Overall, this was not the best of vacations, my wife and I enjoyed our time there, but several factors diminished the experience. We spent four full days (16 Oct – 19 Oct 2014, at all 4 of the parks and downtown Disney. Over the last 20 or so years my family has vacationed about 10 times at Disney World always staying at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort.
For me, FastPass+ is a major fail.
The basis for this conclusion is based upon many factors, but mostly on the fact that military members get discriminated against due to the way the current “Military Salute” promotion facilitates the use of FastPass+.
Because military members (or like myself, retired military) don’t actually get tickets but vouchers for tickets when you purchase the 4-day with park-hopper discounted tickets under this program. FastPass+ requires you to have serial numbers from your actual tickets in order to use the system. However, you don’t get your actual tickets until you turn your vouchers in at the main gates of the park and are issued tickets, which mean you lose the advantage of pre-scheduling events and attractions until, in most cases, the very first day of your vacation.
As you can imagine, having to wait till the first day of vacation means that you are basically locked out of most attractions and events except for very inconvenient times, if there are any times available at all.
On a second note of contention, I do not like the fact that the FastPass+ system basically works like ordering from a set menu. For example, why do I have to choose between Soaring and Illuminations at Epcot? Shouldn’t it be that I can set reservations for both if they are available? But that is not the way the system works. And this tiering/selection system where you can’t just pick three attractions or events, but are relegated to picking one from group A and two from Group B, applied to all the parks.
All in all, a major fail and not one that from my perspective that would be a deciding factor in visiting the parks again in lieu of other vacations opportunities.
Parks and Downtown Disney:
With, from my perception, major portions of downtown Disney being built behind endless walls of wood barricades, at least 10 feet tall, the ability to enjoy the Disney experience is significantly diminished. I would not recommend going to Downtown Disney until most of the construction is completed by the middle of 2016.
Room Issues:
My wife and I stayed in one of the upgraded rooms at the CBR. However there were significant issues with the condition of the rooms (brought to management attention as soon as we checked in, but were told we can’t move you to another room because we are “fully” booked”
For me, FastPass+ is a major fail.
The basis for this conclusion is based upon many factors, but mostly on the fact that military members get discriminated against due to the way the current “Military Salute” promotion facilitates the use of FastPass+.
Because military members (or like myself, retired military) don’t actually get tickets but vouchers for tickets when you purchase the 4-day with park-hopper discounted tickets under this program. FastPass+ requires you to have serial numbers from your actual tickets in order to use the system. However, you don’t get your actual tickets until you turn your vouchers in at the main gates of the park and are issued tickets, which mean you lose the advantage of pre-scheduling events and attractions until, in most cases, the very first day of your vacation.
As you can imagine, having to wait till the first day of vacation means that you are basically locked out of most attractions and events except for very inconvenient times, if there are any times available at all.
On a second note of contention, I do not like the fact that the FastPass+ system basically works like ordering from a set menu. For example, why do I have to choose between Soaring and Illuminations at Epcot? Shouldn’t it be that I can set reservations for both if they are available? But that is not the way the system works. And this tiering/selection system where you can’t just pick three attractions or events, but are relegated to picking one from group A and two from Group B, applied to all the parks.
All in all, a major fail and not one that from my perspective that would be a deciding factor in visiting the parks again in lieu of other vacations opportunities.
Parks and Downtown Disney:
With, from my perception, major portions of downtown Disney being built behind endless walls of wood barricades, at least 10 feet tall, the ability to enjoy the Disney experience is significantly diminished. I would not recommend going to Downtown Disney until most of the construction is completed by the middle of 2016.
Room Issues:
My wife and I stayed in one of the upgraded rooms at the CBR. However there were significant issues with the condition of the rooms (brought to management attention as soon as we checked in, but were told we can’t move you to another room because we are “fully” booked”
- We were in a first floor room and it appears that there was a major leak from the 2nd floor that was gone unrepaired for at least a significant period of time (I climbed on a chair to make sure that the ceiling wasn’t about to release a significant portion of water in the room and the bubble was completely dry but very unsightly).
- The new chest of drawers in the room would not allow the drawers to remain closed and would open on their own to either a minor or major extent based upon the position of clothes within them. This is a significant safety issue. Could you imagine waking up in the middle of the night and tripping over the fully extended drawer (which did happen the first night). Again, not resolved during our stay.
- The handle for the bathtub was loose and would by itself go from the 10 o’clock position to 5 o’clock position. This meant that on its’ own the shower would go from warm to steaming hot. You wouldn’t want to have your small children taking a bath or shower under these conditions. Again, not resolved during our stay.
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