Disney is different now

[Davey Jones II]

I agree with you 100%. At no point have I stated otherwise and if I have, then please point me there because I then need to correct myself and edit my post appropriately.



I deal with this at work. Many of us do. It sometimes comes with the job. No, it's not great and if it escalates, we have a reporting line in place which gives me back up as that would fall under the 'abuse of staff' category and is not tolerated. I have never said they have to just get over it. I simply pointed out in responding to your post which I quoted previously, that you can't compare DISers being allowed to moan and CM's being unhappy and measure them on the same scale. One group is the customer base paying for a service and the other is a staff base being paid to offer or deliver that service.
I'm not arguing with your defense of the CM's in principal; but we need to put things in context.

Actually, they are being underpaid to deliver that service, and the job is more difficult than ever, thanks to the new tech crap Disney is trying to force down everyone's throat (open wider, please...).

I have read many times that, in Walt's day, working at Disneyland was a career choice. Today, the company has huge financial resources, but treats their employees like burger flippers at McDonald's. This is a company that (in the past) earned a sterling reputation for customer service, but underpays and undertrains their staff, and does a poor job of recruiting. Of course, how can you recruit the best service people when they will be underappreciated, overworked and barely earn a living wage? The best potential CMs will go elsewhere, for a real job.

 

[DisneyAllyC]

An absolutely magical first day. Can't complain

 

[tim123]

I have also worked in customer service and in a bank (customer service side) and now at a hospital in a place that receives alot of complaints and the way I see it is that:

1. The CMs are saying the same thing for possibly the 50th time that day so lets be honest, their enthusiasm is a bit waning. Anyone's would be.

2. And I think this is a BIG one...most of times the CMs (or customer service people in general) aren't rude per se. It is mainly a perception of the guest they are speaking with who is probably aggravated to begin with. As you know, perception is reality. So if as a guest you are annoyed at something, an innocent comment can be taken wrong. We have all done it.

FWIW, if I get annoyed at any customer service person trying to help me and I am visibly annoyed, I always apologize to the person. I let them know it is not them but the situation and I'm sorry if I seem to be over vocalizing. It goes a long way.

And for those saying that people spend thousands of $$$ and they should never encounter a less that overly enthusiastic CM....well I you know what? Everyone paid thousands for their trip, and that still doesn't give you the right to walk around with an attitude which is exactly how it comes over. Whenever I come across someone that has to announce that I paid XYZ so I expect nothing less than ABC I know a complaint is soon to follow because they will have a hard time accepting anything less than perfection.

(sorry for the last bit. I've been reading this alot lately and it totally annoys me.)

You want to talk about how the park has changed? Lets talk about the annoying entitled guests walking around screaming at their kids, trying to get in lines they aren't supposed to be in, no respect for anyone else around them like the park was open just for them. Want to talk about dirt, how about spoiled guests who just drop their crap anywhere they see fit. I bet after a day with those people, even Mother Theresa would get a tad touchy.

**rant over**

I have to agree. Our culture has changed big time. I was there in the 70s…people wore jackets and dresses when they went out. Children were not so entitled. We were happy with just the MK and 2 hotels. Our pace and expectations were slower. And people didn't go to WDW every year, let alone multiple times year. We are a culture of 'I want it now'…And the fact is is that corporate America couldn't care less about you and your customer expectations. Profit baby. They don't pump you gas and and your windshield at Exxon..its not Esso anymore. Its going to just get worse and worse. Bring your own magic and love and blow kisses to those who are havin a rough time and be happy you got the $$ to go at all. i believe we are headed for a future of transhumanism..look up the term….only good possibility technologically is the future advent of a time machine device….WDW will be great again!! You can go back to 1982 and open Epcot and October 71 and stay at the Poly or 94 and groove at the Lodge…or River country..how bout riding the train at Ft Wilderness? I'd say we are 20 years away from that reality! Magic bands will be a thing of the past. Ha!

 

[2Tiggies]

Actually, they are being underpaid to deliver that service, and the job is more difficult than ever, thanks to the new tech crap Disney is trying to force down everyone's throat (open wider, please...).

I have read many times that, in Walt's day, working at Disneyland was a career choice. Today, the company has huge financial resources, but treats their employees like burger flippers at McDonald's. This is a company that (in the past) earned a sterling reputation for customer service, but underpays and undertrains their staff, and does a poor job of recruiting. Of course, how can you recruit the best service people when they will be underappreciated, overworked and barely earn a living wage? The best potential CMs will go elsewhere, for a real job.

