Grad Night & Disney Ruin Magic Kingdom Stay

[LeftCoaster]

actually i found this same story on mouseplanet not mousepad

Mousepad is the name of the Mouseplanet message boards.

 

[DawnCt1]

How awful for you. I too am a light sleeper and even though are children are older and can sleep through anything, I would find this totally unacceptable. I would think that it is not too difficult for Disney to be able to warn people when they are booking (not when they are checking in and it's too late) that there could be excessive noise due to grad night. Like someone said that kind of information could pop up on the screen when the reservationist plugs in the dates you are requesting and then you could choose a different hotel. I also don't see the need for rock bands to be playing until 4:00am - it's just inconsiderate! I hope your complaints help improve the system. Thanks.

But it isn't just Grad night that can generate noise. Any private party can generate noise. YOU don't see the need for rock bands at 4:00 am and perhaps neither do I BUT you aren't 18 years old and graduating from high school. I would rather have the kids in a venue that they CAN'T leave, know they are safe, having fun and too tired to party anywhere else when they leave. I think too big of a deal is being made out of noise.

 

[barb45]

DawnCt1 - I KNOW that other things can create noise. What I'm saying is that something like Grad night that is a yearly event is obviously known to Disney and should be made known to people making reservations. Of course any other extremely loud event going on should also be made known to potential guests also. Also this is DISNEY WORLD not a punk rock bar! There is NO need to be listening to excessively loud music at 4:00 am in Disney World - and don't tell me I don't know what it's like to have teenagers - I have raised 2 and have 1 to go. One of them was and still is in a band. If they are renting the park until 4:00am that does not mean that they need to have the music so loud that it affects the surrounding hotels. Have you ever heard of noise bylaws/ordinances or whaterver you call them where you are from? I'm not saying that the kids can't party in a safe location but the bands don't need to be playing that late or that loud. Just common courtesy. It's also not just young children that are affected - many people or all ages can't sleep through that kind of noise.

 

[DawnCt1]

DawnCt1 - . Have you ever heard of noise bylaws/ordinances or whaterver you call them where you are from? I'm not saying that the kids can't party in a safe location but the bands don't need to be playing that late or that loud. Just common courtesy. It's also not just young children that are affected - many people or all ages can't sleep through that kind of noise.

Since Disney owns the 44 square miles of property in which the Magic Kingdom resides, I would guess that the noise bylaws and ordinances don't apply. Who are their neighbor's who would complain after all? I have been in WDW during plenty of grad nights and the only time we have been inconvenienced was when they had to clear the grads out of Pleasure Island, do a check be sure it was empty before they opened it to the public. I have raised 3 teenagers and I am working on the forth. I HATE their music but there are times when one is on vacation, that we have to be tolerant of others. Grad night isn't necessarily the same night each year. Different schools can book at different times. One could easily make their reservation well before that schedule is firmed up. Should they then notify ever one that a change has been made to the private party schedule. Seems a little cumbersome to me. Frankly, in all of the years that I have been going to WDW and in all of the years I have participated in message boards about WDW, this is the first complaint of its kind that I have heard about. Not to say that they don't exist but I think that it is probably well below the radar screen for most people.

 

[barb45]

Their "neighbors" are all their customers who paid big bucks to stay there! If it is so hard to let their customers know of the problem maybe they should eliminate the problem - they can keep grad day or any other private party going - just with noise restrictions. It seems pretty easy to be considerate of everyone here. You can have your party - you just don't have bands blaring the music through the middle of the night. I'm not even saying that bands can't play but they need to keep the volumn down - simple.

 

[Bob NC]

Well....I guess I wouldn't be too happy if I were awakened at 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep.

Didn't happen to me though, on the two grad nights I stayed at CR North Wing.

 

[DawnCt1]

Their "neighbors" are all their customers who paid big bucks to stay there! If it is so hard to let their customers know of the problem maybe they should eliminate the problem - they can keep grad day or any other private party going - just with noise restrictions. It seems pretty easy to be considerate of everyone here. You can have your party - you just don't have bands blaring the music through the middle of the night. I'm not even saying that bands can't play but they need to keep the volumn down - simple.

I don't think that you can anticipate any change, so plan accordingly.

 

[aladdin's clone]

Not to say that they don't exist but I think that it is probably well below the radar screen for most people.

