[B]Well, we made it back home after our thirteen day trip, it had many disappointments, and many memorable times.
We left on Weds., June 27th, had reserved a stretch limo since February from a reputable company after doing so much homework on the best service in our area, they were at our home on time, beautiful stretch lincoln, but NO drinks, no coffee which were promised, nothing but a limo and driver that never talked or introduced himself. I even called to confirm many times, including the day before to be sure they'd supply a infant car seat, when he arrived at our door, no car seat, we had to give them ours to use.
The driver was kinda cold to us and we had to bring most of our bags from the doorstep to the car and loaded 5 of 9 ourselves, yeah, me and my bad back, neck and knee, my pregnant daughter with her baby and my 10 and 15 year old, but, it was also 4:30am.
I asked the driver if he could stop at the gas station right around our corner, which was on his way anyway, so I could get our coffee, he said he'll stop on the parkway...he didn't stop till we were 3/4 the way to HPN. Not the service I was expecting from this comapny, but hey, he was on time and thats what mattered most.
Our flight was on JetBLUE from HPN to MCO and left ontime at 7am, a fantastic flight and great service, the weather was good and we arrived 15 minutes early. We'll never fly any other airlines if we can help it. They lived up to their great reputation and Westchester county airport in NY was great and very easy in and out. The counters are right there at the drop off site.
Having a bad back and tearing ligaments in my knee two days before we left made walking very difficult through the Orlando airport between JetBlues gate and Disney's Magical Express. We were unable to get any assistance from the airport in a timely manner from point A to point B, so we had to walk it with my pregnant daughter and her baby from one end to the other to get the Magical Express.
Arriving at the Grand Floridian at 12PM, the GF was beautiful, our room had not been ready yet, they said to check back by 1:30, they did not print our resort cards, they didn't even offer them, nor did they take time to review the resort layout, we had to pay cash for our first meal at Gasparilla's (good food). WE walked around, the kids went swimming, but the sun was brutal and it was very humid...I'd like to see some palm trees in one or two areas at the pools to offer some shade.
We checked at 2PM on our room, not ready. They said 3PM, we checked again, not ready, nor were our cards. We were exhausted. 3:35PM, the room was still not ready, then, 3:50PM, they said the room was cleaned but needed inspection.
Finally at 4:10PM they gave us our cards and checked us in, BUT, after all the requests I made, all the phone calls prior to leaving, all the hipe and excitement from Disney reservationists telling me we'll be pampered and they'll probably place us in a dormer room close to the main building because of my limited walking ability, and after specifically requesting NOT to be placed behind the pool building and would like the first or second floors, they placed us just where we didn't want to be, on the fourth floor behind the pool building in Big Pine, in which one elevator was down for service for our entire stay, the remaining elevator, slower than waiting for high tide to come in.
They made no remarks or had any concerns for my disabilities or for my daughter's pregancy upon check in, NOR did they wish anyone a happy birthday. We were offered another room on the second floor, but not until a couple of days later when a room was available, by them, we were all unpacked and pooped out.
This was a very special trip for us as we were celebrating my daughters 10 and 19th birthdays, my grandson's first birthday and my other daughter's graduation. I spent $580 on special gifts from the Disney Florest prior to leaving which were promised to be in our room when my kids walked through the door, they were not there, they arrived two hours later, the kids were surprized, but not as I had wished for.
That night, we went to Downtown Disney, and ended up paying for our first nights meal at the Rain Forest Cafe, $105.00 tab with tip.
The room (#9418) was ok, but NOT what I expected for the money we paid for this place and for being the premire Disney hotel. The TV was tiny, maybe 19 inches, the comforter had a two inch tear, we opened the TV cabinet and the handle fell off in my hand, the tub drained slow and gurgled, the hot water taps dripped constantly, the TV remote wouldn't change channels, our room had no refrigerator as was requested and promised, the movable vanity mirror was dangling from it's mount and wouldn't stay in place, on Friday, the power was shut off at noon for maintenance.
