Bad Trip

tink'smom2B

Chasing Tinkerbell Full Time
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Messages
452
Who do I complain to about all the amazingly stupid things that happened on this trip (things that were Disney problems). I would like to make sure that these things never happen again to someone else! I have a survey to fill out, but will someone take it seriously? And a BIG thank you for all the information I've read on Disboards! At least one disaster was avoided from the information I read here :)
 
Yes, I believe someone will take the answers to your survey seriously. I've had followups to surveys, asking for more details. Take your time and be sure to reread it to try and make sure it gets across the details you want to emphasize and I bet you'll hear back from them.
 
I had a bad trip last week and sent a note detailing my ssues and concerns and did receive follow-up via email.

The latest from "executive offices" was received today and said they'd tried to reach me, which i dispute - no call from Disney!
 
Who do I complain to about all the amazingly stupid things that happened on this trip (things that were Disney problems). I would like to make sure that these things never happen again to someone else! I have a survey to fill out, but will someone take it seriously? And a BIG thank you for all the information I've read on Disboards! At least one disaster was avoided from the information I read here :)

For WDW issues:
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

For DVC issues:
dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

:earsboy: Bill
 

I don't expect anything from Disney at this point, the trip is over. But, I really want them to know that they screwed up over and over all week long! We did have a lot of people traveling to the parks, so maybe I just got a taste of peoples frustrations in a grand scale. It made me very unhappy when my 9 y/o granddaughter said she never wanted to go back and it was her first trip to WDW.
 
Front desk stuff at a shared DVC/non-DVC resort...I wouldn't consider that a DVC problem. (I probably would have tried to get a manager to work that out right then and there, though)

Transportation wouldn't be DVC either.

My son has said he doesn't want to go back, either. But...it wasn't Disney's fault. We got really really sick and it just destroyed our trip. We were alone and it was just miserable. He still feels that Disney is to blame, but as we get further away from the trip he realizes that we've been pretty sick at home, too. It's always miserable. I say that to remind you that sometimes exhaustion can cause people, even kids, to react negatively when they might not otherwise feel that way. And that sort of inner feeling can make negatives seem much huger than they are.

I'm NOT saying that nothing bad happened. Just trying to help with the feelings about your granddaughter. :hug:


If you are very brave AND you want to make sure the things you encountered were problems that need to be fixed (vs just how things go), you could write it out here. When things are truly not OK, that can be helpful.
 
If I had a problem with the front desk at WL, would that be a DVC issue? Also transportation issues? Thanks for your help!

The problem was with WDW resorts and transportation so use the WDW email address.

Our dues pays for both but we have no control over either so I would also cc the DVC email address to express your displeasure.

I have learned to talk to management at the front desk as the problems are happening. Sometimes they can make things better, sometimes they can't or won't.

:earsboy: Bill
 
Who do I complain to about all the amazingly stupid things that happened on this trip (things that were Disney problems). I would like to make sure that these things never happen again to someone else! I have a survey to fill out, but will someone take it seriously? And a BIG thank you for all the information I've read on Disboards! At least one disaster was avoided from the information I read here :)

can you tell us what the problems were?
 
I don't have anything useful to contribute, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry to hear that it was such a bad experience and :wizard: that your granddaughter will be open to giving it another try in the future.
 
I would use the member services e-mail if your stay was on points. If something is wrong at the WL front desk, they need to know, our dues pay for them. Same with transportation. If it was bad enough and can be proven, there have been cases where some points were refunded.
 
I don't want to bash WL, but I've learned more on Disboards than their employees know. We had a long day of graduation and travel before I checked some of us in. I had already called the lodge about where our rooms were and tried to iron that out before I had even left Wisconson. Then when we arrived six hours later, the front desk person had an animated argument with me about the purchase of our annual passes through member services. She was adament that our annual passes had already been activated and were on our magic bands. No need to go to guest services to actuvate them. I knew better than that and had to convince some of my kids that they also had to activate their "Salute" tickets. More arguing with the front desk about that. I was tired and pretty angry because we were all going different ways the next morning so we needed this set up that night. We took a trip over to MK and I was correct. Guest services spent about 30 minutes on our APs because there was a problem activating them. What would have happened if I had listened to te front desk person? That was only the beginning. Bell services didn't bring up all our groceries, so a phone call to them. Oh, no hair dryer in the room, more phone calling. That was only the first night. Each and every day I had to deal with one problem/complaint after another. And, oh yes, my son got sick and had to go to the ER. Strangely enough, he had nothing but nice things to say about that. Said his treatment was first class :) Daughter made breakfast reservations before the park opened and then found out she had no transportation. We spent 90 minutes trying to get from Mickeys BBQ at FW to the WL, 8:30 to 10:00 pm. Took over an hour to get to the Grand Floridian 9:00 - 10:15. The transportation is WDW is horrible :( The one daughter who I was really hoping would buy into DVC had a room over the maintenance garage and they kept waking her kids up day and night with their noise. How could things have gone so wrong! I suppose the kids just picked up on the adult attitudes. It was unpleasant. Oh, one more thing, I'm missing photos that should have been on my MB. Worst trip ever! There's many more things, but I feel like this is just an angry rant at this point. Unbelievable.
 
