Help Me Decide - Long

[ParrotAtOKW]

We learned, after several hard lessons, never to rely on anyone at Disney to get everything right the first time. Sometimes they do, of course, but we don't count on it.

Now, no matter how far in advance we make reservations, we call Disney practically weekly until the day we go. Sometimes we even call enroute. After we start getting the same story fairly consistently from week to week, we relax a little bit.

I wonder why the OP wasn't able to get better accommodation from Disney. Most of the times we have had similar troubles, we have been provided similar accommodations if they were available and better ones if they weren't.

The OP has a very extensive background of experience with Disney resorts and reservations. Not that I think it should come into play from Disney's side, but how on earth, knowing how badly those people can screw up without even trying, could they let this happen to themselves???

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

I can understand why you were frustrated.
I am glad Disney chose to respond to your letter.
I'm glad that you feel you have been well-treated by Disney.

That being said:
1. It seems that your friends were at fault here for not confirming the room sitch, not Disney. Even if Disney didn't send a confirming email.
2. I am imagining that in order to get the Fla ressie rate, that your friends needed to get the 2 rooms with one of them staying in each room...and you and your wife staying with one of them 'on paper'. There really isn't anything wrong with this, IMHO...but that is how the ressie would have had to been booked, correct?
3. Did your friends offer to share the room with you? I realize that with the size of this particular resort that 4 adults in a room would have been crowded...since it was so late at night, it seems that they should have at least offered it.
4. I imagine that Disney offered you the least expensive room they had left on property. SInce you were driving from the Orlando airport, if the price was prohibitive, then you could have pulled over at any of the 'en route' motels and just stayed the night there for most likely $60 or less and then worked on it in the morning.

As posted above , if you could have proven two rooms at the Fla res rate, then I think Disney should have been more proactive in searching for alternatives. But without it, I think they were well within their offer.

And you were within your right to feel that you spend a lot of money and have a lot of stays (which Disney does keep track of BTW) and that you might want to sell or cancel some upcoming stays...We all have that right you know.

Anyway, customer service is important and i am glad that Disney responded to your letter, as I think you are.

colorado belle

 

[dougmatt]

Pa@OKW95 - Thanks, but nowhere did I say I was a "big spender". Only that I was a regular visitor.... Also read on, as there was a reason we stayed at the "value"... Everything is relative.

Colorado Belle - Nope that isn't correct. The only requirement to get the rate is one room must have a FL resident in it, and that resident has to make the reservation.... Yes they did offer, and we declined.. And finally I never said the Poly was cost prohibitive (I have stayed at Deluxes several times) only that I wasn't prepared for that rate for this trip as we didn't NEED that level of accomidation for the marathon, and in fact the All Star's are about the "easiest" to stay at for the marathon as you can drive in without worrying about early road closure or the need to get up extra early to hit the monorail.. The 6 am race start with 4 am line up time is rough... The All-Star's buy you about 45 minutes of extra sleep.

Parrot - Well I guess we learned our lesson here..... I have never had a problem and would categorize your method of interacting with Disney as "paranoid". Even after this experience..... How can vacationing there be "fun" if you are "freaking out" like that!

 

[lllovell]

The best news here to me is that they contacted you Doug and listened. I am glad that you feel good about the outcome as well of course!

(as for the FL pass issue - wouldn't that be like saying that a DVC member cannot make a ressie for a friend? Maybe that is over simplifying, but I don't have to stay in the room to have a friend stay with me at the resort at the same time.)

 

[ParrotAtOKW]

Parrot - Well I guess we learned our lesson here..... I have never had a problem and would categorize your method of interacting with Disney as "paranoid". Even after this experience..... How can vacationing there be "fun" if you are "freaking out" like that!

You know, I was thinking that same thing (about being paranoid)! I guess we sort of are, though I may have over-stated it a bit. But the point is that since we have become a bit more "paranoid" before getting there, we have seldom been disappointed *after* getting there. Besides, my partner really enjoys interacting with the CMs along the way. What surely must seem like "freaking out" to many is just part of the fun for us!!

 

[DrTomorrow]

You know, I was thinking that same thing (about being paranoid)! I guess we sort of are, though I may have over-stated it a bit. But the point is that since we have become a bit more "paranoid" before getting there, we have seldom been disappointed *after* getting there. Besides, my partner really enjoys interacting with the CMs along the way. What surely must seem like "freaking out" to many is just part of the fun for us!!

I'm with you, Parrot: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If a CM is going to tell me that my reservation has been screwed up - or lost - I'd much rather them tell me 3 months before the trip, not at the front desk....

 

[SoCalKDG]

dougmatt, thanks for the follow up. From your initial letters of complaint to finally getting an answer, how long did it take?

Thanks.

 

[dougmatt]

I would say it took about 6 weeks. So figure 6 - 8 weeks delay? The CM contacting me mentioned that they get backlogged following up on these items around the holidays... Not sure if that is good or bad???

D