That certain "snobby " feeling

[GEM]

Well, basically what the op said in several of her posts was that the WL and guests of the WL are "snobby". Her words, not mine. That is a statement that anyone who likes that resort and has stayed there is bound to be offended by. If I posted a thread that said I thought the guests at the Poly were snobs, then I would expect people who have stayed there to be a bit put out by that. Sorry, but that's the way it is. Now, if she had just posted that she was wondering if she would like the AKL, because she didn't really care for the WL, and that her kids felt more at home with the causual, loud, and colorful atmosphere of the All Stars, it probably wouldn't have started any controversey at all. I think her use of the word "snobby" was bound to set people off.

 

[CarrieAP]

Have to agree with BoyLovesBuzz on this one, Very well stated. As far as factual information, these boards are helpful. However, some of the posts have a judgemental, opinionated tone and discourage lurkers from ever wanting to post or ask questions. Amazing how off track some of these replies can go.

I too am sensitive to a hotel feeling snobby and found that we were very comfortable at AKL. It felt luxurious without feeling pretentious. Honestly though my girls prefer CSR over AKL.

 

[Sammie]

Originally posted by CarrieAP
Have to agree with BoyLovesBuzz on this one, Very well stated. As far as factual information, these boards are helpful. However, some of the posts have a judgemental, opinionated tone and discourage lurkers from ever wanting to post or ask questions. Amazing how off track some of these replies can go.

I too am sensitive to a hotel feeling snobby and found that we were very comfortable at AKL. It felt luxurious without feeling pretentious. Honestly though my girls prefer CSR over AKL.

I agree Carrie, some of the posts were judgemental and opinionated.

Oh my, we just did the same thing we were judgemental and opinionated too.

 

[chaoscent]

thought I would add my 2 cents.
My mom has me planning a trip to disney for her, my brother (wife deceased), his 5 children who are all adopted, different nationalities and 2 of them have special needs. My DH and I are also going. My dh is younger than I (he is often mistaken for my son), has a long pony tail and a beard. My mom doesn’t hear so well any more so when she is reprimanding the children (she lives with my brother and takes care of his children) everyone around us knows about it. As a group, we get our share of “looks”. I am also sure that we get our share of remarks also. My response, that their problem. As long as they are respectful to all members of my family, I will deal with the looks.

My mom, dh & I stayed at AKL 2 years ago and loved it. My only problem was our room was at the end of the hall. It was a long walk for my 75-year-old mom. Other than that, every one was lovely and we loved the animals. Sitting on the balcony in the morning watching the animals was just wonderful. In addition, we loved the buffet there. the food was excellent.

I hope you have a wonder filled vacation and that your children walk away with life-long happy memories.

Take care, Penny aka Chaos Cent

 

[Sammie]

Originally posted by chaoscent
thought I would add my 2 cents.
My mom has me planning a trip to disney for her, my brother (wife deceased), his 5 children who are all adopted, different nationalities and 2 of them have special needs. My DH and I are also going. My dh is younger than I (he is often mistaken for my son), has a long pony tail and a beard. My mom doesn’t hear so well any more so when she is reprimanding the children (she lives with my brother and takes care of his children) everyone around us knows about it. As a group, we get our share of “looks”. I am also sure that we get our share of remarks also. My response, that their problem. As long as they are respectful to all members of my family, I will deal with the looks.

My mom, dh & I stayed at AKL 2 years ago and loved it. My only problem was our room was at the end of the hall. It was a long walk for my 75-year-old mom. Other than that, every one was lovely and we loved the animals. Sitting on the balcony in the morning watching the animals was just wonderful. In addition, we loved the buffet there. the food was excellent.

I hope you have a wonder filled vacation and that your children walk away with life-long happy memories.

Take care, Penny aka Chaos Cent

Penny you are so right and I love your outlook. Unless someone verbally abuses us, no one can make us feel anything we do not allow them to.

 

[lindamg]

However, some of the posts have a judgemental, opinionated tone and discourage lurkers from ever wanting to post or ask questions.

And unfortunately, this post started judgemental and opinionated right from the orignal posters assertion that the WL was snobby. That was judgemental and opinionated. If you start the thread that way it is bound to continue in that mode. As a previous poster said, the OP would have been much better off simply asking for a comparison of the two places. And I'm still waiting for her to respond how her kids saw what was going on at the pool from the lobby. Pretty hard to do, what with the rocks and the waterfall and stuff!

