Here now, very cold, lots of problems

[tweetybird1992]

Arrived yesterday, club level Poly. 2 rooms for family. Spent 2 hrs plus yest am trying to get the 8 magic (not) bands to work. DD's never worked but left anyway cause was after 10:30. Lots of crowds by then, took forever for resort monorail, getting thru security, etc. Granddaughters band didn't work for entry nor did mine. Ending up riding only 2 rides before 11:50 CRT. One was extra FP they gave us. Lunch was very nice. After lunch too crowded to ride anything before need to hop to HS FOR FP+. Studios was ok. Did FPs and single rider RRC. 45 min wait. Osborne lights very cool. Granddaughter couldn't get in to Studios either. We're told she will probably always have to have tablet person come over. Got back to room, spent 45 min getting daughters band to work. Missed most of fireworks cause of that.
Got up at 5:30 this morning to go to AK. No hot water, don't know when will be fixed.
Having loads of fun with family despite problems. Grandkids and son in law have never been here and wanted them to experience magic. We are making our own.
Got FP yest as extra due to initial problems. Appreciated that but didn't make up for the time we lost.
Off to go have some fun.

 

[Dawnlight]

It sounds like a rough start, but I'm happy to hear you're able to make the most of it still. I wish the remainder of your visit to be problem-free and full of beautiful moments.

 

[tim123]

Arrived yesterday, club level Poly. 2 rooms for family. Spent 2 hrs plus yest am trying to get the 8 magic (not) bands to work. DD's never worked but left anyway cause was after 10:30. Lots of crowds by then, took forever for resort monorail, getting thru security, etc. Granddaughters band didn't work for entry nor did mine. Ending up riding only 2 rides before 11:50 CRT. One was extra FP they gave us. Lunch was very nice. After lunch too crowded to ride anything before need to hop to HS FOR FP+. Studios was ok. Did FPs and single rider RRC. 45 min wait. Osborne lights very cool. Granddaughter couldn't get in to Studios either. We're told she will probably always have to have tablet person come over. Got back to room, spent 45 min getting daughters band to work. Missed most of fireworks cause of that.
Got up at 5:30 this morning to go to AK. No hot water, don't know when will be fixed.
Having loads of fun with family despite problems. Grandkids and son in law have never been here and wanted them to experience magic. We are making our own.
Got FP yest as extra due to initial problems. Appreciated that but didn't make up for the time we lost.
Off to go have some fun.

Oh my gosh!
You seem to have the right attitude to make your own magic.
If I may make a suggestion…
Go down to guest services at the front desk very early (6am or earlier) and speak to Scott (he works the graveyard shift..GREAT manager!)… be friendly but VERY stern in your conviction that for the big big bucks you are paying.."that this is simply not acceptable"…be polite, be friendly, have a sense of humor….but INSIST on being properly compensated for your time and inconvenience. At the very least if the MBs are not working 100% by today you should "request' park wide Fps for your entire party for the entire stay until the issue can be resolved. If you continue to have problems you should request to speak to upper management and that you and your family be given dinner at Kona or that your CL rooms be discounted because MBs and HOT WATER should work.
Either way you will need to walk a fine line but they are good folks at the Poly..and they will do the right thing as long as you are polite, have a sense of humor and a firm conviction that you paid an enormous amount of money and are completely justified to expect compensation for their failure.
Tim
PS During my 10 days at the Poly in September I had issues getting in my room and being able to charge….I spent about an hour plus wasting time with them..back and forth…I kept a good attitude and made the CMs laugh….They compted my park ticket to the MK and when I arrived at guest services I discovered that they also gave me 3 free Fps that were good for my entire stay….and I never even complained because I was having fun at the Ploy and making my own magic!

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

No hot water? Is the whole resort taking cold showers? Just your building?

Hope things work out with your magic bands, crowds, etc! Sounds like you have a good attitude. Have fun!

 

[HM]

Since the bands aren't working, did you ask to have a Key to the World card made for those that are having the most trouble? Those seem to work better.

 

[Skywise]

If it's a band problem I'm surprised they couldn't just give her one of the grey ones from the resort - (Or maybe you could buy her one of them thar fancy ones at the stores - More expense of course but it might get around the issue).

If it's a system problem with her band id, I'm perplexed why they can't fix it.

 

[lugnut33]

it's not that cold down there.

 

[kittyninja]

Gonna admit I was worried about this post but OP you sound like you and your family have an awesome attitude and despite the problems have gotten good CMs that have tried to do what they can to comp you for your time!!

Your family will remember how you all responded to the situation more than the bad things that happen, I promise! My mom always tells me it's 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it!!

