About Disney slipping in cleanliness..

[Ilovestitch]

We have always found the parks and resorts to be very clean- and I am always amazed by how much trash people leave behind.

I hate when people leave trays of food on their table in outdoor counter service places. We have been at Peco's Bills, Caseys, Flame Tree and Typhoon Lagoon and seen people do this. As soon as they leave- a flock of birds comes in and takes over the seating area making a complete mess and the poor CM has to come over and shoo away the birds and clean up food and trash everywhere.

I also can't stand seeing someone toss a turkey leg on the ground and birds eat it.. thats just not right..

 

[Partridge4ever]

I too have noticed the parks' cleanliness declining, but I think it's definitely the general public being more careless. We were there the week between Christmas and New Years and I don't think the poor CMs could possibly keep up w/the slobs. Every time we left a parade or show there was trash all over the place. And many times at counter service places we saw people just get up and leave their trash on the table.

 

[always quiet]

We spent 2 weeks in Disney last month. While we never noticed anything at the parks (in fact, I used to love watching after a parade went past....the CMs would bring out those huge vacuums and clean the street up ), we had some bad experiences with mousekeeping. When we first checked in to our cabin, there was actually cobwebs in the rafters. There was a 2" wide strip of mildew/dust along the outside of the tub. All the doorjams were white with dust! We went to the front desk, asking for a 'good' cleaning...we thought maybe this particular cabin hadn't been used in awhile (later we found the previous guests MVMCP wrist bands so we knew that wasn't the case). When we returned the next day, the cabin had been thoroughly cleaned...including the area rug in the living room - it was still very damp. It was after that the 'fun' began. I guess the mousekeeper got in some trouble and wasn't too happy with us. We would come back and it almost became a joke as to what we would find....she would leave the vacuum or broom out. Some days the beds in the bedroom weren't made or the murphy bed was left down. We would find all the wet bathroom towels left in the hallway. Once we even found our coffee packet in the bathroom. We called 3 different times. On the last day, when the vacuum was out again, DH told me to call. I told him I just gave up. (and yes, I did leave a tip...once I thought maybe she wasn't finished as the mousekeeping envelope was still on the table...but upon closer look, it was empty! She took the tip and just left! )

 

[Disneyholics5]

with MSMAYOR and TMJR that the people are much more the problem than Disney CM's. There is only so much a CM can do. Also, everyone seems to agree the bathrooms are in need of serious help - however we all keep saying why don't people keep it clean like they do at home - I am beginning to wonder that maybe it is how some homes are. I will never understand why people can't flush the toilet, make sure the paper goes in the toilet not the floor, etc. as so many of you have said. Unfortunately I think it is an epidemic because in the bathroom at my job, it is the same thing. Disgusting. I continually say to myself and anyone else in the bathroom that I would NOT want to be in anyone's house that behaves that way on the outside. Not to mention the washing of the hands!! ugh. I believe Disney tries its best but people have to start assuming responsibility for their actions also. Disney could put CM's in every bathroom from opening until closing, but unless the people change their behavior I don't think there would be a drastic change in the bathrooms. People who leave it filthy would continue to do so thinking they have a maid to clean up after them. Very unfortunate but it would NEVER STOP ME from going to Disney.

 

[jbird327]

I was there Dec 16-23rd and thought that the parks were in very good shape, however my mother complained about almost every bathroom she went in. I did not notice any problems in the men's rooms- they all seemed ok. We stayed at the Polynesian and the first night I noticed that the yellow light on the fence outside of my room was in the process of going out - randomly blinking. I went that night to the front desk and mentioned the bulb - it was replaced the next day. For me the low point at the parks was during a visit in 1997 - it seemed very sloppy. I had two trips this year and really had no complaints.

 

[Safari Queen]

I'm always amazed that people who are so fastidious that they have to put yards of toilet paper on the seat have no problem with letting it cascade onto the floor for the rest of us to step on!

 

[jarestel]

Regardless of how the messes are made, the bottom line is it is Disney's "house" and they are ultimately responsible for keeping it clean. We can rail about "slobs" and "pigs" until the cows come home but at the end of the day the people who clean up after themselves will still do so and those who don't will continue to disgust the rest of the tidy folks with their filthy ways. If there's a problem with cleanliness, it's far more likely to be mitigated by Disney CMs doing more cleaning than it is by all Disney guests suddenly deciding to pitch in and tidy up after themselves simply because the people on the DIS called them names.

