1. Economy is really hitting Disney hard: There's definitely a reduction in numbers of people going to Disneyworld (great for us while we were there). It was supposed to be their peak period AND they were having their best sale in over 10 years going on. I mean c'mon ... pay for 4 days and 3 days free (including accommodation). That's awesome. But on top of that, they threw in a $200 voucher that can be used for anything. You'd think they'd be able to reach numbers. But apparently not. Disneyland is less affected because they have a large population base nearby (mostly people travel to Disneyworld in Florida). Also (for any of you going in the next month), most Disney merchandise is on sale 25% to 40% for most types of merchandise.
2. Their staff are absolutely wonderful: I posted about this before, but did I tell the story about how we lost Grace's shoe (just one side) at a ride. Well after helping us look for the shoe for ages, the Disney staff member at the ride called us back when we started leaving and said that Disney would cover the cost of the lost shoe. He then gave us a $30 voucher to buy new shoes. So Gracie got a brand new set of Disney-themed original Crocs in place of a set of shoes that Rachel wore, got passed to Nicky and then got passed to Grace. Gotta love their commitment to customer service.
3. Calling someone "princess" doesn't make them one: OK, this may not go down too well, but I've got to say it. There's a habit in Disneyworld (and also in America) where parents call their little girls "princess" or "sweetie" or some other really nice sounding name. I kid you not. Almost every time I heard that, it was said by some lady talking to some bratty out of control kid who was doing everything BESIDES acting like a sweetie or princess (or maybe princess are really like that). "C'mon sweetie. Don't do that princess" .. "No! No! I HATE YOU! WAAAHAH". Mmmm.. maybe if they called it as it is. I know the Bible doesn't shy away from calling fools fools, or labelling behaviour as sinful, rebellious or foolish.
4. There are ALOT of variables: I'm always amazed that families make it through alive after a Disney vacation. There are so many variables to consider from showtime schedules, dining reservations, park opening times, crowd levels etc. Combine that with the fact that your kids have different sleeping schedules and different tastes. Its like a huge mathematical equation with 100s of variables none of which are linear or correlated in a meaningful way. Praise God we were able to navigate our way through it ... largely due to the fact that we did a lot of planning and the fact that we just weren't that glued to doing any particular ride/show.
5. Pin trading is fun: I'm secretly jealous of Rachel, who got to trade pins everyday at Disney. Its such a cool idea. Basically, once she got her starter pack of pins, she could just go up to any staff member (Cast Member) and ask to swap pins. Makes it really great for getting a collection of pins that you really want. Next time ... I'll start pin trading. Nicky collected pressed coins (thats cool too, but i like the social aspect of trading pins)
6. Disney is great doing things seamlessly: I love the Magical Express. We arrive in Orlando Airport. Our bags automatically go to our room (we don't even pick them up). We get into a Disney bus and although its an hour trip, we're not bored because we see a VIDEO explaining all the rides and activities on in Disneyworld (done really well). When we arrive we just pick up our room key (no queue) because of the newly implemented ONLINE check in. Awesome. Then, we don't even need to carry our wallet around cause everything is linked to the room key. When we check out, our bags are taken from our room straight to the plane (and we see them in Chicago next) AND we don't even need to return keys or check out .. its done automatically. Nice.
7. I wanna be Walt Disney: Just being at the park just makes you realise how hard it must have been to go from Cartooning artist to American Icon and CEO. I'm going to read his biography again (I highly recommend it by the way) cause I'm still impressed by how he brought his vision to pass and that I got the opportunity to walk through a living representation of his vision. Wild.
See .. even my kids think its wild!
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Posted by: Cheap Disney Packages | 19 January 2010 at 04:27 AM