How the uninformed views a deluxe

[cjbcam]

When we planned our last trip I recieved email reminders from disney about booking dining and fastpass. Doesn't everyone that books at DW get that?
My Dsis was going over Christmas (2013) and never had any dining booked. They stayed offsite and did no research. I told her she needed to book her restaurants when I found out. She still waited until two weeks before they went and couldn't get anything. I gave her the old I told Ya so. Some people just don't research and blame others. I guess I have no sympathy when it comes to that.

 

[Nancyg56]

A lot of folks do not realize until they arrive that WDW is not that place they see on all the infomercial specials there are. It really looks easy, and the place looks small. We met a young couple with two kids on our DEC 2012 trip who were in the boat. They got to DIsney and had no idea that you needed to book things before your arrival. The kids saw the characte meal at the BC and were a bit disappointed, but they parents decided to use the whole trip as a learnign and research opportunity, and told them next time they would know what they wanted so they would be prepared. I thought that their approach was perfect under the circumstances. WE also saw nasty scenes when people approached the Concierge screaming that they could not get a dinner package for the CP that night!! Really??? You are that special???

 

[verleniahall]

No Sympathy Here. It is Called "The World Wide Web" for a reason - the same thing I can "google" setting here at work is the same thing this guy could google from his house overseas. No difference.

 

[bumbershoot]

The food is terrible for this kind of standard Hotel, poor breakfast for European people, no cold cuts like ham or salami or a decent cheese, for kids you have American pancakes with all kind of toppings and even sweets, not very healthy, my children had more sugar in the time we stayed there than they get in the whole year at home.

I'm totally with the guy on this. Americans eat terribly. DH has many coworkers from overseas and when they come to the States for meetings they say it takes several days for them to get used to just how sweet *everything* here is.

Hisgirl, I completely understand what you mean. I'm planning a trip for this August and my sister and niece will be joining us. My niece has been to WDW once, about five years ago. She lives in California and is used to the DL FP system, which obviously was still around at WDW the last time she was here. My sister already thinks I'm nuts for having planned meals 6 months in advance. I haven't yet screwed up the courage to ask her what rides she wants to go on two months in advance of our vacation.

If she goes to DLR she knows that FP+ seems to be coming down the pike. Just talk to her about it. "Hey, at WDW they've started this (ridiculous) thing, DLR will have it too, and you can choose 3 rides a day ahead of time. What are your 3 must dos?" Not hard.

I also thought it was funny that he expected an American hotel to serve breakfast foods that a European visitor would expect.

Why wouldn't a place that KNOWS they have tons of international visitors make the effort to have something they might like to eat?

 

[wdwrich]

Why wouldn't a place that KNOWS they have tons of international visitors make the effort to have something they might like to eat?

Perhaps for the same reason when I traveled overseas to places (both East and West) where plenty of Americans visit, the hotels there didn't have menu items specifically for American tastes?

 

[disnut8]

I wanted to go to New Orleans next month for a week long trip. About 20 years ago, my son and I knew New Orleans like the backs of our hands. We knew the zoo, the French Quarter, the places to eat and the places not to eat. We knew where to park and where not to park.

The first thing I did when thinking about a new trip? The internet and what to do NOW. Where to stay - where to eat, where to park, when to go.

I want to go to London for a trip. What would I do? Look things up. Where to stay - where to eat - when to go.

Disney World is like any other vacation. Unless you have a personal tour guide that you pay for or is a relative, YOU need to look at what YOU want.

 

[IrishNYC]

Why wouldn't a place that KNOWS they have tons of international visitors make the effort to have something they might like to eat?

For the same reason I don't go to Europe and expect to receive American-style anything.

 

[KonaKaiTom]

I know that when I travel internationally, the host country just goes overboard to make me feel welcome and follows my customs. Especially in Paris, cars switch sides of the roads, meals are offered American style and when I ask for a good California champagne, why they find the best screwcap model for me. And the languages, oh my, why the Italians and the Polish immediately break into American English so I can feel at home. I'm obviously being sarcastic, but, seriously, that is a bit of way too high expectations. Right down to the lack of Disney theming at a deluxe. That's such common knowledge that the in your face theming is the value level and the resorts become less themed from moderate to deluxe. Also, serious, the food at a deluxe isn't good?? Seriously?

Tom

 

[siskaren]

In that case, shame on the assistant. S/he should have known from already working for the woman that she needed to be spoon fed information. I would have sent her on her way with an itinerary all printed out.

That would have been a lot of work for the assistant to do that isn't work-related. (Unless of course, planning the boss's non-work related trips is part of her job. )

 

[tsme]

I'm sorry, but I laughed when I read his complaints. No matter where you go, you have to do research and can't expect the hotel or whomever to tell you what you need to do in advance. We live in the South. We went to NYC last year. Down here you don't need ressies for anywhere unless you have a very large party. But I made sure to make ressies there at a certain restaurant for a BD celebration. Also, I know from past travels that other parts of the country do not season their foods the same way we do. So I bring our own seasoning. I'm just saying you have to do your research no matter where you travel and make accommodations to that environment or learn to go with the flow of things.

