Bad first impression of the Polynesian

[Sir Ron]

My DF and I love the style of the Polynesian (We have not stayed there yet though). We're getting married at the Shades of Green Resort at WDW next month so we came down this past weekend for a site visit and for my future wife to get hair trial done, etc. Anyways, after visiting SoG, we took her mother over to the Polynesian to let her see it. She seemed interested in possibly booking a future visit there since we've helped her rekindle her Disney love. We were hungry so we went to Captain Cook's. They grabbed a table outside while I grabbed the food. Well, the food was OK but every trashcan outside was overflowing with trash all over the top. The flies were having a field day! Honestly, that was the most embarrassed I have ever been at Disney. I felt like I was at Six Flags. I told someone inside about it but while we were there, no one emptied the trash. Now, I've been to WDW plenty of times and realize this isn't normal but I've never seen the counter service area that nasty at a value much less the Poly!

 

[ConcKahuna]

Wow, that is very unusual. Hopefully they got it fixed soon.

I hate flies with my lunch

 

[Jrabbit910]

First Congrats on your upcoming wedding....
second- Eeewww Gross.... I am so surprised that no one went out there to clean them up! Who wants to eat around flies?!?!?!?!
Are you still going to give the resort a chance or are you going to look to book elsewhere?

 

[boomhauer]

Now, I've been to WDW plenty of times and realize this isn't normal but I've never seen the counter service area that nasty at a value much less the Poly!

Sadly, as of late, this is becoming not the normal, but alot more noticeable. I remember 3 or 4 years ago staying at ASMovies, there was a pizza box sitting on top of a trash can one morning. That same box was still there 3 days later.

No question - Disney has slipped a bit in cleanliness.

 

[hmp2z]

I will agree that it's not just the Poly - the cleanliness standards are slipping all over the parks. They're having a really difficult time hiring cleaning staff (we're Orlando locals so see ads, promotions, etc.) In the past 1-2 years, we've had personal evidence of this problem, as well as reading about others' issues with this.

There was a thread a few days ago about someone whose family checked in & was given a room that hadn't been cleaned yet. Someone else about a week ago mentioned that they came back from the parks at 3:40, wanting a rest, and their room hadn't been cleaned yet at that late hour. We've seen photos of the mold left growing in GF rooms. My brother & his wife stayed at a WDW value resort & one of their 2 beds had a big, yellow, wet urine spot on it. It's kinda crazy, and I think that Disney needs to suck it up and raise salaries or pay for work visas or do whatever they have to do to solve this problem. But then again, my standards for Disney are high.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[boomhauer]

It's kinda crazy, and I think that Disney needs to suck it up and raise salaries or pay for work visas or do whatever they have to do to solve this problem. But then again, my standards for Disney are high.

I get emails from Disney about job fairs. Pay is between $7 - $9 per hour. It's a joke.

I agree. I haven't been to Universal in some time but from what I hear, their parks and resorts are immaculate. Sea World was last year too. Disney needs to get back on the ball.

 

[kelscross]

I agree things have been slipping. One of our trips you almost had to wade through the trash in the line for Peter Pan. I was appalled...I know people shouldn't be throwing their trash on the ground, but in all my trips to Disney I had never seen the parks/resorts so unclean. I used to be impressed but I'm having to lower my expectations for this next trip so I'm not so shocked.

 

[holbear]

That is too bad. It just should not be like that!
We just returned a couple days ago from our trip. Most things were very clean, but at the Mexico counter service a couple trash cans were overflowing. Birds were actually hopping in and out of the trash bins to get food because the lids wouldn't close. People were putting their dirty trays on top of the bins because there was no where else to place them.

 

[nhmomx2]

I've been going to WDW since 1976. I can remember a time when you didn't see so much as a piece of popcorn on the ground let alone overflowing trash cans. Yes, I know the shear volume of people in and out of the parks has grown tremendously since thten, but still. That was part of the Disney Magic! Growing up we stayed at the Poly - every other year from '77-'89. My expectations were huge!!

We stayed at the Poly last August because that's where my sister & her family were staying - we rented our DVC points to pay cash...that was a mistake. I remember the smells of gardenias when were were there, the overly friendly staff, the immaculately clean grounds & rooms. We had to call housekeeping twice to come dust off the over the fridge counter and to replace a lightbulb...when I say dust I mean they hadn't dusted this counter in weeks! I was highly disappointed!! There were room service trays in the hall ALL day long as well.

All that being said...while I may not go back to the Poly...we have a trip booked for the BWV next month...here's hoping my dues don't go to waste

 

[ConcKahuna]

Always remeber when you see this kind of stuff (or good things) to let Disney know. wdw.guest.communications@disney.com is a great place, or just find a manager.

I've written many a letter in my time, and they always get a response.

 

[Tink3Belle]

I agree they are letting their standards down. I remember long ago if anyone dropped a piece of paper in the park there was a person to sweep it up within seconds - Oh the good ole days. They have a reputation to live up to and they need to live up to it if they was to keep customers happy.

 

[Troy08]

I get emails from Disney about job fairs. Pay is between $7 - $9 per hour. It's a joke.

>>>>>>I suppose at those incredibly low paying wages, health insurance is out of the question????

I remember like others the times when if a candy wrapper was dropped on the ground a CM would magically appear and sweep it up.

