Disney website - someone should be fired

[BearcatsFan]

What I love is when the old site pulls up, lets me log in, then dumps me into the new site. The new site tells me I'm not logged in, and when I try, it tells me the email is in use on another account and takes me to the "create account" page.

You click on a restaurant menu and a completely different restaurant name will come up with their food items (or no food items at all, just a blank page with the name and date).

All the vacation scenarios I saved on the old site are nowhere to be found on the new one ...



For once, I can truly say I'm glad we don't have a trip booked right now. Hopefully by the time our 499-days-out comes around, most of these bugs will be worked out of their system.

 

[Hopefully]

I'm generally easy going but the debacle that has been the Disney website change is irritating and mind-boggling. Over the last several days I've managed to book a vacation and dining reservations but not without multiple messages stating the server was busy, the website was down or my reservations could not be retrieved, in addition to several phone calls involving lengthy waits and sketchy connections. How can a company as profitable as Disney not test a website before launch and not promptly fix any bugs? I'm assuming Disney doesn't care about their customers' satisfaction.

Pretty harsh title for someone who claims to be generally easy going. Is it really that bad?
I know the changes are bad, in typical Disney IT style, but to want someone fired - Take a Deep Breathe and relax a bit.

 

[andysomma1]

Pretty harsh title for someone who claims to be generally easy going. Is it really that bad?
I know the changes are bad, in typical Disney IT style, but to want someone fired - Take a Deep Breathe and relax a bit.

I agree with the OP, someone should lose their job over this. There are a ton of threads about how bad the new website is. These threads only cover what people on the DIS boards think. Think of all the hundreds of thousands of people that have never used the DIS boards that are taking Disney vacations. A lot of these are probably first time Disney vacationers who have spent years saving up money to take a once in a lifetime trip. They jump online to check out prices, accommodations, and things to do and they are greeted with a website from a MULTI-BILLION dollar corporation that does not work. For many the Disney website is their first interaction with Disney, and don't forget that while a cliche, it is still true that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. It was someones job to make sure the website was 100% before it went live, and who ever that was dropped the ball in a major way. They have embarrassed the company, and hopefully themselves, and yes I do agree someone needs to lose their jobs over this debacle. People in the outside world lose their jobs everyday, and for a lot less.

 

[BearcatsFan]

Pretty harsh title for someone who claims to be generally easy going. Is it really that bad?
I know the changes are bad, in typical Disney IT style, but to want someone fired - Take a Deep Breathe and relax a bit.

Yes, it really is that bad. People can't make payments, they can't make reservations, the website is pretty much useless at this point. They call to do what they can't do online and get stuck on endless hold only to get a CM that says they don't know of any problems with the website.

Have you checked out the new website for yourself? It's a complete disgrace.

 

[Katie's Mom]

We leave for Orlando on Monday and arrive at Disney on Wednesday, so I just went on to print out all of my dining reservations. Everything is gone and my confirmation # for the resort is also not being accepted.

 

[Brad Bishop]

Pretty harsh title for someone who claims to be generally easy going. Is it really that bad?
I know the changes are bad, in typical Disney IT style, but to want someone fired - Take a Deep Breathe and relax a bit.

I'm with the original poster. The Disney site has sucked for years. Before this latest revision it was somewhat functional. Someone in management should lose their job over this as it's not something that has been improving with time it's something that, overall, sucks, and once in a while kind of works (and then they re-skin it). They have pretty characters and pictures all over the place but to try to do anything with it that would generate revenue for them (book a room, dining, tickets, etc.) and it trips up on itself.

This is a revenue-generating site, not just a brochure site, and it shouldn't be a PITA to try to hand them money, but it is.

I'm trying to do things as a pass holder. My account shows that it knows I have a pass but I can't get into the passholder offers page because that section of the site doesn't think I have a pass. It's dumb.

It's also been broken, I think, for about a month.

I don't know if they need to gut the team or what, but it's pretty inexcusable for a company the size of Disney to have a pretty site that doesn't work.

Also, even thinking about it from a website-team perspective, they should have tested all of this and it should have been PAINFULLY obvious that it wasn't working as a whole. We're not talking about an odd little glitch here or there that can be fixed after the holidays, but the site, as a whole, doesn't look like it was tested OR it was tested, failed, but management said, "Send it out so we meet our deadline!" (the person who said, "send it out to production" should be fired, too).

 

[minniebeth]

I agree it is that bad too... We know Disney inside and out and still can't seem to navigate and find info. That was much more readily available on the old website. We are leaving Friday and all of our resort reservations and dining reservations are gone too. We are going with a large group for marathon weekend and have multiple resort and dining reservations over a 10 day period. I was planning on organizing it all (I'm in charge of it all) after Christmas. If I had known all the info would be gone with the new website I would have done it a while ago. I don't even know where to start now without planning on a couple of hours on the phone.

