Disappointed by Disney's handling of a bad situation

[argusp2]

I had won tickets to a preview of the Nemo Ride for yesterday. The time was for the 10pm - 11pm block. I had my God-daughter come down from Thousand Oaks (1 1/2 hour drive at least) the night before and I took off work so we could spend the day at the park then close it out with the Nemo ride.
Well, the ride broke down around 9pm but they kept saying that they are trying to get it fixed. They weren't able to get it fixed and by 11:00pm (closing time) they told everyone in line, in groups of 5-10, that "we're sorry but if you come back tomorrow we hope to have it running again."
Needless to say there were many people that were "disappointed". Many, including myself, are not going to be able to take another "day off" from work and since it is a grad night, coming after work isn't going to cut it either.

My disappointment isn't from the ride breaking down, after all, as a AP holder I can come back at a later date. My main disappointment comes from how the Admin level CMs telling the "upset folks" (all of them AP holders) that other than coming back tomorrow (and even then there's no guarantee that it will be working then), there's nothing you can do. They made a point of pointing out that "there was a disclaimer when you entered the lottery against this" and "we just thought it would be nice to offer this opportunity to you folks".

There were actually people there from 9pm - 11pm because they kept saying "we're working on it".

Truth be told I would have been satisfied with some "cheap shiny object" doesn't take much but instead I get a "we're doing you a favor by making this offer" and "you should have read the fine print on a lottery you won".

Ok rant over. It is 3am and I just got back from taking my god-daughter home.

 

[jtoast]

I will probably be in the minority here but complaining that they didn't give you more free stuff because the first free stuff they tried to give you didn't work out seems kinda greedy.

 

[iceskatejen]

Since it was a preview, and I'm sure somewhere on your tickets or with whatever they sent you with the tickets, it did say something like subject to ride being available and that the attraction may experience down times or something like that. Rides break down occasionally and the new ones (or in this case returning ones) seem to suffer this often until they get the kinks worked out. So, yeah, I'm with jtoast on this one.

 

[DangerMouse]

In situations such as these, I try to concentrate on the positive. You had a day at Disneyland with your God-Daughter. Sure, you didn't make it on one ride, but you had a full day at DL. That's more than many many people get to experience. You are blessed.

 

[Albort]

In situations such as these, I try to concentrate on the positive. You had a day at Disneyland with your God-Daughter. Sure, you didn't make it on one ride, but you had a full day at DL. That's more than many many people get to experience. You are blessed.

agreed. Almost all Disney rides are heavily used. THey WILL break down. there always a maintance crew ready to try to fix the problem for the guest. There is nothing the crew can do really. You CANT blame them. Most likely, if its shut down the rest of the day, its because it requires heavy machinery to fix it.

 

[brenda1966]

Yeah, I understand being disappointed. I would be too. But to expect Disney to hand out free stuff every time a ride brakes down and someone is disapointed is just not realistic. It's one of those "don't sweat the small stuff" times where you just have to move on and enjoy everything else.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I had won tickets to a preview of the Nemo Ride for yesterday. The time was for the 10pm - 11pm block. I had my God-daughter come down from Thousand Oaks (1 1/2 hour drive at least) the night before and I took off work so we could spend the day at the park then close it out with the Nemo ride.
Well, the ride broke down around 9pm but they kept saying that they are trying to get it fixed. They weren't able to get it fixed and by 11:00pm (closing time) they told everyone in line, in groups of 5-10, that "we're sorry but if you come back tomorrow we hope to have it running again."
Needless to say there were many people that were "disappointed". Many, including myself, are not going to be able to take another "day off" from work and since it is a grad night, coming after work isn't going to cut it either.

My disappointment isn't from the ride breaking down, after all, as a AP holder I can come back at a later date. My main disappointment comes from how the Admin level CMs telling the "upset folks" (all of them AP holders) that other than coming back tomorrow (and even then there's no guarantee that it will be working then), there's nothing you can do. They made a point of pointing out that "there was a disclaimer when you entered the lottery against this" and "we just thought it would be nice to offer this opportunity to you folks".

There were actually people there from 9pm - 11pm because they kept saying "we're working on it".

Truth be told I would have been satisfied with some "cheap shiny object" doesn't take much but instead I get a "we're doing you a favor by making this offer" and "you should have read the fine print on a lottery you won".

Ok rant over. It is 3am and I just got back from taking my god-daughter home.

There is so much anticipation built up for new & redone attractions that I can understand your disappointment in not being able to go on the Nemo ride. That was a real shame. Although I'm sure that that experience left a sour taste on your visit to Disneyland, I hope you were able to have a nice time with your goddaughter.

 

[Albort]

There is so much anticipation built up for new & redone attractions that I can understand your disappointment in not being able to go on the Nemo ride. That was a real shame. Although I'm sure that that experience left a sour taste on your visit to Disneyland, I hope you were able to have a nice time with your goddaughter.

reminds me of work

10 more minutes and i get to go home!!!

Hi, you got extended by another 4 hours. :|

 

[Leofoenget]

I will probably be in the minority here but complaining that they didn't give you more free stuff because the first free stuff they tried to give you didn't work out seems kinda greedy.

If it breaks down there is nothing that can be done. If it had not been at closing time you could have gotten a fast pass to come back later. I'm really sorry, that stinks

 

[NVDisMom]

I don't think some free souvenir would be the best way to placate disppointed AP holders. If management wanted to handle the situation better they could have given each patron standing in line a dream fast pass specifically for Nemo. The AP holder could come back to DL, using their AP even if a blackout date, anytime in the next say 30 or 60 days(but not during he remaining preview days). The Nemo dream fast pass would give front of the line privelage for one ride. I understand it may pose some difficulties as the dream fast pass is redeemed, but you're most likely to get a few a day that is all during the specified time frame. Win/win. Disney is keeping their core audience happy and the AP holder gets an extra day out of their AP if they want and still get the Nemo ride. But this way it is at their leisure and minimal wait time, unlike the preview day when they waited in line for who knows how long and then didn't get to go. They already paid their dues, so to speak.

