Grad Night & Disney Ruin Magic Kingdom Stay

[Took]

You have my sympathy Chapel Hill! I am a light sleeper and would have found noise at 3-4 in the morning something worth raising holy heck about. CR, in particular, can be a noisy hotel (things seem to echo there...). Anyway, we had one of those "noisy neighbor" experiences one night at CR, complained loud and long at 2 am, got little help that night but WERE moved the next day to another room which was almost as silent as a tomb. I was in heaven after that! I personally would write to CR management and point out the problem. At the very least, they can't pretend all guests are fine with the grad night thing.

Took

 

[Violetx3]

I totally feel for you!! Loud or even quiet music is so aggravating for our family when we are trying to sleep. I know it doesn't bother everyone, but my DH wouldn't be able to sleep at all in that situation. I think it is pretty hard to find advance info on events like Grad night without quite a bit of research. I am not sure what Disney should do... but I hope they make it up to you in some way.

 

[DANAW]

We were at the Wilderness Lodge a few years ago with my parents. I remember getting a form letter in our room saying grad night was taking place and they apologized for any inconvenience that it may cause. I remember being able to faintly hear music. My 60+ parents were not thrilled but I really wasn't bothered by it. I tend to save everything from our trips. I have to check and see if I have the letter packed away somewhere.

Yes, mickeymom, we just got that letter last week during our stay at the WL. We knew we would be there for Grad Night, after having read these boards and others. During the week, the hotel left a note in our room giving us the dates of it, and that there would be some fireworks, and some kind of "testing" going on for it. The fireworks did wake me up one time at midnight, but it didnt affect us otherwise. Being further away from the MK compared to GF, we didnt hear any music either. I was more concerned that the event would bring tons of unsupervised teenagers to the hotel while we were there. Having 2 teenagers myself, I didnt want to be around any others if I could avoid it!
But that wasnt a problem either.

 

[NASCAR_Amy]

Well, I guess I will let you all know there is a convention April 9-12,2005 for the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services. The Fla. Govenor will be there also for a speaking engagement. My mom and I are getting to take our first ever adults only vacation and I'm 37yrs old! We are Having the conference at the Wyndham Palace. I have been to WDW 2 other times and have stayed at the CR and off site. We leave in 8 days!!! I can't wait!!!

 

[ChapelHillian]

They complained and were told they could move buildings, but who would want to do that after all your stuff was spread out so they just stayed where they were.

Exactly! It took us two hours to pack to leave because we had so much stuff everywhere. My wife had neatly unpacked into the drawers and we had breakfast and lunch food, etc. (that, and it's hard to pack with two 4 year olds and an 8 year old running around)

And who wants to pack and then unpack in the middle of the night with 3 kids?

 

[tessqt]

I would have been annoyed too Chapel Hill!!

Why doesn't Disney put the grad night participants in a certain area/hotel and not put other families near? It's not like they don't have enough hotel rooms and I'm sure they know every year so they can "hold" a block or building or two, three however many from their past experiences would need. It sounds like it has been going on for years, HELLO!!!!

I love Disney too, but it has taken me 10 years to get my dh to return, the kids and I have been there without him! LOL If there is a problem I will be nice, but if it doesn't get resolved, they probably won't be sending me postcards anymore! LOL

Tess

 

[DebbieB]

According to this website, Grad Night is 10pm to 4am:
http://www.grad-nights.com/gradnight.htm

There was a post that there was a similiar problem at Boardwalk last summer when a Gay Day weekend party was held at MGM until 3:00am with loud music.

 

[debbiedoo]

I am surprised that you have not written a letter to guest communination. They always will get back with you. If you are stating this here--you need to state it with them directly. That is the only way that they know of the unhappy guests.

People think that the OP may be a troll because of the post count. . .and any info in the profile---usually people come with adivice, questions, and suggeestions

 

[ChapelHillian]

I am surprised that you have not written a letter to guest communination.

I emailed and snail mailed a letter yesterday to Guest Services. My hopes here were to warn other folks before the encore Grad Nights this weekend so they can make good room choices, since Disney is not bothering to tell folks.

