RE: Podcast involving Pete's rant about the dirty bathrooms

[llrain]

Just wanted to say after reading other posts about Pete's and others disappointment in cleanliness of the bathrooms where he exclaims that Disney as a company is now doing a horrible job focusing on issues like this. I partially agree but after my last trip two weeks ago I took note of the custodial staff while in the parks and have only to say that they are working their butts off and as representatives of the Disney company, who you blamed for the uncleanliness, have zero blame to absorb.
What you and everyone is missing here is that crowded or not, is the guests that are disgusting and careless that leave the paper towels everywhere, mess up the toilets, pee on the floors and worst of all, cant be bothered to wash their hands ( worst case, flying fish bathroom in the candy shop where old guy with his grand kid of about 9 went in with him and left with him neither washing hands, we all walked out together back into Flying fish where he continued to dine, what a great role model). This is the blame you should be casting, not on Disney, but on the majority of the guests that create this gross environment.
Think back to when you said something to the effect that a long time ago or years ago it never used to be like this, that is true and the world a long time ago was a much more responsible place to live.
Sorry for the rant but the custodial staff do their best under the circumstances

 

[SamSam]

I have to politely disagree with you. While I agree that people (some) seem to have forgotten basic cleanliness and picking up after theirselves, WDW is nowhere close to the staffing and keeping up with bathroom's that they used to be. We've been going to WDW since 1988 and in the early years we were soooooo impressed with how clean everything was, including the bathrooms. On trip, that my mother joined us on, when we left WDW to head to the airport and stopped to eat at restaurant my mom said "wow, I guess we're not in Disney anymore". This was in regards to the service and the restrooms.

DH and I have seen a noticable decline in cleanliness in the parks in general, but the restrooms really stand out because I like clean restrooms.

 

[GAN]

I have to politely disagree with you. While I agree that people (some) seem to have forgotten basic cleanliness and picking up after theirselves

I'd be willing to go beyond forgotten and presume they never had those skills. But it is Disney's responsibility to staff the areas with enough manpower to keep up with these issues -which they created. I will stop myself now......

 

[kbelle8995]

I agree with you on the custodial doing what they can to keep things clean. However they are understaffed. Too little staff expected to do too much. Yes people are not picking up after themselves. But this has been always been an issue. I do remember the Don't litter and don't pollute commerials of the 70's and 80's.

Disney needs to up the numbers of the custodial staff.

 

[Cormoran]

I just don't understand the "people are slobs" excuse for dirty bathrooms. I don't think people at the WDW resorts/parks are any sloppier than anywhere else. I believe that in an effort to cut corners, Disney has not increased staffing to accommodate increased crowds. On our last trip, the bathrooms were a hit and miss proposition. Some were clean and others were a mess.

I know some posters ask if the bathroom conditions were reported to guest services. But you know what? I don't want to waste my precious vacation time in line at guest services. I did it on my last trip. But for my upcoming trip, I'll move on to a different bathroom.

 

[kamik86]

Just wanted to say after reading other posts about Pete's and others disappointment in cleanliness of the bathrooms where he exclaims that Disney as a company is now doing a horrible job focusing on issues like this. I partially agree but after my last trip two weeks ago I took note of the custodial staff while in the parks and have only to say that they are working their butts off and as representatives of the Disney company, who you blamed for the uncleanliness, have zero blame to absorb.
What you and everyone is missing here is that crowded or not, is the guests that are disgusting and careless that leave the paper towels everywhere, mess up the toilets, pee on the floors and worst of all, cant be bothered to wash their hands ( worst case, flying fish bathroom in the candy shop where old guy with his grand kid of about 9 went in with him and left with him neither washing hands, we all walked out together back into Flying fish where he continued to dine, what a great role model). This is the blame you should be casting, not on Disney, but on the majority of the guests that create this gross environment.
Think back to when you said something to the effect that a long time ago or years ago it never used to be like this, that is true and the world a long time ago was a much more responsible place to live.
Sorry for the rant but the custodial staff do their best under the circumstances

I will agree on two points:

1. The custodial staff that are working in most cases (I'm sure they have one or two lazy staff members... every group does) are not to blame.
2. Some guests are slobs.

However I do not agree that Disney management is not to blame at all in this situation. Disney also knows that many guests are slobs. Given this fact it is still their responsibility to staff the custodial teams adequately that they can keep up with the slobs of guests. Yes you will still occasionally see a mess because you may come in just after that guest that was a slob. However seeing messes over and over again or multiple messes in a location means that they are not getting back to those locations to clean fast enough.

