Srbright
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2012
- Messages
- 747
We just returned from a 7 night stay at CBR using the deluxe dining plan (free regular upgraded to DxDDP), Memory Maker & FP+.
First the bad:
We weren't overly thrilled with CBR for a couple of reasons.
1) Lackluster housekeeping: The most they did was make the bed. Usually they arrange the bath mat nicely and display the soaps and shampoo on it. Most of the time they didn't even make the little triangle out of the toilet paper. Yes, I know, 1st world problems. My feelings about this during the week were tempered when we stopped at guest relations to check that our dining credits were available because we had checked in over the phone (see below) and the tablet like thingy (the scientific term IS "thingy") said that CBR had 97% occupancy rate. That's a lot of people.
2) Resort bus service: We waited more than 30 minutes for an internal resort bus on our 2nd day. We had two reservations, 1 night room only & 6 night free dining. They were able to get us into the same room for both reservations but said that we had to check back in the second day to activate our dining credits. I ended up calling the number I had found to the front desk and they were able to check us in over the phone so that we could go to Epcot that morning and not have to go to the customs house. They apologized and said that they buses are supposed to run every 15-20 minutes.
THEN We missed our Magical Express time on the way back because we were waiting for the resort bus. See above; we were told all buses run 15-20 minutes and this held true through out the stay. However, on our checkout day we waited...and waited...and waited... at 8:25 (our magical express time) we had been waiting over 30 minutes for a bus and none appeared. We talked to the concierge when we finally got to the customs house and they said no, internal resort buses are 30+ minutes. Get your stories straight people! Hindsight being 20-20, we should have been at the bus stop 40 minutes early but I believed them when they said 15-20 minutes. They were able to fit us on the next DME bus 20 mins later and we made it to MCO in plenty of time.
Memory Maker: Even though we were all wearing our magic bands and we had memory maker attached to the account, there are no videos (for either TT or 7DMT) on the account and it's been 3+ days.
7DMT: Such a vapid ride for so much hype and we told the people doing surveys at the end of the ride this. We had FP+ so we walked right on (past a 70 minute wait time standby line).
******************************
The good:
FP+!!!!! I know that's an anathema here but our experience was wonderful. We have done 1 trip with FP-, one during the test with both FP+ and the paper FP and now one with just FP+. While the test was the best (6 FP's all at once, no tiers) we know realistically that couldn't last. We loved FP+ more than we ever did FP-.
Pros:
1) Not having to get up at 6:30 AM on vacation to make sure we got to the park in time to get a paper fast pass.
2) Getting A&E for 4 people two days before we left
3) Not having to walk to a ride (like EE) to get a FP- only to have to walk BACK to the ride to ride it again later. I looked at the layout of the park and scheduled the way we tour. For example, for AK, I scheduled Safari, then Kali River Rapids then EE, taking us in a clockwise rotation so we didn't' have to double back. We started out with breakfast at TH and ended at Dinosaur. This was the same with MK and Epcot. For Epcot I scheduled Test Track and Mission Space, then the Seas with Nemo. We spent a few hours on the left side, moved to the right side, then went around and did F&W in the WS.
As soon as our 3 were done we were able to get more each day. The most we waited in line for a Kiosk was 5 minutes and these were on level 5&6 park days. We got Space Mountain, BTMRR, Test Track a 2nd time (could have gotten Mission Space, but too much wine at the F&W). The only thing we couldn't get a 4th or 5th fast pass for was Soarin' and 7DMT
Cons:
Not enough people know about FP+. I can't tell you how many times we walked past a 45+ minute line and heard people talk about how they didn't understand why we were in that line and that it "wasn't fair" (I kid you not) that they let some people go quicker than others. Yes, I'm a planner, but we stopped and helped 4-5 people with the FP+ and the MB while we were there. I can't believe people spend they money they do on WDW and don't at least read the website and all of the papers they send you. We even got a dumbo magnet this year telling us when to make dining reservations, when to schedule FP+ & when to do online check-in.
MNSSHP: This is our 3rd year in a row, the first one in October. Usually we go in the first couple of weeks of September. The show was sold out but other than the fireworks the place was not crowded and the lines were walk on for the most part. The only exception was PoC which had been down and so the line was long.
The Lion King: This was our first year watching it and we loved it!!!!!
Stacy
First the bad:
We weren't overly thrilled with CBR for a couple of reasons.
