AffordableDisney-Trip Reports
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Brought to you by...
John and Donna Gross "The Full Mickey - At a Discount!" The Wall Street Journal
Beth represented us on December 6, 2003 at MouseFest 2003 at WDW. Here is her report: "This was my first year to participate in any of the events. I went to the Mega MouseMeet on Saturday at the Dolphin to represent Affordable Disney and was thrilled to finally meet so many of the folks that are behind the best Disney websites and guide books. One of the things that most amazed me was that, although some might see many of these sites and books as competition for each other, none of the authors and webmasters seemed to feel that way... We were all sort of equally in awe of each other's knowledge, and quick to praise each others works and efforts. When your primary source of income centers on Disney World, be it working there, booking Disney vacations, or educating future visitors, you have sort of an instant bond that transcends the competitive aspect of it all. We ran around hugging each other like long-lost pals! And in truth, I've been emailing back and forth with some of these people for so long I felt like we WERE long-lost friends! And speaking of long-lost friends, I can't tell you how great it was to meet face-to-face with so many of my clients. Most travel agents deal with people sitting on the other side of their desk. The majority of my clients, however, don't even live in the same state! I had the pleasure of being able to personally meet and thank about 20 clients this weekend, and it was so much fun! There were many, many events going on for the 10 days or so of MouseFest and I was only able to get there for that one, but that one thing attracted hundreds of Disney enthusiasts. Prior to it, nearly 100 people did a short Disney cruise. There were numerous little gatherings for snacks and meals planned, fireworks cruises, dessert parties, and so on. John, as you know, I used to do a group every year for the holidays and I've not done it for the last few, but I'm more psyched than ever now to get back into it so please ask your customers to drop me a note if they'd be interested in doing an Affordable Disney holiday vacation next year." Customers should log in for more information about Beth's plans for a Holiday Extravaganza! A short cruise, a short (3-4 night) vacation with optional extra nights, a Disney Holiday Luxury Tour and more are all possible. Beth continues: "If there's enough interest in one or more of these, then I'll block some space this month and get working on it and those that want to go can start saving right away (and maybe give the trip as a Christmas present THIS year)." If you're not a member of our Disney family, but would like to be a part of Beth's Disney Holiday Luxury tour, join us today. Click here. |
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Rob visited WDW December, 2003: "john, just got back from disney world, stayed at movies resort, very noisy even at 3 in the morning. kids yelling and running outside, wont stay there again. when i checked in the sheets were dirty, had hair all over them and the pillows, called housekeeping to change them. had dinner at chef mickeys and was disappointed in the selection, they really cut back on the varieties of food this year. Went on the new [Mission: Space] ride at epcot and hurt my back on it. had to stay in bed the next couple days. did see chic at epcot. it was a great concert. forgot i knew all the words to the songs and its been 25 years since i heard them. anyone with any disc problems [should] stay off the rides with g force in them, you will feel it the next day."
Robert visited WDW December, 2003: "Just returned from an eight day Disney vacation. Our 38th. Stayed at All Star Sports. We had the whole family and needed four rooms. Made our reservations through Beth, and it couldn't have gone any smoother. I recommend everyone going to Disney, to go through Beth. She takes her time and answers all your questions and gives you help and tips. Our whole trip was just fantastic, as always, and as a whole it was just flawless. Love my subscription to affordable disney and look forward to each informative edition. Keep up the good work." Thank you, Robert, for your wonderful words of encouragement.
Fran visited WDW November, 2003: "Five of us visited Disney World last November. We were fortunate in that our son is in the military, and we were able to get the 5 day pass at [the military rate]. We took our motorhome, and stayed at Ft. Wilderness, so were able to get into places early. I guess our cost would be a little cheaper than you can imagine, considering we had our own kitchen with us. We did however attend the Hoop de doo review, which the last time we attended it was in 1978, our first trip. As you can see, we are die hard disney fans. We didn't see any problems with litter, other than the occasional person who could not make it to a trash container, and they are everywhere. All of the disney personnel we had contact with were friendly and cheerful. The bus drivers were great. Maybe, some of the complaints are because people are just in too much of a hurry, and don't have time to be friendly also. Our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter had a great time. They also took advantage of the other theme park offers for military personnel. We, my husband and I, decided you couldn't do any better than Disney, so why waste the time or money. By the way, they liked Disney the best also, second best was Sea World. They have cabin facilities at Ft. Wilderness also, if a group wants to go." Thanks, Fran, for the feedback. We appreciate your son's service to our country.
