Has Disney lost some of its magic?

[KarenNYC]

I just got back from several days of fun at Disney World and have to say that I did not feel the magic as much as I have every other time that I've been there. Has anyone else felt this way? The staff used to go out of their way to help you but this trip we got a lot of push back from staff on things (such as I went to pay for a meal - my DH handed me his credit card in front of the cashier and he took my squirmy two year old to sit down and the cashier REFUSED to charge the meal unless my husband was standing there even tho the meal was under $25 and the charge did not need a signature). I also had a sick child that needed a doctor and they offered me very few options other than someone who could come to the room for $300 plus and they could only come after 10pm or some on-site facility that had a 2-3 hour wait! luckily we went off site and found a great place as my son ended up having a fever virus and his temp was up to 105!

We also went down for the marathon and I have never seen a more disorganized event for spectators.

anyone else experience a less than magical vacation?

Karen

Karen

Karen

 

[Jennasis]

On the credit card issue, the cashier was right. No if's and's or but's.

The other things could have been handled differently by the cast members. I'm sorry your son was sick. When my Dad had a massive asthma attack in Epcot many years ago, they bent over backwards to help/save him. He was whisked to a back entrance of the parl where an ambulance was waiting to take him to a hospital.

However, NONE of the issues you describe diminish th MAGIC of a Disney vacation as far as I am concerned in any way.

Diminishing magic would be closing of character breakfasts, or the demolition of Space Mountain, or the park was full of litter, or something like that.

 

[gingermommy94]

I think the magic of Disney is a personal thing.

These things happen on any vacation, I think sometimes the expectations of Disney are too high. I love Disney, always have and always will..but I do realize that they aren't perfect. Having lofty expectations always sets a person up for disappointment.

The Disney magic is still there, you just have to be open to seeing and feeling it.

I'm sorry your son was sick..glad he's ok!

 

[debbiedoo]

I would have been thankful on the cc issue with all the fraud and everything, They were just trying to do their job. I would have thought that they would have been a little different with the situation with your child. I know that before I go anywhere I know the ropes before I leave home. The children's hospital in Orlando is Arnold-Palmer. I hope this will help you on future trips.

I expereinced something similar to you situation. I booked Last jan for a trip through DVC For oct 2004, thought things were going to be great!! We were due to leave on a Thursday. Monday, picked up DD from school sick, Tuesday she insisted going to school felt better, guess what had to go back and took here to DR. Dr said she had a 4/5 day viral thing. Mentioned to her we were leaving on thurs. We were driving so no problem. Wed, by dr's orders stayed home from school. I thought I wasn't going to make it at this point. We did drive down th morning, and I made sure I took OTC meds and my therometer. Yep, I never thought I would have to do that!! Got to OKW and let her rest, and I asked her if she felt like doing anything. Went to Epcot for about 2 1/2 hours for dinnner and keep it low key, by fri morning she was almost back to normal!! Needless to say, I have learned to pack more than the kitchen sink!!! So I have now bought extra therometer just for the travel bag.

hope this helps ya!!

 

[WDSearcher]

I'm sorry your son was sick, but without more details, it's a bit hard to know what more Disney could have done. They don't have a "staff physician" and cannot dispense medications or make diagnosis. You need to go off site unless you're requesting an ambulance or unless it's a life-threatening emergency, and it sounds like they gave you the two quickest and closest options for a non-emergency situation. Now, if you presented it as an emergency and that's the response you got, then there's definitely a problem.

The cashier, as has been said, was absolutely right to refuse the charge without your husband there. There are too many instances of stolen credit cards at Disney each year for them to simply take your word for the fact that the card is your husband's. That's for your protection as much as for Disney's. If your husband had dropped his CC and someone had charged on it, you'd likely be mad because Disney allowed the charge without positive ID. You need to look at it from both sides.

The marathon isn't really a spectator sport -- it's for the athletes. The sports team spends a lot of time making sure that the athletes are taken care of and that the race is run properly; they do what they can for the spectators, but that's not their focus.

 

[JRawkSteady]

As a Cast Member, I must say that we have it drilled in our heads NEVER do accept a credit card unless the holder is there to sign it. Even if it was a spouse with the same last name, they could be recently divorced and she could be trying to squeeze as much money as she can out of him before he cancels the card.

I do, however, agree that the Disney magic has deteriorated over the past 5 or 6 years. A lot of people blame it on Eisner neglecting the parks and placing all his concern on partner companies. I think it's moreso about the hiring process. Disney used to only take the best of the best, now it seems like they're just hiring whoever walks through the doors. There are way more CMs at the World who don't really care about their job...they're just looking for money. It's really sad, b/c it brings the rest of us down.

I'm sorry about your experience, but when I was living in Lake Buena Vista and dislocated my shoulder, I had to wait 4 hours to get any medical attention at all... unfortunatley they like to do things really slow down in FL unlike up here in NYC (i see you're from here too) where you can recieve attention based on how much money you are willing to pay. heh

 

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

I'll agree with the cc issue too....that's a positive thing no matter what!