Here is what I sent them:

(our address)
April 28, 2005

Walt Disney World
Guest Communications
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

Dear Sir or Madam,

My three small children, my wife, and I spent 4 nights at the Contemporary Resort, two of which were a nightmare due to Disney's failure to disclose at booking or at check-in that rock bands would be playing extremely loudly until 4am and that fireworks would occur at midnight.

This was our first trip to Disney and the lack of sleep made a challenging trip significantly more challenging. I find it inexcusable that a company which markets so heavily to families for a "family friendly" environment failed to disclose this event in a manner in which we could have chosen another Disney property or different room so as to minimize the noise. This is particularly true since Disney required us to disclose our children's birth dates at booking, so Disney knew that we were a family with small children. Now that I have had time to return home and do some research, I find that you have been marketing and have known about Grad Night for quite some time. Clearly Disney should have disclosed this to us during booking.

I request the following from Disney within the next 10 business days:
-A refund for our two nights at the Contemporary when Grad Nights occurred for Disney's failure to disclose in advance.
-A written promise that from now on you will disclose to families during booking and at check-in when you will have events which may produce noise between 10:30 pm and 7 am.
-A written apology
-A copy of the letter that the Contemporary management claims to have placed in our room
-A copy of any internal policies or procedures regarding disclosure of disruptive events to guests

We ran into another family from the Polynesian with the same problem, except apparently they were also kept up a 3rd night due to a middle-of-the-night sound check.

I believe that this event affected hundreds of families staying in your three adjacent Magic Kingdom resorts. Any families who drove a long distance back home would be at risk for falling asleep at the wheel due to sleep deprivation while staying at Magic Kingdom. The noise in our room would have likely violated any reasonable noise ordinance.

I look forward to your prompt response.

<snip>

 

[chrisp]

That is pretty funny! Yes, we were the "family of the day" on our day of arrival.

We stayed in the contemporary on the tower facing MK. We read in books and internet forums that this would be the best way for our twin 4 year olds to view the fireworks from a non-scary distance.

M

For what it's worth - we always stay on the Bay Lake side of the CR, it's quieter and you don't see any cars or buses - and you can always go to the observation deck to view the MK fireworks. Although, this trip there was construction noise early (for us) in the morning on the Bay Lake side. I hope your next trip is more magical!

 

[cdnmom22teens]

Next day we got "oh, sorry about that-you know how it is with young newlyweds and wedding parties"!
Now, you would think that with the amount of money paid for our room they could come up with a better apology than that?

I agree, and I think Disney could learn something from Starwood about apologizing for poor service: "Slow room service, no wake up call, uncontrollable noise, poor food quality, a bad bed or other large problems that cannot be fixed will result in an apology plus credit for a free room night or meal; or a gift certificate good for one night at another Sheraton; or Starwood Preferred Guest points."

Here's the entire Service Promise:
http://tinyurl.com/cj7ax

I love WDW but sometimes "Have a magical day" just doesn't make up for bad service.

 

[ArielsMommy]

I totally feel for you!! Loud or even quiet music is so aggravating for our family when we are trying to sleep. I know it doesn't bother everyone, but my DH wouldn't be able to sleep at all in that situation. I think it is pretty hard to find advance info on events like Grad night without quite a bit of research. I am not sure what Disney should do... but I hope they make it up to you in some way.

I wouldn't be able to sleep either as I am a very light sleeper. However, Disney's website does have an option to check events going on during your visit. I check this regularly when I have a trip planned. Although, I am a compulsive planner and I check everything constantly.

 

[DebbieB]

I emailed and snail mailed a letter yesterday to Guest Services. My hopes here were to warn other folks before the encore Grad Nights this weekend so they can make good room choices, since Disney is not bothering to tell folks.

Here is what I sent them:

That was a great letter! Straight to the point. Let us know how it turns out.

I don't know if this would have been on Disney's list of events since it is not a public event. Irregardless, you wouldn't expect loud rock music until 4:00am.

 

[Lewisc]

Thanks for the support.

I always ask for a quiet room when I check in. And I am pretty sure I asked this time. After this, I would want something signed by an employee saying it will be quiet.

