dantracyjr
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2012
This is a letter I recently wrote to the guest communication department about the major disappointment we faced throughout the day. For our aggravation, Disney offered us 2 base tickets but only if we had our receipts:
To a Disney guest service manager or whom it may concern,
I am writing to you today to let you know the details and thoughts I had about a recent trip I made to the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida. It would make sense for me to first tell you a bit about myself: in May of 2010, I was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrigs disease); I had spent 18 years working in various restaurant positions, the last 4 of which as the executive chef of an upscale contemporary steakhouse where we received a four star rating from the local paper and I was nominated for a James Beard award, before this illness forced me to quit the industry. ALS is a serious neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, disability and quickly affects your ability to control the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe causing death as doctors don't yet know why it occurs or how to successfully treat it.
I am 34 years old, in my lifetime I have visited Walt Disney World over 12 times, the first of which was when I was 10 years old, and have made it an annual trip for the past eight years. I have kept coming back because of that magical experience I found when I was very young. With my limited mobility, last year should have been my final year coming to the parks, but this year I found a way enlisting the help of strong friends who I bribed with Park admission and they helped me to get on the rides. I think my gate total to get in to the park with a one day Park Hopper was approximately $520 with tax for all four of us. This is money that does not come easily to me.
I can tell you this time, despite the rising cost of Park admission; our experience this year was not so magical. It all started with the parking lot attendant who, after we showed a medical parking request from my doctor describing my disability and disease, threatened to call the Sheriff and have our car towed. Last year we were able to do this so I am not sure what changed in your policy but it was not right for us to be so rudely treated early in the morning by a cast member.
After waiting in line to pay cash for our tickets at the Magic Kingdom, we got in and went on a couple rides. I was excited to see that I did not have to get out of my wheelchair to board the Jungle Cruise so we got in line and were told that it would only be a 20 minute wait while they pulled the specialized boat when the normal wait time was only 25 min. After about 45 min. 2 wheelchair boats went by we were told it would only be eight my minutes until our boat arrived. Finally it did and we had a good ride.
After the cruise ride we went to Pirates and could not understand why it was set up so impossible to get on. I love the movies and this is one of my favorite rides so it was discouraging that my friends literally had to pick me up at 225 pounds and put me in the boat/pick me up to get out of the boat. When we got off we headed over to the Haunted Mansion because we thought it would be easy to get on. So we waited in line and by the time we got to the end we were ushered along a passage way to the rides exit. A cast member asked me if I could walk onto a moving platform and we said no to which he rudely responded, you know; now we are going to have to completely stop the ride now!" I was absolutely floored by his response but we decided to proceed and I struggled to get on the ride right in front of him. When the ride was over we asked if we could go through again because it was so difficult to get on and impossible to get on other rides he again rudely said, NO"! So we left the park and went to Animal Kingdom.
We found the Animal Kingdom to be incredibly accommodating although when we got on the Safari the driver and tour guide was incredibly unenthusiastly boring. We decided not to board with the wheelchair because we were short on time and as we were getting off the ride the attendants hurried us while boarding our row.
Around 4 PM we left the Animal Kingdom and said goodbye to our friends who had to leave because they had to get home to relieve their babysitter. My fiancée and I headed over to Hollywood studios because we knew there would be some easier rides to get on. We also found this Park to be very accommodating but around 7 PM we were hungry and wanted to get to Epcot for dinner as I knew the International World closed at 9 PM that Sunday, March 4th. Instead of getting in and out of the car again, we decided to take the bus. At 7:15 PM the first bus labeled for Epcot passed right by us and about 10 other people. We were told by a bus attendant that it should have not gone by and picked us up. After we got on the next bus at 7:35 PM and went through all the trouble of stabilizing the wheel chair, the two of us theorized that the first bus driver did not want to deal with the hassle of getting a wheelchair on and off the bus as by now this was our viewpoint and our only explanation.
