birthday letdown wl

[jojomg]

the real reason I am not staying at the wilderness lodge this year..every year we go for my daughter birthday, last year she was turning 10 so it was kinda special...I called wilderness lodge the week before to ask them to do something special and we would pay for a cake and flowers or whatever they could come up with....the cm told me to call the day before we got there...I did , the asked me what her favorite disney character was, I told them, cinderella....again told them to put everything on our bill.My cousin called when we got to the orlando airport ...again they asked her what the favorite character was and she told them again, we asked for a cake and flowers drinks whatever they could do......well we got there and there was nothing.....nothing at all............my cousin called down from her room and the cm said they would have something when we got back from the parks that night.....again asked the favorite character...we got back that night.......after now telling my kid that there was a surprise for her.......we open the door and low and behold.......NOTHING.......WELL A CARD FROM ARIEL AND A BALLON THAT WAS OUT OF HELLIUM AND DRAGGING ON THE GROUND,,,,,,,,WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT..........HOPE CSR DOES A BETTER JOB.....ANYONE HAVE A GOOD EXPERIENCE?????????????

 

[grover]

I think that instead of asking them to just send what ever and bill you that you should call disney floral and make a specific order-you will know exactly what you are getting,what you are paying-it will be delivered and there will be no disappointments! I really don't know of alot of places that will just come up with something and bill you without your prior consent of knowing EXACTLY what is being sent-I mean what if they send something overly expensive ect--they could be in trouble if a person refuses to pay because they didn't know exactly what they were getting-being billed for.
I know the resort cm's sometimes arrange these suprises but if you don't want any suprises yourself you are better off to make the order with correct dept.
HTH
Grover in Winnipeg

 

[webray]

Because you didn't pay for anything in advance..you really can't expect anything. I would never tell a child a surprise will be there..unless I have taken care of all the arrangements myself.

A balloon and birthday card are the typical gift left.

At disney..it is always best to leave the magic to a surprise for all, instead of forced magic. While you did make requests and tell them to charge your room...how would they know how much you wanted to spend, etc.

 

[safetymom]

If you want something for an event that you are celebrating you should arrange for it yourself. Just imagine how many people at each resort are celebrating some special event. WDW can't provide something for everyone.

You got a balloon and a card which is much more than some folks have gotten when they expressed it was a special day.

Make the magic happen for yourself and arrange and pay for it. That way it will be exactly what you wanted.

 

[LvsTnk]

I think the OP is upset because they told her they would handle it and she agreed to pay for it, not that she wanted something for free.

They really should have pointed you in the direction of the Disney Florist, almost always their surprise is a balloon and a card. They knew you wanted more than that and should have told you how to arrange for it.

Now that you are in the know you can arrange for something very special!

 

[MinnieGi]

If you would like a surprise for your daughter this trip while you are at CSR then please call the Disney Florist yourself to arrange something. Although occasionally we hear of a nice surprise being left for someone, it is just that a surprise. And unless you were staying on the conceirge level I don't see the front desk staff having time to order cakes etc. for every guest that requests a "surprise." Now I can see the coneirge staff working with you on a surprise but they would still need to know the exact items you wished to receive.

Its a shame you were not happy with the balloon and card.

 

[SuBeat]

I think you'll need to be more specific if you want to avoid another disappointment. Call the florist and order the flowers, call and order a cake to be delivered, etc. Don't just request whatever they can do, that's too vague.

DH received the card and balloon at WL on his b-day last year, and our kids thought that was pretty cool.

 

[dcfromva]

jojomg,
I know exactly how you feel. I feel if the CM could not do anything for you (for whatever reason--don't know how much to charge, don't know what you want, et'c.), they should have told you. I know a lot of people are celebrating things at WDW, but this is part of the business that WDW promotes.

One of the bad things about the internet is that sometimes a CM goes way beyond anyone's expectations and way above the call of duty and they post a story about it on the internet and sometimes it does builds people up for a false expectations. But, I feel if you asked for a cake specifically and they said, "yes"-- you should have gotten a cake.

Good luck with CBR!

-DC

 

[Lewski709]

I can empathize with you.

Since you weren't specific, how would you have felt if they did do something fabulous and charged you $500.

The real problem is NOTHING was done until several times mentioned.

I do say both the CM and you were at fault. Them for not asking more specifically what you would like done and directing you and you for not arranging something special, assuming they would just take care of it.

I am sorry nothing was done, it does bum one out. I am sure it was disappointing to find nothing there after YOU advised DD there would be something. Since DD had no clue, you could have made something special happen upon the arrival to nothing.

With this in mind, you can imagine that they have a ton of "special occasions" ranging from baby's first tooth to 80th anniversaries. Whether they are "real" or not.

Again, sorry this happened.....truly. Next time you will be better prepared for your princess and arrange for your own <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/13/13_1_14.gif' border=0></a> rather than count on the unexpected.

