Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ... but your magical WDW resort room may be warm to sweltering soon due to a sneaky little deal The Mouse is working on under the guise of environmentality. Basically, the AC in the rooms will have controls that won't allow you to cool your room below 74-76 degrees. There will be similar controls placed on the heat. They will also be working to keep other onstage areas at 76 degrees as well. Now ... as a Floridian who likes his AC (it's about 71-72 in here now ... was 90 degrees today) the notion of coming back to a room that costs hundreds of dollars a night and not finding it cold, really burns me. The idea Disney is passing this off as going green is sickening spin as they are interested in anything/everything that saves them greenbacks. You also damn well know that when Bob and Willow and the brats come, they won't have any controls on their climate control. I haven't stayed on property (well, not in a Disney resort) in a year now but am thinking of doing so on my next visit. I'm already envisioning arguing with a manager in order to get someone from engineering down to override the freaking controls. Just thinking of it makes me want to rethink ever staying at a WDW resort again. It just takes a lot of balls to charge the rates they do and then tell people you can't have a cold room (in hot times) or a warm room (in winter) because 'we care about the environment.' Your thoughts? ~Sir, if it's that warm you could always sleep on top of the bed in the nude with some ice cubes under the ceiling fan ... have a magical night!~
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Why not take the approach that a lot of hotels in other countries use? When you enter the room, you insert your key card into a slot on the wall, which allows you to turn on the electricity and AC in the room. While most places I've seen this, the AC and most of the electricity (outlets with clocks excluded) are off completely while you're gone, I could see it being modified to just use less power. Say that when you're out of the room, the AC is set to around 76-78. Then, when you enter the room and put your key in the slot, you can set the temperature to something more comfortable for your stay. The first few minutes while the room cools down shouldn't be too bad, yet it still stays environmentally friendly. Heck, it might be even more friendly than the plan they have now, especially if guests are out of the room most of the day. It could also be used to aide mousekeeping with knowing when the room is in use, as there is probably a way to centralize the information of which rooms are not using power at the time. I know it's crazy, but just a thought...and one that I wouldn't be too upset about seeing them implement.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Bottom line...if I have to be uncomfortable, I can be uncomfortable at home. I don't have to pay hundreds of dollars for it. To me the resorts are barely worth the money (when discounted) now, add that touch and I see bright days ahead for all those hotels on 192.
Originally Posted By -em I havent heard that... but I do know they are fixing the AC (atleast in our building) so that A) its more energy efficient b) what you see is what you get (so when their computer says its 72 its 72 and c) to be able to "cool when occupied" like FerretAfros said... Esp now when its the slow season (for conventions) no reason to NOT keep 95% of the building "neutral" They've been working on it for a couple months now and we've had no complaints and its getting easier to regulate room temps.. Some of the new controls have a "warmer cooler" slide switch don't know if they work but its better than what was there...
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I'm a Floridian who keeps his house at 75-76 degrees year round. I don't know how Disney's limits could be considered uncomfortable...but to each his/her own.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Now ... as a Floridian who likes his AC (it's about 71-72 in here now ... was 90 degrees today) the notion of coming back to a room that costs hundreds of dollars a night and not finding it cold, really burns me.*** Well, I think we're talking about two separate issues here. I don't have a problem with them regulating things so that an unoccupied room doesn't blast cold air all day waiting for you to "come back and find it". That card key system works well enough (if they want to go there). Modern AC units are quite effective at cooling down a sweltering room in a matter of a couple of minutes, and if THAT'S not good enough, I suggest getting in line with Allen Stanford (the billionaire ponzi schemer who was shocked and horrified to have to remove his shoes when he was "forced" to fly commercial) and suck it up. HOWEVER, part two of this is not at all cool. (wow, that's a double entendre isn't it? lol) When occupying your (bought and paid for) room, you should be able to adjust the temperature to your liking, whatever that may be. That'd be my 2 cents. So anyway...interesting topic!
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I'm a Floridian who keeps his house at 75-76 degrees year round. I don't know how Disney's limits could be considered uncomfortable...but to each his/her own.*** Well, that's certainly a matter of personal preference. I, for one, appreciate a good blast of AC but it's not all that necessary since I like the heat. On the OTHER HAND, coming from the great white North with family who always insisted that 68 was "just fine", I used to sneak over to the thermostat and blast it to max (I think that was around 85 maybe? BOY did I piss them off lol). So, certainly there are different preferences out there, and any decent hotel room should accommodate the range without difficulty (of course, if someone wants 50 degrees or 100...duh, that's just out of the norm, but 72 is certainly NOT).
