Disney is losing some magic......

[Luckybee]

Exactly right. Frequent travelers know things will go wrong. I've consistently booked over 100 nights a year for business and roughly 60 nights a year for leisure. I was in Orlando twice in November, two weeks over Thanksgiving at WDW and the first week of November at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort.

Hospitality is a rough business, possibly even harder than food service since it contains that component. So I understand that things can go wrong, I have no problem with that. At the Rosen, I was surprised to have two large roaches scurry across the room one morning. It's Florida, and they don't even call them roaches because they are so common. I stopped by the front desk on my way to a conference and asked if they could treat the room. No problem.

That night I got a call from them offering me two night's free stay and 50% off all food purchases in the restaurants.

If you know the story behind Rosen, he used to work at Disney. He saw a degradation of service over time and vowed to be even better then Disney.

Apparently, he is succeeding.

Part of the problem and why some on here don't quite grasp that it is a problem is that many on the boards really travel little else than to Disney. Although our business travel is only a few weeks a year our leisure travel until recently was similar to yours (medical issues but I expect it'll be back up there again soon ) If one's only basis of comparison is another Disney property one's expectations I expect would be lower.

 

[raddisneyfan]

At a good hotel one can rely on assurances that are made. At a good hotel they can and do commit to various things such as not having to move rooms. At a good hotel one would be speaking to the front office if that is who you ask for, and not to some unknown call center. And finally at a good hotel one does not need to trek all the way to the front desk to sort out a problem. And most importantly at a good hotel he would not have to have gone through what he did. Period !!

I completely agree with this. Especially at what they charge, it is not at all forgiveable that you should receive poor customer service. The price of Disney hotels is comparable to the best 5 start hotels of the world; the customer service should live up to these rates and I'm sure in a lot of cases they do not. I'm sure part of the problem is pure volume at these resorts, but as far as I'm concerned that should be Disney's problem to fix and not ours (customers) problem to deal with. You should absolutely not have to go to a call center to talk to a specific hotel. I've always thought that was completely ridiculous. I'm going to Disney in February and expect to get good customer service at the hotels. I've specifically booked restaurants where I've been lucky to have good customer service in the past and hope to in the future. I've had good luck with the tours I've taken. The one place I haven't had the best of luck, have been rides. However, since I've been so many times now, the rides are not of paramount importance to me. Even though I've put up with bad ride operators, doesn't mean I am excusing their behavior. The whole reason Disney has gotten where it is today is it's excellent customer service and quality of the atmosphere it creates at its theme parks. In February if I don't have a good experience, then I absolutely will not go again for a very long time. Unfortunately, I'm just one person--I think Disney doesn't feel they have to do much to keep the flocks coming in--so I don't know if things will change for the better any time soon. End of my rant---for now--maybe more after February!

 

[wisblue]

I can't say I'm surprised. I fully expected you to come out at some point and question elements of our experience.

Oh, and by the way - I'm sure the only reason for the smug confidence of your suppositions is because you read my post in the Resort section of the Disboards describing what happened, not that you were particularly astute enough to think them up on your own.

Of course I saw your post on the resort board. How could I have possibly guessed that you had booked a split stay and did receive compensation for the inconvenience? On that board you said that they made up for disrupting your last park day, but apparently you have now changed your mind.

Or, did I misunderstand, or make some assumptions and run with them, when you said "Good news for me is I got them to refund tonight's stay, upgraded us to a room in business class, and gave us 6 FPs that can be used for anything. I think they made up for disrupting our last park day".

What happened to you would have upset me too. But if I was going to complain about it in a public forum I would have included some key points (not necessarily in such blow by blow detail) to help people understand what happened. If you had just said what you said in the resort forum, I couldn't have had anything more to say about it. You will note that I didn't respond in that thread.

 

[Hokie2000]

I don't think it's funny at all. I mentioned what happened in a sentence or two and (as always) another poster questioned it, so I supplied a wealth of details. I actually found it agonizing that I had to defend the integrity of my original comments. And of course we understood that there is always a possibility of a room change with a split stay, that is why we diligently confirmed multiple times that we would be in the same room and received that confirmation multiple times. Mistakes happen. It is often HOW a company responds to an error by which their level of customer service is judged, and in this case (and also completely relevant to the title of this thread) they failed miserably when given multiple opportunities to excel.