I don't think the music/noise would have bothered me or my family, but when the OP said the bass bothered him, I sympathize. That's not noise you hear with your ears, but a vibration that goes right through you. To have had to endure it until 4 AM would have driven me nuts. Even if you knew before you arrived that there was Grad night going on, how would you know about the intensity of the boom box vibrations going on all night? Well, now we know, I guess!

 

[mjmcca]

I also cant see how the bass could have been that bad. It would have had the whole hotel up since bass travels through objects.It wouldnt have been a case of oh I am a light sleeper and the noise was too loud, and it would have nothing to do with the cloud cover that night. His story just doesnt add up.I think he tried to embelish it too much.

 

[kpossible]

I think you should expect to be able to sleep after 11pm at any resort you stay at. When you travel with little kids to WDW it is not ok for Disney to have noise going on so late their guests can't sleep. Although I'm sure grad nights are great for some that would stink to be paying so much for an expensive resort and have music going until 3am. That is crazy and Disney should rethink this. I don't think Chapel Hill is required to know this ahead of time. Disney markets to famlies, not famlies who will be expected to get no sleep. Chapel Hill should contact Disney about this. We were lucky. We just got back from OKW and had a great stay. But with three little ones sleep is the only thing that gets you through the days.

 

[CBCit]

The more I think about this and the distance from the MK to the Contemporary and the fact that the hotel windows/doors should be closed due to air conditioning the harder I find it to believe that the grad night noise was so unbearably loud as to seriously disrupt his families sleep all night. Maybe a case of ,"oh,I wonder what that is" and then going back to sleep. Remember this party is not taking place at the Contemporary or on the hotels grounds,it is at the MK,which is still a bit of a distance away. I think this whole noise thing is really being exagerated and might be a case of buyers remorse,like why did we book such an expensive hotel and it wasn't perfect. The truth is their is no perfect vacation and the hundreds of people vacationing around you sometimes step on your toes a little while they have fun.I say it all works both ways,maybe one night his kids who are bad sleepers cried for a while and bothered the people next door to him who had older kids who never cry anymore. Maybe the hotel should block out room sections by the ages of the children traveling with each party? Or maybe not.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

The truth is their is no perfect vacation and the hundreds of people vacationing around you sometimes step on your toes a little while they have fun.I say it all works both ways,maybe one night his kids who are bad sleepers cried for a while and bothered the people next door to him who had older kids who never cry anymore. Maybe the hotel should block out room sections by the ages of the children traveling with each party? Or maybe not.

I think there is some emotion involved when families are spending a lot for a vacation that can make certain instances more intense.

There seem to be a lot of instances around the parks where if you merely stand or stop walking in the wrong place, somebody is mad at you. I think it's great so many are there to enjoy WDW, but it's sometimes difficult to get used to one another and lack of sleep, noise, crowds, money spent can all amplify issues that might otherwise be given more of an objective perspective.

 

[Georgieut]

I am truely amazed that I read all 12 pages. It was funny but true. I am staying at the CR the first week in June. I have to say the WDW website under the calendar of events does not list Grad Night. Nor did I know when booking that it would be Orlando Gay Days. Not that I have a problem with that. But I found this site because I read it in a book here I been and have found out tons of things that I wouldn't of had a clue about. Have to admit there is no surprises because you all tell your stories and post helpful webistes that I am ready for noise, rain, blisters, cranky kids,a cranky great grandmother, long lines, rude people, lost luggage, an empty wallet, talking trash cans, sunburns, expensive batteries, crawly things under my seat, and to expect to say "dang forgot to bring that" but you know what- I can't wait! 32 more days bring it on!

 

[webray]

the 4am in the morning music thumping so loud you can't sleep..ugh..same thing happens in the fall when they have those gospel groups in. They have the concerts..and then they practice at full volume until between 5 and 6 am. Very annoying.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

no surprises because you all tell your stories and post helpful webistes that I am ready for noise, rain, blisters, cranky kids,a cranky great grandmother, long lines, rude people, lost luggage, an empty wallet, talking trash cans, sunburns, expensive batteries, crawly things under my seat, and to expect to say "dang forgot to bring that" but you know what- I can't wait! 32 more days bring it on!

That's the Disney spirit!

 

[jeannej]

Grad Night has been in operation now for 30 years. I beleive the first class to go was 1975. I went in 1976. So, I am not sure how anyone could not know that grad nights were going on. Since every Florida school gets out at the end of May, (well not every my children get out of school June 2nd) Grad night begin in April for the last number of years so the WDW festitivies do not interfere with the local graduation activities planned.

