Recent trip could be our last for a long while.

[Polybound]

Ehm... except the rides being down, which is a case of bad luck, most things you are listing will not be changed after a few years of absence. Crowds keep increasing and result in longer stand-by lines and I think more and more people will use ECVs in the future. No idea about the strollers but they are not likely to change into a different type.

The infrastructure will definitely not change.

Knowing that, why would you even think about going back? To me the only reason to do so is because of the CP. Not the free tickets but because your child might be proud of being in the CP and want to show off and wants to be generous with the perks s/he will getting. Just go to be supportive.

I wouldn't, wife wouldn't either, but if our child wants us to and eventually one day possibly, grandchildren are involved (which is about when most of the announced construction will probably be completed) we will more then likely go back.

 

[Polybound]

So there were too many people, mainly families with small children and disabled people. I'm sorry their enjoyment of the park got in your way?

FYI, when we go down with our four small children (shudder) we do have a front to back stroller, but the older two will be holding an adult's hand at all times. Don't worry though, we are headed down soon and surely won't be in your way.

I believe you're putting words in my mouth. I have the right to make an observation. If the conditions are such that they effect our enjoyment of the parks, then that's our problem. We don't have to go back, and at this point, we don't plan to. Now to the point of the double wide strollers, that would be an easy fix. Disney should only allow front/back strollers for multi-children use. That would at least alleviate a small part of the crowding problem.

 

[MamaBelle4]

I believe you're putting words in my mouth. I have the right to make an observation. If the conditions are such that they effect our enjoyment of the parks, then that's our problem. We don't have to go back, and at this point, we don't plan to. Now to the point of the double wide strollers, that would be an easy fix. for multi-children, Disney could only allow front back strollers. As said though, at this point that's not the case, which means we probably wont be going back anytime soon.

No, I'm not putting words in your mouth. There were too many families with small children and too many disabled people in the MK for your taste.
Some people prefer the double wide strollers, find them easier to control and more convenient, also they tend to have shades or rain covers when the front to back or sit and stand don't. What do the stroller rental places rent out, btw? (Honest question, I can't remember).

Then you make the comment that you'll likely be back when you have grandchildren. What are you planning to do, carry them? Make a 2 year old walk? Or will you have a dreaded stroller?
I'm sorry there were so many people. I believe I saw you went in June. Maybe go when there are less people.

 

[iheartglaciers]

But.... Half price and free admission!

Can't do the National Parks for that price, I don't think?

For free admission and half price resorts I would absolutely go to Disney World while you get a deal. The National Parks will be there in the future. You might be able to do both.

While I couldn't pass up a free admission/half off resort stay, I think it would be hard to argue that a national parks trip would be more expensive! I guess it depends where you stay and if the flight is more/less expensive than flying to FL. I've done several national parks trips in the last few years and they're always a tiny fraction of the cost of a trip to Disney!

Also yes, the National Parks will always be there, but maybe not in the state they are in now... like the glaciers in Glacier National Park are only going to be there for a few more years!

 

[Polybound]

Yeah DD's last day ended with her becoming a regular guest just like us, and she even worked her last day. ZERO perks. I would be shocked if they actually did this.

Perhaps there was a comment that a week after she started she would have access to the perks. So many ask when their family can come and visit with tickets and special rates, I could see this being said.

Obviously the details are sketchy at this point. I believe the CP's can request time off, if they've accrued it over a period of time, and maybe it would be during the last week of work. It's also my understanding that CP's can stay in any resort for half price, depending upon availability, and can obtain passes for family members, if they've accrued it. This is all 3rd party information.

