2006 October DisneyWorld Trip *Complaints*

[pjb_hockey_mom]

My DH, DS and I were there a few weeks ago and DH and I both noticed things have slipped a bit.

My biggest "concern" was walking into the Magic Kindom and seeing the crane and men working on the castle. One of the girls we were with had never been to Disney before so I was a bit disappointed for her, to see the castle in that state.

I do understand that work needs to be done and maintenance needs to take place, however is it not true that years ago Disney insisted that all work be done at night or early morning so it wouldn't take away from the experiece?

We also noticed the amount of rude, impatient, down right mean people visiting the parks while we were there. In defense of the CMs, if I had to deal with that every day I'd be a little grouchy myself. However, it is their jobs and part of that job is to give people their best Disney experience....

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I have a good sense of smell but did not notice any animal smell on the monorail. This trip everytime I boarded I waited to smell something gross but I never did. I didn't encounter any rude CM's either. Maybe we were lucky.

 

[Denicio]

I have a good sense of smell but did not notice any animal smell on the monorail. This trip everytime I boarded I waited to smell something gross but I never did. I didn't encounter any rude CM's either. Maybe we were lucky.

Well, you are lucky. Cuz everyone that boarded made a comment and little kids...they cant resist saying something!

The main offender was the "Express" monorail from MK to Tickets & Transportation.


Here's a mind blower for ya, that i did not know till this trip.
There are NO busses that go from a theme park to DownTown Disney....you have to do this song and dance with a monorail and a bus or 2 busses. Sucks if your at MK all day and need to get to Portabella Yacht Club for dinner.

If anyone is going to DW soon, do Portabella, the free sample wine at dinner ususally gets ignored. This time it was the most sinful thing i have ever tasted. Very Very Berry tastin'. I ordered a whole pitcher!

Portabella is one of Disneys Finest Resturants.
Flying fish is a great one too.

Dennis

 

[balletomane]

<< I suffer from scent triggered migraines and I was fine. Hopefully the smell will lessen as the materials age and settle over the next few months (or will be replaced>>

So do I! Do you have any way of keeping them "at bay" or better yet, not getting them? Any suggestions on what you've learned along the way?

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

I have a good sense of smell but did not notice any animal smell on the monorail. This trip everytime I boarded I waited to smell something gross but I never did. I didn't encounter any rude CM's either. Maybe we were lucky.

I think you were lucky! Each of the last times that I rode the monorail it did not smell very nice. We thought when we came back a year later that the problem would have resolved. No dice. It was still there.

It does have a scent similar to a barnyard (and I am speaking as a farmer here!). It is unpleasant.

I hope that I get the "good" non-smelly monorail next time!

 

[NancyIL]

Here's a mind blower for ya, that i did not know till this trip.
There are NO busses that go from a theme park to DownTown Disney....you have to do this song and dance with a monorail and a bus or 2 busses. Sucks if your at MK all day and need to get to Portabella Yacht Club for dinner.

I believe the main reason for the discontinuation of bus service between Downtown Disney and the theme parks is because too many people parked at DD to avoid having to pay for theme park parking.

 

[LukenDC]

Great letter; I hope that Disney responds to it.

I visited the parks from 9/27-10/3. I, too, was surprised by the smelly monorail. It was not like that last summer when I rode it multiple times. I also was disappointed with the frequent pauses in the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain.

I was also at the Universal parks from 9/24-9/26. I was glad that I went, but I much prefer Disney.

 

[HeatherFeather]

Agreed about the stink...smells like they're transporting goats in there after hours!

 

[CathrynRose]

Ive been on Disney message boards for 10 years - and your account "happens" all the time.

You get used to being there. On your initial visit, you are so dumb-founded by Disney, you miss the details - and it's not until youre a "regular" that you begin noticing these things.

Disney, IMO, isnt going downhill - or is there any need for fear.

 

[David R]

I agree with the bad smell of the monorails. Personally I think it's a mixture of mildew, sweat and other misc BO.

As for the service at some restaurants, I'm beginning to think if it's due to the dining plan. It turns out that CMs know they will receive a tip regardless of the service they provide since the tip is part of the dining plan cost.

Also, my partner and I had the dining plan once while on vacation at WDW before moving here and we thought we were doing the servers a favor by ordering extra food even if we didn't eat all of the food since that that would raise the check average and give them a larger tip.

Little did we know!

