Disney has such incredible attention to detail. You could walk through a section of the park, or a ride queue or a restaurant 100 times and each time you will see some incredible detail that you have never seen before. All of the grass is always cut perfectly, there is never a dead flower or leaf on any of the shrubs or trees. Everything is always clean. The idea of the underground corridors, and the fact that you never really see people collecting garbage, or cast members heading to work, makes everything seem even more magical. You don't ever really see police officers or other security (even though we all know they are there).
- The queues for the rides are run so incredibly efficiently. I didn't realize how efficiently Disney has people move through the ride queues until I witnessed chaos at a Six Flags last summer at almost every ride.
- The feeling that you are actually be taken to another "land". Especially at MK via the TTC. You park your car behind and take a ferry ride to this seemingly remote kingdom across the lagoon. (not as dramatic if you take the busses)
- The cast member's desire to make sure that you and your family are having a perfect vacation:
1) My daughter's first time there when she was 4 -- we bought her an ice cream cone from Story Books Treats in Fantasyland. About five steps from the counter the ice cream fell off of the cone to the floor. My daughter was kind of looking down frustrated, and upset that she lost her ice cream, and was about to start to cry, when suddenly a castmember who had been sweeping suddenly showed up with a new ice cream cone -- exactly the same as the one that my daughter had just dropped.
2) We were staying at POLY and I was looking to get a gallon of milk to eat cereal in our room. I went to the lobby and asked a cast member if he knew if there was anywhere that I could get a gallon of milk, because I didn't want to have to buy several small 10 oz bottles for $3 each. The man said that if I had a car, there was a Hess station a couple of miles away where I could get one. I said I did not have a car. He then said, "what room are you in? I can drive my car over and get a gallon of milk for you -- what type of milk?" I was initially shocked, but then told him and went back to my room. About 10 minutes later he showed up with a gallon of milk for me... I thought that was one act got me hooked on Disney's committment to customer satisfaction. (I of course tipped him hansomely)
3) We took my wife's parents with us one year to celebrate my father-in-law's 70th birthday at WDW. My mother-in-law has Ciliac disease, so is unable to eat Gluten. Our first meal on our first night there we told the waitress at Whispering Canyon Cafe that my mother-in-law could not have gluten, so she said she would be right back. Within minutes, the chef comes out of the back, and sits down at our table and goes through all of the options that were available as gluten free. He then said, just tell me what you would like, on or off the menu, and I will make it for you gluten free. She (and we) were amazed how much effort they put forth to make sure my mother in law ate comfortably.
Finally, the best part is the fact that my three kids all love going to disney, and it is a week where we can all be in one place and all are excited to be together. In our normal lives, my three kids are all running different directions in different sports and school activities and friends and we don't get to all be together. WDW lets us all be together again
