I need to vent..

[Cherinva]

I read that thread too, and I must admit, I would be disappointed if Disney called me and told me that I couldn't have the resort that I planned (and fully paid for)...it did turn out that she did get an upgrade to SSR and she was happy with that. But, I felt that the thread took a wrong turn when people started bashing the other value resorts. I've stayed at ASMo and ASMu several times and I think they are great. I've stayed at various Hotels around the country (paying much more than what the values cost) and some of them, I wouldn't put a dog in..not to mention the level of service was nothing compaired to Disney. They (Disney) created the value resorts to bring more people onto property and make it affordable for the average person. I'm not DVC, nor have I stayed at a moderate or delux resort..although I'm about to change that in December when I'm staying at the Poly for 2 nights. But, for me, on any trip to WDW, I'm there for the parks...not the hotel...I just like the convience of being on property, using the transportation system, dining plan and EMH. I would recommend the values to anyone, and I"m looking forward to the newest one to open. Just my opinion.

 

[gkrykewy]

Fwiw, the original resorts board thread was closed with extreme prejudice. I was thoroughly impressed; it's one of the more memorable thread closures I've seen.

 

[Jeff & Stacy in NYC]

Maybe it's just the day I'm having....but I'm so close to going off on a Pete sized vent.
So I'm just browsing the dis boards and it seems as if there are more complaints about Disney than there are good posts about Disney. I thought that's why we are all here...for our love of Disney.

Now my the 2 main things that set me off
1. Why do people expect so much? For example.. ( names, places and details have been changed to protect the complainers). A mistake has been made ....let's say with your resort. Disney has overbooked and is now offering you an upgraded room at a resort in the same category as what you booked.
Me personally...unless I had my heart set on staying at the resort..would accept. If I did have my heart set on that particular resort, I would nicely tell the cast member that and politely decline from moving to another resort if at all possible. The scenario I've been witnessing....demand an upgrade to a deluxe...demand an upgrade and a refund...demand an upgrade a refund and fastpasses. Maybe I was just raised differently or maybe I'm from a different generation ....so maybe that's why I don't understand why people feel so entitled.


Which brings me to point #2......
I see so many posts about bad Disney CM's or how Disney has declined in service. hmmmmm... do you think maybe point #1 could possibly lead to this.
When is Disney allowed to put their foot down and say "no". No to free upgrades. No to extra fast passes because someone has to wait in line 5 min longer that the posted wait time. With the attitude of alot of people these days, I can see why Disney cast members can get worn down and aren't as excited to help you have a magical day.

I know this has been discussed before and it is my personal vent. Disney is my favorite place in the world and I do not look at it through the rose colored glasses that I did on my first couple trips. Disney does not do everything right.....but they sure do a heck of alot right or they wouldn't have so many fansites dedicated to them. The funny thing is...the people complaining are the ones spending money going back year after year.

Ok ...thanks for letting me vent.
The views in this post are strictly mine and do not represent the views of all the other dis boards/ disunplugged obsessed fans like me

I completely see your points because we have had the same discussion in our home! We have had our complaints about Disney World, but we have never felt entitled to anything! Just because you go somewhere for a couple of weeks a year, doesn't make you some kind of royalty. It's a lovely place, but this is life, stuff happens! Cast members are human beings; they are going to have bad days just like the rest of us.

We have had complaints about WDW, so what did we do? Changed things up a bit! We traveled out to Disneyland with Adventures By Disney. Disneyland gave us just what we needed. Disney entertainment, but a different location. We loved it so much that we went back two more times! There's so much Disney out there to enjoy. Falling in love with Disneyland gave us a fresh perspective. I dare say that when we do return to WDW, we will have recovered some of the old "magic"!

 

[dansyr2514]

I just wanted to start a thread of nice things but figured people would flame me as im flaming the negative posts ... (and I get scared when the message board wolves are hungry and I get attacked ...I lost my good blogging hand that way)

I was also super afraid of this myself..... But everyone has their opinions as I have mine and they are free to express them as I have mine. Hopefully...nothing is personal and it is just views on subject matter.

We have had complaints about WDW, so what did we do? Changed things up a bit! We traveled out to Disneyland with Adventures By Disney. Disneyland gave us just what we needed. Disney entertainment, but a different location. We loved it so much that we went back two more times! There's so much Disney out there to enjoy. Falling in love with Disneyland gave us a fresh perspective. I dare say that when we do return to WDW, we will have recovered some of the old "magic"!

I never had any desire to visit Disneyland until I started listening to the podcasts. Hopefully in the next couple years we will be able to make a trip there. Dbf is not a disney fan ...but tolerates it. I think he would really enjoy Cali. He's more of a beach person.