Cathy visited WDW October, 2003: "Thanks for your great hints... My daughter and I were in Disney World in early October (at one of my favourites, Coronado Springs). But we missed going to the Halloween party (to my regret) and also missed the Wishes show (also to my regret). I forgot to check that, in October, shows and special events are not necessarily presented every day (we were there less than a week). I've taken my daughter every two years since she was 7. More recently, we've been able to go a little more often. Last March, she went without me, but went with a friend. I was there too, but we flew separately and stayed in different resorts (both All Stars). I guess I've started a family tradition! The "tradition" has included not-to-miss-attractions each time: Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones Show, Star Tours etc... well, we must now add Mission: Space to the list. Oh my oodness....what an unbelievably unique experience. It's being added to our "Traditions" repertoire. Thanks to your recommendation, we've obtained great passes from [your ticket agent] and great advice from Beth, for our next trip. It's in March. I'm booked for a few days at [a Disney luxury resort] (again, thanks for the recommendation regarding teacher discounts there). Then we're going on a Disney Cruise! It's our first cruise ever!..."
Kevin visited WDW September, 2003: "Just want to tell you about our recent trip to disney, and that we are no strangers to Disney at all. We booked our trip in March of this year and wanted to stay at the Caribbean Beach resort, in the Martinique building, 1st floor, 3 rooms adjoining. We spoke with our travel agent and she got us a great deal on our room, tickets, rental car and airfare. After she had made the arrangements, she phoned us to let us know that our requests for the room were not a problem and everything was set. "This is the first time we used a length of stay pass but it was so worth it, we paid for 7 days and got 3 free, which we were there for 10 days anyway. When we arrived at Disney on Sept 13, we went to check in and had no wait in line at all. While speaking with our representative he started explaining that our room was in Trinidad and on the 2nd floor, we told him that we made reservations in March and what we had requested, he said they were probably booked before that, we had some words but did not get it. Anyway, we packed everyone into the rental van and went to find our room, after locating the parking lot, my wife and I went to find our building and lo and behold it was in the middle of nothing, and had quite a trip to the parking lot from the room. I said to her, we are not staying here and told the rest of my family to put everything back into the van. Myself and my brother, went back to the front desk and spoke with someone else explaining our problem, so they said they could put us up in Coronado Springs, I said if i wanted to stay there, I would have reserved the rooms there in the first place. I asked to speak with the manager, so about 10 minutes later, he came out explained that he did not know where the mix up was but assured us if we take the room we could have what we originally wanted tomorrow, I said that is still unacceptable and that would take time out of our day to move, he said no problem I will move everything for you, I still said no. I said if you want to make me happy right now, you can give us a 3 bedroom at Old Key West, he said he couldn't. I told him you have 3 options, put us where we were supposed to be in first place tonight, get us a 3 bedroom at OKW or a refund and I am going to Universal. He said he definitely couldn't get me the first choice tonight so I told him he had 2 options left, he looked in his computer, made a call, and wallah, we had a 3 bedroom at OKW, no extra charge, apologized for the mix up and said he didn't know how it happened but he hoped this made up for the inconvenience and it did. He was very nice about it, and I was not rude, just a little upset. He told me who to talk to when we arrived at OKW and wished us a great trip. We went to OKW, checked in and had a grand villa for 10 days, and that was awesome, very nice place to stay. We stayed at OKW before but not in one this size. As for the rest of the trip it was uneventful, we had a character breakfast almost every morning which my 3yo daughter loved every minute of and 2 character dinners. We had an awesome time, the weather was great, crowds were small, and we couldn't have asked for anything more. (well except for my daughter getting sick and having to take her to Centra Care) I cant wait to go back, especially to see the new attractions in Animal Kingdom. Just wanted to let you know that you can be treated fairly if you just speak up, after all you are the guest. Thanks for your book, it is very enlightening and informative." Glad you were able to get it sorted out. Sorry your daughter got sick. Our son got pneumonia one Xmas and we had to take him to a clinic for treatment. :( Thank God he recovered quickly. (Kevin's demand for three-bedroom