BCV 2006 - Ewww

gothmommie said:
Okey dokey thread over please.

I don't like you, you don't like me. At least Becca and Dave were nice. The icons were a tad over the top and I hope karma rewards you abundantly. We may stay in the same resorts but that's about it. See you around - and if I post another thread PLEASE spare us both and don't reply.

Seriously, gothmommie....I know Dr Tomorrow (he and I have certainly had our share of disagreements in the past ::yes:: ), but I don't think he meant to be offensive at all....that's his way of making "light" of the situation.

I sincerely apologize for "losing it" last night...you seem to be a VERY nice person, and I hope to get to know you better around here. I'm sure we will disagree MANY more times, and will probably agree lots as well. I'm also sorry if we seem "condescending"....we all just take our DVC a little personally here.

Please don't be too angry with us, and DrTomorrow especially....we are VERY happy your here, and that you are a DVC member...and, we'd like to see you post here more often!!!

:hug:

Beca
 
gothmommie said:
OK, I gotta say it. Does anyone detect a condescending and holier than thou attitude from the old-timers who are embarrassed by other DVC members?

Please give it a rest!

You know what they say the truly wise man doesn't need to tell anyone how wise he is. The same goes for the truly GOOD person.

Perhaps that was not the intent if so please know that some of you are coming off that way and I am embarrassed for you (so right back at ya! :) ).

Not really, more of been there done that, know the drill. Hopefully you will not judge the entire forum by one posting. Sometimes it is simply a matter of learning the rules of the house.

The housekeeping issues you experienced were not acceptable by any standards and I have not experienced them at any Disney resort DVC or nonDVC. We have had minor issues, which a phone call to Housekeeping resolved. End of that problem.

I think what you might have preceived as condescending is the fact that the "old timers" realize that if getting requests, Welcome Homes, and even verbally spoken, but not delivered anniversary items bothers you, you might not be happy with DVC.

Requests as stated by Beca are probably not high on any GMs list. They are doing good to get everyone in a room. Multiple requests, basically anything over one, will be viewed by many here as being needy. Not saying you are wrong just explaining how things work. ;) As to the balcony situation. At the BC/BCV in my opinion and probably the opinion of the Front Desk if you got a balcony with chairs on it, you got a full balcony hence the confusion on that. Some baloncies are not even big enough for chairs. I would consider every balcony at the villas a full balcony.

I will say if something bothers me enough to share it on a forum, I would deal with it while I was there, including the annv. situation. It truly might have ended up in some other room and now you will not know if they ignored you or it was a human error.

Hopefully your future DVC visits will be more to satisfaction but I would advise that you familarize yourself with the product before hand.

And if you are going to hang here, don't run away due to anyone disagreeing with you, that's no fun. :thumbsup2
 
Beca... I am so sorry to hear about your and your daughters bad experience with Art... My childern absolutely adore Art and are disappointed if they don't get their "Sir" and "Madame" solutes when they enter BC. (If he is not there). We have pictures with our kids and Art and he was in tears when they brought a picture back of the 3 of them on our next trip and gave it to him. Don't get me wrong, I beleive you, but it just sounds like a completely different person than the one we have met at BC. I hope you give Art another try and he comes through for you!
 
Terry S said:
Beca... I am so sorry to hear about your and your daughters bad experience with Art... My childern absolutely adore Art and are disappointed if they don't get their "Sir" and "Madame" solutes when they enter BC. (If he is not there). We have pictures with our kids and Art and he was in tears when they brought a picture back of the 3 of them on our next trip and gave it to him. Don't get me wrong, I beleive you, but it just sounds like a completely different person than the one we have met at BC. I hope you give Art another try and he comes through for you!

Thank you!! I certainly will keep trying with him. We have even thought of bringing him something next time to "cheer him up". We have had two encounters with him, and both trips he has been "less than magical". Someone mentioned that he had been having a lot of health problems lately...my dh and I just "assume" that is what is going on. I still think he is just adorable, and hope that, at some point, we can make a "magical memory with him." We're not giving up!!! ;)

Beca
 


Beca wrote:

I certainly will keep trying with him. We have even thought of bringing him something next time to "cheer him up". We have had two encounters with him, and both trips he has been "less than magical". Someone mentioned that he had been having a lot of health problems lately...my dh and I just "assume" that is what is going on. I still think he is just adorable, and hope that, at some point, we can make a "magical memory with him." We're not giving up!!!

