Did I expect too much? CBR disappointing...

[Mooneybeams]

Here's the letter I'm putting together. I've never been inclined to complain but this time I am going to. Did I expect too much?

Dear Sirs:

I am writing to you to let you know how disappointed I was with my most recent stay on Disney property. My husband, myself, and my 7 year old daughter have been looking forward to our 10th anniversary trip to Walt Disney World since about December of last year. We scrimped, saved, had yard sales, sold unwanted stuff on ebay, etc. since then to save up for this trip. Our original reservations were for All Star Movies but we upgraded to Caribbean Beach Resort to make the stay extra special and memorable.

I made the cast member aware when we made reservations that this was our 10th anniversary trip. I faxed a room request to the room assigner 4 days before our arrival. I let them know how excited we were to be spending our 10th anniversary at the resort. I requested Martinique building 25, ground floor, corner room. When we checked in, we received none of that. We received Jamaica 45, 2nd floor, not a corner room. I asked about Martinique and was told it was full. After getting to the resort I found that to be unlikely since the place was relatively empty. Needless to say we were very disappointed. I had hoped (but did not expect) that maybe a Happy Anniversary card or something of that nature would be in our room but there was nothing.

While we were waiting to get into our room (we had checked in early), we went to the food court and had my daughter's hair wrapped. The person doing the wrapping proceeded to talk about her gay friend after which I was questioned by my daughter, who is only 7, what "gay" means. Thanks a lot for that Disney memory. I am sure my daughter will never forget that one.

On our daily trek to the food court or pool through Parrot Cay, we never saw not one parrot. We even asked several times where they were. We did see lots of parrot or bird droppings which made the morning trek unbearable. The stench was horrible especially on very hot humid mornings.

Upon check out, I thanked the person who we paid (we did check out one day early, as we could not wait to get out of there). She said "You're Welcome." Never said, "How was your stay?", "How was everything?" or "Thank you" to me.

We have reservations at Port Orleans Riverside for Thanksgiving. I will be cancelling those reservations today. We have no desire to go back at all right now. Usually I begin planning my next trip immediately, Not this time. We even bought annual passes this trip. I truly wish we had not done that, I am sure we will not get our money's worth out of them.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Originally posted by Mooneybeams
I faxed a room request to the room assigner 4 days before our arrival. I let them know how excited we were to be spending our 10th anniversary at the resort. I requested Martinique building 25, ground floor, corner room. When we checked in, we received none of that. We received Jamaica 45, 2nd floor, not a corner room.

While we were waiting to get into our room (we had checked in early), we went to the food court and had my daughter's hair wrapped. The person doing the wrapping proceeded to talk about her gay friend after which I was questioned by my daughter, who is only 7, what "gay" means. Thanks a lot for that Disney memory. I am sure my daughter will never forget that one.

I have 2 comments...

First off, the room controllers at the resorts do not receive your ressie into thier system until 3 days before you check in. It is customary to fax a room request 3 days prior. Any earlier and there is a good chance you will not get you request as they have to "hold" you fax one more day (among that many they get). Second, requests are just that, requests. I am sure upon sending this you will be reminded that no room location is guaranteed. The only thing that is guaranteed is something you paid for i.e. paying more for a King bed or a waterview.

Second, I hope this doesn't offend you, but, homosexuality is a part of our culture. There are gay people out there in the world. Children will learn about these things sooner or later. Perhaps it was inappropriate for the CM to be talking about her personal life while on duty, but the fact that she was discussing a homosexual friend is no fault of the Disney company. Perhaps she herself was gay. Would you be writing with your disappointment at having your daughter's hair wrapped by a gay employee? Disney is a large and diverse place. I don't think that complaint is a valid one either.

 

[jennymouse]

I'm sorry that you were disappointed with your stay at CBR, but I really don't see what you're so angry about. Disney states that they can't guarantee your room request, nor do they guarantee "gifts" for anniversaries. I know we read about such gifts here on the DIS, but I think it's usually done, unfortunately, by concierge CM to concierge guests and sometimes not even then. Sometimes, I think we read all this stuff that sometimes happens to people, and we get our expectations too high.

While the hairwrapper's comments probably shouldn't have been made, and the poop at Parrot Cay would be an annoyance, I can't understand why that would ruin a trip.

Sorry, but I don't see your beef. But that's JMO.

 

[kylara]

Maybe it is me, but I do think that you did expect things. Room requests are just that...requests. They are never guaranteed. Just because the resort looked empty doesn't mean it was, or that the section you wanted was. When places are popular they often fill up first.

Also even though you said you didn't "expect" a card, the fact that you put it in your letter leans toward the fact that you did expect it, otherwise why complain that you didn't get one. Once again, sometimes Disney does extra things for people when they note a special occasion, but it isn't a guarantee unless you actually request and pay for something.

I don't think that the employee should have been talking to a 7 year old about anything personal, but since I do not know the situation I can not say if she was out of line. It does seem strange that she would point out that her friend was gay. I guess I would need to know the context of the conversation.