So we got to Epcot around 8 PM and after a bathroom pit stop, hightailed it over to Italy from the bus stop. I knew that the main restaurant would be closed but we wanted some good pizza to remind us of last year's trip to Naples. When we crossed the threshold of the door the host started to shake her head no, which we thought was incredibly rude. It was now 8:35 PM and we were told that the seating had ended at 8:30 PM. We begged and pleaded with the host, explaining that we ran over from the main gate but she would not accommodate us. Instead of asking for a manager we just left, so aggravated we didn't even bother to stay for the Illumination show that in previous years had been too cold for us to watch and this year I had been looking forward to. We were so hungry we didn't have any time for souvenirs and needed to leave the parks to get dinner somewhere else before it got too late as we plan on going to Universal Studios the next day. As we left the park crying I almost threw a fit, like a spoiled five-year-old, because I knew that I would never be able to come back with my condition progressing as quickly as it is.
This act in my mind was the ultimate betrayal from Disney, all the other stuff didn't mean much until this happened to us. I have never been so mad at a company that prides themselves on hospitality and I have never written a letter like this trying to explain a small fraction of how upset I was and still am. Do you know how many stands we walked by that were still open before Italy that we could have eaten at?
This is the note that we left the Disney Company on. I cannot begin to describe for you the sour taste in my mouth. Especially when we went to Universal Studios and they were so overly accommodating! The people in the parking lot, at the Gates, at the rides and helping us out were so friendly stopping moving ride platforms, allowing us to sit in the front on roller coasters, and allowing us to ride the Harry Potter ride four times in a row! When we went into their bake shop they actually gave me a free cookie with our purchase. It felt like they honored every request we had! I know you don't understand my financial situation but I can tell you every time I turn around and this disease progresses we have to make a big purchase to I accommodate my home. In 2011 alone, we spent over $30,000 on wheelchairs, a wooden ramp and communication device that uses my eye gaze because I cannot talk, walk or move so well any more. Now I am on Medicaid with an $800 monthly salary. My family gave me a good deal of money so I could make this trip this year because they love me and want me to forget about my disease for a day. In reality I don't have two nickels to rub together! That Is what makes this so incredibly frustrating I spent money I didn't have to be treated so ignorantly.
Even after we left the parks we still had issues with your cast. While at the outlet mall in Orlando we decided to stop at the Disney store for some discounted Souvenirs. We picked out a couple things and one of the items, a sweater, did not have a price tag. When we went up to the counter the clerk informed us that she had to find a similar item in the store for the price and walked around to try to find one. She then informed us that there was nothing in the store so she had to call over a manager to get a price for us. The manager called around to other shops for a little while before she went to the back room where she disappeared for about 20 minutes. After over a half an hour later, the manager told us that they could not sell us the sweater because they could not find a proper price. This was on the day that we were to fly out of Orlando now talk about a waste of time for absolutely nothing! I could see if this were a full price retail store in downtown Disney but it was not, it was an outlet store selling picked over merchandise. That manager could have sold us that sweater for $30 and made up a price but she was not empowered to do so, nor did it seem like she cared. She was just another Disney employee trying to get to the end of the day. And it seems we had encountered so many of them on our trip.
Overall we saved a lot of money on your mistakes, which is how I have decided to look at it. Unfortunately I have a lot of friends with children that I'm going to describe our experiences to. I will also call the ADA and post on disability Web sites about how unaccommodating Walt Disney World is towards incapacitated Human beings. I can tell you that we have decided not to book a Disney cruise for next year and I doubt we will ever come back not because I am dying but because the disabled customer experience is terrible! Your company has lost a loyal and lifelong fan. It is a real shame because I found myself always having to defend your products to my friends. Now I understand why those parks are struggling for attendance.
If for any reason you would like to contact me my e-mail is listed below, electronic means of communication are preferred I will not be able to talk to you in a direct manner over the phone.