You are very kind hearted. But this is something I guess I just don't get. I would be less than happy if someone made my child cry and I saw it with my own eyes, i.e. my child didn't perceive it wrong. Why keep on trying? I am not being snotty, I am just asking. I am very sorry if he is having health problems, but we have too and it gives no one cart blache to treat anyone poorly. If I treated anyone poorly at work I would not be getting anything to "cheer me up" except a big fat write up to go in my file. Is it because it is Disney and maybe reminds you of your childhood? Or it because it was Walt's dream and he did seem so endearing? I bet my bottom dollar that he would be less than pleased to see a grown man make a child cry. Shame on Art, no matter what his health condition. You are a far better person than I, because there is no way I would keep on trying with someone or bring them anything to cheer them up if they had treated myself or family badly on not one but two occasions. What is that saying? First time shame on him, second time shame on me. He is paid to do his job and if he doesn't want to or can't, then he shouldn't. It doesn't take too much to be polite and the pins around his neck are given to him to trade. I bet his bosses would be less than pleased.

Beca wrote:

I still think he is just adorable, and hope that, at some point, we can make a "magical memory with him." We're not giving up!!!

Again I am clueless about this. Maybe I am not that nice but why is he adorable? Because he wears a sailor uniform? His behavior with your family was not adorable at all. I wonder how many other people he has offended or children he has made cry? That is deplorable behavior not adorable behavior and again he should be ashamed of himself. It is his job to be nice to people, pose for pictures and trade pins. Yes, does it maybe get to him day in and day out? But so do alot of our jobs. It is part of being professional. If he doesn't like his job then perhaps he should leave and have someone else take over for him that will enjoy their work. :confused3
 
wilderness01...Of course, my initial reaction was to want to go over to the person who made my dd cry right when we got to WDW!!! As a mom, my "protective" feathers were very much ruffled. I still do not think what happened was right, but I did not see the exchange, and only heard about it from a crying three year old.

However, there are probably a myriad of reasons why I refuse to see Art badly. I am sure my "childhood" memories, and my belief in what Walt was doing, and why he was doing it play some part in the choices I make regarding WDW. But, I think the biggest reasons are, first...I cannot change Art (and, I wouldn't want to if I could), but we will surely encounter him on every trip (at least for the next few years)....usually when we check-in. When my dh brought my dd over to me, I had a choice....I could get really mad, go confront him, and have our trip start off in a VERY "less than magical" way, or I could smile, explain to my dd that crying over this was silly, that she got the pin she wanted, and everything was fine (honestly, three year old girls cry a lot). We were at Beach Club, she was going to get go swimming, and later we would go eat with Cinderella. She said to me, "Mommy, he is a mean man." Again, here I had a choice....I could say, "Absolutely, and he had no right to make you cry." Or, I could say, "No baby, he's not mean....he has just lived a very long time, and has to stand all day. I think he must be tired or does not feel well. I'm sure he didn't mean to make you cry....I bet he's some little girl's Papa, just like you have a Papa...and, I bet he LOVES getting hugs from her, just like your Papa loves getting hugs from you. Maybe we should bring him something next time to make him feel better." (I don't remember EXACTLY what I said...but, it was something along those lines.) Now, if I immediately went to management and complained about him....I'd be lying to my dd (not to mention, taking time out of my vacation to "complain").

Now, why would I do this? Because we are going to see him pretty frequently over the next few years. If I can make my dd see him as someone who adds to the magic, rather than someone she tries to avoid...isn't that a better situation for everyone?

