Have you ever been underwhelmed?

[bookgirl]

We just returned from a stay at Old Key West and well.......sad to say but I was very underwhelmed!
We have stayed at every value except AOA, every mod, and a few deluxes.. Old Key West is one we will never stay at again. The room was bland, and not really that clean. The counter service had the least variety of any resort I have ever been to. The theming wasn't to our liking either. I kept thinking wonder if we should switch to AKL which we loved and stayed at last September.
Has there been a resort that after staying there you thought ummm never agin?

I wasn't exactly over whelmed by AoA. I'd stay there again if needed, but I won't be planning a vacation there. It was okay but I didn't find it any better than ASMu. I just had a standard room. The walk is not nearly as bad as many make it out to be, but I just wasn't any more wowed by it than any other value hotel on site.

(now I say that but my folks are talking about going with me next Feb and we might do a FS, but that would be the only reason)

 

[2Tiggies]

Luckily we checked it out first and spared ourselves from paying to stay there but SSR is just meh to me. I'd rather stay at a value given the choice.

 

[DonoMoose]

I cry every time I think of my stay at AKL last month... Never EVER again.. It's Pop for us all the way...

 

[DonoMoose]

I was under whelmed by CSR - twice. Never again. Staff was great. Set up, distances, and food court - disappointing.

I have not stayed there, but walking around AoA - so under whelmed. I wanted to LOVE it. WE LOVE Pop...love the huge theming and the vibe of it. Pop feels like a community to us. AoA seemed very disjointed. And, this may sound weird, but I hated that you could see the parking lot when walking from the main building to LM section. There were barely any trees...it was just wide open and uncomfortable for me. At Pop, we meander around, trees shade the paths, etc. AoA was like, to me, a new housing development in a booming suburb - no trees, no character, no soul...

Wow, thank you for your honest review! We Love Pop, although we have never stayed at AOA, the themed suites do seem enticing. But, I kept telling hubby (esp, since our horrible exp at AKL) that we should stay at Pop next and than take a tour of AOA for ourselves before we book our stay!

 

[Robbi]

Wow, thank you for your honest review! We Love Pop, although we have never stayed at AOA, the themed suites do seem enticing. But, I kept telling hubby (esp, since our horrible exp at AKL) that we should stay at Pop next and than take a tour of AOA for ourselves before we book our stay!

What happened at AK?

 

[mhnewcomb]

I'm the exact opposite!

POR - I just don't get what all the fuss is about. It's nice but... meh.

CBR - my new home away from home and go-to Disney resort!

Well, until the beautiful day that I can afford to stay at OKW. I loved, loved, loved my upgrade to OKW!

Most definitely different strokes for different folks!

If you can set your travel dates in stone, you can rent points and stay at OKW cheaper than CBR...basically for the cost of a value! We did that three years ago at SSR, and will be at OKW this October. I can't wait!

 

[Bob NC]

We just returned from a stay at Old Key West and well.......sad to say but I was very underwhelmed!
We have stayed at every value except AOA, every mod, and a few deluxes.. Old Key West is one we will never stay at again. The room was bland, and not really that clean. The counter service had the least variety of any resort I have ever been to. The theming wasn't to our liking either. I kept thinking wonder if we should switch to AKL which we loved and stayed at last September.
Has there been a resort that after staying there you thought ummm never agin?

I have over 2 dozen resort stays and have never been underwhelmed.

I am whelmed for different reasons at different times, though, depending upon the circumstances.

If it was just the wife and I, maybe OKW might be a little underwhelming. When we stay at OKW, though, it's because we have a big group and we like to get a 2 BR Villa so we can spread out.

We really like the big living room with plenty of places for a large group to lounge around and hang out together.

Reasons for people to be over or underwhelmed are different for everyone.

 

[disneycrazi]

I had not thought of that, great point! We usually just have myself, DH and DS age 8 traveling so for us the large space would not be a factor HOWEVER if my whole family was traveling those big rooms would be awesome! Thanks for the insight!

 

[maxiesmom]

I was underwhelmed by CBR. I've stayed at POR many times, so I thought a large resort would be no problem for me. Wrong! After a day or two I really hated CBR having 7 bus stop around the resort. It seemed like you spent a really long time on the bus going around the resort before heading out to the parks.

I also didn't care much for the food court. The selection wasn't the greatest, certainly not anywhere near as good as POR. Plus there was one rude CM who kept yelling at people for lining up at the registers backwards. You have to line up right to left with the register on your right, and many people were lining up left to right. Left to right just seems more natural, and as people would go to the left to get in line she kept yelling that you have to pay before you go near the seating area. That little section should have been designed a little differently, I think.

I wouldn't say CBR was awful, as it is very pretty. And the hammocks by the beach are a great place to unwind. But it just didn't strike a cord in me the way some other resorts have.

 

[kapoof]

When people say they don't care for a resort's theme, room decor, etc. do they never look at photos and videos before they go.

Yes Sammie...well atleast I do. The only resort that I felt underwhelmed with was wl...just the rooms. It is my sisters favorite resort, when I told her I don't care for the rooms in the pictures...she assured me they were beautiful in person. I argued what do you mean?? Here they are! I don't like them! We decided to stay there anyways because of its location...but when we got there and yes I hated them as much in person. The resort itself is cool though.

