. LOL! What was really bad before this year was having to get up for early morning checkin on the Eastern cruise the next day after staying up so late for the deck party. Thank goodness that has stopped now!!!

The one negative comment I had on the survey after our Wonder cruise this week was that my 17 year old son really did not have a place to fit in. He had no interest in hanging out in Aloft with 13 and 14 year olds and he was 3 months shy of being able to be in the adult areas. Seems to me that they could tweek the ages a bit for the older groups. My son spent a lot of time reading on the decks when he was not with us. He still enjoyed the trip but would have been nice if he had a place to fit in.

As far as cutbacks go we did not notice any as this was our first cruise of any kind. We loved it!

 

[lbgraves]

The one negative comment I had on the survey after our Wonder cruise this week was that my 17 year old son really did not have a place to fit in. He had no interest in hanging out in Aloft with 13 and 14 year olds and he was 3 months shy of being able to be in the adult areas. Seems to me that they could tweek the ages a bit for the older groups. My son spent a lot of time reading on the decks when he was not with us. He still enjoyed the trip but would have been nice if he had a place to fit in.

As far as cutbacks go we did not notice any as this was our first cruise of any kind. We loved it!

Here is another point of view. I don't think that DCL can possibly please everyone 100% but they sure do try. Did he try to connect to anyone in the DIS meet group before the cruise via email? Just wondering because that would have given him someone his age to hang out with on deck.

 

[DMMarla07860]

The parents of the 13 & 14 yos would not be at all happy with all 18 and 19 yos being at the teen beach or at the teen club. DCL has already created OQ to address the issue of 13 yos and 17 yos being together on the Magic. Then what do the 20 yos do? They aren't a teen and they aren't 21. The age guidelines probably are related to the voting age and military service requirements. There is little enough for the 18-21 yos to do on the ship. If they were excluded from the clubs after 9, quiet cove and SB then there would be nothing for them to do on the ship IMO. Someone paid for their cruise too and they were just staying within the guidelines set up by DCL. Honestly, on our last cruise I saw more adults acting like college kids than the actual college kids on the ship.

agreed with all this, coming from me being 21 there isn't a lot for that age group to do heck even people I met that were 22 and 23 would have been board if we were excluded from the clubs after 9. And like you I have seen more Adults acting like college age kids

 

[DisneyGirl2005]

Here is another point of view. I don't think that DCL can possibly please everyone 100% but they sure do try. Did he try to connect to anyone in the DIS meet group before the cruise via email? Just wondering because that would have given him someone his age to hang out with on deck.

I am not someone who thinks that DCL can please everyone 100% and that was not even my expectation. I don't expect to be doused with pixie dust or magical moments at every turn. I just think it is strange to to expect 17 year olds to hang out in the same area as 13 and 14 year olds. This did not ruin his vacation by any means, just something I think they might take a look at.

As far as the DIS group meets, I thought about getting involved, but my family thinks I plan to much of our vacation as it is so I did not even mention it to my son.

 

[dunnhorn]

Are the 18 year olds not allowed on the "teen" beach? Isn't an 18 year old still a teenager? When we went to the teen beach this past Tue for the stingray event, the beach was completely empty... at noon! There was beach volleyball, other fun looking activities that all laid completely empty. Other than the sting ray folks, there was not a soul on the "teen" beach. Yet I go to Serenity and I see 18 and 19 year olds. Why isn't the teen beach being cultivated for more activities for older teens to give them something to do besides crashing Serenity? Why isn't there some kind of college kids group at the teen beach? Last I checked, most college kids were teenagers. Regarding the statement that the parents of the 13 year olds wouldn't like their kids socializing with 18 year olds at the teen beach - I would say that there was nobody on the teen beach. The 13 year olds that I saw were actually on the family beach or in the snorkel lagoon, or enjoying water sports, not hanging w/o parents/supervision on the teen beach. I know if I had a 13 year old, it is doubtful I would leave them to the teen beach. My neice is 15 and I KNOW my sister wouldn't let her alone on a teen beach, even on a private island. My other neice is 13 and I also couldn't see my other sister doing it. Why shouldn't the "teen beach" be targeted for these 18 - 19 year olds? I think what may have happened a few years ago has changed... with what we have seen in the news, etc. I doubt very seriously that many parents would let a 13 or 14 year old girl hang out alone on an island, even a Disney island. I could be wrong - but you know, I just couldn't see it.