Somebody used the phrase, noisy and chaotic, to describe the atmosphere at the All-Stars. I'm not a snob if I don't feel comfortable in noisy and chaotic. I'm sure families with kids love that atmosphere (and some adults apparently). When I go to Disney I go without kids, so that is not the atmosphere I prefer, so I stay at WL or French Quarter, which have the atmosphere I am looking for. It has nothing to do with being snobby, or being wealthy, (on a teacher's salary?) it has to do with the type of vacation I prefer.

 

[kozmo]

Gosh ,i really loved the lifegaurds there,some of are so real and into their jobs ,in fact my little nieces really had the time of their lives there because of a certain life guard playing with all the kids,shoot and i cant remember her name,it was a couple yrs ago,and i am not mad at you for stating what you did,just surprised at everyones opinions ,not mad,hope your not mad cause we enjoyed it there and were very comfortable

 

[d96j97]

We never found that to be the case at WL either! But...you may have actually ran into a week that you were surrounded by that attitude. We have stayed at the GF before also and I wouldn't say that anyone was "snobby" there either. It is just a completely different atmosphere. Put it this way, we wouldn't take our children to the GF until they are older because my 2 DS's enjoy running, playing,etc. I don't think that would go over too well with some of the guests there.

Maybe your next visit will be a better one. Have a great time no matter where you stay.

And...no one should be upset with your opinion because...well...it is your opinion.

 

[steveanddonna]

To all those who emphasized that OP has a right to her opinion -
EXACTLY! Not letting people be who they are, think what they want, etc. is the ultimate snobbery. As far as demanding, rude pushy people - that's not snobbery; it's a displaced sense of entitlement, and I see that among all classes of people. The "classiest" people I know are the ones who make everyone feel welcome and comfortable. That is what etiquette is supposed to be about, after all.

The main thing to remember is, don't let the opinions of other people or your own fears about what they might think prevent you from trying something new, having fun, living life. You miss out on way too much that way.

Penny - LOL! My 80-something aunts are much like your mom. When we took them to Disney in 2000 we started referring to them as the Golden Girls from h***, because they were always shouting, sounded like constant arguing, but it's just because one is profoundly hard of hearing. But, boy, did we get looks. Honestly, though, many of those looks were sympathetic.

 

[PamNC]

We stayed at WL once. We didn't find the CM's to be snobby BUT we did find some of them to be quite "un-Disney" - and one even rude. To say the least, we weren't that impressed with WL. I agree that it's a beautiful resort but in all of our experiences at Disney resorts we felt the CM's were probably the least Disney-esque of all. We've stayed at All Star, CBR, CS, Contemporary, Poly, YC, BC, and the GF.

I think you should stay wherever you're most comfortable. Even if it's a value resort.

PamNC

 

[vhoffman]

After reading through this thread I get the impression some people are hesitant to take their children to certain resorts because they feel their childrens' behavior would be considered unacceptable to the other "snobby" guests of certain hotels, including such luxury hotels as the GF. Well, Disney is about and for children! If someone doesn't want to hear and see children doing "their thing" what are they doing in Disney in the first place? Even those "snobby" people at the more upscale resorts will eventually run into kids being kids when they venture into the parks. That is, unless they plan on spending their entire vacation in the hotel! I do keep my children in line and don't allow then to get out of hand regardless of where there are. However, I can't give a 100% guarantee they will act like adults the entire time. The way I see it, if someone is a guest at a Disney resort and is bothered by the sight and sound of children, they've picked the wrong place to vacation. I've also encountered rude, loud, and oftentimes drunk guests in upscale hotels and no one worries if I'm offended.

 

[marcyinPA]

My opinion...you need to be adaptable! We are middle class folks, living paycheck to paycheck, no luxury cars or 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath colonial here.

That said, I've stayed in all kinds of hotels, from the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia (The BEST!!) to the Dutch Motor Inn (Don't want to go there!! LOL). My kids know how to adapt to each situation. I know how to adapt in each situation. I actually ENJOY the best of both worlds!! (I'd love to ALWAYS stay at a hotel like the Ritz, but my bank account is limited!)

There are nice people and snobby people everywhere! Snobby folks who are poor, Nice folks who are rich. My advice....go with the flow!

 

[Hollymom1229]

Well, Disney is about and for children!

Not exactly, Disney is for families. Family can mean quite a lot of things. My DH and I are a family even though we don't have kids yet. Yes, when we go to WDW we expect to see kids being kids.