So if Disney guests perceive a decline in cleanliness, Disney needs to address the situation and not rely on their visitors to solve the problem for them. Of course, as has been reported here by some posters, not everyone agrees there is a problem, in which case, I guess nothing needs to be done.

 

[Danthesand]

Whats that old tune? "Litter bug, litter bug shame on you".

The song you're referring to -- which became the basis for the "Suzy Spotless" public service campaign that the Ad Council ran -- was actually from "The Litterbug", a 1961 Donald Duck cartoon.

Donald Duck: the Litterbug

 

[KandiB47]

Regardless of how the messes are made, the bottom line is it is Disney's "house" and they are ultimately responsible for keeping it clean. We can rail about "slobs" and "pigs" until the cows come home but at the end of the day the people who clean up after themselves will still do so and those who don't will continue to disgust the rest of the tidy folks with their filthy ways. If there's a problem with cleanliness, it's far more likely to be mitigated by Disney CMs doing more cleaning than it is by all Disney guests suddenly deciding to pitch in and tidy up after themselves simply because the people on the DIS called them names.

So if Disney guests perceive a decline in cleanliness, Disney needs to address the situation and not rely on their visitors to solve the problem for them. Of course, as has been reported here by some posters, not everyone agrees there is a problem, in which case, I guess nothing needs to be done.

People are just venting their frustration. It would be nice to have CM everywhere to clean everything up but, unfortunately, companies like Disney just can't afford to hire all these extra people with the economy the way it is right now.

 

[UBSHANG]

I feel that the WDW parks are kept relatively clean considering the large number of visitors. However, the MK restrooms have definitely shown their age and are in great need of an overhaul.

On our January 2005 trip, the Liberty Tree Tavern restroom in particular had a rather generous amount of chipped and peeling paint, rust marks, water stains, broken hardware, inoperable doors and an accumulation of grime that no amount of cleaning can remove.

This level of disrepair did not entirely result from some visitor's poor hygienic habits. Conditions such as these developed after years of unintentional neglect. I don't believe that providing better sanitary conditions and more updated facilities is expecting too much from Disney.

 

[2poohbears]

ick. I don't like reading this. I'm taking 2 y/o twins still in diapers to DW in 3 weeks & I HATE public restrooms as a whole...but I remember how clean the bathrooms were when I went in 2002, so I figured I wouldn't have to deal with the "icky" factor in bathrooms at DW.

 

[Eeyore2003]

I think if they had cut back 15 years ago, we wouldn't have noticed it because the guests were more tidy, so there was less to clean up.
I know 15 years ago, I heard moms telling their kids to make sure the toilet flushed and their toilet paper didn't end up on the floor. I also hear moms telling little boys to clean up the seat if they got it wet. Now, I'm more often hearing "don't touch anything" - even when it's those kids that made the mess.
And, you would not have seen women leaving used tampons and pads on the floor 15 years ago. People do it now though.

Agree, goes along with the "rudeness" thing. I'm not sure what's happening to our society. I really think the majority are fine, but there's a certain "mindset" in some that think they're the only ones that count and rules and manners don't pertain to them.

 

[simzac]

Just my 2 cents worth on the cleanliness at WDW. We just got back from an 8 day trip, Jan 1-8, and after reading the threads about the dirty restrooms and WDW in general, I asked my family what they remember. DW experienced none of the dirty restrooms stated by other members(and we spent 5 days in the parks by the way), and my 2 DS and myself found the mens restrooms to be always in very acceptable condition. As far the rest of the parks and resorts, the only area that was consistently dirty was the floor at POP in the food court seating area. The resort was at capacity most of the week, with the food court very busy all day long. Cast members were cleaning, just hard to keep up with that many guests I guess. I am still impressed by how clean the parks are kept, made several comments to the such to my family during the week. As far the restrooms, I did find one restroom out of paper towels one day, the mens off the lobby area at POFQ while DW and I were resort hopping one day. First time in 3 trips I found a dispenser empty, and I visited alot of restrooms. JMO