Just Back - Some Thoughts On Disney etc.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by 3disneykids

Unfortunately it's not just wine...I am sure the basics went up massively within 1 year. The QSDP meant I didn't have to say no constantly which was nice and made the holiday much easier. I think you are right about the money making machine that is Disney. It is making it out of reach for an average family.

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Us Brits are not the norm, therein lies the problem.
Disney tends to see Mr and Mrs average US family with their 3 children.
Fly in, stay for 4 or 5 nights and fly out. In that time they hammer the Parks, get little or no free DDP, hit the paid for events and buy the souvenirs. An easy to milk cash cow.

[Tinkerbell]

Originally Posted by Bridget

Thank you for such thorough information.

We were there from 29 April - 20 May. We found the Disney parks horrendously busy too which is strange as I read a trip report of someone who was there the same time who said the Disney parks were quiet?!

The last time we did Disney was three years ago. It has changed so much and in all honesty has put us off. We cannot go when it is that busy again (and this was supposed to be a quiet time..?)

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I was there first two weeks, I agree... obviously busy is subjective... I certainly didn’t think it quiet

Last time we did Disney was ten years ago... as Mr T and the wizard said... different generations will take over and have magical times as they know no different, done of us, however do remember when Disney was synonymous with magic, customer service and focus on the public.

We may well return to Florida but Disney’s sone for us now... until...

[Pussycat Doll]

Great report. you know we don’t do much in the way of parks and very rarely eat onsite! So many excellent places to eat offsite! We’re heading to the airport soon, ready to plan the next one!

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by Pussycat Doll

Great report. you know we don’t do much in the way of parks and very rarely eat onsite! So many excellent places to eat offsite! We’re heading to the airport soon, ready to plan the next one!

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Selina. Gosh that trip went quick! Have a good flight and see you soon.

[BarryL]

As always a good honest report.

But those pesky hips...
I can only offer a few words of advice. Post op, do your physio, then do some more. Lots of days she won't feel like doing it, but make her do it. Then coax her to do a little more.
She'll thank you in a few short months when they're better than they've ever been

[dannigizmo]

Great informative post, thankyou!
I agree cant stand rudeness especially when your paying for service!

Love Longhorns... oh the bread and salad and steak obvs! May need to try Bonefish on next trip, drive past it many times and no idea why have not tried it as only ever hear good things!

[BucksBugsy]

A recent walkthrough video of coronado springs has appeared on YouTube (uploaded in last few hiurs) and it does look stunning. Cant wait!

[CarolynU]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

The 2nd trip of 2019 is now complete, and we flew out on the 2nd May and back on the 25th May.

This trip should have encompassed a 7-night cruise, but we cancelled that due to my Wife’s hip issues and other factors.

We flew out and back with Virgin in Upper Class. This was a totally free flight as we used our downgrade vouchers from 2 years ago. Not even any taxes to pay.

The food was excellent on both legs and the cabin albeit aged is still very good. I cannot commend VA enough on their food offerings. I think the Disney Chefs should take a leaf out of their book!

Arrived at a busy Immigration Hall but we skipped through the GE line in 2 minutes flat. Saw somebody struggling with the GE machines so helped them out – another Dibb Member!

Cases were out in 2 mins, so we were gone and off to the Alamo garage.

Straight to the Standard SUV Row. Mmm, what’s this junk. Full of Intermediate SUV’s apart from a builder’s truck!

Asked the Staff could they assist, and one Guy did try but couldn’t find any. Hence, we took a VW Tiguan that must have been made for the rental market. The Tiguan is a good car, this wasn’t!
Not keeping this.

As we had changed the holiday, we didn’t want to use our DVC Points for the first 5 nights so booked Coronado Springs.
What can I say about this Resort? Stunning, the grounds are just perfect and the room we had in Casitas 3 was very well laid out, lovely fixtures and a massive bed. Bigger than a King size. No impact at all from the nearly completed tower block. That looks good as well.

So many nice touches such as USB ports on the table lamps, pop out reading lights on the headboard and a 15ft long granite top over the drawer units.

SSR take note!

The following day headed to the Car Care Centre and swapped the car out for a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Lovely car, under 2000 miles and most importantly for me it had full leather and a heated steering wheel. Last car in this class there.

I detest not having a heated wheel as my hands get cold.

I won’t be letting this go with Alamo and they have 2 more chances this year to get that row right. Otherwise I’m off to another company. Alamo are dropping badly on review sites.

We did a few Parks whilst in CSR and had a few sunbathing days.

There were 100’s of Cheerleading Girls staying there. They were a bit loud but what youth aren’t! Their behaviour was perfect, no rudeness, pushing or problems at all. Well done.

After 5 days we moved to SSR and got the room we wanted. The grounds as always were perfect, and we prefer this look to the perfectly manicured Resorts such as the GF etc.

