Hotel Royal Plaza to remain closed until early 2005

[dandaman]

I stayed at the Royal Plaza during my last trip, and all I can say is that I wasn't impressed in the least. Under normal circumstances, I would have considered it a pretty nice hotel, but after staying at a Disney property for years, I have to say that it just wasn't up to par. The rooms were in slight disrepair, and there were none of the little touches that made staying at an actual Disney resort special. They also hit us with a bunch of hidden charges, and the prices for the hotel restaraunt were astronomical. We had stayed there because it would have been cheaper than getting two rooms at an All-Star resort. After everything was figured in, though, there would have been practically no difference in price.

[rant]
However, nothing was worse than the bus system. The sign said "Every half-hour," which I would have been able to deal with. It turned out that it was every half hour when the not-so-friendly drivers felt like it. I missed Disney Transportation so much that week. Invaribly, I would just come into sight of the bus stop as the bus was pulling out. That meant I had between a half hour and an hour wait. I know that this particular transport system is shared by all of the DTD resorts, and that fact alone will keep me from staying at a DTD resort in the future. [/rant]

To each his own. Hotel Royal Plaza had me at the entrance. I can't even pinpoint what made it extra special, but maybe it was the fireworks view of seeing 3 different shows at once, or the extremely funny bus driver on the MK route that even pointed out armadillos and deer on the side of the road (living, mind you). :lol:

 

[10 min. to wdw]

It should also be added that the Holiday inn on hotel plaza BLVD Right next to the hotel royal plaza is also closed for a undisclosed period of time due to storm damage I was inside the holiday inn and they looked like they were taking the entire place apart with jack hamers.

 

[diddy_mouse]

my fiance and i stayed at the Holiday Inn in May and didn't have any real problems. however, we were barely in the hotel room as it was. mainly used it to sleep, change, and take a shower.

we noticed how slow the DTD transportation was, so we got creative and walked down to the Marketplace and hopped a bus to a nearby resort. then we caught a direct line to the parks. i know it was a little more round-about, but we didn't mind. the walk to the Marketplace was also nice.

stil...nothing beats staying at the resorts... (PO-French Quarter Oct. 2005!)

 

[Woody13]

We always use our own transportation when we do off-site. I'd rather get mad at myself for being late than a DTD bus driver.

The DTD hotels are "on site".:wave: Also, the bus system is very good. Some people are better at time managment than others.:lol:

If both the Royal Plaza and the Holiday Inn are closed, then the buses have plenty of room!:sohappy:

 

[Invero]

The DTD hotels are "on site".:wave: Also, the bus system is very good. Some people are better at time managment than others.:lol:

If both the Royal Plaza and the Holiday Inn are closed, then the buses have plenty of room!:sohappy:

I'm not quite sure which Downtown Disney buses you're thinking of, but the Hotel Plaza buses are terrible. Of course they're on time, they drive like maniacs. Stop signs, red lights, they mean nothing. The drivers are all too busy talking on thier Nextels to pay attention to the road.

Have you seen the condition of those year old buses they run? Every one of them are all banged up, one has been missing rear bumper for months, a few have side panels being held together by a bungee cord. They're too cheap to replace headlights when they burn out, so they just run with high-beams to compensate. I saw one the other night, he had no lights whatsoever, so he just ran with his 4-ways on. The internal stereo speakers have all blown, taking away the one decent thing about the operation.

 

[Woody13]

No Tyler, I haven't had the opportunity to ride the Hotel Plaza Blvd. buses recently. Unfortunately we had to cancel our most recent trip to WDW due to hurricane Ivan. I am sorry to hear that the bus speakers no longer work because that sound and video system was great! It was always such a pleasure to listen to music on those buses or watch a Disney movie on the overhead LCD screens. Based upon your remarks, it sounds as if the Hotel Plaza Blvd. buses are now just as mundane as the WDW buses. Thanks for the update.:wave:

 

[dandaman]

Wait a minute... the screens aren't there anymore? Dang it... oh well, guess I'll have to settle for Disney scenery...

 

[Woody13]

Wait a minute... the screens aren't there anymore? Dang it... oh well, guess I'll have to settle for Disney scenery...

It wasn't really the screens that I liked, but rather the sound. It didn't matter to me if they played a movie or played one of the local FM easy listening stations, as long as the sound was played. On normal Disney buses, the chatter can often become very loud and distracting. Sometimes you might be unlucky enough to be on a bus loaded with cheerleaders and be forced to listen to 15 minutes of pubescent screams!

However, on the Hotel Plaza Blvd. buses they would always have the sound system playing either a movie or a local FM station. This keeps the chatter to a minimum. I wish Disney buses would provide at least music.

 

[Invero]

It wasn't really the screens that I liked, but rather the sound. It didn't matter to me if they played a movie or played one of the local FM easy listening stations, as long as the sound was played. On normal Disney buses, the chatter can often become very loud and distracting. Sometimes you might be unlucky enough to be on a bus loaded with cheerleaders and be forced to listen to 15 minutes of pubescent screams!

However, on the Hotel Plaza Blvd. buses they would always have the sound system playing either a movie or a local FM station. This keeps the chatter to a minimum. I wish Disney buses would provide at least music.

Cheerleaders will scream, regardless of the radio. (Although, cranking the radio does help drown them out)

We had a loaner Nova LFS here awhile ago, while one of ours was up in Canada getting some work done, and it had a stereo with CD player in it. I loved it! Always had some good music on, it was great. Cast members loved it too. (It was on the cast shuttle).

I really wish Disney would get music on th buses, but sadly, I know it will never happen.