I don't dispute anything you say. I also do not under any circumstances condone shouting at, disrespecting or taking out frustrations on the staff. I think we agree on that. What I was pointing out to the poster I had quoted in that post of mine was that we need to keep things in context. It tracks back to previous posts where we quoted and responded to each other in this thread and my point is that CM's being unhappy is an issue for them to take up with the employer. As guests we cannot resolve that problem for them. We can certainly be considerate and keep in mind when dealing with them that they are working in less than ideal conditions and I fully support that approach. But the poster to whom I responded had put Disney staff and Disney guests in the same category in a previous post and it was on that basis that I responded. I cannot take out my payroll frustrations on our clients. That is an issue between me and my employer, not me and the clients. That's all I was trying to say

 

[ptcbass]

I have some family that was there last week and they said they don't know that they will ever go back. They didn't necessarily have a bad time or anything really go wrong. The bands didn't want to work and that was a little frustrating but overall the trip was good. I think the problem is that you have to keep a schedule and the ride lines are just too long. They just didn't come back with that warm fuzzy Disney feeling that we are all used to. We are going in May so I will get to see for myself how much it has changed since were there in 2010. We don't get to try to get fast passes until Thursday and I have heard that is frustrating too. We will see.
It is also a different Disney experience when you are expecting these things rather than them blind siding you.

 

[faneuil]

Folks, these are theme parks. The magic is not in your little tech toy, it's all around you -- or at least, it's supposed to be. People can't leave their phones behind when on vacation? Fine, but if Disney starts making the parks all about smart phones, we might as well just stay at home...

This.

Cell phones and tablets are already a huge enough distraction sometimes. But it gets sad when you need it all day just to use the park.

 

[faneuil]

Of course, how can you recruit the best service people when they will be underappreciated, overworked and barely earn a living wage? The best potential CMs will go elsewhere, for a real job.

$8.00 a hour isn't even a living wage.
I'm sure Disney is watching ppl's hours like crazy too, because once you average over 30 hours a week over a certain period, all the new health care laws kick in too.

When I first moved to Florida, I thought about working at Disney - at least for a little. Casting felt like a cattle drive, and the recruiters worked as quickly as the could to interview, decide and move on. I decided I wanted Disney to be my happy place and not my work place - so I told them no thanks.

 

[JanaDee]

We want them to invest in park infrastructure, not IT. That means making more consistent and greater investments in the rides and attractions. That is the area where there is the most stagnation. The Disney Parks division is in the theme park business, not the software business. They should be using tech to create great, cutting edge new rides (and plussing of existing ones) like Universal does. Universal has their priorities straight, and that is why Disney's rival is steadily gaining ground on the industry leader.

Cell phones and apps? Those are things people play with to pass the time in the standby line. They are a side issue at best.

Folks, these are theme parks. The magic is not in your little tech toy, it's all around you -- or at least, it's supposed to be. People can't leave their phones behind when on vacation? Fine, but if Disney starts making the parks all about smart phones, we might as well just stay at home...

It is nearly impossible to have a decent vacation at Disney without a smartphone. You are now tied to it for the length of your trip (checking wait times, scheduling/changing FP+ times, doing dining reservations, etc).

Disney is making the parks all about smart phones, with FP+.

 

[2Tiggies]

It is nearly impossible to have a decent vacation at Disney without a smartphone. You are now tied to it for the length of your trip (checking wait times, scheduling/changing FP+ times, doing dining reservations, etc).

Disney is making the parks all about smart phones, with FP+.

Yeah I think where they missed the boat on this one is that they have made it pretty much mandatory, rather than an optional enhancement.

 

[ConvenientTruth]

I wonder how many would have said they would have loved the idea to get fast passes on their phones a couple of years ago, instead of running from place to place.

 

[morethananyonex]

I wonder how many would have said they would have loved the idea to get fast passes on their phones a couple of years ago, instead of running from place to place.

I do like that part.

I don't like the awful app that takes 10 times longer than it should, the limits placed on said FP, and all the issues switching to using technology had brought along with it.

Knowing what we know now, I would rather "run" from place to place (and push over innocent children in my way) collecting FP-. The way they have designed the system causes you to be on your phone way longer than you should to do anything. Hopefully that's fixed in the future.

 

[faneuil]

I wonder how many would have said they would have loved the idea to get fast passes on their phones a couple of years ago, instead of running from place to place.

