BAD Disney Experience...

[KellyNY]

Now, can we stick a fork in this thread? I tried to walk away, hoping it would quietly go away, but it KEEPS COMING BACK!

Ginny, once you open the thread it gets life on its own. You can always PM moderators and ask to close it but actually while you were given hard time by some people thread is very useful. it is one of those threads with open solution and it is good to see what people think about it.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Compassion? Difficult for some people to show. Difficult for some people to recognize.

HOWEVER I TOTALLY AGREE that the cast member should never have shrugged and said whatever. Really and truly I would have had him/her fired. (did he/she really do that? I'm flabbergasted at the nerve of that CM)

There were 3 CMs there. I can understand if one is having a bad day, or is new, but all three of them! And my purpose of the thread wasn't to complain here, it was really to find out if anyone had had a bad experience and if a CM had made it better. That got a little... derailed.

Ginny, once you open the thread it gets life on its own. You can always PM moderators and ask to close it but actually while you were given hard time by some people thread is very useful. it is one of those threads with open solution and it is good to see what people think about it.

Thanks, Kelly, if you think it is helpful, I won't have it locked. I just don't think I'll be coming back as every time I do I get flashbacks of "entitled bad parent with a snowflake brat".

 

[zackiedawg]

Hey Ginny...look at the silver lining of this thread...

Compared to the beating you've been taking in this thread, that little Snow White incident doesn't look so bad anymore!

See! Glass-half-full perspective.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Now, can we stick a fork in this thread? I tried to walk away, hoping it would quietly go away, but it KEEPS COMING BACK!

It's too late for that. It is now sentient.

In another 19 pages...

 

[alliejay]

Ginny - walk away from this thread. This is normal for the board- you'll see. I was surprised when I first came here as well. Put your duck feathers on and don't let it bother you.

There are lots of nice people here who share a TON of incredibly useful information that will make future trips so much fun.

 

[kristennn]

Maybe if everyone started posting their "less than perfect" Disney stories - than first timers would go in expecting it to be somewhere short of perfect.

OP originally stated part of the reason she was so surprised by how the situation played out was because she had read so many glowing magical stories here on this board.

and to the previous poster who mentioned that some people loathe to interact like children as a potential reason for why the CM was indifferent - Thank you for making me laugh out loud! It;s funny - the idea of people who "loathe" children getting jobs as character handlers at Disney!

I Am though starting to think there are plenty of posters here on this board that loathe children (not just from this thread) it seems like we have a number of adult posters who are a little jealous that children get special treatment at Disney that they don't - and are irritated that there are so many children at Disney in the first place. It's ironic!

 

[Jennasis]

There were 3 CMs there. I can understand if one is having a bad day, or is new, but all three of them! And my purpose of the thread wasn't to complain here, it was really to find out if anyone had had a bad experience and if a CM had made it better. That got a little... derailed.

Ah. Then WHY did you start your post with a complaint?

You are new here, so you were likely unaware that everything you post will be dissected, analyzed, judged, reworded, taken the wrong way, thrown back in your face, and saved for future reference to whip out if you ever mistakenly post something personal again. It's the way of the DIS.

If your true intention is fact finding or seeing if anyone had a bad/good/funny/gassy/loud/embarassing/gross/leg-humping experience, simply ASK the question and don't offer any of your personal stuff...cause everything you say is fair game and will be used against you.


The way of the DIS.

 

[cmurray234]

kristenn, LOVE your signature.

 

[foodrocksluver]

kristenn, LOVE your signature.

Me too! It's either terribly ironic or she changed it after reading this disaster of a thread.

 

[KGK]

Ah. Then WHY did you start your post with a complaint?

You are new here, so you were likely unaware that everything you post will be dissected, analyzed, judged, reworded, taken the wrong way, thrown back in your face, and saved for future reference to whip out if you ever mistakenly post something personal again. It's the way of the DIS.

If your true intention is fact finding or seeing if anyone had a bad/good/funny/gassy/loud/embarassing/gross/leg-humping experience, simply ASK the question and don't offer any of your personal stuff...cause everything you say is fair game and will be used against you.


The way of the DIS.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Did I ever tell you guys about the time I went to Disney World and they cured my cancer? Such courteous CMs. So magical; money well spent.

 

[kristennn]

kristenn, LOVE your signature.

Thanks! I tried to add an old picture to try and take the sassy up a notch - but it must be too big. Man - I am really feeling entitled to extra space for my picture right now.

 

[cmurray234]

Thanks! I tried to add an old picture to try and take the sassy up a notch - but it must be too big. Man - I am really feeling entitled to extra space for my picture right now.

aahahahahahahahaha.

 

[NLD]

There were 3 CMs there. I can understand if one is having a bad day, or is new, but all three of them! And my purpose of the thread wasn't to complain here, it was really to find out if anyone had had a bad experience and if a CM had made it better. That got a little... derailed.

Hi Ginny,

I'm sorry about your experience! Not the most magical way to introduce a child to Disney, that's for sure.

FWIW I didn't see any entitlement in any of your posts, in fact to me they seemed very much NOT entitled. You didn't express any expectation of being GIVEN something, you expressed some desire for the CM's to have DONE something. And your three-year-old sounds like a normal three-year-old, too.