Also, because she is so blessed to grow up in an upper-middle class lifestyle, she gets SOOOO much. She is the only grandchild on my dh's family, and the only girl on mine. She has our entire families wrapped around her finger. We live in an affluent area, and all of her friends come from affluent families as well (she goes to a very expensive private school...so, all the kids she knows come from $$$). Yet, my dh and I came from VERY poor families...we have just been very blessed. It is important to us, that even though we give her a lot, that she treat EVERYONE with respect. We really have to watch her, or that "princess" attitude definitely sneaks in. Was she mad at Art? Sure. Why....not because he was "mean" to her, but because he didn't let her trade the pin she wanted. Now granted....she was right, and he was wrong. But, either way, he is her elder, and deserves her respect...if he says "No"...she needs to accept that, and go on. Crying to mom because she did not get her way is not something I do not want to get the habit of "fixing" for her. As her mom, of course I think Art was wrong for not apologizing for making her cry, and trying to make amends to an upset three-year old...but, maybe he feels he did by trading with my dh. When you look at the situation from Art's point of view, maybe he saw her crying as "another spoiled child" wanting her way. I don't know....I wasn't there, I was checking us in. But, if she cannot pin trade by a cast member's rules (even if they are wrong) and be courteous to the cast member while she is trading...maybe she is not old enough to trade.

So, rather than reprimand her, or reprimand him....I figured we would make light of the situation, and try to encourage her to "befriend" him so that her hard feelings do not linger everytime she sees him. She loves it when we "make" things to give to people, and I thought making "treats" to give to some of the CM's that we see frequently would be a good activity to get her excited as we get ready to go on our next trip. She has actually been talking about what we can make to "Cheer Papa Art up", and she has actually prayed for him to feel better. I think that is MUCH more healthy than worrying about whether or not she will see the "mean man" when we go back. And, maybe it will "spread a little magic" to someone who has found himself in a position to work long hours standing on his feet at an age when most of us would rather not be working. I DO feel for him. Maybe because my grandparents died when I was young, or maybe because I have worked jobs (in amusement parks) when I had to stand all day....and I was a teenager. It's hard work, and he's got to be in his 70's. Bottom line, he is my elder, too. And, the respect I show him is giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think my approach is the best approach for everyone, and maybe my approach is flat out wrong....but, God entrusted this little child to me, and I have got to teach her the lessons about life that represent my values. Trying to understand why someone may be grumpy, and look for the good in them anyway is something I believe in....especially when they are at her favorite place on Earth.

:wave:

Beca
 
Beca ~ Hugs to your DD!

My first encounter with Art was less than Magical! At first I did not think it was him but after seeing his pic here, I knew it was!

Being an Adult I did not let it spoil my time but to a 3 year old! That could shatter their world!

But you are right, not worth making a big deal out of it 'cause we all are going back there!

My Motto ~ Kill them with kindness!

janet
 


Beca wrote ..... It is important to us, that even though we give her a lot, that she treat EVERYONE with respect....

In reading your entire post, this was the sentence that stood out to me ~~~
Good for you :-) I just wish that more parents instilled this in their children.
 
