BAD Disney Experience...

[undertheradar]

Thanks-for some reason I was imagining very tiny people


OP-this EXACT thing happened to my boys-but it was the Teenage Ninja turtles-so you know how long ago that was!
They were 6-8 and were SSSOOOO Sad when they closed the lines.

We have the best photos of the TMNT holding my son's teddy bear because he fell asleep in his stroller waiting for them. They tickled him, tugged on him, he didn't stir. Just as they were getting back on the Turtlemobile and getting ready to leave......... he wakes up. They came back just for him. Needless to say many others who were told to come back were not thrilled. We have a picture of him and all four TMNTs and his teddy bear. This was a highlight of our trip.

See, good story!

 

[KellyNY]

Perhaps you should use this as a wonderful example that life doesn't always turn out the way we want. Teach your daughter that she's not the center of the universe. Let her learn the best lesson of all, "life's not fair".

Not at 3 in Disney.

 

[skater]

Not at 3 in Disney.

Seriously. In fact, I'll go a step further and say at 3, its not so terrible for her to feel somewhat the center of the universe at home too . (Disclaimer - Not advocating spoiling kids in a bad way).

 

[furb & dez]

I guess it was like, we save for 3 years for this trip and THIS is what happens?

Oh, well, if you saved for three years, that's a totally different story, right?

What about all those guests who save for four or more years? Wouldn't it be SO MUCH WORSE for them?

 

[canopynut66]

What did you want them to do?


KC

Agree what was they suppose to do if she got sick?

 

[Swan4Me]

We have the best photos of the TMNT holding my son's teddy bear because he fell asleep in his stroller waiting for them. They tickled him, tugged on him, he didn't stir. Just as they were getting back on the Turtlemobile and getting ready to leave......... he wakes up. They came back just for him. Needless to say many others who were told to come back were not thrilled. We have a picture of him and all four TMNTs and his teddy bear. This was a highlight of our trip.

See, good story!

OMG_i forgot about the Turtlemobile!!

Great story

 

[wen8jr]

Another thread where most people rather pick someone's post to death, be rude and just disagree to disagree because it is a negative Disney experience post.

It seemed to me that the OP was not unsympathetic to the CM's illness but was irritated due to the wait and not being told in a timely manner. And I don't think expecting common courtesy from the other cast member(s) in the area who were not sick (like being notified before 30 or 40 minutes of waiting or expecting a little bit more of an apology or help to diffuse a disappointed reaction from a child) is in any way whatsoever indicating they feel more "entitled" in the sense that posters in this thread are making the OP out to be. It was clearly an unfair way to treat a guest and very bad customer relations as the situation was created by the CM (sick or not) not by the OP. I would have been irritated even if my child had not been crying as it is time out of my day that could have been spent doing something else. CM's should be trained to handle situations like this as they are bound to happen and after all Disney is all about atmosphere, experiences and above and beyond customer service. They advertise it over and over again.

To all the posters who don't think they are "entitled"...the next time you are at Disney and a ride breaks down and they try to hand you a fast pass, a CM offers common courtesy such as a smile or holds a door open because your hands are full of luggage, a CM tries to do something special just for you like upgrade your room or before you take a birthday pin and display it so that folks recognize YOUR personal special day...just reply and say "oh no, I don't need that...after all I'm not entitled to receive any special treatment at all, I'm just like anyone else here who is not receiving this treatment and I refuse to accept anything I'm not entitled to".

OP...in response to your question...my personal experience during recent trip: As wonderful as I think Disney still is... it still seemed to me that at least 50% of the CM's across the parks and resorts that we came in contact with seemed more stressed this trip...not nearly as friendly and downright lackluster. Maybe it is just a stressfull period in America for a lot of folks. I don't expect everyone to gush, but a smile here and there would not have hurt. I didn't have any incidents or disappointments that stood out that I would have complained to a CM about (except terrible housekeeping service)...but we did leave thinking we had enough of Disney for a few years.

The CM could have handled your situation better; don't they go through training on how to help diffuse a situation that was no fault of the customer? I suspect if they had come out earlier to let you know your little girl would have been fine and not had a melt down after she so patiently waited..but after a child waits that long it would be expected they would be upset. They should have been prepared when they broke the news. This CM just didn't care, didn't want to get involved or was too wrapped up in their own world to read the situation and you were left to deal with an unhappy child.