We spent a glorious 45 minutes in Serenity Bay. We have kids age 5 and 7 and we had them in the kids club so we could see Serenity. When we got there, we had to navigate around a group of young college-age and clearly underage kids drinking and being very loud. The non college age visitors there were walking around soaking in the serenity, trying to avoid these kids. They got so loud at one point - one of them said to the others "shhh, we have to keep this down, this is serenity bay" or something like that. It made my skin crawl. It just struck me that they were completely out of place and ruining the enjoyment for the rest of us who truly wanted serenity. If they wanted to drink and carry on or whatever - they could do that at any other beach... like the teen beach... I do not think that college freshmen (18 years old) should be at the adults only beach. Also, do the bartenders really card them? Not from what we saw. There were signs at all the bars that said "Drinking age 21" but it was obvious that everying who was drinking at Serenity was not 21. I know what you are saying about military age, voting age, etc. however just because someone is 18 doesn't mean that they can go everywhere in this country... There are bars, restaurants, clubs etc. that do not allow those under 21 to enter. For that reason I think Serenity Bay should be 21+.

Also, there are no activities at Serenity Bay other than massage, so there is no real argument that being able to go to Serenity Bay gives the 18 year old something more to "do?" The kids I saw there were pretty much just drinking and "partying" and to be honest it was ruining some of the atmosphere that was intended in developing that beach.

There is no "upside" for allowing in 18 year olds to Serenity Bay. My opinion....

Regarding the Pirate Party - the main problem we had is that it was totally being sold at every turn (through announcements, on TV, by our server, etc.) about how it was a "do not miss" event - yet it started at 9:45. That is just too late for younger kids! But because of the selling of it, our kids were naturally looking so forward to it - and devastated when they couldn't get up for it. It was heartbreaking. My suggestion was to have a "jr" party that started earlier - maybe in the time spot of when the first show normally runs. Btw, there is no show on pirate party night (just a movie played on our cruise) and there are 2 shows every other night, so there is no reason that there can't be 2 different parties, each lasting like 45 minutes (the length of a show) and one geared towards younger kids with the earlier seating, and the other geared towards older/adults. The "party" is just dancing, loud music, fun spirit etc. - keep the dessert buffet at the later one, but have something where the younger kids feel as if they are included and they didn't miss anything.... Or maybe have a special "pirate party" in the kids clubs - SOMETHING so that they would feel included. Our problem with it is that it was being "sold" by everyone we encountered as a "not miss," yet it was completely unrealistic for kids to attend. Yes, can't please all the people all the time - but Disney could have really worked the details a bit on this one for it to be a bit more inclusive for some of DCL's biggest fans.

All in all, we had a great time on our cruise and it completely exceeded our expectations. Of everything we did, these were the two main things that I saw that could be tweaked (well, that and the Atlantis excursion, which is another post for another day and probably largely out of Disney's hands.)

Leslie Ann

 

[tvguy]

Are the 18 year olds not allowed on the "teen" beach? Isn't an 18 year old still a teenager?

They are allowed are all the beaches, just like all other adults. I think Disney would have a hard time excluding an 18 year old, who by every definition in every state in the U.S. is an adult, from an adults only area. 18 year olds can vote for President, they can enlist in the military, they can get credit, sign contracts, become police officers, and become firefighters. True, they can't drink, and they can't run for President, but society had decided they are adults.

 

[dunnhorn]

I don't want to belabor this point but...

18 year olds are not allowed everywhere in the US even though they have many "legal" rights of being an adult. They are not allowed in bars, some restaurants (that are considered bars), night clubs, strip clubs, or most casinos. They cannot legally drink in America, they cannot gamble in Vegas or Atlantic City - I understand that DCL is making an accommodation in allowing 18+ in the "adults only" areas b/c there may not be much else for them to do... but I am just expressing my opinion that the "adults only" areas should be just that, and be 21+. We were just surprised/disappointed to finally make it to Serenity Bay for the first time and see a bunch of 18 - 19 year olds there, drinking and being loud, especially after seeing the teen beach completely empty. This probably wouldn't be an issue if they were hanging out quietly - but unfortuantely for us they weren't.

 

[tvguy]

I don't want to belabor this point but...

18 year olds are not allowed everywhere in the US even though they have many "legal" rights of being an adult. They are not allowed in bars, some restaurants (that are considered bars), night clubs, strip clubs, or most casinos. They cannot legally drink in America, they cannot gamble in Vegas or Atlantic City - I understand that DCL is making an accommodation in allowing 18+ in the "adults only" areas b/c there may not be much else for them to do... but I am just expressing my opinion that the "adults only" areas should be just that, and be 21+. We were just surprised/disappointed to finally make it to Serenity Bay for the first time and see a bunch of 18 - 19 year olds there, drinking and being loud, especially after seeing the teen beach completely empty. This probably wouldn't be an issue if they were hanging out quietly - but unfortuantely for us they weren't.

