Originally Posted By WDWdreamin And I have found Americans and Italians to be the most obnoxious in my travels. I do see the point about the tour guide not wanting to tell them to quiet down. Sometimes it's the tour guide yelling at them about the attractions that dampens my experience.
Originally Posted By avimagine I'd say Ontarians are the rudest, this from an Ontarian... I just think I made my point
Originally Posted By FerretAfros What about the folks from Ontario, California? Aren't they just the worst? : ) I've been thinking about the Great Movie Ride, and wondering: has it ever been closed for a refurb. I know they updated the montage ending about 5 or 6 years ago, but I don't recall it going down then. Given how short the park is on attractons anyway, I could see them just keeping it open continuously. I hope it's not the case, but I fear it is. That would make me feel a little better about all the various effects that have stopped working through the years, but it's still really bad. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the luxury that a lot of the AAs in other attractions have, where one of the ensemble characters can go away for refurb, and the ride just goes without that figure for a few weeks. With GMR, each scene (other than Munchkinland) really only has one or two AA's or major effects, and it would be quite noticeable if they were missing (just try and imagine the Alien scene without the breathtaking Sigourney figure). That means that for any sort of serious maintenance to be done, they would need to close the attraction, and we all know how WDW feels about doing things like that. But who would want to ruin people's magical vacations? It's much more magical to have a deterioriating park than to have one or two attractions closed during your visit...
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I've been thinking about the Great Movie Ride, and wondering: has it ever been closed for a refurb. I know they updated the montage ending about 5 or 6 years ago, but I don't recall it going down then. Given how short the park is on attractons anyway, I could see them just keeping it open continuously. I hope it's not the case, but I fear it is. <<< It had a script change a few years ago, but I don't think it had a extended refurb.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> (just try and imagine the Alien scene without the breathtaking Sigourney figure). << Funny. Her AA is scarier than the Alien's.
Originally Posted By twirlnhurl The way the parking lot is loaded makes sense because it keeps the castmembers walking forwards while directing cars the entire time. If they loaded from the tram side, the CM directing cars into the spaces would have to walk backwards (and at busy times, quite high speeds.) Plus, if you load from the tram first, what do you do when you fill a row and have a line of cars running down the entire length of the row? You can't make them back up. You would have to count the cars as they head down the row, which would take one's concentration away from safely directing the vehicles. If you miscount, then you have unused spaces at the end and those spaces would be hard to find at the end of the day when the lot is nearing capacity. I think the safety answer is a red herring because, with the exception of the two issues I mentioned, both ways are about equal, but when a guest asks a question, calling it a safety concern can be an easy way out of answering a difficult to explain question. Parking is done the way it is because it is the only practical, safe, and efficient way to do it. And in the case of not allowing guests to unload by the tram, I imagine that it is an issue of one car being no big deal, but there is no room for everyone to do it, and once one person does it, everyone will try to follow.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost ^^^^That in addition to what I said kinda sums it all up. I still believe that this helps with guests safety immensely as well. However, the reason of car count alone is more than enough reason to do it the way they do.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Parking guests starting at the far side also prevents there from being cars driving by the parked ones as people unload. This is a safety concern as excited kids and families pour out of their vehicles, and tend to spend a couple minutes hanging out by the trunk. By parking the way they do, when people are hanging out behind their cars, there is no traffic going by. If they parked the other way, as soon as you park, there would be a line of cars heading just past your trunk, creating a potentially dangerous situation. Also, even if they parked the cars the other way around, your chances of getting a close parking space are exactly the same. They would park the same number of cars in each row either way, so you only have a 50% chance of being parked on the 'good' side, regardless of which way they load it.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb So long as they don't start parking at the far back of the lot (or the top in the case of the DLR lot). I'd hate to be rewarded for getting there early with a spot so far I can't reasonably walk to the gate (as I usually do at EPCOT).