As for the original post, if your family honestly felt that way then that's the way they felt and you need to stay at a resort your happy at. AKL for me was a magical experience. There were plenty of kids there even in September and they all seemed to be having a great time. I know we were.

 

[lindajo]

As far as rude CMs go, I have never encountered one in the resorts. In fact, from the Value Resorts to the Deluxe, I am amazed at how the CMs can keep their wonderful, cheerful attitudes all the time. Ironically, the only place I have encountered a bad attitude was at the Magic Kingdom-once on a crowded monorail line(CM wouldn't help anyone figure out where they were going-just shoved a transportation map at them), and another time on line for Buzz Lightyear. (CM got testy with my handicapped father while we were trying to get on the ride.) I got peeved at both CMs, but definitely did not let it spoil my trip. I loved the WL and found the lifeguards to be very, very attentive but polite. If they used their whistles a lot, there was a reason. And if a rude CM anywhere bothers you enough, you should report them. I bet Disney has a very low tolerance for something like that.

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

Originally posted by GEM
Well, basically what the op said in several of her posts was that the WL and guests of the WL are "snobby". Her words, not mine. That is a statement that anyone who likes that resort and has stayed there is bound to be offended by.

Originally posted by lindamg
And unfortunately, this post started judgemental and opinionated right from the orignal posters assertion that the WL was snobby. That was judgemental and opinionated. If you start the thread that way it is bound to continue in that mode.

The OP said she and her family felt the life guard and at times other guests were snobby. Hardly an assertion of fact, and certainly nothing more then a perception.

Originally posted by NADINENURSE
Now please, don't take this the wrong way !!! With that said, we have stayed at WL and felt the life guard, and at times the other (PLEASE DON"T GET ANGRY !! ) guests , were , here goes, snobby !! Felt more comfortable at ALL Star Movies, the best, believe it or not.

 

[GEM]

So, if I posted a thread saying that we stayed at the All Stars and we felt, at times, that the guests there were cheap and low class, you don't think anyone should have a problem with that?

By the way (just for the record) we don't think that at all. We love All Star Movies, too.

 

[steveanddonna]

Family can mean quite a lot of things.

You are so right! Our family does not include children (usually, though we do treat nieces/nephews to Disney sometimes) but does include two 80-something aunts. We love to see kids being kids at WDW, and even more, we love to see adults being kids there. Disney is for everyone who wants/needs a little magic, and it's definitely a more magical experience with an open mind and a happy heart.

 

[CBRorBust]

This is yet another CASE AND POINT about not posting negative responses about the WL.

I'm sorry, but I know the WL has a huge following. That is fine. But I swear, anytime someone posts something even remotely negative about this hotel, there is a whole flock of people there to defend it and criticize the OP!

I think the WL is a great hotel! Don't me wrong, but geez people lighten up already! It's OKAY if someone didn't have the best time at the WL. I promise it will not stop people from visiting your precious Lodge! But I think everyone needs to remember that people visit the DIS to get a wide variety of opinions on all things Disney!

I'm not even going to go there with the responses I'll get from this post, so feel free to flame away. I most likely will not be responding! I'm sure you'll just be telling me how wrong I am and that the attacking of posters with negative comments never happens! So have a nice day and goodbye!

 

[Aisling]

So, if I posted a thread saying that we stayed at the All Stars and we felt, at times, that the guests there were cheap and low class, you don't think anyone should have a problem with that?

ROFL!
I don't think anyone "should" have a problem with it, even though many would. If they love All Stars, as I do, then I'd say the problem was with YOUR perception, and not with reality, since your reality is different than mine. (GEM, I don't mean you personally!)

I've never stayed at the WL, so I can't speak from experience for that particular resort. Now if we want to get into BC bashing, I'm in!

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

Originally posted by GEM
So, if I posted a thread saying that we stayed at the All Stars and we felt, at times, that the guests there were cheap and low class, you don't think anyone should have a problem with that?

Wouldn't bother me! I would just think you were one of the "WL Snobs"

Seriously. Would anyone have a problem with that? Definately. This is DIS after all.

Should anyone have a problem with that? No. Thats the way you feel. Even though that is way out of context and much more malicious then what the OP described. Its still the way you feel.

Look. I don't have a beef over you being offended. You have the right to your feelings just as Nadine does. I don't understand why you are offended, but that is my problem.

My point is solely, that is the way she felt, why should she be made to defend herself. The opinion expressed is quite obviosuly, merely a precurser to her concern of whether she would enjoy AKL.