KID@@HEART
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2008
Just got back from our four-day visit to DLR. Our group consisted of DM, DSi, 4 yo DNi, 2 yo DNe and myself. We were there from July 16-19 and here’s “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” from our trip.
The GOOD
DREAM FASTPASSES: How lucky we were to score these!
On our first day, we had decided to get the kids entrenched in all things Disney so we made a beeline for TT by way of Fantasyland. As we approached Sleeping Beauty’s Castle gate, we noticed a couple of CMs handing something out which turned out to be these very coveted Dream FP. Each Dream FP has a tag for each FP ride in both DL and DCA which you can use any time during the day. No need to wait for a specific time, all you need to do is tear off the tag, hand it to the CM and head to the FP lane. NOTE to future Dream FPers: your Dream FP states that the Dream FP are only valid on the day they are awarded; what I found out is that you can use these any time, any day of your visit. Since we didn’t use all the tags on the first day, we thought we had missed out. Thank goodness while chatting with a CM, he informed me that Disney can’t put an expiration date on making people's dreams come true and it applies to your Dream FP!
FAVORITE RIDE: Although I usually lean towards to the fast, rollercoaster-type rides, my favorite ride was the new Toy Story Midway Mania in DCA. Although the wait was long (and no FP), it was worth the 45-minute wait the two times we rode it. This is an interactive “4-D” attraction where you wear
and are whisked into five various ‘gallery’ games (duck shooting gallery, target shooting, parachuting men, water balloons) where you operate a spring-loaded gun. Thank goodness the car you ride is stationary so you can focus on shooting your moving targets (for some reason, I am terrible at BLAB) and you have immediate feedback as to whether you are hitting your target (your paintballs, darts are color-coded) so you see the ‘splat’ of color when your shot lands. If I had the opportunity to, I would have gone on this ride a gazillion times! Definitely 
SINGLE RIDER: If you don’t mind riding with people you don’t know, this is one of those little known secrets that you have to take advantage of whenever you can. This option of going ‘single’ is available on certain popular rides where they need to fill in an empty seat. Head up to the CM at the beginning of the queue and ask him/her for a SR pass and you will be given a card and instructions as to wear to head (sometimes it’s the FP lane, sometimes you are directed towards the exit lane). One thing to point out is that only certain rides offer this option and were disappointed to find out that SM was not one of them. We used this on Splash (the only DL ride that offers this), CS and GRR. We noticed that there was a SR lane for the new TSM ride but since the kids wanted to go on it as well, we couldn’t take advantage of it.
BABY SWAP: Slightly different than SR but similar concept, Baby Swap aka Rider Switch allows parents with small children that can’t ride due to height limitations (or don’t want to ride) the opportunity to both ride albeit not with each other. One rider goes through the normal line while the other rider waits at the exit with the child. As soon as the first rider exits, the second rider hands off the kid and heads through the exit lane. You have to make sure to get a Baby Swap pass from the CM who is stationed at the ride entrance. We took advantage of Baby Swap in combination with a FP for SM. The other advantage of Baby Swap was the fact that DSi was able to ride with DNi and when they came out, my DNi was able to head back with me and ride again.
BLUE BAYOU LUNCH: I’ve only dined at BB once in all my 38 years of visiting DL so I was really looking forward to this meal. The gumbo was delicious and the Cajun Grilled Salmon was awesome as was the Mahi Mahi. As long as you don’t mind dining in the dark, the ambience is great and a nice break from the heat in the middle of the day.
THE BAD
BLUE BAYOU SERVICE: We had made 12:50pm lunch reservations at Blue Bayou and had been served our starters by our server. After failed attempts to flag her down for 10 minutes, we got frustrated and tried to get anyone’s attention. Our server was still on the floor so we were surprised when we were told by another server that there was a shift-change in the middle of service and that she would now be taking over as our new server. Now call me particular, but when does a restaurant that has just opened for lunch have servers already finishing their shifts 2.5 hours into it? I use to work in one of the DL table service restaurants (Tahitian Terrace which had its run many years ago) that was only open for lunch and dinner and I know that none of our lunch shifts ended by 1:30pm. I could understand a shift-change at 3 or 4pm but at 1:30? I expect servers to be proactive with informing their guests of the switch. No one explained what was going on with the server situation. This is Waitressing 101. It was only because we got desperate and were trying to get anyone’s attention that we found out about the server switch.