Thank you for your time reading my letter and I'm sorry it had to come to this,
Daniel Tracy
Visited March 2012
To a Disney guest service manager or whom it may concern,
I am writing to you today to let you know the details and thoughts I had about a recent trip I made to the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida. It would make sense for me to first tell you a bit about myself: in May of 2010, I was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrigs disease); I had spent 18 years working in various restaurant positions, the last 4 of which as the executive chef of an upscale contemporary steakhouse where we received a four star rating from the local paper and I was nominated for a James Beard award, before this illness forced me to quit the industry. ALS is a serious neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, disability and quickly affects your ability to control the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe causing death as doctors don't yet know why it occurs or how to successfully treat it.
I am 34 years old, in my lifetime I have visited Walt Disney World over 12 times, the first of which was when I was 10 years old, and have made it an annual trip for the past eight years. I have kept coming back because of that magical experience I found when I was very young. With my limited mobility, last year should have been my final year coming to the parks, but this year I found a way enlisting the help of strong friends who I bribed with Park admission and they helped me to get on the rides. I think my gate total to get in to the park with a one day Park Hopper was approximately $520 with tax for all four of us. This is money that does not come easily to me.
I can tell you this time, despite the rising cost of Park admission; our experience this year was not so magical. It all started with the parking lot attendant who, after we showed a medical parking request from my doctor describing my disability and disease, threatened to call the Sheriff and have our car towed. Last year we were able to do this so I am not sure what changed in your policy but it was not right for us to be so rudely treated early in the morning by a cast member.
After waiting in line to pay cash for our tickets at the Magic Kingdom, we got in and went on a couple rides. I was excited to see that I did not have to get out of my wheelchair to board the Jungle Cruise so we got in line and were told that it would only be a 20 minute wait while they pulled the specialized boat when the normal wait time was only 25 min. After about 45 min. 2 wheelchair boats went by we were told it would only be eight my minutes until our boat arrived. Finally it did and we had a good ride.
After the cruise ride we went to Pirates and could not understand why it was set up so impossible to get on. I love the movies and this is one of my favorite rides so it was discouraging that my friends literally had to pick me up at 225 pounds and put me in the boat/pick me up to get out of the boat. When we got off we headed over to the Haunted Mansion because we thought it would be easy to get on. So we waited in line and by the time we got to the end we were ushered along a passage way to the rides exit. A cast member asked me if I could walk onto a moving platform and we said no to which he rudely responded, you know; now we are going to have to completely stop the ride now!" I was absolutely floored by his response but we decided to proceed and I struggled to get on the ride right in front of him. When the ride was over we asked if we could go through again because it was so difficult to get on and impossible to get on other rides he again rudely said, NO"! So we left the park and went to Animal Kingdom.
We found the Animal Kingdom to be incredibly accommodating although when we got on the Safari the driver and tour guide was incredibly unenthusiastly boring. We decided not to board with the wheelchair because we were short on time and as we were getting off the ride the attendants hurried us while boarding our row.
Around 4 PM we left the Animal Kingdom and said goodbye to our friends who had to leave because they had to get home to relieve their babysitter. My fiancée and I headed over to Hollywood studios because we knew there would be some easier rides to get on. We also found this Park to be very accommodating but around 7 PM we were hungry and wanted to get to Epcot for dinner as I knew the International World closed at 9 PM that Sunday, March 4th. Instead of getting in and out of the car again, we decided to take the bus. At 7:15 PM the first bus labeled for Epcot passed right by us and about 10 other people. We were told by a bus attendant that it should have not gone by and picked us up. After we got on the next bus at 7:35 PM and went through all the trouble of stabilizing the wheel chair, the two of us theorized that the first bus driver did not want to deal with the hassle of getting a wheelchair on and off the bus as by now this was our viewpoint and our only explanation.