Agonizing? I get that you were disappointed and angry with the situation, but this seems a bit dramatic. I'm of the opinion that if you don't want to tell the whole story, you shouldn't bring it up at all. Having bell services throw your belongings on a cart is probably not something many people have experience with at Disney, so of course people are going to want to know more about it

 

[Hokie2000]

I want to add that I do appreciate your story Travis, and I don't question that it happened. Is a 14 night stay the reservation max? Just curious if that's the reason for the one night split. If I ever manage to go to Disney for a long trip and have a long/short split, I know now to put the short res. at the beginning. I'd hate to have my last day messed up in that way! So it is helpful to know all the details.

 

[Laketravis]

Agonizing? I get that you were disappointed and angry with the situation, but this seems a bit dramatic. I'm of the opinion that if you don't want to tell the whole story, you shouldn't bring it up at all. Having bell services throw your belongings on a cart is probably not something many people have experience with at Disney, so of course people are going to want to know more about it

Hokie, it's not that I was disappointed and angry with the situation, it's because I'm disappointed with the DIS - it's the fact that some posters seem to camp out on these boards with the sole intent of pouncing on and squelching anyone who shares the least bit negative experience with Disney, minimizes their experiences as though they had somehow contributed to the cause, and questions their integrity in the process.

Over the two weeks that I was there, I collected information on ride queues in the parks, talked to several CM's and guests, took a slew of pictures, all with the purpose of posting that information to help others who might be going during a busy/not busy time seeking help with a park strategy.

But the moment I even mentioned one element of my experience while I was there (a picture of the entrance to MK on Thanksgiving day), my comments were attacked by the arm chair Disney Do-Gooders from over a thousand miles away who weren't there.

That coupled with the fact that I mentioned a bad experience at the resort and it has grown to what you see posted now simply affirms my decision to not even post a trip report at all. I'm tired of those who are simply intent on disproving other posters actual experiences and act with such personal vengeance you'd think someone called their children ********. I'm also disappointed that after four years of participating on these forums one cannot post about their actual experiences without being attacked for it. It's all about happy pixie dust or nothing at all.

 

[Laketravis]

You will note that I didn't respond in that thread.

I sure did, and I'm positive it's because you interpreted it as a happy ending and therefore no need for you to engage. But the moment a story does not end on a positive note, you are ready for battle.

 

[PrincessShea]

I was there during Thanksgiving week and on Mission: Space a CM was openly playing around on their phone during that part when you are right outside the doors waiting to go into the ride. I don't know, that's a bit much to me.

 

[wisblue]

Hokie, it's not that I was disappointed and angry with the situation, it's because I'm disappointed with the DIS - it's the fact that some posters seem to camp out on these boards with the sole intent of pouncing on and squelching anyone who shares the least bit negative experience with Disney, minimizes their experiences as though they had somehow contributed to the cause, and questions their integrity in the process.

Over the two weeks that I was there, I collected information on ride queues in the parks, talked to several CM's and guests, took a slew of pictures, all with the purpose of posting that information to help others who might be going during a busy/not busy time seeking help with a park strategy.

But the moment I even mentioned one element of my experience while I was there (a picture of the entrance to MK on Thanksgiving day), my comments were attacked by the arm chair Disney Do-Gooders from over a thousand miles away who weren't there.

That coupled with the fact that I mentioned a bad experience at the resort and it has grown to what you see posted now simply affirms my decision to not even post a trip report at all. I'm tired of those who are simply intent on disproving other posters actual experiences and act with such personal vengeance you'd think someone called their children ********. I'm also disappointed that after four years of participating on these forums one cannot post about their actual experiences without being attacked for it. It's all about happy pixie dust or nothing at all.

Since there's no secret who you are attacking here, I will simply invite anyone who wants to look at those threads and this one and decide who is out for personal vengeance.

If you really want to help others plan their trips, you wouldn't object to being questioned whether your experiences are typical. And I'm not talking now about the recent hotel incident, but about issues like whether wait times at some attractions are dramatically higher than they used to be. And when you say that the parks seemed less crowded than usual on Thanksgiving Day, but lots of other posters say they seemed more crowded than usual, what are we supposed to think?

I tried to add to the discussion by providing information about wait times reported by Touring Plans both this year and in the last few years because I think it's relevant to to an understanding of how much wait times have changed. If you want to take that as questioning your observations, there's not much I can do about it.

 

[wisblue]

I sure did, and I'm positive it's because you interpreted it as a happy ending and therefore no need for you to engage. But the moment a story does not end on a positive note, you are ready for battle.

And you accuse me of making assumptions and running with them.

 

[HulkBuster]

as I said a few days ago Travis you're experience was always gonna be dissed because your you .. but I enjoyed reading it at least thanks for taking the time to report you're take!