 

[KEVD]

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.

Very well said! And great post by wen8jr above!


Everyone is entitled to have an opinion but the nastiness and sarcasm of some of the responses to the OP's post are completely un-called for.

To the OP: I'm sorry to hear that you and your daughter had a bad experience. And I'm even more sorry to read some of the obnoxious responses to your post. Although I don't necessarily blame the CM's themselves (can't say for sure what I would have done in that situation), it's certainly not unreasonable for you to have expected a modicum of compassion or some sort of small gesture to help ease your 3 yo daughter's understandable disappointment.

 

[LBIJim]

Why? I try to forget the disappointment of my trip and focus on the good memories.

It sounds like one negative moment happened on the OP's trip. I consider that a huge success and personally, I think I would learn from what happened and move on. Putting BAD in all caps may have been a bit of a stretch considering all the things that can go wrong on a vacation.

If this was the worst thing that happened, you should be very grateful!

It appears that OP did learn from what happened. In a later post she realized her initial expectations (every moment would be heaven) were impossibly high and that she would lower them to a more realistic level for any future visit.

Jim

 

[undertheradar]

Another thread where most people rather pick someone's post to death, be rude and just disagree to disagree because it is a negative Disney experience post.

It seemed to me that the OP was not unsympathetic to the CM's illness but was irritated due to the wait and not being told in a timely manner. And I don't think expecting common courtesy from the other cast member(s) in the area who were not sick (like being notified before 30 or 40 minutes of waiting or expecting a little bit more of an apology or help to diffuse a disappointed reaction from a child) is in any way whatsoever indicating they feel more "entitled" in the sense that posters in this thread are making the OP out to be. It was clearly an unfair way to treat a guest and very bad customer relations as the situation was created by the CM (sick or not) not by the OP. I would have been irritated even if my child had not been crying as it is time out of my day that could have been spent doing something else. CM's should be trained to handle situations like this as they are bound to happen and after all Disney is all about atmosphere, experiences and above and beyond customer service. They advertise it over and over again.

To all the posters who don't think they are "entitled"...the next time you are at Disney and a ride breaks down and they try to hand you a fast pass, a CM offers common courtesy such as a smile or holds a door open because your hands are full of luggage, a CM tries to do something special just for you like upgrade your room or before you take a birthday pin and display it so that folks recognize YOUR personal special day...just reply and say "oh no, I don't need that...after all I'm not entitled to receive any special treatment at all, I'm just like anyone else here who is not receiving this treatment and I refuse to accept anything I'm not entitled to".

OP...in response to your question...my personal experience during recent trip: As wonderful as I think Disney still is... it still seemed to me that at least 50% of the CM's across the parks and resorts that we came in contact with seemed more stressed this trip...not nearly as friendly and downright lackluster. Maybe it is just a stressfull period in America for a lot of folks. I don't expect everyone to gush, but a smile here and there would not have hurt. I didn't have any incidents or disappointments that stood out that I would have complained to a CM about (except terrible housekeeping service)...but we did leave thinking we had enough of Disney for a few years.

The CM could have handled your situation better; don't they go through training on how to help diffuse a situation that was no fault of the customer? I suspect if they had come out earlier to let you know your little girl would have been fine and not had a melt down after she so patiently waited..but after a child waits that long it would be expected they would be upset. They should have been prepared when they broke the news. This CM just didn't care, didn't want to get involved or was too wrapped up in their own world to read the situation and you were left to deal with an unhappy child.

Where in the OP did they tell her to wait? I didn't read that. She chose to wait with her daughter. We don't know, was it possible that there was supposed to be another cm coming onstage as Snow White and for some reason they were delayed? Some of our best WDW moments were feeding the ducks at The Disney Inn(now Shades of Green), eating at Chef Mickeys when it was in the Market Place, seeing Santa in his hawaiian shirt and wearing his Mickey Mouse wristwatch at the Market Place. Everybody has a special place or special moment at WDW so why dwell on something that shouldn't impact your child's entire future? How many kids never get to WDW?
Live life for the moment instead of looking for things to complain about.

