2006 October DisneyWorld Trip *Complaints*

[Denicio]

ITA! Well said. It goes both ways!

Sorry.
If i spend 1500.00+ on airfair
1000.00 - 1500.00 on a room
800.00 - 1200.00 on dinners

and i do this all in the name of the "Hospitality" business. I am not there to put smiles on thier faces. The DVD that entices us down there does not imply we are to make magic for them. Nope!

Its thier job to do what disney has always done. THEY set the standard, they raised the bar...now it up to us poor sods to hold them accountable.

If i want malfunctioning rides, i will go to the local fairgrounds.
If i want sub par food, we got McD's everywhere
If i want to be talked to rudely, i got a local mall for that.

My family of 5 shelled out over 5000.00 for this past trip....and i am supposed to make thier day? Well, i did in a way...i made their PAYDAY!

Dennis

 

[luvthemouse71]

<<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?

We had the dining plan last time we went, and at the bottom of every check, there was an 18% gratuity added on to the bill. That seemed like a decent tip to me, especially since some people don't even tip 10-15%. My understanding was they have to give them at least 15% of the bill-otherwise, who in their right mind would wait tables at WDW since the dining plan came into being? You'd think that they wouldn't mind the plan, because they are guaranteed a tip. Some people are very cheap and will leave 5 bucks on a $100 meal.

 

[rmom50]

Sorry.

If i want to be talked to rudely, i go to a local mall for that.

My family of 5 shelled out over 5000.00 for this past trip....and i am supposed to make thier day? Well, i did in a way...i made their PAYDAY!

Dennis

Agree with you totally, Dennis.
I'm only asking for common courtesy, no special favors. I left tips for the CM's even after the problems were not corrected. Please don't ridicule us for voicing concern. I was/am a nice little guest.

 

[JennyMominRI]

The Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth stop frequently to allow people in wheelchairs to get on and off.

 

[Devil_Dog99]

Sorry.
If i spend 1500.00+ on airfair
1000.00 - 1500.00 on a room
800.00 - 1200.00 on dinners

and i do this all in the name of the "Hospitality" business. I am not there to put smiles on thier faces. The DVD that entices us down there does not imply we are to make magic for them. Nope!

Its thier job to do what disney has always done. THEY set the standard, they raised the bar...now it up to us poor sods to hold them accountable.

If i want malfunctioning rides, i will go to the local fairgrounds.
If i want sub par food, we got McD's everywhere
If i want to be talked to rudely, i got a local mall for that.

My family of 5 shelled out over 5000.00 for this past trip....and i am supposed to make thier day? Well, i did in a way...i made their PAYDAY!

Dennis

Two malfunctioning attractions out of over 100 - 98% of the rides were fully operational and working normally.

food - IMO Disney food has never been to die for. Good, not great, a little pricey, but considering they feed over 100,000 people a day, not bad.

maybe 10 rude CMs out of over 55,000?? What about the other 54,998 nice ones? Or was there a CM nice-ness strike??

I am not denying that there are some CMs who need a bashing with Tink's pixie dust wand. But to EXPECT 100% satisfaction 100% of the time is a bit unrealistic. Your measure of fun is totally dependant on you. If your vacation was ruined because a waiter didn't scream at Sci-fi, then

Sorry you had a bad time. I am glad you decided to write the letter. I hope you get a reply. If you want the names and addresses of the big bosses, look under Investor Relations at the Disney website.

I agree Disney has set the standard. In the 12 trips DW and I have made, we have had only one really bad experience (and that was during one dinner - and no it did not ruin our trip). I will admit I am concerned about the reports related to teh dining plan and the resulting service level in the restaurants. But you know what? I fully expect Disney to make thinsg right. They always do. As for the monorails, I am sure they do not want the trains smelling like they do. But how do we know they cant do anything about it now because of train maintenance schedules?

Like I said, sorry you had a bad time. Seems to me for every person who has a lousy time, there are ten who have a great time. De gustibus non est disputandum

 

[rmom50]

Like I said, sorry you had a bad time.

Nope....he didn't say he had a bad time. He said there is room for improvement and several of us agree. Ignoring problems doesn't fix them.

 

[hawkeyesparks]

I'm really sorry that you and your family didn't have the vacation experience you hoped for (and paid for). My family wen't this past July and only have great things to say about the experience.

We too, ate at Sci-fi and it was a great time. The food and service were great.

We had no trouble with any of the rides with the exception of Spaceship Earth, and it did stop on us as well (actually twice) and for that I was surprised and dissappointed. My parents had a similar problem at PoC. I think the sheer volume of people coming the ride must create back-ups.

We noticed no smells on the monorails.

I know you are a Disney lover not a hater, and I hope that where Disney service is missing the mark it will improve. But overall I believe that WDW is the best family vacation destination in the World.