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Thanks... the counting cars thing makes sense to me. The other reasons given never really did (at least to me). I know your odds of parking close are the same either way... I just felt guest compliance and satisfaction would be better if they started parking from the tram side of the lot. If a driver refuses to go where directed it puts the cast member in a tough situation. There is really nothing the CM can do to force the issue, and if one car "sneaks in" to a preferred parking spot you can bet a couple of cars behind will try to do the same thing. We saw that happen at the AK. My only real issue was being unable to unload passengers. People frequently have mobility issues even if the automobile they are in does not have handicapped plates. There should be SOME way of dropping those passengers off close to a tram. Maybe a separate line for those who want to unload before parking would be the answer.
Originally Posted By Mr X Honestly I don't know of too many people who think to drop off their passengers near the tram, in fact I'd guess most folks don't even know where the tram IS when they're driving in, they're just following the waving employees and then following the crowds. One possibility for next time (if possible? I don't really know if it is or not, getting BACK into the parking-zone wise) would be to drop your wife off at guest drop off (I think each lot has one, in case someone arrives by taxi for example), and then go back and park.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Our Resort. We stayed at Old Key West, which has been a favorite of mine for its laid-back and relaxed feel. I still really enjoy the resort, but our room should have been an embarrassment to Disney. Curtains that did not fit the windows, mildew/mold throughout the bathroom and on windows and doorframes, stained carpet, etc. A Super 8 with rooms in that shape would probably have its franchise revoked. On the other hand, I've read that the rooms at OKW are being renovated starting at the north end by the Hospitality House, and that people have been VERY pleased with the quality of the renovations. Unfortunately we were at the far southern edge of the resort. ------------------- one shouldnt have to but I always request a resort building up front based on any ongoing renovations. Thius renovation started btw last June/July as we stayed in a new room last August- and yes the finished product is very very nice-lots of upgrades...did you ask to be moved ? I would have -even if it meant going to another DVC resort--that is unacceptable
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Olivia's does an excellent job on their homemade soups... nothing from a package there! -------------- \they have a soup recipe book available- it is excellent
Originally Posted By vbdad55 It got to where when I saw someone with a little flag on a pole I wanted to grab it from them and beat them about the head with it! ---------------- had mixed expeiences last trip with them--what seems to be a major issue ( beyond some cultural differences )is that they have 1 chaperone for every 20-25 teenagers. Now like me, you have raised teenagers, and you allow that ratio anywhere and especially by late in the day chaos is going to reign. We also had some nice experiences where my nieces talked to a number of younger kids from Brazil last trip and she found it fascinating and they were really well behaved kids
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Behind the bank, the driver presses a button that causes the bank to explode. ----- aww the bank isn't really blown up by dynamite.. color me disillusioned ;-)
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<..did you ask to be moved ? I would have -even if it meant going to another DVC resort--that is unacceptable>> No, although I perhaps should have. But I really liked the location... right next to a pool, about 75 feet from the bus stop, first floor unit. I pushed the curtains to each side of the windows and left them covered just with the blinds. That way you didn't notice that the curtains weren't the right size. Mildew seems to be a constant problem at WDW because of the Florida humidity. If I refused every room that had mildew I'd probably end up staying nowhere. Since the mildew was primarily on the caulking around the tub/shower, toilet, and around the windows, I wasn't going to have to walk on it or touch it. (By the way... why do people caulk around toilets? If the toilet is installed properly that should be absolutely unnecessary. All it does is collect dirt and mildew.) The stain on the carpet appeared to be a result of beverage, not bodily fluids, so I decided we could live with it. The only resort where I’ve never had an issue with the room was at Saratoga Springs, and that was probably because both times I was there was during it’s first year of operation.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> (By the way... why do people caulk around toilets? If the toilet is installed properly that should be absolutely unnecessary. All it does is collect dirt and mildew.) << Because Disney caulk is mixed with pixie dust. Makes the toilet-going experience much more magical for guests. You should know this by now, RT!
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost The sad part is that all they have to do is buy a bottle of mold and mildew remover, spray a little on it and like magic, it's gone. There really is no excuse for any in grout or around toilets. It is strictly deliberate lack of proper maintenance. Chemicals can be a problem, but so can mold/mildew. It's not even that expensive. I can go to Red Roof, Econolodges, etc. pay $30.00 per night and not be offended when I see it (even though I very seldom do) but to pay the rates that Disney charges and still have to put up with it, unacceptable! JMHO!