 

[loves to dive]

Sounds like you are burnt out and that happens a lot. Take a break and maybe when you come back those small things won't bother you any more. We come every year, me twice a year and this year I've been 3 times. We are here right now and it certainly is the most crowded we've ever seen it but we are still having a good time. We've just adjusted what we do this trip. It was a last minute decision made 3 weeks ago so we knew to expect lines. We don't book FPs in advance because we just don't know where we want to go on a daily basis so we have ended up standing in some pretty long lines and this trip hasn't involved a lot of rides. We spent one morning going to all the monorail resorts and looking at the decorations, dropped into MK just to see it all dressed up and did ride Pirates with a 25 min. wait. We did Epcot the afternoon we got here and rode Soarin with a 50 min. wait, then rode the land, wandered through the sea and rode SSE with about a 15 min. wait. We've booked ADRs every day the day of, we've eaten at San Angel (we hadn't eaten there in a while and couldn't remember why now we remember) Tiffins and Brown Derby. I made an ADR for Flying Fish for tonight this morning. We went AK one afternoon and rode Safari, booked an EE FP that morning but actually skipped it, walked all the trails and watched FOLK. We went to HS and rode GMR in 20 min standby booked a FP for TTMM that morning for after the Star Wars FW and actually had to stand in line for 15 min for FP, we had a FP for ToT but we didn't have anything to do so walked over and the posted stand by was 25 min., it took us 10 and we got off it and got right back on with our FP, couldn't have done it again when we got off with stand by. We went over to MK last nigh and had booked a FP for Jungle Cruise while on the bus on the way over, watched FWs when we got there (third set in one night we saw) walked through the tree house and stood in stand by for 20 min. at Jungle Cruise since we were going to have to wait that long for our FP time, cancelled our FP and after Jungle Cruise walked over to Big Thunder mountain and did 25 min. standby then went and rode Haunted Mansion with a walk right on. We've gone to every deluxe resort on property and looked at their decorations, eaten loads of good food, laughed and had a blast. We are here for one more day and our only goal today is walk around Epcot and try to catch the story tellers. It all depends on what you go in expecting and being able to adjust on the fly.

 

[HopperFan]

Obviously the details are sketchy at this point. I believe the CP's can request time off, if they've accrued it over a period of time, and maybe it would be during the last week of work. It's also my understanding that CP's can stay in any resort for half price, depending upon availability, and can obtain passes for family members, if they've accrued it. This is all 3rd party information.

Yes, I believe many of us that have already experienced it said that hotel discounts are possible if available where/when you want to stay and passes are available under conditions and they also get other discounts, even a packet at the holidays ...

But I think what some of us were pointing out was when you said "the week after the last week on the job" - based on all that has been policy in the past, there are no benefits available to you after her last day. On official last day everything expires. DD even inquired if she could book and fully pay in advance for a Disney Cruise with the CM discount so that she could cruise after her check out. Nope. She had to be an active CM in order to take advantage of any discounts.

Now if you really meant her last week as a CM, then yes she would be able to use perks, but there is no guarantee when she will have off. DCP are low men on the pole, so getting off work is not a simple process and sometimes impossible. We knew when we went to visit DD, we took what we could get.

PS In the year DD was there, and I go often, there was never a discount available at a hotel I would consider staying at other than AKL for $250, great price but I have stayed a few times already and I was more interested in a new place.

 

[wilkeliza]

Obviously the details are sketchy at this point. I believe the CP's can request time off, if they've accrued it over a period of time, and maybe it would be during the last week of work. It's also my understanding that CP's can stay in any resort for half price, depending upon availability, and can obtain passes for family members, if they've accrued it. This is all 3rd party information.

CPs can request off but it actually can't be during their last week of contract. If they need their last week off they are asked to early terminate thus loosing their privileges. They do not get to stay at any and all resorts for 50% off with availability. The default is only something like 30% and then it goes up based on any special cast member promo being run. Also passes are only if they are accrued. A CM can buy a certain number of tickets for 10% off though.

 

[Polybound]

No, I'm not putting words in your mouth. There were too many families with small children and too many disabled people in the MK for your taste.
Some people prefer the double wide strollers, find them easier to control and more convenient, also they tend to have shades or rain covers when the front to back or sit and stand don't. What do the stroller rental places rent out, btw? (Honest question, I can't remember).

Then you make the comment that you'll likely be back when you have grandchildren. What are you planning to do, carry them? Make a 2 year old walk? Or will you have a dreaded stroller?
I'm sorry there were so many people. I believe I saw you went in June. Maybe go when there are less people.

"Some people prefer" I'd PREFER to ride in my Yamaha Mule down main street, but Disney wont let me. Disney can do a few small things that can help alleviate a little congestion.

