nicole2003
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2009
Hello all
I was a lurker here for a great while, but decided to post my trip report after going.
Who:
My husband and me, our first time to the Magic Kindgom together. I had been previously during my childhood, as had he-but we decided to make one trip together before we have kids.
Hotel:
We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort. We were going to stay at the Contemporary, but just couldn't justify the cost. I was a little worried-I am a little spoiled when it comes to hotels. But, I shouldn't have been. It was a pretty nice stay. All the rooms have recently been refurbished, and I was pretty impressed. We encountered only one slight flaw with the toilet. It is a long story, but it really was a small inconvenience for us. We notified the hotel staff because we were concerned some water might be dripping to the room below, but found out it wasn't the case. They offered to switch rooms (we opted to stay as packing up would have been a pain at that point). Then they apologized profusely and told us they would comp us a half night stay for our trouble (which was great, but we didn't really expect them to follow through). Sure enough when we got our bill they had comped us an entire night's stay! We were really impressed! We didn't really expect them to do anything. So, in all, great stay. Hotel staff and everyone we encountered were just wonderful. Can't say enough good things about the hotel. Also, was a very pretty hotel (or, at least, we thought so). It was very scenic with the all the foliage, lakes and pools.
Parks:
I don't know if everyone would want to perform our itinerary, as it was very fast paced.
On our second day we hit three parks (Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios). On our last day we hit all four parks in one day. We utilized every mode of transportation that Disney offered; I believe (monorail, bus, boat to Hollywood Studios, boat to Transpiration Transit Center). In fact, we parked our car and didn't use it for the five days we were there. We took advantage of fast passes (usually we would get to the park early, get fast passes and get in line to another big attraction). It wasn't as relaxing as others would have wanted, but, for us, it worked. We got to see allot and that is what we wanted for this trip, since it will be our last until we have kids (and we know we won't be able to see as much when the kids are dictating the schedule).
Hollywood Studios-We don't like shows/parades so it just wasn't our thing. Rock N'Rollar Coaster was shut down for our entire trip, so I was kind of disappointed about that, but figured we lucked out that only one ride was down during our stay. My husband loved The Studio Backlot Tour (especially the place where the water comes over the edge of the canyon and everything is on fire). Oh, and being a Star Wars geek, he loved Star Tours (I could have done without that one, though-just wasn't that exciting for me).
Animal Kingdom-While it wasn't as great as some zoos we have been to (I think our trip to San Diego Zoo has kind of set our expectations high), there were some great aspects about the park. We got to see a baby gorilla and I really liked Rafiki's Planet Watch (we got to watch them examine an owl with some eye problems at the clinic and the vet answered questions afterward-I thought that was pretty neat. Fortunately, the owl's eye problems weren't fatal or anything and the vet said the owl could still have a good quality of life while being treated with drops on a daily basis). My husband and I absolutely loved Expedition Everest (even my husband who hates roller coasters loved this ride). Also, really liked Dinosaur! The Primeval Whirl was a little rocky, though (kind of tosses you around a bit more than I expected from such a little ride). We didn't see any shows or parades. We saw the line for Nemo and just were thankful we didn't have to sit in that one!
Epcot-Loved Sum of all Thrills (cannot recommend this one enough-just a great concept), Soarin and Living with the Land. Would recommend Fast Passes for Soarin and Test Track-as the standby line never got below 50 minutes for either. Be aware that Test Track will shut down in event of thunderstorms due to the aluminum track going outside the building for a short time. They will, however, honor your Fastpasses when it reopens.
Magic Kingdom-loved Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion. I rode the Astro Orbiter for the first time and wasn't that impressed. And my poor husband, who is very tall, could barely fit in the car. We had a good laugh about it later, though (it was a funny picture seeing my husband with his long legs try to fit into that thing).
Other stuff: We had quick service dining with our package and it was ALOT of food for us. And not that great of food, either-but I kind of knew to expect that. We didn't want the other dining because we didn't want to be tied to any ADR's and I honestly don't know if we could have eaten that much food.
I cannot praise the use of Fastpasses enough. USE THEM!! All the planning was left to me, and my husband didn't know what fastpasses were. I explained it to him and showed him the lines we would have been waiting in-and he started to appreciate the fastpasses, as well.
Also, the parades were a great time to get in line for rides.
It was hot, but not oppressive. Rain/storms appeared two or three afternoons, we would find someplace inside for an hour or so and then they were gone.
After reading these boards, I was a little worried about CM's being rude and such. I braced myself for the rudeness. It was totally unnecessary. I can count on one hand the number of CM's we encountered who were somewhat rude or dismissive (and when you think of how many you come into contact with that number is AMAZING). The great majority of the times, the CMs were just astounding. Polite, helpful etc. We would just be reading our map and someone would say "Can I help you find something?". Our questions were answered with enthusiasm and smiles. I just cannot say enough good things about the CM's. And when you think about what kind of job they have (they stand in the heat dealing with people ALL day), I was really astounded.