The rooms though are distinctly tired looking. I will be putting a thread on the DVC Forum ref what I have ascertained about the refurb and dates etc.

We ate both on and off site, but I will come back to that.

Met up with fellow Dibbers

• Pussycat Doll. Selina & Richard. – Always nice to meet and natter. Excellent meal at Longhorns

• Greyfriars – Haven’t seen him and his lovely Wife for 2 years so nice to catch up. Excellent meal at the Olive Garden. Thanks for the hip replacement tips Mrs Greyfriars!

• Mr & Mrs Blue Sky – Our sunbathing partners! We see them twice a year normally and met lots this trip. Had a decent meal at the Turf Club. More on this place later!
Enjoy your retirement and I suspect you will post your views on this thread which may mirror mine.

• Also dined with our Cast Member friend at the Ale & Compass. Nice Mahi Mahi.

So, we come to some thoughts, musings and opinions.

The weather was a bit weird for 2 days. Experienced probably 4 hours of the worst rain ever. Message to me – don’t assume an umbrella will help!
Never been so wet in our lives walking from DHS to the car. Water was 4” deep in the car park.

The last 2 weeks were stunning. Hot and bone dry. Lovely, we love the heat.

Love Bugs. Worst I have ever seen in 25 years of Florida. So many children freaking out and I felt sorry for them. I just lie on my sun lounger and they meet my flip flop at 30mph!

The gondolas. Not far off now I suspect. The finishing touches are going onto the stations ref décor panels and signage. Haven’t seen anything so ugly for donkeys’ years. Ruined the skyline view and looks a mess going over the Boardwalk etc. But they are the way forward ref buses and pollution I suppose.

The pathway into International Gateway will be fun – Not!

Food. I am very clear on my views ref Disney dining. Totally ruined by the Dining Plan and the fayre can only be described as ‘safe’. But they are experiencing big issues.
How can a restaurant be under half full and you have an ADR but it’s a 25 minute wait every night we went there?
The reason is they haven’t got enough Staff. It’s not the kitchen as we ate at the bar instead and the food came out quickly.

Some of the podium staff need to learn manners. Especially the University Ladies who are on a temporary contract. Also, some of the ‘older generation’ Have a hissy fit with me and you lose. I bet you won’t forget me in a hurry my dear!

Let’s focus on an average meal for us: -
Salad to share $9
Steak x 2 $68
Add on 2 soft drinks, plus tax plus gratuity and you are hitting $105+

Mmm, that’s a lot for food that is average at best and can be poor. If as we do you ditch the soft drinks but have 2 glasses of wine, you are hitting $120+

Now we can get under this price with the TIW card hence a discount and no tip as such but it’s still a lot.

For those on the free DDP it’s brilliant for budgeting. Not for those paying.

Anyhow. Every restaurant for the 3 weeks was dead. I could get any place I liked at 8.30pm on the day including all the Signatures apart from the Cali. Multiple time choices as well. Where are the diners? Simple, eating offsite.
Priced out of WDW and fed up with mediocre food.

Sanaa. This was in the last chance saloon for us after 5 poor meals in recent years. We ate twice at the bar off the restaurant/bar menu. Excellent food, hot, tasty and well presented. Well done. Mrs Morrow stop ordering the bread! It’s lovely but too much!

Raglan Rd. This went up in our estimation in late 2018 and again it didn’t disappoint. Yet again well done.

Offsite dining. God love Longhorns (not the Vineland one) and Bonefish Grill. On a Tuesday in Bonefish you can have a salad, a main (limited choice) and dessert for $15.99!
Other days it’s a lot more obviously but the fish there is superb, and we are fish lovers. A pity Disney don’t offer it more on their menus. Hey ho.

The Turf Club. Big issues there last November. They couldn’t get a hot meal out at all.

So, we ate there 3 times. The first 2 occasions were ok, nothing special but nothing bad. The 3rd time my Wife had nearly raw scallops and my risotto with pork was swimming in an inch of juice!
Sent back and the replacement risotto contained so much cheese I couldn’t even lift it.
Refused to pay for anything and left. Sad as it can be good.
Arrogance and a couldn’t care less attitude that seems to be coming more prevalent.

The Parks. Wow busy!
Our favourites in order are -
Animal Kingdom
Hollywood Studios
Epcot
Stroller Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom AKA Stroller Kingdom is now insane. Far too many huge strollers still, crowds difficult to get around and a glitchy MDE app makes it hard work.

Are the American young families more affluent now so can afford to go to Disney more? I don’t know but lots more young families hence more strollers. If so good luck to them and I am not complaining about individuals just the sheer number.

