Horrendous resort experiences & compensation?

[bytheblood]

Disney must have improved their customer service in recent years. Years ago we had two horrendous stays two years in a row. One at POLY and one at CR. There were plumbing problems at POLY ... didn't get into room until after 3:00 AM (arrived at 9:00 PM) after finding the toilet running all over the bathroom and onto the carpeting in the room. Spent our five night stay "squishing" over wet carpet everytime we used the bathroom. We were offered another room but were informed that it would be an upgrade and they would have to charge us the difference! At CR our AC went out and remained out for two days ... and nights (it was August, by the way). Again offered an upgraded room but again for an additional charge. In all fairness ... they brought us a fan. We didn't ask for any compensation and weren't "disappointed" but what was the most frustrating ... not even one "I'm sorry crossed anyone's lips throughout either ordeal! Needless to say we have never ... and will never stay at either resort again! In fact, it did sour us on Disney for several years after. We have long since "returned to the fold" and (knock on wood) haven't had any problems since.

That is out of control. You should not be charged for their issues. If that were me, I would keep climbing up the management food chain until I found somebody who would do something about it.

 

[Disneyfan1977]

I should explain that free park tix are pretty useless unless you live in the area as once you pay for a few days each additional day hardly costs anything, and if you live far away and visit the World who is gonna only want to spend one day in the parks?

Note: you can't add days to complimentary tickets. Upside is that they are good for 30 years (so long as we don't lose them)!

EBAY!!!

 

[bytheblood]

mkycrzy1971.....I would have called 911.

I would have called 911 and I would have sent an letter to Bob Iger letting him know everything from the disturbance to the lack of response from Guest Communications.


I am sorry you guys had to deal with that.

 

[KELSTER]

mkycrzy1971.....I would have called 911.

Ditto

 

[disnut8]

Not trying to be rude, but I just wondered what you didn't like about this view? I think it looks great! You can see the animals out and about. May I ask which savannah this was?

It wasn't the view the OP was not pleased about. It was the walk to everything else. This room would have been right off the lobby so getting to the pool (they first had a pool room view which I believe they reserved and then received) and the Mara were the concern. They would have had to take (in my opinion, a short walk) to those things. But I'm not toting kids and bags and such. The OP did say the view was great and that wasn't the problem.

And yeah, that view is, the words of Jeff Gordon, AWESOME! That's the Zebra Trail very close to the lobby. On this map http://allears.net/acc/aklmap.jpgn it would be just to the right of the bump below where it says Zebra Trail Guest Rooms.

Just don't ask for 3rd floor. It's the lobby level. Every single stroller on that wing of the resort will go by your room in the morning.

 

[Maureen J]

In 2006 we checked into Wilderness Lodge and af first the room looked fine. When opened the night stand next to the bed there were condoms, lubricant and various other items in the draw which totally grossed me out. I also had a 6 year old with me and I was glad that he didn't find them. Housekeeping came up immediately and cleaned the room from top to bottom - changing all the sheets and bedding, etc. The housekeeper came back later and apologized profusely and gave my sons a stuffed animal from the gift shop, which I thought was really nice.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

mkycrzy1971.....I would have called 911.

I SHOULD have called them first...the front desk actually said they would have the Sherrif's dept come out along with their security guard for safety reasons since they were actually threatening each other's lives but it never happened (that was their excuse as to why it was taking so long to get security there during my 2nd call..they were waiting for them)...this was one of the issues I brought up to the security manager when I spoke with him...his excuse for them not coming was that they were too busy, so after their own security guard got there and decided there was no issue, they called back the authorities and told them it was a false report!

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Last September we had a very "unmagical" experience at POP and since the resort was full for free dining there was nothing to be gained by trying to "move" to another preferred room. There were many other issues that were not resolved while we were there & upon returning home I sent a detailed email to Disney and after receiving an automated reply I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call 2 weeks later from Disney Customer Service and after discussing the many issues that had occurred at POP received 2 - one day park hopper tickets. For me - that was great. We are AP holders, but don't plan on renewing again this year since I was recently laid off. These passes don't expire and I plan to hold on to them to use for another anniversary celebration. I was very pleased with the resolution to our vacation.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

I would have called 911 and I would have sent an letter to Bob Iger letting him know everything from the disturbance to the lack of response from Guest Communications.


I am sorry you guys had to deal with that.

Thank you I am simply not normally a person to complain or ask for compensation, so after the two letters being ignored we just decided to drop the whole issue...after-all, I did not really expect compensation of any sort, just a reassurance that if this situation occurred again (to any WDW guest at any resort) it be taken more seriously and for security to send someone that COULD have handled the situation if they could have heard it (the guard was not even carrying a gun!) SERIOUSLY, (and I am NOT putting down senior citizens or those with hearing problems) but I am not sure how he did not hear it, I wondered if his hearing aid needed new batteries. However, if I ever experience anything like this again my FIRST call will be 911 rather than security.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We had a basically good stay at GF.
2) We wrote a letter, but also mentioned some problems.
3) We received a letter comp'ing us for our next vacation stay.
4) One week at GF, and all we pay are taxes!