If there were drinking, then they were breaking the rules and should have been asked to leave. Your opinion is certainly valid, it just may not be practical. It does seem it would create a black hole on Disney for 18,19, and 20 year olds. Too old for the clubs, allowed into the adult night clubs on the ship, but not the adult beach. By the way Nevada is expected to lower the gambling age to 18 this year, for a lot of the reasons I have stated..

 

[TiaMaria]

Our solution to the late night on Pirate Night?

Naps that afternoon.

Yes, I know that it is hard to get tweens and a bit younger to nap. Believe me, ours do when faced with the alternative of missing Pirate Night.

Normally we head to the stateroom about 4:45-5:00 to start showering for the show and late dinner, but on Pirate Night we insist on being back in the stateroom by 3:30 at the latest. No TV - no books or video games - just quiet time - and they NAP.

You'd be amazed what 90 minutes can do for their stamina that evening.

Naps. Try it.

 

[Dizzyworld]

Didn't DCL try in 2008 to have the pirate party earlier in the evening and it didn't work out?

 

[knewton64]

...And they sang...

I'd like to buy the world a home
And furnish it with love
Grow apple trees and honey bees
And snow white turtle doves.

Chorus:
I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I'd like to buy the world a Coke
And keep it company
That's the real thing.

(Repeat chorus)
I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I'd like to buy the world a Coke
And keep it company
That's the real thing

Chorus 2:
What the world wants today
Coca-Cola (background)
Is the real thing

(Repeat chorus 2)
What the world wants today
Coca-Cola (background)
Is the real thing

I'd like to teach the world to sing
Sing with me (background)
In perfect harmony
I'd like to buy the world a Coke
And keep it company
That's the real thing

(Repeat chorus)
I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I'd like to buy the world a Coke
And keep it company
That's the real thing.

(Chorus 2)
What the world wants today
Coca-Cola (background)
Is the real thing

(Repeat chorus 2)
What the world wants today
Coca-Cola (background)
Is the real thing



hhhhmmmm...now where did I put my refillable mug??????

 

[DMMarla07860]

When we got there, we had to navigate around a group of young college-age and clearly underage kids drinking and being very loud. The non college age visitors there were walking around soaking in the serenity, trying to avoid these kids. They got so loud at one point - one of them said to the others "shhh, we have to keep this down, this is serenity bay" or something like that. It made my skin crawl. It just struck me that they were completely out of place and ruining the enjoyment for the rest of us who truly wanted serenity. If they wanted to drink and carry on or whatever - they could do that at any other beach... like the teen beach...

I have to say something about this part, underage drinking part isn't good, but I don't know maybe a they weren't underage, did you hear them say they were underage? Not saying they weren't just saying maybe they are like me, I am 21 years old and don't look 21 years old at all, people think I am like 15 or 16 so maybe it was something like that and they weren't underage. One other thing I've seen adults older then me at Serenity Bay loud and annoying, if the people are really loud and annoying at any age that is there I think they should be asked to leave, other then that if they aren't bothering anyone I think 18-19 year olds are fine right there, my college group went together to Serenity Bay and had a blast weren't loud and people didn't seem to mind at all or course most of us were 20-22 only one 18 year old and one 19 year old, but they weren't drinking underage

 

[mmackeymouse]

We went to WDW in March and are cruising in July. We all have to remember that EVERYBODY is cutting back... even at home. If Disney is cutting back, you better believe Universal is cutting back. If DCL is cutting back, so is RC and Carnival. Disney sets the standard, they are the Premium. It's easy to point fingers, say they have done this or that, but "MAGIC" and "PIXIE DUST" are a state of mind. Disney will always be Disney.... Disney will always be the standard for which most companies aspire and Disney will always be the industry leader in service. I read about portions... please, we are the most overweight country in the world! I read about long lines... please, we are the most impatient country in the world! I read about discounts for everbody.... please, we are the most selfish country in the world! We have all chosen Disney for a reason... lets not lose sight of that. It sounds like some are "blaming" Disney for the economy, the recession and making business decisions. We didn't skip Fantasmic in March because it was only offered 2X, we just planned accordingly. It didn't change our impression or experience, just our schedule of night time shows! For my family.... Disney IS the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH... Happy vacationing everybody....

ohhhhhhkay..........everyone is entitles to their opinion, but when you start dogging our country and the people in it, I feel the urge to step in.

