Bad Trip

[MAO]

How can a 1st time trip ever be magical with all there is to know? How can anyone who has never been there understand all the planning that it takes? WDW is promising *Magic* but they haven't a clue on how to deliver without a personal tour guide and planner!

Which you could have had, for the money. From Disney's website: "With the help of your own VIP Tour Guide, enjoy maximum fun with minimal fuss—and the Disney vacation of a lifetime." Granted, there's a max of 10 people per tour guide, so you'd have to purchase the services of two of them, but it's certainly something that you could have done.

I don't think anyone here is saying that it's *all* your fault that you had a 'bad trip' only that it's not Disney's, either. You've been encouraged multiple times on this thread to contact Disney with your concerns. Please do so and perhaps that will help you recover your equanimity.

 

[disneynutz]

Disney is not perfect and the CM's aren't really trained that well. Our family joke is to just keep asking the same question to different CM's until you get the answer you want.

It took us several WDW vacations just to figure out Disney transportation due to the different answers that we got from the CM'S.

Experience at WDW is your only hope unless you pay for a tour guide but even then we had disappointment with the guides on the regular tours.

Hate to admit this but people watching and hearing people talk about what they think they know about WDW is one of our hobbies. Did you know that you can "take a boat from BWI to the Magic Kingdom" or that "DVC is a private club that only rich people can afford"?

Bill

 

[Dean]

But the OP was upset. I haven't done this yet, but I'm sure you feel more responsible when you are the host, as OP was. Its almost like its your home, and you feel that each mistake is a reflection on you. I'm sure there was a ton of planning involved here, and while the problems may seem minor when we are reading these from the comforts of our home, I'm sure they are major when you are there, and its just one thing after another!

But this is a result of personal situation and not necessarily Disney's shortcomings. We routinely travel to vacation spots with 25-40 people and it doesn't take much experience for one to realize that one must over plan to avoid issues. Transportation at Disney is an area where it's easy to know one must check out the angles. Heaven knows it's discussed here enough that it'd be difficult to routinely read DIS and not pick up on such matters but it's also common sense.

I knew when I posted this I would have plenty of people who would feel my issues were insignificent But, my daughter paid over $7000 for this trip (room, tickets, and airfare) and will not be coming back. It really bothered me that I was the host and the trip just fell apart. I really wanted a 5 star experience and sadly Disney didn't deliver. One thing I've learned from this is I will never make an advance dining reservation. No restaurant is worth a 90 minute one way trip out of my day for $900. After reading these posts, I feel like complaining to Disney is just a waste of my time. Maybe they are minor details, but having a cast member address an issue you have with "Let It Go" is not amusing to me

Again, we weren't there and all we can address are the factual specifics. IMO if you were expecting 5 star out of Disney, you're expectations were not realistic. Disney is 4 star on it's best day and maybe 3 to 3.5 where DVC is involved. Plus, as noted, many of the issues stated were more lack of planning/understanding than the fault of Disney.

This was a Grand Gathering of 19 people. I don't think we'd all fit in a car. Plus, why would you drive a car from the Wilderness Lodge to the campground?

But you would fit in 3-4 cars or taxi's so there were options if you chose to use them. I know when we made phone reservations the last time we were told the boat's didn't run that late.

 

[tink'smom2B]

Some people are missing the point that no one wants to come back and become experienced. Doesn't that bother anyone else reading this?

 

[vicki_c]

Some people are missing the point that no one wants to come back and become experienced. Doesn't that bother anyone else reading this?

I think that's unfortunate and disappointing for you, but I think there are a lot of factors at play and I don't see them all as the fault of Disney.

 

[Dean]

Some people are missing the point that no one wants to come back and become experienced. Doesn't that bother anyone else reading this?

It doesn't me, it's their choice. It seems the bad experience (as presented which is all we have to go on) was based more on incorrect expectations and less than ideal planning than on anything Disney did or didn't do. I understand how it can be frustrating when it works out this way but there really isn't much to change from a system standpoint. Certainly they are not going to change the transportation options to better accommodate these type of issues. For it to bother me, Disney would have had to fall down on what they commit to doing and other than a CM who didn't know the answer when you did, I didn't hear much, if any, of that. Still, I'm sorry it worked out this way for you. As the planner for our family trips, I know how I'd feel if we had a bad trip even if it wasn't someone's fault. I learned very quickly when, where and how to plan to avoid such issues. IMO the most important choices to avoid issues are:

• Don't overplan
• Allow for a lot flexibility
• Give everyone space and options
• Go with the flow.
• Establish rules
• and most importantly, those that tend to bring drama will be worse on such a trip, not better.

