faline
05-31-2011, 06:20 PM
Accommodations: We enjoyed our one-bedroom vacation club villa in Jambo House. It was very nice to have a full sized refrigerator, in-room laundry facilities, and a real dining table. Having a bedroom that did not open right into the hallway makes a huge difference in noise level. Unless we were in the kitchen/living area, we never heard anyone moving through the hallways though we did, one day, hear someone moving furniture around on the balcony. We also liked our view of the Savannah and the animals present there.
The room was a little tired. A cap fell off the tub but was repaired the same day. The hair dryer was broken but was replaced within 15 minutes. A tile was missing in the kitchen (and was not replaced during our stay). The cover that hides the bulb over the tub was missing (We did not report this issue).
Cast Members: We encountered some wonderful folks and some who were less so. Thumbs up go to Mike our server at Jiko; Dave our server at Tambu Lounge and an unknown person at the Concierge desk. We were also pleased with the response provided by Maintenance when issues were brought to their attention and to Pest
Control folks who responded quickly when we reported wasps building a nest on our balcony. Thumbs down go to the lady at the front desk who essentially said “What do you want me to do about it?” when an issue was presented to her; Clint (I think his name was) who is a photopass photographer in Animal Kingdom who stated he would take a picture of us with our camera if he “had to” and then took one picture with our camera and one with Disney’s camera. Another half-a-thumbs down to housekeeping who “forgot” to provide our room cleaning on the assigned day and then did not leave us with adequate toilet tissue when they did clear. (The half is because they inquired as to whether they could come right then when we notified them of the issue and also because they offered to bring extra towels, if needed, right away.) Two big thumbs down to Disney’s computer system which never got us completely checked into our room and to the cast members manning wake up calls who were (except for one individual) just in a fog during our entire stay.
Crowds: Very unpredictable. Some parks were extremely crowded but even these parks did not have huge wait times for rides and attractions. Other parks were lightly populated. I couldn’t always figure out reasons for these variations. There were quite a few school groups in the parks during our visit. Most kids we saw were well monitored and well behaved. We rarely ran into huge groups on the attractions we wanted to experience though the day we dined at Crystal Palace there were a couple of large groups of students dining there as well. Until cast members intervened some of these kids really swarmed around the characters, sometimes depriving the folks at tables of the chance they and their children had been waiting for.
Dining: Our best dining experience was at Jiko. Great food; wonderful ambiance, and a very good server. The other top experiences were at Flying Fish (Curly was our server) and Citrico’s (Victoria was our server there). The best part of Rose and Crown was getting a seat on the patio and seeing Illuminations from that vantage point. O’Hana was okay but not terrific. Garden Grill had good character interaction but mediocre food – same for Crystal Palace.
Transportation: For the most part, transportation worked well. I still don’t understand their “on demand” system. At times, we would see three busses in a row all for the same destination while other stops were crowded with folks who hadn’t seen a bus for their destination in quite some time. We had one issue with a bus which likely should not have been in service. I don’t know if the bus driver was immune to the problem (nauseous odors of either diesel fuel or exhaust), impacted by the problem or upset that he was made to drive the bus anyway. When we complained – and provided the bus number – at Kidani Village, they seemed to take us seriously but we have no way of knowing whether they actually pulled the bus out of service or not.
Weather: Excellent! Practically perfect in every way! We experienced rain on only one day and then for just a brief period of time. By that afternoon, it had cleared and was sunny once again. Humidity was down for most of our trip which was a real plus.
Despite any issues, annoyances, and problems, we had a very enjoyable trip. We will, of course, be heading to Disney World again in the future!
Thanks for reading my reports. I enjoy writing them as it's a way for me to relive, and extend, my enjoyment of my Disney vacation!
More to come..... (When the next trip happens!!)
The room was a little tired. A cap fell off the tub but was repaired the same day. The hair dryer was broken but was replaced within 15 minutes. A tile was missing in the kitchen (and was not replaced during our stay). The cover that hides the bulb over the tub was missing (We did not report this issue).
Cast Members: We encountered some wonderful folks and some who were less so. Thumbs up go to Mike our server at Jiko; Dave our server at Tambu Lounge and an unknown person at the Concierge desk. We were also pleased with the response provided by Maintenance when issues were brought to their attention and to Pest
Control folks who responded quickly when we reported wasps building a nest on our balcony. Thumbs down go to the lady at the front desk who essentially said “What do you want me to do about it?” when an issue was presented to her; Clint (I think his name was) who is a photopass photographer in Animal Kingdom who stated he would take a picture of us with our camera if he “had to” and then took one picture with our camera and one with Disney’s camera. Another half-a-thumbs down to housekeeping who “forgot” to provide our room cleaning on the assigned day and then did not leave us with adequate toilet tissue when they did clear. (The half is because they inquired as to whether they could come right then when we notified them of the issue and also because they offered to bring extra towels, if needed, right away.) Two big thumbs down to Disney’s computer system which never got us completely checked into our room and to the cast members manning wake up calls who were (except for one individual) just in a fog during our entire stay.
Crowds: Very unpredictable. Some parks were extremely crowded but even these parks did not have huge wait times for rides and attractions. Other parks were lightly populated. I couldn’t always figure out reasons for these variations. There were quite a few school groups in the parks during our visit. Most kids we saw were well monitored and well behaved. We rarely ran into huge groups on the attractions we wanted to experience though the day we dined at Crystal Palace there were a couple of large groups of students dining there as well. Until cast members intervened some of these kids really swarmed around the characters, sometimes depriving the folks at tables of the chance they and their children had been waiting for.
Dining: Our best dining experience was at Jiko. Great food; wonderful ambiance, and a very good server. The other top experiences were at Flying Fish (Curly was our server) and Citrico’s (Victoria was our server there). The best part of Rose and Crown was getting a seat on the patio and seeing Illuminations from that vantage point. O’Hana was okay but not terrific. Garden Grill had good character interaction but mediocre food – same for Crystal Palace.
Transportation: For the most part, transportation worked well. I still don’t understand their “on demand” system. At times, we would see three busses in a row all for the same destination while other stops were crowded with folks who hadn’t seen a bus for their destination in quite some time. We had one issue with a bus which likely should not have been in service. I don’t know if the bus driver was immune to the problem (nauseous odors of either diesel fuel or exhaust), impacted by the problem or upset that he was made to drive the bus anyway. When we complained – and provided the bus number – at Kidani Village, they seemed to take us seriously but we have no way of knowing whether they actually pulled the bus out of service or not.
Weather: Excellent! Practically perfect in every way! We experienced rain on only one day and then for just a brief period of time. By that afternoon, it had cleared and was sunny once again. Humidity was down for most of our trip which was a real plus.
Despite any issues, annoyances, and problems, we had a very enjoyable trip. We will, of course, be heading to Disney World again in the future!
Thanks for reading my reports. I enjoy writing them as it's a way for me to relive, and extend, my enjoyment of my Disney vacation!
More to come..... (When the next trip happens!!)