 

[ShhhQ]

Have stayed at POP twice... didn't return the third time, because wanted to try something different.... So we stayed at ASSp, hated it!
Next trip decided to splurge just a little and upgraded to POR... LOVED IT!! Returned the next trip.... First time in AB, 2nd time in mansions... much prefer the AB... love the rustic nature of it!
Money however is a MAJOR issue with me... skipped this year, hoping to return next year... opting for POP again, would like to try AOA or return to POR or even try CBR, but can't splurge. Definately, wont return to ASSp... will do any of the other values first!

 

[BigAlsGal]

CBR was my underwhelming place. The room was so disappointing. It just didn't feel disney to me.

PoR gives me that great disney feel .

Same here!!!!!!

 

[starousse]

I was very underwhelmed with the BC. It was always my dream resort to stay at, and I just wasn't feeling the magic there. Check in was horrible, our first room was filthy and didn't even have a shower curtain, and the last room we were given was in desperate need of maintenance and upkeep. Housekeeping was rude and hardly touched our room. The location was great, however we had wished that we had gone back to WL instead. Which is what we did for our trip in May.

 

[LoriKay]

I have stayed at ASMu, Pop, POFQ, POR, CSR, YC, AKL, WL and CR. Pop is the one that I didn't enjoy. At all.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I was underwhelmed with our last stay at the BC. We had loved it on our first visit but this last time was disappointing. We had some problems while we were there and it seemed like the front desk CMs we encountered didn't really care about trying to help us resolve anything. I expected better service. Our room was in good shape but the halls were pretty bad - the carpet was very buckled and dirty. The buckling I get isn't something housekeeping can just instantly fix, but I don't understand the crumbs etc. not being cleaned up. Just overall the stay left me feeling "meh." I won't say "never again" for BC because we did have a good stay there one other time, but it's a "not for a long time" in my mind right now.

Our first stay at the GF (Sugarloaf) was underwhelming and we left thinking we wouldn't be back any time soon. As fate would have it, we had to make a last minute resort change a couple of trips later and ended up at GF and it was a wonderful trip. So glad we gave it another try! (so that's why I'll never say never)

 

[tallen429]

We just returned from a stay at Old Key West and well.......sad to say but I was very underwhelmed!
We have stayed at every value except AOA, every mod, and a few deluxes.. Old Key West is one we will never stay at again. The room was bland, and not really that clean. The counter service had the least variety of any resort I have ever been to. The theming wasn't to our liking either. I kept thinking wonder if we should switch to AKL which we loved and stayed at last September.
Has there been a resort that after staying there you thought ummm never agin?

Yep, the Poly!
I had really wanted to stay there and when I finally did I thought it was AWFUL.
Smelly, musty room. Rude CMs, mostly bad food...
I won't say never again, but I doubt it.

 

[MIGrandma]

When people say they don't care for a resort's theme, room decor, etc. do they never look at photos and videos before they go.

I do as much research as possible for any trip we take, and always look at as many photos of a Disney resort as I possibly can and read trip reports, and reviews on Trip Advisor as well.

We have only stayed at two Disney resorts: The Contemporary back in 2001 and I've stayed 3 times now at Port Orleans Riverside.

DH and I liked the Contemporary, having a larger room with a couch was nice and not having to go outside to go to the food court, and we did have the Magic Kingdom view but since it's a deluxe and more expensive we probably won't stay there again.

I fell in love with Port Orleans Riverside the first time I stayed there, for a week with my Mom. Then when DH and I planned our trip there in 2011 I wanted to stay there again so we did. And my most recent trip there, with my DD earlier this month I booked us at POR again and SHE fell in love with it too! She and her DH are tentatively planning a trip there with their kids in January 2015 and have already asked us and her DH's parents if we'd like to join them, so looks like I'll be staying at POR at least "one more time!"

I've thought about trying another resort, but always wonder "what if we don't like it?" And I know I would always be comparing it to POR so we stay with what we like.

 

[nikki7680]

Felt that way about our trip 2 weeks ago. We usually stay moderate and decided to try deluxe. We stayed at WL. I can't complain about anything at WL. It was nice and clean and beautiful. But we just didn't come away saying "WOW". Hard to explain. I guess it's just not "us". Thinking of giving Beach Club a try next.

 

[Mrs. Toaster]

For us, it was Port Orleans. There was nothing truly terrible about it, it just didn't wow us. I think we have been a bit spoiled by Deluxe Resort stays!

That being said, while we loved the AKL feel and the animals, the location is just too far from everything else.

 

[pigletto]

Fort Wilderness Cabins. I loved the feel of the resort and the cabin was cute and cozy, but it felt a little too remote for me. We like to poke around the shops in the evening or go for a quick swim, and we couldn't do that without getting on a bus.
I didn't hate it at all.. it just wasn't my favorite. We still had a very nice time. I realized on that trip I like to be a little more in the middle of the action. Our favorite stay to date was at the Boardwalk. It was wonderful to go down in the evenings and see the performers. I wouldn't want a room facing the boardwalk because of noise, but I was happiest when we stayed in a pool view room.