Back in November, we stayed at POR with some friends. We had a total of 3 rooms and had a horrible experience. Below is the letter I sent Disney. Disney contacted me and said they would pass the information on and told me they would send me 2 complimentary tickets for myself and my husband. I explained we are annual passholders, but she said they were sending them anyways, and we could always give them away.
Fast forward to today. I contacted the lady who we spoke with at Guest Communications and asked if we could use those tickets to upgrade our seasonal pass to an annual or towards renewal. She told me they had no monetary value. I explained that we had no use for them and that our family members had passes as well. Nothing. I'm so frustrated right now. I really don't want to seem ungrateful, but as you can see from our letter, it was a horrible experience from start to finish. Is Disney going to reimburse our gas for driving our friend to the airport? How about giving us MVMCP since we pretty much missed it the first time due to the CM at POR? Am I out of line?
I sent another email to Guest Communications and asked if we could receive a credit or at least MVMCP tickets instead? I have a feeling I'll get no where, but I'm just so frustrated. I wish Disney would get it through their heads that the hotels are not what they used to be. When we were there in March, our bed was full of urine. Yes, they brought us a new mattress, after an hour of waiting, but we had to complain quite a bit (no, I didn't write a letter then). I love Disney and I love staying at their hotels, but lately it seems like we encounter more problems than good experiences.
Here's the letter I sent: (It is very long)
During our latest trip to Disney World, we encountered some issues that made our trip less than magical. My long-time friend, A and her family decided to meet us in Olrando before her husband's deployment to Afghanistan. A and I spent several hours on the phone, making reservations and ensuring this would be a great way to spend quality time together. The night before A was due to check-in to the hotel, we called to double-check we could receive connecting rooms. We were told that they would make the note in the computer. We also requested to be in the Mansions (as we were staying at Port Orleans Riverside). We were told by the person on the phone that the Mansions were more money and we would have to pay additional fees. Since I have stayed at POR many times, I told my friend that this shouldn't be correct, but we decided to call 1-407-WDISNEY to make sure. The person we spoke with told us there were only two price differences-waterview and standard view.
A arrived with her husband and 19-month-old son on Thursday, November 2009. She checked in and asked if she and the C party would have connecting rooms. The woman told her although she was not supposed to tell us our room number or other information, the computer did show we had connecting rooms and her sister (T) would have a room next door. A called me to give me the good news (all our calls and planning paid off!), only to realize upon entering the room there was no door, which meant there was no possibility of a connection with our room. However, they wanted to get to the park as it was already 1pm and they're young son had traveled from far away and was getting restless. By the time they came back to the hotel room that night, no one had the energy to pack all their things (pack and play, lugguage, etc) to switch rooms. The next day, her sister arrived and checked in, only to find her current room selection wasn't even in the same building. She was told her reservation was not linked to ours, even though we had called to ensure it was on three separate occasions. They finally changed her room to next door.
On the day we finally arrived, A decided to see if the room we were assigned would have the connecting door and they could just move next to us. We were attending the Very Merry Christmas party and met with them before their dinner reservations to receive our tickets. We then went to check in and rush to the event. When we got there, our room assignment wasn't even near A or T's room. I told the guy the situation and he found three rooms for us to move to. However, everyone would have to move and the other members of the party were already at the Christmas party. It took over an hour to check-in and find our room, which wasn't anywhere near their rooms. Yes, it was the same building, but in another hallway, and around a few corners. After paying over 40 extra dollars for this ticket, my husband and myself barely had time there. We weren't able to get there until after 8pm due to all the room issues.
Cape May's buffet was excellent and it was the one redeeming meal for the group. We hope Disney continues the crab legs as part of the buffet choices.
Unfortunately, the trip continued to go sour. T was scheduled to take the Magical Express bus on Sunday at 3pm. After breakfast that morning, she went to drop her luggage off and have her boarding pass printed. There, she was told that she didn't have to be there right at 3pm since her flight was at 6pm. She could catch the next bus, as they run often. We followed her suggestion and arrived at the hotel to drop her around 3:30pm. When we inquired with a few Disney workers of the arrival time of the next bus, they told us Disney would only pick you up three hours prior to your flight. We called the number we were given and she was told the earliest bus she could get on was the 4:30pm and arrive around 5:30pm. She was also informed that she should have called to reserve a seat, information that was not mentioned from the previous employee who printed her boarding pass. T was clearly upset that different information was told by different Disney cast members, which put her at risk of missing her flight. So, my husband and I had to use our Iphones to locate directions to the airport and drive almost 30 minutes out of our way to take her to the airport. Then, another 30 minutes out of our way back to the Turnpike.
It seems as though a lot of the headaches we encountered that could have been solved if things would have been handled correctly and efficiently from the get-go. We hope this information will be passed along and these things will not happen to other families trying to have a relaxing vacation. My husband and I visit there often are sad to think Disney won't be a place to vacation where we know customer service is the best. A and her family celebrated their second visit and have a bad taste of what Disney offers to families. If connecting rooms are available, why wouldn't the staff satisfy the needs/requests of the customer? We hope you take our concerns seriously.
