MrPeetrie
10-23-2012, 12:31 PM
This was my first Trip Report and I hope you all enjoyed reading about our daily adventures as I did writing about them. As I re-told each day, I was able to relive the excitement we experienced. Our vacation was fantastic from start to finish and I was happy (and even excited) to share it with you.
While I'm not a huge poster to this site, I read the posts regularly. From what I had been reading, I guess I expected to find Walt Disney World in disarray. I expected poor service, under-staffed Cast Members, rides in disrepair, and other ailments, all due to budget constraints. In fact, up to 48 hours before leaving, I toyed with the idea of canceling, postponing until next year. I wasn't expecting to have a good time and I didn't want to spend that kind of money and wind up disappointed. Moreover, I didn't want my "illusion" of the Happiest Place on Earth to be destroyed. I'm glad I didn't. The truth was just the opposite. From the moment we arrived until we stepped off the Magical Express bus at Orlando Airport to head home, everyone was wonderful.
Our first Cast Member on property we encountered was a trainee at check-in. She was so cheerie and happy, and a manager was watching to make sure she did everything well. She did. He was very nice, too. They started the vacation off on the right foot.
Our resort, Port Orleans French Quarter, was beautifully maintained. Poles, benches, and fountains were painted each night. Crews pressure washed the sidewalks. Older shutters were replaced with new ones. It was pristine. And so was our room.
Last year, we had a cleanliness issue with our Mousekeeper at Caribbean Resort. This year, our Mousekeeper was amazing. Each day, when we'd return from the parks, our room was meticulously cleaned, complete with little "staged settings," using my DD9's dolls, props, and towel figures in the scenes. On one afternoon, we wanted to swim at the pool. I wanted to keep my money and wallet dry so I took just my room key card with me. I left everything else in the safe. My wife took off her jewelry (engagement ring, and others) and left them in the safe, as well. My DD9 left her tiny stash in the safe. The thing is: we left the safe WIDE OPEN!!!! Not closed with a key in the slot. WIDE OPEN IN PLAIN SIGHT. Inside were both of our wallets with all our credit cards, all our cash, rings, necklaces, park tickets, IDs, things we needed for our return trip home. In short, everything of value we brought with us was in the safe. When we returned, nothing was missing. I know not taking something is what is expected, but we were still impressed. But our Mousekeeper was so professional I was not surprised. My wife was so pleased with how well our room was maintained, she wrote a two-page letter, complete with a substantial tip, and handed it to the concierge desk so her manager would be aware.
The parks were also beautiful and clean. Cast Members were so friendly and helpful everywhere we went. I've detailed some of the highlights in another folder, such as our encounter with Merida, but my DD9 and DW's encounter with Tiana and Naveen was just as wonderful. Other Cast Members went out of their way to engage us in a friendly manner. One searched until he found a special badge for my DD9 to pin to her backpack for scoring 999,999 on Buzz Lightyear.
In fact, there were so many kind CMs, I cannot remember each incident, but some stand out. Like the food server at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. She was hilarious. Or the manager at the Main Street Bakery that gave us Magic FastPasses just because he enjoyed talking to us. Or the manager at MouseGear. My DD9 likes the Animator's Series Dolls. There is a Merida doll, but it's not packaged the same. We saw it at Downtown Disney, but didn't get it as it was our first day on property. Now four days in, we couldn't find it anywhere. My DD9 was heartbroken about it. One afternoon, we were in MouseGear, looking for it and we could not find it. We asked two CMs, but they weren't aware of the series. She was near tears.
Then, I spotted a Manager, talking to another CM. I asked her if she was aware of the Animator's Series. She was. I asked about the Merida doll.
"Let me check on that."
She contacted someone in storage. She was aware it was packaged differently and that it might not be in the same location as the other dolls. A few minutes later, she emerged with the doll in hand. My daughter nearly jumped through the roof with elation.
And the friendliness extended beyond the parks. My DS2 was enfatuated with the Disney Bus System. Each time he'd board, he'd say, "I like your bus." One bus driver had Walt Disney World Bus Trading Cards and gave him a bunch, which he still has. A monorail driver gave him a bunch of stickers of the monorail.
