BAD Disney Experience...

[KellyNY]

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.

Actually Searcher provided the long list of things CM could do in this situation, Searcher is CM himself, so it is save to say he knows what he is talking about.
BTW, not everyone lives on board, it is perfectly fine to post 10 years later.

 

[undertheradar]

Actually Searcher provided the long list of things CM could do in this situation, Searcher is CM himself, so it is save to say he knows what he is talking about.
BTW, not everyone lives on board, it is perfectly fine to post 10 years later.

I don't understand your last sentence, care to elaborate?

 

[KEVD]

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.

Maybe you should pose that question to a 3 year old.

 

[wen8jr]

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.

It's not about what the ticket contract says, it was about what happened in real time in person with the OP and her daughter. The fact is the promise was given when they said the character would be back out in 15 minutes. Yes, things happen and the character didn't come back out but the CM's could have handled how they broke the news much better and, in fact, if it had been about 15 or 20 minutes sooner, this probably wouldn't even be under discussion right now.

How they handled it leads to a bad customer service. The name Disney itself represents good customer service, along with all of their advertising. None of this has to do with entitlements or every 3 year old out there or other people's idea's of raising a child. The OP expected a little bit of a better experience than what she received and it seems like from her posts she has learned from it.

It should really end there. This bashing of a person know one knows personally from a few words that were typed really needs to stop...it does nothing but feed more negativity.

 

[KellyNY]

I don't understand your last sentence, care to elaborate?

Not everyone posting from parks, not everyone do it first thing after they back. Not every member of this board here 24/7. There is nothing wrong with posting something that happened a while ago. Hope now it is clear.

 

[undertheradar]

Maybe you should pose that question to a 3 year old.

I think that is the parents job.

 

[fairyprincess88]

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.

Actually, I got down on a toddler's level just today. I also did the CP while in University so I have been a CM. So guess that answers both of you're questions. It is not uncommon in my stores to see my staff get down on a child's level and deal with them, or hand out a sticker or color with them. We have a lot of parents as shoppers, and spending time with the young ones on the floor is a daily part of operations. Maybe that's why I think things could've been handled better.

I guess my biggest question is this: so what if the OP didn't like the way things were handled? So what if they wanted to vent and see if anyone else had a similar situation? So what if they had a different set of expectations? Not everyone sees Disney as the best place ever, uncapable of making customer service mistakes. There are thousands of visitors a year who go to Disney and don't find it worth the price or on par with their advertising. That doesn't mean that you or anyone else has to see Disney that way, it also doesn't make those that see it as less than perfect entitled or spoiled. There is no need to make gross assumptions on someone's character or their parenting skills based on a post about their feelings of customer service at Disney World. People don't agree and that is fine, but some of the comments on this thread are just absurd.

 

[KEVD]

I think that is the parents job.

You're missing the point

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Foo the huck said anything about a beating?

Bill From PA

 

[TLSnell1981]

You're missing the point

Yep..totally.

 

[undertheradar]

Actually, I got down on a toddler's level just today. I also did the CP while in University so I have been a CM. So guess that answers both of you're questions. It is not uncommon in my stores to see my staff get down on a child's level and deal with them, or hand out a sticker or color with them. We have a lot of parents as shoppers, and spending time with the young ones on the floor is a daily part of operations. Maybe that's why I think things could've been handled better.

I guess my biggest question is this: so what if the OP didn't like the way things were handled? So what if they wanted to vent and see if anyone else had a similar situation? So what if they had a different set of expectations? Not everyone sees Disney as the best place ever, uncapable of making customer service mistakes. There are thousands of visitors a year who go to Disney and don't find it worth the price or on par with their advertising. That doesn't mean that you or anyone else has to see Disney that way, it also doesn't make those that see it as less than perfect entitled or spoiled. There is no need to make gross assumptions on someone's character or their parenting skills based on a post about their feelings of customer service at Disney World. People don't agree and that is fine, but some of the comments on this thread are just absurd.

Let me explain my view on Disney. What used to be thought of as the Disney "magic" or pixie dust has been ruined by the use of the internet. Little things that were done - a cookie, Snow White reading bedtime stories at the Disney Inn, towel animals, unexpected room upgrades, etc. - has been bragged about and posted to the point that first time visitors have these unrealistic expectations. Remember when one of the princesses was being assaulted in the MK because a mother thought that she wasn't giving her daughter as much attention as other kids? It has just gotten to the point where people set the expectation too high and then want some form of compensation when it doesn't happen. I don't think Disney is perfect and I don't believe that they understand what it takes to maintain a loyal customer base. Wait until they stop offering free dining and see how many of those new guests refuse to return if Disney isn't "giving" them something. Prior to 2006, Disney was trying to curtail the steep room discounts to up the bottom line profit at the theme parks. From visits 2 decades ago to now, the parks and resorts are dirty and showing lack of upkeep. Part is because there is no true out of season anymore, the rest is due to budget cuts to keep the profits up. We are DL APs and it is terrible when you see so many attractions closed at the same time. When we were in DL on Christmas morning(to get APs made before the certificates expired on 12/31), both HM and SMW were down. These are two heavily marketed attractions at DL for the holiday season, add to it that they had to cancel the fireworks show due to the cm injury earlier in the week, and you have 3 holiday attractions down. Sometimes things don't go the way we plan or wish for, that what makes life so much fun.