 

[perla75]

1) We had a basically good stay at GF.
2) We wrote a letter, but also mentioned some problems.
3) We received a letter comp'ing us for our next vacation stay.
4) One week at GF, and all we pay are taxes!

Wow-that's quite a comp!! How bad were the problems that you had?

 

[MEK]

mkycrzy1971.....I would have called 911.

Dude - me too! That's ridiculous and I can understand why the old man security guard did nothing. 911 would have gotten everyone's attention.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

First off, let me say we LOVE POR and have stayed there several times. During our stay in May 2007 we had some neighbors that started fighting one evening while our teenage daughter (18) was in the room alone...we were at the pool with our younger children. Now I do not mean just an argument, I mean throwing each other against the wall, screaming profanities at each other, saying they were going to kill each other, etc. We had a connecting room with these neighbors making it even worse. Our daughter was so frightened (of course, never experiencing something like this before) she did not even think to try and call the front desk to report the issue, or to call us (I always take my cell when she is alone...even while we are at the pool). By the time we made it back to the room, she was crying hysterically but the commotion was over (at least for the time being) so we let it go. After calming her down and asking why she did not call us, we got the younger kids dried off, bathed, jammies on, and in bed and did the same ourselves. About 1:30am we were awoken by what sounded like someone coming through our wall (our headboards were against their side of the room) followed by more of the ranting and raving, cussing, throwing each other against the wall, threatening to kill each other, etc. I quickly called the front desk and asked for security to come quickly giving them the room # that was causing the disturbance...even told them they were threatening each other's lives. After 30 minutes and another call, they finally sent this man that looked to be about 65-70 years old, very small framed & frail, and had hearing aides in...to top it off, he was alone!!! After listening at OUR door (he got the room with the disturbance and the room that reported the disturbance confused) my husband finally opened the door and told him that the disturbance was next door. He listened at the door (all this time the fight was still raging, but somewhat calmer) and then kind of shrugged his shoulders...he then knocked on their door. While we watched through the peep-hole, the neighbors opened their door...the security guard said a disturbance from that room had been reported but they said something like...well it was not us, we have been sleeping...the guard said "okay, sorry, have a good night!" and went back to where ever he came from!!! Thinking everything would then calm down, we went back to sleep. About 45 minutes later, we awoke to the same thing AGAIN! I called back down to report they were back at it and to confirm it WAS indeed coming from the room we first reported, otherwise it would not sound like they were coming through my wall when they were throwing each other around...I asked them to PLEASE do something about this situation, of course, no one in our room could sleep and we had a 2 year old with us who was beyond terrified each time he heard it. Can you believe that security did not respond this time??? I called again, and the manager spoke with me and said their security confirmed there was NO disturbance so they would not be returning again that night! I felt VERY unsafe the entire night...my thoughts were, "who knew if the "loons" had a gun"...they WERE threatening to kill each other (more than once) I tried to talk to the manager of the security dept (after talking to a different manager at POR the next AM, he suggested I do so and also informing me the couple in that room was checking out that day) again, I got nowhere with the security manager. I was made to feel like I was lying about the whole situation, in reality, I have never been so frighted for the safety of my children as I was that very night (not really knowing how serious this couple was about taking each other's lives). When we returned home I wrote a letter informing Guest Relations of my issues...I did not ask for any sort of compensation, etc....simply and explanation as to why the situation was handled so poorly. Despite resending the letter 45 days after sending it the first time, I NEVER received any sort of response even though I had included telephone #s (2 of them), my address, and my reservation # & details. Although I will never allow the memories of this vacation to ruin future vacations to WDW, I am very disappointed in the manner everything was handled and the way I was made to feel while I was simply trying to ensure the safety (and sanity) of my family...and even more disappointed that I did not at least receive a "sorry" letter or call .

disney never says sorry it would be admitting vault
What happened to you is soo scary

 

[Alicnwondrln]

1) We had a basically good stay at GF.
2) We wrote a letter, but also mentioned some problems.
3) We received a letter comp'ing us for our next vacation stay.
4) One week at GF, and all we pay are taxes!

must have been some serious issues because thats huge

 

[kaytieeldr]

