Thoughts on Recent Trip

[JimMIA]

So I guess I want to try some vacations at other locations and see if people are the same everywhere now on vacation or does Disney truly bring out the worst in a lot of people. No one seemed to be relaxing.

I hate to admit this, but I DO believe Disney brings out the worst in some people. I don't think it affects the majority of the people that way, but morons are certainly plentiful enough to notice often. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons for different types of behaviors -- we all get hurried and tired, everybody's kids are subject to meltdowns, etc -- but some people just really have no upbringing.

We see that every trip to Disney, and we do not see it when we vacation elsewhere.

 

[Sammie]

Did you try hanging the diaper on their doorknob?

[NOTE: If you are going to try that, you have to be really, really careful or you will get yucky, smelly stuff all over the poor guest's doorknob! There's a reason why I know that -- I tend to be kinda clumsy in those situations. ]

ok I will have to confess now, after I very politely tried to be a good nieghbor and point out the Trash Room and that bugs were being attracted to the garbage and they might come back to a room full of bugs, and I got the "attitude"; every time I went out and their garabage was spread out all over the hallway and down toward our room, I very neatly placed all of it right on their Welcome Home mat, I can't say I was sorry to think they might actually trip over it as they came out the door.

I will now go hide in shame.

 

[edk35]

Also I really do not want this to be a bash Disney World post but I call them as I see them and I care too much for my fellow DVC Disers not to warn you. Disney is having problems with crime on property. You will see increased police on property including Sheriff and Highway Patrol, please just take the usual precautions and you will be fine, but do not go thinking Disney is a safe haven. It is not.

And an equal amount of it is guest generated.

We did have a good time, SSR is beautiful and one of the most well landscaped resorts. CMs were going out of their way to be helpful and friendly.

Our meals were really good and we got great service at all Restaurants. The Bounty Breakfast at Artist Pallette is delicious and very bountiful.

So I guess I want to try some vacations at other locations and see if people are the same everywhere now on vacation or does Disney truly bring out the worst in a lot of people. No one seemed to be relaxing.

What is the Bounty Breakfast??

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Sammie- sorry you got some bad vibes on your trip. The one time I experienced a lot of rude guests at Disney was the one and only time I went in the summer. I really think that heat + crowds = Grumpy guests. I think it brings out the worst in people.

 

[JimMIA]

ok I will have to confess now, after I very politely tried to be a good nieghbor and point out the Trash Room and that bugs were being attracted to the garbage and they might come back to a room full of bugs, and I got the "attitude"; every time I went out and their garabage was spread out all over the hallway and down toward our room, I very neatly placed all of it right on their Welcome Home mat, I can't say I was sorry to think they might actually trip over it as they came out the door.

I will now go hide in shame.

Nonsense!! You did good!

If they tripped over it, you're a hero. If they actually stepped in it, you're a rock star!

 

[Olaf]

Imagine what their home looks like. I get annoyed when I see trash bags just set out in the hallway. If I'd seen piles of trash and diapers, I'd have probably blown a gasket. Oinks oinks.

 

[Sammie]

Sammie- sorry you got some bad vibes on your trip. The one time I experienced a lot of rude guests at Disney was the one and only time I went in the summer. I really think that heat + crowds = Grumpy guests. I think it brings out the worst in people.

actually the heat has not been bad at all, as it has rained and rained and rained. Maybe that is a reason for the grumpiness. The crowds have been very large, many resorts are at 100%

 

[Sammie]

What is the Bounty Breakfast??

for one CS credit you get a fountain beverage, choice of juice, scrambled eggs, small mickey waffle, a biscuit, bacon and link sausage. Very good and lots of food. It is already plated at Artist Pallette, so makes a good breakfast to pick up and take back to your room.

 

[cobbler]

Sammie I am glad you had a good time despite others rudeness.

As for the trash that is sad, I am glad you piled it up in front of their door though

I think I would say something, I know hubby would. He's pretty scary looking though.

Did they have a lot of trash daily?? I guess that is weird to me as we don't generate a lot, we might get the bag full by Trash and Towel day but that is about it.

 

[Sammie]

Sammie I am glad you had a good time despite others rudeness.

