notsogoofy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2008
I'll save you all the photos, because the ones above are just fine! We just got back and my review is probably mixed. As for the negatives, before I get get flamed, I knew what I was getting into before we went..No suprises there.
We took airtran, my first time, and were very pleased. Had heard of them changing flight times, and even spoke with someone at the pool who had their flight changed 3 times. Never changes ours once, and we booked in july. 2 hours on the nose, and mco was easy as usual. We did have to wait an unusually long amount of time for the DME bus. Probably 20 minutes or so, not long enough to check how long, if you know what I mean, but definitely longer than last time. Our baggage took close to the 4 hour mark to get delivered. Made me think to bring more carry on stuff..I still get irked at how long it takes to get off the plane with all the people getting their carry on's (a pet peve of mine) so..maybe joining the dark side in the future on that one.
I had used the AAA discount to book at about 109 a night. Great price, and as I said, I know how they block rooms for AAA, etc..so i knew what I was getting into. Parking lot view, on the backside of building 4. The room was not remodeled. Because we had kids, they may have been more comfortable with the old setup than the new. I like the new, though..as pretty as polynesian (where we stayed last time)..the old wasnt bad. Not as tacky as POR. Considering how 'dead' the resort was, I may have been able to get an upgrade had I asked..who knows, didnt bug me so much. Easy access to the busstop (2) very short wait for epcot bus..
Check in was very smooth. I told the clerk I needed to rent a car in the morning and a ride to the car. She said to check with concierge for assistance in the morning. Very pleasant young lady.
However, she said "the quiet pool is right outside to the right" or something, but failed to mention (to my HORROR(LOL)) that it was being refurbished, or worked on, either way it was closed. She never mentioned it. That had me a little irked. She could have said nothing, rather than tell me about the pool, only to find it closed (thats what i was thinking at the time) It was open by the 2nd day of our trip, so theres a bonus, but it was a little cooler than the dig site pool, which we preferred anyway.
The resort, after being at POLY, was REAAAALLLLY spread out. I had to think that was to keep the kids away from the conventioners..(thats what I thought at the time) But, very courteous drivers often asked to give us a lift. So..again, nothing major.
Our mousekeeping was top notch. Maria C (i wont list her last name) did a supurb job.
I didnt care for the fact that the a.c. is so quiet, but it was very efficient. I like a little noise when i sleep, but few people would say that..i did like that it was central, gave us more room, and I didnt have to keep kicking the a.c. as I walked by it like other places.
The fridge had a thermostat on it, but was off when we arrived (for obvious reasons)..the poly's have the thermostats removed, so this was a plus.FROZE my pops..
Agreed, hard to use the mug, when you have to walk a mile to get it filled..
Now..for the 'best food court on property'..horse pucky. The snack bar and pepper mill are horrible. How could ANYONE pay nearly 10 bucks for a ham sandwhich? How would ANYONE pay 10 bucks for a 8x5 piece of sheet cheese pizza in a box under a heat lamp? Not me..I found the pepper mill to be too cramped, muddled with barrels and displays. I found the attendants to be innattentive and aloof. I walked in for takeout, got 4 meals at different stations, and not ONE of them asked to stamp my card. The manager was not pleased when he found this out at the register. Being in the food industry, and hearing 'best foodcourt' I really expected more. I thought the prices were outrageous (which I knew going in) but more irritating was the innattentive attitude of the employees. Its pretty simple, when someone comes to your kiosk or counter, you say "what would you like", the person orders, you make the plate, stamp the ticket and say have a magical day. Not difficult. Virtually every time i went into that pepper mill ( a total of 4 times) I had to call the person over (after waiting a fair amount of time)..sometimes I just gave up and walked away, and they made no attempt to keep me from doing so. Overall, the Pepper mill and the snack bar area were a bust for us. Decent breakfast on the last day.
Another issue I had was the morning I went to rent the car. I went to concierge and said, I need to get a cab to the Palace Hotel to rent my car, where can I get a cab? She said 'go outside and tell them.' verbatim. Who is them? I dunno..Well, I said thank you and the concierge attendant told me "youre welcome, I guess.." which I didnt know what she meant by that..i know if i said something like that I'd be looking for a job. So, i looked at her a moment to see if I had done something, and she turned her back on me, so I dont know what her gig was, but the folks outside were able to get me a cab pronto, and I was back from the Palace within the hour. Very well done. The cab (which was checker cab per the burnbaum guide) was nearly 20 bucks for a 3.7 mile ride, which may be reasonable, I thought it was a little steep, since with the tip it was 20 bucks..but again, i coulda rented from the car care center for a free trip, but the car would have been more..so there's that..no surprises..