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Sorry.
If i spend 1500.00+ on airfair
1000.00 - 1500.00 on a room
800.00 - 1200.00 on dinners

and i do this all in the name of the "Hospitality" business. I am not there to put smiles on thier faces. The DVD that entices us down there does not imply we are to make magic for them. Nope!

Its thier job to do what disney has always done. THEY set the standard, they raised the bar...now it up to us poor sods to hold them accountable.

If i want malfunctioning rides, i will go to the local fairgrounds.
If i want sub par food, we got McD's everywhere
If i want to be talked to rudely, i got a local mall for that.

My family of 5 shelled out over 5000.00 for this past trip....and i am supposed to make thier day? Well, i did in a way...i made their PAYDAY!

Dennis

I believe you and I will never see eye to eye. I believe the glass is half full and I think you see it as half empty, sir. I have also forked out more money to Disney than a non-loving Disney person would think of as obscene. I don't need a lecture from you. now, I will go on my Disney trip next month with a smile on my face and treat the CMs as people.

To anyone that will be at WDW while we are there next month, when they need to stop Spaceship Earth as my DM who is battling cancer, is getting off, please forgive us. We will try to hurry it up.

 

[ADP]

Sorry.
If i spend 1500.00+ on airfair
1000.00 - 1500.00 on a room
800.00 - 1200.00 on dinners

and i do this all in the name of the "Hospitality" business. I am not there to put smiles on thier faces. The DVD that entices us down there does not imply we are to make magic for them. Nope!

Its thier job to do what disney has always done. THEY set the standard, they raised the bar...now it up to us poor sods to hold them accountable.

If i want malfunctioning rides, i will go to the local fairgrounds.
If i want sub par food, we got McD's everywhere
If i want to be talked to rudely, i got a local mall for that.

My family of 5 shelled out over 5000.00 for this past trip....and i am supposed to make thier day? Well, i did in a way...i made their PAYDAY!

Dennis

As long as Disney keeps raising there prices; two ticket increase in 2006, resort rates rising, parking, etc, then I personally feel it is reasonable to hold Disney accountable for sub par service if you feel that way.

Actually, I'm expecting more Disney guests to complain for the simple reason of price increases over the past 8 years. If Disney continues to raise prices at the current rate a regular annual pass in 2020 will cost around $900 .

My point here, as prices increase, so will the expectations; and quite honestly I don't blame anyone for complaining to Disney.

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

ADP, my problem lies in the fact that the OP in complaining about everything. I would like to hear about the things that he liked...if that is possible. We went on a DCL cruise earlier this year and was aware of what people that cruised previously were *****ing about. We did not experience any of it and we were looking. In other words, there are naturally negative people out there.

 

[perdidobay]

"1. The monorail system smells like a petting zoo. It smells like the abandon side streets here in Memphis on beale street that the bums use as bathrooms. Walt would not be happy about this at all. We noticed this last time too."

As a memphian I can say this.....that is BAD!
I have noticed the "stable smell" too on our recent visits.
To bad Febreeze isn't a WDW sponsor
.

 

[buzzz1]

This one is a minor one, but we went to the SLUSHY store over by Pirates of the Caribbean, and they have 4 things on the menu...2 of which are slushi's....guess what was broken? Its like going to a seafood restaurant and them telling you they have no seafood. If this were a 7-11...its no big deal, but this is DISNEY,



I can certainly relate to the above complaint !!!
If you are talking about the place that sells DOLE WHIPS ... I was there the last weekend of September, and my mouth was just watering for one.... we stood in line and finally got up there to hear that ALL the machines were broken ??? I know some things cant be helped but c'mon !! It's Disney !!
Maybe next time I will get my Dole Whip

 

[LoriMistress]

CM cannot control the fact if the mashines are broken. That's life; even Disney cannot control everything. I guess I get annoyed when people complain that they send *fill in the blank* ammount of money and they expected to be treated like royality. Sometimes CM may be having a bad day; that happens. Being paid minuim wage and having to hear families complain every day about how WDW should revolve around them would drive me bitter as well. Go ahead and send your complaint to Disney; I'm all for it. But if you think that park is going to hell in a hand basket, then I suggest that maybe next time you take your money and go somewhere else on vacation. Business will only respond to money; plain and simple. If they notice a decrease in sales and guest, then Disney will get off their butts and find ways to bring guest back into the parks, whether if it's buy lowering ticket prices or better customer service.

 

[famsen]

We just returned from 6 nights at POFQ. This was our 7th trip to WDW as a family and our first since July of 2001. I agree with you are saying.
I too noticed the quality slip a great deal since our last visit.

