Actually its been nearly 2 weeks but here goes (sorry lengthy)
Flights - Flew with United from Heathrow, via Newark and back via Chicago. Have flown with them number of times so know what to expect. Turned up at checkin to find chaos, everyone had to goto the desk. Basically plane had been changed and they needed to find "alternatives" for alot of people. Some were lucky and got moved onto BA/Virgin flights, some onto other flights and some unlucky people told they cannot fly today. We were OK as the assistant wanted to help get families onboard. Bit of scare as they couldn't get a seat for daughter but it was sorted. Plane with On Demand and was OK just a smaller plane
US Immigration in Newark - United had changed our flight times a couple of times before we flew but on the second they were suggesting a 1 hour connection was ok. As we a regulars I asked for a longer connection (which we don't mind) and had a 4 hours connection. This was good. We landed on time but immigration queue was bad, in total i think it was just over 1.5 hours to get through. I heard so many people complaining that they were going to miss their connection. Also I am not sure why but in the hall they didn't direct anyone to the new stand alone immigration machines. As regulars I was confident we would be ideal candidates
Orlando - arrived on time but found that between Newark and Orlando one of the suitcases had been damaged. Didn't bother reporting it just brought a new one from the malls for the return journey
Disney - as regulars we love this place so find it hard to be critical. Will focus on few negatives
Restaurants - this applies to most of the restaurants, Disney training is definitely going downhill. Alot of staff struggled with basics (welcome, serving, understanding of requirements etc). We are pretty calm people but on instances this was a challenge
Buses - for someone who has been going for 20 years I can say for sure that the service has been cut back more and more. Avoid coming back from Downtown Disney too late. We waited 45 mins one day for a bus. Buses too and from parks were not as good ( it could be that we were just very unlucky but alot of people commented). Again as a regular i felt the need to give the hotel front desk some feedback to help future visitors and was surprised at the response I got from a cast member "Its a complimentary service what do you expect" my thoughts, "oh dear, has it really got to this!"
Fastpasses - we booked 60 days ahead but had to be flexible due to the weather. On one day when the mine train was down we were told to come back later in the day which we and many others did. I really felt sorry for the poor people in the standby line. I am sure they must have waited for hours on that day.
Weather - Ok I will tell it as I see it, we go every year and I have to say we definitely did see more rain then usual. We adapted to the situation but I can see why some people who waited a long time and spent alot of money would be disappointed. Of course its Florida so we also had some great hot days
Hollywood Studios - with all the recent announcements i fear this will be a construction site for a number of years. It was hard filling a day with some many closures already.
Fantasmic - OK this was probably my biggest frustration, we sat in seats waiting for the show as did everyone else. it didn't start on time and then 10 mins later we were told it was cancelled. There was no explanation, no issue with the weather, no prior announcements etc. Disney kept taking peoples money (beers, food, toy lights etc) right to the last minute. Appreciate it may have been something beyond their control but again I felt for those first timers
Uber - Ok as a non driver (on holiday) I asked for views on Uber on this forum before I left. It is fantastic. A one way taxi to Florida Mall from Pop Century usually costs approx $42. With Uber it was $17. Drivers and cars were better than the taxis. We used Uber often, drivers appreciated tips even though they kept saying it wasn't required
To finish, we will of course go next year, have booked the bounceback. As a family its the best 2 weeks of the year.
So now the flight hunting beings again
Flights - Flew with United from Heathrow, via Newark and back via Chicago. Have flown with them number of times so know what to expect. Turned up at checkin to find chaos, everyone had to goto the desk. Basically plane had been changed and they needed to find "alternatives" for alot of people. Some were lucky and got moved onto BA/Virgin flights, some onto other flights and some unlucky people told they cannot fly today. We were OK as the assistant wanted to help get families onboard. Bit of scare as they couldn't get a seat for daughter but it was sorted. Plane with On Demand and was OK just a smaller plane
US Immigration in Newark - United had changed our flight times a couple of times before we flew but on the second they were suggesting a 1 hour connection was ok. As we a regulars I asked for a longer connection (which we don't mind) and had a 4 hours connection. This was good. We landed on time but immigration queue was bad, in total i think it was just over 1.5 hours to get through. I heard so many people complaining that they were going to miss their connection. Also I am not sure why but in the hall they didn't direct anyone to the new stand alone immigration machines. As regulars I was confident we would be ideal candidates
Orlando - arrived on time but found that between Newark and Orlando one of the suitcases had been damaged. Didn't bother reporting it just brought a new one from the malls for the return journey
Disney - as regulars we love this place so find it hard to be critical. Will focus on few negatives
Restaurants - this applies to most of the restaurants, Disney training is definitely going downhill. Alot of staff struggled with basics (welcome, serving, understanding of requirements etc). We are pretty calm people but on instances this was a challenge
Buses - for someone who has been going for 20 years I can say for sure that the service has been cut back more and more. Avoid coming back from Downtown Disney too late. We waited 45 mins one day for a bus. Buses too and from parks were not as good ( it could be that we were just very unlucky but alot of people commented). Again as a regular i felt the need to give the hotel front desk some feedback to help future visitors and was surprised at the response I got from a cast member "Its a complimentary service what do you expect" my thoughts, "oh dear, has it really got to this!"
Fastpasses - we booked 60 days ahead but had to be flexible due to the weather. On one day when the mine train was down we were told to come back later in the day which we and many others did. I really felt sorry for the poor people in the standby line. I am sure they must have waited for hours on that day.
Weather - Ok I will tell it as I see it, we go every year and I have to say we definitely did see more rain then usual. We adapted to the situation but I can see why some people who waited a long time and spent alot of money would be disappointed. Of course its Florida so we also had some great hot days
Hollywood Studios - with all the recent announcements i fear this will be a construction site for a number of years. It was hard filling a day with some many closures already.
Fantasmic - OK this was probably my biggest frustration, we sat in seats waiting for the show as did everyone else. it didn't start on time and then 10 mins later we were told it was cancelled. There was no explanation, no issue with the weather, no prior announcements etc. Disney kept taking peoples money (beers, food, toy lights etc) right to the last minute. Appreciate it may have been something beyond their control but again I felt for those first timers
Uber - Ok as a non driver (on holiday) I asked for views on Uber on this forum before I left. It is fantastic. A one way taxi to Florida Mall from Pop Century usually costs approx $42. With Uber it was $17. Drivers and cars were better than the taxis. We used Uber often, drivers appreciated tips even though they kept saying it wasn't required
To finish, we will of course go next year, have booked the bounceback. As a family its the best 2 weeks of the year.
So now the flight hunting beings again