LOADING ONTO SPLASH MOUNTAIN: While the set up of the ‘on deck’ area is usually pretty self-explanatory about what seat you as a guest should sit in on most attractions, I found that there seemed to be a lot of confusion with Splash. My mother and I were directed to the last aisle in the 'on deck' area behind another guest. When the log arrived, the other rider loaded in the last single seat so my mother and I got on the same log sitting side-by-side in the final row. The CM who had directed us to the 'on deck' area told us we couldn't sit side-by-side and that we needed to get off. That was fine. No explanation as to why we had to unload but I figured it was due to weight limitations (my mom weighs 120 lbs and I weigh 130lbs). When the next log came, my mother got into the single seat and I sat in the last row assuming we weren't allowed to sit side-by-side. Imagine my surprise when the same CM told us we needed to get off the ride again and wait for the next log. This time the CM hadn't noticed that he had directed a mother with a small child to a row that led to a single seat. The mother assumed she had to have her child sit in her lap since that’s where her aisle fed into. When the lead saw this happening, the lead pointed this out and, in an attempt to fix the seating situation, the CM told us that we would have to get off the log again and wait for another log so the mother and her small child could sit in the back row. Talk about frustrating.
THE UGLY
CASTMEMBER ATTITUDE: Having worked at DL for four years myself, I know what CMs go through during the course of a shift: demanding guests, cranky children, short tempers, hot & humid weather. Even if you are having a bad day, you still need to put a smile on your face and maintain your composure through some trying times because you are on stage. What I found appalling was how basic courtesy of some CMs was lacking. After placing my order, I realized that I wanted the chicken without the sticky sauce slathered on top of it (2 yo DNe is the master of getting anything and everything all over himself and anyone in his proximity). I was able to flag the CM down (with the assist of one of her fellow CMs) and rather than walk over to me, she turned around and stood 20 feet away from the counter with a look on her face of “What do you want?” Since she didn’t come towards me, I had to shout across the kitchen and over the noise to ask her “Can I get the chicken skewers without the sauce, please?” Rather than a response like “Sure, no problem” or “Coming right up”, what I got was a roll of the eyes accompanied by perturb pursing of the lips. Even before taking a bite from the food, I had a very bad taste in my mouth.
Overall, the trip was a lot of fun and a different experience with little ones. I definitely learned new things about DL and hope that they can keep making improvements to make things better.
The GOOD
DREAM FASTPASSES: How lucky we were to score these!
On our first day, we had decided to get the kids entrenched in all things Disney so we made a beeline for TT by way of Fantasyland. As we approached Sleeping Beauty’s Castle gate, we noticed a couple of CMs handing something out which turned out to be these very coveted Dream FP. Each Dream FP has a tag for each FP ride in both DL and DCA which you can use any time during the day. No need to wait for a specific time, all you need to do is tear off the tag, hand it to the CM and head to the FP lane. NOTE to future Dream FPers: your Dream FP states that the Dream FP are only valid on the day they are awarded; what I found out is that you can use these any time, any day of your visit. Since we didn’t use all the tags on the first day, we thought we had missed out. Thank goodness while chatting with a CM, he informed me that Disney can’t put an expiration date on making people's dreams come true and it applies to your Dream FP! FAVORITE RIDE: Although I usually lean towards to the fast, rollercoaster-type rides, my favorite ride was the new Toy Story Midway Mania in DCA. Although the wait was long (and no FP), it was worth the 45-minute wait the two times we rode it. This is an interactive “4-D” attraction where you wear
and are whisked into five various ‘gallery’ games (duck shooting gallery, target shooting, parachuting men, water balloons) where you operate a spring-loaded gun. Thank goodness the car you ride is stationary so you can focus on shooting your moving targets (for some reason, I am terrible at BLAB) and you have immediate feedback as to whether you are hitting your target (your paintballs, darts are color-coded) so you see the ‘splat’ of color when your shot lands. If I had the opportunity to, I would have gone on this ride a gazillion times! Definitely SINGLE RIDER: If you don’t mind riding with people you don’t know, this is one of those little known secrets that you have to take advantage of whenever you can. This option of going ‘single’ is available on certain popular rides where they need to fill in an empty seat. Head up to the CM at the beginning of the queue and ask him/her for a SR pass and you will be given a card and instructions as to wear to head (sometimes it’s the FP lane, sometimes you are directed towards the exit lane). One thing to point out is that only certain rides offer this option and were disappointed to find out that SM was not one of them. We used this on Splash (the only DL ride that offers this), CS and GRR. We noticed that there was a SR lane for the new TSM ride but since the kids wanted to go on it as well, we couldn’t take advantage of it.
