Dead2009
Horror Movie Guru
And half the time the person can be a little over the top in describing said experience so it can come off as suspicious.
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Service is getting worse
- Thread starter KCC
- Start date
And half the time the person can be a little over the top in describing said experience so it can come off as suspicious.
Chef Mickey
Well-Known Member
I kind of just meant he has the option since he can walk to EPCOT. I left that minor detail out, but my point remains. It's a great location to have other non bus options.
Chef Mickey
Well-Known Member
I'm quite familiar as I've stayed in all 3 resorts many times and been to WDW over 60 times...I was more emphasizing that he was staying at a non-Disney resort and complaining about Disney amenities.
Cruise might be viable... but I wouldn't recommend the Illuminations Dessert Party to anyone unless they were a raging alcoholic with a bottomless pit for a stomach because the only way you will ever approach a reasonable value for your money is if you drink non-stop as fast as possible... the dessert portion of that event has dropped considerably over time... As for the view I think you get better views from other points on the other side of the water.
Generally when I book the desert party I feel am paying for a decent view where I don't have to defend my territory from those who think shoving you out of a viewing spot you have been in for an hour is perfectly acceptable behavior. The desserts are just a perk.
KBLovedDisney
Well-Known Member
jwutony16
Active Member
Epicot is the shot you take when you get Disney Diabetes from eating all the food at WDW
BigRedDad
Well-Known Member
As long as they are packing resorts, packing the parks, increasing prices everywhere, they can take away service. As long as people are paying, keep cutting until you hit the jugular. Then, you know you cut to the end point.
As far as the buses go, I have no sympathy. I use to love the buses but the trip to POR ended that. I will never go without a car. There are almost no buses that can beat me driving to the parks. The only transportation that can would be the monorail resorts to MK. All other transportation I can beat by car. I am not talking by minutes. In a one week stay, I can save over 8 hours by driving vs bus waiting over the course of 1-week stay. If anyone wants to be honest about it, start a timer. When you are getting ready to head out, start the timer from when you leave your room and stop it when you get to the entrance. When leaving, start it when you exit and when you get dropped off at your bus stop.
As far as the buses go, I have no sympathy. I use to love the buses but the trip to POR ended that. I will never go without a car. There are almost no buses that can beat me driving to the parks. The only transportation that can would be the monorail resorts to MK. All other transportation I can beat by car. I am not talking by minutes. In a one week stay, I can save over 8 hours by driving vs bus waiting over the course of 1-week stay. If anyone wants to be honest about it, start a timer. When you are getting ready to head out, start the timer from when you leave your room and stop it when you get to the entrance. When leaving, start it when you exit and when you get dropped off at your bus stop.
Dead2009
Horror Movie Guru
Is the Disney Diabetes part of the admission? Or does it cost seperately.
jwutony16
Active Member
Its party of the Platinum Plus Pass, Gold has some blackout dates
rob0519
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry, but I disagree you can "easily" take the monorail to the MK from the Dolphin.
It must be somewhere just over a mile from the Dolphin to the monorail station at EPCOT(plus you need a park hopper to enter at the International Gateway). Additionally, after you've walked your two children in the heat for over a mile, you still have to switch to the resort or MK express monorail at the TTC (so you have to walk a mile, then wait twice for transportation). Doable, yes. Easily is debatable.
Parts of Disney transportation is good, other parts not so good. Some bus routes and drivers are better than others. Try getting a bus at the last stop in Saratoga Springs to whatever park is having Early Morning Hours or the MK.
disneygeek90
Well-Known Member
I agree. I would give that trek at LEAST an hour from leaving hotel to the gates of MK.
mousehockey37
Well-Known Member
I had said it earlier in the thread. Heck, I even said it was out of the way, but still better than waiting for a bus that may not come.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
It didn't start out as a grouping of hideous insults and didn't even end that way. What did happen were people attempted to explain the basic facts of functioning in the world that we don't individually control. If that was taken as hideous insults, then so be it.
I wasn't going to respond to this, but, the literalness of this response and complaint, requires it. Although, I would be the first to say that, yes, they are paying a premium price for the experience, that does not mean that miracles will materialize because of it and as stated by others that resort isn't even a Disney owned resort. It is, however, on property and you can bet your last dollar that Disney will cater to those that are paying them the most money when it comes to services.
