Monorail reduced hours
Many of you know and are not happy about the monorail is going to have reduced operating hours. The monorail to Epcot has already reduced its hours starting on July 11 and the monorail to the Magic Kingdom will start on August 1. Instead of operating an hour and a half past Extra Magic Hours it will shut down one hour after regular park hours. Extra busses from Epcot and additional boat service for the resorts around Seven Seas Lagoon will be used to transport the guests that are at parks after the monorail service is stopped.
My initial reaction was that this was another cutback to save money but it seems that the monorails are getting older, requiring more maintenance and are not being allowed enough down time. The fleet has also been reduced by one since the July 5, 2009 accident.
Disney is already expecting some upset guests that stay at the 3 resorts that have access to the monorail. This change for now seems to be permanent and Disney has not shared any information on what they will do during special events like Mickey’s not so scary Halloween party or Mickey’s very merry Christmas party.
In the Top 20
Disney resorts make the list of Travel and Leasure Magazine’s “World Best” The Animal Kingdom Lodge took the #1 spot (love the place but don’t see it as #1) with only 4 other Disney resorts making the top 20. Wilderness Lodge was at #8, the Polynesian was at #15 followed by the Yacht Club at #16 and the Boardwalk at #19.
Some observations
Everyone knows I love the Polynesian resort and I see it as a place that there is so much to enjoy but lately I have been getting bad reports again. Now the good thing is that in the past when there was many bad reports and even I was worried about going there, I have noticed things improved quite a bit and the resort looked great when I visited.
The reports lately have been about the condition of the rooms and amenities but mostly I think the complaints are about the cost. Cost has been going up quite a bit with discounts offered seeming to be less. Maybe it is just when I want to go. For the first time we considered not going to Disney World or maybe taking a Disney cruise instead because prices for rooms have gone up so much. Add on the fact that the room we always get is now considered Theme Park view and the price has gone way up. I remember when $400 or $500 a night for lagoon view concierge was a lot but now if we wanted to stay in a theme park view room over the Christmas Holiday time it would be $1020 and that is before tax so add on more than $100 more a night for that.
I have stayed in a Marriott in San Francisco and a Sheraton in Honolulu in the last couple of months that were less than $200 a night and service was more than helpful and friendly and the rooms were in great shape. There were plenty of amenities and even discounts for eating in the hotel. Both also had loyalty programs that you get points for spending at the resorts and they also had free WiFi.
My experience at Disney is mixed. I either meet CMs with the true Disney spirit or I meet people that seem totally uninterested in being there. I would think there are plenty of people that want to work for Disney or even work at all so those that want to act like they could care less about the guests should be working for Universal the next week.
When I have gone to the Polynesian the resort itself looks great but there have been issues in the room. Anything major has been addressed quickly but I find that I go around and dust the room, fix the little broken things and just give some attention to the room so that the next person gets it in better shape. I did notice last time they were going around and fixing lights, touching up in the hallways and many other things that show me they are giving some care to keep the resort looking great but I think there is still a little attention needed to the rooms and when there is a problem (like the design of the refrigerator) than let’s get them all fixed instead of having the same problem happen to every guests that comes through the room. We can also play a part in helping improve the resort by letting the resort know when something needs attention instead of leaving it for the next guests.
When a guest is paying to stay somewhere I believe those amenities should be for them and the management needs to do all they can to make sure those that are not staying there should not be allowed to access those amenities. Most other resorts (including some Disney resorts) do the wrist band thing for the pools and we all know the Polynesian pool is abused. Most of us have sat around the pool listening to whole families talk about how they just came over from the park or some other resort to use the pool. It sounds like the wrist band program is back on at the Polynesian but not having seen it myself I don’t know if it is permanent.
I still love vacationing at Disney and I help people every day with their plans to visit but prices are going up faster than our salaries and what we get for our money is getting less and less. I hear more about things that are no longer offered or the offerings are reduced than I do about new things, or when I hear there is going to be something new it usually comes with an additional charge.
It is hard for me to get emails from long time visitors to the Polynesian that say they won’t be back because of bad experiences lately or most of them because of the increase of cost and the reduction of services and amenities. Disney knows they will fill their parks and resorts but I think they are seeing an affect to some of the decisions they have made, I just don’t know what it will take for them to change the way things are going.
I want to be able to post news about what great things are being offered at the resort or how something was improved. That is what gives me the motivation to do this site and to talk people into trying the Polynesian. Lest hope soon I do have better things to report.
Tipping
I can honestly say that tipping was something I learned quickly when I first traveled to Disney World on my own for the first time. I was taking my girlfriend to Disney World for the first time and it was the first time I was traveling without my parents to the world. I knew how to tip at restaurants and the bellmen but I had never heard of tipping housekeeping. It made me wonder what travel etiquette says about tipping and who to tip. Well if you go by etiquette you will tip just about everyone you come into contact with. My initial reaction is “That is crazy” and you might just say you won’t do it. That’s your choice but remember many of these positions are being taxed for that tip weather you give it to them or not. Now that is not in all cases but sometimes the salaries they get also assume they will get tips from you. To me it sounds like they don’t want to pay them much so we can subsidize their salary.
