Magic? Not this time

[soupy11]

Some people really do get offended if disney has an off day dont they?

I wouldn't say that, it just seems the distant cousin (IOA and USO) have a terrible inferiority complex that brings out a lot of these types of posts. Bashing Disney as being dirty, or fast pass is a failure, etc. etc. When in fact, the vast majority of guests believe differently.

It seems to rub people the wrong way, almost as if it was an attempt to slander someone's good name.

 

[soupy11]

i spent 10 full days at disney in late sept/early oct.
i was getting bored on the 6th day. i really enjoyed some of the things such as tower of terror, everest expedition and soaring.

i took busses everywhere and boy, was that time consuming.
it really ate up my park time, nevermind the amount of waiting just to get on the bus.

i went to animal kingdom so i could do the everest ride. left there for the bus stop to get back to my hotel. from my hotel took another bus to get to mgm so i could ride tot....

i know i could have taken a bus from ak direct to mgm but that bus never came. i was at the all star bus stop for 40 minutes before my bus came. the one for mgm never did show up while i was there.

just for me to do 2 special rides it took me over 2 hours just to get to those parks. it's just not worth it. no ride is worth wasting that much time on in mho. i did not want to have to rent a car just to drive to the parks. then i would have to deal with the parking and cost of a rental.
it's not like i could walk to the parks, they are so spread out and that would be impossible. so, i'm stuck with the busses when i am at disney.

i can remember going to disney when it was just the magic kingdom. it was very doable then but it didn't take more than a day to do it all.

it's a shame the bus service is not as dependable to get you where you want to go within a reasonable amount of time.

all that down time really took away from the pleasure of being on vacation.

i almost lost my 5:00pm ohana adr over the bus service. i was at the bus stop at 3:55 one afternoon from my hotel. (when i made my adr, i was told to give myself one hour for transportation to get to the poly for ohana's.)

i guess late afternoon the busses don't run as frequent as the bus did not arrive until 4:25. then it had to stop at the other two sister resorts.
i did not get to the magic kingdom until 4:55. had to run to the monorail to catch the resort line to get to the poly. did not make it to ohana until 5:15.

i checked in and was told i was late but they would seat me if i waited.
i know i was late but did not think it would have taken me from 3:55 until 5:15 using the bus service to reach my destination. that's more than the hour i was told to give myself time for.

i could have taken a taxi from the hotel to the poly. just didn't think it would have been necessary since i was told disney bus service is fine.

it's not easy to relax when you have to worry about "is the bus going to get me there in time" feeling.

RENT A CAR!

Simple fix. Although with just a small investment of time and study, it is really quite simple to plan around the busses. The place is huge and has the infrastructure of a small town. You can't expect chauffeur level service.


There have been a few nice selling jobs here, not enough for me to buy in as I have been to IOA and USO, and they don't offer a tenth of the magic or value that WDW does. GO DISNEY GO !!!! BOO IOA BOO!!!!

 

[macraven]

RENT A CAR!

Simple fix. Although with just a small investment of time and study, it is really quite simple to plan around the busses. The place is huge and has the infrastructure of a small town. You can't expect chauffeur level service.

why would you say rent a car after i already stated i did not want to rent a car?

that is not the solution to my transportation issues.

 

[noodleknitter]

But if you have "transportation issues" then there are only a couple of solutions. Rent or get a taxi. Or you can enjoy the process if you are unwilling to do either. Or complain, which adds nothing positive.

OP, I'm sorry you didn't have a lovely day! Kids are funny! Especially if you raise them to think for themselves! I have one that is a US fan, also. All the others have been brainwashed by me!

 

[macraven]

But if you have "transportation issues" then there are only a couple of solutions. Rent or get a taxi. Or you can enjoy the process if you are unwilling to do either. Or complain, which adds nothing positive.