That being said, and I am preparing myself for some flames here as I know the drill, we could not believe the amount of rude GUESTS we encountered. When did "please" and "thank you" become obsolete in this society? How about saying "excuse me" when you run into someone (especially a young child). Why do others think it is "cute" when their little one runs into me with their strollers (and why bring the stroller if you are going to have your five year old push it?). Also, god forbid, anyone give up their seat on the bus to someone carrying a kid or a woman (my husband, regardless of the thirteen hours of walking and sheer exhaustion he was feeling, always gave up his seat on the bus if a woman/elderly person was standing). Also, that CM may respond better to you if you simply said "hello, how are you doing today", rather than immediately start barking out what you want on your burger. My favorite encounter with a guest occurred at Animal Kingdom. We were in back of a woman who was, obviously, not having a "magical day". She was rude to the CM serving the drinks and the point of her breaking came when she was told she could not get a plastic cover to her drink or a "real straw" (Animal Kingdom does not serve plastic covers or plastic straws due to the threat to the animals). This woman balks at the CM and then turns to us and rolls her eyes (like we were going to sympathize with her or something?). Instead, we stared at her like she was a lunatic (cause, let's admit it, she was) and smiled profusely at the poor CM who had to deal with this nutcase. This is just one example of many (my other favorite was a fellow guest yelling at the CM at Test Track when they closed the ride down due to afternoon storms-the ride goes outside for a brief period and is a big aluminum track. Would you want to be on that ride during a thunderstorm-most sane people wouldnt. But, this guy, was really peeved they closed it down-thought it was all the CM's fault). I guess people think they can act any way they want when they spend a boat load of money to go the "Magic Kingdom"? Sorry to vent about this for so long, but this really disturbed my husband and me. We just saw so many instances of this, and were just shocked.
In closing, we had a good time (if not a little tiring!). The CM's were great, the hotel was wonderful-but our fellow guests were the only crimp in the entire trip. I'm not saying Disney can do no wrong (they are a business like any other and are looking to make a profit and such), but they do a pretty good job of doing what they do.
Any questions, please feel free to ask (or just flame me for the guest comments). Also, thanks to all those dis'ers who posted great info that I benefited from, I appreciate it!
Thanks and I hope everyone has as wonderful of a trip as my husband and I did!
I was a lurker here for a great while, but decided to post my trip report after going.
Who:
My husband and me, our first time to the Magic Kindgom together. I had been previously during my childhood, as had he-but we decided to make one trip together before we have kids.
Hotel:
We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort. We were going to stay at the Contemporary, but just couldn't justify the cost. I was a little worried-I am a little spoiled when it comes to hotels. But, I shouldn't have been. It was a pretty nice stay. All the rooms have recently been refurbished, and I was pretty impressed. We encountered only one slight flaw with the toilet. It is a long story, but it really was a small inconvenience for us. We notified the hotel staff because we were concerned some water might be dripping to the room below, but found out it wasn't the case. They offered to switch rooms (we opted to stay as packing up would have been a pain at that point). Then they apologized profusely and told us they would comp us a half night stay for our trouble (which was great, but we didn't really expect them to follow through). Sure enough when we got our bill they had comped us an entire night's stay! We were really impressed! We didn't really expect them to do anything. So, in all, great stay. Hotel staff and everyone we encountered were just wonderful. Can't say enough good things about the hotel. Also, was a very pretty hotel (or, at least, we thought so). It was very scenic with the all the foliage, lakes and pools.
Parks:
I don't know if everyone would want to perform our itinerary, as it was very fast paced.
On our second day we hit three parks (Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios). On our last day we hit all four parks in one day. We utilized every mode of transportation that Disney offered; I believe (monorail, bus, boat to Hollywood Studios, boat to Transpiration Transit Center). In fact, we parked our car and didn't use it for the five days we were there. We took advantage of fast passes (usually we would get to the park early, get fast passes and get in line to another big attraction). It wasn't as relaxing as others would have wanted, but, for us, it worked. We got to see allot and that is what we wanted for this trip, since it will be our last until we have kids (and we know we won't be able to see as much when the kids are dictating the schedule).
Hollywood Studios-We don't like shows/parades so it just wasn't our thing. Rock N'Rollar Coaster was shut down for our entire trip, so I was kind of disappointed about that, but figured we lucked out that only one ride was down during our stay. My husband loved The Studio Backlot Tour (especially the place where the water comes over the edge of the canyon and everything is on fire). Oh, and being a Star Wars geek, he loved Star Tours (I could have done without that one, though-just wasn't that exciting for me).