 

[kamik86]

I just don't understand the "people are slobs" excuse for dirty bathrooms. I don't think people at the WDW resorts/parks are any sloppier than anywhere else. I believe that in an effort to cut corners, Disney has not increased staffing to accommodate increased crowds. On our last trip, the bathrooms were a hit and miss proposition. Some were clean and others were a mess.

I know some posters ask if the bathroom conditions were reported to guest services. But you know what? I don't want to waste my precious vacation time in line at guest services. I did it on my last trip. But for my upcoming trip, I'll move on to a different bathroom.

One thing that would be cool if disney did is give a fast way for a guest to flag that a restroom needs attention. I have seen a few ways of doing this.

A local store has a switch on the wall that if you flip it signals that the restroom is dirty and they can send someone to clean it earlier then they normally would be scheduled to.

One of the airports I have been too... I think BWI, has signs that allow you to scan a QR code with your smart phone to say the restroom is dirty and needs attention.

Either of these methods take mere seconds and would not require guests to waste time going to guest relations.

 

[disneysteve]

Disney has not increased staffing to accommodate increased crowds.

BINGO!! I think this is truly the correct response. One HUGE thing has changed at Disney World over the years. It is WAY, WAY, WAY more crowded. It is pretty much to the point where in order to keep restrooms clean in high traffic areas, Disney would need to have a dedicated custodian in every restroom. If they start cleaning at the back and work their way to the front, by the time they're done, they'd need to start all over again.

I've been going to WDW since the 70s and the crowds have simply gotten insane, even in the "slow" seasons. I have pictures from my early trips and the parks (well there was only one park back then) were empty compared with today. At the 3 o'clock parade, guests were only one deep on Main Street. Today, even at off times, they are 3 or 4 or 5 deep, and there are now 4 parks, not just one.

WDW is the largest single site employer in the country with over 62,000 cast members. To provide the top notch level of service of years ago, they'd probably need 10,000 more. I don't know if that is even feasible. I hate to see the experience tarnished, and I agree with Pete 100% that it has gone downhill. I just really wonder if fixing it is possible.

I think that we may be nearing a point where Disney is going to be forced to close the gates much more regularly, not just on Christmas Day or New Year's Eve. There are just too damn many people in the parks. Even more than FP+, this is the thing that is making me enjoy my visits less and less which is really sad.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I agree with you that the parks are way too crowded.

Again their making record breaking profits why not clean up hollywood studios and open a fifth gate so guests have something to do all five days down there and really make the parks allocate some traffic.

 

[disneysteve]

why not clean up hollywood studios and open a fifth gate

Adding new attractions to DHS wouldn't make the parks any less crowded though it might shorten lines a tad at existing attractions.

A 5th gate would help disburse crowds more but I'm not even sure how much that would help long term. There are already countless things to do on property outside of the parks and dozens more off property: Universal, KSC, Gatorland, airboat rides, zip line tours, FunSpot, Old Town, and the whole new complex on I-drive with the ferris wheel, aquarium, wax museum, and more. And all of those places are more crowded than ever too. Bottom line is that business is booming, which is great in one respect but very challenging in another.

 

[perditax]

It's not just the parks. At AKL a couple of weekends ago, our CL room never got cleaned by the time we got back from the parks for the afternoon, and lots of room service dishes were outside rooms on the CL level for *days*. We'd see a few housekeeping carts first thing in the morning, but there clearly weren't nearly enough to go around. And that can't be blamed on guests, unless we're going to blame people for simply showing up. (And, you know, paying $400+ per room.)

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I want to take a page from Kevin's book when he talks about reviews they are just a snapshot of a moment in time. Sometimes you may go in a bathroom that guest may have made a mess in and it had been cleaned like 15 minutes before. There have been times where I have gone into some really nasty restrooms and then you see some poor cleaner who has to clean it up coming into it behind you. I agree with the popsters who said peole are to balme for the sate of bathrooms. Should disney have therre satff clen them more often yes ec

 

[GAN]

It boils down to the guests. I've been trying to think of a "nice" way of putting in writing what's been on my mind. In this country, I've sometimes felt that there are people who want to be Americans and some who want to be in America ...no need for political debate, my family came from Europe like many others, this is just a general statement.

I think the same can be said for WDW. There are some of us who are Disney(-folk/fans/etc.), and a visit is more than just a trip. But for some others, it's just a place visit; to check off their bucket-list or say they took the kids. One-time guests. They don't know much about the Parks, the history, or much else other than they are there at a certain point in time. For those who it means more, there is a certain level of respect. I think the problem I have is that Disney has heavily wooed the "others" ...with cost-effective packages and free dining. Anything to get bodies in rooms.

