Disney is different now

[dsneprincess]

OP, I could have written your post. While we didn't have any problems with dirty linens or towels, the carpet in the room (Pop) was disgusting and WET in places. We thought we were crazy until we saw the room 4 doors down was flooded, carpet squishy with fans running to dry for 3 days as maintenance discussed how it was getting wetter, not drier. Yuck!

The 2 biggest issues we noticed in the park was filth and lack of upkeep. We commented in more than 1 queue line how much trash was laying along the bottom and sides of the queue. The discarded soda and water bottles, maps, trash were not swept or picked up. Pirates had bottles along the wall rails leading down to the boats, Soarin was loaded with garbage along the edges, even Small World was full of discards. It was something you never, ever saw at Disney. The lack of upkeep was obvious in that the attractions kept stopping. We stopped multiple times on multiple days in Haunted Mansion (1ride was 4times!), TTA, CoP, BTMRR went down daily, as did TT. It became a running joke. On this next one, I know we are weird, but it is something we watch/notice. When on an attraction, we look UP, as in ceilings. Used to be paint was pristine, no cobwebs or mold, missing ceiling tiles, etc, just showed a complete attention to detail. This time was BAD. Small World had tons of missing ceiling tiles, paint discolorations, what almost appeared to be a mold or something nasty growing (actually, think this may have to do with ceiling tiles being removed to possibly let heat escape). Pooh had paint issues, cobwebs. It just seemed sad and tired, which was never the Disney vibe.

I was sad when I left, because I expected to WANT to take my little DS ack again and again and again, but I just don't know. We did have a good time, MBs and FP+ were not as annoying as expected. FP+ worked really well for 3 attractions a 1 park, 2 of which you either didn't really want to ride or skipped altogether and the rest of the day was spent in line. PH became an expensive luxury, although we spent a lot of night time at MK, where ones were pre-FP+ late. My only FP+ complaint was that when DH and DS1 got stuck on Haunted Mansion (line said 20 minutes, they waited almost 60) and had 4 stops, they missed the Buzz FP+ window. We were not able to reschedule as MDX said all selections used. We had an android phone (older model) on which MDE/MDX app was of minimal use. Spent a lot of time thinking, spinning and never shut off properly causing battery drain quickly. I also had an itouch in room specifically for the app, where it worked better, but was still frustrating. I spent 75 minutes one night between the 2 devices trying to adjust the next days FP+s before I gave up and decided we will work with what we have made from home.

 

[EMode]

The 2 biggest issues we noticed in the park was filth and lack of upkeep. We commented in more than 1 queue line how much trash was laying along the bottom and sides of the queue. The discarded soda and water bottles, maps, trash were not swept or picked up. Pirates had bottles along the wall rails leading down to the boats, Soarin was loaded with garbage along the edges, even Small World was full of discards. It was something you never, ever saw at Disney. The lack of upkeep was obvious in that the attractions kept stopping. We stopped multiple times on multiple days in Haunted Mansion (1ride was 4times!), TTA, CoP, BTMRR went down daily, as did TT. It became a running joke. On this next one, I know we are weird, but it is something we watch/notice. When on an attraction, we look UP, as in ceilings. Used to be paint was pristine, no cobwebs or mold, missing ceiling tiles, etc, just showed a complete attention to detail. This time was BAD. Small World had tons of missing ceiling tiles, paint discolorations, what almost appeared to be a mold or something nasty growing (actually, think this may have to do with ceiling tiles being removed to possibly let heat escape). Pooh had paint issues, cobwebs. It just seemed sad and tired, which was never the Disney vibe.