Shortly after moving he got a job as a CM at a table service restaurant and he hated the dining plan. I won't go into details but the tip they receive from those meals is pretty small. Definitely smaller than most anyone will leave if they are paying (most people leave an average of 15%.) So night after night he'd be serving people on dining plans and not taking home a whole lot. Unfortunately most servers depend on the tips to pay their bills since the hourly pay is so low.

While the Dining Plan is great for the guests, most CMs don't like it since they are worse off with it.

 

[balletomane]

<<Shortly after moving he got a job as a CM at a table service restaurant and he hated the dining plan. I won't go into details but the tip they receive from those meals is pretty small. Definitely smaller than most anyone will leave if they are paying (most people leave an average of 15%.) So night after night he'd be serving people on dining plans and not taking home a whole lot. Unfortunately most servers depend on the tips to pay their bills since the hourly pay is so low.

While the Dining Plan is great for the guests, most CMs don't like it since they are worse off with it>>

I thought that this wasn't the case with Disney-owned restaurants. Was his Disney-owned?

 

[princesspwrhr]

My mom said she thought a few of the monorails smelled like 'old used band aids'

Try searching corporate.disney.go.com for a name and perhaps an email of someone higher to get your email to.

 

[Minky]

I am not trying to make excuses for Disney, BUT it is very hard to make sure you have all A players on your team or "cast" at all times. SO, sometimes you will get undesireables. Sometimes staffing needs are so severe that you take what you can get and then get them off the bus when you have more to choose from. I probably encounter 1 cast member a trip that makes me lose that disney vibe a little, BUT I encounter 100 that make everything better.
As far as the monorail, correct me if I am wrong, but I understand that the chemical they use to reglue the carpeting stinks really bad. We got on once first thing in the morning and I asked about it and thats what I was told. or something about a disinfectant chemical as well

Now as far as audio in the attractions, that is a huge no no, I dont know why they are letting that happen, that detracts from the whole experience.

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

When honeymooning in disney in 1999 we experienced the Magic of Disney. Ultra polite CMs that almost seemed like actors. This time around that was not the case. The workers that we encountered at Pop food court were worse than at our local McDs. One rolled her eyes when I asked for a ceasar salad since they are hand mixed and she had just made one. A young man was really sarcastic to my husband when he ordered a double cheeseburger because you are supposed to say a number 2 meal. And many others were very short with us. When I was trying to extend our stay, the front desk people were not accomodating at all. I ended up calling CRO from our room and doing a major upgrade to AKL. I will say that our stay there was met by nice helpful disney-type people. But I should have received that at Pop too. You shouldn't have to spend $350 a night just to get a piece of the magic.

Now did this severly dampen the mood on our trip? Of course not. We still had a great time and we will go back next year. It was just dissapointing and somewhat shocking. It's not the Disney that I remember and I hope that it is just a fluke and not a sign of the times.

 

[susieq76]

Wow- people are not perfect but if you are looking for something... Just my 2 cents.

here's a little opposite feeling...

-I never noticed the smell on the monorail- but then again maybe I was just so teary eyed from watching the look in my twins eyes as they were asked to ride up front by an awesome CM who really made their (and my) night.

-The rides on the busses never bothered me too much but usually I was too busy laughing at jokes the drivers were telling us. Or answering the trivia questions... or singing a song with a group of 40 brasilian girls on their senior trip...

-One CM being cranky to me at the front desk at ASMu didn't affect me too long b/c as I was leaving all steamed another CM approached us, gave my sons stickers and just wished us all the Disney Magic in the World...


My point is that there is yuckyness everywhere, even Disney. It's all about what you make of it. Their is a lot of great Disney Magic everywhere I turn at WDW but at the same time I notice an abundance of po'd, screaming & cursing at their kids and all around nasty peopel- they are obviously not experiencing the same magic I am. Or maybe they're just not open for it.

IMO if I ever get to the point where I am a "regular" at Disney and am no longer experiencing the Magic I'll stop going.

FYI- I've been every year (except the year I was on bed rest with my twins) since I was born.

 

[Devil_Dog99]

Wow- people are not perfect but if you are looking for something... Just my 2 cents.

here's a little opposite feeling...

-I never noticed the smell on the monorail- but then again maybe I was just so teary eyed from watching the look in my twins eyes as they were asked to ride up front by an awesome CM who really made their (and my) night.