As for the infant being sick, medical is always a 'grey' area and hopefully it won't happen again...I always pack extra meds, etc when I leave for myself just in case.....

And as for the 'magic' with Michael Eisner leaving, maybe you'll feel the 'magic' again...it's a personal thing, thankfully I've never felt it though...I always have the magic in my heart and always will!

 

[ncbyrne]

The thrill of the actual park has not diminished for me over the years. However, as has been stated earlier, the are new CMs that are not up to Disney calibar. In the MK on our last trip, I asked three CMs where the flag ceremony was held. One didn't speak English, one had no clue what I was even talking about...and pointed to a flag and said, "there it is". It was a young CM ice cream vendor who finally gave us the correct information - but alas by the time we got to the right place, we'd just missed it. I've also noticed that mousekeeping just isn't the same either....there are exceptions, but they just don't go out of their way anymore.

 

[minmate]

I'm sorry to hear your trip was less than magical. I had issues with our last trip too. Everything from them not being able to find my confirm # to pick up our tix at will call, to having a pre-sent package lost, a child who for awhile we thought also, would need medical attention, PS's that weren't on their lists, and the list goes on... I do have to say though, thanks to having my mom and dad along on the trip... they kept reminding me that this is all stuff that we, as parents have to deal with... the kids are having the magical time of their lives... when you go to a destination like WDW, mishaps are going to happen. It IS scary and frustrating to have a child get sick away from home... that alone can zap a lot of positive energy. We ended up just laughing because it was one thing after the next... it did become almost too comical... and you know, it is part of our memories and we still feel it was a great trip. I wish we could go again. Things will not always go smoothly or perfectly. Disney does have a high standard of excellence in customer service. I think it's been said here before though, that if you have a problem, it's best to try to resolve it as pleasantly as you can right away. I have learned that I am the only one in charge of my own attitude and I get to choose how I react to the circumstances around me. When I'm on vacation, I just try to leave my house with the thought that I may not know what all will happen, but I choose to have a good time and enjoy my family.

I hope you feel the magic again soon!

 

[Johnfish]

This summer was our first trip to WDW. The day after we arrived we were visited by hurricane Charlie. Although I have no previous experience to go on I fell WDW is a truly magical place. There was not one time that a CM either on a ride or in a shop or restuarant was unpleasent to us. As a mater of fact every one of them went out of thier way to make our trip magical.

The day after charlie i was talking to one of the CMs in a shop. She was very plesant and helpful. Asked alot about how our trip was going and offered some great advice for first timers. She did not mention anything about the hurricane until I asked. Then she mentioned that she was with out elecricity and a damaged roof. I thanked her profusely for working to help make our vacation special. I found this to be the case with every CM I encountered during my trip.

Universal and IOA on the other hand was miserable. Most of the attendants (couldnt consider them CMs based on their actions) were rude. There were a few nice ones but they were far and few between. That is why I consider US/IOA nothing more than an amusement park. Great rides but no real magic.

John

 

[MHG26]

I have to say that WDW has some of the nicest and most helpful people working there. However, that doesn't mean that every single person who works there is friendly and helpful. I have encountered some who either don't have any energy, aren't too friendly, or don't know how to answer my question when I've asked. However, I tend to not even be able to remember those as well as the ones who do go out of their way because it's so rare in this day in age to find overly friendly/helpful people working in the service industry. How many times in your daily life do you go into a merchandise store or food service establishment and get low quality service from unfriendly people? That happens all the time where I live (Chicago). It doesn't often bother me, unless they're really rude, but when I go to WDW it makes an impression on me when they're actually out of their way friendly to me. So in comparison, Disney employees as a whole are much more impressive to me than your average run of the mill service person.

 

[mamaprincess]

I have only been once, that being said, I did have a very negative experience with a cm at the bcc at ak on the last day of our trip. I like to think she was the one with the lack of magic not wdw. Everything else about our time there was amazing. We are dvc owners at ssr. our next trip is dec 2005 and we cant wait.

I hope your next trip is infinitely more magical

 

[floridagirrl2]

We went to Disney 6 times in the last year and found every visit magical! Not perfect, but wholly magical!

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

My DD got sick one night during our 12/03 WDW trip. We called the front desk and told them that our DD was sick (strep throat) and we needed a way to get to an emergency room since we do not rent a car. They had an ambulance there in no time at no charge to us. During the ride to the hospital they gave my DD a nice stuffed dalmation. After she was diagnosed, they drove my DH and DD back to our hotel, again at no charge to us!! The very next morning a refrigerator for her medicine was delivered to our room. YUP! No charge for the refrigerator. This was at the All-Star Music resort during Pop Warner week! THEY WERE GREAT!!! WE WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR CONCERN AND KINDNESS!!

