kittythepoohbear
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2005
Hello all! I just got back from a 5 night stay at POP (9/14-9/19). It was a great trip overall although there was one bad bus-related incident, which I will get to shortly. Until I get some time this weekend to write some proper reviews, I just wanted to post some things I noticed and experienced:
1- My stay at POP was nice, but I was not as impressed as during my Jan. stay. The resort was obviously very, very crowded and so food court lines were very long and bus lines sometimes got a bit long as well. I usually did not have to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus, except during evening EMH at MK on Sunday night. It was so bad it deserves its own little paragraph.
2- At about 10:30pm on Sunday night I decided to make my way to the POP bus stop (gate 18). As I left MK and started walking towards the bus stops, I noticed a huge line that stretched almost to the very last gate. Sure enough, this was the line for the POP buses. Two buses were there when I got to the front of the gate, but those were very quickly filled. Three more buses came soon after but those came and went as the line of people leaving MK grew. About five minutes went by until another bus came. Meanwhile the line was so huge that myself and another POP-goer were debating walking to the CR and getting a cab. What was the worst part of the whole debacle was the lack of CMs. There was no one at the end of the line to let people know that this was indeed the line for POP. Most people walked all the way to the front, then had to turn back to get in line. There was no CM at the front of the line to help keep the line organized and to assist those in wheelchairs. I was standing against the fence, next to a row af about 6 wheelchairs, all containing elderly people. I guess these guests had families already in line and where waiting for their turn. In the 15 - 20 minutes I stood there, I did not see one wheelchair get loaded onto a bus and there were plenty in line.
It is shameful and wrong for a company that prides itself on family entertainment and customer service to have not only a bus line so terribly wrong in the first place, but to then not provide CMs to assist those already in line. It would have been nice to have a CM giving us info on when the next bus was coming or giving us other options to get back to the hotel. In the end, I did end up sharing a cab with the gentleman and his kid. We got to the hotel at 11:35pm and promptly filed a complaint with bus transportation. I plan on writing a letter this weekend as well.
3 - I also noticed a lot less CMs in the parks than in previous visits. Whereas I am used to seeing a couple of CMs in queue lines showing guests to seats, letting them know if a new queue has opened, etc., quite a few times guests just ended up showing themselves to seats/vechicles (esp. on BTMRR and Buzz Lightyear) or having to wonder if the left/right queue was open or not. Perhaps Disney is understaffed or chose to cut back due to the slow season, but it did show.
4 - MNSSHP was a blast! Yes, it rained just as they started the first parade, but it did stop not too long after and we were able to enjoy the rest of the party rain free. The only long lines were encountered were for Photopass Photos which we weren't interested in. Otherwise, we walked onto every ride we went to and barely waited at all for candy. We managed to time BTMRR with the finale of the Hallowishes which meant that we were completely surrounded by fireworks just at that last turn on the ride. It was an amazing experience!!!
5 - Lines where non-existant during the week and usually waits of 20 minutes or so for popular attractions on the weekend. I only used FP once, at that was for a 2nd go at BTMRR. Most things, even SM, were walk-ons most of the time.
6- The weather was HOT and HUMID! My hair has still not recovered. I loved it though since back in PA it is rainy and damp. For anybody going soon, remember the rain gear and for the wavy haired gals, lots of anti-frizz products!
7 - The dining plan did not work as well for me solo as it did for two of us last year. I was usually so full from lunch I couldn't really enjoy my dinner. I was allowed to use one of my CS credits to buy my aunt dinner at Pecos Bill at MNSSHP without a problem however. The meals at Morocco in EPCOT, both CS and TS, where hands down the best for me.
8 - I HATE THE LOVE BUGS.
9 - Guest behavior wasn't too bad. I encountered some line cutters not for an attraction, but for the rope drop to Fantasyland of all things. I was standing against the Cinderella mosaic behind some others waiting to be let into Fantasyland. I wasn't standing THISCLOSE to them, so there was a bit of space but not enough to say "I am just standing here for my health so please feel free to move in front of me." I hear a woman ask the person behind me if there are in line for the Cinderella breakfast and the woman said no, so suddenly this woman, her young daughter, and her family starts trying to get in front of me. What did I think but that they were trying to get to the line for Cindy's breakfast, so I move closer to the mosaic to let them pass. But no, they just stop right in front of me. To make matters even more amusing, a man pushing a huge stroller comes right behind them and stays "I will just follow you through" and nearly runs over my sandaled feet with the stroller. I am now squished against the mosaic with about 7 people in front of me who were two minutes ago behind me. It turns out the man with the stroller was not with the other family, but just decided to push me aside so he could hustle to the left side of Fantastyland. Jeez.
10 - Thanks to LBelle, the DIS party at the POP was lots of fun. Got to meet lots of DISers, talk about the nitty gritty of all things Disney with people who understand, and got to put a couple of names to face. Also met two other DISers thanks to the LGMs on my purse. It pays to DIS!!!
Ok, back to work now. I will write full reviews shortly. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
1- My stay at POP was nice, but I was not as impressed as during my Jan. stay. The resort was obviously very, very crowded and so food court lines were very long and bus lines sometimes got a bit long as well. I usually did not have to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus, except during evening EMH at MK on Sunday night. It was so bad it deserves its own little paragraph.
