SuperDuperBounce
The guy with the big camera bag
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2004
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting tired of the brain dead reservation system on the Disney web site. If I had a dollar for every time I've had to enter two adults, three children, and their ages, I would have our next trip paid for. If Amazon can remember which book I thought about buying three years ago (but didn't), why can't the Disney website remember the above for two minutes!
Please add your beef with the web reservation system here. After we get a few, I'll email the thread URL to the webmaster and perhaps they'll take a hint. It's obvious none of them have ever used their online reservation system or thoroughly tested it. I'll start the ball rolling. I've named my beefs so it will be easier to discuss them.
1. Braindead Memory - On the current home page, enter the dates, number of adults and children, and the ages of children and then hit the continue button. Then remember that you wanted to select room only instead of packages. Hit the back button on your web browser and "BAM!!" - all the widgets have reset themselves and you have to enter everything over. Why can't they at least use a session cookie to keep this info around for the current browser session (better yet, until you change it)! They're site already uses cookies so we know they know how to use them.
2. Super Duper Fast Scrollbars - When enter dates in the pop down menus on the main page and use the scrollbar when the list shows days 1 through 6 and you want 7. One click in the scrollbar and "BAM!!" - you're suddenly down to days 22 through 27 (or somewhere else relative to where you clicked in the scroll bar (it didn't just page down to 7 through 12 like the way a "normal" scrollbar would work).
3. Child Six Pack - From the resort overview page, enter your dates and number of adults. Enter three children (yes, you have to take them all) and you get SIX boxes to enter their ages (my do they multiply)!
4. Missing Child - Enter the ages of your children down the first column as shown above, hit "Go", and get an unavailable message or other problem that gets you a "Sorry, this ..." message. You'll find that your third child has gone missing, AWOL, over-the-hill! When you get the 3x2 child matrix, you have to enter their ages from left to right from top to bottom or at some point you'll have to reenter the age of child three (which notice is now child two)!
5. Only One Room at the Inn - Enter four adults and three children expecting to get two rooms (you know already you can't get that many in one room). You'll either get the "suite only" option or a message telling you to book more than one room. Can anyone figure out how to do this from this actual screen shot? Where is the "Number Rooms" option? Do they think I want to go through this twice and do things like pay for vacation insurance twice?
6. No Resort Preference - Select the Wilderness Lodge (could probably be any but this is the one I did) and get a message "Please select a Resort other than "No Preference". Can anyone figure out how to do this from the actual screen presented below? Selecting one of the "Select this Resort" buttons below this section of the screen led back to this same screen.
7. I Know the Code - Wouldn't it be nice to have a box to enter a discount code when you have one? Sure, some of them have qualifiers but even the public codes can't be entered from the normal reservation screens. For those, you have to navigate through the "Tickets and Reservations" Special Offers page. If you enter an AP code (or any other code with qualifiers), why can't they just bring up a page stating the qualifications with a checkbox acknowledging that if you do not meet the qualifications at checkin, you will be charged the non-code rate. That's essentially what they do over the phone.
Yes, of course you can always call the 1-407 number but if you just want to play around with some numbers (and perhaps even make a reservation), why can't the reservation system be useful!
Please add your beef with the web reservation system here. After we get a few, I'll email the thread URL to the webmaster and perhaps they'll take a hint. It's obvious none of them have ever used their online reservation system or thoroughly tested it. I'll start the ball rolling. I've named my beefs so it will be easier to discuss them.
1. Braindead Memory - On the current home page, enter the dates, number of adults and children, and the ages of children and then hit the continue button. Then remember that you wanted to select room only instead of packages. Hit the back button on your web browser and "BAM!!" - all the widgets have reset themselves and you have to enter everything over. Why can't they at least use a session cookie to keep this info around for the current browser session (better yet, until you change it)! They're site already uses cookies so we know they know how to use them.
2. Super Duper Fast Scrollbars - When enter dates in the pop down menus on the main page and use the scrollbar when the list shows days 1 through 6 and you want 7. One click in the scrollbar and "BAM!!" - you're suddenly down to days 22 through 27 (or somewhere else relative to where you clicked in the scroll bar (it didn't just page down to 7 through 12 like the way a "normal" scrollbar would work).
3. Child Six Pack - From the resort overview page, enter your dates and number of adults. Enter three children (yes, you have to take them all) and you get SIX boxes to enter their ages (my do they multiply)!
4. Missing Child - Enter the ages of your children down the first column as shown above, hit "Go", and get an unavailable message or other problem that gets you a "Sorry, this ..." message. You'll find that your third child has gone missing, AWOL, over-the-hill! When you get the 3x2 child matrix, you have to enter their ages from left to right from top to bottom or at some point you'll have to reenter the age of child three (which notice is now child two)!
5. Only One Room at the Inn - Enter four adults and three children expecting to get two rooms (you know already you can't get that many in one room). You'll either get the "suite only" option or a message telling you to book more than one room. Can anyone figure out how to do this from this actual screen shot? Where is the "Number Rooms" option? Do they think I want to go through this twice and do things like pay for vacation insurance twice?
6. No Resort Preference - Select the Wilderness Lodge (could probably be any but this is the one I did) and get a message "Please select a Resort other than "No Preference". Can anyone figure out how to do this from the actual screen presented below? Selecting one of the "Select this Resort" buttons below this section of the screen led back to this same screen.
7. I Know the Code - Wouldn't it be nice to have a box to enter a discount code when you have one? Sure, some of them have qualifiers but even the public codes can't be entered from the normal reservation screens. For those, you have to navigate through the "Tickets and Reservations" Special Offers page. If you enter an AP code (or any other code with qualifiers), why can't they just bring up a page stating the qualifications with a checkbox acknowledging that if you do not meet the qualifications at checkin, you will be charged the non-code rate. That's essentially what they do over the phone.
Yes, of course you can always call the 1-407 number but if you just want to play around with some numbers (and perhaps even make a reservation), why can't the reservation system be useful!
Well said. I have nothing more to add other than I thought it was just me who gets so aggravated on their site!
Sometimes I think that the Disney website is totally useless for making reservations especially if I have a code or I'd like to compare rates at different resorts. I hope you're able to get someone's attention at Disney.
