Disney making amends

[lizzi6692]

So Disney didn't actually offer you an extra night, you ASKED for it.

Yes because she ASKED us what we wanted. And we didn't ask for the tickets, those were just given to us.

 

[MikeSF]

Happened a couple years back at Disneyland, ironically the CM was from Orlando though (said on his name tag). Well the day before we went to Six Flags, and my head got knocked around pretty good on the rollercoasters, not sure if I took a good whack to the head or I'm just getting too damn old for rollercoasters.

Next day, at DL we got in for rope drop, went around on quite a few rides, etc, then walked over to DCA for rope drop there, went on TSMM of course, a few other things then wandered over to the ferris wheel... well we were in one of the rocking carts and holy cow I felt like I was going to hurl (did notice barf bags in the cart too which worried me), well closed my eyes until we got down but I was done... I felt dizzy and queezy and don't think i could have done much of anything else.

We only had a 1 day park hopper ticket (it was a slow-off season day, and we honestly damn near did most of the rides in DCA in less than an hour). No way I could do anything else though, so I went to guest relations to see about upgrading the ticket to a 2 day park hopper, told him the story as to why, and I guess I didn't look to good as it was, and he basically gave us each a free 1 day park hopper ticket that which expired in 2 years, and a 1 day after 4pm DL pass in case I felt better later and wanted to go, also 2 year expiration on that.

So that was super cool, I ended up not going back to the parks all day, really was a bit worried that I felt that way considering nothing really makes me queasy. The next day bought a 1 day ticket to DL only, figured to use the park hopper sometime in the next year.

 

[IncredibleboysMom]

A few trips ago, oldest DS was about 8. He had been saving his money for, and finally purchased the build your own light saber. We came back from the parks one day to the Poly to find that Mousekeeping had closed the saber up in the frame of the daybed and it was bent. DS was very upset, and DH called the front desk. Someone came to the room, took it, and in about 2 hours came back with an identical lightsaber and a photo card "signed" by Buzz Lightyear that thanked him for helping him protect the galaxy. Very cool!

 

[YankeePrincess]

a friend told me a very sad story...she knew a family where the grandfather took the 10 yr old grandson to disney (i think end of may/beg of june)...to make a long story short...the grandfather passed away...the grandson "couldnt wake him"...he called the front desk....disney went into action...they scooped the boy up...took him out of the hotel room and tried to "entertain" him while they contacted the family....they set up flight arrangements for the boy...a CM accompained him to the airport and stayed with him til the flight left...they also gave him tickets to return, stuffed toy etc....i guess i just wonder what would have happened if this took place at a "regular hotel"....

OMG that is so sad!! That was great of Disney to do. I can't imagine what that poor boy must have been thinking and going through.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

It's been 4-5 years since we have had one of those "above and beyond moments", but when they happen it sure makes your vacation that much more awesome. A couple from our past...

* Our first on-site stay was when the kids were very small. We stayed at AS Sports. I remember checking in and walking to our room, thinking how amazingly wonderful it all was. We open the door and there is a signed 8x10 photo of Mickey & Minnie with a "Welcome!" message for our kids, along with a couple of helium balloons. Oh my goodness! We were all hooked for good after that.

* DS and I had a quick "dudes trip" one summer. As we were checking into Pop Century, the CM offers us a free upgrade to CSR. We took it and loved it. DS thought the pool was fantastic. DW and DD were a bit jealous when we told them what had happened.

 

[a_sailor's_wife]

We decided to take a dream trip to Disney November 2010. DH had just returned from serving nearly a year in the Middle East, our DS was turning 5, and it was our anniversary. We decided to go all out.

For DS' birthday we had reservations at Chef Mickey's complete with ordering a cake. Lo and behold, DS woke up complaining about his ear hurting. I didn't think much of it as he hadn't had an ear infection in nearly 3 years. Once we got going at the MK, being outside just really bothered him. I knew then he had to have an ear infection. We went back to the Poly, explained the situation, and they made all the arrangements for CentraCare to pick us up. I also mentioned about the reservations at Chef Mickey's and it being DS' 5th birthday. They called over to Chef Mickey's and let them know the situation. We arrived at Chef Mickey's about 90 minutes late. Our table was ready and waiting for us complete with a signed card, balloons, and confetti. While I'm sure they do this for birthdays, our server went above and beyond. He knew our little guy didn't feel good (in fact he was already falling asleep) so he came in got the Mickey gang, sang happy birthday, and cut the cake to be sure that DS would get that portion in before falling asleep.

While there's not a lot of magic here like getting free passes. It was a blessing for the little things to happen so that DS could enjoy what he could of his 5th birthday.