1) Lackluster housekeeping: The most they did was make the bed. Usually they arrange the bath mat nicely and display the soaps and shampoo on it. Most of the time they didn't even make the little triangle out of the toilet paper. Yes, I know, 1st world problems. My feelings about this during the week were tempered when we stopped at guest relations to check that our dining credits were available because we had checked in over the phone (see below) and the tablet like thingy (the scientific term IS "thingy") said that CBR had 97% occupancy rate. That's a lot of people.
2) Resort bus service: We waited more than 30 minutes for an internal resort bus on our 2nd day. We had two reservations, 1 night room only & 6 night free dining. They were able to get us into the same room for both reservations but said that we had to check back in the second day to activate our dining credits. I ended up calling the number I had found to the front desk and they were able to check us in over the phone so that we could go to Epcot that morning and not have to go to the customs house. They apologized and said that they buses are supposed to run every 15-20 minutes.
THEN We missed our Magical Express time on the way back because we were waiting for the resort bus. See above; we were told all buses run 15-20 minutes and this held true through out the stay. However, on our checkout day we waited...and waited...and waited... at 8:25 (our magical express time) we had been waiting over 30 minutes for a bus and none appeared. We talked to the concierge when we finally got to the customs house and they said no, internal resort buses are 30+ minutes. Get your stories straight people! Hindsight being 20-20, we should have been at the bus stop 40 minutes early but I believed them when they said 15-20 minutes. They were able to fit us on the next DME bus 20 mins later and we made it to MCO in plenty of time.
Memory Maker: Even though we were all wearing our magic bands and we had memory maker attached to the account, there are no videos (for either TT or 7DMT) on the account and it's been 3+ days.
7DMT: Such a vapid ride for so much hype and we told the people doing surveys at the end of the ride this. We had FP+ so we walked right on (past a 70 minute wait time standby line).
******************************
The good:
FP+!!!!! I know that's an anathema here but our experience was wonderful. We have done 1 trip with FP-, one during the test with both FP+ and the paper FP and now one with just FP+. While the test was the best (6 FP's all at once, no tiers) we know realistically that couldn't last. We loved FP+ more than we ever did FP-.
Pros:
1) Not having to get up at 6:30 AM on vacation to make sure we got to the park in time to get a paper fast pass.
2) Getting A&E for 4 people two days before we left
3) Not having to walk to a ride (like EE) to get a FP- only to have to walk BACK to the ride to ride it again later. I looked at the layout of the park and scheduled the way we tour. For example, for AK, I scheduled Safari, then Kali River Rapids then EE, taking us in a clockwise rotation so we didn't' have to double back. We started out with breakfast at TH and ended at Dinosaur. This was the same with MK and Epcot. For Epcot I scheduled Test Track and Mission Space, then the Seas with Nemo. We spent a few hours on the left side, moved to the right side, then went around and did F&W in the WS.
As soon as our 3 were done we were able to get more each day. The most we waited in line for a Kiosk was 5 minutes and these were on level 5&6 park days. We got Space Mountain, BTMRR, Test Track a 2nd time (could have gotten Mission Space, but too much wine at the F&W). The only thing we couldn't get a 4th or 5th fast pass for was Soarin' and 7DMT
Cons:
Not enough people know about FP+. I can't tell you how many times we walked past a 45+ minute line and heard people talk about how they didn't understand why we were in that line and that it "wasn't fair" (I kid you not) that they let some people go quicker than others. Yes, I'm a planner, but we stopped and helped 4-5 people with the FP+ and the MB while we were there. I can't believe people spend they money they do on WDW and don't at least read the website and all of the papers they send you. We even got a dumbo magnet this year telling us when to make dining reservations, when to schedule FP+ & when to do online check-in.
MNSSHP: This is our 3rd year in a row, the first one in October. Usually we go in the first couple of weeks of September. The show was sold out but other than the fireworks the place was not crowded and the lines were walk on for the most part. The only exception was PoC which had been down and so the line was long.
The Lion King: This was our first year watching it and we loved it!!!!!
Stacy
However, I bet I had to explain FP+ at least once a day while we were in Disney. For a system that cost SO much money to implement, and has caused stress for SO many, I was astounded that there seemed to be the usual level of "why are THEY jumping the line, why do WE have to wait, I heard that those passes cost $100 each" as there was when legacy fastpass was the norm. Before going to WDW this time, I thought that FP+ was making the veteran Disney folks angry, but honestly, after standing in lines and listening to those waiting, I think there are more people angry over not KNOWING about FP+! It was bizarre!
