Disney - Strike One

[Hopefully]

Maxsdad18, I think you DO need to lower your expectations. Disney is not Caneel. It does not need to be. It has a captive audience.
The amount of money you spend for a deluxe at Disney, does not buy you the amentities of a deluxe anywhere else.
I am a Disney lover and we go back again and again and pay thedeluxe prices. But our expectations are WAY LOWER here than other deluxe resorts we stay in in other places. You pay for the Disney name and the Disney location. If that does not work for you, think about going somewhere else.
JMHO.

 

[LoriZH]

Maxsdad, I don't think you need to actually lower your expections, but try seeing it through a 4 year old's eyes instead! I'd bet the farm that you and your family are going to have a MAGICAL time (okay I don't own a farm, well...1 dog, a turtle, a hampster and 10 year old twin boys is close enough!). Getting to and from vacations is usually a bit stressful because something always seem to go wrong in some form or another, but just go with the flow.

Who knows, maybe when you get back and see how much fun your 4 year old son has, just may turn you into a major Disney fan!

PS, Never been to St. John, didn't get across the bay, been to St. Martin and it was gorgeous!

 

[DisneyYahoo]

Let me start off by saying I am not a big fan of Disney, I have never been to Disney, but decided to take my 4y/o son there for his birthday. I am looking forward to the trip and so is my son.

I have a busy work schedule so tring to find time to do everythig it takes to plan this trip is hard. When I made the resevation, they told me they would be sending me a packet with the magical express info. As of today, no packet. I called and they said it may be too late to resend it but I could still use the service and they gave me a list of things I needed to do, go here, do that ect. I asked them if they could overnite it to me and they said no. *** is up with that! I am speding 2K + for four nights and they can't overnite something they are responsible to do?

I have a feeling I should have stayed with my instincts and told my son that Disney was on the island of St John.

Maxdad - I guess it would have been helpful if you started off your post by clarifying if you just needed to vent or if you actually needed some advice. I think for the readers, who are trying to be helpful, we just really don't know which way to go with this. Should we say something like, "Don't worry, be happy, grab your luggage and head to ME or grab your luggage and rent a car, etc." Or did you want to hear, "Dang you are right. Disney sucks. Cancel and head to St. John?" I am just plain confused.

For your sake, I do wish Disney would overnight you the package. Maybe sometimes Disney provides great service and maybe sometimes they don't. We all know that...it isn't a secret. But often it is about the memories we make with our kids once we get there. I hope you do follow the advice of the other poster...take a deep breath and relax....I also mean this in a nice way. This isn't about you, it is about your son. It's all going to work out. It's a vacation. It is supposed to be fun. It's not the Ritz. Grab your luggage and head to ME or the rental car counter, whichever tickles you the most. Take your son to the park...watch his eyes light up and then you will know all of your suffering was worth it. It's okay that it isn't your idea of a great time....that isn't the point, right?

 

[maxsdad18]

Hopefully - I guess I got deceived by Disneys great marketing scam.. oh I mean scheme. When I pay for Delux and they can't even get the small things right, I guess I should have gone value and not set the bar too high. Whether I am baresite camping in the Adirondaks or staynig at my luxury timeshare in St John, at least I know what to expect. I guess I'll be grateful if my bed get made and a fresh towel each day. I'll let you how it turns out.

 

[Marthasor]

The last two times we went to WDW, we did not use Magical Express. The first time, we just got in too late and had two little boys with us whom we wanted to get to bed ASAP so they could enjoy the next day in the parks. We ended up using a car service that time which was EXTREMELY fast and convenient. When we pulled up to the resort, bell services took our luggage and then held on to it. We had to call three times and waited two hours for it to be brought to the room - they kept telling us Magical Express luggage took several hours to be delivered. We kept reminding them we did not arrive by Magical Express and our luggage was literally sitting down there with them, waiting to be brought up to us - by the time we finally got it, it was about 1 a.m. I was not very happy! The next time we went, we rented a car (which was GREAT! Parking was free and we had complete freedom to pick up and go anywhere without being hampered by Disney transport) and we only packed carry-ons which we NEVER let bell services touch - we wheeled them to the check-in desk and wheeled them to our room.

Some people have never had any trouble with Magical Express - I just find that Disney is a HUGE enterprise (that's an understatement) and has many kinks in their systems. While I enjoy our trips there, I try to avoid the kinks as much as possible. Though we always stay onsite, I don't think we will ever use Magical Express.

I understand your frustration – I would be frustrated too. It may be worth your while to spend a little extra money and bypass Magical Express altogether if you are anticipating a headache at the airport. Why start a trip you are already not really looking forward to on the wrong foot? Just my opinion.

 

[caracap]

IMO, they should have sent your ME tags overnight without you insisting. But then again, i am sure you were dialing the non 800 right? That's Disney for you.

Just enjoy your trip, your 4 year old will be in heaven!! Don't forget about little ones magical hour! Where are you staying?