BABY SWAP: Slightly different than SR but similar concept, Baby Swap aka Rider Switch allows parents with small children that can’t ride due to height limitations (or don’t want to ride) the opportunity to both ride albeit not with each other. One rider goes through the normal line while the other rider waits at the exit with the child. As soon as the first rider exits, the second rider hands off the kid and heads through the exit lane. You have to make sure to get a Baby Swap pass from the CM who is stationed at the ride entrance. We took advantage of Baby Swap in combination with a FP for SM. The other advantage of Baby Swap was the fact that DSi was able to ride with DNi and when they came out, my DNi was able to head back with me and ride again.
BLUE BAYOU LUNCH: I’ve only dined at BB once in all my 38 years of visiting DL so I was really looking forward to this meal. The gumbo was delicious and the Cajun Grilled Salmon was awesome as was the Mahi Mahi. As long as you don’t mind dining in the dark, the ambience is great and a nice break from the heat in the middle of the day.
THE BAD
BLUE BAYOU SERVICE: We had made 12:50pm lunch reservations at Blue Bayou and had been served our starters by our server. After failed attempts to flag her down for 10 minutes, we got frustrated and tried to get anyone’s attention. Our server was still on the floor so we were surprised when we were told by another server that there was a shift-change in the middle of service and that she would now be taking over as our new server. Now call me particular, but when does a restaurant that has just opened for lunch have servers already finishing their shifts 2.5 hours into it? I use to work in one of the DL table service restaurants (Tahitian Terrace which had its run many years ago) that was only open for lunch and dinner and I know that none of our lunch shifts ended by 1:30pm. I could understand a shift-change at 3 or 4pm but at 1:30? I expect servers to be proactive with informing their guests of the switch. No one explained what was going on with the server situation. This is Waitressing 101. It was only because we got desperate and were trying to get anyone’s attention that we found out about the server switch.
LOADING ONTO SPLASH MOUNTAIN: While the set up of the ‘on deck’ area is usually pretty self-explanatory about what seat you as a guest should sit in on most attractions, I found that there seemed to be a lot of confusion with Splash. My mother and I were directed to the last aisle in the 'on deck' area behind another guest. When the log arrived, the other rider loaded in the last single seat so my mother and I got on the same log sitting side-by-side in the final row. The CM who had directed us to the 'on deck' area told us we couldn't sit side-by-side and that we needed to get off. That was fine. No explanation as to why we had to unload but I figured it was due to weight limitations (my mom weighs 120 lbs and I weigh 130lbs). When the next log came, my mother got into the single seat and I sat in the last row assuming we weren't allowed to sit side-by-side. Imagine my surprise when the same CM told us we needed to get off the ride again and wait for the next log. This time the CM hadn't noticed that he had directed a mother with a small child to a row that led to a single seat. The mother assumed she had to have her child sit in her lap since that’s where her aisle fed into. When the lead saw this happening, the lead pointed this out and, in an attempt to fix the seating situation, the CM told us that we would have to get off the log again and wait for another log so the mother and her small child could sit in the back row. Talk about frustrating.
THE UGLY
CASTMEMBER ATTITUDE: Having worked at DL for four years myself, I know what CMs go through during the course of a shift: demanding guests, cranky children, short tempers, hot & humid weather. Even if you are having a bad day, you still need to put a smile on your face and maintain your composure through some trying times because you are on stage. What I found appalling was how basic courtesy of some CMs was lacking. After placing my order, I realized that I wanted the chicken without the sticky sauce slathered on top of it (2 yo DNe is the master of getting anything and everything all over himself and anyone in his proximity). I was able to flag the CM down (with the assist of one of her fellow CMs) and rather than walk over to me, she turned around and stood 20 feet away from the counter with a look on her face of “What do you want?” Since she didn’t come towards me, I had to shout across the kitchen and over the noise to ask her “Can I get the chicken skewers without the sauce, please?” Rather than a response like “Sure, no problem” or “Coming right up”, what I got was a roll of the eyes accompanied by perturb pursing of the lips. Even before taking a bite from the food, I had a very bad taste in my mouth.
Overall, the trip was a lot of fun and a different experience with little ones. I definitely learned new things about DL and hope that they can keep making improvements to make things better.