 

[swilphil]

I'm really surprised that one of the CM's didn't ask you what you wanted more specifically when you said you were willing to pay, and since you talked to them so many times. If they couldn't accomodate your request, they could have referred you to the WDW Florist. I really expect more from a Deluxe resort that you are paying a lot of money for. We had a couple of minor glitches during our stay at the Dolphin. The CM's there bent over backwards to make up for it. They sent up a box of chocolates and gave us a $50 room credit. That's what I've come to expect at a deluxe resort.

 

[LvsTnk]

I sent you a PM

 

[spiceycat]

I am really surprise at this - I mean WL/VWL advertises that they will do a birthday cake in the handout....You should have been immediately transfer to this area....

I am sorry that you weren't.

next time try one of these

wdw florist
1-407-827-3505
http://www.disneyflorist.com/

other florist
http://www.theperfectgift.cc/

http://www.giftsofalifetime.com

http://www.towncenterflorist.com/feature.asp

I would disappointed too - now if they didn't advertise that would be different....

but WL/VWL should have done you a cake - I guess they didn't know what type and stuff - but they should have still transfer to the right area.

 

[wilderness01]

Does anyone have a number for BWV that I can contact to do something special for my husband for our anniversary? I would like to do a fancy dessert. I thought I read that someone had chocolate slippers with dipped strawberries done for them over at BCV. I was just wondering who I could call. Thanks.

 

[jojomg]

thank you everyone for your suggestions.....spiceycat these links will be very helpful.....the gifts of a lifetime sounds great....we have been taking her every year for her birthday.....since she was turning 5......but like she said the other day...it isn't really about her birthday.because we all love it so much.it really is for all of us and the end of january is a nice time to go............thanks everyone

 

[spiceycat]

you can try the resort and ask for room services at BWV - but I don't know - both BC/BCV and WL/WVL have a resident chef - BWV doesn't - but room service should be able to come up with something.

 

[shopgirl72]

Hi jojomg!

Sorry for your disappointment! Why not call Cookies By Design and have a nice Disney Character Bouquet deliver on her special day!!

http://www.cookiesbydesign.com/catalog_disney_mickey.cfm?intPage=1&intOffset=3

Shopgirl

 

[Tinkerbell2]

We had a bad experience at WL too. Well actually we had a LOT of bad experiences there...BUT to stay on topic ....we had a family reunion there a couple years ago. There were 18 of us. Well it was my birthday and the family had arranged for a surprize party. They too had asked SERVERAL times about a cake and stuff...AND like you were paying for it. Well they kept screwing it up and kept saying "OK, when you go here it will be delivered" and it never was. This went on about 5 times. When the cake finally DID arrive (supposedly it was prepared right at the WL and it was also supposedly baked that day) Well the cake was GEORGUS. Almost a shame to cut into it...but being the cake lovers we are it didnt last long. As I cut it I was like "Man, what kind of cake is this?" it was SOOO hard to cut into. It had chocolate on the outside and thaught that had something to do with it. But it wasnt...it was just an OLD cake. That was the STALEST cake I have EVER had. It HAD to be over a week old! It was TERRIBLE and while I dont know how much it was Im sure it cost a tidy sum! Needless to say we couldnt even eat it. Every day when we left for the day we left it on the bed with a note asking houskeeping to take it out. Every day they moved it to the table and threw away the note. It was so bad we didnt even want to LOOK at it anymore.

 

[sdamico71]

We had no idea that Disney did special things for birthdays. Maybe I read about it, and forgot, but anyway, my daughter turned 12 during our visit.
During check-in I indicated I wanted to make reservations for my dinner for my daughter's birthday.
The CM asked her (she was standing next to me) who her favorite character was. She indicated Minnie. Well, we left our things with the bellhops, to put in our room, went to the parks, and when we returned, there were balloons, chocolate lollipops (5-one for each of my kids, and 2 for the birthday girl), plus a birthday card and autograph from Mickey and Minnie.
Also during check-in I inquired if they did birthday cakes. She said to call like you call for room service and they would order one for us. I did just that and it was awesome! Not only did I get the cake that I paid for, but the CM who checked us in, ordered a small one (supposed to be a personal cake) for us at no charge. The small one would have been more than enough for all of us because it was so sweet and rich.
My daughter felt this was the best part of the trip. I think it was better because we didn't anticipate anything and get lots!!

 

[Aisling]

The OP was asked at several different times what was her DDs favorite character, and she said it was Cinderella. I just wonder what the CMs did with that information. Did they just blatantly ignore it? It was nice enough of them to send a card from Ariel, but I wonder why not Cinderella.

 

[Efastpitch]

We had a great time last year. The CM's provided cake and cookies with cokes. Even had a mickey stuff animal. DD was really surprised.