Bad experiences

[DisLee]

I have an interesting fact about this thread.


Out of the 79 posts in this thread ..... ONLY 9 POSTS ARE ABOUT BAD EXPERIENCES.

and about 70 posts are about explaining why we shouldn't read other people's bad experiences and why it doesn't matter and life is what you make it and things happen and ..... well there's probably a few more I left out. But MAYBE you will get the picture.


Thanks to the NINE posters who shared their info.

And for the others who made excuses, I'm really not sure what to say to you. You aren't contributing to the thread in a positive way.


I come here to read and learn. It helps me plan and make good choices.

I can learn just as much (OR EVEN MORE) from someone's BAD experiences as I can from someone's good experiences.

Maybe think about that before you post in here telling me not to read anything people may write about poor service, etc.

 

[maxiesmom]

I have an interesting fact about this thread.


Out of the 79 posts in this thread ..... ONLY 9 POSTS ARE ABOUT BAD EXPERIENCES.

and about 70 posts are about explaining why we shouldn't read other people's bad experiences and why it doesn't matter and life is what you make it and things happen and ..... well there's probably a few more I left out. But MAYBE you will get the picture.


Thanks to the NINE posters who shared their info.

And for the others who made excuses, I'm really not sure what to say to you. You aren't contributing to the thread in a positive way.


I come here to read and learn. It helps me plan and make good choices.

I can learn just as much (OR EVEN MORE) from someone's BAD experiences as I can from someone's good experiences.

Maybe think about that before you post in here telling me not to read anything people may write about poor service, etc.

I'm not sure if this poster is kidding or not. But on of chance that they are not:

How can hearing about some restrooms sometimes being messy help you plan? How can hearing on one night someone had a bad meal help you plan? Will you go the parks looking to criticize everything? How is that helpful in any way?

I'm also not seeing where anyone told you not to read about bad things, only to say take them with a grain of salt. People are more quick to post about the bad than the good. We find it much more interesting!

All you have to do is look at these boards to see the truth in that! The threads that get the longest are the ones where people disagree. The ones where everything is sunshine and roses quickly die.

 

[mking624]

I am not comparing it to perfection. I am comparing it, as are others, to what it used to be. To the standard that TDC set for itself. That standard was so high, that even as it has fallen, it is stiil, as you point out, heads above the rest.

I am not "bemoaning" your opinion. You are entitled to your opinion. My point was it seems as though many posters complain about posters that bemoan the fact that standards have fallen, rather than bemoaning the fact that standards have fallen.

It's wonderful that you choose to overlook things that "simply happen" but dirty bathrooms are a maintenance (and health) issue that can be remedied, not just a random occurance. It is also nice to hear that you have always experienced stellar guest service and I hope you never have to deal with the opposite. Unfortunately, according to many posts on this thread and others, not everyone has had your luck.

Actually, what you said was this:

We should bemoan the fact that people are willing to accept it now, in that state, not that others want it back to the surgical state.

I am not quite sure how that translates to "complain about the people who complain about the people who complain"...but more like "complain about the people who accept Disney for what it is, not the people who want change." I am not telling people to not desire improvement. But neither should we bemoan that fact that anyone is willing to accept it now (in your words). After all, they are ALL just a matter of opinion...and I don't view either opinion as more right or wrong. Just that we see things differently.

And my case is not simply a matter of luck. Just as people have had "bad" experiences (I use it in quotes because what is bad to one may not be to someone else), there are just as many people who have had good experiences.

The bottom line is that all of this is really a matter of opinion. If you look for the bad, you will find it. If you look for the good, you will find it. I choose to see the good, while also realizing that Disney, like every other place in the world, has its bad.

 

[minnie mum]

I have an interesting fact about this thread.


Out of the 79 posts in this thread ..... ONLY 9 POSTS ARE ABOUT BAD EXPERIENCES.

and about 70 posts are about explaining why we shouldn't read other people's bad experiences and why it doesn't matter and life is what you make it and things happen and ..... well there's probably a few more I left out. But MAYBE you will get the picture.


Thanks to the NINE posters who shared their info.

And for the others who made excuses, I'm really not sure what to say to you. You aren't contributing to the thread in a positive way.

I come here to read and learn. It helps me plan and make good choices.

I can learn just as much (OR EVEN MORE) from someone's BAD experiences as I can from someone's good experiences.

Maybe think about that before you post in here telling me not to read anything people may write about poor service, etc.

