aprincessmom
Huh?
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2000
- Messages
- 1,921
DD and I just returned from a quick trip to SeaWorld and WDW. I've been to WDW over 15 times and DD, age 9, has been 4 times previously so a quick trip is okay with us. We did Monday through Friday and as the week went on, it got much, much more crowded. Lots and lots of rain with great thunder and lightning but we had a good time.
Stayed our first two days at the Renassiance across from SeaWorld. What a great hotel! The staff there was excellent...very accomodating and friendly. When the woman checking us in heard DD was swimming with the dolphins the next day, she reached under the desk and presented her with a stuffed Shamu toy and said "Don't forget to go see the star of the the show when you're done!". We were on the club level and it was open all day (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.), well stocked for breakfast (we weren't around during the evening session) and they had plenty of cold bottled water throughout the day.
SeaWorld and Discovery Cove were our first targets. We did the Swim with Dolphins at DC and would highly recommend this park and this experience to anyone. Truly a wonderful experience...ticket price is high but it comes with a 7 day pass to SeaWorld and/or Busch Garden (they even have a shuttle from SeaWorld to BG that you can take advantage of). DC was clean, clean, clean...the staff was extremely friendly, the food (lunch is included) was very good, plenty of places to sit (shaded or in the sun), plenty of floatation toys and life vests, etc. The dolphin swim is a great experience. We had 6 people in our group and plenty of interaction with Thelma, our dolphin. DD has been dying to do this since she was little and the experience sent her over the moon. And when she kissed Thelma and rubbed her forehead, Thelma's tail curled right up and she gave her a some happy clicking noises. Needless to say, DD was thrilled.
We also enjoyed snorkeling in the reef pool and playing with the rays. The lazy river was a great, relaxing way to spend time. And we would have spent more but for the National Weather Advisory that forced everyone out of the water. Just in time, too, because a huge bolt of lightning followed immediately by an enormous crack of thunder made things pretty hairy. The staff at DC, when they saw us waiting for our shuttle back to the hotel, called the hotel to cancel it and took us on their own shuttle saying it was too dangerous for us to be waiting that long given the weather. That was a surprise to us.
The storm blew over in an hour and while it was still raining, we didn't feel like being in our hotel all evening so we headed to SeaWorld for dinner and shows. We had fun checking out the sea lions and seals, petting the dolphins and rays (can't get enough of that
), had some dinner, saw the evening Shamu show and went back to the hotel because we were tired.
Packed up and checked out easily the next day because we were changing hotels to the Dolphin (sensing a theme here?). Drove across the street and parked at SeaWorld and spent a good portion of the day here seeing shows, feeding sea lions and seals, riding Journey To Atlantis (DD's first time), and just enjoying the park. I have to say here that DC and SeaWorld were immaculate...all day long bathrooms and walks were clean, no overflowing trash containers, friendly staff. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. But soon the clouds rolled in with the thunder and lightning and we decided to head to WDW and the Dolphin.
Check in was a bit of a hassle....lots of people checking in and not too many staff members to check them in. Got to our room (Concierge) and was disappointed. There was a huge hole in the ceiling around the sprinkler (about 4 inches around the opening where you could see up into the ceiling with all the wiring and insulation), there was mold and dirt all over the carpet by the far end of the desk and a big stain on the couch -- looked like wine. I called the front desk to see if we could change but we were told they were full so this wasn't possible. Oh well...the view of the Boardwalk, Swan and Disney Studios made up for the little inconveniences.
Our plan had been to swim in the pool and then shower and venture to the Boardwalk but the rain and thunder put the kibosh on the pool. We did venture out to the Boardwalk at around 7:30 once the heavy rain stopped. It was just drizzling at this point so it wasn't bad for walking around. We visited the shops, ate at Spoodles (Gary was our waiter and he was excellent), and watched a bit of Illuminations from the bridge. The heat and rain had us a bit tired so we headed back to the hotel to rest up for our day at Typhoon Lagoon.
Typhoon Lagoon was great fun! I would recommend water shoes of some sort...between the concrete bottomed wave pool and the hot walk ways, they were a godsend. We loved the lazy river, the wave pool, Keelhaul Falls, Mayday Falls, the storm slides and we were just on our way to Crusher and Gusher when, you guessed it, National Weather Advisory pulled us all out of the pool. The staff which had been pretty lackidasical and not very friendly to this point, kicked into gear and had everyone out of the water within minutes. Good thing because the thunder and lightning came quickly and was right on top of us. Again, the thunder and lightning were hitting simultaneously and it was a deluge. But we managed to get the bus and head back. One thing we noted was the amount of trash people leave behind and how the trash barrels in some areas were overflowing. And this was early in the day. Also the bathrooms by about 11 were really icky.
