ASMu woes...update (p.8) and HELP!

Beth DO NOT GIVE UP!!! I have a had a bad time with Disney as well. My DH and I where to be married at Disney World on 9/13/01. We where to arrive on sept 11th 2001. Needless to say we never made it.......they closed the parks ect......well you know! When I spoke with them severla times on the 11th they told me that I would get a full refund of the almost 20,000 paid for our wedding. Then when it came time to refund us I had to fight with them for 6 months thru letters and MANY phone calls. I told them that I would call/write the press, and Oprah.......pretty much anyone that would listen. I had our lawyer write a letter. I finally got our money back.

So please do not give up.........keep writting letters.......tell them that you will do whatever it takes to get what you feel you deserve even if it means contacting the press about how families with childern that have disabilities are treated at Disney. Call the GM's of the resorts you stayed at. Ask to speak to the supervisors of the people that you speak to.........they have one!

Good luck......Kristi
 
i would just call her and ask for her supervisor
she cant refuse to let you speak with someone
or maybe she can .......
kinda weird that she refused to forward your letters to anyone above her
not good customer service
 
1) There are times we did not get Front Desk satisfaction.
2) We always asked for the hotel manager, not just the manager on duty.
3) Typically the "manager on duty" is a Front Desk Manager.
4) There was not a time the hotel manager did not satisfy us.


NOTE: Remember, the hotel manager reports to senior management. If there are complaints abut him/her not satisfying guests, it is a MAJOR issue and can hurt their careers. Complaints about desk clerks or CRO get attention, but not not a lot. If we don't get a good response from the hotel manager, we ask for his/her boss's name and number. This usually gets a better response.
 
hey, whats ya'll talking about?Im new to disboards, where are the the teens please?
 

AKbabe said:
hey, whats ya'll talking about?Im new to disboards, where are the the teens please?

Oh, I beg your pardon! My daughter posted this on my name. :blush: She forgot to sign in as herself and posted before I had a chance to show her where the teen board is. Please disregard this post! :rolleyes:
 
Taximomfor4--

Hello. I (and my DW) have just been sitting here, mouths on floor, blood boiling!, reading of your STILL ONGOING (!!) ordeal with Disney, the "Happiest Place on Earth". Both my wife and I are appalled.

Let me just say this: We live here in Ohio, too. When you, in one of your earlier posts mentioned somehting about Channel 5 On Your Side, were you referring to WLWT in Cincinnati, News 5? If so, I would say write to them. Also write to (if, indeed, you are from Cincy area) Howard Ain, the Troubleshooter at Channel 12 WKRC.

Also write your local newspaper(s). Contact your attorney. My wife, who is going to school and getting a degree in Disabilities Intervention Services, feels that, as an earlier poster stated, several ADA laws may have been violated. You might also consider calling and/or writing the Attorney General of the state of Florida and telling him of your suspicions of fraud and deceptive business practices. Also, send a copy to said letter(s) to Mr. Cockerell.

One more thing: With your permission, my DW and I would like to write a letter and call on your behalf to let Disney know how alarmed we are at their apparently shameful treatment of a family with a special needs daughter, and to hold their feet to the fire regarding this rather mammoth (in our opinion) issue.

But, however exhausted and beaten down you may feel, YOU MUST NOT LET THIS END HERE!! You must be compensated rightly, shown the proper respect, and NOT be brushed aside!!!

--Jeff

P.S. If all else fails, you could always get some Soprano types to, um, pay certain exects a "visit"... ;)
 
Thanks, Jeff, for making me laugh!

Anyone who wants to is welcome to contact WDW about this. Every bit of the story in this string is factual, and any pertinent details are present.

Thanks again!
Beth
 
I've just found this and am horrified! My sister stayed in Florida the same time as we did but as she has 4 kids, one special needs (like you) she opted for 3 different villas (so if one was poor the whole holiday would not be ruined) as for us in the UK it works out v. expensive to do Disney.

I would keep writing, try to find a lawyer to tkae it forward, find Lucretia's boss etc.

This is just unacceptable - if connecting rooms are not guaranteed then it shouldn't state they are anywhere!

BTW next time get half the number of mugs and share - they're way big anyway :goodvibes
 
taximomfor4 said:
I did. Lucretia called me back with the letter in her hand. Don't know how to get it to him without it getting to her instead. ??