I don't want to bash WL, but I've learned more on Disboards than their employees know. We had a long day of graduation and travel before I checked some of us in. I had already called the lodge about where our rooms were and tried to iron that out before I had even left Wisconson. Then when we arrived six hours later, the front desk person had an animated argument with me about the purchase of our annual passes through member services. She was adament that our annual passes had already been activated and were on our magic bands. No need to go to guest services to actuvate them. I knew better than that and had to convince some of my kids that they also had to activate their "Salute" tickets. More arguing with the front desk about that. I was tired and pretty angry because we were all going different ways the next morning so we needed this set up that night. We took a trip over to MK and I was correct. Guest services spent about 30 minutes on our APs because there was a problem activating them. What would have happened if I had listened to te front desk person? That was only the beginning. Bell services didn't bring up all our groceries, so a phone call to them. Oh, no hair dryer in the room, more phone calling. That was only the first night. Each and every day I had to deal with one problem/complaint after another. And, oh yes, my son got sick and had to go to the ER. Strangely enough, he had nothing but nice things to say about that. Said his treatment was first class :) Daughter made breakfast reservations before the park opened and then found out she had no transportation. We spent 90 minutes trying to get from Mickeys BBQ at FW to the WL, 8:30 to 10:00 pm. Took over an hour to get to the Grand Floridian 9:00 - 10:15. The transportation is WDW is horrible :( The one daughter who I was really hoping would buy into DVC had a room over the maintenance garage and they kept waking her kids up day and night with their noise. How could things have gone so wrong! I suppose the kids just picked up on the adult attitudes. It was unpleasant. Oh, one more thing, I'm missing photos that should have been on my MB. Worst trip ever! There's many more things, but I feel like this is just an angry rant at this point. Unbelievable.

I guess call me crazy, but aside from the APs, I don't really see anything here that would make me that upset.
 
The ticket situation would be annoying but not a deal breaker.

You can not find out before you check in what room you are going to be in and any attempt to call the resort only results in you getting the Call Center not the actual resort. The best you can do is share your requests when you make the reservation.

Transportation to anything other than the parks can be time consuming. Disney recommends you leave yourself at least 90 minutes using transfers.

If you make early breakfast reservations at another resort before a park opens then you either drive or take a taxi.

Room location with DVC or without is never a guarantee and at all resorts there are some less than desirable rooms, someone gets them.

I think the fact you started your trip tired affects how badly things bother one.
 
I don't want to bash WL, but I've learned more on Disboards than their employees know. We had a long day of graduation and travel before I checked some of us in. I had already called the lodge about where our rooms were and tried to iron that out before I had even left Wisconson. Then when we arrived six hours later, the front desk person had an animated argument with me about the purchase of our annual passes through member services. She was adament that our annual passes had already been activated and were on our magic bands. No need to go to guest services to actuvate them. I knew better than that and had to convince some of my kids that they also had to activate their "Salute" tickets. More arguing with the front desk about that. I was tired and pretty angry because we were all going different ways the next morning so we needed this set up that night. We took a trip over to MK and I was correct. Guest services spent about 30 minutes on our APs because there was a problem activating them. What would have happened if I had listened to te front desk person? That was only the beginning. Bell services didn't bring up all our groceries, so a phone call to them. Oh, no hair dryer in the room, more phone calling. That was only the first night. Each and every day I had to deal with one problem/complaint after another. And, oh yes, my son got sick and had to go to the ER. Strangely enough, he had nothing but nice things to say about that. Said his treatment was first class :) Daughter made breakfast reservations before the park opened and then found out she had no transportation. We spent 90 minutes trying to get from Mickeys BBQ at FW to the WL, 8:30 to 10:00 pm. Took over an hour to get to the Grand Floridian 9:00 - 10:15. The transportation is WDW is horrible :( The one daughter who I was really hoping would buy into DVC had a room over the maintenance garage and they kept waking her kids up day and night with their noise. How could things have gone so wrong! I suppose the kids just picked up on the adult attitudes. It was unpleasant. Oh, one more thing, I'm missing photos that should have been on my MB. Worst trip ever! There's many more things, but I feel like this is just an angry rant at this point. Unbelievable.

I feel your pain but this stuff has happened to us at several of the resorts. After many, many DVC vacations we have learned where to try to stay at each resort and which areas to avoid. VWL has the dumpster views at the end of the building and the service area towards the front of the building where they pressure wash some type of racks or carts.

We have also learned that some CM's know their stuff and others don't, we have learned how to tell which is which and how to do a work around. A few years ago it was common for members to hang up and call back when trying to get MS to place a reservation and you got a newbie.

