Our stay was nothing short of extremely disappointing. My kids had been looking forward to this…read moretrip all summer. They were so excited to finally have the chance to visit the great Jellystone Resort, only to leave feeling let down and disappointed.
Friday, after we had already put a considerable amount of money into the arcade, we discovered that the ticket machine was broken. Instead of making an effort to get it fixed, the solution was simply to put an "Out of Order" sign on it. My kids were understandably upset, and unfortunately, they weren't the only ones. Throughout the weekend, I saw countless children walking out of the arcade crying, especially the younger kids who simply didn't understand why they couldn't get their tickets or use something they had been looking forward to.
Then there were the water attractions. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, numerous water obstacles were closed. These are some of the attractions that make this resort what it is supposed to be known for, yet they were constantly unavailable. We ended up spending most of our time in the pool area because there simply wasn't much else we could do. It's incredibly frustrating to spend this much money on a family vacation and then find that many of the attractions you paid for aren't actually available.
There's also a huge sign proudly advertising that the resort serves Hershey's ice cream. After standing in line for nearly an hour, we were finally told that everything was sold out. And this wasn't an isolated incident. Numerous times throughout the weekend, we waited in lines only to eventually be told that whatever we were trying to purchase was sold out. After a while, it became incredibly frustrating and made us wonder why the resort was continuing to advertise and sell experiences that they clearly weren't prepared to provide.
Our experience at the restaurant was just as disappointing. There were only four tables with customers while we were there, yet it still took approximately 90 minutes to receive our deep-fried food. Ninety minutes for food that should not have taken anywhere near that long is simply unacceptable, especially when you're traveling with kids.
We also paid for a glitter tattoo for our kids and almost didn't get it because there was only one person doing them. I felt bad for the employee because he was clearly overwhelmed, but one person trying to handle that many children was never going to work. Once again, the kids were the ones who ended up disappointed.
And finally, our Monday morning "wake-up call" came courtesy of lawn mowers starting at 7:00 a.m. I understand that the resort has to get the property cleaned up and prepared for the next group of guests, and I understand that there is a checkout time. But waking up families at 7:00 in the morning with lawn mowers is not the way to leave guests with a positive final impression. There are more considerate ways to get people moving without making them feel like they are being pushed out.
The most disappointing part of all of this is that my kids had been looking forward to this trip for months. We spent a significant amount of money expecting a fun family vacation and an experience that matched what Jellystone promises. Instead, we spent much of the weekend dealing with closed attractions, sold-out items, long waits, broken equipment, and disappointed children.
This was supposed to be the "best vacation ever." Unfortunately, it was anything but.
I truly hope management takes these concerns seriously, because this resort has the potential to be a great family destination. But based on our experience, it is nowhere near the experience it claims to provide. We left feeling disappointed, frustrated, and, most of all, sorry that our kids' long-awaited vacation didn't turn out the way they had hoped.
