BAD Disney Experience...

[bumbershoot]

Wow, wouldn't you think that the handlers and others involved were a tad more preoccupied with a sick worker and how to replace her? I'm sure that said daughter didn't even enter their minds.

Sorry, I'm on team "sometimes people get sick and things happen".

No, I don't think that CMs were preoccupied with a sick coworker. Unless she was actively dying backstage, I doubt that anyone out and interacting with guests, was that worried about her.

 

[MickeysBFF]

I do agree that this could've have been handled better, but just out of plain curiosity what did you read that made you think it would be like heaven? Many posters on Disboards do state the flaws of their trips(not trying to offend you just curious).My point is even though it's close, Disney isn't perfect. There will be rude people, rude cast members, and sometimes you will get hysterical(i speak from personal experience), but nothing that happens at Disney makes me want to leave.Heck if someone purposely broke my leg at WDW I would still want to stay.I am happy that you have jumped on our disney bandwagon though

 

[undertheradar]

In situations like that they should have fast passes for the character greetings (like the epcot character spot) or a small value ($15) gift card.

Why? So they can skip the line that others are waiting in? A gift card for what? This is an example of unrealistic expectation being met with everyday life.

 

[undertheradar]

No, I don't think that CMs were preoccupied with a sick coworker. Unless she was actively dying backstage, I doubt that anyone out and interacting with guests, was that worried about her.

From where do you draw these assumptions?

 

[alliejay]

I think it is pretty clear the OP is looking for compensation.

Have you even read the posts?

Again, so mean and nasty. You CAN disagree without being mean. It is like you all get your jollys by coming here and jumping on people. The first seven pages of criticism was not enough? You all must be the BEST parents, your children must never have thrown a fit, you must never have complained about anything or been disappointed evah. Keep riding your high horses.

 

[Aggiegrl]

Okay, the entitlement garbage is really getting on my nerves. People are always so quick to judge, aren't they?

I do not allow the picking of flowers, either. It was found on the ground near the well. It had fallen off the plant, but she said, "I picked these for her". Would a 3-year old not know that picking flowers is bad?? Snow White picks them all the time in the books I read to her!!

Yes, I think picking a flower at Epcot reeks of entitlement. That's clearly not the case here, which you've now clarified, but we've all seen many others do it. It does not shock a lot of us.

 

[mefordis]

If I were a CM I would have tried to do something to cheer up the little girl, for sure.

I love reading all these threads about magical moments at Disney, and I think I'd read so many of them before my last trip I thought every minute would be like heaven. But the first day were were there with our 3 year old, we had this experience:

We were walking outside Germany when we saw Snow White! It was the first time she'd seen any character. There was hardly a line, so we walked up there and waited. Then, the handler told me that Snow White needed to take a break and would be back in 15 minutes. I didn't think my 3-year old would wait that long, but she sat there, more patiently than I'd ever seen her, just waiting. While she was waiting, she picked a flower for Snow White, thought of questions she'd ask her, etc. etc. Well, 15 minutes became 20, and 20 became 30. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't do that to my daughter. Finally, the photographer came out and said that Snow White was "busy helping the dwarves" and couldn't come out (she'd actually gotten sick).

Well, my daughter was hysterical. She cried and cried and cried and nothing I could do would make her feel better. The other cast members there just shrugged and said they were sorry. I felt like that at the happiest place on earth, they could have at least done SOMETHING to make her feel better. Instead, they just sent us off on our way. My daughter was devastated and just wanted to go home. I did, too. They could see that, and they didn't seem to care.

After that, things did get better, and we did have a magical trip, obviously, or else we wouldn't be going back. And she did get to meet Snow White (and all the dwarves) eventually. But has anyone had something like that happen to them? And did the cast members do anything to try to make things better?

 

[Finally08]

If snow white was sick I'm not sure what they could have done....but I understand the feeling of wishing they could maybe be a little more compassionate when they see an upset child.
We had an ugly experience with a character handler on our recent trip...it was so upsetting I even went to city hall to complain but they also just gave me blank looks and brushed me off. In our case we showed up at 9:15 to wait for Ariel who was due out at 10. When the handlers showed up about 9:30ish they chatted with dd about her dress and told her how excited Ariel would be to see her. She had a custom made dress to match Ariel in the park, complete with the starfish on her head and seashell necklace.
Well at about 9:50 they tell us they just got notified that Ariel won't be out until 11, regardless of what the park schedule said. We had another event to be at for 11 but figured if we could be first in line for her we could meet her quickly then RUN to where we had to be for 11. So we wandered around adventure land killing time then headed back to ariels spot at about 10:30. Well guess what...there she was meeting a long line of guests (I guess about 20 were left in the now cut off line), and the line for her 11 meet was about a dozen people deep. I walked over to the handler and asked what was going on...we'd been sent away after waiting 40 minutes and now the she was! She just shrugged us off and said oh well. I asked if we could get in her line since we had waited earlier and had been told to leave but they refused and said all we could do was join the next group and wait for her next set that should start after 11. Dd started crying because she knew we couldn't without missing the other activity and her crying made me cry. It was so frustrating since we planned our entire morning around it. We ended up leaving the park after that (after stopping by city hall) and spent most of the day at the hotel.

