An honest question? Do you think you were hard on the resort because it was not your first choice
Honestly, no. I do not feel I am being hard on a place which has not cleaned properly. It is a health issue on that. I also don't feel I am asking too much for a little better service since a) it is
DVC/Disney and they strive to provide better service and b) because it is DVC it is supposed to be a world class resort. SS (IMO) is NOT a world class resort. I've stayed at many in my years of business and personal travel. I would consider OKW and the other DVC proprties I've stayed at world class resorts. Are they the Grand Floridian? Not quite but the service I've received in the past at these resorts does rival the service I'v had at the Grand Floridian.
You could make an argument I'm hard on SS because I don't like it when complaining about the lack of a proper restaurant or my belief it has no character. I don't think you can argue I'm being hard on it when you're talking about cleanliness.
Certainly not every resort is going to appeal to everyone. We find Artist's Palette to be very much to our liking as far as a fast food area, certainly better than what OKW offers in fast food in our opinion.I agree an additional sit down would be nice and I understand they are going to add one. Where do you eat when at OKW?
I believe if they wanted to do the fast food/cafeteria style they're shooting for at the Artists Palette they should take some ideas from Port Orleans. Ok, they don't need anything that elaborate but that has been (IMO) one of the best places to grab a quick bite out of any of the resorts I've stayed at. I also don't know how they expect to service the amount of guest which will be there in the future as they build more units. I already saw a huge increase in the number of guests there this year versus last since they opened more units. I said it last year and I'll say it again, it will be WAY too crowded as they add more units. Just not large enough to handle the volume. As to the food choices, well, that's all personal preference but I'd like to see a little wider selection. They've imporved this a bit over last year but still have a way to go.
At OKW I eat at Olivias and, honestly, I'm not impressed by the food quality there for dinner but it's fine for breakfasts/lunches. I'd love to see an additional choice of a cafeteria style eatery there as well. I feel all resorts can benefit from this as many people (like myself and my family) don't always want to do a large sit down breakfast. We'd rather just grab something quickly and be off to the parks.
On the toilet paper issue. I know I can always bring my own, however, with what we've all paid for the membership and our annual dues should I have to? We've all paid different amounts for our points depending on when we bought them but I know none of us got them for CHEAP. I also know we're all paying around or significantly more than $1,000 a year for annual dues. For the amount of money it costs us I don't think it's too much to ask for decent toilet paper. Remember their motto is, "Welcome home!" I can tell you if you came to my house you wouldn't be using the sand paper they give us there to wipe your butt. I'm paying for premium service at premium resorts. Why am I not getting it in all aspects. And I can tell you this toilet paper isn't what they've always had. This is a recent change. I sort of remember this kind of thing.
I was just curious as to weather all the people you have run into that don't care for SSR are here on the DIS as it's my opinion that very few post about good experiences and just about everyone posts about any bad issue they have at all - no matter which DVC resort
Very good point. People complain about things more readily than they praise things. I can tell you one thing about myself, however, I'm not one of those people. If I like something, I'll be happy to write an email/letter/post about what I liked. I will also do the same when I don't like something. I will be writing DVC about my experiences this time and tell them about the bad stuff but I will also praise (as I did in my post) the Spa facilities. Top notch facilities there.
What I was commenting on is the people I run to throughout Disney World. I tend to strike up conversations with a lot of people. I run into a lot of DVCers and we talk about our favorite resorts. I run into many more people who have disliked SS than who liked it. In fact, on my this trip, I ran into probably 5 or 6 people who didn't like it (many of the same complaints) and only one who did like it (I was talking to them while I was waiting to pick up some packages). Not a scientific survey by any means.
Keep in mind, however, it seems almost everyone who complains about it is someone who has been a DVCer for a while and has stayed at many other resorts. Most of the people who bought at SS seem to love it. Heck, we don't all like the same things, that's for sure. Many people don't even like going to Disney World!
FWI, if you were in a 1 bedroom, you should have had 4 bath towels, 4 hand towels, and 4 wash cloths. Since you were 5 people in a 1 bedroom, that might be why you felt you didn't have enough towels.
I have no real problem with this, however, if you're going to bring me more towels, don't just throw them in the room the way they did. Also, when you clean the room, leave me with the same amount as what we have at the time. Do NOT remove the extra towels. And again, if they want to be a world class organization and they see 5 people are staying there, how about adding another towel or two? It's minor but Disney has (for years) done the minor things to make Disney a special place.
Oh, a comment on the bus service. I'm not saying the bus service is bad at SS, I'm saying I've always had complaints about the bus service. As many of you have said, it is hit or miss. And I can understand the logistical nightmare of trying to do this, however, there are times I really wonder what's happening.
For example, on a night for the Very Merry Christmas Party, why do they not increase the amount of busses going to/from MK? Or, on an Extra Magic Hour morning or night, why not increase the amount of busses going to/from that particular park? I understand you can wait 15-20 minutes for a bus. I can deal with that. I think 45 minutes+ is a bit much. We had to do this twice while we were there. One time because the busses were so full nobody could get on. Another time no busses came. I'm not a traffic/mass transit engineer but I just wonder if there's not a better way. It's been like this for years there. Sometimes I have no problems at all and others I wait forever. Just something I've always wondered about.
Anyway, if people out there are ok with dealing with the things I dealt with on my last trip there, that's ok. I'm just unhappy about it. I am writing DVC later today. I'm wondering if the contact info for the GM of SS is on the DVC website. I'd like to copy him/her on my letter to DVC. Anyone know?
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