accommodations at Old Key West because he didn't get the room he wanted at Caribbean Beach stirred up some readers!) Kelly writes: "Regarding the person who thought they had "reserved" rooms in the Martinique building, and then got upset when they were put somewhere else. Despite what the travel agent told them, you can't arrange for specific rooms that far in advance. They (or the travel agent) would have had to make the request 5 days before their arrival. Disney does NOT guarantee specific rooms... Also, they shouldn't expect more than their top priority request. In other words, if you requested three rooms together, that was probably the request that was honored. Non-smoking is also a request... Demanding a 3-bdrm at OKW was totally out of line..." Another subscriber writes: "I can't believe Kevin and his visit to Disney. I have always been treated good there at Disney and I was appalled at how Kevin acted. He booked a room at Caribbean Beach Resort with a deal. and then when he didn't like where he was in the hotel asked for Old Key West?? I am confused. He didn't want to stay at Coronado Springs because he didn't book there but ok to act like he did. So they were giving in to him... next time pay the extra and stay at OKW if that is where u wanted to stay in the first place... Sorry to hear about ur child getting sick, :(" She also commented on visiting Cinderella's Castle: "As far as Cinderella's Castle, we have been inside of it and it was so magical. u don't need to spend that much. we went for lunch and it was wonderful. they really do treat u like royalty. :) the chocolate mousse dessert ummmm!!! the best and besides u are on vacation. treat urself. :)" Diane writes: "I too want to comment about "Kevin" who thought he reserved specific rooms at CBR and then demanded a Grand Villa at OKW when he did not get specifically what he wanted. I am a DVC owner at OKW, and I am appalled that someone should get a grand villa when they reserved three single rooms at CBR! First of all, this is a PRIME reservation, and not even owners can get those when we want. It seems to me WDW went out of their way to make this "squeaky wheel" get what he wanted without having to pay for it. This really saddens me." Robert writes: "I and my family are going to WDW next week. This trip is number 38. We have stayed in almost all the resorts. Poly, Contemporary, Wilderness lodge to all star music and sports. Hats off to Kevin. You spend a lot of money there and expect royal treatment. I would have done the same thing. Good going, Kevin." Nick writes: "Just a couple of things (I haven't written in so long I didn't want you to think I wasn't reading you!) regarding Kevin and his demands for an upgraded resort. There seems to be a great deal of controversy. Some folk applaud his consumer-savvy approach, others are offended by what they deem a drastic demand for relatively small issues. Though I tend to favor his stand, I have also been on the receiving end of unhappy customers. How Disney reacts, and how Kevin should be judged, is not in the details but in the approach. If Kevin maintained composure and treated the staff with a respect and the appreciation that "stuff happens, let's fix it," then it is only in Disney's best interest that they go the extra step. In the same note, a loud, insulting customer deserves only the minimum in return, and that often means no such upgrade... along with a photocopy of the posted policy." Kevin responds to comments from readers: "Just wanted to comment to those readers who didn't care for the way I acted about my recent trip to Disney and where we stayed. If you don't open your mouth and say something then you will never know if you could have gotten anything out of it. First off, when they gave us our rooms, they were not all together, only 2 were together, and as far as booking rooms 5 days before arrival, you can't do that so close to arrival. And for not accepting Coronado Springs, it was not my mix up, it was theirs, so to be moved to another resort it was going to be an upgrade or nothing at all. To those of you that didn't like my attitude, how many times have you been there. Once? We go almost every year and if there is a problem with anything, I let someone know about it, I pay a lot of money to go there. If someone tells you can't have something like reserving a certain room or resort they are wrong because you can, we have done it in the past. This was our 11th trip to disney since 1981 and hopefully not our last. You are a guest at disney not just another reservation, so they should treat you like a guest. I don't regret getting OKW and I would do it again if I had to. Sorry to bother those of you with this that had no ill comments." The official line: Disney will make a note of your requests when you make your reservation, but they will not guarantee them. You can call 5 days prior to arrival to see what requests they were able to honor. Non-smoking is easy. Accommodating adjoining rooms is more difficult unless you have very young children.
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