Customer Service at Disney World?

There is so much to learn the 1st time(2nd,3rd...). Sometimes it can be overwhelming. You seem to be a planner, my kind of peep! Just in case you don't know
1. There is bag check and sometimes metal detectors before you get into entrance of MK.
2. You can get free ice water at any restaurant, when you walk in ask where to go. Usually you don't have to wait in the order line.
3. It will probably rain in the afternoon.

You probably know all this!!
 
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I'll say just a couple of things...#1 people post horror stories about Disney online, it's more rare to read about all the great stuff that keeps people visiting.... trust me,it's there. SO much fun to find at Disney, just be open to new stuff.
#2 Disney about WAY more than rides. I could sit in Mk and eat ll day,never go on a ride,and feel happy. It's an EXPERIENCE,and Disney does it right. Yes, there will be closures. But I would still say 12 hours isn't enough to soak it all in, the shows, the sights, the foods, the rides, the music, just everything. Same for the hotel , pick an AREA you want to stay in, and enjoy it. If something is REALLY wrong with your room, go back to desk and ask to switch. Relax and wait for the bus,and let Disney do the driving. Why worry? one ride to MK,and you're there! Sounds like you plan to stay the day,so no waiting after your morning ride.
 
I'm sure it's been discussed to pieces, but the 1971 $3.50 adult one day admission (equal to about roughly $20.80 today with inflation) is a far cry from the standard $105 plus that is being charged for one day adult admission today. That's a 134% increase. There are many whys behind it no doubt, but it is worth observing. For context, a movie ticket in 1971 cost $1.50, what would be $8.91 with inflation.

The problem is narrowing your focus so that you only see inflation. There is also significant supply/demand as well as the premium for the Disney name. If the ticket was $20 then the park would be at "we need to call the fire marshal" level 10s every day.

And the premium is worth something. You don't pay $400 for a Michael Kors bag because it has $400 worth of leather and brass.

You don't pay $2,075 for a Hermes Dogon wallet that is 5x8 because it's made with unicorn hide and dragon scale.

Stacy
 


I'm sure it's been discussed to pieces, but the 1971 $3.50 adult one day admission (equal to about roughly $20.80 today with inflation) is a far cry from the standard $105 plus that is being charged for one day adult admission today. That's a 134% increase. There are many whys behind it no doubt, but it is worth observing.
There have been many atalk over inflation and ticket prices...entire threads even (and I've only been here on the DIS less than a year so I'm sure there's a whole heck of a lot over time).

Inflation and prices is a bit of a vague way of looking at it. It doesn't capture all the little details and instead makes you focus on one factor only.

For example in 2008 my favorite theater chain (AMC) raised the ticket price of an adult ticket from $6.50 to $8.00 (incl tax) at the particular theater I love to go to. Today it is $10.49 (incl tax). So if I look at just inflation that $6.50 in 2008 equals today $7.27 in buying power according to the U.S. DOL inflation calculator. If I look at the difference between 6.50 ad 10.49 the increase in 8 years would be a 61.385% increase.

But then I would be ignoring the vast amount of money the theater chain has spent to freshen up their theaters including installing leather reclining chairs (2 different kinds depending on the actual theater) in many of their theaters, upgrading their projection systems, installing dine-in theaters, improving on their loyalty programs which have included and still do include free previews of movies sometimes weeks or months before a movie is released and rewards earned for money spent at the theater, better food options available at the normal concessions and many more things.
 
For day 2 there is a direct bus back to POR so no need to worry. There should be a helpful transportation CM or security CM at the bus depot to point you in the right direction if you get lost. Easy direction is when you leave MK facing the lagoon the buses are on the far left.

Here now, and have been asking CM's about transportation as needed. Interesting responses. Was told very few buses run for our breakfast time and we were encouraged to take a taxi. Later when I asked if I was going the right direction for the monorail to the Polynesian the dude pointed both ways with an exasperated look. Couldn't just say "Yes?" So far it's been going ok, but we both definitely feel lost as first timers- and have not found cast members to be particularly jazzed on helping. It's more of a "duh, you don't know that?" reaction. (Not unlike some of the responses I got here early on) I had to ask the front desk for a map and apologize for not knowing where the bus stops were when I went to them for help with the breakfast question. If you've never been here, it's difficult to tell where things are and which way to go, etc.

By far the worst thing we've encountered so far are other guests. Even on public transit, there is little of the etiquette we've seen in other cities. One woman let her children run screaming around the Magic Express lines in the airport. Bumping, pushing, etc. are all things we're learning to look out for on our first day.

That said, there have been some really awesome people here too. Just really put off by the attitude and demeanor of some people and the behavior they deem acceptable. At Ghiradelli a lady literally stood next to our table and watched us eat. Sat down as soon as my husband got up, before I could even follow suit. Oh well.

The Magic Kingdom bus center is well labeled. The system going there seems efficient, even if the crowds don't appreciate it. A father in a family ahead of us was literally trying to wave buses over to stop, and then shaking his fist and insulting them when they did not. Even I could see there's a well-honed system there. Disappointing, and terrifying, to see the examples set by some of the parents.

By far the best transit experience has been the boat back from Disney Springs. Well labeled, efficient, super friendly staff.