,,,

We had an arrival from hell at the CBR once, we arrived at 4:30... our room wasn't ready.. they first tried to stick us in a handicap room with no doors on the bathroom and beds that were like mattresses on the floor.... Are you sure there was no door on the bathroom? Many of the accessible resort rooms at Disney have "pocket" doors - the door slides into the wall, sort of like a sideways casement window; this provides more actual floor space for maneuvering a wheelchair. And truly, I'm not sure I get the "like mattresses on the floor". Did the beds each have a bed frame, a box spring, and a mattress? That would make them normal height - as well as enable a person in a wheelchair to transfer themselves in and out of the bed <snip> and finally we got our room (it was almost 8:30).... SO for their stealing 4 hours of 4 peoples lives or 16 hours total... we were given the grand gesture of a $25 dollar credit against our bill... that's right our time was worth $1.56/hour. Not even minimum wage... Interesting way of analyzing it. You don't say when you were there, but right now a Moderate room starts at $149 a night - $167.63 with tax, $168 for ease of calculation. Now, there are two sets of figures possible, but we'll work with 24 hour periods since you apparently stayed more than one night, so you were occupying some room or another at CBR for consecutive full days. $168 divided by 24 equals $7 per hour. $7 times the four hours stolen from your time/vacation is $28; IF your trip was in 2008, Disney 'shorted' you $3 (on a credit they didn't have to give in the first place). If it was prior to 2008, you probably broke even or came out ahead. Not to mention after waiting 1 hour for someone from the hotel to come to our first room from hell and transferr our bags, we made all the other bag changes ourselves, if we had depended on Disney we might have gotten into our room sometime the next day.... Another statement that confuses me. Did you need Disney to move your luggage, or were you waiting for them to move YOU? I could see a claim of "if we had depended on Disney we might have gotten OUR LUGGAGE into our room sometime the next day", but your persons? Color me silly, but I'll see if I can find the post from someone whose LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT was misplaced by Pop Century for so many hours, she had to go to the ER. THAT'S a travesty. Having to move your own luggage, even several times in four hours, is an annoyance. SO in a word, you don't get jack when they screw up... you just get insulted.... its the reason we only stay at a deluxe Disney when we go or an off-site hotel if we can't get the deluxe we want. Quality at disney resorts is not always there and when it isn't no one makes it right.... Did I mention that on the day of the Check-out the staff was very prompt at knocking on our door two hours prior to the check out time... and then 30 minutes later... and then 15 minutes later... and then again... In other words they make damn sure to rush you out but god forbid you expect them to be on time with the actual room delivered to you. Did you happen to tell the first person who knocked that you'd be leaving about/at X o'clock? That may have stopped them from bothering you, assuming it was prior to check-out time. Then again, maybe not.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

1) We had a basically good stay at GF.
2) We wrote a letter, but also mentioned some problems.
3) We received a letter comp'ing us for our next vacation stay.
4) One week at GF, and all we pay are taxes!

I want to know what happened that they gave you a whole week at GF!!! Must have been some major problems if you ask me. If not, then someone was feeling very generous!

Do tell please!

 

[rwdavis2]

I had an encounter with a Disney security guard (my wife had become ill) and while I was talking to him he said that security's job is to do nothing but observe and report. Not to intervene. So, if anyone has any real security issues I would recommend calling 911, ASAP.
Bob

 

[CarolA]

We , but he said that there was no reason for a resort charging what they charge, for us to have to ask for the room to be cleaned. From then on the room was cleaned nicely...

You got the ONLY Disney Deluxe employee who had a CLUE that for what they charge the service they provide is sorely lacking! YEAH!!! (Of course they probably fired him, because they seem to provide only adequate service at Deluxe prices!)

My ONE and ONLY stay at the GF was horrid. Management's response Pretty much they admitted they don't provide high quality service and didn't care.

If I want deluxe service in Orlando I stay at the Ritz. On site I don't do deluxe anymore and sadly my expereinces are SO much nicer LOL!

 

[skipperkim]

I had an encounter with a Disney security guard (my wife had become ill) and while I was talking to him he said that security's job is to do nothing but observe and report. Not to intervene. So, if anyone has any real security issues I would recommend calling 911, ASAP.
Bob

Well, that's good to know. Somewho I don't feel very secure knowing this. Kind of reminds me of the security guards we have at work. They have been called the walking dead.

 

[lisa3383]

1) We had a basically good stay at GF.
2) We wrote a letter, but also mentioned some problems.
3) We received a letter comp'ing us for our next vacation stay.
4) One week at GF, and all we pay are taxes!

What I want to know is who did you write to? You must have had some magical address!

I've been lucky at GF - The only problem I had with GF was on the last day of our honeymoon they woke us up at 8am to see if we were gone! They kept knocking and we finally got up and they said: "Oh (surprised voice) what time will you be checking out?" We were like not until checkout. Half hour later the knocking came again, and then at regular intervals until we finally gave up and left!

We complained at the front desk and they wanted to know who it was, all we knew was that it was housekeeping (didn't catch a name tag in our half sleep state). They said they would report the issue to management.

It was the only kink in our otherwise flawless GF stay, just sad it happened at the end (left a bad taste).

Still love GF though, but man a free stay at GF -AMAZING!