And it wasn't just the Disney employees that impressed us. The crowd was amazing, too. In a difficult economy, you might expect to find people "pressing" to ensure they maximize their enjoyment because money may be tight. Not the case. The crowd was so polite and patient throughout our trip it was impossible not to comment about it. Traveling with two kids, a stroller, diaper bags, backpacks, and shopping bags, we frequently struggle getting in and out of places. People went out of their way to assist. On the bus rides to and from parks, men and women routinely volunteered their seats to both the elderly, as well as to those with children. In viewing theatres (lke Muppetvision 3D), the crowd always walked to the end rather than stopping halfway to make sure "they get the best seat."
On one night, my DW and DD9 stayed at Downtown Disney, waiting for a custom T-shirt to be completed, while DS2 and I took the boat ride home. They loaded the stroller up with everything they didn't want to carry. I had, diaper bag, DS2's toy backpack, DD9's backpack, packages, etc. I was loaded down. When I came to the boat, the skipper told me I had to take my son out of the stroller. But as soon as I lifted him, the stroller fell backwards due to the excess weight imbalance. A nice man caught it and said, "Take care of your son. I got this." He parked the stroller for me. When we arrived at POFQ, he jumped out of his seat and approached me to see if I needed help getting off the boat. That was the kind of crowd we encountered throughout.
On that boatride up the Sassagoula, my DS2 was playing with his new Mater remote truck, pushing the hood to make it light up and talk. Unfortunately, it was distracting the captain, who was navigating the river in the dark. Captain Tom turned and asked if I could turn that off. I told my son, "Captain Tom needs you to turn off your Mater so he can drive the boat." There was a 5-second silent period, where it seemed the whole boat was listening. Then my DS2 said, "I don't like Captain Tom." The whole boat laughed, including Captain Tom.
My overall impression is Walt Disney World is still Magical. Were there rides that needed attention? Sure. For example, on the Dinosaur ride the dinosaur that EATS the other dinosaur wasn't working. He was in a prone position. At Epcot, the Mine, Mine, Mine birds weren't working as wasn't the water effect. But for the most part, rides ran very efficiently. Actual wait times routinely out-performed posted wait times. Parks were spotless. Managers had litter tongs everywhere we looked, cleaning anything that was misplaced. Cast Members were friendly. The attending crowd seemed appreciative. And we had the vacation for the ages. On a scale of 1 - 10, we'd rate this a 9.x; close to perfection with the slightest room for improvement. And it has me encouraged about returning next year to see to new additions.
I've already contacted Magical Journeys and the process has begun. And I can't wait to post about that trip here, too.
Thank you all and talk to you soon.
While I'm not a huge poster to this site, I read the posts regularly. From what I had been reading, I guess I expected to find Walt Disney World in disarray. I expected poor service, under-staffed Cast Members, rides in disrepair, and other ailments, all due to budget constraints. In fact, up to 48 hours before leaving, I toyed with the idea of canceling, postponing until next year. I wasn't expecting to have a good time and I didn't want to spend that kind of money and wind up disappointed. Moreover, I didn't want my "illusion" of the Happiest Place on Earth to be destroyed. I'm glad I didn't. The truth was just the opposite. From the moment we arrived until we stepped off the Magical Express bus at Orlando Airport to head home, everyone was wonderful.
Our first Cast Member on property we encountered was a trainee at check-in. She was so cheerie and happy, and a manager was watching to make sure she did everything well. She did. He was very nice, too. They started the vacation off on the right foot.
Our resort, Port Orleans French Quarter, was beautifully maintained. Poles, benches, and fountains were painted each night. Crews pressure washed the sidewalks. Older shutters were replaced with new ones. It was pristine. And so was our room.
Last year, we had a cleanliness issue with our Mousekeeper at Caribbean Resort. This year, our Mousekeeper was amazing. Each day, when we'd return from the parks, our room was meticulously cleaned, complete with little "staged settings," using my DD9's dolls, props, and towel figures in the scenes. On one afternoon, we wanted to swim at the pool. I wanted to keep my money and wallet dry so I took just my room key card with me. I left everything else in the safe. My wife took off her jewelry (engagement ring, and others) and left them in the safe, as well. My DD9 left her tiny stash in the safe. The thing is: we left the safe WIDE OPEN!!!! Not closed with a key in the slot. WIDE OPEN IN PLAIN SIGHT. Inside were both of our wallets with all our credit cards, all our cash, rings, necklaces, park tickets, IDs, things we needed for our return trip home. In short, everything of value we brought with us was in the safe. When we returned, nothing was missing. I know not taking something is what is expected, but we were still impressed. But our Mousekeeper was so professional I was not surprised. My wife was so pleased with how well our room was maintained, she wrote a two-page letter, complete with a substantial tip, and handed it to the concierge desk so her manager would be aware.
