Hi all!! Nuwbee here so be nice.
Just got back from Disney World. Our party had my DW Katy (upper 30s <wink>), DS Alex (5), and it was their birthday trips. It also contained my twins, DD Hannah, and DS Nicholas that are almost two. We were there from 4/11 through 4/18 and stayed at Disney's All Star Movies. We were in building 10 the Toy Story building.
I want to start out by saying we had a wonderful time even if things didn't go perfect. You really have to work hard to have a BAD time at Disney. As I've said to my friends before, Disney just can't seem to foul much up. They do such a good job.
This trip was a little soured, and that's the reason I decided to post rather than just keep lurking here endlessly. I want those who are thinking and planning to give it one last thought. Let me preface this by saying traditionally Ive always argued that staying at one of Disneys resorts isnt that much more of an expense by the time you consider renting a car, gas, parking at the parks, car seats if you need them, ect. However, this time I was really proved wrong.
The buses werent running very well at all. Weve never had this experience there before. We waited as long as 45 minutes to an hour for a bus at times. One day the bus made several pickups on top of a long wait and it took us about 2 hours to get to the park. By the time we got into the park and got into things we'd lost 25% of a day. That's a big loss if you break down the ticket costs.
The resort food wasnt as good as it normally is, the lines were crazy long, and much of it is overly expensive. It took an easy half hour in line just to get the food and another 15 to get checked out. Getting breakfast and dinner at night was painful at best. In fact getting food at MK during prime time lunch actually went faster. Believe it or not. My wife timed me one night (after 9pm) while getting my son an ice cream cookie sandwich made for his birthday and it took 35 minutes. The staff wasnt really in good spirits at any point we were there. They were just going through the motions and not really happy to be there. Every one of the stations needed more staff. Almost everyone I met in line that week was upset with the lines. Not something you want after a long day at the park. You just want to eat and go to your room.
On our second to last day we had cockroaches in the room too. This was our first experience with that as well. I know Florida has their fair share of these crawlies, but even staying on the strip in some shabby places we never had that issue. It reminded me of the story where the family was paid not to say anything about bed bugs.
Finally, on my DS and DWs birthday, they were supposed to get cards. Now Disney asked us when we made reservations about the special day, and then I had to reconfirm it all at check in. They even went so far as to ask me what characters to put on the cards at check in. However, the day came and went with no recognition at all. When we got back to the room at 10:00 that night we expected that we end the day special for him. My DW called the front desk and we were told theyd send it right up. However, at 11:30 it still hadnt come and all were asleep. My DW went to the front desk and they denied saying that it would be there that night. We let it go, but they agreed to bring it the next day. When we got back the next day, there was a little card for my DS, but not my DW. AUGH. Now given every opportunity to make that screw up right wouldnt you think theyd get that right?
On leaving I stopped at the front desk and had a little chat. I never do this, but for the costs, I felt I had to if for nothing else then for others yet to come. I explained that the service has slipped altogether and we were disappointed in the resort this time. Truthfully, Im not sure he cared much, but took the notes like he should. He explained they had just had a meeting with the bus manager and they were correcting the bus situation, and the room would be sprayed for bugs. It doesnt really matter to us at this point since its taught us a very valuable lesson.
By staying off site, you are in control of when you get there and when you get home. You have way more options for eating, and youre not forced to look at the same menu and lousy service night after night. In the end it costs you less to stay off site, and you have more control over your schedule. While you dont get Disney 24/7, the flip side is you dont get Disney 24/7. If its not going well, you just go somewhere else next time. We had to endure this place all week.
Getting back to a positive note though, everyone in the party had a great time. Of course the twins had their melt downs naturally, mom and dads patience was tested, the DS wanted to do things we just didnt get time to do, and everyone was burned out by the end of the week. However, wasnt that the point though? Isn't that how you know you had fun?
gpshemi
Just got back from Disney World. Our party had my DW Katy (upper 30s <wink>), DS Alex (5), and it was their birthday trips. It also contained my twins, DD Hannah, and DS Nicholas that are almost two. We were there from 4/11 through 4/18 and stayed at Disney's All Star Movies. We were in building 10 the Toy Story building.
I want to start out by saying we had a wonderful time even if things didn't go perfect. You really have to work hard to have a BAD time at Disney. As I've said to my friends before, Disney just can't seem to foul much up. They do such a good job.
This trip was a little soured, and that's the reason I decided to post rather than just keep lurking here endlessly. I want those who are thinking and planning to give it one last thought. Let me preface this by saying traditionally Ive always argued that staying at one of Disneys resorts isnt that much more of an expense by the time you consider renting a car, gas, parking at the parks, car seats if you need them, ect. However, this time I was really proved wrong.
The buses werent running very well at all. Weve never had this experience there before. We waited as long as 45 minutes to an hour for a bus at times. One day the bus made several pickups on top of a long wait and it took us about 2 hours to get to the park. By the time we got into the park and got into things we'd lost 25% of a day. That's a big loss if you break down the ticket costs.
The resort food wasnt as good as it normally is, the lines were crazy long, and much of it is overly expensive. It took an easy half hour in line just to get the food and another 15 to get checked out. Getting breakfast and dinner at night was painful at best. In fact getting food at MK during prime time lunch actually went faster. Believe it or not. My wife timed me one night (after 9pm) while getting my son an ice cream cookie sandwich made for his birthday and it took 35 minutes. The staff wasnt really in good spirits at any point we were there. They were just going through the motions and not really happy to be there. Every one of the stations needed more staff. Almost everyone I met in line that week was upset with the lines. Not something you want after a long day at the park. You just want to eat and go to your room.
On our second to last day we had cockroaches in the room too. This was our first experience with that as well. I know Florida has their fair share of these crawlies, but even staying on the strip in some shabby places we never had that issue. It reminded me of the story where the family was paid not to say anything about bed bugs.
Finally, on my DS and DWs birthday, they were supposed to get cards. Now Disney asked us when we made reservations about the special day, and then I had to reconfirm it all at check in. They even went so far as to ask me what characters to put on the cards at check in. However, the day came and went with no recognition at all. When we got back to the room at 10:00 that night we expected that we end the day special for him. My DW called the front desk and we were told theyd send it right up. However, at 11:30 it still hadnt come and all were asleep. My DW went to the front desk and they denied saying that it would be there that night. We let it go, but they agreed to bring it the next day. When we got back the next day, there was a little card for my DS, but not my DW. AUGH. Now given every opportunity to make that screw up right wouldnt you think theyd get that right?
On leaving I stopped at the front desk and had a little chat. I never do this, but for the costs, I felt I had to if for nothing else then for others yet to come. I explained that the service has slipped altogether and we were disappointed in the resort this time. Truthfully, Im not sure he cared much, but took the notes like he should. He explained they had just had a meeting with the bus manager and they were correcting the bus situation, and the room would be sprayed for bugs. It doesnt really matter to us at this point since its taught us a very valuable lesson.
By staying off site, you are in control of when you get there and when you get home. You have way more options for eating, and youre not forced to look at the same menu and lousy service night after night. In the end it costs you less to stay off site, and you have more control over your schedule. While you dont get Disney 24/7, the flip side is you dont get Disney 24/7. If its not going well, you just go somewhere else next time. We had to endure this place all week.
Getting back to a positive note though, everyone in the party had a great time. Of course the twins had their melt downs naturally, mom and dads patience was tested, the DS wanted to do things we just didnt get time to do, and everyone was burned out by the end of the week. However, wasnt that the point though? Isn't that how you know you had fun?
gpshemi