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I don't know how Disney's limits could be considered uncomfortable*** I think I'd be uncomfortable in your uncomfortably warm home on a sweltering day (particularly if we're in and out, as is usual on a hot day). I'd rather chill in Spirit's place.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I don't know how Disney's limits could be considered uncomfortable*** And on the other hand, do you really run it at 75-76 degrees when the temperature plunges as it occasionally does during a Florida winter? If so, you should really turn it way down...to 68 or so. I don't know how that limit could be considered "uncomfortable".
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt I live in MA, it's cold here 6 months a year I don't go below 74-76 degrees anyway!! I'm fine with this!
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Well, when the temperature dips my A/C just doesn't turn on. Isn't that the point of a thermostat? But, back to the point...Spirit is right that this "spin" as a green initiative is really about the bottom line. That certainly is the rationale behind the hang a towel to keep it or put this sign on your bed if you don't want us to change the sheets. I mean, how many people REALLY change the sheets on their bed at home every day?
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <<Great. Can I get a fan and a swamp cooler?>> That is so funny!! <<Say that when you're out of the room, the AC is set to around 76-78. Then, when you enter the room and put your key in the slot, you can set the temperature to something more comfortable for your stay. The first few minutes while the room cools down shouldn't be too bad, yet it still stays environmentally friendly.>> Its not crazy and its exactly what was going on while I was staying at the Buena Vista Suits. We would cut the AC back while we were not in the room and if we forgot upon getting back to the room we found that the housekeeping had set the AC back. Not a big deal to us. Folks who do not live in the south may not realize that its so humid here that you have no choice but to run your AC so that you do not get black mold. But you can still cut back on the AC. I usually turn the AC on just for some white noise so I"m not hearing the people in the next room. I swear the walls of the Disney resorts are made of cardboard. LOL.
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 I think it's just fine, in the summer here we get to the triple digits. We also have high humidity I keep my AC at 76. in the winter I keep it at 72.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Is Buena Vista Suites the one next to the Caribe Royale Tom? If it is...how is that property?
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I have thought for a long time now that if Disney wanted to save energy on heating and cooling why should utilize geothermal heating and cooling. You could simply place plastic tubing in Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon for the resorts up against those body's of water. As for CBR, CSR, POR and POFQ, just tear up the crumbling parking lots... trench tubing, repave the parking lots and Voila, permant geothermal heating and cooling. It would certainly make all those resorts must more hospitalable so that you don't have to hear annoying AC units running perpetually 10 months of the year.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <<Is Buena Vista Suites the one next to the Caribe Royale Tom? If it is...how is that property?>> Oh sorry, I ment to say Best Western in Downtown Disney. I think most people on this board know how much I am into enviromentally friendly heating and cooling systems. If I ever got my hands on the Walt Disney World resorts..... and a descent budget.... what I would do, SINISTER EVIL LAUGHING!!!!
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom The Best Western althought dated and in need of a major redo it built like a bunker. The place is so quiet. When ever we decide to visit WDW we get down to talking price of rooms. We prefer staying at Disney resorts but for the price the Best Western wins out everytime. You get queen size beds and interior doors something you can't get at any Disney Value or Moderate resort. I want to make a footnote here that my big complaint about hotel rooms in Orlando are so much about the actual price of the room, what ticks me off are the taxes and fees associated with getting a hotel room in Orlando. You have to pay a State Tax, an astronomical County tax, resort fees, parking fees ( as some hotels ). I fall in the camps of the hotels and resorts when the price of a room is not the "real" price of the room, add in the taxes and fees and now your room price just went up 25%. Which as far as I'm concerned makes it a wise decision to either get an RV and stay at the campground or buying a DVC. In fact I was surprised of the number of my friends who have purchased time shares near Disney and they don't even visit WDW as much as we do.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I live in MA, it's cold here 6 months a year I don't go below 74-76 degrees anyway!! I'm fine with this!*** Amen, brutha. I'm originally from MA myself, are you from near Boston or???
Originally Posted By danyoung Oh Spirit, this is one of those times when we're in complete agreement. They already somewhat limit these digital thermostats to something like 68 degrees, which isn't cold enough for me. I've had to crank the ceiling fan up and use just a sheet to be comfortable. You can bet I'll be calling engineering and getting whatever code I need to unlock the thermostat. It's either that or not stay on property - sleeping hot is just not an option!