2- At about 10:30pm on Sunday night I decided to make my way to the POP bus stop (gate 18). As I left MK and started walking towards the bus stops, I noticed a huge line that stretched almost to the very last gate. Sure enough, this was the line for the POP buses. Two buses were there when I got to the front of the gate, but those were very quickly filled. Three more buses came soon after but those came and went as the line of people leaving MK grew. About five minutes went by until another bus came. Meanwhile the line was so huge that myself and another POP-goer were debating walking to the CR and getting a cab. What was the worst part of the whole debacle was the lack of CMs. There was no one at the end of the line to let people know that this was indeed the line for POP. Most people walked all the way to the front, then had to turn back to get in line. There was no CM at the front of the line to help keep the line organized and to assist those in wheelchairs. I was standing against the fence, next to a row af about 6 wheelchairs, all containing elderly people. I guess these guests had families already in line and where waiting for their turn. In the 15 - 20 minutes I stood there, I did not see one wheelchair get loaded onto a bus and there were plenty in line.
It is shameful and wrong for a company that prides itself on family entertainment and customer service to have not only a bus line so terribly wrong in the first place, but to then not provide CMs to assist those already in line. It would have been nice to have a CM giving us info on when the next bus was coming or giving us other options to get back to the hotel. In the end, I did end up sharing a cab with the gentleman and his kid. We got to the hotel at 11:35pm and promptly filed a complaint with bus transportation. I plan on writing a letter this weekend as well.
3 - I also noticed a lot less CMs in the parks than in previous visits. Whereas I am used to seeing a couple of CMs in queue lines showing guests to seats, letting them know if a new queue has opened, etc., quite a few times guests just ended up showing themselves to seats/vechicles (esp. on BTMRR and Buzz Lightyear) or having to wonder if the left/right queue was open or not. Perhaps Disney is understaffed or chose to cut back due to the slow season, but it did show.
4 - MNSSHP was a blast! Yes, it rained just as they started the first parade, but it did stop not too long after and we were able to enjoy the rest of the party rain free. The only long lines were encountered were for Photopass Photos which we weren't interested in. Otherwise, we walked onto every ride we went to and barely waited at all for candy. We managed to time BTMRR with the finale of the Hallowishes which meant that we were completely surrounded by fireworks just at that last turn on the ride. It was an amazing experience!!!
5 - Lines where non-existant during the week and usually waits of 20 minutes or so for popular attractions on the weekend. I only used FP once, at that was for a 2nd go at BTMRR. Most things, even SM, were walk-ons most of the time.
6- The weather was HOT and HUMID! My hair has still not recovered. I loved it though since back in PA it is rainy and damp. For anybody going soon, remember the rain gear and for the wavy haired gals, lots of anti-frizz products!
7 - The dining plan did not work as well for me solo as it did for two of us last year. I was usually so full from lunch I couldn't really enjoy my dinner. I was allowed to use one of my CS credits to buy my aunt dinner at Pecos Bill at MNSSHP without a problem however. The meals at Morocco in EPCOT, both CS and TS, where hands down the best for me.
8 - I HATE THE LOVE BUGS.
9 - Guest behavior wasn't too bad. I encountered some line cutters not for an attraction, but for the rope drop to Fantasyland of all things. I was standing against the Cinderella mosaic behind some others waiting to be let into Fantasyland. I wasn't standing THISCLOSE to them, so there was a bit of space but not enough to say "I am just standing here for my health so please feel free to move in front of me." I hear a woman ask the person behind me if there are in line for the Cinderella breakfast and the woman said no, so suddenly this woman, her young daughter, and her family starts trying to get in front of me. What did I think but that they were trying to get to the line for Cindy's breakfast, so I move closer to the mosaic to let them pass. But no, they just stop right in front of me. To make matters even more amusing, a man pushing a huge stroller comes right behind them and stays "I will just follow you through" and nearly runs over my sandaled feet with the stroller. I am now squished against the mosaic with about 7 people in front of me who were two minutes ago behind me. It turns out the man with the stroller was not with the other family, but just decided to push me aside so he could hustle to the left side of Fantastyland. Jeez.
10 - Thanks to LBelle, the DIS party at the POP was lots of fun. Got to meet lots of DISers, talk about the nitty gritty of all things Disney with people who understand, and got to put a couple of names to face. Also met two other DISers thanks to the LGMs on my purse. It pays to DIS!!!
Ok, back to work now. I will write full reviews shortly. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
We got to open the park. We also got to ride in the little car all the way to our choice of first rides the Rockn Rollercoaster no less. We got to ride it first all by ourselves. How awesome is that??? The CMs that chose us were so nice. My 6 year old daughter asked them if they would like to ride with us and they looked at each other and said that was the first time they had ever been invited to ride with the First Family of the day. They rode with us and we all had a blast. One of them had never ridden the coaster and loved it. 
so I don't know how the love bug situation was there, but it was absolutely horrific at POP. They were also pretty bad at Epcot. I am very Steve Irwin-ish about earth's creatures, even insects, but these &%!!#& bugs have to go! 