Game room, fair..not a huge selection and some of the games were broke, but i didnt bring my older ones, so it suited the younger ones well. They did enjoy the pool, and I loved the hot tub and lounge area. Manager was very nice as well..
(Here's where I really get flamed!) We are smokers. DSA's are sacred ground for us. Coronado makes a way better attempt than POR (where we've also stayed) to keep things clean by putting ashtrays everywhere. Basically, anywhere at POR where we saw cigarette butts, at Coronado we saw ashtrays. And it didnt always coincide with the DSA. That can be a little misleading. (do i get a room charge if I smoke here? there IS an ashtray..) maybe annoying to non-smokers, but convenient for me, and it kept things clean. I shouldnt smoke anyway, so dont flame me..
At one time in my life, I was a landscaper. I did not appreciate that the landscapers edged out the WHOLE resort, before blowing it off. The workers need to stay together and complete an area as they go. Not leave virtually EVERY sidewalk covered in dirt before you blow. It also makes it easier to blow if people havent walked on it. So, clean as you go and stay together guys..
Well, thats it for now. Again, no real surprises here. Not the best resort for kids, but they do try, with the great pool and dig site area. Its a bit far, but not if you get a lift..The resort isnt really geared towards kids, and I booked it before I decided to take the kids, so it was make do..if you will. But again, overall not bad..probably go to pop or all stars next..cuz Im always lookin to save a buck, which is why im pretty forgiving..i live 'you get whatcha pay for.' I would recommend this resort for couples or conventioners. Which I think is what its geared toward anyway. It would certainly explain how they can get those prices for the food (conventioners, save you receipts for reimbursement)..
That food court, though, no one should have anything good to say about it. I thought it was pretty bad.
That said, flame away!
and..HAVE A MAGICAL DAY!
We took airtran, my first time, and were very pleased. Had heard of them changing flight times, and even spoke with someone at the pool who had their flight changed 3 times. Never changes ours once, and we booked in july. 2 hours on the nose, and mco was easy as usual. We did have to wait an unusually long amount of time for the DME bus. Probably 20 minutes or so, not long enough to check how long, if you know what I mean, but definitely longer than last time. Our baggage took close to the 4 hour mark to get delivered. Made me think to bring more carry on stuff..I still get irked at how long it takes to get off the plane with all the people getting their carry on's (a pet peve of mine) so..maybe joining the dark side in the future on that one.
I had used the AAA discount to book at about 109 a night. Great price, and as I said, I know how they block rooms for AAA, etc..so i knew what I was getting into. Parking lot view, on the backside of building 4. The room was not remodeled. Because we had kids, they may have been more comfortable with the old setup than the new. I like the new, though..as pretty as polynesian (where we stayed last time)..the old wasnt bad. Not as tacky as POR. Considering how 'dead' the resort was, I may have been able to get an upgrade had I asked..who knows, didnt bug me so much. Easy access to the busstop (2) very short wait for epcot bus..
Check in was very smooth. I told the clerk I needed to rent a car in the morning and a ride to the car. She said to check with concierge for assistance in the morning. Very pleasant young lady.
However, she said "the quiet pool is right outside to the right" or something, but failed to mention (to my HORROR(LOL)) that it was being refurbished, or worked on, either way it was closed. She never mentioned it. That had me a little irked. She could have said nothing, rather than tell me about the pool, only to find it closed (thats what i was thinking at the time) It was open by the 2nd day of our trip, so theres a bonus, but it was a little cooler than the dig site pool, which we preferred anyway.
The resort, after being at POLY, was REAAAALLLLY spread out. I had to think that was to keep the kids away from the conventioners..(thats what I thought at the time) But, very courteous drivers often asked to give us a lift. So..again, nothing major.
Our mousekeeping was top notch. Maria C (i wont list her last name) did a supurb job.
