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[brandesnap]

 I travelled to Disney with my 7 year old son which didn't come cheap as I'm a single parent and at peak season that means nothing to Disney! But I didn't mind that as I was very excited to take him there during the holidays.

On arrival it was impossible to find parking as it was so busy - that should have been my first clue to the stay ahead. But reception at The Cheyenne were fantastic, quick and efficient.

On finding our room it became apparent that the top bunk was faulty - not a good start. But when I reported it that night it was fixed quickly.

We were allowed to check in before the 3pm that is listed on their site and booking confirmation. So we unpacked and headed to the park.

For me (not my son) that is where it went downhill. It was absolutely heaving and other guests were inconsiderate and at times downright rude. We wandered about the park but didn't get to go in/on very much as all queues were in excess of 60 minutes - in Fantasyland especially there is no facility for fastpass - it is only available on the "fast" rides. Which is a shame as my son opted not to queue that length of time. We missed out on the Carousel, Dumbo ride, Teacups, Small world, Pinocchio and Snow White. Which to be fair doesn't leave much!!!

But  my main disappointment is that after about 2pm it is very unlikely that you will see any characters as they only appear at designated points. I have been before and experienced characters just walking about the park. When I asked they said this has stopped. I wonder if that is due to how busy the park is. I had a moan about this the following morning at the hotel while talking to the manager about something else. He, Daniele, was fantastic and got us a private meet with Mickey at City Hall on that day!!

Back to our 1st day though - we ate in the park with our pre booked half board vouchers ( I'd strongly recommend this but if possible on the grade higher than standard - gives you more choice of places to eat) at the Agrabah Cafe - fantastic - relatively quiet and relaxed. The staff were great - probably because it wasn't heaving and the buffet style food was varied and god quality.

We saw the night time parade was fantastic.

I bought my son a balloon - twice (the first one got popped whilst in a shop 5 mins after getting it and the member of staff who saw me catch it on a jagged shelf just laughed and said oh well) - were poor quality, transfer rubbing off, not blown up properly and insecurely attached to their ribbons.

Day 2 - first full day in the resort.
Breakfast was a nightmare, disorganised, no clean plates or cutlery - moody rude staff. Not a good start to the day.

Again the park was absolutely ful to capacity. It took 20 minutes to get in. Again it was hard to get best value out of the day due to queues and people who were there being inconsiderate.

There were more characters to be seen in the morning - especially if you stay close to Main Street.

Evening meal at Plaza Gardens - badly organised - staff standing around chatting next to table after been told that one of them would take my drinks order. Long queues at buffet - difficult when just 2 of you. If both go (as people on next table did) you come back to the table having ben cleared. We went one at a time but it meant leaving my son alone for 10 minutes plus while queueing. Wouldn't recommend

Had a couple of drinks at the hotel later on but the were expensive - 14 euros for 2!!!!

I would definitely say it worth having a character breakfast as we saw 8 different characters during ours!!! Well worth it - no crush or queue!

Walt Disney Studios - (next day) The early entry for hotel guests doesn't apply here. So had to queue to get in then went to the Tower of Terror ride - and even though in th first 50 or so people in the park still had to queue half an hour for this ride!!!! Do Disney like queues???

But overall this was the best day - obviously the less busy park so shorter queues, more characters to see - more like I remember Disney being from previous visits.

That is the most I can say of our trip it was good and bad but I feel that it has become a victim of its success - busier but with less attention to the individual - it was a vibe I got from certain staff members too. But my son loved his holiday (aside from my moaning) so that is why it gets 8.5/10

[Rayn2409]

Hi Brandesnap,

I am so sorry to hear that you didn't have the best time.

My sister arrived on the same day as you, and to be fair completely echoed your sentiments when  I spoke to her on Boxing day.  Her words were "it was crazy busy... breakfast was a scrum... and the kids got fed up with the queues.."

We have done many a year before xmas, normally around the mid of the Dec, however, we found that each year it had gotten more and more busy. We decided to forget the trip before xmas and treat ourselves to a break in the new year.  It is way cheaper and our experiences to date have suggested way quietier.

Having said that, DLP at Xmas is lovely.. but just a shame when you are walking round like the human versions of tinned sardines.

On the up side, what a nice CM to organise a private meet with Mickey?!!  Now, that is something to praise I think as I have never heard of that before!

Rayn

[brandesnap]

I know it was lovely - he even asked us which character was my son's favourite!! Mickey stayed in the room for over 15 minutes n played with my son - got some fantastic pictures!!!

[Javey74]

Hi brandesnap,

Sorry to hear everything didn't go to plan.  It does seem that Disney will go out of there way where possible to correct things.. :wink:  

Christmas Time is really special, but going when you did you can expect lengthy queues and sardine like conditions.  I know when we went for the Christmas Season, we've always tended to stick to the mid to end of November or the start of January.. :wink:

It's still quite busy, but nowhere near as bad as mid December or Christmas week itself.  This year I'd forecast being worse at DLRP because of the recession, it would be infultrated by extra fans who'd normally go to Florida, but because of the airfares being expensive at present to the states, they would opt to go more local.. :roll: