Asking for a discount

[waltslostnephew]

Hello all, Here is my question. This past July we went to disney with my family disney son twins 20mnths old DD 33 months old my wife and mom and dad. We live in Kansas City ,Mo. about 1250 miles away and have gone pretty much 2 times a year for the last 10 years plus more when I was younger. When we were at animal kingdom, the floor in the lion king area was very wet and slippery and my DS fell from the slipperyness and cracked his head wide open. It was such a bad sound that many people got involved and he was bleeding very badly. I give tremendous kudos to this Dis staff for they immeadately guided us to a first aid center do to the mear sound and the amounts of blood flowing. Once he went to first aid, they were basically scared and had a car waiting and rushed him and my wife to urgent care. Urgent care was so freaked out they demanded he go to the emergency room at Celebration, where they checked him out and he got a few stitches. We never recieved a bill, which is awesome and why we keep coming back, even though we are lucky and have very good insurance through our employers. The only bad thing was after this the doctor told us to take it easy, which basicly meant our vacation was over with a couple of days to go. My other kids kind of got the shaft do to this. As you know, I am hearing from several people to do something crazy through attorneys. I AM NOT GOING TO DO THIS. I love the mouse. But, I think maybe a small discount or something,(nothing crazy) would be pretty nice to recieve. I feel it is crazy that Disney doed not all ready reward very frequent visitors. Even if it was 10% off ofthe rooms for my next stay would be great. What do you think? Who would I contact? Thank You

 

[Brian Noble]

You had four adults, and all four had to watch the one kid? No one could take the other kids to the parks? Really?

Before you send that letter, you might want to work on your story.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Gee, it sounds to me that Disney did plenty--got him the help and didn't charge you for what was probably a few thousand in medical care. I don't know what more you think they should do. Was it slippery due to rain? I dont' see how they would be responsible for anything further--they can't guarentee that the floors will remain perfectly dry, even if another guest ahd spilled a soda or something. ONce notified, they have to act.

The remaining 3 adults could have taken the other children out, but how much commando touring can you do with 3 children under 3, anyway?

I would just let it be, and be thankful that my child wasn't seriously hurt.

 

[pnltbox27]

i dont think you are out of line at all. in todays society disney is catching a break by you not contacting a lawyer. dont get me wrong i feel people are responable for their own actions , an accident is sometimes just that an accident , but disney does hold some liability when someone gets hurt on their property.call cust serv and ask to speak to a superviser , it might take a few people to get to the right person , but hey its worth a shot . its not like your suing them.
good luck..... hope your son is doin well

 

[waltslostnephew]

Yes, I would never consider suing. And the other adults did take the other kids to the park, but it did put a real damper on the last couple of days. Also, I give excellent kudos to Disney, for taking care of the medical issues and there very prompt service. Thats why we keep coming back! but, a small discount on my next visit, which I will be spending 2 or 3 grand, would be nice. I was just curious what the general public had to say. I think a frequent visitor plan would be nice to for all of us.

 

[Ashley Kees]

I think you should look at this from the oppostire point of view. Say you own a resort (for example) and someone slips on the ground outside after a rain. The injury is bad, and you do everything you feel is moral and kind; you rush the person to the hospital and pay for the transport and all medical bills even though the injury was *not* through negligence. How would you feel is after you went to the trouble to fix the problem that you did not cause, the person asked you for more? I would be mad. If the accident was from negligence (and not drying the ground outside after a rainstorm is *not* negligence) go ahead and ask for more. But this was an accident, and Disney has already gone above and beyond to make it right. Don't ask for more.

I'm sorry your son was injured, I know how bad it is when your baby is hurt. I have to say, though, the baby was 20 months, and there is just no way that he missed that much from the last few days. I can guarantee he will never remember that trip, he was too young. And the adults, while inconvenienced, still went to the parks and had a good time while they were there, as did the other two children. I think, given the circumstances, you made out pretty well. It could have been sooooo much worse!

 

[kty]

I think that if Disney was going to do something, they would have/should have done it immediately following the accident - like offering a pass/passes for a future visit or something. To go back now, and ask for a discount - I feel would be difficult to obtain.

A few months ago we were at hard rock park in myrtle beach, and my husband was hit pretty hard by a patio umbrella that flew out of the turnstyle area. He grabbed and stopped the umbrella from injurying others/employees working the ticket area. The employees asked us to go to guest services and report the incident, etc. He was not seriously injured, by any means, so we said not to worry about it and went on our way. A manager was notified by an employee of the incident, and came over and gave us 50.00 in a food voucher to be used anywhere in the park. We were very gracious.

That said, I cannot imagine going back now and asking for something for a future trip. You should have said something during your visit/immediately following the incident.

I feel since you lost time in the park, Disney should have at least offered you a ticket for another day(s). or maybe a night in the castle I think it is too late at this point to ask for something. Be thankful that your child is ok, it sounds as though it could have been a lot worse.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Just read the resort codes board to find out about room discounts and codes. Or even join AAA.
I am glad it all worked out for the best. But I agree with others that it sounds like Disney went above and beyond. You did not state they were negligent in any way. And now that you are home I would say too late to even ask now. I'm not sure they would have even done more while you were there. Had you started asking for a lot right away they may have dropped the whole thing entirely, concerned anything to help could be construed as admitting fault in case you went to an atty.

 

[Frothy]

Wow! So sorry to read about this. How's your DS now?

Unfortunately stuff like this does happen in life and the approach I think you should take is to send a letter to Disney thanking them for taking care of your son and making sure he was OK. You might like to then suggest you are hoping to return in the near future to continue the vacation that was spoilt and that you'd like to do something special for your DS. If you can be specific I think you stand a very good chance of Disney helping you but I wouldn't ask for a discount as such.

I'm also pleased to hear that you aren't one of those greedy people who like to use the ambulance chasing attorney's who like to sue people for what is basically an accident. Would you win? Probably. But you'd have a great deal of hassle in doing so and life's too short.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Actually, the OP probably WOULDN'T win. To win, he would have to prove that Disney was negiligent--that they knew the liquid was there and had an obligation to clean it up. That would mean proving that a spilled soda had been identified to a CM (if that's what the liquid was), and they did nothing. If a liquid had just been spilled, or was caused naturally (rain), then there would be no negligence on Disney's part. In fact, they would likely countersue for the cost of the medical treatment. And they have deeper pockets to fund a suit, not to mention lawyers who probably deal with these types of complaints on a daily basis.

Really, I see no fault or obligation on Disney's part. Perhaps I'm missing something (i.e., if there was a spill that Disney neglected). I'm sorry that the OP had to spend part of his vacation at the hospital, but this is really no different than a parent dealing with a sick child on vacation. BTDT, a few times, you just deal and move on.

 

[madalex]

Yes, I would never consider suing. And the other adults did take the other kids to the park, but it did put a real damper on the last couple of days. Also, I give excellent kudos to Disney, for taking care of the medical issues and there very prompt service. Thats why we keep coming back! but, a small discount on my next visit, which I will be spending 2 or 3 grand, would be nice. I was just curious what the general public had to say. I think a frequent visitor plan would be nice to for all of us.

I'm going to ignore any suggestion that Disney owes you a discount as a result of the accident and focus on your question about a frequent visitor plan: I agree 100%. I have gone at least once every year for the past 12 years and for my next trip in Feb 2009, I will be spending close to 10 grand. While I do use codes and take every opportunity to save money, I also think it would be great if Disney offered something extra to those of us who are such loyal customers.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Disney already has a frequent visitor program. It's called the Disney Vacation Club, Disney's version of a timeshare program.

 

[ols386]

I am sorry your child was injured, and hope that he is now recovered. But it seems like Disney did everything possible to get your child the immediate medical assistance he needed at the time, and you were not charged anything financial for medical services. I can't imagine now going back and asking for some kind of discount because of this incident, and it doesn't sound like Disney was negligent...but that this was an accident that could happen to anyone at any place. There are discount codes and that type of thing...maybe you could look into getting something like that. I agree that individuals/families who regularly vacation at WDW could be given some type of discount for their loyalty, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

 

[cdmv4]

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[Mike©]

Yes, I would never consider suing. And the other adults did take the other kids to the park, but it did put a real damper on the last couple of days. Also, I give excellent kudos to Disney, for taking care of the medical issues and there very prompt service. Thats why we keep coming back! but, a small discount on my next visit, which I will be spending 2 or 3 grand, would be nice. I was just curious what the general public had to say. I think a frequent visitor plan would be nice to for all of us.

My two cents. Just keep in mind, if you start going after this there is nothing to stop them from asking for compesation for the medical bills.

Or let me put it this way.

If you ask for compensation for the incident and you get it. It would be the same as Disney saying "it was our fault" and would open them to further actions. Or you will ask and they will see it as a possible liability and will take actions of thier own to minimize it.

Is it really worth it?

 

[Disney1976]

Actually, the OP probably WOULDN'T win. To win, he would have to prove that Disney was negiligent--that they knew the liquid was there and had an obligation to clean it up. That would mean proving that a spilled soda had been identified to a CM (if that's what the liquid was), and they did nothing. If a liquid had just been spilled, or was caused naturally (rain), then there would be no negligence on Disney's part. In fact, they would likely countersue for the cost of the medical treatment. And they have deeper pockets to fund a suit, not to mention lawyers who probably deal with these types of complaints on a daily basis.

Really, I see no fault or obligation on Disney's part. Perhaps I'm missing something (i.e., if there was a spill that Disney neglected). I'm sorry that the OP had to spend part of his vacation at the hospital, but this is really no different than a parent dealing with a sick child on vacation. BTDT, a few times, you just deal and move on.

Exactly! Slip and fall cases are extremly difficult to prove and win under Florida case law. Furthermore, I think a court would look at the actions took after the accident -providing appropriate and immediate medical care, and making sure the medical bill was paid. If you were looking for free passes, or a discount on the room, I would have brought it up during the time of the accident, and not after the fact. Ultimately, Disney is a business, and I think will not offer more compensation than they feel is necessary or maybe what they feel they can "get away with."

At this point, the trauma your family incurred is just another blip on the screen, an incident report stuck in a filing cabinet somewhere, buried with countless others. I think you need to be satisfied that your son received proper treatment, there wasn't (hopefully) any lasting trauma, and that no medical bills were incurred. Chalk it up to a random, unfortunate event that could have happened to anyone, and move on.

 

[dizneydiva2005]

You had four adults, and all four had to watch the one kid? No one could take the other kids to the parks? Really?

Before you send that letter, you might want to work on your story.

really? That's the best you could come up with for a response?


TO the OP- I'm sorry your son got hurt. That's terrible!! It wasn't his fault the floor was slippery and he got hurt!!! It sure dampens a vacation for EVERYONE!!!!!! It's not fun to plan a trip and then have to go to the parks without the entire party because someone has to stay behind- so I understand you not going to the parks-

I have mixed feelings on what you should do.
When my son was 3 he fell off a chair at Epcot and had to have his chin glued together. I asked for an autograph from the characters! I did receive one in the mail of the Fab 5 in front of the castle. It made his day!

 

[maxiesmom]

I think you should be very grateful that Disney took care of all the medical costs, which were probably $$$, and leave it at that. It sounds like Disney was fabulous in dealing with something that was very scary for you. Focus on that, and the fact that your son is fine. Which is worth more than any disount Disney could give you.

 

[cdmv4]

I think Frothy has the right idea for your 1st step. Don't ask for anything but see what they offer. You went on vacation as a family and if you stay back with your DS while the others go and play, then it is not a family vacation. There's no reason why Disney should not compensate you for the vacation time you lost due to the seriousness of the injury. Let's face it, they took a lot of your money! Who's to say Disney is not partially responsible, did they take the right procedures to avoid slips on wet pavement? It's Florida and it rains alot. As long as you're not asking for anything more, then I don't think you're being greedy one bit. GO FOR IT!
And NO, Disney DOES NOT have a frequent visitor program and it is not DVC. Many non-DVC visitors go more often than many DVC members. Though I don't have one, I would consider AP holders belonging to more of a frequent visitor's program and I beleive you get many discounts. The purpose of an AP is to save on admissions in a 1 year period if you visit DW frequently.

 

[ElizabethB]

Frankly, I'm surprised they covered the medical bills. That could be considered an admission of responsibility for the accident. As far as asking for further compensation (room discount, etc.), any such request (if it involves something of monetary value as opposed to a Mickey signature) likely will immediately be turned over to WDW's insurer. You'll get no where fast once that happens.

If you want something additional from WDW, get an attorney. You may need one located in Orlando, Florida. An insurer is likely to offer a settlement for the pain and suffering. An insurer won't offer anything for lost enjoyment of the other kids.

I can see the flaming starting already! Flame away. A basic principle of our law is that when someone is negligent and causes injury to another, the negligent person is expected to pay for the injury caused.

I have no idea why someone would say slip and fall cases are difficult to prove in Florida. Cases please?

In this instance, there were tons of witnesses. And, a court will not necessarily decide that what WDW has paid to date is enough. That is often within a jury's province, not the court's.

And, these sorts of cases never get to court anyway. They settle.

Lots of arm chair "attorneys" on these boards!