We had many spider webs and spiders on our balcony, dirty sliding glass door glass and a dirty balcony deck which I asked to have cleaned many times, but never happened in two weeks. As we entered our Big Pines building one evening, I spotted a 3 1/2foot snake in the front of the door, I notified the resort and it took 40 minutes for anyone to show up, by then, the snake moved its way onto another families patio, so I told them about it so their kids wouldn't go on the deck. They never found the snake, which was either a small copperhead or rat snake.
Transportation? I don't know what was slower, the buses or the one elevator, both were terrible. Several times we waited for one Grand Floridian bus to MGM for 49 minutes, then as it pulled up to our stop and we were getting the baby out of the stroller, he opened its doors and then closed up and drove away, leaving us behind while everyone was yelling for him to stop. It took another 25 minutes for another to come.
That night, after closing at MGM, we waited again, along with twenty other people over thirty minutes for the GF bus which combined the Wilderness lodge as well. This guy was slower than a snail, we didn't get back to the GF for at least another 45 minutes. For every one GF/WL bus, there were four or five for the Pop Century and value resorts. For the entire stay, the Disney bus transportation was horrible.
On one bus after a hot day in the parks, our bus was filled to capacity with screaming children, pregnant woman and some disabled persons, we had a new bus driver who was in training, the veteran driver was taking up two seats in the front giving him directions, needless to say, she never gave up those two seats for anyone, not even for the disabled or pregnant. Then, to make things worse, the driver pulled into the wrong way into the Wildreness Lodge, the guard yelling at him, he just kept going.
Prior to leaving home, I ordered and paid for special birthday cakes that were to be presented to my kids and grandchild at the Hoop Dee Do Review, they were NEVER delivered, no one knew a thing there. When I called the next morning, they credited me the cost and delivered the fresh cream cake to our room all dripping with warm whipped cream dripping from the cardboard box. Then, they called to apologize, said they would deliver one to our next reservation at the Whispering Canyon (fun place) the next night at no cost. Guess what, NO CAKE, no one knew a thing, then as we were about to leave, they bring it out misteriously and then tried to charge me for it.
This is just the beginning, for two days straight, after being at the parks for more than eight hours, we want to come back for a rest in our rooms, the room was not made up, they show up at 7PM.
The next day, my daughter goes to change the baby in the rest room in Epcot just outside the Mission Space attraction, she brought in the baby, the diaper bag and her $900 Canon digital SLR camera I just got her for Christmas, when came out, she was without the camera, she went back in, the camera was gone with 600-700 photos of my grandson and of our trip, never turned in. We called every day, all hours to all the lost and found locations, only to be left on hold more than a half hour to 45 minutes at a time, only to be told, no they don't have it. Hopefully the travel insurance will pay for the camera, but all those memories in photo are lost for good.
What was good about this trip? I bonded with my daughters and grandson which is priceless, over all, we have great memories. But, I'll never stay at the GF again.
After reading some unofficial books on Disney, and reading about how the Polynesian resort's service had dropped off over the last year or so, and reading how slow transportation could be at the Wildreness lodge, we decided on the GF for its reputation for quality and service, but every time we went to the Poly or WL, we recieved a welcome from someone, one person or another would say happy birthday to my kids and grandson, WE FELT AT HOME, and welcome there. We found many guests at the GF treated us like a bell hop if I held an elevator or door open, not even a thank you from many, not all, but many.
Twice on our trip I was spoken to very disrespectfully from one of the front desk people when I would call to ask advise of had a question, all I got was a cold yep, nope, or uh huh, the last time he did it I finally had to ask him to treat me a little nicer on the phone, then he said yes sir, no sir. Not good guest relations.
I wouldn't waist my money again at Ohana's Charracter breakfast, the service was good, but the meal was terrible. Mama Melrose's in MGM had great atmosphere, ok food, but lousy service. the Kona Cafe, the Biergarten and Whispering Canyon stood out above all others in WDW with great food, great service and great atmosphere.
When we first arrived on our first day, our order from GardenGrocer.com was perfect, everything arrived just fine, so they get high marks. But, Disney employees in the parks and especially those in guest relations and services really need to improve their attitudes and level of service to their guests, again, its not all, but there were many times we were disrespected and our wishes NOT made reality, AND IT ALL STARTED AT THE GF resort.
