A lot of complaints

[Nuts4Disney]

I am sorry if anyone took a personal offense to my angry tone in my last post here. It was never intended at anyone on the DisBds, & I don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable about posting a differing opinion to mine.

I'm also glad that JeffJewell got here ahead of me to soften some of the anger in the posts.

I don't want to force feed you my opinion. I just want to clarify a few things.

I have been a very loyal Disney fan for many years, as many of you are. Everyone who knows me calls me Nuts4Disney. My home is a Disney shrine, like I am guessing from being on The DisBds, many of yours are, too. And we visit WDW at least annually. When family & friends are planning anything related to Disney, they call me up for info & advice. I have been promoting Disney to everyone for many years. When I found the DisBds I was amazed. I found people as Nuts4Disney or moreso than I am. It was great! I felt at home!

As I said in my prior post, everything that is going on at WDW & off WDW is not Disney's fault. But Disney Co. has been relying on its resorts [which translates into its resort guests] to bring in the profits, especially when it fails in other areas. But what is really upsetting to me is the attitude Disney Co. has. I have always been a big defender as well as a promoter of Disney, but after telephone calls to WDW to get clarity from them about the rumours & changes, I was terribly disappointed in Disney Co.

I tried 4 different times, speaking to 4 different CMs. I started each conversation politely, friendly & calmly. I told them of my scheduled upcoming trip & wanted clarity about the rumours & changes. Although each conversation began cordially, they quickly turned sour. At first they denied there were any changes. Then, as I asked them about individual changes that I had heard, they tried to dance around them as best as they could, confirming some or saying they had no info on others. It became apparent that these CMs were rehearsed ahead of time, & were only allowed to give out very limited info & weren't permitted to volunteer any info. They began to double talk me, which I found insulting. Though the conversations never turned rude on either side, the magic was not there for either of us.

One CM went so far as to say there wasn't a slow down, & that she was working double time & that the parks are full to near capacity. When I asked her then why all the cutbacks, she denied the layoffs & CM cutbacks & said "due to the events Sept. 11..." [a phrase I heard over & over again from each CM] "WDW is only giving park hours on a weekly basis" & she actually hung up on me, even though I never got rude or disrespectful with her.

I am honestly stunned by the way Disney is treating their resort guests regarding these changes. They have bad news to tell their resort guests, & it seems they are taking the attitude of "if they ask, don't tell, let them find out when they're already here & we already have secured their $." I can see how this attitude will make for a fun, relaxed vacation for their resort guests, as well as for the bull the poor CMs will have to put up with as the guests find out about these surprise changes when they are at WDW. I am just terribly disappointed with Disney Co. & I am insulted that they would treat us this way.

Thank you again for listening [reading?]. Please feel free to agree or disagree with me. And again, please accept my apologies if anyone was offended by this or any other post of mine.

 

[Christine & family]

Thanks to all of you that responded to my post. I suppose if you can't vent with friends, then who can you talk to? Probably the people here understand better than anyone. It's just hard when there seems to be so much disappointment right now. It's understandable, but still tough to absorb when I'm trying to make the best of an upcoming trip. That was just me being a little oversensitive. I hope for everyone's sake that things will turn around soon and we can go back to discussions that are a bit more fun! In the meantime, I appreciate having a chance to learn so much from all of you.

Christine

 

[HorizonsFan]

trying to staple Jell-O to a cat

In his best Bill Cosby voice:

Here kitty, kitty, kitty...

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

I love Disney. I also love my family. I often don't agree with what they do either. The difference is that I sometimes get the impression that my family listens to me when I speak and that they have my interests at heart. Right now, unfortunately, I feel like I am not getting that from Disney.

Disney can close all the hotel's that they like. Cut back on movie production. Raise prices. Whatever. But if they want guests to return to their resorts, then they have to continue to provide an experience that dazzles, inspires, and excites.

If they want me to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation, then they have to:

Provide me with new and exciting things to do and see.
Provide me with incredible service.
Provide me with a spotlessly clean environment.
Provide clear communication to me so that I feel like I am in control of what I spend and how I spend my time.

These messages on the internet, while lots of fun, don't sway my opinion one way or another in regard to Disney. I am leaving in two weeks, and would kind of like to know what their hours of ops are, and what entertainment choices will be available to me when I come. i will be there on a weekend, and assume (based on what I read) that the parks will be packed. (They are deserted right now on weekdays). I would like reasonable hours of operation so that I can have a chance at doing more.

I am still going. I am not cancelling. I would just like the experience to be what I have come to expect from WDW. Or something close to it.

 

[roymccoy]

I cancelled our WDW trip for Jan 5-12th yesterday. I had been planning the trip for a year. We go every other year. We fly from Los Angeles to Orlando...is the fear of flying cross-country a factor in our decision to cancel?? NO!! I wouldn't let that keep me from going to the drugstore. I too, had some questions about closures and called a few times to Disney. Each time, I got a lot of "dancing" around the truth. I got a rude supervisor who said that I was "lying to him" that COP was closed. (This was the day before it came out in the Orlando Sentinel). With PO/FQ closed, the boats from PO to DD closed, with COP closed, with EE gone, etc. I cannot justify the $10,000+ dollars that it costs all 5 of us to have a Disney vacation. To me, it is simple arithmetic. Less Hours+Less rides and attractions+no discounts=no trip. Hey, why should I have pixie dust in my eyes when Disney doesn't have it for me? They are numbers driven, and now....so am I.
I'll be back when they return to "normal."

Roy

P.S. Do you know what questions they ask you when you enter DCA?? "What ride brought you here today and would you have came if that ride wasn't here?" and "Would you come back another day if DCA was closed today?"
What does that sound like to you? Sound like they're getting ready to add a whole bunch of stuff to DCA and open more hours?? Sounds like the cuts have just begun. See you in 2004.

 

[Captain Crook]

roymccoy, I always like your posts...

While I do defend WDW in this time of uncertainty, I still wholeheartedly agree that there will be casualites in this war, as well. Were I you, there is no way I'd spend that $$$ to travel into so much uncertainty. In fact, we were going to DL/DCA in October & I cancelled all thoughts of going when I learned Fantasmic was out for the count.

So while I think I understand what's going on with Disney, I fully understand & support people who can't justify the trip right now. Disney WILL have to get a grip on this before they will get back to normalcy...

 

[roymccoy]

Captain Crook. I think you made a wise decision putting off your DCA/DL trip. The hours are short, many rides and attractions are closed and it's hard to find a restaurant open. I think that Disney will be back, in time. After they realize that they need to spend more time and MONEY on their bread and butter....the parks!

Roy

 

[tonya hall]

Hi all:
I am new to this, but I can't help but want to add my comments on the happiest place on earth. I am a Disney stockholder, I hold an annual pass, I am a Disney club member, and I have a Disney credit card. I think I can safely say I am vested with Disney. I love the mouse. I espescially love what he stands for. One mans dream. But I too see the tarnish on the dream. We have noticed over the past few years the faded paint. The less that spotless areas. And the cuts in staff and production. I for one have been concerned for a while. But I have had no decline in my love for the mouse, or my addiction to the magic. My family and I are going to the World for Christmas, and we're flying!!! We look forward to our trip, but we are disappointed to hear of the changes. We eat breakfast at Tony's as a tradtion and we are upset that Tony's is closed for breakfast. Not to mention there is no early entry. But as die hard Disney fans we will prevail, we will spend, we will enjoy and we will do it again. Why you ask? Because it is the happiest place on earth and there is no other joy to compare with the joy of Disney.