 

[Bonniec]

Another thread where most people rather pick someone's post to death, be rude and just disagree to disagree because it is a negative Disney experience post.

It seemed to me that the OP was not unsympathetic to the CM's illness but was irritated due to the wait and not being told in a timely manner. And I don't think expecting common courtesy from the other cast member(s) in the area who were not sick (like being notified before 30 or 40 minutes of waiting or expecting a little bit more of an apology or help to diffuse a disappointed reaction from a child) is in any way whatsoever indicating they feel more "entitled" in the sense that posters in this thread are making the OP out to be. It was clearly an unfair way to treat a guest and very bad customer relations as the situation was created by the CM (sick or not) not by the OP. I would have been irritated even if my child had not been crying as it is time out of my day that could have been spent doing something else. CM's should be trained to handle situations like this as they are bound to happen and after all Disney is all about atmosphere, experiences and above and beyond customer service. They advertise it over and over again.

To all the posters who don't think they are "entitled"...the next time you are at Disney and a ride breaks down and they try to hand you a fast pass, a CM offers common courtesy such as a smile or holds a door open because your hands are full of luggage, a CM tries to do something special just for you like upgrade your room or before you take a birthday pin and display it so that folks recognize YOUR personal special day...just reply and say "oh no, I don't need that...after all I'm not entitled to receive any special treatment at all, I'm just like anyone else here who is not receiving this treatment and I refuse to accept anything I'm not entitled to".

OP...in response to your question...my personal experience during recent trip: As wonderful as I think Disney still is... it still seemed to me that at least 50% of the CM's across the parks and resorts that we came in contact with seemed more stressed this trip...not nearly as friendly and downright lackluster. Maybe it is just a stressfull period in America for a lot of folks. I don't expect everyone to gush, but a smile here and there would not have hurt. I didn't have any incidents or disappointments that stood out that I would have complained to a CM about (except terrible housekeeping service)...but we did leave thinking we had enough of Disney for a few years.

The CM could have handled your situation better; don't they go through training on how to help diffuse a situation that was no fault of the customer? I suspect if they had come out earlier to let you know your little girl would have been fine and not had a melt down after she so patiently waited..but after a child waits that long it would be expected they would be upset. They should have been prepared when they broke the news. This CM just didn't care, didn't want to get involved or was too wrapped up in their own world to read the situation and you were left to deal with an unhappy child.

ITA.

 

[TLSnell1981]

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).

Where in the OP did they tell her to wait? I didn't read that. She chose to wait with her daughter. We don't know, was it possible that there was supposed to be another cm coming onstage as Snow White and for some reason they were delaye?
.

Well, no one FORCED, the OP to wait. Although, it was a reasonable assumption, Snow White would return in 15 minutes, as stated by the CM. After all, it is customary to "swap" characters. We've waited numerous times, and never had a "no show". It was an unusual occurrence, but the CM could/ should have handled the situation with more understanding and compassion. IMO

 

[emmabemmainc]

OP--I'm sorry that you had to wait for so long and that your daughter was disappointed. I remember what having a three year old was like and they are just not the logical and reasonable beings that adults are (just check out this thread!). You are completely right, the CMs should have atleast seemed sympathetic to you all and not just shrugged and walked away with a "sorry" tossed in your direction. I would have been upset as well.

Also, don't let the Disney shareholders on this board get your down. While many other things could have happened that may have been worse, it is hard when your child is disappointed and you just wasted 40 minutes of your time standing in line.

Hugs!

 

[FireflyTrance]

I am sorry this happened to you as well.

I do work with clients on a day to day basis at my work and sometimes they have been told something that didn't end up happening and there is nothing you can do but apologize. I agree a CM probably should have come out sooner to update you. They are people too though and make mistakes, or they may have had responsibilities elsewhere. I am glad your daughter did eventually get to meet Snow White.

I do have a memory like this as a small child as well actually. We walked across the park to try and see Mickey at some photo spot and then he wasn't there. Back then I thought he actually was Mickey and Mickey was my favorite character at the time so I was very disappointed.

