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[littlehairmaid]

HAHA! If a theme park aimed originaly at "children" wasnt busy, I would be worried for its lifespan haha. I mean ANYWHERE that caters for kids "has" to be busy because kids cant go it alone! children need gaurdians!  :wink:  and thats just one logical explanation for the parks crowds.

And someone (on trip advisor) moaning that the "so called 4 star hotel was more like a 2 star hotel!" well they need a reality check because I`d like to see them take any four star hotel in England, and let hundreds and hundreds of unruly over excited kids sleep there everyday for a whole year, and then see how "four star" that remained haha  [-o<
I think Disney do a pretty good job! xx

[davewasbaloo]

HAHA! If a theme park aimed originaly at "children" wasnt busy, I would be worried for its lifespan haha. I mean ANYWHERE that caters for kids "has" to be busy because kids cant go it alone! children need gaurdians!  :wink:  and thats just one logical explanation for the parks crowds.

And someone (on trip advisor) moaning that the "so called 4 star hotel was more like a 2 star hotel!" well they need a reality check because I`d like to see them take any four star hotel in England, and let hundreds and hundreds of unruly over excited kids sleep there everyday for a whole year, and then see how "four star" that remained haha  [-o<
I think Disney do a pretty good job! xx

2 corrections, DL was never built for kids. It was built for families and was inspired by the way Walt used to get bored of sitting on a bench while his daughters enjoyed the rides at the funfairs of the time. This misnomer of it being for kids (and now Disney dumbing down to that) is what annoys me.

Also, wear and tear is no excuse. Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland still can provide quality hotels (and WDW used to), as can Vegas, or 4 stars in London, Rome, New York, San Francisco etc. DLP simply does not repair and replace as often. As someone who spends 2-3 nights a week in hotels (and have for nearly 15 years), I can say the DLP hotels with the exception of the DLH offer poor service and experiences and poor value. We are paying for location. Sad thing is, it has not always been like this. For the first 7 years of the resort's history, the hotels were good. But I suspect many of you have limited hotel experience.

[smurfy74]

But I suspect many of you have limited hotel experience.

that is a pretty patronising statement I have quite a lot of experience of staying in hotels and I can partly agree with you on the price / value for money, but I have never had a problem with either my room or the cast members, in fact the 'cheapest' hotel - santa fe, has to me been a really nice experience, even the breakfast experience there i like to look upon as part of my holiday experience, the hustle and bustle really adds to the build up for the day ahead. If i want a quieter experience then NPBC or SL beckons. I am looking forward to a potential stay at the DLH. I guess it all depends on your expectations and I tend to get what I want when I stay on site although without a special offer its a bit pricey.

[davewasbaloo]

But I suspect many of you have limited hotel experience.

that is a pretty patronising statement I have quite a lot of experience of staying in hotels

Not meant to be patronising, just simply a large assumption based on how young the majority of the posters on this board are.

[davewasbaloo]

Some other factors I wonder about the status of people's reviews:

People may only feel inclined to write if they personally had a bad or awesome experience, very little middle ground. So they accounts for some of the negative reviews.

There are likely a number of people who go that may prefer to camp, stay in B&B's or rent self catering, so perhaps they are disappointed when they feel they are paying so much and then get the experience they offer at the Disney resorts.

And also, the hotels are of a smaller scale with lesser service than the US Disney resorts.

All of these may be contributory factors.

Since 1992, we have stayed in the Santa Fe about 9 times or so, Cheyenne a couple, Sequoia Lodge about 7 or so, NBC about 3, HNY 9 or so times, and the DLH 3 times. Of those, the visits have varied. The worst experiences have been in the NBC and HNY (though the HNY used to offer some of the best). The best experiences have been at the DLH, SL and the value resorts.

So price point is not always relational.

I have had excellent stays at the DLH, but their prices are rediculous without discounts (and even then questionable).

Now, whenever possible, we opt to stay at MArriott as we have a better overall experience. I would stay at the DLH again, and we may take the kids for fun to the Cheyenne some time.

But DLP does have quite a bit of room for improvement in the hotels, which is a shame as they have been so good in the past.

[nemo1981]

I`ve been to dlrp 6 times and I still love it; but I have to say davewasbaloo`s arguments make sense!

and I have to say, that I really understand why people sometimes complain about the prices. If you pay so much money,you expect excellent service!! and that you don`t always get there....
I`m a huge Disney-fan since as long as I can remember, but I also know,that Disney is a company that wants to make money...a lot of  money...So please guys don`t forget that,even if you love,love ,love Disney!!!!  Disneyland is wonderful,but it`s not holy,cause there are people behind it,that want to make  a lot of profit.And it`s ok to make money, just don`t give people the feeling,that`s what they are there for!!!!
that`s my humble opinion, I know it can really hurt if someone criticizes our beloved resort, but sometimes these people have a point!!!
 

[davewasbaloo]

Thanks Nemo. Also, I think if you truly love something, critiques are needed. It is easier to walk away than to critique. I mean, if you had a family member who became a drug addict and did not seek help, you would still love them, and want them to get better. Would you stay quiet or speak out?

