Just back from CRAZY trip...

[amyamya]

We're just back home, too and had a crazy time at the DLR. It was so HOT and SO crowded! I will never visit the park any time from October to December again unless it is a week day in early December. I could not believe the crowds. I want to know if anyone else was in DL on Thursday the 9th after the parade and saw what happened. The crowds were so bad I was crying and needed to get help from CMs. I would really like to hear if anyone else got caught in that. It was awful. I have never seen anything like that.

Food was OK to good. We like Goofy's and the people I was with loved the BB. My crab cakes there were horrible. I will do a trip report with pics soon. We were slightly disappointed in the GCH. Our room needed repairs and was not quite up to the 5 star rating, but overall I loved the ambiance of the hotel and my kids loved the pool.

I have to admit to all those that said October was crazy... YOU WERE RIGHT! I'll put a lot more details in my report and what info I got from CMs about what was going on...I talked to as many as I could!

 

[Sherry E]

We're just back home, too and had a crazy time at the DLR. It was so HOT and SO crowded! I will never visit the park any time from October to December again unless it is a week day in early December. I could not believe the crowds. I want to know if anyone else was in DL on Thursday the 9th after the parade and saw what happened. The crowds were so bad I was crying and needed to get help from CMs. I would really like to hear if anyone else got caught in that. It was awful. I have never seen anything like that.

Food was OK to good. We like Goofy's and the people I was with loved the BB. My crab cakes there were horrible. I will do a trip report with pics soon. We were slightly disappointed in the GCH. Our room needed repairs and was not quite up to the 5 star rating, but overall I loved the ambiance of the hotel and my kids loved the pool.

I have to admit to all those that said October was crazy... YOU WERE RIGHT! I'll put a lot more details in my report and what info I got from CMs about what was going on...I talked to as many as I could!

We went from 10/2 - 10/5 and the crowds in DTD were CRAZY on Thursday night. Then, in DCA on the 3rd, it was pretty busy. The parade crowds were crazy on Main Street at night. Saturday the 4th started out slow, but later in the day it was super crowded and the HMH line was worse than I have ever seen it. Awful!

Did you go to the TOTP and meet up with any other DIS-ers? We also did Goofy's and Blue Bayou (read my trip report) and Goofy's was great, Blue Bayou was not. And we had a PPH room with poo-smelling water in the bathroom!!!!

Did you notice that the beds in the GCH rooms are especially tall? I am about 5'5" and had to climb up on mine rather than plop down on it!!! For those prices you should get a spotless and totally functional room, no repairs needed! Otherwise, if it is just the gorgeous lobby people want, anyone can go and sit there without the price tag attached to it! Well, console yourself in the knowledge that the PPH would have been worse!!!

Can't wait to see photos and read your TR!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Aw I'm sorry it was lackluster for you

 

[amyamya]

Did you go to the TOTP and meet up with any other DIS-ers? We also did Goofy's and Blue Bayou (read my trip report) and Goofy's was great, Blue Bayou was not. And we had a PPH room with poo-smelling water in the bathroom!!!!

Did you notice that the beds in the GCH rooms are especially tall? I am about 5'5" and had to climb up on mine rather than plop down on it!!! For those prices you should get a spotless and totally functional room, no repairs needed! Otherwise, if it is just the gorgeous lobby people want, anyone can go and sit there without the price tag attached to it! Well, console yourself in the knowledge that the PPH would have been worse!!!

Can't wait to see photos and read your TR!

Hey Sherry...we decided not to do TOTP because of the ages of the kids we were with...I am glad we did not. The crowds were so bad the rest of the week I think at that point we would have been really over it.

We had the sewage smell in the GCH, too! We had broken lights, ripped bedspreads, chipped tiles, and several times we came back to the room and the maid had not been there. We did love the turn down and chocolates, but other elements were just not as expected.

The heat totally did us in. Tuesday it was near 100 and we spent the afternoon in the pool. Yes, the beds are tall, but so are we so no issues there! Off to read your TR!!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

we were there thursday what happened?
we were at main street by 5pm and had our seats in front of train station saw the parade perfectly. and the crouds were bad but we got out as soon as it was done and fast.

tuesday we had to walk behind the floats and our good seats were bad becouse so many ppl ran up in front of us.
thursday we were there early enough capt bane saw the flag thing he wanted to see

 

[JadeDarkstar]

the heat monday was 105. tuesday 98,wed cooled down thursday much cooler friday grate day grate crouds grate weather.
the party was grate the croud was NOTHING

 

[amyamya]

Aw I'm sorry it was lackluster for you

We still had fun, in between the crazy parts. The magic was still there!

BTW: Emmers, I stumbled upon your cute hair website and was surprised to see your pic! I was like, I know her (kinda!) Funny!

 

[ORMom2Four]

We were there this past week too. The crowds were shocking. We were not there after the parade on the 9th (Dh & the kids went to Knotts that night so we left early) but we did follow one parade crowd. It was wall to wall people, packed like sardines. I can easily see how a panic attack could happen! (not sure that's what happened to you, but that thought crossed my mind while we were wading through the crowd)

We used fastpasses, but even with those, it was hard to manage the crowd. They did have a lot of CM's managing the flow of "traffic", but once you got in a wave of people, it was very hard to get out! Eating took forever, the lines were so long and there were no tables to sit at. After dealing with the crowds and heat for a few hours, we were done and ready to go back to the hotel room.

Like you, we will never again go in October. It was insane.

Oh, anyone there this week notice an illness going around? A kid threw up in the Pirate area at HOJO's (they shut it down for an entire day). The next day, we were walking through the Grand CA and saw another kid throw up. Then, Friday, my 16 year old stayed in the hotel the whole day with a stomach ache!

 

[Sherry E]

Hey Sherry...we decided not to do TOTP because of the ages of the kids we were with...I am glad we did not. The crowds were so bad the rest of the week I think at that point we would have been really over it.

We had the sewage smell in the GCH, too! We had broken lights, ripped bedspreads, chipped tiles, and several times we came back to the room and the maid had not been there. We did love the turn down and chocolates, but other elements were just not as expected.

The heat totally did us in. Tuesday it was near 100 and we spent the afternoon in the pool. Yes, the beds are tall, but so are we so no issues there! Off to read your TR!!

You had the poo smell too??!!!! We weren't the only ones! I wonder if it was some sort of sewer issue plaguing all the hotels! I did send an e-mail to complain, but as I have found out on DISboards today in my separate thread about complaints, DLR is very unconcerned with MOST complaints they receive - even health-related ones like food poisoning! SO I don't expect anything more than a "we're sorry your trip wasn't magical" letter. Even though the PPH is not the GCH in terms of elegance, none of their hotels are cheap in any way (which is why so many folks are staying offsite now), so they should definitely try to practice better customer service and offer some sort fo credit to a bill if someone is dissatisfied with a meal or a room or poopy water in the bathroom!!!! But for the prices of the GCH, you should have a room like a palace!!! Your room sounds like it wasn't being kept upn at all! That is not good. In these economic times, people won't put up with unclean rooms and bad food or whatever, and DLR could lose a lot of its business. I love the Mouse, but they are letting themselves slip a little!!!

The heat would have killed me too! I was SO glad when it was cooling down over time when we were there!

Did you see the cute Mickey-shaped peach and apple cobbler at Goofy's Kitchen? This was the first time I noticed it. Not sure how long it has been there!

Crowds-wise, it is beginning to sound like October has become the new 'week between Christmas and New Years,' and those crowds are panic-inducing, for sure!