First let's look at the bus transportation. Anyone that has ever been in the transportation business and fielded complaint calls from angry individuals knows that NO ONE can tell time. NO ONE has a clue to how long they have been waiting anyplace for anything. In other words, although I don't think necessarily that the OP was lying to us, I maintain that he/she does have a possible distorted idea of how long that he/she waited and, if it was that late, maybe wasn't aware or wanted to know why, just that they didn't get things to work out for them. Most humans tend to exaggerate their misery when telling the story. The promise made on the site is "approximately 20 to 25 minutes". That is worded the way it is because it isn't cast in stone. It is approximate! You don't even have to be an experienced WDW traveler to know that if you want to be sure you are someplace at a specific time and you know that the wait times can possibly vary, you plan to go earlier, because it is better to be early then late. Common freaking sense.
The Fireworks situation, was again, possibly because with a 9 pm ADR there is a chance that all the available seating will be taken up before they even are scheduled to be there. The person working the place knew that and also knew that they couldn't promise that ANY of the locations would afford a clear, unobstructed view of the Fireworks. Why? Because the seats would have already been filled up by 8 or 8:30 ADRs and they were not going to be getting their butts out of their seats until the Fireworks had completed. Some would, yes, but not many and an ADR that late would likely not get one. It requires the right time to see it. It is only held once a day between 9 and 9:20 (approximately). Does anyone else that eats there any other time of the day get to see the Fireworks? Do they pay the "premium rate" also? It requires a reservation that is preceding the actual show. It was stated by the OP that the only time available was 9 pm. Anyone that was going to sit and watch the fireworks need to be there before that. Now Disney might have been more specific when they made the reservation and Disney should have mentioned that the ability to be seated in time was questionable. Maybe they did but it is obvious that the OP does not have English as their main language hence the many references to Epicot!** They check at 7 pm, two hours early, and were told at that time that it was not possible to guarantee that viewing with a 9 pm ADR.
** Not meant as a nasty statement about any native language. It was just said to express that there may have been multiple misunderstandings based on language. Again not a indication of fault, just a misunderstanding of reality and how it affects everyone in one way or the other.
contrariwise
Well-Known Member
Buses that take too long will drive anyone crazy. I've been there. Watching bus after bus come for some other people, and we just sit there waiting and waiting. I know it's the nature of the beast, but it's understandable that it's frustrating.
Thinking you can book an ADR at 9 and see fireworks that start at 9 was a mistake. Did someone lead the OP down this path? Maybe. I don't know.
Look, a Disney World vacation is a hard one to plan. It's not hard for me because I know the ins and outs, but it's hard for first-timers and those that believe the commercials and don't do any homework.
Thinking you can book an ADR at 9 and see fireworks that start at 9 was a mistake. Did someone lead the OP down this path? Maybe. I don't know.
Look, a Disney World vacation is a hard one to plan. It's not hard for me because I know the ins and outs, but it's hard for first-timers and those that believe the commercials and don't do any homework.
mousehockey37
Well-Known Member
For the transportation, I'm the one that threw out there that you could go to Epcot and hop the monorail. It was a long shot, but still gets you on your way. I also said about taking a boat to Epcot or DHS and you can hop a bus to the TTC/MK from there. Again, not the best idea, but it still gets you further than standing in front of the resort. People didn't like these ideas, but sometimes, it's what you have to resort to.
For the fireworks, a lack of common sense played into this. He wanted dining with a fireworks view. As you said, you needed to book for 8/8:30 and he (the OP) even said that 9 was the only time available. Others in this thread even said that you're not even guaranteed to be seated at 9, you may wait until after Illuminations was over even. So the booking of the dinner was a wash. The OP stood little to no chance with the ressie being at 9pm.
So yeah, I'm not going to back down from my stance with the transportation. Monorail surely isn't the easiest or first thing I would do, but in the scheme of things, if you want to get further than the resort (if you have been waiting a while) it's an option. I also gave other ideas. Catching a bus to a different park, etc... The monorail was not the only thing offered.
mousehockey37
Well-Known Member
Yes, buses that take too long are annoying. It brings out the Disney-zilla's at the bus stops (I have some interesting stories from our trip in January, lol) and it can get ugly if there's a big crowd in the morning. There was more than 1 time that we saw the monitors and the time for the next bus and we hopped a bus to somewhere else to connect either with another bus or the monorail. Sure, did we wing it? Yup, but at least we weren't standing at the resort for 20+ minutes til then next bus came along.
contrariwise
Well-Known Member
We have done this as well. We just said, "Oh, well" and went to a different park. I wonder though if a newbie would be as game to do this. And pre-booked FP+ has put a damper on this too.
mousehockey37
Well-Known Member
I never said we went to a different park in those posts. We went to a different park to catch a bus there to where we were originally headed. Granted, yes, there were some days where we also did go to a different park as well, lol.
contrariwise
Well-Known Member
Yes, I too have gotten creative with Disney transportation. I do better having a car, though.