Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>Unless you have special points or whatever with Hilton, in which case it's a nice enough place too (I like Sheraton at TDR better, it seems more inviting somehow and is closer to the monorail).<< Yup... I have points. Haven't paid full price for a WDW Hilton in a while.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<< I have more to say about Spirit's $60/night hotel, but it will have to wait. >>> <<I do want to make a final comment on this, and then I'll be quiet on the subject. It sounds like the Spirit got a really good deal on his hotel: $60/night for a location that was convenient for exploring Tokyo AND was a TDR Good Neighbor hotel with a free shuttle to/from the resort. That's a hard price to beat. Spirit, was that for single or double occupancy? One reason this is important is that unlike hotels in North America, it's not unusual for a hotel in Japan to quote a rate for one guest, and you get a room that really only can accommodate one person (that is, it may have only one single bed). Even if the room has two beds, or a double bed, the tariff if you occupy it with two people might be almost double the single-occupancy rate. So, if you have two or more people that could potentially share a room, then that can change the equation substantially.>> That rate was for two people, SD ... and we most definitely didn't share a bed. To be fair, the real rate was a bit over $80, but also came with a rebate that has already been credited bringing the cost down to just over $60 a night. But understand that all I have heard for the past decade as I looked into Tokyo trips and started planning a few that fell through was how expensive they are. That I should expect to pay $400-500 a night and that a bargain might be $250 a night. And that just isn't what I found at all. I was all set to book the Hilton Tokyo Bay for $180 a night when my dates changed a bit and the prices went up. Then, I almost jumped on The New Otani for slightly more. But I found plenty of places (no certainly not 5-star and most not 4-star ... but 3 and 3 1/2 star quality places) that were far less costly. Also, remember that my dates were in late November and early December, what I've been told is a busy period (my experiences both confirmed and denied this) ... one would think that if someone was visiting now (what is certainly off-season just by looking at the parks operating schedule) they would be able to find even more deals. <<Also, something that Spirit said about the monorail really stood out to me: <<< Rode the monorail one night when I went back to the resort to dine at the DLH and shop at Bon Voyage >>> For me, staying on-site, the monorail is an integral part of the visit. Instead of a 35-minute bus ride to/from the hotel (that operates on a limited schedule) and the jarring transition from urbanity to resort twice each day, I get to ride the always-on-time monorail, that leaves every 4 minutes during peak hours, and operates 6am - midnight daily. Not only do they always depart on schedule (and yes, there is a schedule), the schedule is set to vary based on park operating hours and anticipated crowds. I have probably ridden it 200 times over the years, and never once has there been an unexpected delay, "waiting for traffic clearance", or even a situation where I had to wait in line and was unable to board the very next train. Even though most guests to TDS use the monorail, there just doesn't seem to be an end-of-night cluster of a long line like there is at MK closing time.>> The monorail is very nice, but it isn't a reason I'd tell anyone to spend thousands of dollars more than needed for a hotel anymore than 'the convenience of WDW transporation' is a reason for folks to stay at a Disney resort and pay so much more ... and that's even accounting for some folks having to rent a car too. It's a nice ride. It isn't a necessary one, however. ~Curry popcorn? Maybe next time~
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<< Well I don't know your definition of "recently" but I was there about 4 years ago >>> <<In other words, probably after the last refurb >> I don't know when MK's BTMRR was down last for a rehab. I do know that it hasn't looked this bad for a long time ... but it has been in bad shape for at least a year and seems to be worse with each visit. ~But it's OK because it's the MAGIC Kingdom~
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<That Hilton? MINE. Sometime in the future. How are rates? >> It depends. I've seen great rates (or what I thought were) under $200 a night. And I've seen rates of over $500 a night. I do have some Hilton Honors points to burn, but likely not enough for more than a few nights there. I didn't want to change hotels at all, so I didn't even consider it after I booked elsewhere. <<And I got post 301, that's all that matters! >> Not how the game is played. ~I like the rain~