 

[Sherry E]

We were there this past week too. The crowds were shocking. We were not there after the parade on the 9th (Dh & the kids went to Knotts that night so we left early) but we did follow one parade crowd. It was wall to wall people, packed like sardines. I can easily see how a panic attack could happen! (not sure that's what happened to you, but that thought crossed my mind while we were wading through the crowd)

We used fastpasses, but even with those, it was hard to manage the crowd. They did have a lot of CM's managing the flow of "traffic", but once you got in a wave of people, it was very hard to get out! Eating took forever, the lines were so long and there were no tables to sit at. After dealing with the crowds and heat for a few hours, we were done and ready to go back to the hotel room.

Like you, we will never again go in October. It was insane.

Oh, anyone there this week notice an illness going around? A kid threw up in the Pirate area at HOJO's (they shut it down for an entire day). The next day, we were walking through the Grand CA and saw another kid throw up. Then, Friday, my 16 year old stayed in the hotel the whole day with a stomach ache!

It is probably the poopy sewage water coming from the faucets!

 

[amyamya]

the heat monday was 105. tuesday 98,wed cooled down thursday much cooler friday grate day grate crouds grate weather.
the party was grate the croud was NOTHING

Jade, I am glad you had fun and the crowds at the party were good. Man, I looked for you like crazy but never saw you!

What happened at the parade was when it ended there was a mass of people following behind to exit the park, BUT DCA had just closed and thousands of people were coming in to the park and the two masses met in the middle of Main Street and everything came to a dead stop FOR AN HOUR! We were stuck in the walkway between The Emporium and the Carnation Cafe for 30 minutes just standing in a solid mass of people. You could not walk, you could not move. Then people starting pushing. People were yelling. It was scary. I tried to go into the watch shop on the corner but the CM at the door said no one could enter the shop. I started crying because someone was pushing me forward and I have severe anxiety issues in crowds of that size. Finally she let me in, but she would not let my DH and kids in because of the stroller. When the crowd started to move I tried to exit the store and another CM would not let me leave the store. It was INSANE! I snuck out the back of the Emporium a complete sobbing mess. I could hear people yelling for their families, it was a stampede, total chaos. I yelled to my DH "The Firehouse!" and about 20 minutes later I moved enough to get out the door of the Emporium and run to the Firehouse. My kids were so traumatized we left the park and went back to the hotel. We left the GCH at 7:15 and got back to our room at 9:45 and the only thing we did was walk into DL, get stuck and leave.

 

[amyamya]

We were there this past week too. The crowds were shocking. We were not there after the parade on the 9th (Dh & the kids went to Knotts that night so we left early) but we did follow one parade crowd. It was wall to wall people, packed like sardines. I can easily see how a panic attack could happen! (not sure that's what happened to you, but that thought crossed my mind while we were wading through the crowd)


Oh, anyone there this week notice an illness going around? A kid threw up in the Pirate area at HOJO's (they shut it down for an entire day). The next day, we were walking through the Grand CA and saw another kid throw up. Then, Friday, my 16 year old stayed in the hotel the whole day with a stomach ache!

Yup, it was me with the full blown panic attack! I tried every trick in the book but for me that is the worst situation I could be in.

As for the puking, my mother in law said, "if I see one more person throw up....!" We saw 5 people vomit in the park over three days. One right in front of us in Toontown. I think it was the heat. There was vomit all over the ground near the Malibu-boomer.

 

[Sherry E]

Jade, I am glad you had fun and the crowds at the party were good. Man, I looked for you like crazy but never saw you!

What happened at the parade was when it ended there was a mass of people following behind to exit the park, BUT DCA had just closed and thousands of people were coming in to the park and the two masses met in the middle of Main Street and everything came to a dead stop FOR AN HOUR! We were stuck in the walkway between The Emporium and the Carnation Cafe for 30 minutes just standing in a solid mass of people. You could not walk, you could not move. Then people starting pushing. People were yelling. It was scary. I tried to go into the watch shop on the corner but the CM at the door said no one could enter the shop. I started crying because someone was pushing me forward and I have severe anxiety issues in crowds of that size. Finally she let me in, but she would not let my DH and kids in because of the stroller. When the crowd started to move I tried to exit the store and another CM would not let me leave the store. It was INSANE! I snuck out the back of the Emporium a complete sobbing mess. I could hear people yelling for their families, it was a stampede, total chaos. I yelled to my DH "The Firehouse!" and about 20 minutes later I moved enough to get out the door of the Emporium and run to the Firehouse. My kids were so traumatized we left the park and went back to the hotel. We left the GCH at 7:15 and got back to our room at 9:45 and the only thing we did was walk into DL, get stuck and leave.

