NOT the best trip:( And I HATE the busses. Never again.

[mom to minnie&mickey]

OP sorry to hear that your much anticipated trip did not turn out as planned.
It hurts to think of the effort and money you put into it only to come home upset. That being said I am not sure you can blame Disney for any of it. I think the hotel saw you upset and did their best to get your room ready ASAP. Any hotel you go to usually has a check-in time (meaning the room is ready) of about 3-4 p.m. You must have known the prices of Chef Mickeys
(I know they are outrageous if paying OOP) so that is not their fault. That you were sick and not eating is also not their fault. On that topic, why would you go to a restaurant, bus, theme park with the stomach flu and vomitting? I for one am definitely glad I or my family was not sitting near you. Who knows how many other innocent people caught the bug from you? The bus situation you described is another thing though. I know it is a hit or miss usually. You have to have patience and expect the unexpected when using public transit as some things are out of their control. I think it was very nice of Disney to allow you to change dates for the Christmas party. Not their fault that again someone was sick.
Hope everyone is feeling fine now and glad that your kids at least came home with good memories.

 

[vicki_c]

A few of my Disney friends call it bus "karma". Some trips you have good bus karma, some not so much. That's why we don't do the buses 99% of the time, because I'm not willing to take the chance.

Other than that, your family got sick or was sick before you left. Unfortunate, I agree. My DH was sick just 1 day on one of our trips and that was definitely a bummer.

As for all the rest - sounds like more misplaced expectations or something regarding the check-in, Chef Mickey's, Dumbo (normally at least a 60 minute wait if not at rope drop or some other isolated times throughout the day), etc. You got into your room early and got your non-refundable party tickets exchanged for another night. Which are good things.

I have never had a rude PP person or someone who refused to do a magic shot - not all PP cameras are equipped to do it, so maybe that's what they meant.

You really sound miserable about everything; I hope it was just caused by the stress of people being sick.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

Sorry to hear about the stomach flu, yikes that does suck anytime but on vacation That would be enough to put a serious damper on any vacation. I'll bet the next one will be much better, it would have to be, right Maybe many, many years from now you'll be able to laugh about the year you all got the plague at disney

We will be there in less than 2 weeks and I am bringing tons of hand sanitizer and lysol wipes. Our hands will be raw from non-stop washing. DD6 had a stomach bug on Saturday so hopefully she be immune

 

[goofy4tink]

After 5 or 6 trips to WDW, one would think that you knew how the system works. Rooms are never guaranteed before 3:00. That is the official checkin time. Even then you may still have to wait for a room. I can't imagine anyone telling you that you would be able to checkin and get right into a room at any time. Yes, many people have been lucky and been able to get into a room hours early. But, your time frame was at a very busy time of year. Not surprising a room wasn't available at noon. And to be upset that the room was ready '30 mins' later??? I'm sorry but that's just silly. The front desk has no idea when rooms are going to be ready. I've had them tell me 3 hrs and the room came availabe 10 mins later. I've had them tell me it will be less than an hour...and I'm still waiting after 3 hrs!! That's just the way it works.

As for the Chef Mickey's experience, if you frequent the dining boards you will find that many, including myself, feel that the quality of food has gone down there. You should have checked on pricing before you booked it.

And the buses??? They usually do a very good job of moving a lot of people around the area. Yes, sometimes there are longish waits. I would say that you got very unlucky in some of your waits. I have never waited more than 40 mins for a bus...and that was from DTD back to my resort.

I'm sure that while your ds 'said' he felt fine, the CMs could tell from looking at him that he wasn't fine. And can you blame them for not wanting to get up close and personal with someone that is obviously ill??
I feel your pain, I really do. After my mother passed away (7 years now), I took my then 10 y/o dd to WDW for a quick trip to boost her spirits..as well as mine. Well, as we were at DHS, she started feeling bad. I felt her head and she was burning up. We headed out immediatly. We stopped at the medical area to get some ibu for the fever. We spent the next two days in the room at POP...she slept for hours on end. I got a lot of reading done. Was it fun? Nope. But, it was what had to be done...my dd was sick and she needed to rest..so no parks for us. Yes, we missed two days out of five at WDW..but what can you do. That's the price of having kids. You just never know when they are going to get sick. And you had to know, going in, that there was a very good chance your kids would get the bug since one already had it.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

I am sorry your trip was less than magical. There is nothing worse than having sick peeps on vacation. We learned that the hard way, this exact time last year. 1/2 through our trip DS7 got sooo sick. DH and I took turns taking DD8 into the parks while the other stayed in the room at POP for the last 1/2 of our stay. Not exactly the most magical family vacation. . It is one of the many reasons we have crossed off the winter months for a WDW vacation. Despite doing everything you can, with that many people/kids during cold and flu season, it inevitably ends up being the *germiest place on earth*.