So who should you tip?
Well let’s start with housekeeping. Only about 30% of guests tip housekeeping across the United States (might be higher at Disney Resorts). This position is not considered a tip based position but they do try and make your room nice for you every day. Also don’t tip because you want something special in your room, that is not how it works and is not the reason you should be tipping.
So how much to tip and how often?
Well since it could be a different person every day you should tip every day. You should leave $1 – $2 a day with a note, usually placed on the pillow. Remember you almost always tip a bell hop and on average they make more than a housekeeper. Who do you see as doing the tougher job?
Who else to tip?
Servers at sit down restaurants should get 15%- 25%, buffets you do 10%-15% of the bill.
Bartenders get $1 – $2 a drink or 15% – 20% of the bill
Bellmen usually get $1 – $2 per bag
Valet gets $2 – $5 when picking up the car and some give $1 – $2 when dropping off
Taxi driver 10% -15% of fareTipping can be confusing.
One year I talked to a member of the concierge (now called club level) and asked if it was appropriate to tip Club Level Cast Members. Here was the response.
“Officially we are not on a tip status and should not be receiving tips of any kind, especially cash and we should try to decline it. We are told if a guest is insistent on tipping and giving cash and it seems we will offend them if we don’t take it, we can accept it but we are to turn it in to our manager. It then goes into a ‘tip fund’ that in the past, we used for parties or dinners for our entire staff to be able to attend and enjoy. Unfortunately, company policy states we are not to have this ‘tip fund’ and therefore it is very difficult for us to use any money that is turned in to the fund these days. Sometimes, cast members keep the cash that is given them thus subjecting themselves to possible termination if they are caught. (This has happened recently at another resort.) Also, sometimes a guest may leave something for another cast member in good faith that it will be given to the cast member but the intended cast member does not receive it.
We work as a team and while it may seem to someone that one concierge person is doing all the work, it is usually more than one person. It’s just the one concierge person ends up being the one that coordinates all the requests and bookings, makes sure it is completed and replies back to the guest. It’s great when we are recognized as individuals as sometimes the one concierge person may be the only one working on a particular guest and no one else needed to assist. It can also be disappointing when another cast member is recognized for all the hard work one cast member or the team did together, but we also understand that maybe the guest did not see or understand that there is a team working together, not usually just one individual. I can tell you, a concierge that works at night is not the one in the computer at 7am in the morning making all the special priority seating bookings like Cinderella’s Breakfast etc. They may place the request on the list for the am crew but unless they normally work in the IPO or are doing a turnaround shift, they will not be the one booking the request. This is where the teamwork comes in play.
Things like towel animals etc in the room are done by housekeeping and it depends on the housekeeper as to whether or not they do these things for their guests. Not all the housekeepers have the time or skill to do the towel animals. The housekeepers work very hard and when guests leave them a tip with their name on it, their management looks the other way as they feel if a guest appreciated the housekeeper so much as to leave them something, the housekeeper must deserve it and it also promotes moral and the housekeepers take more pride in their job. A win, win situation as some say. As you stated, it is not done because they gave gifts, it is done out of the kindness of our hearts and our wish to make their stay Magical.
We don’t do things for guests and expect a tip or gift. Knowing we made a guest’s vacation special makes us feel good and that is why we are here. There are times when we wish could do more for our guests because we know how special their occasion is or they are repeat guests.
Guests who stay on a Concierge level outside of WDW know that if they are big tippers, they are going to get whatever they want, especially if the tip is big enough. This is not the case at WDW. Concierge is a level of service they are already paying for by the higher price of our rooms and having a private building. The food in our amenity lounge is not what they are paying for either, it is an amenity that is offered since they are staying in the building.
The Concierge staff, are paid an hourly rate to do our job, we are not on a tip status. When we go out of our way, it is because we want to, not because we are paid more or expect or know we are going to get a big tip or gift. The cast members that are on a tip status are the bellmen, the valet, the bartenders and the restaurant servers. They are paid on a tip wage which is low and they work for their tips with the service they provide. This is industry standard.”
I try and tip well but there are times I wish they would just pay them more so I had one less thing to worry about and I would not have to keep cash in my pocket. I would be happy to pay more for them to increase their wages so I would not have to think about tipping and they would not have to count on us tipping them. The bottom line is many of them are working very hard and have to deal with all of us for little money so in a way our tipping is part of their salary and when we forget to tip we are taking part of their salary away from them.
Bad Link
I just removed a link in my Polynesian Culture section of my links that was for a place that made Tiki Bars. It use to be an up and coming place for custom Tiki Bars and I even had some converstions with the guy who ran it. I like to get to know the places I link to. Well it had been a while since I went through my links to see if they are still good and I guess it has gone to the adult entertainment so the link no longer exists. I want to say sorry if any of you stumbled across it while it was in its new form.
