Birthday Package gone wrong :(

[addverbaan]

Some of you may have seen this on another forum, but we had such a bad experience last week with the pre-booked birthday package at Sequoia Lodge, I just wanted to warn people to watch out!

Unbelievable!!!! We per booked the birthday package for my ds to be one room on arrival. When we came in there was birthday gifts on the bed with some balloons but NOT what we had ordered. I went to the gift shop first to price up the costs if the gifts that were left - total of 50 euro if we had bought them ourselves ( we paid 139 euro to Disney for the gifts to be there on arrival)

I went to reception to tell them what had happened - I had even taken a photo of the untouched gifts on the bed) I showed them the email I had detailing the package I had booked and told them I had priced up in the gift shop the value of what ds had recieved. Of course I realise I would be paying for the service but not an extra 90 euro!!' I also explained that my ds was happy with what he had received ( not knowing anything better) and that he thought the gifts were from disneyland! Therefore I did not want to swap them but that they should be more careful in future and that charging 90 euros to blow up some balloons is not really acceptable. They then said that they would make sure that what I had originally booked would be put in our room the following day. I reiterated that I did not want to swap things but they said that was not necasaaery and as they had made the mistake they were just setting things right - excellent Disney service and we were very happy

Today - we come back to the room to find that they have taken back the original gifts!!!! The cuddly Mickey Mouse and Mickey hands that my son loved have been - in his mind - stolen back by Disney!!! I have just been back to reception to complain and am waiting to see what they say but i am extremely angry to be honest!! They left no note, did not phone the room or leave a message there and made no attempt to phone our mobiles ( I just checked and they have both my and dh numbers)

I literally can not imagine anything more un- Disney then to go into a guests hotel room and effectively steal back a child's birthday gifts!!!!

And here is the action we got from DL after complaining:

So, the situation was sort of resolved. After explaining things to a very helpful cm from the G F check in, we had a knock at the room door. Celia from back office who I had arranged the birthday package with before our arrival, handed a new Mickey to my son saying he had try to run away to be with Minnie. No apology, and the Mickey gloves were not returned either. Not wanting to cause a fuss in front of my DS we left it at that. But I am still honestly absolutely shocked that someone somewhere in Disney made the decision to take them from him in the first place!!! I also wander what would have happened I had already put them in my case or something - the whole thing was very sneaky and unpleasant.

I also have to say not worth the money . The gifts we received ( the correct ones) would have cosy me 67 euro to buy in the hotel shop. The hellium balloons were just normal small balloons blown up with hellium and which had deflated before bedtime the same day. And the birthday card was a piece if paper printed happy birthday and not even with my sons name on it. I think the whole thing is a rip off to be honest, and I would not recommend this service to anyone

I have for the first time in all my trips to DLP actually written an email of complaint about this. We were so angry and upset and if I think about it now it still gets me spluttering at the whole un-disneyness of it - it was like the anti-disney experience!!

 

[Ware Bears]

Oh dear, not good at all. I wouldn't be happy either, especially since you said that you didn't want the things swapped, you were just informing them.

I hope you're still having a good trip though.

 

[Tinkerpeas hubby]

This really is not good enough an I can't imagine this ever happening at Disney world they would have a fit over something like this!!
What do they leave in place of the stuff they took back?
I would if I was you go back down to Reception and tell them you want the mickey hands put back into the room right now, you can tell your son that mickey took them to show Minnie when he ran off and that Minnie has handed them back in to him! It's not good enough and no way should the child's gifts have been taken back out I the room I really do strongly feel you should demand that they are given back as you told them not to take them and they are not allowed to take your child's possessions out of your room, which by that point they was his.

 

[addverbaan]

We are home now, this happened last week. I have emailed DLP about this and am waiting to see if they send a reply. It's been 4 days since sending though so it is not looking likely

 

[tennisfan]

We are home now, this happened last week. I have emailed DLP about this and am waiting to see if they send a reply. It's been 4 days since sending though so it is not looking likely

It takes a while for them to reply so hang in there. Hopefully they will rectify the big mistake they made

 

[MissSkellington]

Such a shame that it didn't go as planned...especially for a child's birthday.

But how did the rest of your trip go?

Hopefully you'll get a response soon!!

 

[addverbaan]

Such a shame that it didn't go as planned...especially for a child's birthday.

But how did the rest of your trip go?

Hopefully you'll get a response soon!!

Our trip was 99.9% brilliant! and I am not normally one for letting one incident get to me and in 11 trips to Disney have never felt it necessary to complain about anthing
However.........there is just something that totally sticks in my throat about this incident. It still makes my blood boil to think that someone somewhere in Disneyland made the decission to go into our room and effectively "steal" my DS birthday pressies We paid 139 euro's and even the actuall package was only worth 69 euro's (priced it up in the shop) so its not even as if they were out of pocket!