We have a summer trip coming up in a couple of months with roughly 32-34 people. All I'm going to plan from a group standpoint is a single meal together and I will arrive earlier than everyone else to make sure all is in order with the villas. For that single meal I've already canvased the group as to their choice and made contact with the restaurant for a tentative reservation. I've planned a late lunch because it gives me the best chance of everyone being there around when they are supposed to and will be cheaper than dinner by about 1/3. We've done the same at Disney and planned little more for those trips as well.

 

[tink'smom2B]

Well, here is another couple of problems we had at Be Our Guest on Tuesday for lunch. We arrived at our allotted time, parked our double wide stroller alongside all the other parked strollers, and proceeded to the podium. Two CMs were there to check us in. Female CM tells daughter, "Oh, you don't want to try and eat with your little baby on your lap. You should bring your stroller inside so you can eat comfortably". We knew there was a NO stroller policy and said we had already parked the stroller and were Ok with it. She proceeds to argue with us and insists we bring the stroller inside. After much back and forth, frustrated daughter brings the stroller inside. Of course, we get dirty looks from everyone and frustrated servers have trouble getting their carts around us. Daughter finds a seat and very soon after the manager comes over to her and says, "I hear you have some questions about our stroller policy" and proceeds to tell her in great detail why they don't allow strollers inside the restaurant. Then asks her to get it out of the way and park it against a nearby wall. It wasn't her fault and she was nearly in tears. WHY did that CM set us up like that? Also, when I checked in at the resort, the girl at the front desk wouldn't allow me to de-activate the charging on the magic bands. She said a credit card must be attached to the room reservation. She said no one would be able to charge anything without also using the Pin Number. Well, guess what! At Be Our Guest, all you have to do is click Pay Now and touch your magic band to the screen! Voila! No Pin Required! Thanks again to the front desk girl for her misinformation
Yes, this vacation was death from a thousand small cuts!

 

[katiekomo]

Some people are missing the point that no one wants to come back and become experienced. Doesn't that bother anyone else reading this?

It stinks that something that makes you happy didn't make your family happy. Maybe a different sort of trip would fit your family needs better. My inlaws take a trip together each year. I'd love to add WDW to the list of places we go, but I know that would not go well. They are 'sit on the beach' people. Taking all 12 (and counting) of them to WDW would stress everyone out. I would not be setting us up for success. It's truly frustrating that you had a bad trip. I hate bad trips! But no, it doesn't bother me that they don't want to go back. WDW is not for everyone. I would consider taking a special trip with just one or two of the family members sometime in the future, but it sounds like a huge 19-person blow out trip is not the best choice for your family. And that's ok. I recently took one portion of my inlaws (my family of three and their family of three) and I felt so much pressure for everything to be perfect. So I totally get the build-up, pressure and extreme let down you are feeling. Truly sorry that things were so awful. I think you might feel better after you've told disney. I know I would.

 

[tink'smom2B]

It stinks that something that makes you happy didn't make your family happy. Maybe a different sort of trip would fit your family needs better. My inlaws take a trip together each year. I'd love to add WDW to the list of places we go, but I know that would not go well. They are 'sit on the beach' people. Taking all 12 (and counting) of them to WDW would stress everyone out. I would not be setting us up for success. It's truly frustrating that you had a bad trip. I hate bad trips! But no, it doesn't bother me that they don't want to go back. WDW is not for everyone. I would consider taking a special trip with just one or two of the family members sometime in the future, but it sounds like a huge 19-person blow out trip is not the best choice for your family. And that's ok. I recently took one portion of my inlaws (my family of three and their family of three) and I felt so much pressure for everything to be perfect. So I totally get the build-up, pressure and extreme let down you are feeling. Truly sorry that things were so awful. I think you might feel better after you've told disney. I know I would.

Yes, I'm sure that I feel more let down than anyone else since I was the planner and didn't come through. We will take other trips together, just not at WDW. I'm sure Disney will never notice whether we come back or not.

