just got back...

Just returned Saturday night from a week at the World.
Took our 2 boys age 7 and 4 for the 2nd year in a row. Heat was pretty bad; crowds at MK and Epcot were bad, but nothing compared to the lunacy of MGM on Friday for Star Wars Weekend.
The good:
1. ANimal Kingdom queues were almost non existent (too bad there isn't more to do there).
2. 7 yr old got selected for Jedi Academy! He got to fight Darth Maul (his fav SW character) for the graduation and boy was he into it. Wife and I had tears in our eyes the whole time. Talk about making a dream come true! Videotape of that will be played every day until we go back, i think....
3. 4 year old was waiting with his bro and I at The Land near Soarin' for my wife to come out of restroom. While waiting by the emergency exit, a CM came in from outside the exit doors. My 4 year old politely told her those doors were ONLY to go OUT of, if there was a fire. She got a big kick out of that and gave him a Million Dreams pin, which made his day. More tears for mom and me.
4. Finally got to see Jack Sparrow at POTC (was closed for the refurb last summer). Had to ride that one 3 times.
5. Star Wars weekend was completely awesome. Got a cubic boatload of pics. Jedi Mickey ROCKS.
6. Monsters Inc Laugh Floor--totally hilarious and blows Crush away!
The Bad:
1. Housekeeping service at All Star Movies: 4 of us in a room. We get back in the evenings and either we have 3 rags and 4 towels, 2 rags and 1 towel, 1 rage and 4 towels or NO RAGS and 1 towel. BY the last night there, I had had enough and pretty much unloaded on the front desk after getting in at midnight, stinky and sweaty, to a room with no rags and 1 towel. Took them 45 MINUTES to bring us 4 rags and 3 towels. WOnt be staying there again.
2. Dining PLan: "reservations are strongly recommended" is what the brochures/website say about sit down meals. It should say, "we wont take your name at all if you don't reserve at least 2 weeks in advance". Had no sit down meals at Epcot or MK. Managed to squeeze in 2 at MGM but the dinner was at 9:55. Guess what time park closed? 10 PM. Yay. Lesson learned.
3. Queus in June=blechh. Not too bad overall, but Soarin' was WAY busy; only got one ride in all day, and that included EMH! They need to put another one in.
4. New Nemo ride: wow, that was boring. Just looking at some hi-def monitors? one animatronic angler fish chasing marlin? That was a waste of 45 minutes line time.
5. ARGGHH! Haunted Mansion CLOSED for refurb??!?!?! 7 yr old was crushed.
6. 3 hrs at Blizzard Beach before rainstorm came in. Sigh.
Overall great fun; however dining plan issues and especially ASMovies housekeeping were a downer.

 

[iKat]

4. New Nemo ride: wow, that was boring. Just looking at some hi-def monitors? one animatronic angler fish chasing marlin? That was a waste of 45 minutes line time.

I thought the same. The queue was cool, so it got my hopes up for the ride - it made me wish they had left the old ride - riding through the aquariums was a lot better than that!
I also thought that Nemo and Dory just made the other fish look really blah. Like maybe they could have put it in an area with brighter fish, or dulled down the colors on Nemo and Dory?
Yeah, that was a real disappointment.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

Dining reservationists state that reservations are strongly recommended and can be made as far as 180 days in advance. Six months. Advance Dining Reservations will be taken until the restaurant is booked to capacity - no walk ins.

All Star Resorts are value resorts. I'm not stating that only Deluxe rooms get the appropriate number of towels, but waiting 45 minutes for towels is actually not that bad. Certain All Star Resorts seem to be undergoing a pilot program of sorts, and while Concierge hours have been extended already, things are not running as smooth as they could be. Also, remember that usually a CM at front desk/concierge doesn't necessarily have immediate access to towels; when a guest asks for amenities to be brought to the room, it is put by the front desk/concierge CM into a computer system and will be picked up by housekeeping/maintenance/appropriate department. If you had brought the towel issue up to someone at front desk immediately, it is possible that housekeeping might have made an effort to deliver extra towels.

It sounds like even with your 'bad' points, you still managed to have a great time.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Glad to see that there were far more "good" points than "bad"

 

[OneLuckyMom]

All Star Resorts are value resorts. I'm not stating that only Deluxe rooms get the appropriate number of towels, but waiting 45 minutes for towels is actually not that bad. Certain All Star Resorts seem to be undergoing a pilot program of sorts, and while Concierge hours have been extended already, things are not running as smooth as they could be. Also, remember that usually a CM at front desk/concierge doesn't necessarily have immediate access to towels; when a guest asks for amenities to be brought to the room, it is put by the front desk/concierge CM into a computer system and will be picked up by housekeeping/maintenance/appropriate department. If you had brought the towel issue up to someone at front desk immediately, it is possible that housekeeping might have made an effort to deliver extra towels.

I think the opposite. So what if it's a value resort? If housekeeping does not already have information on how many people are in a room, they should always leave enough towels for capacity - 4 in this case. Leaving only 1 towel is a total joke. And I'm not sure why a CM couldn't pick up a phone, instead of just typing it into a computer system, to get someone to deliver towels quickly if a guest is obviously frustrated. It's called customer service, and a guest at a value resort has every right to expect it, just like someone at the moderates and deluxes. According to Disney, the difference between the values and the other levels are the pools, restaurants, room size and additional services such as spas. It is NOT in the quality of basic services like housekeeping.