-The rides on the busses never bothered me too much but usually I was too busy laughing at jokes the drivers were telling us. Or answering the trivia questions... or singing a song with a group of 40 brasilian girls on their senior trip...

-One CM being cranky to me at the front desk at ASMu didn't affect me too long b/c as I was leaving all steamed another CM approached us, gave my sons stickers and just wished us all the Disney Magic in the World...


My point is that there is yuckyness everywhere, even Disney. It's all about what you make of it. Their is a lot of great Disney Magic everywhere I turn at WDW but at the same time I notice an abundance of po'd, screaming & cursing at their kids and all around nasty peopel- they are obviously not experiencing the same magic I am. Or maybe they're just not open for it.

IMO if I ever get to the point where I am a "regular" at Disney and am no longer experiencing the Magic I'll stop going.

FYI- I've been every year (except the year I was on bed rest with my twins) since I was born.

Couldn't have said it better myself!!!

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

More and more people are complaining about the service at the restaurants since the DDP took off. I have the DDE card so I'll be paying cash, but my friends who are traveling with us will be on the DDP.

To the poster who said the waiters don't get 15% - what are they getting. I think I'd be mad too. If the wait staff isn't getting at least 15% then I think every on the DDP should be rewarding good service over and above whats included in the DDP.

Since Disney has over 55,000 employees a few bad ones are expected. I run a business and you would not believe how my employees act sometimes even to me.

To expect everyone to be happy everyday is not realistic, to expect that rides don't break down or have problems is unrealistic. These rides have cutting edge technology and sometimes it may take a while to correct them. I don't think Disney is slacking -- think of how many times these rides run everyday. Think of the staff that is needed to keep the rides in Safe condition day after day after day. Maybe you just experienced a bad run.

In 1999 I experienced a really bad stay. The resort staff was horrible, at check in and when I had a problem. I was very unhappy, thinking the same thing-- where has all the Disney magic gone? But my next trip - the magic was back. And the next one and the next one too.

Instead of expecting the CM to always make your day special, maybe we can all try to make their day special too.

 

[Denicio]

Couldn't have said it better myself!!!

Dont get me wrong, we had a blast n all. I am just seeing a LOT of ugly stuff creep up in the disney machine that should not be there. And its growing quietly like a cancer.

Test Track audio & video not working? The millions of $ they spent on that and to have it working like a broken bumper car ride at the local carnival is not/ should not be acceptable. Same thing for HM.

Note: i did not go on a rant about Fed Ex pulling out as a sponser and taking out all the cool Eye Candy" at space mountain. I enjoyed the spoof commercials and fake weather. The ride is what it is with no complaints.

I personally feel the way they 'upgraded' POTC is PERFECT. It was a seemless blend of the old and the new.

But when the "Coustomer Service" angle of disney dips in MANY DIFFERENT areas you have to begin to wonder what is happening.

I love disney, man do i love that place. I was just jolted into reality last week by some NON DISNEY experiences that i had AT disney.

I am more concerned as a fan, than just a b**ching customer. I want them to charge me stupid amounts of money and feel like i've still gotten my money's worth.

I've been going in enough regular intervals over the past 10 years to see a decline in the service.

It appears that many folks have encountered the Barn Yard smell of the monorails. If your bedroom smelled of a Mens bathroom at a truck stop would you;
A. Fix the problem?
B. Leave it the way it is and ignore it?

It seems by many replies that they are aware of the odor, yet do nothing.
WHat does that tell you?
Now magnify they type of denial in every part of the park......that is the recipie of trouble.
I hope and pray that my string of bad luck was a fluke. But it appears that others are seeing it too.

Dennis

 

[rmom50]

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who experienced and will mention a problem with service. I just returned from ten days (Sept 30 - Oct 9) at ASMu. I'm not going into detail here, because I don't want people who are going to think it is the norm or be too critical, but the hotel was having some CM problems when I was there. As you can see by my signature, I'm going again the end of November with a friend from CO (I'm from Il). Unless things improve, this will be my last stay at the values. It's just a huge disappointment to be treated poorly on vacation and I'm not willing to go through it all again. I almost felt like a few of the CM's at ASMu were either inexperienced or burned out or both. I did speak with the manager and he was very nice and apologetic, but things didn't improve.

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Instead of expecting the CM to always make your day special, maybe we can all try to make their day special too.

ITA! Well said. It goes both ways!