I am surprised with the overflowing trash issue-what with the intense florida hear and flies, I would think it would become a sanitary issue. Are there not health inspectors that regularly check the parks/hotels for these kinds of situations?

 

[BionicEar]

Always remeber when you see this kind of stuff (or good things) to let Disney know. wdw.guest.communications@disney.com is a great place, or just find a manager.

I've written many a letter in my time, and they always get a response.

While I understand that the DIS is a good place to vent about this, it is my sincere hope that all of you who have similar complaints take the time to let the bigwigs at Disney know about this. If you can spend a few minutes writing a post on the DIS, you can spend an extra few minutes sending that email.

Personally, I haven't seen the problems mentioned above. But if I do, you can bet I'll be flagging down a general manager of a resort, or make a stop at guest relations on my way out of a park AND send an email.

 

[mareemouse]

Maybe, instead of posting and reading stories of how Disney is slipping in it's maintenace and service of resorts.....we should be writing to the company itself !!!!
This is a very large board, if they get enough negative response from the people who support them the most, there may possibly be a change or two !

Also, I don't think it matters if the problem is at a luxury resort or a value resort. Every single person has saved and looked forward to their trip. Service and maintenance should be the same for both !

 

[branv]

In 2004 DH and I traveled to the Poly to see the water parade. I remember walking in and being surprised by how aged everything looked. It didn't help that one of the first thing I saw was a huge cobweb inside the lobby.

DH was feeling hungry, so we went to Captain Cooks to grab a bite. The place was absolutely trashed. Junk all over the tables, crumbs and food dried on them as though they hadn't been washed in hours, trash on the the floor, overflowing trash cans, and to top it off some fairly rude counter service.

As we sat on the beach, DH and I discussed that while the location and beach were nice, we just didn't get why anyone would pay so much to stay there. I often wonder if I would have the same hesitancy if I'd seen it on a better day or after they'd completed some of the refurbs I've seen online (though I still really really hate those bedspreads But ugly bedspreads seem to be a WDW thing.)

To be fair, it's definitely not just a Poly thing (though I personally do think at those rates it seems even more inexcusable). We stayed at POP once and around 2 pm walked into the food court to get a late lunch. It was like a ghost town, only one other family eating, but the seating area looked like a hurricane had blown in. On one table I swear a cupcake must have exploded and not a single booth table was clean. We even saw some scrambled eggs spilled onto a table...and isn't breakfast over at 11 am? We finally had to ask someone to clean us a spot...so a person came out, cleaned one table, then left. We were there for 30 minutes and still not a single person came out to clean up. I have no idea to this day how long it had sat like that before we came in, and how long it was like that after we left.

 

[kaysmommie]

I've been going to WDW since 1976. I can remember a time when you didn't see so much as a piece of popcorn on the ground let alone overflowing trash cans. Yes, I know the shear volume of people in and out of the parks has grown tremendously since thten, but still. That was part of the Disney Magic! Growing up we stayed at the Poly - every other year from '77-'89. My expectations were huge!!

We stayed at the Poly last August because that's where my sister & her family were staying - we rented our DVC points to pay cash...that was a mistake. I remember the smells of gardenias when were were there, the overly friendly staff, the immaculately clean grounds & rooms. We had to call housekeeping twice to come dust off the over the fridge counter and to replace a lightbulb...when I say dust I mean they hadn't dusted this counter in weeks! I was highly disappointed!! There were room service trays in the hall ALL day long as well.

All that being said...while I may not go back to the Poly...we have a trip booked for the BWV next month...here's hoping my dues don't go to waste

Can you please tell me what building you were staying in at the Poly ? Thanks.

 

[lovmy2girls]

haven't read all the other post, but we have been to the Poly many times, and I have never, never seen a trash can overflowing. something must have been up......staff problem, worker on long break...I don't know...I hope you visit again.

 

[Sammie]

Standards are not slipping they are understaffed. In the past, the garbage would have been emptied so often, no one would have ever noticed.

However when you are short staffed, then things do not get done as often. Possibly you came over just after a very busy time at the restaurant and the staff simply had not had time to empty the trash.

As stated pay is low, hours are long and the competition for workers is great. Orlando has over built its available manpower for these jobs and yet Disney continues to expand.

And before anyone says raise the pay, when you start paying your housekeeping staff more than your clerical, then you have to raise everyone's wages then, before you know it you have to raise the prices of food and rooms, etc. Everyone complains about how expensive it is now, I don't think anyone would support price increases.

The sad thing as Disney continues to expand it is not going to get any better.

 

[Gary M]

WDW will also not improve as long as the crowds continue to come. I have been going to WDW about 3 times a year since 1992 and the standards have been lowered in the last few years. I have stayed at several WDW resorts during this time, for about a week per stay. One stay at the Poly was enough for me.

 

[nhmomx2]

kaysmommie - we stayed in Samoa last year. Growing up we always stayed in Fiji - of course, back then there weren't as many longhouses

We ALWAYS let those that need to know when/if we come across the good, the bad, and the ugly. We are firm believers in letting management know when someone is doing a good job as well as when someone is falling down. Disney standards are most definitely not up to what they used to be (geez, I sound like my father "when I was a kid..."). Will that stop me from going - nope! There's still some of Walt's magic left in the company...they just need to figure out how to keep it flowing!