I'm another that doesn't think an upgrade is unreasonable to expect for being displaced from your chosen hotel.
We spent $30,000 on our last trip to Disney. (yes its expensive by the time you add in flights etc from here) The only reason we stayed at an onsite hotel was because of AKL. Its not something we could experience here. Had it not been for AKL, we would have extended our time at our offsite villa and saved a fortune. Had we been moved from AKL, i would have been so disapointed. It cost me approx. $2300 more to stay at AKL and would have been a total waste of money had we been moved elsewhere.
I know that not everyone spends this amount of money on their trip, but people do spend what they can and put a lot of time deciding where they would like to stay.

I just wanted to clarify...I think she absolutely deserves compensation and an upgrade if she needs to be moved. My vent was more about the demands above and beyond what is normal and fair. ohh..and by the way..not her demands but some of the posters that chimed in afterwards.

 

[gkrykewy]

We have had complaints about WDW, so what did we do? Changed things up a bit! We traveled out to Disneyland with Adventures By Disney. Disneyland gave us just what we needed. Disney entertainment, but a different location. We loved it so much that we went back two more times! There's so much Disney out there to enjoy. Falling in love with Disneyland gave us a fresh perspective. I dare say that when we do return to WDW, we will have recovered some of the old "magic"!

Or you could, you know, visit someplace other than disney!

Sorry, i just found this part of your post funny.

 

[Jeff & Stacy in NYC]

Or you could, you know, visit someplace other than disney!

Sorry, i just found this part of your post funny.

Well we do want to see the parks in Tokyo!! I think that if you have your heart set on a Disney vacation, there are more options than people realize!

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Have to agree that the sense of entitlement people have these days is unreal. And not just with Disney. It's everywhere!

Disney is the happiest place on earth, not the most perfect!

 

[Friendly Frog]

Funny you mention this as I posted this thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2521527
and it didn't get much action. Heck, I had a whole list of things I could post, but I guess not too many other people did.

 

[Cookees68]

To the OP, I bookmarked your thread a couple of days ago as I didn't have time to read it completely. However, it resonated with me completely. I had the same thoughts as you. All the dang negativity lately is so draining!! The ironic thing to me is that I've been lurking on various boards for years, and the negative posts always read the same ... WDW's "fill in the blank" is declining. People have been saying this for years and years!! I mean, really, is WDW getting worse and worse and worse for 10 years now ... or is it the perspective of a bunch of people with an elitist, entitlement complex?

I will be at the World just short of 2 months from now with an extended group of friends and family. My daughter and her dance studio are performing at Downtown Disney. It is an exciting time for us, and, guess what, we were "bumped" from Pop to ASMo. Was I disappointed? Yes. Did, I rant and rave? A little (see signature). Do I expect Disney to give us all upgraded rooms at ASMo or move us to a better resort? No. We are a youth group (I know many dispise the youth groups--again negativity), so we have to stay where a large group can be accommodated. However, our family will be at Walt Disney World (for 12 days) having a grand time with our friends and family!! We don't expect anything more than what we will make of our trip. The good, the bad, and the beautiful!! I hope we encounter some pixie dust, and I hope we don't encounter lousy service, but if we got none of the first and some the last, we will still have a great time because of our attitudes, not because of what we expect Walt Disney Resorts and Parks to give us!

 

[sydneysmom]

I have to say, I do agree ....but also somewhat disagree. I do agree that it's becoming a bit much seeing all the complaints on the boards. It's kind of sad really....I don't think people are looking for the good in anything much anymore. I think that one little thing goes wrong and people tend to let it ruin their trip and devastate the time the are at Disney. Sometimes, things happen and you have to let it roll off your back and just enjoy your family and have a beautiful vacation.

I don't think that just because there's a tree in your view of the lagoon, it should be cause to raise holy heck with the front desk and entitle you to be moved ( gratis) to a theme park view. Or if you happen to dislike how much the "suggested tip" is on your receipt, that you should complain until Disney comps your meal. Reading these complaints gets VERY old.

I do think having your family bumped from the resort you chose IS a somewhat valid complaint. We saved for 2 years for our trip. We're going to the GF. Now, if we got there and I found out they were moving us to the Contemporary, I'd be ticked off. Because that is where WE chose to stay. All resorts are not equal, which is why Disney has different themes at each. That being said, I also don't think that people are then entitled to be upgraded from POP to the Contemporary just because they're not happy being moved to All Stars. That's when you have the choice to change to another value or change dates. But to think that you're entitled to move from a value to a deluxe...for FREE...it's a bit absurd and unfair to the people that saved to pay for a deluxe. Purely my opinion.

I think alot of people have the attitude now.....well everyone OWES me. That's just SOOOOO wrong on so many levels. I'm sure CM's get so freaking sick and tired of listening to people complain and complain until they finally wear someone down to get something for free. Was it worth it ? It can't possibly be worth it. So really, why would a CM then go out of their way to try to make some magic ? If they do, the person who's behind them and saw it might then complain "well, why didn't you do it for me?". Yeesh.