Here's the rub for me.
I love being about to use MDX to check wait times and not having to run across the park. I can't count the number of times I would run from Splash to Space to find out wait times. But when I do check, I move to the side, out of the way, and check.

What I don't want to see - and what is happening - is when people are walking around, staring at their phone, going, "we're 23 feet away from X". They're not soaking in the park, they're just reading a phone from point A to point B. Little kids playing with an iPad - instead of looking up and seeing what's around them. People stopping in the middle of the walkway, to read their dang MDX, or check their FP+.

This isn't all Disney's fault, but a sad statement on our society that people can't live without Angry Birds for a day. Yes, I realize some children have issues that require it. I'd rather a child with sensory issues play with an iPad than be overwhelmed and crying. But some people use the technology as an excuse to stay in a bubble and not experience Disney.

 

[2Tiggies]

I wonder how many would have said they would have loved the idea to get fast passes on their phones a couple of years ago, instead of running from place to place.

I would have but in addition to the points the above poster mentioned, I would have expected them to use the new technology with the old system and let you book one at a time as your next window opened, on a similar principle to the way legacy FP worked (so efficiently IMO). I did not expect to be limited to what rides I can FP, how many I can select, being restricted to one FP per day for any particular ride and I would certainly never have expected the side effect of lengthy standby lines at attractions that have barely ever seen a line, in addition to being pretty much 'locked out' of the headliners without spending silly amounts of time in line.

It just feels like they had this great idea and it was all good to a point, but then when it got to putting it in place, they started making it up as they went along

 

[ellie05]

OP here I know that the service industry can get to you. For the ones that are saying the CM have to answer the same questions 1,000 times that would happen regardless. Most people don't know a lot about Disney so CM would get the same questions over and over again with or with out FP+. I would say that during our trip we only saw only person giving a hard time to a CM and that was over ADR's at BOG.

What surprised us is the difference in the CM attitudes from park to park. I was sure that the parks with the tiering will be the most affected by the negative backlash, but the CM at DHS were very nice. A huge difference between MK and EP. We were approached several times by CMs with iPads to make sure we had our reservations (at the MK). They were very nice, they were smiling, they didn't seem to have the attitude of the majority of them had. We did notice a difference at DHS the finger scan was giving DH trouble. Immediately out of nowhere a supervisor was right there to fix any issues. I couldn't say the same for the MK or EP. Maybe it has more to do with management and the support they are giving their employees in the different parks and not about the new system itself.

Even though we weren't very happy with our vacation we were never rude to a CM even when I had to deal with the housekeeping problems everyday of our stay. I would say it is hard to tell someone they are doing a good job when they are not as someone suggested here. We made a point to talk to CM, but even that was hard sometimes with the attitude they had.

 

[Cherinva]

We want them to invest in park infrastructure, not IT. That means making more consistent and greater investments in the rides and attractions. That is the area where there is the most stagnation. The Disney Parks division is in the theme park business, not the software business. They should be using tech to create great, cutting edge new rides (and plussing of existing ones) like Universal does. Universal has their priorities straight, and that is why Disney's rival is steadily gaining ground on the industry leader.

Cell phones and apps? Those are things people play with to pass the time in the standby line. They are a side issue at best.

Folks, these are theme parks. The magic is not in your little tech toy, it's all around you -- or at least, it's supposed to be. People can't leave their phones behind when on vacation? Fine, but if Disney starts making the parks all about smart phones, we might as well just stay at home...

This !!!!! When I go on vacation, the last thing I want is to be tied to my phone or my tablet....I'm on vacation...I just want to have some fun and enjoy the sights around me.

 

[ellie05]

This isn't all Disney's fault, but a sad statement on our society that people can't live without Angry Birds for a day. Yes, I realize some children have issues that require it. I'd rather a child with sensory issues play with an iPad than be overwhelmed and crying. But some people use the technology as an excuse to stay in a bubble and not experience Disney.

I agree it is our society. How many times you go to a restaurant and see the kids on their phone the whole time? For us is every time we go out. We were at mama melrose and both families next to us were on their phone/tablet the whole time! I seriously wanted to take a picture because it was so ridiculous. They didn't said a word to each other until the bill came.

 

[ConvenientTruth]

I do like that part.

I don't like the awful app that takes 10 times longer than it should, the limits placed on said FP, and all the issues switching to using technology had brought along with it.