DW and I were just talking yesterday how amazed we are on how little knowledge some of the CM's have. We have met some really nice CM's but they don't seem to have much knowledge and don't get around much. We have met CM's that have never been to the DVC villas that they support. We had a Contemporary front desk CM trying to tell us where our room was going to be and the explanation didn't make any sense, I showed her on the map where our room really was and she mentioned that she had been moved that day from another resort and had never been inside BLT.

I hope things are better for you on you next DVC stay.

:earsboy: Bill
 
I don't want to bash WL, but I've learned more on Disboards than their employees know. We had a long day of graduation and travel before I checked some of us in. I had already called the lodge about where our rooms were and tried to iron that out before I had even left Wisconson. Then when we arrived six hours later, the front desk person had an animated argument with me about the purchase of our annual passes through member services. She was adament that our annual passes had already been activated and were on our magic bands. No need to go to guest services to actuvate them. I knew better than that and had to convince some of my kids that they also had to activate their "Salute" tickets. More arguing with the front desk about that. I was tired and pretty angry because we were all going different ways the next morning so we needed this set up that night. We took a trip over to MK and I was correct. Guest services spent about 30 minutes on our APs because there was a problem activating them. What would have happened if I had listened to te front desk person? That was only the beginning. Bell services didn't bring up all our groceries, so a phone call to them. Oh, no hair dryer in the room, more phone calling. That was only the first night. Each and every day I had to deal with one problem/complaint after another. And, oh yes, my son got sick and had to go to the ER. Strangely enough, he had nothing but nice things to say about that. Said his treatment was first class :) Daughter made breakfast reservations before the park opened and then found out she had no transportation. We spent 90 minutes trying to get from Mickeys BBQ at FW to the WL, 8:30 to 10:00 pm. Took over an hour to get to the Grand Floridian 9:00 - 10:15. The transportation is WDW is horrible :( The one daughter who I was really hoping would buy into DVC had a room over the maintenance garage and they kept waking her kids up day and night with their noise. How could things have gone so wrong! I suppose the kids just picked up on the adult attitudes. It was unpleasant. Oh, one more thing, I'm missing photos that should have been on my MB. Worst trip ever! There's many more things, but I feel like this is just an angry rant at this point. Unbelievable.
We weren't there and I know some of this relates to interactions and attitudes. But from a technical standpoint, I'm not hearing much for issues here. Certainly the transportation issues and MB's issue are things that have been discussed at length here on this board and you knew about the MB and I presume knew about the transportation problem of getting from one resort to another and chose to take your chances. Having dealt with that issue itself, getting back to WL after the transportation had ceased or to the park before they opened would not have been big issues. I know little things can add up that are hard to put into print but that also precludes a reasonable complaint IMO. When you complain, Disney will say the right things and likely do a little something to try to make you feel better but there really aren't things here that can truly be made better other than a little training for one specific employee if they actually know who it is.
 
I have no insight related to your problems but having kids I do know that they do pick up on the feelings (positive and negative) that the adults around them are feeling. Kids are people pleasers in my opinion so if you have a negative attitude they want to be like you and will say what you want to hear. Focus on the positive around the kids and talk about the fun and good things that happened on the vacation (I am sure you had some fun). The kids will start to change their feelings. I am sorry your family had a tough experience navigating the transportation and dealing with front desk.
 
I was at WL late last week (regular room), our stay was good. The only issue we had was the dining plan was only on my friend's magic band, the reservation was in her name. It could have been a misunderstanding because she told the cm to only put room charging on her band. Transportation was good, the longest wait we had was Monday at DHS returning around mid afternoon.

One thing we did notice, a lot of cm's seem to be pretty clueless. On Friday night, we asked a cm in front of the stage at DHS if the fireworks started at 9:30 or the pre-show started at 9:30 followed by the fireworks. She had no idea! She was working that area!
 
One thing we did notice, a lot of cm's seem to be pretty clueless. On Friday night, we asked a cm in front of the stage at DHS if the fireworks started at 9:30 or the pre-show started at 9:30 followed by the fireworks. She had no idea! She was working that area!

I always just write this off as them being human like us. Disney is always changing things and moving CM's around. I also suspect most CMs do not stalk Disney boards for all the latest info like we all do. They want to escape their job. So if they don't know when the fantasyland dragon will make another appearance I don't get upset. Just like I don't expect a Wal-Mart worker to know the ppm on the printer I want to buy.

WITH THAT SAID!! If the cast member is working a direct customer service job, they should know ALL the "common" answers. Basic stuff should not escape any CM. Also if they do not know something they should do their best to find help from someone who does.
 
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!

Hopefully as time passes, your feelings about the trip mellow. My guess would be the kids attitudes change when they see more of the disney commercials-hopefully! As for the daughter you were hoping would look at dvc, take her back there, not with a group. The best part of dvc for me is when we can slow down, which isn't usually possible with a big group.

I'm glad you are following up with Disney-they need to know what bothered you.
 















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