So we got to Epcot around 8 PM and after a bathroom pit stop, hightailed it over to Italy from the bus stop. I knew that the main restaurant would be closed but we wanted some good pizza to remind us of last year's trip to Naples. When we crossed the threshold of the door the host started to shake her head no, which we thought was incredibly rude. It was now 8:35 PM and we were told that the seating had ended at 8:30 PM. We begged and pleaded with the host, explaining that we ran over from the main gate but she would not accommodate us. Instead of asking for a manager we just left, so aggravated we didn't even bother to stay for the Illumination show that in previous years had been too cold for us to watch and this year I had been looking forward to. We were so hungry we didn't have any time for souvenirs and needed to leave the parks to get dinner somewhere else before it got too late as we plan on going to Universal Studios the next day. As we left the park crying I almost threw a fit, like a spoiled five-year-old, because I knew that I would never be able to come back with my condition progressing as quickly as it is.
This act in my mind was the ultimate betrayal from Disney, all the other stuff didn't mean much until this happened to us. I have never been so mad at a company that prides themselves on hospitality and I have never written a letter like this trying to explain a small fraction of how upset I was and still am. Do you know how many stands we walked by that were still open before Italy that we could have eaten at?
This is the note that we left the Disney Company on. I cannot begin to describe for you the sour taste in my mouth. Especially when we went to Universal Studios and they were so overly accommodating! The people in the parking lot, at the Gates, at the rides and helping us out were so friendly stopping moving ride platforms, allowing us to sit in the front on roller coasters, and allowing us to ride the Harry Potter ride four times in a row! When we went into their bake shop they actually gave me a free cookie with our purchase. It felt like they honored every request we had! I know you don't understand my financial situation but I can tell you every time I turn around and this disease progresses we have to make a big purchase to I accommodate my home. In 2011 alone, we spent over $30,000 on wheelchairs, a wooden ramp and communication device that uses my eye gaze because I cannot talk, walk or move so well any more. Now I am on Medicaid with an $800 monthly salary. My family gave me a good deal of money so I could make this trip this year because they love me and want me to forget about my disease for a day. In reality I don't have two nickels to rub together! That Is what makes this so incredibly frustrating I spent money I didn't have to be treated so ignorantly.
Even after we left the parks we still had issues with your cast. While at the outlet mall in Orlando we decided to stop at the Disney store for some discounted Souvenirs. We picked out a couple things and one of the items, a sweater, did not have a price tag. When we went up to the counter the clerk informed us that she had to find a similar item in the store for the price and walked around to try to find one. She then informed us that there was nothing in the store so she had to call over a manager to get a price for us. The manager called around to other shops for a little while before she went to the back room where she disappeared for about 20 minutes. After over a half an hour later, the manager told us that they could not sell us the sweater because they could not find a proper price. This was on the day that we were to fly out of Orlando now talk about a waste of time for absolutely nothing! I could see if this were a full price retail store in downtown Disney but it was not, it was an outlet store selling picked over merchandise. That manager could have sold us that sweater for $30 and made up a price but she was not empowered to do so, nor did it seem like she cared. She was just another Disney employee trying to get to the end of the day. And it seems we had encountered so many of them on our trip.
Overall we saved a lot of money on your mistakes, which is how I have decided to look at it. Unfortunately I have a lot of friends with children that I'm going to describe our experiences to. I will also call the ADA and post on disability Web sites about how unaccommodating Walt Disney World is towards incapacitated Human beings. I can tell you that we have decided not to book a Disney cruise for next year and I doubt we will ever come back not because I am dying but because the disabled customer experience is terrible! Your company has lost a loyal and lifelong fan. It is a real shame because I found myself always having to defend your products to my friends. Now I understand why those parks are struggling for attendance.
If for any reason you would like to contact me my e-mail is listed below, electronic means of communication are preferred I will not be able to talk to you in a direct manner over the phone.
Thank you for your time reading my letter and I'm sorry it had to come to this,
Daniel Tracy
Visited March 2012
