18th Anniversary Trip. Day 4 & final thoughts...

[mamatedd]

Day 4: We wake up early for a final yummy breakfast at Mara, poolside, & some swimming. We clean up & check out, just on time.

Next we head to DTD. It took a little circling, but found a decent spot. It was before noon on a Tuesday. I was surprised at the amount of construction, even though I've been reading about it for months. We still had fun shopping & picking out last minute gifts for our girls.

We ducked into House of Blues for lunch. We had never eaten there before. I guess I thought maybe it would be too adultish for our 3DDs. Turns out that was silly! Lol! Lunch was great. Service, food, and atmosphere- awesome! We then headed to Orlando Int'l for our flight home!

Final thoughts: Overall, a great trip! But, DH & I can have a great time together just about anywhere. Nothing big went wrong, but lots of littleish things went wrong. Rude CMs, poor experience with FP+, poor experience with housekeeping, etc. Nothing major for us, but sure might be for someone visiting for the first time, or had to save up for years for a trip. Disney's decline in customer service left a bad taste in my mouth. It may sound petty, but why ask me if I have been to this resort before? You SHOULD know. I could name several other major hotel chains that ABSOLUTELY would know, and also know that we have celebrated many milestones with them. But, why bother, when Disney has no problem filling rooms, whether they provide good customer service or not? The turnstiles will keep spinning. While I am sure we will be back, because I will want to bring our youngest again before she is "old", it will be awhile. This last trip left me rather disenchanted.

Thank you to everyone who has read my reports!

[yjgirl32]

Thanks for sharing.

[MizMissy]

It is always nice to get away for vacation. I'm sorry this trip left you disenchanted. I'm the Disney lover in my family, but I really have no desire for a trip right now or any time in the future because I do not want to work that hard to schedule my vacation. And, it sounds like things are so busy that even if you have FP+, you do not get to ride many rides (and at least not multiple times like my kids love to do). It really is a bit heartbreaking that they have made everything so complicated.

[mamatedd]

Thanks, MizMissy! That's exactly what I was trying to say! I just got too wordy! Lol! I am the Disney lover in my house too. By no means was it a bad trip, just super worky & $$$ for what you get. I, honestly, feel for first timers. You could spend months planning every minute detail (and who wants to do that?!) and still be disappointed.:confused:

[faline]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Hopefully, Disney will get back on track - things still seem very buggy and complicated. I'm sure that affects the cast members who need to deal with all the unhappiness over magic bands that aren't so magic or rides they can't get on because the standby lines are ridiculous and they couldn't get a fastpass+ reservation until late in the evening - if at all!!

[1goofydad]

Thank you. I have enjoyed your reports. The small things add up.

[KylesMom]

While Disney is such a big part of our lives and all of our "happy place", I wholeheartedly agree that service has steadily declined, especially in recent years. I am glad you had a nice trip and a Happy Anniversary - and I hope that the service and the stellar vacations we have experienced in the past are not just that ... things of the past. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!:mickey:

[hauntedmansiongirl]

Let's hope that someone starts listening to us! All I can think is that Walt would be horrified with the treatment and experiences that some of us are having! Very sad indeed!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.