A very disappointing visit - results of my email to DLR 7/9

[Chrisfilm]

Accepting that type of day as the norm may be ok for some of you but I respectfully disagree and I don't think that makes me "squeaky". The guest services gentleman stated that they were happy to receive the feedback because if they don't hear anything they don't know things aren't right.

Oh trust me. I have no issues with you contacting guest services. I would have done the same thing. The difference is I would have done it right away at the park, especially if I had a flex day that could have been spent there if they offered an extra ticket. Then my post on here would have been one of raving about how well they take care of guests, not disgruntled and assuming my complaints would fall on deaf ears.

 

[mom2rtk]

Exactly. The OP almost sounds disappointed that Disney responded with such great service. "Well, I don't know when I'll be in CA again." Do you want them to get you time off work, fly you out, put you up in a hotel, and give you the passes? If you were truly looking for a resolution that would change your opinion on DLR, you would have talked to guest services the day of your trip and likely got your free PH tickets to use the next day (since you were thinking about extending anyway). Instead this allows you to still paint DLR as a disappointing place that 'fooled you'. Please send your tickets to someone who will appreciate them.

LOL, she lives a long distance away. Maybe she really ISN'T sure when she'll get to CA again. Oy.

I honestly receive the sense of entitlement here from your posts. And am getting tired of it.

You must be reading a different thread than I am.

 

[AustinTink]

Accepting that type of day as the norm may be ok for some of you

Yes, because our money and time are nowhere near as important as yours. Oh brother. We just choose to make the best of our day, do other things and be happy. It's pretty simple.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

LOL, she lives a long distance away. Maybe she really ISN'T sure when she'll get to CA again. Oy. You must be reading a different thread than I am.

I think many of us have read it different than you because I have the same feeling.

I am so glad that Disney stepped up and is doing their best to rectify the situation, but it did feel like the OP was almost hoping they wouldn't so the "bad Disney" could continue. I totally understand the frustration over how the day went, but as has been said, there is NEVER a guarantee everything will be up and running. Saying something that day very well may have rectified the situation then. But since she didn't, Disney has done the best they can. I do understand that making the trip back may not be easy, but it sounds like Disney is willing to work on her with that (extending the 2 yrs if needed). It's really up to the OP at this point whether to give it another chance or let this be her one opinion of DL.

 

[VandVsmama]

If I were in the OP's shoes, I would have been really disappointed and frustrated, too. Not everyone lives within driving distance of DL and not everyone can afford to go to DL every year. Sometimes the most you can do is one day like the OP did.

The bright side of this thread is that Disney Corporation responded...and responded pretty well...to the OP's letter of complaint. In today's business environment, sometimes really good customer service is hard to come by, so I am really glad for the OP's sake that they'll get a second chance at going again some day. And at least if you can't make it back within 2 years, they're giving you the option of extending the dates.

Reading a lot of the posts on this thread has been like doing this --> and watching a fair amount of . Something to just keep in mind...sometimes the written word leaves out the nonverbal side to communication, so at times we may all read the same thing, but take it in very different ways based on our own personal experiences. It does not appear that the OP meant offense to anyone else here...the OP was just expressing dismay and frustration at the situation, which is pretty understandable given what happened on that particular day.

 

[lovebug33]

We should all be grateful for great customer service. I am glad they responded to you so quickly and with free tickets. To put it in perspective, we went to another theme park where they truly misrepresented themselves on their website. When we got there we were told my dd couldn't ride the rides due to her disability. We were asked some horrid questions an when I got upset and was crying they decided to have us tailed by security. After an hour of being followed around we went to complain to guest relations and told we were a problem and ha to be watched. Then we asked for our money back and they refused. I wrote an email when I got home, expecting a higher up to care and that we would possibly get our money back after this experience. Nope. I was treated even worse and he even told me I should keep my child at home so that she won't be disappointed. I will never go back to that place again. My point is that was deliberate and they did misrepresent the ride requirements on their website. Disney tried to rectify a situation that was not ideal but wasn't done on purpose.

 

[sharona]

We should all be grateful for great customer service. I am glad they responded to you so quickly and with free tickets. To put it in perspective, we went to another theme park where they truly misrepresented themselves on their website. When we got there we were told my dd couldn't ride the rides due to her disability. We were asked some horrid questions an when I got upset and was crying they decided to have us tailed by security. After an hour of being followed around we went to complain to guest relations and told we were a problem and ha to be watched. Then we asked for our money back and they refused. I wrote an email when I got home, expecting a higher up to care and that we would possibly get our money back after this experience. Nope. I was treated even worse and he even told me I should keep my child at home so that she won't be disappointed. I will never go back to that place again. My point is that was deliberate and they did misrepresent the ride requirements on their website. Disney tried to rectify a situation that was not ideal but wasn't done on purpose.