This my issue with the tooning in the resort. Sure, it's fun in small chunks, but as my poll in another thread shows, less people are into it that they would have you believe.

Coming back on point, making the hotels and parks as amazing as possible is the key when there is so much competition out there.

I love Disney, more than many of you might care to guess, but I find it harder and harder to still love when they do not stick to their quality principals.

[kmara]

thank you, davewasbaloo!

I agree with you in everything you said, and - as you can see in my signature, I am a visitor from (almost) the first hour on (not as often as some of you, but constant) - it is so true! I fell in love with the perfect illusion Disney sold during those absolute mystical first years and it somehow hurts when I see certain things in the parks or the hotels...
for me, Disney stands for absolute perfection (and that is worth paying for!) and I really, really hope they will be able to catch up on former times although I am afraid that the recession right now will make it even harder and less likely...  :?

LET'S PUT THE WALT BACK IN DISNEY!

[jennytablina]

2 corrections, DL was never built for kids. It was built for families and was inspired by the way Walt used to get bored of sitting on a bench while his daughters enjoyed the rides at the funfairs of the time. This misnomer of it being for kids (and now Disney dumbing down to that) is what annoys me.

Also, wear and tear is no excuse. Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland still can provide quality hotels (and WDW used to), as can Vegas, or 4 stars in London, Rome, New York, San Francisco etc. DLP simply does not repair and replace as often. As someone who spends 2-3 nights a week in hotels (and have for nearly 15 years), I can say the DLP hotels with the exception of the DLH offer poor service and experiences and poor value. We are paying for location. Sad thing is, it has not always been like this. For the first 7 years of the resort's history, the hotels were good. But I suspect many of you have limited hotel experience.

Admttedly the hotel rooms seem to be the biggest letdowns at Disney sometimes. Though I always hear the experiences of staying onsite at WDW is mostly nice (I really really want to stay at the Grand Floridian someday though)

Last trip to DLP we stayed at the Santa Fe and it was the first and only Disney Hotel experience I've had. It wasn't exactly all good but it wasn't all bad eather. Waking up to find Mickey in the Lobby or being able to just walk in and get a big ol Breakfast without worrying about price is a nice plus. But the rooms looked their age and I believe we had a few staff issues.

That said in the defense of Disney. I think they are one of the better places to cater for families. Not the best (I personally consider Center Parcs the best for Family interaction at the moment, specially for a teen family like us) and other places like Butlins wont even make decent arrangements for people without young kids unless you want one of the lamer accomidations

Santa Fe also gave us a rare moment of Character interaction without the crowds. The lobby was quiet one day so we got to meet and greet Mickey and Goofy. Mickey was so pleased he jumped out the character meeting area and gave me another big hug XD. So much better than the melee that goes on with character meetings in the parks.

I do agree the service could be better (plus the TV could do with some more English channels and kettles we dont have to ask for-!). I generally felt that way about the whole resort in 2005, though it sounds like it might of improved since. I'm hoping we'll have a good time at Sequoia this year

[giorgio1712]

I can understand peoples negativity if they have forked out a huge amount of money and don't get the service they ecpect!

We have just got the greatest deal though, the 40% has enabled all of us to stay on-site, something our family hasn't done since 1998! I worked it out and for our 5 night stay, if you minus the cost of how much we would pay for tickets if we stayed off site then we are paying £60 per night per room which I think is incredible! We need two rooms as there are 5 of us, this would cost us £110 a night at Etap Val D'Europe WITHOUT breakfast!

Even if the hotel (Sequioa) isnt that great, the price we have paid means we will be less critical than if we had paid full price. The relationship between money spent and expectations are clearly exponential so the more people pay the more critical they become. Disney being disney the prices are insane so people are more likely to complain. Im sure if you look at other expensive places on tripadvisor such as Paradise Island ($100000000's per night) and they have poor reviews too.

[davewasbaloo]

Indeed they do, and the cheap places sometimes get really great reviews because they surprise people.

Then there are some that are consistantly excellent such as the Burj Dubai and Ritz Carltons.

[littlehairmaid]

Anyway,  :wink:   :-"  I think alot of people go to DLP for different reasons, were all after fun and excitement with a little added magic    but some people go there expecting high quality hotels and similar food! and why not?? after all to alot of people (mostly many) the cost of the holiday equals a lot of labour worked! and who doesnt want their moneys worth.
My problem is I get so wrapped up with the magic and the everything thats on offer that I forget to thoroughly evaluate my lodgings  :roll:  haha. I`m terrible, am only staying at the DLH caus its closer and its on my "to do" list! it had very little to with me expecting it to be like the many 4/5 star hotels I have stayed in previously.   But am just a little bit mad haha xx

[giorgio1712]

Indeed they do, and the cheap places sometimes get really great reviews because they surprise people.

Then there are some that are consistantly excellent such as the Burj Dubai and Ritz Carltons.

Yer, infact many of the top rated hotels within areas on tripadvisor are the cheapest ones!

Im a long time reader of tripadvisor, however you need to take some reviews with a pinch of salt.