Quote Originally Posted by WDWFanatic View Post
While we LOVED the Hard Rock, express pass, and their night-time complex we did have some problems. They "lost" about half of our dinner reservations. With a party as large as ours it was very tough. They don't give confirmation numbers, just go by your name. We even called a few days before our arrival to make sure they were all set. We did end up having a great experience when they didn't have our reservation for a character meal, they switched us to one of the other hotels (non-character) and we got a private bus and the place was pretty empty to it was like we had the restaurant to ourselves.
I'm not aware of all of this since I'm a local and never have to deal with resorts, but from the trip reports I've heard, they have provided excellent service for the guests which looks like they have for you as well, even if they did mess up your reservation.

We loved some of the rides, but not having to get lockers, and it seems like they had lots of breakdowns while we were there. We did have to take turns staying out with the kids too small for some rides, but that is the same at Disney for us. Food in the parks was not as good as Disney.
No one ever likes their lockers over there, and I'm sure they're aware of it from having numerous times helping people how to use them. I'm sure they're looking into a better system for the lockers so they aren't as bad to deal with. As for the ride breakdowns, it happens anywhere, but does happen more often at Universal since they have more advanced ride systems and special effects that do break down here and there. There have been some suggestions about not riding certain rides when they first open because they break down in the morning after going through it's cycle and being checked off, but are fine for the rest of the day.

We just felt more comfortable at Disney, but I think if we did Universal as often we would feel the same there.
Understandable, and probably a major reason why Disney fans keep going back to Disney, and probably would never try Universal, because they're not familiar or comfortable with it. I'm sure if you did more reasearch as you said, you probably would have had an even better time at the parks, but looks like you already had a great time.

Disney has done a great job of making it hard to leave their property once you get there, lol.
Yes they do, and I disagree with how they literally steal guests straight from the airport called "Magical Express" so now you're a prisoner in the "world" and can't leave until your vacation is done, unless you want to call for a cab, but who would want to do that when you have everything at the "world?" Before they did that, the average family came down to visit Disney, and then Universal and Sea World for a couple days, but it was mostly Disney, and now with these changes such as Magical Express and Magic Your Way tickets, they're really ruining it for others to see what else is nearby, and I would hate to see some of these other attractions close down. I have seen some really neat attractions off I-Drive and then a couple months later, see that they're out of business which really tears me up, because it was a cool experience. Anyone remember or heard of Mystery Fun House?