That's terrible! I probably would have panicked too, and I know my friend would have! That sounds like New Year's Eve kind of crowds! We did see a lot of gridlock building up right around Carnation and the Fortuosity Shop after the parade, and my friend thought we would not make it out. We went back towards the restrooms of Carnation, where there is another entry to a different shop back there and cut through to a less congested area and made our escape. If we had tried to wade through the people on Main Street, we would have been waiting a long time!

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

friday grate day grate crouds grate weather.
the party was grate the croud was NOTHING

You thought Friday was great?? I was FLIPPING out on Friday afternoon. Now, we didn't actually go into the parks until about 4:30pm, but I thought Friday was MADNESS. We rode 2 rides in a matter of 6 hours, and one of those rides broke down! WITH US ON IT!!!

 

[amyamya]

Crowds-wise, it is beginning to sound like October has become the new 'week between Christmas and New Years,' and those crowds are panic-inducing, for sure!

I talked to every CM I could and they seemed baffled by the crowds, too. They said early October is usually not that busy and they wondered if the hype from Miley's party had carried over into the week. A bunch of them said not to enter the park from Oct. to December if you want to avoid crowds. And our next trip will be Feb. or late Jan. for sure.

I thought the food at Goofy's was really good. I loved the creme brulee french toast and the bread pudding. My kids loved having mac and cheese for breakfast. My DH had some cobbler and loved it.

 

[mystic_path]

The only time that I would do October again is if I take my son when he is a bit older... other then that I will never attempt DL in October again. EVER! Not if my life depended on it. Way too busy for my liking.

Glad to hear you had a really great time. Its nice to hear another decent review from the GC as I am very interested in staying in that resort hotel next time. Id definately ask for a different room if my room wasnt up to par. Did you end up switching?

 

[Capt.Bane]

I kept looking for people...we sat right in front of the fire station for Parade got our bench at like 430...passed the time by going and taking pics of the first 50 years lobby...and getting my Walt pin. And then Jade went to get snacks and she was gone what seemed like forever.
When she left I yelled "Bring back some hot chocolate..." she brought it and a whole lot more...lol.

Sorry you got caught up like that I got caught up with the stroller several time people diving in front of it...

 

[amyamya]

You thought Friday was great?? I was FLIPPING out on Friday afternoon. Now, we didn't actually go into the parks until about 4:30pm, but I thought Friday was MADNESS. We rode 2 rides in a matter of 6 hours, and one of those rides broke down! WITH US ON IT!!!

Elf, I looked for you, too. We waited 40 minutes to ride Indy WITH FASTPASSES and it broke down right before we got on! With fastpasses, we rode 3 rides in 3.5 hours. The only ride we got right one with fastpass was NBC, and it stopped when we were in the attic, but for some reason, I think it does that a lot....

 

[shelemm]

I wonder why the crowds are so bad? We were there the last week of August, granted a Mon/Tue/Wed, but everything was beautiful, the weather was wonderful, and the crowds were manageable.

 

[amyamya]

Glad to hear you had a really great time. Its nice to hear another decent review from the GC as I am very interested in staying in that resort hotel next time. Id definately ask for a different room if my room wasnt up to par. Did you end up switching?

We still had a GREAT time! We didn't switch rooms because we had adjoining rooms with another party and wanted to keep that. We thought about it. The overall hotel was 5 star, amazing, wonderful. The room was like a 3.5 star. I would stay there again for the proximity to the DCA.