 

[argusp2]

Again, I was not too disappointed by the break down. I was disappointed in how they (specifically the "team" they had there) handled the situation. I understand that rides do break down that is not a problem. They were not "very" apologetic in their apologies and I was not alone in that sentiment.
I am still a Disney-holic and I had just renewed my Premium Pass (it expires Saturday) opted for the Goofy and Mickey design.
So it isn't about being "greedy".

 

[DizTheWiz]

that is terrible sorry to hear that happened. I used to live in Thousand Oaks, I know how bad that trip is! lol!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Hmmm, I can certainly see why your disappointed, but not quite sure what else they could have done to make anyone feel better. Everyone was there for Nemo. For me anyway, no shiny of anything would have made me feel better. But then again we live 8-10 hours away, so our chances of coming back soon are a lot smaller then those with AP's who live near by! For us we'd be more disappointed in not being able to see it next week, because our next chance will be October (which us going twice in one year is rare anyway).

I agree with the others in that I hope you had a nice day at DL with your god daughter. I'm sure living near by and being an AP holder you'll get to see it very soon!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm sorry. That would be really disappointing.

 

[deletedpenguin]

I understand disapointment, but expecting something because you're disapointed is rediculous. Life is full of disapointing events, but it's how you react to those events that really show what kind of person you are.

 

[Pomlover2586]

With Nemo being a brand new ride certain "uh oh's" are to be expected.... ...this ride hasn't been run since 1996 [might be wrong on that date] and the're just now redoing it........I would anticipate quite a few break downs in the first few months......thats just how new rides go. It sucks that you didn't get to ride it.....but I really don't think that if your really just dissapointed with not being able to ride it and the CM's sincerity level that a freebie would have helped......unless you were just in it for the freebies...So my question to the OP is this; you said you wished they had handled it differently.......what would you have liked them to do?

 

[Zoemakes5]

Again, I was not too disappointed by the break down. I was disappointed in how they (specifically the "team" they had there) handled the situation. I understand that rides do break down that is not a problem. They were not "very" apologetic in their apologies and I was not alone in that sentiment.
I am still a Disney-holic and I had just renewed my Premium Pass (it expires Saturday) opted for the Goofy and Mickey design.
So it isn't about being "greedy".

I know what you mean. A few years ago, CM's (actually customer service in general) would have been all over themselves talking about "how very sorry they were" and "we can understand how disappointed you are" and perhaps offering something "for your trouble." Especially it being so late at night at not being able to come back to the ride later. Today, however, more and more places simply have the attitude "too bad, so sad". To not acknowledge what a bummer that must be for people is poor customer service, as far as I'm concerned. Lately, when I've had to call someone on something, I not only don't get the "we're so sorry", but I even get "what do you want me to do about it now?!"

 

[argusp2]

With Nemo being a brand new ride certain "uh oh's" are to be expected.... ...this ride hasn't been run since 1996 [might be wrong on that date] and the're just now redoing it........I would anticipate quite a few break downs in the first few months......thats just how new rides go. It sucks that you didn't get to ride it.....but I really don't think that if your really just dissapointed with not being able to ride it and the CM's sincerity level that a freebie would have helped......unless you were just in it for the freebies...So my question to the OP is this; you said you wished they had handled it differently.......what would you have liked them to do?

Not so much what I would liked them to do, but how they did what they did.
There was nothing they could have done. that much was already evident and I didn't expect them to do anything, breakdowns are breakdowns. The approach taken was very dismissive and to a group that has just been disappointed. I mentioned the "shiny object" only to illustrate that any token gesture would have been sufficient (for me at least) to soothe my disappointment. A Nemo sticker on my god-daughter's shirt (or mine for that matter - I'm easy) would have gone far and above.

Again folks, I'm not ranting about the ride breaking down, those things happen. I was disappointed in the handling of the situation, so please don't keep insinuating greed or the like in my motives. If the thread title was not clear enough then for that I apologize.
I've offered help to few here, I've offered to send maps from both parks to members as far as the Netherlands and the South Pacific everytime I come back from the parks and refuse to accept any offers for postage.
I am, have been and to my knowledge, will always be a Disney-holic. But if all you want to hear from trip reports are the warm and fuzzies then I'll stop posting.

If this is not the type of thread that "should" be here then I ask the moderators to kindly lock it or delete it altogether.

 

[Hofmanns4]

I completely agree with you. I understood from your original post that it was the sincerity of thier "apolpogy" that really bothered you. A "shiny object" or something other than a "Too bad, so sad, read the fine print" apology would have shown that they actually felt bad and cared about your business as a frequent AP visitor. It is not about the value, but the gesture.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Well I do agree with you in that they should have been more sincere in their apology.

There was one trip we took like 10 years ago, it was just DH and I at the time. Seemed like a lot of the rides were breaking down every day of the trip. There were times we spent over 30-45 minutes stuck on rides like Pirates, and it happened more then once! We did complain to one of the CM's because we wasted a lot of time on broken down rides (that they seemed to reopen without anything being really fixed, because it would happen again quickly!). They didn't seem to really care that much either. Not that I didn't know these things happen, but they didn't seem to care that after spending a lot of money on our vacation we felt disappointed in how much things were not working. A sincere apology is nice to get. Just shows that they care.