The parks were also beautiful and clean. Cast Members were so friendly and helpful everywhere we went. I've detailed some of the highlights in another folder, such as our encounter with Merida, but my DD9 and DW's encounter with Tiana and Naveen was just as wonderful. Other Cast Members went out of their way to engage us in a friendly manner. One searched until he found a special badge for my DD9 to pin to her backpack for scoring 999,999 on Buzz Lightyear.
In fact, there were so many kind CMs, I cannot remember each incident, but some stand out. Like the food server at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. She was hilarious. Or the manager at the Main Street Bakery that gave us Magic FastPasses just because he enjoyed talking to us. Or the manager at MouseGear. My DD9 likes the Animator's Series Dolls. There is a Merida doll, but it's not packaged the same. We saw it at Downtown Disney, but didn't get it as it was our first day on property. Now four days in, we couldn't find it anywhere. My DD9 was heartbroken about it. One afternoon, we were in MouseGear, looking for it and we could not find it. We asked two CMs, but they weren't aware of the series. She was near tears.
Then, I spotted a Manager, talking to another CM. I asked her if she was aware of the Animator's Series. She was. I asked about the Merida doll.
"Let me check on that."
She contacted someone in storage. She was aware it was packaged differently and that it might not be in the same location as the other dolls. A few minutes later, she emerged with the doll in hand. My daughter nearly jumped through the roof with elation.
And the friendliness extended beyond the parks. My DS2 was enfatuated with the Disney Bus System. Each time he'd board, he'd say, "I like your bus." One bus driver had Walt Disney World Bus Trading Cards and gave him a bunch, which he still has. A monorail driver gave him a bunch of stickers of the monorail.
And it wasn't just the Disney employees that impressed us. The crowd was amazing, too. In a difficult economy, you might expect to find people "pressing" to ensure they maximize their enjoyment because money may be tight. Not the case. The crowd was so polite and patient throughout our trip it was impossible not to comment about it. Traveling with two kids, a stroller, diaper bags, backpacks, and shopping bags, we frequently struggle getting in and out of places. People went out of their way to assist. On the bus rides to and from parks, men and women routinely volunteered their seats to both the elderly, as well as to those with children. In viewing theatres (lke Muppetvision 3D), the crowd always walked to the end rather than stopping halfway to make sure "they get the best seat."
On one night, my DW and DD9 stayed at Downtown Disney, waiting for a custom T-shirt to be completed, while DS2 and I took the boat ride home. They loaded the stroller up with everything they didn't want to carry. I had, diaper bag, DS2's toy backpack, DD9's backpack, packages, etc. I was loaded down. When I came to the boat, the skipper told me I had to take my son out of the stroller. But as soon as I lifted him, the stroller fell backwards due to the excess weight imbalance. A nice man caught it and said, "Take care of your son. I got this." He parked the stroller for me. When we arrived at POFQ, he jumped out of his seat and approached me to see if I needed help getting off the boat. That was the kind of crowd we encountered throughout.
On that boatride up the Sassagoula, my DS2 was playing with his new Mater remote truck, pushing the hood to make it light up and talk. Unfortunately, it was distracting the captain, who was navigating the river in the dark. Captain Tom turned and asked if I could turn that off. I told my son, "Captain Tom needs you to turn off your Mater so he can drive the boat." There was a 5-second silent period, where it seemed the whole boat was listening. Then my DS2 said, "I don't like Captain Tom." The whole boat laughed, including Captain Tom.
My overall impression is Walt Disney World is still Magical. Were there rides that needed attention? Sure. For example, on the Dinosaur ride the dinosaur that EATS the other dinosaur wasn't working. He was in a prone position. At Epcot, the Mine, Mine, Mine birds weren't working as wasn't the water effect. But for the most part, rides ran very efficiently. Actual wait times routinely out-performed posted wait times. Parks were spotless. Managers had litter tongs everywhere we looked, cleaning anything that was misplaced. Cast Members were friendly. The attending crowd seemed appreciative. And we had the vacation for the ages. On a scale of 1 - 10, we'd rate this a 9.x; close to perfection with the slightest room for improvement. And it has me encouraged about returning next year to see to new additions.
I've already contacted Magical Journeys and the process has begun. And I can't wait to post about that trip here, too.
Thank you all and talk to you soon.