Beth


Try sending it certified with a "Restricted Delivery." It musted be signed for by the actual person addressed to, not just anyone. The post office or mail carrier should ask for ID to verify the person signing for it is the person it is addressed to. Also, get "return receipt requested", you will get a green postcard back in the mail with the person's signature on it. Both of these cost extra on top pf the certified fee, but it may help to get it past Lucretia?. It can also come back to you as unclaimed. I would also look into sending it "Registered Mail" and adding the restriced and return receipt. You can also try "Expess Mail", but that doesn't let you have "restricted." Look here for more info, http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/optionalserviceandfeaturefees.htm
Stop in at your local post office and explain to them what you want to do, and what they recommend. It will cost more, but may get your letter to the higher ups. I hope this all works out for you. Do not give up. I would also contact your local news programs. Especially and ABC affiliate, might end up national. Most have a consumer watch segment, and the "bad" press might accomplish more than your letter writing could. I am sending you lots of pixie dust. I have a hard time talking my DH into another trip as it is, I could just imagine it if I had anything happen to us that you have experienced. Plese keep us updated. I hope you will get the resolution that you deserve, not expect. For all this trouble they should go "above and beyond" and protocol that they have to follow.

:grouphug:
 
Well our booking is history. We have stayed on site and off, and it's not worth it to me to even deal with the risk for that kind of money. I'll stay off site because even if there are issues, at least I won't lose $1200. I am planning two week long trips this year (as we do every other year.)

Next time you talk to someone, refer them to this site so they can see that some of us listen with our wallets.

Michele
 
I have read this whole thread and just wanted to say that I hope everything works out for you after such a nightmare!
I know it is hard to get compensation after the fact but I hope you won't give up and you get some free nights or a large refund.
We unfortunately have learned never to step foot out of a resort until a situation has been dealt with by management and remedied. We were comped for 1 night at the CR after switching rooms 3 times at 11 p.m. After having a filthy BCV and after being told by management that they were booked solid and speaking to 2 different managers we were given a 1 bedroom suite at the BC for the night! Unfortunately after they have our money they just don't seem to care which is so sad!
I hope they compensate you for some or all nights so you can return to another resort and have the wonderful vacation your family deserves!
 
MazdaUK said:
I would keep writing, try to find a lawyer to tkae it forward, find Lucretia's boss etc.

This is just unacceptable - if connecting rooms are not guaranteed then it shouldn't state they are anywhere!

I would continue to try to find Lucretia's boss because the situation is unacceptable, but unless you feel like your rights were violated and want to proceed on principal alone, regardless of cost, I wouldn't suggets hiring an attorney. An attorney will cost you a lot more than you'll ever recover from WDW.
 
In the Uk we have a free advisory service - the Citizens Advice Bureau - and they can often recommend lawyers who will give a free consultation, some of who then take the case on a "no win no fee" basis if they think it is worth a substantial ammount. I wondered if you had something similar in the US (NOT those ads you get on TV promising the earth!! ;) )
 
I don't know about a referral system like that. I don't think this would be worth a whole lot anyway, but being brushed off with platitudes and then knowing people (although, quite honestly, none of them stayed value) who got fair-to-generous compensation or at LEAST real acknowledgment makes me frustrated.
 
Did you contact your local ADA to see if there was a violation of your dd's rights?

http://www.ada-ohio.org/

My thought at this point is that you probably aren't going to get any more money compensated to you unless you get the heavy hitters (like the ADA) involved. The $$ that they threw at you is truly pathetic.

If this is the end of the road for your financial compensation, then I would focus on changing their POLICY in regard to special services and their abililty to confirm things directly with hotels, etc. The communication between Special Services & the hotel obviously failed- THAT is what needs to be fixed so that no one with special needs kids has to deal with what you've gone through.

We go for ds' first trip in Dec and are staying at ASMo. Even though we have medical issues, I did not contact special services for our stay- why bother??? We are just going and hoping for the best. If our room does not work out for some reason, I will check out and stay at my aunt's house (40min away). They will NOT want to deal with me if that were to happen because I will not be as nice or patient as you have been. :flower:
 
OK, I can see where the OP didn't get what she needed and therefore didn't have a good trip. She complained to Disney who feels that she was compensated enough for her troubles. As far as Disney is concerned it's a closed issue. If she's not happy, she can choose to spend her money elsewhere - fair enough, it's the American way. - but contacting lawyers and filing complaints with the ADA because she had noisy neighbors and wasn't close enough to refill her mugs - Am I missing something here??? I'm amazed at how much Disney does, above and beyond the ADA requirements for those with disabilities. While I can understand the OP being disappointed in her stay, I think it's a far stretch to consider this a legal issue or ADA violation. I definitely think these suggestions are blowing things way out of proportion.
 