I didnt care for the fact that the a.c. is so quiet, but it was very efficient. I like a little noise when i sleep, but few people would say that..i did like that it was central, gave us more room, and I didnt have to keep kicking the a.c. as I walked by it like other places.
The fridge had a thermostat on it, but was off when we arrived (for obvious reasons)..the poly's have the thermostats removed, so this was a plus.FROZE my pops..
Agreed, hard to use the mug, when you have to walk a mile to get it filled..
Now..for the 'best food court on property'..horse pucky. The snack bar and pepper mill are horrible. How could ANYONE pay nearly 10 bucks for a ham sandwhich? How would ANYONE pay 10 bucks for a 8x5 piece of sheet cheese pizza in a box under a heat lamp? Not me..I found the pepper mill to be too cramped, muddled with barrels and displays. I found the attendants to be innattentive and aloof. I walked in for takeout, got 4 meals at different stations, and not ONE of them asked to stamp my card. The manager was not pleased when he found this out at the register. Being in the food industry, and hearing 'best foodcourt' I really expected more. I thought the prices were outrageous (which I knew going in) but more irritating was the innattentive attitude of the employees. Its pretty simple, when someone comes to your kiosk or counter, you say "what would you like", the person orders, you make the plate, stamp the ticket and say have a magical day. Not difficult. Virtually every time i went into that pepper mill ( a total of 4 times) I had to call the person over (after waiting a fair amount of time)..sometimes I just gave up and walked away, and they made no attempt to keep me from doing so. Overall, the Pepper mill and the snack bar area were a bust for us. Decent breakfast on the last day.
Another issue I had was the morning I went to rent the car. I went to concierge and said, I need to get a cab to the Palace Hotel to rent my car, where can I get a cab? She said 'go outside and tell them.' verbatim. Who is them? I dunno..Well, I said thank you and the concierge attendant told me "youre welcome, I guess.." which I didnt know what she meant by that..i know if i said something like that I'd be looking for a job. So, i looked at her a moment to see if I had done something, and she turned her back on me, so I dont know what her gig was, but the folks outside were able to get me a cab pronto, and I was back from the Palace within the hour. Very well done. The cab (which was checker cab per the burnbaum guide) was nearly 20 bucks for a 3.7 mile ride, which may be reasonable, I thought it was a little steep, since with the tip it was 20 bucks..but again, i coulda rented from the car care center for a free trip, but the car would have been more..so there's that..no surprises..
Game room, fair..not a huge selection and some of the games were broke, but i didnt bring my older ones, so it suited the younger ones well. They did enjoy the pool, and I loved the hot tub and lounge area. Manager was very nice as well..
(Here's where I really get flamed!) We are smokers. DSA's are sacred ground for us. Coronado makes a way better attempt than POR (where we've also stayed) to keep things clean by putting ashtrays everywhere. Basically, anywhere at POR where we saw cigarette butts, at Coronado we saw ashtrays. And it didnt always coincide with the DSA. That can be a little misleading. (do i get a room charge if I smoke here? there IS an ashtray..) maybe annoying to non-smokers, but convenient for me, and it kept things clean. I shouldnt smoke anyway, so dont flame me..
At one time in my life, I was a landscaper. I did not appreciate that the landscapers edged out the WHOLE resort, before blowing it off. The workers need to stay together and complete an area as they go. Not leave virtually EVERY sidewalk covered in dirt before you blow. It also makes it easier to blow if people havent walked on it. So, clean as you go and stay together guys..
Well, thats it for now. Again, no real surprises here. Not the best resort for kids, but they do try, with the great pool and dig site area. Its a bit far, but not if you get a lift..The resort isnt really geared towards kids, and I booked it before I decided to take the kids, so it was make do..if you will. But again, overall not bad..probably go to pop or all stars next..cuz Im always lookin to save a buck, which is why im pretty forgiving..i live 'you get whatcha pay for.' I would recommend this resort for couples or conventioners. Which I think is what its geared toward anyway. It would certainly explain how they can get those prices for the food (conventioners, save you receipts for reimbursement)..
That food court, though, no one should have anything good to say about it. I thought it was pretty bad.
That said, flame away!
and..HAVE A MAGICAL DAY!
I am in love with this resort.
She laughed and said she use to work at Allears. 