The forth of July firworks in the MK and Epcot were the best I've ever seen anywhere, especially at the MK, THEY FILLED THE ENTIRE PARK. Many attractions offered little airconditioning or fans, especially in the lines which moved like snails, the worst was Peter Pans attraction, everyone in like was starving for air.
We went to Epcot for an early breakfast one day, grabbed fast passes for Mission Space, after that finished, we headed over to Test Track for more fast passes, the pass machines were covered and shut down at 11:30am and it was not busy that day either, no could figure out why none were available. We were told to return at 1pm, which we did, and from the other end of the park, but, there were showers and they shut down the ride, and there must have been 200 people in line waiting.
We were lucky if we got more than one set of Fast Passes each day in any given park.
For us, there was LITTLE magic at WDW, more stress and disappointment.
Our return trip was good, the service from the limited english speaking JetBlue representatives at the gate was a disappointment as they were rude, never answered our questions and were cold. Again, all that was made up by another great flight on their A320. We arrived at HPN 10 minutes early, the baggage clain was slow and they only sent through a 1/3 of everyones luggage until 20 minutes later all the rest came out.
The workers at HPN were more than helpful and took all our bags to the limo and even helped load them for us. The limo was on time and the driver helpful and friendly, BUT, it was hot outside, we were again promised cold drinks, we got in and no A/C was on, it was stuffy and hot, he had Poland Spring water, but not on ice and it was hot, so we had no drinks or cool water for the baby's bottle.
Our experience on this trip...don't rely on promises, because seldom are they kept, and for WDW and the Grand Floridian to allow our most memorable vacation to start and end the way it did was not worth all the money and efforts I spent in planning this trip.
On a scale of 1-10, I give the Grand Floridian a 2 in making my childrens wishes come true, and WDW overall, a 5. Very disheartening to say the least!
They love to hear the compliments, but seldom want to hear the negitive, they mostly just pass the buck to another.
JetBlue, I give a full 10.
We left on Weds., June 27th, had reserved a stretch limo since February from a reputable company after doing so much homework on the best service in our area, they were at our home on time, beautiful stretch lincoln, but NO drinks, no coffee which were promised, nothing but a limo and driver that never talked or introduced himself. I even called to confirm many times, including the day before to be sure they'd supply a infant car seat, when he arrived at our door, no car seat, we had to give them ours to use.
The driver was kinda cold to us and we had to bring most of our bags from the doorstep to the car and loaded 5 of 9 ourselves, yeah, me and my bad back, neck and knee, my pregnant daughter with her baby and my 10 and 15 year old, but, it was also 4:30am.
I asked the driver if he could stop at the gas station right around our corner, which was on his way anyway, so I could get our coffee, he said he'll stop on the parkway...he didn't stop till we were 3/4 the way to HPN. Not the service I was expecting from this comapny, but hey, he was on time and thats what mattered most.
Our flight was on JetBLUE from HPN to MCO and left ontime at 7am, a fantastic flight and great service, the weather was good and we arrived 15 minutes early. We'll never fly any other airlines if we can help it. They lived up to their great reputation and Westchester county airport in NY was great and very easy in and out. The counters are right there at the drop off site.
Having a bad back and tearing ligaments in my knee two days before we left made walking very difficult through the Orlando airport between JetBlues gate and Disney's Magical Express. We were unable to get any assistance from the airport in a timely manner from point A to point B, so we had to walk it with my pregnant daughter and her baby from one end to the other to get the Magical Express.
Arriving at the Grand Floridian at 12PM, the GF was beautiful, our room had not been ready yet, they said to check back by 1:30, they did not print our resort cards, they didn't even offer them, nor did they take time to review the resort layout, we had to pay cash for our first meal at Gasparilla's (good food). WE walked around, the kids went swimming, but the sun was brutal and it was very humid...I'd like to see some palm trees in one or two areas at the pools to offer some shade.