 

[WHIT1]

We just got back from our trip in Nov and WDW was very nice to us. The amends was the first 2 nights were comp nights at POFQ which I did not expect ,but they gave me. It was because of what happened this year on my April trip. They also upgraded us to club level at BC because we always celebrate our aniversary every year at WDW. One other time while we were staying at the Contemporary they upgraded us to Concierge for no reason, because I had no problems on our trip, except I had spent most of the night in the ER. When I write them its to tell them about how great my trip was and if I have a concern I always try to come up with a solution instead of just gripe about it. I also always get calls from WDW to when I write them. Disney has always treated us right, but on this trip Disney can't fix the distress I experienced ,cause they can't control people who love to bathe in their perfume. People don't care or think that there may be an asthmatic around them and that they could trigger an attack that could cause bad results.

 

[andyman8]

Back in Spring of 2004, we were taking a weekend trip to FWR Cabins with my son's Boy Scout trip. The trip was wonderful. Friday night (once we arrived), we had dinner at Trails End Restaurant and went to Chip n' Dale's Campfire, which was lots of fun. The next morning we cooked up Breakfast and the 'den' met up at the MK Boat Launch. We hopped on a boat and spent most of the day (until about 3pm) at MK. We came back to the resort and another dad rented a boat, so we all went around Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon in that. At around six, we headed back to the park for dinner and to see Wishes (which was brand new at the time). We might also have visited the pool in the afternoon that day. The next morning, we cooked breakfast and rented Jet Skis or Sea Raycers (can't remember). It was still morning, so we decided maybe (cause we had APs) to head to another park just as a family as everyone else was packing up.

Now, throughout the trip some boys from my kid's 'den' had been jumping from the top bunk bed to the king bed next to them (a pretty big jump for first graders and PARTICULARLY for Kindergarteners). Well long story short as we were preparing to leave for the park on Sunday, my Kindergarten daughter said "Hey look at me" and tried to jump like the boys had done on Friday. She fell and started screaming and I still feel guilty I never caught her, but it happened so fast. Within minutes, we were at Celebration Hospital via ambulance. We found it to be really nice. We received some money off our bill for the trip and all ended fine. If there was anywhere I would have preferred her breaking her arm it definitely was Disney. Sorry for the rambling. Happy Holidays!

 

[jlhill4444]

One especially nice moment for us came when DD (5 at the time) finally found a stuffed Tramp dog that she had been begging for since she watched the movie. She carried it around everywhere and left it in her strollers only on rides where it might get wet or she had to hold on. We had parked our stroller and placed Tramp inside. When we got off the ride, our stroller had been moved by a cast member organizing the area and Tramp must have fallen out. My DD immediately welled up in tears. A nearby cast member asked what the problem was and after we explained that the stuffed animal must have fallen out in the move, she proceeded to give me a voucher for a free Tramp so that we could go back to the store and get another for free. After I explained that we found it at Downtown Disney and we would not be able to return before leaving, she collected some information from us and when we returned to the room later that night a brand new Tramp was waiting on our bed, with a signed note from Cinderella asking her to take special care of her Tramp for her because she could was really busy and he needed walking often.
Every now and then she will still mention that she misses her first Tramp but hopes she is taking really good care of Cinderella's Tramp. The cast members went out of their way to make sure our daughter had a positive memory rather than a poor one of losing her favorite stuffed animal.

 

[Dr. M]

My husband brushed up against a table as he was Having a seat at abc commissary. Something sharp ripped a huge hole in the back of his shorts. Thank goodness the rip didn't expose anything indecent . I had picked out his clothes that day to coordinate with the rest of the family so our photo pass pix would turn out cute ( yes...I'm THAT mom). They were a nice pair of dress shorts. We informed a cm about the table to prevent this happening to anyone else. They immediately sent out a manager who was concerned if an injury had occurred and wanted my husband to get checked out. We assured them that everything was ok and that we didNt want anyone else to possibly get hurt. The manager asked us to go to guest services so that we could be taken care of. We went to gs and explained what happened. They again showed concern and relief that no one was hurt. A cm then accompanied us to a nice men"'s clothing store at hs. She noticed That we were color coordinated and offered to buy my husband a pair of nice khaki shorts ($40). Everyone was very kind and went above and beyond.

 

[mrsbug]

We just got back from a stay at Coronado Springs 2 weeks ago. We arrived early and our rooms (connecting with my mom) weren't ready yet, so we got our KTTW and headed out to Downtown Disney for some shopping and food while we waited. They said they'd text us what our room number was and when it was ready, but that we'd be in building 6A. By 7 pm we still hadn't heard from them, so we called the front desk and were informed we'd been switched to building 7A and that the rooms were ready.