 

[Allison]

Pretty harsh title for someone who claims to be generally easy going. Is it really that bad?
I know the changes are bad, in typical Disney IT style, but to want someone fired - Take a Deep Breathe and relax a bit.

It is and has been that bad. I cannot believe that any business, much less an entity the size of Disney, would allow this to go on. Not just recently but for years and it's not just the website. It seems to be the entire IT structure.

 

[blessedby3]

This is why I have always just called them directly to book packages, rooms, ADR's, etc. I just bypass the website headache and go straight to the phone tree headache I find its the lesser of two evils

 

[mattsdragon]

Still working on it myself. Trying to figure out how to fill out the itinerary portion of my experience.

The site hasn't always been crumby. Back several years ago, it was great, with detailed pages on each attraction, and easy resort/package booking options.

But, like with everything else, some executive got big eyes when the tech weenies showed him or her a shiny object, and we get to suffer for it.

Beta tests are all well and good, but there is a reason why every other version of Windows is good and the one before it stinks. . .you have to have a broad sample on your beta tests (seriously. . .Windows 95 bad, 98 good, ME horrible, XP great, Vista disaster, 7 amazing)

 

[KBoopaloo]

I agree the new website is terrible. It also seems to be flipping back and forth on me from the old to the new and back. I wouldn't mind only having access to the old site but switching me back and forth in the middle of looking for things is driving me crazy. I have been unable to make any ADRs for my upcoming trip on the new site. So frustrating.

 

[Niewoe]

Why do we need to link all of our ADRs made prior to 12/12 to the new site??? It seems ridiculous that this needs to be entered manually, one by one. Entering the confirmation number and phone number every time, for each ADR for a 10 day trip is tedious!! I'm using the same log in info; they had my address and other info... why couldn't the ADRs transfer as well - with maybe a confirmation page to make sure that they were correct? This is not brain surgery people!

Ok... rant done. I love disney, we're DVC, but this is just annoying.

Anyone else feel this way? Am I just being a big baby? Anyone not linking their ADRs to the new site?

 

[joanchris]

Agreed, it's awful. I logged in to cancel some adrs, since we're here now, but had adrs for this week and next week (such kid, thought we wouldn't make it this week, then we did, so have adrs we don't need). I linked the ones I had cc holds on (crystal palace, cape may) canceled those, but it took forever to cancel those. gave up on trying to cancel the last few. Don't flame me please, I was trying to do the right thing! Their site made that it much less than a magical experience

 

[hvanes]

I guess I'm in the minority. I logged in last night because our kids were asking for a countdown update (149 days - woo hoo!), and I was surprised and very skeptical when the new format appeared.

However, I kind of enjoyed playing with it and was on for over and hour with no problems. Yes, I had to manually link my ADR's - but on the previous site, the ADR's weren't linked at all so I find this to be an improvement. My only complaint would be that the page uploads were on the slower side... but not enough to be frustrating. (I don't suffer from road rage, but I'm plagued with slow website rage.)

I also made two new ADR's last night, and I was pleasantly surprised by the itinerary function, which allowed me to add my room-only ressie 6 days into our trip (I was certain that would throw the whole thing off). I don't know that it's worth all the hype (according to Disney, I'm going to be able to pull this info up in the parks anytime - riiiiight!) but I guess I won't know until I try.

 

[rwdavis2]

The only way I was able to access my ressies was to delete all of the browsers Disney cookies and the old site was then accessible.

If you look at Disney's job postings they always have multiple jobs for web developers. If the pay of Imagineers is any indication then they under pay developers as well. So they may not get top talent.

 

[AlixaLock]

I'm one of those for whom it seems to be working ... so I actually think it's pretty nifty. The itinerary function is convenient and all the dining changes I made sync-ed to the mobile app. I was also able to "friend" my husband so both his and my mobile app are connected to the same plan. Handy since he can never remember our plans for the day!

Nifty, definitely, but not earth shattering. I can see, however, how it might be a good precursor to the rumored Fast Pass+ that may or may not be coming down the pike. Of course, it will actually have to start working for most people for that to happen.

I really feel for everyone trying to access reservations etc ... This is not the way to roll out a new product.

Edited to add: I'm using Safari if it helps ...

 

[erin1715]

It seems to be working for me today too, but I just downloaded Mozilla Firefox and that may be the difference. I did have to link my resort only reservation and it found me. I don't have any ADRs though.

 

[bloodonthesaddle]

If it is really that bad, spend your money elsewhere.

 

[gem21]

I can only get the website to work on my iPad; in Explorer or Firefox the page does not load.

It honestly is a bit frustrating and looks bad on Disney's part. They have not even ackolwdged (publicly to my knowledge, forgive me if they have, but I've only seen a few individuals who have gotten responses after they complained), that people are having issues.

 

[carol-lamb]

I couldn't find the passholders section on the new site. I searched "passholders" and the site came up. I had to answer two security questions and agree to terms and condition and when I clicked continue, I got an error message. Frustrating. I haven't even tried searching for my reservations for two upcoming trips!