 

[KEVD]

Let me explain my view on Disney. What used to be thought of as the Disney "magic" or pixie dust has been ruined by the use of the internet. Little things that were done - a cookie, Snow White reading bedtime stories at the Disney Inn, towel animals, unexpected room upgrades, etc. - has been bragged about and posted to the point that first time visitors have these unrealistic expectations. Remember when one of the princesses was being assaulted in the MK because a mother thought that she wasn't giving her daughter as much attention as other kids? It has just gotten to the point where people set the expectation too high and then want some form of compensation when it doesn't happen. I don't think Disney is perfect and I don't believe that they understand what it takes to maintain a loyal customer base. Wait until they stop offering free dining and see how many of those new guests refuse to return if Disney isn't "giving" them something. Prior to 2006, Disney was trying to curtail the steep room discounts to up the bottom line profit at the theme parks. From visits 2 decades ago to now, the parks and resorts are dirty and showing lack of upkeep. Part is because there is no true out of season anymore, the rest is due to budget cuts to keep the profits up. We are DL APs and it is terrible when you see so many attractions closed at the same time. When we were in DL on Christmas morning(to get APs made before the certificates expired on 12/31), both HM and SMW were down. These are two heavily marketed attractions at DL for the holiday season, add to it that they had to cancel the fireworks show due to the cm injury earlier in the week, and you have 3 holiday attractions down. Sometimes things don't go the way we plan or wish for, that what makes life so much fun.

You make some valid points here and I understand what you are saying about people's expectations. I think that holds true across the board, not just in Disney. Our society has gotten to the point where perfection is expected and when it's not, people can react unreasonably.

However, I don't think the OP's "BAD Experience" was the result of expectations being set too high. It was simply a situation where a 3 yo was very disappointed that something she was excited about and expected to happen did not happen. Not abnormal for a young child and certainly not bratty. She probably would have had a similar reaction if her best friend had to cancel a play date that she was very much looking forward to. It's not always about Disney. It's about being human.

 

[AnnaNonamus]

I am really shocked and dismayed at how down right. Ean so many people are being towards the OP.

She never asked for anything. She didn't even suggest that she ex
Ected the CM to give her child something. She expressed dismay at how the situation was handled, and thought that the CM would have been been able to do something. Note that doing something could be as simple as letting them know where other princesses like to hang out, or sure, as much as giving her something.

As far as my stance goes, yes, the CM's are people, but they are also there to do a very specific job of creating a magical environment. It was no one's fault Snow White got sick, but telling a line of people that she would be back in 15, then not showing up for 30 was not great.

In that amount of time, you can't tell me they couldn't have sent someone out to let the line know that Snow White wasn't feeling good.

The employees have a means of communicating with others. Even if 2 people were helping her and unable to leave, they could have routed another CM out to alert everyone.

The bottom line is that there are better ways it could have been handled.

I read several remarks telling the OP that her daughter was a spoi.ed brat for being upset.

My daughter has Aspergers. I can tell you right now, she can be highly focused on what she expects to happen, and even at age 10, she would have had a melt down over something like that if the conditions were right.

Has anyone stopped to consider if her daughter was overly tired, or hungry, or just having a typical 3 year old reaction?

If you have ever been out all day with an overly stimulated toddler, you know how easily they can have a melt down, over what adults might consider nothing at all.

It would help more to be understanding and nice, rather than mean and rude.

 

[KrazyKollector]

Replacing a lost balloon, calling to hold a ressie or bumping someone up in line is hardly the same as producing a pinch hitter for a sickly Snow White. Those things were within the power and authority of a CM. SW wasn't available and a polite cover story was about all that I'd expect. I've never seen anyone flamed here for a negative post that was reasonable. IMHO the OP's gripe was unreasonable.

Bill From PA

And I think you are being overly critical and maybe have had a few too many bottles in front of you so that it's time for your frontal lobotomy.

OP NEVER asked for a pinch hitter. She expected a bit of compassion and kindness from a CM at a place where they tout kindness and compassion and pixie dust in exchange for ungodly amounts of cash.