As for the trash that is sad, I am glad you piled it up in front of their door though

I think I would say something, I know hubby would. He's pretty scary looking though.

Did they have a lot of trash daily?? I guess that is weird to me as we don't generate a lot, we might get the bag full by Trash and Towel day but that is about it.

You know I hated to bring this up but we were in a two bedroom and they were in a one bedroom and I have never seen so much trash, my family decided there was definitely more than 4 or even 5 people in the room. But there was also evidence of a lot of drinking going on too, so alot it was beer cans and bottles.

Since they were on the first floor it was simply a case of being lazy. I mean the trash rooms is jsut feet away.

We really enjoyed our stay at SSR, it is a lovely resort and everyone on staff was very kind.

 

[starbox]

Sammie -
I just want to say that ITA with you about the guests. On our trip, DD8 managed to be awarded sets of Pixie Pins for kind deeds on three different occassions - and in 7 days I only encountered one guest to pass a pin on to!

CMs were great.

I kept the Pixie Pins and figure I'll have no problem finding kind people on the Dis to pixie dust with them. Still, it's sad that people are not being kinder. Maybe YOMD backfired by making guests more competitve and resentful - instead of being there to enjoy Disney with people from around the world - the &%#@ person in front of you got a Dream Fastpass and you didn't. I know everyone should be able to be bigger and rise above, but seeing a bunch of people win something right before or after you is just not fun for people. On our first summer trip, there was a train full of "winners" on BTMR and the train right afterwards broke down on the track and had to be evacuated. We were laughing about it at the time - poor people, not only didn't they get a dream, but their ride they waited for who knows how long for broke! I am sure, however, that it was not funny for them - and was probably enough to put an edge on the rest of their day.

We won two really cool dreams - private time with princesses, lanyards, a special photo session, and a roller-coaster ride with Goofy. We also got plenty of little magic moments - but I still think YOMD was a bad promotion. In our experience, Disney has always had pixiedust spreading CMs and little magical things - but attention was never drawn to them and they were not treated like prizes to be won or lost. Disney became a place with winners and losers, and I think it was a big mistake. I'll be really glad when it's over and we can celebrate some nice birthday or anniversary instead.

 

[Sammie]

Starbox, maybe you are right, something was definitely different this trip. Must more of the "me" attitude. We have always come in the summer so we are used to the heat and crowds, but this group was borderline out of control.

We spent more time at our resort simply to have peace and quiet. SSR. is great for that. We went to the Beach Club and Yacht Club and Polynesian for dinners and the mob scenes there were not pleasant.

We also experienced people in the bathrooms at the Polynesian changing into swim clothes who were not staying there and also at the Beach Club. I won't say how the Beach Club ones were getting in as I don't want to allow someone else to use the scam but I did alert management on this situation.

And yes they were not DVC, as they were talking out loud in the toliet about where they were staying.

 

[Dis13]

Don't want to sound like a snoot, but do you think that the current "Disney is Affordable" marketing campaign is drawing a different "crowd" than the typical middle class family?

(Or is it just that the typical middle class family no longer has any manners???)

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Maybe YOMD backfired by making guests more competitve and resentful

Interesting theory, I think there may be something to that. You are so right that DisneyWorld has always been a place for magic moments and pixie dust, but as soon as they started marketing "prizes" or "dreams" it changed the whole dynamic.

We got some really fun dreams on our trip during YOMD, and I enjoyed seeing the people with the dream fast passes hanging around their neck... but I can see how if your day was off to a bad start, and then it seemed everyone around you was getting pixie dusted while you and your kids were left out- that might rub you wrong.

 

[Sammie]

Don't want to sound like a snoot, but do you think that the current "Disney is Affordable" marketing campaign is drawing a different "crowd" than the typical middle class family?

(Or is it just that the typical middle class family no longer has any manners???)

I don't think it matters, I think people of all financial backgrounds are rude now.

 

[manning]

We have gone in May, June, July, August, October and Dec before so we have dealt with crowds. It was certainly very crowded this year, maybe due to Dreams but people were just rude and there were more of them.

Lots of very rude, dangerous driving on Disney roads, rude neighbors at SSR and rude people at most every place to eat. Lots of kids not being tended to by parents. I was hit by a flying shoe at check in. No apology or anything from the parent or the child.