Once the storm subsided, we took showers and headed to EPCOT (DD's choice...she loves the world showcase). It was still raining pretty steadily so we broke out the umbrella and poncho because it seemed like a waste to sit inside and watch the rain pour down.
DD and I were quite surprised at how dirty EPCOT was compared to SeaWorld. The bathrooms were disgusting and it was only about 3 in the afternoon. Trash barrels were overflowing and people -- both guests and CMs were rude and fairly unfriendly. DD did Kidcot but we were disheartnened by the number of adults who just pushed children out of the way with hand fulls of masks to be stamped and signed. There is nothing sadder than watching young children waiting patiently for their turn in line only to have an adult or two push their way to the front and demand specific colors for the hanging pieces and ask to have specific messages written on the back of masks. It was maddening...maddening enough that one of the fathers standing with his children and I told a set of people (this was the 3rd time they had done this that we had seen) to get to the end of the line and wait their turn. We were told they paid good money for this and they had just as much right to get the masks.
I heard that refrain at least 10-12 times during this trip when people were asked to sit down because they were blocking a view or to go to the end of the line. Even DD was surprised by this attitude and she's only 9. There was also a lot of yelling, swearing, hitting, pinching and general anger on display by so many guests...I don't know that WDW should continue advertising itself as the happiest place on earth because you certainly couldn't prove it by our observations.
We had dinner in Mexico and it was excellent...great service and good food. We got some nice pastries in France and watched Illuminations...again, the experience was marred by some pretty ugly behavior by one family in particular but the show itself was spectacular. Upon leaving EPCOT I asked DD if she wanted to go to MK the next day (we had a very late flight so we had the whole day to play) and she said "No...this isn't the Disney I remember. It's so dirty and the people aren't very nice. Let's go back to SeaWorld."
And that's what we did. We swam at the pool in the morning until about 10, took quick showers and checked out, headed to SeaWorld and spent the rest of the day seeing our favorite exhibits and shows, having a relaxing lunch and do some people watching and shopping.
OVERALL:
DD and I concur that we will be thinking long and hard before going back to WDW. I don't know why but this time it was not a very magical experience...the guests were rude and ignorant, the CMs weren't especially helpful or friendly (except the ones who work on tips who were exceedingly gracious and pleasant), and the parks were dirty. On the other hand, we had a marvelous experience at both Discovery Cove and SeaWorld and would definitely go back to both in a heart beat. Perhaps it's because of the limited entry at DC or the smaller crowds at SeaWorld...no matter the reason, it was a much more enjoyable experience. But, as always, any vacation is still better than a day at work!
Stayed our first two days at the Renassiance across from SeaWorld. What a great hotel! The staff there was excellent...very accomodating and friendly. When the woman checking us in heard DD was swimming with the dolphins the next day, she reached under the desk and presented her with a stuffed Shamu toy and said "Don't forget to go see the star of the the show when you're done!". We were on the club level and it was open all day (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.), well stocked for breakfast (we weren't around during the evening session) and they had plenty of cold bottled water throughout the day.
SeaWorld and Discovery Cove were our first targets. We did the Swim with Dolphins at DC and would highly recommend this park and this experience to anyone. Truly a wonderful experience...ticket price is high but it comes with a 7 day pass to SeaWorld and/or Busch Garden (they even have a shuttle from SeaWorld to BG that you can take advantage of). DC was clean, clean, clean...the staff was extremely friendly, the food (lunch is included) was very good, plenty of places to sit (shaded or in the sun), plenty of floatation toys and life vests, etc. The dolphin swim is a great experience. We had 6 people in our group and plenty of interaction with Thelma, our dolphin. DD has been dying to do this since she was little and the experience sent her over the moon. And when she kissed Thelma and rubbed her forehead, Thelma's tail curled right up and she gave her a some happy clicking noises. Needless to say, DD was thrilled.
We also enjoyed snorkeling in the reef pool and playing with the rays. The lazy river was a great, relaxing way to spend time. And we would have spent more but for the National Weather Advisory that forced everyone out of the water. Just in time, too, because a huge bolt of lightning followed immediately by an enormous crack of thunder made things pretty hairy. The staff at DC, when they saw us waiting for our shuttle back to the hotel, called the hotel to cancel it and took us on their own shuttle saying it was too dangerous for us to be waiting that long given the weather. That was a surprise to us.
The storm blew over in an hour and while it was still raining, we didn't feel like being in our hotel all evening so we headed to SeaWorld for dinner and shows. We had fun checking out the sea lions and seals, petting the dolphins and rays (can't get enough of that
), had some dinner, saw the evening Shamu show and went back to the hotel because we were tired.Packed up and checked out easily the next day because we were changing hotels to the Dolphin (sensing a theme here?). Drove across the street and parked at SeaWorld and spent a good portion of the day here seeing shows, feeding sea lions and seals, riding Journey To Atlantis (DD's first time), and just enjoying the park. I have to say here that DC and SeaWorld were immaculate...all day long bathrooms and walks were clean, no overflowing trash containers, friendly staff. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. But soon the clouds rolled in with the thunder and lightning and we decided to head to WDW and the Dolphin.