As for the Parrots...can't say what happened. Each time I have been there, I have seen them. I would have asked the front desk to have them wash down the walkway. Unfortunately the parrots are the only birds that like to use the area and it can get bad at times. Did you make a complaint to the desk or a CM about the droppings?

When you checked out, did you let them know you were unhappy with your visit? People check out early for many reasons and unfortunately the desk staff doesn't alway note that it is an early checkout.

I am sorry that you had such a disappointing stay. Sometimes we get our hopes up about a trip and it doesn't turn out the way we hope. If you still want to go at Thanksgiving but don't want to stay at Disney, there are a number of nice off site hotels in the area. However, POR is a beautiful hotel...but if you worry it won't live up to the expectations you have, do what you feel it right for you.

 

[opal]

I think Disney is having difficulty adjusting to the downward trends of the economy. It seems a lot of your complaints can be tied to reduced staffing. Unfortunately that makes a negative impression on the guest who is still paying top dollar and getting less. Those of us that have stayed on site for years have come to expect a certain level of service and on site perks that seem to disappearing one by one. That leaves us to decide for ourselves if staying on site is still worth the extra $$ are paying. That said I wouldn't let one bad experience wipe out all the good ones. We have gone at least once a year for the past 12 years and 95% of our time there has been positive. When it wasn't I too wrote letters to voice my disappointment. On one occasion we were offered a free night at CBR on our next visit!

As far a the hair wrapping experience, I agree that homosexuality is part of our society, but I think any discussion of sexuality is inappropriate in the presence of a 7 year that is not your child.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Yes you expected too much.

You got what you paid for. It would be different if you paid extra for a waterview room and got a standard view. I have never gotten any of my room requests. I was disappointed for about 20 seconds.

I don't see the big deal in not getting a card. Again, it's not something guaranteed or something you paid extra for.

I agree the "gay friend" comment may have been out of place.

I honestly don't see anything that would make me check out early, or not return.

 

[gepetto]

I really don't see anything there that would ruin my trip. These complaints seem so minor I can't believe you cancelled your Thanksgiving trip because of them. A lot of people celebrate special occasions at WDW. Sometimes they get acknowledged and sometimes not. As far as room requests go....they aren't guaranteed. I don't think the hair wrap person saying the word "gay" in front of a child shows the best judgment, but I don't think it's any big deal.

Did you complain about the parrot poop smell while you were there?

 

[SnowWitch]

We celebrated our 10th, 11th and 13th anniversaries at Disney all in Deluxe resorts, never got so much as a "Happy Anniv." We took our nieces the summer after their father had been killed in an accident and wanted to make it extra special, we had 2 rooms at the Poly for 12 nights, never got anything extra.

The point is the stories we hear about people getiing extra things leads us to want extra things. The real point is they are just that "extra". We can't assume we will get them too, maybe we will maybe we won't , but either way it doesn't matter, they are extra and we didn't pay extra to receive them.

Now about the hair wrapping girl. Yes I agree homosexuality is a part of our society I have some great friends who are gay. But my kids are 10 and 12 and are just now grasping what that means. As a parent it is my place to decide when and where my children learn about these things and during a hair-wrappin' session would not be my first choice at the ripe'ole' age of 7!!!!!!!!!! This I would have complained about before I exited the property.

There have been times I have left Disney and not felt the magic was there. After 4 trips in 2000-2001 I decided to take a disney break, I have been on hiatus for almost a year and a half just because I was getting to the "It's not the same point." But I'm going back in dec.

 

[disneyjunkie]

How was the rest of your trip? Did you enjoy the parks and restaurants? I hope you didn't let the problems at the resort put a damper on your whole trip.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your stay at the resort.

 

[CaipiraBob]

<P><i>Second, I hope this doesn't offend you, but, homosexuality is a part of our culture. There are gay people out there in the world. Children will learn about these things sooner or later.</i></p>
<P>Dallas_Lady, homosexuality is part of perhaps 2% of the populations culture. It still revolves around a subject which is completely inappropriate to discuss in front of small children, which is sex.</p>

<p>Homosexuality is only about sex. If you can pinpoint a difference between a normal hetersexual individual and a homosexual which is not based on sex alone, feel free to go into detail. Otherwise it is a highly inappropriate subject for conversation in a public area and regardless of your personal beliefs, many people feel that an open conversation about sex in front of children is reprehensible.</p>
<P>I would highly object to someone making an open statement in front of my children that say they really enjoy doing something explicit with their partner. Hetero or **** it is extremely offensive in a public area. Common decency and manners would dictate that this sort of discussion take place in private and never, NEVER in any circumstances in a place where it can be inflicted upon small children.</p>
<P>True, this can be considered a "public area" but anyone with a little sense knows it's a resort geared to entertain small children. In a public area we need to take an approach of tolerance and in this case the individual should have been tolerant of the fact that there were small children near and not inflict a known reprehensible behavior on others. I would no more expect this person to relate "gay incidents" any more than another individual to relate the details of their honeymoon.</p><P>Now does anyone want to defend someone who wants to intentionally expose small children to sex? Keep in mind we discussing a 7 year old girl! That's an arguement I would dearly love to crush.</p>

 

[Brer-Rabbit]

I think the only valid complaint you have is the comment about the hair wrappers friend being gay. It was inappropriate to have the conversation in front of a child. I do not think it warrants a letter to Disney though. You could have handled that situation on your own with that CM -- I am sure she would have been very embarrassed and most likely would have been more aware of what she is saying in front of children.