At Trader Sam's tonight we got our check, paid, and then sat with the signed receipt for like ten minutes before my husband suggested maybe we were supposed to take it to the staff member at the entrance. I did so, asking "Excuse me, do I bring this to you, or should I wait for my server?" I was told to wait for our server. Twenty-five more minutes go by, with no check in from our server (who was very nice by the way) so I again go up to the front and explain, "She still hasn't been back yet. All we need is the souvenir glass and we can go." (There are people waiting for space at this point, and we were just wasting room). Turns out, we were supposed to go to him. He gives us the glass and we go. He kind of apologizes, but it again seems like we should have known better somehow.

In short, The confusion I felt in planning has definitely carried over onto the property.

Despite this, we are still enjoying ourselves, and hopefully tomorrow we'll be even wiser.
 
Sorry CMs are hit or miss. I hope tomorrow goes as planned.

Other guests well sadly no way to fix that. I have seen many a person have "vacation syndrome" where the forget their manners and parenting back at home.
 


Sorry CMs are hit or miss. I hope tomorrow goes as planned.

Other guests well sadly no way to fix that. I have seen many a person have "vacation syndrome" where the forget their manners and parenting back at home.
Breakfast bus thing didn't go well. No buses running at several stops, including the one recommended by the front desk. Finally caught one around 7am, then got stuck in traffic. At MK monorails were not running when we arrived. Helpful bus driver showed us the Polynesian bus. Ended up making it to Ohana around 7:40. So the whole character breakfast bus thing could use some clarity for sure.

Husband really hates MK, I think the people that keep shoving and ditching us paired with being told the wrong info has broken any hope of enjoyment. Heading back to the room now.... I think if I want to see the parade or do much else I would need to come back alone. Honestly don't even know if it's worth it. Live and learn... just wish this hadn't been such an expensive lesson.
 
Breakfast bus thing didn't go well. No buses running at several stops, including the one recommended by the front desk. Finally caught one around 7am, then got stuck in traffic. At MK monorails were not running when we arrived. Helpful bus driver showed us the Polynesian bus. Ended up making it to Ohana around 7:40. So the whole character breakfast bus thing could use some clarity for sure.

Husband really hates MK, I think the people that keep shoving and ditching us paired with being told the wrong info has broken any hope of enjoyment. Heading back to the room now.... I think if I want to see the parade or do much else I would need to come back alone. Honestly don't even know if it's worth it. Live and learn... just wish this hadn't been such an expensive lesson.
Since I followed this thread from the beginning it almost seems like you've set yourself up for disappointment. I'm not excusing the behaviors you have seen thus far or the misinformation you have been given at all but I know we all do it where we think about the bad or what could happen and then it becomes what we focus on and suddenly someone doesn't say thank you and we focus on that.

Large places such as WDW and Universal are not for everyone. It may be thought of as the "dream" places to go but the truth is it can be an overwhelming mess of a place. It's not everyday you'll be surrounded by tens of thousands of people from all over the world in sometimes rainy, chilly, hot, humid places.

Have you and your husband been able to go to a theme/amusment park together in the last few years? I know your info said Ohio but I don't know where you are in Ohio. Within a 45 min drive NE I've got Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun, a 3 1/2 to 4 hr drive E I've got Six Flags St. Louis and a 3 1/2 hr drive SE I've got Silver Dollar City. My husband and I understand what we like and don't like regarding theme/amusement parks. We get it when one is getting overly cranky (yeah that's mostly me when I'm hangry lol) and needs to take a breather. Obviously not everyone can get to a theme/amusement park prior to going to WDW.

Hopefully your trip ends up well.
 
Since I've worked in the hotel industry in the past, I thought I'd explain why room requests anywhere (not just at Disney) are only requests and can never be confirmed ahead of time.
The room was most likely taken before your arrival. Let's say the person before you left at 11, and you're checking in at 3pm. Here's what can happen, based on what happened to us.
Depending on the housekeeping workload that day, all the rooms may or may not be clean when you arrive. Most of the time, the rooms only need a regular cleaning, but sometimes clients leave their room in such a state that it can't be given to anyone else for a longer period of time (I'll spare you the details). Sometimes things break or there are issues with the equipment inside the room that need longer than a couple of hours to be resolved. Sometimes the client before you decided to extend their stay and didn't let us know and just decided to go out for the day. It happened, and since we were not allowed to go into his room in his absence and remove his things (obviously), we couldn't rent this room to anybody else that day. Come to think of it, even if he'd let us know, we wouldn't have been able to tell him to go to another room because his had been requested - he came first and he had priority.

One of the best ways to secure a specific room, in my limited experience, is unrealistic financially (though believe it or not, we did have clients who did that). Pay for the night before the day you check in, this way we'll do our best to get your room ready a day in advance and should a problem arise, we have more time to fix it before you check in. Same thing with check out. We'd always tell clients to pay for an extra night if they wanted to be free to enjoy their room until 6pm if they so chose and believe it or not, some did that. We had people who'd book April 10 to 15 but would check in early on the 11th and leave late on the 14th. Of course we loved them because we were happy to be able to make them comfortable.
 

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