 

[fairyprincess88]

Wow, as someone who works in customer service I am completely amazed at the attacks tossed onto the OP. I run multiple retail chains and I can tell you honestly, if any of my staff allowed a customer to wait for something for 40 minutes, failed to deliver the product they waited for then didn't do their best to make sure at least a smile was given, then yep they'd be back in training fast. Yes there are things out of our control that we can't do for the customer but it is our job to make sure that at least we handle the situation in way where the customer leaves understanding that we did our best. It's not about spoiled children and entitled parents, it's about customer service.

To me it doesn't sound like the OP expected anything in the way of compensation, more that they were distressed at the way the situation was handled. Yes, the CMs can not control Snow White getting sick, but they can control how they handle the situation from that point on. Leaving them standing there for 40 minutes with no updates or explainations then simply shrugging as a 3 year old cries is not an example of good customer service regardless if it's Disney World or Walmart.

We are talking about a toddler here, not a grown adult, and sometimes the smiles and good words from someone other than mom and dad are the perfect cure. Toddlers don't understand adult events, they don't understand Princesses get sick or can't "work", they just know they waited for Snow White and now she is not coming...cue meltdown. It doesn't make them a brat, it makes them a 3 year old. A CM getting down on their level and saying, "Sorry Snow White had to go help wake up Sleepy for work, but she told me to tell you hello and that she will hopefully see you later and she is so proud of how patient you were waiting..." would have gone a long way probably. Customer service doesn't always have to involve tossing out a comp and customer disapointments don't always equal entitlement.

 

[wen8jr]

Where in the OP did they tell her to wait? I didn't read that. She chose to wait with her daughter. We don't know, was it possible that there was supposed to be another cm coming onstage as Snow White and for some reason they were delayed? Some of our best WDW moments were feeding the ducks at The Disney Inn(now Shades of Green), eating at Chef Mickeys when it was in the Market Place, seeing Santa in his hawaiian shirt and wearing his Mickey Mouse wristwatch at the Market Place. Everybody has a special place or special moment at WDW so why dwell on something that shouldn't impact your child's entire future? How many kids never get to WDW?
Live life for the moment instead of looking for things to complain about.

Life is full of choices, she chose to go to Disney and expected to receive good customer service and she in fact paid to experience what Disney offers like getting to see a character as promised. In this situation they told her they would be back out and it seems to me that she and her daughter expected it to happen based on those facts. That communcation is why she waited. No matter what caused the issue behind the scenes...the fact is they didn't show up and let her know for 30/40 minutes that it wasn't going to happen. How is that in any way whatsoever the OP's fault and why shouldn't the OP have expected a better experience?

I personally don't feel that by one post the OP has indicated it ruined her entire trip or her daughters future. Nor does this have anything to do with parenting skills that so many have jumped to comment about. It seems to me like others the OP is just commenting on an experience she had and wanted feedback from other Dis'ers after she had read about all the wonderful things CM has done for others and it didn't happen for her. Sort of put it out there, discuss it and put it behind her type of thing. To make her out to be such a bad person is absolutely ridiculous and shame on everyone who has done that. Reflect on your own life experiences and see if you always react so perfectly as you expect everyone else to. I'm sorry but I always have to stand up for the underdog when I feel someone is being treated unfairly.

Familyoffive, no offense meant (honestly) because it is good advice..but maybe you should take your own advice, "Live life for the moment instead of looking for things to complain about" rather than post just because you disagree with how someone handled their own experience.

 

[KEVD]

Where in the OP did they tell her to wait? I didn't read that. She chose to wait with her daughter. We don't know, was it possible that there was supposed to be another cm coming onstage as Snow White and for some reason they were delayed?

People make choices based on the information they have. 15 mins, to me, does not seem to be an unreasonable amount of time to wait to see a character that you / your child would really like to see. In that situation, I probably would have made the choice to wait 15 mins as well. And, like the OP, I would have been quite disappointed if 30 mins later we told that the character was not coming back at all. Yes, there could have been extenuating circumstances. But, still, I can certainly understand why the OP and daughter were disappointed.