Knowing what we know now, I would rather "run" from place to place (and push over innocent children in my way) collecting FP-. The way they have designed the system causes you to be on your phone way longer than you should to do anything. Hopefully that's fixed in the future.

I think many forget this is still in its infancy. Yes, it is slow and it can be obtrusive, but a large scale roll out is what is needed to see how the system will respond with typical numbers. As information is gathered the powers to be will make the needed adjustments (we hope)

Here's the rub for me.
I love being about to use MDX to check wait times and not having to run across the park. I can't count the number of times I would run from Splash to Space to find out wait times. But when I do check, I move to the side, out of the way, and check.

What I don't want to see - and what is happening - is when people are walking around, staring at their phone, going, "we're 23 feet away from X". They're not soaking in the park, they're just reading a phone from point A to point B. Little kids playing with an iPad - instead of looking up and seeing what's around them. People stopping in the middle of the walkway, to read their dang MDX, or check their FP+.

This isn't all Disney's fault, but a sad statement on our society that people can't live without Angry Birds for a day. Yes, I realize some children have issues that require it. I'd rather a child with sensory issues play with an iPad than be overwhelmed and crying. But some people use the technology as an excuse to stay in a bubble and not experience Disney.

Agreed, Disney is simply taking advantage of what is already taking place in society. It is what people want (the majority) and Disney is doing what they can to cater to that group.

I would have but in addition to the points the above poster mentioned, I would have expected them to use the new technology with the old system and let you book one at a time as your next window opened, on a similar principle to the way legacy FP worked (so efficiently IMO). I did not expect to be limited to what rides I can FP, how many I can select, being restricted to one FP per day for any particular ride and I would certainly never have expected the side effect of lengthy standby lines at attractions that have barely ever seen a line, in addition to being pretty much 'locked out' of the headliners without spending silly amounts of time in line.

It just feels like they had this great idea and it was all good to a point, but then when it got to putting it in place, they started making it up as they went along

In the end it could move in that direction, but a large scale roll out implementing a system similar to the one that was in existence would be even more difficult to manage. As time passes and data is collected they can make adjustments to be closer to what many are use to. I know it is not what people want, but it is the nature of the beast. In time the system will be significantly better then previous ways of conducting business.

 

[magicbob]

Knowing what we know now, I would rather "run" from place to place (and push over innocent children in my way) collecting FP-.

Was there any other way to do it?

The way they have designed the system causes you to be on your phone way longer than you should to do anything. Hopefully that's fixed in the future.

Well, in fairness, you need something to pass the time while you're waiting in the FP+ line (not to mention the long standby lines).

 

[3Gsandme]

Maybe this is just how my family is, but I didn't feel overly tied to my phone at all. In fact, the trip was far less stressful than I anticipated from reading the Disboards. Our process was thus; get off a ride/attraction and then pull up wait times to see what there was to do around us with a line we were willing to stand in. Test Track has a short line (20 minutes). Let's go. Phone into my pocket for the next check. I didn't feel tied to it or bound to use it. It made touring a lot easier for us. Dare I say I liked it? I was able to switch FastPass+ times when I needed to (except for two that I didn't try because I didn't expect to be able to switch them). It's not going to suit everyone, that's for sure, but I found it really useful and easy to use. And, really, I think this sort of thing is going to become a standard. People (maybe not all) want to use their phone for this sort of information. Does it always work perfectly? No. These boards tell us it doesn't, but it does, IMO, work well.

 

[momtobrynncess]

I've read through every page of this thread, and I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on OP's photos that were posted a few pages ago. Personally, photos 1 and 2 made me want to hurl.

I can take a few things with me from this thread for my next trip.

Clearly, there are kinks to work out, and many folks have had issues with their magic bands. I will prepare for that possibility, and be pleasantly surprised if it all goes well.

In all my trips, I have never run into rude CM's. Some lacking in knowledge? Yes. I did once see a guest yelling at a CM about something and felt awful for that CM. She just stood there while the guest was sccreaming at her. I found that unacceptable.

We have had minor issues over the years with room issues but nothing major. Not filth as I saw in OP's photos.

I do think that the attitude of some Disney guests has drastically changed. Many have eluded to this. The sense of entitlement by some guests is radical, but the sense of entitlement ugly face rears it's head in many places, not just at Disney. This is not to say that this is the case for OP.

I have enjoyed reading the differing opinions from folks with regard to what Disney and it's guests are going through as Disney changes.