I was sad when I left, because I expected to WANT to take my little DS ack again and again and again, but I just don't know. We did have a good time, MBs and FP+ were not as annoying as expected. FP+ worked really well for 3 attractions a 1 park, 2 of which you either didn't really want to ride or skipped altogether and the rest of the day was spent in line. PH became an expensive luxury, although we spent a lot of night time at MK, where ones were pre-FP+ late. My only FP+ complaint was that when DH and DS1 got stuck on Haunted Mansion (line said 20 minutes, they waited almost 60) and had 4 stops, they missed the Buzz FP+ window. We were not able to reschedule as MDX said all selections used. We had an android phone (older model) on which MDE/MDX app was of minimal use. Spent a lot of time thinking, spinning and never shut off properly causing battery drain quickly. I also had an itouch in room specifically for the app, where it worked better, but was still frustrating. I spent 75 minutes one night between the 2 devices trying to adjust the next days FP+s before I gave up and decided we will work with what we have made from home.

By that description it sounds like you were at a Six Flags park. Definitely not something you want to feel when you are at WDW.
On our last trip I noticed that the parks were dirtier than in the past. I was always so impressed with how Disney kept its parks pristine despite the crowds, but that isn't the case anymore.

 

[kbelle8995]

As usual CM's receive the brunt of some guests displeasure, I really feel bad for them. I'm sorry you had these problems OP.

 

[clsteve]

By that description it sounds like you were at a Six Flags park. Definitely not something you want to feel when you are at WDW.
On our last trip I noticed that the parks were dirtier than in the past. I was always so impressed with how Disney kept its parks pristine despite the crowds, but that isn't the case anymore.

It starts to make you wonder how the heavy hit FP+ is on the OPs Budget right now is factoring into this- especially on maintenance and CM's. The basis number was staggering on the earnings call.

 

[antmaril]

I was there last week and while I never encountered any grumpy CM's or problems with our room at the Beach Club, Disney did feel different to me. I can't really explain it. I have been going to Disney regularly since 1991 and have always loved it. This time, I was with a friend who hadn't been there since she went to the MK on her honeymoon almost 40 years ago. I hoped she would love it, but I am not sure she did. She said she had a good time, but all of the parks felt very crowded (when it was supposed to be a relatively slow week). Restaurants were kind of crazy. I don't know, I feel like it is going to be a while before I go back.

I liked the Magic Bands. For the most part, they worked perfectly. When there was a glitch, it was remedied in seconds. FP+ was okay. I was able to ride Toy Story Mania for the first time because of FP+, but I didn't care for all the advanced planning. Also, I think people with park hoppers should be able to schedule FP+ at more than one park per day.

Anyway, just my two cents.

 

[flutterby3744]

I've had good and bad experiences at Disney since I can remember (25 years)...and the current Disney is no more worse or better then past Disney. Like any resort or vacation place your experience is hit or miss...I've gone to Hilton Head every other year for a golf vacation and have had experiences (with restaurants, hotels, and golfing) that have ranged from excellent to poor, sometimes everyone you come into contact with is at the top of their game and others may be at the end of an 8 hour shift and just finished dealing with a series of extremely rude individuals. I think we expect that the people at Disney should be "Disney" all the time when in the end they are humans who like everyone else are effected by their experiences. In the end the treatment from an employee is a tiny detail in the overall experience.

Wait time....it is an estimate based on the tracking of those red cards they hand out to random guests at the beginning of the line....a lot can change and happen from one red card to the next that effects the time in line.

The dirty room is in inexcusable, but I don't understand why you couldn't go to Wishes? Were you required to watch them clean your room?

Fifteen minutes on the phone correcting an error....I've spent significantly more time on the phone with cellular, cable, and other companies correcting errors. In the end the issue was corrected....

This is exactly correct. When on vacations, problems can and DO occur. I don't think I've ever taken a vacation in my life that went off without a hitch!

Right now Disney is switching a MASSIVE system over to a new one. I understand that people don't want their vacations "ruined" after the time and money spent, but you have to put it into perspective. I have been a part of more than a few "system upgrades" at various companies, and EVERY SINGLE ONE has issues, sometimes large issues. This is technology, folks. It's a double edged sword: when it works, it's the best, most convenient thing in the world....but when it doesn't it can be a real nightmare.

Have any of you dealt with cable or phone companies for MONTHS trying to resolve a problem....I have. Have you been in line at a retail store during Christmas Shopping when their systems went down....I have. Have you made a reservation at a non-Disney hotel or restaurant only for said reservation disappear into "the interwebs"....I have. It happens, usually at the most inconvenient times. Your attitude is what determines the outcome though.