 

[KellyNY]

Where in the OP did they tell her to wait? I didn't read that. She chose to wait with her daughter. We don't know, was it possible that there was supposed to be another cm coming onstage as Snow White and for some reason they were delayed? Some of our best WDW moments were feeding the ducks at The Disney Inn(now Shades of Green), eating at Chef Mickeys when it was in the Market Place, seeing Santa in his hawaiian shirt and wearing his Mickey Mouse wristwatch at the Market Place. Everybody has a special place or special moment at WDW so why dwell on something that shouldn't impact your child's entire future? How many kids never get to WDW?
Live life for the moment instead of looking for things to complain about.

I'm sure they got their good moments to but does not mean they can just forget what happened.

 

[undertheradar]

Wow, as someone who works in customer service I am completely amazed at the attacks tossed onto the OP. I run multiple retail chains and I can tell you honestly, if any of my staff allowed a customer to wait for something for 40 minutes, failed to deliver the product they waited for then didn't do their best to make sure at least a smile was given, then yep they'd be back in training fast. Yes there are things out of our control that we can't do for the customer but it is our job to make sure that at least we handle the situation in way where the customer leaves understanding that we did our best. It's not about spoiled children and entitled parents, it's about customer service.

To me it doesn't sound like the OP expected anything in the way of compensation, more that they were distressed at the way the situation was handled. Yes, the CMs can not control Snow White getting sick, but they can control how they handle the situation from that point on. Leaving them standing there for 40 minutes with no updates or explainations then simply shrugging as a 3 year old cries is not an example of good customer service regardless if it's Disney World or Walmart.

We are talking about a toddler here, not a grown adult, and sometimes the smiles and good words from someone other than mom and dad are the perfect cure. Toddlers don't understand adult events, they don't understand Princesses get sick or can't "work", they just know they waited for Snow White and now she is not coming...cue meltdown. It doesn't make them a brat, it makes them a 3 year old. A CM getting down on their level and saying, "Sorry Snow White had to go help wake up Sleepy for work, but she told me to tell you hello and that she will hopefully see you later and she is so proud of how patient you were waiting..." would have gone a long way probably. Customer service doesn't always have to involve tossing out a comp and customer disapointments don't always equal entitlement.

How many times have you gotten down to a 3 year olds level in your customer service position? It is very easy to state what the cms "should have done," how much experience do you have as a cm? We have the OP posting about this BAD Disney experience that took 3 months to post about, doesn't sound like there was much anyone could have done when she(the OP) had set such a high expectation for her Disney vacation and the added dollars that are spent at WDW. While it would be nice for everyone visiting WDW to get an individual visit with Mickey walking down Main Street USA holding hands, the reality is that being there is the dream for many.

 

[undertheradar]

Life is full of choices, she chose to go to Disney and expected to receive good customer service and she in fact paid to experience what Disney offers like getting to see a character as promised. In this situation they told her they would be back out and it seems to me that she and her daughter expected it to happen based on those facts. That communcation is why she waited. No matter what caused the issue behind the scenes...the fact is they didn't show up and let her know for 30/40 minutes that it wasn't going to happen. How is that in any way whatsoever the OP's fault and why shouldn't the OP have expected a better experience?

I personally don't feel that by one post the OP has indicated it ruined her entire trip or her daughters future. Nor does this have anything to do with parenting skills that so many have jumped to comment about. It seems to me like others the OP is just commenting on an experience she had and wanted feedback from other Dis'ers after she had read about all the wonderful things CM has done for others and it didn't happen for her. Sort of put it out there, discuss it and put it behind her type of thing. To make her out to be such a bad person is absolutely ridiculous and shame on everyone who has done that. Reflect on your own life experiences and see if you always react so perfectly as you expect everyone else to. I'm sorry but I always have to stand up for the underdog when I feel someone is being treated unfairly.

Familyoffive, no offense meant (honestly) because it is good advice..but maybe you should take your own advice, "Live life for the moment instead of looking for things to complain about" rather than post just because you disagree with how someone handled their own experience.

Honestly, where did Disney promise visits with characters? If you read the ticket contract, rides malfunction, activities get changed, weather can cancel scheduled events, etc. If every 3 year old visiting the park wants to see Snow White at the same time, there will be unhappy visitors. My kids are 21, 15 and 13, so I have experienced 3 year olds. It is my experience, not everyone else's, that finding a new distraction would have solved the issue. But then again, some people are easier to please than others.