Anyone else seen these new ‘pop up carts’?
I am seeing them a lot at the MK, little push along carts with maybe 30 bottles of water/soda on and a few fans. Put right in the middle of the busiest paths at peak time. They suddenly appear after shows etc. Causes chaos but as we expect from Disney who cares about that. Give me your loot!

Wait lines everywhere the longest I have seen. When it’s a small world is 65 minutes you know that the day will be difficult. Especially when it’s not yet Midday!

I have never seen the line for Tower of Terror to stretch past Beauty & The Beast!

I get accused of being negative about Disney but if it impacts me and others then I will be critical. They are unconcerned with anything apart from money. Less staff, better transport (gondolas) to get guests into a park faster but the Parks can’t cope. Poor food quality and crazy prices. No, I won’t pay $5 for an apple! Why more food stalls at Flower & Garden? Ahh yes, money.

To their credit the road network is better every visit. The new but now well-established landscaping. The new rides will be awesome, and the staff are still in the main excellent. Flower & Garden just wow.

SSR refurb. Nothing as yet and no sign of it starting anytime soon. Disappointing. However, I hope Disney have thought of telling cash stayers before it commences or we will have another CBR fiasco and compensation issues!

So, what now?

Back in mid-August but with the 8-year-old Granddaughter. I cannot wait to get on Dumbo again!

The future after that, who knows. I am convinced Disney will become a morning, afternoon or evening ‘slot’ for people. Get in and get out ready for the next rush with their 3 FP’s. Time will tell.

What direction will Disney go in 2021 when Bob Iger retires?
I don’t know but I remember this expression from when I was working.

When it becomes clear that you only care about making money, you risk losing even the most loyal clients. They want someone working for them who sees them as more than just a dollar sign.


Florida for us is about leisure and only doing 3 Parks a week to get circa 30 miles walking in. The rest is chilling time.

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This is amazing Tom and such an interesting read. I must admit that I gave up eating sit down meals in Disney when I was made to book 6 months in advance and then found that sky high prices were not rewarded by a superior meal. The final straw for me was when my meal at the new for the time 're-imagined' Flying Fish minus its Cafe was an absolutely shocking price for a piece of pork so small that came with a smear of something purporting to be a cherry gastrique that was bland and a waygu filet with some hard cold square lumps that were once presumably originally vegetables. I later found out that the previous very popular head chef was no longer with the company and I can't help but wonder whether this could be attributed to Disney finding a way to produce a menu that is heavy on description but lighter on substance, and possibly like The Emperors New Clothes no one wants to be the one to admit that smaller portions with a drizzle of this and a glaze of that can produce higher profits whilst appearing to be upscale dining!
However, it gets rave reviews so what do I know?
When I visit with the grandkids and family in October/November then we will eat counter service for lunch and then eat offsite. The only exception to this will be the two character meals which I've booked simply for the characters. For one of these meals I'm paying for 6 adults and 1 child and I believe that it will cost me the equivalent of a flight to the USA in economy out of season! Yes Disney I could fly back to Orlando again or eat your meal with family and Mickey! But it begs the question of why I have agreed to do it? Because sometimes I'm just as capable of being pulled into the pixie dust as everyone else where the kiddies are involved!
So your report has highlighted some niggles that I'm aware of like the overcrowding and insane waits and shocking wifi in the parks but I'm hoping that my next trip won't be a one and done out of sheer frustration, but the jury is definitely out right now!

[walt4it]

Nailed it Tom - all of my frustrations from the past with food, DDP and the general can't give a toss attitude of Disney cast members means that our trip this year will be our Disney curtain call.
Notwithstanding the cost, it is the cattle mentality that has taken over, especially in stroller kingdom

Each year the price goes up and the levels of quality and service are reduced. If anyone reading this finds a good CM over there please go to great pains to get their name and ensure you make mention of them, they are so few and far between these days.

Have read your Alamo comments and will be interested in how they shape up

Appreciate your detailed and honest recount and also for leaving a few questions out there that all of us going this summer will keep in mind and hopefully share with everyone one here.

Roll on August

[lov2dibb]

Thanks for what was quite a comprehensive and interesting trip report.

We are just back from our trip too and I might have been in that queue when your picture at ToT was taken! Over the two weeks only one side was open each time I went on (3 different days). I don't know if that's a staffing issue or maintenance but not good either way.

There's a lot of work going on at the IG - looks like they're expanding the entrance to cope with the increased traffic and they'll definitely need it. I hope the extra crowds there won't spoil the area.

As you say the additional booths at F&G festival are about making more money and the snacks are quite pricey but I really enjoy them. They were lunch or dinner on quite a few days and they're also decent sizes so three or four between me and my daughter was plenty - cheaper than your average QS meal. Totally agree with TS meals though - so expensive and hit or miss wherever you go now.

Hope you have more positive experiences on your next trip