We checked at 2PM on our room, not ready. They said 3PM, we checked again, not ready, nor were our cards. We were exhausted. 3:35PM, the room was still not ready, then, 3:50PM, they said the room was cleaned but needed inspection.
Finally at 4:10PM they gave us our cards and checked us in, BUT, after all the requests I made, all the phone calls prior to leaving, all the hipe and excitement from Disney reservationists telling me we'll be pampered and they'll probably place us in a dormer room close to the main building because of my limited walking ability, and after specifically requesting NOT to be placed behind the pool building and would like the first or second floors, they placed us just where we didn't want to be, on the fourth floor behind the pool building in Big Pine, in which one elevator was down for service for our entire stay, the remaining elevator, slower than waiting for high tide to come in.
They made no remarks or had any concerns for my disabilities or for my daughter's pregancy upon check in, NOR did they wish anyone a happy birthday. We were offered another room on the second floor, but not until a couple of days later when a room was available, by them, we were all unpacked and pooped out.
This was a very special trip for us as we were celebrating my daughters 10 and 19th birthdays, my grandson's first birthday and my other daughter's graduation. I spent $580 on special gifts from the Disney Florest prior to leaving which were promised to be in our room when my kids walked through the door, they were not there, they arrived two hours later, the kids were surprized, but not as I had wished for.
That night, we went to Downtown Disney, and ended up paying for our first nights meal at the Rain Forest Cafe, $105.00 tab with tip.
The room (#9418) was ok, but NOT what I expected for the money we paid for this place and for being the premire Disney hotel. The TV was tiny, maybe 19 inches, the comforter had a two inch tear, we opened the TV cabinet and the handle fell off in my hand, the tub drained slow and gurgled, the hot water taps dripped constantly, the TV remote wouldn't change channels, our room had no refrigerator as was requested and promised, the movable vanity mirror was dangling from it's mount and wouldn't stay in place, on Friday, the power was shut off at noon for maintenance.
We had many spider webs and spiders on our balcony, dirty sliding glass door glass and a dirty balcony deck which I asked to have cleaned many times, but never happened in two weeks. As we entered our Big Pines building one evening, I spotted a 3 1/2foot snake in the front of the door, I notified the resort and it took 40 minutes for anyone to show up, by then, the snake moved its way onto another families patio, so I told them about it so their kids wouldn't go on the deck. They never found the snake, which was either a small copperhead or rat snake.
Transportation? I don't know what was slower, the buses or the one elevator, both were terrible. Several times we waited for one Grand Floridian bus to MGM for 49 minutes, then as it pulled up to our stop and we were getting the baby out of the stroller, he opened its doors and then closed up and drove away, leaving us behind while everyone was yelling for him to stop. It took another 25 minutes for another to come.
That night, after closing at MGM, we waited again, along with twenty other people over thirty minutes for the GF bus which combined the Wilderness lodge as well. This guy was slower than a snail, we didn't get back to the GF for at least another 45 minutes. For every one GF/WL bus, there were four or five for the Pop Century and value resorts. For the entire stay, the Disney bus transportation was horrible.
On one bus after a hot day in the parks, our bus was filled to capacity with screaming children, pregnant woman and some disabled persons, we had a new bus driver who was in training, the veteran driver was taking up two seats in the front giving him directions, needless to say, she never gave up those two seats for anyone, not even for the disabled or pregnant. Then, to make things worse, the driver pulled into the wrong way into the Wildreness Lodge, the guard yelling at him, he just kept going.
Prior to leaving home, I ordered and paid for special birthday cakes that were to be presented to my kids and grandchild at the Hoop Dee Do Review, they were NEVER delivered, no one knew a thing there. When I called the next morning, they credited me the cost and delivered the fresh cream cake to our room all dripping with warm whipped cream dripping from the cardboard box. Then, they called to apologize, said they would deliver one to our next reservation at the Whispering Canyon (fun place) the next night at no cost. Guess what, NO CAKE, no one knew a thing, then as we were about to leave, they bring it out misteriously and then tried to charge me for it.
This is just the beginning, for two days straight, after being at the parks for more than eight hours, we want to come back for a rest in our rooms, the room was not made up, they show up at 7PM.