I am sorry this happened to you, but, everyone knows about Grad Night!.

jeannej

 

[Talking Hands]

the 4am in the morning music thumping so loud you can't sleep..ugh..same thing happens in the fall when they have those gospel groups in. They have the concerts..and then they practice at full volume until between 5 and 6 am. Very annoying.

But Night of Joy only goes to midnight And honestly once we got the the end of Main Street we couldn't hear anything anymore.

 

[jeannej]

I think you should expect to be able to sleep after 11pm at any resort you stay at. When you travel with little kids to WDW it is not ok for Disney to have noise going on so late their guests can't sleep. Although I'm sure grad nights are great for some that would stink to be paying so much for an expensive resort and have music going until 3am. That is crazy and Disney should rethink this. I don't think Chapel Hill is required to know this ahead of time. Disney markets to famlies, not famlies who will be expected to get no sleep. Chapel Hill should contact Disney about this. We were lucky. We just got back from OKW and had a great stay. But with three little ones sleep is the only thing that gets you through the days.

I disagree. Grad Nights have been around for 30 years. If not wanting to be inconvineced is a top priority for vacationer then it behaooves the vactioner to be familiar with what is going one while they are going to be staying at WDW.

jeannej

 

[Aisling]

I am sorry this happened to you, but, everyone knows about Grad Night!.

I've benn reading these boards for years, and I really didn't know about Grad Night except that it was a yearly event at WDW. I never opened those posts, and I never realized it was in April. But now I know and will plan my trips accordingly.

I gave this topic a lot of thought, what I think Disney or the OP would have done, and what I would have done in their situation. And I really don't know. I do know that bass vibrations are much worse than regular park/music noise, and if I and my young children couldn't sleep because of it, it really would ruin my vacation...not my opinion of my vacation, but the actual vacation, because you can't feel good during the day with lack of sleep.

Would I have called the desk and ask for another room? But which room is immune to the vibes?
Another hotel? Yes, I'd throw my stuff in my suitcases and move my kids over to a different hotel in the middle of the night as opposed to suffering all night long. But it would have to be a hotel far from MK, which is not what we wanted.
Would my family just endure it and then ask for compensation? I can't see us doing that.

I really don't know what I would have done, and again I say I sympathize with the OP. You can't help it if you can't sleep because of noise. It's not like complaining about your parking lot view or rude CMs. Sleep is serious!

I just wonder if anone else heard this bass going on, because I'd think if this went on for years and it was so intense, wouldn't Disney have done something about it?

I'm probably taking this whole thing so seriously because I'm TIRED and really need a nap!

 

[Ladyhawke10]

I really don't know what I would have done, and again I say I sympathize with the OP. You can't help it if you can't sleep because of noise. It's not like complaining about your parking lot view or rude CMs. Sleep is serious!

Yes, but what if the mousekeeping or previous guest leaves the alarmclock set for 4 am and it goes off, waking you up and it's your first trip to Disney and you didn't think to check it before going to sleep (or if it goes off and you don't know how to shut it off, especially when it's in the middle of the night...). Or what if you switch hotels, and, remarkably, at the second hotel the alarm goes off like this, too (in the middle of the night...you'd never thought it'd be set like that twice). Yes, uh, this has happened to me at Disney LOL We didn't switch (obviously) because of the alarm but it happened AGAIN at our second hotel when we changed resorts mid stay. It was too funny. Both times I couldn't go back to sleep again and had full, tired days. Who's fault? I think in certain cases it's most helpful (and I mean this in the interest of the person suffering) to keep a sense of humor about things that go wrong.

In the case of the bass problem, why not call the police (they would have the capacity to deal with the noise problem...apparently the CR did not), accept the 25% discount, and move to a different, sound proof room the second night? Do you know how many people I've seen complain on tripadvisor about construction noise and other unanticipated noise issues, at their luxury resorts that they spent so much for? I remember a night at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City when there was this college thing going on right under my beautiful, park view window ALLLL night. I felt frustrated at first, because I couldn't sleep and had a full day ahead planned, but then I had to enjoy how much fun they seemed to be having out there. It was a graduation thing and there was a band (bass and all), disco, etc. No, I did not know about it when reserving our room. It was not the end of the world, though yes, we were tired the next day. I am sympathetic to anyone who is less than happy w/ their hard earned vacation for sure, but it's good to keep perspective as well and try to look at all points of view.