 

[highlander]

We ended up leaving the park after that (after stopping by city hall) and spent most of the day at the hotel.

Really?

9 pages and counting. It's starting to heat up. Nice!

 

[Love Tink]

I think the OP expected a little sympathy and some apologies from the CMs, not monetary compensation. An apology goes a long way - at Disney World and everywhere else in the world.

When the minutes are ticking by and you've wasted a lot of your very expensive and precious day waiting for something...especially with a small child...it can be very frustrating when it doesn't happen. It's even worse if one thinks the CMs could have let you know sooner, or cushioned the blow.

Don't worry about the harsh comments, OP. There are many, many people on the Dis who take great joy in judging others and trying to make them feel badly.

As a bone to those who think Disney service has "gone downhill," I can report that we had an eerily similar circumstance in 2003 - we went to Epcot specifically to see Jasmine and Aladdin with my then-two-year-old-son, who was completely in love with Jasmine. They didn't show up, and didn't show up, and we kept being told "They'll be here soon," until finally (an hour later) we were finally told, "They're not coming." (In our case, it had to do with a threat of rain in the forecast.) After seeing my son's sobbing reaction, a CM snapped into action and we ended up being walked to the gate leading to the CM off-duty area, where we had a private meet and greet with Jasmine and Aladdin. Then they gave us three free park tickets - which we tried to refuse, and then we really tried to refuse the child ticket, since my son was only two and hadn't even needed a ticket. But they wouldn't take no for an answer. And thus began my love of Disney World and our loyal devotion. This customer service thing they (usually) have going on works both ways - they gave us a little in the grand scheme, and have earned those freebies back 100 times over.

 

[kristennn]

Ridiculous and that isn't what happened anyway.

How about after 40 minutes they say "the cupcake deliver guy fell ill and he won't be coming. sorry".

Are you saying you'd be irritated to the point that you wanted a free cup of coffee or something?

I was referencing an example another poster used. And yeah I would expect a big apology and a free cupcake of a different sort for sitting there that long waiting.

 

[kristennn]

Just got caught up on the thread ... seriously why do people need to be so nasty?
A board where people talk about "the happiest place on earth" and there are a number of people who seem to be just waiting to jump on people and tell them why they and their family are greedy, entitled and just plain wrong - and if they think their kids are in any way special - well ... they just need to be set straight.

 

[Marthasor]

If snow white was sick I'm not sure what they could have done....but I understand the feeling of wishing they could maybe be a little more compassionate when they see an upset child.
We had an ugly experience with a character handler on our recent trip...it was so upsetting I even went to city hall to complain but they also just gave me blank looks and brushed me off. In our case we showed up at 9:15 to wait for Ariel who was due out at 10. When the handlers showed up about 9:30ish they chatted with dd about her dress and told her how excited Ariel would be to see her. She had a custom made dress to match Ariel in the park, complete with the starfish on her head and seashell necklace.
Well at about 9:50 they tell us they just got notified that Ariel won't be out until 11, regardless of what the park schedule said. We had another event to be at for 11 but figured if we could be first in line for her we could meet her quickly then RUN to where we had to be for 11. So we wandered around adventure land killing time then headed back to ariels spot at about 10:30. Well guess what...there she was meeting a long line of guests (I guess about 20 were left in the now cut off line), and the line for her 11 meet was about a dozen people deep. I walked over to the handler and asked what was going on...we'd been sent away after waiting 40 minutes and now the she was! She just shrugged us off and said oh well. I asked if we could get in her line since we had waited earlier and had been told to leave but they refused and said all we could do was join the next group and wait for her next set that should start after 11. Dd started crying because she knew we couldn't without missing the other activity and her crying made me cry. It was so frustrating since we planned our entire morning around it. We ended up leaving the park after that (after stopping by city hall) and spent most of the day at the hotel.