Headed back to the hotel but when we got there, none of our keys worked, not for our room or my moms (and no, they hadn't been kept near the cell phones or other credit cards, I had them in their own pouch! ) Called the front desk again and they said they'd said someone right over with new keys. 30 minutes later we were able to get into our rooms, but someone had obviously been in our room before us. The bed was unmade, there was food everywhere, garbage and towels on the floor, and the bathroom was a mess. Housekeeping obviously hadn't cleaned the room since the last people had checked out. Again, called the front desk, they sent someone from housekeeping right over because at that point if they switched our rooms they couldn't get us another connecting room with my mom. 2 hours later we could finally use the room and get settled in. I was not happy, especially since we'd been up since 3 am in order to catch our flight!

The next morning I went to the front desk to complain, and also to put in some kudos for the housekeeper who'd come to clean our room because she'd really gone above and beyond and dealt with me and my kids, who were all very cranky, very well the night before. The manager came over to see what was going on and listened to my complaints. I did not ask for anything, just said I wanted to know how it happened and how we wound up in a room someone else had been in and compliment the housekeeper who came to clean the room. He apologized profusely and gave us a one night credit not only for our room, but also for my mom's room. Definitely more than I expected!

 

[pampam]

This happened about 6 years ago, before Magic Express.

I was enjoying our vacation at Epcot, when I phoned home and learned that my brother-in -law had died. I was in shock. We hurried back to our resort, the All Star Music, and I enquired what would happen if we went home early, since we had purchased a package. The CM got the manager. He said that we would get a refund on the nights we hadn't used, and we would get tickets to compensate for the days we didn't go to the parks. He took us into the end office, and he phoned Air Canada for us, and then he phoned Air Canada medical desk, to see about getting my daughter her oxygen for the flight home. The medical desk was closed, so he told me to come back after 8:00 a.m., when Air Canada medical desk would be open. He wouldn't be there, but another manager named Deanna would be at the front desk, starting at 7:00 a.m.

The next morning we went back to guest services, and spoke to Deanna. I phoned Air Canada, and got different options- for flights and the costs to change our tickets and the oxygen. By this point I was a mess. I couldn't collect my thoughts, and make a decision. She took me into the end office, and I phoned my husband. He talked me through it. It was going to cost an extra $400 to change the tickets, but we would manage somehow. So, she phoned Air Canada, set it up, phoned the medical desk, set up the oxygen for the flight home, and had me phone my husband to let him know what flight to pick us up. He reminded me about the Hoop de Doo tickets we had bought, which were non refundable. Deanne assured me that was no problem. She would refund them for us. She arranged transportation for us to go back to the airport. Then she asked what we were going to do about supper. I had no plans. She tried to get us reservations for different meals, but most of them were booked up. She eventually made reservations for us for Boma's, and came back with a new room key for me, with charging priviliges on it. She insisted I put dinner on it, and they would look after it for us. She gave me her card in case I had any other problems. We left the next morning, and were home that night. I cannot stress how courteous, kind and generous Disney management was to us under very trying cicumstances. I'm very sure if we had been staying off site we would not have been treated as well. I just feel everyone should know how Disney goes the distance when one of their guests has a problem. I've stayed on Disney property many many times, and I always felt if I had a problem they would help me. Now I know for sure, yes, they will help to the best of their ability.

 

[JCH]

A lot of threads nowadays seem to center around Disney starting to cut corners or increasing prices just for the sake of making money.

I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread about cases where something has occurred on your trip and Disney has gone above and beyond to make amends.

During our last trip we stayed at Coronado Springs. At check-in the CM gave our KTTW cards and told us where our room was located. We got to our room and attempted to open the door, it opened, but it was chained(I don't remember if it's actually a chain or one of the those bar things, but you get the idea). A woman who had obviously just gotten out of the shower came to the door and politely told us that the room was already occupied.

We called the front desk and they sent a runner with new kttw cards for us that would get us into our new room(which was luckily in the same building). After we got into our rooms we called the front desk and asked to speak with a manager.

Our original intention was just to find out how something like this was able to occur and bring it to Disney's attention so they could fix it, but this particular CM went above and beyond that. We ended up getting an extra night at Coronado and one day park hoppers for each of us so that we could extend our trip.

If Disney hadn't already earned my business for life prior to that they certainly did with that.

Feel free to share your own stories.

I had an issue when the computers were down at check in and since the third person in our party hadn't arrived, the woman put down 2 on the check in form, leaving us with a king size bed for 3 women. We had a lot of issues as I had no idea that pressing the front desk button sent us to the call center, who for some reason was oblivious to the check in system being down.

However, after I emailed them about it, I was refunded the entire cost of the stay. My husband laughed at me since as soon as I got the check, I immediately used it as the down payment for the next trip (although I will never stay at All Star Movies again!)