 

[Luckybee]

Since there's no secret who you are attacking here, I will simply invite anyone who wants to look at those threads and this one and decide who is out for personal vengeance.

If you really want to help others plan their trips, you wouldn't object to being questioned whether your experiences are typical. And I'm not talking now about the recent hotel incident, but about issues like whether wait times at some attractions are dramatically higher than they used to be. And when you say that the parks seemed less crowded than usual on Thanksgiving Day, but lots of other posters say they seemed more crowded than usual, what are we supposed to think?

I tried to add to the discussion by providing information about wait times reported by Touring Plans both this year and in the last few years because I think it's relevant to to an understanding of how much wait times have changed. If you want to take that as questioning your observations, there's not much I can do about it.

Yes it is obvious as to who is attacking who. Let me ask you Wis....has Laketravis ever made a post that you didn't respond to ? From where I'm sitting it sure doesn't seem like it.

On your other comments....I said the same thing when we got back, that is that standby times were definitely longer than we had ever seen esp on secondary attractions yet the parks themselves were not more crowded. Imho those who say they are may only be looking at standby times and making assumptions. But gawd forbid that anyone should say anything against Disney in any way shape or form ....the posse is always there to defend. I just finished a disagreement with another poster on another thread where some of the comments used to defend Disney began to border on ludicrous....you do realize it does get to that point sometimes right?

 

[Laketravis]

When you say that the parks seemed less crowded than usual on Thanksgiving Day, but lots of other posters say they seemed more crowded than usual, what are we supposed to think?

I really don't care what you think, nor do I see "lots of posters saying they seemed more crowded than usual". Quite the contrary, I've seen people who were actually there state they didn't think it was crowded at all.

Seems only those who were NOT there maintain it was crowded because they are constantly checking wait times online.

But for those who were curious about crowd levels and reported increases in wait times, I made what I thought were some interesting observations that countered many of the assumptions made by folks like yourself who weren't even in the parks. Since the feeling of "crowded" is very subjective, I took pictures of situations I felt were representative of the actual conditions so that people could see for themselves.

Some have argued that wait times have gone up because the parks are more crowded and point to "Crowd Level" numbers to support their argument. But the first thing everyone needs to keep in mind is that those Crowd Levels are based on wait times, not the actual number of people in the parks. The second thing to remember is that the "Actual" wait reported by some blogs and websites INCLUDES the FP queue.

They can take a look at the following examples and draw their own conclusions. The first picture was taken on the bus on the way to MK from the resort around 10am Thanksgiving morning. The second picture I took when leaving MK on Thanksgiving Day at 2pm in the afternoon. Thanksgiving was supposedly a "10" crowd level day, yet the third picture was taken the following Tuesday at 1pm in the afternoon when MK was supposedly a "2" level day. I also found it interesting that Disney decided they didn't need half the admittance queues open on a "10" day, yet all of them are open on a "2" day.

The fourth picture is of the line at People Mover that same Tuesday afternoon. The fifth picture is of Epcot on the Friday after Thanksgiving - another supposedly "10" crowd level day for Epcot. The sixth is a picture of the line at an FP Kiosk at HS on a supposedly "4" crowd level day.

I have drawn my own conclusions from actual observations during Thanksgiving week and the week after, and these pictures as well as many others I took support those conclusions but I have no desire to waste time debating them with you; I'll simply let others decide for themselves.

Bus to MK on Thanksgiving Day - a "10" day?:

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Entrance to MK on Thanksgiving Day - a "10" day and only half the admittance queues are in use?

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Entrance to MK on the following Tuesday - a "2" day and all of the admittance queues are in use?:


Line at People Mover on a crowd level "2" day?:



Crowds at Epcot on the Friday after Thanksgiving - a crowd level "10" day?:



Line at FP+ Kiosk at Hollywood Studios on a crowd level "4" day?:

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I was there as well and when I get home I'll post a few crowd pictures. I thought every MK day was crowded except Tuesday dec 2. Though it was more crowded than I would deem normal for a MVMCP Day.

Edit to add: maybe it seemed more crowded because there always seemed to be large groups either standing around blocking the walkways or the wait times were super long. I'm also used to going in September pre free dining.

 

[MKMomma]

Since there's no secret who you are attacking here, I will simply invite anyone who wants to look at those threads and this one and decide who is out for personal vengeance.