 

[tink'smom2B]

It doesn't me, it's their choice. It seems the bad experience (as presented which is all we have to go on) was based more on incorrect expectations and less than ideal planning than on anything Disney did or didn't do. I understand how it can be frustrating when it works out this way but there really isn't much to change from a system standpoint. Certainly they are not going to change the transportation options to better accommodate these type of issues. For it to bother me, Disney would have had to fall down on what they commit to doing and other than a CM who didn't know the answer when you did, I didn't hear much, if any, of that. Still, I'm sorry it worked out this way for you. As the planner for our family trips, I know how I'd feel if we had a bad trip even if it wasn't someone's fault. I learned very quickly when, where and how to plan to avoid such issues. IMO the most important choices to avoid issues are:

• Don't overplan
• Allow for a lot flexibility
• Give everyone space and options
• Go with the flow.
• Establish rules
• and most importantly, those that tend to bring drama will be worse on such a trip, not better.

We have a summer trip coming up in a couple of months with roughly 32-34 people. All I'm going to plan from a group standpoint is a single meal together and I will arrive earlier than everyone else to make sure all is in order with the villas. For that single meal I've already canvased the group as to their choice and made contact with the restaurant for a tentative reservation. I've planned a late lunch because it gives me the best chance of everyone being there around when they are supposed to and will be cheaper than dinner by about 1/3. We've done the same at Disney and planned little more for those trips as well.

I sincerely hope your gathering goes better than mine. And just maybe if you have a member of your party that has several bad experiences, you can just turn to them and sing, "Let it Go" and everything will be just fine

 

[Millionaire2K]

It turned into a nightmare. Screaming babies, annoying kids, angry husband. The boat captain didn't help either. He kept talking to my husband about Bay Lake trivia.

I supported your complaint at first. However you lost me at this... Screaming babies and annoying kids at WDW? DEAR GOD!!

I don't see how Disney is to blame for any of these complaints. Should Disney pass out muzzles for the kids so they don't bother you? And what is wrong with the boat captain talking? "how dare that servant talk to me" is the impression I get from this complaint. The boat cap is a person you know.

 

[Millionaire2K]

I sincerely hope your gathering goes better than mine. And just maybe if you have a member of your party that has several bad experiences, you can just turn to them and sing, "Let it Go" and everything will be just fine

I think you need to "let it go". If 19 people are going to WDW you can't expect all of them to enjoy the same things. You should plan for time apart where people can go off to do exclusive things others might not want to do. Plan the trip based on what everyone wants to do. I'm not saying you should be apart, but it never hurts for a large group to split to try different stuff a few times during the trip.

I find this helps when not everyone is into it.

And remember not everyone loves Disney like us. DO NOT BE UPSET IF THEY DON'T LIKE DISNEY.

PS. I hope your Halloween trip goes MUCH better.

 

[Dean]

Yes, this vacation was death from a thousand small cuts!

But they're all he said/she said from what I can see. As I see it, there really isn't a constructive specific item in the bunch. At most it'd be a general "train the people better". These are the type of issues that where complaining is appropriate, should be handled in real time.

I sincerely hope your gathering goes better than mine. And just maybe if you have a member of your party that has several bad experiences, you can just turn to them and sing, "Let it Go" and everything will be just fine

Been planning such trips for large groups for 16 years (about 12-13 trips now) as many as 24-40 people plus many smaller complicated trips like 3 weeks in HI, several Aruba & MX trips; etc. If we have an issue it'll be something beyond my control and most likely an act of God. We've had stove's go out when we were preparing group meals, 39 people for Xmas dinner in a single 2 BR and many birthdays/anniversaries parties/meals along the way.

 

[tink'smom2B]

But they're all he said/she said from what I can see. As I see it, there really isn't a constructive specific item in the bunch. At most it'd be a general "train the people better". These are the type of issues that where complaining is appropriate, should be handled in real time.

We talked to the manager at Be Our Guest about the stroller incident. He didn't care. Who do I talk to about the charges on my room? I didn't authorize them, so maybe the resort should remove them. Sometimes it's impossible to "handle" in "real time". Or, maybe you try to "handle" it and just get more frustrated when people argue with you. You seem to defend Disney no matter what. When you say it's all about he said/she said, that is what can make or break a vacation. Interaction with Disney cast members becomes My Disney Experience. All I'm saying is my experience was frustrating. I hope your experience is far better. Yes, it is time to "Let it Go" and I will find somewhere else to spend my hard earned money.

 

[tink'smom2B]

I also want to say that if you all experience your vacations like this one, I feel sorry for you and wonder why you would ever come back. This was my 19th trip and aside from the snakes at the VWL a few years ago, this was my worst. I've always had so much fun here I wanted to share it again with my grown kids. If this is a typical Disney vacation - full of stress and disappointment - then I really feel sorry for you.

