Originally Posted By davewasbaloo One of the lovely touches I used to love at the Poly is they would greet you with an Aloha and put a lai around your neck. Do they still do this? (They used to do this at the Polynesian Revue dinner show at Disneyland when I was a kid too - if not flowers, then it would be shells - and no toons in site). For me that is key at a disney resort. I do not want some stupid link to an animated feature. I am looking for a place that makes me feel like I am somewhere else. Disney used to be the very best at that, and in the 90's, Vegas too. Sadly, neither bother anymore, and therefore I am not as excited at the prospect of going to either anymore. It will be interesting to see what the Aulani experience will be like.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>> I could give a rat's patooty about internet when I'm on vacation<<< For me, it's not for surfing the web, it's for pictures. So it's essentially a utility.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>One of the lovely touches I used to love at the Poly is they would greet you with an Aloha and put a lai around your neck. Do they still do this? (They used to do this at the Polynesian Revue dinner show at Disneyland when I was a kid too - if not flowers, then it would be shells - and no toons in site).<<< They did it to us in December, and we weren't even staying there!
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I will NEVER stay in Coronado again>> Why? I loved Coronado. <<I was sure I would love WL, but didn't.>> Agreed. It was a beautiful setting, but the boats to the MK was a terrible way to travel. <<I could give a rat's patooty about internet when I'm on vacation.>> I didn't either, until they destroyed WDW nightlife. Now? If I can;t go to PI at night, might as well allow me to watch a movie on Netflix. <<Oh, we do visit my sister who goes to Disney with us at her Shraton Vistana time share. Love the pool. Can eat close by on I drive. Gorgeous, spacious room. But not immersed.>> I freaking LOVE the Vistana. We used to stay there a lot when I was a kid. And that's not I-Drive, that's 535 right behind it.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 ^^^Interesting. You've mentioned Vegas as another place falling down on theming in a couple of different threads. I thought I was the only one who liked that stuff in Vegas! I am not a big gambler, but I really enjoyed the resorts. Now that they are all just ritzy ego boosters for rich guys, I have zero interest. What is with this new gen that the big interest seems to be "pretend you're rich?" Is it reality TV or what? I want adventure, not pampering. Yikes!
Originally Posted By Christi22222 >>For me, it's not for surfing the web, it's for pictures. So it's essentially a utility.<< Didn't think of this. Wonder how many families this affects negatively. Pics are huge!
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>> Funny... I find staying ON property is throwing money down the toilet.....<<< EE. Really? Do I need to smack you? You know me better than that. Re-read my post. [not throwing my money down the toil...] = [staying off property] Okay, I can see how it was easily misinterpreted. Lol.<<<< Yeah, thought that was odd for you... LOL
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Didn't think of this. Wonder how many families this affects negatively. Pics are huge!<<< It certainly affected me in Boston... The hotel we stayed at DID NOT have WiFi and I had to keep everything on my phone and not on the iPad. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, the rooms didn't have a safe, either. And I didn't want to leave my iPad in the room, so I ended up lugging it around Boston or leaving it in the car. It turned out fine, though.... I was finally in Boston, I didn't care. Pics be damned. LOL.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 >><<I will NEVER stay in Coronado again>> Why? I loved Coronado.<< I was never going to be skewed to this resort in the first place for lots of reasons, namely the size. But the convention aspect was over-riding during our stay and really interfered with our vacation feel. EVERYONE was conducting business and walking around the paths on cellphones (loudly). And the food court is ridiculous for quick, cheap food. And our room was a bare minimum acceptance due to not yet being refurbed but in process of it. And we paid for water view and were way in the back, NEXTDOOR to the building with a gated pool that we could see if we leaned way out. Would not move us. Then there were a whole bunch of things that happened for us personally on that trip that were not good, which just sealed the deal. And to add insult to injury, it was one of those weeks in Florida where everyone froze to death and our heater didn't work properly. Sounds like a bad novel, right? Never before or since have I had a Disney trip go so badly. I am not making this up. We had just gotten back from our first cruise (Disney 4 day trip) and that hadn't been all that awesome either. And then three days after we got home my beloved dog of 15 years died. Trip from HELL! So I might not be the most objective about this resort. But I have no remorse!
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>yikes...<<< What? Leaving the iPad in the car? Bothered the hell out of me, too.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Oh ya, good point, I want a safe that fits more than a wallet and passport. I can't remember the size of the ones in WDW, but at DLP, they are smaller than a shoebox. Most good hotels will fit a large screen laptop, 3 DSs, 4 cameras and anything else really. Much better.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo sorry to hear about the loss of your dog Chrissi. That said, at high end resorts you will often find people doing business. It comes with the territory. As much as I would like to leave business behind, I am going to have to do some work on our next vacation (daily conference calls), but the trade off is I can be with my family for 3 weeks. The kids can play Ds and Sarah can read while I try to get these out of the way as quickly as possible.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Oh ya, good point, I want a safe that fits more than a wallet and passport. I can't remember the size of the ones in WDW, but at DLP, they are smaller than a shoebox.<<< Yeah, and most Hiltons have that. The one in Boston didn't... and I was a bit disappointed. I let them know, too.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 Hey Dave! No, you're right about doing business. And I completely understand that. I've even taken vacations with folks there who were actually working remotely while we vacationed. It's just that a CS, when we were there, it was like being in a convention hall the entire time. Far more so than at the Contemporary! All in suits, all in a hurry, all on phones or laptops - could never have guessed it would be that prevalent. Just really made you feel like YOU were the weird one, being in casual clothes trying to feel fun and playful. My son actually wanted to leave the pool because it was only adults and they looked at us like, could you be quiet? And that is a very cool pool! It was just weird. Never felt that way at Contemporary, even though we expected it. Once again, though, clearly that trip was wrong in so many ways. I actually just block it from memory. After 20 fantastic Disney trips, one bad one just hits the memory trash can!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo My real concern here is those of us tarred as doom and gloomers have probably chased off a lot of the folks that would answer this question normally. sorry x, I probably have not helped this. FWIW, I reckon the best value resort overall at WDW if you are going to stay on site is the Port Orleans complex. Not tooo big, highly themed, entertainment, and a lovely boat ride to DTD (though without PI, it is no longer as big a draw). Our stay in 2000 at Dixie Landings gave us a far better qualtiy experience than our 2006 WDW trip. Not sure if it is a times have changed, or POR offers a better experience? I will admit we were on Honeymoon, so it will always be special, but it rivalled the experience we had in a Honeymoon suite at Ceasars and the Silver Legacy that we had earlier in the year when we got married.
