( WOW ) What an ordeal

**cannybiz** · 25-01-2004, 18:27

3 Weeks of great weather, The Americans so courteous and polite, The Quality Inn very basic but nice, two heated pools, beautifully kept complex, and you felt very safe with the security provided, coffee delivered every morning by smiling staff, what more do you want, and this is before any visits to the parks, of which I hasten to add lives up to there names, The adverts you see on tele are true to there word.
You wouldnt want to be on a zimmer frame when crossing roads though, I went for a break, and all I seemed to be doing was running all day long, mind you we did stay on International Drive, Florida was well an experience, very tiring even for the fittest, been home five days, and still yawning, not sure I could do it again, Florida is all that it is made out to be. I have heard that the gambling rules are about to change in Florida, that would be good news, we had to set sail out to sea to the casino. Found every where cheap, Hired a car, a neccesity, all in all a fantastic holiday,Cannybiz

**caseyd** · 25-01-2004, 20:14

Cannybiz: It sounds like maybe you tried to do too much in your time thre if you are still tired and feel not sure you could do it again. I did the same thing the first time I went, tried to do too much, fit it all in, and ended up tired and ragged, running here and there, making sure we were whereever at the right time to see the fireworks, make our reservations, etc. After that trip I realized I was going to go back, not once but several times, and I could afford to slow down (for my family's sake too) and not feel compelled to do it all on any one trip. Now when we got for a week, I paln a few days away form the parks (horse riding or nature related things) and even leave one day open for spontaneous plans, and I book a half day of relaxation like a spa visit w/my daughter (for massage for me and manicure for her) and my son and husband go off to play 9 holes of golf or whatever. Plus this time in April I am SO LOOKING FORWARD to staying in a villa instead of a hotel, so we can relax in the house and pool and have some meals in the house and not crawl all over each other in a hotel room. I can't wait- why didn't I rent a villa before? We always rent houses at the beach in summer- I don't know why I didn't get onto it for Florida before now.

**kevinprewett** · 25-01-2004, 22:38

quote:Originally posted by cannybiz

3 Weeks of great weather, The Americans so courteous and polite, The Quality Inn very basic but nice, two heated pools, beautifully kept complex, and you felt very safe with the security provided, coffee delivered every morning by smiling staff, what more do you want, and this is before any visits to the parks, of which I hasten to add lives up to there names, The adverts you see on tele are true to there word.
You wouldnt want to be on a zimmer frame when crossing roads though, I went for a break, and all I seemed to be doing was running all day long, mind you we did stay on International Drive, Florida was well an experience, very tiring even for the fittest, been home five days, and still yawning, not sure I could do it again, Florida is all that it is made out to be. I have heard that the gambling rules are about to change in Florida, that would be good news, we had to set sail out to sea to the casino. Found every where cheap, Hired a car, a neccesity, all in all a fantastic holiday,Cannybiz

Hi,
Sounds like you had a hell of a time! Excellent. Maybe next time you return you can chill a bit and take it at a more leisurely pace.
[msncool]

**Daniel Ramsey** · 28-01-2004, 13:41

I am almost done with my 4 week vacation and back to Alaska I go, in a nutshell it was mostly rest and pool for me, very little theme parks and the only Disney I went to was Blizzard Beach. Went to Universal a couple of times and liked it pretty much.

Now that I've seen all I want to see in Orlando its time for me to set my sights on my next expedition, looks like its going to be Hawaii for a month or two next winter. No return to Orlando for at least two years. First time in 2001 people were friendly, now it feels like everyone is about to stick out their hand and start begging.

**caseyd** · 28-01-2004, 16:05

Daniel: I am interested in your last sentence, "now it feels like everyone is about to stick their hand out and start begging." What does that mean, what was your experience that led you to write that? Did you get a a sense that the ecomony is bad down there and people are really hurting, or what?

**tinkerbell** · 28-01-2004, 16:46

I got a clear sense during my vacation at xmas that the cast members at all of the theme parks, were working on a commission basis or similar. They were really going in for the hard sell, and I felt uncomfortable walking past some of the stalls. AT Blizzard Beach, the woman standing by the entrance one day selling refillable drinks containers was really going for it. When we left 4 hours later, she was still standing there shouting about her soft drinks etc,.

Not a sales technique I've experienced in orlando before now.

Anyone else any feelings on this?

**DMC** · 28-01-2004, 19:27

If you don't take time out to relax then you will certianly wear yourself out.

I guess that when you have saved long and hard, when you fianlly get out to Orlando, because there is so much to see and do, you feel complelled to fit in as much as you can.

Fortunately we have been regular visitors for a number of years so we tend to "dip in and out" of the Theme Parks, with the rest of the time being spent by the Pool or Shopping.

Although the later can be just as hectic as the Theme Parks

I am sure that from the knowledge that you have gained from this trip, that next time you are over in Orlando you will be able to "pick and choose" which bits to visit.

As for the "hard sell" - I guess that every business could do with an increase in turnover and maybe putting Cast Members on commission is the way forward.

We will keep a look out when we are over in April.

**tinkerbell** · 29-01-2004, 16:23

Take a look at www.savedisney.com

This might change your views, I had no idea this was going on?

**caseyd** · 29-01-2004, 16:32

The rif between Michael Eisner and Roy Disney has been going on for years. Roy Disney as recently ousted from the board of Disney, I believe, and this is his way of trying to fight back. I don't know other details but it's been in the news also. I would assume it's about Eisner and Power and Monday (those three seem to go together) but I don't know enough to assume anything about how Roy plays into it.
Something is definitely happening- you know Disney closed down the animation studios in Orlando and laid off all the animators, right? I read that the area at MGM where you could walk by and see the animators is just empty chairs now. That is a drastic, bad sign I think...
Anyone know more? It is sad. Don't know how far reaching the changes will be, they likley won't tell us the less public things they are doing-- that is why I asked why you all felt things were different in the parks regarding the employee attitudes, hawking their wares more agressively, etc.