"What are you planning to do" You're just starting crap now. I never said anything about not using strollers. We've used plenty in the past.

"I believe I saw you went in June" Nope, never been in June, never said I've been in June. The proposed next trip (which I won't do) is at the end of the College Program at the beginning of June, or end of May.

 

[Tinker06]

It had been several years since our last trip to the World, but our recent trip pretty much did me in. Our child is entering the college program and told us that the week after the last week on the job, we can come with free admission and half price stays at any resort. Thanks, but no thanks, not going to do it.

Too many rides including the Monorail going down for hours at a time;
Too many people in the Magic Kingdom;
Too many ECV's;
Too many double wide strollers - double strollers should all be front and back, infrastructure was just not designed to handle the large numbers of ECV's, double wide strollers and the enormous crowds that they're having at the MK;
Too long of waits in stand-by lines for attractions that use to be walk-on.

I know eventually I'll be back, but at this point, the wait cant be long enough.

We didn't have this problem at all this last trip. I think when you start to feel this way, it is time to stop going. You have probably just burnt yourself out so you are only focusing on the negative. Take a few years before you try again.

 

[Oswin]

Obviously the details are sketchy at this point. I believe the CP's can request time off, if they've accrued it over a period of time, and maybe it would be during the last week of work. It's also my understanding that CP's can stay in any resort for half price, depending upon availability, and can obtain passes for family members, if they've accrued it. This is all 3rd party information.

As someone who is currently on their CP, your child will probably not get time off the last week of their CP. They'll likely just term you early if you try to take off that many days at the end. That's exactly what happened to my roommate who tried requesting 2-3 days off to spend with their family at the end of our upcoming program. She was told if she took the days she would just be termed early and then she could spend the time with her family. Think of CP kids as the workhorses of WDW. You have no seniority and getting days off is near impossible without pulling strings, and you constantly live with the threat of being termed over your head for being late/missing work. You can't stay at any resort for half price, but you can pick from what is available on the Hub to call and book. There's usually an okay selection but the discount is more like 30-40% with the very rare occasion the odd resort being at 50%. Your child will get a maingate pass that they can use to get a certain number of people in for a set amount of days during their CP. This will expire on check out day. They can buy discounted tickets prior to their check out day that can be used.

If your child wants you to visit and you don't want to do the parks, there are a lot of non park things that you guys can do on property. Your child may be too tired during a visit to go to the parks anyway! Every time my family's come to visit me, I couldn't get days off so I'd have to work and see them either before or after my shifts. Good luck to your child starting theirs, it's been the time of my life!

 

[SaintsManiac]

I never understood the motivation to come on to a Disney fan message board and make a post like this.

 

[Polybound]

As someone who is currently on their CP, your child will probably not get time off the last week of their CP. They'll likely just term you early if you try to take off that many days at the end. That's exactly what happened to my roommate who tried requesting 2-3 days off to spend with their family at the end of our upcoming program. She was told if she took the days she would just be termed early and then she could spend the time with her family. Think of CP kids as the workhorses of WDW. You have no seniority and getting days off is near impossible without pulling strings, and you constantly live with the threat of being termed over your head for being late/missing work. You can't stay at any resort for half price, but you can pick from what is available on the Hub to call and book. There's usually an okay selection but the discount is more like 30-40% with the very rare occasion the odd resort being at 50%. Your child will get a maingate pass that they can use to get a certain number of people in for a set amount of days during their CP. This will expire on check out day. They can buy discounted tickets prior to their check out day that can be used.

If your child wants you to visit and you don't want to do the parks, there are a lot of non park things that you guys can do on property. Your child may be too tired during a visit to go to the parks anyway! Every time my family's come to visit me, I couldn't get days off so I'd have to work and see them either before or after my shifts. Good luck to your child starting theirs, it's been the time of my life!

Thanks! This is all good information.

 

[wilkeliza]

Thanks! This is all good information.

Just adding that unless it changed for the billionth time CPs do not get maingates for family any more. They now get entry allotments based on hours worked. I think they are just the complementary CM tickets (some refer to them as white tickets since they are printed on white paper) but not 100% sure if they are like other white tickets where they are valid even after employment as long as you remember to print them off the Hub before you leave. They still do get a pass for themselves around the 2nd week.

