Why stay on property?

[WorldOfPooh]

Bit off topic but feel it fits into the discussion on the “magic” of Disney bubble and discussions on decline in service at Disney and resorts. On my recent trip I was ready for some missing offerings so that didn’t bother me much and still felt magical being at Disney but what was a bit shocking to me was how different some of the cast members were. I haven’t traveled to Disney since 2018 so not sure if this was general change overtime or something related to covid but I felt I saw too much of the background drama leak into cast. Examples that stood out to me was hearing cast member discuss news about upcoming layoffs (understandable since news had just broke), hearing two cast members gossiping about third cast member (happened twice at two separate resorts), and the one that bothered me most (maybe it shouldn’t) was two haunted mansion cast members openly discussing Star Wars and their favorite Star Wars planets (did they get rid of the role playing of haunted mansion cast members?).
To me, I was lucky to have plenty of excellent cast interactions and magic moments but I feel like some of the company drama is starting to effect the front line cast member and that really hurt some of magic to me more then any of these reduced offerings.

I think the quality has gone down since you no longer have the college program and international cast members.

And then Disney treating everyone like dirt hasn't helped. Even before all this there were cast members who were moving over to Universal because they didn't like Disney's draconian rules, but now I feel like the cast members who are left are just ignoring rules.

Last month there was a cast member looking at their iphone.

 

[Disneylover99]

Usually it's because they don't want roaches in their room.


LIke I said the main reason people put the food in the halls is because they are petrified of roaches. If you leave the pizza boxes and food in the room then the roaches will congregate.

I usually put all my food trash in the refrigerator but I can't remember if all the Disney resorts have refrigerator's in their roooms.

What? So people are okay with the roaches feasting in the hallway?
That makes no sense to me.

If people are concerned about roaches, they shouldn't be leaving food scraps around period.
I don't leave open food in my room or in the hallway, because it smells.

 

[WorldOfPooh]

What? So people are okay with the roaches feasting in the hallway?
That makes no sense to me.

If people are concerned about roaches, they shouldn't be leaving food scraps around period.
I don't leave open food in my room or in the hallway, because it smells.

Well there is some sort of logic to it.

Guest would rather have the roaches out in the hall instead of in their rooms. So this is kind of a reverse Tragedy of the Commons.

With your own house it would be different since you own(the room and hallway) and live in it the whole time. With the resorts, the guest are staying in the rooms for a short period of time and then will never be back/or won't be back for a long time.

 

[Cheburashka]

can’t justify the cost when better quality accommodations can be obtained off-site for less money. What am I missing?

The Disney deluxe resorts' themed pools with waterslides are very special. The only off-property resort I've seen that rivals what Disney deluxes offer in that regard is Four Seasons Orlando, but you won't stay there for "less money". A lot of families like to swim during their vacations, and kids tend to really like waterslides. So that's one bona fide reason to stay on property.

 

[Disneylover99]

Well there is some sort of logic to it.

Guest would rather have the roaches out in the hall instead of in their rooms. So this is kind of a reverse Tragedy of the Commons.

With your own house it would be different since you own(the room and hallway) and live in it the whole time. With the resorts, the guest are staying in the rooms for a short period of time and then will never be back/or won't be back for a long time.

Except, if they're in the hallways, they're in the rooms.
So those guests might be taking some hitchhikers home with them.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

The Disney deluxe resorts' themed pools with waterslides are very special. The only off-property resort I've seen that rivals what Disney deluxes offer in that regard is Four Seasons Orlando, but you won't stay there for "less money". A lot of families like to swim during their vacations, and kids tend to really like waterslides. So that's one bona fide reason to stay on property.

Great point. We definitely like a good amount of pool time. We bought BCV because of it's proximity to Epcot and HS...and for Stormalong Bay. Remember, DVC isn't just a purchase for this year or next year. It's a purchase for 20-50 years depending on when you bought in. Interests change over time. When our kids were little we would do the parks all day, which maybe 1/2 pool day in there somewhere. Now we build more pool time into our plans because we don't want to run ourselves ragged every single day. The pools at the deluxe resorts are really good.