Are you the OP? I don't think so . So guess what? YOU don't get to tell the rest of us what we can or cannot post in response to the original question. I heartily suggest that you re-read it (see below). The OP wasn't asking for long lists of bad experiences. He/she was asking for exactly what you seem to be complaining about. If you want a (dirty)laundry list of horror stories, look elsewhere.

Unruly guests, attractions closed for days at a time, drunks at Epcot? I'm hoping these are exceptions rather than the norm. I've been to WDW 7 times in the last 14 years and I have never experienced any of these things. I just joined these boards recently in anticipation of our upcoming January trip. I've heard quite a few posters express that Disney isn't what it used to be. It's kind of taking the wind out of my sails for our next visit. Are these experiences really more common than they used to be or do people tend to share negative experiences more often than positive ones?

 

[mking624]

I'm not sure if this poster is kidding or not. But on of chance that they are not:

How can hearing about some restrooms sometimes being messy help you plan? How can hearing on one night someone had a bad meal help you plan? Will you go the parks looking to criticize everything? How is that helpful in any way?

I'm also not seeing where anyone told you not to read about bad things, only to say take them with a grain of salt. People are more quick to post about the bad than the good. We find it much more interesting!

All you have to do is look at these boards to see the truth in that! The threads that get the longest are the ones where people disagree. The ones where everything is sunshine and roses quickly die.

This exactly.
Having worked retail for many years, I definitely know that people are more willing to complain than pass on a compliment. I remember being told at my first job that a customer who experiences good service will tell a couple of people...but a customer who experiences bad service will tell pretty much everyone they know. In fact, surveys have been done that have shown that people are at least twice as likely to share a bad experience with service. That doesn't mean everything is bad...just that those who have a complaint are going to be way more vocal than those who don't. And we see that here even on the Dis...with the longest threads dealing with complaints/controversies/etc, just as you pointed out.

 

[FigmentChick]

Quote:
Originally Posted by safroim
Unruly guests, attractions closed for days at a time, drunks at Epcot? I'm hoping these are exceptions rather than the norm.

They are -- remember, people with negative experiences are far more likely to post than those with positive experiences.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Minerva Mouse
Someone once told me to "expect the worst, that way you won't be disappointed."

Something I like to call "optimistic pessimism."

I agree with all of you!

 

[lilipad]

I have an interesting fact about this thread.


Out of the 79 posts in this thread ..... ONLY 9 POSTS ARE ABOUT BAD EXPERIENCES.

and about 70 posts are about explaining why we shouldn't read other people's bad experiences and why it doesn't matter and life is what you make it and things happen and ..... well there's probably a few more I left out. But MAYBE you will get the picture.


Thanks to the NINE posters who shared their info.

And for the others who made excuses, I'm really not sure what to say to you. You aren't contributing to the thread in a positive way.


I come here to read and learn. It helps me plan and make good choices.

I can learn just as much (OR EVEN MORE) from someone's BAD experiences as I can from someone's good experiences.

Maybe think about that before you post in here telling me not to read anything people may write about poor service, etc.

So if you shared your "bad experience," only then were you contributing to the thread? Anything else was an excuse? Seriously?? I'm not discounting that fact that sometimes you can learn from other's "bad" experiences, but I honestly don't think that was the point of OP's post. I think OP was perhaps sharing how the wind was being knocked out of his or hers sails after reading some of these posts and was looking for some encouragement. That's how I read it. I know others interpreted it differently.

 

[larryz]

I have an interesting fact about this thread.


Out of the 79 posts in this thread ..... ONLY 9 POSTS ARE ABOUT BAD EXPERIENCES.

and about 70 posts are about explaining why we shouldn't read other people's bad experiences and why it doesn't matter and life is what you make it and things happen and ..... well there's probably a few more I left out. But MAYBE you will get the picture.


Thanks to the NINE posters who shared their info.

And for the others who made excuses, I'm really not sure what to say to you. You aren't contributing to the thread in a positive way.


I come here to read and learn. It helps me plan and make good choices.

I can learn just as much (OR EVEN MORE) from someone's BAD experiences as I can from someone's good experiences.

Maybe think about that before you post in here telling me not to read anything people may write about poor service, etc.

Thanks for the statistical summary. I read somewhere that 85% of "statistics" are made up on the spot.

Seriously, this is a discussion forum, not a Senate investigation. People say things, and other people contribute their ideas and thoughts on the subject. Besides, if the discussion gets too far off topic, someone will close it.

Nobody has yet said that blogs or forums are efficient methods of content delivery.

 

[Miche_503]

My kids grew up in the 80's. News programs, talk shows and magazines were telling us to ease up on discipline, I believe the trouble started here. Children were put in time out until the parents calmed down but were taught nothing about what they did wrong.