OP, I'm sorry you didn't have a lovely day! Kids are funny! Especially if you raise them to think for themselves! I have one that is a US fan, also. All the others have been brainwashed by me!

i don't think anyone really reads my crap......


will not be renting a car.



i'm definitely not a newbie for disney.
i have been going since 1974 to disney.......and since 1993 have been going once or twice a year. have not missed a year there yet.

so, i am well versed about disney transportation. i have used all possible ways but still say the bus service for the value resorts stink.
they do not follow the schedule the guests are told many times.

while i stay on site for 10 nights each trip, i rather not have to pay $$$ for taxi service. i park hop, can you imagine the costs that i would end up with at the end of the night? a lot.

you all can continue to talk about the transportation if you like.
i know how it has been for us and not going to keep rehashing it here.

think i rather spend the energy talking about my favorite football team at this point. my baseball team won the world series so no going back to that topic ........


oops, sorry to the op for hijacking the thread.
will let it get back on track now

 

[KEW80]

Why can't we coexist? My first experience to Orlando was WDW. Stayed at the Contemporary in a suite and loved it! Returned every year alternating between Contemp and Dolphin. Loved it! Feet swelled and hurt! But loved it. Then one year at the end of our WDW trip my niece suggested we add Universal to the end of our trip. Okay! An amusement park! I hate amusement parks cause I don't do crazy rides but they were driving and I was a passenger so we said ok. Six years in a row to WDW why not give it a try... She booked a room at either a Days Inn or Comfort Inn. GROSS!!!!!!
When I say it was disgusting I am not exaggerating! How about black gooo oozing out from under the mat in the shower.... No way we were staying there. That year the Portofino opened. We called from that rat motel and got a room. Words cannot express the feeling that came over me when I looked over the Piazza from the balcony outside of the main lobby of that hotel. I thought I was in Italy! We had FOTL and walked on to every ride! It was fantastic! The theme parks were great. I thought it combined the best of WDW'ish attractions with thrill rides in the mix. We have gone back to UO every year since, sometimes 2x's in the same year. PBH and HRH are where we stay. Always rent a Cabana and my feet never swell!!! This year we are going back to WDW and staying at the Dolphin because we want to. We need a Disney fix which will probably last us another seven years. We like the fireworks and the parades! And we really like Epcot and World Showcase. I enjoy Disney for those reasons. I love Universal for it's relaxing laid back kind of strangely exciting place that it is. Can't we all just coexist?

 

[disneyjunkie]

You all know this is a joke right?

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1282466

 

[kpk89]

 

[noodleknitter]

Trolling. Should'a known.

But, have at it if that is what trips your trigger.

macraven...I still believe that if you don't want to change the behavior...learn to enjoy the process.

 

[Bobb-O]

JOKE

I DON'T THINK SO

 

[disneyjunkie]

JOKE

I DON'T THINK SO

This thread was started on a dare,to stir the pot.

I don't see why the Disney lovers and the Universal lovers just can't agree that different people like different things.

 

[MagicForMe]

I paid $149 a night to stay at Royal Pacific last month.

Was that rack rate? I doubt it. I'm comparing rack rate at Disney to rack rate at Universal. Disney offers some amazing discounts too with deluxe rates for as low as 150 per night and value resorts down to 50 dollars or less some nights. But the fair comparison is to compare rack with rack. Thanks.

 

[OhMari]

This isn't a name calling or a debate board, it is a Trip Report Board. Please keep it civil. The OP just made a statement in his Trip Report and we have to take the good with the bad concerning WDW.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Was that rack rate? I doubt it. I'm comparing rack rate at Disney to rack rate at Universal. Disney offers some amazing discounts too with deluxe rates for as low as 150 per night and value resorts down to 50 dollars or less some nights. But the fair comparison is to compare rack with rack. Thanks.

Why in the world would I have to compare rack rates? I dont pay rack rates. I have NEVER paid a rack rate at Universal and I travel there during different seasons each year. I'm guessing you want to compare rack rates due to the fact that Disney offers so few discounted rates. If you did want to compare the rack rates I believe you will find Disneys to be much higher. Make sure you compare Grand Floridian, Poly and Contemporary and not just AKL and Wilderness Lodge since we all know those are the cheaper deluxes and rightfully so. Thanks.

Just for the heck of it, I looked.