 

[Sarahslay]

If those are the reasons you stay on property then there is no reason to stay on property. Zero reason. I choose to because I like being in the bubble, I like being able to charge stuff back to my room and not worry about pulling my wallet out constantly. I like being able to stay at a resort in walking distance to one or more parks, or being able to see animals out on a safari from my balcony. I for one never pay rack rate, I always get a discount, and discounts are numerous and good right now. It's not about the cost for me, or even perks, it's about the feeling I have when I'm there that an off site hotel just can't duplicate.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

Like any good DISer my comment was more about the 3% of the time you may see something like that and not the 97% of the time you don’t.... BUT, I couldn’t help but laugh/sneer at the few times I saw it when I was there a few weeks ago. I mean, who thinks it’s OK to put pizza boxes in the hall?? There are very few things that bother me about guest behavior - it’s a big world, we all have our habits, we’re all different, etc - but that is one that always gets under my skin for some reason.

I travel a LOT for work, and i order a LOT of room service, and i ALWAYS leave the tray outside the door when finished. It is just a formality in hotels that cater to business travelers that this is what is to be done, and that someone will come through looking for these every so often. Now, it has been many, many years since i have stayed in what i would consider a Motel (exterior hallways) and in that situation i would call someone to come and pick up my finished tray. However in any Hotel (interior hallways) i would not think twice about leaving the tray outside the door and would just assume that someone will be around to pick it up. They do know when they delivered your food, and nobody wants to keep food remains or any part of their dining experience in their room longer than necessary, so it shouldnt be too hard for people working there to figure out when to come back and get it, especially if you are paying deluxe level room prices.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

Sometimes you just have to... we have done single night stays only, and for these 3 reasons:

1. We had never done so, so we treated ourselves to a night at AoA, in a Cars Family Suite. It was pretty cool, but it would have felt extremely confined for 2 weeks As we are used to rental homes.

2. We had to have a resort reservation in order to book TL Surfing Lessons, which was something our DGSs really wanted to try.

3. We impulsively added an extra night’s stay to catch the first MVMCP of the season, and had to check out of our house. It was convenient, and another novelty but I would never want to stay in one of those cramped rooms again.

At the time, we could justify the cost because there were no parking fees and we all got Magic Bands. But now, nope! Give us a nice vacation home, with lots of bathrooms, our own laundry room, kitchen, games on, etc.

 

[TamaraQT]

If you are going for a DISNEY ONLY vacation, then on-site makes sense. If you are going for an Orlando Vacation that may or may not include Disney, then off-site is best. The Disney bubble doesn't appeal to everyone, and outside the bubble isn't for everyone either.

 

[disneyseniors]

I believe you too when you say you haven't seen it.
I think for me, it's because I never saw it for the first few years either. And then gradually I noticed it more and more.

The biggest tray offender for me so far has been the Poly. I think I noticed it more then ever on our last trip because we stayed right at the end of Rarotonga and so we had to pass all the other rooms to get to the main building. We called it tray alley that trip. lol. It was really surprising how long those trays sat out. When I see those trays lying around outside of rooms at Pop, I occasionally pick them up and toss them myself if the tray has been around all day and it's almost nightfall. We like a ground floor room, so it bothers me when people put food in the outside corridors. It just attracts animals.

Wow, I had to chime in about the trays in the hallways. I can't believe it is still that bad at the Poly? We visited my daughter and family at the Poly (we were staying at POR). It was about 8 years ago!!!!
They had breakfasts in the room one morning, and cleaned and stacked their trays for housekeeping to remove. They came back to find the trays still there. They left them the next day, and again, the trays were ignored. So, they moved them outside the door into the hallway. By the end of their 7 day stay, that hallway was lined with dirty trays including theirs! How are they getting away with this after 8 years??? Unbelievable and Not disneylike.
BTW, the room was tired looking and musty. The grandkids begged to come stay with us at POR because they liked it better, but Mom and Dad kept them at the Poly. It was one and done for them. My daughter's dream of staying at the Poly was squashed that trip.

 

[Sakiki]

Haha! I didn't even realize that, because I've never ordered room service. But that makes sense.
Or maybe they do call and are told to leave it outside their room and then it just sits there forever until the right CM finally comes around for collections.