I changed names to letters for privacy.
Fast forward to today. I contacted the lady who we spoke with at Guest Communications and asked if we could use those tickets to upgrade our seasonal pass to an annual or towards renewal. She told me they had no monetary value. I explained that we had no use for them and that our family members had passes as well. Nothing. I'm so frustrated right now. I really don't want to seem ungrateful, but as you can see from our letter, it was a horrible experience from start to finish. Is Disney going to reimburse our gas for driving our friend to the airport? How about giving us MVMCP since we pretty much missed it the first time due to the CM at POR? Am I out of line?
I sent another email to Guest Communications and asked if we could receive a credit or at least MVMCP tickets instead? I have a feeling I'll get no where, but I'm just so frustrated. I wish Disney would get it through their heads that the hotels are not what they used to be. When we were there in March, our bed was full of urine. Yes, they brought us a new mattress, after an hour of waiting, but we had to complain quite a bit (no, I didn't write a letter then). I love Disney and I love staying at their hotels, but lately it seems like we encounter more problems than good experiences.
Here's the letter I sent: (It is very long)
During our latest trip to Disney World, we encountered some issues that made our trip less than magical. My long-time friend, A and her family decided to meet us in Olrando before her husband's deployment to Afghanistan. A and I spent several hours on the phone, making reservations and ensuring this would be a great way to spend quality time together. The night before A was due to check-in to the hotel, we called to double-check we could receive connecting rooms. We were told that they would make the note in the computer. We also requested to be in the Mansions (as we were staying at Port Orleans Riverside). We were told by the person on the phone that the Mansions were more money and we would have to pay additional fees. Since I have stayed at POR many times, I told my friend that this shouldn't be correct, but we decided to call 1-407-WDISNEY to make sure. The person we spoke with told us there were only two price differences-waterview and standard view.
A arrived with her husband and 19-month-old son on Thursday, November 2009. She checked in and asked if she and the C party would have connecting rooms. The woman told her although she was not supposed to tell us our room number or other information, the computer did show we had connecting rooms and her sister (T) would have a room next door. A called me to give me the good news (all our calls and planning paid off!), only to realize upon entering the room there was no door, which meant there was no possibility of a connection with our room. However, they wanted to get to the park as it was already 1pm and they're young son had traveled from far away and was getting restless. By the time they came back to the hotel room that night, no one had the energy to pack all their things (pack and play, lugguage, etc) to switch rooms. The next day, her sister arrived and checked in, only to find her current room selection wasn't even in the same building. She was told her reservation was not linked to ours, even though we had called to ensure it was on three separate occasions. They finally changed her room to next door.
On the day we finally arrived, A decided to see if the room we were assigned would have the connecting door and they could just move next to us. We were attending the Very Merry Christmas party and met with them before their dinner reservations to receive our tickets. We then went to check in and rush to the event. When we got there, our room assignment wasn't even near A or T's room. I told the guy the situation and he found three rooms for us to move to. However, everyone would have to move and the other members of the party were already at the Christmas party. It took over an hour to check-in and find our room, which wasn't anywhere near their rooms. Yes, it was the same building, but in another hallway, and around a few corners. After paying over 40 extra dollars for this ticket, my husband and myself barely had time there. We weren't able to get there until after 8pm due to all the room issues.
Cape May's buffet was excellent and it was the one redeeming meal for the group. We hope Disney continues the crab legs as part of the buffet choices.
Unfortunately, the trip continued to go sour. T was scheduled to take the Magical Express bus on Sunday at 3pm. After breakfast that morning, she went to drop her luggage off and have her boarding pass printed. There, she was told that she didn't have to be there right at 3pm since her flight was at 6pm. She could catch the next bus, as they run often. We followed her suggestion and arrived at the hotel to drop her around 3:30pm. When we inquired with a few Disney workers of the arrival time of the next bus, they told us Disney would only pick you up three hours prior to your flight. We called the number we were given and she was told the earliest bus she could get on was the 4:30pm and arrive around 5:30pm. She was also informed that she should have called to reserve a seat, information that was not mentioned from the previous employee who printed her boarding pass. T was clearly upset that different information was told by different Disney cast members, which put her at risk of missing her flight. So, my husband and I had to use our Iphones to locate directions to the airport and drive almost 30 minutes out of our way to take her to the airport. Then, another 30 minutes out of our way back to the Turnpike.
It seems as though a lot of the headaches we encountered that could have been solved if things would have been handled correctly and efficiently from the get-go. We hope this information will be passed along and these things will not happen to other families trying to have a relaxing vacation. My husband and I visit there often are sad to think Disney won't be a place to vacation where we know customer service is the best. A and her family celebrated their second visit and have a bad taste of what Disney offers to families. If connecting rooms are available, why wouldn't the staff satisfy the needs/requests of the customer? We hope you take our concerns seriously.
I changed names to letters for privacy.