 

[maxsdad18]

Caracap - staying at the Wilderness Lodge

Marthasor - I am going with a stretch limo. I was going to get the Hummer stretch but that may be over the top. My son should get a kick out of it. I'll post some pictures in my trip report. Screw Disney and thier free bus ride!

 

[jcpuppy.com]

with ME I think you need the yellow tags to help ensure the bags go where you go. If I were in your schoes I would take my baggae to the ME busses and load it, unless you get the yellow tags in time

 

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

Call the TA or the MEX transportation office and tell than that you have not received your luggage tags for MEX. They will resend them. I am leaving on the 16th and I had the same problem corrected yesterday.

 

[caracap]

My sister just returned from WL on Tuesday. I am sure you will like it. She did have to change her room when she got there, because she said it was smelly I hope you don't get the smelly room!

Any way you can visit St.John after your stay? We stayed at BoardWalk one year, and flew to Grand Cayman after to relax!!

 

[maxsdad18]

Caracap - If I get the smelly room, I swear to you, I will be staying in that castle room for the entire stay. These people have no idea who they are dealing with when it comes to smelly rooms. Once I was in Paris on busines and I got a smelly room. After 1 minute on the phone with the hotel manager, I had this penthosue presidential suit. I dare Disney to give me the smelly room!

 

[castoff50]

Maxsdad18, I have a prediction....you WILL have a rotten time. I feel sorry for your dear little boy. It will break his heart.

 

[global_mom]

Maxsdad18, I have a prediction....you WILL have a rotten time. I feel sorry for your dear little boy. It will break his heart.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm really not sure why you are going to Disney to start with. You sound like you are sure you will have a bad time, so you probably will. You are getting all worked up about not having your ME papers, even though people have repeatedly told you it is not a big deal. You have stated multiple times how you don't like Disney, and are already disappointed with it. I know this sounds harsh, but you should do yourself and your son a favor and vacation somewhere else. It sounds like you will not enjoy yourself at all, and your son will pick up on that.

 

[maxsdad18]

Castoff50 - You may be correct on one point, I MAY mave a lousy time, but my son will have the time of his life. He will never know the difference. I expect Disney to provide all the services they offered me when I gave them my credit card number, if they don't, they will hear from me.

To tell you the truth, I didn't even know about the magical express when I made my rerservetion. When I heard about it, I thought it might be cool to tell my son that it was a special bus to take us to Disney World and make a big deal of it, but Disney has already taken that away. It is just disapointing and sad that they can't even do the small thing right so far.

 

[lustergirl]

Hopefully - I guess I got deceived by Disneys great marketing scam.. oh I mean scheme. When I pay for Delux and they can't even get the small things right, I guess I should have gone value and not set the bar too high. Whether I am baresite camping in the Adirondaks or staynig at my luxury timeshare in St John, at least I know what to expect. I guess I'll be grateful if my bed get made and a fresh towel each day. I'll let you how it turns out.

Just because you are paying deluxe prices and others pay to stay at a value resort doesn't make you anymore entitled to better DME or disney service. I expect the same kind of DME service I sometimes stay at a value resort during my disney vacation. The ony diference in the level or resort that you stay are the amenities- you get more if you pay more.

 

[declansdad]

Hopefully - I guess I got deceived by Disneys great marketing scam.. oh I mean scheme. When I pay for Delux and they can't even get the small things right, I guess I should have gone value and not set the bar too high. Whether I am baresite camping in the Adirondaks or staynig at my luxury timeshare in St John, at least I know what to expect. I guess I'll be grateful if my bed get made and a fresh towel each day. I'll let you how it turns out.

I don't think it matters what Disney does. It really sounds like you have made up your mind that they will mess something up.

I have never had a problem with a bed being made, transportation, food, etc. And you don't need fresh towels everyday.

By the way, Disney didn't take away the special bus, you did. They just didn't get you your luggage tags.

 

[Feralpeg]

Hopefully - I guess I got deceived by Disneys great marketing scam.. oh I mean scheme. When I pay for Delux and they can't even get the small things right, I guess I should have gone value and not set the bar too high. Whether I am baresite camping in the Adirondaks or staynig at my luxury timeshare in St John, at least I know what to expect. I guess I'll be grateful if my bed get made and a fresh towel each day. I'll let you how it turns out.

You may not get the bed made or a fresh towel each day, but the look you'll see on your son's face when he first meets Mickey Mouse or when he controls the Magic Carpet of Aladdin will be worth anything else you have to deal with. I first took my DD to WDW when she was 4. It was an amazing experience.

Please try to keep an open mind so that your mood doesn't spoil what could be a truly magical experience for your son. For you also, if you give it a chance.

 

[maxsdad18]

Lustergirl - So I didn't get any DME service, what should I think? I tried to remedy the situation without getting anywhere. I am not leaving for 7 days so overnighting the material seems like a good solution, but not to Disney. Felling like I'm getting taken by Disney is not my idea of fun. I just expect to get what was offered to every other paying customer, nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

 

[Cass]

Good lord, just take a cab. This isn't rocket science.