Hi guys. Just back from a 2 week stay. I'm not going to give a blow-by-blow account of our trip, but I would like to tell you about some of the problems we encountered.
I have always been in favor of staying off-property if it means a longer stay. I still believe this can work, but you have to shop carefully for accommodations and shuttle service. We got a great deal on a hotel that advertised 15 minutes from Disney and free shuttle service to the parks. Technically true, but the shuttle stops at several other hotels and the trip can take anywhere from one hour to two hours. Our personal experience with this was a nightmare.
Which leads to this warning: Do not stay at any motel or hotel on W. Irlo Bronson in Kissimmee that uses the Caribbean Island Shuttle service or the Florida Sunrise Shuttle service! (They changed their name mid-trip!) The buses on this line are so decrepit, we actually had to call the Orange County Sheriff once we got to the TTC one morning to report that our bus shook so badly on the trip over that all of us on board feared for our safety. The bus was taken out of service. The Sheriff told us that this shuttle service is the worst out there, but we already knew that. On several occasions the bus was anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour late. Once, when my dh called from his cell phone to find out what the problem was, the manager just said there was a problem, the bus would get there eventually and was not at all apologetic. When dh called back 10 minutes later after the bus had still not arrived, the manager would not even answer the phone! Repeated calls and the phone just rang and rang.
Unbelievably, if you got the 6:00Pm shuttle from the TTC it made an unexplainable stop at AK. None of the hotels on the shuttle route had a scheduled pick-up at Ak, no one was ever waiting at AK for this shuttle since AK closes at 5:00PM, in fact, no one was anywhere to be seen in the parking lot! Still, 6:00 pm shuttle stopped there every time!
On another occasion, on the way back from the parks one night, the bus was so jammed that people were sitting on the front steps and had to get off and on to allow people to exit! To make matters worse, the driver was notified that he had left a stroller in the parking lane at Epcot and we had to return to get it, making for a 2 hour plus trip back to the hotel that night. This shuttle service is unbelievably unreliable and even dangerous. Avoid it at all costs!
Now the hotel. We stayed at the Sleep Inn on W. Irlo Bronson. (It also changed its named mid-trip to the Ambiance!) Our first room was very small, with only 3 drawers to store clothing. On the morning of the hurricane, rain came through the front wall and soaked the carpeting, our luggage and the clothing that we had to stack on shelves due to lack of drawer space. We were told later that day that we would have to change rooms. Now we know that hurricanes are an unavoidable occurance, but management was unbelievably unhelpful. We were told to change rooms, were offered no help whatsoever while doing so, and haggled for a little retribution. We finally got them to agree to lift the $10.00 fee for storing our luggage on the day of check-out since we weren't leaving till the evening. We asked for this after telling them we had to wash clothing as a result of the water seepage. They agreed after much rudeness such as "Just how much clothing do you have?" When I replied that it wasn't the amount of clothing so much as the amount of time it took to dry it, I was told that maybe it wouldn't take so long to dry if I didn't overload the machine. To which I replied that when only one dryer is working, one has to put more clothing in than normal to save on cost and to allow others to use the one machine. Unbelievable aggravation for $10.00!!!
We spoke to a young couple from Canada who were on their honeymoon and also had to change rooms due to unclean conditions unrelated to the storm. They told us that management was very unaccommodating and didn't care at all that this was their honyemoon.
One morning while waiting for the shuttle, which was, of course, late, we witnessed a scene in the lobby when the Sheriff came to take a report of a theft from one of the rooms. Once again, management was very uncaring.
DH was accused of making his own scene in the lobby while waiting for the once again 40-minutre late shuttle. He complained to management about the terrible service. They told him that there were "circumstances" and that we could check out if we didn't like it! What happened to hospitality?! We can hardly believe the coldness of the management of this hotel.
The horrible transportation cut into our trip so much, that we seriously feel that we will budget future trips to stay on property, even if it means a shorter stay. Learn from our mistakes and, if you are staying off-site, rent a car or make sure your hotel has its own shuttle.
Now, after all this being said, I would just like to add that all things Disney related on this trip were just as we expected . . .wonderful! I would still call this a good trip because the ten days we spent in the parks were as magical as we hoped them to be. MNSSHP was great and I have a new favorite ride...Soarin'! It is just the coolest! We rode it as often as possible. We met some wonderful people, ate some great food and celebrated our 32nd Anniversary in true Disney style. It was a great trip that could have been even better.
One last thing. Our trip got off to a bad start from a usually reliable source...Mears. Our shuttle from the airport left 20 minutes after our plane landed and got us to our hotel . . . 3 unbelievable hours later! Our driver not only didn't know where he was taking the four parties on our shuttle, he kept asking us if we knew how to get to our hotels! After many stops for directions, and much aggravation, our hotel was finally his last drop-off. After 2 days and several phone calls from dh Mears gave us retribution in a nice ride back to the airport in a Lincoln Towncar. At least they acknowledged their mistakes and righted their wrong.
Well that's it. We learned a lot and, hopefully, we helped other people on this forum to plan better than we did.