Perhaps it's a chicken or the egg situation, but this growth strategy has had an impact on the parks ...in my eyes.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

It boils down to the guests. I've been trying to think of a "nice" way of putting in writing what's been on my mind. In this country, I've sometimes felt that there are people who want to be Americans and some who want to be in America ...no need for political debate, my family came from Europe like many others, this is just a general statement.

I think the same can be said for WDW. There are some of us who are Disney(-folk/fans/etc.), and a visit is more than just a trip. But for some others, it's just a place visit; to check off their bucket-list or say they took the kids. One-time guests. They don't know much about the Parks, the history, or much else other than they are there at a certain point in time. For those who it means more, there is a certain level of respect. I think the problem I have is that Disney has heavily wooed the "others" ...with cost-effective packages and free dining. Anything to get bodies in rooms.

Perhaps it's a chicken or the egg situation, but this growth strategy has had an impact on the parks ...in my eyes.

TOTALLY agree!!

 

[kbelle8995]

It boils down to the guests. I've been trying to think of a "nice" way of putting in writing what's been on my mind. In this country, I've sometimes felt that there are people who want to be Americans and some who want to be in America ...no need for political debate, my family came from Europe like many others, this is just a general statement.

I think the same can be said for WDW. There are some of us who are Disney(-folk/fans/etc.), and a visit is more than just a trip. But for some others, it's just a place visit; to check off their bucket-list or say they took the kids. One-time guests. They don't know much about the Parks, the history, or much else other than they are there at a certain point in time. For those who it means more, there is a certain level of respect. I think the problem I have is that Disney has heavily wooed the "others" ...with cost-effective packages and free dining. Anything to get bodies in rooms.

Perhaps it's a chicken or the egg situation, but this growth strategy has had an impact on the parks ...in my eyes.

Oh I agree with you. I think that Disney has missed the mark about staffing accordingly with the crowds they want in the park and have.

 

[DevilsDandruff]

I also bemoan how gross people are but that has no bearing on whether Disney has clean bathrooms. Otherwise, every bathroom in a crowded setting would be nasty, which they are not. I don't care if 100,000 visigoths take a time portal to Magic Kingdom and smear poop on the bathrooms walls...Disney is a multi-billion company charging steep admission, and the bathrooms should be clean, no matter how many $8.50 an hour workers that takes.

 

[disneysteve]

I also bemoan how gross people are but that has no bearing on whether Disney has clean bathrooms. Otherwise, every bathroom in a crowded setting would be nasty, which they are not.

Agreed. Yes the parks are more crowded. Yes people are less respectful and more slobbish. But Disney needs to do whatever is needed to keep on top of that.

 

[Applemomma]

After being in the parks last week with a high level of attendance I wonder if some of the issue is Disney not reacting to movement of crowds in different parts of the parks.

The only place that I was thrown by the cleanliness if the restrooms was in TomorrowLand. Cosmic Ray's reminded me of a bus station washroom. Over flowing trash cans (not the fault of guests!), toilet paper all over the floor and backed up toilets. The place was busy with a lot of spring break groups and not a cleaning cm in sight. The restroom by the Terrace was the same way. The restrooms in other parts if the park the same night were great but because of Caseys and the hour of the day (getting close to fireworks time) it seemed like everyone was concentrated in that area. If Disney simply added an few extra staff to those areas during busier times of the day that would solve the problem!

The really disturbing part of this is how much I apparently have to visit the restroom in the run of the day...hey, two kids, middle aged...don't judge!

 

[DevilsDandruff]

My experience was exactly the same. I love Disney with all my heart, but I think this is outrageous, sad, and considering the company's name is linked in headlines to the measles outbreak at Disneyland, extremely stupid of them to chince on cleanliness.

 

[Greysword]

I am reading a book called Walt and the Promise of Progress City. The book recuonts Walt's vision for place and how he designed spaces to be inviting for guests. Of special note for this topic, when Walt was researching amusement parks for building Disneyland, one of the items he noted was the lack of cleanliness in the bathrooms and around the parks.

As such one of the key items he kept reiterating was the need to have a clean park with extra clean bathrooms. This is one of the key factors that made Disneyland feel safe, inviting and comfortable to visitors; clealiness.

What this means is that back in the early to mid 20th Century, people were just as slobbish. Walt specifically noted this and purposefully made every effort to keep his park and bathrooms clean and inviting. To that end, what woudl Walt do with this issue today? Likely he would be very upset with WDW management and would take the required steps to fix the situation, even if it meant cleaning the bathroom himself.

Great topic, and I think Pete was right amount this issue.