We often bring a tray of counter service food to our room at each resort we stay at. I just bring the tray with food scraps back to the counter service area for disposal when we're done.

That’s OK until you’re staying at the farthest end of one of the ‘arms’ at AKL and it’s a half-mile trek to The Mara and back...

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I travel a LOT for work, and i order a LOT of room service, and i ALWAYS leave the tray outside the door when finished. It is just a formality in hotels that cater to business travelers that this is what is to be done, and that someone will come through looking for these every so often. Now, it has been many, many years since i have stayed in what i would consider a Motel (exterior hallways) and in that situation i would call someone to come and pick up my finished tray. However in any Hotel (interior hallways) i would not think twice about leaving the tray outside the door and would just assume that someone will be around to pick it up. They do know when they delivered your food, and nobody wants to keep food remains or any part of their dining experience in their room longer than necessary, so it shouldnt be too hard for people working there to figure out when to come back and get it, especially if you are paying deluxe level room prices.

I totally agree and am in the same boat as you. I travel a minimum of 100 nights per year for work, and I probably get room service easily 70% of the time (100% right now because a lot of hotel bars/restaurants are closed). I always put the tray out in the hall when I am done. Any decent hotel will send their staff by every so often and pick up all the trays. I have noticed during COVID that my tray was still in the hallway the next morning, but I am 100% sure it is because some of these hotels are running on short staff. Those trays are always picked up in normal circumstances. Maybe that is the situation at the DVC resorts right now? I have stayed on WDW property and have never seen hallways full of trays, and any deluxe hotel is going to pick up trays as part of their normal service.

 

[Disneylover99]

Wow, I had to chime in about the trays in the hallways. I can't believe it is still that bad at the Poly? We visited my daughter and family at the Poly (we were staying at POR). It was about 8 years ago!!!!
They had breakfasts in the room one morning, and cleaned and stacked their trays for housekeeping to remove. They came back to find the trays still there. They left them the next day, and again, the trays were ignored. So, they moved them outside the door into the hallway. By the end of their 7 day stay, that hallway was lined with dirty trays including theirs! How are they getting away with this after 8 years??? Unbelievable and Not disneylike.
BTW, the room was tired looking and musty. The grandkids begged to come stay with us at POR because they liked it better, but Mom and Dad kept them at the Poly. It was one and done for them. My daughter's dream of staying at the Poly was squashed that trip.

Despite the trays, I still absolutely love The Poly. The rooms are being refurbished at the moment too, so I really hope to be back at some point.

But I do think tray pick up should be more of a priority. I really don’t want to catch a whiff of someone’s day old food as I walk by.

 

[Disneylover99]

That’s OK until you’re staying at the farthest end of one of the ‘arms’ at AKL and it’s a half-mile trek to The Mara and back...

Oh, I know the pain. I brought food back to my room at a far out LM room at AofA only to realize I forgot the cutlery. We ate with our hands.

We learned it’s better to eat at some counter service locations, rather than shlep it back to our room.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Usually it's because they don't want roaches in their room.


LIke I said the main reason people put the food in the halls is because they are petrified of roaches. If you leave the pizza boxes and food in the room then the roaches will congregate.

I usually put all my food trash in the refrigerator but I can't remember if all the Disney resorts have refrigerator's in their roooms.

If that is the reason I think it's pretty ridiculous. If that was the case then the hallways would be swarming with bugs, because of the number of trays left out. Not to mention WDW does a great job with bug control from mosquitos to roaches. We have almost 40 trips to WDW and since we drive, we always bring snacks (chips, crackers etc.) and we have always left them out in the room and not once have we seen any type of bug by them.

 

[Sarahslay]

Wow, I had to chime in about the trays in the hallways. I can't believe it is still that bad at the Poly? We visited my daughter and family at the Poly (we were staying at POR). It was about 8 years ago!!!!
They had breakfasts in the room one morning, and cleaned and stacked their trays for housekeeping to remove. They came back to find the trays still there. They left them the next day, and again, the trays were ignored. So, they moved them outside the door into the hallway. By the end of their 7 day stay, that hallway was lined with dirty trays including theirs! How are they getting away with this after 8 years??? Unbelievable and Not disneylike.
BTW, the room was tired looking and musty. The grandkids begged to come stay with us at POR because they liked it better, but Mom and Dad kept them at the Poly. It was one and done for them. My daughter's dream of staying at the Poly was squashed that trip.