Wow. That's awful. I'm so surprised by your post and the OP's because I've had nothing but good experiences with CM's! I'm really not getting that the OP has a sense of entitlement. I think OP's expectation were not handled well by the CM's at the Snow White greeting. She was told 15 minutes and her daughter waited as patiently as she could for a three year old. After 15 minutes, a CM should have given them an update so they could have decided if it was worth their while to wait any longer. Letting them know where another princess could be found, handing the little girl a sticker, even offering to deliver her flower bouquet to Snow White - I think a small gesture, would have gone a long way to make a disappointed child a little happier.

To the family that waited for Ariel, I would have been furious as well. It wasn't as if you left on your own accord and came back and expected to be ushered in. They told you to leave and come back. Sorry - flame away - they should have let you in.

 

[captinhookedondisney]

I feel terrible for you! This could have been Devistating!

I am so glad it didnt ruin your trip and by the sounds of it your going back!!!! Yaya!

 

[kadesha]

Why? So they can skip the line that others are waiting in? A gift card for what? This is an example of unrealistic expectation being met with everyday life.

In this case, a fastpass wouldn't be allowing her to "skip a line others are waiting in." She waited for over 30 minutes, for NOTHING! I think a fastpass for another character experience would be very fitting in a case like this.

 

[Senator Tressel]

This would have been a fun thread if everyone had followed the topic and shared their own stories of disappointment. Perfectly good idea for a thread. Instead we get a boring argument of everyone's opinion of the original posters feelings. The same argument that we've read 1000 times. Just share your story.

I can't say that I have my own awful story to share, but I like hearing about other people's experiences.

 

[LSUDis]

OT, but I hope that Snow White and her prince didn't have any reservations that night! She's out $20 bucks!

But has anyone had something like that happen to them? And did the cast members do anything to try to make things better?

How many answered her question? Not many. . . .

 

[BiltmoreConcierge]

I doubt SW was even sick. If there were no other kids when you walked up or waiting to see her beside you two. The boss probaly sent her home. The the handler just forgot you were waiting for her.

It really sucks that this was your first experience at WDW and even happened during the first part of you first day. My former boyfriend would have had the same reaction. He would have wanted to leave and go home.

I totally agree they dropped the ball on you and I'm glad you had a good time in light of your first experience.


FYI- My worst experience from a cast member is when a Concierge told me to smile from across the room outside of the gift shop at Pop Century.

 

[kristennn]

This would have been a fun thread if everyone had followed the topic and shared their own stories of disappointment. Perfectly good idea for a thread. Instead we get a boring argument of everyone's opinion of the original posters feelings. The same argument that we've read 1000 times. Just share your story.

I can't say that I have my own awful story to share, but I like hearing about other people's experiences.

I'm trying to remember one and coming up with nothing. I tried to remember a negative experience with a SCV the other day too and can't think of one. I may have blocked them out.

The only bad/frustrating things I can remember are - being irritated to not be able to bring a stroller into the animation building or character line - rough because I was alone with the two kids and my infant daughter was *heavy* as were our bags I had to carry and having my camera stolen out of our car at downtown disney on the last day of our trip - so all of our pictures were gone

Oh! Just thought of one. ... On our last trip we went to MK one night just to see the parade. We had never waited and got good seating before so we were bound and determined to show up early and find a good spot.
So we do this ... and like 10 minutes before the parade for some reason they decide to move wheelchair seating from a different spot to right where we have been for the last hour. I don;t remember the details but at some point earlier I had asked a CM about our spot and they had said it was fine ... we may have actually moved when they set up the original wheelchair spot.
Anyhow I don't remember the details but I very nicely did say - that we had came just for the parade and been waiting a long time etc. and they found us a spot - I really am a little fuzzy on the exact details.

 

[TLSnell1981]

There were several things the cast member could have done and none of them involve dragging a hurling Snow White back out into World Showcase. Perhaps getting the child a balloon with a sincere explanation and apology. Perhaps maybe getting the child an autograph book or pen and explain that it is for her.

it's so sad, many forget about the Magic. The CM could've handled the situation better. Once upon a time, the CMs learned these things, while training..how to make the guests happy. Now, it's pretty much hit and miss. It would've been simple to tell the child, Snow White was very disappointed, they couldn't visit, but hoped she would come back. I agree, Snow White's autograph, a sucker, etc...would've gone a long way to calm the child.

To you, maybe.

It's very important to a child. A 3 year old isn't able to deal with disappointment, the way an adult can. Poor baby, I'm so sorry, this was her first experience.