I have always been in favor of staying off-property if it means a longer stay. I still believe this can work, but you have to shop carefully for accommodations and shuttle service. We got a great deal on a hotel that advertised 15 minutes from Disney and free shuttle service to the parks. Technically true, but the shuttle stops at several other hotels and the trip can take anywhere from one hour to two hours. Our personal experience with this was a nightmare.
Which leads to this warning: Do not stay at any motel or hotel on W. Irlo Bronson in Kissimmee that uses the Caribbean Island Shuttle service or the Florida Sunrise Shuttle service! (They changed their name mid-trip!) The buses on this line are so decrepit, we actually had to call the Orange County Sheriff once we got to the TTC one morning to report that our bus shook so badly on the trip over that all of us on board feared for our safety. The bus was taken out of service. The Sheriff told us that this shuttle service is the worst out there, but we already knew that. On several occasions the bus was anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour late. Once, when my dh called from his cell phone to find out what the problem was, the manager just said there was a problem, the bus would get there eventually and was not at all apologetic. When dh called back 10 minutes later after the bus had still not arrived, the manager would not even answer the phone! Repeated calls and the phone just rang and rang.
Unbelievably, if you got the 6:00Pm shuttle from the TTC it made an unexplainable stop at AK. None of the hotels on the shuttle route had a scheduled pick-up at Ak, no one was ever waiting at AK for this shuttle since AK closes at 5:00PM, in fact, no one was anywhere to be seen in the parking lot! Still, 6:00 pm shuttle stopped there every time!
On another occasion, on the way back from the parks one night, the bus was so jammed that people were sitting on the front steps and had to get off and on to allow people to exit! To make matters worse, the driver was notified that he had left a stroller in the parking lane at Epcot and we had to return to get it, making for a 2 hour plus trip back to the hotel that night. This shuttle service is unbelievably unreliable and even dangerous. Avoid it at all costs!
Now the hotel. We stayed at the Sleep Inn on W. Irlo Bronson. (It also changed its named mid-trip to the Ambiance!) Our first room was very small, with only 3 drawers to store clothing. On the morning of the hurricane, rain came through the front wall and soaked the carpeting, our luggage and the clothing that we had to stack on shelves due to lack of drawer space. We were told later that day that we would have to change rooms. Now we know that hurricanes are an unavoidable occurance, but management was unbelievably unhelpful. We were told to change rooms, were offered no help whatsoever while doing so, and haggled for a little retribution. We finally got them to agree to lift the $10.00 fee for storing our luggage on the day of check-out since we weren't leaving till the evening. We asked for this after telling them we had to wash clothing as a result of the water seepage. They agreed after much rudeness such as "Just how much clothing do you have?" When I replied that it wasn't the amount of clothing so much as the amount of time it took to dry it, I was told that maybe it wouldn't take so long to dry if I didn't overload the machine. To which I replied that when only one dryer is working, one has to put more clothing in than normal to save on cost and to allow others to use the one machine. Unbelievable aggravation for $10.00!!!
We spoke to a young couple from Canada who were on their honeymoon and also had to change rooms due to unclean conditions unrelated to the storm. They told us that management was very unaccommodating and didn't care at all that this was their honyemoon.
One morning while waiting for the shuttle, which was, of course, late, we witnessed a scene in the lobby when the Sheriff came to take a report of a theft from one of the rooms. Once again, management was very uncaring.
DH was accused of making his own scene in the lobby while waiting for the once again 40-minutre late shuttle. He complained to management about the terrible service. They told him that there were "circumstances" and that we could check out if we didn't like it! What happened to hospitality?! We can hardly believe the coldness of the management of this hotel.
The horrible transportation cut into our trip so much, that we seriously feel that we will budget future trips to stay on property, even if it means a shorter stay. Learn from our mistakes and, if you are staying off-site, rent a car or make sure your hotel has its own shuttle.
Now, after all this being said, I would just like to add that all things Disney related on this trip were just as we expected . . .wonderful! I would still call this a good trip because the ten days we spent in the parks were as magical as we hoped them to be. MNSSHP was great and I have a new favorite ride...Soarin'! It is just the coolest! We rode it as often as possible. We met some wonderful people, ate some great food and celebrated our 32nd Anniversary in true Disney style. It was a great trip that could have been even better.
One last thing. Our trip got off to a bad start from a usually reliable source...Mears. Our shuttle from the airport left 20 minutes after our plane landed and got us to our hotel . . . 3 unbelievable hours later! Our driver not only didn't know where he was taking the four parties on our shuttle, he kept asking us if we knew how to get to our hotels! After many stops for directions, and much aggravation, our hotel was finally his last drop-off. After 2 days and several phone calls from dh Mears gave us retribution in a nice ride back to the airport in a Lincoln Towncar. At least they acknowledged their mistakes and righted their wrong.
Well that's it. We learned a lot and, hopefully, we helped other people on this forum to plan better than we did.
We didn't go back to Disney for four years because we were saving up to stay on property!