 

[cm8]

After 5 or 6 trips to WDW, one would think that you knew how the system works. Rooms are never guaranteed before 3:00. That is the official checkin time. Even then you may still have to wait for a room. I can't imagine anyone telling you that you would be able to checkin and get right into a room at any time. Yes, many people have been lucky and been able to get into a room hours early. But, your time frame was at a very busy time of year. Not surprising a room wasn't available at noon. And to be upset that the room was ready '30 mins' later??? I'm sorry but that's just silly. The front desk has no idea when rooms are going to be ready. I've had them tell me 3 hrs and the room came availabe 10 mins later. I've had them tell me it will be less than an hour...and I'm still waiting after 3 hrs!! That's just the way it works.

As for the Chef Mickey's experience, if you frequent the dining boards you will find that many, including myself, feel that the quality of food has gone down there. You should have checked on pricing before you booked it.

And the buses??? They usually do a very good job of moving a lot of people around the area. Yes, sometimes there are longish waits. I would say that you got very unlucky in some of your waits. I have never waited more than 40 mins for a bus...and that was from DTD back to my resort.

I'm sure that while your ds 'said' he felt fine, the CMs could tell from looking at him that he wasn't fine. And can you blame them for not wanting to get up close and personal with someone that is obviously ill??
I feel your pain, I really do. After my mother passed away (7 years now), I took my then 10 y/o dd to WDW for a quick trip to boost her spirits..as well as mine. Well, as we were at DHS, she started feeling bad. I felt her head and she was burning up. We headed out immediatly. We stopped at the medical area to get some ibu for the fever. We spent the next two days in the room at POP...she slept for hours on end. I got a lot of reading done. Was it fun? Nope. But, it was what had to be done...my dd was sick and she needed to rest..so no parks for us. Yes, we missed two days out of five at WDW..but what can you do. That's the price of having kids. You just never know when they are going to get sick. And you had to know, going in, that there was a very good chance your kids would get the bug since one already had it.

I agree with what she said ( the bold parts). I hope that at this time everyone in your family is feeling much better and you are as well. I know it does not go over easy when things do no go as we plan

 

[k5thbeatle]

Echoing every one else.

Some times you just have those trips that nothing seems to go right...

Sadly these times where nothing goes right are more and more common at WDW!

We always rent a car but to be truthful we usually stay at Beach Club and for the most part walk to almost any park or use monorail/boats. I don't think I've ever taken a bus except for maybe one time, which will also be my last time!

 

[sazzifrazz]

Why is it that anytime anyone states a negative opinion about Disney people just all over them?

 

[mariepapa]

Why is it that anytime anyone states a negative opinion about Disney people just all over them?

It was that she didn't seem to understand how check in worked, even after numerous trips. And going on a trip with a sick child would seem to indicate that it might not be the best trip to begin with. Then the other members of the family caught the virus. I can understand her frustration. Being sick on vacation is not fun.

The bus problem sounds like a typical problem when you have a really busy time and you are moving around THOUSANDS of people daily. She should have mentioned the hour and a half wait though.

 

[vicki_c]

Why is it that anytime anyone states a negative opinion about Disney people just all over them?

Because the majority of what the OP wrote wasn't the fault of Disney? I don't have a problem with valid complaints (like the extreme bus situation the OP mentioned - waiting over an hour), but I do think it's important to comment on complaints that are not valid.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Because the majority of what the OP wrote wasn't the fault of Disney? I don't have a problem with valid complaints (like the extreme bus situation the OP mentioned - waiting over an hour), but I do think it's important to comment on complaints that are not valid.

 

[drew64]

Why is it that anytime anyone states a negative opinion about Disney people just all over them?