Acklander said:
OK, I can see where the OP didn't get what she needed and therefore didn't have a good trip. She complained to Disney who feels that she was compensated enough for her troubles. As far as Disney is concerned it's a closed issue. If she's not happy, she can choose to spend her money elsewhere - fair enough, it's the American way. - but contacting lawyers and filing complaints with the ADA because she had noisy neighbors and wasn't close enough to refill her mugs - Am I missing something here??? I'm amazed at how much Disney does, above and beyond the ADA requirements for those with disabilities. While I can understand the OP being disappointed in her stay, I think it's a far stretch to consider this a legal issue or ADA violation. I definitely think these suggestions are blowing things way out of proportion.


I have no intention of pursuing anyone legally. What I am doing, however, is requesting that WDW do some sort of memo or training on sensitivity issues...primarily for those employees coming into contact with it. My major complaint was clouded by minor issues. Let me clarify. I felt that, since my room ressie (through special services since I have, in fact, several children that still need me in the night due to young age and/or special needs) stated "guaranteed connecting rooms for families"... and since my dd's special needs included the need for a somewhat quiet place to have her partial seizures and come down after them, special services guaranteed that our connecting rooms would be in a quiet part of the resort, in fact she specifically chose for us the back of the middle. Faces woods. No courtyard, no parking lot, no pool. When those rooms mistakenly did not have a connecting door, we could not stay there. We were instead put into rooms that were ony available because they were "unavailable, out of inventory." Because something (the cm at the desk suspected lice had just been fumigated out of there, a detail that was only speculation so I left it out) had happened in those rooms, their carpets had to be cleaned right on Easter Sunday, our check in day. So for several days, our carpets were soaked. They were out of inventory, as in ...not suitable to rent. But good enough for us, at rack rate, to fix the mistake on the special needs reservation.

To minimize this and say that just being too far to fill the refillable mugs was the issue is insulting. I am not that way at all, never have been. Was I annoyed that we waited to see the building location before deciding whether or not to buy refillable mugs, then have our rooms be so far away from the refilling station because of a mistake that, due to my multiple confirming should never have happened? You bet. But would I have ever dreamed of complaining about that to wdw? Ummm, no. Didn't even mention it in my email to them.

About the noisy neighbors, when the Special services person put us in the first set of rooms, she chose that location to be away from the "teen groups" she knew were there at the same time. Once again, that mistake with the connecting door (which we were later accused of never even requesting, although it was still in the computer as GUARANTEED CONNECTING FOR FAMILIES) took us out of the special services-chosen location and put us in the middle of the teen groups. And then the front desk failed to ever send security as promised, to get the groups to quiet down a little at 1:45 am.This whole thing is a lot more than getting an inconveniently located room and having noisy neighbors.

Again, lawyer being hired? No. I repeat that I am not that type. But I will tell anyone who will listen, who is considering this trip with a special needs child. This might have been an unfortunate mishap, but based on the lack of apology I have received (not monetary, mind you, just sincere), this has the potential to repeat. People deserve to be informed that their money is, indeed, at risk if WDW does this to them. With a differently abled child, it is sometimes a huge risk to take.

Notice my siggy line has no future trip scheduled.
 
Acklander said:
OK, I can see where the OP didn't get what she needed and therefore didn't have a good trip. She complained to Disney who feels that she was compensated enough for her troubles. As far as Disney is concerned it's a closed issue. If she's not happy, she can choose to spend her money elsewhere - fair enough, it's the American way. - but contacting lawyers and filing complaints with the ADA because she had noisy neighbors and wasn't close enough to refill her mugs - Am I missing something here??? I'm amazed at how much Disney does, above and beyond the ADA requirements for those with disabilities. While I can understand the OP being disappointed in her stay, I think it's a far stretch to consider this a legal issue or ADA violation. I definitely think these suggestions are blowing things way out of proportion.

Obviously I did not make myself clear in my post. If she has spoken to the ADA and they determined that Disney somehow violated her dd's rights, THEN she could perhaps push the issue and gain more compensation. My point after that was that if she really wants to take this further (not focusing on $$$), then she should push Disney to look at their policies in regard to communication between special svcs and their hotels. (which is something that will help future guests like myself and MANY others.)

As far as I can tell this is not about noisy neighbors or the ability to be near the mug refill station. The issue is that although Disney USUALLY goes above and beyond for families with disabilities, they failed this family even though the OP had coordinated every last detail with special services.
 

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