Returned last night from a 13 day vacation.
Group included myself Blind 50ish, DD mild CP 26, DGD 9.
Disney Resort, after 6 years of SoG, we went DR this time, POFQ garden view.
Asked for specific accommodations, received some but not exactly what we needed. Disney needs to work on resort accommodations for blind individuals, they just don't get it. Other than that resort beautiful. Much fast and better service than in 2008 when we went to POR. Room wonderful, staff great, atmosphere picture perfect even for a blind person.
Magic bands, love them, convenient and easy to use even for a blind person, could not figure out why so many people had such a hard time with Mickey to Mickey, if a blind person can do it everyone should be able to, but unfortunately that is not so and why such long lines to get in and such long lines to get I to FP lines. But no more dropping money, cards and tickets trying to find your ticket to get in or to pay.
Dining plan, a just okay for us, worth it since we had a discount of 25%, but Disney needs to fix ADRs so that you are seated within a reasonable time frame of your reservation, many times we waited more than 30 minutes and with the rule of be there 15 minutes early that seems like 45 minutes and by then your frustrated and can't enjoy the meal. Food to me very disappointing at many places for the price, but when you add in experience it was okay. I give it a just okay, I could take it or leave it next time, with discount it was worth it this time.
New FP, I would say it worked most of the time. It is a total waste to plan ahead of time, unless you never change your mind on vacation and are always where you are suppose to be when you are suppose to be there. We changed our minds to often the night before and had to change the FP because we went to a different park. But we still were able to use it and do it right. Don't wait until that day and try to change then, it is to late, one day we decided EP instead of HS we needed a manager to change them and no luck getting anything. We found that they did not work great on many of the big rides, test track, soaring, rock and roll, and space. Just to many people with FP to really call it fast pass anymore. It was a shorter wait, but not a fast wait. Still took more than 30 minutes from walk up to walk off of soaring and test track sometimes longer. The lines look very long outside rides but that is because so many people are off on there times, or don't understand Mickey to Mickey that the lines get very backed up and it can take up to 8 minutes just to get inside the ride, but inside the lines are not packed, they are 5 to 15 minutes, so I guess for Disney that is what FP is going to be.
To me, I like the system, but I still can not figure out how it is going to work when they add annual pass and off site people to it, because those 10 to 15 minutes are going to grow to 30 to 45 minutes, just pure and simple math, they will be giving more fast passes so the lines will be longer in the FP lanes. To me 15 minutes is not considered FP and that is what a lot of rides are now, when they add the others that time is only going to grow. So for now the system is just okay, add off site and annuals and I think the system will not work no matter how much they tweak it.unless Disney plans on no more visitors than what they have now and they plan to open two more parks with lots of e ticket rides, this system just does not seem able to work for everyone.
The fast pass system does not work for characters in my opinion. We only used it for two and both times the regular line was 30 minutes and the FP lines took us over 25 minutes. So except for Elsa and Anna, don't bother using it for the princesses.
My Disney experience, did not work for us, we could never get service on our cell phones in the parks long enough to change anything. Most of the times we tried to open it, we would get to the site put in our password and press send and then we would lose reception, I thought it was the worst system of all of Disney. Except MM. Disney really needs to amp up wifi signals if they want everyone connected.
Memory maker, I am at a total loss on this one. Ok I am blind but Disney does not have a single staff that can explain it to you, and it took them 13 days to tell us the problem was it is not iPad comparable, you would have thought they could tell you that when you buy it. Also there are not enough photographer in the parks, only two at most parks, very few with the characters, and many dinners had non. For the price I don't think it was worth I. But then again my dd who graduated graphic design, did not have to carry a 30 pound camera around and she was in the shots, so to her it was worth it.
DAS, the new system was again lost on me. I asked at each attraction for what I needed, was told no more often than not and really did not receive my accommodations. Finally they did give a DAS pass, for us it really was not something we used a lot. In 13 days, we got the 11 uses out of it. It worked great for the way it was designed,but not great for my disability. I will say Disney finally has a handle on the abuse of the disability system, we saw very few people with a DAS card, actually we saw no one the first week, and then maybe three people a day after that. The old system was so overly abused, at least in Disneyland but also in wdw last time we went. We also all felt like there where a lot less w/c's in wdw than last time, and there have always been a lot less than I. Disneyland.
Buses, Disney needs to really improve here, especially for disabled other than w/c. Twice I got on and no one gave me a seat, so a blind person standing for 20 minutes on a bus that seems to slam on the breaks is not great. Was never offered by Disney staff to get on first, like w/c's are. The buses do not have enough seats. Even when full they continue to pick up unreasonable amounts of people. There are only 33 seats, they need more buses. The wait between buses was never twenty minutes, it was always like 30. There was no rhyme or reason to the system, sometimes the buses came every 3 minutes, other times every thirty. Most times when they where 30 minutes, and way over crowded we then went to the other resort to pick up even more. Other times when they came every three minutes they would drive just the three of us to the park and not pick up at the other resort. No telling what they would do. Late at night they never had enough buses and I am sorry it is dangerous for a mother carrying a baby to stand on the bus, or a blind person, or an 80 year old, they need either more buses or a rule that only 33 people per bus. Like a boat you can only fit the number for the seats you have, a car is like that, how is Disney allowed to put 100 people on a bus that only seats 33 without a w/c.
Over all a great vacation, Disney needs to work on accommodations for blind, they need to work on memory maker and dining reservations, better food would be great but it was okay, we missed SoG, busses need to improve. Fast pass was not as bad, but can not seem to figure out at all how it will work when they add even more people to a system that made things slower and not so fast.