Actually, the U.S. is NOT the most overweight country in the world. It is a common misconception, because the U.S. is the most overweight developed country in the world. However, there are several third world countries and island nations ahead of the States on percentages alone. True, the United States is the only developed country in the Top 10. Also, these countries that are ahead of the U.S. usually do not have access to fast food and unhealthy lifestyles, so they are more genetically predispositioned to obesity, where in our country, it is a lot more self-imposed.

Our country is the most impatient country? That is completely subjective, and I doubt there are any statistics to corroborate that. It is true that we live in an instant gratification society. Who knows, maybe we are the most impatient. But, I don't know France or Germany or Russia or wherever well enough to definitively label our country the most impatient.

The last is something I take great issue with. I consider our country to be one of the most generous countries in the world. When there are global disasters, who do the countries turn to? We are taxed to help the downtrodden in our society. We put money in the collection plate at church. We give to charities. We donate our time to volunteer. Beyond money, look at the Peace Corp, look at missionaries that travel from our country to some of the most bleak places in the world.

No bandanas at Pirate night? Never went to pirate night before, so we didn't notice. One thing we were VERY disappointed about is that the pirate party was so late. We were very unhappy about how they kept plugging it in front of the kids - but really, what kids can stay up to 10:00 on a Castaway Cay day? Not many. We went back to the room after dinner to take a small nap, but the kids were so tired we COULDN'T wake them for the party. We even got our inability to wake them on video so the next morning we could show it to our 7 year old. He was devastated that he missed the party. What are they thinking? Why can't they have a "Jr. Swashbuckler" party earlier and a more adult one later? Why tout a party that most kids cannot stay awake for? This is something that would cost very little and get a big payoff from a guest satisfaction standpoint!!!

Leslie Ann

Hmmmmm......well, I do not think 10 o clock is THAT late myself. I guess if you think about it, at WDW, little kids make it through a long exhausting day at Magic Kingdom and somehow make it through the parade. Or they make it through a long exhausting day at the Studios and somehow make it through Fantasmic.

It has been a few years since I have been to Disney, but if I remember correctly, most of the parades, fireworks, whatever, were pretty late in the evening as well. I guess they might figure if they stay up that late on land, they can do it on boat. I am sorry that your kids missed the party. That's a shame.

 

[DMMarla07860]

I've seen people here talk about No Bandanas on pirate night in the Wonder at least, after 7 cruises I say thank god to that hope I don't get anymore how many can you really have

 

[candlemakerw/twins]

We were at WDW and then on the Wonder last week.

Cutbacks I noticed -
- Only one bar of soap in the bathroom (shared for sink and shower) in our 1 bedroom at the Boardwalk Villas
- Smaller soda cups on the Wonder
- Only Cinderella (gone were the days of 4 princess' lined up for our little girls to meet) the others were not even on the ship
- Pinocchio's pizza had reduced hours but you can always get pizza from room service if you want it

I am in marketing and appreciate the strategic cuts/adjustments that Disney is making. I assume they are doing their research and doing their best to cut where it can save them the most and make the smallest impact on the public.

Think about the discounts on rooms you see - They seem to cut prices on the entry level ship and hotel rooms first (and the shorter cruises) so I assume that their experience is that the people who are spending more for larger rooms are not cutting back as much so they discount the lower priced rooms first. Strategic decisions.

I guess I don't have to love it since I don't get a discount but I make my choices each year and this is how I spend my money - though with the cutbacks combined with the condition of the Wonder I may skip next year (which we never do).

I still love Disney and am amazed by the brand they have built!

 

[♥sassy♥tink♥]

ohhhhhhkay..........everyone is entitles to their opinion, but when you start dogging our country and the people in it, I feel the urge to step in.

Just making sure you knew we were talking about the number of chicken tenders, lines at an amusement park and the size of an ice cream bar.... lets keep this in context!!

 

[kaykels]

I'm so sorry I mentioned the darn chicken tenders. Clearly you can get more. It was just an observation and a very very minor one at that. The parks are cutting back much more than the cruise line. The food has unquestionably been downgraded as you can see from hundreds of posts all over boards about the Wonder. The shortcuts, big or little, coupled with the price increases are frustrating.

And who cares if you overeat on vacation? Puhleez. We wait all year for our vacations splurges.

The issue is the cutbacks, cheaper cuts of meat, etc. at the same time as big price increases. We are paying high premiums for Disney and getting LESS?
That's the issue.
Not our weight, our country, etc.
I think Disney is being greedy. Sorry.

There are restaurants all over that are now offering half price appetizers to stimulate revenue, Fridays started a 5.00 menu, Outback has a less expensive options now, Houlihans was offering free dessert with lunch, etc. etc.
There are other ways to combat this recession, and IMHO, raising prices and offering less is going to make me run the other way.