Ok Beca, that was a very thorough explanation and you seem like a very good person with a very big heart. I honestly mean that. I too would have never gone over and made a scene or went up to management. I wouldn't do that on vacation or not on vacation. Altercations like that aren't my style and not worth setting the tone of my day/vacation. But I guess I would not bring my kids by there again. Is that avoiding? Maybe? Is that protecting them? Yes. That is just how I am (and I am not implying that you are not). It was not one but two occasions that you stated that he was rude. Can he be burned out? Maybe. Then should he quit? Probably. Is that his business and none of mine? Yes. But my vacation and the impact on my kids is also my business and none of his. I do try with people, but being rude on two occasions is enough for me. Maybe that isn't christian enough, but neither is his attitude. I do applaud you for trying and having a very positive attitude. I too live in an affluent area and my kids do too go to a private school with lots of affluent families. Really, they want for nothing but I guarantee you if they acted like that they would want for everything as their privledges would be taken away along with their material things. What does that have to do with the price of tea in China though? You shouldn't feel guilty about living a good life or make excuses for others bad behavior. Is it because you grew up poor? Who knows how Art has lived his life. So maybe he didn't live the "good" life, but maybe he did and he is just an old crab who still wants to work. Who knows? However, no matter what his financial business is, it is for no one to pass any judgement on anyone else or think of them as "another spoiled child". Not even a Disney employee. If it weren't for all these "spoiled children/adults" perhaps he wouldn't have a job. I get all the magic, really I do. Everytime I go there, I relive my childhood as we went to DL often. I just do not get where anyone can treat another person poorly and think it is ok. It is not. I bet Walt Disney would agree. Your daughter is only 3, do you think she will remember this in the years to come? I hope it works out for you and you get your magical moment with him. Maybe the lesson she will remember, to always be nice to another person, no matter what. But I assure you that is a double edged sword. I am sure it is more important to you, as it would be to me as a mom, than it is to him. Instead of hoping for the best, why don't you just kindly go up and ask if he can be nice. I am not being aggressive, just honest. Maybe you can explain that you are sure he didn't mean it, but he has hurt your child's feelings and can he be nice to make her feel better. Maybe he will get it then. Maybe then that will spear another family who feelings may get hurt. It sounds like you truly have a kind spirit, and maybe he just does not or it is burned out. Whatever the case, respect goes both ways. Not just to the elders, but to everyone, no matter what the age. I just can't treat my kids anyway I want because I am the adult. In the future, even though they are young now, that will come back to bite me if I hadn't treated them well and it should. That was my only point. That respect goes both ways. Believe me, I work in a very repeatative job but the patients that come in, this is their special moment. Whether it is their first time or fifth time. I treat each patient with the kind of respect I would want to be treated with. I have as much enthusiam as they do and really enjoy watching their joy and being a part of it. Do I feel like it some days? Probably not, as I am only human. But would I ever make someone cry or have a bad attitude? Never. My boss would make sure of that even if I couldn't check myself by myself. Patient satisfaction is number 1 where I work and the patient is always right, even if I don't think so or don't want to act like that. You are teaching her the right thing, as I have taught my kids. However as they get older you will see that you also have to teach them to have respect for themselves and not let people walk all over them. It is a very hard lesson as for as long as my kids have been alive I have taught them to always "be nice". Well that lesson has just biten me in the backside as I have now found out that I have taught one of my kids to be so "nice"/passive that the child has been allowing someone else to hit/be mean just so that there are no feelings hurt. This also landed my kid in the hospital for a day because the other kid hurt him. So now I look back on my always "give someone the benefit of the doubt/be nice", etc. and question myself. You will see when she gets older that it is a very delicate balancing act in what we teach. I haven't figured it out, and probably won't. But now, I am more protective and teach them if someone is not being nice to just walk away. Am I bitter? No. I am just more realistic now that some people are just mean or crabs and it is truly their burden in life to carry. Will this affect how I generally treat people? No. But if burned twice now I just know to walk away and know it is not my problem to fix, but theirs.

Thanks for your explanation. Have a nice day. :goodvibes
 
gothmommie,

I just want to address your complaint about the poor (or absent) housekeeping. As a BCV owner, I am dismayed to read about your experience. I know mistakes happen but I still HATE reading about housekeeping problems at my resorts on these boards, particularly for BCV because we love it so much.

For those planning a first time future visit, keep in mind that for every post about a housekeeping problem there are dozens of posts from DIS members who had no problems and there are lots of people who would never post about positive experiences and only post about negatives (which is normal). I, too, worried about our first visit to BCV last December after reading about other member's bad experiences. We had a nice CM check us in and our room was perfect -- clean and lovely. We even got close to the location we wanted (which was somewhere away from Epcot side). And it was a busy time as the resort was near or at full occupancy. So don't stress!
 
Beca,
We have seen the two lanyard thing with a couple of cast members at WDW. The rationale is to have a lanyard that is for "kid trading only". That way, adults can not trade for pins from that lanyard. It is so kids are able to collect some of the more desirable pins w/o some adult (i.e. professional pin trader) swooping up all the rare or more collectable pins. Not making excuses for Art, but even WDW CM pin trading probably had to many rules for employees to keep straght. Art should have just done the trade with a 3 yo no matter what (or what he thought) the pin lanyard rules were.

I think one of your original comments is the most appropriate for your daughters disappointment. "little girls cry a lot". I probably would have made that same assessment of the situation. I would have been a little annoyed that for future reference, I'd have to commit another stupid Disney rule to memory.
 