 

[Miaka1]

I do agree about the Breakfast foods. I'm American, texan in fact, and I hate sweet stuff for breakfast. I'd take cold cuts, cheese, maybe a bagel, or croissant, over mickey waffles, any day of the week. But I researched, and know where I can get these things ( hello, epcot)

 

[RogueKnits]

I have no sympathy for people who don't research their vacation destinations. I do extensive research for all of my vacations (not just Disney) and planning is part of the fun for me. When I went to Aruba in 2013 I spent hours reading the TripAdvisor message boards to find restaurants I would like, what I should expect in terms of local customs, etc. Same when I went on my honeymoon to Jamaica. With the Internet, there is no reason anyone needs to be surprised on vacation. And I'm sure there are some people who prefer to arrive at their destination with a "blank slate", but I would hope that comes with a flexible attitude and the understanding that things may not be exactly as they had imagined.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

WOW, WOW, WOW is all I can say. No sympathy from me. Sounds like this guy is not a traveler and just sprung this one time trip. One thing I can understand is the cost of hotels. I am sorry, there is no hotel at Disney worth $400+ a night at any time of the year IMO. I do understand, though, why the cost are high and it isn't only for the room. If he had done his research he would understand why they charge so much.

 

[Amanda999]

Looking at his reviews (google a sentence from OP post, and you'll find him on trip advisor), it seems he just didn't care for the parks either - laments that the AK parade is gone, for example - nor the Polynesian, nor any restaurant other than Les Chefs de France, and wonders why Universal isn't 1 park instead of 2...

Considering the high volume of reviews he wrote, and the unusual assortment of cities (he has a few small towns near me (in the u.s.) - and not tourist or business areas - close to a visit to Indonesia?), and that he took time to point out unheated pools at GF (when we know they are all heated to 82 degrees), perhaps his enthusiasm to be helpful was a on overdrive. Or, maybe that's why he didn't research before going to WDW: too busy traveling.

Maybe its like amazon reviews - there are always some that clearly are by people who approach things differently than most others.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

He had expectations that were not met, likely because he didn't do proper research. If you check the WDW website I believe it does say that reservations for meals are strongly recommended (and at Xmas....you better have em or you don't get a restaurant). He expected an American family vacation resort to serve a European breakfast - especially at a character meal. Americans in general do not eat cold cuts or cheese for breakfast. I am not surprised they go with what most of their clientele will eat. I guess he just didn't like the decor, though.

 

[sukhakuli]

I think the Disney pools are cold, too. We keep ours a lot warmer in the summer, and wear our wetsuits when it's around 80.

No Sympathy Here. It is Called "The World Wide Web" for a reason - the same thing I can "google" setting here at work is the same thing this guy could google from his house overseas. No difference.

Actually, that's not true at all. A lot of countries have tighter controls on the internet than the US, and do not allow certain information get to their populace.

 

[glohoffman]

I'm just trying to figure out how he knows the characters at the character meals don't spend any time with his non English speaking children if he didn't make reservations and had to eat in his room? Character meals during the holidays would most certainly require reservations...correct?

 

[Minniesgal]

I think this is just silly. Who books a Hotel anywhere never mind at Disney over Christmas and doesn't make restaurant reservations.

As for breakfast, cold cuts, salami, cheese? I'm a European and these are hardly standard breakfast fare. Most hotels in Europe serve very similar to what Disney serves.

 

[Amanda999]

I'm just trying to figure out how he knows the characters at the character meals don't spend any time with his non English speaking children if he didn't make reservations and had to eat in his room? Character meals during the holidays would most certainly require reservations...correct?

Exactly.

And, when its busy - and even when it isn't sometimes - they don't spend alot of time with my English speaking family either. They are usually sold out and busy - if the child isn't engaging/interested, and perhaps just poses for a photo and goes back to eating - well, the character moves on.

 

[SirDuff]

I know that when I travel internationally, the host country just goes overboard to make me feel welcome and follows my customs. Especially in Paris, cars switch sides of the roads, meals are offered American style and when I ask for a good California champagne, why they find the best screwcap model for me. And the languages, oh my, why the Italians and the Polish immediately break into American English so I can feel at home. I'm obviously being sarcastic, but, seriously, that is a bit of way too high expectations. Right down to the lack of Disney theming at a deluxe. That's such common knowledge that the in your face theming is the value level and the resorts become less themed from moderate to deluxe. Also, serious, the food at a deluxe isn't good?? Seriously?

Tom

In Paris, they already drive on the same side of the road as in California.

Honestly, I don't think that it is "such common knowledge" that Disney theming goes down as you go up - that's actually the one of his complaints that I could (kind of) understand (though, I'd have thought that looking at the website would have given him a sense of the theming).

But, as most people have said - even a little of research would have solved many of his "problems".