imbe@aol.com
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 22, 2001
- Messages
- 371
There wasn't much to do this morning, since everyone had pretty much packed up last night. I prefer it this way, as it gives you more time to relax on your departure day, to soak in the atmosphere and 'take a last look' around, to try and store as much of this wonderful place as you can in your memory bank until
you can return! And I did just that - walked around the hotel, looked at the animals on my balcony .. it was like the zebras and giraffes especially came to 'say goodbye' to me! LOL
We were done and ready to head to breakfast by 8:30 am. Bell services took our luggage down and stored it, and we went on to Boma's. I forgot about this when I wrote my final dining report, so I'll just mention it here. That I could see, nothing has changed since my visit there last summer. The food is all the same I believe. It's good ... and worth a try at least once. I wouldn't say it's a "must do" for me for EVERY trip though. Everone else in our group pretty much felt the same. Let's just say that if I'd had to wait a long time to be seated, I wouldn't wait! LOL I guess the only place that I ever REALLY loved breakfast, and WOULD wait for was Spoodles buffet .. but that's a moot point now, since it's no longer a buffet.
When we were finished eating, we decided to just call a taxi to get to DD - yes it costs money (roundtrip from AKL - DD was $27 total) but the convenience is definitely worth it to me. With 7 people, we actually needed one of those van type taxis.
I *can* be a pretty quick shopper (honest, I can! LOL) and believe it or not, I really wasn't in the mood to look around too much this day. As neat as the World of Disney store is there, it also gets a little overwhelming and frustrating at times too. Besides, as I noted before, I didn't see a whole lot of new mdse, even in there.
OH!! I DID find a couple of things that I was thrilled about!! I'm not sure if they're new, or just new to ME .. but at "Toys Fantastic" .. there's a Polynesian Hotel AND A GRAND FLORIDIAN thingy for the monorail set!!!!
After maybe an hour and a half of shopping, Debbi and the girls were still going strong (they can take forever! LOL) but I was getting tired of it. James kept looking out at the Water Mice, and was asking about them. Dave and Evan wanted to go play in the Lego store, so James and I took a spin on the boats!
I've never done the Water Mice in DD, so it was new for me too.
Well ... while the sights were very nice -- I liked going down through the little canals and whatnot -- MAN are those Mice sloooooooooooooow! LOL I asked about it, and was told that the DD Mice go at 5 mph, while the ones at the Grand/Contemp., etc, go 10-15 mph -- may not *sound* like a big difference, but it sure felt like it! LOL But, it was fun anyway, and just another new thing I got to do this trip.
We needed to get back to the hotel by 2 in order to get to the airport with sufficient check in time for our 4:30 pm flight home, so the same taxi van met us where it dropped us off, and we arrived at AKL in plenty of time. A few minutes later, the limo showed up, and we had to bid goodbye, for now, to WDW ::sniff::
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Final Thoughts
Just a couple of final thoughts here, and then I'll shut up! LOL
All in all, I found all of the parks to be less crowded than they were at this time last year .. less crowded than last Nov., or Dec. even! I'm not sure why that is, but when I mentioned it to several cm's during the trip, they agreed about the parks .. though said the hotels were running at very high occupancy rates! It doesn't make much sense to anyone ...
Speaking for myself/our group only, I really did not find service, friendliness or efficiency to be "down" or lacking. (well, except for the screw ups at AKL! LOL but that's for another note - I;ll put GF and AKL hotel stuff separate) All in all, I still felt the Disney magic that I always have, and yeah .. I still believe! I DID find that when you had something to say .. let's call it a constructive criticism or an observation .. that the cm's were willing to listen and take note. And I was told by a variety of cm's, in all different positions, from concierge to the boat crew, that yes indeed, they DO report back to mgmt, upper mgmt, the things that guests tell them. So .. if you've got a criticism, complaint, or compliment while you're there .. speak your mind! It's the only way things will 'get fixed' .. or stay the same, if that's the way you like them!
As for traveling with a larger (7) group of family -- Don't get me wrong - it was a great time, and I enjoyed it very much! BUT .. after a while, it does kind of 'get to you'! LOL Maybe because of the heat/humidity, and also I'm sure, because it seemed like no one but me would speak up and say they wanted to do/not do something, or offer any alternate suggestions.-- I'd even tried a few months ago,like I do here at home with Dave and Evan, to get Debbi and the girls to tell me some places they wanted to eat, or things they wanted to do .. see, but .. they didn't! LOL I wouldn't say it caused any *major* problems .. just minor irritations here and there.