I am sorry but I must ask this, and I mean no disrespect.

I still do not think what happened was right, but I did not see the exchange, and only heard about it from a crying three year old.

How do you know what happened, or did I misunderstand this statement that you did not witness what happened. Did another adult witness this? Surely your 3 year old did not have an unpleasant encounter with Art and no one saw it? Was she trading with him alone?

I am confused about what happened. :confused3
 
Beca, I think what you're teaching your daughter is great. I hope I'm like that when DH and I have children one day.
Thanks!
Sam :)
 
Sammie said:
I am sorry but I must ask this, and I mean no disrespect.



How do you know what happened, or did I misunderstand this statement that you did not witness what happened. Did another adult witness this? Surely your 3 year old did not have an unpleasant encounter with Art and no one saw it? Was she trading with him alone?

I am confused about what happened. :confused3

No, my dh was with her. However, when he carried her over to me crying, our rule is that she needs to calm down and tell me what she is crying about. She is the one that told me, and when I looked at my dh, he just shrugged his shoulders.

Thanks for all the support from everyone here...raising kids is really hard....sometimes, it just seems like a crap shoot!!!

:wave:

Beca
 
Hi gothmommie,

My expectations are along the same lines as yours.

Regarding your first room: That was just unacceptable. Plus, it should not have taken so long to get someone over to clean it. You were well past the 4:00pm check-in time, so expecting a clean room is not unreasonable--on anyone's radar, I'm sure.

Regarding the offer to get you a room more in-line with your requests: You didn't ask for that nice offer, but it WAS offered to you none-the-less. You happily accepted. They didn't follow through on their offer (even the manager agreed on that). That's disappointing. I would have been disappointed as well. Especially coming off of an uncleaned room the day before. Yes, the $410 refund for 53 points was a nice gesture (although not quite an apples-to-apples refund). But even that cannot completely make up for the inconvience of having to deal with everything (uncleaned room, dirty diapers, stranger's unclean underwear, multiple trips to the front desk, moving luggage, etc).

Regarding the anniversary surprise: Again, you didn't ask for one, but CMs made it SOUND as if they were going to do that for you guys. Not receiving anything would have be disappointing. Especially given the other two previous mess-ups.

I can be flexible when some of my requests aren't met, as I'm sure you can be. But if I'd been planning a trip (especially one that fell during my anniversary), I'd want things to go very smoothly. If I had experienced all of the frustrations that you did on your trip, I, too, would have been VERY DISAPPOINTED.

I'm sure you still had a mostly pleasant and fun trip, but you were just wanting to vent about the parts that weren't so magical. Although venting on these boards can sometimes be torture, I, for one, understand where you're coming from and understand perfectly why this was frustrating and upsetting for you.

Here's to hoping your future visits bring cleaned rooms and fulfilled promises.
 
gothmommie said:
Thanks - posted there.

To be clear:

1) Expected view as we were willing to move for the view we wanted. View was not delivered. Resort amended by refunding rack rate (sans tax) for night. Not pts - which would have been 56 points.

2) Were disappointed that not even a happy anniversary was said as three separate cast members looked at our reservation, asked my husband's name, my name and our anniversary date and number. One even went so far as to say they send a runner over 'with a surprise'. So yes, you don't expect....until your expectations are set by the person who promises to deliver something. Then when they don't...well that's a different story. In my book anyway. Guess the thing is...promise nothing, say nothing unless you intend to execute in a timely and quality fashion. A Disney resort of all places should know this. At least IMO.

Understand the disappointment about your anniversary, but since when is DISNEY OBLIGATED to do stuff for your anniversary for free. Yes it is great when they do, and I respect the heck out of it... but to feel you are entitled to it because it happened the year before seems a little much. I got comped in a casino for dinner once, shoudl I expect everytime I am in there. With your plethora of room changes, the date probably got side tracked (it would be ironic if Balloons got sent to your first room).

As far as the dirty underwear thing... Yes that is gross and wrong and THAT is good reason to be ticked off.
 
