squirrlygirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2007
- Messages
- 748
And it was interesting to say the least! This is the first time we've gone to Disney during a "busy" time, and we quickly learned that it worked best to follow one of our touring plans that started at park opening.
But here's a quick trip report:
We arrived at OKW on Monday the 7th around 3pm. Our room had already been assigned and was ready for us. Unfortunately it was on the 3rd floor, which was the only thing DH did NOT want to hear! Lucky for us we had rented a car (which ended up being a minivan thanks to Alamo running out of full-sizes) so we didn't need to lug a stroller up and down the stairs, but it was difficult enough doing that hike with the baby and diaper bag. We've had two OKW stays, and both have been on the 3rd floor. DH's enthusiasm for OKW is disappearing..
Our studio was spotless, except the tp holder. I can't stand the thought of all that dirt near something that is used so, ummm...intimately. But after 4 DVC stays, it appears that is something that just isn't cleaned. Ever. But like I said, the rest of the room was spotless. We had no high chair and no mugs, so DH called housekeeping. They told him that they no longer have mugs. He argued with the lady for a bit, but she wouldn't budge. So he told her he had a foam allergy
and did she really want to be responsible for his reaction? And we got the mugs and high chair about 15 minutes later...
The baby hated our room. I'm not quite sure why, but she was not happy there. I think part of it was no good way for her to settle down since it's so open. Our room was up against a family that I hope survived their trip--someone was screaming that someone else was ruining her life and she hated him
Our second day we tried a bus for the first time. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes thanks to seeing the Magic Kingdom bus go by as we were crossing the street. While it was convenient to be dropped off in front of the park, we had 2 of 3 kids (my oldest missed this trip) fall asleep on the way back, which made for a difficult 3rd floor climb..
Day 4 houskeeping knocked on our door at 9 am and asked when we'd be out. We made it out about half an hour later and over to SSR. We had a one night points stay followed by a 3-night cash ressie, and dining plan for both. I asked the cast member checking me in if we could stay in the same room, and she got quite irritated with me and told me I should've booked through member services and then I would've gotten a discount, too. I told her thanks, but it was too late now, and I had saved more with an AP discount, too, so could she just please look into it? It certainly appeared to have put her out, but she did consult with what I assume was a manager or something? and came back pleasant because it was so easy to arrange
Our room was ready-we stayed in the Paddocks across from Congress Park right at the end of the hall.
Again, room was clean except the TP holder. We had no high chair or mugs, so DH called housekeeping. They gave him no problem, but they showed up with foam cups. I asked the man for "real" mugs, and he told me they can't give them out. I told him I had been contacted by member services and assured they would be given to me upon request. I don't remember what I said after that, but I do know that "I will wash them myself" did the trick and he came back with mugs 5 minutes later.
The baby loved this studio--I think because it felt more like "home" to her with the wood furniture and more muted tones. DH, though, was getting a bit sick of a studio and wanted his 2-bedroom back....so we thought we'd check into an add-on (not enough points being the reason for a studio stay after all...) and tour the Animal Kingdom rooms.. apparently you're not supposed to stop by the DVC preview center?
DH stepped in and was treated so rudely by the salesperson by the door that he decided he was not interested after all in looking in to an add-on..at least not while on our trip! So we moved on to touring the Animal Kingdom rooms, which we both agreed we did not like.
The next morning we needed to check in again for our cash stay. The cast member wanted to reuse our key cards, and I protested because I had dining credits still on there. She assured me it would carry over to the new card and I should still have all credits. BUT....it didn't. So we ended up with 2 key cards for that day. I placed the privacy sign on the door because we were told we would not get a cleaning that day since we were staying in the same room and we didn't want anyone going in. We get back to our room and there's a message saying they didn't clean due to the privacy sign. The next morning about 8 am I pulled the privacy sign and we headed to the parks. Around 3:30 we realized we never got a cleaning, (and I desperately needed new towels because DD had spilled a pop AND a lemonade!) so DH called housekeeping and spoke to some guy who apologized and promised that someone would come clean our room before we got back that evening. When we arrived around 10 pm, there had been no cleaning. So DH called and talked to a woman that kept wondering out loud why they didn't clean our room? and finally convinced her to drop us off some new towels, which she did about 20 minutes later. The next day we came back from the parks around 1 pm to find someone's personal bag sitting on a chair and the studio bathroom and kitchen cleaned, but the main room untouched, including the trash. We left about 5 minutes later, and when we came back that evening, the bag was gone but nobody ever finished cleaning the studio. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed with the housekeeping cash guests get
But we love SSR. A castmember played tic tac toe with the kids while I checked in the first morning. They loved community hall, and I liked that it was next to the laundry room
. The baby loved the fountains and walkways, and we fit in a nice walking trip to downtown disney. The paths weren't well marked, though, and we ended up doing a bit more walking than needed to get there.
We did attend the Welcome home Wednesday, which the kids loved because mom won't buy them cracker jacks
We all walked away with member hats, but one strap has already broken. Thank goodness I can sew DH is now itching to stay at Boardwalk (okay, me too!) and I can't wait until I have all school/break schedules to figure out our trip after next...
