Just back--the good, the bad, the ugly

[lenshanem]

The teenage girls at the next table were in short dresses and skirts and Tigger was happily spending a lot of time with them.

Even Tigger is a male pig?!?

Men...

 

[lovin'DVC]

We were at WDW late Dec./early Jan, and we had a number of CMs make comments to us (!!) and near us about the state of things at WDW. They sounded really overworked, miserable, and uncertain about the future.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Originally posted by lovin'DVC
We were at WDW late Dec./early Jan, and we had a number of CMs make comments to us (!!) and near us about the state of things at WDW. They sounded really overworked, miserable, and uncertain about the future.

I too have heard about all that is happening at the "world" now. I decided on our last trip , also late Dec./early Jan. , that I would make the effort to be as nice to the cm's as possible. I can say that I received at least as much pixie dust as I gave.

 

[wilderness01]

Let me say that I am very sorry that you had a less than magical trip. Feeling under the weather can really affect the trip overall. We also had a less than magical trip a few trips ago. We had very dirty rooms at 3 different DVC resorts over a 2 week period. It was crowded and our mood became anything but magical. Each time we checked into a different DVC resort we had high hopes that were dashed. In the end we were just fed up and felt everything was so unmagical. We were very happy to leave which was sad!

Fast forward to last February and our trip was great. A few things "unclean/undone" at BCV but I did them myself and moved on. I truly believe that you shouldn't have to clean anything upon checkin but we weren't starting this trip out on the wrong foot. We had a wonderful trip. Probably our best yet.

We also just got back from a week at BWV in a 1br. We had a room very close to the elevators and clean. Actually I did have to ask the housekeeper for a rag with windex on it and I recleaned the mirror/front of cabinets. Now everything was very clean. Yahoo, now I am happy. The crowds were a little heavier than last year but we had a great time. It was very magical. One morning our little boy was crying at the bus stop because he wanted his dad who had gone off with the other kids. The CM working there went out of her way to try to get him to stop crying. She asked who his favorite character was and if he liked balloons. Magically that night 2 pictures signed from Mickey Mouse plus balloons appeared in our room. That was so sweet of her to make this happen. It was also totally unexpected but a very nice surprise. I guess my point is that there still is some magic left and sometimes it smacks right into you and sometimes you need to look for it. Although we also had a very rude CM at the AK that snipped at me when I said no thankyou to doing her survey. I just thought to myself that she was a jerk and moved on. We also had a little problem at Chef Mickey's. Minnie herself was rushed and rushed through the pictures. We didn't even have the autograph books this time to sign. Just videotaping and cameras. She was gone so fast that there was not any videotaping done. I thought that if this is the only time she comes to the table I might be a little upset and just waited to see what would happen. She did appear again and this time I was able to videotape. It probably helped that we were there at 7:30 am so it really wasn't crowded. We also did CRT and the princesses were also very rushed coming two at a time and never came back again. I suppose we were alittle disappointed but were able to see Snow White and Sleeping Beauty in Epcot so that made up for it. I guess if this was our once in a lifetime trip I might have been more upset with CRT but since we own DVC and will be back before the end of the year we just shrugged it off. Our daughter was thrilled to be eating in the castle with her favorites. I don't think she noticed they rushed her and weren't as nice as last year. Oh well, maybe we'll have better luck next time.

Our one trip was so bad that I swore we were selling our DVC and would never return. I am glad now we didn't. I also made a promise to myself that if anything was really wrong with our accomodations that I would immediately have it corrected. Some CM's remain wonderful and some are burned out. I just try to stay away from the ones that are burned out. It is their loss, not mine. You will have a better trip next time, I can almost promise it!

P.S. Our sons also came back sick this time and are still sick. It's a bummer. On our "trip from hell" our one son was so sick that I don't think we would have felt any magic even if Mickey himself appeared at the door. Now if you ask our kids they had a "great trip" that one time. My spouse and I were amazed they would have ever felt like that! It was really miserable. Hopefully your child while feel the same and the bad memories will fade away for you. Better luck next time.