 

[ScottieDog]

Hello all,
For those who have read any of my previous posts....I'm the one stuck in the past, that is, I'm hooked on the Disney World of my childhood. ) Anyway, what that has ment for me is that when I go back as an adult I look for those things that seemed so magical as a child. I'm happy to say that, for the most part, I find those things/that feeling each time. That said I have been disapointed. On my first "adult trip" I was pretty disapointed to find a huge chewed gum collection in the cave leading to Splash Mt. On my most recent trip I was really really annoyed by the behavior of the house keeping staff at my resort (Port Orleans). Early in the morning were all these women with gold front teeth yelling to each other from ajoining balconies in Spanish. I was really out of my about it. Sooooo NOT magical.

Cathryn~

 

[KarenNYC]

I don't disagree that Disney was being smart about not allowing me to use my husband's card - wat pissed me off was that a. if he had handed the card to another guy there would have been NO issue and b. the cashier SAW my husband hand the card to me and carry our thrashing two year old off to a table and as Disney now has a policy that you don't need to sign for anything under $25 it was just silly to make a big stink and to then hold up the line for everyone else.

I was only using these things as examples of the way I felt when there this week. We tend to go semi-frequently (being that we do live in NYC) and I have always felt the magic even when there have been issues with rooms, tickets, reservations etc.... the staff in the past went out of their way to try to fix the problem this time I met with a very disorganized and uninterested staff. Staff that I would keep people waiting in lines while they were busy chatting.

We were also there for the Disney marathon and not a single staff member had ANY information for spectators and the little bit of information they did have was incorrect. I was really suprised as this is so different from all the other experiences I have had there that it was a shock to the system.

Karen

 

[disworldnum1]

First off I'm glad your son is alright,thats the most important thing here.My family and I drive down to disney 2x a year from NYC. It usually takes us 19 hours and the first couple of days are just to unwind.I have noticed over the last couple of years that some of the newer Cm's might not be as helpful or even seem to care about resolving a problem so I tend to move right up to a supervisor.I can't allow alot of little insignificant problems get blown out of proportion because the whole snowball effect takes over.So before I can start feeling the magic I need to clear my head step back and start enjoying the time I am spending with my family.This I found out is where the magic comes from,not the parks or the shows or anything else but the fact that I'm there with my family and how much I love being able to share this with them.We no longer get up early and rush around to squeeze anything into our vacation,we can have a great time just hanging around the pool or walking around DTD.

 

[Chuck S]

wat pissed me off was that a. if he had handed the card to another guy there would have been NO issue and b. the cashier SAW my husband hand the card to me and carry our thrashing two year old off to a table and as Disney now has a policy that you don't need to sign for anything under $25 it was just silly to make a big stink and to then hold up the line for everyone else.Karen

When did they start a policy of not signing for anything under $25? We were there in December and the CMs checked my signature each and every time I used my room charge, no matter the amount. I don't know why a direct CC charge would be different....and if it is. I'll always be sure to use room charge on every visit.

If you husband handed you a card that said "Mr. John Smith" how would they know that your husband was the real Mr. John Smith, if they couldn't verify his signature...I mean...don't you see how handing someone "apparently" your spouse, does not mean that the card isnt stolen?

 

[kidangel]

We were there in Sept 04, and I did feel as though some of the "magic" was lacking. There were many, many wonderful moments, especially since DH and I were both celebrating our birthdays and our 15th anniversary. But we waited two hours after check in before they arrived with our fridge, three different times the wheelchair lift on the bus was broken and we had to wait for the next bus, twice we were given wrong directions for buses, they screwed up our SOA tickets (although they fixed it beautifully after my near nervous breakdown at the POFQ front desk), and several times we found that the CMs narrating the ride we happened to be on (such as the Land, the Great Movie Ride) had such thick non-English accents that we couldn't understand a word they were saying. Oh, and yet again - for the THIRD time - our server at Prime Time just didn't seem to be "into" the whole thing. (we've decided to give up on PT)

However...

It was the week between Frances and Ivan, and things were definitely in a tizzy. CMs had lost homes, the resorts were full of people who'd been displaced, (some who were just "getting away from it all" after Charlie) and no one knew what was going to happen with Ivan. When we arrived, the streetlamps at POFQ were wrapped in plastic - the next day they were unwrapped, and two days later, they were wrapping them again. There were a lot of CM trainees, and a lot of CMs working in "roles" they weren't used to working in.

So we figured the "missing magic" had more to do with a hurricane-weary state, and decided not to hold it against them. We'll be going back next fall - although seriously, PT is not on the itinerary. I give up!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

That's interesting about the credit card (and btw- if you didn't have to sign, I'm totally with you that it was ridiculous BECAUSE the cashier saw him hand you the card and walk away with a 2yr old that was upset. It's not like you walked up by yourself with that card in hand, geesh!).

All our credit cards are in my husband's name since he's the one that makes the income for the applications in the first place! I use his card everywhere- and did at WDW in the past too. I guess it's good info to know that now he'll have to always be with me- especially considering our next trip we're going sans DH!

Could that have been avoided by using the key to your room to charge? or would you have to have DH with you for that if DH's credit card is the one linked to the room key charges?