If the CM had come out and said to the 3 year old, "Snow White isn't feeling good at all! She is sorry to miss meeting you. She asked me to give you these Mickey stickers and to tell you to go see (insert princess and greet place here) and that she will see you when she feels better.

Now just HOW is that harder than a line bump or ressie call?

You Disney Kool-Aid drinkers need to start taking Xanax or something to chill out.
Or perhaps you all aren't really Disney Kool-Aid drinkers? Just people who enjoy being nasty, superior and cruel to others? I know I saw many of you in the parks when I was there! LOL!

 

[Liandro]

Has anyone stopped to consider if her daughter was overly tired, or hungry, or just having a typical 3 year old reaction?

If you have ever been out all day with an overly stimulated toddler, you know how easily they can have a melt down, over what adults might consider nothing at all.

If and if that was the case the parents should have left the park hours ago and not expect a CM to take the blame for their own behavior.

 

[maxiesmom]

You make some valid points here and I understand what you are saying about people's expectations. I think that holds true across the board, not just in Disney. Our society has gotten to the point where perfection is expected and when it's not, people can react unreasonably.

However, I don't think the OP's "BAD Experience" was the result of expectations being set too high. It was simply a situation where a 3 yo was very disappointed that something she was excited about and expected to happen did not happen. Not abnormal for a young child and certainly not bratty. She probably would have had a similar reaction if her best friend had to cancel a play date that she was very much looking forward to. It's not always about Disney. It's about being human.

I agree with both of you for the most part. I do think, though that the OP had their expectations set too high, and that contriubuted to the experience ending up a "bad" one. The OP stated she expected "every moment to be like heaven". There is no way on earth any vacation can live up to that standard. No vacation.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Hi, everyone, OP here. Just wanted to thank you all for your opinions. I'm sorry this thread has become a bit of a train wreck, and I agree that had I had lower expectations, I would not have made this post.

Then again, is it any wonder, when people are so quick to jump on anyone that has anything negative to say, that people might have unrealistic assumptions? I've certainly learned a great deal about this board: Basically, "Shut up if you have something bad to say."

But please understand. I LOVE Disney, just as much as any person can. I did not let this unfortunate experience ruin our trip. I was just so surprised, after reading on this board of all the magic of Disney, to have it happen. I thought about Walt and his philosophy and knew he would be rolling over in his grave if he saw that indifference... because I feel like WDW is the last place where compassion and caring and treating people like they matter still rules. If the plague of indifference that has taken over the rest of the world invades Disney, then what is left? It did not make me angry, but as someone who loves Disney and what it stands for so much, it made me a little sad.

 

[maxiesmom]

I honestly don't think people on the board just want to hear the good stuff, and want everyone else to be quiet. I do think people want to hear the good and the bad.

There is a difference between having expectations that are realistic, and having expectations that are low. Maybe it is coming off as you are being beaten up, but can you not see by going back and reading your OP, that your expectations were way too high? I've been on many vacations at WDW, and had great times, but none of them were perfect. That doesn't mean there is a "plague of indifference" taking over WDW. It just means that CMs are human, and sometimes stuff happens. How you handle that disappointment when something does go wrong is what makes or breaks your vacation. Not what the CMs does or doesn't do.

Please believe me when I say I have learned this the hard way too. I've had trips where the room I paid for was not available and I was downgraded. I've had a trip where I had a melt-down in the park, and the only thing that saved the day was a CM who made me see what a fool I was being. You have to learn that something will go not as planned, and how to deal with it when it happens with grace. And not by leaving the park.

As far as Walt rolling over in his grave, I wish that phrase was banned from the Dis. People are so quick to throw it out there when something goes wrong. Stuff went wrong when he was alive too. Didn't he open Disneyland with no working water fountains and damp asphalt? You deal with it, and move on. Expecting perfection is setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

[Swan4Me]

I actually feel sorry for all the young kids nowadays at WDW

When mine were little-some 20 years ago , all the characters roamed freely in the parks, There were no lines (except the Ninja Turtles because THEY were SUPERStars!!)...i have so many pics of accidental encounters-it really was a different world back then

 

[Allison]

As far as Walt rolling over in his grave, I wish that phrase was banned from the Dis. People are so quick to throw it out there when something goes wrong. Stuff went wrong when he was alive too. Didn't he open Disneyland with no working water fountains and damp asphalt? You deal with it, and move on. Expecting perfection is setting yourself up for disappointment.

I hate that phrase too.

There isn't some magical pixie dust that keeps little kids from having meltdowns on vacation. People want things to be perfect and that isn't going to happen 24 hours a day. Meltdowns will happen no matter where you are and it's mom/dad's issue to deal with.