I also encountered the problems with the sound quality on Haunted Mansion and other attractions. My biggest complaint is in the change of attitude we saw in many of the Cast Members we encountered. They just did not seem like they wanted to be working there. There were many CMs that were nice enough but no one seemed to want to put any effort in their jobs. Many CMs acted like they were annoyed just by the presence of guests. This goes for many of the resort bus drivers and Cast Members at the POFQ. We encountered our worse service and bad attitudes when it came to food service. I can't even count how many times we practically had our food orders thrown at us or slammed down on the counter without so much as a "thank you" from the person putting together our order.

I have been a die hard WDW fan since our first trip in 1993. I was sadly disappointed with our last trip. For the amount of money we spent, we sometimes felt like we were no better off than if we had stayed close to home and visited Six Flags and went to Fright Fest for a couple of days.

 

[bab31]

We just returned from 6 nights at POFQ. This was our 7th trip to WDW as a family and our first since July of 2001. I agree with you are saying.
I too noticed the quality slip a great deal since our last visit.

I also encountered the problems with the sound quality on Haunted Mansion and other attractions. My biggest complaint is in the change of attitude we saw in many of the Cast Members we encountered. They just did not seem like they wanted to be working there. There were many CMs that were nice enough but no one seemed to want to put any effort in their jobs. Many CMs acted like they were annoyed just by the presence of guests. This goes for many of the resort bus drivers and Cast Members at the POFQ. We encountered our worse service and bad attitudes when it came to food service. I can't even count how many times we practically had our food orders thrown at us or slammed down on the counter without so much as a "thank you" from the person putting together our order.

I have been a die hard WDW fan since our first trip in 1993. I was sadly disappointed with our last trip. For the amount of money we spent, we sometimes felt like we were no better off than if we had stayed close to home and visited Six Flags and went to Fright Fest for a couple of days.

When I hear complaints like this, it makes me think that the CM's are over worked and or dont have enough help..which is a management problem and equals $$$$$$$$ profit.

 

[kaabost]

Several resonses to the things in this post..........
Yes...........Disney holds themselves to a higher standard, thus, we have learned to as well. Fine. However, let's not confuse the magic that Disney creates with a truly unrealistic experience.

1-the slushy machine wasn't working--ok, this was brought up as a small point, but let's be reasonable, Slushy machines break. If Tinkerbelle was a real-live fairy with magic dust the problem would be fixed immediately. However, in the real world (even in Disney) it will be out of commission until a human fixes it or replaces it.

2-Disney prices keep increasing so I expect perfection--I can't say that I have done a full blown financial comparison on this but I suspect that rising Disney prices are relatively proportional to the overall inflation observed in the cost of everything that we buy here in America. Do you remember when an adult could go the the movies at nigh for $5.00? Furthermore, it's true that we spend a considerable amount of money in Disney but have you priced out other vacations? If you plan your trip well, Disney is a bargain. Geez, look at everything you get. If a smelly monorail is the biggest complaint we can come up with in such a HUGE operation, I think everything is ok.

3-Some CM's are rude--do we actually think that CM's are animatronics? Rude CM's are unacceptable. Agreed. However, it's totally unrealistic to think that a couple of unfit CM's aren't going to slip through the cracks. I assume the rude ones don't last long because 99.9% of them are absolutely wonderful, even now in my experience!

4-Audio,video, etc. not working properly on rides--yes, this needs to be fixed. But, why does it SOUND like we assume these problems have been there forever and Disney is taking a long coffee break rather than fixing them. These rides are run and run and run. To my understanding, they do routine inspections. Perhaps your ride vehicle "broke" before the next routine inspection. Would we prefer that the CM's shut down every ride on the hour to do routine inspections to make sure the audio in every car is working perfectly? When was the last time your laptop froze up? Stuff happens, even in Disney.

Obviously, I don't think that Disney's legendary service is slipping. I think that many of Disney's guests are becoming legendarily unrealistic. Let's keep those standards high but realistic and just have a great time!

 

[blondeheroine]

It smells like the abandon side streets here in Memphis on beale street that the bums use as bathrooms.[/I]

I'm from Memphis. That's one harsh complaint!

I never really noticed a smell (but that could be because I'm from Memphis and am used to it? LOL)

My biggest complaint? Why do I have to leave? Really. Can we do something about this? I'm very disappointed that I can't move in.

 

[i3utterfli82]

Well said Kaabost.

I personally did not experience any of the OP complaints last week and had a great time....even on the monorail!

I guess we all view things differently and what may bother one person, the next would never have noticed.

I will add the my husband is currently, and I used to be in the hospitality industy. We both agree the Disney employees have always been top notch and are some of the most friendly we have encountered. I can't say that for some of the other (major) companies we have worked for.

 

[Eeyore2003]

The monorail smell is not a new problem. They smelled in 91,97,01,03,04,05, I'm not sure about 84 since we took the ferry and actually last May 06 they didn't smell, I was surprised. We'll see next week.

 

[IwasatWDWforamonth]

Ive always noticed a band aid or barn smell on the monorail