Group included myself Blind 50ish, DD mild CP 26, DGD 9.
Disney Resort, after 6 years of SoG, we went DR this time, POFQ garden view.
Asked for specific accommodations, received some but not exactly what we needed. Disney needs to work on resort accommodations for blind individuals, they just don't get it. Other than that resort beautiful. Much fast and better service than in 2008 when we went to POR. Room wonderful, staff great, atmosphere picture perfect even for a blind person.
Magic bands, love them, convenient and easy to use even for a blind person, could not figure out why so many people had such a hard time with Mickey to Mickey, if a blind person can do it everyone should be able to, but unfortunately that is not so and why such long lines to get in and such long lines to get I to FP lines. But no more dropping money, cards and tickets trying to find your ticket to get in or to pay.
Dining plan, a just okay for us, worth it since we had a discount of 25%, but Disney needs to fix ADRs so that you are seated within a reasonable time frame of your reservation, many times we waited more than 30 minutes and with the rule of be there 15 minutes early that seems like 45 minutes and by then your frustrated and can't enjoy the meal. Food to me very disappointing at many places for the price, but when you add in experience it was okay. I give it a just okay, I could take it or leave it next time, with discount it was worth it this time.
New FP, I would say it worked most of the time. It is a total waste to plan ahead of time, unless you never change your mind on vacation and are always where you are suppose to be when you are suppose to be there. We changed our minds to often the night before and had to change the FP because we went to a different park. But we still were able to use it and do it right. Don't wait until that day and try to change then, it is to late, one day we decided EP instead of HS we needed a manager to change them and no luck getting anything. We found that they did not work great on many of the big rides, test track, soaring, rock and roll, and space. Just to many people with FP to really call it fast pass anymore. It was a shorter wait, but not a fast wait. Still took more than 30 minutes from walk up to walk off of soaring and test track sometimes longer. The lines look very long outside rides but that is because so many people are off on there times, or don't understand Mickey to Mickey that the lines get very backed up and it can take up to 8 minutes just to get inside the ride, but inside the lines are not packed, they are 5 to 15 minutes, so I guess for Disney that is what FP is going to be.
To me, I like the system, but I still can not figure out how it is going to work when they add annual pass and off site people to it, because those 10 to 15 minutes are going to grow to 30 to 45 minutes, just pure and simple math, they will be giving more fast passes so the lines will be longer in the FP lanes. To me 15 minutes is not considered FP and that is what a lot of rides are now, when they add the others that time is only going to grow. So for now the system is just okay, add off site and annuals and I think the system will not work no matter how much they tweak it.unless Disney plans on no more visitors than what they have now and they plan to open two more parks with lots of e ticket rides, this system just does not seem able to work for everyone.
The fast pass system does not work for characters in my opinion. We only used it for two and both times the regular line was 30 minutes and the FP lines took us over 25 minutes. So except for Elsa and Anna, don't bother using it for the princesses.
My Disney experience, did not work for us, we could never get service on our cell phones in the parks long enough to change anything. Most of the times we tried to open it, we would get to the site put in our password and press send and then we would lose reception, I thought it was the worst system of all of Disney. Except MM. Disney really needs to amp up wifi signals if they want everyone connected.
Memory maker, I am at a total loss on this one. Ok I am blind but Disney does not have a single staff that can explain it to you, and it took them 13 days to tell us the problem was it is not iPad comparable, you would have thought they could tell you that when you buy it. Also there are not enough photographer in the parks, only two at most parks, very few with the characters, and many dinners had non. For the price I don't think it was worth I. But then again my dd who graduated graphic design, did not have to carry a 30 pound camera around and she was in the shots, so to her it was worth it.
DAS, the new system was again lost on me. I asked at each attraction for what I needed, was told no more often than not and really did not receive my accommodations. Finally they did give a DAS pass, for us it really was not something we used a lot. In 13 days, we got the 11 uses out of it. It worked great for the way it was designed,but not great for my disability. I will say Disney finally has a handle on the abuse of the disability system, we saw very few people with a DAS card, actually we saw no one the first week, and then maybe three people a day after that. The old system was so overly abused, at least in Disneyland but also in wdw last time we went. We also all felt like there where a lot less w/c's in wdw than last time, and there have always been a lot less than I. Disneyland.
Buses, Disney needs to really improve here, especially for disabled other than w/c. Twice I got on and no one gave me a seat, so a blind person standing for 20 minutes on a bus that seems to slam on the breaks is not great. Was never offered by Disney staff to get on first, like w/c's are. The buses do not have enough seats. Even when full they continue to pick up unreasonable amounts of people. There are only 33 seats, they need more buses. The wait between buses was never twenty minutes, it was always like 30. There was no rhyme or reason to the system, sometimes the buses came every 3 minutes, other times every thirty. Most times when they where 30 minutes, and way over crowded we then went to the other resort to pick up even more. Other times when they came every three minutes they would drive just the three of us to the park and not pick up at the other resort. No telling what they would do. Late at night they never had enough buses and I am sorry it is dangerous for a mother carrying a baby to stand on the bus, or a blind person, or an 80 year old, they need either more buses or a rule that only 33 people per bus. Like a boat you can only fit the number for the seats you have, a car is like that, how is Disney allowed to put 100 people on a bus that only seats 33 without a w/c.
Over all a great vacation, Disney needs to work on accommodations for blind, they need to work on memory maker and dining reservations, better food would be great but it was okay, we missed SoG, busses need to improve. Fast pass was not as bad, but can not seem to figure out at all how it will work when they add even more people to a system that made things slower and not so fast.