If you really want to help others plan their trips, you wouldn't object to being questioned whether your experiences are typical. And I'm not talking now about the recent hotel incident, but about issues like whether wait times at some attractions are dramatically higher than they used to be. And when you say that the parks seemed less crowded than usual on Thanksgiving Day, but lots of other posters say they seemed more crowded than usual, what are we supposed to think?

I tried to add to the discussion by providing information about wait times reported by Touring Plans both this year and in the last few years because I think it's relevant to to an understanding of how much wait times have changed. If you want to take that as questioning your observations, there's not much I can do about it.

I'll give you this, you've perfected smugness to a fine art.

 

[Laketravis]

I was there as well and when I get home I'll post a few crowd pictures. I thought every MK day was crowded except Tuesday dec 2. Though it was more crowded than I would deem normal for a MVMCP Day.

Edit to add: maybe it seemed more crowded because there always seemed to be large groups either standing around blocking the walkways or the wait times were super long. I'm also used to going in September pre free dining.

I remember you and I exchanging observations about the rain that day - I agree that looking at the Standby wait times would make one think that the park must be crowded, but I felt like there were less people in the parks this year than last year at the same time. Maybe that is because everybody was standing in a line? MK can distort wait times because of how they manipulate queues - for instance, many times we only saw them running Space Mountain at half capacity.

Many CM's that I spoke to both at resorts and in the parks commented that crowds were lighter than expected - except for one at Epcot at the FP Kiosk when I made a comment about how little availability there was for a 4th FP at 11 in the morning - she said that she heard there was 45,000 people in the park. But that's the same day (Friday after Thanksgiving) that I took that picture above.

 

[SmithSmith]

I really don't care what you think, nor do I see "lots of posters saying they seemed more crowded than usual". Quite the contrary, I've seen people who were actually there state they didn't think it was crowded at all.

Seems only those who were NOT there maintain it was crowded because they are constantly checking wait times online.

I have drawn my own conclusions from actual observations during Thanksgiving week and the week after, and these pictures as well as many others I took support those conclusions but I have no desire to waste time debating them with you; I'll simply let others decide for themselves.

Fwiw, I didn't think the parks were crowded end of Sept.

People definitely should not be judging crowd levels by online wait times. While I was there the MDE constantly showed exorbitant waits where none existed.

Neat pictures. I actually have one of us on our way to rope drop at Hollywood Studios on a non recommended/crowd level 6 day on a completely empty bus. Also, got to the park and found a completely empty bag check.

 

[SmithSmith]

I just finished a disagreement with another poster on another thread where some of the comments used to defend Disney began to border on ludicrous.

Oh! Were we finished?

 

[Suvadoo]

Hokie, it's not that I was disappointed and angry with the situation, it's because I'm disappointed with the DIS - it's the fact that some posters seem to camp out on these boards with the sole intent of pouncing on and squelching anyone who shares the least bit negative experience with Disney, minimizes their experiences as though they had somehow contributed to the cause, and questions their integrity in the process.

Over the two weeks that I was there, I collected information on ride queues in the parks, talked to several CM's and guests, took a slew of pictures, all with the purpose of posting that information to help others who might be going during a busy/not busy time seeking help with a park strategy.

But the moment I even mentioned one element of my experience while I was there (a picture of the entrance to MK on Thanksgiving day), my comments were attacked by the arm chair Disney Do-Gooders from over a thousand miles away who weren't there.

That coupled with the fact that I mentioned a bad experience at the resort and it has grown to what you see posted now simply affirms my decision to not even post a trip report at all. I'm tired of those who are simply intent on disproving other posters actual experiences and act with such personal vengeance you'd think someone called their children ********. I'm also disappointed that after four years of participating on these forums one cannot post about their actual experiences without being attacked for it. It's all about happy pixie dust or nothing at all.

I understand how your feel, Travis, but I hope you'll change your mind regarding a trip report. There are a lot of us who value your opinions and experiences. I never feel like you are trying to promote a personal agenda.

Thanks,

Andrea

 

[SmithSmith]

I'm tired of those who are simply intent on disproving other posters actual experiences and act with such personal vengeance you'd think someone called their children ********. I'm also disappointed that after four years of participating on these forums one cannot post about their actual experiences without being attacked for it. It's all about happy pixie dust or nothing at all.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but to be fair, the sword has been cutting both ways. Just like when people don't believe you when you say the parks weren't crowded. I've shared positive experiences from my recent trip and have been accused of making it up.

It's ridiculous. Any opinion good or bad is going to get attacked. I'm definitely not the only one that this has happened to. Which is why I'll be quitting these boards as soon as people stop replying to me.