Check in was a bit of a hassle....lots of people checking in and not too many staff members to check them in. Got to our room (Concierge) and was disappointed. There was a huge hole in the ceiling around the sprinkler (about 4 inches around the opening where you could see up into the ceiling with all the wiring and insulation), there was mold and dirt all over the carpet by the far end of the desk and a big stain on the couch -- looked like wine. I called the front desk to see if we could change but we were told they were full so this wasn't possible. Oh well...the view of the Boardwalk, Swan and Disney Studios made up for the little inconveniences.
Our plan had been to swim in the pool and then shower and venture to the Boardwalk but the rain and thunder put the kibosh on the pool. We did venture out to the Boardwalk at around 7:30 once the heavy rain stopped. It was just drizzling at this point so it wasn't bad for walking around. We visited the shops, ate at Spoodles (Gary was our waiter and he was excellent), and watched a bit of Illuminations from the bridge. The heat and rain had us a bit tired so we headed back to the hotel to rest up for our day at Typhoon Lagoon.
Typhoon Lagoon was great fun! I would recommend water shoes of some sort...between the concrete bottomed wave pool and the hot walk ways, they were a godsend. We loved the lazy river, the wave pool, Keelhaul Falls, Mayday Falls, the storm slides and we were just on our way to Crusher and Gusher when, you guessed it, National Weather Advisory pulled us all out of the pool. The staff which had been pretty lackidasical and not very friendly to this point, kicked into gear and had everyone out of the water within minutes. Good thing because the thunder and lightning came quickly and was right on top of us. Again, the thunder and lightning were hitting simultaneously and it was a deluge. But we managed to get the bus and head back. One thing we noted was the amount of trash people leave behind and how the trash barrels in some areas were overflowing. And this was early in the day. Also the bathrooms by about 11 were really icky.
Once the storm subsided, we took showers and headed to EPCOT (DD's choice...she loves the world showcase). It was still raining pretty steadily so we broke out the umbrella and poncho because it seemed like a waste to sit inside and watch the rain pour down.
DD and I were quite surprised at how dirty EPCOT was compared to SeaWorld. The bathrooms were disgusting and it was only about 3 in the afternoon. Trash barrels were overflowing and people -- both guests and CMs were rude and fairly unfriendly. DD did Kidcot but we were disheartnened by the number of adults who just pushed children out of the way with hand fulls of masks to be stamped and signed. There is nothing sadder than watching young children waiting patiently for their turn in line only to have an adult or two push their way to the front and demand specific colors for the hanging pieces and ask to have specific messages written on the back of masks. It was maddening...maddening enough that one of the fathers standing with his children and I told a set of people (this was the 3rd time they had done this that we had seen) to get to the end of the line and wait their turn. We were told they paid good money for this and they had just as much right to get the masks.
I heard that refrain at least 10-12 times during this trip when people were asked to sit down because they were blocking a view or to go to the end of the line. Even DD was surprised by this attitude and she's only 9. There was also a lot of yelling, swearing, hitting, pinching and general anger on display by so many guests...I don't know that WDW should continue advertising itself as the happiest place on earth because you certainly couldn't prove it by our observations.
We had dinner in Mexico and it was excellent...great service and good food. We got some nice pastries in France and watched Illuminations...again, the experience was marred by some pretty ugly behavior by one family in particular but the show itself was spectacular. Upon leaving EPCOT I asked DD if she wanted to go to MK the next day (we had a very late flight so we had the whole day to play) and she said "No...this isn't the Disney I remember. It's so dirty and the people aren't very nice. Let's go back to SeaWorld."
And that's what we did. We swam at the pool in the morning until about 10, took quick showers and checked out, headed to SeaWorld and spent the rest of the day seeing our favorite exhibits and shows, having a relaxing lunch and do some people watching and shopping.
OVERALL:
DD and I concur that we will be thinking long and hard before going back to WDW. I don't know why but this time it was not a very magical experience...the guests were rude and ignorant, the CMs weren't especially helpful or friendly (except the ones who work on tips who were exceedingly gracious and pleasant), and the parks were dirty. On the other hand, we had a marvelous experience at both Discovery Cove and SeaWorld and would definitely go back to both in a heart beat. Perhaps it's because of the limited entry at DC or the smaller crowds at SeaWorld...no matter the reason, it was a much more enjoyable experience. But, as always, any vacation is still better than a day at work!