Animal Kingdom-While it wasn't as great as some zoos we have been to (I think our trip to San Diego Zoo has kind of set our expectations high), there were some great aspects about the park. We got to see a baby gorilla and I really liked Rafiki's Planet Watch (we got to watch them examine an owl with some eye problems at the clinic and the vet answered questions afterward-I thought that was pretty neat. Fortunately, the owl's eye problems weren't fatal or anything and the vet said the owl could still have a good quality of life while being treated with drops on a daily basis). My husband and I absolutely loved Expedition Everest (even my husband who hates roller coasters loved this ride). Also, really liked Dinosaur! The Primeval Whirl was a little rocky, though (kind of tosses you around a bit more than I expected from such a little ride). We didn't see any shows or parades. We saw the line for Nemo and just were thankful we didn't have to sit in that one!
Epcot-Loved Sum of all Thrills (cannot recommend this one enough-just a great concept), Soarin and Living with the Land. Would recommend Fast Passes for Soarin and Test Track-as the standby line never got below 50 minutes for either. Be aware that Test Track will shut down in event of thunderstorms due to the aluminum track going outside the building for a short time. They will, however, honor your Fastpasses when it reopens.
Magic Kingdom-loved Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion. I rode the Astro Orbiter for the first time and wasn't that impressed. And my poor husband, who is very tall, could barely fit in the car. We had a good laugh about it later, though (it was a funny picture seeing my husband with his long legs try to fit into that thing).
Other stuff: We had quick service dining with our package and it was ALOT of food for us. And not that great of food, either-but I kind of knew to expect that. We didn't want the other dining because we didn't want to be tied to any ADR's and I honestly don't know if we could have eaten that much food.
I cannot praise the use of Fastpasses enough. USE THEM!! All the planning was left to me, and my husband didn't know what fastpasses were. I explained it to him and showed him the lines we would have been waiting in-and he started to appreciate the fastpasses, as well.
Also, the parades were a great time to get in line for rides.
It was hot, but not oppressive. Rain/storms appeared two or three afternoons, we would find someplace inside for an hour or so and then they were gone.
After reading these boards, I was a little worried about CM's being rude and such. I braced myself for the rudeness. It was totally unnecessary. I can count on one hand the number of CM's we encountered who were somewhat rude or dismissive (and when you think of how many you come into contact with that number is AMAZING). The great majority of the times, the CMs were just astounding. Polite, helpful etc. We would just be reading our map and someone would say "Can I help you find something?". Our questions were answered with enthusiasm and smiles. I just cannot say enough good things about the CM's. And when you think about what kind of job they have (they stand in the heat dealing with people ALL day), I was really astounded.
That being said, and I am preparing myself for some flames here as I know the drill, we could not believe the amount of rude GUESTS we encountered. When did "please" and "thank you" become obsolete in this society? How about saying "excuse me" when you run into someone (especially a young child). Why do others think it is "cute" when their little one runs into me with their strollers (and why bring the stroller if you are going to have your five year old push it?). Also, god forbid, anyone give up their seat on the bus to someone carrying a kid or a woman (my husband, regardless of the thirteen hours of walking and sheer exhaustion he was feeling, always gave up his seat on the bus if a woman/elderly person was standing). Also, that CM may respond better to you if you simply said "hello, how are you doing today", rather than immediately start barking out what you want on your burger. My favorite encounter with a guest occurred at Animal Kingdom. We were in back of a woman who was, obviously, not having a "magical day". She was rude to the CM serving the drinks and the point of her breaking came when she was told she could not get a plastic cover to her drink or a "real straw" (Animal Kingdom does not serve plastic covers or plastic straws due to the threat to the animals). This woman balks at the CM and then turns to us and rolls her eyes (like we were going to sympathize with her or something?). Instead, we stared at her like she was a lunatic (cause, let's admit it, she was) and smiled profusely at the poor CM who had to deal with this nutcase. This is just one example of many (my other favorite was a fellow guest yelling at the CM at Test Track when they closed the ride down due to afternoon storms-the ride goes outside for a brief period and is a big aluminum track. Would you want to be on that ride during a thunderstorm-most sane people wouldnt. But, this guy, was really peeved they closed it down-thought it was all the CM's fault). I guess people think they can act any way they want when they spend a boat load of money to go the "Magic Kingdom"? Sorry to vent about this for so long, but this really disturbed my husband and me. We just saw so many instances of this, and were just shocked.
In closing, we had a good time (if not a little tiring!). The CM's were great, the hotel was wonderful-but our fellow guests were the only crimp in the entire trip. I'm not saying Disney can do no wrong (they are a business like any other and are looking to make a profit and such), but they do a pretty good job of doing what they do.
Any questions, please feel free to ask (or just flame me for the guest comments). Also, thanks to all those dis'ers who posted great info that I benefited from, I appreciate it!
Thanks and I hope everyone has as wonderful of a trip as my husband and I did!