 

[PKS44]

Sorry to hear about your trip. I am no expert on viruses, but from what I understand most infections require an incubation time from the point you are exposed to the time you get symptoms...the virus gets on you, then into your cells then does some damage and then your body reacts which is when you feel ill....the time from exposure to feeling sick is usually 5 to 7 days or more (like what happened with your daughter) so it is unlikely you got sick from the room or the plane but rather you probably were exposed to something back home...most infections just dont spread quickly enough for people to develop symptoms so soon after exposure--which is why they can spread so easily they go spreading around from you before you feel sick--because you are not aware you are carrying the virus for days and days....
As for the people who get sick going home..that is more likely they could have caught it on the flight down or while they are at WDW..but if you get sick in the first few days --you probably brought it with you.

bottom line-wash hands and don't touch your face if you can help it.

Paul

 

[TwirlerGirl]

I totally understand, how sad to be sick when you have looked forward to this trip for a long time. We were at WDW staying at BCV's Dec 14 -19. We enjoyed the magic of the season and the resort. The BCV CM's were great, we were celebrating our 20th Anniversary, balloons and a card arrived the first night. I picked up a virus about mid week, the doctor called it a smart virus (definately not the flu), hard to treat. I was the lucky one, my DH had a horrible thing happen to him. He lost the sight in his right eye about the same time I started getting sick. Nearly blind, he kept it a secret; worried about me, we decided not to do the parks the last two days and just enjoyed the resort area. I know it's hard to find the magic when ill but we managed an unforgetable vacation. DH talked to a few CM's about the situation and we were treated very well. DH had emergency eye surgery on the Dec. 23rd - 6 holes behind the eye reparied, what caused they - we don't know. He's doing fine and returned to work today. It took me 2 weeks to recover from the virus, a nasty thing to get. Sometimes, magical moments are the ones we create for ourselves. I'm sure your next trip will be great.

Sandy

 

[bobbiwoz]

TwirlerGirl, I'm so glad your DH has recovered his sight. That's scary.

Bobbi

 

[OneMoreTry]

If you haven't had a magic-less trip then you haven't been to WDW much. It happens. It's just a consipiracy of events that blind us to what magic there is to be seen and focus us on the negative.

There is really no magic anyway. Just people treating people the way we should treat one another all the time, and the tremendous display of the beauty of the human imagination and spirit that exists at WDW.

It's a shame we don't have "magic" everywhere.

Or do we?

 

[wilderness01]

TwirlerGirl,

What a frightening story about your husband. So happy you both are doing better.

PKS44,

You are right about how to pick up a virus. Although it can appear in as little as 3-4 days. We make our kids wash their hands allllllllllllllllllll the time (I'm a RN and just can't help this habit) and our boys still got sick. They very well could have been walking by a sick person that sneezed, they breathed and well the rest is what it is today.....sick. Or they could have picked it up in the plane. Or they could have touched something, wiped their eye, etc. Who knows, but you are very righton about the handwashing. Wash, wash, wash. It can only help!

 

[Kelly Nelly]

I think part of the problem is that now a days people are just to demanding and will go after a cast member for any little thing that does not seem right. When a serious situation occurs ( like Lauras) the morale of all the CM are down tremendously because they just think you are another very demanding customer.That is my take on it all.

 

[WOW]

Sorry to hear that you and your daughter were sick. Hope that you are feeling better. As for the "Disney Magic", that happened to us once before we bought DVC in 1994. We used to always stay at the Poly and on one particular trip, the magic was not there. Some sort of an attitude thing going on there. I complained about it (not that our complaint made it better, there were probably many others) and have never experienced it again. Thank goodness. We bought after that in 1994 and have been "magically" blessed ever since. Hope that is the case here. I think they go through periods where the CM's aren't as nice as they should be. Please let Disney know of your experience and also any others should also let them know.