I can't wait for my next trip, and I've only been home 3 days! LOL November (and I think December too! LOL) can't come soon enough for me!
you can return! And I did just that - walked around the hotel, looked at the animals on my balcony .. it was like the zebras and giraffes especially came to 'say goodbye' to me! LOL
We were done and ready to head to breakfast by 8:30 am. Bell services took our luggage down and stored it, and we went on to Boma's. I forgot about this when I wrote my final dining report, so I'll just mention it here. That I could see, nothing has changed since my visit there last summer. The food is all the same I believe. It's good ... and worth a try at least once. I wouldn't say it's a "must do" for me for EVERY trip though. Everone else in our group pretty much felt the same. Let's just say that if I'd had to wait a long time to be seated, I wouldn't wait! LOL I guess the only place that I ever REALLY loved breakfast, and WOULD wait for was Spoodles buffet .. but that's a moot point now, since it's no longer a buffet.
When we were finished eating, we decided to just call a taxi to get to DD - yes it costs money (roundtrip from AKL - DD was $27 total) but the convenience is definitely worth it to me. With 7 people, we actually needed one of those van type taxis.
I *can* be a pretty quick shopper (honest, I can! LOL) and believe it or not, I really wasn't in the mood to look around too much this day. As neat as the World of Disney store is there, it also gets a little overwhelming and frustrating at times too. Besides, as I noted before, I didn't see a whole lot of new mdse, even in there.
OH!! I DID find a couple of things that I was thrilled about!! I'm not sure if they're new, or just new to ME .. but at "Toys Fantastic" .. there's a Polynesian Hotel AND A GRAND FLORIDIAN thingy for the monorail set!!!!
After maybe an hour and a half of shopping, Debbi and the girls were still going strong (they can take forever! LOL) but I was getting tired of it. James kept looking out at the Water Mice, and was asking about them. Dave and Evan wanted to go play in the Lego store, so James and I took a spin on the boats!
I've never done the Water Mice in DD, so it was new for me too.
Well ... while the sights were very nice -- I liked going down through the little canals and whatnot -- MAN are those Mice sloooooooooooooow! LOL I asked about it, and was told that the DD Mice go at 5 mph, while the ones at the Grand/Contemp., etc, go 10-15 mph -- may not *sound* like a big difference, but it sure felt like it! LOL But, it was fun anyway, and just another new thing I got to do this trip.
We needed to get back to the hotel by 2 in order to get to the airport with sufficient check in time for our 4:30 pm flight home, so the same taxi van met us where it dropped us off, and we arrived at AKL in plenty of time. A few minutes later, the limo showed up, and we had to bid goodbye, for now, to WDW ::sniff::
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Thoughts
Just a couple of final thoughts here, and then I'll shut up! LOL
All in all, I found all of the parks to be less crowded than they were at this time last year .. less crowded than last Nov., or Dec. even! I'm not sure why that is, but when I mentioned it to several cm's during the trip, they agreed about the parks .. though said the hotels were running at very high occupancy rates! It doesn't make much sense to anyone ...
Speaking for myself/our group only, I really did not find service, friendliness or efficiency to be "down" or lacking. (well, except for the screw ups at AKL! LOL but that's for another note - I;ll put GF and AKL hotel stuff separate) All in all, I still felt the Disney magic that I always have, and yeah .. I still believe! I DID find that when you had something to say .. let's call it a constructive criticism or an observation .. that the cm's were willing to listen and take note. And I was told by a variety of cm's, in all different positions, from concierge to the boat crew, that yes indeed, they DO report back to mgmt, upper mgmt, the things that guests tell them. So .. if you've got a criticism, complaint, or compliment while you're there .. speak your mind! It's the only way things will 'get fixed' .. or stay the same, if that's the way you like them!
As for traveling with a larger (7) group of family -- Don't get me wrong - it was a great time, and I enjoyed it very much! BUT .. after a while, it does kind of 'get to you'! LOL Maybe because of the heat/humidity, and also I'm sure, because it seemed like no one but me would speak up and say they wanted to do/not do something, or offer any alternate suggestions.-- I'd even tried a few months ago,like I do here at home with Dave and Evan, to get Debbi and the girls to tell me some places they wanted to eat, or things they wanted to do .. see, but .. they didn't! LOL I wouldn't say it caused any *major* problems .. just minor irritations here and there.
I can't wait for my next trip, and I've only been home 3 days! LOL November (and I think December too! LOL) can't come soon enough for me!