They will figure it out. In the meantime, have some patience - you're on vacation!!!!!

 

[Cais]

We just got back from a great vacation. On our arrival night we stopped at Wendy's to grab a bite to eat. There were some Disney CM there getting food complaining how horrible it is to work there. They were very loud and they were calling MK Tragic Kingdom. I know they were not at work at the time but there were little kids there listening.

Tragic Kingdom and Extra Tragic Hours is a joke that's almost as old as the park itself.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Missyrose]

We stopped multiple times on multiple days in Haunted Mansion (1ride was 4times!), TTA, CoP, BTMRR went down daily, as did TT. It became a running joke.

I'm not trying to excuse Disney, but the continuous loading rides (TTA, HM) will stop anytime someone needs extra time to get onto or off the ride. Most people think these stoppages are breakdowns, but they're not.

CoP and BTMR, on the other hand, were probably stopped for other reasons (maybe a problem or, most of the time these days, an idiot guest standing up when they shouldn't).

 

[wdwfan]

My family and I have been to Disney almost every year since 2000. Last year was our roughest trip of all. We stayed at Yacht Club, Club Level, which was over all very nice. The problem we had was that our dining plan was not working on the magic bands. Magic bands worked great for tickets into parks, fp+, opening room door, however, we could not access our meal plan or charge back to our room on it. Complete failure. We struggled with it for days... restaurant cm's wanted us to just pay for our meals and work it out with Yacht Club when the meal plans wouldn't work on the magic bands or even using the old "swiping system." It was a complete nightmare! This went on for days... I went to management and all they could do was try and "piece meal" a solution that worked for maybe a day, but then the problem would come back again. After 4 days, of staying positive and working with them, it became obvious that the problem could not be fixed while we were there, and I just wanted to pack it in and leave. Disney did make good during the process with offering credits and fast passes, and finally a very good gesture at the end, which is the reason I'm going to have a go at it again this summer with them.

However, I did not purchase the dining plan this time around. I'm not going that route again. We'll just pay out of pocket for all of our meals when we are there. I hope we have an easier stay this summer.

 

[sonofanarchy]

Tragic Kingdom and Extra Tragic Hours is a joke that's almost as old as the park itself.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Doesn't make it right.

 

[Ametista]

We're here now - and have to agree that there is a general problem with CMs and their relationship with guests.

This is to be expected. If you think guests have a problem with the MDX (My Disney eXperience - I had several CMs correct me when I'd use "MDE") consider that while you may be working with MDX for a week or so for them it is a permanent change - every day the same questions, the same frustrated guests whom they cannot help and the same work-arounds to get things done.

I asked a CM at MK at a "FP+ Kiosk" about what will happen to park-hopping now that FP+ limited you to fast passes in one park on one day and she got outright defensive. The CMs are on the front line of the mess ill-conceived by management and poorly programmed by people that NEVER interact with guests - they can't change it, they're TRYING to make it work. Don't think it makes coming to work in the "Happiest Place on Earth" a very happy experience for the CMs.

I wish there was a like button. I feel sorry for the CMs. I also noticed even the employees at the car rental places at MCO were very testy last month. I think lots of crabby people are being created by the DW changes.

 

[JRawkSteady]

I have to agree about the CMs. They don't seem to really police them as much as they used to. When I was a Cast Member, they had a strenuous process to hire, but then in 2005, they hired a friend of mine, who has NO business being a Cast Member (we worked together in customer service in NYC and she was lazy, uncaring, and cold towards guests). I asked her what the process was like. She applied and they just said "welcome aboard." No interview, no nothing....

But besides the very noticeable CM problem, we have had nothing but AMAZING experiences on our past few trips.

 

[ellie05]

Wow, that's awful. I'm sorry! Thank you for sharing. Did you contact Disney? It seems as though others have had success with letting them know about their poor experiences.

I will contact Disney today.