CMs were kind and friendly and after witnessing rude behavior by many guests I simply do not know how they do it.

However I was not impressed with the valet outsourcing workers, very unDisney like behavior. I will write Disney about this and other issues.

Boy if I got hit with a shoe and it was on the BW that shoe would have been walked outside and thrown into the lake!!!!!

 

[manning]

ok I will have to confess now, after I very politely tried to be a good nieghbor and point out the Trash Room and that bugs were being attracted to the garbage and they might come back to a room full of bugs, and I got the "attitude"; every time I went out and their garabage was spread out all over the hallway and down toward our room, I very neatly placed all of it right on their Welcome Home mat, I can't say I was sorry to think they might actually trip over it as they came out the door.

I will now go hide in shame.

Now this is the proper way to handle it. You slit the garbage bags. Then you lean/stack them on the door in such a way that when opened the bags fall inward.

 

[BCV23]

Sammie, thanks for the response about notification of nonsmoking rules. Good to hear even though it didn't work out for you. Perhaps as people get used to it, the situation will improve.

As to the diaper thing, we've had a couple BCV trips when every morning some jerk deposited their child's dirty diaper in a trashcan by the elevator. It only takes one inconsiderate, lazy family to affect dozens of others. The odor was always gone by the time we returned usually shortly after noon so I know the poor staff keeps up with it but jeesh!!!

 

[pcparamedics01]

Recently made a short trip to WDW and have some thoughts to share.

SSR: Still really like this resort alot. Stayed in Grandstand and while the views are beautiful and its pool is nice, we will not request this area again for us. We are drivers, we eat out each night at a Disney resort and this area is congested to drive in and out of. The road leading in and out comes out right at the guard shack and it is hard to get out during heavy traffic. Also they did not make the road wide enough and we were run in the grass several times by Disney buses. We prefer Paddocks for easy coming and going.

DVC valet parking: If you use this make sure when you pull up you go to the valet desk and show them your DVC card and ask for the member free parking. If not you will be billed to your room. There is a different color ticket you get from paying guests. When we did this we did not have any problems with it getting billed to our room.

Outsourcing valet, was hit or miss. Service was either good or horrible. I will be sharing my thoughts on this with Disney about the bad times. Most always it was at the Beach Club.

Nonsmoking: not going to debate the wrong or right of it, but many smokers are smoking in the hallways and patios and balconies and seem to have no concern for doing so. I complained and it was addressed but according to the manager I spoke to at SSR, very few complaints so unless people complain when they actually see someone not agreeing to the guidelines then people will smoke where they want.

Trash: some people are just too lazy to take it to the trash room and really don't care who knows it. We had some slobs for neighbors. I will be surprised if their room is not infested with bugs.

Years of Disney vacations. I think we are ready to start using our DVC to trade out to other destinations. Crowds were heavy this trip and people were ruder than ever. It truly is sad.

I will say we experienced many very helpful kind CMs but the rude guests we encountered more of, certainly put a damper on things.

We stayed at Congress Park over the 4th of July. There were hardly any smokers in their designated area. People would leave there trash at the front door. My husband found the trash site and we disgarded our trash appropiately. There were many that left it at the front door. Really in there defense a lot of people did not know where to disgard their trash.

 

[dclfun]

If you read the code/rates boards it's the same thing as the "winners and losers" from YOAMD. People who didn't get a pin code are furious that someone else got a better discount and people who didn't get a free upgrade ( note the ones from free dining that were at a value resort and got a 1 bedroom at SSR or OKW) were furious that they didn't get the email . These same angry and jealous people ( we're all human ) call DRC over and over again, lying about the pin code until they get someone there who gives them the discount or upgrade they weren't entitled to. We live in an internet world, where people who once were never aware of what happened around them now know in an instant something that may never have been intended to be advertised. Then there are those who feel they've spent X@#$ dollars and someone had better make their vacation special. They feel that when they ask a CM to "jump", the CM should say "how high". I quote that from an actual post on another board. Everyone has spent money to be at WDW, and like I said before, perhaps expectations, mine included, are too high for what can be delivered with so many of us all wanting the perfect vacation at the same time . ---Kathy