On our way back to the airport we passed the hotel we stayed at offsite on our first Disney family trip a few years back and felt so blessed to now stay where we do, housekeeping problems and all
But here's a quick trip report:
We arrived at OKW on Monday the 7th around 3pm. Our room had already been assigned and was ready for us. Unfortunately it was on the 3rd floor, which was the only thing DH did NOT want to hear! Lucky for us we had rented a car (which ended up being a minivan thanks to Alamo running out of full-sizes) so we didn't need to lug a stroller up and down the stairs, but it was difficult enough doing that hike with the baby and diaper bag. We've had two OKW stays, and both have been on the 3rd floor. DH's enthusiasm for OKW is disappearing..
Our studio was spotless, except the tp holder. I can't stand the thought of all that dirt near something that is used so, ummm...intimately. But after 4 DVC stays, it appears that is something that just isn't cleaned. Ever. But like I said, the rest of the room was spotless. We had no high chair and no mugs, so DH called housekeeping. They told him that they no longer have mugs. He argued with the lady for a bit, but she wouldn't budge. So he told her he had a foam allergy
and did she really want to be responsible for his reaction? And we got the mugs and high chair about 15 minutes later...The baby hated our room. I'm not quite sure why, but she was not happy there. I think part of it was no good way for her to settle down since it's so open. Our room was up against a family that I hope survived their trip--someone was screaming that someone else was ruining her life and she hated him
Our second day we tried a bus for the first time. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes thanks to seeing the Magic Kingdom bus go by as we were crossing the street. While it was convenient to be dropped off in front of the park, we had 2 of 3 kids (my oldest missed this trip) fall asleep on the way back, which made for a difficult 3rd floor climb..
Day 4 houskeeping knocked on our door at 9 am and asked when we'd be out. We made it out about half an hour later and over to SSR. We had a one night points stay followed by a 3-night cash ressie, and dining plan for both. I asked the cast member checking me in if we could stay in the same room, and she got quite irritated with me and told me I should've booked through member services and then I would've gotten a discount, too. I told her thanks, but it was too late now, and I had saved more with an AP discount, too, so could she just please look into it? It certainly appeared to have put her out, but she did consult with what I assume was a manager or something? and came back pleasant because it was so easy to arrange
Our room was ready-we stayed in the Paddocks across from Congress Park right at the end of the hall. Again, room was clean except the TP holder. We had no high chair or mugs, so DH called housekeeping. They gave him no problem, but they showed up with foam cups. I asked the man for "real" mugs, and he told me they can't give them out. I told him I had been contacted by member services and assured they would be given to me upon request. I don't remember what I said after that, but I do know that "I will wash them myself" did the trick and he came back with mugs 5 minutes later.
The baby loved this studio--I think because it felt more like "home" to her with the wood furniture and more muted tones. DH, though, was getting a bit sick of a studio and wanted his 2-bedroom back....so we thought we'd check into an add-on (not enough points being the reason for a studio stay after all...) and tour the Animal Kingdom rooms.. apparently you're not supposed to stop by the DVC preview center?
DH stepped in and was treated so rudely by the salesperson by the door that he decided he was not interested after all in looking in to an add-on..at least not while on our trip! So we moved on to touring the Animal Kingdom rooms, which we both agreed we did not like. The next morning we needed to check in again for our cash stay. The cast member wanted to reuse our key cards, and I protested because I had dining credits still on there. She assured me it would carry over to the new card and I should still have all credits. BUT....it didn't. So we ended up with 2 key cards for that day. I placed the privacy sign on the door because we were told we would not get a cleaning that day since we were staying in the same room and we didn't want anyone going in. We get back to our room and there's a message saying they didn't clean due to the privacy sign. The next morning about 8 am I pulled the privacy sign and we headed to the parks. Around 3:30 we realized we never got a cleaning, (and I desperately needed new towels because DD had spilled a pop AND a lemonade!) so DH called housekeeping and spoke to some guy who apologized and promised that someone would come clean our room before we got back that evening. When we arrived around 10 pm, there had been no cleaning. So DH called and talked to a woman that kept wondering out loud why they didn't clean our room? and finally convinced her to drop us off some new towels, which she did about 20 minutes later. The next day we came back from the parks around 1 pm to find someone's personal bag sitting on a chair and the studio bathroom and kitchen cleaned, but the main room untouched, including the trash. We left about 5 minutes later, and when we came back that evening, the bag was gone but nobody ever finished cleaning the studio. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed with the housekeeping cash guests get
But we love SSR. A castmember played tic tac toe with the kids while I checked in the first morning. They loved community hall, and I liked that it was next to the laundry room
. The baby loved the fountains and walkways, and we fit in a nice walking trip to downtown disney. The paths weren't well marked, though, and we ended up doing a bit more walking than needed to get there. We did attend the Welcome home Wednesday, which the kids loved because mom won't buy them cracker jacks
We all walked away with member hats, but one strap has already broken. Thank goodness I can sew DH is now itching to stay at Boardwalk (okay, me too!) and I can't wait until I have all school/break schedules to figure out our trip after next...On our way back to the airport we passed the hotel we stayed at offsite on our first Disney family trip a few years back and felt so blessed to now stay where we do, housekeeping problems and all
We had the complete opposite reaction and loved the room(s) and are hoping a waitlist comes through for June!