Have an awesome trip! And for Floridians and people expecting normal (Florida) weather, 60 is cold!! My sister lives down there and when she came up to Alabama for Thanksgiving it was in the 40s and she froze!! lol

 

[JimmyV]

Just remember that the "+" in FP+ stands for the extra days that you will need to do everything that you are used to doing. Once you adjust to doing less each day, things will seem to be more smooth.

 

[freediverdude]

No hot water and magic bands not working? Yes, I would be talking to the front desk about that. That is very big bucks to be paying for simple things like those to not be in order.

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

To OP - hoping that your band situation and other problems are resolving! You all have a great attitude though! We just got back last night. All of our bands worked like a charm - my husband was initially skeptical about them but now loves the simplicity of them and not messing with tickets or credit cards.

Like I said - your attitude is great. Our daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law were with us for 6 days. They had a nasty stomach flu for 3 of the 6 days. It isn't nice being sick at WDW when you have worked and saved for the trip but as they left on the bus back to the airport they all let me know that they loved the time together. A good attitude gets you through a lot!

 

[maxiesmom]

Just remember that the "+" in FP+ stands for the extra days that you will need to do everything that you are used to doing. Once you adjust to doing less each day, things will seem to be more smooth.

Was this necessary? Many people like FP+ just fine, do you have to turn this thread into a squabble over it?

OP--I think you are handling things with an awesome attitude! Hopefully you got all of the rough stuff out of the way, and are going to have a great vacation here on out!

 

[JimmyV]

Was this necessary? Many people like FP+ just fine, do you have to turn this thread into a squabble over it?

Liking FP+ and acknowledging that it results in getting less done each day are not mutually exclusive. They can and do coexist. Nothing to squabble over.

 

[prudence64]

We personally got more done with FP+ than we did with the old system, but we didn't get more than 2 per day in the old system.

 

[MrInfinity]

Did u happen to try the quiet pool or was it too cold out for that? No hot water is crazy! Guess the construction is still very imposing.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Just remember that the "+" in FP+ stands for the extra days that you will need to do everything that you are used to doing. Once you adjust to doing less each day, things will seem to be more smooth.

Will agree there. And the + money it will cost to add those extra days

 

[LMN]

Out of all the issues that you are having, I believe not having hot water would bother me the most if I were in your situation! They should definitely be made aware of that issue and compensate you accordingly. Congratulations on your positive outlook! And I hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly and that all issues are resolved!

 

[figment_jii]

Granddaughter couldn't get in to Studios either. We're told she will probably always have to have tablet person come over.

When you say that your Granddaughter's MB wasn't working, do you mean that when she tapped it against the reader, the Mickey head turned blue or do you mean that it wouldn't read the band? I ask because in October, one of my family member's band always resulted in a blue Mickey head at the ticket gates and the CM with the tablet had to come over and let her in (I think they re-set the fingerprint scan each time!). It was an issue with her fingerprint (she has very faint fingerprints). The band worked for FP+ and all other things, just not getting into the parks! It added a minute or so to the entry process, but we got used to it.

 

[Suvadoo]

Just remember that the "+" in FP+ stands for the extra days that you will need to do everything that you are used to doing. Once you adjust to doing less each day, things will seem to be more smooth.

Truer words were never written

 

[tweetybird1992]

OP here, back from long but fun day. Hot water is back on! It was out for entire Hawaii bldg and was told maybe one other. Since we had known for more than an hour (from personal observation) I was surprised that concierge were not aware of the problem this morning. The staff did try to find out what was going on, but no one was available. They did tell me that they would speak to a manager when one arrived. I did not request a manager because I just wanted us to get to the park.
Because of above, missed rope drop by a little. Did not matter due to low crowds. Was cold this am. We are from the north and used to cold. All of us had multiple layers on and we're comfortable. Really needed more than just light jacket.
Was worried about entry for Granddaughter but her mickey heads turned green today at AK and Epcot!
Yesterday at check in none of our bands for the 8 of us worked despite the fact that we had used them two days earlier for park entry and FP when we did early activation of our tickets. Eventually got all but DD'S band working. Her original band was replaced by them for an ugly grey one that still didn't work. Happy to say that her band worked all day.
Had voice mail message from manager today when we returned. Without asking, she had already given us some compensation for all problems.
Despite being worried about CM attitudes, have found most of them very friendly and positive. Same applies to guests. Which is really surprising. Last time we encountered more guest attitude problems.
Adjusting to FP+. Not a fan due to our touring style but adjusting.
Happy to answer any questions.
Afterthought: bought cheap lightweight gloves at Walmart prior to leaving. They did help at night and early morning. Plus most guests I saw in afternoon had two jackets, wearing one and other around waist .