 

[Oswin]

Just adding that unless it changed for the billionth time CPs do not get maingates for family any more. They now get entry allotments based on hours worked. I think they are just the complementary CM tickets (some refer to them as white tickets since they are printed on white paper) but not 100% sure if they are like other white tickets where they are valid even after employment as long as you remember to print them off the Hub before you leave. They still do get a pass for themselves around the 2nd week.

This is correct! Me and my roomies still refer to them as maingates (old lingo dies hard) but that's how we understand they function. lol I say understand because we haven't had the time to use them this semester.

 

[wilkeliza]

This is correct! Me and my roomies still refer to them as maingates (old lingo dies hard) but that's how we understand they function. lol I say understand because we haven't had the time to use them this semester.

haha yes it does. I was calling the DAS the GAC forever simply because I was there for the swap and I was like no why couldn't it be the same name and just new function haha.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

Obviously the details are sketchy at this point. I believe the CP's can request time off, if they've accrued it over a period of time, and maybe it would be during the last week of work. It's also my understanding that CP's can stay in any resort for half price, depending upon availability, and can obtain passes for family members, if they've accrued it. This is all 3rd party information.

I really don't know CP perks, but it's probably only 40% off certain resorts. The resorts change, too. Right now, regular CMs can get 60% off All Star Music and Coronado Springs on the weekdays with blackout dates. We're taking advantage of this the beginning of January. If CP get this discount too, that's a heck of a deal. If they get family holiday coupons and your daughter wants to use them while you're there, you can get some great deals at certain restaurants as well. Although Disney has really started to limit the restaurants that will accept them, and they're mostly good for lunch only, you could eat at many Epcot, HS, AK and resort table service (Tiffins is included)for 50% off. Regular cast get two each at 30%, 40%, and 50%. They included Skippers Canteen this year. Blackout dates apply to these as well, although you're usually still good on all blackouts the beginning of June.


There could be blackouts on their ticket allotments as well. Don't know. I always thought they just got more restricted maingates. Guess not!

If your daughter gets these perks, take advantage of these things while you can.

 

[MamaBelle4]

"Some people prefer" I'd PREFER to ride in my Yamaha Mule down main street, but Disney wont let me. Disney can do a few small things that can help alleviate a little congestion.

"What are you planning to do" You're just starting crap now. I never said anything about not using strollers. We've used plenty in the past.

"I believe I saw you went in June" Nope, never been in June, never said I've been in June. The proposed next trip (which I won't do) is at the end of the College Program at the beginning of June, or end of May.

I apologize for misunderstanding when you went.

I do find it hilarious that you think riding a Yamaha Mule is the same as a double stroller.

And I'm the one starting stuff when you're complaining about small children and disabled people being in your precious way.

 

[Polybound]

Yes, I believe many of us that have already experienced it said that hotel discounts are possible if available where/when you want to stay and passes are available under conditions and they also get other discounts, even a packet at the holidays ...

But I think what some of us were pointing out was when you said "the week after the last week on the job" - based on all that has been policy in the past, there are no benefits available to you after her last day. On official last day everything expires. DD even inquired if she could book and fully pay in advance for a Disney Cruise with the CM discount so that she could cruise after her check out. Nope. She had to be an active CM in order to take advantage of any discounts.

Now if you really meant her last week as a CM, then yes she would be able to use perks, but there is no guarantee when she will have off. DCP are low men on the pole, so getting off work is not a simple process and sometimes impossible. We knew when we went to visit DD, we took what we could get.

PS In the year DD was there, and I go often, there was never a discount available at a hotel I would consider staying at other than AKL for $250, great price but I have stayed a few times already and I was more interested in a new place.

Obviously I had bad information. But all of this is good information. Thanks!

 

[Polybound]

I apologize for misunderstanding when you went.

I do find it hilarious that you think riding a Yamaha Mule is the same as a double stroller.

And I'm the one starting stuff when you're complaining about small children and disabled people being in your precious way.

Uhhhh, okay.