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I don't know when MK's BTMRR was down last for a rehab. I do know that it hasn't looked this bad for a long time ... but it has been in bad shape for at least a year and seems to be worse with each visit.<<< 2007. ~I saved a turtle today in your honor~
Originally Posted By SuperDry One thing I forgot to mention earlier about the park hoppers. At least one person mentioned that they might only visit for 2-3 days, focusing mostly on TDS as that's what they're mostly interested in. As has been mentioned before, if you get a 3- or 4-day ticket, you must specify which parks you want visit on Day 1 and 2 (same as for 1- and 2-day tickets), and then can hop on days 3 and 4. What many people miss is that you can specify the same park for both Days 1 and 2. So, you could get a 3-day ticket with Day 1 and Day 2 at TDS, then spend however much time you want in TDL on Day 3, with the option of going back to TDS if you wanted to.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I did want to add a bit on the ticketing situation since I haven't had time to add to this thread the way I want to ... think I may be doing some Top and Bottom 5 lists soon ... anyway, in addition to the way OLC 'forces' you to use your days consecutively, I was a bit annoyed at their AP policy. The fact you can't upgrade any pass toward an AP is just flat out dumb. I spent about $180 (can't recall the exact exchange deal) for my 4-day pass. Because I am going to be back in Asia in 2011 (possibly multiple times) for work, it started to click that I might want to buy an AP. Now, I couldn't justify the two-park deal, which is a smidge over $900. Not unless I was living there or traveled to Tokyo on a regular basis. But I was willing to plunk down $540 for a TDS AP (not a small investment when you compare it to other APs -- my WDW four-park job is $315 with tax included for example). BUT ... OLC won't take and apply any pass toward an AP, so they didn't get my money. I don't understand the rationale behind that except they are arrogant and don't really see any need to do so. Hopefully, more to come soon ...
Originally Posted By Mr X Well, I don't know if 'arrogant" is quite the right word (could be, though!). I would say more like inflexible. And that, in a nutshell, is one of the biggest faults I've found with the Japanese way of doing things. Not that they're ALL inflexible, or that you won't find some instances where the rules are written well or the management knows how to circumvent them when necessary, but overall, I think it's just a lack of flexibility you're witnessing here. As far as how that pertains to tickets, my guess would be that they haven't had enough complaints to justify scheduling meetings and creating their favorite thing, feasibility studies, and then more meetings and finally scheduling BIG meetings with the Disney folks in America, and drinking a lot of alcohol in after meeting "meetings", and then tabling it for a while to see if there are any further developments, and then scheduling an official, final meeting to make a change. As for tickets, that means headaches and customer dissatisfaction, but the inflexibility has lead to even more dire consequences when at times Japan has faced emergencies and disasters and the government officials appear to have been sitting on their hands. As far as TDR goes, this inflexibility is often in direct conflict with the Disney way of approaching customer satisfaction, so the employees (particularly front line kids) are always in a state of quandry. They WANT to do things right ("right" meaning "the Disney way"), but it so often runs into conflict with their ingrained cultural norms. One hilarious example of the inflexibility is with fastpass. I have seen, with my own eyes, an attraction which has gone down to a ZERO wait on standby and yet, when someone walks up with an 8 o'clock fastpass at 7:59, that person is forced to wait out the minute before being allowed entry. For a funny example of this cultural quirk, watch the Amazing Race. Whenever the racers get into a jam at airports around the world, some of them invariably manage to plead, beg, flirt, threaten or cajole their way onto flights at the last minute, EXCEPT at Narita, Japan. It's really hilarious to watch, you'd think they'd have learned not to bother. Every Single Time they try to get on their flights late at Narita, they are roundly rebuffed. Are all of those staffers and managers merely heartless, and taking joy at the suffering? Well, maybe a little (that's universal!), but mostly it's just the inflexible ways of Japan manifesting themselves at the most inopportune times.