After 6 years of a week vacation, we are planning to go one more time in November. This scares me. We are already apprehensive as they have changed FP which just seems crazy in that I have to try to figure out when our lazy family will get out of bed and into the park. But they have also changed the disabilities process which I need due to a back problem. My husband is already concerned about how our Disney experience will be different. These posts just solidify that. Why are they implementing so many changes all together. Shouldn't they just work at one "problem" (which were not really problems in my opinion) at a time--getting the process down? I guess we should go into it with low expectations and then we will have a good vacation for our last trip to Disney.

I will be completely honest with you. I really didn't believe all the post before we went. But the feeling was just very very different. FP+ worked really well for us it was mainly all the other issues that ruin our trip.

He could have made the same observation a few years ago, when their behavior began to change. The customer service focus at WDW has been on the decline for a number of years. It has been obvious to most of the WDW vets.

The old timer CMs still have a great attitude, for the most part. They really seem to both love their jobs and understand the old school Disney focus on customer service. I suspect that the newer employees simply are not getting the same training and direction.

I would disagree it wasn't just new employees we talked to many CM's during our stay. In all our trips we have encountered less than happy CM's, but this was an overwhelming difference. I would expect a manager to at least apologize when a guest gets a dirty room.

I've had good and bad experiences at Disney since I can remember (25 years)...and the current Disney is no more worse or better then past Disney. Like any resort or vacation place your experience is hit or miss...I've gone to Hilton Head every other year for a golf vacation and have had experiences (with restaurants, hotels, and golfing) that have ranged from excellent to poor, sometimes everyone you come into contact with is at the top of their game and others may be at the end of an 8 hour shift and just finished dealing with a series of extremely rude individuals. I think we expect that the people at Disney should be "Disney" all the time when in the end they are humans who like everyone else are effected by their experiences. In the end the treatment from an employee is a tiny detail in the overall experience.

Wait time....it is an estimate based on the tracking of those red cards they hand out to random guests at the beginning of the line....a lot can change and happen from one red card to the next that effects the time in line.

The dirty room is in inexcusable, but I don't understand why you couldn't go to Wishes? Were you required to watch them clean your room?

Fifteen minutes on the phone correcting an error....I've spent significantly more time on the phone with cellular, cable, and other companies correcting errors. In the end the issue was corrected....

I agree that every vacation experience to the same place is different and that the CM's are dealing with a lot of changes right now. We went prepared for this, but it is completely unacceptable to have a manager not even apologize for all the problems with had. I have been a manager in the hospitality before and mostly we deal with complains that is huge part of our job. I would never think of treating any guest like that let alone in a company that is supposed to have "legendary customer service". I think Disney felt very different as some other people have said too.

I understand how wait times work, but never in our many trip to Disney lines have been so inaccurate. In fact many times after we ended up waiting longer than posted when we got out of the ride we checked the posted time and it was still not changed after 30 min wait.

We couldn't go to wishes because we woke up at 5 am that morning the whole point of leaving epcot was to go take a quick nap, but that didn't happen. First we had to wait for the housekeeper to show up. When she show up she only brought stuff to clean the fridge. We showed her all the other problems and she left saying she needed to send someone else to fix them. At that point DH called again and asked for the Housekeeping manager to come to our room (by the way he never showed up). Another housekeeper shows up only has the stuff to change the linens. We again have to tell him that the room need to be vacuum, dusted and the phone needs to be cleaned. He tells us no one said that to him, so he has to go back to get the rest of the stuff. After the whole thing too much time has gone by there was no time to nap or drive to the MK.

This is exactly correct. When on vacations, problems can and DO occur. I don't think I've ever taken a vacation in my life that went off without a hitch!

Right now Disney is switching a MASSIVE system over to a new one. I understand that people don't want their vacations "ruined" after the time and money spent, but you have to put it into perspective. I have been a part of more than a few "system upgrades" at various companies, and EVERY SINGLE ONE has issues, sometimes large issues. This is technology, folks. It's a double edged sword: when it works, it's the best, most convenient thing in the world....but when it doesn't it can be a real nightmare.