M

A MK view room when the MK is going to have late fireworks and bands ISN'T A QUIET ROOM. You had two conflicting requests, MK view and a quiet room. I agree you should have been warned and requested a different room or resort, particularly after the first night.

If you asked for a quiet room when you checked in the CM should have moved you to a Bay Lake view room. I think that's a valid complaint.

Would you have given up your fireworks view if the CM said something like he MK will be open due to grad night and there might be more noise than normal?

 

[ChapelHillian]

Would you have given up your fireworks view if the CM said something like he MK will be open due to grad night and there might be more noise than normal?

Excellent question!! Without a doubt, we would have definitely opted for a quieter room or hotel. The main reason that we booked the Contemporary was for lunch in the room followed by naps (via monorail) because we read the well-written chapters in several books on expectations and talked to a lot of friends. We knew that the quantity of sleep was going to be directly tied to the quality of the trip.

 

[Lewisc]

They complained and were told they could move buildings, but who would want to do that after all your stuff was spread out so they just stayed where they were.

The hotel isn't able to stop the noise. Offering to move them is really all the hotel can do. Their choice is to move and lose the MK view or put up with the noise. For every guest that's bothered by the noise there are at least as many guests that would be happy to get a midnight fireworks show to view from their room.

 

[Lewisc]

Excellent question!! Without a doubt, we would have definitely opted for a quieter room or hotel. The main reason that we booked the Contemporary was for lunch in the room followed by naps (via monorail) because we read the well-written chapters in several books on expectations and talked to a lot of friends. We knew that the quantity of sleep was going to be directly tied to the quality of the trip.

That's really your complaint. Another guest would have gotten the MK view and you would have gotten a quieter room. It would have taken very little to solve the problem. Surprised they weren't able to do that after the first night. No reason you should have had to put up with it for a second night.

 

[ChapelHillian]

A MK view room when the MK is going to have late fireworks and bands ISN'T A QUIET ROOM. You had two conflicting requests, MK view and a quiet room.

Knowing that fireworks are loud and typically only at 10pm and asking for a room that is quiet at other times is a perfectly legitimate request.

Interestingly, the schedule we were handed had a line regarding the nights that fireworks would occur. That line excluded the two dates that turned out to be the two Grad Nights, I suppose because those fireworks were intended for Grad night folks and not for others. One would have thought that it would have listed 10pm for the listed dates and midnight for the two grad night dates (but they probably didn't want non-grads using transportation to see them).

 

[AndyMcV]

Hi ChapelHillian

Wow, that's increadible! My personal opinion is that is awful. Especially on Disney's part. Disney is a place fun and enjoyment for ALL members of families and individuals who travel there. It's Walt's way to have everyone have the best time possible. Disney is for kids and the kids in us adults. Not just for a bunch of partying teenagers celebrating their grad night. Don't get me wrong as a teenager I did more than my share. However at Disney 'till 4 in the morning??? Come on, have it somewhere else where you're not keeping up hundreds of 1 to 8 year old kids.

Something should have been done for you no question. I'm a father with a 5 year old son and 1 year old daughter. If that had of happened when I was there the first thing I would have done is walked down to the front desk and DEMANDED something be done. My first sentance would have been to transfer me to another resort (and yes make it a very nice room and a very nice resort with some free dinner passes or something to compensate). If I got a hassle... I'd grab my daugher under her arms, lift her up and show them the red eyes and her crying because she couldn't sleep. I'd then ask "Is this what Disney is about????"!

Again, Disney is for kids and the kids in us adults.

Just my $0.02
Andy

 

[Lewisc]

Knowing that fireworks are loud and typically only at 10pm and asking for a room that is quiet at other times is a perfectly legitimate request.

Normally yes, but the CM should have know about the late fireworks and late MK grad party with loud bands. You should have been politely told that the MK view room might not be quiet enough for your family and then you would have to decide which request was more important.

I don't think you did anything wrong, unless you refused an offer to move after the first night. I just think a low key warning by the CM might not have been enough warning for you to give up your MK view. Something like MK will be opened late for a party and you might experience more noise than normal would have been enough of a warning but might not have been enough for you to give up your view.