As for your other issues, they are really just expectations that YOU set that Disney did not meet. They had no obligation to meet any of them. They do not have an obligation to give you your room requests, they have no obligation to provide a gift for your anniversary, they have no obligation to make sure there are birds in Parrot Cay when you are walking by, they have no obligation to insure that the CM asks you how your stay was upon checkout. All of these things would be nice and most of the time happens without prompting which is what makes them so special, but they are not obligatory. Your inclusion of these issues in your letter only indicates that no matter what Disney had done, you wouldn't have been satisfied anyway.

If you were dissatisfied with your room location, you should have contacted the resort manager and given them the opportunity to fix the problem. If you were upset about the comment in front of your daughter, you should have called the resort manager and reported it. I certainly would have rather addressed these issues to someone who could fix them, instead of letting them spoil my vacation.

Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh, but sometimes I think that when we all read these boards and share our experiences, we begin to believe that we are all ENTITLED to the things that Disney occasionally does for its guests to make their trips more magical. If they did it all the time for everyone, it wouldn’t be so magical. JMHO

 

[Tiffany]

Hi Mooneybeams,

I also believe your expections might have been to high. You noted in your opening paragraph that you sacrificed so that you could make this trip special. This implies that because it was harder for you to save the money needed for the trip that Disney should have granted your requests. That is how it came accross to me if that was not your intent then maybe rethink the first paragraph before you send it.

Also, you go on to say that you made specific requests for room location and you were upset that you did not get them. Disney clearly states that requests are just that requests and may not be granted.

You state that you had noted that it was your 10th Ann and you state that you did not expect Disney to do anything but then you list it as a complaint. If you truely were not expecting anything how can this be a complaint? Again I think you were expecting a service that is not guaranteed. People receiving cards or small gifts when they note a birthday or ann. is a random act at best and should never be expected.

As far as the hairwrapper CM mentioning her "gay" friend I would have to know the context of the conversation that was going on.

The smell from Parrot Cay? If you let a CM know about the smell and nothing was done during your stay to minimize the smell that is a legit complaint.

I am not sure why you are not going back? If you feel that you cannot justify the money that you spent then that is a choice but I just cannot see how you not getting the "requested" island and not receiving a free gift would cause you to not come back to WDW?

I hope this does not come accross as harsh not my intention but you did ask if we thought that you expected too much? IMHO you did.

 

[Steffi]

Wow...I almost thought this post was satirical, like Pirate Pete's "Another Terrible Trip" post!

 

[Mooneybeams]

Wow, that was a little rude. I didn't ask my question to get made fun of.

 

[Steffi]

Mooneybeams...I apologize for any rudeness on my part. You're right; you're entitled to your opinion...that's what this forum is here for. Getting flamed for your personal opinion doesn't feel good. Thank you for sharing your honest feelings & I'm sorry that your trip wasn't everything you dreamed it would be.

 

[ripleysmom]

Well I for one don't like CBR either but I think you did expect too much. I also have never written Disney complaining about the place. I just did not go back to that resort. Why cancel all of your Disney trips?

I do think that the comment about her gay friend may not have been the smartest although I would have taken the opportunity to explain that sometimes boys love boys and girls love girls, not just mommy daddy love.



"Homosexuality is only about sex. If you can pinpoint a difference between a normal hetersexual individual and a homosexual which is not based on sex alone, feel free to go into detail."

Bob, homosexuality is about loving, not just sexually, a person of the same sex. Unfortunately too often people focus only on the sexual aspect of homosexuals without considering all of the emotions that go with being homosexual.

In my mind there are no differences. Homosexuals and heterosexuals both love other people. Why does the gender of those other people matter?

 

[TheWho]

For someone who scrapped and saved to pay for this trip, you certainly have gone and go alot. You must have some great garage sales or you're selling priceless art on e-bay. You should go on gay weekend next year, I'd love to hear your review.

 

[year2late]

Mooneybeams, I am sorry you had a bad trip.

One thing I see frequently on this board is people making decisions far in advance and micromanaging their stay. People plan in advance how happy they will be, often based on things such as room location - that they really have no control over.

They letter is fine but the highlight of your letter is room location - something that is more of a lotto. I recall asking for a corner room as well, didn't get it (probably because 100 others requested it as well). Oh well, I didn't get plenty of towel animals!

 

[Nolcrest]

All I have to say is to give Riverside a chance. It's my favorite moderate.

 

[Mooneybeams]

Jeez....I'm not anti gay, I just want to be the one to tell my daughter about it... when she's old enough.