Portofino Bay
Gardenview - Dec 12-15 $259 Rack Rate - $154 Annual Pass Rate

Grand Floridian
Gardenview - Dec 12-15 $375 Rack Rate - $304 Annual Pass Rate

 

[chipndale!!!!]

My teens (almost 16)LOVE Disney but I must admit we send the least amount of time at EPCOT. Perhaps because it's not MY favorite park

They are boys and much prefer the rides at MGM with the Rockin Roller Coaster and TOT. Magic Kingdom and AK are next in that order, although with expedition Everest AK may go up past MK. I'll let you know next month.


TK

i totally agree with that, im 14 and every year when we go my mom drags me to epcot (her favorite park) and walks around world showcase for an hour and i get really bored so i can see your kids saying that if thats all you do but rockin roller coaster and tot are some of my favorite rides ever and ive been to ioa which was kool but cant compare to disney

ps i dont think theres supposed to be "magic" at us and ioa its just a theme park its not disney

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Why in the world would I have to compare rack rates? I dont pay rack rates. I have NEVER paid a rack rate at Universal and I travel there during different seasons each year. I'm guessing you want to compare rack rates due to the fact that Disney offers so few discounted rates. If you did want to compare the rack rates I believe you will find Disneys to be much higher. Make sure you compare Grand Floridian, Poly and Contemporary and not just AKL and Wilderness Lodge since we all know those are the cheaper deluxes and rightfully so. Thanks.

Just for the heck of it, I looked.

Portofino Bay
Gardenview - Dec 12-15 $259 Rack Rate - $154 Annual Pass Rate

Grand Floridian
Gardenview - Dec 12-15 $375 Rack Rate - $304 Annual Pass Rate

We too got the Royal Pacific for $149 for Sept/Oct. It was so relaxing and my kids (6 &9) didn't mind the walk to IOA. We all loved the water taxi ride too. This was our 1st trip to Orlando, out of 9 total, that had no Disney in it except 1 day at Blizzard Beach. Now that ds is almost 10 I think we'll be gradually spending more time at IOA. The FOTL privileges were the icing on the cake and worth every penny of that $149! Literally walked right onto the Hulk 4 times in a row! Next trip will probably be a little of both. I just can't decide of I should get the $85 for 7 days tix or wait and maybe they'll offer the deal we had last time. $99 for 7 days and when you buy an adult ticket you get a free kids ticket!! Awesome deal!

 

[disneyjunkie]

I'll never be able to advantage of those rates. We only travel during school break. When I call to check prices, the rates are much more than I'm willing pay.

I'd be happy to pay $150.00

 

[Fan2CSkr]

I'll never be able to advantage of those rates. We only travel during school break. When I call to check prices, the rates are much more than I'm willing pay.

I'd be happy to pay $150.00

I see by your past and upcomming trips you travel in Aug-Sept, we go then also and rates are very reasonable.

 

[macraven]

I'll never be able to advantage of those rates. We only travel during school break. When I call to check prices, the rates are much more than I'm willing pay.

I'd be happy to pay $150.00

if you have the AAA card, you can get a decent discount on the on site universal hotels. you can also receive discounts on all foods and merch in the UO parks and some of the resturants in city walk. also discounts on park tickets. you don't have to have the ap for room discounts, aaa is honored also.

i paid $149 at rph last month and it was regular season for the hotels.
for disney last month, it cost $89 for me at the value resort. no discount, their ap costs too much for me. i have had one in the past but only when i would make two trips in the same year time period for it to pay off for us.
the ap has raised a lot more in the last 2 years. i try to catch codes when i can for their hotels.

i feel i get more for my buck on the hotels at UO. its 4.5 star hotels for 149 a night. at disney all stars, its 89 a night without a discount code.
i'm not in my room much when i am at disney but am when i am at UO

 

[disneyjunkie]

When I've called to check Universal prices, the lowest rate I've been quoted has been $250.00 per night.(last two trips were during spring break) We're not in the room long enough to justify that kind of room rate.

The last trip listed in my signature will be our free dining trip.(I hope ) so staying on site at Universal isn't an option then.

I've pretty much given up on getting a great room rate at Universal but I am looking forward to visiting the parks