Finally, I think it is totally normal to start a thread like this asking for other folks' experiences.

______________________

To answer the actual question...

My dd's first trip to Disney was in 2009, at age five years old. We arrived in the afternoon and went to MK for the evening.

Early in the evening I bought her a Tinkerbell light-up toy from one of the cart vendors. $15 or so. Other places, I'd have refused to spend that on a glow toy... but we were at Disney, and I figured a week of spoiling dd was okay.

So she got her toy and within a half hour, she dropped it on the pavement and it broke. She was disappointed. Not tantruming, but disappointed.

It occurred to me that maybe the vendor who'd sold it could tell us how to fix it. (It wasn't shattered, it was just the battery cover had come off and when I tried to put it back together, it wouldn't light up. It did look like something that might have a "trick" to it in terms of fixing it.)

We were close to the vendor, so we walked over. I told the CM what had happened and started to ask if she knew of any way to fix it, but she just smiled, took the broken toy, handed us a brand new one, and refused any payment.

The look on dd's face was PRICELESS. We made sure to say many thank yous.

In that moment, in my daughter's first hours ever in Disney World, that one CM made me a loyal customer. We went on that trip thinking it would be years, if ever, before going back. I grew up with day-trips to DL, but living in Pennsylvania now, regular trips to Disney World just weren't on my radar.

But that was 2009, and in 2010 when my sister and I wanted a vacation together (just us), we chose Disney World. And in 2011 when I was in Orlando for a work conference, I had to stop into MK. And now in 2012, I'm taking my daughter back again....

...while trying to figure out how to get us back in 2013 for the new Fantasyland.

And yes, that $15 glow toy is an integral part of that. It set the stage for me in how I think about the place. Even thinking about it now, I get a smile on my face and swelling of appreciation for that CM.

P.S. We still have that toy, it still lights up, and dd still plays with it and remembers the kindness of that CM.

Dd and her magical glow toy...


Tinkerbell Aglow by nicole_lynn_, on Flickr

 

[cmurray234]

NLD - that is a LOVELY post....and it goes to prove that a great "above and beyond" customer service moment can make a HUGE difference.

 

[maxiesmom]

NLD - that is a LOVELY post....and it goes to prove that a great "above and beyond" customer service moment can make a HUGE difference.

Or you could have had an experience like mine. My last stay on property, I was down-graded from a preferred room at the Music to a standard room. First off they insisted that I had booked a standard room. When I pulled out my reservation which clearly stated preferred room, they looked stunned. Then they told me it was in part due to my late arrival (7pm) that the room I had paid for in advance, and in fact had used Advance Check in for, was gone. Like it was my fault! It took an e-mail once I was home to get the extra money for the preferred room I didn't get back. To be fair, they also gave me a bit more, but I shouldn't have had to fight for it.

Or there was the time I booked a moderate resort expressly because of the pool and slide, only to find out when we arrived at the pool ready to swim that the slide would be closed our whole trip. And when I went down to the desk to ask why they wouldn't notify us at check in, or by a note in our room that the slide would be closed our whole stay, the manager on duty told me they could shut down whatever they wanted to without notice, and didn't have to tell me anything. I had one very disappointed 9yr old with me, and the best they could do was tell me to walk to the neighboring resort. Heck, if I knew the slide would be closed the whole time I would have just booked at the neighboring resort. I got nothing for that inconvenience, and it wasn't an isolated part of our vacation. It was something we delt with every day.

Disney isn't always sunshine and rainbows, even though we think it should be. At times you have to know it is what it is and go on with your vacation.

 

[KellyNY]

Thanks, Kelly, if you think it is helpful, I won't have it locked. I just don't think I'll be coming back as every time I do I get flashbacks of "entitled bad parent with a snowflake brat".

Do not pay attention Ginny, I and many on this thread do not think that you or your kid are in any way entitled people. You had a bad experience and just wanted to share it. I hope to see you on other threads.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Do not pay attention Ginny, I and many on this thread do not think that you or your kid are in any way entitled people. You had a bad experience and just wanted to share it. I hope to see you on other threads.

Doesn't happen often, but WE agree!

 

[KellyNY]

Doesn't happen often, but WE agree!

 

[NLD]

Disney isn't always sunshine and rainbows, even though we think it should be. At times you have to know it is what it is and go on with your vacation.

Agreed. I have no illusions Disney is perfect. Getting a replacement toy free of charge was NOT expected, which is why it was so magical and left such a good impression.

And that is horrible what happened to you, with the preferred room especially.

I'll be the first to say WDW doesn't do everything right. In fact I think you and I have been on opposing sides of the cc guarantee at the restaurants now... I despise the cancellation window and think they are REALLY dropping ball on that. And I don't think they did right by the OP's daughter...

The flip side of that is that a little excellent customer service ("service" not necessarily "compensation") can change the whole tone for someone.

I wish the CMs had been a little more customer-friendly to the OP's daughter. Did they do anything wrong? Not really. But they sure missed an opportunity to do something REALLY RIGHT--and then maybe, instead of this story the OP gave us, we'd all be posting on a thread about how fabulous Disney's customer service was. If you're WDW, which kind of press would you prefer?

Ginny, wishing you some magical moments on future trips!