Well, thankfully Poly is currently getting a much needed refurb so hopefully that part of the equation is improving. Right now the trash in the hallway is there because rooms are only being cleaned at most every other day, and with limited seating at QS a lot of people take the food back to their room. Unforutnately those trashcans are just too tiny, and after two days we were overflowing all of our cans and that was with limited use in the room. Thankfully they put all the bood in big paper bags now, everything is neat and tidy, and you can just set those out. I've been three times now, one trip doing a split stay, and they were really good about removing trash pretty promptly. However, I've been to a lot of hotels and every single one had trays in the halls (especially after breakfast) so it's not uniquely Disney. People just don't want them in their rooms junking it up when there is already limited space, but how Disney approaches cleaning it up is a completely different issue. I've never experienced trays out for days, but I haven't stayed at Poly either so maybe it's a resort specific issue.

 

[TeKa21]

What I am most curious about is the apparent lack of use of Airbnb by Disney goers. Even discussions about staying off-site on this forum only seem to speak of staying at off-site hotels and resorts. We are staying 6 nights at a 3 bedroom, 2500 square foot luxury townhouse with private pool that is 3 miles from the parks for $1400. I guess I should be glad that hotels are still a big thing for most people as it keeps the competition for space down, but my family moved to private house/condo rentals years ago across the world and honestly I get claustrophobic even thinking about standard sized hotel rooms. Being stuck in one for a week with even just my spouse is just not workable, let alone my 2 children as well. Even the deluxe and DLC family suites are tiny compared to an off-site condo. There are literally hundreds of amazing private rentals in the Orlando area that cost a fraction of a standard resort room with 10x the room and amazing property ameneties. My kids each get their own room that is full of Disney and Star Wars bling, we get to cook breakfast and dinner in a full kitchen every day. No amount of theming is worth thousands of dollars for a place you sleep 80% of the time that forces you to eat out 3 meals a day at park prices. A box of cereal costs $4 and a pasta dinner for 4 can be made for $10. I encourage everyone to break the hotel habit ASAP, its just a better way to travel.

 

[SaintsManiac]

What I am most curious about is the apparent lack of use of Airbnb by Disney goers. Even discussions about staying off-site on this forum only seem to speak of staying at off-site hotels and resorts. We are staying 6 nights at a 3 bedroom, 2500 square foot luxury townhouse with private pool that is 3 miles from the parks for $1400. I guess I should be glad that hotels are still a big thing for most people as it keeps the competition for space down, but my family moved to private house/condo rentals years ago across the world and honestly I get claustrophobic even thinking about standard sized hotel rooms. Being stuck in one for a week with even just my spouse is just not workable, let alone my 2 children as well. Even the deluxe and DLC family suites are tiny compared to an off-site condo. There are literally hundreds of amazing private rentals in the Orlando area that cost a fraction of a standard resort room with 10x the room and amazing property ameneties. My kids each get their own room that is full of Disney and Star Wars bling, we get to cook breakfast and dinner in a full kitchen every day. No amount of theming is worth thousands of dollars for a place you sleep 80% of the time that forces you to eat out 3 meals a day at park prices. A box of cereal costs $4 and a pasta dinner for 4 can be made for $10. I encourage everyone to break the hotel habit ASAP, its just a better way to travel.

It’s good that you found what works for you, but I will not do dishes and cook on my vacation to Disney. Especially not after this long pandemic of eating at home.

I looked at VRBO before booking the Swan. It was tempting, but I want to be in the bubble.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

It’s good that you found what works for you, but I will not do dishes and cook on my vacation to Disney. Especially not after this long pandemic of eating at home.

I looked at VRBO before booking the Swan. It was tempting, but I want to be in the bubble.

Same. Cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping is not my idea of vacation. I’ve done the offsite house thing several times (extended family trips where I wasn’t “the planner”) and while the space is nice, I hate all the things that come with being in a house.