Have any of you dealt with cable or phone companies for MONTHS trying to resolve a problem....I have. Have you been in line at a retail store during Christmas Shopping when their systems went down....I have. Have you made a reservation at a non-Disney hotel or restaurant only for said reservation disappear into "the interwebs"....I have. It happens, usually at the most inconvenient times. Your attitude is what determines the outcome though.

They will figure it out. In the meantime, have some patience - you're on vacation!!!!!

I don't expect to have to be transfer 3 times to get a problem fix while on vacation. This is not the phone or cable company. Yes at the end the issue was corrected and if this would have been the only issue it would have been no problem. Not all our Disney vacations have been smooth, but so many issues in a 4 day period it is way too much.

I was there last week and while I never encountered any grumpy CM's or problems with our room at the Beach Club, Disney did feel different to me. I can't really explain it. I have been going to Disney regularly since 1991 and have always loved it. This time, I was with a friend who hadn't been there since she went to the MK on her honeymoon almost 40 years ago. I hoped she would love it, but I am not sure she did. She said she had a good time, but all of the parks felt very crowded (when it was supposed to be a relatively slow week). Restaurants were kind of crazy. I don't know, I feel like it is going to be a while before I go back.

I liked the Magic Bands. For the most part, they worked perfectly. When there was a glitch, it was remedied in seconds. FP+ was okay. I was able to ride Toy Story Mania for the first time because of FP+, but I didn't care for all the advanced planning. Also, I think people with park hoppers should be able to schedule FP+ at more than one park per day.

Anyway, just my two cents.

All issues aside it does feel so different.

 

[Karbase8]

I agree was last there in August 2013 and MK seemed dirtier then usual and run down. The bathrooms have been that way for a few years. I am really surprised by it. I had problems with my maid service and I am not picky at all where the maid took the tip and didn't clean the room! I still love WDW but there has been a lot of changes. I still always manage to have a great time it's just disappointing with the rise of costs

 

[MuggleMamaX4]

We just got back from our vacation and sadly for the first time we are not contemplating a trip any time soon(and it was not because of FP+). The major differences we notice.

Parks
-CM attitudes specially at EP and MK. They looked miserable and their attitude was just not friendly at all. The service was so bad.
-The time posted for the rides were very inaccurate. We will end up waiting 10+ min more than the posted time. Once we even heard the CM asked the guest how long they estimate they been waiting and changed the time based on that. The guest was not even sure, but it didn't seem to matter.
-At the MK a few rides were closed at RD even though the app and the time posted said 10 min. The CM didn't' even bother to let people know that the ride was closed. So after waiting 5 min I went to ask. They said the ride is just closed. I asked if there was a problem with it, but the response was that there is nothing wrong with it it is just closed and they do not know when they will decide to open.

Hotel
We stayed at ASMo and it was terrible. Our room was dirty when we checked in. The fridge wasn't clean there was crumbs on the carpet, everything was really dusty, the phone was gross and there was dirt on the sheets.We check in early, drop our bags by the door and left to epcot. When we came back tired we saw how dirty the room was. We weren't able to take our nap because we had to wait for someone to come clean the room and change the linens.Needless to say we weren't able to go to the MK for wishes. The manager didn't seem to think it was a big deal and was very unapologetic about it. The next day we found a roll of toilet paper, a dirty towel and tissue on top of the table. And the next day our towels had holes in them. I will post pictures later.

MB
We really liked the MB they were comfortable and din't have any problems.

FP+
Worked really well didn't had any problems with it.
The cons will have to be that it is not easy to reschedule for busy rides the same day. Sometimes we had to choose between going to our FP or going back to nap. But on the other hand for the first time we were able to sleep in without having to spend time in lines.

Dinning Plan
To end our vacation we went to our last TB ADR and they told us we didn't had any TS credits left. We had to spend 15 min on the phone to fix the issue. A snack apparently charge as a TS credit.

The special feeling was just gone we found ourselves trying really hard to enjoy things but we had problem after problem. After 4 days we were ready to get out of there.