Because some of it was unreasonable expectations and not in any way a Disney issue.

 

[Belleandtinker]

I can see how you were frustrated. My DH gets upset with the transportaion system every visit. He just wants to understand it.

Over the years, we (my DH and I) have come to some transportation agreements.

#1 We don't take the ME to the resort. Waiting for the ME to leave the airport drives us both completely crazy. We feel like we are wasting precious time. We'll use it at the end when we don't really care because we are tired.

#2 We allow ourselves taxis. We use this when going to a resort restaurant. We don't want to worry about the bus schedule and get all stressed out that we are going to be late for Chef Mickeys. We use a taxi 1 - 2 times per visit.

This has cut done on our transportation stress. We also plan to be at the bus station earlier than later.

Good luck next time.

 

[dlhvac]

Checkin time is 4pm for disney resorts they will let you check in early if room is avail.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

*Sunday, 12/5...I was told I could check into my hotel anytime. We got there at 11:30am. What they didn't tell me is that my room may not be ready. I'm sorry, but to me "check in" means go to my room. So we had just gotten off the plane and we had lunch reservations at T-Rex. We wanted to freshen up and change. Well, we couldn't. My boys ended up changing in the bathroom and they took our luggage and held it for us while we went to lunch. She told us the room would not be ready for a couple of hours. As soon as we got off the bus for DTD, they called and said our room was ready. Not even 30 minutes later. I was livid.

Sounds like you got some erroneous or incomplete information. Whoever told you this should have said that you can 'check-in' anytime, but that the room may not be ready until 3-4pm.

*Monday, Epcot day. My DS still was tired and not feeling 100% but he wanted to go to the park, so we did. Waited 30 minutes for a bus at the hotel. Ridiculous. WORST Mickey at the Visa meet and greet. He backed away from all my kids and was very standoffish. They rushed us through there too. Thankfully we had a great one at the Epcot character spot. They were all great there. We had a good day there and after he ate and got some fresh (freezing) air he was fine. Not a bad day.

I would definitely let Disney know about this. There was no reason for the characters to act like that.

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

*Wednesday, our last day... My DH is a saint. he got up and we all went to MK for the day. He somehow managed to get through a character breakfast. He trudged through the parks with us all day. We ahd no wait for any of the rides, but Dumbo was a 60 minute wait! We did not wait for that. Nothing else had lines like that. not even Space Mountain or Buzz. Craziness. We were leaving aroun dinnertime and saw Santa. He was AMAZING!!! Then that night on the way to Chef Mickey's, my baby projectile vomitted all over the bus. Luckily, this bus driver was awesome and really helped us out. I wanted to go back to the hotel, but was outvoted. The baby threw up again, but he is such a happy guy, he never fusses. Dinner was not so good. My oldest started to not feel well and barely ate. My middle son ate some mac and cheese and my DH some soup and salad. our bill was $152! That is insane. I was furious at the prices. Not to mention our waiter was rude, and the characters were awful.Photopass not very present and none would take a magic shot. Also some only took one or two shots and they are not that great. Some of them were really rude too.
So glad its over.

Ok so you took a vomiting kid to a restaurant full of kids and then got PO'd about the bill?! Seriously lady - get a grip!

And as far as your waiter being rude, the PP photographer being rude, the characters being rude, etc. - I gotta say I think your attitude has a lot to do with it.

 

[Satchmo128]

And as far as your waiter being rude, the PP photographer being rude, the characters being rude, etc. - I gotta say I think your attitude has a lot to do with it.

(I was kind of thinking the same thing, actually.....)

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

(I was kind of thinking the same thing, actually.....)

LOL - I'll bet you're not the only one!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Unfortunately, you can not control whether you or your kids get sick (you can try, but sometimes it happens!). It really sucks to have that happen on vacation but it's one of those uncontrollable circumstances that you just have to deal with.

It also sounds like you got some bad information and weren't as well informed about the prices of things. For any vacation, it's best to research prices and information before going.

I hope your family is feeling better.

 

[mollygirl13]

ok so you took a vomiting kid to a restaurant full of kids and then got po'd about the bill?! Seriously lady - get a grip!

And as far as your waiter being rude, the pp photographer being rude, the characters being rude, etc. - i gotta say i think your attitude has a lot to do with it.

ita