 

[Dean]

We talked to the manager at Be Our Guest about the stroller incident. He didn't care. Who do I talk to about the charges on my room? I didn't authorize them, so maybe the resort should remove them. Sometimes it's impossible to "handle" in "real time". Or, maybe you try to "handle" it and just get more frustrated when people argue with you. You seem to defend Disney no matter what. When you say it's all about he said/she said, that is what can make or break a vacation. Interaction with Disney cast members becomes My Disney Experience. All I'm saying is my experience was frustrating. I hope your experience is far better. Yes, it is time to "Let it Go" and I will find somewhere else to spend my hard earned money.

It's not about defending Disney but rather looking at these issues objectively as presented. As for room charges, if you placed a CC and the MB was used, you did authorize them in a sense. IMO there are things you handle in real time or you move on. For the most part, the things you've posted are "you had to be there" type issues and those things really have to be handled in real time or not at all to be reasonable. After the fact is worthless IMO for such matters. I'm getting the sense your expectations were too high and therefore you may have set yourself up for failure. I'm sorry it worked out that way for you.

 

[Sammie]

Well, here is another couple of problems we had at Be Our Guest on Tuesday for lunch. We arrived at our allotted time, parked our double wide stroller alongside all the other parked strollers, and proceeded to the podium. Two CMs were there to check us in. Female CM tells daughter, "Oh, you don't want to try and eat with your little baby on your lap. You should bring your stroller inside so you can eat comfortably". We knew there was a NO stroller policy and said we had already parked the stroller and were Ok with it. She proceeds to argue with us and insists we bring the stroller inside. After much back and forth, frustrated daughter brings the stroller inside. Of course, we get dirty looks from everyone and frustrated servers have trouble getting their carts around us. Daughter finds a seat and very soon after the manager comes over to her and says, "I hear you have some questions about our stroller policy" and proceeds to tell her in great detail why they don't allow strollers inside the restaurant. Then asks her to get it out of the way and park it against a nearby wall. It wasn't her fault and she was nearly in tears. WHY did that CM set us up like that? Also, when I checked in at the resort, the girl at the front desk wouldn't allow me to de-activate the charging on the magic bands. She said a credit card must be attached to the room reservation. She said no one would be able to charge anything without also using the Pin Number. Well, guess what! At Be Our Guest, all you have to do is click Pay Now and touch your magic band to the screen! Voila! No Pin Required! Thanks again to the front desk girl for her misinformation
Yes, this vacation was death from a thousand small cuts!

Regardless of what the CM said when you checked in, if I knew that policy was No strollers, I would have parked my stroller and simply ignored her. I think you set yourself for trouble with that one.

The problem is that WDW is so vast that a CM at one location will not know all the ins and outs of another location.

Also with a large group sometimes the one doing the planning wants it to succeed and be magical more than the rest of the group.

It just makes everything more difficult the larger the group, unless you keep it very basic like Dean said.

 

[Millionaire2K]

OP may I ask what makes you say "the manager at Be Our Guest didn't care"?

What did you want that he didn't do? I hate when customers complain to me and say "he didn't care". PLEASE explain why! I always get the follow-up "it was his attitude".

I have a feeling that the OP may be on the "can never please" list.

When you go on a trip you should have a more care free attitude. You should also not expect everyone to clear the way and quite their kids and silent the happy boat driver because you're in town. Stuff happens get over it. Maybe you should spread trip planning between a few people to lesson the stress.

Are you a DVC owner?

 

[DisK]

You truly are making a mountain out of an ant hill here.

 

[Sandisw]

Some people are missing the point that no one wants to come back and become experienced. Doesn't that bother anyone else reading this?

I do think many of us understand how you may have felt and how disappointing it was that there were things that happened along they way that took away the feeling of magical that you had envisioned the trip would be.

But, most of us reading are just putting light that many of the hiccups you experienced were things that weren't necessarily things that should have gone differently. But rather, something you just didn't expect to go the way they did because you were not aware that was the way it would be.

I agree--getting from a resort to another resort for a meal is a hassle and you have to build in a lot of time to get there, which may not be worth it in the end. And, having an uninformed CM is frustrating and it was good that you knew the information wasn't accurate.

There are certainly things you could share with Disney about your experience that might help them find better ways to communicate things in terms of planning prior to a guest trips.

Hopefully, the next trip will be better for you!