Anyhoo, will keep you in the loop but I can honestly say it has left me with a very bad taste in my mouth

 

[addverbaan]

So, for anyone that saw my original post and is interested, here is a copy of the email I recieved back from DLP today in response to my complaint;

We will have to see what if any pixie dust they sprinkle for our trip in October!


hank you for your correspondence concerning your recent visit to Disneyland® Paris.

Firstly, I would like to thank your family for your continual patronage in the Disney magic. Indeed, it is truly heartening to learn that this was your family’s 11th stay at Disneyland Paris.

I was also pleased to learn of your impressions and to know that had an amazing time. Disneyland Paris strives to entrance its visitors by the dreams and magic with which they have come to associate the Disney name, and the fact that you were happy with your visit is truly encouraging. Please be assured that your kind words have been forwarded to the operational staff.

Though, on further reading your email I was disappointed to hear about the situation you encountered with the birthday package you had booked and paid for and sincerely apologise for any disappointment that may have been felt due to this. Please know that I immediately contacted the Quality Manager of Disney's Sequoia Lodge® in order to investigate this matter.

Following this, she has confirmed that due to a misunderstanding a child’s birthday package was delivered instead of the adolescent birthday package you had reserved. Once you advised them of the situation the Front Office manager offered his regrets and a Mickey Mouse soft toy was given to your son.

In regards to the Mickey Mouse hands, the Quality Manager wishes to assure you that it is not usual procedure to take away any gifts that have been provided to a Guest, especially a child. Unfortunately, when the entertainment department re-entered your room to place the correct birthday package, they removed the hands by mistake. The Quality Manager can appreciate your disappointment regarding this, therefore, as a gesture of goodwill she would like to send a new pair of Mickey Mouse hands to your son. As such, I kindly ask that you please provide your postal address.

With regards to the cost of the birthday packages, I assure you that the prices are set corresponding to the local region and are reviewed constantly to ensure quality and value. Please rest assured that the Quality Manager concerned have been made aware of your comments and thanks you for them as Guest feedback is invaluable to the ever-evolving nature of the Resort and all our services.

Despite the described situations, I was pleased that your family was able to bring home some fond memories of your time spent with us. Should you decide to visit us again, I would kindly ask that you please contact this office prior to your next stay at one of the Disneyland® Paris hotels. Upon hearing from you, we will contact the relevant Quality Managers and liaise with them to ensure a proper Disney welcome. When contacting us please provide your new reservation number and the above reference so that we can forward your information along.

 

[Ms Poppins]

I think that's quite a decent reply

Well done for mentioning the good as well as the bad. I think this always gets the best possible response, and shows that you're not complaining about everything - just a very specific point that was so badly handled.

I hope you get some lovely pixie dust on your next visit

 

[mollies_mum]

Thanks for posting, it's really nice to hear that they responded with a detailed and personal email. I'm also impressed that they're sending you the mickey hands and will do something' nice for your next trip, something for you to look forward to!

 

[MissSkellington]

Well that sounds quite promising for your next visit!

And glad to hear that you'll be getting back the Mickey hands after all.

 

[cherrymarzipan]

Glad you received a detailed reply and an apology. The package still seems really bad value to me though. I sincerely hope you get some pixie dust on your next trip but don't hold your breath, we were advised to contact the manager of one of the hotels a few years back after a trip with no hot water at all. We did so but didn't find anything in our room.

Didn't put us off though!

I'm glad your son will get his Mickey hands, should be a nice surprise in the post .

 

[Disneyfanswicklow]

That sounds very promising for your next trip! Decent of them to post on the hands to your son. Thanks for keeping us up to date!

 

[tennisfan]

Pleased you got a reply and they are resolving the problems they caused

 

[Ware Bears]

Pleased you got this reply and I hope the Mickey Mouse hands turn up soon, it will be a nice surprise for your DS.

What an expensive fiasco it was but I think you handled it really well and I'm glad you didn't let it spoil your holiday.

 

[addverbaan]

Thanks everybody

I am also pleased with this reply and hopefully they will be more careful in future so that nobody else's child has to have this happen to them - which was why I emailed them really. The possibility of some pixie dust on my next trip is an added bonus :-D

 

[rosanab1031]

Thanks everybody

I am also pleased with this reply and hopefully they will be more careful in future so that nobody else's child has to have this happen to them - which was why I emailed them really. The possibility of some pixie dust on my next trip is an added bonus :-D

So glad you got a good response back! Hopefully everything works out the way the email says I am going next June and actually staying at Sequoia.