I just got back from BCV last night and will be canceling my waitlist for points there as well as selling my VWL points. It was an absolute disgrace. Anyone who can give me some names to direct my letter to, I would appreciate it.
I am a compulsive researcher and planner. I planned this trip a year ago for my DD and DSIL's anniversery and my younger daughters college graduation. I booked two one bedrooms, requesting only they be near one another and NON SMOKING. I have asthma as does my DGD, age 9.
I too asked the CM to note on my DD's reservation that it was their anniversery. I did not mention the graduation. I told them if they get not so much as a nod, that's fine but note it please. At check in my CM did not give me the packet I had to ask for it. I also discovered my DD had been given her key, went back and my room keys were on the printer. The CM had forgotten to give us those too. We were not given room numbers but told to come back for them. We were all paying for the dining plan. We went to grab a sandwich at Beaches and Cream. After that and checking out the pool our rooms were ready. I went to my daughters first to see if there was anything special. There was not but the room was beautiful with a quiet pool/river view. I was so excited and couldn't wait to get to mine! When I walked in I knew something was less eye catching but called immediately for my luggage so we could get to the parks. I threw off my shoes and found the rug was soaking wet. Not damp, soaking wet. I called the desk and nothing else was available. Then, yes, gasp, I asked for a manager. Nothing on that floor near my grandchildren. I finally asked if she could move us both. No nothing suitable. We finally agreed to leave my belongings in my daughters, vacate the room for a few hours and she gave me a credit.
To make a long long story short when I returned this is what I discovered.

The room was a handicap ready room. Great modifications if you are in a wheelchair, otherwise inferior, No counter, no private toilet, low beds and counters etc.
A shower that flooded the bathroom when you used it. Four phone calls later engineering was sent up and changed the shower head. That wasn't the problem. It still isn't fixed. We went out, come back and I discover my balcony doors wide open. They were broken also. It went on and on. I can't tell you how many calls I had to make, how much time I spent waiting for repairs to be made, calls returned etc etc. I have heard it said that members get the worst rooms because we have already made our purchase. I now believe it. This room was uninhabitable and should not have been given to anyone. The idea a Member got it tells me something and I don't like the message. It was also a smoking room. I was coughing for three days and thought it was the mildew smell outside of the entrance to the Villa's. I looked and saw it was a SMOKING room! I was told I could have another room the next day but would need to check out at 11 and await it being ready at 4. Delux? I think not! Points for sale!

PS Caution Beaches and Cream is a table service restaurant! We wasted our credits there on sandwiches! (our fault for assuming)

PS The credit was small not for a night by no means!
 
Bummer, our 2BR was close to perfect (as usual there for us) 3 weeks ago.
 
LakeAriel said:
I threw off my shoes and found the rug was soaking wet. Not damp, soaking wet.
I'm sorry you had this disappointing experience. Unfortunately, such things happen on occasion. There isn't a timeshare or comparable hotel that operates with such perfection that they never end up with a water leak problem eventually. In such cases, it is unusual for there to be no other rooms available that conform with a guest's special requests. Sometimes, there isn't even a room available at the same grade level. In the former case, when requests cannot be honored for a second time, it's really just a turn of bad luck.

We finally agreed to leave my belongings in my daughters, vacate the room for a few hours and she gave me a credit.
That's pretty generous. I'd expect that if they couldn't accommodate you in a room at the same resort, or required you to take a couple of studios instead of 2BR or a studio instead of a 1BR. But to get a credit for just having requests not honored, and for the inconvenience of having to vacate for a few hours while accommodations are arranged -- that's pretty nice! :thumbsup2
 
Sure was very upsetting. I have just canceled my BCV waitlist so someone is up one....With any luck they will turn things around. I am thinking that the way things are being run the DVC resorts will go to seed long before they should which is why I'm getting out while I can.
The couch was badly stained, chipped wood, things like that, which is a real shame because the resort is beautiful. Like I said my daughter had a gorgeous room. They need to maintain ALL rooms however and not give members the rejects. We should have first crack along with cash paying guests. People renting for a fraction of the value should not be taking non handicapped, non smoking rooms from members.
 

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