My mom said the same thing. We thought the customer service was not what it was the last trip. Often times information was very inconsistent with the FP+ and magic band uses. We had trouble and got different explanations every store we visited while trying to use our magic bands and our Disney Visa discounts in the store. Although our band was linked to our Visa, we had to show the card or actually use the card to get the discount. It was hard to keep our patience, I can't imagine what the employees are going through. Also, it seemed like they had a lot of new employees, not a lot of veterans working except in the restaurants.

 

[snoopy352]

Lots of Disney apologists here, lol.

1.) The OP had a terrible experience - why ask her why she couldn't do Wishes or attempt to put her on the defensive when 15 crucial minutes of her day were spent waiting for a resolution to a problem she shouldn't even have had to begin with?

2.) Why does everyone feel so sorry for the CMs? The OP spent presumably thousands and thousands of dollars on her family's big vaca and it was a major letdown partially BECAUSE of the CMs. How many of us have issues with our employers? About 90% I'd venture to say. CMs are being paid to do a job. To equate someone with a bad job to a guest spending thousands on a trip with their families is ludicrous. If we were talking about unsatisfying jobs or work woes, then yeah, I'd feel very sorry for the CMs. But to compare a CM with a bad attitude making money at his/her job to a GUEST on an EXPENSIVE vacation is lunacy.

 

[king kamehameha]

We are also looking to vacation elsewhere as Disney has just "lost it's magic" for us. It is a different place and experience than it was even a few years ago. I hope they know what they are doing as it seems the people that know and love Disney are changing their minds on where to spend their hard earned money. The value for what a WDW vacation costs just isn't there anymore. This is just my opinion and others may vary. We will be back someday but a lot needs to change before then.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't think anyone is pitying the CMs. I think it's just that people are thinking that the reason the CMs seem miserable is because of all the new stuff that they have to deal with, on top of confused and angry customers. When I see a trend of miserable CMs like I did on our last trip, I blame Disney. Something is wrong higher up for so many of them to look so stressed out.

 

[dwheaton]

I think this post brings up an unintended additional negative effect of FP+. Beyond what it does to each visit (some love it, others like me have major concerns), it puts so much more pressure on the CMs to deal with difficulties for guests and try to explain the changes. A good portion know nothing about FP+ or don't understand the restrictions. The decisions are being made by management, but the pressure is hitting the CMs, who don't make very high salaries. I expect the change is not due to worse hiring but has to do with the larger difficulties of the job.

 

[ConvenientTruth]

Lots of Disney apologists here, lol.

1.) The OP had a terrible experience - why ask her why she couldn't do Wishes or attempt to put her on the defensive when 15 crucial minutes of her day were spent waiting for a resolution to a problem she shouldn't even have had to begin with?

It is about perspective....15 minutes is typically a minor amount of time on a vacation. If the problem was not resolved then I can understand, but it was...after a relatively quick phone call.

I would say I'm not a Disney apologist, but a person with reasonable expectations. I have never been on any trip (Disney or otherwise) that has not had its share of "warts"....Disney is not perfect and expecting it to be is the real lunacy.

2.) Why does everyone feel so sorry for the CMs? The OP spent presumably thousands and thousands of dollars on her family's big vaca and it was a major letdown partially BECAUSE of the CMs. How many of us have issues with our employers? About 90% I'd venture to say. CMs are being paid to do a job. To equate someone with a bad job to a guest spending thousands on a trip with their families is ludicrous. If we were talking about unsatisfying jobs or work woes, then yeah, I'd feel very sorry for the CMs. But to compare a CM with a bad attitude making money at his/her job to a GUEST on an EXPENSIVE vacation is lunacy.

Why should I feel sorry for the employees? Paying a good deal of money on a Vacation does not excuse someone from being a ******* on their vacation (I'm not saying the OP was or is at all, just an observation of what I have seen these employees go through)...I have seen the CM's yelled out, cursed at, insulted, told they were going to get "fired" over issues that were out of their control. After a while it is going to wear on an individual. To expect them to be perfect or absolutely cheerful all the time, again is the lunacy.

Reasonable expectations.....