Here Now - Pros and Cons (First-Timer's Perspective)

[DAKL101]

I didn't see that in this thread, but I saw it happen in just the last few days in a thread with someone venting about a bad experience at Guest Relations entering the park. Someone flat out told them they didn't believe it happened.

Not the point, but GR have the ability to be as nice or as rude as they like with no repercussions. I have gotten some seriously nasty GR cast members consistently.

 

[midge3426]

I don't blame Disney -- like any big corporation, they charge what the market will bear. Plenty of people are willing to pay Disney prices for smaller rooms and woefully spotty service (sometimes excellent, sometimes awful, mostly okay). As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to all four parks, then there are plenty of offsite options with better quality at lower cost that are equally close to the parks. But people stay onsite for reasons that I wouldn't. They go mostly to the MK or to Epcot, and like the fact that they can walk over and back. They want to Drink their way Around the World and not have to worry about driving home. They hate driving and appreciate the onsite transportation. They like to eat restaurant food at least two meals a day, or the various special deals offseason work out for them in some other way. Whatever.

One way or another, Disney's keeping their units full, even as the quality has fallen off. Ditto the restaurants -- everyone I know who went in the eighties has complained about the drop in food quality, but people keep eating onsite. Disney isn't motivated to pick up the slack when people keep coming back. Why work harder when slacking off carries no costs?

.....and that is why we decided to skip our annual Disney trip. For the past few years, when we check into our hotel there has been a problem. The room has not been thoroughly cleaned, something does not work, or the towels or linens are tattered. When you check into a Disney hotel (or any hotel for that matter), you have a reasonable expectation that your room is clean and that all amenities are in working order. We have been driving everywhere the past few years because the bus service has been spotty. We just got tired of the hassle. Why stay at a hotel that overcharges and does not deliver?

I find the parks no longer up to par. When we first started "started" doing the Florida theme park experience, we went to Universal too. The last time that I went to Universal (which has been a very long time indeed) all the rides except two, broke down on our visit. I decided not to go anymore and have not returned. Disney is not maintaining their rides as well anymore and they are breaking down more and more. Their new rides provide less than a stellar experience. Disney is just throwing a new ride here and there without considering the theme or traffic flow of the park. Disney, right now, is a hot mess.

I agree with your analysis of the Disney Hotel. There are a lot of better hotels close to the parks, but we are not satisfied with the parks. Disney, currently, is thriving on their past reputation. Who knows, maybe the present inadequacies will never become common knowledge. Or maybe, the younger generation thrives on mediocrity. Anyway, we are skipping our visit with Mickey and Minnie and it is breaking my heart. Maybe they do not care about our money, but if more people abandoned them, they would.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Thanks for the review! Sorry to hear about the bad stuff. We've stayed at the poly and love it so make sure you stop by and let them know your concerns. Have a great rest of the trip!

Thanks for the review! For as expensive as Poly is, I would expect a lot in the cleanliness department too and would be quite skeeved out by hairs in various places like that and a tub not draining, etc. We stay in a less than $120/night room at DL when we are there and have not had issues like that, so I wouldn't expect a hotel like Poly to have that issue. Definitely let someone know while you are there! (not for the purposes of getting something... other than a clean room, any way!)

 

[Angel Ariel]

And to say friendly CMs are the exception rather than the rule is not accurate. We've spent countless days at WDW and also have a family friend who is a long time CM. They take customer service as serious as a heart attack. Sure, there are a few "bad eggs" considering the number of CMs they have. But they are very few and far between, and from what I'm told they are rooted out pretty quickly. The vast majority of CMs go out of their way to make your experience at WDW pleasant.

You weren't there with this OP, so you cannot say whether the description of the cast members the OP personally came into contact with is accurate or not.

On the whole do I believe that CMs are overall pretty great? Yes, because that's my experience. I haven't come across any CM who was rude to me or unpleasant at all. But that's my experience. Perhaps the OP just had a run of bad luck and ran into all of the so called "bad eggs" all in one vacation, which would be unfortunate, but the description the OP gave would be accurate in that case, from the OP's perspective. no company has employees that are universally amazing all the time, not even disney.

ETA it'd also impirtant to note that the OP said that good CMs "seemed to be" the exception. That wording is important, as "seemed to be" indicates it was their perception based on their experience, and that they aren't stating it as absolute/universal fact.

 

[shalom]

I think the key is how frequently these things occur (1 in 1,000 rooms? 1 in 100 rooms? 1 in 10 rooms?) -- and unfortunately, NONE OF US CAN KNOW THIS.

A valid point. Disney is so huge that there could be a lot of horrific reviews and the grand majority of people could still be satisfied customers. I also think that the cost of Disney rooms create expectations that aren't likely to be met. While I often compare the onsite resorts to oceanfront units, in that they're smaller than you'd normally get for the price, there's also the fact that people staying onsite are in a sense paying for most of the public spaces at their resort, as well as all the resort transportation. Your average hotel charging Disney Deluxe rates may have a shuttle service, but that's about it; Disney picks people up at the airport and takes them everywhere else (onsite) that they want to go, every day of the trip! I expect the extra cost of the parks opening an hour early or staying open an hour late for Extra Magic Hours also comes out of the hotel budget. Does Disney slap a nice big profit on top of all that? No idea, but I do think their basic costs are higher.