The next day, my daughter goes to change the baby in the rest room in Epcot just outside the Mission Space attraction, she brought in the baby, the diaper bag and her $900 Canon digital SLR camera I just got her for Christmas, when came out, she was without the camera, she went back in, the camera was gone with 600-700 photos of my grandson and of our trip, never turned in. We called every day, all hours to all the lost and found locations, only to be left on hold more than a half hour to 45 minutes at a time, only to be told, no they don't have it. Hopefully the travel insurance will pay for the camera, but all those memories in photo are lost for good.
What was good about this trip? I bonded with my daughters and grandson which is priceless, over all, we have great memories. But, I'll never stay at the GF again.
After reading some unofficial books on Disney, and reading about how the Polynesian resort's service had dropped off over the last year or so, and reading how slow transportation could be at the Wildreness lodge, we decided on the GF for its reputation for quality and service, but every time we went to the Poly or WL, we recieved a welcome from someone, one person or another would say happy birthday to my kids and grandson, WE FELT AT HOME, and welcome there. We found many guests at the GF treated us like a bell hop if I held an elevator or door open, not even a thank you from many, not all, but many.
Twice on our trip I was spoken to very disrespectfully from one of the front desk people when I would call to ask advise of had a question, all I got was a cold yep, nope, or uh huh, the last time he did it I finally had to ask him to treat me a little nicer on the phone, then he said yes sir, no sir. Not good guest relations.
I wouldn't waist my money again at Ohana's Charracter breakfast, the service was good, but the meal was terrible. Mama Melrose's in MGM had great atmosphere, ok food, but lousy service. the Kona Cafe, the Biergarten and Whispering Canyon stood out above all others in WDW with great food, great service and great atmosphere.
When we first arrived on our first day, our order from GardenGrocer.com was perfect, everything arrived just fine, so they get high marks. But, Disney employees in the parks and especially those in guest relations and services really need to improve their attitudes and level of service to their guests, again, its not all, but there were many times we were disrespected and our wishes NOT made reality, AND IT ALL STARTED AT THE GF resort.
The forth of July firworks in the MK and Epcot were the best I've ever seen anywhere, especially at the MK, THEY FILLED THE ENTIRE PARK. Many attractions offered little airconditioning or fans, especially in the lines which moved like snails, the worst was Peter Pans attraction, everyone in like was starving for air.
We went to Epcot for an early breakfast one day, grabbed fast passes for Mission Space, after that finished, we headed over to Test Track for more fast passes, the pass machines were covered and shut down at 11:30am and it was not busy that day either, no could figure out why none were available. We were told to return at 1pm, which we did, and from the other end of the park, but, there were showers and they shut down the ride, and there must have been 200 people in line waiting.
We were lucky if we got more than one set of Fast Passes each day in any given park.
For us, there was LITTLE magic at WDW, more stress and disappointment.
Our return trip was good, the service from the limited english speaking JetBlue representatives at the gate was a disappointment as they were rude, never answered our questions and were cold. Again, all that was made up by another great flight on their A320. We arrived at HPN 10 minutes early, the baggage clain was slow and they only sent through a 1/3 of everyones luggage until 20 minutes later all the rest came out.
The workers at HPN were more than helpful and took all our bags to the limo and even helped load them for us. The limo was on time and the driver helpful and friendly, BUT, it was hot outside, we were again promised cold drinks, we got in and no A/C was on, it was stuffy and hot, he had Poland Spring water, but not on ice and it was hot, so we had no drinks or cool water for the baby's bottle.
Our experience on this trip...don't rely on promises, because seldom are they kept, and for WDW and the Grand Floridian to allow our most memorable vacation to start and end the way it did was not worth all the money and efforts I spent in planning this trip.
On a scale of 1-10, I give the Grand Floridian a 2 in making my childrens wishes come true, and WDW overall, a 5. Very disheartening to say the least!
They love to hear the compliments, but seldom want to hear the negitive, they mostly just pass the buck to another.
JetBlue, I give a full 10.
How horrible!