 

[DisneyLeo18]

I agree that all resorts should have the same quality of service no matter what the rate. however i loved allstar music resort but wasnt fond of all-star movies at all. When i was there the main pool was closed and there was a giant refurb wall in front of our building. also a funky stench walking by the exit from the food court and by the main pool. This was august 2006 however. And with all the amazing things disney does i will get over the very tiny bad points.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

I think the opposite. So what if it's a value resort? If housekeeping does not already have information on how many people are in a room, they should always leave enough towels for capacity - 4 in this case. Leaving only 1 towel is a total joke. And I'm not sure why a CM couldn't pick up a phone, instead of just typing it into a computer system, to get someone to deliver towels quickly if a guest is obviously frustrated. It's called customer service, and a guest at a value resort has every right to expect it, just like someone at the moderates and deluxes. According to Disney, the difference between the values and the other levels are the pools, restaurants, room size and additional services such as spas. It is NOT in the quality of basic services like housekeeping.

A CM cannot always just pick up a phone and call for something. They enter any request into a computer system that is then picked up by the appropriate department. That is the way Disney does things. There is not a CM sitting in a room somewhere with a stack of towels in case someone needs some. Customer service levels are the same throughout the resorts, the amenities are the only thing that changes. That is not what I was trying to say. I was pointing out that certain All Star resorts are part of a pilot program that is not running as smoothly as it could be. The OP could have phoned or visited the Front Desk the first time that the towel issue arose and the situation might not have came to a head like it did.

I'm interested why the OP states there were towels and 'rags' left. I have never received a rag while staying in a room. Although I have actual rags at home that are bigger than the towels they have...

 

[OneLuckyMom]

I'm interested why the OP states there were towels and 'rags' left. I have never received a rag while staying in a room. Although I have actual rags at home that are bigger than the towels they have...

A "rag" is the term used in the UK I believe for what Americans call washclothes, or face cloths.

 

[mouselvrmom]

Sounds like even with the bad, you had a good time! I would love to go for Star Wars Weekends sometime! Hubby and son would love it!

 

[ldsprincess]

woah! we were there last week and had the same prob with all star movies housekeeping. the day that we got there it was really cool because we had three towels in the shape of mickey on the bed...but the rest of the week wasn't so good. i didn't have that big of a prob with it...but my mom did. no cups, something about towels, blah, blah...idk...i just slept there! haha. my biggest disapointment though was that our housekeeper never left us any of those cool little towel animals that some halls had in their windows! they were so cute! hehe!

 

[primetime52]

I actually enjoyed Nemo. I thought the theming and colors were fresh and bright. However, I had really low expectations going in, since alot of people on this site gave it terrible reviews. My low expectations might be the reason why I thought it was a decent ride. You've gotta admit one thing though, it's definitely an improvement over the seabase alpha sea cabs.

 

[jedeye18]

A CM cannot always just pick up a phone and call for something. They enter any request into a computer system that is then picked up by the appropriate department. That is the way Disney does things. There is not a CM sitting in a room somewhere with a stack of towels in case someone needs some. Customer service levels are the same throughout the resorts, the amenities are the only thing that changes. That is not what I was trying to say. I was pointing out that certain All Star resorts are part of a pilot program that is not running as smoothly as it could be. The OP could have phoned or visited the Front Desk the first time that the towel issue arose and the situation might not have came to a head like it did.

I'm interested why the OP states there were towels and 'rags' left. I have never received a rag while staying in a room. Although I have actual rags at home that are bigger than the towels they have...

Actually the 3rd night there we DID call the front desk to complain. It didn't help at all.
Rag=washcloth. I didnt realize that was a regional term; ah lives in souf carolina so maybe it is! ANs we had an AMAZING time; just not happy with the ASMovies housekeeping.

 

[danipooh]

I agree that all resorts should have the same quality of service no matter what the rate. however i loved allstar music resort but wasnt fond of all-star movies at all. When i was there the main pool was closed and there was a giant refurb wall in front of our building. also a funky stench walking by the exit from the food court and by the main pool. This was august 2006 however. And with all the amazing things disney does i will get over the very tiny bad points.

I agree! I think it’s ridiculous that people will make excuses for poor service just because it’s a value resort. I expect a high standard from Disney, and having the correct amount of towels in a room is expected no matter how much I paid for the room. I have stayed in many non-Disney hotels and when a request for extra towels is made, I always get them promptly. Is it out of the question that someone should be sitting in a room waiting with towels in case someone needs them? To me that’s called the housekeeping department, and yes, there should be someone there who can run towels up when they are needed.

All these negative reviews I’ve been hearing about the values lately makes me nervous. I’m staying as ASMo in December!

 

[lilclerk]

Wow, I really loved ASMovies in February. We had fresh, clean towels every day, and never had any problems with mousekeeping. Never had any problems with anyone, really. The concierge was extremely helpful, and check in was a breeze. I have nothing but praise for the value resorts. :shrug: Actually, I didn't really like most of the food offered in the food court, but hey. What're you gonna do about that?

 

[danipooh]

Wow, I really loved ASMovies in February. We had fresh, clean towels every day, and never had any problems with mousekeeping. Never had any problems with anyone, really. The concierge was extremely helpful, and check in was a breeze. I have nothing but praise for the value resorts. :shrug: Actually, I didn't really like most of the food offered in the food court, but hey. What're you gonna do about that?

That's good to know!!! I hope I have good luck when I stay there!

 

[lilclerk]

That's good to know!!! I hope I have good luck when I stay there!

Me too! Maybe since you're going at a slower time (well I'm assuming you're going before the Christmas Craziness?) it'll be better. Another thing was that our building (Mighty Ducks) was a pretty good walk from the bus stops, but it was a quick hop over to ASMusic's so we just used those.
I'm too cheap to get preferred rooms for three adults that can walk well, but just don't want to =)