The majority of the negative Disney resort reviews I've read over the years are by first timers who are shocked at what they got (or, more importantly, didn't get) for their money. Those reviews tend to be long on outrage, and short on specifics. Another sizeable chunk are reviews by people who've gone to Disney a number of times and then had a bad experience. Those reviews tend to have a lot of specifics, usually one or two major issues, followed by all kinda little ones. Another chunk of reviews, overlapping those other two categories, are what I consider "shakedown issues" -- the various plumbing issues in the new Poly Timeshare units; the problems in Bay Lake Towers the first year or two. Can't remember all the specifics with Bay Lake Towers, but I know Disney made right on some of the owner's complaints (re-categorizing the view status of various units, for instance). It does seem to me that things usually settle down after a year or two, but whether Disney fixes most things, or whether word gets out and most people who don't like some aspects know to avoid those places, is another thing we'll never know.

I hear a lot of gripes in the Timeshare world that Disney units are shabby and disappointing -- this from people who're trading in, so paying far less per night than the average Disney customer -- but DVC units have been fairly tough to get through RCI without an ongoing request. Then again, maybe that's why DVC switches from RCI to Interval International periodically; to keep interest up. As soon as DVC gets "too easy" to trade into, they move into an entirely different market, full of people who've been wishing they could try out DVC units just to see what they're like. Whether Disney's good at running hotels or not, they're sheer genius when it comes to marketing.

 

[T_O]

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I didn't see that in this thread, but I saw it happen in just the last few days in a thread with someone venting about a bad experience at Guest Relations entering the park. Someone flat out told them they didn't believe it happened.

That's just ridiculous and not ok. Period.

 

[miamimi]

Your average hotel charging Disney Deluxe rates may have a shuttle service, but that's about it; Disney picks people up at the airport and takes them everywhere else (onsite) that they want to go, every day of the trip!

I don't know, right now I am staying at a Marriott in Houston. They provide free shuttle transportation from the airport, also free shuttle service within a 2 mile radius of the hotel. Last time I was here, there were problem with my room AC. So I was moved to a different room and given a $50 food credit. I was also upgraded to a suite for my current visit.

No I'm not on Disney property, but this hotel gives me more perks than a Disney deluxe and I'm paying $200/night! Oh, and the Concierge lounge ( free to frequent travelers) provides free breakfast and dinner.

 

[shalom]

...this hotel gives me more perks than a Disney deluxe and I'm paying $200/night!

Huh, could be local shuttles are more common than I thought. We drive everywhere, so I hadn't really looked into it, but I haven't heard of another Orlando hotel that has a transportation system comparable to Disney's, and the subject comes up pretty regularly on the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board. Although that two mile limit wouldn't cover much of Disney World, either -- just getting between two parks is generally more than 2 miles, let alone between some of the more isolated resorts and the most distant park.

I do often argue that offsite is the best deal for most, assuming they're willing to drive. Certainly you can get more space, nicer units, etc. for much less money offsite, at least most of the time (there've been some terrific off season deals over the years). OTOH, for some people, using a brand they identify with actually stimulates a pleasure center in their brain -- I suppose it could still be argued that the "magic" of staying at Disney is "all in their minds," but even so, it has a physical impact that can be measured, and it doesn't surprise me that people will pay top dollar for it.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Just finished an INCREDIBLY DETAILED survey about our recent stay at BLT and thought about this thread. It included MULTIPLE QUESTIONS on housekeeping, cleanliness of the room upon checkin, throughout the stay, any special requests made (extra towels, etc.) and how those were handled, interactions with housekeeping, friendliness of staff throughout, etc., etc., etc.

Our feedback was nothing but positive.

I've gotten these surveys after EVERY stay. I would just strongly encourage everyone who receives these surveys to fill them out. As a company they are clearly interested in sussing out any problems -- they need the feedback. And no, this doesn't mean they'll be PERFECT, but there's hardly a point in complaining on an unofficial Disney message board when/if one doesn't give the feedback directly to the company.

 

[miamimi]

Just finished an INCREDIBLY DETAILED survey about our recent stay at BLT and thought about this thread. It included MULTIPLE QUESTIONS on housekeeping, cleanliness of the room upon checkin, throughout the stay, any special requests made (extra towels, etc.) and how those were handled, interactions with housekeeping, friendliness of staff throughout, etc., etc., etc.

Our feedback was nothing but positive.

I've gotten these surveys after EVERY stay. I would just strongly encourage everyone who receives these surveys to fill them out. As a company they are clearly interested in sussing out any problems -- they need the feedback. And no, this doesn't mean they'll be PERFECT, but there's hardly a point in complaining on an unofficial Disney message board when/if one doesn't give the feedback directly to the company.

I'm not discounting your experiences but, I've gotten these same surveys. But for a company that supposedly cares about their guests, I don't see them improving anything. It almost seems like they post these survey questions so that guests will say, " Oh, look Disney really cares about their guests!" But nothing changes.

 

[T_O]

Just finished an INCREDIBLY DETAILED survey about our recent stay at BLT and thought about this thread. It included MULTIPLE QUESTIONS on housekeeping, cleanliness of the room upon checkin, throughout the stay, any special requests made (extra towels, etc.) and how those were handled, interactions with housekeeping, friendliness of staff throughout, etc., etc., etc.

Our feedback was nothing but positive.

I've gotten these surveys after EVERY stay. I would just strongly encourage everyone who receives these surveys to fill them out. As a company they are clearly interested in sussing out any problems -- they need the feedback. And no, this doesn't mean they'll be PERFECT, but there's hardly a point in complaining on an unofficial Disney message board when/if one doesn't give the feedback directly to the company.

I took the same survey with answers that reflected my dissatisfaction, and I informed the front desk of my issues before I left. The point of my 'complaining' on the DIS is because I wanted to share it with people who might actually listen. I sincerely doubt Disney is.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I don't agree that Disney doesn't listen. I've seen things change over the years following feedback from guests on a large scale.

It is in their business interest to address any legitimate concerns raised by guests.

And I wouldn't confuse their lack of perfection across the board as the company not "caring" or addressing legitimate concerns.