Some of us were looked at as child abusers when our kids were punished.

 

[KellyNY]

Ah, but it is a problem if numerous people acknowledge the same issue. And many people are noticing the decline at WDW. I only used the dirty restroom as an example but it applies to any of the other complaints people post about. However, it was the perfect example because this is a problem experienced almost universally throughout the world in public restrooms and it is easily resolved. Too many papertowels on the floor? Hand dryers. Too much toilet paper or dirty sinks? Bathroom attendant. Unrealistic in a theme park? Increase the number of employees so it can be inspected or cleaned more frequently throughout the day. You can profess it is not an issue that bothers you, but let's not pretend it's not a real issue.

I agree with you that it is most effective to complain at the time of the incident rather than waiting. But people also have a right to complain on the Disboards or other places where people with the same interests congregate. After all, complaining to other Disney fans has its benefits! The people are familiar with what you are referring to, may have had a similar experience or more often than not have the knowledge to counter with an intelligent argument. There will always be posters that exaggerate or are overly dramatic in their postings. Such is life, but we always have the option to ignore those posts.

As an aside, KellyNY, I am always pleased to see you respond to one of my posts, as you clearly explain your position and are passionate in your opinions.

Yes, number of people can experience same from time to time but it does not mean it is a problem, unless everyone always has same issue. How many real complains on board anyway? Most of complains come as general complains that Disney is in decline and most of those complains come from very same group of people here. So it is not that you see many complains, you see same posters posting the same thing again and again.
Is it good idea to post complain here? OK, why not. However you said "if nobody complains, nothing will change", board is not the place for that, you should complain to Disney.

 

[cmwade77]

Unruly guests, attractions closed for days at a time, drunks at Epcot? I'm hoping these are exceptions rather than the norm. I've been to WDW 7 times in the last 14 years and I have never experienced any of these things. I just joined these boards recently in anticipation of our upcoming January trip. I've heard quite a few posters express that Disney isn't what it used to be. It's kind of taking the wind out of my sails for our next visit. Are these experiences really more common than they used to be or do people tend to share negative experiences more often than positive ones?

The only time that we have experience drunk people at Epcot has been on New Year's Eve. Yes, there are some rude people, but just ignore them and enjoy your time in the parks.

And yes, there have been some bad experiences here and there for us at Disney, but overall there have been far more good experiences than bad. When the bad experiences have been Disney's fault (not very common and in some instances when they weren't), they have always been taken care of in some form or another.

 

[StarMoon]

We refer to our first family Disney vacation as the "vacation from hell". This was back in '91 and I was only 6 so I was engrossed with the magic of Disney and didn't care about anything else, and almost nothing that went wrong on our trip had anything to do with the parks themselves. When my Dad was younger he was very much into the wilderness and hiking and camping and everything so we camped at Fort Wilderness. At the time the campgrounds were sand, (no clue if it's still like that) and like clockwork around 4:30...rain. So, not only was there sand everywhere (in the tent, in our shoes etc) when we came back from a day at the park we were sleeping on wet sand. We drove down and my Dad got food poisoning on our way down there. While we were there my Grandfather suffered a heart attack (he ended up passing away later that year too) and of course then only the rich had cell phones (and they were the really really clunky/big ones too) so my Grandmother had called, it must have been the campground itself because there was a note on our windshield about an emergency at home. Well we weren't driving to the parks we were using the buses, so I think the note was left there a good 2 to 3 days before someone noticed it. On our way back we had stopped at a pretty spot (can't remember what state we were in) for a family picture. My sister was accidentally standing on an ant hill...it was fire ants. My mom had brought half the drugstore in her purse with her so she had some things to give to my sister to alleviate the pain after my dad got the fire ants off of her. So among the chaos of the fire ant debacle we ended up driving off...my mom's purse sitting right where she left it when she took it out of the car to get the meds. She was our "vacation manager" and she had everything in there including credit cards and everything that had information about our vacation. We went back to the spot and it was gone. By this point my poor mom was going hysterical. Luckily my Dad kept a cool head and we went to the local police station and thank God someone had turned it in.
I still had a great time and now we laugh at almost everything that was disastrous on our trip. We went back two more times after that and I've been going with my friend for the last few trips (and the one in October)

I agree it's all about what you take away from it. For some other family it could have been very easy for them to say 'never again' even though almost none of the problems had anything to do with Disney. But what are you going to do? It's impossible to please everyone and there will always always be that one person that says "I hate it" I just ignore that attitude and go on enjoying my vacations down there.