Bete wrote
I know there are those who wish these kinds of posts could be erased but it's important to share the bad with the good. I enjoyed aspects of my Disney trip but it just wasn't up to par this time. I had my holiday experience and that's enough to last me. I sure hope I don't feel the same way about my May trip. Thanks again for all those out there that were willing to take a stand and speak out. If it wasn't for us, Disney would not have reinstated early entry recently.
Good post. Every time I come across a thread like this, I e-mail the URL to Disney, hoping that they'll read it. I e-mailed them weekly about EE. They may have kill filed me e-mail addy, but I continue to do it anyway! If we don't keep a foot on the collective Disney neck when we spot a problem that needs to be addressed, we'll soon be paying big bucks to attend Six Flags over Mickey.
Our CM's at POFQ were top notch at all levels. We've lodged at that resort five times, and this time may have been the best. The CM that I dealt with upon check-in on 12/30 was cheerful and professional even after listening for five minutes to an obnoxious mans' screed after finding a .75 phone charge on his bill. Our requested river view room in Bldg 7 was ready at 10 am, and neat as a pin.
At the MK that day, the only problem I saw other than the crowd was the mess in the restrooms- wastebaskets overflowing, water on the floors and countertops, etc. I remember a day when Disney used to post a CM in each restroom to keep them clean. They need to do that again, because I'm at WDW, not Cedar Point!
We had no problem manipulating Fast pass & Standby to ride what we wanted to. In fact, at 2pm on 12/30, the wait for Pirates was only 20 minutes.
After the 8pm Spectro parade that evening, the crowd thinned considerably, and we had no problems walking on with minimal waits (10-20 min.) at Splash, Big Thunder, and the Haunted Mansion.
My wife & daughter returned to the MK on 1/1 after we'd seen the 6:30 Fantasmic show at MGM, and rode Splash 3 tims, Big Thunder twice, Space Mountain once, and Buzz Lightyear once in the space of 2 1/2 hours, even managing to eat a dog at Caseys Corner.
IMO, the crowds the remainder of the week were tolerable at the MK and Epcot, and even on the thin side at MGM & the AK. At MGM on 1/1 at 11am, R&R was a 20 min. standby, with TOT only 30! So we FP'd R&R, rode it standby, jumped on TOT, ate a Mickey Bar, and then jumped back on R&R with our Fast Passes.
Believe me, I've seen the crowds and lines much worse!