I think Disney should be like any other vacation. You pay for the services that you purchased. How much fun you have is purely up to you. It's not up to the CM's to make my kid happy. People make mistakes because they're human. They shouldn't be crucified for it. Because chances are, the people that are crucifying the CM's for having made a mistake, probably have made mistakes in their life as well.

People just need to be kinder and more tolerant of each other and go out and make some magic of their own on vacation. It can't possibly be a fun vacation if all you do is complain about what's wrong with it.

 

[Zdog]

I think what we're dealing with here, is information overload. I love the disney community created on the boards, listen each week to the podcast, and seek out other sources of dis info too.

But it's a double edged sword.

We use this site to gain understanding about what is a very expensive vacation, to learn all we can about each second of our disney day. I think the problem is, it's an experience that will be different for every person based on their level of expectation.

As an example, lets consider disney dining. Each of us has different tastes-what one person may describe as delicious another person may consider vile. Whom do you trust in a case like this? And how does that factor into your own experience? And how you might describe the dining experience?

I'm not suggesting that we tune out. I think, as I've heard it described on the podcast, is managing expectations. Going into each experience with an open mind, rather than firm expectations.

Having said this, I'll admit that I just returned from a weeklong trip to the world with my family, and had a wonderful time. Some meals I felt were great, others, just okay. Some days at the parks were better than others. Whenever I felt that I wasn't getting value, I stepped back from what was taking place, and reminded myself that I was with my family--and that's what mattered most. Didn't matter where we were (even though it IS one of my most favorite places)--what mattered, is that we were all together.

 

[dansyr2514]

zdog and sydneysmom well said.

 

[dpuck1998]

It's been the problem for years that people feel stronger entitlements without warrant, and it is irritating, I agree. My pet peeve lately has been posts where people ask, "What is ____ ?" And blank could be food or drink items on a menu. Instead of asking, they should be using Google for that kind of thing.

SO TRUE!

That is when I break out this http://lmgtfy.com/

 

[PeterPan09]

I have to say, I do agree ....but also somewhat disagree. I do agree that it's becoming a bit much seeing all the complaints on the boards. It's kind of sad really....I don't think people are looking for the good in anything much anymore. I think that one little thing goes wrong and people tend to let it ruin their trip and devastate the time the are at Disney. Sometimes, things happen and you have to let it roll off your back and just enjoy your family and have a beautiful vacation.

I don't think that just because there's a tree in your view of the lagoon, it should be cause to raise holy heck with the front desk and entitle you to be moved ( gratis) to a theme park view. Or if you happen to dislike how much the "suggested tip" is on your receipt, that you should complain until Disney comps your meal. Reading these complaints gets VERY old.

I do think having your family bumped from the resort you chose IS a somewhat valid complaint. We saved for 2 years for our trip. We're going to the GF. Now, if we got there and I found out they were moving us to the Contemporary, I'd be ticked off. Because that is where WE chose to stay. All resorts are not equal, which is why Disney has different themes at each. That being said, I also don't think that people are then entitled to be upgraded from POP to the Contemporary just because they're not happy being moved to All Stars. That's when you have the choice to change to another value or change dates. But to think that you're entitled to move from a value to a deluxe...for FREE...it's a bit absurd and unfair to the people that saved to pay for a deluxe. Purely my opinion.

I think alot of people have the attitude now.....well everyone OWES me. That's just SOOOOO wrong on so many levels. I'm sure CM's get so freaking sick and tired of listening to people complain and complain until they finally wear someone down to get something for free. Was it worth it ? It can't possibly be worth it. So really, why would a CM then go out of their way to try to make some magic ? If they do, the person who's behind them and saw it might then complain "well, why didn't you do it for me?". Yeesh.

I think Disney should be like any other vacation. You pay for the services that you purchased. How much fun you have is purely up to you. It's not up to the CM's to make my kid happy. People make mistakes because they're human. They shouldn't be crucified for it. Because chances are, the people that are crucifying the CM's for having made a mistake, probably have made mistakes in their life as well.

People just need to be kinder and more tolerant of each other and go out and make some magic of their own on vacation. It can't possibly be a fun vacation if all you do is complain about what's wrong with it.

Wow...this was an amazing post. Actually, the whole thread was really great reading. It's nice to see that some of us haven't really lost the pure pleasure of just BEING at Disney. Every time I walk down Main Street, smell that popcorn and hear the music, I try and stop (not in the middle of the walkway ) and just soak in the fact that I'm there. How many people would love to have the opportunity to visit this happy place just once, while many of us visit multiple times?

As you said, vacations..and life itself would be a lot happier for folks if they weren't always looking around for things to complain about.

 

[dansyr2514]

I still tear up when I walk in MK the first time and see the castle.

The first trip with dbf we went to see wishes...and as I always do ...I kinda well up with tears a bit. He looked at me like I was crazy! ( he doesn't have the Disney gene). I had to explain that I wasn't upset but I was really happy.

I'm glad this thread stayed a civil discussion. You guys are great.