That is awful! I'm so sorry that your family was subjected to that. Sounds like the poor customer service originated at the top at that place based on their response to your email. That type of corporate culture definitely trickles down to the front lines.

I'm very appreciative of Disney guest services' quick response and for their invite to return to DL another time. Maybe we'll plan a 1 day Christmas visit!


Back away from your keyboards, I'm just joking about the 1 day!!

 

[momof2n2]

That is awful! I'm so sorry that your family was subjected to that. Sounds like the poor customer service originated at the top at that place based on their response to your email. That type of corporate culture definitely trickles down to the front lines. I'm very appreciative of Disney guest services' quick response and for their invite to return to DL another time. Maybe we'll plan a 1 day Christmas visit! Back away from your keyboards, I'm just joking about the 1 day!!

OP you have an excellent sense of humor.
Thank you for reporting back.

As for the rest of the thread... Well... I'm just backing away from the keyboard.

 

[sharona]

Yes, because our money and time are nowhere near as important as yours. Oh brother. We just choose to make the best of our day, do other things and be happy. It's pretty simple.

If your going to quote me, please include the whole sentence even if the rest of it doesn't fit in with your attempt to put words in my mouth.

 

[Gisele]

LOL, she lives a long distance away. Maybe she really ISN'T sure when she'll get to CA again. Oy.

You must be reading a different thread than I am.

No, not different. Just really read her posts, I believe you will see my point. If not, I don't care, because people are not always going to agree with one another.

 

[starshine514]

OP here - I sent my email to Disney yesterday and today I received a call from someone in "Guest Experiences Services". My email included details with approximate times that we encountered the shut downs and I expressed our disappointment with so many premier rides being out of service during our visit. After a very brief conversation, he invited us back for a return visit. They will replace our 1-day PH tickets with a "Will Call letter" that we can present at the gate for 3 1-day PHs.

Highlights of the conversation for those who are interested - he advised that ride shutdowns are usually caused by loose items or slow loading guests (but you all knew that). The only questions he asked were if we had complained to anyone while in the park (no) and if I still had our tickets (yes). When I told him that we were in New England and didn't have any plans to be back in CA anytime soon he said that while the letter has a 2 year expiration, I could call to extend it if necessary.

That's it. Thanks to all who suggested that I follow through on my intention to write to them. Great customer service for them to have gotten back to me so quickly. We don't have plans to return to CA anytime soon but maybe we'll work in a west coast stopover on our next trip to Hawaii. As I said in my original post, we really wanted to love it... maybe we'll give it another try.

That's actually what I expected them to do. They did it for us when I complained about the grad night change a couple of years ago. We used our 1-day hoppers last November when we were staying in San Diego. 1-day hoppers aren't enough to plan a trip around, but are nice if you'll be in the area anyway (like on your way to Hawaii).

Our 1-day makeup wasn't perfect, either. It rained and got insanely crowded that evening. And, BTMRR (one of our faves) was still down (we had thought it would be open when we planned the trip - based on the refurb schedule). But, we are still grateful for the free day - we still had a great time!

 

[sharona]

No, not different. Just really read her posts, I believe you will see my point. If not, I don't care, because people are not always going to agree with one another.

I believe it was you who mentioned perspective in one of your posts? It is all about perspective. If you read my posts (or anyone's for that matter) expecting to find entitlement or sarcasm or insincerity, that is what you will hear. I enjoy a good debate and have no problem with those who disagree with me. If people choose to take a worst case interpretation of my remarks, there's not much I can do about it. I have been honest about what happened, how I felt about it and the outcome.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think many of us have read it different than you because I have the same feeling.

I am so glad that Disney stepped up and is doing their best to rectify the situation, but it did feel like the OP was almost hoping they wouldn't so the "bad Disney" could continue. I totally understand the frustration over how the day went, but as has been said, there is NEVER a guarantee everything will be up and running. Saying something that day very well may have rectified the situation then. But since she didn't, Disney has done the best they can. I do understand that making the trip back may not be easy, but it sounds like Disney is willing to work on her with that (extending the 2 yrs if needed). It's really up to the OP at this point whether to give it another chance or let this be her one opinion of DL.

I think we all agree that it would be unrealistic to expect every ride to be up all the time. And we can all agree that it would not be OK to have all the rides down at the same time. So it becomes a matter of degree . OP never said she expected them all to be up and running. But I think we all have a point at which disappointment would set in. And I imagine that's sooner for someone with only one day in the parks.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Thread closed, and we'll need to review the posts and clean it up.