Have you noticed ?

[mareemouse]

I have noticed over the 5 years of reading the posts at this wonderful site,
that people have gone from,
'DisneyWorld can do nothing wrong, trip was awesome, accomodations were wonderful...
to
many complaints about the disrepair, service and overall dissapointment
at the Disney Resorts, (not to mention the rate increases).

Have others noticed this as well ?

and is this happening at DISNEYLAND as well ?

 

[maxiesmom]

I think it is a combination of a couple of things. First, there is a shortage of help in the Orlando area, and I think Disney is feeling it. They simply cannot hire as many people as they would like, and it shows. Second, after reading these boards and making repeat trips to Disney World, I think our expectations become pretty high. Look at the towel animals. At first they were a cool extra, and now you will see many people complain when they don't receive them. Instead of being an extra, they are now expected.

And a third thing could be that some people simply like to complain.

 

[Charleyann]

Who believe Disney can do no wrong and will prance on the moment given a chance someone dare say one word bad against Disney!

With corporate cutbacks and slipping customer service, there are bound to be many unhappy campers in any corporation!


Charleyann

 

[mareemouse]

I have to add, that the parks themselves are awesome...and keep improving
year after year.

 

[pat fan]

1. I think most people have VERY high expectations when it comes to WDW.
When WDW was X sized, they could be picky and hire CM's that met their idea for customer service etc... Now that WDW is XXX sized, how can you do that? Forgive me for being frank, but with the majority of people's attitudes it is next to impossible to get all of your help to meet that expectation. Where we live, expecting poor customer service is the norm. You just hardly ever find anyone who treats you decently. We leave stores/restaurants/movies with the same refrain time and again..."Gee, they love their job,don't they?".

2. Same goes for park experiences also. This was the first year we encountered some real issues touring the parks. They were due to rude people, not CM's, but the CM's were overwhelmed by them also and resorted to giving us FP's. Big deal, but it's not the CM's fault, it's the rude people. I think it's just a matter of WDW being bigger, more popular and thus you see a greater percentage of idiots.

3. As for resorts, they're almost full all the time right? Some wear and tear will ensue so repairs will be needed. When it does, of course some will complain about the noise of the renovation (see AK last summer). As someone else said, some people just like to complain and nothing will make them happy.

IMO, WDW is hands down better than any other theme park. It is an experience unlike any other, but you need to have the right attitude. Things will not always go perfectly, but a bad day at WDW is still better than a good day anywhere else

 

[BroadwayGirl]

You have to remember, there are some here who are never so happy as when they are miserable. Instead of focusing on the positive they dwell on all the "horrible" terrible things that happened on their trip. Also,like newspaper headlines you get more attention when you post horror stories instead of happy stories.

With the number of guests that visit WDW parks and resorts everyday there will always be some who are disappointed. Despite Disney's best intentions a CM may have a bad day, equipment may malfunction or a pipe will burst and when this happens someone will be impacted. And usually Disney does their very best to resolve the situation favorably. I'm not saying that problems don't occur but to read some of the posts you'd think every resort at WDW was a roach motel and that just isn't the case.

I also think the entitlement mentality in society has gotten worse and the Disney entitlement mentality has been magnified by these boards with everyone trying to get something for themselves. I see threads with sentiments like "Why is Disney punishing me by not giving me a code" or "I was assigned the standard room that I booked but Disney needs to compensate me because I couldn't see the fireworks from my room even though I requested it and I don't know why they didn't kick that other family out of the room for me" and stuff like that.

Again, it isn't everybody but I do think these boards have fostered some unrealistic expectations which leads to disappointment which results in many of the "Disney is slipping" and "Disney is horrible" type of threads.

 

[LowesChevy]

I agree with maxiesmom right that peoples' expectations may be high.

I have been going to WDW with my family for over 25 years. Everytime is better than the last, but you cannot expect to experience every piece of magic people mention on the boards. We have had towel animals, outstanding cast members, great cuisine, wonderful rooms and mousekeeping. Some trips are "more magical" than others, but it is still my favorite place to vacation.

I love the people who say "I am spending "x" amount of dollars to come here!"
Blah blah blah. Yeah, well so did everyone else here and they are behaving like adults.

I try to filter out the negativity, I have not had a bad experience so I will keep going to WDW every year.

 

[MagicKingdom05]

I think some of those bad experiences are caused by people not planning ahead of time and being prepared for some things not to go your way.

 

[LowesChevy]

I think some of those bad experiences are caused by people not planning ahead of time and being prepared for some things not to go your way.

I totally agree. People tend to not plan ahead and feel they can just wing it, but is usually backfires on them.

 

[GQ's Ghost]

Things changed around 1998 when Animal Kingdom came on line. In the 5 previous years, disney went through a huge growth and was a little over extended.

In a few short years, disney added: between 1993 and 1998

Port Orleans
Dixie Landings
All Star Sports Center
ASll Star resorts
Boardwalk hotel
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom lodge
testtrack
tower or terror
rockin rollercoaster
Down town disney make over and west side

As a frequent visitor before, during, and after these 5 years, 1997 is when thing started being different. the parks started having fallen leaves laying on side walks and dead flowers in baskets. This used to never happen.

Mechandise got very cheap in terms of quality. You can't buy 3 foot stuffed charecters anymore. It went from quality clothing to tourist tshirts.

Now, disney has started to correct a lot of this. When 9-11 happened and people didnt travel for a long time, disney realized, they had to get back to taking care of the customer with the little things, but some is still lost.

-------------

my problem is with some on these message forums, who think disney can do no wrong and will back disney tot he end no matter what.

It's ok to disagree and call disney out on things, i's how things get better, and it's also ok to have a different point of view than others.

I know there are a great many of us on these boards who

use soda mugs on multiple visits
in truth, dont like gay days
and wish strollers and ecv's were outlawed

but when you say what is on your mind, you are bashed as a hater because your opinion is not politically correct.

Goodluck. this post will probably be delted.

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

I have no complaints. And I"m not one of those "Disney can do no wrong" people.

I look at it this way. On my last WDW vacation, we spent one day in Sea World. It was the complete opposite of WDW. The workers didn't smile at you and ask how you were, they just grunted as they rung up your purchase.

 

[NMAmy]

I think some people have legitimate complaints and yet, they get blasted if they dare to post by those that think Disney is perfect all the time. Granted, I have seen other posters that are totally out there on what they want Disney to delivere.

I've seen things in the last few years that I've never seen before in a Disney park--overflowing trash cans, filthy restrooms, run down attractions and chipped paint etc. And while the majority of CM's are helpful and kind, I've seen some who are flat out rude. Does that mean I won't go or that it ruins my whole vacation? No way but it does make me sad to see the parks that way and there's nothing wrong with discussing these things on a Disney message board.

 

[skipperkim]

Let us not forget that Disney now outsources a lot of their services. I'm not sure how well these temps are trained on the Disney way, but somehow I guess it can't be all that much of training.